There Will Always Be Light

by Semaj

Part V "How Far We Have Come"

Part V

"How Far We Have Come."

"Hey, Mom," called Starry as he trotted through the door, adorned in golden armor.

"Greetings, sweet heart. How was your first day of training?" I inquired. From the moment Starry had put that helmet on, he could not stop talking about training.

"It was hard," replied Starry with a loud groan.

“Yes but, not bad, right?" I galloped over to Starry, who was now shaking the armor off his body.

"Are you kidding me? It was great!" shouted Starry as he flopped his hefty body onto the bed. He then yawned a deep yawn and curled himself into a familiar ball shape.

"Yeah, he did well," said Midnight, who was now standing in the doorway.

"Really? Starry, I am so proud of you!" I chimed while clapping my hooves together.

"Truth is, he gave the other stallions a real run for their money," admitted Midnight. "That pegasus can imitate any maneuver you show him and throw it right back at you."

"Thanks. For some reason, I feel like I'm doing what I was born to do," muttered Starry as he began to drift off into sleep.

"I'm telling you, he's going to take my job," whispered Midnight.

"Are you sure you are not rushing this a bit? I mean to say, he just started."

"He's got the right attitude, and that will take you miles farther than brains or brawn alone. It's going to be a tough road, no doubt, but I have faith in him."

"And I have faith in both of you," I said, giving Midnight a firm slap on the back.

"Uh… can we take this outside?" asked Midnight glancing over at Starry. "I want to talk with you, in private."

"Sure, I guess," I said, pulling myself from in front of the coffee table.

***

"So what do you want to talk about?" I asked, kicking at the wet dirt of the Everfree Forest.

"Honestly, I don't know," said Midnight, stopping in the middle of the path. He let out a soft grunting sound and stared off into the starry sky. "I'm just afraid."

"What?" I cried, whipping my head back.

"I know; I don't really look like the kind a pony who gets scared. But all this insane political turmoil, I just don't understand it." Midnight shook his head and turned toward me. "Look, when my father gave me that helmet and I became a royal guard, I vowed to devotedly protect the ponies of Equestria with my life. And I have been doing that for forty years now.

“I've worked almost my entire life trying to protect and better the nation that I love, but now it feels like everything I've tried to work for, everything I have achieved, is crumbling away in front of my eyes.

“I'm fifty-eight years old now, and I'm not getting any younger. The ponies of Equestria don't like me, and my own soldiers think I'm an old fart.

“I think what I'm getting at is, despite my important position and so called power, I feel useless." Midnight slammed his hoof against the ground and made a quiet snort. "I feel like something big is going to happen soon, but I know all I can do is stand by and watch..." Midnight trailed off, and then dropped to sitting position on the ground.

I sat down a few feet beside him, for some reason my eyes could not meet his. It was like they were two same side magnets, always pushing each other away just as they got close. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because I remember when you trusted me with your deepest secret all those years ago, about Starry and all, so I thought it was about time I returned the favor."

"I am sorry, but I do not know what I can do to help," I said putting a hoof on Midnight’s back.

"You can listen, and that's more than most ponies would ever care to do."

Neither of us said anything for a while. Time stopped moving forward and instead drifted away like smoke from a camp fire. I looked around at the gnarled trees of the dark forest, and watched as a small squirrel-like creature skittered across the ground. I closed my eyes for a moment and listened to the birds chirp and the wind blow through the forest. It was a calm night, serene even. I had no idea how anypony could hate a night as beautiful as that.

As I sat, I began to doze off for a minute, but I was then promptly woken up by a small drop of water falling from the overgrowth and splattering on my muzzle.

"Luna, will you promise me something?" asked Midnight, his voice a deep monotone.

"Of course, what is it?"

"Will you promise to remember me?"

"Why would I not remember you?" I asked, a small frog crawling into my throat.

"Time passes, and someday I'm going to die. But you'll still be around. You're going to keep living thousands of years, even after nopony else remembers me, you will." Midnight stopped for a moment and laughed a humorless laugh. "When I think about it, that's all anypony really wants, to be remembered. That way you live on even after your body has rotted away."

I looked at Midnight, unable to say a word.

Many nights I have sat alone thinking about the ponies I've met, knowing that someday I would have to let go of every single one of them. It was heart rending becoming attached to somepony, and then in a blink of an eye, losing them.

There are so many faces that swirl through my head and so many long since forgotten names. The only thing that had ever been consistent in my life was Celestia. She was the one who made the years pass by, the only one who could ease the pain. But it had gotten to a point where even she, my own sister, was not there for me.

