In the Heart of the Night

by BirbNerd17

1: Sunrise

Luna sat in her room, awake so late at night when not even a single other pony was. She sighed as she stared out the window of her bedroom into the forest below. The leaves shook and trembled the way her mind might bounce from thought to thought. Normally Luna liked the silence, but not today. She pressed her cheek against the windowsill and sputtered. If only she were just normal, maybe ponies would like her more if she were less strange. That’s what Celestial always said,

“If you were less strange maybe ponies would like you,” Luna mocked her sister’s voice, “yeah right,” she snorted, “ponies wouldn’t even like me if I was normal.”

She stood up and began pacing back and forth across her room, she stared at her clock. It was still hours till morning, and if she went to sleep she might not wake before she was supposed to lower the moon again.

What a strange concept, she thought to herself, to raise such a large object with such ease, so strange it didn’t do it on its own, it seemed so very important to the way the world functioned.

She sighed as the clock ticked away the seconds and minutes.

*tick tick tick. Tick tick tick. Tick tick sob*

Sob? Now that was new, and it wasn’t the clock that made that sound, it came from outside. Luna trotted over to her window, and listened for the sound to come again. And then there it was.

*sob*

But not the sob of a pony, the cry of a foal, Luna shut her window and creamed open her door. Scooting down the hall past the guards and her Sister’s room. She stepped out the door onto the spongy forest ground and made her way through the woods. She followed the sounds of the crying as they got louder and louder. She reached the edge of a clearing, sat at the middle was a small, blue grey pegasus foal, he was crying loudly, but there wasn’t even a single pony around who might claim him as their own.

Luna stared at the small foal, he was so frail, like one light breeze might break his poor little body. Luna took a couple small steps towards him, she looked down at the colt, then checked again that there really was not a single pony around, then she gently picked him up with her magic.

When she grabbed him he stopped crying, he stared up at her bright purple eyes full of curiosity and intrigue. He blinked, reaching out a tiny hoof towards the mare.

“Where did you come from?” Luna asked, teleporting a blanket to herself and wrapping it around the foal. A small slip of paper feel out from behind his ear as he flicked it forward to listen to her.

Luna picked up the paper with a single hoof and stared at it, reading the hoof written letters.

“To any who find him, please take care of him.” It read, there was no signature, no claim, nor mark of ownership. But with the words the note read that made sense. Why would one who left their foal wish to be known.

Luna looked at the foal, who stared back at her with that same bright curiosity. She flipped the note over, on the back side it read in larger letters

“Hello, I’m Stormcloud.”

Luna stared at the word, the name, then at the foal.

“Hi there Stormcloud,” she said, the foal tilted his head, then snuggled into the blanket, falling asleep.

Luna pulled Stormcloud closer to herself and turned back towards the castle.

“Well I guess we’re going home,” she said.

She walked through the darkened forest for what felt like forever before reaching the castle, she stepped up the cold stone staris and opened the large door. To her surprise Celestia stood behind it.

“Where have you been?” She asked, then saw the foal, “More importantly, where did you get that foal from?”

“Well, long story Sister, but I found him in the Everfree forest, and I was out looking for him because I heard him crying from up in my bedroom. I apologize for my absence, did I miss the sunrise?” Luna explained.

“No, not quite yet, but the guards had gone to check on you and found you absent, so they alerted to me that you were missing.”

“My apologies once again sister, I heard crying in the woods and felt a need to go investigate,” Luna said.

“Very well. Do you know the whereabouts of his mother?” Celestia asked.

“No, she left him with a note, I don’t believe she wants him.”

“We’ll what are we supposed to do with him?”

“I’m not sure… maybe I can raise him?”

“You, raise a foal? you’re too young.”

“I’m not! I can raise him, there are plenty of mothers younger than me!”

“You have too many responsibilities.”

“I have more free time than most ponies in Equestria sister.”

“Fine, if you think you can raise a foal I won’t stop you, but do not say I did not warn you if you cannot handle it.”

Luna sighed and carried Stormcloud to her room, she made up a small bed from him, folding together blankets in a crib she had crafted with magic out of an old tree. She tucked him into the little bed. He looked content and comfortable as he slept, snuggled into the warm sheets.

“Good night little one, sleep well.” Luna said, looking out her window, and listening to the clock tick closer and closer to the hour she would need to lower the moon.

The time ticked on and on, feeling like forever until eventually Luna saw the glow of the sun on the horizon. She gently lowered the moon allowing her sister to bring the sun into full view.

Luna looked down at Stormcloud, the little foal squirming in his bed. Luna stared at him adoringly.

“I promise I’ll take care of you,” she whispered.