What is your story?

How do we know that the Princess wasn’t just night dreaming about it all?” Lunar Owl asked Captain Shield wind as they rummaged through the everfree forest in pursuit of a young filly that Luna swore was out here and needed help.

“The princess is in charge of the night. I’m pretty sure she could tell the difference between the dream world and the wake world. Besides if there is a filly out here, she needs help. Most ponies wouldn’t survive more then 3 days at the most, who knows she has been out here for; and if she is injured then that puts her in even greater danger” Captain Wind replied while heading sky-ward in order to get a better view of the surrounding area. It was then he noticed something wasn’t right. Captain Wind noticed some greenery that looked slightly out of place, but couldn’t figure out why until he was right by it. It wasn’t a plant, it was a shelter, with a unconscious filly inside matching Lunas rather vague description.  After a 4 day search, they  are confident that this is her.

Getting a better look, it was rather unique colors for a equestrian. She was a night time blue, slightly brighter shade then Luna, with a royal blue, and gray mane, a adorable clustering of freckles on her cheeks, and a black star cutie mark, with light streaks filling it, the star was in a field of baby blue, with a black ring around the whole thing. The captain couldn’t help but briefly wonder how a filly so young; she might have just started school; was able to already obtain  her cutie mark already, and what her talent was. She was rather small and underweight for her size, but that worked to her advantage to stay hidden. Without warning he came to a realization that this poor filly was very sick, and injured. He didn’t have time to think, he needed action if it wasn’t already too late to save her life.

"OWL! GET OVER HERE NOW!!! The captain sounded out so loud, it could be a close second to the royal Canterlot voice.

“Yes captain, did you discover anything” Night owl asked as he ran over to the captain. It was then he noticed the filly and ran over to check on her. He had far more medical experience then the captain, that is why they were paired together. (With the massive size of the forest, the guards all split up into 6 groups of 2, one high rank with the ability to contact Princess Luna in a moments notice, and with combat ability to protect themselves from the murderous creatures wandering the forest.  The other was decent at worst in combat, and had medical training in case of injuries, and to help the filly once discovered.

    “We need to get her to the hospital soon or she won’t make it, She has multiple lesions  around her that have gotten infected, causing a high fever, and multiple broken bones along with a possible head injury. I can also feel that she doesn’t have enough energy to replenish her magic that is critically low.” Night warned the captain. At that note,  Wind sent a note to the Princess alerting her of the situation.

BAMB! WHOSHHHHH!

    A bright white light and sudden rush of ice cold air on a hot summer night startled Wind and Night as Luna and teleported to their location. “Princess!” both guards recited and saluted in unison.

“There is no time for that now. I will teleport her to the castle infirmary with me. If her injuries are as server as you claim, she shouldn’t waste any time.” The both guards stood at attention and saluted, as Luna picked up the filly in her magic, holding her tight, and vanishing in a blink.

“I know this isn’t the time, but am I the only one impressed at how far she has come in her way of speaking? She is actually starting to talk like she was born in this generation” Night said to Wind.

“I have to admit I am slightly impressed. I would have bet she would slip at some point, but now isn’t the time. We need to round up the others and get back to the castle. Something happened to her, and we need to find out what. You don’t just go live in Everfree for the fun of it at that age.”. With that both guards where off.

BOOM! The doors to the castle hospital slammed open, causing the doctors and nurses to all jump. The hospital wasn’t needed for anything serious except for when a guard was injured during combat, alcohol intoxication, or Luna did something stupid again that landed her a broken bone. After they recovered from the initial shock the head doctor finally asked “Please tell me you didn’t try Kendo again. You nearly broke your horn last time, my Princess”.  At that note Luna gave him the death glare.

“It’s not me; well not this time.” she said in a with a thinking face, “A filly was found in the Everfree forest and needs to be taken care of. I know for a fact she has been out there for at least 3 days. I do not know who she is, but we can not simply ignore a injured pony.” With that every staff member jumped into action, taking the filly, putting her in a bed. They started with the physical examination, and understanding the danger she was in, they made her their top priority.

“We will take good care of her, and we will contact you when she is stable. As of right now I only give her about a 20% chance of survival. That number can increase or decrease depending on the next 24 hours.”. The doctor said as gently as he could to Luna who was starting to become frantic with worry.

“Thank you. Night court will be starting soon, if need be send for me and I will get away as quickly as possible. Please take good care of her”. They watched as the princess accidentally let a tear drop from her eyes. She hated seeing such a young pony in such condition. They had a whole life ahead of them, and she was basically helpless. Just standing on the side lines watching, killed her inside even though she would never admit it out loud.

