//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Appearence // Story: A Moon's Student // by DrawLight //------------------------------// In the castle of the two sisters, it was always quiet. The abandoned castle never had a sign of movement, no sign of life. Always silent, soulless and empty. It had many spider webs in corners, plants growing in the castle from the Everfree forest, the forest the castle was located in. And so, the castle was like that for 1000 years. Well, until an unexpected arrival. Bright light was spreaded across the entrance. It was very bright and powerful, that nopony could possibly see. The glow was there for a few moments, until it finally started to form a pony. Very slowly, the light faded and a mare fell to the floor. She laid there, cold and tired. She was a unicorn mare with light blue coat and black mane with a streak of green in it, along with short bangs. Her cutie mark were 3 black circles. Each circle was a different size than the other. She laid there for a while, until she finally woken up. She slowly opened her lime green eyes, so she, blinking, lifted her head up from the floor. She was confused. She looked left and right, then she asked herself: "W-where am I?" She stood up and put a hoof under her chin, looking a little bit closer around the room she was located in. She immediately recognized where she was. "The castle of the two sisters?" She asked, expecting to get no reply. She heard hoofsteps in front of the entrance. She flinched. Why are there ponies in the castle, if it's so destroyed and old? She ran off into a room that appeared to be a study. It had a wooden desk, chair, and a few books on the shelves. She walked up to the window, looking through it to figure out who is near. She saw a lavender alicorn princess, many ponies and a few other creatures. "Hm. Didn't expect visitors today," the mare thought to herself. "I better get out of here before they see me.." She tried to work her magic, not expecting to work, since many things might've changed. She used her green coloured magic aura, trying to form a spell, and it certainly worked. She only used a glow at first. "Looks like magic still works with ease. I kind of expected for a new magic use," the mare thought, powering her horn and teleporting away. The mare teleported into an unknown city. She looked left and right. Right away, she knew what place is this, since she was a foal. And that was certainly a while ago. Ponyville, the city of hope and care, is the place she was at. Well, at least that is what the town used to be. This one is more... colourful. The first things she spotted are the ponies. All kinds of neon colours the mare hadn't seen for ages. "I assume Ponyville didn't change as much," she said to herself. "There certainly was a change 'round here," the mare heard a voice from behind her. She turned around seeing an orange mare with yellow mane, wearing a brown hat and having 3 apples as a cutie mark. "Apple?" The mare smiled, offering an apple. "Oh, sure," She replied, forming a smile. "Thank you." "No problem! Well, ah'm gonna assume y'all new here. My name's Applejack. What's yours?" "Oh, nice to meet you. My name's... Black Moon," she replied. "Nice to meet y'all aswell. I'm headin' to Sweet Apple Acres. Where do ya need to go?" Applejack asked. "Well... uhm, I don't really have a plan. I'll just stay around checking Ponyville," Black Moon smiled as she replied. "Well, if ya ever wanna visit, y'all can come to Sweet Apple Acres. Now I gotta get these apples shipped off. Bye!" Applejack waved her hoof and smiled, Black Moon watching her as she trotted away, pulling her cart. "Bye!" Black Moon said, waving back to the mare. "Well, I just gotta think of what to do now," she thought to herself, walking up to a café. She looked around Ponyville. She met a few ponies, chatted with a few, even got some cake! But she loved restaurants, cafès, and other public places, and she still does. After a long time of checking the today's Ponyville, she had decided to visit a near place named Sugarcube Corner. I mean, why not? Black Moon opened the door, entering the shop, looking at the many customers around the place. She walked up to a table and sat on a chair. She looked around, having a blue mare with pink twirly mane approach to the table. "Hello dear! Is there anything I can get you?" The mare asked nicely, smiling. "Hmm... I'll take.. two... cupcakes?" "Okay. Is there anything else?" "No, that's all," Black Moon said. "Alright, coming up!" The mare said, walking away to the kitchen. Black Moon looked a more closer look to the menu. "Lot of new food names eh?" she thought