//------------------------------// // Nightsong's Past part 2 // Story: The Legendary Nightsong // by Darth Cookie //------------------------------// -Flashback- “Where is it?” cried Nightsong as he continued his search of the saddle bags for the fourth time. There was a look of total panic on his face as he used his magic to throw the bags to the side and look under everything in the area. He even looked under Star Swirls hat! “Wow, that’s the second time that bear’s been stolen,” commented Little Gift. “Maybe you should start leaving it at home.” Nightsong stopped dead in his tracks. “Stolen,” he said softly to himself. “Those fillies stole from me.” “Well it’ll be easy to get back,” said Star Swirl. “Just tell your mom what happened and I’m sure she’ll get it back.” Nightsong shook his head. “I can’t do that,” he said. “My mother has enough problems without having to deal with something like this. Besides, if she did get involved she’ll bite their heads off!” Star Swirl, Little Gift, Hydee Treasure, and Dazzling Dawn all began to share the same thought bubble. In it they could see Princess Luna yelling at the five fillies and then eating them whole. When the bubble vanished they all began to shiver. “I guess that’s true,” said Little Gift. “But that doesn’t mean that you can’t do other things like go to their mothers. It’ll be over in like five seconds. Just talk to their moms and demand it back. They’ll have no choice but to do as you say and you’ll get back your teddy bear and everything is solved. I mean, you are a prince after all. Use a little of that royal power.” “I hate being a prince,” said Nightsong. “I hate the power and I hate all the other duties that go with it. The royal life is all about work and any pony who says differently is a lair. We constantly have to act like we’re above every pony to maintain the kingdoms respect, have to put up fronts, delegate, and so many other little things. When I’m not at school or working in the Dream Realm, or with you guys I’m taking etiquette lessons, learning more about politics, meeting other royal officials, and a dozen other things. Do you know how lucky I am to be able to be with all of you right now? It’s only because my mother wants me to do some of the things she never got to. She doesn’t even know what fun is! “Yeah, I could just go to them and demand my teddy bear back and then throw them in a dungeon, but what then? No pony will ever look at me the same. They’ll start treating me differently. That’s not what I want. So I’m just going to handle this on my own.” “Still,” began Little Gift, but Star Swirl raised a hoof to silence him. “I agree that it would be easier in the long run if Nightsong just ordered it back,” said the bearded pony. “But, in the end it’s his decision. Just like it was his decision to go after you when you stole that bear instead of going to the princess. And who knows, it might be more fun this way.” Little Gift looked at the two colts and sighed. He knew that Nightsong never used his royal powers, but it was worth a try. In some ways that was why he liked the prince so much. He never acted like he was better than any pony or anything like that. He was just himself and he did things with his own two hooves. But it did backfire on him sometimes which caused even the simplest of problems to go out of control. But, then again, it did seem like it would be more fun if they just took it back. “Don’t worry Nightsong, I’ll hunt it down for you,” said Hydee with a smile. 'Once I do this for him he’ll be so happy', she thought. 'I just need to get him back his teddy bear and he’ll love me for sure. Then we’ll get married and…and…' Whatever Hydee was thinking about we may never know for she began to giggle eerily as she ran off into in some random direction. “Ah, excuse me,” mewed Dawn. Every pony turned their head to look at her which caused her to meap and hide behind a nearby tree. After a moment she stuck her head out a bit. “I believe that Lemon has a club house not too far from here. She might have gone there.” It took about thirty minutes for the four of them to get there. It would have gone faster if every pony there could fly, but what’s a pony to do? When they got there they found a small pink tree fort in the middle of the clearing. They could see that there were only two ways in, a door and a window. The door could only be accessed by a ramp which the fillies had pulled out and into the club house. And the only other entrance was just as high up as the door. Through the window they could see that the fillies were in there. Nightsong and Little Gift looked at each other and then gave each other a nod. The two then flew into the air towards the club house as fast as they could. However, once they were close enough, a net shot out of the branches and trapped the two of them. Seeing the two of them down, Dawn raced towards them. Once she was standing in front of them, she decided to use her magic to free them. Her horn began to glow with a dark aura which soon covered the netting. Once that was done, the netting dissolved into nothing and the two were able to stand up freely. “Nice try,” they heard Lemon say. The three of them looked up and saw her sticking her head out the window. “We have this whole place booby trapped and set up anti-magic wards inside to negate your magic.” “What?” shouted Little Gift. “How did you learn how to do that?!” “We, ah, learned about anti-magic skills two months ago,” said Dawn quietly. Little Gift looked slightly embarrassed. “Stand back every pony,” said Star Swirl as he now entered the clearing. “I have a plan!” Every pony watched him with great interest as he walked slowly over to the club house. He was the crazy geniuses of the academy. Both he and Nightsong received the top grades, but