Midnight Nebula

Midnight Nebula frowned and blinked her eyes open as the sun beamed through the small crack between the black curtains that hung at the entrance of her mountain home- a cave once inhabited by a dragon who threatened the ponies of Equestria a few years ago. It was mid afternoon, and by the position of the sun streaming heat into the cavern, Nebula could tell it was after three. She knew it was time to get up, but she wanted to remain in the coolness; it was the heat from the beam of light on her face and the rumbling in her stomach that finally forced her to submit to the day. Stretching the sleep from her hooves, the dark magenta colored pegasus rose from her bed lined with pillows and comforters, stepped over the remnants of last night's dinner- a box with only the crusts of four slices of pizza, and made her way to the curtains to pull them shut so she could prepare for her evening without the luminous interruption.

Deeper in the cave was a spring that formed a shallow pool before flowing out and down a crevace. Nebula made her way back to this pool, glancing at her artwork of various dragons on the upper walls and ceiling, etched in the dark stone that had been miscolored by the smoke that had risen from the previous tennant and illuminated by the various glowing quartz crystals Nebula had collected and arranged about the living space. Here, Nebula entered the cool water and bathed, sipping from the stream that fed the pool. As she scrubbed, she noticed a change on her flank. The cutie mark on it was a collage of astrological bodies- a ringed planet, a nautical star, a moon, and a dying white star- all enveloped in a purple nebula. The nautical star acted as a compass, and the other markings would move around it- a syncronized representation of the closest orbs in the solar system in which this world exists. The white star and the moon were beginning to migrate toward each other, and she knew this would warrant a holiday when the two satellites met at the top point of the compass. Nebula rolled her eyes; celestial events meant certain ponies from all over the region would flock to this mountain in hopes of being closer to what they believe is the union of the god and goddess that allows for new life to be created. Many think that if they are close enough to the event, they will be granted with blessings birthed as a direct result. Midnight Nebula knew the sky; she would look to it as a filly and imagine flying up into the heavens past the clouds and into her own freedom, and because she would track the movements of the heavenly orbs, she was granted a truly unique cutie mark that would evolve with the changes respectively, but she had never seen a so-called blessing as her mark of individuality seemed to have no purpose. "It doesn't show anything anypony else can't see by just looking up at the array of orbs in the night sky", she would often say, and it didn't; the only difference was the nebula- the purple cloud  encompassing the ever-revolving images that swirled slowly. "... And I've certainly never seen any blessings come from the sky."  If the pegasus wanted any solace of privacy from the inevitable pilgrim onslaught, she would have to relocate until the crowds dispatched toward their respective homes.

Stepping out of the pool, Nebula shook the water from her coat and wearily made her way toward the curtains. Blinking into the light as her sensitive blue eyes took time to adjust, she looked down on the little blur of a town below while she worked her wings in and out to make certain they were fully dried. She shook the daunting thoughts of upcoming events from her mane, trotted to the edge of the ledge just outside her cave and leapt. Wings outstretched in the afternoon sun, Nebula quickly picked up speed in her dive; then, just before reaching the tops of the trees that lined the base of the mountain, she drew up the front of her wings to create a lift, and with front hooves held tight to her chest to reduce lag, she coasted lazily toward Ponyville. The distant town clock chimed at the top of the hour; it was five o'clock by now, but the sound barely met Nebula's ears as the wind whipped past. She flapped her wings gleefully as she soaked in the experience. "This never gets old," she smiled. She glided over a petite cottage with a small chicken coop at the edge of the tree line as she entered the town's limits. A trio of goats grazed on a hill just on the other side of the creek nearby to her right, and up in the far distance to her left, Nebula could see the waterfall city of Canterlot. A train whistle from a steam engine met her ears as the train pulled out of the Ponyville Train Depot toward some unknown train station in a far town. Nebula sang to her heart's delight, then she slowed, quietly humming as she drifted lower, closing in on her destination- a small building at the very edge of the far side of town that appeared to be no more than an unimpressive hut. A sign hung above the door read "Hugz Pizza" and below, a smaller sign indicated "Delivery Only" The front door was locked although the little pizza hut was open. Nebula landed and trotted casually to the back entrance left cracked for ventilation and for her arrival.