//------------------------------//
// XII. Moon 
// Story: Untitled Journal in Blueblood's Study 
// by Crowne Prince 
//------------------------------//




The world was still enshrouded in night when I scanned the page.

Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape and she will bring about Nighttime Eternal.
 
Wouldn’t it be great if ponies thought to put dates on these things? I could only assume this was the thousandth year. Either that or the pony who recorded the legend put some random, nicely rounded number in there to stand for “a really long time,” and who knows how long it actually took for a night mare to escape the moon. I left Predictions and Prophecies and paced circles in the candlelight. The manor was silent. I’d given my staff the next forty-eight hours off.
 
It was already happening. Celestia’s magic was coming undone. Everything she had imprisoned would be released, every spell unraveled. If I had managed to restore Equestria’s faith in the Princess, this might never have occurred.
 
There was a tapping at my window. I opened the latch and a bat dropped a scrap of paper at my feet.
 
Ponyville.
 
That was Magick's one-word response to the query I'd sent by dragon fire. The Princess was in Ponyville. I’d sent a note to Celestia as well, but there had been nothing in return. This left me with two courses of action.
 
First, find the Princess. No doubt half of the country was trying to do that now. Their searching was likely in vain; Nightmare Moon had probably imprisoned her sister somewhere. The sun seemed a fitting place, but it was not as if I could look at it to check.
 
Second, find the Elements of Harmony. I was beginning to think it was no coincidence Princess Celestia had not only decided to celebrate the summer solstice in Ponyville, but also send her protege there. The little village was right next to the Everfree Forest. For as long as the night lasted, everything would converge on the place that used to be the capital of Equestria and where, supposedly, the Elements still were.
 
By the time my thoughts on those two options closed, I was already at my airship. There was no way I would be able to teleport to a place I had never been, even if I were magically capable of going so far in the first place. Flight it would be.
 
I stepped off the pier and into the simple basket. A single propellor extended from the back of the ship, and in no time it was whirling with ribbons of blue magic. Canterlot fell away, the streets full of ponies pointing and staring at the night sky. Nobody paid much attention to the simple airship flying through the dark.
 
Did I make it in time? Of course not. You already know that.
 
No, I made it to the forest and promptly got lost. The fog over the area was thick, the clouds were strange and pink, and I was forced aground at a clearing where the mist was thin enough for me to see. I lashed the basket to one of the trees and fumbled with a parchment that had a map of the area on it. Well, as close to a map of the Everfree Forest as you can get, anyway. I took the scrap of paper with me and set out into the woods to find a landmark.
 
Ten minutes later, I was tangled in a clump of vines. Feathering good the map was at that point.
 
I tried to yank myself free from the vines, but the more I struggled, the more ridiculous the situation became until I’d ended up with my chin in the dirt, one leg in the air, and the other three snared. Using magic had only caused the vines to grow thorns. If I hadn’t been so busy thinking about how to get out, I would’ve felt disgraced.
 
“Trapped by the forest’s wiles I see. If you’d cease your struggle you’d soon be free.”
 
Wonderful. Public humiliation has always been my favorite. I quit wrestling with the thorns and lay still, a furious blush starting to creep over the bridge of my nose. Surely only an idiot gets stuck in a plant.
 
Believing their prey to be dead, the vines loosened. I did not care to dwell on that thought and extracted myself. The jacket I’d been wearing was torn, my hair disheveled, my composure ruffled. I looked a right mess. I acted like it was any other day at Canterlot court, inspecting the red scratches raking my legs with disinterest. “My most gracious thanks.”
 
The zebra was eyeing the only thing untouched: the map I’d been holding aloft with magic the entire time. “Something tells me you are more than you appear to be. What brings a pony prince to the Everfree?”
 
“I see my reputation precedes me. And yet it is not I that walks such a place so carefree.”  I couldn’t figure out why a zebra was all the way out here. Perhaps she was also searching for the Elements of Harmony? Her purpose here could be malicious. I had to be careful.
 
“Carefree?” The zebra raised an eyebrow. She seemed to be enjoying this. “That is hardly the word to describe one following a prophecy. Same as you, I’ve come quite a long way in anticipation of this day."
 
