When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was the sun was still up. My head was spinning from everything I had seen and heard in the past couple of days, ever since meeting that old pony in the dungeons. And we would have so much more to discuss when the Princess and Red Moon woke up. I decided to take a look around town and see what there was to see before our meeting with Red Moon. I donned my armor with a bit of difficulty and headed out into the town.
As I imagined, the town was pretty quiet. Many of its inhabitants had not yet woken, and the few who did were still groggy and moving slowly. I found a nice café that had just opened its doors and I entered.
“Good evening, and welcome,” greeted the proprietor, a young earth pony stallion with a bright orange coat and a sky-blue mane. “How may I help you?”
“Can I get one coffee please?” I ask.
“Coming right up.”
The proprietor pours the coffee and brings it over to my table. “So, you must be the Princess' companion, Sir Cloud Twist was it?”
I looked at him with surprise and he laughed. “We have quite an advanced system of communication here in Salvation. The story of your arrival spread through the entire town within an hour.”
I chuckled. “This city never ceases to amaze me.”
“Rumor has it you and the Princess plan on taking us back into Equestria Common. Is it true?” he asked.
“The rumor isn't far off. We have no intention of forcing anypony to do anything. We plan to discuss everything with Red Moon and we will see what happens from there. Do you think the townsponies would be open to removing the barriers and various protections surrounding the city? With Princess Luna having returned, perhaps we could remove the prejudice. From what I could tell, most ponies do not even know that the Children exist, so I don't think it would be that hard.”
“Well, there is much to consider,” stated the proprietor. “You are right that most ponies do not know of us, to them we are just stories told to frighten the children, much as the story of Nightmare Moon became nothing more than a myth, shrouded in legends. We struggled to keep it that way throughout the centuries, lest another war be sparked in ignorance. The few that we bring here, however, know of the prejudice that still exists. It's not something anypony can pinpoint, but the true Children of the Night are simply seen as 'different' or 'weird,' and as such are ostracized. Do you understand?”
“I do. Thank you for your insight.” I lay down a bit to pay for the coffee and the proprietor shook his head no. “This one's on the house,” he said.
“Thank you,” I smiled at him and left the café in a better mood. It was almost time for the Princess to raise the moon so I headed back to the town square and the presidents home to greet her. I found her just as she was leaving her room. “Good evening Princess.”
“Good evening Sir Cloud Twist,” she replied with a smile.
“I'm glad to see the two of you awake,” came a voice from behind me. I turned to see Red Moon approaching us. He bowed to the Princess as he spoke, “Good evening Princess.”
“And the same to you, Red Moon,” she replied. “I must go raise the moon, but then we have much to discuss.”
“Indeed we do Princess. Shall we?” he said, ushering the way to the front door.
The three of us headed out into the courtyard and Red Moon and I watched in amazement as the Princess rose into the sky, her horn glowing with her magic aura. We watched as the moon began to peek over the horizon and in the opposite direction the sun began to sink, creating the most beautiful mix of colors in the sky. Almost as quickly as it began, it was over, and the night had begun. The stars began to appear as the Princess brought them out and arranged them into beautiful displays, like gems adorning the sky.
“That is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” came the awed voice of Red Moon.
“Or will ever see,” I added.
The Princess landed gracefully in front of us and blushed slightly at our awed looks. “Is there somewhere we can talk?” she asked Red Moon, bring him out of his trance.
“Yes, of course. Please, follow me. I have already ordered that breakfast be served in the parlor.” Red Moon led us back into the house and down a side hallway to a large open room with chairs going around a small table laden with various food options. Along the walls were many pictures of ponies going down through the ages.
“Those are all the elected leaders of Salvation, going back to the very first. Ever since the cities founding we have elected our leaders in a mass election, everypony gets a say. A leader serves for life, unless the ponies of the town decide to remove him or her from office. When a leader dies, or is removed from office, a new election is held to decide who will replace him. There is a council of elders, consisting of the 5 oldest ponies in the city, who take over all governmental roles until a new leader is found,” explained Red Moon when he saw where I was looking.
“This city is so well-established,” I said.
“It took us a lot of time and effort to make this place a safe haven,” replied Red Moon.
“That is what we are here to discuss Red Moon,” said the Princess.
“Of course, please help yourselves to some of the food while we talk.”
We all sat down and took some of the food to our seats with us. “Princess, may I be the first to speak my thoughts?” I ask.
“Of course, go ahead,” she answered, nibbling on a piece of toast.
“I woke up early this evening and I had a chance to go out and look at the town, and even talk with the proprietor of this small café not too far from here,” I began. “I believe the ponies here are too well-established to change their ways so suddenly. You have your elected leaders, an advanced system of communication, and you've spent the last 900 years here, completely undetected. To ask these ponies to just all of a sudden uproot their lives and move to a new town, a town where they may not even be wanted or accepted, would be unthinkable. He pony I talked with told me of the prejudice against the Children even to this very day. While it is not as prevalent as it was 1,000 years ago, it is still there. We can not ask the Children to endure it, nor can we hope that the ponies of Equestria will simply accept them. I propose that we allow Salvation to stay here, but that we create a new entry, one that is not hidden by a raging waterfall, and one that will allow ponies to come and go at will. The Children of the Night need not live in fear, their Princess has returned and the world is as it should be.”
I finished speaking and sat down to eat some hay fries and listen to hear what the Princess had to say. The Princess chuckled. “And you doubt your abilities as a leader,” she said. “There is not much I can add to that. I certainly understand the prejudice my little ponies face from the rest of Equestria, I see it in the way they look at me as well. I would not wish to force such a thing on others. The ponies of Salvation, however, should know that they have a choice. They do not have to live here, nor do they have to leave. I will most certainly protect them all, no matter where they choose to live. Sir Cloud Twist is right, however, that the protection spells surrounding Salvation must be loosened, so as to allow free travel in and out of the city. Should the ponies choose to remain here, nothing will change. You will still have your elected leadership, however it will not be as autonomous as it was before, you will have to answer to my sister and I. What say you, Red Moon?”
Red Moon sat in silence for a moment, pondering what we had said. “I agree. There is a town meeting tomorrow, all the shops shut down for the night and everypony comes in to discuss whatever is bothering them. We will take this to them and see what they have to say. I know some of the newer members of our city still have family on the outside, so it will be a blessing for them to be able to come and go at will.” Red Moon smiled, “I am certain the ponies are anxious to meet their long-awaited Princess. I have some matters to attend to, if you would like see yourself around the town, or I could arrange an escort if you wish.”
“No thank you, Red Moon. An escort is not necessary, Sir Cloud Twist is all the protection I need.” With that we left to see the sights and greet the eager townsponies.