A Very 'Grey' Trailby Crimson TwilightChaptersChapter 1, The Journey Begins (being revisited)Chapter 2, Luna's NightmareChapter 3, Let The Hunt Begin!Chapter 4, The Darkest of NightsChapter 1, The Journey Begins (being revisited)Where are you, brother? Have you already left this town? Why are you always one step ahead of me? (Three years ago) "Hey, ~Gray! You there, bro?" The silence was her only answer. "It's me, Moon Dust. Hello?" As she entered the dimly lit bedroom she found a note on the 'bed'. In reality, it wasn't really much of a bed, but more like a large stone carved to look like a bed with an old mattress and a cover that had seen better days. While the bad shape, it could probably fit eight or so ponies. Dust went inside the large room that was her and her siblings' bedroom, one being her adoptive and favorite brother, 'Gray'. Gray had gotten that nickname because he was gray, unlike Moon Dust who was almost night black. She picked up the note in her magic and as she finished it a tear dropped from her Capri colored eyes on it. Drear Moon Dust, We left home to find my destiny and when we do or if something else important happens we shalt write back to thee. We understand that thee shalt be upset with our decision, but please, do not follow us, thee knows what they shall do to thee if they find thee runnin' away. And thee art everything to us, we wouldn't be able to live knowing that we art the reason thee hast gotten hurt, or worse. We love thee sister, please, stay safe Thy brother, Gray. I will find you, brother... And I will keep you safe, just as I have when we found you, I promise. (Present) Canterlot, capital of Equestria, home of the dreaded Princesses of Equestria. Why of all places would he wander here? He's a good shapeshifter, sure, but no changeling. Worst of all would be if they capture him for the use of dark magic. It's actually a wonder that he never got corrupted from it. He always said that it wasn't dark magic, but some kind of long-forgotten one. Dust thought as she wandered the streets of Canterlot. It had been one year since she had last seen her brother. And that time she had missed him. Like his brother used to say 'life always have to mess with me', or something like that. 'Just mah luck...' very fitting in my case, though that poor guy really was clumsy to the point that it wasn't funny. Even if he was a pony, or whatever he was. Dust kept looking for her lost brother, he might have been adopted, but that didn't change the fact that she loved him, or whatever it's called. She would keep looking for him until he was safe back home with his family. He was and still is the most important pony for Moon Dust. Deep in thought, she didn't notice the black Alicorn in front of her. "Umph, hey, don't just stand in the way!" She quickly regretted her choice of words after noticing to just who she was speaking to, "I'm so sorry, Princess Luna! I didn't notice that it was you!" "Do not fret, child. While thou should think before thou talk, it seemest thou hast much upon thy mind, am I correct?" Luna's warm smile made Dust relax a little. "Yeah..., but you don't need to listen to my problems, you probably got enough yourself." So far Luna was nothing of what Dust thought, probably because she had left her home two years before her return and hadn't had time to look into the matter as finding her brother was the top priority. "My job is to make sure my subjects are happy and well. 'Tis not thy problems not important then why are thou so troubled? I would also appreciate if thou would tell us your name." "Well, I'm looking for my brother. He left home three years ago and I'm trying to find him again. As for my name, it's Moon Dust." "Moon Dust, thou say? I do enjoy it, but as for thy brother, if you wish, I could help thou out in the matter." "Princess Luna? This may just be a stupid question, but I thought you slept during the day? I don't really know much about you since your return because I've been to busy looking for my brother." "A fair question if thou ask me. It is because of a recent event that has broken my sleep pattern, a quite embarrassing one if thou must know the truth. But thou avoided my question, I would want a straight answer, soon hopefully." "Oh, heh he... Just not used to be asked like that by royalty." Technically that is not a lie. "I guess if you really want to I can't really stop you, only help, even if I wanted to." "Not the straightest of answers, but I wouldn't have said it better myself. So where do we begin?" With Luna's help maybe I'll find him sooner than without, I just have to act cool and not blow my cover. (Two years ago) I've probably searched the whole badlands and still no sign of my brother. I must move on if I wish not to starve. But should I go north towards Equestria or south to the griffon kingdom? What would my brother have done, hmm, probably Equestria, but with my luck, it's probably the other way around? Then the Griffon Kingdom it is! Getting food in the Griffon Kingdom is not easy especially since everyone is so grumpy and egoistic since the downfall of their king. Now all they want is money and since I had none, I've lost precious time that I could be looking for my brother on working for those bastards. And they try to make all excuses not to pay too! Even more, time that I could be spending on finding my brother. Maybe I should have gone to Equestria instead... At least they are more honest, usually. But if I find him here than all of this has been worth it and if I don't at least I can check this area off. Hopefully, I find him soon, I must! Chapter 2, Luna's Nightmare"So