Despite the fall of the sun into the horizon, Luna found peace as she welcomed the cold dusk of the night sky. The gentle breezes soon shifted from warmth to coolness as the sun sank and the moon rose. A scattering of stars flowed from her carriage as she whisked through the air, sparkling like polished diamonds. It was like she was an artist, using her talent and sense of vivid imagery to paint a sterling picture on the world's canvas. Despite being a Princess whose subjects always slept through her reign, she at least found joy in her duties.
"We are done here, guards," Luna called out to the group of her personal Pegasi guards pulling the carriage. "We shall return to Canterlot." Their silent acknowledgment shown, the carriage turned back towards the castle, dashing over the city below before landing on one of the outside balconies.
Luna swiftly stepped from her seat onto the polished marble floor, the moonlight leaving a silver shine on its surface. She made her way to the entrance to the castle but stopped abruptly, rearing her head back and letting as a gasp as she noticed herself in the floor's reflection. Her mane a little untidy, she brushed a hoof through it and swirled her head glamorously, letting her mane flow with grace. With another close look, she smiled with acceptance of her appearance -- she was royalty, after all.
"Sister," Luna's voiced echoed through the grand halls of the castle, "I have returned. Now, what was it that you wished to speak to me about?"
Princess Celestia stood regally by the bottom of the stairs among the hall, a smile on her face as she gazed at the approaching Princess. "Of course," she responded softly. "Now, Luna, I'm aware that you are not completely happy with your duties of having to watch over your sleeping… "subjects"."
"D-don't be absurd, sister!" retorted Luna, her eyes widened. "What could possibly give you such an idea?"
Celestia raised her eyebrow with a straight face. "That was the reason you became Nightmare Moon, was it not?"
Luna gulped and shifted her eyes away, embarrassed. "Well, yes. But that was a long time ago."
"In any case, I thought I would treat you with something: a day off… uh, rather, a night off."
"A night off? But what would I do? Where would I go? And how will you cope?"
Celestia giggled. "Well, it's still early in the evening, so there should still be activity in Canterlot. Go and mingle with your "subjects". Get to know them, go and make friends and such." Celestia's expression heightened after a brief pause. "Oh, I know! Why don't you go to Ponyville and say hello to Twilight and her friends? Maybe you can catch up with them from Nightmare Night?"
Luna gave a big smirk. "Do I get to eat any little foals while I'm there?"
A laugh escaped Celestia, her smile getting bigger. "Maybe next year, Luna. Maybe next year. So, does that mean you will take the night off?"
"I suppose so, sister. Are you sure you will be okay?"
The silent smile of Celestia was all that Luna needed for a reply. Slowly Celestia turned to head up the velvet steps, but stopped to turn her attention to Luna half-way. "Oh, and, of course I'll be alright -- I've been doing your job for the last thousand years, after all," she replied with a goading grin.
"O-oh… right. I'm sorry…"
"It's okay, Luna. Besides, I doubt that one evening will be the straw that breaks the pony's back." Celestia continued up the steps. "I'll see you in the morning."
"Sure thing, sister. See you soon." Luna tried to keep her smile but, with nothing left to do, her smile became sullen with a sigh. "Where do I even start? I guess I could pay Twilight a visit…"
The wind brushed against her cheeks and through her hair as she soared through the sky over the relaxed city of Canterlot below her -- clumsily, unfortunately. Her balanced swayed and swerved from one side to another as she tried to keep herself airborne. "This is ridiculous!" she muttered to herself, frustrated. "Who would think that taking a carriage everywhere would give you flight rust?"
Her concerns departed as her ears pricked up, hearing cries from below; the cries of what sounded like an elderly pony. Cautiously, trying her hardest to not plummet straight downward, Luna descended from the sky to the ground below. The cries became louder and clearer -- it was calling out to someone. As Luna got closer, the pony came into view -- an elderly pony with her greying hair done up in a bun, standing outside the Canterlot Orphanage.
"Wing! Where did you go, Wing?" the mare cried out frantically with cupped hooves around her mouth. Sighing, she looked down. "Always causing trouble…" she mumbled to herself.
Looking at the elderly pony with displeasure, Luna walked towards her. "Excuse me," Luna called gently, "is there something the matter?"
The mare turned around, but stumbled back with a widened expression as she took in the visage of the Princess, and even more so when she began talking to her. "Y-Your Majesty!" she stammered, clenching her chest. "Gosh, you almost gave me a heart attack! I mean, w-what can I do for you at this hour?"
"No, no, it is I who wants to know what I can do for you."
