//------------------------------// // Maybe it's not so bad? // Story: Dropped into a new life // by End //------------------------------// It feels like it was just yesterday when I was brought into the orphanage. It's actually been about two years since I was brought into this place and time. Well, my fears about growing up in an orphanage were put to rest, well most of them. All the caretakers really 'care' for each and every colt and filly. They make sure everypony has gotten at least three meals a day. But one thing I feared about the orphanage was true. Every day it happens. Not always at the same time, but you can expect it at least once a day. At first, I thought it was a one-time thing, but no, there’s always a reason for it. Whether it be for motivating each other to help clean up or cheering somepony up. It even happens for the simplest thing, like picking up a blanket. Singing. The whole place turns into a music video. I would probably tolerate it if it was once a week or something, but every day some poor colt or filly and even caretaker burst into a song and drags eveypony within a two-mile radius with them. Sometimes they even sing the same song. Not even being asleep during the day spares me. Whatever the song might be about, I'm dragged into it too. I’m lucky I can’t talk very well, so I’m spared from actual singing. But enough about that. Life for the most part is okay. Like I said before, I’m asleep during the day. The caretakers found it strange at first, but then when they realize that the bat-filly also follows the same sleep schedule as me, so they set us up so that we would both would interact. They also hoped for us to become friends. It would be fine, but the bat-filly always finds her way into my bed and cuddles up next to me and then disappears the next morning. She takes a quick sip of my blood and then pretends to be asleep when I cry. So that it seems like I’m just crying for food or that my diaper is dirty. Any puncture wound she makes with her fangs seems to heal itself almost immediately. So them finding out is nonexistent. Still don’t know if it’s my healing or that her spit heals wounds faster. Also, I think my blood is affecting her quite a bit. She’s already walking on all four legs with no balancing issues and she can even fly around a bit. Something that I overheard the caretakers say doesn’t happen until they’re about 4 years old. I on the other hoof still have trouble walking on my own legs. I still stumble and fall. Even lifting my own head proves a challenge sometimes. Apparently we don’t even receive names. At least not officially. We receive our names when we finally get adopted. The caretakers, in the meanwhile, call us by names associated with our physical features. For me apparently, it’s Purple Eyes. Not very creative. And the bat filly is Bat Wings. Again, not very creative. So this is my life now. Waking up at night and sleeping during the day, and getting the life sucked out of me by a weird hybrid. Also, being a foal does not save me from getting rendered unconscious. Last week alone I was knocked out at least 4 times. I don’t even know how I haven’t acquired brain damage. The caretakers don’t even notice, so I take back what I said earlier about them. I don’t want to know how this can get any worse. “Quite. We must not wake him.” “I have not made a peep.” “Somepony has broken the wind.” “Oh, too late.” I’m slowly wakened by the commotion made by a group of ponies. I look up and see that it’s the caretakers, but there’s somepony else with them. It’s a stallion, well-groomed mane, he looks like he would be in a professional field. I didn't want to deal with this right now, so I turn away from them and go back to sleep. But I was lifted into the air by my hind leg. I was upside-down as a result. The one who held me was the stallion. He grabbed me by his hoof. I sill don't understand how hooves grab things. “Doctor, is this necessary?” One of the caretakers asked. Doctor, huh? Do you happen to have a blue box or are you an actual one? “Yes, it is. I do not understand why you have not brought him to me or any other doctor about his condition.” The doctor scowls at the mare. “If he were a bat-pony then I would understand, but he is a normal pegasus colt. He should not be asleep during the day for more than six hours anymore. He is at least two years old. He should have a normal sleep schedule as the rest of the foals.” The mares are taken back and lower their heads in shame. It's true that babies' sleep schedules are very inconvenient, but I've been sleeping the same pattern since I've gotten here. My sleep schedule is what ticks you off? I’ve been knocked out on a regular basis!!! “I shall take him back to the hospital with me this instant to understand why.” “Of course.” One of the caretakers says, still having her head down in shame. I’m carried over to a stroller and placed in it. Seeing as I have no say in this, I make most of it it and fall back asleep. The sound of ‘Bat Wings’ crying wakes me momentarily. I almost feel guilty leaving her, but I’ll be back soon enough after the doctors can’t find anything explaining to what’s wrong with me. “Try again please.” “Doctor… this is the 6th time we have tried this.” “I. Said. Again.” I felt another spell take hold of me. I felt a tingle run across my spine. Then it disappeared as soon as it reached my cervical vertebrates. A frustrated groan exited the doctor’s mouth. The same stallion who brought me here was not having a good time. At