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Many Regrets1,082 words
Love Bugs1,575 words
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Griffin Prince1,375 words
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The Beginning2,375 words
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The Hive1,621 words
Inevitable2,020 words
Ruff Diamonds3,066 words
Time Beckons5,629 words
Broken2,579 words
Deserted1,303 words
Traveling3,708 words
Piracy3,565 words
Sea Sick1,486 words
Marine March1,544 words
Icy Seas1,697 words
Frozen Heart3,561 words
Painful Consequences3,881 words
Heated Discussions2,945 words
Volcanic Wastes2,670 words
Fiery Cycle3,423 words
Sulphureous Attitude3,623 words
Bloody Flames3,078 words

Time Beckons

Night Wing

I coughed and waved a wing in front of my face, trying to clear the dust from the air. “Is everyone alright!?” Asked a soldier behind me. We had a group of about two hundred ponies in the cavern we were in. We had rescued them from the dens around the throne mountain. Thankfully none were in the mountain, as it had just collapsed. Although we weren't in said mountain, the shockwave and dust had traveled throughout the network of tunnels. Various moans and groans echoed around me as ponies tried to regain their footing. Some were in horrible states when we found them and some had died on the way out, simply too tired to go further. I cared for none of that as I looked down the tunnel the dust had came from. Oh Luna. What have you done?

Two Years Later

SHING!! I cut down a bandit that tried to sneak up behind me. ‘Get those civilians out of here!’ I blocked a spell with my wing, and it dissipated over my feathers. We were currently defending a trade convoy from bandits. And by we, I mean me and one other guard. We didn’t expect an attack this big, obviously.

“WAAAAAAAH!!” I looked over to see a filly stuck under a carriage as spells and arrows flew over it. I had to admit, the ponies in the convoy were holding their own pretty well. I opened a portal under the filly and dropped her beside me. I covered her with a wing and slowly started walking to the edge of the woods while blocking spells, and occasionally returning a few.

“Night! This way looks clear!” I had to resist the urge to snort as Clear Sight shouted to me from the woods. His bright green coat and pink mane made him easy to see. I made my way over to him along with the other ponies on our side. I raised a small wall of ice to save a stallion from getting impaled by a spear. A small push with telekinesis to deflect an arrow here, a fireball back at the enemy there. The sight of spells and weapons flying over the wide road filled me with excitement and adrenaline. Mostly adrenaline, as I didn’t have much time to marvel at the scene. I broke the wing of a dive bombing pegasus, causing him to crash into the caravans store of firewood. The flames I shot at him afterwards didn’t help him much.

‘Everyone get to the woods! Quickly!’ Those who saw my message relayed it to others as they ran to the trees. I covered their hasty retreat with a thick mist from my wings. I portaled myself and the filly over to Clear Sight and quickly ran into the trees with the two in tow. Celestia would not be happy. This was the third caravan lost in two weeks. I sighed while dodging branches and trees. The nearest town was not close at all. As soon as we regrouped I would portal us all there.

With a WOOSH the portal shut behind me, everyone else already having gone through. I collapsed, exhausted, and Clear ran to my side to help me up. “Are you ok Captain?”

‘Yes, I’m perfectly fine. Collapsing is a sign of good health in my species.’ I sarcastically replied while observing the ponies around us. I smiled when the filly from earlier hugged her mother with a tearful smile. ‘You better send a letter to Luna. Let her know what happened. It’s too late for Celestia to be awake.’ Clear Sight shifted uncomfortably at that, and my gaze hardened.

“Yes sir! Right away!” He flew off to write the letter after I glared at him. I couldn’t help but sigh after he left. Ridiculous. Even the guards are nervous around Luna. My eyes softened slightly as I made my way into a large tent. I can’t blame them though. It’s not their fault, they just....don’t know her like I do. They only see the bad. I hoped that would change soon. I could see Luna suffering from the fear ponies had of her. Gone was the love for their princess, replaced by cold fear. Only time would tell if that changed or not.

