Loyalty to the Moon

It was a warm, summer morning. The tall grass wistfully danced in the breeze, and dandelion fluff flew through the air. The faded echoes of young foals playing could be heard coming from the village down the hill.

"Wake up, little one. Wake up," a familiar voice said softly.

Starbeam moaned, snuggling closer to her mother's flank.

"Come on, now. You don't want to waste such a beautiful day sleeping, do you?"

The little, grey filly cracked her eyelids open, gradually getting used to the light. She peered upward to see the comforting smile of her mother facing her. She had always loved how her blue eyes matched the cloudless sky.

"Mommy?" Star squeaked, "Oh, Mommy, I've missed you so much! There was this castle in a dark forest, and a Princess, and-"

Her mother giggled. "It was only a dream, dear. We live in the meadow, remember? Like we always have. There's no castles or forests here."

The foal gazed at her surroundings, beginning to jog her memories. "Right. I, I don't know what I was thinking."

She knew exactly where she was. She was in her favourite spot with her favourite person in the world. She was home.

"Mommy, can you tell me a story?" Star asked.

"Of course, my little flower. Whatever you'd like."

"Tell me a story about Grandpa."

"Well... Grandpa was a daring traveler. He traveled everywhere, from far beyond Equestria, right to where our village stands now. He conquered many beasts only thought to be myths, and discovered treasures of absolute rarity. He explored caves, swamps, woods, and oceans. Mountains, and deserts, and jungles. He heard the call of adventure, and he answered it."

"But what about Grandpa's family? Didn't they miss him when he was away?" Star looked up at her mother with round, questioning eyes.

"Of course they did," she replied, smiling, "but he knew his destiny was elsewhere, and they wanted to support him as much as they could. Sometimes the best thing you can do for someone is let them go."

"Even if you really love them?"

"Especially if you love them."

"So... how did Grandpa meet Grandma if he was always exploring?"

"He couldn't always be out-and-about. Sometimes he needed a rest, either by setting up camp in the wilderness or stopping in small towns and villages. He met many ponies along the way, and became good friends with a few of them. So sometimes he would stay some extra days with them. I believe he'd been with Mercutio at the time, who was a sales pony. Mercutio introduced Grandpa to his younger sister, a very beautiful mare. The two of them grew fond of each other, very quickly."

"And then they got married and lived happily ever after like in my story books, right?" the filly asked excitedly.

"No, sweetheart. Grandpa felt he couldn't stay, that he needed to follow his heart where he thought it was urging him to go." Star's mother put a hoof on her daughter's tiny face to comfort her. "But they kept in touch. They sent letters back and forth, and thought of the other every day. Until eventually, Grandpa became lonely. He felt sad and hollow inside. He missed that pretty mare more than ever. The next morning, he woke up with a new feeling in his bones. He now knew he had a different path to tread, one that would take him back to where he'd already been. He took a longer route this time, collecting trinkets and special objects on his way. He finally came to his destination, going straight to Mercutio's house. He walked in to see his beloved, whom had waited so long for him-"

"And then they got married?" Starbeam cut in.

"No. Grandpa walked in to see his beloved, whom had waited so long for him that she had given up. She'd thought he was never returning again, and in the time he was gone, had gotten engaged to somepony else."

Starbeam gaped at her mother, no words able to come out at first. "Wh... b-but, he loved her! They were meant for each other! H-how?"

"Grandpa didn't know. She never mentioned anything about another stallion in her letters. So when he got there and saw them together, he burst out in disbelief and rage. Mercutio tried to calm him down, but Grandpa raced out of the house before he could even say anything. He never returned to that village again.

"Where did Grandpa go after?" Star was restless, now. She shuffled her hooves in the grass, impatient to know the end of the story.

"He went home. He trod the roads he'd first come down, and returned to the ponies who he thought could mend his broken heart. And they welcomed him with open hooves. He told his family all about the things he'd seen and the places he'd been, and gave them the trinkets he'd brought along with him. They were so glad to have him back home, and he was glad, too."

"But, you still didn't tell me how he met Grandma. If the pretty mare wasn't her, then who was she?" Star questioned irritably.

"Grandma was the daughter of a traveling trader. She went across the land selling and buying things of all sorts with her father until they came to where Grandpa and his family lived. Grandma decided to stay with Grandpa, and-"

"Then they got married?? Starbeam burst out.

"Yes, dear," her mother's reply made Star sigh with relief, "and almost a year later, they had a foal."

"Auntie Lemongrass!" Star said.

Starbeam's mother nodded.

"And then you, right?" Starbeam squealed eagerly.

"That's right, dear."

"And then you met Daddy, and had me!"

Star's mother laughed at her enthusiasm.

"That was a great story, Mommy."

"I'm glad you liked it, little flower," she said, standing up and shaking out her mane, "now, we should go make dinner. Everypony is probably getting hungry by now."