The hospital staff watched her walk away, gently closing the door behind her. After the door closed the head doctor looked at one of the nurses “When did she learn to start talking normal?” only to have the nurse reply

“No clue, but it’s about time. Also 20 bits she cancels night court tonight to come back and stay with the filly”. With that the staff started betting. After a moment the doctor started giving orders,

I need a bag of saline, 2 bags of o negative blood and……..

Lulu? Lulu? LUNA!

“Hah, wha, Oh Hi Tia, what brings you by my night court?” Luna asked trying not to let worry show on her face.

“Lulu, some of the guards alerted me to you. They say you aren’t acting like your normal self. You look like an absolute mess, not a way a princess should appear, and also you keep spacing out. I mean I know your the Princess of the night, but does your head have to be in space? Celestia asked with a small chuckle.

“Sorry Tia, I just have a lot on my mind, I usually don’t have a lot of ponies come in after this hour, so I think I'm going to cancel the rest of night court. I have some where I need to be.” Luna explained as she started heading to the front doors of the throne room.

“Do you want to talk about it Lulu?” Her only response was a single shake of Lunas head. Luna continued walking down the hall, and she could feel her sister's worried eyes following her. Celestia couldn’t help but watch her leave, with various scenarios of what could be troubling her sister racing through her mind. Not knowing about the filly, she came up with some pretty unique possibilities. Yes including a Discord influence. After she started going back to bed a thought crossed her mind. “I’m amazed that she isn’t talking and ancient tongue much anymore. She is really starting to get over her 1000 years on the moon.” Celestia whispered to herself, letting a small smile form on her lips.

Knowing the doctors would still be working on the filly, Luna decided that she should go get cleaned up, she looked more frazzled then Twilight when she thought her friendship letter was going to be late. After a quick bath, and brushing her starry mane, she headed down to the hospital. As she walked through the front doors she could hear the doctor

“Ah, just in time. I was just about to send for you. Still sounds weird sending for a princess instead of the other way around, but I'm getting used to it. Kind of, not really, ok never mind, back to the matter on hand. She is doing remarkably since you first brought her in. She is stitched up, received a blood transfusion, liquids because she was dehydrated, and she is resting as comfortably as possible.

Unfortunately she does have 3 broken ribs, but they will heal in a few weeks. I’m honestly amazed that is all she had broken given the extent of her injuries. Her bones are very strong. We have found something interesting though. First I must ask, how did you get here so early? Shouldn't night court be going on for a few more hours?”

Luna shook her head “I’m afraid I wasn’t very well and canceled it early.”

The doctor looked concerned for a moment  as others started exchanging bits with out the night princess noticing. “Do you want me too look at you, find out if you have a illness or if it is just stress and worry?”

“It is just the stress and worry” Luna assured the doctor. “You said that there was a development that you found? Would it be possible to help us discover her identity, and hopefully try and find her family?” Luna said with a hint of hope in her voice.

“Ah yes, well it's very interesting. Her bones are extremely strong. The can be about equal strength to Alicorn bones, but somehow while doing x-rays, we discovered that almost every single bone in her body had been broken and remodeled. Some more then once. I don’t know what in Tartarus this child has been through, but I can’t imagine anyone surviving some of those injuries. Let alone this poor filly.” The doctor said not taking his eyes off Cosmic Light.

“How do you suppose that could have possibly happened? Could she have been in the forest that long that she managed to receive all those injuries?” Luna though while her mind was racing. At a lost for words from everyone in the room, the all just stared at the filly for a minute. “What is your story” Luna asked breaking the silence. The doctor looked at Luna with a sparkle of a idea in his eye. Without even needing to say anything else, Luna realized what he was implying. “I’ll be back”

DISCORD!!!!!!!!!!

“Oh hello Tia, what’s that matter? You never call me, unless you want to”

“Not the time Discord, did you do something to Luna?” Celestia asked curiously

“Who, moi?” He said in disbelief with an exaggerated expression. “I would never do anything bad to dear Lulu. What kind of friend would I be?”

“We all know you better then that” Celestia said rolling her eyes. “She has been acting weird all day, spacing out, fidgety, she even cancelled night court after just a hour. I thought I’d never get her to come around after she spaced out the last time I saw her.” Tia said looking towards the ground lost in thought.

  “Ah yes, is that why I heard you use the royal Canterlot voice earlier?" Discord asked in a joking voice.

“That wasn’t the royal Canterlot voice. I’m not sure you remember but mine is twice as loud as Lunas. I can already see mass chaos already” She said remembering the last time she used it, half of the west wing was destroyed.

