Ponyville - ten years after the Dark Storm.
"I suppose you're all wondering why I've gathered you here," Frazzle Spark said in a completely serious tone. With his hooves pressed together like some sort of mastermind, he would have looked rather mature, if it weren't for the crazy straw sticking out of his orange creme soda.
The dark red unicorn was seated across from his two best friends at a round glass table outside of the only cafe in Ponyville. As was typical of cafes in the evening, the place was packed with ponies who had just got off from work, both inside of the building and outdoors.
"You've been waiting all day to say that haven't you?" Sharp Wing groaned, eliciting an impish grin from Frazzle Spark.
"Are you planning to tell us?" Night Mist asked wryly, "Or are we going to have to torture you for the information?"
"I want to see if you guys can figure it out," Frazzle Spark replied as he crossed his fore legs and leaned back. "And Night Mist, if you don't figure it out before Sharp Wing does, I will be very disappointed in your detective skills."
Night Mist and Sharp Wing exchanged a glance. They both knew that there weren't any birthdays coming up for any of the three gathered at the table, so nothing came to mind right away.
"Does it have anything to do with the upcoming summer sun celebration?" Sharp Wing guessed.
"Nope, try again."
Night Mist watched Frazzle Spark's eyes to see if he could discern what the unicorn was thinking. Frazzle Spark was watching the faces of his two friends, clearly waiting for realization to strike them. But every now and then his orange eyes would flicker downwards towards some area between where Night Mist and Sharp Wing were sitting. Night Mist followed his vision and saw nothing of any significance, save for the image of a magnifying glass on his own flank. Seeing his own cutie mark caused to mentally flinch at the memory of how he had earned it. Back when he had learned the truth about himself.
"Does it have anything to do with cutie marks?" Night Mist tried.
"Kind of, but not really. You're close though."
"I give up," Sharp Wing said in defeat.
"You got any more guesses?" Frazzle Spark asked Night Mist.
"I have no idea," Night Mist admitted, although that wasn’t entirely true. He had a sinking feeling he knew what his friend was getting at, but didn’t want to voice it in case he was wrong.
"Tell us already," Sharp Wing insisted impatiently.
"You guys, its our tenth anniversary."
Sharp Wing made a weird snorting sound.
Tenth anniversary of what?" Night Mist asked, ignoring the pegasus.
"Of the day we all got our cutie marks and became the best of friends!" Frazzle Spark explained as if it should have been obvious.
"Wait, that was ten years ago? Seriously?" Sharp Wing questioned.
"Exactly ten years ago." Frazzle Spark confirmed.
"Wow, that's really something," Night Mist remarked. "Good memory, Fraz."
"It's a gift," Frazzle Spark shrugged as he lifted his soda into the air. "I propose a toast to ten years of friendship, and many more years to come."
Sharp Wing's root beer and Night Mist's ginger ale clinked against the soda and all three of the ponies drank.
"Speaking of cutie marks, have you guys ever wondered if that's a good name for them?" Sharp Wing asked.
"What do you mean?" wondered Night Mist, secretly glad that the topic had moved away from the area concerning the Dark Storm.
"Well, think about it, it doesn't really fit. A cutie mark indicates a pony's talent, but the word cutie doesn't have anything to do with talent. If anything, its too feminine. Cutie is usually a term strictly for mares."
"You could say little animals or foals are cuties," Frazzle Spark pointed out.
"Yeah, but getting your cutie mark is a sign of growing up and not being a foal anymore, and only ponies get cutie marks. I think it's time someone came up with a better name," Sharp Wing figured.
"I'm guessing you think you've come up with a good alternative?" Night Mist asked with a faint trace of amusement.
Sharp Wing held up two hooves and paused dramatically.
"Talent Tattoo."
"That sounds weird," Frazzle Spark said skeptically.
"You only think that because it's new. It's gender neutral and related to talent. It's perfect," Sharp Wing insisted.
"But it's not a tattoo. It’s a natural thing," Frazzle Spark argued. "What about a talent mark?"
"Nah, talent tattoo sounds better. Got the triple tee thing going on."
"To be honest, I don't have any objections to calling cutie marks what they are," Night Mist shrugged. "By itself, the word cutie might sound feminine, but no one really sees the term cutie mark as being that way. Besides, you can't just change a word and expect everypony to go along with it."
"Not if I make a petition," Sharp Wing countered.
"You would seriously start a petition to change a word that's been around longer than Princess Celestia?"
"Would you sign it if I did?"
Neither Night Mist or Frazzle Spark said anything.
"Thanks for your support, guys," Sharp Wing huffed.
"Change of topic, There's actually another reason I wanted to meet," Frazzle Spark revealed. "Its been ten years since we met, ten years since we got our cutie marks, and ten years since the storm. I think if we all put our heads together we could-"
"Fraz," Night Mist interrupted gently, "I thought we agreed to stop trying to figure out what caused the storm."
"I know, but I thought since it's our tenth-"
"Night Mist's right," Sharp Wing chimed in. "Princess Celestia sent a whole bunch of investigators, but they didn't find anything. And that was ten years ago. You need to let it go."
"I thought you of all ponies would understand," Frazzle Spark sullenly said to Night Mist. "You always say that the truth is out there somewhere."
"For crimes, sure. But some things are always going to remain a mystery. It's a part of life, Fraz. But do you know what the upside is?"
"No, what?"
"That you can pick whatever explanation you like."
"You know, outside of the almost killing us part, the storm has only done good for us," Sharp Wing said thoughtfully. "It brought us together, and who knows how long it would have taken for us to earn our cutie marks otherwise?"
