A little unicorn with a darkened horn and light green coat made his way to the Canterlot Castle. His brown mane blew about with the whipping winds the weather pegasus had called in for the day. There were guards at the front door but it was high noon and the doors were wide open for guests to meet with the princess, and so he walked in with a merry smile on his face and a spring in his step.
"Hello little one, what brings you before me?" The purple alicorn asked with a cheerful smile.
"I've come to ask if you might know where this song I keep hearing is coming from." The little unicorn said, bowing his head.
"I don't know the song you're talking about but maybe if you hum a few bars." The princess said in jest as she laughed a little. The small unicorn drew in a breath and began to sing.
"Come, little children, I'll take thee away into a land of enchantment. Come, little children, the time's come to play here in my garden of shadow." The little unicorn with the darkened horn sung quite well but had his eyes closed as he did. From behind the princess from down one of the darkened halls, a darker alicorn sprung out of the shadows.
Her light blue mane framed her panicked face. Her blue-green eyes darted about the courtroom until they settled on the singing little unicorn.
"STOP!" The darkened alicorn shouted, almost shaking the room. "Where did you hear such a thing, little one!?" She demanded, walking up to the dark horned one.
"In my dreams, I hear this song on loop. I was hoping Princess Twilight Sparkle could tell me what it means and make it stop." The small unicorn replied without showing many signs of worry.
"A dream you say? Twilight! What do you make of this?" The night blue alicorn asked looking back at the confused princess.
"I don't know what is going on, nor why you are so upset by this song." Twilight replied in haste.
"I'm not upset. J-just concerned that a dream-related matter has gone on long enough for somepony to come to you to get it resolved." The dark alicorn said with a nervous tone in her voice.
"Luna? Is there something you aren't telling us?" Twilight said as she tried to look the blue alicorn in the eye.
"N-no I just-" Luna then signed. "I know that song little one but I don't know how you heard it."
"Really? From where did you hear that song Luna?" The purple alicorn asked, trying to remain regal despite her curiosity getting the best of her.
Luna signed heavily, and looked at the two. "I sang that song over a millennia ago when-" A white alicorn ran up beside Luna as she was speaking. Luna hung her head and sighed deeply once more. "When I started a new colony under the moon."
The white alicorn's wings rose high making her form seem larger. "You did what?! I thought we agreed that wouldn't be the best for the kingdom!" The white one exclaimed looking down at the wincing Luna. Looking up at the white alicorn Luna's brow grew angry.
"No dear sister! We did not agree to anything, like always you told me what to do without consultation!" Luna said to her sister, raising her head and wings.
"Umm, care to explain what the hay you two are talking about?" Twilight spoke up looking at the bickering sisters which broke their staring contest.
"What my sister was saying is she, somehow, got enough ponies to make a colony." The white one said with a look of displeasure.
"Okay, so that doesn't explain anything. When did this happen and how?" The purple alicorn said in confusion.
"The ‘when’ I can help with, but as far as ‘how’, I don't know..." The sister said before sighing. "It was just after we sealed away Discord in stone. The kingdom was in disarray, and we needed all the ponies to keep the kingdom going and regain our strength." The sister said holding her head high as she spoke.
"Clearly not as you didn't seem to notice who I carried away even now," Luna said with a smug look on her face, which made her sister's poise break, "In the night I roused the orphans with that song the little one was singing and stole them away to a colony under the moon."
Luna's smug face didn't fade after speaking her piece but her sister grew more upset and was about to speak with a deep breath before Twilight said.
"Wait, so this colony has been running for over a thousand years? Did you go back and check on it after being freed from the moon Luna?" Her question broke the dark alicorn from her smug eye lock with her sister.
"I-I... I was afraid of what I would find if I returned after being locked away for so long." Luna said looking at the ground.
The little unicorn walked up to the sisters as they were speaking and only now spoke up. "They're there." He said, almost scaring the sisters.
"What do you mean little one?" Luna asked the small unicorn.
“I mean after the song each night I hear someone saying that they are smiling under the moon awaiting their night mother. Her children of the night." He said his words almost as if in a trance. Luna looked at his face a long time before nodding her head and looking at Twilight.
"Princess Twilight! I wish for you and my sister to accompany us to the night colony." Luna said, holding her head high and pushing her chest out.
