//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Midnight Starsong // by Pencyke //------------------------------// It had proved to be an overly average lunch at the Crystal Empire Retirement Company(C.E.R.Co), the caretakers made the food for the elderly ponies, the caretakers brought the food to the elderly ponies, the caretakers fed the food to the elderly ponies, and the paint was drying particularly slowly on the western wall of the 'recreational room'. This was the place where all of the old ponies in the Crystal Empire sat mundanely for most of the day. "Yep, sure is recreational." Monotoned the sarcastically shiny crystal pony named Happily Joking. She heaved a great sigh as was per her usual as she stared across the room so hard her eyes might pop out of the sockets. Happily Joking felt like the most condemned mare in the world at that moment, she felt like she was going to die from the lack of excitement. So instead of actually doing anything to fix her problems she instead decided to pray because she doesn't believe in solving her own problems. "If there really is any sort of deity listening to me now, then please, Please, PLEASE, release me from this unchanging boringnehe-he-he-he-heeeesssssss." She then thought for a moment tapping a hoof to her mouth, "And gift me with a pie." Happily Joking looked up to the ceiling, full of hope, just in time to receive a creme pie in the face. When she wiped the pie off of her face reviling her frown, she turned back to the elderly ponies in a huff, and then proceeded to be amazed at awe inspiring sight that was not The Great and Powerful Trixie, but instead an intense game of poker that was being led by a beaming draconequus. *Poof* Midnight was sitting on the floor in the middle of the cave. There were no signs of battle, let alone a skeletal army. Simply a dark cave with rocks on the ground. Actually it was pitch black but Midnight could see just fine. Slowly she got to her hooves and felt at her forehead. "Hm, no blood." She checked the rest of her body as well and found that there wasn't even a scratch on her. The red eyed pony took one last look around and began silently trotting farther into the cave. The scenery didn't change much as she went, just rocks and grey walls of stone. It didn't take long for her mind to wander to her father, specifically a poem that he'd taught her. He'd made her commit it to memory long before she decided to leave. Without thinking she recounted the lines. The shadows lengthen every second Come to us, to the moon we beaconed Four times thrice the bell it struck Sixty seconds was all it took Here and there and everywhere Fire was spat and teeth were bared All we knew when it had come Was the eternal day was done. Midnight remembered the day he had taught her that poem with much clarity. It was the day of the annual summer sun celebration. She and her father were silently attending the summer sun celebration in the guise of a cloud. The tall white pony was about to raise the sun when at pre-teen Midnight finally voiced a question that had been bothering her. "Hey, Dad?" Her words, though barely audible to any onlookers, were loud and clear to the dragon's acute hearing. Dreconalfmere didn't hesitate to answer her with the same volume, "Yes, my dear?" The young mare took a deep breath before voicing her concern, "If they have a summer sun celebration, then is there a winter moon celebration as well?" The old dragon took a moment to consider his daughter's question. Then he spoke, his voice never rising above a whisper, "The summer sun celebration, regardless of it's name does not celebrate the sun at all. Instead it is to celebrate the banishment of one of their princesses." He paused to peer down at the crowd of ponies gathered around a stage where Celestia raised the sun for them all to see. "It is in celebration of her own sister's banishment that Celestia makes a show of raising the sun." "Who was her sister?" "Not was. These days nearly all the ponies of this country know her as the monstrous Nightmare Moon, but her true name is and always will be, Luna of the night." With this new information on the metaphorical table Midnight voiced the age old question, "Why?" There was a long silence where the young mare hung on to every second while the ageless dragon cooly took his time. "Because… It is her name." "Dad, that doesn't make sense." "Of course." The huge reptilian creature smiled smugly. "…" "Look the ceremony is starting." Midnight snapped back to the present upon hearing an unidentified sound, 'What was that?' Her eyes began to glow as she scanned the area. The cave had opened up into a large cavern. Large crystalline structures dotted the grey floor of the spacious cavern, all pitch black and shining darkly. They emanated an energy that silently shouted, "WE TASTE DISGUSTING, NOW COME AND EAT US." Completely ignoring the nasty looking crystals and the menacing figure staring right at her, Midnight continued to observe the room. The cavern was a perfect dome, completely smooth. Even the rocks appeared suspicious, as if they were carved to look like normal rocks but instead they just looked even more unnatural. The sound of heavy breathing began to permeate the air, the kind that would be used in one of those prank calls who's main purpose is to creep out the light of heart. The red eyed mare made a show of looking closely at a tiny pebble in front of her. She leaned her head close to it. Closer. Even closer. So close her head was literally on the ground and she had gone cross-eyed. A small cough sounded somewhere in front of the dark blue mare. "Bless you." "Who is it that disturbs my home" Midnight stood up and nonchalantly looked directly at the shadowy figure that had not moved from the very center of the large dome. "Oh, I'm sorry, didn't see you there." She took a whiff of the air and looked at the shadowy figure curiously, "Who are you again?" "I AM KING SOMBRA!" He bellowed furiously and the icky crystals began to shine. "Oooh. Riiight. King Sombra, that guy." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "Never heard of him."