‘Finally! Home!’ I sighed in contentment as me and Clear entered the barracks of the castle. ‘Farewell Clear Sight, I have much paperwork to complete.’ With a nod in his direction, I teleported up to my office. The only bad thing about getting home. Paperwork. My smile shrunk slightly as papers floated onto my desk. I sat in my chair and pulled out one of my many quills. They were from my own wings of course, why buy feathers when you produce your own? Plus, everyone knows when I write something with mine. No other feathers have sparkly writing. It was a fact I was proud of. Do you have any idea how fun it is to write with a flaming feather? Very fun.

My thoughts were interrupted by knocking at my door. “Chirp!” I called for them to enter. My smile grew once more as Luna walked in. I left my chair and went to hug her. ‘How are you Luna?’

“I am....ok” Luna had a familiar expression on her face. One that was becoming increasingly familiar. My beak formed a slight frown as I backed up to let her in. “Sapphire is sleeping.” She crossed the room and collapsed in an extra chair.

‘You look tired.’ My chair squeaked as I sat back in it.

“I am.” She laid her head on my desk. “I don’t have the energy to stay up through the night anymore. Sapphire is a very active little filly.” A small smile cut through her frown. “I can’t wait till she is older. Then we can watch the stars together every night. But for now, the doctors say she needs to sleep at night.”

‘Well, it is important to listen to the doctors.’ Came my absentminded answer as I focused on my writing.

“Another thestral was killed today. In a town to the east.” My head rose to meet Luna’s gaze.

‘I’m so sorry Luna.’ A sigh escaped me and I walked around the desk to hug her.

“Am I really that scary Night? That our subjects fear of me would cause them to kill someone else? Do I not deserve their love?” Tears formed in her eyes and dripped down onto my feathered shoulder.

‘Luna, don’t ever think that. You are a wonderful pony, they just don’t realize that. They are too blind to see through their own ideas.’ I pulled back and looked her in the eyes. ‘Have you talked to Celestia about this?’

“Hah! She is too caught up in sifting through paperwork to notice the truth. I have brought it up with her, but she claims I am overreacting.” A scowl formed on Luna’s face, even while she cried. “She doesn’t understand.”

‘I will talk to her. She should pay more attention to your pains. You two are sisters, together forever.’ I smiled, trying to cheer up Luna. ‘Why don’t we go raid the kitchens? I’m sure we can sneak some pastries past the chefs.’ Luna smiled at that.

“You always know how to cheer me up Night. Let us do that.”

One Year Later

Luna

“And that is Pegasus.” I pointed out the constellation to Sapphire. “And there are the Unicorn and Earth Pony constellations.”

“Is there a hippogryph in the sky mommy?” I looked down into the eyes of my daughter.

“Of course there is sweetie. Right there. And just above it is the proud Griffin.” My hoof traced out the stars as I looked down to my side and smiled. “Legend has it that a brave griffin gave his life to save his daughter, who was a hippogryph. When he died, he was immortalized in the heavens for all to see and remember.”

“Really!?” Sapphire snuggled closer to my side.

“Yes.” A chuckle escaped me. “Really.” I looked around conspiratorially before leaning down and whispering in her ear. “Don’t tell uncle Night, but that one over there is him.” I pointed to a group of stars beside the other two. “I made that the official constellation of ‘Night’.” My hoof blocked a giggle from my lips.

“Ok, I won’t tell him mommy.” Sapphire laughed, music to my ears. “But only if you give me more cookies later.”

“Blackmail!?” I gasped loudly. “My dear daughter, that is a very naughty thing to do.”

“But it gets me more cookies doesn’t it?”

“I suppose it does. Let’s go back inside, the sun will rise soon. And yes, I will give you two more cookies. But no more!”

“Fiiiine.”

I softly closed the bedroom door as I left, and turned towards my own. “Chirp.” My head snapped around to see Night standing behind me.

“Oh! Hello Night, how are you tonight.”

‘I am well. I see you and Sapphire were watching the star again?’ Night seemed amused about something.

“Yes. It is a favorite activity of hers and mine.” I narrowed my eyes in suspicion at him as he chuckled. “What’s so funny Night, is something on my face?”

