Time Lord: The Story of North Star

by Thrawn1800

Chapter 17: Nightmare Night

Author's Note:

I reworked this chapter. What do you guys think?

Chapter 17

Thunderlane rummaged through Rumble’s drawers, searching. The colt had misplaced his costume for the third time, after wearing it around the house on and off for the past week. He smiled slightly at the enthusiasm that he showed for the holiday.

“Are you sure it was in here?” he called, going through the drawers again.

“Yes!” Rumble shouted back.

Thunderlane sighed. He stood up and walked out into the hallway, looking down the stairs at his little brother. “I can’t see it here!”

“Are you sure?”

“That’s where I put it after you told me to take it off.”

“Is this it?”

Thunderlane turned around, and saw North holding Rumble’s costume.

“Where did you find it?!” he demanded incredulously. “I looked everywhere!”

“It was in his drawers.”

Thunderlane face-hoofed, growling. “That’s the first place I looked!”

“Told you!” Rumble shouted from downstairs. “I told you that’s where I left it!”

“Here.” said North, tossing it down to him. “Go ahead and get ready.”

“Thanks!” He scampered out of view.

“Was it really in his drawers?” asked Thunderlane.

“Yeah.” said North. “But it was way in the back, under a pile of other random clothes.”

They went to their room, where Thunderlane started to pull his own costume on. He was dressing up as one of Luna’s night guards. He reached to pick up the helmet, but his hooves only met empty mattress. He looked over at North who was holding the helmet. He was looking down at it, his brow furrowed as he examined it.

“What did you say you were dressing up as again?” he asked.

“A night guard.” said Thunderlane. “Why?”

“Hmm.” North walked over, and put the helmet on his head. “It just looks familiar, that’s all.”

“What about you?”

“My costume’s still at Carousel Boutique.” said North. “Rarity insisted on adding a few final touches to it.”

“I see.” Thunderlane nuzzled him, then nibbled a bit on his neck. North’s cheeks reddened, the blush also spreading to his ears.

“Thunderlane, are you sure now’s a good-?”

He pressed his lips up against North’s, silencing the white stallion. Flaring his wings slightly, he wrapped his armored hoof around North’s neck. Humming happily, he ran his other hoof down North’s back. After a moment, he felt North pull back slightly, deflecting another kiss with his nose.

“What?” Thunderlane mumbled, seeing the way North was looking at him.

“Rumble’s watching.” he whispered.

Thunderlane looked over at the door, where Rumble was staring at them. Rumble was dressed up in his Wonderbolts costume. North had protested slightly at the overly generic selection, but gave in after seeing how happy Rumble looked. Thunderlane was glad to see that he didn’t look upset, just impatient.

“Aren’t we going to go?” he asked. “Don’t you guys want candy?”

“Coming.” said Thunderlane, letting North go. Then he saw the grin on North’s face. “What?”

“We can finish this later.” North whispered. Thunderlane felt his tail brush against his flank. Then he followed Rumble out, leaving Thunderlane to blush, then run to follow them.

Once they were outside, North headed for Carousel Boutique. Meanwhile the brothers decided to head into the town square. The town had been decorated with hanging white lights, with pretend skulls laced along at near-even intervals. Haybales laid around in piles, with pale gourds lying on and near them. The sky was overcast, courtesy of the pegasi weather team, including Thunderlane himself. In the center of Ponyville, the games for the festival had been set up. Across the square was the podium where the mayor would officially start the festivities. A crowd had gathered here, and soon she came onto the stage.

“Greetings, everypony!” she shouted, standing on the podium. “And welcome to the Nightmare Night festival!”

The ponies in the crowd cheered, and the mayor waved her hoof for them to calm down.

“We’re ready to begin, so go out to have fun!”

With another cheer, the assembled ponies spread out in all directions. Thunderlane heard his name from behind him, and saw North, Twilight, and Rarity walking towards them. Rarity was dressed in a witch outfit, which she’d obviously made herself (evidenced by the perfect styling of the entire ensemble). North and Twilight both wore similar costumes. Twilight’s was composed of a tan tunic covered by a looser layer of midnight blue cloth. North’s also had a tan tunic, but the outer layer was dark brown. Both costumes had sleeves that went down to just above the ankle of their forehooves.

