Shun the day. Embrace the night. Get the girl. Just an average day in my life. My name? You'll learn that soon enough.
Three nocturnal orphans find themselves ready to leave on their own and join the princess of the night after she steals an Element of harmony and a familiar black helmet. In this new world of Equestria founded after the defeat Discord, who knows what kinds of secrets these woods may hold.
I still remember it like it was yesterday, though it was countless moons ago, after HE was defeated, not much of our once beautiful home was left, and the two brave ones ruled Equestria from then on. One day, the younger one, saddened by her daily struggles, proposed to form a new colony, where all of us would grow strong and happy. But the elder one forbade it, for she felt it would divide and shatter the weakened kingdom FOREVER. Nopony knows that we are still here, smiling beneath the moonlight while remembering our dear mother, for we will forever be her children of the night.
I always loved the night, even during the time when discord ruled, when night fluctuated to day in a matter of minutes rather than a fluctuation of a day. Once the war against Him was over and one of the two sisters who triumphed over Him was charged with ruling the night, I was overjoyed. I constantly stayed up deep into the night enjoying the twinkling stars, swirling nebulas and of course the pale white light of the moon. I always imagined I saw different images made out in the stars. However the orphanage I was forced to live in enforced a strict curfew, so I was forced to sleep through most of Luna's beautiful night. And unless it was raining, I was also forced to endure Celestia's blazing morning. Sure, most ponies enjoy the daytime, but I sure didn't. If you ever got a good look at me, you would think I belonged to the night. I am dark blue colt with a pitch black mane, plus with a scowl on my face, I was able to avoid most everyone at my orphanage. It wasn't all bad; most of them weren't worth talking to anyways. On the plus side, I have two amazing friends. They both love the night almost as much as I did. North Star was a deep olive green unicorn colt half my age with big sappy eyes a shade darker than his coat and a chestnut brown mane. He still talked like a little kid and used to be bullied because of it when I met him two years ago. He reminded me of my little brother who was the same age when he was kidnapped by an agent of Discord, so thusly I felt protective of him. Even at the age of ten I was quite intimidating and usually got my way. If I had been a more ruthless kid, I would have been an ideal bully, but the thought of putting others down disinterests me and so I settle away from the crowd and just try to avoid being called out. But North getting bullied during the designated outside time at the orphanage ruffled my feathers the wrong way, so I got in their faces, spread my wings and got as big and menacing as I could. It worked to my advantage and the bullies left North alone with so not so much as a side glance. I quickly put on my nicest face to examine the startled colt. "You ok little guy?" I asked him. He just stood there shaking and staring, eventually the events what had just happened dawned on him and he wiped his eyes, clearing out the tears that had formed. Still shaking he responded in the most innocent voice I've ever heard.
"I t-thwink so, bwut who are woo?" my heart melted on the spot for the little guy. I was overcome with the sudden feeling that I need to look out for him, and that I had been given another chance at being a big brother. But then the impact of his question hit me hard.
"My name?" I questioned. As sad as it sounds, I had forgotten my name, cast it aside with my old life when my parents and brother died. He tilted his head sideways, drawing my attention back from the past. The innocent look on his face made me want to avoid a talk like that with him. I had known that I had to come up with a new name eventually, but I had never thought on it. I guess now was the best time. "My um name is uh" I scratched my head in thought. I could have chosen any name in the world, but none seemed to fit. I had to think of something fast, you can't form a relationship if the other pony doesn't think you can trust them with something as trivial as a name. I looked back at the colt and just blurted out what was on my mind, which was no more than gibberish. "Laszive" was what came out. The little unicorn misheard me and inadvertently gave me a name I decidedly stuck to.
"Lahzive huh, nwice to mweat woo! I'm Nowth Staw," he replied, struggling not to mess up the dribble that I gave for my name. He extended a hoof to shake and I eagerly shook it lightly. "You're name is hawd, can I just call woo Laz?" I nodded, willing to go with whatever he said; I was admittedly alone so I didn't want to screw up this friendship.
"Sure thing North" was my response. I noticed he was sweating. "Hot day out, huh?" I may not have many friends but at least I could talk to people.
"Yeah," he responded, wiping the sweat from his forehead, just below his horn. "I dwon't like the daytime much, it's so lawng and hawt," he begrudgingly looked up towards the sun.
"Me either," I responded "I usually stay up as late as possible, just staring out my window and looking at the stars," my voice faded out wheb I regarded the twinkling lights.
"Could I watch them with woo sometwime?" He asked innocently. He seemed really excited by the prospect of stargazing. If I said yes, the headmaster would have my wings on a platter, but when confronted with a face like that, how do you say no.
"Ok, sounds fun, it'll be nice watching them with a friend instead of by myself." I smiled and turned to North. He looked back with a happily surprised look
"F-fwend? I've never hwad a fwend befow," he looked close to the tears and so I put my arm around his shoulders.