it was Star Swirl who was more creative. Even Lemon Pie, who thought that she had taken everything into account pulled her head back a bit. There was no way to predict what Star Swirl was going to do. Now he was standing in front of the club house with his eyes looking directly at Lemon. Then he spoke. “Can we please have Nightsong’s teddy bear back?” Every pony’s eyes widened after he said that. Nightsong and Little Gift felt their jaws drop. Lemon just stared at him like she couldn’t believe what she had just heard. Who in their right mind would just walk up to some pony and ask nicely to return a stolen item. It just doesn’t happen! “No,” said Lemon after she had shaken off her surprise. “We won’t give it back until Nightsong tells us what are cutie marks are!” Star Swirl shrugged. “Well, it was worth a try,” he said before he skipped away. Nightsong watched his friend go and then turned to look at Lemon. “This isn’t over,” he said. “I’ll just keep going till you’re out of traps!” He then felt some pony tapping him. He turned his head and saw that it was Dawn. “Ah, I just thought that you, ah, might have forgotten that you have to go home soon,” she said softly. Nightsong groaned. He had forgotten that he had several other royal duties to do before he had to collect the dreams and then deliver them. Not to mention his homework. He turned and looked at Lemon with a scowl. “This isn’t over,” he said. And with that both he and his friends left. Lemon watched them leave with a smile on her face. She knew that Nightsong took that stupid teddy bear with him everywhere. Sooner or later he would give in to her demands and she would have her cutie mark. It was a waiting game until then. Lemon was about to turn around when she saw the ground explode in the field. When the dust had settled she could see that there was a single filly sized hole in the middle. A moment later Hydee’s head came out of it and began to look around. “Where the hay am I?” she asked aloud. -x- It was about an hour later when he got back to the castle in the middle of the Everfree Forest. Personally he always felt it was a poor location seeing how dangerous it could be. Timber wolves, poisoned joke, quickgrass (which was like quicksand), and all sorts of other dangers. There were plans going on to build a new castle, but it would probably be many years before they would even start. All he knew about it was that auntie was doing all the designing and that it would be many times larger than their current home. Personally he didn’t think bigger was better and that it was a waste of money. He felt that they should just move their current home. But no one asked him what he thought. As he entered the main hallway he was greeted by a familiar, and unwanted, sight. Before him were his mother and his aunt in another argument. Behind both of them were their own personal guards with Celestia’s in white while the black ones belonged to Luna. Both sides seemed like they were waiting to protect their princess should the argument turn into a full blown fight. “I’m telling you that thou are wrong,” said Luna in her normal voice. She only used the royal voice when she address subjects. “Demanding that the night should be cut by an hour is completely unreasonable! How dare you tell our subjects that I would do that without even consulting me?!” “It wasn’t a demand Luna,” Said Celestia in a calm tone. “But the earth ponies need more day for their crops. And I am willing to make it up to you by allowing the night longer hours during a different time of the year.” “In the winter,” hissed Luna. “When every pony stays indoors and hates thy night even more because of the cold! Are you trying to make me hated even more?!” “No sister,” said Celestia quickly as she realized her mistake. “That was never my intention. It’s just that I have to think of our subjects. More daytime will help with the crops and our subjects will have more food. Please sister, think of what is best for them.” Luna was about to respond when she heard a small cough. Both alicorns turned their heads to see Nightsong standing there. “Both sides have their points,” said Nightsong as he now stepped forward. This was another thing he hated about royal life, negotiation between his aunt and mother. Not for the first or second time but far too many for his taste. In truth, he had long since stopped counting the number of times he had to get involved. “Mother, you are correct that the night is under your charge. Auntie should never have told any pony that you would do anything before asking you.” Celestia lowered her head while Luna gave a triumphant smile. “Yet, auntie was thinking of the ponies when she did this. And she is right that more daytime will help with the harvests and feeding them.” Nightsong let out a sigh. “Mother, Auntie Celestia is correct about this. We should…shorter the night a bit.” Luna’s eyes widened when she heard this before a scowl appeared on her face. She couldn’t believe it. Her own son was now against her. The betrayal was like a dagger in her heart. She didn’t say a word; she just turned around and left with her guards. Once they were gone, Celestia’s guards moved back into their original positions. Now all that was left in the hallway was Nightsong and Celestia, both with their heads lowered. “I’m sorry you had to do that,” she said after a while. “I wouldn’t have to if you would start including mother in some of these big decisions,” he spat angrily. He was already having a bad day and what he had just done had made it worse. Part of him knew that he was just taking out his anger on his aunt, but another larger part didn’t care. “She already feels hated and ignored. What if she had said no? You would have made her look like the bad guy because of a promise you