"You do not have to worry about that," I said, giving Midnight a warm smile. "I am sure Starry and I will remember you for the rest of our lives."

"Yeah, that kid is a special one,” replied Midnight as he shook his head. “By the way, it's beautiful out here. On nights like these I pity the idiots who lock themselves in their houses."

"Thanks," I said trying not to blush. "And do not worry about the situation with Equestria. I am sure it will all be fine."

***

After that, we had to start forming a new routine because of Starry's odd training schedule, but it was not that bad. Starry would go to training in the morning with Midnight most days, but sometimes he would also leave in the afternoon for extra lessons.

His first week of training went almost entirely smoothly, and I got no bad reports from Midnight. However, that quickly changed. Soon I began getting more and more frequent reports of Starry having trouble behaving with the other stallions. This worried me because he had always been such a gentlecolt. I could not imagine him getting in fights with anypony, even if he was provoked. One day, Starry came home after having a particularly intense fight with one of the other recruits.

***

"Starry, are you alright?" I asked as I watched him sulk in the corner of our room.

"I'm fine!" snapped Starry, turning away and flipping his mane back in front of his eyes.

"Starry, look at me!" I commanded. "You are not 'fine'. Now tell me what happened or I will go and ask Midnight." I began to stand up.

"No!" he squeaked, jumping from his seat and onto the floor.

I stopped and looked at Starry, fake impatience on my face.

He coughed and looked around the room. "I mean... I think we should talk about it first."

"Okay," I said, using my magic to pull up an extra chair. "Now. What happened?"

Starry bit his lip and looked at the floor.

"It is okay; I will not be mad."

Starry sighed. "I got into another fight today. It was a bad one."

"Starry, again?" I scolded as I pulled his mane from in front of his face. He had a black eye.

"He started it,” Starry mumbled.

"That is no excuse to start beating on ponies!”

"He called you an awful princess, and then when I tried to reason with him, he said my opinion didn’t matter because I was just a blank flank nopony."

"I do not care what he said; what you did was not right!" I lectured, pulling Starry’s face up to look at mine.

"I know. I just get SO angry sometimes, and I try to talk about it, but everything comes out wrong."

"it is okay, honey. I know." I said, giving Starry a gentle rub.

"I feel like it's impossible to control myself sometimes. Like I'm some sort of monster pretending to be a pony."

"I know exactly what that is like, but whenever you feel you are getting out of control, remember that you are your own pony. Remember that nopony else has power over what you do. it is your choice whether you blow up or not."

"That's the thing. When I get like that, I don't feel like it IS me."

"If you ever feel like that, just take a deep breath, and think about something you love."

"Okay," said Starry, a faint smile on his face. "Besides I'd better clean up my act. Midnight even told me the only reason I haven't been kicked out yet is because he's been giving me special treatment."

***

From that moment on, Starry tried his best to control his anger, and aside for the occasional verbal fencing match, he did well.

One night he told me that he had to use my technique to control himself; he said that when he took a deep breath, the only thing he could think about was me.

The next month or so was strange. I was not able to see Starry for the long hours that I was used to, but I did not mind because he loved what he was doing. It was probably for the best anyway; I had a lot of work to do. And for the first time in years, I did not feel like the work I was doing was tedious.

Every time Starry came home with a smile on his face, I knew that what I was doing was right. One night, he came back even more excited than usual. Little did I know, what he had in store would be some of the best and the worst news I would ever hear.

***

"Mom! Mom! Mom!" shouted Starry as he came bursting through the door.

"What is it honey?" I cried, dropping the fork I was levitating.

"I did It!"

"Did what?"

"Midnight said I passed basic training!"

"What?! You did!? Starry that is wonderful!" I said running over to him for a hug.

"That means I get to go on to go on to advanced flight school in Timbucktu!"

"What?" I screamed, stopping dead in my tracks.

"What's wrong?" asked Starry, the smile disappearing from his face.

"I am sorry… I just did not think you would have to go that far away."

"I'm afraid it can't be helped," grumbled Midnight as he trotted into the room.

"Midnight! Where were you?" shouted Starry giving him a firm jab in the side.

"Sorry, I was finishing up with the older stallions."

"So what's all this about going to Timbucktu?" I asked, throwing Midnight an intense glare.

"That's where the premier flight school in Equestria is. If you want Starry to get the proper training, that's where you're going to have to send him."

"Can't he go to Cloudsdale Academy? At least that's not too far away."

Midnight chuckled. "Only Wonderbolts and weather ponies go to Cloudsdale Academy. If you want a soldier, you have to go to Timbucktu."

