//------------------------------// // You Will Hear My Voice // Story: Mare Anguis // by StSebastian //------------------------------// Underneath a storming night sky on the streets of downtown ManeHattan, a single cloaked and hooded equine with mounted saddlebags galloped through the streets, passing by both beggars and citizens, greeting with only a flick of the tail. Upon rounding a corner, the clouds parted to shed a moment of moonlight, revealing our mysterious traveler. Under the moonlight the pony took pause to catch its breath and let down the hood. A mare. The light shone so that her coat, as smooth and blue and beautiful as the night sky above her, began to glisten, and her suave black mane could bathe in moonlight. One last peculiar feature stood out amongst the dark: her eyes shone sapphire blue in the dark. The moon revealed our equine, Midnight, a younger unicorn who for her whole life remained a mystery, embracing the shadows as her home and few a pony for her solace. No records indicated that she had a family and she had formerly lived under the care of an old widow, and even now that widow has seemed to all but cease to exist. She only truly felt loved under the embrace of her beloved moon. As soon as the moon would give her comfort, the clouds would cast a shroud over head. Once again Midnight would retreat under the cover of her hood and resume her travels through the rain coated streets. At the conclusion of a near marathon, Midnight finally slowed to a stop outside a small town-home belonging to a long relocated mare both whose face and name removed from local knowledge. The front door was precursed by a short staircase, either side of the door decorated by elaborate and weathered stone masonry. Slowly, Midnight put one hoof in front of the other and climbed the steps, proceeding to knock on the door. A stallion not much darker than herself answered the door: Shade, Midnight's older brother. Midnight and Shade, siblings through acquaintance, did not in fact share a mother or father, but found each other at the ages of 3 and 4 (Midnight being the younger), and have since then traveled and lived as the closest of friends. Shade shared many attributes with Midnight, including a darker complexion of the coat and overwhelming discomfort under any light not shone from the moon. Midnight stepped shakily through the door, cold and soaking wet from the night's tears. Inside of the old townhouse one could find several Paintings of the Previous Tenant, pictures from the youngest age to her adulthood, wedding pictures and some from her adventures, all carefully placed throughout the hallways and bedrooms, and finally a single massive portrait over the den's fireplace. The main stairway to the second floor had suffered such atrophy that it could no longer fulfill its purpose, but the auxiliary staircase, used for moving furniture, had maintained throughout the years, alas the relocated tenants had locked the door and misplaced the key… "Hello Shade, the end of night draws near and I stand before you, weary from my journey, but while day approaches there remains one last act before I can finally rest; come, I have something to tell you," spoke Midnight, at the brink collapse. The two young ponies made their way into the den, Midnight set down her saddlebags on the table while Shade lit a dim burning candle and opened the nearby closet to retrieve a towel for his sister, who began to speak: "I made an unforeseen encounter upon returning from the grocer, a pair of old mares speaking in the alley on fifth street mentioned my name and yours, but took notice of me turned their heads away..." "Perhaps they were talking about a certain "Shade" of "Midnight", like a color?" Shade inquired with a Blush. "I don't think so, because as soon as I passed them in the alley they ceased to speak, like they knew I was listening..." "Sister you are tired, please get some rest, Let us speak of this tomorrow night? You have had a long journey and I fear you may catch-" "Please wait, I have more to tell! Once I left the alley the old mares began to follow me, after two blocks I was so scared I had nothing in my mind except to sprint! So I did, and I pray that I lost them, the thought of anybody finding our home is unbearable..." At the mentioning of this Shade stood up and dashed to the boarded up window to look outside through the cracks and find nothing. "If they had followed you, then it appears you may have indeed lost them because I can't see any-pony outside." Dawn began to break through the clouds and Shade drew the curtains to preserve what little darkness was left in the house, and retreated back to ask once more if she would rest, but alas, she had already drifted off into her sleep. He then retrieved