made!” “Nightsong, I’m sorry,” she said. “But had I known that Luna would have reacted like that then I would have never have made that promise.” “Don’t say you’re sorry to me,” said her nephew. “Mother is the one you hurt. And this giving her more night hours during the winter is a poor compromise and you know it.” Then, suddenly, Nightsong had an idea. “How about this. There are only a couple of real nighttime events that the royal family hosts. How about letting my mother host the Grand Galloping Gala one year?” Celestia stared at her nephew in amazement. The Gala was one of the biggest social events of the year and was always held in the royal castle. Personally, Celestia was bored out of her mind because she spent all night just greeting the ponies that attended. Then there were those who spent the night trying to suck up to her for some personal agenda. She knew that Luna, however, had wanted to host it for a long time now. She had been dropping hints since before Nightsong was born. Perhaps this would be a good thing. Ponies would meet Luna and she would feel important and wanted. “Nightsong, that is a brilliant idea,” said Celestia as she rubbed her nephews’ mane. “We already have the next few Gala’s planned, but I think that Luna would like to do the planning on her own. I’ll check our schedule to see when she can plan it all by herself. Make it hers.” “Why not just cancel the plans you already made and just let mother redo it?” asked Nightsong. “Various reasons,” said Celestia. “The Gala is not just any simple event. It takes months or even years to make sure that everything is perfect as well as paid for. Canceling what we have already set up would cost a large amount of bits just so that Luna can spend more. And if it doesn’t look perfect it will reflect badly on her.” She smiled at Nightsong. “I’m sure you can understand that.” “I guess,” replied Nightsong with a shrug. Seemed to a lot of work for such a boring event. He was just glad he never had to go to one. “Well, I’ll talk to mother about this. I need to apologize anyways.” With that he turned and began to walk away. “Nightsong,” his aunt called out, stopping him in his tracks. “Is everything alright? It looks like something else is weighing heavily on your mind.” “It’s…personal,” he said. “Look auntie, I-I just have to handle this on my own.” Nightsong hadn’t turned around to look at his aunt, but if he had he would have seen the look of worry that was on her face. “Very well,” she said. “But if you need a hoof, please talk to one of us.” Nightsong said nothing as he walked away. A few minutes later, Nightsong had found his mother. She was in her room, crying. Guilt flooded the young colt as he entered the room. Slowly he walked across the stone floors without making a sound. Once he was next to her he simply sat down and waited for her to notice him. He didn’t have to wait long. “Go away,” she sobbed. “Mom, I’m sorry about what happened,” he said quietly. “But I had to do what I felt was right.” “Yes,” she cried. “Thou sided with…with her. My own son sided with his aunt rather than his own mother!” She cried even louder now. “I never sided with her,” replied Nightsong. “I sided with our subjects and their needs. I also did it to keep you from being the villain. If you had said no after auntie had promised that you would, it would have seemed like you broke your word and they would have hated you for that. And I couldn’t bear to see that.” Luna looked at him with her tear stained face. “R-Really?” she asked. “Thou hasn’t turned against me? Thou doesn’t…hate me?” “How could I ever turn against my own mother,” replied Nightsong as he leaned against her. Luna accepted this as guilt filled her. How could she have believed that her only son would betray her? How could she have believed that he hated her? She had been the one to act like a fool. They stayed like this for a moment before Nightsong looked up at her with a large smile. “I also got some good news. In a couple of years, auntie is going to let you plan and host the Gala!” Luna jumped up when she heard that, nearly causing Nightsong to fall on the floor. Her eyes were wide with shock and joy. Her heart was pounding so fast she felt it would burst out of her chest at any moment. She had not felt like this since she found out she was pregnant! “Oh most wonderful of days!” she exclaimed with a large smile. She then used her magic to summon a large tome the size of Nightsong in front of the two as she sat down once again. “I have been making plans for this night since I was just a filly. Oh, what theme should I use? And the dress, should I use one of my old ones or have something new made?” While Luna began to go over many different things, Nightsong looked up in the direction of the window. Outside, he saw Little Gift was floating in plain view while holding up a sign asking him to meet him outside tonight. He then gave a wave and flew off. “We have got to get better security,” muttered Nightsong quietly. “Did thou say something dear?” asked Luna as she looked up from her book. She was currently looking at a dress design she had thought up several years ago. The dress was to resemble her starry mane with star that moved as she walked. “Ah no mom,” said Nightsong quickly. “I think I’d better start my lessons. Got a lot of work to do tonight.” “Alright,” said Luna as she turned her attention back to the book. -x- Later that night, Nightsong had met up with both Star Swirl and Little Gift. There was no moon out tonight, which had made it easier for Nightsong to sneak out of the castle under the cover of the dark. Plus, if the guards could miss a bright red pony during the daylight it had to be nearly impossible to see a grey one at night. In front of them was the farm were Lemon Pie