//------------------------------// // Chapter 32. Moonset // Story: Learning to see Luna, the story of Vivid Colour. // by Hope //------------------------------// Luna strode down her throne, the dawn court finished and the petitioners all gone. The great hall was empty, except for Black Ink and her guards. But as the door was opened to the halls, Ink stepped forward and in front of Luna. She was clearly struggling to say something, and Luna decided that she wouldn’t hold Ink to decorum yet, rather choosing to sit back and wait her to find the words. “I… Believe that it is time for you to appoint me or some other pony as Castillian and Senechal, since Vivid Colour is not able to fulfill the needs of the role,” she finally said. Luna twitched and very nearly shouted, but held herself in check barely. She was then filled with anger at herself for on instinct defending a position that Vivid could no longer hold. She looked away and breathed slowly, calming herself. “I… agree,” Luna whispered. “But it is hard to think about. I hereby assign the title of Castilian to you, and give the tasks of assigning Senechal and all other needed titles to you, under review of the Ruling Council.” Black Ink nodded and bowed. “Thank you, your highness,” she whispered. “I understand the difficulty, absolutely.” “Thank you,” Luna sighed. “Now… as you handle that, I will be having dinner with my love. Please, keep her memory in our institution alive. That… is important to me.” “I would never dream of removing the work she has done,” Ink said confidently, before stepping aside. So Luna continued onward to the infirmary with only her guards, through halls full of maids and workers, without even noticing who bowed and who didn’t. But when she heard Vivid’s laughter from beyond the doors, she felt her emotions lighten and a smile finally bloom before opening the door to see Vivid standing at the window, the sunrise’s soft warmth playing across her face, eyes unseeing but full of joy, and a gentle breeze flowing over her mane. “I hear boots, is that my moony?” Vivid asked with a grin. Luna chuckled and walked closer, laying a wing over her back as the doctors stepped aside. “It is,” Luna agreed. “And your moony has come to take her love to dinner.” “Oooh, dinner treat,” Vivid said happily as she stepped back and Luna closed the window behind her. “Meat, right?” “Yes, I believe also some sauces,” Luna chuckled as Vivid followed the lead of her doctor to the nearest table, where the doctor checked her temperature with a mercury thermometer and nodded happily. “Sauces, yes, endless sauces for Moony,” Vivid snickered. “Oh, only the most endless sauces,” Luna agreed, kissing Vivid on the cheek as the doctor removed the wrapping from her horn. When the wrapping was removed, Luna paused, taking in the horn. There was a jagged break of the skin, scabbed over at a diagonal from one side to the other. Tears were almost instantly in Luna’s eyes and she bit her lip, careful not to say anything. “How does it -- is it ok?” Vivid asked with a wavering smile. “It looks just fine,” Luna whispered as she kissed Vivid’s cheek again. “It’s ok. It’s dinner time.” They stood and headed out into the halls, the doctor and guards following along, Vivid staying close to Luna’s side so she would not stray into a wall.  The private dining room was decorated from the last event, something to do with the war, somber brown and blue tones draped on the walls, but the table was set with bright yellow and blue flowers. As they entered, Luna pulled back the curtains to let the morning sunlight pour in, and to reveal the sleepy Canterlot below, the last rush of activity in the streets signaling an approach to bedtime for most citizens. Then, the three ponies sat around one end of the large table. “I’m surprised I’m so nervous,” the doctor chuckled nervously. “Oh, ca-- settle down. At it w-- be cooked and cooked fancy, my first taste was raw,” Vivid said with a smirk and her nose a bit in the air, imitating some noble talking about fine wine. “Really, I didn’t know that,” Luna said, suddenly curious as she adjusted her cushion and nodded to the waitress pouring glasses of wine for each of them. “A seagu--, when I was adrift on a boat,” Vivid said, nodding and dropping the air of fake nobility. “Not good, but enough to go on.” A bell rang in the kitchens, and plates were carried out and set in front of each pony, with little cucumber sandwiches arranged in a star. “Oh, appetisers, right,” the doctor chuckled. “You didn’t think that the meal would be simply meat on a plate with nothing else, did you?” Luna asked curiously as the doctor ate one of the sandwich bites, her cheeks a bit pink. “Oh, be nice, she’s new,” Vivid said, smiling a little. Luna nodded, also smiling as they all ate together. As soon as one of them was done with their sandwiches, the first entree was brought out, pan fried chicken with red sauce drizzled over the still crackling breading, and cheese melted on top. “Oh, what I wo-- w-- give to have this back then,” Vivid sighed happily, as Luna fed her a piece. The doctor curiously examined a small piece, sniffing it and finding it not too bad, before finally eating it. She blinked a few times before digging in and quickly finishing the rest of the plate. Vivid, bite by bite, was fed the meal before Luna quickly finished her own. “So, Doctor, how is it?” Vivid asked eagerly, wiping her mouth with a napkin she’d carefully picked up with her hooves. “Surprisingly juicy, for some reason I thought it would be dry and stringy, more chewy,” the doctor said, muffling a burp behind one hoof. “But… surprisingly good.” As they spoke, a wave of aroma flowed out from the kitchen door while it opened, the scathing harsh smell of horseradish, which faded quickly before the next smell reached them, that of a rich meaty sweetness. The doctor coughed softly, wide eyed as the plates were set down in front of each pony, a boneless pork tenderloin steak with a crescent of grilled kale and broccoli next to it, and a sun of white creamy horseradish sauce half on and half next to the meat. “That certa-- scent is better than the griffins made,” Vivid said, sniffing at the air curiously, and leaning down to sniff it even closer as it was set down. “I’ll have to thank the Chef,” Luna muttered. “This is incredible for such short notice, and much better than the griffin meals we make. Though, they seem to like it, so…” Vivid tried to pick up her fork with her hoof, but Luna quickly scooted her chair over a bit closer and took the utensils, cutting strips and dipping them into the sauce, before feeding it to Vivid.  