"O-oh, I see. Well-- " she sighed once more "--one of our boys, Wing, has ran off. Again…"
""Again"? You mean this has happened before?"
"Oh, many times. He has a habit of running off when he gets into trouble -- which is quite a lot, I'm afraid. With my bad hip, I can't keep chasing after him all the time, so I asked the guards to try and find him. They're pretty used to it nowadays."
"Are there no guards looking for him at the moment?"
"None. He's only ran off just now, so I haven't asked anypony yet. Princess, I know it's not my place to ask -- and I'm sure you're very busy with your duties and all -- but, if you can, could you look for him? He couldn't have gotten far."
Luna hesitated for a moment. In her pride, she was astounded that she would be asked such a task considering her standing -- she was no babysitter. However, Celestia's words began to ring in her head: make friends and get to know ponies better. What better way than to help her subjects?
"Of course," agreed Luna with a smile. "Do you know where he might have gone to?"
"Oh, thank you so much," the mare responded with a breath of relief. "The guards often say they found him near Sugar Street. That would be the best place to start."
"Okay then. I'll see what I can do." Luna swiftly galloped past her, making her way down the cobblestone streets.
"Thank you again!" the mare called after her.
Dust kicked up behind Luna as she sprinted through the paths and down the streets regardless of the ponies that got in her way -- her vision was tunnelled on finding Wing and nothing more. Even the clamouring voices and speculating eyes of the small crowds around her did not draw her attention as they could scarcely believe the Princess was among them, let alone the fact that she was galloping through Canterlot.
The Princess came to a screeching halt, her shoes grinding against the stone pathway, small sparks flickering from them. She turned her head town one of the pathways, a street labelled 'Sugar Street'.
Just as the name suggested, Sugar Street was composed almost entirely of two high walls of buildings almost exclusively candy stores. One store had a large, pink awning above the entrance with candy cane-like pillars holding it up, with jars of pebble-shaped sweets in jars in the windows and other types of hard candy. Another had a large, brown, decorative archway into a store that sold plentiful of chocolates from milk, dark, white, and even a multitude of colours from the royalty of blues to the dazzling of yellows and pinks.
It was understandable why a foal would choose this place as his hiding spot.
The day-dreaming Luna quickly shook her head before her glowing, widened eyes could fill her head with more imagery of a sugar-filled fantasy world, a bit of drool falling from her lower lip expressing her desire for one. "Bah, that's not what I'm here for," she muttered to herself, regaining her focus. "But there are so many places…"
Cautiously she sneaked a peek around the alleyways between each couple of stores, proceeding from one alleyway to the next -- but each one only had the same thing one after the other; small dumpsters and scattered black bin bags filled with trash. That's what it smelt like, anyway.
Luna tried to shift her head a bit more around the corner of the next alleyway, trying to peer around the dumpster that blocked her view, but couldn't get a good look around it. She sighed heavily, shaking her head. "This is hopeless. There's nothing here…" She turned to leave, her head hung low, trying to come up with some idea of where to look next.
Then a small rustle crept from the alleyway. It was subtle, yet audible, echoing down the alley.
"Hm?" Luna turned back around, gazing at the bin bags in front of the dumpster. "Did I just hear…? I wonder…" Her gentle hoofsteps rung softly in the alleyway, echoing off the walls. Another rustle sounded when she approached, one of the bags toppling slightly. Her hoof touched against its vinyl fabric, pressing on it gently, nudging it.
The bag nudged back sharply.
"What is this?" mumbled Luna to herself. As she pushed the bag out of the way, she gasped softly when she saw something nestled underneath. "Oh, my!" she exclaimed, holding her hoof to her mouth.
Under the bags lays a small colt with a long, white mane with three bangs that fell in front of his snout, huddled up under and around the bin bags. His dark charcoal coat blended him almost seamlessly with the darkness of the alleyway and the ebon bags, if not for his bright emerald-green eyes that gazed back up to the Princess -- eyes of fear.
"You must be "Wing", I assume?" the Princess asked with a discouraged face. "I've come to get you."
The young colt's eyes began to blear. His lip quivered.
"Ahhhhh!" the terrified pony cried out, bursting from his bag-built fortress, throwing them from his small body as he sprinted between Luna's legs, past her, and from the alleyway.
"W-wait!" cried Luna after him, but it fell only on deaf ears. Quickly she galloped after him, bursting from the alleyway and catching a glimpse of him out the corner of her eye as he sped onto the main street.