Starbeam quickly got up and followed her mother down the hill. They walked through the village, passing young foals kicking around a ball, and old ponies snoozing in the sun. Star's aunt was in the kitchen preparing the ingredients to make dinner. Together, they made a luscious, green salad with hay burgers and baked a lemon meringue pie for dessert.

Starbeam was so happy to be with her family that evening. She gazed at the ponies sitting around the table with her: her mother, Grandpa, Aunt Lemongrass, Lemon's husband, and her older cousins. She wished she could stay there forever. That one thought made her blink, puzzled.

Why am I sad? I'm not going anywhere, and neither are they. Everypony's having a good time. So why do I feel like something's wrong?

When they were finished eating, everypony went outside to play some games. Starbeam played tag and hide-and-seek with her cousins, while the adult ponies chatted and played poker. The foals laughed when Cream Bean tripped over her own hooves and went flying into Star, sending them both tumbling into the bushes. Starbeam found a great place to hide with Astral in hide-and-seek. It took Lightning ages to find them. He might have never found them if Cream, who'd already been found, hadn't pointed out Astral's tail which was poking out.

Star yawned as the sun set. Her mother nuzzled her with her muzzle.

"Come on, little flower. It's time for little fillies to get some rest." Star's mother said to her.

"But I'm not tired... I wanna stay up and see the fireflies..." Star mumbled.

"Don't worry, dear. The fireflies will still be there tomorrow night."

"But you said that last time..."

"Shhh..." her mother hushed her, guiding her into the house.

Her mother tucked her into bed, humming a relaxing melody Star remembered from her childhood. Again, she was confused; she was still only a filly...

"Mommy... can you promise me something?" she asked.

"Sure, darling. What is it?"

"Will you promise that you'll always be here with me? Forever?"

Her mother's smile softened. "I'm sorry, dear, but even I can't promise that."

Star frowned, sadly.

"But," her mother continued, "Even when I'm gone, there will always be somepony here for you."

Star looked into her mother's beautiful, blue eyes. She could see the whole night sky reflected through them, filling her with a sense of peace.

"Good night, my little flower."

"Good night, Mommy."

Starbeam drifted back into the same, dreamy unconsciousness she'd experienced earlier in the day. But this time, her dreams were strange and muddled. She couldn't quite make out what was going on in them, or who was there with her.

Starbeam woke with a start. The entire room was dark and lifeless. Not even the moon shone through the open window. Instead, just a bone-chilling wind blew in. She got out of bed, her little hooves clopping rather loudly on the floorboards. She slowly turned the handle of the door, and made her way out into the empty hallway. She passed her cousins' bedrooms, whose doors were wide open, but nopony was inside. She walked down the long row of bedrooms, but they were all the same as her cousins'. She trotted down the stairs, the railings seeming twisted and the steps bent and chipped in the dark. She knew they were in perfect condition when she walked up to bed, so her mind must have been playing tricks on her.

Passing through the kitchen, she began to feel uneasy. Star didn't know where anyone was, and everything in the room looked morbid and creepy. She assumed that perhaps everypony had gone outside, so that was where she went next. But everything out here was dead, too. Normally, there would be a street lamp lit or someone out for some reason in the middle of the night, but nothing stirred.

She jumped at the sound of an ear-piercing wail, which sent her running through the village towards the open field. Suddenly, the world spun around her, and everything was on fire. She coughed and gagged as smoke filled her nostrils and lungs, but she kept going. She made it to the bottom of the hill, where she could see the moon being revealed from beneath the cover of the clouds. It was a bright, unnatural blood red, and bathed the ground in an unholy light. The silhouette of a tall, dark unicorn appeared standing at the top of the hill, its eyes glowing, menacingly. The last thing Star heard was the horrified shriek of her mother calling out her name.

She awakened, shaking. Starbeam could still hear the sound of her mother's voice ringing in her ear. She found herself not in the village, but in her lonesome home in the Everfree Forest. Her body was ice-cold with fear, and her breathing came fast and shallow as if smoke still remained in the air.

She got up and peered through the window, and saw the sun had moved closer to the west. Taking a deep breath of air, she calmed her nerves, trying to shake off the beginningly sweet nightmare.

Starbeam walked over to her cabinet. Inside of it was a couple changes of clothes, some old letters, and a necklace embedded with a stone her grandfather had found on his expeditions. She remembered when her grandmother had given it to her; telling her he'd collected it so that one day, one of his young kin might have it and remember him. She placed the precious item around her neck. It was the only jewelry she owned, and she wore it every day under her uniform.

She then made herself a quick breakfast to give herself energy for the night, and put on her guard uniform. Walking back to the castle, she still couldn't overcome the dread she felt from her mother's last word, which played over and over again in her head for the rest of the night.