"Of course I'm your friend. Just don't tell too many ponies about me watching the stars, I don't want the windows crowded," I said nonchalantly. He nodded and we spent the rest of the day sitting in the shade of a tree and talking about nothing in particular. North confided in me that he didn't remember much outside of the orphanage and that his parents had disappeared as far as he could tell. The pony that found him had given him his name. I sat and listened until it came time for me to talk. I wasn't sure where to go. On one hoof I had just accepted a new name and I didn't want to delve into my forcibly forgotten past. On the other, North had just told me all about him in complete honesty and was due the same. I sighed and decided to go with telling him as little as possible while still completing my half of the conversation."Well, I was found by the headmaster when I was begging for food on the streets. He brought me to the orphanage and I've been living here ever since." It was true, after I buried my parents I lived on the streets for some time, begging frequently and often going hungry. My seventh birthday was celebrated by my finding of a half eaten cupcake in the garbage. The headmaster found me a short few days later. Like most of my past, I choose not to think about it.
The rest of the day passed by uneventfully, and that night North and I watched the stars.
"Do woo know any names of the staws?" North asked without looking at me.
I too could not stop gazing at the canvas of stars and planets. We were sitting on chairs at the window, North had to constantly look up and I had my nose almost pressed to the glass. "No, I don't," I replied, my breath slightly fogging up my half of the window. I giggled at this and drew a star in the moisture before the window dissolved it, "but I want to find out. I want to know everything about the stars and the moon."
"Maybe that will be youw spwecial tawent," North said. Their was a feeling of joy in his voice. "maybe you'll get youw cwutie mawk having to do with astwo-astwol," He fumbled over the strange word and almost bit his tongue.
"Astrology," I completed for him. I then started to contemplate what he said. I was never one to fantasize about cutie marks but his words got me to contemplate it a little. I shot a glance at my flank to see it still the same dark navy blue of my coat. I frowned slightly in disappointment then shook my head. I shrugged and continued to look out the window. My special talent would come with time, I just had to keep my eye open and try not to force it. The teachers at the orphanage had to hammer that into some of the overeager foals and fillies. In any case I resolved to read up on stars, it seemed like a rather interesting topic. I just decided to do this when I heard a yawn from my side. I looked down and saw that North had gotten tired and had fallen asleep leaning against me, still in his chair. I tutted and put the unconscious little guy on my back and carried him to bed. I tucked him in and he snuggled into his covers.
"Goodnight Laz,"he sleepily said just before he started lightly snoring. I smiled and started to walk to my bed on the other side of the room.
I managed to get to my bed and clutched my covers around me, more for comfort than warmth. It was a hot summer night and I had made a friend that day. I was warm inside and out for the first time since my parents death and I was determined to never let that happiness slip away again.
Over the next few weeks, whenever we weren't in class, we'd sit and chat about anything. I read up on some stars but the library wasn't very helpful. Most books had very few names or information. The more I read on them the more I realized that the stars were vastly undocumented and unknown. On one particular Fridayafternoon, upon leaving the library, I was walking through the halls of our little school off-unit to the yard to meet up with North, when I saw an interesting spectacle. A new filly had joined, she was a sunset orange girl with freckles and a lightening blue mane. She didn't approach me, I didn't approach her, so needless to say, we had a good relationship by my standards. But there she sat, arm wrestling an older colt, and winning! It was impressive to say the least. I hung back by the door so I could watch. She had her back to me and the colt's face was too screwed up in pain to notice anything but the competition. I chuckled lightly. I knew earth ponies had strength, but this was ridiculous. She heard me chuckle and turned back, still holding her own in her contest.
"You think something is funny?" she spat towards me.
Her straightforward attitude and gruff voice made me bite my usually smart-alecky tongue. At first. "Who, me?" I asked feigning innocence. She glared at me and finished her opponent with ease. The disgruntled guy limped away, hiding his face in shame.
She looked me up and down then decided I wasn't a threat. "what do YOU want?" she asked as though I had hurt her. She kept glancing down at her flank expectantly. Whether the question was rhetorical or she just didn't remember she had asked it, but I never found out because she suddenly slammed her hoof on the table. "I was sure I could get my cutie mark in arm wresting" at that I rolled my eyes and snorted.
"You fillies need to realize a cutie mark can't be forced" I said knowingly. This got me a killing glare. "If you know so much about cutie marks, why don't YOU have one" was her response. I didn't bother hesitating to answer. "Because I haven't gotten it yet, that's why. I still haven't found what about myself that makes the world a better place, and to be honest, I don't mind waiting, and you should mind either," somewhat paraphrasing the main teacher, Ms. Hayworth. She rolled her eyes. Of course she must have heard all of that before, we all had. Their was a long pause. I looked over at her and she had a look that made me realize that she wasn't about to give up her fruitless quest. "How about this, We'll arm wrestle, if you win, you might get your cutie mark and either way, I'll leave you alone. If I win, you have to stop trying to force it, deal?"
She thought it over before quickly dropping her arm on the table and sneering. "You've got a deal" she said.
I braced myself. I had never arm wrestled before and judging by how badly that other stallion had limped out she was quite good. "On three" I said as I linked my forearm with hers.
