//------------------------------// // An Unanswered Question. // Story: Shadow Sky In a New World // by Shadow Skysito //------------------------------// "So Nightmare night, right?" Shadow asked, hoping for an obvious answer. "¡Yes!, It's one of our favorite holidays, We dress up as monsters and go trick-or-treating at the Ponies' houses." Sweetie Belle answered with great enthusiasm. I see, Nightmare's night has to be the "Halloween" of this dimension. "That sounds fun, do you know what you're going to dress up as?" Shadow asked. "Actually, I was thinking about you and me dressing up in matching costumes." Sweetie Belle answered. "Matching?... do you want us to dress up as the same?" Shadow asked as he blushed a little. "Yes!, It will be fun." Sweetie Belle answered. "Okay... in that case, what will we dress up as?" Shadow asked. "I had planned to dress up as vampires." Sweetie Belle answered. "I like that idea." Shadow said. For a couple of months it became customary for Sweetie Belle to spend time at my house, when she had nothing to do or when she had no activities with the cute mark crusaders. Today is October 29, there are 2 days left until Nightmare night, so Sweetie Belle and I went to the Carousel boutique to ask Rarity to make our costumes. "Wow, so you guys are going to dress up as the same thing?" Rarity asked excitedly. "Yes, we wanted to know if you could help us by making the costumes." Sweetie Belle answered enthusiastically. "But of course, dear, I'd be happy to do it." Rarity answered enthusiastically. "Thank you very much sister!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed happily. Rarity agreed to create our costumes for Nightmare night, Sweetie Belle was very happy about that, that day Sweetie Belle and I ate pizza, it became customary to eat pizza every Wednesday... how ironic. After a calm day I went straight to bed, I spend a lot of the day with Sweetie Belle, sometimes with the cute mark crusaders and other times just the two of us, but I also spend a lot of time reading and formulating theories about the portals between dimensions, but I haven't been able to find absolutely anything. That night I had a dream that reflected a memory, an alley with 3 defeated attackers on the ground, and a woman with her daughter grateful to me, it was that night when everything made sense to me. "Kindness is a virtue that few people possess Ethan, I have always taught you the most important values, Honesty, Generosity, Loyalty, Laughter and above all, Kindness, use the teachings that your grandmother and I have taught you responsibly, become in a man of whom I am proud, son." Those were my mother's words that prompted me to do the right thing that night, I decided to give the only map I had to locate myself in the city to that woman so that she could return safely to her destination... see that woman and her daughter safe made me very happy. The whole dream was just a first-person recapitulation of what had happened that night. "... what would have happened... if I hadn't given him my map?..." I asked myself as I remembered how perfectly she looked. An aspect of gratitude and happiness, I could never forget that woman's face... that map was the reason why I decided to give more than I receive, after all... you always get back double what you offer ...that teaching was always told to me by my grandmother. "Wow, that's a very interesting memory." Princess Luna said. "Uh?... Princess Luna?, How long have you been watching?" Shadow asked alarmed. "From the beginning, I was very eager to see you again, I entered your dream as soon as I saw that you began to dream, but I thought it was inappropriate to interrupt the memory." Luna answered. "But... how do you know it's a memory?" I asked confused. "I have the ability to identify between a dream and a memory, it is part of my job as princess of the night." Luna answered. "I see... and why were you so anxious?" I ask again. "Because I found another volume of the book series I was giving you." Luna answered. "Great, thank you very much princess!" I replied gratefully. "You're welcome Shadow... can we change the location? This alley is scary." The princess said. "Oh, right, let's see... this landscape is much better." I said as I modified my own dream to change the scenery. "... Shadow, what was that memory?... what happened that night?" Luna asked as she sat on the grass, enjoying the breeze of air that my mental capacity could offer thanks to my own memories. "...in that alley I decided to do the right thing..." I answered calmly. "The right thing?..." Luna asked confused. "Yes... you saw the whole memory, right?, You saw the 3 men who were lying on the ground?, You saw the woman who was holding her daughter in her arms?" Shadow asked determinedly. "Yes, it was a somewhat confusing scene." Luna answered. "That woman was about to be attacked by those 3 men, I arrived before it was too late." Shadow said. "And that's why the three of them were on the ground unconscious." Say the Princess Luna. "That's how it is." Shadow confirmed. "But I still