“You make a valid point, I am the only one here allowed to make chaos.” He said with a evil grin before disappearing with a snap of his talons, leaving a very confused and terrified Celestia in the throne room.

“How much paper work is he going to make for me this time? Also what did he do to Luna? Even if he isn’t responsible for her behavior, I have a gut feeling he did something”, Celestia said to herself before noticing her Royal guards snickering. “You didn’t see or hear anything” Celestia said then a flash and she was gone. “Where’s a camera when you need one the first Royal guard asked the other.

Dear Twilight,

I have noticed that Luna has not been acting like herself and last time this happened is because of Discord who swears he had no part in this. I was curious if you knew anything that has been hidden from me? I hate having to ask. Also if you can do some research on reverse mind control spells for interdimensional transitions, the long term effects of a mineral diet, and check a star map with the current constellations and mark anything out of the ordinary. I can not rule anything out. One last thing, can I also get that recipe for the whiskey cake you made last week? It was the best I've ever had, and please keep Pinkie Pie away from it. It took 5 different sedation spells at the same time to make her drowsy. She is some how more destructive then the Cutie Mark Crusaders when she is on that stuff and I didn't think  that was physically possible. Not to mention I’m not sure how much more therapy your brother can take before he starts having a complete mental breakdown again. Thank you, and my apologies for any inconveniences.

Your loving teacher,

Princess Celestia

“What happened to me?” Cosmic Light asked herself waking up in pitch black. “Was it all a dream? My body isn’t hurting like I thought it would. It all seemed so real though, but then where am I?” Cosmic thought while attempting to find any sign of light. She had noticed that there wasn’t even a moon visible. Was it just too dark. Her heart started racing as she thought of almost every possibility. BOOM!. The loud crash made the poor filly jump 5 feet in the air. Trying to slow her breath after a moment she finally got up the courage to talk. “He-hello? Who’s there?” I can’t see anything. HELP! Wait, wha-what was that spell again? Oh right. Huh? No, no, nononononononononono! My magic, it isn’t working! Why isn’t it working, I should have enough magic to do a simple light spell. HEEEELLLLLLPPPPPP!!!!!!!” She cried hoping that someone would be around to help here.

BOOM!

Eeeeepppp she squealed, terrified she did what she knew best. She ran. She made it about 13 feet before she ran into something. Falling on her back, slightly in shock, she attempted to make out where she was, and why didn’t it hurt when she ran into, whatever that is? Feeling around she noticed it was a tree.

BOOM!

“I-I'm in the forest still? Wa-wait, if I'm in the forest then what is making that crashing sound?” Heart revving up, she attempted to focus enough to try and see any slimmer of anything. “This is, it’s just like that dream. Wh-why?”

BOOM!

Confused she just sat there and hoped that if she didn’t make a sound it wouldn’t notice her. Remembering that Hydras have poor eyesight, but an amazing sense of smell and hearing she thought quickly. Covering herself in what she prayed was mud (it smelled like mud so she was confident she was safe), she knew that would mask her smell, and now as long as she didn’t make a sound she should be ok.

Booooommmmm.

A bright white flash blinded the poor unexpecting filly.

`“Little one are you near by?” Not recognizing the voice right away, and attempting to figure out if she was there to help, she made the choice to just remain quiet and hold out until sunlight. “Hello, little one, are you around here?” Taking slow deep breaths Cosmic tried to figure out again who the voice belonged to. (Anyone who ever knew Cosmic Light new that she was extremely shy to most people, but she had a sixth sense that allowed her to get close to certain people. She hadn’t figured out how it worked exactly, just some she can usually open up to after a little while, and some she can’t say more then 5 words to. She’s working on it though. So far she has found 2 others.) While lost in thought; which she tended to do a lot by accident, trying to figure out what was going on she didn’t notice the area around her lighting up. “Why hello there. It’s alright, you don’t have to be scared.” Jumping at the sound of the voice she turned around and was face to face with the moon princess.

“Prince-prince-princess Lu-Luna” Cosmic whispered so low that it would make Fluttershy sound like Pinkie Pie on meth. After the shock of the situation wore off, she attempted to make a run for it.

“Not this time” Luna said firmly while using her magic to levitate the helpless little filly. Setting her down and covering her with her wing trying to calm her down, Cosmic Light finally managed to look up to the Princess with soft pleading eyes. “It is alright, you can not be harmed here, for you are in the dream realm”

“So if this is a dream, then are you just a part of my imagination” Cosmic light said amazing herself she could actually talk with her

“No, I am real. It is because of my magic, I was able to connect my conscious to your dream, and come help you. You have many people trying to help you in the wake realm as we speak. I need to find out what is going on though, in order to help you further.” Luna said gently trying not to let Cosmic notice how much worry is actually running through her mind.