"Okay." she said. "One. Two. Three" as soon as the last syllable left her lips she screwed her face in a tight grimace and started applying force against my arm. I almost lost right then and there before some sort of instinct kicked in and I started fighting back. It took a few minutes, but it felt like years, to get our arms back to upright and neutral. For the next short while it was just us two in a continuous back-and-forth battle with nopony clearly having the upper hoof. I started to get a little red in the face straining myself to keep in line with this foal. I was only concentrating on the task at hoof until I noticed the light outside changing. Paying a single iota of my concentration out the window, I saw that the already late time had descended into nightfall, with the moon rising up over the valley. My thoughts began to clear and suddenly I became calm, though I was still applying enough pressure to the foals arm to maintain our deadlock tie. Suddenly I remembered I was to meet North at sundown and I was officially late. With renewed vigor I began to push back even harder than before, soon lowering our arms to a forty-five degree angle on the table. I was winning though I could feel my arm giving out fast. With one final gritting of my teeth I forced all of my strength into my arm and slammed my opponent's arm into the table, causing small cracks to appear in the wood. Gasping for air, we both proceeded to collapse.
"I...win..."I said between heavy breaths. "Will you...please...excuse...me. My friend...is waiting" I got to me hooves as best I could though the arm I had used for wrestling felt like limp noodle. Somehow this filly had recovered faster than I had and had walked over offering a hoof to help me up. "Good match. You won fair and square," she said without a hint of remorse or shame. "My name is Kora. Kora Clipse."
I took the hoof and got to my hooves, managing to return feeling to my overused limb. "I'm Laz" I told her, "just Laz. Now if you don't mind, I have someone I'm late to meeting." I said before walking out the door. "Nice meeting you" I called over my shoulder before stepping out the door and jogging down the hall. I was halfway down the hallway when I heard Kora call out. "hey, Laz, Wait up." I stopped where I was and looked back. "C-can I come too. There isn't really many people I can hang out with and since I'm not going to go after my cutie mark anymore, can I join you and your friend?" she asked.
I blinked several times, dumbfounded that anyone other than North would want to spend any sort of time with me."Um, uh, sure, I guess." I said at last, realizing that the longer I stood here the later I was to meeting up with North. "walk with me" I said over my shoulder as I turned and started briskly walking to the window where North was pacing at. There was two chairs and a candle, the usual equipment for a night of stargazing. North looked up when he heard Kora's hoofsteps. She had been walking rather fast and loudly trying to keep up with me. "Lawz, whewe hawve woo been?" he asked up at me before noticing the young pony next to me. "Who awe woo?" he nervously asked, moving slightly around me to hide. "North, the reason I was late is because I was making us a new friend. North, I would like you to meet Kora Clipse. Kora, meet North Star," I said, pointing to each pony respectively as I introduced them. Kora was noticeably less shy than North and took the initiative to make a good impression.
"Hey there North, I'm Kora. I'm kinda new here," she smiled sweetly and held out a hoof. North looked to me, then at the unfamiliar ponies hoof then back to me. I nodded and motioned to Kora's outstretched arm, silently telling him to shake it. He slowly moved out from being half behind me, talking short, tentative steps as though the ground was going to explode at his feet. Kora was being completely patient and stood there with her hoof outstretched. Finally North reached a hoof out and shook Kora's gently.
"I'll get a third chair" I said and then walked off, giving the two of them some time to meet. That night, the stars felt even brighter and in greater abundance, like Luna was trying to make the night out-beauty the day.
The notice appeared on the school wall overnight. Nopony knew what it meant for the newly formed kingdom and nopony saw it coming. Kora and I had to read it to North. “It says Princess Luna stole a powerful artifact from some vault and made off into the night. She's wanted by the royal guard!” I was outraged, surely this was some prank, it couldn't be true. How could the princess of the night steal? And from her own sister at that. The whole thing didn't add up and I began to question the authenticity of the flier. I also demanded answers, so I consulted the most knowledgeable pony I knew, the headmaster. He was alone in his office, his desk was covered in papers and he was holding his head in his hooves as though he was quite stressed. On his desk next to him was a glass and a bottle of amber colored liquid. “Umm, mister headmaster, sir, is everything okay?” momentarily forgetting about the flier, I was concerned about the only adult to show me any sort of kindness since the death of my parents.
“Hmm? Oh, hey there. Everything is...” The headmaster looked up, his puffy eyes indicating he had been crying. “Come in, won't you please. What's bothering you?”
“I could ask you the same question sir,” my usual curious nature would make any normal pony put their hoof in their mouth on a regular basis, but I stand by everything I say.
“I forgot how curious you can be, and yet you still have told me your name.” he said between sips. “or are you still going with you not having a name,” he smiled. There was no malice behind the old tan earth pony's words, he treated me like we were old friends, which seeing as he was the first pony who actually stopped to help me on the streets, he was my first friend.
“It's Laz sir.” answering with a smile.
“That's a curious name. Were you named after someone in your family?” He asked me similar questions when we first met. From anyone else, these questions would sound mean, but from the headmaster, they sounded like someone who was genuinely curious and friendly.
“No sir, my..”