Moon, what does your brother look like? Does he have a name, perhaps? I don't really get a lot to go on right now." Luna was giving Dust a look that was quite serious yet playful. She was taken aback by it and the fact that she had completely forgotten to describe her brother. It was midday so they still got some time left for searching. "Oh..., right, I completely forgot about that. Well, he got a similar body to yours, though he's a bit shorter, gray and red eyes." Luna took some time before she answered expecting more. "What race is he? Is he a Unicorn like thou or maybe a Pegasus? What does his cutie mark look like? Does he usually were anything special or maybe something else we could use in our quest to find thy brother?" Luna started to trot towards the castle motioning Dust to follow her, which she did somewhat hesitantly. "Well he's actually my adoptive brother and as for race, well, he's an Alicorn like you–" At this point, Luna zoned out and didn't notice when her companion stopped talking nor the wall in front of her, well until she walked into it. The look of confusion and embarrassment on Luna's face caused Moon to let out a small giggle which in turn caused made Luna's face to turn just a little redder. "That did not happen– Moon?" Luna tried to look serious, but at that time it only made her look ever more ridiculous. "Right, because you didn't just walk into a quite obvious wall right in front of you and do not look completely adorable right now, of course not!" Dust's face and tone were screaming of sarcasm which made Luna release a sigh. "Thou are not going to let this go, are you?" Luna's voice was showing a glimpse of hope, which was quickly crushed with a single word. "Never." Luna hung her head in defeat resulting in the forming of a smirk on Dust's face. The moment was soon over, though, as they remembered what they were doing. "Maybe we should get going? Unless maybe you'd like to embarrass yourself some more?" "Right thou are, standing here will not result in us finding thy brother! Err, could thou repeat what his name was?" Picking up where they had left, they continued towards the castle. "Well, we used to call him 'Gray'. While not his real name, it is what we always used." "Ah, a very original nickname I see. Are thou always this creative?" This time it was Luna's time to have fun at Moon's cost. Which resulted in her getting a glare from Dust. "Ah, vengeance is sweet, isn't it?" "Just wait, I'm not done with you." "So, why are we at the castle, Princess Luna? Shouldn't we be looking for my brother?" Walking up to the port to the castle the guards blocked Dust's path. "Let her pass, guards." She walked up beside Luna again as they continued. "As for why we're at the castle is because first off, I have a night court and I will have to cancel it if I am to help thou. Secondly, I believe that you would do good to get some rest. If we prepare well, we might have a higher chance of finding thy brother, don't thou agree?" She did have a point, Moon Dust was exhausted as she had yet to get some real rest and thinking about it some rest did sound good. "Fine, but shouldn't I get going then?" "Nay, thou may stay in the castle for the night, we have plenty of empty guest rooms that otherwise only will gather Dust." The pun did not go unnoticed. "Was that a pun? With my name? You know that you have doomed yourself now." All Luna could do is giggle. "Hey is that you, Lulu?" Luna instantly stopped, her face burning bright red. Moon's face was now decorated with a smug grin. "I believe that this new information will serve as payback, Lulu..." Luna was just about to give Dust a nasty glare when Princess Celestia entered the room. "Hey, who's your friend there, Lulu?" Luna was going to have a talk with Celestia later, as soon Moon Dust couldn't hear them. A long one. "Yeah, do tell, Lulu." Luna gave her a quick glare before addressing Celestia. "Ah, yes. 'Tia, this is Moon Dust. Moon Dust, I believe thou know who 'Tia is, am I correct?" A sinister grin formed on Celestia's face. "I see you have a tendency to befriend ponies named after the sky and the celestial bodies. What's next, Meteor or Comet or something like that, Lulu? Not to mention that she has roughly the same name as you" Both Celestia and Moon Dust had smirks on their faces. Luna scowled at them, but her blush betrayed her. "Will thou two stop! It's not funny! It's just a coincidence that our names mean the same thing, nothing else! Can we please talk about something else! And please stop calling me Lulu!" At least Celestia knew when to stop even if it was hard with Luna looking completely adorable, the only thing that could make her even more adorable would be if she was still a filly. "Well, you could tell me more about your friend here." "Fine sister, let me first show her to her room and then we can talk about it later, okay?" Luna was a bit rushed to separate the two of them as a mean to not have them conspire against her. Though knowing Celestia it would be hard, but thou must try. Thankfully she got what she wanted, she didn't know how much longer she could stand them both at the same time. "Well, good night, Princess Celestia. We can talk more tomorrow!" Luna shuddered at the thought and tried to move Dust quicker away from her sister. "I can't wait, I have a lot to tell about when Lulu was still a little filly!" Luna knew at that point that she wasn't going to sleep well, she could already imagine Celestia telling Moon Dust all about the embarrassing things she did when she was young, and it wasn't pretty. Chapter 3, Let The Hunt Begin!Moon Dust had never