"Whoa wait, 'Us'? Like the little... What's your name little one?" The white alicorn asked the unicorn with a dark horn.
"Trimless is my name, or so says my parents Ms. Celestia." He said with a smile up at her.
"Trimless? Hmm very well, so you, my dear sister, were going to take Trimless along with us?" Celestia said looking her sister in the eye.
"He is wanting these dreams to stop, and seeing as that this colony is possibly the cause of his dreams then I think he should come along to see it." She said looking down at Trimless and stretching her wing over his head.
"Well, you do know dreams better than I, my dear sister. If that's what it'll take then I won't object further. Just know that I don't feel this is safe." Celestia said before smiling at her sister. "Let's go see this colony you made, Luna."
"As much as I like seeing you two get along, I have to do a few things before we can head out to this colony," Twilight said as she pulled a paper up to look it over, "So it'll have to wait for a little while until I'm ready."
Luna gave a soft laugh. "You don't have to worry about leaving right away, we can only get to the colony when the moon is full."
This caused Twilight to tilt her head at Luna. "Why's that, Luna?"
Luna smiled a little before she spoke, "It’s because of a few protective spells I made for the colony. The only way to get there is to wait for the moon to be full. There's no way around that." Twilight nodded at Luna before the paper drew her attention once more.
"Well, I better get home, for now, Princess Twilight Sparkle. My mom and dad will be worried about me if I'm gone for too much longer." Trimless said before bowing to the three of them and heading home. Celestia and Luna returned to the guest rooms to leave Twilight to her work and Twilight toiled away fixing everything up for a few days of absence. A few days went by before Trimless returned to the castle. It was late in the day and the three alicorns awaited the young unicorn's return.
"Was everything okay with your parents Trimless?" The purple alicorn asked with a smile as she did some last-minute preparations.
"Yes, Princess Twilight Sparkle, my mom, and dad are okay with me going with you three to this colony. They were a little scared at first but realized that I couldn't be in any better hooves than yours." The dark horned unicorn replied.
"I couldn't agree more." The white alicorn said as she draped her wings over the other two alicorns the best she could. Luna nuzzled her sister before walking away from their winged embrace. Then she strolled in front of the alicorns so that her sister, Twilight, and Trimless could hear and see her.
"It is almost time. Tonight is the full moon and we are off to the colony to see what has become of it." Luna said with her chest pushed out and her head high. The three others nodded and followed the darker alicorn to the front yard. From there Luna spread her wings and rose the moon.
"You remember that's my job now right Luna?" Twilight said to the moon princess.
"We have to go a certain path to get to the colony Twilight, so I have to raise the moon just right or we won't be able to get there and just fly for hours without end." Luna retorted.
Twilight nodded. "Just don't get used to it, I need to keep practicing juggling the sun and moon," The purple alicorn spoke in jest, "Now is everypony ready?" She asked looking over the two other alicorns and the small dark horned unicorn. To which, they all nodded.
Luna then stepped past Twilight with her mane flicked to one side. "Follow me everypony." She said with a hesitant voice. And with that, they took to the sky, the little unicorn was picked up magically by Luna and as they flew into the night's sky Twilight flew closer to Trimless.
"Trimless? If I may, I have a question for you." She asked him with a hint of concern on her brow.
"You may ask me anything, except where mom hides the cookies. I'm not supposed to know that." He said with a wide smile.
"Don't worry, I wouldn't ask that,” She said with a chuckle, “Your horn, is there something wrong with it?" Her question stole the smile from his face.
"Yes, it's dead. I was born with it like this and was told by the doctors that I will never be able to cast magic for the rest of my life. B-but that's okay Princess. I'm just an earth pony with a horn that doesn't work." He said with a weak smile which made the purple princess frown.
"I'm sorry to hear such a thing from one so young." She said before he shook his head. "I've gotten used to it. I just don't have magic is all." He said with a stronger smile. For a time it was quiet among the alicorns as they flew on. Soon the four found themselves flying over ground high up in the sky.
"We are here!" Luna exclaimed as the ground flew by their hooves. A good minute of clouds and ground went by before anything showed up, but then, through the clouds, a building manifested as the four almost ran into it.