“That’s not right. I think you mean night.”
 
“Quite.”
 
I snorted in disdain. “If you are following the same tale as I, I must assume you’re a Zebrica spy. No matter to me, step aside if you please. There is some treasure I intend to seize.”
 
The striped mouth curled into a frown and her eyes turned cold. “You ponies are too quick to judge. You set your opinions and refuse to budge. I’ve no desire for your precious rocks. Take them if you can, selfish fox.”
 
“Fox!” I sputtered. “I’ll have you know I am of the highest royal breeding in all of Equestria, from the same line as Princess Celestia herself. Or have you not noticed the pristine white sheen of my coat?”
 
“In my country a prince is something one cannot see. Your inner fire defines what you are, not a pedigree.”
 
“Words like that mean little to me.” Oh, the irony. I decided to let the tribesmare remain a mystery. It was time to get back to the Elements of Harmony.
 
I took a step down the path, only to be interrupted by a satisfied laugh. The zebra informed me that I was too late: the shadows over the sun had already begun to dissipate. I threw my gaze past the tops of the trees to see if she was right. Sure enough, past the murky clouds came growing slivers of light. If Celestia was safe, then my next mission was to interrogate that black and white waif. Except when I turned around, I was all alone on the ground. The zebra was not there. She’d disappeared into thin air.
 



 
I stood near the golden gilt alicorn statue I was destined to one day knock over and watched ponies dressed in their formal attire go by. The group I was with continued gossiping.
 
“I hear her servants are all bats and she only comes out at night. Sparkling Whine says she saw her eyes, and they are soul-stricken hollows that brim black with nightmares.”
 
“That’s preposterous. The Royal Guards are tripping over themselves to serve her. Her beauty rivals that of the Northern Lights, her footsteps trail with stars, and she can’t go outside for fear of inspiring jealousy in Princess Celestia.”
 
“Beautiful, maybe, but utterly evil for certain. I don’t believe for one second this so-called Nightmare Moon would suddenly ask forgiveness. She is scheming something, I assure you.”
 
“Princess Celestia has managed better than fine for 1,000 years. What need do we have for another princess? She is irrelevant.”
 
Canterlot wanted to talk about nothing else.
 
“What say you, Prince Blueblood?”
 
“I’ve no quarrel with Princess Luna. Besides, with her younger sister at her beck and call perhaps Celestia will move some of the burdensome tasks imposed on me over to Princess Luna. Speaking of which, if you’ll excuse me. I have an appointment to make.”
 
The only burdensome task I had was being a hate target to distract ambitious ponies from Princess Celestia. But now with Princess Luna here, would I be needed anymore? Maybe I was free. Free.
 
Fleur de Lis saw my approach and steered away. She’d had an unpleasant experience with the Prince a while ago to the tune of being completely discarded for another “prettier” mare. That had been the week I acted a heartless beast toward every pony interested in me by suddenly abandoning them when the next famously good-looking pony showed up. Unfortunately for Fleur, it tended to be regular citizens around when we were out, which made it difficult to ditch her for someone more socially elite. As a result, the young mare got to spend more than enough miserable time with a stallion who couldn’t even be bothered to hold the door that he’d just walked through open for the pony behind him.
 
Fleur was too strong to bother with someone like that. I’d been tested and found wanting, so she kept away. Other mares were not so easily dissuaded. The fact they were willing to love my horrible attitude solely because I was wealthy and royal made me ill. It also made my task more difficult.
 
One of my admirers fell in stride with me and batted her eyelashes. “Oh Prince Blueblood, fancy meeting you here. I was just telling the Canter Times group over there how you so elegantly rescued me from tripping on the stairwell the other day. They’re not on duty of course, but you know how those news ponies are. I wouldn’t be surprised if your good deeds showed up in print soon.”
 
“It would be a smudge on my good image to have a pony trip nearby,” I said. “What if someone had been taking a picture, and I was caught with a flailing pony in the background? How dreadful.”
 