first, he was full of confidence that he was going to find out the problem of being awake at night and asleep during the day. Then after doing some physical test he didn’t seem to find anything. Let me go, let me go. I tried to drag myself away but the stallion kept his grip on me. He checked my eyes, ears, and looked down my throat. The usual thing when you get your yearly check-up. Ever since then its been nothing but tests left and right. I have no idea what kind of tests, but at this point I just want them to stop. At first, it was fine. A few spells here and there, but then the doctor kept asking for them to repeat the same spell over and over again. Not even bringing in what seemed the entire staff of doctors and nurses helped. It just brought more questions. “It does not make sense.” “Doctor, what is it?” One of the nurses asked. She was clearly tired and frustrated by casting the same spell over and over. The spell probably wasn’t meant for it to be cast so often. “We must report this to Starswirl immediately. He will know what to do.” “Doctor are you sure? Is it really that urgent?” Who? Wait a minute I think I know who that is. Starswirl… I think it’s that ancient mage Twilight keeps fangirling over. He’s around? I never thought I’d meet him. I thought he'd be more ancient. I guess not. Why’s everything that’s ever happened or existed keep being 1000 years ago? What’s next? I'll meet old Discord? “Yes, it is. Oh Tartus, it is too late.” The doctor said looking out the window, seeing that the moon was out and the sky was dark. The doctor picked me up and placed me into a stroller. He began to push me away from the table I was on. I kept being placed in either my crib or this stroller. It was getting annoying. “For now, we wait until Celestia’s court is open for us to request an audience with Starswirl.” The doctor said. “What is stopping us from going to the castle now?” One of the other doctors asked. “It is currently night. The day court does not operate during the night, Tuning Fork.” Most of the ponies who were in the room agreed to his logic. After all, most ponies are asleep. Only the essential workers are awake on standby, which included him and other doctors and nurses. But then one of the nurses called out. “What about the night court that princess Luna holds? I believe that it is currently in session.” The rest of the staff realized that she was correct. I sat there wanting to slap every pony except her for forgetting that they had two princesses. Thus two different courts. How do these ponies forget that there is another ruler to the monarch? “Oh, right, of course. My apologies.” The doctor said almost convincingly. “However I am sure Princess Celestia will do better since Starswirll will be most awake at that hour.” Most agreed with him. Seemed like every pony in the room was so hesitant to go see Luna. Why didn’t they want to? What was it that made them wary of her? “But Doctor, you said yourself that it was urgent.” The nurse said. The doctor was taken back to what she said. Another thing I’ve noticed is that the mares here seem to be a little more… dominate. Out of this entire room, most of the ponies here are female. I know there’s a ratio difference in the present between males and females, but what I’ve seen so far, is only one colt and three grown stallions. The colt is the one from the orphanage and the stallions being the few doctors. “Oh alright, I suppose princess Luna may be able to help us.” He gave in and continued to push the stroller. The nurse gave him a smug look behind his back. He didn’t see it but I did as I looked back. Well, this looks familiar. I saw the castle I was in when I first arrived. I never saw it from the outside, but the structure reminded me of ruins deep in the Everfree Forest. I saw it when I was escaping from Silver and Gray once. I wonder if they’re the same? But as far as I can see, we’re not near a forest. The castle is in an open field. The doctor brought a small team with him. It consisted of himself, two other doctors, one male, and one female, and three more being nurses, all-female. I don’t know why he needed this many. Just one or two more would have been enough. “It is very quiet tonight.” One of the nurses commented. “Well, it is night. That’s what makes it perfect to sleep.” Another remarked. “Quite, girls. We are almost here.” The female doctor, Purple Heart, said. Ahead of us was a bridge crossing a small river. We reached the front doors of the castle. Even though the doors were already large, I still felt so tiny because of my small stature. In front of the doors were two guards clad in purple armor, standing on opposite sides of the doors. They’re wings resembling bat wings. When I looked closer, despite the darkness of the night, I could see their yellow cat-like eyes. They stood out without any light. The group stopped before the guards. One of the night guards cautiously made his or her way over. The guard stopped in front of us and stared directly at me for a few moments before speaking. “What is the reason for your visit?” The guard spoke with a feminine voice. Oh, you’re a girl too. Great “We come to seek an audience with the princess of the night, Luna. But if she is busy then we under-.” “Come along.” The guard interrupted him. She then nodded to her partner, who in turn nodded back before flying over to an open window. The doctor was left stunned. I guess he wasn’t expecting to get in so quickly, or at all. I guess he was hoping that they'd tell us to come