//------------------------------// // Heeding the Call // Story: Mare Anguis // by StSebastian //------------------------------// “I Think we should go.” “But we don’t know these people! What if they don’t want us?” “Midnight, we’ve had no place to stay nor family to love besides each other-” “Shade! This isn’t like you. You’ve never so much as looked any-pony else in the eye, and I know this because I’m the same way.” “I know, but maybe it’s time to stop running, or at least try to settle down for a while...” Midnight looked Shade in the eyes and let out a sigh of acceptance. “You’re right; we do need to stop running, or like you said, at least try.” Midnight fell silent. “Shall I inform nurse Carrol of our decision?” Midnight replied with a nod, to which Shade left the room to inform Nurse Carrol that they had reached a conclusion. Not long after Shade returned, Princess Luna entered the room with a warm smile about her face. “Nurse Carrol has told me that you have reached a decision?” Shade began to nod and responded first, “Yes Princess Luna, we have.” “Well then, what have the two of you decided?” Midnight rose up to speak, “We shall accept your generous offer.” Luna’s smile grew a little, and she nodded her head, “I will send a message to the awaiting couple that I have two young ponies in need of a home; I’m sure that they will be delighted to take you in. We should hear back from them within the day, until then Nurse Carrol has generously offered to let you stay.” Shade and Midnight looked at each other with smiles on their faces. Princess Luna Smiled again, “I’m glad that you two are happy with your decision. I will remain here at the hospital as well, and when we hear back that they will take you in, I will travel with you to your new home.” Shade and Midnight hugged each other in joy and Shade turned to speak to Luna, “Thank you Princess Luna!” “Before I go back to my room, I still have a question for the two of you.” “Yes mam?” replied a now curious Midnight. “Why do you fear daylight?” The siblings faces turned to those of fear after feeling safe for so long. “The only reason I ask is because I have stumbled upon a Pegasus with a similar phobia.” “Zephyrus?” Inquired Shade. Princess Luna turned with a curious look. “Yes... I believe that was his name... How did you know?” “Lucky guess I suppose..” Shade smiled weakly. Princess Luna did not let her curiosity subside, but continued anyways, “Well then, I shall return to my room and let you two be." Midnight and Shade gave one last bow to Princess Luna as she exited the room, after Luna left Shade turned to Midnight, “We have to talk.” "Does something trouble you brother?” “Yes... No.... Maybe, I’m not sure.” “What is it?” “I... I Saw it...” “Saw who?” “The nightmare...” Midnight was taken aback by this statement, her knees started to shake and her pupils dilated. “It told me about Zephyrus...” “What? Why?” “I don’t know, but it told me to find him... It said ‘his name is Zephyrus,’” “I Don’t know what to think of all this. The Nightmare frightens me, but at the same time I felt... safe... when I saw it.” Shade gave midnight a much needed hug, “would you like me to fetch us some tea?” Midnight nodded in consent and Shade left the room. Midnight began to cry; a small bead of water rolled off her nose and fell to the floor. It was her sorrow that brought out the darkest shadows in the room; everything seemed to vanish around her. Surrounded in darkness, Midnight couldn’t help but feel comfortable; She had often felt this way recently- that only the shadows held her solace. Suddenly, a beam of light broke through and the shadows started to burn and wither away, receding back into corners, under the bed, and into the closet, “I brought us some tea, they were our of Sugar so I hope a bit of mashed peppermint will do.” Shade walked in, carefully balancing a tray on his back. “Thank you, It will have to do,” yawned Midnight. “Tired?” “A little...” “You don’t look so well, are you feeling okay?” “I can’t say... Lately I can’t help but feel... lost... with this whole ordeal of moving and the nightmare, it feels like the world is collapsing around me,” Midnight got up and carried her tea to the window, where she drew the curtains to look outside. Overcast weather over bustling streets coated in a thin Haze. Ponies walked past one another without so much as a glimpse at one an other, just an ordinary Mane-Hattan Day. “Shade, what do you think Phillydelphia is like?” Shade looked up and began to think. “I’d Imagine something like Mane-Hattan, certainly as crowded.” “What about the couple we might live with?” “I pray they turn out to be as caring as Princess Luna makes them out to be.” “I wonder what they will think about us.” “I wonder about that Zephyrus character, and why we should find him.” “'Find him?' What are you talking about?” Shade immediately realised his error, and hung his head in guilt, “The Nightmare said to me, 'His name is Zephyrus; find him in Phillydelphia.'” Midnight immediately turned to shade, dropping the teacup, “What!? Shade! Is that why you wanted to go to Phillydelphia, because the Nightmare told you to?! Do you actually trust this-this- Apparition?!” Shade