//------------------------------// // 3) Questions, So Many Questions! ✔ // Story: ”Wait, I’ve Slept For How Long?” // by Mornings Dew //------------------------------// Kin ”I will be honest.” The Elder started, the large and filled mug slid across the old, chipping wooden table. Wood on wood skid and screeched a subtle scraping noise. It stopped at Craig’s messy feathery hooves. “I did not believe a male Alicorn had ever existed. Not one creature has, I can guess.” He wondered aloud. Elder Grey Beard’s tangled white beard and mustache covered his mouth. Craig greedily drank the cold fresh water in big gulps. He almost didn’t hear the old Kirin and his bewildered ramblings. This time, wood hit wood instead. A quiet tap as Craig’s mug touched the surface of the creaky wooden table he sat behind. A satisfied sigh escaped his lips before he looked into the Elder’s eyes. It pleaded for answers as questions zoomed past them in rapid succession. It reminded him of himself not much earlier. He smiled softly, quietly at those dulling old orange eyes. Curiosity would forever be the temper tantrum of a child tugging weakly at his soft heart and mind. Something every creature experiences. It was natural. ”I agree with you, my Elder.” Said the Leader of the Kirin, Rain Shine, if Craig remembers correctly. She sipped on… something. His nose told Craig it smelled nice. A thing that made him want to drink something else other than water. Purely out of curiosity. He was still grateful though, for the meal and drinks. His wife would get mad at him if he wasn’t. “Another Alicorn. A male no less! This is something I know is world-changing!” exclaimed Rain. He had to admit, she is pretty— Nay! Halt, evil thoughts! Thine has't a quaint mate! Thine has't elegant kin! Nay! Rain turned her attention back to Craig, entirely oblivious to his mental berating. “You claim you are the King of Equestria, yes?” She said, taking a sip of her drink. After gulping down water to hurriedly hide his embarrassment, Craig nodded and simply said “Verily.” His voice was calm and soft. It went well with his small warm smile. Rain and the Elder glanced at each other. A bungalow, about as old as the Elder, creaked as it held a canopy above the three influential figures. It’s wooden rafters wilted in age but held strongly in the awnings. Craig thought back to of when the Elder turned to him and said, ”It’s not much, but it is all I need.” And for what it was worth, that made him like the old sirrah just a little more. ”Well,” The Elder pulled a scroll from his beard and held it out in front of him. Craig snorted in amusement from the little display, ”with that in mind. I suppose it is best to contact the Regal Sisters, no?” Grey explained, ignoring Craig’s short chuckles upon seeing where the Elder stores his scrolls. The male Alicorn’s eyes abruptly widened at the Elder's words. ”Yes, my Eld—” Shine replied, only to be cut off. Craig briefly and silently thanked whatever deity that was watching him for their entertainment that he didn't have water in his mouth. For just one moment, air blew out of his lungs and through his parted lips in surprised shock as Shine nearly finished speaking. He sucked air in just as quickly and bellowed. ”Thou has't connections to mine own kin?” Craig cheered gleefully at this new revelation, if his overjoyed expression wasn’t enough to realize this fact. After nearly four hours, he can— at the very least— contact his daughters! He nearly slammed his hooves upon the old wooden table. Oh how joyous he felt! Bewildered, Grey stuttered a response in a very troubled tone. ”Your… ki-kin?” Rain spoke not soon after. ”You mean... the Princess—es?” She made sure to put extra emphasis on her stuttered ’the’. Craig, oblivious to their current stupors, bounced in his wildly creaking chair as he got lost in his world of bliss. ”Precisely! But We merely assume! Yet these princesses thou speaketh of art c'rtainly mine own daught'rs! For they shareth the same names!” For the next few minutes, the only thing penetrating the silence under the canopy was Craig’s whines and nickers of pure unbridled happiness. Once he reunites with his daughters, he reasoned that they with be a happy family once again. Princess Luna was not happy. She hasn’t had a very good week either. She has had a tremendous amount of duties alike a bounty upon her head, and came with the cost of being very tired. Most know not to mess with a weary and cranky moon princess, so the castle staff and personnel were not an issue at the moment. To be more specific with her disastrous predicament, her Sister left to meet with the Griffin King, leaving nearly all her duties for Luna to handle. Celestia said that there was a specific reason for her to do this and leave half her workload, but Luna could not for the life of her imagine a reasonable purpose as to why. It isn’t like she put it into much consideration since a part of her believed Celestia was just being lazy. Again. Yet it's likely that it doesn't matter anymore at this point. Princess Luna did not look very presentable as she marched through the long auditoria, and in all honesty she couldn't care less. Two alert Royal Day Guards flanked her sides as she attained the attention of the single noble that pressed her to attend the Theatre all throughout her burdening week. ”Your Highness! How wonderful for you to finally join me this lovely morning!” Her ears caught a crisp but sultry voice as it called out to her. The Moon Maiden glanced at the face she wished to see last. Luna was rather ill-concealed with her irritation as she watched Skip Step perambulate leisurely toward her with his pristine suit and tie. His puffed up chest is evident enough to anypony that it