“Hey.” said North.

“Hi.” said Thunderlane. “Um… what exactly are you guys dressed as?”

“Well, I’m a witch.” said Rarity.

“And a very stylish one too.” interjected North. Rarity blushed, while Twilight and North suppressed chuckles.

“Yes. Anyway, these two tell me they’re dressed up as sorcerers from Equestria’s B.N.M. period.”

“They why…?”

“I can explain that.” said Twilight. “We look different because we’re different types of spellcasters. I’m an alicorn, but my magic still needs some work to reach Celestia’s or Luna’s level. Blue was the color traditionally used by unicorns who’d reached a higher level of magical learning. Brown was a more general color, though North says that some masters opted for it, since it was less showy than the blue or dark green robes usually worn during formal occasions.”

"Oh."

“C’mon.” said North, walking to stand next to him. “Rumble looks like he’s getting impatient, and we wouldn’t want to deny him his candy.”

Thunderlane smiled, and turned to follow him.

___________________________________________

As the evening progressed and the sky darkened, the lights hanging from the lampposts flickered on. The air was cool, but I didn’t mind very much. The soft fabric of my tunic and my feathers keeping most of the chill out. While Rarity went to find Sweetie Belle, and Twilight went in pursuit of Spike, Thunderlane and I followed Rumble at a distance. He caught up with some friends, including a little pinto colt called Pipsqueak.

Eventually, Thunderlane and I got some warm apple cider from Applejack, who was watching over the more apple-themed section of the festival. Her costume was, as I was informed, once again that of a scarecrow.

“How’s it going?” asked Thunderlane.

“It’s alright.” said Applejack. “Everypony seems ta be havin’ a good time.”

“That’s good.”

“Good?”

Everypony turned their heads, to see Pinkie Pie standing a few feet away. She was dressed as a giant roadrunner.

“That’s not goooood.” she said. “That’s GREAT! If everypony wasn’t having a good time, then they’d all have sad frowny faces instead of happy smiley faces! And if everypony wasn’t happy, then I wouldn’t be doing my job! And if I wasn’t doing my job then I’D be sad, and if I was sad then I’d try to do my job even harder, and when that didn’t work and everypony was sad and frowny and I got upset and the balance of the universe is DESTROYED and the entire universe would EXPLODE into a fiery cataclysm of death!!!”

She finished standing on her back hooves, forelegs thrown wide to indicate an explosion. Everyone stared at her for a moment, then Pinkie bounced off smiling like nothing had happened.

“Okay…” said Applejack. “Well, ah guess we’re all safe from a fiery cataclysm then.”

Thunderlane and I nodded in silent agreement, then walked back into the midst of things. He asked if I wanted to do any of the games, but I shook my head. I prefered watching the goings-on to participating.

“Hey, North!”

I turned my head, and saw Roseluck trotting up to us. She and I chatted on occasion, usually when I was passing by in the morning or evening, or if she came up to me while I was tending the apple cart in the market.

“Hi.” I said. “Nice costume.”

“Thanks!” she said, looking down at herself. She was wearing a grey frock over a tighter fitting hunter green dress. The sleeves of the frock were had a near-floral embroidery, done in a lighter shade of silver-grey. “I’m an elf from The Lord of the Rings.”

“What?”

“You’ve never heard of it?” Both she and Thunderlane looked a bit surprised. “It’s a fantastic story.”

“If you say so.” She and Thunderlane shook their heads.

“Hey, Roseluck?” said Thunderlane. “Do you want to play a game of Toss the Spider?”

“Sure.” she said. “What about you North?”

I looked between them for a second, then sighed. “I’ll play if you play.”

We walked over to the fake spiders and spider webs. Roseluck, possibly in an attempt to make me feel more comfortable, asked if I wanted to go first. I shook my head, gesturing for her to proceed. She shrugged, then tossed the spider she’d offered to me. It landed on the bottom half of the web. Then I took my turn, picking up one of the fuzzy arachnids and tossed it at the web/net. It landed just above the center, causing the entire thing to shake up and down as it flexed from the impact.

