Children of the Night

Chapter 5

Sunrise

Moonsinger was sitting on the nose of the giant Timberwolf head that was her husbands Inn, directly under Princess Celestias window. From beneath her, where the small living room was, she could hear Bright Light and Goldshield talk in great length. She didn't like the idea that he told her about her past, but she guessed it couldn't be helped. He had always been like this, and he was kind of right... That guardcaptain had a right to know why she had snapped towards her. Looking at the horizon, Moonsinger sighed. She just couldn't forget the envents from over a thousand years ago... In fact it was closer to two thousand, but she liked to refer it to it that way cause it made her sound younger. Also she thought... Had she lived a life without the barrier, she would have been dead centuries ago. All of her friends and family had moved on and maybe not forgotten, but forgiven what happend back then. Even Bright Light had told her, that she is to think about Celestias position at the time, and that there were more pressing matters that needed her attention. She had to admit, that if she thought about it logically, she understood some of it, but she didn't WANT to forgive Celestia. The only reason she had levitated herself up here, was to give the Princess a piece of her mind. As she had looked through the window however, she couldn't bring herself to do it. She looked so vulnerable, lying there in the sheets and hardly breathing. Despite her not liking Celestia, Moonsinger felt compassion towards her for being hurt that way. Shortly after her mother had been banished, the barrier had lost in strenghth and a Timberwolf had somehow breached it. In fact it was the same Timberwolf on who's head she was now sitting. It had been the first time her mother hadn't been there to protect her, ever since she had started to live in the garden. For her, it was devistating. She felt she had been abandoned again and left powerless. As the eldest of the foals, she had attempted to drive him off herself, and gotten injured pretty badly. Had it not been for the combined effort of her friends and family, she wouldn't have lived to see her mother return. Relating to Celestia this way, felt strange inside, but she didn't want to unload her grudge on an injured Pony, so she just sat there listening to her husband laying out her backstory in front of a complete stranger, and watching the slow descent of the moon as the night came to an end. The sun slowly began to rise. Before long she would have to go inside, unless she wanted to deal with a major headache later.

Celestia was looking out of the small window, of the room she had awoken in as she worked her magic to raise the sun. She had no idea where she was, or how she had gotten there, but that was no reason to neglect her duty. The last thing she remembered, was exchanging magical blows with Chrysalis, and a painfull hit on her neck when she tried to dodge it. After that her memory was filled with vague expressions, blood flying through the air, Ponies galloping through the darkness and her sister screaming... Yes, Luna had been screaming, but she had been too weak to move. Even now she felt weak and the bandages around her neck, hindered her free movement a bit. Someone had treated her, while she had been out like a candle. When she had tried to leave the room earlier, there had at least been a familiar sight in the corridor. Pin Cushion and Quick Arrow, two of her royal guards where standing just outside her door. They looked tired and worn themself, but were as vigilant as before. However they had asked her to stay inside for now and rest. Questions as to the whereabouts of her younger sister, or where they were, they didn't dare to answer. Quick Arrow had said something to her, that put her mind at ease at least for a short while.

"Your majesty, I don't understand it completly myself, but I can tell you this: We are safe here and Princess Luna is sure to come see you soon. Until then, please rest. I am sure she will be able to answer all your questions."

Hearing that her sister was fine from a familiar face, was all she had needed to relax. She had just rested her head on the the pillow, when a light knock on the door caught her attention. Celestia asked the Pony knocking to come in, and was delighted to see her sister stepping into the room, even so she was looking very tired and untidy. Her coat was dirty and her mane was disheveled as well. Also she noticed that her sister did not wear her crown as she sat down next to her on the bed, without a word of greeting. Celestia could see that something was wrong, and that she was about to find out what it was. She didn't press the matter however, since she wanted Luna to come around at her own pace.

"Big sister... Do you remember one thousand five hundred and three years ago, when I asked you to take action in favor of the orphans of Equestria, and you refused?"

"Yes... I remember that we got in quite the argument over that. I don't understand what that has to do with this, but you must understand that I was under alot of pressure back then. Our new Equestria was in a state of chaos, and we just could not afford to fund any more....."

"I do understand your reasoning now Celestia... Why I asked you if you remembered it, is that I have to make a confession to you."

"So will I finally hear, that it indeed was you that was responsible for the mass vanishment of foals from all over Equestria, which you denied so vehemently?"

Celestias tone stayed gentle and kind, even so she felt disappointed to see the expression on her sisters face, which showed her that she had hit the nail on the head.