‘Oh no, I was just thinking about the craziest thing I overheard a couple guards talking about. Some new constellation called ‘Night’. I couldn’t help but notice the resemblance to myself.” With that, Night changed to look like the constellation of, well, himself. “Anyways, good night Luna. Sweet dreams.” Then He teleported away with a burst of black.

“I swear, I can’t do anything without him knowing.” I grumbled as I made my way to my bedroom.

Night Wing

Three Years Later

‘You need to work on your defense.’ I looked down at a stunned Sapphire. ‘I didn’t even try to hit you with that last spell, and I hit you several times with my wings.’

“Go ahead, rub it in.” Sapphire got back to her feet. Cant really say hooves or claws can I? She has both. “Besides, I hit you a couple times.”

‘Yes, but I hit you more. Which means you lose, which means get back to practicing you defense.’ I whistled loudly and a nearby guard ran over to me. ‘Shiny, help Sapphire practice defending herself. Don’t go easy on her.’ After receiving a nod of confirmation, I took to the air.

I had been sparring with Sapphire every day for a few weeks now. She wanted to go on adventures in the guard, but her mother said no. I made a compromise. Train her to defend herself and, in Luna’s words, crush her enemies. Then she would be free to join the guard. Under my supervision. Yay for more responsibilities. I wasn’t upset by it, not really. I acted like it sometimes, but I enjoyed being around Sapphire. She was the closest thing I ever had to a child, and I loved her with all my heart. It was fun being an uncle.

As I soared through the sky, I decided to do a few barrel rolls around the castle. Then I dove down to enter the throne room. let us see what the peasants are asking of their queen today. I joked to myself as I slid across the marble entrance on my claws. It’s like sliding on wood floors with socks. Unsurprisingly, the high class ponies lined up in the entrance hall were not happy. Surprisingly, a couple were being dragged out by guards.

“Chirp!” I grabbed there attention. ‘What happened? Why are these ponies being removed?’ The two ponies glared at me, not saying anything due to the magic holding their mouths shut. One of the four guards nervously coughed before answering.

“Well, sir, there is a.....situation in the throne room. These two overheard the Princess talking with two others about a upcoming marriage.”

‘Why would this be a problem? Two ponies getting married is a wonderful thing, is it not?’ I looked at the two restrained ponies, and their glares only deepened.

“Well, uh. About that.” The guard looked around nervously. “You...you should go see, yourself.” With that, the guards continued to drag away the nobles. My brows furrowed and I turned to face the throne room doors.

Well, my day isn’t going to be boring I suppose. My claws clicked on the marble as the doors opened just wide enough for me to get through, and not enough for any other ponies to see in. To say I was surprised was a little bit of an understatement.

“Night! So good to see you! Come and hear the wonderful news these two are telling me!” Celestia smiled widely. My anxiety lessened upon seeing her smile. I wandered further into the room as the two individuals before me nervously watched my approach. Instead of the two ponies I was expecting, it was a pony and a griffin.

‘Well, this certainly a surprise. Am I to assume the two of you are the cause of the trouble outside?’ They both nodded, and the hen looked like she was about to cry. The stallion moved to comfort her. ‘Good.’ I smiled to ease her fears. ‘The nobles need a good kick every once in a while. Now, am I to assume you two are the future couple I heard about?’

“Well, we came here to ask for the Princesses support.” The stallion spoke up.

“This is only the second time a marriage such a ours has occurred.” The hen started. “I…. well, with what happened to the first one….” She looked up at me with sad eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up painful memories for you and the Princess.”

‘It’s ok, I understand your fears. Believe me when I say I will support you two in anyway I can. However, I can’t speak for Celestia. You came here for her support after all, not mine.’ I smiled and gestured to Celestia. She nodded her thanks to me and faced the couple once more.

“You two have my full support in you marriage. I’ll even cover the cost for the wedding. And if you want it here in the palace I can arrange that for you as well. I would love to encourage more marriages such as yours, too many are fearful of other species.” Celestia smiled as both of them spluttered.