"Whoa! Well, at least we know where the colony is." Twilight said as they flew around the building to find a large statue of Luna in the center of the square. Around said statue were ponies of all shape and size bowing. The four landed in an unoccupied area of the square as the other ponies were just starting to raise their heads. Gasps and muttering rumbled from the crowd of ponies whose gaze was drawn to Luna.
A little pegasus hopped out from the crowd and up the dark alicorn herself. "Night mother is that you?!" She asked in an excited tone, her wings flutter with that same excitement. Luna blushed and nodded to the little pegasus.
"I am." Is all Luna got to say before the lime green pegasus shot up into the air shouting.
"I did it! I did it! I called her and she answered!"
"What, may I ask, did you do, little one?" Luna asked, feeling a little confused.
"I dreamt you a song my mother taught me, and a message." She said sweetly.
"Oh, well that may have missed its mark," Luna said with a chuckle pointing to Trimless. "You see he is the one that got the message but he relayed it to me the best he could." She continued, "We came as soon as we could after that." Luna said with a smile.
The little pegasus' face sank as her latitude lowered until she landed on the ground. Her face twisted from sadness to anger as she looked at the dark horned unicorn. Luna started to speak when the little pegasus flung a rock at Trimless.
"Jerk! Why'd you have to get in the way!" She said as the rock flew through the air and nicked Trimless on the horn.
"Softcloud!" A mare pegasus shouted at the little filly. "You should know better than to- Where are you going?!" The winged filly flew off crying as the lavender mare gave chase.
Luna just looked on as the two flew off. "Well, that wasn't something I was expecting." She said with a sag in her wing.
"Please forgive Softcloud she's a little passionate in her love for you and seems to be upset at her message getting miscarried." A middle-aged mare walked in the view of Luna and the others without a horn nor wing on her. "My name is Slientground and, allow me to welcome the moon colony." The mare said with a low, long bow that the other ponies followed in. Luna looked over the wave of bowing ponies with a growing smile and tear in her eye.
"I wasn't sure what to expect after so long away from this colony but it warms my heart to see that you all have been able to thrive and grow strong under my moon's gaze." As Luna spoke to the ponies they rose to greet her and Trimless ran after Softcloud the best his little legs could. The crowd cheered at Luna and stomped the ground happily. They then grew silent as Celestia and Twilight Sparkle stepped up beside Luna.
"We recognize your sister dear night mother but who is the new Princess?" Slientground asked looking at the two with judgemental eyes.
"This is Twilight Sparkle, the new ruler of Equestria," Luna said, fanning her wing to wave Twilight forward.
Meanwhile, Trimless caught up to the sobbing Softcloud and cradling mother. Softcloud sniffled and looked at the little unicorn.
"What do you want?!" She shouted at him. Her mother was about to speak when Trimless spoke up.
"I wanted to say that I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get in your way." He said with a soft low bow making her point her nose up and pout a little.
"Who said I wanted your apology anyway?" She snorted at him.
"Softcloud! That isn't nice." Her mother scolded.
"S-sorry mom," Softcloud said bowing her head slightly before stepping out of her mother's embrace. "I-I accept your apology." She said trying not to give Trimless eye contact.
"Will you be alright?" Trimless spoke softly looking at Softcloud with a soft smile on his face.
"Y-yeah. I think I will, thank you." She retorted with a bright smile on her face. "Mom, can I show him our home?" Softcloud's mom smiled and nodded.
"Yes dear, you may." To which Softcloud bounced and started to run off.
"Hey follow me!" and the two ran off to see Softcloud's home.
"And that's how I became the new Ruler of Equestria." Twilight finished her long speech to the crowd of open-mouthed ponies.
"W-well you had quite the ride into office," Silentground said with a little sweat on her forehead.
"Yes well it wasn't easy but with my friends, at my side, I was able to do the job without my issue." Twilight retorted, "Now I have a question for you all. Would you come back to Equestria and re-join the ponies there?" She asked looking over all the still gap-mouthed ponies gawking at her.
"You'll have to forgive us Princess Twilight Sparkle but we have no wish to leave our home, but if we may ask something of the night mother?" Silentground asked looking bashfully at Luna.
"You may ask me anything my children of the night," Luna spoke softly enough for the first row of ponies to hear but that was enough to get the whole crowd excited.
"Visit us more often?" Silentground asked with a smile.