Chapter 1: A More Honest Soul
Finally free of the Leotian Forests’ canopy, the night’s ambient tide flowed with the rise of the hallowed, pockmarked moon. Free to flow through forests’ and fields, free to shed near and clear over the tired, worn chimneys and gray, cracked roofs of the city of Leota.
A stray beam or two sought to find some of the lost; some of the scared; and so they did. They found the lost and guided them. They found the scared and comforted them. And for those brave few seeking to plumb secrets from the night sky; their way way was kindly illuminated.
But for those who toiled under oppression, under bloody, biting whips and cold, binding chains; the moon and her blessings; the sun and her light, were all for naught. For where was that incarnate sun when the Everfree burned? Where was she when Canterlot fell?! Where were they when the Magic died.
There was but one answer. One answer that was heard echoing throughout households, throughout towns and cities; from the mouths of babes, from the mouths of goddesses,
“We are sorry.”
‘Sorry.’
Was one word supposed to bring back Celestia? The countless immolated children?! Could one word bring back Magic?
No. One word could not bring about that revolution. One word could not bring back the children. But it could bring Celestia back; if she had not fled in the face of Equestria’s greatest threat, unlike Luna.
She did not flee, she did not abandon her charges. Instead, she raised them above the wolves, set her hooves upon them, blessing them, and pushed them over the edge. She stood above them until the end. And the ponies paid the price.
But, 1000 years later it was a rare night when the full blemished moon would crawl up into the sky above Equestria , meandering through remnants of a starry ocean; where its rays would cut through Leota’s last day lit bastions and turn time back. It would show the roofs and the chimneys, old and worn though they were, that they could once again shine like lone bastions in the night sky. Individual beacons which even in the darkest of nights, promised good food and a warm bed for all those who sought comfort. Intertwining those beacons were silent rivers of silver suspended in time below golden gossamer planets, all through which wisps of untold numbers danced and pranced within the eddies and the currents all the way to their homes, their beacons.
But for a trio, for three wisps dancing in the currents, swirling in the eddies; they who danced to their own minuet, came at long last to the finale, their last note and in one errant movement, one mistimed step, one misspoken word, it all stopped. The facade of swirling, gossamer lights were swallowed by the silent silver rivers. Towering stone chimneys and wide oaken roofs were swiftly thrown down and burned. The ghostly spectres of smooth beats and constant measures slowed, stopped and dissipated before the maestro.
It all came down. The flighty, childish imagination brought to ground by a reality. A place; a special place. A house on which the moon did not shine, on which the rays did not touch, on which the rivers and lights could not reach.
A place. A house that despite all its faults, all its fractures, all its tears, was called home. Home, it’s where the heart is, it’s where you have good food, warm bedding, and a loving family who will always be there for you, who will love you forever and love you for always.
But for the smallest of those three wisps, that night was special, for she was turning ten. So her Aunt and Uncle had taken her out through the city and into the great, wide woods, they had shown her the sights, the sounds, and the smells of the forest and the fields. They had taken her past the silent streams, the gurgling brooks, the wide, wise rivers. They had taken her through the wide sweeping fields and she loved it. She loved the freedom, the wilds, the fresh, flowing air, it made her feel alive. And when her Uncle asked her if she would live out here alone, in the forest. She stopped, sat down on a stump and thought for a while.
To say that the forest denizens were happy about this intrusion would be to tell a lie. The Forest of Leota came first, it remembered when it was filled with animals, filled with trees that broke the sky; whose scraggly branches reached out and over the world if only so the birds and the squirrels would have a few more places to call home.
Then the others came. They were animals, ruthless and cruel like the rest. But they relentlessly hunted and slaughtered all that the Forest had to share with them. They scarred the lands with their stout walls of stone, they butchered the land with great fires and iron. Their great lusts were never sated, their great thirsts never quenched. They built their cities upon shattered bones and rotten ties.
And then she came. Alone, afraid, abandoned. And she found them. She showed them the power and beauty of the moon and they loved her. They asked for her name and she told them to look up into the wide, starry night sky and gaze upon her majesty, her masterpiece. And they called her Luna; Moon. They showered her with, love, adoration, power; all things that she craved. But those fragile, frail beings twisted words as easily as they twisted knives.