Luna had a better idea though. She had one big advantage over the foal: her wings. With a great beat of them, she bolted straight into the air, giving her a perfect view of the city below her. Easily enough, the little black and white pony could be seen hustling through the streets as fast as his little legs could take him.
The Princess drew a small yet almost sinister grin on her lips. "Got you now," she muttered to herself. Like a train, she sped towards him at great speeds, flying past the buildings and over the rooftops as she closed in on him. Before the foal knew what had hit him, Luna grasped him tightly around his waist with her foreleg as she came to a screeching halt along the stone-paved walkway.
It was a relief to her that no one was around to see her, otherwise they'd think she'd gone back to gobbling up little children. Not that she did any of that stuff, anyway.
"H-hey!" the child cried out, struggling against Luna's firm grip. "P-put me down! I haven't done anything wrong!"
"If I do, do you promise not to run from me?" asked Luna, her voice stern yet without hostility.
"Okay, okay!" Without hesitation, Luna loosened her grip as the pony hopped out from her leg and stood in front of her. His large, emerald-green eyes stared up at her. Stared in fear. His lips quivered lightly. "You're… you're not gonna eat me, are you, Miss?"
"Do not be absurd!" bellowed Luna in a strong voice, insulted that he would insinuate such a thing. Although, as she paused for a moment, a smirk spread upon her lips. "I've already had my fair share of little children like you," she retorted with a hint of callousness. "Although, if you keep causing me trouble" -- she slowly moved her head towards him -- "then I think I can find it within myself to fit one more."
The boy let out a small cry. "N-n-no!" he yelled out, wrapping his legs around hers. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"Good. Now, release me." In a flash, the foal did so, reseating himself in front of the tall equine. "Now then, your name is "Wing"?"
A look of contempt filled his eyes before looking away from Luna, gazing off to the side. "I don't like being called that," he responded softly.
"So, it's not your real name?" Luna asked.
"I don't have a real name…"
"Then why do they call you "Wing"?"
The foal turned back to her with a sullen look. He let out a little sigh before extending the wing on the left side of his body, its small feathers unfolding as it spanned out sideward.
Luna raised an eyebrow. "… Because you're a Pegasus?" she questioned confusingly.
Wing, however, whimpered in discomfort. He lifted his hoof and wrapped it around the long, flowing white mane that draped over his right shoulder. Tugging it away, he revealed the right side of his body, much to the shock of Luna.
"You… you only have one wing!" exclaimed Luna, horrified by it. "Poor child, how did this happen? Did you have some sort of accident?"
"No," responded Wing, "I was just born this way. The other ponies kept calling me "Wing" because of it. So… y'know, that's why they call me it."
"Like a nickname?"
"More like just to make fun of me…"
Lune could feel her heart start to ache a little, knowing that this poor little child was being made fun of for his handicap. It left her feeling bitter, but she knew she couldn't do anything about it. "Is that why you keep running away?" she asked softly, not wanting to feel intrusive.
"No, it ain't that bad. I run away because…" Wing paused for a moment, sniffling a moment. "Because Matron keeps calling me a trouble maker." His eyes looked up to Luna's, glistening from being filled with tears. "But I'm not a troublemaker! I don't mean to cause trouble for everypony! Honest!"
Luna looked down at him with caring eyes. She wished she could do something, anything, to help him. She knew what she could do, but it wasn't something she felt she could make on her own. Or could she? She hoped that her sister would understand if she did.
"… Please… Don't take me back to the orphanage…" without anything other than a glimmer of hope and a breaking heart, Wing pressed his cheek against Luna's leg and held onto her tight.
"I…" It didn't matter to her anymore. It didn't matter what Celestia would say, or even what she herself thought. "You don't have to go back to the orphanage. You can stay with me."
A great smile like a crescent moon spread over the foal's face as he looked up to Luna with inspired eyes. "A-are you serious? Can I really come stay with you, Princess?"
"Yes, until we can find you a proper home and a proper person to take care of you."
Wing's eyes began to bawl, his pupils enlarged as he stares right up at Luna. "This is --" he gripped her leg even tighter "-- the best day of my life!"
"Y-yes. Quite. Now, could you let go of my leg? You're starting to cut off the circulation."
The sounds of both large and small steps rung through the halls softly as Luna and Wing stepped upon the long, red carpet. The foal could scarcely believe what he saw before his marvelling eyes. He had never seen anything as majestic, as beautiful, and not nearly as colourful in his life before. From the shining pearlescent marble pillars to the lilac walls and the shimmering, gem-like stained glass windows, it made the little Pegasus feel overwhelmed.
"W-w-wow!" wailed Wing, looking all around. "This is where you live, Miss? This is… where I'll be staying?"