slept as good as she had last night and never had she felt so energetic. Normally Moon wasn't a morning person, but that might just have been because she'd never truly slept well. That was what she thought until she removed the blinders and was bathed in sunlight. I guess I'm still a night person, well at least I'm rested up. Moon jumped when a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Miss Dust, Princess Luna, and Celestia wishes you to come. Please follow me–" Panic quickly rose in Dust at the statement. "I didn't do anything wrong! I promise!" "–to the dining hall." And just like that, she had embarrassed herself before even getting out of her room. Just great. Thankfully Luna wasn't here to see mee... She wasn't able to finish her train of thought before she noticed Luna smirking behind the servant that had come to get her. "I do believe our decision to come here paid off." The smirk on her face had evolved into a grin. "I believe we are even now, don't thou think so, too?" It didn't have the effect Luna expected. Instead of a groan, Dust wore a menacing smirk. "I believe that Princess Celestia had something to talk about, don't you think it's going to be fun." All Luna could do was to swallow hard. She lost her hunger at that moment, not wanting to bring Dust and Celestia together, but it was already too late. Breakfast was Tartarus for Luna. Celestia didn't seem to know the meaning of privacy and personal space, no, she had to tell Dust about all the embarrassing things she did as a filly. Celestia seemed to enjoy telling the stories as Moon was to hear all the cute and adorable things Luna had done, like the time with the cookie jar war, was Luna had tried to declare war on Celestia for eating the last cookie. It was even more adorable than it sounds. The Woona incident was too, way too funny, though Luna didn't seem to think so. Breakfast had felt like it had been even longer of a wait than when she was banished to the moon, which if I have to remind you was one thousand years of the same. But as the banishment had ended so had this terrible morning. Not wanting to delay anymore, Luna picked Dust up in her magic and made a quick trot trying not to seem rushed, and failing miserably at it. "Hey! Let me go!" "'Tis time to get going, don't thou think? Or, hast thee forgotten thy brother already?" Moon Dust lowered her head before looking Luna in her eyes, wearing a small blush and a genuine smile. "You're right, I've just forgotten how it feels to have fun... Thanks for reminding me." It didn't take long before the smile became a grin, "I did enjoy spending time with you last night." She ended with batting her eyelashes causing Luna to blush furiously. "H-hast thou go-gone insane? W-we did n-no s-such thing!" Moon couldn't hold out letting lose a giggle, which quickly turned into laughter. "We do not enjoy thy jokes! Hast things changed this much, 'tis unacceptable!" "Heh, sorry but I'm not sorry. I'll try to not go with too many sex jokes, but no promises!" They paused to calm down before Dust continued, "But you are right in that we should get going. I'll let you have a free one later, though the 'offer'"– she gave Luna a seductive wink–" still stands, just tell me." And brushed her tail against Luna, who was yet again blushing madly. "Right–" she coughed, trying to get the pictures out of her mind, "Where were we? Ah, yes, you were telling us about thou and thy brother, wasn't thou?" Dust was going to say that that wasn't what they were talking about but wasn't able to disobey Luna with the stare she was giving her. She gulped and began, "W-well me and m-my siblings used to play, but one night we found Gray, as I later came to call him, as a nymph, hurt and exhausted. We brought him home so that he could recover. We had never seen an Alicorn nym-foal before as we live quite remotely. We told our mother about it, and after a while agreed to let him stay with our clutch. Since nopony came looking for him after a month we adopted him. He never remembered his real parents and began at first to think that we were his real family. Of course, he did realize that we weren't rather quickly, but for us, that wasn't important. One day I came looking for Gray in our bedroom, Shadow, one of my brothers had asked for us to join him, all I found was a note from Gray saying that he had left. That was three years ago." She let out a sad sigh before finishing, " The rest you already know..." Luna lifted Dust's head with her hoof, "Fret not child, for I shall help thou. And we shall not rest until we find thy brother." She gave her a friendly smile before continuing, "We promise on our honor as a Princess of Equestria that we shall find him! One way or another." They walked out through the main port where two guards stood, ever so vigilant. They saluted before opening up allowing access to the two mares. One was a Unicorn and the other a Pegasus. Moon flickered her tail causing both of them to look away, their faces tinted red. Both mares giggled slightly. "Fine, it might be somewhat funny, to see our guards for once loosen up a bit, it truly is something rare." "Maybe you should try? Nopony would expect it! We could prank your sister!" "Ha! Thou wish I were to do something so out of character our sister would think a changeling had replaced us!" Moon's face lit up with panic and laughed trying to hide it, but failing so. "Haha, yes... So–, what's a changeling. Never heard of them before, nope! Say where did you hear about them?" Luna looked at Dust suspiciously. "During the channeling invasion, do you no remember?" Her tone full of confusion, she