"You... can't be serious? I was actually only joking."

"Well Celestia, you were right on target there... Yes I did take the foals, and brought them here. You are inside a barrier that I created only five nights after our conversation. The foals from back then have formed an entire country here, and are currently sheltering us from harm."

"So we are safe? Will they help us, to regain control over Equestria?"

"You... are not mad?"

"No I am not... maybe a little disappointed, but not mad. As it looks, your little rebellion had it's uses in the end."

"Big sis... You don't know the entire story... I messed up... I messed up greatly. When I cast this barrier, I was quite sure I could do it, but I messed it up.... Some of my magical energy is radiating from it and has made this Ponies near immortal, like ourself, and gave them some extraordenary powers aswell."

"Luna! That is a disaster! You have to bring that barrier down at once! You know we are not to meddle into the fates of mortals like this, unless we intent to make them fellow Allicorns."

Celestia was exasperated at this revelation. They had sworn never to do such a thing. Allicorn magic was dangerous and should be handled with a certain level of caution.

"I... can't."

"Why not? Has the spell moved out of your reach? If that's the case I'm sure I can help...."

"That's not it sister... If I bring it down, the parts of my magic that keep them alive inside each of them will vanish as well. I would doom over three hundred thousand Ponies to death."

Celestia swayed a little when she took her words in... Three hundred thousand.... When they had sunken in, she turned her head towards her sister and now her expression was one of anger.

"Luna... I am verry disappointed in you. I can't ask you to bring down the barrier then.... but you must realize that they will never be able to be integrated into our society. Being away from the barrier for too long would kill them!"

"I know big sister. You don't have to remind me. There hasn't been a single day in the last two thousand years, that I didn't regret my mistake. Oh don't get me wrong, I would do it again, but the messed up spell is what I regret."

"So... The Ponies that live here, are actually over a thousand years old then? Will they help us? As I remember the Ponies of that time where not at all like current Equestians."

"They will help us if I ask them to, but there is another thing you must know. Please don't get me wrong, but you have no authority here."

Celestias muzzle dropped for a moment before regaining a little composure.

"What do you mean? Am I only a Princess in name only now?"

"No. Nor am I a Princess here. For the Ponies here, I am their mother. Ranks and royalty never had any value in my refuge. You must adjust to that. I think most of the Ponies here will still listen to you, out of respect for me, but my daughter..."

"YOUR DAUGHTER?"

Celestia screamed almost at the revelation. It was not a scream of pain or anger however, but one of shock. There was certainly alot to take in.

"My adopted daughter... Don't fret the details... In my absence however, she seems to have taken charge of things. You will have to face her eventually and let me inform you, that she doesn't like you very much. She blames you solely for my banishment and is still angry about your refusal of additional funding and better control, for the orphanages back then. I looked it up in the town hall, and I think she did a very good job organizing things around here. But don't get me wrong, this is a peacefull place. Moonsinger, as my daughters name is, has organized a lawenforcement group in each settlement. They are most likely the only ones trained in combat, since they also deal with the ocaussional Timberwolfs or other creatures."

"So... I will have to deal with her, berfore we can discuss any plans of recapturing Equestria?"

"Not nessecarily, but I would prefer it that way so there is at least less bad blood between you two."

"I guess that is the best course of action. But your explanation about the barrier at least explains why my magical senses are confused. I sense you all over the place."

"Well naturally... A spark of my magic is in all of them, so of course you would sense me in them. With time you will be able to tell the difference though. I think you are strong enough to have your little talk with her now, isn't that right, Moonsinger?"

A suprised sound came from just outside the window as Moonsinger leaned in, her eyes wide in suprise.

"How... how did you know I was here?"

"I'd be a pretty bad mother if I couldn't tell the difference between my childrens magical aura, and you have never been able to hide from me, remember?"

A smile formed on Moonsingers face as she climbed inside through the open window, right on the bed where Celestia lay.

"Well... May I introduce you two. Celestia, this is my daughter Moonsinger. Moonsinger, this is your aunt Celestia."

Moonsinger cringed a little at the mentioning of Celestia being her aunt. She didn't like the idea too much that she was part of her family. But it was true, she needed to talk to this Pony. Not only, as her mother stated to clear up some things, but also to finally be able to give her a piece of her mind. But just as she thought this, and her anger built up, she was taken aback as Celestias forelegs reached out and hugged her. As she looked up at the Princesses face, she saw that she had tears in her eyes. As strong as the urge to break free from the hug was, she did not do so... This Pony who she had thought to be heartless, was hugging her while crying.