don't understand, here you decided to do the right thing, save the woman and her daughter?" Luna asked. "That was also a good deed, but that's not what I meant." Shadow answered. "So what did you mean?" Luna asked. "To the decision I made after defeating those men." Shadow answered as he changed the scene again. This time Shadow would show Luna what exactly happened, a compilation of the memory began to play like a movie, until it was time to decide if Ethan would give the map to the woman or not. "You decided to give the map to the helpless woman, even though you would be disoriented, risking your own life." Luna explained. "That's how it is." Shadow confirmed. "... wow, you were only 11 years old... how did you make such a kind decision?" Luna asked. "... thanks to a phrase that my mother instilled in me a long time ago, 'Kindness is a virtue that few people possess, I have always taught you the most important values, Honesty, Generosity, Loyalty, Laughter and above all, Kindness "Become a man I'm proud of,' that's what he told me." Shadow explained. "... wow, your mother was very wise Shadow...it was a good teaching." Princess Luna said. "I know... it's a teaching I use in my life... I promised him that same night that I would become a man he would be proud of... I hope he listened to me." Shadow answered a little downcast. Luna had seen the whole memory, how it had been that Shadow had become a child full of brightness and goodness... but a question that Shadow had a moment ago resonated with her. "What would have happened if Shadow hadn't given the map to that woman?" Princess Luna asked herself. That question will not have an answer... until the not too distant future. "It's time to go Shadow, I left the book where he always left them, thank you for sharing that memory with me." Luna said as she opened a door in the middle of nowhere to return to the realm of dreams. "You're welcome princess." Shadow answered as he said goodbye to Luna. Luna said goodbye happily and closed the door she had opened in Shadow's dream, causing Shadow to wake up at 7 in the morning. "... it's true, time passes differently in dreams...I don't feel like I've really rested." Shadow thought very sleepily. ~At the same time in Canterlot~ "Honesty, Generosity, Loyalty, Laughter and Kindness... are the elements of harmony, Shadow used kindness to make the right decision, even if it meant his own life... I can't deny that he distrusted Shadow... But I don't know what to think right now, it's confirmed that what I saw was a memory... so Shadow is not an enemy, despite having one of the most powerful magic, it's nice to know that someone so powerful is our ally." Princess Luna thought, a little more relieved. "Luna, are you awake?" Princess Celestia asked as she opened the door to her sister's room. "Yes, I'm awake, what do you need?" Luna asked. "I wanted to make a recommendation." Celestia said. "Recommendation? What kind of recommendation?" Luna asked confused. "I wanted you to go to Ponyville tomorrow, tomorrow is the celebration of Nightmare Night... I think that celebration no longer makes sense, after all there is no longer Nightmare Moon." Celestia explained. "Yes, I think it's a little offensive." Luna answered. "That's what I wanted to get at, I know it may be a little offensive to you, that's why I want you to go tomorrow, so you can see with your own eyes that it is a fun holiday." Celestia said. "I guess that makes sense, but why Ponyville?" Luna asked. "There lives Twilight... you know... the one who defeated you..." Celestia said without measuring her words. "Anyway, I was hoping she could give you a tour of the town." Celestia said. "I see, I guess it's okay, I'm going to see how much times have changed since my... exile..." Luna answered awkwardly. The atmosphere became uncomfortable out of nowhere. ~ Hours later in Ponyville ~ "Wow, these costumes are incredible Rarity, thank you very much." Sweetie Belle said very happily. "You're welcome dear, I was very excited, plus it wasn't that difficult to create." Rarity answered proudly. Time passes very quickly lately, it has become my daily life, apart from my research nothing else has been interesting. It's finally October 31, the Nightmare night celebration started at 8 pm, the whole town was decorated with a scary theme, all the ponies were wearing costumes of all kinds, I had never experienced Halloween, Where I lived, the Day of the Dead was celebrated, a day in which the people of my country celebrated our deceased relatives. This Halloween or Nightmare night is still very strange to me. "They look incredible!" Rarity exclaimed, marveling at Sweetie Belle and Shadow's costumes. We were wearing a cape with pointed edges, fake teeth and a little makeup so that we could look a little paler, they combed our hair with the pompadour completely tied up thanks to the gel that Rarity lent us. "Yes, the costumes and makeup are incredible, thank you very much Rarity." Shadow exclaimed gratefully. Everything was ready, all that was left was to enjoy Nightmare's night, get candys