a blanket for Midnight and himself, and lay at her side so he too could rest. The Siblings had long since grown to be the best of friends, trusting only each other, and watching out for one another. Their relationship had grown strong of late; the city of ManeHattan passed a bill allowing the demolition of abandoned homes to erect new department stores. Shade and Midnight have now twice woken up to the sound of machinery, and once when a demolitions-pony found them while he was setting explosives. That time they had been extremely lucky, the demolitions team had already triggered the explosives, and went inside to inspect the blasting caps when they found the two sleeping inside. Now, slowly but surely, all the empty buildings they could try and call home were being torn down, shortening the list of places that the siblings could rest and not worry about abduction on the streets or in some dark alleyway. The home they now resided in had lasted the longest, and while they hoped it would stay that way, emigration was now inevitable. Midnight opened her eyes, met with the absence of Shade, and stumbled to her hooves to search for him, but stopped when she noticed the shadow of a tall equine before her. Atop the mysterious figures head stood a horn, and on its back resided outstretched wings; her guest was an Alicorn. Maintaining her silence, Midnight carefully stood upright to better see the intruder. There was a silhouette in the doorway, behind it Midnight could see daylight reaching towards her, but held back by the doorway so that the sunlight could just barely touch her hoof. The light around the intruder appeared to flow, being repelled by the shadowy figure. “Please, who are you and where is my brother?” stammered Midnight. The figure remained motionless and speechless; after a moment Midnight gathered her strength and began to move, when suddenly- “Do not move.” At those three simple words Midnight felt petrified, and began to speak again so that the shadows could interrupt her. “Do not speak.” The intruder took one step inside, and a pair of glowing azure eyes appeared, staring at Midnight. The figure stepped through the doorway, and the door closed behind it, revealing the figure of a large mare that blended into the shadows, as if lacking any true form. “It does not surprise me that you cannot remember who I am, and it was to be expected considering the circumstances under which I created you.” Spoke the shadows; picking up on Midnight’s fear, “I see you have retained a fear of sunlight, as have all the others.” “Others?” pondered Midnight silently to herself. “Yes, Others.” “How did you-?” “I created you, thus everything you are comes from me. I can see everything you do, as may I feel, hear, and however else perceive.” “But who are you?” “That is a question that for another time, what you should be asking is who are you?” Midnight suddenly awoke, next to her sleeping brother. The thoughts of what she had just witnessed terrified her, and she held her brother close, as the voices from her dreams echoed into reality. “Keep him close, because once you have found the others, you will need each other more than anything...” Shade started to stir and awaken, and Midnight told him what she had seen and spared no detail. “It sounds like a dream I wouldn’t want either,” Shade spoke to comfort Midnight “a rather horrifying nightmare” “That’s just it, the mare! She was a nightmare!” "She?" "She sounded like a mare" “You are aware that the tales of Nightmares are only Tales, right?” “And if they're more than just tales?” “The thought of them being real terrifies me enough, any pony with that much magic is powerful- not just powerful, but Dangerous” "Indeed, but there's still the question: why would I see one in my dreams?" "A question I would rather not have answers to, let's talk about something else..." The siblings moved into the dining room and unpacked the saddlebags from the night before, Shade drew out their food: some hay and a pair of apples. Midnight and Shade spoke throughout their meal and through the final moments of the afternoon, but stopped when they came to the vital topic of Midnight's mysterious followers from last night. "If they really did follow you, the safety of our residence may be compromised" Under the cover of hood and Darkness, Midnight and Shade wandered their way through Manehattan, without any direction, and still the haunting words of a shadow echoing in Midnight's mind. While the night gave them some comfort, the foreboding thought of somepony or something following them kept them on edge. Overhead no clouds interrupted the night sky, leaving a full and astounding harvest moon painted in a magnificent shade of gold. Midnight and Shade paused to look up at the sound