She immediately started coughing, and as Luna gasped and tried to find some way to help, Vivid started laughing, making her even more confused. “I… didn’t…. Didn’t ask what horseradish is,” Vivid gasped between laughs and coughs. “Oh Stars,” Luna mumbled, cheeks quite dark. “I… It’s spicy in a way…” “I know that now!” Vivid wheezed, grinning. Vivid took the napkin and coughed into it a few times as the doctor ate a few bites, watching Vivid to make sure she was ok. Naturally, the doctor was very gentle on the amount of sauce she used. “So… not as much of the sauce,” Vivid scolded Luna gently. “Come on.” Luna obeyed, and gave her a bite with only a little bit of sauce on it, and they were able to work their way through dinner, some appreciation of the sauce being had when in reasonable quantities, and finally pastries being delivered to their table on tiny plates. “So Doctor, how do you find your first meal of meat?” Luna asked as Vivid ate her pastry. “This…” “Pork,” Luna supplied. “This pork is harder for me to stomach than the chicken,” the doctor sighed. “But the sauce makes it palatable. I think it is good for me to have tried it, but in the future I will likely pass on anything but chicken.” Luna nodded in agreement. Then a door slammed in the distance, down a nearby hall. Vivid flinched, and Luna turned to see a light shimmering along Vivid’s horn, her expression stricken with fear from the sudden sound. “Viv--” Luna couldn’t finish the name, before an explosion tore the table apart, and threw Luna to the opposite side of the room. A black smoke filled the dining hall, and Luna’s ears were ringing. She stood, wavering on her hooves and numbly noting that her crown was laying on the floor as she spotted the doctor, laying unconscious on the stone floor nearby, outlined in a beam of sunlight. But she could not find Vivid. A black mark of a star on the stone floor was etched deep into the surface where Vivid had been sitting. When Luna opened her mouth to shout her love’s name, she couldn’t hear her own voice, she couldn’t even tell if there was any noise coming from her lips. Some pony was at her side, pressing against her as she searched for any sign of her love. Finally when she looked, it was one of her guards. Lyra or something, trying to push her in some direction or another, guiding her like a lost sheep. Luna begged, silent in her own ears, for help in finding Vivid. But despite tears flowing from Lyra’s eyes, the guard continued her insistence. So Luna gave in, her eyes searching broken wooden planks and shattered plates, until she was in the hallway and could not see them anymore. Then, she did not remember anything but walking, and finally laying down on white sheets where ponies rushed around her. She knew what had happened, but she couldn’t accept it. Things had been perfect. Everything was perfect, and then… She couldn’t remember closing her eyes and letting herself fall asleep, but she was clearly in shock, and when she woke she could softly hear ponies talking, as though in the distance. “Have you found her?” Luna asked, her own voice sounding like it was underwater to her. Black Ink moved into her field of view, and spoke slowly and clearly. “We haven’t found a body or any sign of Vivid Colour. What happened?” Luna closed her eyes, trying to gather her thoughts. “I… heard a door slam, a loud sudden noise… then Vivid was using her magic. That was… it. Then she was gone.” There was silence, and a hoof on her arm for a moment, before she was gone and Luna was asleep again. But when she woke next, everything hurt. She felt a pounding headache and pains all over her body, groaning as she tried to turn over but was pushed gently to stay still as she was encouraged to drink something, pills of some kind.  The pain faded slowly, over an hour of misery, and she was able to hear a little better. “May I get up?” Luna asked the lead doctor as she walked into the room. “Normally I’d say no, but since your body seems to be repairing itself rapidly, I will not refuse it of you,” the doctor said wearily. Luna carefully got out of bed and sat on the floor, finally noticing the other occupied bed, the doctor who had been at dinner with her, a bandage around her head and still unconscious. “How long have I been asleep?” Luna asked, trying not to focus too much on the still pony. “Thirteen hours, I think a bit longer, but without the sun setting, it’s hard to tell,” the doctor admitted. “Damn, I may be late indeed,” Luna agreed as she slowly walked to the window and closed her eyes again, forcing the once again struggling sun below the horizon, and bringing up the moon, resting her cheek against the glass once she was done. “I’m sorry, your highness…” “Not now,” Luna said sharply. “I will not be accepting sympathy or kindness right now.” The silence was welcoming, and after a few moments, Luna simply walked out of the infirmary. Her guards followed, all the way to the private dining room. It was empty and dark, and Posey was sitting next to the scorched mark, casting spells in the pale light of the moon. “Can you find her?” Luna asked, her voice low, and her hearing still weak. Posey looked up, and stopped her spells before approaching. “You should be rest--” “Can you find her?” Luna repeated, even more firmly. Posey slowly shook her head. “Not yet…” Luna turned, and walked away from her as well. It was cathartic to finally embrace her distaste for niceties, to reject the social requirements that wasted her time. In the midst of her pain, she was cruelly joyful to be able to shove others away and finally be alone. Well, besides the guards. She lit her horn, and vanished from the sight of the guards, so she could be truly alone in the ruins of Everfree City, and the castle she’d once helped to build, stone by stone, now in the midst of being consumed by nature.