//------------------------------//
// Lunar Dragon 
// Story: Frozen:The day the sun died. 
// by Brosparkles 
//------------------------------//

	Several guards surrounded the doors, covered in gold-colored armor, which marked them as royal guard. they also were very heavily wrapped, as was the norm for living in such cold climate. They all carried pikes, beautifully made, along with side swords. They approached the gates, and the guards readied their pikes.

“Halt! No one is allowed into the palace.” A large stallion yelled to them roughly.

“But we were told that Luna wanted to see people new to the city.” Sol said.

“Maybe so. But not during the daytime. She needs to sleep at some point.”

“Daytime? But it hasn’t seemed to change at all.” Amethyst said.

“Funny.” the guard said.

“Let them in.”  a mare’s voice spoke.

The guards raised their pikes resignedly.

“We’ll be watching you. Closely.” the guard said.

“I am most pleased to meet you.” the voice said, getting closer.

Electric lights lit up, and revealed a dark blue mare,  looking just as serenely beautiful as Sol had remembered.

“They never know the time anymore, it’s actually quite late.” she said.

“Princess!” Sol exclaimed. “You really do exist!”

“Yes child, I am no mere dream.” Luna spoke.

“It is an honor to meet you, your majesty. My name is-” Aqua was interrupted

“I’m Sol, and they’re Aqua and Amethyst. It’s great to meet you!” Sol said excitedly.

Sol noticed that Luna was not bundled up like everypony else.

“Aren’t you cold?” he asked.

Luna gave a slight chuckle.

“I was on the moon for a thousand years. This is nothing!”

“So, what was it that you wanted to talk to us about?” Amethyst asked.

“Come with me. I would like to speak in private.” Luna said, gesturing them up the stairs.

As he walked, Sol took a moment to look around the palace. Stained glass windows covered the walls, depicting various images. A draconequus, with two princesses flying around. Another princess, this one purple, with a large dragon behind her. A white princess, with a golden orb of light rising behind her, and one that appeared to be Luna, with a white orb behind her. In the hallway were 6 more, each of the element bearers they saw earlier.

“A long time ago.” Luna began. “There were two regal sisters, and 6 element bearers, who protected harmony. The eldest rose the sun, and the younger sister brought out the moon.  Thus balance was maintained. But as you all can see, I am the only regal sister here.”

“Well, where’s the other one?” Sol asked.

“We’ll get to that. The two of us ruled the land of Equestria for thousands of years. Harmony kept this land safe all those years. The balance of day and night kept this harmony in balance. everything was going so well. As far as we knew, we were immortal rulers. This was not the case. Our lifespans are tied to the sun and moon. The sun has slowly been burning away Celestia. If I had only known the pain she had endured. The energy of the sun eventually became too much for her, and overcame her. The very thing keeping her alive killed her. Without her life force to feed on, the sun quickly burned its own energy into nothingness.  The only reason we have not succumbed is the night does not draw on my energy. Even my precious moon draws on energy from the sun. Oh Celestia, if only I had known.”

“I’m so sorry.” Sol said.

“So, what is this sun?” Aqua asked.

“You mean you haven’t even heard tales of it?” Luna said.

“No, but people sure won’t shut up about it.” Amethyst said.

“The sun was a great source of energy for the planet. It gave us light, food, and warmth. Now it’s gone, and our cities are frozen and wasting away.” Luna said, and gestured to a stained glass window, which depicted the white princess lifting a shining orb. “This is what Celestia and the sun looked like.”

“What can we do?” Sol asked.

“I have no idea.” Luna said. “I couldn’t have ever imagined such a thing happening. My sister would know what to do, she always did.”

“She’s dead.” Amethyst said.

“Amethyst!” Aqua gasped, shocked.

“What? It’s true. She’s gone, and there isn't anything you can-.” Amethyst said, before being interrupted.

“Please excuse her your majesty. She never learned how to-” Aqua said, before also being interrupted.

“Don’t interrupt me.” Amethyst said. “I never learned to what? Bow down to my superiors? Be a tool?”

“I was going to say speak politely.” Aqua said.

“Please, stop this.” Luna said. “She is right.”

“Huh?” Aqua said, confused.