asked, "Changeling invasion, when did that happen?" "It was just a couple of months ago. Why wouldn't you know, if I may ask?" "Oh... Right, well, I came to Equestria just a month ago, I was in the Griffon Kingdom at that point. It's really a mess since they lost that artifact of theirs. What happened during the invasion, they don't sound like the guys that would just invade if they could simply switch you out with one of their own? Huh, strange." "Ah, that would explain why you didn't know about it, but there's something thou art hiding or is that a lie?" "W-well... Fine yes, but I'd rather not talk about it and shouldn't we look for my brother?" "Fine, we shall discuss it later. But you will have to tell us the whole truth then, understood?" "Yes, Luna..." They walked down the street until they reached the outer wall of Canterlot, where Luna bought two train tickets. "Where are we headed? Luna?" "Ah, forgive us, we were simply thinking. As for where we are headed, we're going to Fillydelfia." Two ponies in cloaks were looking at the train leaving. "Do you think that was what I think it was?" Said the Earth Pony stallion. "Yes, it has to be..." Answered the Unicorn mare. Chapter 4, The Darkest of NightsThe sun was starting to get low on the horizon as Moon Dust and Princess Luna walked through a forest. It wasn't a dense forest per say, definitely not close to the likes of the Everfree, it was still somewhat hard to see further than a couple of meters. The trees were large and sturdy, with some even nearing Luna's age. There wasn't a lot of grass as only the smallest amounts of light seeped through the impressive foliage. Due to this Luna was forced to cast a illumination spell lest she or Dust trip on roots, sticks or stones. Luna had managed to get Celestia to agree to rise the moon in her place while she was gone. It hadn't been easy to make the older Alicorn agree to it, but after a lot of pouting and the like Celestia had agreed to do it, even if she was a bit unhappy at the prospect of rising the moon in her sisters place as it brought back memories of the thousand years that Celestia had to rule Equestria alone. It was only a few more hours until moonrise, the first moonrise for Luna not rise it since her return. As they reached a glade Luna spoke up, "We should set up camp here, lest night fall be on us before we art done, little one. If thee will get a fire started, we shall get the 'tents' up and running." Dust was quickly running to gather the needed materials, "Will do, Princess! You can count on me!" She was soon out of dodge. Luna started to fidget with the tent, trying to figure out how to actually set it up. Meanwhile Dust was trying to find sticks and stones for the campfire, happily trotting about with a illumination spell gathering them. While she didn't have the easiest time finding them, they weren't scarce ether. After picking up as much as she could with her magical grip, she quickly made her way back, only to find Luna ensnarled in the different tent components. "Hey, Lulu, do you need a hoof, or what. I'm guessing this is your first time camping, or am I wrong to think that?" Luna jerked slightly, not having seen Moon come, and maybe just a bit too quickly replied, "Of course we have! We just, eeh, need to, err, make a few minor adjustments. Yes! Just a few minor things, nothing else!" It didn't take a specialist to know that Luna had no idea what she was doing whatsoever. Shaking her head, Dust put the things in two different piles, one for the stones and one for the sticks, before heading towards Luna with her horn glowing an eerie green as she prepared a spell. A chill when down Luna's spine as she was engulfed in Dust's magical grip. "Hey, are you okay, Luna? You look like you've seen a ghost." Dust was just finished unwrapping Luna from her attempt of a tent when she got the feeling of being watched. "Err, Luna, I don't think we're alone..." Luna was snapped back to reality. For the first time since she had met her, Dust was serious, she had always had a bit of silliness in her voice. Not now though. "Art thee sure? 'Tis not a prank I hope?" She gave Dust a questioning look, but she didn't falter under it. "No. I'm sure of it... Though, I'm not entirely sure what 'it' is." Dust said as she looked into the darkness of the forest. "Perhaps 'tis only a woodland creature? A simple fire should keep them away. It would also allow us greater sight and warmth in this cold." "...Yes, we still have to get that fire going. Even if it doesn't keep whatever is following us at bay, we still need the heat. Just--just keep your eyes open for anything. I still don't like this..." Without the fire it was soon impossible to see where the forest ended and the opening began. Worse yet, it seemed as if the world was swallowed into the oblivion when even the moonlight was seemingly nonexistent. As Dust was lighting the fire with a fire spell, she asked, "Hey, Luna. Tell me again, why we are walking on hoof instead of taking the train?" "W-well, it seamed as a good idea then... Perhaps we were wrong--" A twig being broken in the distance silenced her for a moment before she continued talking, "Actually, we most definitely were wrong..." "Have you found them?" "Yes, it looks as if they are 'camping' just a little to the west of here. It's only the two of them and at least three miles to the closest town." "Good. Go back and tell the others that operation Shadow Hooves is a go." Author's Note Hello! I'm terribly sorry for not updating this story sooner, but always when I had planed to write something else got in my way. I'll try update quicker, but school is soon beginning. I will try at least get one more chapter p soon enough.