“I’m so sorry, but I can’t go into detail. I can tell you about the night you saved me though. I was sleeping under a tree covering when a hydra tried to eat me. The ground shaking felt like a earthquake, and that woke me up, just in time. I ran for a while, although I'm not sure how far I actually went. I was already really tired and couldn’t really go too far. After a while he was able to catch me by my tail and throw me into a big tree. That's all I remember until you helped me by distracting the hydra. I used that to my advantage to get away. I managed to get  something to drink and build a small makeshift shelter and that's it.” Cosmic light finished her rather vague story, trying not to go into too much detail.

“That fills in a few more blanks but  that’s not everything. We need to have longer talk when you are well again. At least for now you are safe. Can you tell me who you are, or how to find someone who can help such as a family member?”

”I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you. The best thing for me right now is to distant myself from everything. Especially my family.” Cosmic told her looking down trying to suppress the memories.

”I understand, but distancing yourself, no matter what the issue will not solve anything. The best thing you can do is talk about what is bothering you. I am here to talk if you need me.” Luna told Cosmic in as gentle as firm voice as she could without sounding like she was being overprotective, considering the situation.

“Thank you, Princess. I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. I’m curious though, is being connected to me in the dream realm keeping me safe." She said looking up to meet the moons’ princesses eyes. Looking into the filly's eyes she could tell how much pain she was truly feeling. Not the physical pain, but much worst. Emotional pain. Feeling helpless because Cosmic won’t talk to her she finally chose to drop it for now before she does anything that could hurt her anymore then she already is.

“No, me being in your dream is not keeping you safe. The guards found you and took you into the hospital. You are very sick, but they are doing the best they can. Hopefully you will wake soon. I am so sorry but I must go now. I will be back, if you do not wake first. Please stay strong and remember that your dreams are what ever you want them to be. Let your imagination wonder, and just have fun with it.” Giving a big hug and nuzzling her.

“I’m sorry Princess, and thank you for everything you have done for me.” Cosmic said with a smile and glimmer of hope in her eyes. With that Luna vanished leaving cosmic alone. “Well she did say to have fun”. You can see the gears turning in Cosmics head as the forest turned into a giant field to play in, and lots of toys to keep herself occupied. Deep down though, she could still feel the wound that was about to be torn open. Hoping to keep it there she decided to play, now that she knew that it was all a dream. She could relax slightly. It was a rare moment that she loved.

“Did you discover anything useful about her?” The doctor asked Luna noticing her coming back to reality.

“I found out that she was attacked by the hydra while sleeping, and her injuries are from when it threw her into a tree. Apparently she had been out there for a while trying to distance herself from everypony. That's all she was willing to tell me. I can tell that she is going through a lot, but if she won’t let me help her, then I don’t know what to do. Maybe my sister would have a idea how too..” Luna started trailing off lost in thought.

“That explains how she got her injuries. It doesn’t explain the massive amount of past injuries though, and I have no explanation on how she could have even started to get them wit how strong her bones are. Its not like she could just fall off a scooter and break her arm. This is like a dead weight was dropped on her from the 2nd story window.” The doctor said while starting to look over her again, not even attempting to hide the worry in his eyes.

“I must go, but I will return later. Please continue to take excellent care for her and please alert me immediately if she wakes up or if anything of importance happens or discovered. Oh, and thank you everypony for all your work. I know it hasn’t been easy.” Bowing her head, Luna started out of the room to go lower the moon and join her sister for dinner. (Tias breakfast).

“Um princess, you don’t have to thank us. We would be more then willing to help anypony that was injured. If there is something we can do, we will do it without a second thought.” Smiling Luna closed the door in her magic.

“Do you think that Luna knows more then she is telling us?” One of the nurses asked after waiting a moment for Luna to be out of earshot.

“Definitely, she's holding something back, but it is none of our business. There must be a good reason for it.” Nodding in agreement everyone went back to check over the filly.

“She at least could have told us her name” A nurse commented causing the whole room to look at each other with worry and amusement.

