The night was almost always boring for Princess Luna. Beautiful yes, but boring due to her duties. She would love for nothing more than to fly out on her nights and spend her time under the wondrous stars she had placed there every night. She sighed a little and looked at the small pile of scrolls that covered her study desk.
If only I could have a few more hours of night to finish this all.
Luna sighed a little and moved onto the first scroll of the night. She opened it up and looked at it. Another request from the farming league to increase rain fall. She began to look for the most recent weather report and schedules from Cloudsdale when a sudden feeling of warmth radiate from her horn through her body.
"What in the... I haven't felt a surge of Lunar magic like that since..."
Her train of thought was derailed as the captain of the Night Guard came into the room.
"Your Majesty, there is something for you from the Astronomers League. They claim it was urgent."
She rose from the desk and the guard held out the letter to her. She looked at the guard for a moment and smiled at him.
"Thank you Sammael. I hope this wasn't an inconvenience to you. As I understand it, you have a lot of work to do."
The midnight colored stallion shook his head and motioned to the balcony. "Not at all, aside from a few minor preparations for Nightmare Night, besides they sent this over once it was spotted."
The lunar princess moved to the windowed doors that led to a small balcony. She opened the doors and stepped out to see a bright pillar of silver light reaching out into the sky and connected to the moon. The princesses’ eyes widened as she gazed upon the pillar.
"That can't be... could it have..."
"Your Majesty, permission to speak freely."
Luna turned to see the Night Guard captain looking up into the sky his eyes focused on the moon above. "Granted."
"That's from the direction of the Everfree Forest. Does this mean it’s regrown?"
Luna shook her head and watched as the pillar of light grew dimmer and faded away. The moon went from its full status back to the waxing form she had made it take at the beginning of the night. As the moon began moving across the sky Luna sighed.
"I don't know. There are so many relics from the past that have yet to be found, it could be a number of things that could have been found or used. Even if it is then finding it would be hard and very dangerous."
The guard moved next to the princess and looked up into the sky. "Do you think that... well...?”
The princess shook her head. "You know as well as I do that it can't happen. They have been gone for centuries. They are a legend just like Nightmare Moon is."
Luna noticed a small look of disappointment pass over the features of her captain. She cleared her throat to get his attention.
"Perhaps this will need to be looked into. How many nights till Nightmare Night?"
The stallion looked at princess and noticed the small smile on her face. "Three nights, Your Majesty."
The princess nodded and looked out towards the distant forest. "I think I shall require your presence on my trip to Ponyville this year."
The guard nodded and bowed low to the princess. Luna watched as the guard left the balcony then returned her attention to the moon.
"This has proven to be an interesting night after all."
Luna returned to her desk and opened the small scroll from the Astronomers League. It was a small hoof written note rather than the official document she was expecting.
Dear Princess Luna,
I'm certain that you must be expecting a report from my superiors but, as always, they tend to take a long time to make a decision. My name is Nova and I'm an apprentice in the League. I've spotted a strange phenomenon tonight...
Luna rolled her eyes. Of course you did. I think half the kingdom has tonight. She almost tossed the scroll aside, but felt that she should at least finish the letter. With a small sigh she resumed reading.
...near the Red Spider Nebula. Several stars appeared near within it and dramatically changed the appearance of the Nebula. I don't know if any of my peers or superiors have noticed it due to the event concerning the moon but I was hoping you could tell me if this change was intentional or was brought on by the pillar of light.
With respect,
Nova
What? This can't be correct. I would have known...The princess of the night moved back to the balcony and focused her sight on a small cluster of stars. She enhanced her sight to focus in on the stars and spotted several little white stars that she hadn't placed there at the beginning of the night.
"How did that... when did that..."
Luna looked at the features of the Spider nebula as it returned to an old shape that it had held when she first created it, a formation that was changed by her sister because of the pain it brought her when she looked upon it. The formation now undoubtedly looked like a creature from legends long forgotten.
"Nightmare Night will prove to be very interesting this year."
Silver Lining was bored. He had been stuck in the tiny room he was sitting in for close to three hours watching a small bronze bowl. The bowl itself was unimpressive, if anything it was sub-par in terms of craftsponyship, but what it could do was why it needed watching. It was a node along a magical communications network and scrolls or letters that would appear in it were of the highest priority, or so the young unicorn stallion had been told.