They planted something in her mind, they gave her ideas, possibilities, of a greater a future. A bright and glorious future where she would rule. All it would take was one sacrifice, one word, one action and for better or for worse, it would all come tumbling down. And she agreed to it; everything the beasts said, everything they had done, everything they had shown her had changed her, warped her. She made a choice and didn't look back.
To this day the scent and the feel of the Forest had never ceased, whether it was by some ill token of luck, or by chance, it persisted. And there were those who could hear the screams, who could feel the pain. And that little girl was deaf to all the cries, blind to all the signs. Maybe the forest was mistaken, maybe it was just holding onto a memory, an instinct. A relic of times past, maybe that’s what kept it alive. A mistake.
A mistake that could be fixed. The price would be high. But still the Forest persisted. And it fixed the mistake.
After five minutes of thinking, she had her answer,
“I don’t know where I’d rather live. I’d love to live out here, but Mommy and you and Auntie are all in the city. If I lived out here would you visit me all the time? Oh! We could be neighbors! I would live in the forest and all of you would live in the city! But I would want more people out here. That would-That would make it better. I wouldn’t be so lonely.”
Her Aunt and Uncle smiled, nodded and assured her that if she wanted to live in the Forest they would visit her.
On that dying day, her Uncle ensorcelled her with ancient tales of the former glory that was Equestria, and Mia, with all her childish imagination saw a forest filled with ne’er do wells, thieves and bandits with herself as a splendid knight of old who would ride into that dark and dangerous forest on her great and mighty steed and save villagers, maidens, and maybe she would defeat a dragon or two...or three.
In all her musings and fantasies, the setting of the late summer sun and the subsequent walk back to the Northern Gateway passed by in a hazy, barely remembered blur. But to her, to hear of all those old tales... it was just so- it was just so cool. Her Uncle would have to be really smart; not nearly as smart as her mother though, she is the smartest mom out there, but he would still have to be really smart.
But despite all that, despite the rising moon and her pure radiance, there was something else... A silence, a gaping hole where someone was talking.
Mia shook her soft white locks off her forehead and looked up from the ground to her Uncle with a cute, inquisitive face,
“Uncle Ray, why’d we stop?”
He stopped staring into the distance and looked down at Mia with a concerned expression on his face,
“Mia. Let’s-Let’s get to the side of the walkway, okay?” He choked out. “There’s a grumpy man coming through here and I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Before the sentence was completed he had lead Mia to the side of the gateway where he and Aunt Velvet looked as if they wanted to melt into the wall and disappear. Mia had never seen her Aunt and Uncle this afraid before. But she had also never felt so heavy, and full, and swamped. It hurt.
‘Ow...ow’ - With the shadows crawling closer it only got worse - ‘Ow! Ow ow ow’ - Shadows; flames and things, danced at the edge of her vision - ‘owowowow- OW!’
She collapsed to the ground clutching her face with her hands and grinded her sweaty, boney palms into her bleeding eyes. Her Uncle, shocked and scared, bent down to help her,
“Mia,” He shook her once. “Mia! Are you okay?!” He shook her again.
“Maaa,” was all Mia could get out though her mouth and even that hurt. Her teeth hurt, her head hurt, she felt as if something had eaten its way into her and was trying to burn her from the inside out, “Mraa!”
Ray and Velvet were down by her side, holding her, talking to her, all in an effort to calm her down.
She knew nothing but pain, nothing but the cold, shadowy visions while chills racked her petite frame forcing her body to break, to shatter into jagged glossy pieces. All for someone, all because of someone. That she could feel, that she could see, but who could she see through the blood and the pain, who could she feel through the sorrow and the tears. Whoever it was they didn’t want her, they wanted someone else. Why would they want this. Why?
She just wanted it to stop. Tall stone walls closed in around her, sweet tender voices tore at her mind, bent shapes and twisted images flickered around her, flames from gutted houses, ashes from the aftermath and in the middle of it stood a figure. She reached for it and her bony fingers ripped out, wrapping around the plate armour, caressing it, toying with it. The armoured being struggled and fought, it made her happy. She crushed the life out of it.
And everything was calm, still as a mirror, still as the moonlight that burned through the night sky, racing through the darkness, eviscerating the shadows. That same moonlight sat waiting and watching but was quiet as the wind over the surface of an icy pond, cold as the winds of the frozen north but clear as the twinkling eyes in the knight’s helm.