By the end of the game, Thunderlane had managed to land more of his spiders near the center than either Roseluck or myself. I was about to congratulate him, when there was a brief flash of lightning, followed shortly by a rumble of thunder.

“What’s that?” I asked. “There wasn’t supposed to be a thunderstorm tonight, right?”

“Oh, that.” said Thunderlane. “Don’t worry about that.”

I looked up at the sky, where the clouds had begun to swirl around, the full moon shining from the eye of the miniature storm. My ears twitched back, as I felt a twinge of familiarity rise from the back of my mind. From above the clouds, a dark chariot descended to the ground. Because the moon was behind it, all that was visible was a dark silhouette. It flew over our heads, landing in the middle of the square. The chariot was pulled by two stallions, who wore armor similar in composition to the set Thunderlane was wearing. The occupant of the chariot itself was dressed in a dark cloak, which hid all but the tip of their dark muzzle from sight. I watched as they disembarked via the open back, walking in a regal manner.

Thunderlane grinned, then trotted up to one of the guards.

“Hey!” he said, reaching out a hoof. Surprisingly, the guard reached out and returned the hoof-bump. “Starstreak! How’s it going?”

“It’s going great.” said Starstreak. “We’ve even got permission to enjoy the festivities this year, ‘stead of just standing here.”

“Cool, dude. Thanks for helping me with the costume, by the way.”

“It’s nothing. You look great.”

While they chatted, the normal questions (like how these two knew each other, and why Starstreak had bat wings instead of the usual feathers) faded from me. Unnoticed, I slipped into a mental battle between my normal self and the irrational fear that was building up like a stormfront in my mind, consuming most of my physical awareness.

___________________________________________

Thunderlane had known Starstreak for ages, since they’d been teens going to the same high school in Cloudsdale. He’d been the only friend Thunderlane had trusted with the truth about what happened at home. His loyalty and kindness had been one of the few things that had kept him going. Thunderlane turned to face North, intending to introduce him. He wanted Starstreak to meet his coltfriend.

But something was wrong.

North’s face was oddly blank, though his eye twitched on occasion. What really concerned him, though, was North’s eyes. Though they remained icy blue, he was almost certain he’d seen a flicker of red dance across the edge of his iris.

“North?” he said, walking the few steps between him and his friend. “Are you okay?”

North shook his head, not as a negative response, but as though clearing it.

“Huh?” he said. “Oh, yeah. I’m fine.”

At this moment, the figure from the chariot approached. From under the hood, glowing white eyes were all that was visible. North started trembling, watching the figure come. A grin split the figure’s muzzle, exposing brilliant white teeth. A hoof reached up from under the dark cloak, and threw it aside. It fell away, revealing dark blue fur, a sweeping blue starlit mane and tail , long wings, and a gleaming horn.

“Polaris!” said Luna, grinning happily, reaching a hoof out as if to embrace him.

There was a long, tension-laid moment of silence, during which North stared at her, his ears forcing themselves down further, and Luna kept her hoof extended. North panicked. He let out a small but high-pitched squeak of terror. Then he turned and ran, his hooves hitting the ground heavily.

Thunderlane and Luna remained frozen in place, and though Twilight reached out and tried to stop him, she didn’t manage to catch hold of him.

“Polari- I mean, NORTH!” shouted Luna. She looked upset, staring in shock after him. She looked over at Twilight.

“What did I do wrong?” she asked. “I didn’t yell, did I?”

“No.” said Twilight. “I… I don’t know what happened.”

“Come on!” shouted Thunderlane. “We’ve got to find him!”

He started running after North, and almost immediately heard hooves following him. He turned his head, and saw Princess Luna following him at full tilt. Further behind, Twilight had taken off, and was trying to catch up.

“What’s going on?” demanded Thunderlane, leaping into the air. Luna took off as well, and Twilight managed to catch up. “Why did he react like that?”

“Didn’t he tell you?” asked Luna. “About what happened?”

“He told me what he is, but that doesn’t explain him running away.”

