Sunlight and Moonbeams

by Azreale

A Kingdom Triumphant

Luna stared in wonder as her sister hugged her. Dreaming? How was she dreaming? I was there…

“Luna, I was so worried! I thought that you were gonna be hurt, and I told you to run, and the draconequus came and he was gonna take you away and… and…” She breathed through ragged gasps for air. “I’m just so happy you’re okay!”

“I’m happy you’re okay too, sister. Don’t worry. We’re together now.” And the two fillies hugged for a good long time. Luna gazed at Marne as they did so and struggled to pull herself away from her older sister. “How long were we asleep for?”

“I’d say about four hours, if I had to wager a guess. No clock in here, you see.” Marne answered and shrugged. Luna nodded. Silence filled the room, and the six present listened hard to the outside world. No noise was heard. Nalen cleared her throat.

“Maybe the battle’s over?” She speculated hopefully. Merryl shot her head up at her and stared with a hopeful expression. Prynn and Marne exchanged glances.

“Perhaps, but we shouldn’t get our hopes up. Who knows what’s going on out there, after all?” Marne mumbled quietly. Everyone nodded solemnly. Luna looked at each of the four griffons, and finally to her sister. Celestia was quiet, staring at the ground with an unreadable expression on her face.

“I’m going out.” Luna declared. Everyone gasped in surprise.

“No, Miss Luna, you can’t. We couldn’t let you do that.” Marne moved towards her, shrugging. “It’s too dangerous. We don’t know what’s out there.”

“Too bad. You can’t keep me here. I’m going to go see what’s happening out there. Maybe it really is all over. Maybe the draconequus gave up and ran away.” While Marne still looked genuinely opposed to the idea, Nalen, Prynn and Merryl hung their heads down, pondering the idea. Luna turned to Celestia.

“Tia, I’m going outside. And I’m gonna see what’s happening. And you’re going to stay here, and guard our hosts.” Before Celestia could speak, she added, “I’m too weak to defend them if something bad has happened. For the sake of them, you have to stay.” Luna knew she had won the argument that wasn’t really an argument by the look on her older sister’s face. She did make sense, Celestia thought to herself. Luna nodded in defiance at the others.

“Right then. If that’s decided, then please, Nalen, unlock the door for me. I’ll return back when I know what’s happened… or happening.” Celestia still looked distraught, but Nalen still moved to the door, placing her hand on the lock.

“Are you sure you want to do this, Princess Luna?” The female griffon asked. Luna nodded once more.

“I’m sure.”

“Very well.” Nalen breathed in hard. Marne snuffed out the candle, and Luna heard Celestia let out a small whimper as he did so. They heard the click of the lock, and the door slowly creak open just enough for a small filly to sneak through. They all waited, but no noise came from the outside. Luna walked over to the door and slowly peered out. The hallway was empty, but the first beams of sunlight were starting to appear through the window. Luna’s heart jumped with joy. If there’s sun, that means that mom is still alive! She ran out into the hallway and Nalen shut the door behind her. Luna heard the click of the lock again, and the young princess set off down the hall, slowly approaching the first window on the left. She ducked down, put her hooves on the windowsill, and slowly pulled herself upwards to peek through it – and what she saw made her heart race. In the distance, griffons were still hovering in the sky – but holding stretchers and helping others. The draconequus were nowhere to be seen. Luna squealed with delight and ran back to the pantry.

“TIA! NALEN, MARNE, PRYNN, MERRYL, IT’S OVER! THE DRACONEQUUS ARE GONE!” Luna jumped up and down, a large smile threatening to break her face. The door unlocked and the five inhabitants came rushing out. All six ran to the window and gazed out. Merryl broke out into tears as she saw a younger male griffon fly past in the distance.

“Marne! That’s Dane! There’s our son! He’s alive!” The griffon turned to her husband and collapsed into his arms, sobbing with joy. Nalen clapped her hands together and even Prynn let out a big sigh of relief, a grin crossing his features. Celestia and Luna exchanged glances, and without a word to each other, both jumped out the window and extended their wings, taking flight. The four griffons followed suit. They flew across the castle and the gardens until they reached the courtyard where the battle had taken place. Both princesses scanned the area, looking for their parents. Their attention was caught by a handsome sounding voice.

“Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?” Both fillies turned, and Merryl broke out into even bigger sobs. The younger male griffon – Dane, the two supposed – looked shocked as his mother and father hugged him, relieved that he was still alive. Celestia stared for a moment longer than Luna did, smiling brightly at the three. Even now, there was joy to be found here, the older princess mused. Her thoughts were broken by Luna screeching.