Mia heard something whispering to her, sobbing to her, coming to her, from the crushed suit of armor, from the cracked and shattered bones, from the rich, warm, blood,
“I’m Sorry... I’m Sorry...-”
“-I’m Sorry. Please don’t hurt Auntie V-Velvet and U-Uncle R-Ray. Please?”
‘The magic word. Mommy says to say the magic word because it’s polite and people will be nicer to you. But this man doesn't look nice. He looks scared. Why is he scared?’
“Child- Dear child why... Why me?” The man hauntingly whispered, brushing tears from his face.
“Begone.” His tears hissed as they fell through the air.
“Because Mommy and Uncle and Auntie say that hugs make everything better.” Mia murmured and hugged the imprisoned leg tighter.
The stranger gave a strangled chuckle and pried her small delicate arms away from his large, muscled leg with his calloused hands, he got down on his knees in front of Mia, and placed her hands on his shoulders. He cupped her smooth, small, childish face in his rough, large hands, bent her head down and kissed her lightly, daintily on her forehead, after a moment more, he pulled away and looked Mia in her eyes and was amazed at what he saw.
“They’re right. Thank you, and bless you Mia Day.” The stranger stood up and looked around the gate house while massaging her head just like her uncle did.
‘Mia Day.’ Echoed the wind.
Mia looked up at the stranger with bright, swirling stars in her eyes and hugged his leg again.
“Mister Stranger, how’d you know my name?”
The ‘mister stranger’ peered down at her with green sparkles in his crinkled eyes and a faint smile on the tip of his lips,
“My dear...” He moved his right hand in an arc away from his body, over Mia and released sparkling fires, sunlight and bright lights, each making sharp snappy pops to accompany his lilting, melodic voice - “Magic! Magic can do all sorts of wonderful things. You just have to set your mind to it.” - He snapped his fingers and a bouquet of snapdragons appeared in the air with a faint ‘pop’.
“A bit of creativity never hurts either.” He shrugged, smiled and motioned for Mia to step away from him. “But now Mia Day, I believe your Aunt Velvet and your Uncle Ray need some hugs too. So, hug to it.” He stepped away from her and waved his hand in a dismissive gesture, a spark popped out of his sleeve and went off with a loud bang and a soft flurry of purple sparkles, urging Mia on her hazy, tired, muddled way.
‘Hug to it... He’s nice’
Mia, giggling at her thoughts walked over to her Uncle and gave him a nice, hard hug around his right leg. His rough calloused hand fell on her head and gently massaged her scalp while he dazedly muttered something under his breath.
Gently, a pair of soft, warm hands slipped onto her shoulders, rubbing her stiff neck. After a few moments they descend between her shoulder blades, further melting Mia.
‘Hugs are nice. Family is nice. hmm, “Family.”
Velvet broke Ray gaze and looked to Mia,
“What’s that dear?”
‘He’s gone.’ Whispered the earth.
“Why did he leave?”
Velvet looked up from Mia and true to her word, where that mysterious stranger had been was nothing but a snapdragon resting peacefully in a vase, surrounded by swift, shifting, shadows.
“I guess he just had someplace to be Mia,”
“But. But...” Mia wrestled with the words. “Hugs made him feel better. He should have more hugs that way he’ll feel better all the time.”
Ray and Velvet looked up from Mia, nodded to each other and Velvet addressed her in a serious tone,
“Yes dear, he should. Buut, it’s getting late and you know how your mother is with tardiness. Now come on, let’s get you home.”
Ray and Velvet gently pulled on Mia’s hands, urging her forward,
“No!” She stood still with her legs locked up, and a wild, scared look in her eyes as she gazed longingly back at the vase and it’s lonely passenger.
“Can we- Can we have the flower?”
Velvet and Ray looked between Mia and the flower. They had made their decision.
And so it was that under a few stray moonbeams an odd trio waded through the wide silver rivers of the Northern District of Leota, their way kindly illuminated until they got to a place, a special place. A house on which the moon did not shine, on which the rays did not touch, on which the rivers and lights could not reach. A place. A house that despite all its faults, all its fractures, all its tears, someone called it home.