of wings. A Carriage pulled by four dark Pegasi made its way across the horizon with a single passenger. "It's Princess Luna!" "What could she be doing out at this hour?" "She raises the moon at night; she's probably just enjoying the scenery" "Are they coming towards us?" Indeed the carriage had begun to turn and descend towards the two siblings, who proceeded to step back. The quartet of pegasi began to slow and touch down on the street, once completely halted princess Luna stepped down and approached Midnight and Shade. "It surprises me to find ponies out at this hour, and it pleases me as well. May I ask your names?" "M-My name is Midnight" "And mine Sh-Shade" Both Shade and Midnight removed their hoods and began to bow, displaying their magnificent coats under full moonlight. Under the yellow light and in the breeze Shade's Mane began to flow with elegance, and Midnight's black coat shone in a near luminescent blue. "Such magnificent ponies, the moon truly does shine upon you two with all its beauty, but please do not bow; I am a princess not a dictator. A simple greeting was more than enough. Now I must ask, what is it that you two are out here at this hour? Ponies as young as yourselves should be getting their rest." They both stood back up on their now shaking legs, but neither could work up the courage to speak and Midnight slowly brought one hoof back and Shade began to do the same. "Now don't be afraid; you are in no trouble, I am simply concerned that a young stallion and mare may be in harm’s way. Please, what could possibly be keeping you out at a time like this?" Once again, neither of the two could speak, and neither could bear to look Luna in the face, until Shade finally tried to speak: "Please your majesty, we are..." "Yes? You are what?" The same thoughts raced through both of their minds, what if the figure from Midnight's dream was actually Luna? Luna began to take a step forward and lower herself so she came to eye level with the two of them. Midnight began to tremble and promptly fainted. "Midnight? Midnight? Please wake up sister," Shade's pleas found their way to Midnight in her slumber. Midnight's eye slowly began to open, and she was torn to find nobody with her. She sat up and found herself in a bed in some strange room, decorated with pictures of Equestria, the South East corner hinged a door leading to a bathroom; the opposite corner had a single closed door. Then it finally struck Midnight, a single window on the West wall revealed the red evening sun shining upon her, a sight to which Midnight gasped in terror. She leapt out of bed, and bolted for the door, but to her dismay, the door would not open. The sound of approaching hoof-beat drove her to run for the opposite corner and try her best to hide from the sunlight. The door opened inward and Shade looked inside to see the curtains drawn, a matter which he immediately corrected so that he may check on his sister. "Shade!" "Midnight?" Midnight pounced on Shade, knocking him over as well as giving him a hug. A second pony stepped through the door, a nurse carrying a tray. The tray had a veritable array of lunch items, such as apples, hay fries, a bowl of salad, and a pitcher of orange juice accompanied by a drinking glass with ice, all complete with a vase of tulips on the side. "Courtesy of the hospital mam" "Thank you nurse... erm" "Carrol, Nurse Carrol sir." "Thank you nurse Carrol." "If there's anything else I can do for you please feel free to let me know, I'll be just down the hall." "We will." Nurse Carrol left the tray on the nightstand next to the bed for Midnight, and exited the room. "Shade, what happened? I can’t remember a thing..." "You fainted in front of Princess Luna, and she insisted on taking you to the hospital." "Did you tell her about my dream?" "No, I said that we were just lost and trying to find our way home when she found us." "Did you tell her anything else?" "Well..." Princess Luna walked through the door with one of her Guards, the two spoke quietly to each other. After a moment Princess Luna dismissed the guard and turned to speak to Midnight and Shade. "Actually, I wanted to hear more of what you both had to say. I saw you two trotting along from the moment you left old Mrs. Tailor's house. You were clearly not lost and you definitely had a place to stay, so why were you out so late?" Midnight looked at Luna and then at Shade, and turned back to Luna to confess: "We think there was some pony looking for us, the night before two Mares were following me while I was on my way home..." Luna moved to open the curtains when Shade stopped her: "Please, leave the curtains Princess..." Luna gave Shade a somewhat curious look, and refrained from drawing the curtains, and allowed Midnight to