//------------------------------// // Act III, Chapter 13: Night // Story: Of Starships and Golden Armors // by Devona //------------------------------// It was a cold, dark night. Darkness, that hid beneath the night sky, blanketed the Earth under its heavy, impenetrable shroud. Darkness, that cloaked the whole universe, hidden from view, unseen. The darkness that was not the natural kind; no, it was something more sinister. Something evil. Something terrible. It was the darkness of death, the darkness in the heart of the most malicious of enemies, the darkness that came after all the light, and all the beauty had been extinguished; the darkness that lived after life, after joy, after love. It was not a night of sleep for anyone, not even the most innocent of souls. For everyone, it meant death and fear. For those who loved, it was the end of everything they knew. For those who hated, it brought about destruction. Even though this was only one night, it felt like an eternity to ones who experienced what it meant to live on this godforsaken planet. This planet of life, this planet that has given birth to countless children and lives untold. This planet of stars and moon, and life itself, and yet this same, endless night. Tall buildings, metal and scrap untold, all besieged by the all-encompasing darkness, settling on everything but Luna herself. Everything. A black sky, blacker than the darkest void, blacker than darkness itself. Black, and dark. Darkness, that surrounded her, that consumed her. Dark, dark, dark; a dark so deep it was beyond comparison. So dark that it became shadow itself. A darkness which engulfed her. An abyss that swallowed her up. A shadow of darkness, of a void, and a soul. A shadow that she had grown so used to in ber long days of life... ...a soul. A soul... that was not her own. Was it her soul? Did it belong to someone else? To someone... The void swallowed Luna up, engulfing her completely, devouring her whole, and in the depths of the darkness, she saw the outline of a figure standing tall above her. Panting. A big breath. Suddenly, a myriad of shadows all around. Sitting on the bed, Luna shook her head once and twice. It was all but a dream... a mere nightmare. But she wasn't awake enough yet to tell for sure whether it was real. She felt weak and a little nauseous. Her breathing was erratic and she didn't feel steady at all. How ironic. The Princess of Night, Dreams and all of the Sleep Realm... with a nightmare. One could almost say she could protect everpony but herself... or that with the lost of the dreamscape, she couldn't even protect her own mind anymore. Shaking her head once again, Luna stood up from her bed and approached her cabin's door. Everything was dim, without light, stacks of human books dotting the floor. She had spent the last weeks studying the Republic closely... having now formally requested to go on a "demonstratory flight" to the human realm, and bickered with Celestia to a somewhat satisfying result, Luna was starting to feel nervous. She wanted it. She wanted it all oh so badly, and yet... she'll be further from home than ever before. Still however, her gesture had seemingly done more to mend the feuded sides than all the weeks of Celestia's negotiations... Talk about centuries of experience, Luna huffed under her breath, before pushing the tower door open. The first thing aside from light spilling out that struck Luna as she walked into the gigantic staircase was the sound of dim knocking. Somepony was walking, presumably on the ground floor judging by the sound's apparent origin, and not trying to hide that fact at all. This could only mean it was someone already allowed into the Castle... and by the sound of the steps, it must've been a human. As her thoughts and suspicions began to flood in, Luna hastened her steps. She wanted to reach the bottom of the staircase, to find the source of those footsteps quickly, before the visitor reached anywhere close to her room. The lack of certainty evidently still spawned some paranoia... "We're almost there!" Luna shouted, rushing towards the stairs. What was surely no more than five minutes felt like an hour to the Princess, as she galloped down the steps of the Castle's Tower, even in the middle of the night and through all the thick walls hearing the unstoppable banter of the protesters gathered outside. Soon, as her worried thoughts slowly dissipated, Luna's eyes locked onto a pair of boots in front of her, one wearing them being none other than precisely Stanley. The sight made Luna pause for a second; thinking about it, this was the first time she had seen him in more casual clothing. Shaking her head, the Princess moved forward to meet him, to which the soldier only smiled widely. "Hi there, Luna. Welcome back." The Princess rolled her eyes smugly, before forming a grin of her own, "It has only been a day since we last met, human." Stanley only smirked. "Yes, well, perhaps I like you just a tad more than I realised-" he didn't get to finish as Luna's giant wings enveloped him whole, making the soldier stumble slightly. Soon though, he caught balance again, returning the big, tight hug. "It is good to see you, Lulu. But... I came with news." Luna, stumbling slightly, retracted her head, gazing at Stanley inquisitively. "What news?" "Well... big news," he sighed, sitting on the Castle's floor. "Pack your things. We're leaving tomorrow." Luna's eyes grew wide until a single tear danced down her cheek, falling onto the crystal floor. Suddenly feeling her legs fail, the Princess started collapsing, but managed to catch herself in time to sit properly. "T... tomorrow...?" Suddenly, Luna shook her head a few times, before coughing out of excitement. "Wait... 'we'!?" "Yes indeed," Stanley looked down, ushering a small, chuckling smile. "I've been pardoned. Because of 'how much I matter to the Equestrian representative', I've been allowed to... accompany you. It took some effort, though... but I still have at least basic reeducation to go through on the way," he sighed, looking up at Luna again. The Princess remained silent, looking to the side, almost as if frozen in the very moment. "I'm... grateful, for... for all the effort, we truly are, however... I... we... tomorrow... what of our sister... how..." Stanley rushed to Luna's side, quickly putting a hand on her back. Caressing slowly, he let her head rest freely on his shoulder. "Lulu, I know this is hard, but you'll not be alone... not for a second, not on any day. I promise," he took a short pause, patting Luna a few more times. "We've been temporarily assigned to the Imperio in Unum. From there, we'll take you on a tour around human space, well... as much as the situation allows, at least. Also, you might want to mentally prepare for some diplomatic talks on the way, both you and your sister..." Luna's ears perked up, "Is Celestia coming too?" Even though one of the reasons for the trip had originally been to break free from her sister's clutches for even just a moment, right now, the prospect of one more familiar face felt almost soothing, like a gentle stream of water caressing a newly opened wound. "No," Stanley made her hopes dissipate. "We have ground crews here ready to set up permanent communication." "Oh... yes, that does make sense..." Luna's ears suddenly laid flat on her head, as a single tear rolled down the Princess' indigo cheek. Stanley didn't wait longer to comfort Luna. He held her tightly in his arms, hoping that, just maybe, the gesture could be of at least a little help to the monarch. As several bangs resonated outside the Castle's outside wall, Stanley took the opportunity to change the topic. "So... what are they all about this time, huh?" He asked, referring to the swarms of protesters gathered outside, day and night nowadays, like moths attracted to bright midnight light. Wiping her tears clean, Luna lifted her head. "They think the talk about Griffon spies among our captors is but a ruse conceived to shelter *yourself*." "So... they think humanity captured you?" "Indeed. Along with the Darknights, of course, but they already are hated." "But that doesn't make any..." Stanley started, but trailed off, looking Luna in the eyes. "Why would we do that? And why would you spread rumours potentially harming your international relations?" "To get a casus belli," the Princess simply replied, before looking to the side, defeated. "For an eager mind... nothing can stop them from self-conviction." As the shouts outside increased in strength, drowning out the talk more and more, Stanley and Luna could do little more than hug, holding each other dearly, both hoping for the days soon to come - ones alongside the nightly heavens.