//------------------------------// // New Identity (Edited 3/4/16) // Story: The Prince of the Night // by keaton-furman-prower //------------------------------// “Well, you can’t say I didn’t warn you.” Luna cast an angry glare at Celestia. “Oh, it must be so amusing for you, sister. After all, you didn’t just get transformed into a stallion!” “Luna-” “Look at me, Celestia! Do I look like your sister? Do I look like anypony’s sister?!” “No, but-” “The Mare in the Moon! That’s what the legend says! Not The Stallion in the Moon! The Mare in the Moon! And everypony knows how Princess Luna came back after her banishment to the moon! Not him, her! I’m supposed to be a mare, not a stallion!” Celestia and Twilight watched as Luna began to take deep breaths after the angry rant. They looked at each other with concerned looks, then back towards Luna. “And don’t tell me I have to use the stallion’s bathroom now?” Celestia suddenly uttered a snort, catching Twilight and Luna’s attention. The two ponies turned to look at the solar monarch with questioning looks. “Sorry,” she said. “But you probably will have to go there, since you probably have… well…” Celestia couldn’t hold herself any longer. She fell to the ground and began laughing hysterically. As she did so, Luna became painfully aware of a certain extra weight right between the hind legs. “Somepony please kill me now.” “Now hold on,” said Twilight. “Maybe we can reverse the spell. I know a few fail-safe spells which might be able to return you to normal.” “They won't work on ancient forms of magic,” said Luna. “I've investigated the possibility of doing so, and it turns out that this form of magic is incompatible with modern fail-safe magic.” “Well, uh, we can, well,” Twilight stammered, trying to find a way to cheer Luna up. “What if we simply performed the spell again? Do you think it would work?” “Probably,” Luna said unhappily. “Unfortunately, that was the only batch of Lunar Juice. I'd have to procure more gemstones and liquid rainbow, and then we'd have to wait another seven months for it to mature.” “Oh. Well, seven months isn’t that long, right?” Luna groaned in frustration. Twilight’s efforts to lighten the mood were not being particularly effective. However, Celestia stroked her chin, thinking deeply about what to do with her gender-flipped sibling. “Well, seven months is plenty of time to get to know some ponies, isn't it?” “What do you mean by that?” asked Twilight. “Oh. Yeah. I promised that once we were done with the spell, I'd try to make some friends,” said Luna. “Which, given my current situation, seems to be a really bad idea.” “Luna, you need to see the positive side of things,” Celestia said, doing her best to cheer up her unfortunate sibling. “When you were a mare, everypony knew who you are, and so they'd treat you like the princess you were. While this may have been fine for servants and guards, no regular pony would have been able to have a casual talk with you. Now, no one will realize you're actually Luna!” “Oh, I get it,” Luna said with a voice full of sarcasm. “A male lunar alicorn must be so much more inconspicuous than a female one, right?” “Oh, don't worry,” said Celestia, winking. “I think I have a plan. “So I'm supposed to wear this sweater-thing wherever I go?” asked Luna. About an hour after the unexpected result of the spell, Luna's usual tiara, shoes, and necklace had been exchanged for a simple blue hoodie. It had only taken a few brief minutes to put each one on, but Celestia had also spent a long time explaining the various enchantments placed upon the new clothing. First of all, the hoodie had a dimensional storage spell which allowed Luna's wings to fit into it easily without any noticeable bulge. Secondly, it caused the mane to lose its transparency and flow, making it look like a normal mane. Finally, to help the aforementioned illusion, it had a perception displacement spell, which would draw attention away from the fact that it was Luna who was wearing them. “The only way anypony could realize that you look like Luna would be if they were deliberately looking for a stallion that resembled Luna,” explained Celestia. “I’m not Luna, anymore,” the blue alicorn said. “Luna is a mare. I’m… I- I don’t know who I am. I’m nopony!” “Well, we’d better fix that, because ‘nopony’ is a pretty bad name!” Luna groaned at Twilight’s attempt at humor. “Well, if someone needs me, I’ll be sulking around in my room.” With that, Luna vanished from the room in a flash of light. “Well, someone's touchy tonight,” said Twilight. “Twilight, you shouldn’t be so hard on Luna,” said Celestia. “She’s just been through what must be a pretty shocking experience, and it’s going to take some time for her to adjust.” “Yes, you’re right,” said Twilight. “I should probably go check to see if Luna’s okay.” “While you’re at it, I suggest that you help Luna out,” said Celestia. “Maybe you could help her find a good name. If you