A part of me that felt farther and farther away as time went on laughed at how ridiculous that sounded. Blueblood was so arrogant he couldn’t be seen near a clumsy pony. But the mare said in her sensuous voice, “Oh, of course. It would have been scandalous. It is my fault for not being more attentive. I was simply so stunned by how golden your mane is that I did not see that first step.”
 
“Why thank you.” I could think of nothing to say to throw the mare off, so she trailed after me. 
 
The Grand Galloping Gala was always insufferable in this way. Every summer, without fail, all of the wishful ponies gathered at the Gala to make their dreams come true, and I was supposed to make them reconsider what was valuable in their lives besides popularity. Gala tickets were so desirable they were sold out almost a year in advance. There was an endless supply of starstruck stallions and mares to reckon with.
 
“Prince Blueblood! Who is this lovely mare you have with you?” Upper Crust’s voice struck my ears. She was with her husband Jet Set, as usual.
 
“I haven’t been bothered to ask her name yet,” I said and kept walking without so much as a sniff.
 
The mare at my side giggled. “You have quite the sense of humor Prince Blueblood.” She thought I was joking that I didn’t remember her name.
 
I was barely paying attention to the party at all. The conversations about Princess Luna and who or what she was were too distracting. No one I knew of, including myself, had seen her. Some speculated she was not real at all. If she was indeed the Princess of the Night, why was the night sky the same as it always had been?
 
I had to know more. There was a new player in the game of royal politics. I would find Princess Luna and tell her who I was and ask for her help.
 



 
“No,” Magick said. “Absolutely not.”
 
“But she’s a princess! Do you keep secrets from the leader of your country?”
 
“All the time.”
 
I grumbled. This was going nowhere. “At least arrange for a meeting. I want to know who I am to deal with in the future.”
 
Magick hummed. “I cannot help you with that. Your concerns should lie elsewhere at the moment. Namely on the incarnations of the Elements of Harmony. The matter of Princess Luna has distracted this whole nation in terms of where the power is right now. I doubt anyone in Canterlot would recognize those six faces if they came to town. Save Miss Sparkle, of course. Her family is here.”
 
“Yes, yes, I know.” I waved a hoof. Fine folks they were. Her brother had replaced the late Captain of the Royal Guard. Strong magic must run in their bloodline.
 
“So what will you do if one of the Elements of Harmony decides to stage a rebellion?”
 
I burst out laughing. “Ah, Magick, excuse me, that’s quite funny.” I wiped a tear from my eye. “No, I don’t think there’s much any of them can do on their own without cooperation from the other five. I spent some time in the archives researching after Nightmare Moon was defeated. I’d be more worried about some poor soul recovering the Alicorn Amulet - and it hasn’t been seen for several hundred years!”
 
“We shall see.”
 
“Oh, stop being so ominous. I cannot figure out where you formed that habit, although I assume managing a school of squealing, magically overpowered unicorn children is not easy on the psyche.” On cue, a piercing hiss like a firework sounded from one of the classrooms on the floor below. “Perhaps you need a hobby. What are you going to do with your spare time this week?”
 
Magick cracked a smile. “The same as you. Try to catch a glimpse of Princess Luna.”
 



 
Blast it all. I was as curious about Princess Luna as everyone else. If I was closer to the castle I might see her. Combat practice seemed an excellent excuse to achieve that.
 
I had my carriage take me to the barracks. Celestia’s cloaking spell no longer affected me, so I entered the grounds as I was. Guards shot sidelong glances at my dapper attire, which today was bright red with an ornate gold pattern that matched the jewel-encrusted scabbard holding my sword. I had commissioned the sword to look decorative. As long as it was sheathed, anyone would think it was only there to make the outfit look better.
 
I went to one of the practice fields and watched two of the senior officers spar. Ever since Nightmare Moon, the guards had started being more rigorous with combat practice. It was tough to stay in shape when it was peaceful. Even the more experienced soldiers were holding mock battles these days, something I didn’t see very often when I was a colt coming here to be trained by the late Captain.
 
One of the officers, a white pegasus, saw an opening and cracked his spear at his opponent’s head. In an instant the pegasus fell flat, his own spear pointed at his exposed throat.
 