back another night. The rest of the medical staff shared similar reactions. They muttered among themselves before stop to the sound of the doors opening. Out stepped two familiar-looking twin maids. They greeted us and told us to follow her. There was a bit of hesitation as my stroller stuttered a bit. As we followed behind I began to notice that no pony was making a sound, besides the sound of their hooves clopping against the floor, not even a whisper. Were they nervous meeting Luna? “How long will we have to wait until we can seek an audience. I am sure Princess Luna is busy with others.” The doctor spoke finally breaking the silence. “There will be no wait. The night court is not as busy as the day court.” The twins spoke in unison. “The princess is expecting you after all.” The twins speaking in sync made the group feel uneasy. I felt the same when I first met them. Even though it was only for a few moments before being taken away to see Luna. “Oh! Er- ahem. So the guards notified her?” The doctor asked. “No, we felt the little colt’s presence closing in.” They said. Now I was uneasy. They acted similarly when I first met them, but I thought it was just an act. Do all unicorns have this ability? To sense another's presence? We were passing the long hallway towards the stars. Everything looked the same. The blue flame on the torches isn’t hard to forget. Once we made it up the stairs the twins stayed behind. They told us to go ahead. The group felt more uneasy as they huddled closer together. I’m glad that I’m in the stroller and not in the group. Up ahead, everypony could see the lone figure sitting in one of the two thrones. Luna was clearly expecting us. She was looking directly at us, or more specifically, me. As we got closer I could feel her fix gaze upon me getting stronger, but it felt strange. It wasn’t hostile but welcoming. We came to a stop. No pony, except me, moved an inch. I moved a little closer to the edge of the stroller so that I could have a better look at Luna. She still looked at me. I guess we stood there looking at each other for a while until Luna remember that there were others. “I welcome thee to the night court. Tis’ now in session. What brings thou?” She spoke. Her voice was a little too loud. This snapped the medical staff back to their senses. The doctor spoke up. “We b-bring you an unusual colt, my p-princess.” His shaky voice was evidence that he was really nervous, or terrified. “What is wrong with the colt?” She asks sounding insulted for some reason. Due to her response, the doctor began to stutter a bit more. “W-well, his sleep s-schedule is not normal for some pony his a-age.” He began to explain. “At first, it is normal for a newborn to sleep long periods of time, and wake up at unconventional hours.” He then turned to me as an excuse to not meet her gaze. “However, this colt has been discovered to be awake during the night and asleep during the day.” He hesitantly turned back to Luna. Luna muttered something to herself, but it was too sot and too far for me to here. She then focused her attention to the doctor. “I doubt t's the only problem.” She said. “Yes, well there's another problem we need assistance with. We also came for the aid of Starswirl.” “Oh? Wherefore does thee need that our teacher?” “The colt, when placed under various testing spells meant for unicorn foals, shows high magical energy that is found usually within a grown experienced unicorn.” “What does thou mean?” “It means if he was a unicorn it would not be much of a problem, in fact, he would be enrolled in Celestia’s school, but he is a pegasus. And also…” The doctor signaled to one of the nurses and I felt another tingle in my spine again. It quickly disappeared soon after it was cast. “Spells, besides levitation, don’t last long on him. No matter how strong they are, they will eventually be repelled. He has an unnatural resistance to magic.” Luna stared at the doctor and then back at me. I feel like she’s not paying much attention to the doctor’s explanations. She just kept her gaze on me most of the time. What is she planning? “If left to any ordinary family, he may be a danger to anypony around him. Which is why we need Starswirl's advice as this is far beyond my capabilities.” “So, what shall befall to the colt, if we bring our teacher?” “Well, I thought that he should fall under the care of Starswirl, or perhaps even princess Celestia. Somepony powerful in magic and experienced.” “OUR SISTER!? WHY DOES EVERYPONY PREFER OUR SISTER OVER US!?” Luna yelled, causing the castle to shake. The group of medical ponies coward behind the stroller I was in. For whatever reason, I wasn’t frightened the slightest. When Celestia yelled the last time I was here, I cried immediately. Now Luna was doing the same, if not, louder than her sister. There was a long silence between the group and Luna until the sound of giggling broke it. It was me who was giggling. I didn’t know why I was giggling, but I was. Before I knew it I was trying to reach for Luna. My short stubby forelegs reaching over the edge of the stroller. NO, STOP IT! Why is my body moving on its own? Luna reacted as if she was touched by my actions. A few tears escaped her eyes. The doctors and nurses, all puzzling to figure out the situations. “It seems that the child has taken a liking to you, princess.” One of the nurses mustered the courage to speak. Luna muttered something inaudible to the rest of us. “Princess?” Another one spoke. “I shall take the child under mine own