//------------------------------// // Dreams in the Night // Story: Daughter Of The Stars // by Quill037 //------------------------------// Chapter 4: Dreams in the Night Moments before, it had been quiet, but now a booming voice was looming over Sirius and Gemini. They both turned toward the stairway leading up from the basement and saw who it was. It was one of the royal guards and his face, mixed with all sorts of emotions. Gemini looked at Sirius quickly, sweating, and then jumped toward the guard. “We were just checking this place out, you know? We sort of knocked down a display.” “We?” said Sirius scowling at Gemini. The guard looked to Sirius with an odd look of excitement and fear. “We were just curious sir,” said the small, dark unicorn. “What were you doing down here exactly?” The guard said directly to Sirius. Sirius looked around the nearly destroyed room. “Well, we were just looking for something interesting. We found books and treasures and as you can see,” Sirius pointed his hoof to the basement floor, “a few sets of armor.” _____________________________________ This was bad. What could he have read? Celestia’s plan for revealing this child’s destiny could be at stake. “You two shouldn’t be here. Quickly, we must get going,” said Stone. The two children followed him up the stairs and within minutes they had made it back to the entrance of the building. Stone was sure that somepony else in the guard would have heard the crash, even if it did come from the basement. Some of those guys were a lot quicker on their hooves than anypony would realize. He opened the door and stepped quietly out onto the castle grounds. The twilight gave them enough cover to escape without any other ponies spotting them, but Stone still made sure where he was going. Once they had made it into an alley near another wing of the archives, Stone turned. “Where exactly did you two come from?” Gemini pointed her hoof through the alley and out over the castle to a large dome of gold. “The observatory. Our parents are there working on a telescope.” “Well then let’s go. Follow me” _____________________________________ “I could get into a lot of trouble for this you know?” the guard said leading the children around the castle grounds. He had made it past most of the archives but knew that until the children were out of there, they were all in danger. Something was strange about this guard as well. Sirius couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d met him before. Interrupting his thoughts, Gemini piped in, “Are we in trouble?” “In a sense, yes, but right now we just need to worry about getting you two back. We’re out of the archives so we can walk,” said the guard. In the sudden quiet, Sirius had a revelation. The guard! He was the guard that showed his family around Canterlot Castle. He had also been present at his exam. There was another time when Sirius had accompanied his mother to the market and he was sure the grey Pegasus had been present. His thoughts wandered but were abandoned when they had finally made it to their destination. The guard tapped his hoof on the large golden doors. The young ponies were now cowering behind him. Maybe Sirius should have been a little more concerned about his actions and his situation. He apparently did something wrong and he didn’t think this guard was going to let him off the hook. He looked down at his little hooves and then over to Gemini. “What do you think is going to happen?” he asked her. She shook her head, “I just hope I can go for a few months without fun ‘cause that’s probably what my dad’s probably gonna take away.” She eyed the ground as Sirius did, kicking a little pebble around as she did so out of fearful anticipation. _____________________________________ “Well, that should do it.” Midnight had just finished turning the last screw in the loose structure of the telescope. He’d calibrated some of the mirrors and was sure he’d fixed it. “Is it working?” Shimmer pressed his face to the eyepiece and peered through. The twilight sky shone bright orange in the telescope and he could see a few stars very clearly. “Aha! It’s working! I can’t thank you enough Midnight. I guess we won’t have to stay overnight. It took a lot less time than I thought it would.” Shimmer walked around the telescope and slapped Midnight on the back with his hoof. “I don’t think I need anything else done so you can head on home if you’d like. “You sure you don’t need any help cleaning up?” “I’m going to stay an hour later. I’ll do it. Go on home,” he said, smiling. “Well, thanks. If you need anything else just send a letter.” Midnight wandered over to the bottom of the stairs. “Sirius! We’re done so we can go home now!” he shouted up the stairs. There wasn’t a response. “Sirius?” No response again and Midnight was a little worried. Just as he was about to climb to the loft, there was a knock on the door. Midnight was close enough so he opened them, still wondering where his son was. _____________________________________ The door’s handle began to turn as minutes turned to hours. Gemini and Sirius cringed as it swung open. They looked up and saw their respective fathers, standing with wide eyes looking down at them. “Sirius?” Midnight was confused. His son was here now and he was relieved, but the fact that he was with a royal guard didn’t seem to make much sense. Stone spoke up, “Sir, our division in the royal guards was performing an investigation in the archives and these two were found inside.” Both young ponies approached the door from behind the guard, looking away from the disappointed gazes of their parents. There was a long pause. “We’re sorry dad,” Sirius said, still focused on the ground. Gemini’s father gave his daughter a glare. “Gemini, how many times have I told you to stay here when I’m working?” She stepped inside the doors facing her discipline. Midnight looked down at his son, “We finished our work so we’ll have to talk about