I hung my belt and scabbard on a nearby weapon rack. “May I test my strength?”
 
The officer who’d won the bout, disguised as a gray earth stallion guard, looked at me with cold eyes. “Prince Blueblood, if you are interested in entertaining yourself I might ask you to go practice with some of the new recruits. I’d advise you to not bother sparring with me, but I will not deny your request if you insist upon dueling.” The guard brandished the spear in his forehoof. “Do you still wish to fight?”
 
“Yes. A moment, please.” I finished equipping a set of battered practice armor. A wooden sword flew in front of me as I stepped into the fighting space.
 
I saw my opponent's stance shift when he realized I knew enough to put the armor on properly and hold a weapon with magic finesse. His spear was held at ready. He intended to beat me quickly and get my humiliation over with.
 
Oh? So he wasn’t going to let me win just because I was the Prince. Heh.
 
His voice was steady, commanding. “The rules are: no use of magic to bring in additional weapons, and no striking a defeated opponent.”
 
“Tch. I was taught to fight dirty. In war there are no rules.”
 
“You’re not at war now. You’re in Equestria. En garde!”
 
The officer caught the spear in his mouth and charged straight for me. As a unicorn I was vulnerable because I couldn’t teleport. If I did I wouldn’t be able to recover from my dizziness fast enough to fight back. No matter.
 
The spear swung at me and I blocked it with the sword. The officer was strong enough to overcome my magic; I could feel him pushing the sword back with brute force. I put some distance between myself and the weapons and pulled the sword away just as he switched the spear to his hoof and took a jab at my armor. Because I’d foreseen the attack it fell short. He pulled the spear back in time to block the swing I’d taken at the plated armor along the back of his neck.
 
His reflexes were good. As long as he had that weapon it would be difficult for me to win. I wrapped my magic around the spearshaft and pulled, but the officer had fought enough unicorns to know that trick. He grounded his stance and held the weapon so I wouldn’t be able to lift him into the air. As an earth pony it was easy for him to resist levitation spells.
 
I could fire a magic bolt at him, but if he dodged I would hit something else.
 
The thought disappeared when the officer yanked the spear free and smashed it into my left side. I was too quick to take the hit, though. The attack bounced off a thin magic shield with a hum.
 
Again he pressed me into close combat where unicorns were typically at a disadvantage. If I kept using magic shields I’d burn my reserves and they would shatter, so I was forced to defend with my sword. Blocking his reach weapon was a challenge with just the sword, but that was the point.
 
There - an opening. He picked up one forehoof to hold the spear. All I had to do was pull the other out from under him and I’d have my sword at his throat in no time.
 
The moment passed. I parried another swing.
 
I saw the final blow coming. The dull end of the spear slammed into the base of my neck where the centerpiece of the practice armor was. I gave the officer a second and he turned the weapon around to point the dulled iron tip at my throat. “Well fought," he said. "I must say I’m surprised.”
 
 



After the match I was free to wander without seeming too suspicious. I made the rounds of the military complex and the princess was nowhere to be found. The night fell, but I wasn’t ready to give up my search yet. If I were reclusive and wanted to get out of the castle, where would I go?
 
The gardens, at night, away from the places where lovers might be strolling. I passed by the statues and beds of flowers and made my way to the one place I never bothered to go: the castle labyrinthe. In some places these mazes were supposed to be relaxing, and by going one way or another you would come across areas with outdoor furniture or a gazebo or fountain. Canterlot’s maze was a puzzle, a psychological challenge. It stretched over the hills toward the mountains. In the distance you could see several towers with different colored flags atop to help you mark your location. There was no telling what you might find inside the maze.
 
It was easy to imagine Princess Celestia coming here to get lost for a few days - or, perhaps, to send ponies into when they needed to get lost.
 
I’d never seen anypony enter the labyrinth. The moonlight guided my steps past the towering flags and onto the path. If I didn’t need to use my magic to light the way, I wouldn’t bother. Not if I might need it later to send up a flare for somebody to come get me.
 
I kept along the left wall and walked through the maze for a long time. There was nothing, only hedges. I wondered if I was walking in circles and suspected this labyrinth would be designed to fool the ponies who stayed along one wall, or at the very least make them take the longest route to the exit.
 
