What Makes a Monster
Sun's Fire
What Makes a Monster
Solaris sighed as the sun started to peek over the hilltops, its golden rays bouncing off his sunray mane and pouring out light into the world. He had done his job well, as always and the morning was beautiful, peaceful, and quiet. Raising the sun was becoming less and less of a chore and more of a joy. It brought so much beauty to the world, so much warmth. He took a deep breath of the fresh morning air and exhaled heartily. "Ah, this morning is perfect, peaceful," he said and flapped his wings to get a good feel of the breeze again.
Prince Solaris trotted away and wanted to go into the city for a while. He wondered if Artemis would like to accompany him, but Arty still being a young colt, would probably be very fatigued after guarding his night. He shook his head and smiled. Artemis was getting very good at his powers he should be very proud of himself. Anyways, he would let his brother sleep. For now he would go visit with his subjects alone...
Canterlot was an amazing place, filled with all kinds of ponies, animals, and plants. He must put a castle there at some point, it was such a beautiful place and his subjects were all so kind and courteous to him. As he passed the ponies all greeted him with elegant bows with a mixtures of dialogue involving, "Good morning, your highness", "Prince Solaris", "Good day, my prince". While he did like the politeness, he felt like he was so detached from everyone else. Really he had no reason for coming into the city other than to observe. He had no close friends other than his brother, even then Artemis preferred his seclusion. No pony ever tried to get close to him anyway, it was as if he was untouchable. While that train of thought was somewhat helpful for his protection it was also very intimidating to others he would rather be close to. While he was musing about his situation he stepped into something gooey and lukewarm. Solaris stopped in his tracks and looked down. He had stepped in what seemed to be a puddle of mud, but before he shook his hoof clean he got a whiff of the sticky substance and stopped for a second he raised his hoof to his nose and took another sniff and scrunched up his face in curiosity. Finally after thinking it over and wanting to be sure he stuck out his tongue and licked at his hoof. "Chocolate?" he asked to the air.
Then he looked around for an explanation. It was too big to be a spill something small, too small to be from something big. Solaris took another sniff of the air and swore he could still smell it faintly on the breeze. Way to strong to be just from that one puddle. He flapped his wings and hovered several feet over the street. He looked around and saw that the stuff was also stuck in the gutters of houses, puddles spotted the street, chocolate was everywhere! "What is the meaning of this?!" he cried and floated back down to the ground.
A small colt was walking down the street, trying to avoid the puddles as well and heading passed Solaris before he spoke up. "You there!" he called. "What is all this? What happened here?"
Solaris waved his hoof over the mess and the colt shook his head in wonder. "It was the strangest thing, your highness," he started. "Last night it just started to rain chocolate and only on this street. It was the oddest thing I've ever seen."
Solaris scrunched up his face again, in thought and looked back down at the chocolate puddle. "Indeed very odd," he mused and kept trotting down the street wanting to inspect the damage before he got rid of it.
As far as he could tell no one was harmed by the... unique whether and besides clogging up a few drains it didn't do any real damage to the place. With a sigh Solaris stopped at the end of the street and the mess, waved his horn and with a flash of light made the street crystal clean. The ponies around him cheered for him before going back to their duties. Solaris was pleased with his work, but he was still curious as to how it had happened. It had been the first time ever that something like this had happened and there really was no reason for it. It didn't make any sense! Frustrated that he didn't have an answer he would consult with his brother before continuing further...
Artemis snored softly in his bed, his mouth parted slightly letting a string of drool leak out of a corner of his mouth. He slept easily it seemed. Solaris quirked an eyebrow and smirked at his little brother. He nudged him gently with his horn. "Artemis?" he whispered. "Artemis?"
Artemis groaned and rolled over on his other side. Solaris narrowed his eyes at him and then decided to take more forceful measures. "Arty!" he cried and pushed him sharply with his hoof.
Artemis snorted violently and grumbled groggily. He sat up and blinked a few times to get the sleep out of his eyes. "Huh, wha?" he groaned. "I wazn' sleepin'!"
Solaris walked in front of Artemis and smirked at him. "Uh-huh," he teased. "You got a little something right there."