and her family lived. And, judging by the dark windows, they were asleep. “So what’s this great plan you have Little Gift?” asked Nightsong with a bit of a yawn. Before he had left he had delivered all the dreams as fast as he could and he was a little tired. “Glad you asked,” replied Little Gift as he put up diagram of the house they were looking at. “I was thinking about this all day. Well, not all day. Just since we failed to get it from the dream house until I told you two to meet me here so more like a couple of hours.” Nightsong gave him an impatient look. “Anyways, the plan is simple. I’ll just sneak into the house by going down the chimney. Once inside I’ll look for the teddy bear and if it’s there I’ll walk out the front door. If not, we just try again at the next filly’s house. And once we have it, it’s not like they can go to their parents and tell them that something they stole was stolen from them.” Both Nightsong and Star Swirl stood there, blinking at their friend. “That actually sounds like a good idea,” said Nightsong. “I know,” admitted Star Swirl. “But Little Gift thought of it,” stated Nightsong, causing a growl from the red Pegasus. “Well, he was a thief,” said Star Swirl. “I guess it’s only natural for him to know the best ways to steal stuff from a pony’s home.” The two of them nodded. “I AM NOT A THIEF!” roared Little Gift. After several minutes of calming down Little Gift, the red Pegasus was finally on the roof of the farm house. Once he got to the chimney he waved in the direction of his friends, giving them the signal that he was ready to go down. The two watched as he then flew into the air, did an aerial summersault, and went down the chimney. Nightsong and Star Swirl then began to wait. And wait. Soon fifteen minutes had passed and they were beginning to get worried. Then, without warning the door opened and there was Little Gift, covered with soot and holding a glass of milk in one hoof with a snack called a filly’s delight. A filly’s delight was a flat wafer like treat that was lightly sugared. And behind him was Lemon’s mother! “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you did, little chimney sweeper,” she said. “Are you sure there isn’t anything else I can get for you?” “No ma’am,” said Little Gift as he ate his filly’s delight and finished his milk. “That really hit the spot. Well, I got to be going now.” “Take care.” With that, Little Gift walked away from the house as the door closed behind him. As he walked, be began to hum a little tune until he reached the spot where Nightsong and Star Swirl were. Both of them were staring at him with dumbfounded faces. “Hey guys,” said Little Gift when he saw them. “Turns out they were having some chimney problems. Way too much soot stuck in there. But don’t worry, I cleaned it out for them when I went through it. And to say thank you they gave me milt and a couple filly’s delights! Isn’t that great?” “What about my teddy bear?” asked Nightsong. “Oh, right,” said Little Gift with a gulp. “I knew I forgot to do something.” Nightsong facehoofed himself and growled in frustration. -x- The next morning the five of them were walking to school, hoping to run into the fillies. They were hoping to ambush them to get the bear back, but sadly Lemon and her friends had left early in order to avoid this. “Cheer up Nightsong,” said Star Swirl. “We’ll get it back sooner or later.” “I still say we should just tell your mom,” muttered Little Gift. “I’m not giving up,” grunted Nightsong. “I’ll keep going until I get it back. Even if it takes me years!” Suddenly there was a bright, glowing sphere in front of them. Along with it came a powerful wind that seemed to push them back a bit. When the light faded every pony looked up and gasped at what they saw. It was another Star Swirl! Well it looked like him except he looked a bit older, wore a cloak with bell sown into it, and his beard was longer. He looked a little shaken up from the trip, but once he saw the young ones in front of him he jumped into the air with his front hooves reaching towards the heavens. “I did it!” he cheered. “The time travel spell worked! I am a genius!” “What’s going on?” asked Hydee. Before any pony could say anything, the older Star Swirl ran up to his younger counterpart and Nightsong. “You two,” he said quickly, “I have come from the future to tell the two of you important information.” He looked at the younger Star Swirl. “Don’t get that monkey! I know your thinking about it right now, but please don’t. You don’t know the horror that they will cause.” The older Star Swirl then got down on his knees and raised his front hooves into the air. “They destroyed everything! Those darn, dirty monkeys!” For a moment, no pony said a word. Then… “Are you done yet?” asked Nightsong. The older Star Swirl nodded and then got right back up. “So, what did you want to tell me?” “Oh right,” he said. “It’s about your teddy bear. I know how you can get it back quickly and safely.” This got Nightsong’s attention. He grabbed the future Star Swirl and stood on his hind hooves so that they were now at face level. “How?!” he demanded. “Tell me quickly.” “What’s the rush?” asked the elder Star Swirl. “I mean, I just invented time travel! I have all the time in Equestria! Now, if you want your teddy bear back all you have to do is-” Whatever he was about to say was cut off as he vanished in a brilliant ball of light. Nightsong stood there his mouth open as Dawn gently patted him on the back. “Please tell me that did just happen,” begged Nightsong. Star Swirl rubbed his chin with his hoof. “I guess you can only stay in the past for a short amount of time,” he said as he sat down. “But don’t worry, I’m sure he’ll be back soon. All he has to do is recast the spell.” With that Star