Dark Sides

Moon Beam had been traveling for what seemed like forever. The two pink and black feathers she had carefully placed behind her ear shook rapidly in the wind as she soared above this small town known as Ponyville. She was journeying to the castle from her little home, which was located in the middle of a small and simple forest. However, it was very far from her destination, and she had flown a long way. Her wings were getting tired, so instead of flying on, she decided to float down and rest in Ponyville for the night.

As soon as Moon Beam lighted down in front of what seemed like a small shop, she began fixing the feathers on her wings, and also the ones she had placed behind her ear and in her tail. After that, she fixed her jewelry, then her mane and tail. The braid she wove her tail into was messy and had lots of little fly-aways, but she wasn't worried about that. Moon Beam needed to find a place to sleep, and it seemed that everypony had already gone to bed.

Great, she thought to herself. What exactly am I supposed to do? Sleep on the ground? Somepony will walk outside tomorrow and think I'm some hobo. I can always sleep in a tree, so I won't get spotted, I guess. She flew to the nearest tree just outside of the small town and lighted down on top. This will have to do. And anyways, it's only for tonight. Tomorrow morning, I will fly to the castle in the hope of seeing the princess.

Moon Beam lay down, then looked up at the twinkling moon. Her silver eyes flashed red for a split second, and she groaned. She put her head down on her hooves and fell asleep.

***

Spellbound was on the last train to Ponyville. He had heard that a famous librarian and a student of the princess, Twilight  Sparkle, was returning to the Golden Oak Library. Spellbound was on his way to pay her a visit, and inquire a book on Starswell, Spellbound's childhood hero.

Sitting on a seat within the train, Spellbound had his head down, blocking his view of the world with his large hat. He tilted his head slightly up towards the foggy window. All Spellbound could see was the dark, moving environment, whooshing by the train. Soon after, the train went into a tunnel and everything was pitch-black. The sound of the metallic rails clunking echoed throughout the tunnel and train, and after a minute of darkness the train had passed through the tunnel, greeting the other side.

"Ponyville isn't too far away now..." Spellbound thought out loud. "Hmm...when I get there, I better find a place to rest, cause I'm get -" He was interrupted by his own sleepiness, as a huge yawn overtook him.

The train soon arrived at Ponyville, and Spellbound exited the train. That's when he noticed a pegasus flying overhead. Looking up at the sky, Spellbound's eyes tracked the flying pony until he or she landed on a tree just outside of Ponyville. "Is that pony homeless?" Spellbound wondered aloud. He wouldn't usually approach a stranger; however, a pony shouldn't have to endure the elements. I have enough bits to afford a decent room for another pony; my parents give me so much, I don't know what to do with them!

Spellbound didn't want to waste too much time and energy to walk over to the pony in the tree, so he focused his magic to create a long distance teleportation spell. HIs mind was focused, and he felt his horn shimmering under his large hat. The spell fired, Spellbound's body vanished and he reappeared just under the tree with a small magic explosion. Success!

Standing right underneath the pony in the tree, Spellbound looked up. His hat tilted towards the dark sky and his green eyes met the wings of whom he now knew to be a pegasus.

Moon Beam was almost asleep when she suddenly heard a voice from below her.

"Um, you there? Pegasus in the tree?" Spellbound called, getting Moon Beam's attention. "Are you homeless? Do you need a room to stay in for the night?" he asked in a generous tone.

Moon Beam just stared at the stallion, not sure if she should be offended or not by his assumption of her being homeless. She was also contemplating if she should accept his offer or not. He seemed kind and trustworthy, but he was a complete stranger. How can I tell if he's somepony I can trust?

Still staring at the stallion, she opened her wings and began stretching them, since they were still tired from her long flight. Then, Moon Beam slowly stood up and hopped off the tree. opening her wings quickly to lighten her landing. She touched down right in front of the unicorn, and inspected him carefully, still not sure if she should trust him. Her eyes shot to look into his shimmering green ones. She squinted slightly, not sure what to do next.

"No, I'm not homeless," Moon Beam said to the stallion in a bit of a scolding tone. "But I don't have anywhere to stay for tonight, so if you could provide me with a place to sleep safely, I would be very grateful," she finished, then smiled.

Spellbound realized that the pegasus was a mare then, and from the sound of her tone, she seemed somewhat offended. He lowered his head a bit, shying away from the mare. His oversized hat completely concealed his entire face. Moon Beam looked at him curiously, tilting her head to her side.

"Oh, sorry," he apologized, a bit awkwardly. "I have enough bits, should you want to rent out a room." He tried to get a clear glimpse of the pegasus, but it was too dark for him to see very well. Moon Beam also squinted, trying to see the unicorn in the dim light of the moon. She was beginning to warm up to him; he seemed nice and somewhat trustworthy, but she was still a bit cautious.

Curious as to what the pegasus looked like, Spellbound focused on his horn and cast a luminescence spell. A light blue shimmer came from under his hat and created a small orb of light above himself, allowing him to see the mare's appearance. She was dark grey, with silver eyes. Her green and purple mane and tail were slightly curly and a little unkempt. Two black feathers with tan highlights resided behind her ear.

Moon Beam blinked and pulled her head back from the sudden brightness; at the same time, she inspected the stallion. His face gave him a mare-like appearance; his coat was blue and his mane was white with a purple stripe running through it. He wore a huge dark blue hat with a single yellow star on it.

"Sorry about the light; I just couldn't see you well," Spellbound said as he used his hat to avoid direct eye contact.

Why is he acting so shy? Is he afraid of me? Moon Beam wondered. I don't see why he would be. She took a small step forward, trying to get a better look at him; namely, his face. It was no use, but she didn't want to walk around him or look under his hat to see his expression. That would make it awkward, and he would probably think she was even weirder than he seemed to think she was now.

"Um, it's fine," Moon Beam said, and then paused, thinking of what to say next. "But, uh, if you could be kind enough to rent me a room for the night, that'd be truly amazing. And, like I said before, I would be very grateful," she said, smiling politely and tilting her head to the side again in another attempt to see his face. "But first, I think it'd be a good idea to introduce myself, right? My name is Moon Beam." She paused and tried to look at the unicorn once again. "What's your name?"