Solaris signaled the spot with his hoof up next to the corner of his mouth. Artemis growled with frustration and wiped furiously at his mouth and chin. "What is it Soly?" he asked and stood up from his bed. "You know this is when I take my morning nap."
"I know, I know, but listen brother! I found something very strange in Canterlot this morning," Solaris explained.
"What another animal that you catalogued, I can read it later!" Artemis protested.
"No, no!" Solaris growled. "It's very strange, apparently there was a chocolate rainstorm last night on only one street!"
Artemis quirked an eyebrow at his older brother as if he had just told him that fairytales were real. "Chocolate rain?" he asked. "Are you sure? It wasn't just some strange tasting and smelling mud puddle?"
Solaris stomped a hoof in frustration. "I mean it, Arty!" he protested.
Arty threw up his forehooves in mock surrender. "Alright, alright," he said and smiled teasingly. "But if it was a 'chocolate rainstorm' as you say, what was the cause of it?"
Solaris shook his head. "I don't know, I thought you might have an idea," he said.
Artemis scrunched up his nose in confusion. "How should I know?!" he asked.
"It happened during your night, your patrol!" Solaris pointed out.
"Then it must've happened before or after I passed over Canterlot, because I saw nothing of the sort!" Artemis said.
Solaris sat down and stared at the ground hard as if willing it to give him the answers. "Look, did it hurt anyone, cause any damage?" Artemis asked.
"Nnn, well, no," Solaris sighed.
"Then it shouldn't be that much of a problem, maybe while I'm on my rounds you could stay in Canterlot, see if it happens again," Artemis suggested.
Solaris nodded thoughtfully. It was a good idea, Artemis couldn't be tied down to just one part of their kingdom, he had other duties while protecting the night. If Solaris watched Canterlot, he could be sure it wouldn't happen again.
"Alright then, that's settled, now let me get back to sleep so that I'm not tired for my night," he groaned and flopped back onto his bed...
Soon enough it was time for the moon to rise. Artemis stood proud and watched as Solaris brought down his glorious sun. Sometimes he envied his brother, after all everyone was alive and awake during the day, while they slept at night. They didn't see his beautiful moon, his dazzling stars that he placed so carefully around the sky. Artemis shook his head to dispel the thoughts, it was beautiful anyway! Even when no one was around to see it, he saw it, he knew! Now it was his turn. Artemis' horn glowed deep blue and the moon's glow peeked over the horizon before he started to flap his wings and carry it's awesome weight up and up fully into the sky. He sighed as he looked at his work and nodded proudly. "Well done, brother," Solaris congratulated and gave his shoulder a shove.
Artemis grinned and rubbed his shoulder. "Yeah, it's nothing special," he said as they kept flying lazily over the landscape.
"Don't be ridiculous," Solaris protested. "Your night is absolutely amazing!"
Artemis smiled shyly and looked down as they flew over Canterlot. "Well, this is where you get off," he said and nodded toward the city.
"Indeed, good luck, my brother," Solaris said and went into a shallow dive toward the city.
"The same to you as well!" Artemis called before flying off and away from him.
Solaris landed on one of the rooftops that overlooked the street that was disturbed that morning and sat down to keep watch over it. Perhaps it was a little presumptuous to assume that this street would be hit twice, but what other choice did he have? As the night went on without any disturbance Solaris started to get very tired. He struggled to keep his eyes open, he shook himself furiously, and sometimes kicked himself, but it wasn't working all that well. He groaned as his head slumped forward and he was about to give into the temptation of sleep when he suddenly heard a disturbance. Solaris snapped back to attention and tipped his ears this way and that to find the source of the noise. He heard something topple in a nearby alley and decided to investigate. He floated down to the ground and slowly crept forward. He noticed a bunch of food crates had fallen over, well it had been the source of the noise, but what was the cause? Then he heard a strange skittering a few feet away. His head turned sharply and he saw something quickly disappear behind a corner. Solaris trotted toward the corner and peered around it. At the end of the alleyway there stood a strange figure. He couldn't discern the shape, but it definitely wasn't a pony! From what he could see it stood on two legs and had two other limbs, a long neck, two stubby wings, a long dragon-like tail, and two different horns sticking out of its head. Apparently it had spotted him too and it crouched down on all four legs before "slithering" away as fast as lightning. "Hey, wait!" he called and gave chase to the figure.