Chapter 1, The Journey Begins (being revisited)Where are you, brother? Have you already left this town? Why are you always one step ahead of me? (Three years ago) "Hey, ~Gray! You there, bro?" The silence was her only answer. "It's me, Moon Dust. Hello?" As she entered the dimly lit bedroom she found a note on the 'bed'. In reality, it wasn't really much of a bed, but more like a large stone carved to look like a bed with an old mattress and a cover that had seen better days. While the bad shape, it could probably fit eight or so ponies. Dust went inside the large room that was her and her siblings' bedroom, one being her adoptive and favorite brother, 'Gray'. Gray had gotten that nickname because he was gray, unlike Moon Dust who was almost night black. She picked up the note in her magic and as she finished it a tear dropped from her Capri colored eyes on it. Drear Moon Dust, We left home to find my destiny and when we do or if something else important happens we shalt write back to thee. We understand that thee shalt be upset with our decision, but please, do not follow us, thee knows what they shall do to thee if they find thee runnin' away. And thee art everything to us, we wouldn't be able to live knowing that we art the reason thee hast gotten hurt, or worse. We love thee sister, please, stay safe Thy brother, Gray. I will find you, brother... And I will keep you safe, just as I have when we found you, I promise. (Present) Canterlot, capital of Equestria, home of the dreaded Princesses of Equestria. Why of all places would he wander here? He's a good shapeshifter, sure, but no changeling. Worst of all would be if they capture him for the use of dark magic. It's actually a wonder that he never got corrupted from it. He always said that it wasn't dark magic, but some kind of long-forgotten one. Dust thought as she wandered the streets of Canterlot. It had been one year since she had last seen her brother. And that time she had missed him. Like his brother used to say 'life always have to mess with me', or something like that. 'Just mah luck...' very fitting in my case, though that poor guy really was clumsy to the point that it wasn't funny. Even if he was a pony, or whatever he was. Dust kept looking for her lost brother, he might have been adopted, but that didn't change the fact that she loved him, or whatever it's called. She would keep looking for him until he was safe back home with his family. He was and still is the most important pony for Moon Dust. Deep in thought, she didn't notice the black Alicorn in front of her. "Umph, hey, don't just stand in the way!" She quickly regretted her choice of words after noticing to just who she was speaking to, "I'm so sorry, Princess Luna! I didn't notice that it was you!" "Do not fret, child. While thou should think before thou talk, it seemest thou hast much upon thy mind, am I correct?" Luna's warm smile made Dust relax a little. "Yeah..., but you don't need to listen to my problems, you probably got enough yourself." So far Luna was nothing of what Dust thought, probably because she had left her home two years before her return and hadn't had time to look into the matter as finding her brother was the top priority. "My job is to make sure my subjects are happy and well. 'Tis not thy problems not important then why are thou so troubled? I would also appreciate if thou would tell us your name." "Well, I'm looking for my brother. He left home three years ago and I'm trying to find him again. As for my name, it's Moon Dust." "Moon Dust, thou say? I do enjoy it, but as for thy brother, if you wish, I could help thou out in the matter." "Princess Luna? This may just be a stupid question, but I thought you slept during the day? I don't really know much about you since your return because I've been to busy looking for my brother." "A fair question if thou ask me. It is because of a recent event that has broken my sleep pattern, a quite embarrassing one if thou must know the truth. But thou avoided my question, I would want a straight answer, soon hopefully." "Oh, heh he... Just not used to be asked like that by royalty." Technically that is not a lie. "I guess if you really want to I can't really stop you, only help, even if I wanted to." "Not the straightest of answers, but I wouldn't have said it better myself. So where do we begin?" With Luna's help maybe I'll find him sooner than without, I just have to act cool and not blow my cover. (Two years ago) I've probably searched the whole badlands and still no sign of my brother. I must move on if I wish not to starve. But should I go north towards Equestria or south to the griffon kingdom? What would my brother have done, hmm, probably Equestria, but with my luck, it's probably the other way around? Then the Griffon Kingdom it is! Getting food in the Griffon Kingdom is not easy especially since everyone is so grumpy and egoistic since the downfall of their king. Now all they want is money and since I had none, I've lost precious time that I could be looking for my brother on working for those bastards. And they try to make all excuses not to pay too! Even more, time that I could be spending on finding my brother. Maybe I should have gone to Equestria instead... At least they are more honest, usually. But if I find him here than all of this has been worth it and if I don't at least I can check this area off. Hopefully, I find him soon, I must!