“There isn’t anything I can do. No more longing for the past.” Luna said. “But, how can I act for the future? There isn’t anything left.”

“Maybe.” a deep voice rumbled. “But we can’t just give up.”

Large steps echoed through the hallway, as a large, purple beast entered. Covered in scales,  with green plates shooting up from its head. Its claws scratching across the floor, it slowly walked up the stairway with some difficulty, as its legs were too big to fit on one stair. Its wingspan was quite large, and it had to keep its wings close to its body in order to fit within the palace halls. Its tail swung occasionally when it walked. But despite all these intimidating features, Sol could see a look of kindness on its face.

“Ah, you have visitors. Greetings, I am Spike.” the dragon spoke.

Aqua was paralyzed with fear at the sight of the dragon. Amethyst was shaking, but tried to hide her fear the best she could. But this didn’t last for long, when their fear was overcome by pure surprise.

“Hiya! My name’s Sol! Glad to meet you! These are my friends Amethyst and Aqua!” Sol said cheerfully.

Even Spike was surprised that Sol didn’t even seem slightly afraid.

“Hmm, you’re quite the interesting one. I’ve never seen a pony act so fearless.” Spike said.

“Why would I be afraid? I can tell you aren’t going to hurt me.” Sol said.

“Really? Even if I do...this?” Spike said.

Spike let out a roar, shaking the floor. Fire shot from his mouth, and he spread his claws. He extended his wings as far as he could, as they rubbed on the walls. Aqua turned pale, and nearly fell over. Amethyst simply watched in awe.

“Yep.” Sol said.

“How?” Spike asked, genuinely curious.

“Your face gives it away.” Sol said.

“Well, at least I got the other two.” Spike said resignedly. “You know, you remind me of somepony.

“Who?” Sol asked.

“Pinkie Pie. She was like that too, always friendly.” Spike said.

“I see it as well.” Luna said.

“Wait, you mean her?” Sol said, pointing to the stained glass of the element of laughter.

“Yeah. Unless you know another Pinkie Pie.” Spike said.

“Nope.” Sol said. “You knew the element bearers?”

“Yep. Lived with one of them.” Spike said.

Sol’s eyes widened, his began to flutter his wings quickly in excitement.

“You’re that Spike? The one in the statue outside?” Sol said. “But you’re so much bigger now.”

“That statue was made a long time ago.” Spike said. “Back when I still fit on Twilight’s back. Now she’d fit in my hand.”

“Aqua! Amethyst! Did you hear that? The elements are real!” Sol yelled to them.

:”I heard.” Aqua said, still recovering from dragonfear. 

“Yeah, maybe.” Amethyst said.

“How do you keep warm? It’s gotta be freezing out!” Sol asked, noticing Spike was not covered in any sort of clothing,  not that dragons ever wear clothes.

“The fire in my belly.” Spike said. “I heat the city with it, too.”

“Really?” Sol asked, removing his helmet, to find it was indeed warm in the palace.

“Yeah. I mean, my fire alone isn’t enough to warm all of Canterlot, but it helps.” Spike said. “The rest is done by fuel heating. I do burn the fuel though.”

“Cool.” Sol said, looking to Spike in awe. “I wish I was a dragon.”

“So, back to the topic of saving Equestria.” Spike said. “Or, at least making our lives a little better.”

Spike grabbed some gems from a bowl on an elegant table. He began snacking on sweet sapphires as he spoke.

“Whoah! You eat gems?” Sol said.

“Yup.” Spike said, his mouth full of gems. “Sapphires, emeralds, amethysts.”

A look of fear shot over Amethyst’s face for a moment, until she realized he was indeed talking about the gemstone, and everyone shared a laugh.

“Could I have one?” Sol asked.

“Um...help yourself I guess.” Spike said, confused.

Sol grabbed an emerald, and chewed it a little.

“How do you eat these? I need a chisel or something.” Sol said.

“Ponies don’t usually eat gems. Your teeth aren’t strong enough.” Spike said.

“Oh.” Sol said, a bit disappointed. “But it looks so beautiful.”

“Go ahead, take a few if you want.” Spike said.

Sol looked around through the gems as the others spoke.

“We need to do something about this.” Spike said. “We can’t let Equestria fade away.”