hung his head even lower, “Actually, I do.” Upon hearing this Midnight twirled into a panic, and promptly fainted. Shade walked slowly over to Midnight’s unconscious body, picked her up, and carried her over to the bed where he lay her down and tucked her in. “I’m Sorry...” He said as he gently nuzzled her, “I’m sorry...” After pulling the sheet over Midnight, Shade turned and walked to the window to pull the curtains shut. He stopped momentarily to look outside; Parting clouds revealed the darkened red sky over now empty streets. Not a sound. Shade let out a sigh and drew the curtains Shut. Across the Horizon a silent observer watched as one of nature’s beauties took place, the sunset. As it descended it left a fiery sky- truly magnificent; it looked as if the city the sun set behind caught fire. Sunset had quickly become one of Zephyrus’ favorite scenes for two important reasons: The first reason was because it signaled him that he could now take to the skies, the other reason was it’s captivating brilliance. He stood tall on his perch above Phillydelphia, stood atop the highest point for miles, above a civilization that welcomed him with strange looks and condescension. Zephyrus stood so that he could stretch out his wings and feel the embrace of the coming nighttime breeze. When the sun had finally disappeared, Zephyrus leaped into the air, weightless....and free. Midnight had started to stir in bed, and Shade took notice. The sun had come out, signalling shade to close the curtains. He hadn’t slept a wink, simply sat and stared out the window, looking at the city and his reflection, questioning his choices and himself. He turned to find Midnight sitting up and scratching his head. “Feeling better?” “Not exactly...” “Atleast you got some sleep. Princess Luna came by to check on us, and said she would come back again once you woke up.” “Did she say anything about the family in Phillydelphia? Will they take us in?” “No, she said she wanted to tell us both.” “I see.” “Could I get you some breakfast?” “Let’s both go; I’ve been stuck in this room for so long, some exercise wouldn’t hurt.” “Okay, just follow me then. I could use something to eat, too.” Shade led Midnight out of the room in to the central hallway. The hallway was hardly busy; a single custodian pushed her cart to each room to change out the towels, while an electrician walked by with a toolkit on his way to repair a broken speaker at the end of the hall. “This way,” called Shade, Midnight followed him down the hall, left at the floor desk, and into an elevator which they rode to the ground floor. After a few seconds of an overplayed tune the doors opened again and Shade led Midnight around the corner into the Cafeteria. 10:00am appeared slow as only a handful of about two dozen tables had occupants, never more than four people at one table. Despite the absence of ponies, the cafeteria felt rather nice; the windows were tinted to minimize the outside light, between windows hung portraits of different ponies, and to top it all off each table came complete with a vase of assorted colored daffodils. “Here we are, and look- no line!” Shade cheered. “Good timing, I’m starving!” echoed Midnight. The two made their way to the line, made their selections, and proceeded to the register manned by a rather sleepy looking cashier. “Oh hello again Shade, I see you’ve brought your sister this time? How are you feeling dear?” began the Cashier. “Famished! And you miss......?” “Truffles, and I’m doing rather well, thank you for asking.” Truffles rang up the order “That will be 10 Bits please." “Oh! My apologies, I’ve left my money back in the room.... I don’t suppose you can hold our order while I go and get it?” “If you promise to come back with your dues I’ll let you eat first.” “That sounds good, but wait a second. Midnight, you go and find us a seat while I run back to the room.” “Okay, but do hurry back, with as many people as there are I don’t think your seat will be free for long!” giggled Midnight. “Ha-ha, I’ll be sure to hurry then.” chuckled Shade with a warm smile as he trotted off. Midnight struggled to balance both her and Shade’s meals, but then Truffles came around to help. “Allow me sweetie; here - I’ll carry his plate.” “Thank you miss Truffles,” “So you must be Midnight. I apologize if I seem rather droll, I’ve been getting headaches off and on, they’ve been keeping me awake the past few nights.” “It’s okay, I’ve been having fainting spells apparently...” “Ah, yes. Shade mentioned that you had one in front of Princess Luna. Must have been real excited eh?” “Sort of, you could look at it that way” “You’re a lucky one though, you’ve got such a charming young colt to look after you.” “Who Shade? Well he is as caring as they come...” “How long have you two been together? You seem like such a happy young couple.” “What- OH!” Midnight giggled “, we’re not like that; he’s my brother- or at least as close to a brother as possible. We met at such a young age I can barely remember... I was about three and he was four... we’ve been roaming around together ever since.” “So practically siblings I see. Still, you’ve got some-pony and boy is he polite. He’s been in here a