“If I am to call you by your name, I want you to call my by mine. I won't be called sir in my last few weeks. My name is Ralph” upon saying this he set his drink down and held out a hoof to shake. I shook it eagerly. He picked up his drink and continued “So Laz, you were saying”
“Umm, yeah, as I was saying, my friend accidentally gave me my name. I wasn't named after anypony. But back to my question, what's wrong?” I saw concern cross his face.
“Heh, might as well tell someone. Have a seat.” he motioned to the chair on the other side of his desk. I took a seat and he continued. “I am not sure how to break it to you, so I'm just going to come out and say it. The orphanage is broke. We've lost all of our income.” He stared between what I now realized to be bills and the bottle of apple brandy on his desk. I don't know why, but a sudden surge of inspiration shot through me. A spark in my heart igniting the fuel in my brain. I felt the sudden need to let it out.
“Do not drown, your hopes and ambitions, wipe your frown, continue your missions. Save this place, or let it fall in glory, look at your face, this is not the end of this story.” The words had come without volition and hung in the air. Where did that come from? But before I was given an answer, the headmaster had this sudden look on his face, of determination and of hope.
“If I had known you were so mature, I would have allowed you to leave on your own years ago.” he capped the half empty bottle and put it in his desk, locking the drawer. “Thank you Laz, that poem was just what I needed. I won't let this orphanage go without a fight!” upon saying that he slammed his hoof down on his desk.
I stared at what I had done. I had renewed somepony's sense of faith, and it felt amazing. Thinking back to why I came in in the first place, it suddenly became clear as to what I had to do. If I left, I would be one less mouth to feed, and I could save the orphanage just a little bit. I resolved to leave on the spot. I could go out on my own and find out the facts for myself. The headmaster scanned the documents on his desk and began writing down figures with an old quill, almost completely oblivious as to my presence. Then suddenly his quill snapped. He reached into his desk for another but came up blank. Another bizarre though occurred to me. I spread one of my wings and plucked a feather from it, hoofing to him. “This should work.” he looked at me, a curious smile spread over his face as he took it.
“You're so ready to give of yourself, thank you” he said. As soon as he dipped in the ink, the feather turned black, startling both of us. I stared at my feathers wondering what the heck was going on when I saw it. An identical black quill had presented itself on my flank. My cutie mark was that of a black quill. The headmaster was still looking at the feather in his hand when I left. I would have said goodbye but a mixture of excitement and sorrow swept over me, preventing me from thinking about it would have been a final goodbye, one neither of us could handle. And on top of everything I had gotten my cutie mark. It truly was an eventful day. And I still had to pack.
The Worst Part of Leaving a Second Home, is Knowing what to Expect
I had already been on my own once before, but I've been living at the orphanage for five years and I knew to prepare. I snuck into the cafeteria and grabbed a spare basket and a bag of stale rolls. I then went into my room and found my saddlebags, putting the objects into it I also grabbed a few rolls of parchment and some ink. I don't know why I grabbed them but I felt I would need them. It had been six years since I left home last. It was difficult then. As much as I tried to keep them down, a sense of nostalgia dredged up old memories I had tried to bury. After a few minutes of futiley trying to keep them at bay, I let them come. The last time I had left, I didn't think to grab anything, not that it would have mattered, the charred remains of the house held no food and could provide no shelter. I had left a day or two after burying my parents, and I was scared. I knew of a city that was some miles to the south and resolved to trek there. I left everything there, my past, my name and my few singed possessions, because I felt that if I ran far enough, I could outrun their death. I was snapped out of my stupor just then by North.
“What's wrong Laz?” asked North. I shook my head to clear away the remaining thoughts before I answered.
“Nothing North, why do you ask?” North looked into my eyes with genuine concern in is face.
“if nothing is wrong, why are there tears in your eyes?” he didn't seem to notice the semi packed bag sitting in the chair next to me. I tentatively touched the area under my eyes to be shocked by the feeling of moisture. It reminded me of what I was doing and I quickly looked at my bag. Upon seeing me look at it, North looked at it too. “Are you sad that you're leaving?” then suddenly he had a shocked look on his face. “Are you leaving?!” he cried
“Hey, shh, not so loud.” I tried to keep him from crying before he drew the entire orphanage to me. “yes, I'm leaving.” I sighed. This was so much different than when I left the first time. This time, I was leaving ponies behind. I began to think about how I would go on without seeing North's smiling face or hearing Kora's stories. I quickly swept North in a hug. He hugged back, albeit a little started at the suddenness of it. Then he pushed me away and walked over to his bed. “What are you doing?” I asked, wondered what caused him to move so hastily.
“I'm coming too!” he said defiantly.
“W-what!? You can't come, you're too young!” I sputtered out before I was forced to eat my own hypocrisy. I was only five years older than he was, and I had been on my own at the same age he was now. Who was I to judge?
“Why not!” his voice lacked the normal handicap that made him sound young. He was growing up, it was obvious he would be leaving like me soon anyway. When I could not provide an excuse he resolved to continue packing his bag. I realized that, although I couldn't think of a reason why he couldn't go, I wouldn't let him go on his own.
“Fine, you can come with me.” I said, somewhat exasperated
“Does that include me too?” a voice from behind me said. It was Kora. I looked back at her. She grinned at me.