“Mia, we’re here.” Spoke Ray with a light rub on Mia’s head. “Time to get you to your mother.”
Mia moved up, into Ray’s touch, purring but just as suddenly, she pulled away, looked up at him and wined,
“Do I have toooo?”
Ray looked down at Mia, winced and slowly nodded. But Mia would not be deterred,
“Can’t I stay with you guys for one night? Please? I’ll be good. I promise.” She quickly added as an afterthought, confident in the trust and respect her Uncle had in her because everyone knew that when she made a promise, she would keep it. And besides, she used the magic word so they would have to consider-
“- I don’t think your mother would be overly fond of that idea m’dear.” Uncle Ray said with a sad smile, much to Mia’s disappointment. But the increased the rubbing on top of Mia’s head helped soften that blow.
“I’m sorry deary,” said Velvet, kneeling down next to Mia, cupping the sweet, childish face in her hands, “But you know your mother, those type of plans have to be made waaay ahead of time and even then, something might pop up that would have to be taken care of.”
“Awww.” Mia moaned disappointed that she wouldn't get to spend more time with her Aunt and Uncle. But she had used the magic word. That was supposed to work and-
“- Hey! Uncle Ray, why’d you stop rubbing my head? That felt soooo good.”
“Sorry m’dear, I’ll try harder next time,” Night murmured, “It’s time for you to go on inside and time for us” - He grabbed Velvet by the shoulder - “to skedaddle.”
And with that, Ray and Velvet seemingly melted into the shadows behind Mia who didn’t get time to protest the sudden departure of her Aunt and Uncle. Not that she would’ve had much time to protest as she was almost immediately snatched up in a hug and a kiss planted on her forehead.
“Mia you’re home! Ohhh how was it? What was it like outside the city? I’ve not been out there in a looong time.”
If there was anything to be said about Bright Day it was that she was an awesome person, and an even awesomer mom even if she does gets a bit clingy. Who else would sit and read their child books all day, or make soup for her sick daughter, or help her with homework, or bake homemade cookies so that her daughter could have a snack as soon as she got home from school or Uncle’s? That said, there’s something called s’mothering: The act of an awesome mother being a tad bit over affectionate. Even if it does feel good and makes the ouchies go away. There was only one way to stop it,
“Mooooooooom,” squealed Mia. “You’re s’mothering me.”
“Oh! You’re a big girl now, I’ve seen you beat your Uncle in a tickling contest so I know you can beat me.”
‘A big girl! Oh that’s good!'
“A big girl! Does that mean I get to stay up laterer” piped Mia, looking up at her mother with a sweet, innocent face.
Bright looked into her daughter’s eyes and locked up, she went cold as she was dragged, screaming into those twin pools. She screamed as she was torn from her mind, torn from her body and thrust into a white room, bound to a cold metal chair that was bolted to a white tile floor behind a clean steel table upon which rested clean surgical instruments.
The scene flickered, and she saw Mia standing there staring into her. She began searching her eyes for anything to break her away from Mia before her willpower crumbled. She tried and the harder she did the louder the whistling got, but she did’nt find anything that could help her. She knew she would lose this fight but still she fought on but, despite her titanic struggles she still felt herself being dragged into the pools and finally, as her foot touched the surface everything stopped and a loose, chilling, haunting cry shattered the realm. And Bright breathlessly pulled herself out of her daughters endless, moonlit eyes.
She stumbled and sat down on the front walkway, dumfounded. She steadied her shaking body, her shaken mind, and concentrated. After a few moments she braced herself and looked at Mia.
‘Later-’ Mia’s eyes told her. And Bright listened, she had just remembered that she had made some Cocoa for her daughter. She got up and steadied herself against her daughter’s shoulder.
“M-Mia, come on in the house while I get the hot chocolate ready. Ok- Okay?”
Mia stood there dazed, confused, and empty. Her mother's eyes were so, so different. They were like endless moonlit oceans swirling with purple and black. And if the gossamer lights from the street hit them just right, there was a smattering of emerald sparkles that shone through that turbulent purple and black ocean. That sea, it called to her, sung to her, enticed her to look deeper, to dig deeper, to find something, to do something and it made her body throb.