"This is so bucking pointless. Why does this thing need to be shoved into a broom closet anyways? Why can't we have it in the main study or somewhere with real chairs?"
He shuffled on the small crate he was sitting on and sighed as he grew slightly annoyed. This sucks. I'm too old for this neophyte stuff. I'm old enough for something more important than this. Heck I would even take training over this.
The stallion shook the mane on his name that gave him his namesake. The hairs shimmered and reflected off the brass bowl. He reached over to a small plate that sat on a nearby crate to eat his favorite food, cheesy bread.
"At least I have this to keep me from starving."
He chuckled at his own little joke and took a bite from the bread. He chewed in silence as he looked back at the bowl. It was the same as it always was. Plain, brass, and boring. Silver Lining sighed and leaned up against the wall. The minutes seemed to stretch on into hours as he sat there waiting for anything to happen.
He reached for the bread again when a dark blue flame erupted in the bowl. The sudden appearance of the flames made the stallion jumped and watched the flames as they faded away and a scroll was left in their place. Silver Lining sat there for a moment stunned that a scroll had appeared. It wasn't that he hadn't seen a scroll come through before but they never came in at such a late hour.
He picked it up and slowly unraveled it. He could tell that it was quickly written by someone of a noble stature due to the neatness of the letter. He quickly read through the letter.
To my Lord Silver,
As you have no doubt noticed there has been a rather peculiar incident involving the moon. The source of this disturbance is still unknown however I think it may be connected to the information I have come by. Rumors have been moving around town that something has moved into the local forest and even some of the foals have claimed to see it and come into contact with it. These stories seemed like the imaginary tales that foals would make up but I have seen signs that the tales may be true. Animals have gone missing, the local population of cows claim they have seen a creature moving on the farm and now the lunar anomaly have convinced me that these stories may indeed be true. I have included a picture of the foals that claim to have met the creature and I await your orders.
Brother Rich, Ponyville.
Silver Lining stood there for a moment then shook his head as he realized he had to deliver the scroll. He scrambled out of the tiny closet into the well cared for halls of the mansion that the small closet was a part of. He moved onto the deep blue carpet and moved up the hall and through a small doorway, moving into a small sitting room. He crossed the sitting room into a smaller hall and move to his left. He passed a few paintings and took a small breath.
Just give them the letter then leave. It should be easy.
He stopped before a set of large oaken doors that were the entrance to a study. He took another breath to steady himself and knocked on the doors. He vaguely became aware that the noise from behind the doors stopped as a moment later they opened and a young mare with bright blue eyes and a sea green coat greeted him.
"The masters asked not to be disturbed tonight."
Silver swallowed. "I have a message for the grand master. It's urgent."
The maid sighed. "Stay right here." The mare turned around and walked back into the room. Silver Lining could hear hushed talking then the maid returned. "The master will see you now."
The silver stallion moved into the small study to see a trio of ponies sitting in high-backed chairs facing the fires. Two of the chairs were angled so that the ponies sitting in them could look at the fire and at the door with a simple turn of the head. The chair between them was set so that the back was to the door.
A deep voice reached the silver stallion. "You have a message for me? Where from?"
Silver Lining cleared his throat softly. "From Brother Rich in Ponyville."
He moved the scroll to the leg-rest of the chair. The pegasus of deep green to the left of the armchair scoffed. "Ponyville? That little backwater of a town? What could possibly be important eno—?”
The green pegasus stopped as the stallion in the center chair lifted his hoof. The room fell dead silent, save for the fire crackling away. The stallion read the scroll then moved forward a little. Silver could only make out a silhouette of the side of the stallions face.
His powerful voice spoke again. "Leave us."
Silver Lining turned to leave but the voice reached him once more. "Not you. The rest of you, leave us. I have a matter to attend to with the young stallion."
Silver turned around to see the older stallions bowing to the silhouetted stallion before leaving. The remaining stallion looked to the maid and waved her over.