After they had exhausted many theories as to what might have happened if the storm had never occurred, the three stallions parted ways. The sun had begun to slip behind the horizon and a cool air settled over ponyville. Night Mist felt miserable as he walked down the dirt streets of Ponyville towards his home. Over the years, mentions of the Dark Storm had started to subside, but it still felt like a fresh wound to him every time he heard it mentioned. It was a reminder that he was the biggest liar in Equestria. Or at least that was how he viewed it in his own mind. In an effort to find something to take his mind off his guilt, Night Mist changed course and headed for the Ponyville Public Library, a large tree with rooms cut out on the inside.
Dust blew into his face as Night Mist walked through the door.
"They really should hire a librarian at some point," he muttered to himself as he began browsing the shelves.
Cobwebs were abundant and many shelves were empty, their contents most likely forgotten in the corners of homes all over Ponyville. But there were still some books left, and one in particular caught Night Mist's attention. It was a book titled, Predictions and Prophecies. Night Mist removed it from the shelf with his teeth, set on on a table, and opened it to a random page.
The Mare in the Moon, myth from olden pony times. A powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria, defeated by the Elements of Harmony and imprisoned in the moon. Legend has it that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape, and she will bring about night time eternal.
Night Mist blinked twice to make sure he wasn't seeing things. But no, it was unmistakable. The Stars were explicitly mentioned in the legend. Evidently they weren't as secret as a society as they thought. It was the same old legend that he had heard as a colt, with the exception of the part about a thousand years. That was new to him. Then Night Mist realized that there was something seriously wrong with the passage.
"On the longest day of the thousandth year... since what?" he wondered aloud. "Since Nightmare Moon was banished? Since the sun was set on a cycle? Doesn't do any good to mention a thousand years without a solid point of reference, I think."
Night Mist searched through the library shelves until he found a history book. He knew that unicorns had been moving the sun and moon in a set pattern longer than a thousand years before Princess Celestia and her sister had been born, so that could be scratched out. Night Mist perused the book and was surprised to find the exact date Nightmare Moon had been defeated.
"The existence of Nightmare Moon is a historical fact, yet the mare in the moon is only a legend?" he whispered to himself in disbelief. "How the hay did no one see the connection for a thousand years?"
Night Mist glanced back at the history book and saw why. According to it, Princess Celestia had killed Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago. Obviously that was incorrect. The logical conclusion to be drawn was that Princess Celestia had lied about her sister's fate. For what purpose, Night Mist couldn't even begin to guess. Idly he wondered how many other "historical facts" Princess Celestia had fed to Equestria. After all, there weren't any other ponies that could challenge the claims of an immortal princess.
Night Mist gave a start as he suddenly realized something. Ten years ago Eclipse had told him that Nightmare Moon had been imprisoned almost a thousand years ago. According to the prophecy, Nightmare Moon would be freed after a thousand years, on the longest day of the year. The longest day of the year was the summer solstice, which was coming soon.
Pure dread began to fill Night Mist as he began to frantically search the library until he found a pencil on the ground between two bookshelves. Once he found a crumpled piece of paper as well, he smoothed out the paper and set both items on a table and did the math using the exact date from the history book. Night Mist felt a knot in his stomach when he finished the equation. With trembling hooves, he did it a second time to make sure. Same thing. Truth had reared its ugly head yet again, and as the numbers wavered in Night Mist's vision, it burned itself into his mind. Nightmare Moon would be coming back on the day after tomorrow, on the Summer Solstice.
Night Mist stared at the paper as panic and indecision took over his mind. Option one, tell someone. But that would require proof, and that couldn't be done without explaining how he knew about the Stars. Option two, pay a visit to the Stars. That was a death wish. It was already dark, and monsters roamed the Everfree Forest at night. Even if he did reach their lair, what would he do after that? Option three, do nothing, and hope everything worked out. But no, once the world knew about the Stars, they would know that he didn't warn them. All three options led to unknown results, but option two could possibly solve the conflict without anyone learning his secret and hating him for it.
Night Mist figured he must be going insane if he was seriously considering option number two, but it seemed to be the least of three evils. All that left was what to do with the book. For a moment he considered destroying or hiding it, but then realized it's existence was a good thing. If someone else found out about the stars helping Nightmare Moon come back, they might solve the problem without connecting it with him. Night Mist set both of the books back where they belonged, ripped the paper to shreds, dropped the pieces into a crack between two bookshelves, and departed from the library. Countless nights of secretly studying the map of the Everfree forest had imprinted it in his mind, so there wasn't any need to go to his home to retrieve it from its hiding place before setting off.
"Howdy Night Mist, what seems to be the trouble?" a voice asked suddenly.
Night Mist glanced up in surprise. Standing on the road in front of him was Applejack, the mare who sold apples at the market. She was hitched to a apple stand on wheels.
"Trouble? What makes you think I'm in trouble?" Night Mist replied a little too quickly.
"Well, Ah thought ya looked a little stressed."
"Oh, that. It's just been a long day, that's all. Nothing a full night's rest can't help," Night Mist assured her as he started to walk past her. "Good night, Applejack."
"Er, isn't yer house the other way?" replied a befuddled Applejack.
"Oh, yes, yes it is. You are absolutely right," said Night Mist as he mentally kicked himself. "My mind is just mush right now, honestly." he added as he made a one eighty and went back towards his home. "I really need to lay down."
Night Mist felt Applejack's eyes suspiciously follow him all the way down the street until he rounded a corner and left her sight.