//------------------------------// // Found It // Story: Divided // by Phoenix Pastel //------------------------------// One year later... Onyx Star was not having a good night. He sighed and pulled away from his silver telescope. The tip of it poked out of the window, reflecting off thousands of tiny stars, and grand, undiscovered planets in its mirror. He had been searching for something new for months now, and had had no such luck. He brushed away his long, black bangs. He had been needing to get a manecut, he observed, and cantered down the stairs where his mum waited. He stopped, for on the wall to his left, there was a picture- a gray stallion with dark gray and black hair on the left; a lavender mare with a purple and white mane was next to him, on the right;then, on the bottom, was him, a deep purple colt with a black mane. Onyx stroked to painted wood frame and held his gaze to the gray stallion, also known as his dad. His dusty blue eyes of his father were filled with love directed at his wife and son, visible even through the unnatural stillness of the photo. Onyx felt tears threatening to fall from his green eyes and quickly wiped them away. Onyx may had cried like a filly last year, but not this year. Onyx had vowed to never cry again. And he fully intended to keep that promise. "Onyx! Are you coming or what?" His mother shouted, shocking Onyx out of his stupor. He shook his head and tore his eyes from the photo, and raced down the hallway yelling "Coming!" to his mum. He did not have plans to show up late to the show of the century. He found his mum waiting at the door, front hoofs crossed, wearing her white pearls. They where scratched and damaged from use, but Onyx had never seen her without them. He didn't blame her, however. The milky white beads where, and still, a favorite thing. He couldn't imagine his mother without them; they where a part of her, a vital piece. He smiled up at his mum and she smiled back as she opened the door. Later... Onyx was in awe. He gazed around the huge, domed building that was the home of astronomy, the dome ceiling arching up into a great, masterful painting of the stars and constellations. The entire building was made of limestone and black granite, creating a sense of power and beauty, and honer. Onyx felt like a little bug under the eyes of the arches and walls of the place, and felt a giddiness as he and his mum drew closer to the large doorway at the end of the hall. Amethyst looked down at her giddy son, and smiled. He had been longing to go to this place, she thought, and smiled at his glee. It had been his lifelong dream to experience the grand Meeting of the Stars, and see the Lunar Kingdom's greatest astronomers, and, of course, Queen Luna. The duo passed under the great, carved doorway that was the entrance to the meeting room, and gasped at the sight. The meeting room was a large amphitheater, with hundreds of seats carved out of pure black granite, with little orbs of soft white lights serenely floated around the room, casting a soft light. The middle of the amphitheater was a large circle table with several chairs, 24 in all, with one large throne at the head of the table. Onyx grinned an impossible grin as he and his mother sat down. The buzzing of the other Lunar ponies was silent to him, for all he could hear was his own thoughts racing by, saying the names of every astronomer, every star, every little detail. His father would have loved this. Then suddenly, the room darkened, and a bright, solitary light shone on a entrance at the back of the theater, and trumpets started to play as the astronomers walked out single file to their chairs. Onyx knew them all by heart as he silently named them all. There was Shining Grace, the unicorn who had discovered the Mare's Tail cluster, and Black Matter, the earth pony who had discovered and coined the term "black matter" , and so on. Onyx shivered with glee as each one took their seats. Then, the room darkened once more, and the trumpets started a new song, as her majesty herself walked out. "Presenting her royal highness, our very own head of the Meeting of the Stars and sole ruler of the Lunar Kingdom, Queen Luna!" Every pony in the theater suddenly stood up and bowed as the moon queen walked to her seat. Her flowing hair of stars and galaxies billowed and swirled around her figure, making her seem serene and beautiful. She was a gorgeous shade of dark blue, and wore finely carved black regalia that perfectly complemented her curves and muscles. Onyx grinned with delight at seeing his beloved queen as he rose from his bow and sat down. He had idolized her since the day she had came through his town for the Celebration of the Night, the day that the Lunar Kingdom had made the night forever. It was a great day for Onyx, he recalled, for it was the day that Onyx realized that he wanted nothing more than to be an astronomer. It was unfortunate that he had not gotten his cutie mark on that day, too. The orbs of light faded back on as Onyx and his mother sat down. Onyx was still grinning like a madpony, his mother noticed. She looked back at the stage as the Queen stopped at the great table, and looked to the audience. "My subjects, today we witness the great Meeting of the Stars, in all of its glory! Let us give us a hoof for our great astronomers, the ponies who have dedicated their lives to studying and understanding our glorious night sky, to their success!" The audience cheered and stomped to the Queen's words, and Onyx was sure he was the loudest. The meeting continued on, talking about the events and discoveries of the past year. Onyx paid close attention to all of the information, especially to a new supernovae that had happened, named STYU 783, discovered by a pegasus named Nova Hunter. The meeting came to a close as the trumpeters played End of the Line, a popular Lunar Kingdom song. Queen Luna stood up. "As the Meeting of the Stars comes to a close, I am delighted to announce the beginning of the Show Section! Any young fillies or colts who would like a chance to be given a full scholarship to the Novae University may come and line up now. I wish you best of luck!" "This is your chance, Onyx." Amethyst whispered to her son. Onyx looked up and nodded as he pulled several rolled up papers out of his mane. He carefully balanced them in his blue aura as he walked down the stairs with the other fillies and colts, who where just as eager as he. He got in line, and with sudden dread he realized he was 34th in line- last. His ears flattened as he shuffled forward. He barely could hear the other's presentations over his beating heart- though he did barely hear a quite loud filly shouting about why Pluto, is, in fact, a planet. Soon, it was his turn. He gulped to calm his nerves as he stepped up onto the small stage, and carefully unrolled his papers onto the easel behind him. He turned to the astronomers watching him, took a deep breath, and pointed at a diagram that he had drawn. "My name is Onyx Star and I came here today to show you my discovery." He paused to take a breath, and carried on. "This diagram shows all of the coordinates and actualities of what I have dubbed MBD, or My Big Discovery." He pointed to a different diagram, which was two pictures labelled Before and After at the top. "These pictures may not look like much, but if you look at where I have circled in red, you may see a difference." The astronomers leaned in to see. Sure enough, the picture Before had nothing but a small speck surrounded by stars, and After had a larger, white dot surrounded by stars. "I have reason to believe that this is the discovery of a new planet. First, this is a 10 month difference. Second, MBD only shows up at exactly 5:00 in the evening, when it is the brightest from the light of the Celestial Empire." Onyx continued to list his reasons and discoveries, before finally ending at, "In conclusion, I firmly believe that MBD is, indeed, a planet." The astronomers sat there for a moment, slack-jawed. How could this 10-year-old colt had found all of this evidence with nothing but a telescope, a camera, and some paper? It didnt make sense. Suddenly, Queen Luna stood up. "Onyx Star, I am truly amazed. You are, in fact, the youngest colt to ever had discovered a true, if small, planet. I commend you for this." Onyx's brain stopped. It was true? It was a planet, after all? "Onyx, congratulations on being the first and only winner of the Novae University scholarship this year. And, congratulations on discovering the new planet, MBD. Or, in your honor, Onyxes. I have no doubts that you have succeeded in your venture of a new planet. Give him a hoof, everypony! The crowd exploded into uproarious applause. Onyx looked up to his mother and grinned through his happy tears. Nothing could make his day better than this, his entire life was complete! FLASH Onyx blinked and looked at his flank. There, in the midst of purple fur, was a black crescent moon surrounded by 3 blue stars. Onyx's grin grew even wider and he jumped in the air with joy. "I HAVE MY CUTIE MARK!" The party afterwards was spectacular.