"I do not want a soldier; I want a son. Besides, is he not already a soldier? He finished basic."

Midnight's face grew sullen and he glanced over at Starry. “Yes, that's true," he whispered. "But I don't think you understand. Not everypony gets to be a real guard. The guards around here, they're all just a show of power. The only thing they're good for is telling other countries how strong we are. That's what happens to ponies who only finish basic. Is that what you want for Starry?"

I opened my mouth to reply, but no words came out. I could not imagine how heartbroken Starry would be if he found out that his dream of being a powerful royal weapon turned out to be a job as a glorified servant.

"I do not know,"

"Alright, fair enough," said Midnight with a great sigh. "But before you make a decision, I need to show you something." Midnight walked over to Starry and whispered something into his ear.

"Is it time to show her yet?" questioned Starry, bouncing on the bed. Midnight nodded and gave a small smile. "Alright, are you ready, Mom?"

"Ready for what?"

"Just watch," assured Starry as he began to take off his armor.

I was confused for a moment as to what he was doing, but as soon as he took of his chest plate and reviled his flank underneath, I almost fell over.

"Starry, th-that's amazing... I do not know what to say!"

Starry had a cutie mark, and not just any cutie mark. He had one of the most beautiful cutie marks I have seen in the thousands of years I have lived. Emblazoned on his flank were twenty-eight bright and shining stars. They were unlike anything I had ever seen; they shimmered and sparkled as if emanating their own light. The tiny dots all aligned, connected by faint shimmery lines, in the shape of a shield with an image of a moon overlaying the sun in its center.

"I am so proud of you," I muttered, tears flowing from my eyes.

"Oh Mom, don't cry!" said Starry trotting over to comfort me.

"No, it is okay; I am happy," I said, giving a shaky smile. I looked back at Starry’s cutie mark and noticed something I had never seen before. It shimmered as he moved almost like small shards of diamonds were embedded beneath the skin. “it is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen."

"Aw, that can't be true," said Starry, his face turning a few shades darker. "I mean, you own a mirror, don't you?”

I thought about what he said or a second then burst out into a fit of giggles. "Oh stop it!" I said, a huge grin on my face. "I am telling you, you are going to be a real mare killer some day."

"Alright, alright, heartwarming family moments aside, you know what this means, right?" groaned Midnight.

"That my son is even more amazing than I thought?"

"No," replied Midnight, putting his hoof in his face. "It means this is what he's meant to do!" Midnight then showed off his own cutie mark: a white and gold copy of the sun and moon cutie image from Starry’s mark. "Do you really want to take that away from him?"

I sighed and wiped the tears from my face. "I suppose not... But I am going to miss you very much." I grabbed Starry for a big hug and began to cry again.

"I'll miss you too, Mom," he hugged back, almost crushing me with his powerful adult body. "It's all going to be alright."

"I love you Starry!"

"I know, Mom; I love you too. I Always have, and I'm not stopping now."

***

The following day was filled entirely with packing and getting ready. Starry, Midnight and I galloped around trying to find our things. We made sure to double check that Starry would have everything he needed, but for some reason I still had a bad feeling, like we were forgetting something.

That night I could not help but think about how far we have come. I was nervous to say goodbye but I knew I had to let go someday. So when the time came, I gave Starry a kiss and made sure to remind him to write.

After that, everything was extremely quiet. With Starry gone, Midnight did not really have a reason to spend time with me, so I was mostly alone. It was not quite as bad as I thought it would be, at least not at first. I would take moonlit strolls and talk to the animals as a way to pass the time. I also did a lot of reading; I tried to learn as much as I could about some of the current politics that I had been missing out on while taking care of Starry. However, eventually being alone did start to bother me again, starting one dark and rainy evening four weeks after Starry's departure.

***

I took a deep breath as I felt the light rainfall on my wings. I always loved the feeling of flying in the rain. It was refreshing. Celestia would tell me it was dangerous, but I never listened.

I was not sure where I was flying to, but at least all of the silence gave me time to think.

Looking back on my life, becoming a mother was never something I was really interested in. I guess I shoved the idea out of my mind because I was too afraid of forming attachments to other ponies. I did not want to watch the ones I love fade away.

Thunder boomed in the distance as I dove closer to the ground. I flapped my wings harder and felt the small droplets of water shatter on my face as I picked up speed. I did not typically enjoy flying fast, but I did like to feel the rush every once in awhile.

In my younger days, I did try my hoof at romance, but it never worked out the way I wanted. Maybe my expectations were too high; maybe everypony else was just too afraid of my position to get close to me.