“you would come even if I say no, so why not?” I smiled back. Suddenly her eyes got wider
“Laz, is that what I think it is? On your flank?” she was in awe.
“Huh? Oh yeah, that happened today, I had almost forgotten” this got North's attention.
“Woah! You got your cutie mark!” he exclaimed then blushed when Kora looked at him.
“Those speech tutors seem to be working well too” she smiled and went to pack a bag herself. “so Laz, what's it like, what's it mean?”
“Hmm?” I was confused as to what she was referring to.
“Your Cutie Mark! I want to know what it's like” she practically jumped out of her coat
“Oh.” I exclaimed, finally realizing what she meant. “It's an interesting feeling. Like I've got this constant tug to write stuff.” after I saw her confused look I elaborated. “I got my cutie mark when I told the headmaster a poem that inspired him, so I guess my special talent is creative writing” I proceeded to tell her and North the events of what happened while I was in the headmaster's office. They were as confused as I was about the feather turning black.
“what do you think it means?” chimed Kora.
“It must be some sort of enchantment!” exclaimed North. I looked at Kora then back to North.
“what's an enchantment?” Kora and I asked simultaneously
“Oh, we learned about it in magic kindergarten. It's a type of spell that sticks around. Like the saddle bags, once you earn a cutie mark, your bag gets a design that looks like it” North said matter-of-factly
“So you're saying Laz was enchanted or something” Kora asked skeptically. I looked back at my wings curious to see some sort of glimmer or something. When I didn't, I returned to packing.
“When do we leave” Kora asked quietly.
“Tonight, under the light of Luna's full moon” I said, not looking up from my bag.
“Well, that's sooner than you might think, look” upon mentioning this, North pointed to the window at the setting sun. at that point my bag was finished and I lifted it to my back. Just as North had said, the saddlebags suddenly were emblazoned with a black feather.
“I'm ready to go” I said turning to North and Kora. They had both finished packing as well, and Kora was holding onto both her and North's bags. “Dang Kora, you have been working out, haven't you?” She blushed. “let's go before we get caught or we change our minds” They both nodded and we snuck out of the orphanage. We traveled the few hundred feet to the edge of the property. A large forest of half dead trees stood in front of us. We looked between each other and nodded, then simultaneously took our first step.
We were running. We probably had already outrun the wolf that was chasing us but we were still scared out of our wits. We had been separated but I could still hear North's yelling and Kora's powerful charges through the brush. We had only been in the forest for a few hours and we already ticked off some timber-wolves. Accidentally kicked them while they were sleeping. I looked up from where I was running and I saw a tree coming up. I opened my wings and flapped to slow my rapid movement towards a crash. I stopped as quickly as I could and leaned against the tree. I was panting heavily when I called out. “*pant pant* You* pant*guys *gasp * okay?!” I was about ready to fall over from exhaustion. I could barely hear them over the rush of blood in my ears.
“Bbbarely” I could hear the frightened shake in Kora's normally strong voice. I could also hear a faint sobbing that I assumed was North.
“Let's meet up and make a fire. I pretty sure we're far enough in so other ponies won't see the smoke.”
“Where at?” I could hear a little bit better now my heart had calmed a little. The voice was hoarse and obviously North's. He had appeared next to me. I heard him approach but I still jumped a little when he spoke. I could still hear the sobbing off in the distance. Someone, or someTHING, else was in this wood. Now we had to decide to go towards it or away from it. North seemed to already have made up his mind. He wandered towards the unfamiliar sobbing. I tried to silently call him back but to no avail. I silently cursed myself and followed him. If I couldn't get him to come back, I could at least protect him if something happened. What we found was not at all what we expected. Luna was crying. Next to her was a gem and on her other side was some sort of dark purple helmet. It looked like it would belong to a unicorn, or alicorn, with a long horn. Something about it didn't sit right with me. While I had made these observations, North had moved quite closer. I ran in front of him. Unfortunately, this drew attention to us. I quickly got in front of North, spreading my wings to make myself bigger. Luna snarled.
“Who dares spy on the princess of the night!?” she yelled getting to her hooves.
“Please, princess, we weren....” before I could finish, North had moved out from behind me and was standing in front of Luna. I was stunned.
“N..North?” She had a look of confused concern.
“Could one of you explain what's going on please?” My confusion was building.
“Remember when I told you that I was given my name by the pony who found me.” North looked at me expectantly
“Yeah.” I wasn't sure where he was going with it.
“I was the one who named him.” Luna said, though she still didn't look towards me. I felt my jaw drop “So North what are you doing out here?” she hid most of the voice from her voice but some slipped through. It was obvious she cared for North.
“My friends and I ran away because the orphanage is closing.” North's voice was still broken from his screaming earlier.
“I see. And you...” she finally looked at me and her eyes went wide as her voice trailed off.
“Yeah, I'm one of North's friends, My name is...”she cut me off.
“I know your name. I recognize you. You look like your father.” She dropped her face slightly. “I heard what happened, I'm sorry for your loss.” Every one of her words dredged up old memories I had long since buried. “How does it feel to be the last member of the Quill family, eh Raven?” The utterance of my true name was the final crack in the dam before it burst. I remembered every memory I had worked so suppress. The war against discord, seeing my parents weeping over a colt-sized coffin, the feeling of dirt under my hooves as I buried them next to my brother, the hunger of going days without a meal. Tears began to slowly stream down my face.