“Thunderlane.”

He came to a stop, hovering and looking at Luna. Her eyes were shimmering.

“Did he tell you how he died?”

“Died? He’s not dead.”

“No. But that’s because he regenerated. Did he at least mention that he can do that?”

“He mentioned it, but… he didn’t say he’d done it before.”

“He has, just once.” Tears welled up in her eyes. “The night… the night Nightmare Moon killed him. One thousand and four years ago.”

Thunderlane and Twilight stared at the princess, whose tears had spilled out and were trailing down her cheeks. She descended to the ground, and they followed. The two listened in silence as she told them everything, everything that had happened before, and the little she knew of since. As Thunderlane listened, he gained a new understanding of his coltfriend. Knowing this now explained a great deal, possibly including North’s flight.

“I need to find him.” said Luna. “I have to tell him I’m sorry.”

“Where is he, though?” said Twilight. “He could be anywhere.”

“I think I know.” said a voice behind them. “Where your friend would go.”

They turned, and saw Zecora walking up to them.

“North would go where he feels safe and assured.” she continued. “A place where to power, Luna was allured.”

“The Castle of Two Sisters?” said Twilight. “Why would he go- oh.”

“I don’t know how to get there.” said Thunderlane. “Twilight, could you…?”

“Come on.”

She took off again, and he and Luna followed. Zecora waved as they left, then walked back to Ponyville. They flew up and over Ponyville, then directed their flight towards the large dark mass of the Everfree Forest. Twilight did not land at the edge, but continued to fly forward. Soon, Ponyville had dropped out of sight, and the ground below was all canopy. After a couple minutes of flying, Twilight pointed slightly to their left, and Thunderlane looked. A great spire of stone peeked out from the fog, just visible through the swirling opaquicity. The two alicorns immediately directed their flight paths towards it, and Thunderlane followed afterward.

They landed with a crunch in the courtyard of the ancient castle. The mist wasn’t quite as bad as before, but it still obscured their vision. There were arches to the left and right, and the largest tower stood a ways before them.

“North!” Thunderlane called. “NOR-phmt!”

Twilight covered his mouth with a hoof.

“Shh!” she hissed. “Don’t forget where we are!”

“Sorry.”

They spread out, searching for him. Twilight went up, Luna went left, and Thunderlane went right. Inside the castle, the mist didn’t penetrate at all. He wandered the dark corridors, calling out quietly for North. He slowly made his way across the ground floor, then flew out a window and landed in the more heavily damaged second floor. Here, he hovered over the floor instead of walking on it, because it looked far less safe than the other below had.

He heard a whoosh, and jerked around to see what had made the sound. He saw nothing, so he kept going. The entire place was creeping him out, deathly silence occasionally interrupted by the sudden sound of a rock dropping from it’s precarious thousand-year-old perch. His ears instinctively folding back, he flew lower to the ground than before.

Again, something disturbed the air, and he felt it’s wake wash over him like a cold front. He shivered, then blasted out of the nearest window. He called out as quietly as he could, hoping that alicorn hearing was strong enough. Disappointed when neither princess came, he flew cautiously back to the ground. When he was just about to land, he saw flashes of light from an upper level, accompanied by a mare’s panicked yell.

He took off in a blast, flying up to the window and perching on the sill. Inside, Twilight and Luna were lying on the ground, laughing hysterically.

“What happened?” he asked.

“W-we…” said Twilight breathlessly. “We ran into each other.”

She sat up, and looked up at him.

“Did you find anything?” she asked.

“No.” he said, looking up and down the hallway. “I can’t find him.”

He lowered his head, and jumped down from the windowsill. “Did… did either of you feel something… cold… fly past you?”

“Well, now that you mention it…” said Luna. “Something seems a bit off. It’s a lot colder in here than it should be, even for a stone castle. And I kept thinking I could hear something flying around.”

“Me too.” said Twilight. “Hey, guys? How about we stay together now?”

Thunderlane and Luna nodded, and followed the rather braver Twilight through the corridors.

“Does North have anywhere specific he’d hide?” asked Thunderlane.