As I continued to fly, I ended up over a large grassy field. It was hard to see in the dark, but I could have sworn that I caught a glimpse of a small village.

I turned my head and stopped abruptly. I didn’t know there was civilization all the way out here, I thought as I stared into the blackness behind me. For some reason, my curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to fly back to where I had seen the houses.

There wasn’t much in it, but it was there, a small farming town in the middle of nowhere. It was strange; usually whenever a new town is created, Celestia and I are informed about it. What was even more strange was that no one was outside. Back then, most farmers worked around the clock and took short naps to make the most of the whole day, but on that night everything was quiet. The only sound that could be heard was the rain pounding against the dirt.

I flew down to examine the place, but everything was dark. Not a single light was on in the entire village. I trotted my way through the empty streets and looked for some sort of activity. There was no one in the town and no one in the fields.

After a long stretch of dirt road, there were a few more houses. As I expected, they were mostly dark. However, there was one light on in the very last house on the street.

I trotted up to the tiny house, and to my surprise, on the porch was a little filly sitting in a chair.

“Hello there little one,” I said, stepping into the light.

“Howdy!” squeaked the child, rocking back and forth in the chair.

“What are you doing out here all alone?” I asked, climbing up the porch's creaky steps.

“The others are all asleep.”

“Why is that?”

“They’re waitin’ fur the day. That’s when they start tendin’ to the crops,” said the filly, pulling her cream colored mane from in front of her eyes.

“Why not now? There’s plenty of time to do it during the night.”

“They say the night is no good. Too dark, ya know?”

My heart sank. Is that really what ponies thought of my night? “Really? Then why are you out here?”

“I like it.” The filly smiled a wide toothy smile.

“Really?”

“Yeah, ah course I do. Don’t tell my papa I said that.” The filly then rolled over in the chair, leaving her in an uncomfortable upside down position.

I giggled. “My lips are sealed.” I did not really know what to say, so instead, I tapped my hoof on the rotting wood of the deck. “So… what is your name?”

“My name? It’s Golden Straw. I never really liked it too much though.”

“I think it fits you, very happy.” I said as I sat down next to the filly.

“Thanks.”

“My name is Luna.”

“What!? As in Princess Luna?” cried Golden Straw, standing up in her chair.

“The one and only.”

“Wow! I’ve always wanted to meet a princess! My papa doesn't like you, but I think he’s just fulla hay,” beamed the filly, wide-eyed and grinning.

“Why doesn't your father like me?” I asked, fearing the answer.

“I don know. He spouts a lot of hooey about you not caring ‘bout us.”

“That’s not true!” I shouted, my blood beginning to boil inside me.

“That’s what I keep tellin’ ‘em. But he goes to those dumb old protests anyway!”

“What protests?!” I said, taken aback.

“I don—” Just then the door to the house swung open.

“What’s goin’ on out here!” screamed a voice.

“Oh no! It’s my papa!” said Golden Straw as a large figure appeared from the door.

“Who the hay are you?!” said the figure, bursting out into the pouring rain.

“Sir I—”

“AND WHAT UR YOU DOIN’ WITH MY DAUGHTER?”

“Nothi—”

“Wait a minute! You’re that Princess Luna, ain't cha?” he yelled, stepping a bit closer to me.

“Calm down, sir; I mean no harm!” I insisted in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

“It’s true, Papa; she ain’t hurtin’ nothin’,” cried Golden Straw as she hopped up from her chair and between the two of us.

“Shut up! I ain’t talkin’ to you!” shouted the Stallion, grabbing Golden Straw by the mane.

“Papa please!” squealed Golden Straw, kicking around in a desperate attempt at escape.

“Get yer flank back in the house right now, little missy!” commanded the burly earth pony.

“But, Papa!”

“Get inside before I clobber you!” Golden Straw’s father then shoved her inside, and before she could even complain, he slammed the wooden door shut so hard I could feel the whole house shake. “How dare you come here and disrupt my family’s life!” he shouted, turning toward me again.

“I promise that was not my intention! I was just curious as to why nopony was outside on a night as fine as this.”

“And that’s another thing.” The stallion took a few steps closer and hacked a huge wad of spit on the ground in front of me. “How dare ya take away the daytime we love just to replace it with your own selfish image!"

"Selfish!? How dare thee!" I retorted, taking up my Royal Canterlot Voice. "We slave over creating a night sky that thy would love every single night, but this is how thy thanks Us? We hardly think that We could be called the selfish one!”

"Yeah? Well we don’t need ya tellin’ us what we want!" shouted the stallion as he picked up a small stone from the ground. “If you wanna do what we want, just leave! None uh us want you here in the first place.”

