One month passed since Nightwatch found Buttercream. She was getting better at crawling and could already speak by saying one word at a time. He took her out one night to look through the telescope his parents got him for his birthday. The skies were clear, and the stars shone brightly overhead. The moon would be full tonight but would not be up until after Nightwatch’s bedtime.
“See that one, Butter? That one is called Orion!” Nightwatch said as he held his little baby sister in front of the telescope.
Buttercream giggled as she looked through the eyepiece and started speaking.
“O…O…Owion!” Buttercream said, cheerfully.
“That’s right, Butter!”
“She really is a talker now!” Aurora added, cheerfully.
“She really likes this! Maybe she’ll grow up to be a star-gazer like you, buddy!” said Midnight Hue.
“Show her the Big Dipper, Nighty!” Aurora told her son as he began adjusting the telescope again.
“Riiiiight…there! Look Butter, the Big Dipper!”
“Biiiiidippuh!”
“Hehe, close enough.”
“Showing her these constellations is really helping her to grow up, son,” Midnight said as he patted Nightwatch on the shoulder. “Before you know it, she’ll be able to speak full sentences!”
“It’s so great to use my telescope and be with her at the same time,” Nightwatch said as he cuddled up to Buttercream. “I’m so glad you guys got me this. I love looking at the night sky and finding all the stars!”
“We knew this was what you wanted most, sweetie,” Aurora said. “Can you remember your zodiac constellation?”
“Yup! I was born on July 12th so mine is Cancer.”
“Butter was born on the same day so she has the same one! Do you wanna show her Cancer?”
“Good idea, Mom! Here Butter, let’s find it…”
Nightwatch walked back over to his telescope and moved it around until he found the constellation. He allowed Buttercream to crawl over to the eyepiece and start to look through.
“There it is! That’s Cancer, Buttercream!”
“Cansuh!”
“You got it! Say, Mom, Dad, can I ask you guys something?”
“Sure, son. What is it?” Midnight answered as Nightwatch walked to them.
“I know you guys don’t like when I stay up past ten, but can I pleeeease do it tonight? I really wanna show Butter the Mare in the Moon when it comes up over the mountain.”
Midnight and Aurora shared looks and then smiled.
“Alright, Nighty. You can stay up until you’ve seen the full moon.”
“YES! Thank you! Let me go inside real quick to get my book!”
Nightwatch rushed into the house to retrieve a special book about the Mare in the Moon. Aurora and Midnight stayed behind to keep an eye on Buttercream and the telescope. She stayed put to watch some nearby fireflies.
“He’s been happier than I’ve seen him in a while, honey,” Aurora told her husband as she snuggled up beside him.
“It’s because of this little one right here,” Midnight told her while petting Buttercream. “This little dragon has been quite the blessing to our family. She was just what we needed after losing poor Twinkle.”
“I was a little iffy about letting a baby dragon stay here at first, but she’s done well so far. Everyone in town doesn’t seem to mind either. I thought some would be more uneasy with a dragon around, given how poor of relations Equestria has with dragons.”
“Maybe one day the dragons and ponies will get back together again.”
They then heard Nightwatch running back outside. He was using his magic to carry a large book.
“I found it!” he shouted as he quickly placed the book on the ground and opened it up.
“Are you going to tell Butter about the prophecy?” Aurora asked.
“Sure am! Look Butter. See that? That’s the Mare in the Moon.”
Nightwatch pointed to a page that showed a picture of the moon with the shape of an alicorn head in it. On the same page were ancient illustrations of the royal sisters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Buttercream stared in amazement at the book as Nightwatch continued.
“Long ago, Equestria was ruled by two sisters: Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. There was harmony in the land until the younger sister, Luna grew resentful and jealous of her sister and transformed into the wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon! Using her new corrupted magic, she raised the moon and threatened to make the night last forever, so Celestia had no choice but to banish her sister to the moon by using the power of the Elements of Harmony. There is a prophecy that says Nightmare Moon will break free of the moon after one thousand years, and if my calculations are correct, she will return in about ten years on the very night of the Summer Sun Celebration. I always try to tell the kids at school about this, but they laugh at me and say Mare in the Moon is just an old pony’s tale. I believe it though, and when Nightmare Moon does return, someone else will find the Elements of Harmony to break Princess Luna free of the curse.”
Buttercream put her tiny claw on the picture of Princess Luna.
“Woo…Woona,” she said.
“Yup, that’s her. I feel bad for Princess Luna because she just wanted other ponies to love her night, but her anger created Nightmare Moon and Luna didn’t mean to harm anyone. When she comes back and is set free, I want to meet her myself.”