“TIA! THERE THEY ARE!” Celestia snapped around and looked to where Luna was pointing – and sure enough, in the distance, standing out amongst all the other brown and white griffons, was tall, regal, beautiful Queen Solaria, and the imposing, dark, menacing King Astras, discussing something inaudible with Penneth and Gildana. All four were covered in dirt, blood and dust, but none seemed to mind – not even Gildana, who always seemed so haughty and proud.

“MOM! DAD! WE’RE HERE! WE’RE OVER HERE!” Both fillies screamed as they ran towards their parents at full speed. Both adult ponies turned to them, confusion clouding their expressions at first, but it was quickly replaced with relief and love. Astras and Solaria ran towards them, and the four royal ponies collided in a group hug. All four sobbed uncontrollably.

“MOM! We thought you had died. We thought we’d be left alone!” Celestia bawled into her mother’s white coat, making it clump together. Solaria smiled through her tears.

“Oh sunlight, we would never leave you alone. Never. We’re so glad that you’re alright. We worried so much about you.” The Queen nuzzled Celestia’s mane, smoothing it down with her free hoof. Astras, who always seemed so frightening, didn’t seem as menacing as he levitated his youngest daughter with his magic and twirled her around in the air. She giggled with delight.

“Dad! Why did you and mom run off so quickly! Why didn’t you tell us what was going on?” She managed to get out through laughs. Astras stopped spinning her and set her on his back. She hugged his neck.

“We would have, moonbeam, but it all happened so fast. You remember when your mom and I went out to raise the moon, correct?” Luna and Celestia both nodded. “Well, we did raise the moon, but when we were outside, we saw something in the distance – the draconequus. The two of us ran back as fast as we could to tell Penneth and Gildana, and we quickly gathered the army and all who could fight.” Astras smiled at her. “I’m so happy that you’re okay, moonbeam. Where did you and Tia go to?” Astras looked at his oldest daughter, who blushed. Luna surged with pride for her sister and spoke for her.

“Mom, dad, you would have been so proud of Celestia! She was so brave! She was the one who decided that we would go find help somewhere in the castle, and she convinced the griffons who found us to let us in the room, and she protected me and everything!” Luna grinned happily at her older sister, whose coat went even pinker. Solaria beamed with pride at her daughter as well.

“I’m so happy for you, sunlight.” Solaria nuzzled her eldest. The Queen turned to Luna. “Did you say that griffons found you?” Luna nodded.

“Yeah! I wanted to come outside and help fight, but Tia said that we should go find some servants that were hiding and stay with them. So she took the lead and we walked down the hallways and searched for someone – and we found Nalen and the rest in the pantry!” Luna told the entire story to their parents, who listened carefully. Astras looked at Celestia.

“Is that true, Tia?” She nodded, still pink with embarrassment. The King and Queen exchanged glances. They looked back at their daughters.

“Would you say that it’s about time to go home, daughters?” Solaria asked, laughing. Both fillies nodded frantically.

“YES PLEASE!”

~~~~~~~~~~

Sweetie Belle let out a loud Awwww!, interrupting Twilight’s story telling. The Princess beamed, proud that she was making a young filly interested in history.

“How are you feeling, Sweetie?” Twilight asked her friend’s younger sister. Sweetie Belle rocked back and forth in her seat, excited.

“Really awesome, Twilight! This is so interesting! I wish Scootaloo and Apple Bloom were here to listen to this! I bet they would be super interested in listening!”

“Do you want me to keep going, or skip straight to the end?”

“Keep going!” Sweetie Belle replied without a second thought. Twilight yawned once and stretched her arms, wondering where she should start the next part of their story at.

“After all the wounded had been tended to, the six royals, once again, met in the meeting hall…”

~~~~~~~~~~

And this time, all six had thrones to sit in. Penneth and Gildana didn’t look so hostile towards the outsiders, and the ponies finally felt welcomed as equals in the kingdom of Griffonia. Everywhere outside, griffons bustled about trying to sort everything out and find their families. More than once, Solaria heard a griffon sobbing hard from receiving news that their loved ones were injured or deceased. It cooled her heart, but it warmed up again when she heard a griffon crying out in joy, presumably from seeing a loved one still alive. Penneth cleared his throat, smiling at his guests.