care.” She said. She got up from her throne. “Thee hath said the colt needed to be placed under the care of somepony powerful in magic. Correct?” “W-well yes. I s-suppose you are most correct.” The doctor said peering out from behind the stroller. He'd forgotten that he wanted to speak with Starswirl. After all, that's why we came here. Due to Luna's outburst, he and the rest of the group, wanted to leave as soon as possible. “Then we art in agreement.” She began walking towards us, or I as the others moved further back with every step she took. “Sister.” A voice called out to Luna. The room suddenly got colder. We all looked over to the source of the voice. The medical staff instantly lighted up when they saw who it was. From the corner of the room was another alicorn. It was non-other than princess Celestia herself. I suddenly grew the urge to jump out of the stroller and run up to Luna. “Trying again, sister Luna?” Celestia spoke. Luna did not answer. She kept making her way towards me. “Sister, you are not ready for-” “SILENCE!” Luna yelled even louder than before. The medical staff hid behind a banner, leaving me behind. Strangely enough, I was still not affected. “I AM READY. THEE, SISTER, WANT TO HOLD US BACK!!!” Luna suddenly got darker. Like her whole body was being covered in some black substance. “Enough!” A new voice appeared. This newcomer came from behind us. When we all looked back, we could see a grey tall unicorn with a long pointy horn with a great white beard and wizard hat and cape. “Have my lessons to you both done nothing?” “O-oh? Master Starswirl?” Celestia said surprised. The white alicorn looked like she wasn’t expecting to see him. I look over at the grey-bearded Unicorn. Was this the Starswirl that Twilight obsessed about so much? “I bethought thee were with the other Pillers,” Celestia asked. “Hm. I was.” He looked over to Luna. “Until I received a letter from your sister. And I say, I am very disappointed in you, Celestia.” “P-pardon? What does thou mean?” “You prevent your sister from having something you had trouble with decades ago. And how do you deal with it?” He asked her right in her face. “By not giving her a chance. Instead, you should be guiding her by avoiding what YOU did wrong.” I got to say, Starswirl can turn the most powerful being in the world feel like a little filly that was caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar before dinner. So far, he’s living up to what I’ve heard. A powerful wise magic-user. I wonder if he can send me home? “If you cannot do this, then how do you expect to become a teacher yourself? A master fails and learns from their own mistakes and then passes down that knowledge to their student.” At this point, Celestia had her head down. Perhaps in shame or respect, who knows. Okay its definitely in shame as I can now see tears rolling down her face. Starswirl lets out a long sigh. “I cannot believe both of you are still having petty fights at this age. The others might need me and I am here looking after two grown mares who still think they are fillies.” “I still do not believe my sister ready.” “CELESTIA!!!” The old unicorn roared, causing the castle to shake again. “Enough. Because of that, I will make this into a task. You will guide your sister through motherhood.” He then looked at me. “It does not look like she has much of a choice now.” What are you talking about? How does she not have a-? OH WHAT THE-? Everypony looked down at me and I found myself up against Luna’s leg. I somehow climbed down from the stroller, walked up to her, WITHOUT me noticing. I don’t even know how that’s possible. “Sister, thee has mine consent.” The white alicorn said before leaving. Starswril just nodded before his horn lid up and teleported to who knows where. Luna picked me up with her magic. “Well if Starswril says so, then we have no objections. So THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME PRINCESS BYE.” The doctor said. In an instant, every last pony left. Only Luna and I were left. The whole castle was seemingly left dead silent. Luna pressed me against her. I’m not going to lie, it felt really cozy and warm. She then brought both of us back to her throne. She sat down and placed me down in front of her so that I was leaning against her front legs. “Servents of the night, cometh here!” Luna called out. At first, nothing happened, only the echo of her voice left bouncing against the walls. Then all of a sudden, the sound of wings flapping could be heard, then multiple legs hitting the floor. Ahead of us was what seemed an entire cluster of guards and maids. All wearing the image of the crescent moon somewhere on their body. Throughout the crowd, I noticed the first maid I meet when I first woke up. She was with the creepy twins. All the guards varied in gender and eye color, but they all shared one thing in common. They were all bat pony hybrids. The maids were a mix of both regular ponies and bat ponies. Another small thing I noticed was that the servants of the night were mostly female. There was a noticeable amount of stallions, but the mares outnumbered them. “Servents, ponies and bat ponies alike, rejoice. A new member of the night hast joined us,” I felt myself being lifted. “I present to thee all, my son, Lunar NIght, prince of the night!!!” Instantly, the entire crowd of ponies and bat ponies bowed down. I felt like that one lion cub at the beginning of a certain movie. Then it hit me: ‘I’m Lunar’. And that means... What have I gotten myself into?