Midnight and Aurora smiled proudly as Nightwatch recited the prophecy to his little sister. They looked at each other, giggling softly at the sight of their son being so educated on the matter and saying how he wanted to meet the princess some day. They then noticed something out of the corner of their eye. The moon began to rise over the hilltop.
“Nighty, it’s time!” said Aurora.
“OH! There it is, Butter! The moon is rising!”
Nightwatch jumped up and turned his telescope around to view the moon. He made some adjustments and then tightened the bolts and lifted Butter to allow her to look into the eyepiece.
“That’s the Mare in the Moon! See how it looks like the head of a unicorn?”
“Ooooh…” Butter said as she observed the moon.
“That’s where Princess Luna is right now. Someday, the moon will return to normal and Nightmare Moon will come back, but we’ll be ready for her!”
Butter started to laugh and wave her arms around, happy to have seen the moon through the telescope. Nightwatch then handed her to Aurora who held her in her arms.
“Alright buddy,” said Midnight. “I think it’s time you two went to bed.”
“Wait…that’s strange.”
“What is it, Sweetie?” asked Aurora.
“It’s…it’s those stars.”
Nightwatch then used his magic to bring his book back to him and looked closer at the paragraph about the prophecy.
“It says here that the stars will aid in her escape…but it doesn’t say which stars. Mom, Dad, I think I just found something!”
“What is it, son?” asked Midnight.
“These four stars have moved to different spots since the last time I saw them: Ari, Hamal, Sheratan, and Mesarthim! They’re moving across the sky on their own! Those must be the stars that will help Nightmare Moon escape! They’re getting closer to the moon with each passing year!”
“Wow, Nighty, great job!” Aurora cheered as Buttercream started to clap.
“I never would have noticed that myself, son! You really are good at this!” Midnight chimed in.
“Hang in there, Princess Luna. You’ll be free someday,” Nightwatch said as he stared up at the four stars and then back to the moon.
He thought deeply as he continued to stare at the moon until he heard his parents both gasp very loudly. He also noticed something had been shining nearby that his parents were clearly reacting to. He turned to look at them both but could not find the source of the shining object. Both of his parents were staring at him and had their jaws hanging wide open. Buttercream appeared very happy and started crawling over to Nightwatch.
“Guys…what’s the matter?” he asked.
“NIGHTY…YOU…YOU JUST GOT YOUR CUTIE MARK!” Aurora squealed.
“WHAT?!”
Nightwatch spun his head back and saw the light had come from his flank. A cutie mark had just appeared with some light still emitting until it finally died out. There was an image of a telescope with several stars and the moon in front of it. His eyes opened wider and the corners of his mouth stretched to form a huge smile.
“MY…MY CUTIE MARK!!”
Nightwatch lost all control and started jumping up and down in circles. He then used his magic to pick up Buttercream and bring her in for a hug. She giggled and hugged him back.
“BUTTER, I DID IT! I GOT MY CUTIE MARK!”
“ALRIGHT, NIGHTY!” shouted Midnight as he came in to join the hug with Aurora by his side.
“OH NIGHTY, WE’RE SO PROUD OF YOU!!” Aurora said with tears in her eyes.
Everyone hugged tightly as Nightwatch yelped with excitement. He could not contain his enthusiasm.
“I can’t believe I got my cutie mark while I was finding out about the stars that will aid in Nightmare Moon’s escape!” he said. “That must mean those really are the stars! The prophecy is true! I can’t believe I figured it out!”
“What a night this has been.” Aurora sighed, contently.
“I’m just glad I let him stay up later like he asked. I guess some rules really are meant to be broken,” Midnight added while laughing.
They all laughed along with him and then rested themselves on the cool grass. After a few moments, the laughing died down, and they sat still, staring at the night sky together.
“Mom, Dad, I think I know what I’m going to do with my life when I get older,” Nightwatch told them. “I’m going to keep studying the stars and become an astronomer, but I also want to practice my magic more. If the Elements of Harmony are what can stop Nightmare Moon and bring back Princess Luna, I want to learn about them.”
“We’ll support you no matter what, Sweetie,” said Aurora as she reached over and nuzzled her son as he yawned. “Well Midnight, in all our excitement, I think we’ve almost forgotten about putting these two in bed.”
“You’re right, Honey,” Midnight replied. “Alright, you two little goobers. Let’s get you to back to…”
Midnight looked over to his kids to see they had both already fallen asleep and were cuddling up to each other. He and his wife sat up and smiled at the little colt and baby dragon. Aurora quietly used her magic to lift them while Midnight took the book and folded up the telescope.
“Sweet dreams, my little ones,” Midnight said, kissing both of them.