continue. "...We were staying in the old house because - well, nobody lived there, it was abandoned and we needed a place to stay. The front door was unlocked when we first came by so we decided to stay there." "So you don't have a true place to call home, no family?" "No mam, just each other to look out for." Luna began to frown, empathetic for the two nomads. In the same moment another set of hooves made their way to the room, and the door opened revealing Princess Celestia. At the sight of Celestia Midnight began to feel sickly, as did Shade. "Luna my sister, you asked to see me?" "I found these two out in the middle of night, they don't have a home and they believe some pony may have been shadowing them. Before now they had been living in an old abandoned house in ManeHattan" "Homeless?" "And no family either" "An experience no equine should have to endure, it hurts me to hear of such a life," Celestia turned to Midnight and Shade "What happened to your families?" It then struck Celestia that Midnight had started to shake, but Shade could still answer, and so he did: "Neither of us has ever actually had a family. Midnight was raised by a Widow, but I can't remember much of how I grew up, only an old gray Mare." Celestia whispered something into Luna's ear, and then turned back to Shade and Midnight. "Please excuse us; we have some things to discuss in private." Luna followed Celestia out into the hallway where they would discuss sensitive topics. "Shade, you said you remember an Old gray Mare?" "Yes, but only vaguely," "Did she have a pale complexion and a white mane?" "From what I recall, she did." "Hazel eyes?" "I think so, why?" "Because, that's the same widow who raised me." Celestia and Luna entered the room with assured looks on their faces, Midnight, however, did not share the enthusiasm. Celestia began: "Luna and I have been talking, and we both agree that two young ponies, such as yourselves, should not have to live without a true home and family." "We have deliberated, and decided on a place for you to stay: We know of a family in Fillydelphia who might have interest in caring for the two of you." "I've already prepared a messenger to see if they would still willingly adopt you and we can expect to hear back from them within the next two days if we send him now." "That is, if you are willing to stay with them. What do you think?" Midnight and Shade exchanged uncertain looks, to which Luna assured them "If you would like some time to think about it, just say so; this is a big decision to take on with only a moment to think about it." Midnight replied with a grateful nod "That would seem best, thank you." Celestia smiled "Then we shall let you two think. Call upon Nurse Carrol and she will deliver your decision to Luna; I must be leaving, there are matters in Canterlot that need tending to and mail to sort." Luna chimed in, "But I will stay here in the hospital until you have reached a decision, to which you have all the time in the world for." Luna peeked through the curtains, and began to stare, as night had risen and the Moon was out. Shade came as well, and drew open the curtains for his younger sister, and the two of them relished in the comfort of moonlight. Celestia spoke: “Time sure has its way of getting ahead of us. What do you say you sleep over the choices we’ve offered you?” To which both Shade and Midnight answered with a nod, and Celestia and Luna departed with a cheerful “Farewell” and “Until morning.” Shade opened his eyes to the sight of his Dark alleyway, which he and a congregation of mice occupied. Every night Shade would rise to his feet and search for food among the refuse of households closed to the likes of him. This night held a surprise, a lone mare started down the alleyway towards the box Shade called home. She took one last step towards Shade, who had backed himself into a corner, when her Lip’s began to move: “Awake, my young colt. Open your eyes.” And so he did. Beside him lie Midnight, sound asleep, a sight that comforted Shade until the silence broke. “Muster your strength young colt, steel your mind, and hold your sister close. The time has come; together you must seek out the others.” Shade realized all around him the light had begun to vanish, and the shadows swelled around him and midnight. He tried to speak, but his mouth held no voice; he tried to wake Midnight, but she only stirred. A pair of red eyes appeared in the shadows, locked with Shade’s and the voice began again. “His Name is Zephyrus; you will know him when you see him… Find him in Phillydelphia.” With those last words the darkness receded, and moonlight spilled into the room. Unsure of what to think, and too terrified to even speak, Shade lay back down, to catch what little sleep he could.