"Darling give the young lad some refreshment before you..." The stallion leaned over and whispered to the maid in a hushed voice. The maid blushed in the firelight then nodded. Silver Lining stood there for a moment unable to think of what to say or do. He had never been allowed to stay in this room alone with the Grand Master.
"Take a seat. You must be tired from watching the bowl for the night."
The young stallion moved to the side of the chair and sat down. The chair was comfortable and the perfect distance from the fire to stay warm but not get to hot. The maid walked next to the chair Silver Lining sat down in and gave him a glass filled with an amber liquid.
"Will that be all master?"
Silver couldn't tell who she was talking to until he noticed her looking at him. "Uh, yes. I'm fine. Thank you."
The maid bowed to them both then walked out of the room. The door to the small study closed, leaving the two stallions alone. Silver Lining looked at the older stallion and studied him for a moment. The light of the flickering fire danced on the bright silverish-white coat and the gold colored mane seemed to shimmer. The stallion looked over and locked his dark blue eyes on the younger pony.
"Never thank the help. They are paid to work not to be our friends."
"Sorry." A slight pause, "I didn't mean to interrupt your meeting, they looked important."
"They were just leaving. They had a concern about something Fancy Pants was doing. I have no quarrels with him, in fact I even enjoy his parties, but I won't act against his want to build another orphanage in the kingdom."
Silver Lining nodded. "I see. So why did I need to stay?"
The older unicorn took a sip from his own glass and looked down at the scroll. "I think that you have earned the right to prove yourself to me and the rest of our order. You will one day lead them and I need to know that our families’ legacy is in safe hooves. Your hooves."
The older unicorn downed the rest of his amber liquid and moved in his chair so that he could relax while looking at the younger pony. Silver Lining swallowed then looked at the drink in his hoof.
"You should drink that. That's thirty five year old scotch. I can't put that back in the bottle."
Silver Lining gave a small nod then placed the drink to his lips. The amber liquid moved passed his lips and down his throat, burning a path and leaving a bitter taste. The young unicorn swallowed it all then gave a small cough as the aftertaste of the liquid filled his mouth.
Silver Lining looked up to see the older stallion rolling his eyes. "So... what exactly am I doing to earn this?"
The older pony rose from his chair and moved to the desk near the window of the room. "You will be attending to the claims made by Brother Rich and investigating the incident with the moon that happened tonight. He believes the two are linked and so do I. That's why I'm sending you to Ponyville to talk with the locals and gather more information. This may be nothing but if it turns out to be something worthwhile I think you should be the one to uncover it."
The younger unicorn sat up in his chair. "What? Ponyville? Where am I supposed to stay? A small town like that surely won't have a hotel good enough for long term use."
The older unicorn nodded. "The son of Silver Tongue would never stay in such a lowly place as a simple hotel. I'm sending to stay with Brother Rich. He owns a mansion in the town and should have more than enough room to accommodate you. You will have all the resources he can provide, as well as a servant I will be sending with you."
Silver Lining gave his father a small bow. "Thank you father, I promise not to disappoint you, but what if I fail?"
Silver Tongue turned to his son with a grim look. "You won't, or you will never set hoof in this home again. Get a night of sleep, but make sure you gather all you need tonight. You set off in the morning." He handed the picture from the scroll to his son. “Make sure you speak with these three. They may have stumbled onto something worth our interest.”
The young stallion bowed to his elder and left the study. Silver Tongue watched the door close for a moment then opened a drawer of his desk. That boy will do fine; he has the entire Silver family legacy depending on it. Needs to learn how to properly treat his lessers though.
The silver coated stallion placed a scroll on the desk and began to write on it. Orders to Brother Rich and well wishes to his daughter, more of a simple politeness rather than genuine concern. He finished the letter with his signature and reached for a small stamp. A moment passed as he pulled out a small box of magicked wax that was always in a liquid state until applied to paper or parchment, and dipped the stamp in it. He pressed the stamp on the bottom of the paper with a tiny seal.
Good. Maybe we can find out if this is worth more of our focus. He took a final look at the seal and smiled. The wax had hardened into a crossbow bolt with sun in the background. The words that circled the image was more than that to him. They were the name of the elite protectors of Equestria. The Children of the Rising Sun, hunters of nightmares and evil.