That throb was all Mia needed to feel to see the shadows creeping towards her, swirling and gyrating in front of her, forming shapes, forming people, cats, dogs. Ponies. But it kept building higher and higher, the shapes clambering on-top of one another yet they never came down.
“- Ok-Okay?” A voice echoed.
The street lamps flared, the moonlight burned, and the street was calm. No wall of animated shadows, no ghastly figures haunting the edges of her vision. Just a calm, quiet southern night.
“-Mia! I’m not telling you again! Come on in here if you want your Cocoa!”
Hot Cocoa. Her mom made the best Cocoa, she said an old friend of hers taught her how to brew the perfect potful of Cocoa, and she had not regretted that decision in the least.
Mia stumbled up the crumbling, mud caked front walk of their home and onto their soggy, creaky front porch. With a small jump she was through their bent and broken door, down the sloped, angled hallway on her way to their grimy, gritty kitchen, leaving the holey screen door to bang shut behind her.
When Mia skidded to a halt in the kitchen she did not see the mildew and the mold, nor the waterlogged roof and the sodden floors but instead, she saw her mother at their table in her seat, Cocoa in hand, and another mug of Cocoa on the table. Mia joined her mother in her own seat, with her mug of Hot Cocoa and curled up next to her mother, resting her head on Bright’s shoulder and settled in for a nice, long story.
Instead, Bright pulled out a brown paper wrapped package from beneath a mounting pile of ink laden paper and held it up so Mia could see.
“Happy Birthday Mia. I love you.”
She set the book down on the table and motioned for Mia to open it.
“Come on lazy butt, it’s your present, you know you want to,” Bright teased, rotating her shoulder up, moving Mia off her shoulder and towards the book.
“I love you Mommy, thank you.”
Mia struggled to pull herself away from the warm, calm embrace of her mother, but there was a book, a covered book therefore it was a mystery. And it had to be solved! There was no other choice. Mia tore into the packaging sending bits and pieces of the thick, brown paper flying through the air and when she was done, her face glowed the same as her book.
It was a beautiful, glorious being. No mere words could describe it. The glory of the sun and the moon could not compare to the book. To her book.
“M-Mommy...” Mia murmured.
“Mia?” Asked Bright with a smarmy, cat like grin.
Mia took a quick breath in, a deeper breath in and let out her excitement,
“Yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes!!!”
After prancing around the kitchen for a minute, clutching her book to her chest Mia stopped, put her book on the table, and tackled her mother, hugging her for all she was worth. And her mother smiled, running a hand through Mia’s long white locks.
“You like it then?” Bright asked.
Mia looked up from where she had buried her face in Bright’s chest and smirked,
“It’s a book. Of course I’d like it. Buuut... Canwe!”
“Can we what?” taunted Bright.
Mia gave her a flat, unamused duck-faced look,
“Can we. Read it. Was that plain enough for you?”
Bright let out a wry chuckle,
“You shouldn’t be able to give me, ‘that look’, you’re too young. Besides, it’ll give you wrinkles.”
Mia immediately stopped and resumed her ‘normal’ face but there was something off with it.
“Mia, I think you have something on your chin-” She motioned for Mia to move closer and she did “-now hold still, while I try to fix this.”
With that Bright started tickling Mia’s face and they both laughed. Bright let out a giggle-snort, and they laughed some more. Eventually, as the laughter came to a close, Bright hoisted her giggling daughter up onto her lap and picked up the book from where it lay on the table.
“My goodness, you’re getting bigger. I won’t be able to do this for much longer.” Bright finished with a small light laugh.
Mia gave her a cross look,
“Are you saying I’m fat?”
Bright stopped her giggling, assumed a very serious face, poked and prodded her daughter, eliciting some small giggles.
“Mia, I have something very important to tell you.”
“What is it?” Mia crowed, tilting her head in the air so she could look her mother in the eyes.
Bright, once again adopting a serious expression looked down to her daughter, and with their noses touching told her,
“You’re fat.”
Mia sat, dumbstruck as her mother gently kissed her on the tip of her nose, making it twitch just a tiny bit.
“But it’s okay because you’re mine, so I know exactly how to get rid of this ‘fat’.”
Bright bent down and started whispering in Mia’s left ear, but stuck her right pointer finger in Mia’s right ear. Mia jerked her head to the left with a loud squeak and subsequent squawk as she hit her mother in the eye with the tip of her nose.