It was fast, he had to give it that. It was already an alleyway's length away from him, by the time he reached that corner. He would never catch up to it at that rate! Then he opened his wings and started to flap them furiously to give him more propulsion and speed. "Stop!" he called again.
Before he got very far he felt his hooves go faster than he wanted them to and was suddenly struggling to keep them under control. He tried to stop himself, but found his hooves sliding and slipping out from underneath him. Finally a slam to a wall stopped his advance and he groaned in pain as he shook himself off and tried to stand back up. When he slipped again he looked down at the ground and saw that it looked slick and... bubbly? He gave it a sniff and his eyes widened. "Soap?!" he said and slowly made his wings hover above the ground. "The streets are made of soap!"
Before he could fly off and inspect the rest of the city he heard a high-pitched, mischievous giggle. He looked around, his head turning this way and that, he even turned his whole body around in the air, but saw nothing. The strange figure had escaped and was apparently mocking him...
The next morning, Solaris woke groggily to the sun trying to rise, but failing without his magic. He had slept on a rooftop while he was still keeping watch for the figure or more unusual events. He shook himself off and his horn glowed bright orange as he flapped his wings and rose the sun once again. He sighed and groaned as he landed back on the rooftop. "What a night," he said as he rubbed at his eyes.
"Brother!" Artemis called as he floated down next to him. "How went the investigation?" he asked.
"See for yourself," Solaris said and waved his hoof at the streets.
Artemis turned and his eyes widened. All of the streets were bubbling and slick, all of them were made of soap! "Soap?!" he asked. "What happened?"
"I think I found the source of this mischief," Solaris said.
"Well, that's good, what or who is it?" Artemis asked.
Solaris lowered his head in defeat. "I don't know," he said. "I only saw a vague shape of what they were."
Artemis blinked a few times in curiosity. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, that whatever it was, it wasn't a pony or any creature I've come across," Solaris explained.
"Hmmm, curious," Artemis mused and stroked his chin.
"Indeed," Solaris agreed.
"Well, it's obviously intelligent if it can wield this kind of magic," Artemis thought aloud.
"Yes, I suppose," Solaris said and his horn glowed once again before making the soapy streets right again.
"So what do we do now?" Artemis asked.
"I'll stay in Canterlot for awhile, see if anything else happens or if that creature comes back," Solaris said.
Artemis nodded. "I think that's best."
"Until then we continue with our duties and stay vigilant," Solaris said.
"Sir, yes sir!" Artemis teased and saluted his big brother.
Solaris smirked and waved farewell as his brother took off and back to the Castle...
Prince Solaris stayed in Canterlot for a few days staying at a popular inn, but nothing else happened. He got accustomed to sleeping during the day after he rose the sun and then to wake up when it was time to set it. It was really screwing with his schedule. Sometimes he couldn't sleep and would wander around the streets, greeting his subjects and just wearing himself out. That day was no different. The sun was very insistent on keeping him awake by poking its rays in between the curtains of his room. He growled and stood up from his bed shaking himself off he trotted out of the inn and into the streets to see if the creature would try something during the day. It never did, but one could never be too sure. "Greetings Prince Solaris," a pony said and bowed elegantly to the prince.
"Greetings friend," Solaris said and nodded back. "How are you this morning?"
"Oh quite well, my prince," he said and kept bowing.
Sometimes that kind of courtesy annoyed him. Surely it hurt their backs to keep doing that. "Except I do have a question, your highness," he spoke up.
Solaris turned completely to the colt and waited attentively. "Yes?"
"Those clouds," the colt said and pointed up toward the mountain. "They're wonderful, really, they bring so much color to the sky, but um..."
The colt shuffled his hooves nervously and thought about what he was going to say before spitting it out. "Aren't they a little oddly colored for mid-morning?" he asked.