“Good morning Tia”

“Good morning Lulu. How are you” Celestia said looking up at Luna. It was then that she noticed that Luna was looking rather ill.  Getting up she met her halfway, with a concerned older sister look, she wrapped her wing around Luna “What’s that matter Lulu. Here come sit down.” She pulled out a sitting cushion with her magic, and helped her sit. A glass of water, Apple cider, and a rather large salad appeared in front of her within seconds. (The kitchens always made sure to have their food ready when they arrived). “Are you feeling ill?” Celestia asked with that look. Luna didn’t show others when she was ill or depressed, so when it showed, something was wrong.

“No Tia, I'm not sick, just had a busy few days. No need to worry about me, I’ll be ok. Just have a lot on my plate that is.” Not feeling hungry she just played with her food. “So how has your day been? I heard that you were helping organize some treaty with the Diamond Dogs?” Celestia could tell she was trying to change the subject. She let it go, at least until she heard something or noticed something otherwise.

“Yes, the Chief wants Crystals from the Crystal Empire in exchange for help building new tunnels in the mountain side, to allow access to other cities and towns in Equestria. Cadence and Shining Armor already agreed that was a fair trade, but asked me to figure out the amount of Crystals that the dogs would be receiving, time, and cost. After that is finished they will sign the treaty and the construction should begin within the next month.” She explained finishing her breakfast. Looking she noticed that Luna hadn’t touched hers. “Not hungry this morning Lulu? What are you thinking about?” she asked sneaking the apple cider away from her sister.

“I just have a issue and I can’t figure out what to do. I need somepony to talk to me, but they refuse. I can’t just make her talk to me because it’s on a personal level. The main issue is that, she ended up in danger because of it. Do you have any suggestions on what to do?” She explained. She didn’t want to get her completely involved as of right now, until she has more facts. It has been kept secret from her, because of a past incident. She didn’t want to open up an old wound.

“I expect more details later, and it depends on a few factors. First, was the danger to themselves on purpose, or was it by accident. Second, how many people are already involved, and third, how old are they? Are they a filly like the cutie mark crusaders and younger, are they about Twilights’ age, Cadences’ age, or maybe older? Until you can figure out all the variables the only thing I can say, is just try and be their friend. If it’s personal then you can’t make her talk to you, but just being there can mean a lot more then you ever know.” Celestia said gently.

She was thinking about what might possibly be going when Pop.

“A letter from Twilight? Is everything alright?” Luna asked curiously

Celestia opened the scroll and started reading

Dear Princess Celestia,

I’m so sorry, I do not know what could be bothering Luna, but I have noticed that the sky hasn’t been as bright the past few nights. Also double checking the star maps, there a several stars out of place ………….

     Luna noticed Celestias face grow concerned. “Is everything alright? She’s not hurt is she? Does she need help?”

Looking up from the scroll, “It’s nothing to worry about Lulu, she said with a small nervous laugh like a filly who was caught doing something they shouldn’t be.

“Then let me see the scroll Tia” Luna said playfully with a smirk.

“There is no need for” just then Luna jumped up and tackled Celestia to the ground, taking the scroll in her magic she made a run for it. Needing a little distraction, she saw her opportunity.

“LUNA! Give that back!” Celestia shouted running after Luna.

“Never! Mwahahahahahaha”, and with that the game of tag had begun. Racing around the castle. It was after it had closed day court, and before night court so nopony was there except for staff who were always entertained when stuff like this happened. Finally catching up to Luna, Celestia tackled her into a somersault, wrestling around like school fillies again, she managed to get the scroll back, and teleported before Luna could regain her breath.

“Whew that was close. I need to make a note to have her and Rainbow dash hang out and wear off some of her never ending energy. Hopefully she will go straight to my room to look for me. She would never think to look in the guards chambers.”.

“Um princess? Is everything alright?” a few guards asked concerned by the sudden appearance

“Yes, I am simply playing a game of hide and seek with Luna. If she asks then tell her that I went to the kitchens please.” Knowing it wasn’t unusual for the princess to pull stunts like this since she returned, they agreed and hid her in Shining Armors old room. After about 10 minutes Luna appeared

“Have you seen my sister? She disappeared on me and I can’t seem to find her anywhere.” Accidentally smearing her evil grin, the guards knew the game was still going.

“She went to the kitchens ma’am” two guards explained.

“Thank you very much”. she said teleporting off.

“Think she bought that?” A third guard asked the first two.

“CELESTIA GIVE ME THAT SCROLL!”. They all jumped at the sound of the royal Canterlot Voice.

“JUST TRY AND TAKE IT LUNA! I DARE YOU!!” in a shout. Knowing the damage of her royal Canterlot voice she didn’t dare use it. After they saw a flash of light one of the guards looked in the room to discover the room empty.

“Here we go again”