"I am sorry Moonsinger... You deserve an explanation. You deserve the full story. I don't think my sister has told you all of it."

That was when Moonsinger did break free, taking a few steps back from the pair of sisters.

"My mother told me enough. Don't you call her a liar!"

"Moonsinger... Please listen to her, she..."

But Celestia waved a hoof to silence her sister.

"I didn't call Luna anything. I don't make a secret out of it, that if it had been my decission alone, you wouldn't be standing here today. HOWEVER...."

Celestia raised voice a little since she saw that Moonsinger had been about to interrupt her.

"However, I do understand my sisters reasons for going against our diarchy and deciding this alone. I was horrorfied at what she told me about your fate back then, and even so I was against my sisters plans due to reasons I will explain to you now, I was glad when I heard of your disappearance. I thought she might have done something about it after all. My reasons to refuse back then, were that our country just didn't have the ressources to support her idea. We were already on the verge of bankrupcy as it was, not to mention we had no teachers to spare nor any workers. I know you ended up doing most of that yourself, with my sister helping you with her magic, but I thought that would be too much of a strain on my sister. I proposed a different plan to my sister. My idea it had been to, one by one, have a campaign started that would have tried to find a family for each and every one of you. That way you would have grown up like any other foal and have an education to match. After a few years, you could have done your share in rebuilding Equestria..."

"But something HAD to be done fast! With your plans it could have taken YEARS to get all of us out of the orphanages, but just how many of us would have died during that time? Did you ever stop to think about that?"

"I did.... I regret that it would have been the only thing I could have done, but there was just no way Equestria could have supported you back then. It was not my fault, nor anyponies. Luna and I tried our best to pull everything back together, but that alone took us almost a hundred years. In modern Equestria, there are no Orphanages anymore. I would like to say that this is due to no foal loosing their parents, or being abandoned, but that would be a lie. In fact it is due to our program that takes in foals like you were once, and educates them in a fulltime school. They live there until they are old enough to provide for themself, and we personally inspect all of them once a month to ensure a quality standard of living is maintained."

Moonsinger didn't like what she heard, and her anger receded further with each word that that Pony... that Celestia spoke. She wouldn't call her Princess any time soon, but atleast she had apologized and she seemed to mean it. Moonsinger wasn't going to forgive her that easily though. She wanted to see these schools for herself, she wanted to get a chance to see how the daylight Ponies had changed from what she remembered.... She wanted to see...

"Hoofington..."

"Excuse me?"

"My hometown. Does it still exist?"

"Ehm... Yes. In fact the Summer Sun celebration was scheduled to take place there this year."

"The summer sun.... what?"

"It is a holiday that celebrates the longest day in the year. My sister picks the town to host it at random every year."

"Mother... Is it true what she said? Does she take better care of lost foals then back then?"

Luna just nodded in agreement. That was when Moonsinger was lost in deep thought. Her friends had told her this for a long time, and even her mother had always told her that it was not good to hold a grudge before she had actually met Celestia.... Now that she had, she felt... different. She still hadn't forgiven her, but she felt that she could trust her at least. Her mother had never lied to her in her entire life, so it.... Before she knew it, she was enveloped in dark purple magic, that she recognized as her mother in an instant, and was levitated between the sisters on the bed. She didn't like being that close to Celestia.... at least not yet..... but her mother thought different appearently.

"It's time for us to sleep dear. Why don't you just stay with us today? I want you to spend some more time with Celestia, and get used to her presence here. And don't forget, she IS family."

Moonsinger frowned, but complied. Celestia, who looked a little worried, took a look at her sister who shook her head to indicate that there was nothing wrong with this. To proove her point she placed her right wing over Moonsinger, who immideatly snuggled up to Luna and relaxed.

Luna knew that her daughter was mighty stubborn, but when she came to know Celestia a little better, she might even call her "aunt" or "auntie". The thought alone made her smile as she layed her head down, turning her neck so her face was close to Moonsingers.

Celestia watched her sister and.... niece getting comfortable. She remembered the pose they took perfectly. It was the same one she had slept in with Luna, when she had been just a little foal hearself. Except, she didn't have wings back then so they usually just had shared a blanket. Suddenly she understood the rage she had felt in Moonsinger earlier. She had deprived her of this, the opportunity to sleep by her mothers side, for a thousand years by banishing her sister. But she had to do it, had she not? Celestia began to doubt her decisions from long ago, as she also rested her head on the bed. Unconciously she took the same position as Luna.... hoping to get to know her niece better eventually.