“I know. But what can be done?” Luna responded.

Aqua and Amethyst removed their helmets, so they could continue talking easier, without electronic devices.

“Wow!” Sol exclaimed, grabbing a ruby, not from the bowl, but within a case nearby. “What about this one?”

“Not that one. It’s a very special fire ruby. I couldn’t ever part with that.” Spike said.

“Oh, ok.” Sol said, a little disappointed, but understanding. “So, did the princess leave any sort of clues?”

“Not that I know of. We never even knew how control of the sun and moon worked. We just did it.”

“Even I never knew that.” Spike said.

“Of course not. We weren’t going to let people know that we had no idea how we were keeping the world in balance. We needed to seem competent.” Luna said.

Sol found another ruby, this one very round. This one he kept.

“Is this one okay?” Sol asked.

“Sure.” Spike said. 

“So, why was it that you wanted to see us? We heard that you like to meet people new to the city.” Sol asked. 

“Because I’m looking for a hope. The elements are said to reincarnate into different ponies. First Celestia and I, then the six bearers. I need to find the next elements. But I don’t seem to sense any sort of connection to the elements with you.” Luna said.

“Have you gotten many visitors?” Aqua asked.

“You’re the first.” Luna said.

“Luna, we can’t let this opportunity pass by.” Spike said.

“Would you three be interested in helping? Even if you aren't the elements, we could still use your help.” Luna said.

“Of course.” Sol said.

“I would be honored to help.” Aqua said.

“I don’t have much of a choice.” Amethyst said.

“Thank you all.” Luna said. “It is getting rather late, I’d imagine you are quite tired.”

“I know I am.” Spike said, yawning.

“There are lots of rooms free in the palace. You may stay here for as long as you like.” Luna said.

“Thank you for the hospitality.” Aqua said.

Luna showed the three of them two the guest rooms.

“Ask me or Spike if you need anything. We’ll try our best to provide for you.” Luna said.

Spike headed into an enormous room, which seemed to be built as an addition the the palace. an incredibly large bed was within, big enough for him. 

“Goodnight to you all.” Luna said, heading back upstairs.

Sol took a look around Spike’s room. It was huge, he could fly around freely. The room was not what Sol would have expected. Various dresses and manikins, all pony sized, lined the walls, each dressed differently in elegant fashions. 

“What’s with the dresses?” Sol asked.

“They were made by my closest friend. More than that, even. She loved fashion.” Spike said.

Sol kept looking around. and saw some pictures and a couple of paintings. One painting depicted a white mare, with a gorgeous deep blue mane, perfectly curled. Her white fur contrasted well with the background of the painting. Spike was the subject of the other one, this one depicted him with some sort of crystalline heart.  Spike curled up on his bed. The pictures all involved him and that mare. One of him as a child, with a much younger version of her. The next of him as a drake, and the mare not much older. As time passed, she began to age throughout the pictures, but did it well, and looked as stunning as ever. The next picture involving her showed her in wedding dress, along with Spike in an tuxedo, much closer to the size he was now. 

“It must have been hard for you to get clothes that fit.” Sol said.

“Not really. Rarity made them for me herself.” Spike said.

“Wait, I’ve seen one of these dresses before. That’s a wedding dress!” Sol said, remembering one of the shelter residents who took hers with her. 

“Yeah, it is.” Spike said.

“You were married to one of the element bearers?” Sol asked.

“Yeah. I was.” Spike said somberly.

“Oh, um...sorry.” Sol said.

“It’s fine. I don’t mind talking about it.” Spike said. “It’s not going to change anything. She passed of illness not long after this crisis.”

“I’m sorry.” Sol said again, not sure what else to say.

“She wouldn’t want me to be sad about it. She’d want me to keep helping the world, carry on her spirit of generosity. So I moved here to Canterlot afterwards, and help Luna any way I could..” Spike said.

“But I thought you said you lived with Twilight.” Sol said.

“I did, as a younger dragon.” Spike said.

“You must have been around the element bearers your whole life.” Sol said.

“I was. I even had to replace Rainbow Dash once. It didn’t work out well.” Spike said.”I enjoyed talking with you, but I need to sleep, if you don’t mind.”