is his prideful manner of boasting. Especially to his new company. Luna’s ears jerked to the advancing Day Guards either side of her before she mumbled a response. ”Yes.” she hissed, exasperated. ”Wonderful indeed…” She can't bother to greet him with any simple pleasantry. Skip Step raised a hoof in a dramatic demeanor, simply to appear in a guise of suffering sorrow. ”It was unfortunate that you couldn't attend the last four days, my Princess.” He adjusted the tarboosh, or fez as it's generally called. With it’s short tassel swinging from above it’s side, Skip’s eyes glistened at the opportunity to stand beside the lunar princess. It would save his suffering credibility from this unbearable month of May. ”Why, most of the nobility believed that I, Skip Step of the fourth Step House, was a jest!” Luna snorted in a mix of karma filled satisfaction and annoyance. Step either choose to ignore it or seemed to not have noticed as he vented to the wary blue Alicorn. ”They even dubbed to calling me a… a harlequin!” he continued, whining ceaselessly in a high pitched tone that was the equivalent of scraping a horn against a chalkboard in the lunar princess’s ears. ”What, pray tell,” started Luna, straight to the point, and prompting the loud noble to pause for her to speak, ”is the reasoning behind our meeting— and here of all places? Thou has… You have failed to inform Us— erm, me, during Night Court, or Day Court...” She added with a crude snort. Tiredly, the lone Princess walked slowly beside Skip Step as she gestured to the walls of the theater they were currently within. Concern reached to his face in an instant, suddenly worried that he’d lose his chance. ”My Princess! I sincerely apologize for my rude actions. I didn’t mean to leave you in the dark.” In truth, Luna was completely comfortable being in the dark. She didn’t care about any of the problems any noble experienced, so long as they don’t come to cry to her or her Sister, but they’re not spared from even that. May she have mercy on this particular noble. He placed a hoof on his chest, slowing down a bit now that he was walking on three hooves. Politely, he voiced his woes. “You see, the nobility has not been so kind to me as of late, and it has burdened me, so to speak.” His muzzle wasn’t looking to the heavens as per usual. His foreleg lowered slowly. “I am not… good at wording my emotions, my Princess.” Luna’s glare sharpened accusingly. The nobility had always had a cruel way of things. Liars, stealers, and horrible ponies overall littered the ugly system they ran. It wasn’t as extreme as before, in her days. They were greedy, yes. They backstabbed, yes. They lied, yes. But they were the ponies that had been corrupted by evil magics and illnesses. They held sympathy, however rarely it showed. They knew the world of chaos and experienced it first hoof. They had learned one of the many greatest lessons. Friendship. And for a long while, after the wars and the chaos their Clan Leaders caused, they knew that the worst outcome was starvation, thirst, hyperthermia, and death. But now that inventions have been made and the world is wealthier, they have given up on friendship during the generations of her absence. The Moon Maiden turned away, glancing at the double doors ahead of them. “We assume the nobility is aggressive toward thyself in an uncanny manner? Or mayhap thou is in fault for possibly angering them? And in what way does this relate to thou begging for Our presence?” Her magical mane and tail flowed quicker in aggravation. The Princess' tail tickled the snout of one of the Day Guards, the very tip flicking from one way to the other. Needing to stay professional, the guard flanking the Princess’s left side endured the torture without scrunching his white muzzle. The two Day Guards surveilling the double doors in front of them drew closer as the noble, Princess, and other duo of Day Guards approached. Skip Step copied the Princess’s previous actions and turned away as well, this time with uncertainty. ”I… don’t know if I did anything wrong in their eyes, Your Highness. I’m positive I haven’t. My worries come from my suspicions to their potentially hidden agenda. ” His eyes studied the double doors. Carved from old spruce wood and lined with gold stood the entrance into the rostrum. ”Nonsence.” A glint of orange sparked and sputtered above Luna, catching her attention. Glancing up, she saw a flicker of weak flame ablaze and combust into a scroll from it’s ashes. The scroll glimmered in red ambient magic as it slowly hovered down in front of the Moon Maiden’s tired gaze. Again, she sighed. ”What is it now?” Luna mumbled in shaky breaths. She felt weak, vulnerable, tired from all the work weighed down upon her being. She guessed that this is what her Sister must have felt for the last thousand years… She stopped. ”… A moment, if you may.” Luna said to the staring eyes. Unfurling the scroll, she realized it was from the Kirin Clans. While she liked the Kirin, they were a peaceful lot and they were understanding, Luna couldn't help but be annoyed by the interruption. She only hoped it wasn’t anything overly catastrophic so she can deal with the noble and actually sleep for more than a hour or two. Her eyes glazed over the scroll’s secrets with a practiced gaze. Skip Step wisely stayed silent while watching the blue Alicorn beside him patiently. Calmly, he watched Princess Luna, the Princess of the Moon, read the scroll with weary eyes. They then slowly, but surely, started widening. Each word that the Princess digested left her sea-colored eyes dull in shock. Suddenly, they shimmered, but only for a moment, before they dimmed in a stern look. Skip was sure he would have missed that single instant had