“And how do you know, huh?”my mental anguish plastered on my face “How did you know them?”
“Your father, he was a friend of mine. His words,” she smiled slightly at the memory “his words are what kept my sister and I looking.” her face grew sour at the mention of her sister. “I think I still remember the poem he wrote us. Fret not, sisters of great spirit Discord will fall and you will lead us Any foe will tremble when they hear it The coming of Luna and Celestia will for they must Deliver us from this evil king of chaos and mayhem All who are pure put their faith in them.” She finished smiling and bleary eyed. “His words sparked the town to give us spare food and a place to stay while we searched.” North looked between us.
“Laz, your name is...” he was very confused judging by the loo on his face.
“Raven. Raven Quill” I finished for him. It was the first time I had spoken my birth name in years. “You two have some catching up to do, I'll go find Kora. She's probably worried sick about us”
“It's okay, I made it here just fine without you two” she said, feigning being annoyed. She walked out from behind some brush with another mare. She immediately caught my eye.
“Ah, Aurora, did you find any firewood?”Luna asked the strange mare.
“A little, and this little one here offered to carry it. She said she was looking for her friends” she looked at North, who was now being cradled in Luna's arms as she sat on a log. The she looked at me. ”I'm guessing that would be you two,” She was gorgeous. She was a deep midnight purple, maybe a year younger than me. She had a mane that was similar to Luna's, only it was purpleish black with stars twinkling in it. It also seemed to faze. She was also an alicorn, which meant, in one way or another, she was royalty.
“North, Raven, this is my niece, Aurora Borealis” Luna introduced us. I bowed.
“Please don't, I'm not all that royal and I wouldn't want you to feel like you have to” she walked over to me and lifted my chin up so she was looking me in the eye. I blushed slightly. So did she. We were centimeters from a kiss. One that never came. She took a step back and awkwardly coughed and I settled for scuffing my hoof on the ground.
“I have a couple questions for you” I looked at Luna.
“Fine, what are they” she looked at me as though she didn't like where this was going.
“For starters, the day we left, we saw a notice that said you stole something and were being hunted or something.”
“That's not a question” she snorted
“Did you?” I rolled my eyes and asked. She sighed
“Yes.” she looked down.
“What did you steal?” Kora chimed in
“And why” I added.
“I stole two things. This helmet, and that gem.” she motioned to each item as she said it. “As for why” she sighed. ”I stole the gem because I figured I could sell it and get some sort of money after we fled Equestria. The helmet I stole because I was afraid.”
“Afraid?” North asked from her hooves.
“Yes. Before we turned Discord to stone, he gave me this. He knew he was going to be defeated but he told me that after my sister and I took power, she would overshadow me and all the ponies we governed were going to love and adore her and the morning sun, and hate and detest my beautiful moonlit nights. I was afraid he was right,” she looked down sullenly. Everyone got really quiet after that. Kora started a fire and we gathered around it. I looked up. I could see some of the night sky through the dry branches.
“I think you have nothing to be afraid of,” I said confidently.
“And what makes you think that,” Luna asked, I could tell from her voice she was genuinely curious.
“Because,” I looked over at her and smiled, “I love the night, so does North and so does Kora.” They both nodded when I mentioned them. “And I'd bet that gem that Aurora does too” I looked at Aurora. She smiled and nodded. “So long as we're here, somepony is going to love the night.” Luna looked at me.
“Thank you, but I don't think four kids like yourselves will make much of a difference”
“We won't always be kids.” for the first time I took my head out of the present and looked to the future. Would we always love the night? The question answered itself. I was a child of the night, I was born of it and it shaped me to the stallion I am. But where could I go with that. I yawned. That was a question for tomorrow. Now was a time for sleep. I heard a chorus of yawns around me before I passed out.
Sleep was strange. My dreams consisted of a mismatch of scenarios, nothing sticking long enough for me to remember in the morning. The others, it seemed, had similar dreams. Only Luna and Aurora were unfazed. “Aunt Luna controls dreams, so sleeping nearby her causes one to dream the dreams she creates for others.” Aurora told me. Luna nodded in agreement. “Raven, would you help me gather wood for tonight?” Aurora nodded in the general direction of the forest and wandered into it.
Once we had made it a short distance I decided to speak up, my usual cocky mood picking up, “So, why did you have to get me alone, going to profess your undying love to me?” I grinned, half hoping she would say yes. She turned back and glared at me. My grin fell as I saw her face. With the mid-morning sun casting natural shadows to the forest floor, her hair shimmered even more than the last nights campfire light. I began to blush.
“Uhh, no.” she said with more than an undertone of indifference. “I brought you out here because I need your help.” I shook off the stunned look on my face.
“What do you need my help with?” A voice in the back of my head hoping it was to give her a massage.
“I need your help to convince Luna to go home.”
“What? Why?” I was rather confused
“Celestia knew Luna was going to leave, so she asked me to go with her and get her to come home.”