Swirl sat down and began to wait. The others, however, did not since school was about to start. Day turned to night and Star Swirl remained where he sat until he had a thought. “Maybe I should get that monkey.” -x- Years later, Lemon Pie and her friends were sitting around in their old club house as they had done for years. They were just sitting there talking about their upcoming plans with a small dish of rock candy in the middle. But this might be the last time, thought Lemon sadly. They had all graduated from the academy several months ago and were all going their own paths that would take them far apart from each other. Even Lemon was leaving to start up a rock farm which she hoped would stay in the family for generations. Suddenly, they heard a commotion outside. But no pony turned around to see who it was because they already knew. It was Nightsong who had done the same thing day after day for years. Every day he tried one or two attempts before he had to get back home. Lemon heard several crashes and springing noises before she heard the stallion cursing as he was sent flying through the air. It was only then that she turned around to see how far he had gotten this time. From what she could see he had evaded all the nets, pit falls, and sticky paper just to be launched into the air by a fake ground spring trap right next to the club house. “By the princesses, doesn’t he have anything better to do?” sighed Lemon as she turned her attention back to her friends. Meanwhile, back with Nightsong, the alicorn was nursing a hurt wing and equally hurt pride. He was so close today, almost made it inside. He knew if the others would help him like they used to then maybe he could have made it this time. Yet Little Gift was off working on his own projects that even Nightsong had to admit were important. Hydee was off on her first major dig site in the far north. And Dawn was… “Still at it?” came Star Swirl’s voice from behind Nightsong. The grey alicorn turned around and gave his old friend a nod. Star Swirl was the only one who was still living near the castle, yet his research in the area of spells and potions had become too time consuming to help Nightsong. “I’m not going to give up,” said Nightsong. Star Swirl shook his head. “I didn’t come here to talk about that,” he said gently. “I know things have been difficult for you.” “You know nothing,” growled Nightsong. Two months ago had been the night of Gala. All of Nightsong’s friends had shown up to help support his mothers work. Luna had even made her own dress which she had worked on every night for the last couple of years. Yet the night that was supposed to bring her joy turned into a nightmare. Once the other ponies realized that Celestia was not hosting the party, they either turned around on the spot or stayed for the meal and then left. When the night was over Luna was left in tears. She hardly ever came out of her room and barley spoke to any pony. Celestia tried to talk to her younger sister, but nothing seemed to work. It was as if something inside had snapped. Whenever she did speak it would be about fixing the problem and no pony knew what that meant. There was something else that caused every pony to worry. Luna had several pieces of armor delivered to her room and had been modifying them during the day. Then there was the appearance of Discord a week ago. Luna had come out of her room to help fight him, but the elements nearly resisted her. The battle lasted hours and had casualties. Some hitting Nightsong hard. Also, he had refused to fight that battle and Star Swirl understood his reasoning. As punishment for this, those that were captured in battle were to be locked up in a place called the Nightmare Vault and Nightsong was to be the warden for all time. And then there was what happened to Dawn, Star Swirl could barely bring himself to think about what had happened to such an innocent soul. “I know there is no possible way I could ever know how you feel,” began Star Swirl but Nightsong cut him off. “No, there is no way you could know,” he said. “You’re always off in your own little world while the rest of us have to try and make sense of what you say and do. You don’t have to deal with family problems because your parents live at the other end of Equestria! You don’t have a mom who is withdrawing from the world, have so many duties that your head will explode, or anything like that. No, your life is just fine and mine is falling apart!” At this point, Nightsong realized that he was panting. At some point he had started to yell at his oldest and best friend. Feeling ashamed, he turned around to look away. “Look, I got to go.” Star Swirl watched his friend fly away. He felt hurt by what had been said, but he shook it off. He knew that Nightsong was speaking from anger and frustration. The best thing he could do right now was either give his friend some space or get him something that would lift his spirits. And he knew just the thing to do that. So Star Swirl focused his magic and then teleported in front of the club house. “Star Swirl!” exclaimed Lemon with delight as she stuck her head out the window. Behind her she could hear the other girls giggling. “What brings you here?” “I just came to ask if you fillies were tired of all of this.” “Tired of what?” “This whole thing with Nightsong.” “Oh that,” said Lemon with great annoyance. “Believe me, I wish he would just stop.” Star Swirl beamed at her. “Well then this makes things simpler,” he said. “Just give it back and he’ll stop.” Lemon blinked as she looked at her friends. They looked as confused as she was and just shrugged before she turned her attention back to Star Swirl. “Ah, give what back?” “The teddy bear,” said Star Swirl as he blinked. “You know, the one you fillies stole a few