“I’m sorry I—” Just then, as I was trying to defend myself, the stallion hurled the rock at me. “OW!” I shrieked, feeling the sting of the rock smashing against my chest.

“Why don’t ya’ll just do us a favor and never show your face, or your useless night, in Equestria ever again!” he screamed, picking up another rock.

I wasn’t really sure what to do, so I tried to reason with him, but no matter what I said, he just kept pelting me with whatever small objects he could find. At first, it was only little stings which were tolerable, but the more I tried to say to the stallion, the worse it got. Eventually, even I had to reach my breaking point, and that came in the form of a glass bottle.

I screamed as the thick glass of the bottle shattered and dug itself into my left side. I was in shock for a few moments, but as soon as I came to my senses, I was angry.

"How DARE thee!" I boomed, slamming my hooves against the ground. "We shall NOT stand for this!" I then lost control for a moment and let out a powerful concussive wave from my horn, causing the large stallion to be thrown back into the door at great speed. Thankfully, the blast wasn’t strong enough to knock the house down, but it certainly threw the stallion for a loop.

“You’re a monster!” he groaned as he gasped for breath

"WE ARE NOT A MONSTER!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, lightning cracking the sky.

Suddenly, I felt weak, but I knew I had to leave, so I hobbled out into the street. I looked at the sky and felt the rain drench my face. It was coming down even harder than before.

I took a deep breath and jumped into the air, flapping hard to escape that town. The rain and darkness made for a long journey home, but I was able to make it back to the castle by the time the first rays of my sister’s sun appeared over the horizon.

As soon as I made it into my room, I flopped down on my bed and took a nice long rest. Just before I fell asleep, however, I felt something strange. It was like some sort of dark force was trying to worm its way inside of me.

***

After that night, I did not really know what to do anymore, so I just sat around in my room. I canceled all my meetings and ignored all of my visitors. The only thing I would do was look out the window and listen to the silence of the night.

The one thing that would give me comfort were the occasional letters from Starry Night. Apparently flight school was rough, and they almost never let him mail anything. That did not stop Starry, though; he always found a way to get something to me every once in awhile. Most of the letters were just updates on how he was doing and how much he missed me, but every so often he would send me an interesting story.

My personal favorite was the story of when a cadet tried to prank the drill instructor by dumping purple paint on his head. I could not help but laugh at the thought of a muscular drill sergeant soaked in a big purple blob.

Believe it or not, those were the things that kept me going. Those short messages were the candles in the dark that guided my way.

I powered through the next few months, and for the most part, things weren’t too bad. Until the day everything fell apart.

***

"LUNA!" screamed Midnight's voice, shocking me awake.

"What!" I moaned, clutching my pillow to my face.

"It's an emergency! I need to talk to you right now!"

"Can it not wait another hour?" I groaned.

"Listen to me, Luna; this is a matter of life and death. Please let me in right now!" demanded Midnight.

I sighed. "Alright.” I dragged myself from the bed and creaked open the door. "What is it?"

Midnight slapped a hoof over my mouth. "What I want you to do right now is listen. Do you understand?" whispered Midnight. I nodded. "Timbucktu is under attack, and Starry Night might be in danger."

"Wha—" I tried to shout, but Midnight silenced me once again.

"I need you to stay calm, alright?" I nodded again this time much more vigorously. "From the reports that are coming in, all we can tell is that Timbucktu is in danger, and King Orion has been taken hostage." Midnight relaxed and removed his hoof from my mouth. “Now what I'm going to do is bring a small party of my finest stallions and we’re going to see how many ponies we can save."

"But you are an earth pony! How are you going to walk?"

"It will be fine; I'll get one of the unicorns to cast a cloudwalking spell on me." Midnight looked me right in the eyes again, his muzzle only a hoof's length away. "I have to do this myself. If anything were to happen to Starry, I'd be to blame."

"Can I at least go with you?" I pleaded.

"We don't know who or what is doing the attacking; I don't think we should risk you getting hurt. Besides, Celestia said that—”

"I DO NOT CARE what Celestia has to say!" I shouted, interrupting Midnight.

"Okay, then listen to what I have to say: Starry is already in danger. I don’t think I’d be able to handle it if you both got hurt.”

"Then what am I supposed to do, sit around here like a fool?" I cried, frustrated by my constant uselessness.

"No, just wish me luck,” said Midnight laying a hoof on my shoulder.

I sighed and hung my head low. "Okay, I'll try."

That was the one decision I regret the very most. Because maybe if I had been there, I could have been able to make things different.