“Mooooom!”
“OWOw!”
They both sat in place, nursing their ‘wounds’ in Bright’s case, a single black eye. In Mia’s case, a rather wet ear. But, they both came to an agreement. And so, after it was long overdue, Bright opened the book and read to her darling daughter,
“A Brief History of Humanity in Equestria...”
So it had been for years, and hopefully if luck would have it, many years more. A mother and her daughter, curled up together at their table with two mugs of Cocoa in hand, silently pursuing the elegant scripts while the sweet smells of liquid chocolate and the tangy flavor of worn pages mixed and mingled their way into the air, bringing a welcomed heady scent into the house.
But as always, their time together was over much too soon. First, one cup of Cocoa would be drained and the dregs drank. Next, the other cup would suffer a similar fate. Then it would be ‘one more chapter’ and after that ‘chapter’ was finished, a tired silence would descend, often permeated by the light, lithe snores of a tired little girl hungrily curled around her mother, whilst reaching her tired little arms around her mother's weary, eager neck. Bright would gently disentangle herself and make her charge comfortable, or as comfortable as one would be on two rickety old chairs, but for a sleeping child, anywhere to sleep was a good place to sleep, especially with a full belly and a full head. All the while, Bright would move about the kitchen, cleaning the cups and stacking them on the draining board.
Sometimes, if she was in the mood, she would look around her kitchen, and she would see the waterlogged roof and the sodden floors, the mold and the mildew, but always in the middle of it, like a giant sore thumb would be their table. The one thing in that house that would truly be theirs. And she would be happy.
Sometime after her poor, tired eyes were done wondering, she would go back to her little girl, to her little ray of day and only as a mother could, carry her little bundle of joy to bed and along the way she would hear her Day mumble and grumble about being moved, but there was always that little one at the end when Bright would lay Mia down to sleep and whisper,
“I’ll love you forever,
I’ll love you for always,
my baby you’ll be.”
But that night, the night of Mia’ tenth birthday, she made it through her Cocoa and stayed up until the very end of the ‘last’ chapter. She didn’t even need her mother to carry her up the stairs!
It was all she could could do to keep herself from vibrating in place as she walked down the crooked hallway and into her spartan bedroom. She was ten! Ten! That meant she was an adult now! She would get to stay up later and help Mommy and Auntie Velvet and Uncle Ray. But first she would have to get ready for bed so Mommy could tuck her in.
Mia hopped over to her wooden wardrobe and withdrew some of her best sleepwear form it. Her sleepwear was the best. It was nice, silky and smooth but really light and fluffy plus it was sooo soft. Her mommy said that she had gotten it from one of her old friends.
When Mia hopped away from her wardrobe with her night shirt in tow, a flash of light caught her eye and she looked down and saw something strange, something beautiful, it looked like a necklace and yet when she lifted it up and over her head to hold it to see the centerpiece she knew it was more than just a necklace. She knew it was hers, she knew that the beautifully fluted crystal apex, bound with fine, delicate wire of the purest silver and of the harshest black, would never leave her, she would keep it forever and always. It would be her necklace.
Cradling the textured crystal, she ran the smooth, worn leather loop over her hand and when it came to the end, to the fold, she firmly grasped it and let the centerpiece fall, swinging into the moonlight. The sudden explosion of colors her crystal gave off; they were amazing! It was like having her whole room bathed in liquid silver, and it moved! All around her; on the walls, on the floors, and even on the ceiling! It was- it was- she didn’t know how to describe it!
“It -”
“- It’s beautiful.”
“What’s beautiful dearheart?”
The sound of her mother’s voice coming from behind her startled Mia, and the leather loop slipped through her hand, dropping the necklace onto her bed, out of the way of the moonlight and out of sight of her mother. The beautiful silver oceans disappeared.
Mia cradled her hands to her chest as if she had been burned, if only to seem like she was cold so her mother wouldn’t be too inquisitive. But she needed that necklace, she was cold, empty without it. Even if she could only hold it, and look at it without disruption, she would feel whole, right, full. But to do that she had to get her mother out of the picture.
“The moonlight mommy. It looks like a silver river outside.”