to herself. While Black kept looking at the menu, she got startled by a sound of a bubbly voice coming from the doors that had opened. "I'm baack! I've got all the supplies you needed!" Said the mare, smiling. She was a bright pink mare with darker pink mane with a shade of red. She had a cutie mark of 3 balloons: two blue, one yellow. Black noticed the blue mare walking up to the pink pony, thanking her for bringing it back. The blue mare walked with the supplies over to the kitchen, having the bubbly mare following her. While the pink mare walked-- no, bounced her way there, she stopped when she had seen Black Moon. She stood next to her table, starting to speak: "Hey there!" The pink mare greeted. "Oh, hello there," Black replied, turning her head away from the menu over to the mare that spoke. "Are you new in Ponyville?" The mare asked. "Well... um, yes, I kind of am," Black Moon answered. "WHAT? WHY DID NOPONY TELL ME? I GOTTA HURRY!~~" the mare said loudly before running off through the doors, closing them. Black Moon just raised an eyebrow while looking at the pink mare that ran through the doors with impossible speed. The blue mare walked up to Black and said: "I apologise about Pinkie. She just always gets excited when there's a new pony around." "Huh. Well, that's fine." Black Moon said, smiling. "What's her name again?" "Pinkie Pie. Oh, and here are your cupcakes," the mare said, putting the cupcakes to the table and walking off to the kitchen once more. "Hm." Black Moon said, taking a bite of a cupcake before going back to her thoughts. Black Moon trotted her way through the city, carrying a cupcake in her left hoof. She was in Ponyville for only an hour, but still hadn't checked many places. She looked around, and stopped when something caught her interest. She was looking at a big castle with a spark on top of it. She noticed a school not so far away from it, seeming similar to the style of the castle she looked at. "Didn't know there's a castle here. Maybe it's the lavender princess'?" she thought to herself. She wanted to know who does this castle belong to. She wished to walk up to it and knock, but hesitated. Not all places are very welcoming; thinking so from experience. While thinking, she was just standing on that one spot. She was surprised to see Applejack--the mare she met this morning-- going there. She watched as she knocked, having the big doors opened by a purple winged dragon with green chest and eyes. Applejack entered the huge castle, doors being shut behind her. That made Black less nervous. She ate the cupcake she held, then approached the castle doors, still hesitating to knock. She took a deep sigh. She lifted her right hoof, about to knock, but doors being open before she could do so. "Oh, hello there! Can I help you with anything?" She looked at the lavender mare which had spoken to her. Her hair was dark blue, with a streak of purple and pink in her both mane and tail. She had purple eyes and a smile on her face. Black replied to the mare after a few moments: "Uh... hi. I was just wondering... who's castle is this?" The lavender alicorn raised an eyebrow. "Well, since you don't know, this is my castle, or, specifically, Twilight Sparkle's. And I'm Twilight Sparkle in case you haven't known," the alicorn princess spoke. "Oh, okay. I was just asking because, I wasn't in Equestria for... a long time," Black Moon told Twilight, trying not to use the year amount. "Oh! I didn't know so!" The mare said."What place were you at while not here?" Twilight asked a question that made Black cornered. Still, she was a quick thinker. "I was back... there! Next to Equestria." She couldn't name the place, since it might've changed it's name. Twilight just raised an eyebrow, tilting her head a little. "Well, do you need a place to stay while here?" She asked, smiling. "Well, I do, but I can't ask it from a princess. And, you must be busy so--" she was cut off. "No, it's no problem!" Twilight said, opening the doors wider. "Here, you can come in." "Oh, well, thank you very much!" Black smiled and started to enter the castle. "But wait, weren't you heading somewhere?" Black stopped and asked. "Yes, but my assistant here can help you out. I'm gonna be back in a few minutes," Twilight said, showing her a dragon -- that must've been the one that opened the doors of that mare, Applejack. "Okay, as I've said, I'm gonna be back soon. Bye!" The princess said, waving to her and flying off into the sky. "If this is her castle, that must be her school. I'll ask to make sure when she comes back," Black thought, looking at the school before fully entering and closing the doors.