“Oh no Princess! Tha-That won’t be needed! We have everything handled!” The stallion rushed to deny Celestia's offer.

“Oh, but I insist!” Celestia laughed softly behind her hoof. “However, if you really don’t want my assistance, then I suppose that is your decision.”

‘I suggest you take her offer. It’s not everyday a Princess offers to pay for your wedding.’

“I…. Ok, we will accept your help.” The hen responded after looking over at the stallion.

‘I still haven’t gotten your names, forgive me for not asking sooner.’

“It’s perfectly fine, my name is Sunshine Dash. And this is my bride to be, Prism Height.” I could see where the two got their names. Sunshine was a bright yellow pegasus, with a white mane. Prism had light gray feathers with an iridescent quality to them. Her fur was a slightly darker gray, with a black tip on her tail.

‘It’s nice to meet you both, and I hope your marriage works out perfect.’

“Thank you, very much.” Prism nuzzled into her fiancé. “However, I think it would be better if we could have a more private wedding. Not here in the castle, if that’s ok.“

“I understand, do you have an idea of where you plan to have the wedding? I would very much like to attend.” Celestia smiled wider as the hen and stallion grew even more nervous.

‘If you don’t have a location yet, that’s ok. Take your time to pick a good place. Besides, I’m sure there is one more Princess that would love to attend.’

“W-well, we have a few places in mind.” Prism looked up at Sunshine.

“We can have a location for you in a few days. Thank you for your generosity Princess.”

“It is no problem, take your time.” They both bowed before leaving. “So, it seems some of our ponies are becoming more accepting. But this whole situation leaves me with one question.” Celestia looked over at me intently.

‘And what is that?’

“When are you getting married.”

‘I'm not discussing this right now.’ I turned to leave as Celestia giggled.

“Wait! Me and Luna have put together a list of potential females!”

‘Nope.’ With that I took to the air, quickly leaving the throne room, my sister’s laughs echoing behind me.

Three Years Later

Air rushed through my feathers as I soared over the hippogryph village. It wasn’t far from the main town, maybe an hour walking. Several families inhabited the few buildings, simple hay roofs and wooden walls, none of the stone buildings from the main city. A small well in the middle, with a little market square around it made up the town square. I had taken to personally patrolling the area, to make sure nothing happened to the inhabitants.

A few guards had to be removed from service for letting some citizens be harassed by others. Usually it was colts and fillies throwing rocks or calling names, easy things to deal with but hurtful nonetheless. Occasionally, stallions and mares would throw the rocks. On one occasion a hippogryph was nearly killed by a pony. Luna.....well, that stallion won’t hurt another being for a long time. Unfortunately this just made her public image worse.

“OWW!” I snapped my neck to look over to my right. A few colts were throwing rocks at a young hippogryph filly...or hen. Stop rocks now. Debate names of different species’ genders later.

“HAHA! I thought griffins were supposed to be tough!” One of the three colts yelled out. As he threw another rock I opened a portal in front of it. I landed silently behind them as the rock hit him in the back of the head. “Hey! Who threw tha-!”

‘Me.’ The colts hit the dirt as they saw me standing over them. ‘Is there a problem here?’ I looked over at the young hippogryph and waved a wing at the village. She ran off without another word. ‘It looks to me as if you were assaulting a poor little filly. My, what tough individuals you must be, three of you defeating a single small child.’

“W-well, she was, uh, she...”

‘Yes? Do tell me what she did to provoke you.’

“She existed!” Another colt spoke up. “The hippogryphs aren’t natural, and my daddy says their gunna take our land when they spread out!” He stood up now, and the other two got braver as he did.

“Yeah!” The third one spoke up. “They can’t work the land like us earth ponies can, so when they get it they won’t be able to make enough food for themselves. Then they’ll starve, and the rest of the community will suffer. That’s why us ponies are betterer!”