That was when I noticed the blue light coming from around another blind corner that I could not see around. I would have to turn the corner or go back, but I already knew I’d found what I was looking for. There was no reason for any pony other than Princess Luna to be out in the maze at this hour, alone.
 
I peered around the hedge without making a sound. There, in the night glow, I saw a reflecting pool spread out over the deep blue-green grasses of the opening in the maze. Carefully placed smooth stones ringed the pool and a tree with drooping branches swept over the far end of the area. There, in the glow cast by her horn, was Princess Luna. I froze and felt my chest tighten as my heart dropped in shock. Everything I had thought about her was wrong. Everything the others had imagined was wrong.
 
She was small and weak, like a broken pony who has spent too long thinking over a past they could do nothing to change. This was no goddess. Her mane did not flow like Celestia’s. Her legs were thin and lacked the brilliant gilt with gold shoes her sister had. She wore no royal attire, no crest of Equestria, no garment at all. Her dark cutie mark spread over her hindquarters in a way I had never seen, like a disease. A mark like that did not happen naturally.
 
I knew now why the night sky looked the same as it always did. Princess Luna did not have the strength to raise the moon.
 
The Princess’ voice cracked as if it had not been used in a very long time. Her speech was old and antiquated. “Who goes there?” There was no command in it. I should have been frightened that she knew I was there without looking. I felt the slight urge to walk away and disappear.
 
My chance left when Luna turned her head and she targeted me with her sea green gaze. Her eyes were tired, cold, and hard. When she blinked, they disappeared into the darkness of her coat. Makeup would have accented her eyelids, but as she was now all she had to do was turn off the glow emanating from her horn and close her eyes and she would be a shadow that could disappear into the night.
 
“Who is important enough to interrupt my moment of reflection?” There was an edge to the voice this time. Pinpricks ran up my spine.
 
I came out from behind the hedge, moonlight striking my white coat and making me stand out like a star on a black canvas. There was nowhere to hide. I bowed my head. “I am Prince Blueblood.”
 
The Princess stood but made no sign of advancing in my direction. “Equestria has no princes.” She dipped her head in a slight bow anyway. I could see how thin her neck was. She straightened again and looked at me. “No. Equestria had no princes. But you, you have no wings that we can see. Does our sister have children? Have we been away for so long that this has come to pass?”
 
I looked from side to side, but Princess Luna was the only pony there that I could see. Then I understood: she was using the archaic royal ‘we.’
 
“No, Celestia does not have children. I am an heir of royal magic,” I lied. “It was imparted to me when my parents died.”
 
“We are not sure we understand,” Luna hesitated before she added, “Prince. Yet there are many things we no longer know about this world. There are also things which we recognize, yet they are buried under the surface of centuries of time.” The princess paced a few steps along the length of the pool. Her reflection followed her, and the light from the moon outlined her folded wings to reveal how bony and tattered they were. “Our apologies if this is your place to come and reflect on the past. We shall go further into the maze where no one shall see us.”
 
“This is not my place. I did not mean to disturb you.” I was scared. Her weakened physical condition frightened me. I had never been in a war, never seen the effects it could have on ponies, never imagined the possibility that in the sacrifice I made with my life, I, too, could become an empty shell like that. Perhaps not physically, but in my mind. Would I become warped and twisted as well?

I began to back away and the horror gripped me. I turned and fled. I couldn't look at that husk of a spirit any more.

Eventually I realized I was quite lost, thanked my sensibility on not using magic to illuminate my night stroll, and instead spent it on a flare to the maze towers.  A stallion with a compass rose for a cutie mark emerged from the hedge wall and greeted me. “Need some help there, eh Prince?”
 
I held my head aloft. “This maze is too easy for me. I am a bit hungry and I don’t want to waste more of my time walking the rest of the way to the exit. Might I take a shortcut?”
 
“Alrighty then. Here we go.” Pony-sized squares opened up in the foliage all the way to the castle. I hadn’t known I was so deep in the maze. My escort walked me back to safety.