few times, always well mannered. He comes in, grabs a quick snack, and leaves with a whole tray of food, which I assume was always for you.” “Yea, that’s definitely him, always putting me before himself." “Ah here he comes now. Well I better let you get to your breakfast.” “Goodbye Miss truffles, see you.... well not sure if we’ll meet again...” “Whys that?” “It depends, we might leave for Phillydelphia soon.” “Ah, in that case: Good luck! I’ve enjoyed our time together, however brief it may have been. Farewell!” Truffles headed back to the register so that Shade could pay for the order. After paying Shade walked over and Sat down with Midnight, who was enjoying a hearty breakfast salad with two slices of toast with jam spread and a cup of Apple Juice. Shade took a bite out of his apple strudel and Sipped from his glass of Orange Juice. Usually neither of them ever eat food such as this, they often find themselves content with a plate of Hay and some water. A few minutes into breakfast Princess Luna stepped through the door and approached the siblings. “I heard that you’ve finally gotten out of your room Midnight, how do you feel now that you’re up and about?” “Much better Princess, but please, have you heard from the family in Phillydelphia?” “As a matter of fact, I have. Are you two ready for their decision?” Both of them nodded Eagerly “They would be delighted to take the two of you in!” “Thank you Princess! We could never be grateful enough!” “Now we must hurry, there’s a storm later tonight and if we want to get to Phillydelphia before it rains we must leave within the hour. Go ahead and finish your breakfast, then gather your belongings and speak to Nurse Carrol when you’re ready.” Both of them replied with a nod and finished their breakfast so they could retrieve their bags. "I can hardly believe that we can finally stop running!" "Likewise, someplace to stay, with a family that just might care..." Midnight turned to Shade with a mixed look, "You're just as frightened as I am?" "More..." The Siblings remained silent as they finished packing. Once done, they followed Princess Luna's Instructions and stopped by the floor desk to Speak with Nurse Carrol. "Could we please speak with Nurse Carrol?" "I'm sorry but there is no Nurse Carrol, " returned the desk clerk. "Excuse me?" Midnight's expression took that of curiosity. "There is no Nurse Carrol... there never has been." "Then who's been taking care of us?" "What room did you stay in?" the clerk turned to her sketchpad "or who signed you in?" "I'm not privy to the room number, but I do believe we were signed in by Princess Luna." "Princess Luna?" the clerk shot them a rather curious glance, "Names please?" "Midnight and Shade" retorted Shade, also curious about these events. "You were assigned room 13-A... the attending nurse," the clerk flipped a page, "Unlisted? Well it seems we have a problem. Did this 'Nurse Carrol' prescribe any medication?" "No mam, she only preformed a checkup on Midnight, and said to rest for a period," Shade replied. "Okay, before we release you we will need contacting information in case we need you to testify in court." "Court? Well..." "Please, allow me to take care of that," Princess Luna approached, with a folder containing several papers, "These papers should suffice. These two are being moved to Fillydelphia, these documents include their new mailing address and all other relative information. Now, as for the missing nurse, alert the authorities and let them handle this." "Yes princess," The clerk took the folder and placed it in a bin, then started towards the utility door. "Wait!" Midnight stopped the nurse, "could you please see to it that Truffles gets our mailing information also? I've had a splendid conversation with her and I would love to continue it." "I beg your pardon? Truffles?" the clerk turned around with a rather curious look. "Truffles, the cashier in the Cafeteria?" "There's no Truffles working in the Cafeteria" "Surely you jest? I spoke to her just moments ago!" The clerk let out a frustrated sigh. "There must be more than one pony impersonating staff then. You said you spoke to her moments ago, so for us to have a chance of catching them I must dispatch security immediately. Excuse me," The clerk immediately turned and went into the staff room. A few seconds later 4 more ponies dressed in uniforms came out the door, followed by the clerk, "Unless you have any more incidences to report, I must help with the search." "That will be all. Thank you for your help, I suppose," Luna dismissed the clerk and turned to Shade and Midnight, "Well, it seems you've caused quite a stir. Shall we depart while the weather still permits us?" Both ponies nodded. "Excellent, this way to the chariot," Luna said with a sort of excitement in her voice. The princess hastily led the siblings down the South hall to a balcony where she stepped out to meet her chariot. The siblings stopped just short of the doorway, hesitant because of sunlight, but reassured by the clouds gathering overhead. Shade shut his Eyes and stepped out to the Chariot, Midnight took one last breath and followed, both drew up their hoods and carried their saddlebags with them.