from the houses, play in the games at the town fair, etc., until the voice of a mare demanded praise. "What the hell is going on here, and why is everyone bowing their heads?" Shadow asked confused. "Bow your head!" Sweetie Belle said as she ducked Shadow's head quickly. "What happen?" Shadow whispered. "N-n-nightmare Moon is here." Sweetie Belle said scared. "Nightmare Moon?... you mean Princess Luna?" Shadow asked as he raised his head to look for Princess Luna. Princess Luna was talking to Twilight when Shadow raised his head. "Damn, that's right, Luna never made a formal appearance when she was defeated, it was Celestia who came to town to apologize, that must be the reason why they are so afraid." Shadow thought upset. This particular situation was conflicting for Shadow Sky, he knows Princess Luna better than any pony in the town, Shadow wanted the ponies in the town to see that Luna is not the same Nightmare Moon from the past. "Princess Luna, what's wrong?" Shadow asked confused. Shadow had approached Princess Luna while everyone had their heads bowed in reverence. "Oh, Shadow, I'm just having a little problem with the welcome of the town's peasants..." Luna answered irritably. "... Luna, I'm a peasant too..." Shadow said a little offended. "But the expression peasant is not bad at all... right?" Luna asked confused. "Nowadays it's a bit offensive, and the term peasant is no longer used, maybe that's why you're having problems with the welcome." Shadow explained. Everyone around them was confused, they didn't know how it was possible that a foal was having a casual conversation with the evil NightmareMoon. "You also shouted a moment ago, that's not done nowadays." Shadow said somewhat confused. "But that's how my sister and I introduced ourselves a thousand... years ago... oh." Luna said somewhat embarrassed. "Princess Luna, welcome." Twilight said as she walked over to where Shadow and Luna were. "Well, at least someone welcomes me properly." Luna said stressed. "Shadow?...what are you doing here?" Twilight asked confused. "I was just welcoming Princess Luna." Shadow answered. "More than the welcome it seemed like a scolding." Luna interrupted. "If you come to town demanding praise, what do you think I'm going to say?, You have to control the volume of your voice, Luna." Shadow said irritably. Twilight could only observe in amazement the relationship that Shadow and Princess Luna had, it seemed to be a friendship, Twilight did not know that Luna had already known Shadow for a long time before. "Shadow, have you already met Princess Luna?" Twilight asked upset. "Well... just a little..." Shadow answered, somewhat upset, it was dangerous for Twilight to know anything about the investigations that Shadow was doing. "Shit, I've never told Luna that she should keep my discoveries a secret, I need to do something before-" Shadow thought before Luna took control of the conversation. "Don't worry about that Twilight Sparkle, Shadow Sky and I met on the field trip he had to Canterlot with his school group, Shadow got lost and I ran into him by chance." Luna said with a very believable lie. "... I see... in that case, let me give you a tour of PonyVille princess, I'll help you make a good first impression." Twilight said more calmly. "I would love that, thank you." Luna said gratefully. "But Shadow was in village when the excursion took place, we found him injured and almost lifeless when the whole Discord problem happened... the excursion was that day... right?" Twilight thought very confused. Twilight's calmness was false, she was not very well aware of the excursion they had at school, but Rarity had talked about it once, but now she was confused, her inner voice told her that there was no reason for Princess Luna tell her a lie about that. "That was close...thank you princess." Shadow thought relieved. Princess Luna and Twilight had already left, little by little the ponies of the town returned to disperse and go about their own business. "Shadow, do you know Princess Luna?!" Sweetie Belle asked excitedly. "... just a few minutes ago you were terrified." Shadow said. "Well, yes, but she is still a princess, and the second ruler of all of Equestria." Sweetie Belle answered. "Sweetie Belle...that's a little hypocritical." Shadow answered with a frown. "I know, but...she's still a princess." Sweetie Belle said with an innocent smile. "... okay, we better go trick-or-treating." Shadow said. "Answer my question." Sweetie Belle said. "Princess Luna has visited me in my dreams from time to time, she can travel between dreams wise?" Shadow explained. "Really?!, that's incredible!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "Yes, it's quite incredible." Shadow said. Sweetie Belle was genuinely excited. "Aren't you worried about Princess Luna?" Sweetie Belle asked. "...nah, Twilight will know how to help her properly, let's have fun, I want to catch apples with my mouth." Shadow said happily. "Derpy emptied the pool of apples just now." Sweetie Belle said. "... damn..." Shadow said a little frustrated.