wish, I will send something for you to eat.” “That sounds nice, Princess,” Twilight said as she made her way out of the room. As the moon rose in the sky, Twilight and Luna munched on the daisy sandwiches Celestia had sent to Luna's room. After almost an hour of suggesting various names, Twilight was starting to feel exhausted. “Okay. How about Moondancer?” she asked for what felt like the millionth time. “Female.” “Sparkler?” “Female.” “Starburst?” “Female.” “Artemis?” “You know, I’m starting to notice a pattern here,” deadpanned Luna. “Ugh! You are so difficult!” Luna turned away from the frustrated unicorn, and, out of boredom, began to levitate a random book that had fallen from the bookshelf during the transportation spell. Twilight took notice as the dark blue stallion began to flip through a few pages. “What's that book about?” she asked. “Supernatural monsters,” said Luna. “Vampires, zombies, humans, wolf-ponies-” “Wolf-ponies?” said Twilight, her curiosity piqued. While it was true that she had never quite believed in the supernatural, she had, at some point in her youth, had a deep fascination with stories about fantastic creatures, even if she’d given up on them sometime during her teens. Indeed, as she began to remember her teen years, an idea made its way into her head. “Lucian!” Luna looked up from her book, confused by Twilight's sudden outburst. “Come again?” “Lucian!” said Twilight. “It's the name of a wolf-pony in a story I read when I was little. He was a wolf-pony who fell in love with a vampire. Unfortunately, their love was forbidden, so the girl’s father, the vampire king, condemned them both to death and-” “Death?! By her own father?! What sort of stories did you read when you were younger?!” “No, no, it's all right, they managed to escape,” said Twilight. “But now that I think of it, Lucian is a great name!” “Lucian?!” scoffed Luna. “Seriously?” “Oh, come on, it's perfect! It sounds similar to Luna, and it comes from a wolf-pony, who turns into his wolf-form under the light of the moon. So really, what's not to like?” “I think it’s silly.” Twilight rolled her eyes in annoyance. “You know, if you don't want my help, you just have to ask.” “Thanks for your concern,” Luna said sarcastically while throwing the book back towards the bookshelf. “Sure, whatever you say, Luna. Oh, sorry, I mean Nopony.” As Luna growled at her, Twilight groaned in frustration as she pushed the last of her sandwich down her throat. Then, her eyes gleamed with inspiration, as Rarity's did whenever she had a brilliant idea. “Oh! Dusk Shine!” If anything could have shocked Luna, it was that name. The lunar alicorn jolted straight up. “What... did you say?” “Dusk Shine!” said Twilight. “You see, it's similar to my name, 'Twilight', because Dusk refers to the moment when the sun is setting, so it's like the border between day and night! Since you haven't taken any night-based names- or Lucian- maybe a name that comes from both day and night would-” “No!” Twilight winced at the sudden outburst, and then turned towards Lucian in shock. “L-Luna?” asked Twilight. “I- No. I can't. Not that name.” “Luna, whatever is wrong, I'm very sorry. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I just wanted to help you find a name,” said Twilight worriedly. Luna's voice suddenly became firmer, louder, and more menacing. It was no longer full of shock. It was now full of anger. “I don't want your help! I'll get a name by myself! You can leave now!” “Luna, I'm really, really sorry! If I had known-” “GET OUT!!!” Twilight had never heard the Royal Canterlot Voice used by a male, but she knew the deep voice alone would have made it far more menacing. The shock of hearing it for the first time, however, made it far worse than she could have imagined. She immediately jumped off the bed and charged out the door as fast as her hooves could carry her. In seconds, all of Luna's anger vanished in a wisp. Twilight really didn't know anything about that name. She had just mentioned it on a whim, not with the intent of hurting Luna. And despite all the frustrations and headaches, her company had been quite enjoyable. With a heavy heart, Luna levitated the book back onto the bed and began to read. After about half an hour, he found the story which he guessed was the one that Twilight had spoken of. A powerful clan of vampires kept a race of wolf-ponies as their slaves, including one named Lucian. “Lucian. It’s not such a bad name, after all.” “Luna? Are you in there?” Celestia carefully opened the door. She wasn’t particularly keen on waiting to talk. “Lucian.” “Beg pardon?” “If it’s not too much to ask, I think I would prefer to be called Lucian.” “I see,” said Celestia as she walked into the room. Lucian didn't bother to raise his head, preferring to keep his snout in the book. Whether it was fear, shame, or both, the solar princess couldn't tell. “What are you doing?” asked Celestia. “Just reading a story,” said