it with your mother tonight,” He said sternly. “Bye Shimmer!” Shimmer waved goodbye to his friend and colleague and the door shut behind Midnight. He turned to the guard. “I can’t thank you enough for this.” The guard stopped in response to Midnight’s comment. He couldn’t just let it go. He had to know the danger his son was in. “Well…you’re welcome.” He paused for a moment as Midnight turned to walk away before shouting, “Wait!” Trotting up to meet them under the nearly dark sky, Stone spoke, “Listen Midnight, could I speak with you in private?” Midnight nodded and then turned to his son. “Sirius, wait over there by that bench please. I need to talk to this guard.” Sirius obeyed forced his sullen self upon the bench. “I hope he didn’t cause too much trouble,” Midnight said to the guard, “I told him to stay here.” “It’s okay, but that’s not the reason I wanted to speak with you.” Midnight was confused. “Yes, he was trespassing in a locked down area, but it was where he was trespassing.” Midnight remained silent despite his curiosity. “You see sir, my name is Stone and I had served under the Royal Court Wizard Cirrus many years ago. You knew him didn’t you?” “Yes?” said Midnight hesitantly. “Well it was almost ten years ago that I was stationed in one of Equestria’s northern forts alongside Cirrus during the Crystal Empire crisis.” Midnight began to piece the information together. He was there at Sirius’s birth. He was there. “What does this have to do with Sirius?” he asked slowly. “Well, the place I had found them was the artifact and history wing. He had stumbled upon some books in the basement,” Stone delivered the information. Midnight was stunned at the news. He turned to look back at his son. Sirius. Midnight wished to protect him from his destiny until the time is right. He turned back to face Stone who only responded with one final statement before flying off. “I know.” _____________________________________ Sirius’s parents had sent him to bed right after dinner. Sirius wasn’t even very hungry after all that had happened that day. His room was dark as he laid under the covers of his bed. The night had encroached upon the world and now engulfed everypony in a solemn quiet. Other ponies didn’t like the night. Sirius had heard stories that other fillies and colts made up about the dangers of going out at night. They were silly tales and only led to somepony getting scared. Sirius reached for his favorite toy, a stuffed pony that resembled a canterlot royal guard. He may have been a little old for these kinds of toys, but it left him with a secure feeling. His eyelids began to close and his mind entered a state of thought. What was that book that he had read? What was it about? He wasn’t sure it was relevant, but the questions persisted as if something was trying to tell him something. In his wonderings, Sirius drifted into sleep, a deep sleep that welcomed the surreal and the fantasy. He was dreaming. Sirius was alone in Canterlot castle. He was looking at the stained glass windows adorning one of the castle hallways; vivid portrayals of battles, discoveries, and stories of old. He was standing there, marveling at what was before him, when a voice came from behind, “Beautiful, aren’t they?” It was Princess Luna. Sirius turned and smiled. “Princess Luna! I don’t remember going to the castle.” “It’s because you didn’t. You’re dreaming Sirius.” Sirius began breathing heavily at the shock of being in a dream. He could feel it fading away until Luna placed a hoof on him. “Don’t get too excited. Your dream will fade.” Sirius calmed down. He sat down and looked at his surroundings. Why was he at the castle? More importantly, why was Princess Luna here? It was said that she visited ponies rarely. This was a true chance encounter. “If this is a dream, then why are you here Princess?” Luna sat down next to Sirius. She paused then looked up at one of the stained glass windows. “You are troubled. Is there something wrong?” Sirius thought for a moment. “Well, I’m just a little curious about a book that I read in the archives today.” “You were in the archives?” Luna was surprised. “My friend and I found our way in. We didn’t know it was shut down, honest.” Sirius had just been reprimanded and was a little afraid of getting in trouble again. Luna laughed. “Continue child. I know it was not you.” “We were there and I read a few books in the artifact and history wing. None of them really stood out to me except this one that told about a prophesy. I never got to finish it and I don’t know why, but I can’t forget it.” Luna closed her eyes. She knew much like everypony else that this child did not need to be told of his destiny until the time was right. The fact that he read that book is dangerous enough, but Luna had to take on this issue calmly. “You know Sirius; sometimes our search for facts can ruin how we see life. How we see ourselves. Some secrets just aren’t meant to be known. Maybe you’re not meant to know what happened to the prophesy.” Sirius looked down. Princess Luna was right. How was a book like that going to change him? He would only loose focus on what’s important. “Thank you Princess.” Sirius hugged her. She had not felt love like that in a long time. He let go of her and then proceeded to ask another question. “If it’s okay, I wanted to ask you; why do you appear to so few ponies? It’s not everyday anypony gets to meet a princess.” Luna once again looked upwards. “Not many ponies enjoy my night. They drift into sleep with hopes of emerging again to see the sunlight of the new day. They don’t understand my night like you do Sirius.” She turned and smiled at the little unicorn. “I’m sorry Princess. Ponies should really appreciate the night more,” Sirius said as he sat there quietly with the princess. She was mixed with feelings. She felt happy that there were ponies out there like this; ones who understood her. Not happy enough, however to change her mind.