years back and were holding hostage until he told you what your cutie marks were?” Lemon stared at Star Swirl for a moment. Slowly, she began to remember what had happened years ago. Truth was, she had gotten her cutie mark a couple of years ago and so had her friends. She remembered thinking that they should keep the teddy bear out of principle and eventually they had forgotten all about it. She gave Star Swirl an uneasy smile. About an hour later they were all in front of Lemon Pie’s home. The first room the yellow pony checked was her room. She checked the last place she remembered putting it, a small box under the bed. However, there was nothing there. She began to panic slightly and began to check her dresser and closet. Once again, the bear wasn’t there. Soon, her face was the very definition on panic and worry. She couldn’t find the item she had stolen from royalty! If Nightsong wasn’t mad before, she could only imagine how mad he would get once she told him that she couldn’t find it! As she searched with increased panic, Lemon’s friends and Star Swirl watched. The Mares had looks of fright as they also came to realize how much trouble they would be in if the bear wasn’t there. Star Swirl frowned as his mind began to wonder to different types of spells they might help with the search to a spell that would help calm every pony down. “What is going on in here?” came a voice from behind every pony. They turned around and saw Lemon’s mother standing behind the group. “Mom, have you seen that teddy bear that was under my bed?” asked Lemon quickly. “Oh, that old thing,” said Lemon’s mother. “I sold it at a yard sale a while back.” And with that she left the group that seemed to have gone paler. -x- It was early in the morning and the sun should have been up by now. Should being the key word for Nightsong who was up waiting for his mother to lower the moon. Yet, it was still there and the sky was still full of stars. Nightsong hoped that everything was alright, but he couldn’t help but have this nagging feeling in the back of his head that told him something bad was about to happen. But it wasn’t this feeling that had caused him to be up so early. The truth was he hadn’t been able to sleep a wink all night. His thoughts kept going back to when he had yelled at Star Swirl. He knew he hadn’t meant some of the things he had said to his best friend, but he was just so tired of it all. The girls already had their cutie marks so why didn’t they just give it back? But that was his problem with them and he should never have taken out his anger out on Star Swirl. He would have to apologize to him the next time he saw him. “Ah, Nightsong,” said a voice behind him. Nightsong turned around and gave his friend a welcoming smile. Then he saw those who came with him and that smile vanished. “What’s going on?” he demanded as he glared at Lemon. Said pony took a step back and hid behind Star Swirl. “Well you see it’s a bit of a funny story,” said Star Swirl. “After we had our…talk, I went to Lemon and her friends and asked them again to give back the teddy bear. This time they agreed.” Nightsong’s smile reappeared and he looked happier than he had in years. He had planned on throwing a party once he got his bear back and, seeing that they were giving it back, Nightsong was willing to allow the mares to join in just to show there was no hard feelings between them. But when Nightsong looked at Star Swirl again, his smile fell. “Lemon was going to give it back, she really was, but her mom sort of sold it a while back. And the family she sold it to moved away.” Nightsong looked like he had seen a ghost. His grey coat had faded looking more of a white color than anything else. His eyes were wide and his mouth hung open slightly. He took a step in a direction away from them and nearly fell over. “I don’t get it,” said one of the mares in the back. “It’s just a stupid teddy bear.” “My mother made it for me,” said Nightsong. But there was something off with his voice. It didn’t sound angry or anything like that. It sounded…empty and broken. “She hoof stitched it herself before I was born.” They were simple words, but they cut through every pony like a knife. The others didn’t say anything as Nightsong walked away with both a broken heart and a broken spirit.” -End Flashback- “Shortly after that I found out that my mother had become Nightmare Moon,” said Nightsong. His eyes were still closed since he began the second part of the story. It helped him remember the events of what happened a thousand years ago. “After that, I went into the Dream Realm and just stayed there. I had lost my mother and the object that connected me to her no matter how far apart we were.” Just then, he heard some pony bawling loudly. His eyes shot open to see that the whole of Ponyville was in front of him. Most of them looked like they had tears in their eyes while Pinkie, the source of the loud bawling, looked like a garden sprinkler. “When did all of you get here?” “You mean you’re just now noticing us?” asked Rainbow who was laying on a cloud. “I thought it was a fascinating story,” said Twilight, which caused Nightsong to blush. “But what happened to Star Swirl and the others. Did you ever get to apologize?” “Never,” said Nightsong as he sadly shook his head. “It’s one of the many regrets I’ve had over the last thousand years. While I was in the Dream Realm sulking, my friends grew older and eventually died. After a while, I did come out for a little while only to find that out that Star Swirl had been dead for several years. Hydee never came back from that dig. Little Gift…” Nightsong’s eye’s narrowed in rage and he snorted. “I never want to talk to that jerk ever again!” “I doubt he’s even still around these parts,” whispered Apple Jack to