"Do not get too comfortable," hinted Luna. "Tomorrow morning, we will be looking for a more appropriate home for you. You will only be staying here in the meantime."
"B-but can't I stay with you forever?" pleaded the Pegasus.
"Absolutely not! This is a royal castle, where royalty and other acquaintances of ours are permitted to stay -- and only they are only allowed for a duration. This isn't a day care for children."
"Oh… okay…" Wing looked down as he watched his hooves step one in front of the other, looking at his own reflection in the surface of the floor. Then he saw Luna's, looking down upon his.
"Look on the bright side, Wing," she comforted, "at least you're not going to be staying at the orphanage anymore. Don't worry, we'll find you a good family to take care of you."
a small smile spread upon the foal's lips as his eyes looked up to meet hers. "O-okay. Thanks, Miss."
"Just call me Luna, okay?"
"Um… Okay… Luna."
The two continued down the corridor into the main hall. The doorway was manned by two guards, both of whom looked only straight ahead, discipline carved into their body and faces -- until they caught sight of the foal alongside the Princess. Their eyes followed him, eyes of suspicion, as he walked alongside Luna.
"I-I don't like the way those ponies are looking at me," whimpered Wing.
"It's not every day they see me with anyone," responded Luna, "let alone with a foal."
"Oh, Luna," a voice in front of her called out. Celestia stood at the top of the landing before making her way down the carpeted steps. "That was quite a quick visit to Ponyville. How is Twilight --" The Princess paused, catching a glimpse of the little foal who began to inch behind Luna's leg. "Oh! You've made a new friend!" Her eyes softened, complimented with a caring smile as she looked down at Wing. "And what's your name, little one?"
But Wing was too shy and scared to reply. The foal hid his face behind his long, white mane as he inched more out of shot behind Luna.
"Aw, he must be shy." She turned to Luna. "So, what's his name?"
"His name is W --" Luna stopped herself from saying it. As she turned back to the child behind her, she saw that look in his eyes -- the same look he had when he first mentioned it. After a pause, Luna turned her attention back to her sister. "Uh, his name is… Midnight."
The foal looked up at Luna, a little smile spreading across his lips. For the first time in all his life he had felt whole. Complete. Now he had a real name to go by.
"Midnight," repeated Celestia. She looked back down to the foal, who was beginning to move out from behind Luna's hind legs into full view. She giggled softly. "Yes, I can see why, now, with that dark coat and shining, white hair, too."
"Uh… um… Thank you," squeaked Midnight, still holding his mane between his hooves in front of his face.
Celestia giggled again. "Oh, he can talk," she teased impishly. "So, what brings you to our home, Midnight? Did Luna invite you over? For dinner perhaps?"
With a gulp, Midnight gazed up to her, but she felt so imposing to him. Not only was she a Princess but she was so much taller than him -- than Luna, even. "U-um… L-Luna took me away from the orphanage… and said she'd find me a family…"
"Took you away?" exclaimed Celestia. She turned to her sister. "Luna, you can't just take children from the orphanage! Ponies will think that you really do eat little foals!"
The thought made Midnight shift uncomfortably.
"Sister, this was for a reason," retorted Luna with a raised voice. "The other children were making for of him for --" She felt Midnight press against her hind leg again. Her eyes shifted to him, watching him as he pressed the right side of his body against her, out of shot from Celestia. "… They were just making fun of him. So I've kind of adopted him for a while until we can find him a better home."
"I see…" Celestia sighed softly before turning to look back at the shying away Midnight. "Midnight, what were the other children making fun of you for? You can tell me. Okay?"
With courage, Midnight released his grip of Luna and shifted out from behind her. Again, with both hooves, he tugged at his mane from his side, revealing a bare body.
Celestia gasped. "Oh, my," she blurted out, holding a hoof to her mouth. "What happened to you? Did something bad happen?"
"N-no," responded Midnight. "I was just born like this…"
Celestia's expression turned sullen. "How horrible, being picked on for having only one wing." She paused for a moment before putting on a smile, cheerfully looking at Midnight as she spoke, "It's okay now, Midnight. We'll take care of you for as long as it takes. You can share Luna's room in the meantime."
"M-my room?" intervened Luna.
"Of course. You adopted him, after all."
"See," spoke Midnight with a grin, "I told you that you adopted me!"
"Shush, you. But, sister, where will he sleep?"
"In your bed, of course. I'm quite sure it's big enough for you and little Midnight."
Luna sighed. "Okay, okay. Come on, Midnight, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping."