The Dark Of The Night

by Nobodyslament


Interrogation

I whistled as I carved up my newest meal. I will admit to not knowing the precise nutritional value of mythological creatures, but when a manticore trips on one of your snares and dies in the fall, well I didn't question good fortune. Plus the fur looked warm, and I still didn't have an actual blanket. I sliced off a portion of meat, skewering it with a pointed stick and tossing it in the fire. I briefly wished for some aluminum foil. While there are several people blessed with never having created a hobo dinner, I knew them like the back of my hand. With that one ingredient, my dining plans would go from scavenger to an actual meal in five seconds flat. I focused instead on trying to skin an alien creature without the slightest idea of how skinning works.

After a few minutes, I had perhaps the most disturbing pile of flesh to ever grace the earth laying on the ground with a skinless manticore in front of me. I stared at the horror movie reject before a voice nearly caused me to jump from my skin. "You seem awfully calm after defiling a corpse."

I restrained my first response, which was to scream like the young lady I am and sprint into the woods like an absolute madman. I did not manage to withhold my second reaction. I turned around with a start, hand already on my insurance policy before I fully realized it. "BY THE GREAT FUCKING GATSBY, WARN A LADY WILL YA!"

I turned and found another pony, only this one was new. She was tall, almost as tall as me. While I may be about average size for a twenty-year-old, these ponies had gone up to my waist, but this one went up to my neck, barely having to glance up to meet my eyes. Her dark coat was luxuriously maintained, but what was really stunning was her mane. The night sky itself seemed to be trapped in her hair, meaning it could only be one pony. Princess Luna, the actual lady of the night.

I am not so cocky as to state that I responded with a calm and cool demeanor. I actually silently began freaking out, trying to come to terms with the fact what looked very much like a god standing in front of me. Luckily she seemed to be gauging my reaction, and a lifetime of scamming others for my own gain made my poker face reach inhuman levels. I took the initiative. "What do you want Luna, last I checked I don't answer to you."

I ignored the small amount of sweat beading on my brow and looked to my slice of meat. I stuck out my tongue at it's blacked skin. "Shit, burnt my dinner." I cut another slice of meat off the haunch of the manticore, only to find Luna standing between me and the fire. I let out a breath of air but simply walked around her, grabbing the stake of wood and tossing the wasted meat into the forest. "So what do you want Luna, I doubt my existence is such an antithesis of your title that you had to hunt me down to question me."

She scoffed. "I am the princess of the night, whenever a being claims to be my domain itself I must investigate. Especially when it frightens one of my friends."

I didn't bother responding quickly, focusing on my food instead. "I can't exactly apologize for that. You should know better than anyone what darkness lies in the heart of the night, and I don't think I'll care if anything has too thin skin to handle the cold hard truth." I speared my meal, holding it by hand and keeping an eye on it.

Conversation faded as the sounds of the forest, the eyes of a princess digging into my back with quiet anger. I didn't let it bother me, letting it wash over me like she was a crowds naysayer for a show. After some time she moved beside me, and I flipped over the meat. I broke the silence. "Sullen silence is hardly befitting a princess Luna. Should I find a new campsite so you can be annoyed where I can't see the royal grump? Or shall you recover enough to speak?"

The princess scoffed. "I don't need to recover. I am simply gauging the one who claimed to be my night."

I shrugged. Part of a dangerous con was playing the odds, and this was that by definition. Now to throw some doubt on the fire. "Really, your night?" I stood, keeping an eye on my food. "How many predators have slain their prey? How many ponies have died in their sleep." I gestured all around me. "You may control part of the night. You may even be able to use it to your advantage better than I, but the night does not bow to your whims. The night is wild and free." I grabbed my food from the fire, cooked to a rare level. I took a bite. "And the night doesn't care."

Luna balked at me, seeming to fluff outwards as shadows flared around her. I fought to keep my flinch at a minimal level. She looked down at me, her eyes alight with malice. "YOU SAY THE NIGHT DOESN'T CARE!"

I wanted to run. Oh how desperate I was to run. But that would be a death sentence. So I directly disobeyed my instincts, taking a step forward. "OF COURSE IT DOESN'T! THE NIGHT IS A TIME OF BEAUTY AND DEATH! THERE IS NO ROOM FOR WORRY OR CARE!" I turned my back to her, taking a few steps back and gaining some distance on her. Despite taking that one step forward I was still terrified. But, I couldn't stop the smile that spread as I heard her wings lower. I took another bite of meat. "The night, dear little princess, is powerless. It cannot kill, it cannot hunt. It inspires others to do so, just as you are inspired by it to rule your people in your own little way." I rolled my head, causing shadows to flit and flutter across the ground. "So return there, and worry not about my little home. Do this, and enjoy your life."

I began moving to the treeline, letting my vision fall into darkness. "Then one night, maybe you'll realize that you do not rule the night, you simply guard your ponies against it. I will continue to own myself, and one day," I waved a hand behind me. "One day you might realize that saying one creature controls the night or day is as foolish as it is wrong." I chuckled as she let me walk off. I couldn't wait to see how this played out.

***

Luna watched the creature walk away, shadows piling onto it over and over again before it became invisible to even her eyes. She looked to the ground where the creature had turned, the ground blackened and dead under where its feet had lain during its shouts. Luna touched her hoof to it, feeling the familiar magic of the night pulsing through the dead grass. She withdrew it quickly, raising a single eyebrow. "Mayhaps it speaks the truth. But if it is true then many questions must now be raised." Luna turned, only to pause at a mark on the ground. It was unknown to her, a circling sigil that seemed to wrap around itself multiple times.

She flashed her horn once, committing the image to memory. After a moment she turned, only to freeze. "Impossible." She turned to face it again, but her horn didn't flash. Instead, she simply watched it for a moment. "How curious. I will ask my sister about it." With that she turned away, shadows rising from the ground and sinking below it. Taking her with them.