After a few minutes of sitting there, I stopped crying, wiped my eyes and pulled away. “I am sorry Princess. I didn't tell you that story to make you hate your sister or to feel bad for me. I'll never forgive Celestia for what she has done, but she is your sister and you must forgive her, if only for the sake of peace. I only told you this story because I needed to tell someone, to let it out.”
“I already forgave my sister,” said Princess Luna. “When I returned from my banishment we had a discussion. She told me some of the things that she did to help keep the peace, and while I am beginning to see how poorly managed it all was, I understand why she did things the way she did. I hope that one day you will be able to understand it as well.”
“I don't suspect I will,” I said. “However, I will try to understand.”
After a moment of silence the Princess stood. “We should continue on if we wish to make it by tonight,” she said. I rose to my hooves and nodded my head in agreement. Together we took flight, continuing onwards towards our destination.
It was not long before the falls came into sight and we began to descend. I looked up at the nearly full moon hovering above the falls. “I don't even know where to begin looking,” I said. “The old pony said 'Where the falls come down, when the moon is full and at its brightest, the path will be lit and you will surely find Salvation.'” I was cut off before I could say anything more as the ground began to shake and I looked up to see Neighagra Falls splitting in two to reveal a cave behind the falls. My jaw dropped.
“Very impressive,” said Princess Luna with some awe in her voice. “Magic like that, they must have a magic talent among their ranks.”
“A far cry from anything we could have done when I was last with them.”
We flew over into the cave and the cave seemed to light itself as the rocks themselves emitted a glow. As we began to move forward the falls closed in a cascade of water behind us. The farther along we went the lights behind us were extinguished as the lights ahead of us turned on. It seemed as if we were walking for an hour before we reached the caves exit.
We came out in what appeared to be a large canyon with a whole city sprawled out ahead of us. As we approached the city gate there came a cry, “State your name and purpose!”
“My name is Sir Cloud Twist. I am escorting Princess Luna of Equestria, Ruler of the Night and the Moon and the Stars, on a diplomatic mission to speak with Children of the Night!” I called back.
Princess Luna stepped forward and there was the sounding of a bell from atop the walls as the gate was opened. We stepped forward and entered the city, ponies were coming out of the buildings with curious looks on their faces, that changed to looks of shock and awe on their faces when they saw Princess Luna. A guard stepped up to her and kneeled before her. “Your majesty, it is an honor to welcome you to Salvation.”
“Salvation?” the Princess inquired.
“Salvation is the name we chose for our city. Once it was only a small village, but over the years it has grown to what you see before you. The name was meant to remind us of our past struggles and how we wished to move forward,” explained the guard.
“I understand. My companion, Sir Cloud Twist, has told me of your struggles during my banishment, but know that I am here now and your struggles are over. Please, may I speak with whoever is in charge?” she asked.
“Of course, Princess. Follow me please.” The guard looked at me with curious eyes before turning and leading us into the heart of the city. The city appeared to be laid out in a basic grid style but when we reached the center of the city there was a large building and the road led in a circle around it. It was to this building the guard took us. There was a large red unicorn stallion with a cutie mark in the shape of the moon with a 5-pointed star in the background.
As we approached the stallion knelt to the ground. “Welcome to Salvation, Princess. We have been waiting for you.”
“You knew I would be coming?” she asked.
“Not exactly, Princess. Please come inside and I shall answer all of your questions.” The guard returns to his post and the stallion leads us inside and into a comfortable-looking living room. There is a fire lit in the fireplace, two chairs and a couch are surrounding a coffee table in front of the fire. “Please, have a seat.”
We all take a seat, the stallion sits in a chair, I take the couch and the Princess seats herself next to me on the couch. My thoughts are racing with thoughts of the Princess and wondering why she chose the seat next to me, but also full of questions about the Children of the Night and about the stallion across from us. I decide to put my questions about the Princess aside for now and start with the stallion.
“If I may ask, what is your name?” I ask the stallion.
“My name is Red Moon. I am the elected president of Salvation,” he explained. “Of course I recognize Princess Luna from the few pictures we have of her. You, however, are a mystery.” He looked at me. “The message I received from the gate just before you arrived says you identified yourself as Sir Cloud Twist. Our founding father went by that name, but many believe he died at the Battle of Canterlot. Are you that same Cloud Twist?”
“I am. After the Battle of Canterlot I went to see Starswirl the Bearded to ask him for a favor. He put me into a magical hibernation that allowed me to survive the 1,000 years to see my Princess again,” I said.
“Amazing, even now that kind of power is rare. I am not surprised that you would find us here so quickly. We only just learned of Princess Lunas return a few hours ago.”
“I have been back for almost a month now, are you that cut off from the news?” Princess Luna asked.
“The tunnel that brought you here is the only way in or out of the city. We can open it at any time from the inside but from the outside the only way in is by using the password on one of the three days the tunnel is active: the day before the full moon, the day of the full moon, and the day after the full moon. Even the sky above us is guarded by a shield and a spell that deters ponies from coming anywhere within sight of it. These restrictions have saved us from persecution but it also means that it takes no less than three or four weeks for any news to reach us,” Red Moon explained.
“And these spells that are guarding the city? It's pretty impressive magic, is it your doing Red Moon?” Princess Luna asked.
“The idea for the spells is centuries old and they have been maintained for as long. About 900 years ago we had a magic talent join our ranks and every couple of generations has produced at least 1 magic talent. At the moment, including myself, there are three. We work together to maintain the spells at all times. Some of them we were able to tie into the environment to draw a small amount of energy from all living things within its range, not enough to hurt them, mind you.”
“I have to admit, I am surprised by all of this,” I said. “After the Battle of Canterlot I thought there weren't very many Children of the Night left. Did someone rebuild the ranks?”
“A general named Shield Heart was one of the few who survived the battle. He knew the Children had no hope of winning a war against Celestia, so as he was rebuilding the ranks he did so with the intention of staying in hiding. If Celestia believed we were scattered and few in number it was hoped that she would leave us alone.”
“I remember Shield Heart,” I said reminiscently. “He was a good pony, I am glad he survived the battle.”
“Red Moon, I must ask your hospitality for the day. I must lower the moon shortly and it's been a long journey here. Tomorrow we can discuss reintegrating the Children of the Night into Equestria,” said Princess Luna.
“Of course, Princess. I will have two rooms prepared for you and Sir Cloud Twist. If you have any further questions the servants know where to find me,” said Red Moon. After a word to a passing servant he went down the hall.
“I am quite amazed at all of this,” I told the Princess.
“As am I,” she replied. “After everything we have seen today, the ponies may not want to return to Equestria common. I would like to see their safety features removed at least, now that I have returned they shouldn't need such extreme protection.”
“Quite so, an established city like this is far more than I imagined. We will have to discuss it tomorrow night.”
At that I followed the princess outside to watch her lower the moon. A servant came out and escorted us to our rooms.