Chapter 2, Luna's Nightmare"So Moon, what does your brother look like? Does he have a name, perhaps? I don't really get a lot to go on right now." Luna was giving Dust a look that was quite serious yet playful. She was taken aback by it and the fact that she had completely forgotten to describe her brother. It was midday so they still got some time left for searching. "Oh..., right, I completely forgot about that. Well, he got a similar body to yours, though he's a bit shorter, gray and red eyes." Luna took some time before she answered expecting more. "What race is he? Is he a Unicorn like thou or maybe a Pegasus? What does his cutie mark look like? Does he usually were anything special or maybe something else we could use in our quest to find thy brother?" Luna started to trot towards the castle motioning Dust to follow her, which she did somewhat hesitantly. "Well he's actually my adoptive brother and as for race, well, he's an Alicorn like you–" At this point, Luna zoned out and didn't notice when her companion stopped talking nor the wall in front of her, well until she walked into it. The look of confusion and embarrassment on Luna's face caused Moon to let out a small giggle which in turn caused made Luna's face to turn just a little redder. "That did not happen– Moon?" Luna tried to look serious, but at that time it only made her look ever more ridiculous. "Right, because you didn't just walk into a quite obvious wall right in front of you and do not look completely adorable right now, of course not!" Dust's face and tone were screaming of sarcasm which made Luna release a sigh. "Thou are not going to let this go, are you?" Luna's voice was showing a glimpse of hope, which was quickly crushed with a single word. "Never." Luna hung her head in defeat resulting in the forming of a smirk on Dust's face. The moment was soon over, though, as they remembered what they were doing. "Maybe we should get going? Unless maybe you'd like to embarrass yourself some more?" "Right thou are, standing here will not result in us finding thy brother! Err, could thou repeat what his name was?" Picking up where they had left, they continued towards the castle. "Well, we used to call him 'Gray'. While not his real name, it is what we always used." "Ah, a very original nickname I see. Are thou always this creative?" This time it was Luna's time to have fun at Moon's cost. Which resulted in her getting a glare from Dust. "Ah, vengeance is sweet, isn't it?" "Just wait, I'm not done with you." "So, why are we at the castle, Princess Luna? Shouldn't we be looking for my brother?" Walking up to the port to the castle the guards blocked Dust's path. "Let her pass, guards." She walked up beside Luna again as they continued. "As for why we're at the castle is because first off, I have a night court and I will have to cancel it if I am to help thou. Secondly, I believe that you would do good to get some rest. If we prepare well, we might have a higher chance of finding thy brother, don't thou agree?" She did have a point, Moon Dust was exhausted as she had yet to get some real rest and thinking about it some rest did sound good. "Fine, but shouldn't I get going then?" "Nay, thou may stay in the castle for the night, we have plenty of empty guest rooms that otherwise only will gather Dust." The pun did not go unnoticed. "Was that a pun? With my name? You know that you have doomed yourself now." All Luna could do is giggle. "Hey is that you, Lulu?" Luna instantly stopped, her face burning bright red. Moon's face was now decorated with a smug grin. "I believe that this new information will serve as payback, Lulu..." Luna was just about to give Dust a nasty glare when Princess Celestia entered the room. "Hey, who's your friend there, Lulu?" Luna was going to have a talk with Celestia later, as soon Moon Dust couldn't hear them. A long one. "Yeah, do tell, Lulu." Luna gave her a quick glare before addressing Celestia. "Ah, yes. 'Tia, this is Moon Dust. Moon Dust, I believe thou know who 'Tia is, am I correct?" A sinister grin formed on Celestia's face. "I see you have a tendency to befriend ponies named after the sky and the celestial bodies. What's next, Meteor or Comet or something like that, Lulu? Not to mention that she has roughly the same name as you" Both Celestia and Moon Dust had smirks on their faces. Luna scowled at them, but her blush betrayed her. "Will thou two stop! It's not funny! It's just a coincidence that our names mean the same thing, nothing else! Can we please talk about something else! And please stop calling me Lulu!" At least Celestia knew when to stop even if it was hard with Luna looking completely adorable, the only thing that could make her even more adorable would be if she was still a filly. "Well, you could tell me more about your friend here." "Fine sister, let me first show her to her room and then we can talk about it later, okay?" Luna was a bit rushed to separate the two of them as a mean to not have them conspire against her. Though knowing Celestia it would be hard, but thou must try. Thankfully she got what she wanted, she didn't know how much longer she could stand them both at the same time. "Well, good night, Princess Celestia. We can talk more tomorrow!" Luna shuddered at the thought and tried to move Dust quicker away from her sister. "I can't wait, I have a lot to tell about when Lulu was still a little filly!" Luna knew at that point that she wasn't going to sleep well, she could already imagine Celestia telling Moon Dust all about the embarrassing things she did when she was young, and it wasn't pretty.