he looked away. Luna blinked as she finished reading the scroll. She blinked again as a flurry of emotions piled upon each other. She noticed something however. Her heart ached, so much so that it hurt painfully. Her eyes twitched in some emotion she could not conceive. Taking a deep breath, she… she… Luna read it, again and again, despite the aches it brought to her softening heart. Her mind became a mess worse than what it was than before in her tired haze. … Why would they write something like this? Shaking her heavy head, she came to a hurried decision and acted on it. A moment after attempting to clean the fog in her mind, she sent the scroll elsewhere. Hopefully, her Sister will have a better time at deciphering it. Luna didn’t want to deal with the… issue. ”Is everything alright, my Princess?” The Moon Maiden’s ears flopped in apprehension. ”… Everything is… well, Sir Step. Just a s-simple scroll… Let us continue, yes?” ”… If you’re sure.” The entrance to the rostrum opened slowly. Craig, muzzle deep in his eighth large meal within the hour, fluttered his large wings in joy. He was antsy and he couldn’t help it, it only made him hungrier as the minutes pass. ”Uh, are you going to eat all the food…? That we have?” Craig picked up his head, craning it toward Sharp Stone, who sat three seats away. ”You gonna share?” Stone chucked, picking at his own plate of leftovers from the Brunch. He was still hungry, but not as brutal as Craig seemed to be. Craig licked his lips slowly, looking at his new friend awkwardly shifting in his seat. ”No.” Stone blinked. ”… Ah, okay. Well, I didn’t want anymore, anyway.” The male Alicorn, more than a thousand years behind on his table manners, chuckled. ”We vaguely recall male Kirin becoming monstrous at which hour did present food. Many of mine kind did pray to Aidenn when We madeth Our treaties.” His chuckle became a roar of laughter at his own joke. It was safe to say it went over Stone’s head. The confused Kirin tilted his head. ”What is Aidenn?” Craig laughed harder, finding Stone’s words humorous. The wheezing cocoa-colored Alicorn stopped suddenly once he noticed Stone’s expression. Craig took a breath. ”We apologize, my cousin. Thou know not of Aidenn?” ”Never heard of it.” Shaking his head, the Kirin went back to picking at his food. Concern slapped Craig in the face. ”Not at all?” ”Nope.” Stone munched on a strawberry. ”Doesn’t ring a bell.” The male Alicorn hummed. ”Odd.” he eventually said, inhaling a small cake. Dear Royal Sisters, This letter is from the Kirin Shine Clan, and we bring you urgent news we believe you absolutely need to know. I will begin to say that while there exist legends of Alicorns that is widely called the Old Gods, we only see it as myth, as most of your subjects do as well, I believe. This is not a problem, as we learn the lessons of life from these tales. Yet, a most peculiar thing has occurred in our little village that has changed my belief on the old tales said to be myth. A male Alicorn, to be precise. I am told that he hobbled into our main deposit, and met two of our Kirin with great results. The Alicorn, who says he is named Craig McCracken, became friends with the two. Mostly the male between the two. He joined us for our Brunch festival today a short while after he had arrived and afterward, nearly ate half of our food! He is an omnivore just like us Kirin, so he fit right in. He doesn't have long canines and can hide them well. As I write this, he still eats and speaks to the few new friends he has made within the hour. His stomach seems like an endless void as he continues to consume many of the leftovers from the Brunch. One of the two young Kirin that met Craig first, River Side, tells me that Craig claimed to be the King of Equestria. It was quite surprising as I was told, which I'm sure you are as well. As we all are, I suppose. Craig is significantly tall, much taller than Rain Shine. He has a light brown coat color and his Cutie Mark is a simple thing: an unfurled, empty scroll. He is also very fluffy. Along with his claims, as King of Equestria, he says that you two are his daughters. As I have seen, he is a confident and friendly pony, albeit constantly looks tired. He also speaks fluent Old Ponish and admires many of the simple devices that we have. For example, he was very bewildered by the typewriter and jumped for joy at the aged machines. He is an oddity. We asked where he had come from, and he himself did not know where he was. He had many tales with context we do not know of and tried answering our questions as best as he could. From what we gathered, he woke up in a cave and, quote, "escaped." We still do not know what this means. Again, Craig claims that he is the King of Equestria and that he is the father of two princesses, implying the only two princesses of Equestria. If he is right and honest with his words I have a feeling that you two would know something about Craig. We will be waiting for a response if you have the answers to our questions. Sincerely, Elder Grey Beard, the Kirin Shine Clan… The guest room was silent, hardly interrupted by the letter's prompt landing on the carpet. Narrowed eyes gazing uncertainty at the letter in frond of her. She never reached her desk, simply laid on the cushioned floor, her soft magenta eyes starting at the aggravating scroll, her lean but plump body spread across the soft carpet. Was this true? A haunting question in her mind with an answer she didn't know. It infuriated her, hating when she had no answers to any of her questions. As far as she knew, she only had a mother. Her head and heart was weighed down in stinging pain. She didn’t know anything about… this. She didn’t know. Celestia didn’t know what to do.