“King Astras, Queen Solaria, let me be the first to thank for fighting with our forces so vehemently. Griffonia would have truly lost many more great griffons, had you two not been there.” Penneth outstretched his arms, and everypony in the room could see the look of gratitude in his eyes. While Penneth may be a pompous prick most of the time, he knew when to be grateful. Astras and Solaria bowed their heads.

“Please, King Penneth. We couldn’t stand idly by and watch innocent lives go to waste. We had to do something.”

“If it had not been for you,” Penneth interrupted, raising a claw at them, “We would not have even noticed the draconequus for some time. Who knows how many griffons we would have lost? Our entire kingdom might have fallen, had it not been for your timely warning!” Penneth and Gildana exchanged a worried glance coupled with an awkward chuckle. Being light hearted obviously wasn’t their strong suit. Solaria beamed.

“Please, King Penneth, it’s not necessary. We did what any good neighbor would do for another.” The Queen mused. She went to say something else, but was cut off.

“What kind of thanks do you require from us in return?” Penneth asked bluntly. Solaria and Astras stared blankly at the griffon. Thanks?

“Whatever do you mean?” Astras questioned. Penneth cocked his head and looked at the ponies as if they were stupid.

“We have to thank you somehow, don’t we? What would you have us give you in return?” Gildana answered for him, speaking for the first time the entire meeting. Solaria and Astras shook their heads at each other.

“We need nothing, King Penneth. Like my wife said, we need no payment for helping a neighbor out in his time of need…”

“Nonsense! As King of Griffonia, I insist that you allow us to properly thank you! To not do so would shame us greatly!” Penneth leaned forward and put his face in his claws, smiling coyly at the two ponies. Astras shrugged at his wife and leaned in towards her, whispering to her quietly so no one else could hear.

“Solaria, I don’t think they’re going to listen to us.”

“Well convince them to! We can’t accept any payment from them – that would be extorting them! They need all their gold they can get in order to pay for the damages done to the kingdom.” Solaria bit her lower lip and the two ponies thought for a few moments. Penneth and Gildana waited patiently. Suddenly, Solaria’s face lit up, and she turned to Celestia and Luna, who sat in their thrones discussing something inaudible, both looking incredibly bored.

“Daughters!” Solaria called out to them. Both turned towards their mother.

“What, mom?”

“Come here for a moment!” Solaria motioned with her hoof for them to come over to them. Both fillies stood and trotted over to their parents.

“What’s wrong?” Celestia asked, cocking her head to one side.

“What were the names of the four griffons that took care of you when you were hiding?” Solaria whispered to them. Luna and Celestia exchanged glances.

“Merryl, Prynn, Marne and Nalen. Why?” Luna told her. Astras grinned at his wife, realizing what she intended to do. Solaria motioned for the girls to go back to their seats.

“Thank you, Luna, Tia. That’s all we needed.” Celestia nodded and went back to her throne, but Luna gave one last confused glare at her mom before following her sister. The two ponies turned back to the griffons, who still waited patiently.

“Well,” Penneth leaned forward, eagerly, “Have you two made up your mind on what you would like as payment?” Both ponies nodded, and Gildana clapped her hands with delight. “Excellent! What will it be? Food? Gold? Heroic statues that look like you placed in the town square?” Penneth waited for them to respond. Both ponies were silent for a moment, smiling to them.

“Are you familiar with the names of Merryl, Prynn, Nalen and Marne?” Solaria asked the griffons. Both King and Queen exchanged glances. Gildana furrowed her brow at the ponies.

“Of course we are. They are our servants, our chefs here at the castle. Why do you ask?”

“These four kept our daughters safe when we were outside. However, we were told that they were made to sleep in their pantry, on beds of hay.” Solaria raised an eyebrow at the griffons, who immediately flushed under her gaze. “We ask that, as payment, these four are given proper living quarters. These kinds of living conditions are for rats and mice – not noble griffons, who serve you unwittingly. Would you not agree?” Both griffons nodded slowly. They turned to each other and discussed something quietly amongst themselves for a few moments. Then, they turned back to their guests.

“Queen Solaria, we see the reason in your kind words. Truly, it is a testament of your unending kindness that you would give up your rewards to some lowly castle servants.” Both griffons bowed their heads to the ponies. “We will abide by your wishes. These four griffons will each be given a room of their own, and proper furnishings for said room. This is truly what you want?”

“Yes.” Solaria smiled at them, nodding as she did so. Penneth slapped his hand on the table.

“Then it’s settled! Is there anything else? I know the two of you will probably want to take your daughters home today, am I correct?” Solaria and Astras thought to themselves for a moment. Solaria was about to speak and say that there was nothing else, but Astras piped up.