“Not at all.” Sol said. “Night.”

“Night.” Spike said, turning out the light, and closing the gigantic door behind Sol.

Sol headed off to bed as well, anxious for tomorrow. He tried his best, but Sol couldn't sleep. The excitement of today, or maybe yesterday, he couldn't tell, was overwhelming. He noticed Aqua was gone from their bed., and decided to look for him.

“Aaaaaquaaaa! Where are you?” Sol called out.

Sol began to hover, and headed towards the gardens.

“Aqua?” Sol asked.

“Over here.” Aqua replied.

Aqua was indeed in the gardens, looking up at the skies.

“You couldn’t sleep either?” Sol asked.

“Nope.” Aqua said.

“What are you doing out here?” Sol asked.

“Just looking around.” Aqua said.

“Why is this called a garden? There’s no plants here.” Sol asked.

“I don’t know.” Aqua said.

“It’s so beautiful out here.” Sol said

While the plants were no more, statues and fountains remained. The frozen over fountains were still breathtaking, even with frozen water, which no longer ran through the fountain. Various statues lie within the garden. One depicted Celestia, another depicted Luna. An odd one was in between the two of them, legs and part of the flank of a mare. Sol got closer to read the inscription.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, guardian of magic and friendship.” Sol read aloud.

“It must have never been finished.” Aqua said.

“Yeah.” Sol said.

More statues were scattered around, from Starswirl the Bearded to Topaz the trader, Applejack the Honest all the way down to Zecora the Wise, and every Equestrian hero in between.

“You know, I wasn’t sure about this whole thing. I had thought about trying to convince you to stay in the shelter. “ Aqua said.

“And miss out on all this?” Sol asked

“But I’m glad I came.” Aqua said.

Sol was completely absorbed in stargazing, the stars seemed particularly bright tonight.

“If only to see you this happy.” Aqua said.

“Why wouldn’t I be? This place is amazing!” Sol said.

“It’s a bit cold though, even with the heat from the castle.” Aqua said.

Without warning, Sol grabbed onto Aqua, embracing him.

“Better?” Sol asked.

“Much better.” Aqua replied.

Aqua kissed Sol, and the two of them looked to the sky, at all the stars.

“I wonder what those are.” Sol said. “Do you think Luna would know?”

“Probably. She and that dragon seem to know everything.” Aqua said.

“Except what to do.” Sol said.

The two of them heard hoofsteps coming from behind them.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Luna asked.

“How’d you know?” Sol asked.

“I watch over your dreams. I can tell when you aren’t sleeping.” Luna said.

“It’s just so amazing. this place.” Sol said.

Luna get her first chance to see what the two of them looked like, now that they had their suits off. She looked to Sol’s flank, and focused her gaze onto it.

“Could it be?” she asked.

“What?” Sol asked.

“N...nothing.There’s no way.” Luna said.

“But it has to be! He very clearly had a cutie mark of sunlight. There has to be something more to this child.” She thought

“Uh, Princess?” Sol asked, as she gazed at his cutie mark.

“Hmm? Oh, my apologies. I seemed to have slipped away for a moment.” Luna said.

“We should really get to sleep. We can plan out what to do tomorrow.” Aqua said.

“Indeed. It is so late it is early.” Luna said.

“How can you tell?” Sol asked.

“I can feel the moon, still out there. I can sense it’s location in the sky, using it to judge time.” Luna said.

“Sounds useful.” Aqua said. “I’ve always had to tell with mechanical clocks.”

“Where’d you get those, anyway?” Sol asked.

“Repaired some old ones.” Aqua responded.

“You sure know machines.” Sol said.

“It’s actually really difficult, I went through a lot of them trying to get it exact.” Aqua said, blushing slightly.

“I remember you saying that one little mistake and the whole balance was messed up.” Sol said.

“But it’s important. Lots of other things run based on time, and they need it to be accurate.” Aqua said, standing up. “I think I’m going to get some sleep.”

“Me too.” Sol said, yawning, and following Aqua into their room.

Luna stayed behind, looking to the sky, at the stars.

“Does each one of those stars have its own Princess, too?”  she wondered. “Celestia. If I had only known.”  she repeated.