Twilight. “And Dawn?” asked Sweetie Belle. Nightsong looked surprised for a moment and then looked away. “A very horrible fate,” he said simply, dropping the subject. “So what’s this have to do with you not telling a pony their cutie mark?” asked Scootaloo. “Seems to me you could have saved yourself a lot of trouble if you had just told them what they wanted to know.” “And what was I supposed to do when the next group came, also demanding that I tell them their cutie marks?” asked Nightsong as he looked at the Crusaders. “And then what about the group after that? And after that? It becomes a never ending stream of fillies and colts who want to take the easy way out of learning their cutie mark. And once you stop ponies get offended and say, ‘This is unfair, you told all of them but not me’. Then they get upset and demand that you tell them or else they’ll make you somehow.” “Well it’s not like they’ll steal your teddy bear again,” said Scootaloo. As soon as she said that she covered her mouth with her hooves, but it was too late. Nightsong, apparently, had not completely gotten over the loss of his beloved teddy bear. As his eyes began to tear up he vanished in a bright explosion of light. Once he was gone, every pony turned to stare at Scootaloo. “Ah…sorry?” Once every pony had left, the Crusaders began to walk to Sweet Apple Acres. All three of their heads were down. They felt a little like Lemon and her friends, but they would never resort to stealing. Well, Apple Bloom did steal the Heart’s Desire to make a potion that would help get her cutie mark that one time, but she learned her lesson. They also felt bad for Nightsong and what he went through. Telling them that story probably brought back a lot of painful memories. “I feel so sorry for him,” said Sweetie Belle. “So do I,” said Scootaloo. “But it’s not like there’s anything we can do to help him.” “Well, maybe we can,” said Apple Bloom. “What if we found his teddy bear?” Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo exchanged a look for a moment before returning their attention to Apple Bloom. “I don’t think we’ll be able to find it,” said Scootaloo. “I mean, it’s been a thousand years! It might not even be around anymore.” “Well, I was thinking that maybe Zecora could help us,” said Apple Bloom. “Maybe make us a potion that could help us find it. It’d be like a treasure hunt.” “I don’t know,” said Sweetie Belle as she looked up at the darkening sky. “It’s starting to get late.” “Please, we’ve been there a thousand times before,” said Apple Bloom. “We’ll be back before any pony notices we were gone!” Any hour later, Twilight heard a knock at her door. The lavender pony had been going over various research material based on the story the Nightsong had told them. Personally, she found it fascinating to hear his views from events back then. There was also so much she wanted to ask him. So, after she had gotten home, she began to dig through all her history books and began to look up any inaccuracies that she found and planned on asking Nightsong about them. When Twilight got to the door, she found Rarity, Apple Jack, and Big Mac. All of them looked worried. “The girls are lost again,” said Twilight with a dead panned expression. Her friends nodded. Before Twilight could say anything, there was a flash of light. When it was over there stood Nightsong who also looked slightly annoyed. “I was making my rounds when I noticed that the girls were still up,” he said. “Please tell me that they’re having a sleep over or something.” Every pony shook their heads. “They’re up to something, aren’t they?” Every pony nodded. -x- Meanwhile, a thousand years ago, several ponies were gathering in a room in the abandoned castle. It had been several years since Celestia had moved out, leaving behind the old memories that had been haunting her. Now a layer of dust covered everything, but the ponies didn’t seem to worry about it much. They continued to walk thought it all until they made their way to a certain tower. Once there their leader pointed his horn at a wall and cast a spell. The area he pointed at became a blue, spiraling vortex of magical energy. “Now we wait,” said the leader as he sat down. -x- “I’d be more than happy to let you search my room,” said Zecora. “However you will not find Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, nor Apple Bloom.” In front of her was Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Apple Jack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Big Mac, and Nightsong. While searching for the Crusaders, they had come across Fluttershy who claimed she had seen the girls heading into the Everfree Forest. Once they realized that, they got the other members of the Mare Six and headed to Zecora’s place hoping that they were heading there. “So what do we do now?” asked Fluttershy. “We keep looking,” said Twilight. “They could be lost right now so we’re going to have to hurry and we’ll move faster if we split up. Rainbow and Fluttershy can search in the skies while the rest of us search on the ground. Rarity and Pinkie Pie can head north. Big Mac and Apple Jack can search the east.” “That will leave me and you to check out the west were the old castle is,” said Nightsong. Twilight nodded and then began to go over the plan of what to do once one of them finds the girls. Nightsong, however, wasn’t paying much attention. He couldn’t believe his luck. He was going to be alone with Twilight for an unknown period of time. What more could a stallion want? As they set out from Zecora’s, the two walked in silence. Both paying attention to their surrounding as they looked for the girls. Nightsong wanted to start talking to Twilight and asking her some questions. He wanted to know more about her. What was her favorite book? What