“I have one last request before we leave.” He rumbled. Gildana leaned forward, interested.

“What will it be, King Astras? Do you want gold or food?”

“I want your word.” He said, plain as day. The Griffon Queen sat back in her throne, raising at eyebrow.

“What do you mean?”

“I want your word, that when the time comes, Equestria will have Griffonia as its allies.” Both Penneth and Gildana’s faces lighted up with clarity when he said the words. They nodded as one.

“That goes without saying, King Astras. Do not worry. When the time comes, Equestria will have our aid. We swear on our kingdom’s health, Griffonia will not leave Equestria out in the cold. Just as you helped us, we shall help you, should the need arise.” Penneth stuck out his hand, extending it to the ponies. Astras reached his hoof out too, and Penneth wrapped his claws around it, shaking it up and down.

“Then it’s settled,” Astras commanded, “Griffonia and Equestria are now allies.”

~~~~~~~~~~

The flight home was a long one, once again. The entire griffon kingdom had come to see the ponies off. Solaria flew a little slower than normal with one wing wrapped in a bandage. Penneth and Gildana had bowed and thanked the ponies once again, and assured them that the four chef griffons would get their living quarters as promised. Penneth leaned to Astras before they took off and whispered to him that an envoy would be sent with messages for Equestria regarding their ally-ship. For the first time since their departure from home, the four ponies were in utter silence. Griffonia had disappeared into the horizon long ago, and the only noises they could hear was the wind whistling by them. All four sighed – everything was finally peaceful again. Yet as Celestia looked to her father, a small cloud of worry hung over him.

“Dad?” She broke the silence. Astras started, his eyes jolting open for a moment.

“Gosh Tia, you startled me. Yes?”

“What’s the matter?”

“What do you mean?” Astras cocked his head at her as they flew. Solaria and Luna both turned to look at the conversation as well. Celestia raised her eyebrows at him as if it were obvious.

“Well, you look all worried and stuff. What’s the matter?” The elder princess asked. Astras looked at his wife, and for the first time, Celestia noticed that Solaria had the same cloud over her. Solaria shook her head at her husband.

“It’s nothing, sunlight,” She answered for Astras, smiling at her daughter. “Your father and I were just discussing something before we left. It’s nothing that you have to worry yourself with.”

“But I wish to know.” Celestia pouted.

“Me too!” Luna chimed in happily. “Why can’t we know?” The King and Queen exchanged dubious glances again. Astras sighed.

“When the draconequus attacked, it felt… off.” The King said sadly. Luna rolled her eyes at her father.

“Well duh, dad. It was an attacking army. It’s obviously gonna feel off.”

“No no, moonbeam, not like that… but we have ponies in our kingdom that have seen the draconequus army first hand, and from the stories that we have been told… it was much larger than what we saw the other day.” The princesses exchanged confused looks.

“So,” Luna said slowly, “You think that that wasn’t the entire army or something?”

“Precisely, moonbeam. That’s what your mother and I have been discussing. That couldn’t have been the entire army there. It was too small, and too easily defeated. We drove off the enemy far too quickly, especially when you take into consideration all of the other kingdoms that the draconequus have defeated.” Astras’ mouth was set in a grim line. Solaria’s eyes drooped with sadness. And for the entire rest of the duration home, the trip wasn’t so peaceful after all.

~~~~~~~~~~

All four pony hearts sailed once they saw their beautiful home in the distance. Pegasus ponies dotted the skies, some pulling carts behind them. Everypony who saw the royal family coming dropped what they were doing and bowed down respectfully. Instead of flying straight to the palace, the four opted to drop down near the front gates and walk through their city. One of the gate guards trotted up to them and bowed low to them.

“King Astras, Queen Solaria, would you like an escort through the city?”

“No thank you,” Solaria smiled, extending her hoof to help him stand, “We can manage fine. Please, stand.” The guard looked up, shocked, and gingerly took his Queen’s hoof. She pulled him up, and everypony around could see his face flush with blood. He bowed his head and quickly trotted back to his post. The royals resumed their walk to their palace, greeting all of their citizens. A few young fillies around Celestia and Luna’s age waved to them, and the two princesses waved back, happy to be home once again. When they finally reached their palace, it was Starry Night, with a large smile across his features, that greeted them. He bowed his head quickly.

“Your Majesties, how was your trip? I trust everything went smoothly? Did you manage to convince the griffons to join our cause?” Astras and Solaria laughed heartily at the advisor, who maintained his grin, despite his confusion.