“His room has fallen from the castle since it was abandoned.” said Luna. “And I’ve already checked the library and all the secret rooms.”

Swish!

“What was that?!” said Twilight, whirling around. She directed a beam of light with her horn, washing the entire corridor behind them. There was nothing there, except for their shadows. “I could’ve sworn I heard something.” she said, looking a bit more afraid than before.

“I heard it too.” said Thunderlane. He and Luna closed in next to Twilight, huddling against her.

“Twilight.” whispered Luna.

“Just a moment Luna.” said Twilight. “I’m going to try an equum revelare spell.”

“Twilight.” said Luna again, staring down at their shadows. “Look!”

“What?” said Twilight, looking at their shadows as well. “It’s just our-”

She stopped, as the three of them looked behind themselves. Their shadows stretched behind them, caused by Twilight’s lit horn. Slowly, they looked back at the shadow in front of them. That shadow had lost their form, and was rising up from the floor in a great wave.

“RUN!” Twilight shouted, and they spun around. They dashed away, but they could feel the cold following them.

Somehow, Thunderlane got separated from the others. He found himself trapped in the library, stuck between the shadow and a bookshelf. The darkness rose up from the stone it had glided over, and made to strike like a huge black snake. Great yellow eyes glowed from where it’s head should’ve been.

“AH!”

As he screamed, and the ebony snake struck, North came running in. He put himself between them, and flung his hoof out. He held the sonic screwdriver, which pulsed a brilliant blue light against the encroaching blackness. It fell back, writhing and unleashing a terrible sound. It resolved itself into a tall, dark shadow of a mare. The only defining feature was its glistening eyes.

North stalked forward, the pulsing sounds of the screwdriver growing louder and more frequent. The mare staggered back, screeching angrily. The shadowy mane of the creature lashed out, and knocked the sonic out of North’s hoof. North rolled out of the way as it struck again, then dived for the screwdriver. The shadow managed a glancing strike with its whip-like tail, leaving a bloody stripe down North’s flank. North staggered, but he managed to grab the silver cylinder and redirect its light back onto the angry shade.

This time, he kept his distance, pushing it back with blue light. He ran over to Thunderlane, and grabbed his arm.

“Run!” he instructed, pulling Thunderlane towards the door out. He followed without any protest. They galloped out at full speed, and North directed the sonic at the doors to the library. They slammed shut behind them, the heavy lock falling into place, then they fled.

Outside, they met up with Luna and Twilight, who, like Thunderlane, looked terrified.

“Luna, I’m sorry I panicked!” said North. “But right now, we need to get out of here.”

He turned to Twilight.

“Get us out of here!”

She obeyed immediately without any compunction. In a flash of purple and white light, they teleported to the edge of Ponyville. She and North fell onto their knees, panting from their exertions.

“What was that?” asked Twilight.

“The pony of shadows.” said North. “But Pinkie’s got it wrong. That was just a really mad ghost, not part of Nightmare Moon.”

“I shall inform my sister of this.” said Luna. “Now that we know about this, it should be easy to remove it from the castle.”

She turned to North, who was looking guiltily down at his hooves. She reached forward, and touched his cheek. He looked up.

“I’m sorry.” he said. “You just looked so much like…”

“I know.” she said. “I should’ve been a bit more careful.”

He nodded, then extended a hoof. She ran forward and hugged him tightly. He embraced her, and she rocked him back and forward. He gave a dry sob, and she sniffled too.

“I’ve missed you.” he whispered. “A-and… and I miss them too.”

“I’ve missed you too.” she whispered. “And I miss them as well. I have seen some of your dreams, but I haven’t been able to talk to you.”

“I think I might have been blocking you.”

She nodded, rubbing his back. Thunderlane watched, not sure how to respond.

“Luna.” said North, straightening up. “Um… this is Thunderlane. He’s my…” He swallowed. “My coltfriend.”

“I know. Twilight’s been writing Celestia and I letters.”

He looked over at Twilight, who shrugged. “I didn’t know you and Luna had a history until an hour ago.”

Thunderlane walked up to Luna, and proffered a hoof. She shook it.