‘I see. So, your simply doing your duty to your community by sorting out the ones who aren’t as useful? Am I getting that right?’ They all nodded, with smug smiles. ‘Well then, I suppose I better do the same.’ With that, I grabbed them all in my telekinesis and lifted them into the air with me. Their terrified shrieks barely reached my ears as we ascended above the clouds. Then, with out much care, I dropped them onto a cloud after putting a cloudwalking spell on them.

“I think I wet myself........” the smallest one whimpered as he looked over the edge.

“Chirp.” I got their attention. ‘Now, I put a cloudwalking spell on you. As you pointed out, we don’t want anyone who isn't as useful as others are. So, I’m doing my civil duty to weed out the useless ones. And seeing as how you can’t move the clouds like a pegasus or a hippogryph, you aren’t useful right now. Now, in about ten minutes the spell will wear off and you’ll fall.’

“I definitely wet myself....”

‘But you don’t need to worry about that, because this cloud will disappear in five minutes.’ With a small POOF a section of the cloud behind me disappeared. ‘Make that three. Anyways, I’ve gotta go eat some lunch, so while I’m gone prove that you’re betterer than I think.’ With that I dropped off the cloud and descended to the ground. Of course, I wasn’t actually going to eat lunch. I was going to wait until the cloud disappeared and then I would catch them.

A small nudge on my back drug my attention away from the cloud up high. I turned around to see the small hippogryph from before. “I wanted to say thank you Mister Night Wing.” Her adorable little voice almost melted my heart.

‘It was no problem little one. Now go home to your mother.’ I smiled as she flew off and turned back around as I heard screaming. Hmm. The cloud disappeared faster than I thought. I opened up a portal on the ground, and another one right beside it. They flew down into one and up out of the other. I grabbed them as they started to fall again, and pulled them close to my face.

‘So, what did we learn?’

“Th-th-that falling is really scary.” The small one answered.

‘Try again.’

“That we can’t do everything!?” The largest practically yelled. I never knew ponies could turn white from fear.

‘Wonderful! You can’t do everything, and others can do things you can’t. For example, a hippogryph could have rescued you from that cloud. Now, if I see you near here causing trouble again I won’t grab you out of the portals. I’ll just let you fall for a few hours.’ I set them down and they left dust trails trying to get away. Kids these days......I sound like an old man.

One Year Later

My wing tingled as the surface changed to show Luna’s worried face. ‘Luna. It’s been five minutes since you last checked on us. We, are, fine.’ I sighed as three other guards and Sapphire marched alongside me.

“I know I know, I’m worrying over nothing. But I always worry when you take Sapphire on trips around the border. Bandits love to raid travelers out there.”

“Mom, I’ll be fine. I’m just as trained as anyone else here. Maybe even a little better. Uncle Night did train me after all.” She looked over at Silver walking with us. “Plus, you sent Silver with us.”

‘Gee, not me but Silver. My feelings.’ I smiled a little at Sapphire’s flat look.

“Anyways, I’m fine mom. We’re just going to check around the border. Besides, we’ll only be a portal away.”

“Fine, I will try to distract myself while you are away. Perhaps I shall try baking again. If Tasteful Dishes will let me in after last time.” My Wing faded to black once more.

“Enjoy it while you can.” Silver spoke up.

“What do you mean?” Sapphire looked confused.

“Your mother worrying about you. I wish mine could still worry about me...” Silver looked into the distance with a sad look.

“What happened to her?” Sapphire walked closer to her in an attempt to comfort her.

“She died of a disease. It was a long time ago, I’ve gotten over it.” She smiled down at Saphire. “But you still have your mother. Enjoy all the time you can with her.”

“Pssssh, I’m pretty sure my mom can’t die.”

“You still have a lot to learn about life.” Silver smiled and walked on ahead.

“Hurry! Get everyone into the air!” Silver called out behind me. We had been on patrol when Celestia called us. The hippogryph village was ablaze. It didn’t take us long to get back, just a quick portal, but then we had to gather the soldiers and pegasi trained for fires. Silver was currently getting everyone moving while we glided over the field around the castle. The air was filled with turbulence as around fifty pegasi lifted off the ground. As I opened a large portal for the earth ponies and unicorns, heatwaves rolled out onto the grass. The pegasi soared into the sky and grabbed as many clouds as they could before following behind the others.