“Yes, my friend,” Solaria rested her left hoof on his shoulder, “The griffons will be here in our time of need.” She motioned to the corridor, which held the door to the meeting hall at the very end. “Come, let us walk. Call the Council as well. We have many stories to share with you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even stuffy old Tuxedo Top Hat had his mouth open, gaping at the royals. Starry Night quickly adjusted his glasses on his face and swallow hard. The Royal Council was deathly silent.

“So now, because of our deeds, Griffonia has pledged it’s allegiance to us, and has promised to come to our aid when and if the time arises.” Solaria finished her story, glancing around expectantly at the other ponies. They all just stared. She blinked at them awkwardly. “What’s wrong? Aren’t you glad that we got them to ally with us?”

“Of course, my Queen, but…” One of the council members, Monkey Wrench, the leader of the engineer and builder ponies in Equestria, piped up, but he hesitated, waiting for someone else to speak. Astras looked from him to the others.

“What of any of you? Do you not have anything to say, Lady Candelabra? Gingersnaps? Glass Slipper? Peacock Feathers? Burgundy Finish? Do you not have anything to add on?” The King dared them to speak to him. His patience was drawing to an end. For over two hours, he and his wife had sat around the Council room table, telling their stories to long-time friends, and here they stood, being gaped at like children who had just broken a family antique. Astras was already irritated from the long trip home, and not having any peace to himself for over a week. He wanted this meeting to be over with. Peacock Feathers stood up with her sister, Glass Slipper. The two unicorns were extremely beautiful. Peacock had a dark blue coat and dark green hair with streaks of gold in her mane. Glass Slipper was the opposite of her sister, with a light, icy blue coat and a platinum mane. The two carried themselves regally and respectfully, and ran all of Equestria’s fashion lines. The two designed clothing for the King and Queen themselves, and were no strangers to the limelight. Though most of the kingdom thought of the two sisters as simple fashionistas with no hoof in politics whatsoever, Peacock Feathers and Glass Slipper were brilliant tacticians, and had been valued assets over the many years.

“King Astras, you do realize how dangerous that was for you two, correct?” Peacock leaned forward, eyeing Astras carefully. The King grunted gruffly and nodded. “Then do you understand our concern and our displeasure?”

“Of course we do, but we survived, and got an extremely powerful ally out of it. Is that not worth the risk?” Astras argued back. Peacock opened her mouth to speak, but Glass Slipper beat her to it.

“Yet what if you had died? Not only would none of us know about it, but you had the princesses with you – rightfully so, of course, they are your daughters after all – but even then, Equestria would have no heirs to take over! What would we do then?” Glass Slipper pursed her lips and flicked her mane over her shoulder. The rest of the Royal Council leaned forward in their seats, eager to hear the King’s response. Instead, he shook his head and slumped down in his throne, defeated.

“I suppose I see your reasoning, my friends. But we still did what we had to do, and if given the chance to change my actions, I would not. Celestia and Luna are smart little fillies. They would figure out a way to escape and relay the message to you, had we fallen – which we didn’t.” The King put emphasis on the last word. Solaria glanced around at the rest of the room. Monkey Wrench was busy staring at his hooves, trying to wipe off the ever-permanent grease and grime that marred his orange coat. Tuxedo Top Hat looked ready to fall asleep in his seat. Lady Candelabra stared bored out the window, with her face in one hoof. Gingersnaps and Burgundy Finish whispered something inaudible to each other, and even Starry Night looked exhausted. The Queen broke the silence that filled the room.

“My friends, we thank you for your input, and my husband and I will sleep on the information. We will adjourn for the day, however, and reconvene tomorrow afternoon. It is getting late, and we are all very tired.” The entire room collectively nodded. Astras sighed, relieved, under his breath. As the Council ponies filed out of the room one by one to head off to their respective rooms here in the castle, Astras turned to Solaria before the followed suit.

“Thank you, my wife. It was getting too stuffy in there, I think.”

“Nonsense, Astras,” Solaria laughed, nuzzling his face quickly. “Do not thank me for such trivial things. We are all tired, and we all need a good night’s rest. Come, let us raise your moon and put our daughters to bed. We’ll all feel better in the morning.” Solaria motioned forward to the hallway, and the two rulers walked, slowly, beside each other. And for the first time in a while, Astras could enjoy Solaria’s company without anypony else around. All in Equestria was peaceful at the moment. And the rulers wouldn’t have had it any other way.