“Then why do you need my help?” I usually wasn't so dense, but this mare's beauty had me dumbfounded
“Well duh” she emphasized my stupidity “you have such a way with words that I'm sure that if anypony can make Princess Luna return to the castle, it's you” I though it over before flying up to a dead tree. “How rude! Do you just fly off whenever someone asks something of you?!” Picking up speed, I flipped my body and bucked the tree, dead branches falling haphazardly around it. I gathered up a bundle and pinned it under a wing.
“Well, we did leave claiming to get firewood. We'd only look suspicious if we returned empty hooved.” I stated matter-of-factly. Finally, I had my words back. She looked at me realizing what I was saying.
“So, you'll help?” she looked at me pleadingly.
“It isn't going to be easy, but I'll do what I can.” I said. She squealed and hopped around a little.
“Thank you soo much” she was grinning from ear to ear. She hopped up and pecked me on the cheek. My blush reappeared and I almost dropped my sticks. She remained unfazed and trotted over to the remaining sticks and gathered them under her wing in a similar fashion to mine. We walked back to camp and dropped the firewood in a stack near our fire pit. My mind was whirring. I had to try to convince the princess of the night sky to return to her sister, and I didn't have any good ideas, so I decided to try simply talking her into it.
“So, princess, why did you leave the castle?” I asked nonchalantly. I could feel eyes burning in the back off my skull. I turned to see Princess Luna glaring at me.
“Why. You want to know why?!” her voice was growing louder “Because Celestia is basking in power and glory and doesn't give a damn about her own sister!” her voice was dripping with venom. Maybe it was because I was used to talking back, to bullies and to teachers alike, but I suddenly grew a voice. A loud voice.
“And have you even TOLD her about this?! Hm? Did you even try to work this out before you stormed off with your hoofmaiden?” I gestured towards Aurora. Aurora shrank back unsure of why I was dragging her into this. “Did you even attempt to think this through!?” I was shouting now. I always enjoyed a good argument every now and then, a guilty pleasure. Luna looked at me.She opened her mouth. Closed it, then opened and closed it again, unable to find the proper words. She lowered her head and let out a small sob, a tear streamed down her face.
“You're right.” she said, her voice was full of heartache. “I didn't plan for this. I didn't talk to her. I never even tried.” she laid down and crossed her forelegs in front of her before lowering her head into them and crying. My heart was pounding and my breath was short. I looked up at Aurora. She was looking between the crying Luna and me. I nodded towards Luna. Her eyes went wide and she nodded. I looked over at North and Kora. North had a look of shock on his face and was looking at Luna. Kora was glaring at me. She walked over to me.
“Mind explaining your little outburst, Raven?” she emphasized my name as though it was an insult.
“I did what I had to” I said. I was unable to meet her face.
“Yes, perhaps you're right Aurora,” I heard Luna say. “There is enough time to patch things.” I turned to where Luna was standing. North was standing to her left and Aurora was on her right.
“What's going on?” I asked, eager to leave Kora's interrogation.
“I have decided to return to the castle to mend things with my sister.” She smiled. “Thank you Raven.”
“Uh, yeah, don't mention it” I didn't want to talk about it any more than I had to.
“You three are welcome to join us. The castle is a days walk away and I want you three as my personal guests.” There was a hint of pleading in her voice. “I'll need as much encouragement as I can get.” she admitted. I nodded. I was not about to pass up the chance to go to a royal castle. Plus, any time I could spend with Aurora was a definite bonus. North bobbed his head enthusiastically. He had taken to Luna like his own mother and it was obvious he wanted to be with her. Kora looked to the both of us.
“Might as well,” Kora said, shrugging. “Don't know what I'll do there though.”
“Well, the royal library is fully stocked.” Luna offered.
“I'm not to into reading.” Kora sounded bored. I wasn't sure if she being a pain on purpose or was just being honest.
“We have hallways full of tapestries and artwork” Luna said. Kora shook her head. Luna rubbed her chin. “The only other thing I can think of is the royal guard, but they're all combat and business” Kora's eyes lit up slightly.
“Combat? I always enjoy a little workout.” Kora smirked slightly.
“I'll schedule you some workout time while you're there.” Luna smiled. “Well then, onward” Luna pointed in a direction “We have quite a walk ahead of us”
We arrived at the castle late that night. Other than a few loose rocks, the whole journey was safe and timberwolf-free. When we reached a modest sized castle surrounded by a cavern, I was more than a little relieved. “We should go in, I need to do this now” Luna said. Her voice was full of resolve. We walked to a bridge. Although it was a rope bridge, it looked very sturdy. We crossed with no problems. “When we get inside, I'll instruct the royal guards to give you each a room. I'll go talk to Celestia” she smiled and we entered the courtyard. There were no guards at any outer posts as far as I could tell, so we made it to the castle without difficulty. When we walked in the castle, however, guards were everywhere. We were immediately stopped by a pegasus guard.
“Princess Luna? Who are these strangers?” The guard's no nonsense attitude gave him an air of authority.
“These strangers are my friends and I wish for them to be my personal guests. Put them up in their own personal rooms. Where is my sister, I wish to talk to her?” Luna's less nonsense attitude was even stronger than the guard's.