“It’s nice to finally meet you in person.” she said. She leaned forward, looking him straight in the eyes. “You take care of him, go it? Or I’ll banish you to the moon.”

He nodded, drawing back fearfully. She nodded, satisfied.

“Let’s go back to Ponyville.” said Twilight. Nopony challenged this, so they went ahead and started walking back.

“Twilight.” said North quietly. “Can we… tell the others?”

“What?” she said, looking surprised. “I thought you wanted to keep it a secret?”

“I do.” he said. “But… it’s time the girls knew, at least.”

She nodded, and North turned to Thunderlane.

“I need to tell them by myself.” He looked over at Luna. “Why… why don’t you two go ahead and hang out? Get to know each other?”

Thunderlane nodded, though he longed to protest. He followed Luna away, while North and Twilight went to gather the other five mares.

___________________________________________

Once we’d gathered them, we took Applejack, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie to the empty Ponyville Library.

“What’d ya get so riled up about, North?” asked Applejack. “It was just Princess Luna.”

“That’s why you’re here.” said Twilight. “North… North’s decided to tell the rest of you something.”

I nodded, feeling scared. I still had my doubts, but I felt these six deserved to be told. If nothing else, it would help explain why I’d acted the way I had. I opened my mouth, but I struggled with the words. There were so many of them, I was scared to talk anyway. This was only redoubled by the difficulty of what I needed to explain. Twilight put a hoof on my shoulder, gripping it reassuringly.

“Do you want me to start?” she asked. I nodded.

So she told them. While she spoke, the mares occasionally made an sound of shock. Fluttershy said “Oh my.” when she told them about how I’d died before. When she’d finished telling them everything, the five mares were staring at me. Well, actually, Pinkie seemed to know all of this already, so she was just smiling dreamily (probably lost in a frosting fantasy).

“Wow, North.” said Rainbow Dash. “That’s… I didn’t expect that.”

“It certainly explains a lot.” said Rarity. “But dear, why not just tell us before? We would’ve been happy to help you.”

“Yeah, sugarcube.” said Applejack.

“I have told some ponies.” I said quietly. “Big Mac, Caramel, Braeburn. Thunderlane knows now.”

“Wait a second. Big Mac? Ya told him?”

“Yeah. He was the first.”

“That great big lovable dope.” Applejack rolled her eyes. “Ah guess it makes sense.”

I nodded absently.

“Anyway, I just wanted you guys to know. You kind of deserved an explanation for some of the weirder stuff that’s happened.”

“Like the fact you speak foal?” suggested Pinkie Pie. “Or the pie eating contest!”

“Sure.” I stood. “How about we go back to the festival now, huh?”

Back outside, the festival had resumed full force. Luna’s arrival had been expected, and I was bit upset no one had informed me beforehoof. We could’ve avoided this whole mess if ponies would just tell me what was going on. I found Thunderlane and Luna engrossed in a vicious contest. They were desperately attempting to get more spiders on their web than the other, but it was currently a tie. I snuck up behind Thunderlane, then planted a surprise kiss on his cheek.

“Hey there.” I said, when he yelped. “How’s it going?”

“Great.” he said. “Luna’s the first real challenge I’ve had in ages.”

“I am pleased I could provide one.” said Luna. “I’ve been practicing in my spare time.”

“Really?” I asked. “You practice for a game that you’re only likely to play once a year?”

“Well, I’ve also been improving my spellwork.” She turned one of her spiders into a real one, and I jumped back. She grinned, but I scowled at her.

“You know I hate spiders.” I growled. “Change it back.”

“No.” she said, as the creepy little thing nuzzled her. “I think he’s cute.”

“ME TOO!” said Pinkie, popping up out of the spider bowl and raising her hoof as high as she could. Then she sank slowly out of sight.

“You’ve got an interesting choice in girlfriends.” said Thunderlane, who didn’t look at all afraid of the spider.

“You’re one to talk.” I said. “Especially considering what you get up to in your free time.”

He blushed bright red, while I laughed.

“C’mon North!” he said. “Not in front of the princess!”

“Why not?” I asked, kissing him on the lips. “Luna has no problem with this.”