Going through the portal was almost painful, heat and light from the fires causing us all to squint. ‘Get those clouds above the buildings! Search for survivors!’ I rushed to the nearest building and started freezing the wood. The flames slowly died down as ice overtook them. A few of the flames themselves actually froze near the spot feathers met wood. As soon as the flames where out, I moved to the next building while ponies searched the now extinguished building. And so the night continued, I would put out a fire, then move on to the next building. The village wasn’t huge so it didn’t take long and soon we only had one more building on fire.

Once more I put my wings on the broken wood of the collapsed building, pushing out my magic to freeze out the fires. This fire had almost burned completely out, most likely being the first, so it wasn’t hard to snuff. No, what was hard was seeing the remains after the fire was out. A family of charred hippogryphs lay under the collapsed beams. For a split second I saw Sapphire instead of the unrecognizable blackened hippogryph. Then I pushed my emotions aside and turned to the others. ‘Try to identify the bodies and the cause of the fire. If it was intentional, I want whoever is responsible caught and brought to me.’

Silver lifted off beside me and we began circling the burned town. “Do you think it was set on purpose?” Slitted eyes gazed into my own.

‘Do you think it wasn’t?’ I dove down to examine some broken shrubbery. ‘Tracks. Headed south. Go alert the Las Pegasus guards to be on the alert for any suspicious characters.’ I opened a portal and Silver slipped through, disappearing from sight. I closed it right after, thinking in the darkness.

Two Years Later

Luna

“Take everything useful then burn the bodies.” The Officer nodded as I cleaned the blood off my battle axe. “Send Captain Lance a message, ‘The western bandit clan has been disassembled. I will return home shortly’.”

“Yes ma’am.” I returned my attention to cleaning my axe, searching for any last spots of blood. It was a thing of beauty, made of blue steel with obsidian inlays along the handle. I pulled out a whetstone once I was sure the blood was off, and began running it along the edges of the blade. Many of the soldiers were confused about why I was here, taking out bandit camps alongside them. The simple answer was I was bored. Night didn’t know I was doing this of course, he would never let me. He would find some way to stop me. But now that Sapphire was away all the time.... I had nothing to do really. I tried night court for a long time, but no one ever came. Baking didn’t interest me despite my sisters constant insisting that I would like it if I kept trying it. And lowering and raising the moon took only a few minutes each day. I used to go and spend time with the hippogryphs, but after the village burned down they all fled. I didn’t blame them, what parents would want their children in such dangerous conditions? The last contact we had with them was just over one year ago. Night had scryed them, and they were somewhere near the ocean. After that, we couldn’t see them anymore. So with nothing else to do, I joined the guards every once in awhile.

Hunting down bandits gave me a rush like nothing else. The feeling of the hunt was one I had grown to love. Besides, it gave me a more hooves on method for keeping our kingdom safe. Suddenly the blade of my axe shifted colors, changing to show the face of my daughter. Quickly spinning the blade away from the death and destruction, I smiled brightly. Seeing Sapphire always made me smile.

“Mom, are you polishing your axe again? That’s the fifth time this month.”

“What do you expect me to do while you’re away from home? Break into the wine cellar again?” We shared a laugh at that memory. Half the castle was orange for a week. “Oh I miss you so much. When are you coming home?”

“Only a few more months mom. Being on southern border patrol doesn’t leave much time for fun. Who knew?” Sapphire gave me a sad smile. “And I miss you too. I can’t wait to be back. We just have to finish investigating the weird claims down here. Flying lizards that shoot fire. I’m starting to believe the locals are eating strange plants.” Her ears swiveled behind her and a frown spread across her face. “Anyways, I’ve got to go mom. I’ll try and see you again tomorrow. Love you, bye!” With that the axe returned to normal, and the smile fell from my face.

I stood and met the others in front of the burning fort, carts filled with random bits of material and weaponry taking up the open space. “Are we ready to leave Officer Sturdy Step?”