Lucian, his voice barely audible. “Ah, yes. I believe I've heard of this one. It was many years ago, but I still remember how much Twilight enjoyed that particular story. She kept on talking about it for weeks. If I recall correctly, the hero was named Lucian as well. Is this the story you took the name from?” “Yes, I suppose so,” said Lucian. Celestia smiled as she recalled her memories of reading stories with a young Twilight. She then looked at Lucian with a more serious expression. “Speaking of Twilight, I saw her a few hours ago. She was in her old room, and she seemed quite distressed. I tried to ask her what was wrong, but she refused to tell me. Lucian felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't realized that Twilight would react so badly to his outburst. Admittedly, he had used his Royal Canterlot voice on her in a completely inappropriate context. And then there was the fact that she had been helping him simply out of the goodness of her heart, and he had responded by taking the wind out of her sails. Full of remorse, Lucian told Celestia about the discussion he had had with Twilight, including his outburst. Celestia simply sat there and listened intently. Finally when Luna grew quiet, the elder sister spoke. “I understand that it is difficult for you to adjust to being a stallion, Luna. And I also understand why that name would hurt you so much. But you shouldn’t take your frustrations out on other ponies. Some could be offended if you lash out at them, and Twilight in particular has certain… issues which make it particularly hard for her to deal with such criticism.” Lucian looked away, feeling too ashamed to look his sister in the eye. “Yes, I understand. And I truly regret my outburst at Twilight. I should apologize to her, shouldn't I?” “Indeed you should,” Celestia said sternly. “And after that, perhaps you should join her in Ponyville. She has been studying friendship there for quite some time, so it might do you some good to learn from her example.” Celestia slowly rose from the bed and began to walk away. Luna turned his head towards his sister. There were hundreds of thoughts, questions, and concerns floating through his mind, and he wasn't sure how to respond to her. For that matter, he wasn't sure what to say to Twilight. But he knew he had to make amends. Lucian took a deep breath. He knew that he needed to apologize to Twilight. Still, it was going to be difficult. Although he had talked to her before, it had been different. Only once had they truly met together, and that was during Nightmare Night. Though they had good memories, she had been more worried in connecting with the people much rather than connecting with Twilight. But most of all, then she was a mare. Now that he was a stallion, it felt incredibly awkward. Even so, he couldn't allow himself to be distracted by any trivial differences. He needed to make amends with his sister's talented pupil. “Twilight? Are you in there?” For a minute he stood quietly next to the door waiting for a response. When none came, he started to speak once more. “Look. I understand if you don't want to talk to me. I just want you to know that I'm really sorry for what happened earlier. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, even if I was upset.” He shrugged as he tried to think of something else to say. At that point it almost felt futile to try. He’d probably offended Twilight in more ways than he could ever count. “Uh, yeah. I'll leave now. I'll see you tomorrow. I mean, if it's okay with you.” “Wait!” Just as he had turned to leave, the voice reached him from the other side of the door. He stopped moving, listening quietly in the hopes that Twilight would actually be willing talk. “If you want, w-we can talk a bit.” Lucian let out a sigh of relief. He quickly composed himself, however, and pushed the door open. Upon seeing Twilight, Lucian’s heart sank. Her normally straight mane was hopelessly tangled, her eyelids were puffy and swollen, and she seemed to have trouble breathing. She was clutching her Smarty-Pants doll so tightly that it seemed she would only relinquish it on her deathbed. Guilt-stricken, Lucian found himself incapable of saying a single word. Instead, he walked up straight to her bed and pulled his front legs around her in a warm embrace. Initially, Twilight shuddered and fidgeted, as if fearing retribution from a vengeful god. However, as the minutes passed by, her body calmed down, leaving behind a sobbing unicorn. “I'm so sorry,” began Twilight. “I didn't mean-” “No, Twilight. