//------------------------------// // Frail Limb Nursery // Story: The Music of the Night // by Night_Song //------------------------------// As the Night Court opened for the evening, Princess Luna scanned the assembled ponies, looking for the young unicorn whose story had captured her interest. Failing to spot him, she sighed slightly, the tiny gesture barely noticeable, even by her most devoted thestral guards. "The Night Court is now open! Let the petitioners come forth!" she boomed, the sound carrying easily to the huge double doors at the opposite end of the throne room, which stood open to admit the line of ponies seeking audience with the lunar goddess. ***** A couple of hours later, as the last petitioners filed out the door, alternately unhappy or relieved at Luna's unique form of justice, a slim, grey unicorn slipped into the room, smiling brightly up at the moon goddess. He stepped forward, giving a small bow, his green eyes never leaving the lunar diarch's. "Good evening, Princess. I apologize for my late arrival, but I thought it might be prudent to let your Highness deal with the business of the realm before I continued my story. But now, with your permission, I'd like to continue," he said, stepping back and sitting on the floor comfortably. At the Princess' nod, he smiled briefly, and opened his mouth to resume the tale. "My sister left me alone on the sofa after a time, heading upstairs to her bedroom. I flipped through a book, but I really wasn't paying attention to the words on the page. I was just waiting for my parents to come home, and I confess there was a certain dread in trying to anticipate their reaction to the lack of success their little ploy had experienced. Of course, like most foals, I thought that I had certainly imagined a worse reaction that was likely to occur, but of course, this proved to be...shall we say, a less than correct supposition. My parents arrived home at the same time, which told me they'd been out to eat, not gone to work or something similar. 'Good evening, Night, sweetie. How are you feeling tonight?' my mother asked, almost as soon as she got in the door. Her tone was...cloyingly sweet, almost as though she was being observant of my feelings to spite my father. This much I gathered by his expression when she spoke, and I wondered whose idea the blindfold had been. Swallowing a grimace, I smiled up at her. 'Hi, Mom,' I said, and I was proud of myself in that my voice didn't quaver...at least, to my ears. The looks of confusion and concern, mixed with something I couldn't really identify on my parents' faces, though, told me a different sound had reached their ears. My own ears wilted involuntarily as they looked down at me with confusion on their faces. Before either of them could speak, though, I turned and galloped from the room, dashing up the stairs and into my room. I buried my face in my pillow, suddenly afraid again. Several hours passed, with nopony disturbing me. On the one hoof, I was grateful for the respite from my family's presence, most especially their insistently over the top concern and worry about my fears. They were more concerned with their own standing within the community, I was certain. Regardless, on the hoof, I was depressed that nopony had even bothered to come check up on me. To my foals' mind, this seemed to be confirmation of the admittedly rather self centered and dark thoughts I'd been having since the blindfold was removed. When the inevitable call to supper came, I was actually surprised they cared enough to notify their failure of a foal that food was being served. With a great sigh, I heaved myself from the bed, trotting downstairs as quietly as I could. I poked my head into the kitchen, seeing my mother, father, and sister already at the table and watching the door for my own appearance. When they spotted me, they all raised an eyebrow, almost completely in sync with one another. It was an interesting sight to see, but I took their meaning: I was late for dinner, and etiquette required that nopony eat til all members of the family were seated. I promptly sidled to the table and slid into my seat, mumbling apologies. 'Now that everypony has decided to grace us with their presence,' my father said, his gaze boring into my skull, 'let's eat, shall we?' His eyes were locked on my for the entire time spent serving everypony, and it started to get extremely uncomfortable after a few moments. I could swear that my head was smoking from the intensity of his glaring. Eventually, though, I heard a slight 'thud', and he grunted, looking elsewhere. My mother was suddenly very interested in her broccoli, making a great show of arranging the florets in the cheese sauce very, very precisely. Conversation was at a minimum this evening. Or rather, early, early morning. The sound of ponies eating in silence filled the room, and I felt trapped inside my own mind. The sound was deafening. A couple of times, I made as though to speak, to break the silence, but each time my mouth opened without a bite of food hovering, waiting to be popped in and eaten, my father resumed his glare. Suffice to say, after two or three attempts at dispelling the awful silence, I surrendered, wilting in my seat a bit. Finishing the meal, we all seemed to just dissolve, the events of the day, to say nothing of the past week, leaving me with the sense that all unity was gone from the house. I slunk back upstairs, avoiding the eyes of my sister and parents studiously. Coming to my own room, I sighed gustily, and flopped onto the blankets. I lay there, the dawn's light coming through the window, for some time, simply brooding. Eventually, however, I heard my door open, and the soft thudding sound of hoof steps on the carpet of my room. Turning my head slightly, I looked over my shoulder to see my father standing at the door. He cleared his throat, looking at me with a slightly sad look on his face. 