Solaris looked up at the mountaintop and narrowed his eyes at the sight. Before his eyes spied the summit, there was a mass of swirling, pink clouds surrounding the top. Not that pink clouds were odd, he often saw them at sunset, but right now, when it was almost high noon? Indeed, the rest of the clouds around the mass were pure white. It was absolutely strange. "Indeed, they are," he said and opened his wings before he started to take off toward the odd formation. "Go about your day, I'll see what the disturbance is."
The colt nodded quickly before he trotted away, leaving the prince to take care of the clouds.
Solaris flapped hard against the mountain winds, he wasn't really used to the air around it and the winds were almost gale force. He stopped just below the clouds and then started the ascent to find the source. The climb was rough and he was always in danger of slipping on some loose rocks. However, having wings, he didn't worry about it that much. It was just kind of annoying to keep slipping every few steps. He was now in the middle of the formation and he looked out at the clouds swirling and moving around him. Suddenly a breeze kicked up and before he could brace himself for it a "piece" of the cloud came out and smacked him in the face. It felt sticky and smelled like sugar. Solaris snuffled and snorted trying to get the substance out of his face before his tongue came out and licked it away. "Hmmm?" he said as he swallowed it. "Cotton... candy?"
Now it was really strange. Cotton candy clouds? Chocolate rain? Soapy streets? This thing had a real sense of humor or no sense at all. He was going to find out soon enough! A few more paces up and he came to the entrance of a cave. It was dark and dank as caves are wont to be, but he noticed that the clouds seemed to be leaking out of the entrance. Solaris stepped inside and crept further in. "Hello?!" he called.
No answer. He swung his head around, but saw no movement. "Hello? Anypony home?!" he tried again.
Suddenly he heard a sound behind him, he whipped around, but only saw the creature's tail tuft disappear behind a rock. "Hello?" he said and walked forward to where he thought it was. "Come on out, I won't harm you."
Again no answer. Then he heard more shuffling and slithering behind him again. He turned and quickly followed the creature deeper into the cave. "Come on, I just want to know who you are!" he said. "And why you're doing this!"
"Doing what?" a voice asked.
A decidedly "female" voice. Solaris stopped and looked around the cave trying to find the keeper of the voice. "Why you're making chocolate rain, and turned the streets to soap, and making cotton candy clouds," he explained and started to trot around the perimeter of the cave.
The voice giggled. "Because it's fun!" it answered simply. "It's always so dull around here, so hum-drum, same-old same-old. I was just trying to bring a little excitement, a little... chaos."
Solaris glared. "Who are you?" he asked again.
"Why don't you tell me who you are?" the voice asked back. "After all you are trespassing in my home."
Solaris suddenly stopped his pacing and stood straight, tall, and proud. "I am Prince Solaris, ruler of the morning sky, and of Equestria," he said.
"Oooo, forgive me, your highness," she said her voice dripping with venom. "I was unaware I was speaking in front of royalty."
Solaris growled angrily at her sarcasm. "Now I'll ask you again, who are you?!"
"You tell me, princey," she said.
"Enough of this, show yourself now!" Solaris demanded.
"Ooo, a little bratty princey, huh?" she teased. "What if I don't want to, huh? What if I refuse to show myself?"
"Then what are you hiding?"
"I'm not hiding anything!"
"Then prove it!"
"NO!"
Solaris growled and his horn started to glow brightly in the cave. "Hey watch it with that thing!" the voice cried.
Soon the cave was flooded with ethereal light and everything was revealed. The creature stood not a few feet away from him, cowering behind her arms. Solaris blinked at the thing and once she lowered her arms she blinked back. He didn't know what made him do it, but slowly his mouth opened and he gave a drawn out scream. She screamed back and they backed away from each other into their respected corners! "What are you?!" he asked.
"I don't know!" she said.
"Who are you?!" he tried again.
"I don't know!" she said again.