It was true, as Luna looked completely unfazed by my teasing my coltfriend. They finished their game, which ended with Luna victorious. Thunderlane shook her hoof.

“Thanks.” he said. “Great game.”

“Thank you as well.” said Luna. “I enjoyed this. But now the children wish for me to scare them.”

“Say what now?” said North. “They want you to scare them… on purpose?”

“Apparently, it’s fun.” she said, shrugging. “And in a way, I suppose it can be.” She walked away, looking overly pleased with herself. I watched her go, then turned to Thunderlane.

“My turn.”

“Actually, there’s somepony I want you to meet.” said Thunderlane. “Remember that stallion from earlier?”

“Yeah?”

“C’mon.”

We found Starstreak and his friend over by the Cakes, enjoying the delicious goodies they and Pinkie Pie had put together.

“Hey, Streak!” shouted Thunderlane.

The dark blue stallion looked up from his cupcake, and gave them a frosting-covered smile.

“Hey! ‘Lane!”

He waved them over, licking his lips off.

“How’s it going?”

“Great! I see you found the sweets quickly enough.”

Starstreak laughed. “And I see you finally found somepony.”

Thunderlane blushed, and Starstreak snorted with laughter.

“I’m North.” I said, extending a hoof. He shook it, still smiling.

“Nice to meet you. Thunderlane, where’d you find such a looker?”

___________________________________________

Twilight watched as the three stallions talked to each other. Thunderlane slipped a wing over North’s shoulder, and their tails swished against each other. She knew she wasn’t the only one who noticed, because she saw the stallion they were talking to snigger, and a warm blush spreading on the charcoal stallion’s cheeks. She felt somepony standing next to her, and looked up at Luna.

“Don’t you need to go scare the kids?” she asked. “They’re waiting for you.”

“I know.” said Luna. “I just wanted to ask… do you think Thunderlane loves him?”

Twilight looked back at the chatting trio, where North had snuggled up against Thunderlane.

“Yes. I think he does.”

Luna smiled. “Good. That’s all I needed.”

She turned to go.

“Wait.” said Twilight. “Luna… were you two ever… involved?”

Luna looked back at her, then shrugged.

“Not especially. If I think about it, I suppose we were only ever friends. Even if he did kiss me once.”

“Oh. Okay.”

Luna took off, then Twilight understood the last part of that.

“Wait! Luna!”

___________________________________________

I saw Luna flying off to the statue where the fillies and colts waited for her, and smiled. Having her back was like a salve for the pain of the losses I had sustained. Even if I couldn’t have my other friends, at least I would have her to talk to.

“North, I’m taking Rumble home.” said Thunderlane. “You ready to go?”

“Yeah.” I said. Then I smiled deviously. “‘sides. You and I have some unfinished business.”

Thunderlane gave little laugh, and started for home. As we went, I managed to catch his tail up with mine. He nuzzled my cheek, and kept walking.

___________________________________________

Thunderlane laid down next to North, who was reading from a book. He wrapped an arm around him, stroking North's soft fur.

"Are you okay?" he asked, nuzzling North's shoulder.

"I'm tired." North whispered.

"That's not what I meant."

North sighed. "It was nice having her here again, but I'm not ready to get too close to her. Not yet."

"Okay." said Thunderlane. "But you two had a good time tonight, didn't you?"

North nodded, turning a page.

Deciding he wouldn't get more than that out of North, he spread his wing out, and wrapped North in a feathery embrace. North put his book on the nightstand, and shut of the lamp.

"Of course," said North suddenly, "not as good a time as we did."

North snickered, while Thunderlane could feel his cheeks heat up.

___________________________________________

Deep below the Everfree castle was a damp cavern, full of dripping stalactites. Inside, there was a growing of whispers.

"The time is coming." they hissed to themselves. "The new host is located... we shall take this pitiful creature for our own, then spread across this world."

Comments

[FlyingMushroomxii]

a'wwwww

[Thrawn1800]

4914298 Star Trek.

[Aerin Silverfeather]

4916705 discord,

[starship55]

Sssooo...Nightmare Moon killed him loooong ago.