'Son,' he said, looking at my slight frame draped across my bed. 'Your mother and I were wondering...did...did the blindfold help your fear at all?' He asked me that, sounding almost regretful. I wasn't certain if he regretted it more for feeling that he had to do it, or that he regretted it because he was certain it hadn't accomplished its stated intent. Either way, I slowly nodded. Taking this to be the most I was willing to communicate, he rose, turning towards the door. 'For what it's worth, son...I'm sorry we had to do that,' he said, looking back over his shoulder at me. I made no reply, though, simply laying with my chin on my crossed forelegs. And that, of all the possible responses I could have made, seemed to be the one he found unacceptable. The next thing I knew, I was out of my bed, lying in the hallway, shaking off my dazedness at the sudden motion. 'You lied to me, didn't you, Night?' my father asked, advancing on me slowly. 'You're still afraid of the dark, and you lied because now you're afraid that we'll do something worse to you than a simple blindfold, isn't that right?' As he finished his question, I felt his magic lift me, and, carrying me down the stairs, he proceeded to fill my mother in on what had happened, and what he suspected. She reacted precisely as one might expect, given how my tale has gone thus far. She was saddened all over again at my attempted duplicity. 'Oh, Nighty, is that true? Did you lie to your father to try and get out of the next attempt to cure you?" she asked, tears in her eyes. I nodded, knowing that my father had brought me downstairs specifically because I was completely unable to lie to my mother. I still am, to this very night, as a matter of fact. It's just a skill I never picked up, which is usually a point of honor to me. My father's reaction that night, however, made me think for a moment that perhaps I should have. It might have spared me the trouble I had next. He threw me down onto the sofa, practically growling something to the tune of 'Stay put, colt' as he trotted into the kitchen, gesturing angrily with his head for my mother to follow him, which she did, casting a glance back at me as she did so. I, of course, complied with what my father had said, not wanting to risk further punishment. "And that, I believe, is all we have time for this evening, my Princess," Night Song said, bowing once more and sipping at a glass of water one of the lunar pegasi had brought him during the recitation. He returned the glass to a waiting servant, and smiled at the lunar goddess. "I look forward to getting to the real point of the story with you, Your Highness. All of this is, after all, the introduction. There's quite a lot to tell. But for today, I bid you a good morning," he said, bowing again and turning for the door. "Pray, wait a moment, good Night Song!" Luna's voice boomed from behind him. He jumped, squeaking in surprise at her accidental use of the Royal Canterlot Voice, and she blushed lightly, letting out a slight, embarrassed giggle. "I mean...wait a moment, please," she said, much more quietly. "I would like it if thou wouldst agree to return on the morrow, certainly," she added. "But perhaps tomorrow it might not be necessary for thy tale to be cut short by the dawn," she said, her voice pitched somewhat higher than normal. Night bowed and smiled. "I'd be glad to continue the tale in any place you desire, Your Highness," he said, attempting suavity, though his words came out sounding more choked and corny. Turning, he smiled up at the Princess of the Day as she walked sedately up the long carpet toward the throne. He bowed to her, offering a wink to her protegé, who lingered in the doorway far behind. "Good morning, Princess Celestia," he said, his voice bright and chipper. "Good morning, my little pony," she said, smiling down at him regally. It seemed to Night that Celestia simply couldn't find it in her to be anything but regal and maternal. He smiled, bowed, and moved aside for the solar goddess, trotting out of the room as she and her sister switched places. Trotting up to Twilight Sparkle, Night gave another bow and a smile. "Good morning, miss Twilight! Did you sleep well?" he asked, grinning at her lightly. At her nod, he sat down on a conveniently located bench set out for the petitioners, and yawned hugely. Rubbing a hoof across his eyes, he smiled. "Good! So, what do you think about getting something to eat?" he asked her, cocking his head quizzically. She gave him something between a smile and a grimace, and shook her head. "I'm afraid I'm not feeling up to anything today, mister...I'm sorry, I don't believe I got your name," she said, frowning slightly in puzzlement. "Night Song," he replied, waving a hoof. "I forgot to give it to you yesterday. A terrible breach of etiquette on my part, for which I apologize," he said, frowning at himself. "And I'm sorry you're not feeling up to anything today, miss Sparkle. Perhaps another time?" he asked. At her silent nod, he shrugged. Better a rejection that's still a maybe, right? he thought, grinning to himself as he trotted his way out of the huge castle and back to the place he was staying for some much needed sleep. He'd need all his energy if Princess Luna was going to ask him to continue his tale after the dawn.