was her favorite spell? What kind of stallions did she like? However the circumstance kept him from asking her that. “I’m really sorry we dragged you into this,” said Twilight, causing the prince to come back to reality. He looked at her and gave her a small grin. “Oh, it’s nothing really,” said Nightsong. “Besides, I wanted to help. Their good fillies even if they have a habit of walking into dangerous woods and stuff like that.” Twilight gave a light laugh at that, knowing how true it was. Soon the two of them came upon the old abandoned castle. Well, more like twenty minutes later, but you get the point! As Nightsong stared at the old castle, a flood of memories washed over him. Once this place was majestic and proud, but now it looked like it should be put out of its misery. He didn’t even know how it was still standing! Yet despite all that, both him and Twilight heard voices coming from inside. The two raced towards the castle, past the gates, and into the main hall. Upon entering the building they saw figures fleeing up the staircase most likely due to their loud entrance. Twilight and Nightsong gave case, following them up until they were in a room inside one of the few towers that hadn’t fallen over yet. The room was circular and for the most part empty. There were the remains of a bed that looked like it had been smashed several times and then become food for termites. There were what looked like book covers on the floor but the pages had long turned to dust. But the only thing that seemed to have survived all this was a single painting of the royal family. And in the middle of the room were the Crusaders. When Twilight and Nightsong first entered, they seemed to be scared for their lives. However, that changed once they realized who had been chasing them. “Twilight,” they all cheered as they raced over to the lavender pony. Twilight wrapped her front legs around them and embraced them. “I’m so glad you three are all right,” she said before letting them go. “We have been worried sick about you three. You should have told some pony were you were going at the very least.” She was about to say something else when she noticed the change in Nightsong. He was staring at the room with a nostalgic look on his face. “Nightsong, are you alright?” “This was my room,” he said as he began to look around. Then, without warning, a blue spiraling vortex appeared on one of the walls. The Crusaders quickly hid behind Twilight as images appeared within the vortex. The images were blurry at first, but soon came into focus. Nightsong took a step back and then said a two words. “Star Swirl?” “I knew this would work,” said Star Swirl at the other end of the vortex. But he was different from the last time Nightsong had seen him. He was now much older with wrinkles covering his body. But there was no mistaking that beard. “But how?” asked Nightsong. “I mean, it’s great to see you again, but how are you still alive? It’s been a thousand years!” “A thousand years?” asked Star Swirl. “Wow, it took you a long time to return to this place. Your mom is going to be so upset that you haven’t cleaned your room!” He then began to laugh which caused every other pony to give him a funny look. Once he calmed down a bit he got back to business. “This is a spell I like to call a time tunnel. Since the time spell only works once, I created this spell to connect the present with the future. Shortly after you entered the room, you activated the spell from your end allowing us to talk and stuff.” One of his friends, an old yellow pony, pulled out something from her saddle bag. Gently she tossed it through the portal and it landed in front of Nightsong. The prince’s eyes widened in shock as he looked down at what it was. “Mr. Fuzzaltine!” he cried out as he embraced his old teddy bear. “We found it two years after you left,” said Lemon. “We waited for you to come back, but you never did.” “So I created this spell just so that we could get it to you,” said Star Swirl with a smile. “Took a long time, but I finally got it right.” “I-I don’t know what to say,” stammered Nightsong. Then he looked at Star Swirl and took a deep breath. “Star Swirl, I’m so sorry. I was a jerk that day. I regretted that day for so long, but nothing compares with the fact that I was never able to say goodbye. Can you ever forgive me?” “Of course I can,” said Star Swirl. “I know you didn’t mean it. And it happened so long ago its water under the bridge. And now, we can say our goodbyes a bit more proper.” He then looked and noticed Twilight for the first time. She was staring at Star Swirl with a look of awe. Then he noticed the fillies. “Wow Nightsong, you had triplets!” Both Twilight and Nightsong looked at each other in confusion for a moment before it dawned on them what he was implying. This caused both their faces to turn beat red. “We’re not like that!” they both yelled. Star Swirl just laughed as the portal began to get smaller. “Looks like our time is almost up,” said Star Swirl. “Goodbye my friend and good luck.” “You too,” said Nightsong. Slowly the portal began to fade, but Nightsong notice that Star Swirl had remembered something important. “I almost forgot to tell you something! I created applesauce without using apples. I’m a genius!” And with that the portal vanished. For a time, Nightsong just stood there with his teddy bear in his hoof. After what seemed like forever, he had finally gotten it back. But he realized that if the Crusaders had never gone to see him he would still be working his tail off in the Dream Realm. He would never have been able to come here if it weren’t for them. And he would never have been able to talk to Twilight. He owed them. “Girls,” he said. “Come see me tomorrow in the Dream Realm. I’ll help you get your cutie marks.”