“Oh. T- That’s nice. But really dearest you should get to bed now. You have a busy day tomorrow.” Bright said as she came into Mia’s room and walked over to the wardrobe to close the door.
“Okay Mommy,” Mia climbed into her bed and her mother walked over to tuck her in.
“Dear -” Bright sat at the edge of Mia’s bed and smoothed the blankets “- about what happened earlier this evening, what did that man say to you?”
Mia gave her mother a sleepy nod of her head, “He said ‘Thank you.’ He was hurt Mommy. You always say that hugs make everything better.”
Bright nodded, finished with the blankets, and continued,
“He didn’t look hurt did he?”
Mia gave her mother a very sleepy glance and mumbled,
“He was crying mommy. That means someone’s sad. You and Uncle and Auntie say that if someone’s sad then someone else has to cheer them up.”
With a resigned nod of her head Bright stood up and went to the head of the tiny bed,
“You’re right dearheart. But enough of that si- that stuff. Let’s get you tucked in.”
Slowly, tenderly, Bright Day tucked the love of her life into the soft downy bed and whispered words that had been spoken many times, each and every time with love and devotion,
“I’ll love you forever.”
“I’ll love you for always,” Mia said. Mirroring her mom’s tone.
“My baby you’ll be.” Finished Bright. “And I love you -” Bright poked Mia on the just exposed tip of her nose. It twitched and Mia giggled -”Forever and ever. Sweet dreams dearest.”
Bright backed away from the bed, leaned on the door frame, bent over and switched on the moonlight that Mia had insisted they get ever since she had seen the Mare in the Moon. She straightened, looked her daughter in the eyes and blew her a kiss. Mia made a motion under the blanket,
“Caught it.”
Bright smiled and nodded, “Good night Mia.”
“G’night Maaa.” Mia, tired as she was, managed to yawn out her odd sounding reply. But they both got a light chuckle out of that. And Bright closed the door to her daughter’s room with a gentle click. Leaving Mia alone in her room with the nothing but the night for comfort.
Once more, as the shadows descended from on high and the moonlight shot through the fog gilded window, the encompassing silver oceans abounded around Mia’s room.
‘The necklace, it’s so nice. It’s so beautiful.’
“It is, isn’t it.” Spoke a voice from the shadows.
Mia jumped in her bed, flailing, sending the necklace out and away from her, towards the floor. But just before it hit the rough wooden floor it was suspended in a pale, watery blue aura.
“Mia child. Do not be afraid. We are not here to hurt you.”
Mia, now beneath the covers of her bed squeaked,
“W-who are you?”
The voice in the darkness beyond chuckled, and a warm, motherly feeling came over Mia,
“Child, we are of the night, of the dreams, of the dark and scary places.”
Mia’s bedroom window opened, admitting a flood of light that threw distorted shadows all over the wall and the floor. And Mia, cocooned herself in her blankets.
“Have no fear”- Again the warm motherly feeling washed over Mia - “of the night.”
Mia dropped her blankets, and there she was, shrouded in mist, and moonlight and darkness.
“Have no fear of your dreams.” And she emerged, twisting, and shredding those vague, haunting spectres. For she came from darker shadows, more glorious than any twisted mind could dream of. What mortal fears could withstand the full might of the moon?
“Have no fear of the dark places” - She paced across the room, moonlight and darkness shrouding her, moving her, to Mia, - “of the scary places.”
And there, at the head of the bed she knelt, looking Mia in the eyes.
“For you are our knight.”
Mia collapsed and her guardian caught her charge, bore her up onto her back, and set her firmly down where Mia’s wandering arms could find their way around her thick, strong neck and squeeze together, hugging her. Taking one, sole glance at the doorway, she nodded and let the moonlight spirit them away, leaving one lonely, blue feather sifting forlornly through the air only to land upon a crisp clean note.
And so it was many hours later, in the early mourning sun that Bright finally entered the room on her knees, grasped the feather, took up the note and read,
‘I‘ll love you forever,
I’ll love you for always,
as long as I’m living-’
“-My baby you’ll be,” Finished Bright as she collapsed to the ground with her face buried in her arms, her left hand crushing the note, and her right hand clutching the midnight blue feather with tears streaming down her face, gently reflecting the fading moonlight that came in through the open window.