“Yes ma’am, all troops accounted for and ready to go.” Sturdy saluted with a blank expression.

“Good. Let us return home.”

One Year Later

Night Wing

“KEEEEAR!!!” I shoved back against the crowd with my shield. ‘Cease this at once!’

“Stop this madness!” Black Iron yelled out beside me. Silver, Lotus, and Moon were with Luna to ensure her safety. “Go back to your homes or we will have to remove you with force!” Some of the local villagers were rioting at the castle currently. Maybe a fourth of all the villagers were trying to shove their way into the castle. It all started about a week ago when we got an anonymous report of some domestic abuse. I went in to investigate discreetly and found that the claim was valid. A stallion was coming home drunk and beating on his wife, quite regularly judging by all the empty bottles in the house. When I reported my findings to Celestia and Luna.....things went wrong.

Luna didn’t take the news very well and had the stallion publicly banished from Equestria. The only problem is that the other citizens didn’t believe the claims. The stallion was well known for being an upstanding citizen, had lots of friends, no crime record, and always got to work on time. The fact that Luna did the banishing without Celestia beside her didn’t help matters. Luna had gotten a reputation for being harsh on stallions for small things. All this, combined with the fact that the mare involved was too scared to confirm the claims publicly, made quite a mess. It seems someone went around spreading rumors and gathering supporters, then decided to storm the castle demanding Luna be banned from Equestria herself.

A flash of light above everyone stopped the pushing and shoving quickly. Celestia hovered above everyone with a disappointed glare. She descended to the ground, the crowd creating an area for her to land. “Finally!” A random mare yelled out. “Celestia will help us b-“ The bright flash of a stunning spell knocked the mare onto the hard stones. Everyone looked on in shocked silence, even myself. Celestia never did anything like that.

“Green Fern, please state what you wish to say.” A green earth pony stepped out from behind Celestia. She was shaking with fear, looking at all the ponies around her. “It’s ok, your safe. Tell everyone the truth.” She looked back at Celestia and gathered her strength.

“I-it’s true, what they said. My husband was hurting me. Please stop all this fighting, it isn’t necessary.” She cowered as one of the stallions stepped forward.

“You mean Snow Peak really did those horrible things to you?”

“Yes. Please leave the Princess alone, she was trying to help.” Fern was huddled almost under Celestia at this point.

“There! You all have your proof! Now begone from the castle grounds, now!” Celestia looked truly angry at this point, and no one dared argue with her. One by one the ponies trickled out of the courtyard before it was just me, the guards, Celestia, and Green Fern.

‘Thank you Miss Fern. We didn’t want to hurt them but they were getting rowdy.’ I bowed slightly to express my thanks.

“I don’t want anyone else getting hurt over this. I’m sorry for all the trouble Princess.” Fern hung her head and moved to leave.

“Don’t be sorry Fern. This isn’t your fault. None of it is.” Celestia wrapped a wing around her. “Have a safe trip home and get some rest. You deserve it.” Fern nodded with a small smile and walked out of the gate, letting silence retake the area.

‘I’m going to talk to Luna. This isn’t going to be pretty.’

“I feel bad for you Sir. I know Luna will take this hard.” Black Iron saluted to me as I flew up the castle towers, landing on Luna’s balcony. I tapped a few times on the darkened glass and it opened just enough for Silver to see me.

“You better get in here.” She opened the door fully. “She needs you to comfort her.” With that, all the guards left the room. I sighed as I shut the door and went to try and comfort Luna.

Author's Note:

Discord

Time skips ahoy! Avast ye salty sea dogs! Prepare yeselves fer ruff seas on the.......ok yeah, enough pirate talk. (Totally not a hint at things to come) Anyways, as you may or may not have noticed this chapter......lots of time skips......if you couldn’t tell........ Realistically, I can’t write a story that takes place over one thousand years without time skips. But, I am not going to skip EVERYTHING. This chapter is mainly just to advance us to the whole NMM thing, while showing the deteriorating conditions around Night Wing.

This chapter was proofread by Kitkataddel

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