Chapter 3, Let The Hunt Begin!Moon Dust had never slept as good as she had last night and never had she felt so energetic. Normally Moon wasn't a morning person, but that might just have been because she'd never truly slept well. That was what she thought until she removed the blinders and was bathed in sunlight. I guess I'm still a night person, well at least I'm rested up. Moon jumped when a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts. "Miss Dust, Princess Luna, and Celestia wishes you to come. Please follow me–" Panic quickly rose in Dust at the statement. "I didn't do anything wrong! I promise!" "–to the dining hall." And just like that, she had embarrassed herself before even getting out of her room. Just great. Thankfully Luna wasn't here to see mee... She wasn't able to finish her train of thought before she noticed Luna smirking behind the servant that had come to get her. "I do believe our decision to come here paid off." The smirk on her face had evolved into a grin. "I believe we are even now, don't thou think so, too?" It didn't have the effect Luna expected. Instead of a groan, Dust wore a menacing smirk. "I believe that Princess Celestia had something to talk about, don't you think it's going to be fun." All Luna could do was to swallow hard. She lost her hunger at that moment, not wanting to bring Dust and Celestia together, but it was already too late. Breakfast was Tartarus for Luna. Celestia didn't seem to know the meaning of privacy and personal space, no, she had to tell Dust about all the embarrassing things she did as a filly. Celestia seemed to enjoy telling the stories as Moon was to hear all the cute and adorable things Luna had done, like the time with the cookie jar war, was Luna had tried to declare war on Celestia for eating the last cookie. It was even more adorable than it sounds. The Woona incident was too, way too funny, though Luna didn't seem to think so. Breakfast had felt like it had been even longer of a wait than when she was banished to the moon, which if I have to remind you was one thousand years of the same. But as the banishment had ended so had this terrible morning. Not wanting to delay anymore, Luna picked Dust up in her magic and made a quick trot trying not to seem rushed, and failing miserably at it. "Hey! Let me go!" "'Tis time to get going, don't thou think? Or, hast thee forgotten thy brother already?" Moon Dust lowered her head before looking Luna in her eyes, wearing a small blush and a genuine smile. "You're right, I've just forgotten how it feels to have fun... Thanks for reminding me." It didn't take long before the smile became a grin, "I did enjoy spending time with you last night." She ended with batting her eyelashes causing Luna to blush furiously. "H-hast thou go-gone insane? W-we did n-no s-such thing!" Moon couldn't hold out letting lose a giggle, which quickly turned into laughter. "We do not enjoy thy jokes! Hast things changed this much, 'tis unacceptable!" "Heh, sorry but I'm not sorry. I'll try to not go with too many sex jokes, but no promises!" They paused to calm down before Dust continued, "But you are right in that we should get going. I'll let you have a free one later, though the 'offer'"– she gave Luna a seductive wink–" still stands, just tell me." And brushed her tail against Luna, who was yet again blushing madly. "Right–" she coughed, trying to get the pictures out of her mind, "Where were we? Ah, yes, you were telling us about thou and thy brother, wasn't thou?" Dust was going to say that that wasn't what they were talking about but wasn't able to disobey Luna with the stare she was giving her. She gulped and began, "W-well me and m-my siblings used to play, but one night we found Gray, as I later came to call him, as a nymph, hurt and exhausted. We brought him home so that he could recover. We had never seen an Alicorn nym-foal before as we live quite remotely. We told our mother about it, and after a while agreed to let him stay with our clutch. Since nopony came looking for him after a month we adopted him. He never remembered his real parents and began at first to think that we were his real family. Of course, he did realize that we weren't rather quickly, but for us, that wasn't important. One day I came looking for Gray in our bedroom, Shadow, one of my brothers had asked for us to join him, all I found was a note from Gray saying that he had left. That was three years ago." She let out a sad sigh before finishing, " The rest you already know..." Luna lifted Dust's head with her hoof, "Fret not child, for I shall help thou. And we shall not rest until we find thy brother." She gave her a friendly smile before continuing, "We promise on our honor as a Princess of Equestria that we shall find him! One way or another." They walked out through the main port where two guards stood, ever so vigilant. They saluted before opening up allowing access to the two mares. One was a Unicorn and the other a Pegasus. Moon flickered her tail causing both of them to look away, their faces tinted red. Both mares giggled slightly. "Fine, it might be somewhat funny, to see our guards for once loosen up a bit, it truly is something rare." "Maybe you should try? Nopony would expect it! We could prank your sister!" "Ha! Thou wish I were to do something so out of character our sister would think a changeling had replaced us!" Moon's face lit up with panic and laughed trying to hide it, but failing so. "Haha, yes... So–, what's a changeling. Never heard of them before, nope! Say where did you hear about them?" Luna looked at Dust suspiciously. "During the channeling invasion, do you no remember?" Her tone full of confusion, she asked, "Changeling invasion, when did that happen?" "It was just a couple of months ago. Why