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let my emotions get the better of me. I really should have learned that lesson, especially since... well, you probably know when.” Twilight closed her eyes, knowing full well what Lucian was talking about. “I-I'm still sorry. I didn't want to hurt you, Luna. If I had known-” “You can call me 'Lucian' if you want.” Twilight went quiet. It didn't seem to be a bad sort of silence. She just seemed to be surprised by the fact that the Lunar alicorn had accepted one of her suggestions. Before she could comment on it, however, Lucian began to speak. “Who am I, Twilight?” Taken by surprise by the question, the young mare raised her eyebrow. “What do you mean? You're Celestia's sister, you're a princess of Equestria, and you're the mare in the moon.” “Sister? Princess? Mare?” Twilight tried to say something, but the words never came out of her mouth. Noticing this, Lucian decided to continue. “Look. For all of my life, I've been the younger sister of Celestia, the princess of Equestria, and the mare in the moon. And just a few hours ago, pretty much everything that I ever was got flipped upside down. Nothing that I could ever say about myself applies now. I'm not Celestia's sister, or a princess, or even a mare! I don't even know if there's anything I can reliably say about myself anymore! And how am I supposed to deal with all of this?!” As Lucian finished his rant, he let his head hang low in depression. “What I'm trying to say is... I'm a fucking stallion.” Watching in shock as Lucian sulked on the mattress, Twilight tried to think of something to tell him. Anything that could help ease his stress. “Well,” she said, “When you put it that way, I probably was going the wrong way trying to help you.” “Please don't start again,” said Lucian. “But, if you think about it, this could be an opportunity for you. I mean, yeah, you're not a princess anymore, but you know what else? It also means that you also are not the mare who tried to plunge Equestria into eternal night! This is a chance for you to make a new identity for yourself! One that doesn't involve Nightmare Moon or your sister!” As Twilight finished her explanation, Lucian began to mull over her words. True, he was caught in an unfortunate situation. At the same time, it offered him a fresh start, something he sorely needed. And, if nothing else, it would help him fulfill his promise to make some friends. “Well... I guess it would be nice not to be overshadowed by my sister for once.” He then began to chuckle. This last action surprised Twilight. Since his unfortunate transformation, he hadn't smiled once, let alone chuckled. However, after she had managed to get over her surprise, she gave a smile of her own. “Um, Twilight?” he asked. “Yes Lucian?” “Celestia and I were wondering, do you think maybe I could go to Ponyville with you?” Twilight raised her eyebrow. “Why? What's wrong with Canterlot?” “Well, it's not really Canterlot that bothers me,” said Lucian. “It's the ponies who live here. I don't want to be rude, but the truth is that the ponies in Canterlot have a tendency to be kind of jerks. And ever since I came back, they’ve been pretty much all I’ve gotten to know. Honestly, I’d prefer to get to know real people, not just upper-class snobs.” Lucian sighed, and then laid down on Twilight's bed. She just stared at him, pondering everything he had just told her. Then, she smirked as she held up her Smarty-Pants doll. “So, what do you think, Smarty-Pants? Should we let her-erm, him?” “Oh! Oh! But he was really rude to you, Twily!” The dark blue alicorn raised his eyebrow. This was a side of Twilight he had never expected. “Yeah, but he said he was sorry!” Twilight said in her normal voice. “But what if he starts acting mean again?” she then replied in a high-pitched voice. “I don't know, maybe we should ask.” Twilight then turned her head towards the very confused prince. “Can you promise not to be rude anymore?” Lucian was taken by surprise by the childish exchange that was just taking place. However, after a minute of reflection, he snapped himself out of his confusion. “Uh, yeah, sure, I won't be rude to you anymore, Twilight.” “Promise?” “Uh, sure, why not?” Twilight grinned as she turned towards the rag doll. “You hear that, Smarty-Pants? He promised not to be rude!” “Well, all right! He can come to Ponyville! No sleeping in my bed, though!” Twilight smiled and nodded happily. “Well then it’s settled! You can come Lun- I mean, Lucian!” Lucian couldn't help but chuckle as Twilight giggled at her own little game. He then lifted himself off her bed and began to trot back towards his room. “Oh, and Lucian?” The dark blue stallion stopped just in front of the door. He then turned towards a brightly blushing Twilight. “Can you promise not to tell anyone about that little conversation I had with Smarty-Pants?” “I-I didn't plan on d-doing so,” stammered Lucian. “But okay, I'll be sure to keep it a secret.” Twilight and Lucian stared at each other for a minute, each awaiting the other’s reaction. After about a minute, however, their fear dissipated, and they began to laugh. Twilight was relieved that Lucian was not judging her. And, though still surprised, Lucian actually found her playful side to be quite cute. Not that he'd ever admit it to her or anypony else.