Solaris breathed heavily as he tried to calm down. The creature looked like it was a fusion of so many creatures it was hard to tell which one had true dominion over her. She had a griffin's claw, a lion's paw, a dragon's tail, a deer's hoof, a lizard's foot, a long neck, a pony's head, and a deer's antler with a goat's horn. She was the most amazing and strange thing he had ever come across. Finally he got up the courage to walk over to her and inspect her up close. For the moment, she let him. She seemed more scared than he was and probably wouldn't even notice how close he got. Her ruby irises were wide and rested in pool of sunlight yellow. They were kind of pretty, but in a very strange way. "Hmmm, amazing," he mused as he stepped back. "I thought you had wings before though."
The creature blinked and turned around for him. "Oh, you mean these?" she asked.
Sure enough she also had a bird's and a bat's wing. "Interesting," he said and started walk around her.
She crossed her arms and waited for him to stop gawking at her. "So you are the one causing all the trouble," he said.
"Trouble?" she said. "Hardly, I was just having some fun."
Solaris smirked at her and stopped circling her. "Well, you're fun is kind of inconvenient for the other ponies," he said.
"Inconvenient?" she asked. "I think it brings some excitement to this boring place."
Solaris quirked an eyebrow at her. "How long have you been up here?"
She shrugged and looked at the floor. "A while."
"Are you going to give me straight answers?" Solaris asked and stepped forward. "You know ones that make sense."
The creature smiled also showing off a growing fang that poked slightly out from underneath her upper lip. "Oh what fun is there in making sense?" she said.
Solaris narrowed his eyes at her. She only giggled and started to float on her back without any help from her wings. "I was only experimenting on that city, I've only really gotten used to these powers just now," she explained. "But it was rather fun watching you little ponies fumbling around my chocolate puddles and when you slipped down that alleyway..."
She started to snort and choke down her laughter. "I almost died!" she cried and started to laugh in earnest.
Solaris frowned, but couldn't help one side of his mouth to quirk up at the sound of her laughter. "Glad I could amuse you," he said.
"Oh you did, ha ha, very, very much!" she said and got herself under control.
Solaris grit his teeth in embarrassment and shuffled his hooves. "Look I don't have much time, but I'm here to tell you now that if you don't keep your magic under control and don't stop this mischief I'll have to use force," he said and his horn glowed to emphasize his point.
Her smile dropped and she looked at him thoughtfully. "Alright, alright," she said and then floated down to the ground before snapping her fingers. "Sheesh, you ponies can't take a joke."
Solaris smiled softly and then shuffled his hooves trying to find something else to talk about. "So you really don't know who you are or what you are?" he asked.
She only shrugged. Solaris stroked his chin thoughtfully. He didn't know either, but it was really tragic that a creature didn't know what it was or if it had a name. "Look, how 'bout we make a deal," she spoke up. "I won't cause anymore mischief if you find out who and what I am."
Solaris looked up and frowned thoughtfully. "Alright, sounds reasonable," he said and offered a hoof to her.
She scrunched up her face at it, but gently gripped it with her lion's paw. "It's a deal," he said. "I have to go now, I'll be back probably tomorrow and I promise I'll have something!"
With that he opened his wings and took off across the sky. The candy clouds had disappeared and everything was back to normal, but he knew he had a full day of reading to find out what the creature was and if she had a name at all. He would have to find a name for her as well then...
She watched him fly away from the entrance of her cave. The colt was definitely something new, something strange to her. He had been frightful at first, but then generally interested in her. In her appearance anyway and most ponies were just not in the way he had been. He was quite interesting too. Prince Solaris? Royalty too, no less! She had just been trying to make some fun and then had a colt come in and demand to know her. It was shame that she couldn't give him a name, but the ones that were given to her she didn't really enjoy herself. She wasn't a real judge of beautiful, honestly anything that looked bizarre or different to other ponies she enjoyed greatly. She thought that maybe ponies would find the Prince beautiful, but well she... kind of did too. She shook her head and glared down at her reflection in a puddle of water. "Did you hear that?" she asked her reflection. "A prince came to see me, he's going to find out what I am!"
The reflection didn't answer back. Sometimes it did though, maybe it was just tired. "I'll find out and then have more fun!" she said and looked out at the horizon.
She could still see a tiny dot in the distance and knew that it signified the prince.
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So cute! And awesome! Can't wait for the rest!
Te chapter was cute and the story looks promising.