wouldn't you know, if I may ask?" "Oh... Right, well, I came to Equestria just a month ago, I was in the Griffon Kingdom at that point. It's really a mess since they lost that artifact of theirs. What happened during the invasion, they don't sound like the guys that would just invade if they could simply switch you out with one of their own? Huh, strange." "Ah, that would explain why you didn't know about it, but there's something thou art hiding or is that a lie?" "W-well... Fine yes, but I'd rather not talk about it and shouldn't we look for my brother?" "Fine, we shall discuss it later. But you will have to tell us the whole truth then, understood?" "Yes, Luna..." They walked down the street until they reached the outer wall of Canterlot, where Luna bought two train tickets. "Where are we headed? Luna?" "Ah, forgive us, we were simply thinking. As for where we are headed, we're going to Fillydelfia." Two ponies in cloaks were looking at the train leaving. "Do you think that was what I think it was?" Said the Earth Pony stallion. "Yes, it has to be..." Answered the Unicorn mare.
Chapter 4, The Darkest of NightsThe sun was starting to get low on the horizon as Moon Dust and Princess Luna walked through a forest. It wasn't a dense forest per say, definitely not close to the likes of the Everfree, it was still somewhat hard to see further than a couple of meters. The trees were large and sturdy, with some even nearing Luna's age. There wasn't a lot of grass as only the smallest amounts of light seeped through the impressive foliage. Due to this Luna was forced to cast a illumination spell lest she or Dust trip on roots, sticks or stones. Luna had managed to get Celestia to agree to rise the moon in her place while she was gone. It hadn't been easy to make the older Alicorn agree to it, but after a lot of pouting and the like Celestia had agreed to do it, even if she was a bit unhappy at the prospect of rising the moon in her sisters place as it brought back memories of the thousand years that Celestia had to rule Equestria alone. It was only a few more hours until moonrise, the first moonrise for Luna not rise it since her return. As they reached a glade Luna spoke up, "We should set up camp here, lest night fall be on us before we art done, little one. If thee will get a fire started, we shall get the 'tents' up and running." Dust was quickly running to gather the needed materials, "Will do, Princess! You can count on me!" She was soon out of dodge. Luna started to fidget with the tent, trying to figure out how to actually set it up. Meanwhile Dust was trying to find sticks and stones for the campfire, happily trotting about with a illumination spell gathering them. While she didn't have the easiest time finding them, they weren't scarce ether. After picking up as much as she could with her magical grip, she quickly made her way back, only to find Luna ensnarled in the different tent components. "Hey, Lulu, do you need a hoof, or what. I'm guessing this is your first time camping, or am I wrong to think that?" Luna jerked slightly, not having seen Moon come, and maybe just a bit too quickly replied, "Of course we have! We just, eeh, need to, err, make a few minor adjustments. Yes! Just a few minor things, nothing else!" It didn't take a specialist to know that Luna had no idea what she was doing whatsoever. Shaking her head, Dust put the things in two different piles, one for the stones and one for the sticks, before heading towards Luna with her horn glowing an eerie green as she prepared a spell. A chill when down Luna's spine as she was engulfed in Dust's magical grip. "Hey, are you okay, Luna? You look like you've seen a ghost." Dust was just finished unwrapping Luna from her attempt of a tent when she got the feeling of being watched. "Err, Luna, I don't think we're alone..." Luna was snapped back to reality. For the first time since she had met her, Dust was serious, she had always had a bit of silliness in her voice. Not now though. "Art thee sure? 'Tis not a prank I hope?" She gave Dust a questioning look, but she didn't falter under it. "No. I'm sure of it... Though, I'm not entirely sure what 'it' is." Dust said as she looked into the darkness of the forest. "Perhaps 'tis only a woodland creature? A simple fire should keep them away. It would also allow us greater sight and warmth in this cold." "...Yes, we still have to get that fire going. Even if it doesn't keep whatever is following us at bay, we still need the heat. Just--just keep your eyes open for anything. I still don't like this..." Without the fire it was soon impossible to see where the forest ended and the opening began. Worse yet, it seemed as if the world was swallowed into the oblivion when even the moonlight was seemingly nonexistent. As Dust was lighting the fire with a fire spell, she asked, "Hey, Luna. Tell me again, why we are walking on hoof instead of taking the train?" "W-well, it seamed as a good idea then... Perhaps we were wrong--" A twig being broken in the distance silenced her for a moment before she continued talking, "Actually, we most definitely were wrong..." "Have you found them?" "Yes, it looks as if they are 'camping' just a little to the west of here. It's only the two of them and at least three miles to the closest town." "Good. Go back and tell the others that operation Shadow Hooves is a go." Author's Note Hello! I'm terribly sorry for not updating this story sooner, but always when I had planed to write something else got in my way. I'll try update quicker, but school is soon beginning. I will try at least get one more chapter p soon enough.