“She's going to be in the throne room in a few minutes, I suggest waiting for her there.” the guard told Luna, pointing towards a door a short distance away. Luna enthusiastically ran to it. “You four, right this way.” pointing up a staircase and walking in that direction. We followed, I myself being very tired. We were each shown a different room in the same hallway. I said goodnight and walked into my room, promptly laid on my bed and fell asleep.
My dreamless slumber was interrupted by a loud crash. I sprang from my bed, at first a little confused as to where I was. I heard shouting coming from below me. I walked to the door and opened it. Across the hall Aurora had opened her door and I could see North and Kora doing the same. I decided that I should try to figure out what was happening. I ran down the stairs. From what I could tell, nopony followed me. I heard shouting coming from, what the guard had said, the throne room. I was debating whether to go in or not when I heard another crash. Without thinking I opened the door. The throne room was in disrepair. Rubble was all over the floor and there was a hole in the ceiling, letting the moonlight in. Wait. Moonlight? When I had awoken, daylight had been streaming through my window. Why was the moon out? I heard more crashing coming from outside. I ran from the throne room, heading for the outside. I burst into the courtyard looking all around for the cause of whatever was destroying the castle. I heard a scream coming from above me. I looked up to see Luna, or what appeared to be Luna, firing a beam of magic at Celestia, launching her into the throne room. I ran back into the castle then the throne room. A strange contraption was in the middle of the room. Celestia had six gems floating around her and was flying up through the hole in the ceiling. A drop of moisture hit me on the nose. She was crying. I watched through the hole in the ceiling as the gems began spinning around Celestia as she squared off with Luna. Time seemed to slow. Luna shot off an extremely powerful blast, black as midnight and scarier than nightmare. The gems spun around Celestia even faster. A star shaped gem positioned itself in front of Celestia's horn, like a crosshair. Suddenly a rainbow colored beam shot out of the star. It collided with Luna's beam, slowing slightly, though still moving . It took all of a second before it hit Luna, sweeping upward with her captured within it. The now golden ball of energy went to the moon, causing the pattern of a unicorn head to emerge. Celestia hovered in the air for a moment before returning to earth. The gems were magically sealed in stones and put on the contraption before she pressed a hidden button and it sank below the throne room, tile floor positioning over it. Tears were streaming down her face. “What was...? What did you..?” I couldn't find a way to complete my sentences. Celestia saw me at that point.
“I..I banished her. My own sister. I sent her to the moon.” she was sobbing, stating and restating what she had done in disbelief. “I banished my flesh and blood, the only pony I ever had anything in common with. I sent her to the moon. No.” her entire demeanor changed with the last word. “I banished Nightmare Moon, she is not my sister. She is not Luna. She assailed Luna.” her face was twisted into a grimace as though she was trying to believe her own train of thought. “You. You're...”
“Raven” I cut her off “Your sister invited my friends and I to be her personal guests.”
“Yes. That's right, she spoke of you three. She spoke of Kora as a strong earth pony with ambition to be a guard. And of a North. She spoke of adopting him and teaching him magic.” The last part caught me off guard.
“She was planning on adopting North?” I asked
“She already completed the forms. I suppose that makes North Star my nephew.” she said, a twinkle in her eye.
“And, what about me?” I asked, curious as to what the lunar princess thought of me.
“She said you were curious, argumentative, and above all, powerful” she said. She wasn't paying attention to me as much, she was mostly lost in her own thoughts.
“Oh.” I wasn't sure what to do at that point. I turned to leave and saw Kora standing in the doorway, glaring at me. I walked up to her.
“You ought to be ashamed of yourself” she began
“What are you talking about?” Dark storm clouds had begun to appear outside.
“If it wasn't for you, Luna would never have returned and she would have never fought Celestia and she would never have been banished to the moon.”She responded. I could hear a boom of thunder from outside.
“I did what I had to. Aurora said...”
“Of course you would do what Aurora says. You've fallen head over hooves for her and you were manipulated!”
“I don't have to take this” I went to push past her but instead received a hoof in the face.
“Raven...” she was about to continue when I tackled her. We rolled around on the ground, punching, kicking, biting and swearing at each other. The overall brawl ended with me pinning her to the floor. I though about saying something witty but settled to spit at her. It didn't connect with her, it landed on the floor next to her. My saliva was flecked with blood. I took a look at her face. She already had a black eye forming and her lip was cut in several places. With that, I flew off. I flew out the hole in the ceiling created when Celestia was hit. I was in the air for a few minutes, flying in a random direction away from the castle when the rain started. Pegasi were taught at a young age that flying in a storm is dangerous, and that summer storms were even more dangerous because of an increased chance of lightening, but I didn't care. The rain was soothingly cool and I hadn't seen any lightening the whole time. In hindsight, I probably should have cared. I was flying moderately low, just above the treeline of the forest we had traversed just the previous night. Suddenly the forest stopped, merging with the edge of an orchard. I was wondering why the area looked so familiar when I was struck. My wings stuck straight out as the electricity coursed through my body. Then I was falling right into the orchard.