The Stallion Who Loved the Moon

by D4ftP0ny

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Romance, Princess Luna, Original Character, Trixie, Slice of Life
Length: 5835

Dark Star and Trixie share a campfire and, at the magician's request, Dark sheds some light on a previously hidden part of his history: his first meeting with Princess Luna.

A thousand years is a very long time. Civilizations can rise and fall in a thousand years; landmarks can wither away and vanish; entire ideologies and belief systems can disappear as quickly as they appeared in the blink of a cosmic eye, leaving behind no trace or, at the very least, no explanation as to what things were like or how things were done in the ancient, by-gone days.

For Dark Star, it doesn't feel like a thousand years. The things he remembers are still fresh in his mind, like vivid pictures that were destroyed before he had the chance to enjoy them. The city he loved so much and knew so well is gone, reclaimed by the forest that had once been its salvation, and the ponies he grew up with are no more than a family name, if that. He is a stallion out of place in time, a pony from a different era struggling to grasp his place in this new world around him.

However, one night beneath the stars with Trixie opens up a door to a thousand years in the past, a window into the youth of a stallion who fell in love with a pony that he should not have... but now that Dark Star is freed from the bonds of his hatred, will those memories still have the same sweet taste that they did before? Or will the words of a childhood story bring a bitter clarity to the memories of the greatest of the Four Generals?

Published 2016-02-17 05:20:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-02-17 05:20:02 UTC

A Shadow of Past and Future

“Dark Star?” The words floated across the small campfire to tease the black stallion’s ears, their tone barely audible above the merry crackling of the flames. The dark pony smiled and crossed his hooves before him, the motion causing the black cloak that was wrapped around him to shift like tangible shadows in the flickering firelight.

“Yes, Trixie?” he replied, his green eyes still on the moon and stars above him. “What can I do for you?”

For several long moments only the sounds of the night answered his query – crickets from the tall grass around them, night birds from the small grove of trees to his back, and frogs from the pond beyond that – and he was about to return to the thoughts that had been chasing themselves through his mind when the mare who shared the campfire with him cleared her throat, causing his right ear to twitch towards her.

“I… I was wondering something about… your past.” He heard her snicker quietly. “Assuming that you’ve told me the truth about it, of course…”

Dark’s lips quirked into a dry smile as he turned his face towards the campfire and the mare who sat beyond it, and as his gaze found her powder blue form wrapped in a deep purple cloak he arched an eyebrow at her. “Still having a hard time believing what I told you, hmm?” He snorted lightly. “I guess I really shouldn’t be surprised – it’s not every day a pony tells you that he once served Nightmare Moon.” Even in the low light of the fire and moon he saw her wince, her chin dipping towards her hooves so that the thick curl of her platinum mane hid her face from his view.

“That kind of claim does tend to have a certain impossible ring to it,” she admitted, her hooves shifting her cloak as she fidgeted. “But… let’s assume, for a moment, that I believe you.”

“All right, we’ll assume.” The large stallion had to fight to keep his gaze from devolving into a glare, but it wasn’t easy. I guess I didn’t realize that it’d be so frustrating to try and explain my past to a pony not familiar with it, he thought gruffly. It’d taken him the better part of a month traveling with Trixie, the former magician pony, before he’d been comfortable enough with her to even start talking about himself in detail, and when he had finally told her everything she’d practically laughed in his face. That, naturally, didn’t sit well with the normally secretive stallion and, as a result, any further questions about his past had been met with stubborn silence up to this point.

To her credit, Trixie took a deep breath and continued despite his less than enthusiastic response. “Well… you’ve told me all about Nightmare Moon and how you fought in her army, and then about how you freed her… and about your campaign to dethrone Celestia…” She shook her head, her shining mane glinting in the firelight. “But there’s one thing I want to know.”

The stallion sighed, his brow furrowing as he frowned. “And what’s that?”

Trixie shifted uncomfortably beneath her cloak, her hooves poking at something in the dirt. “Well… maybe you could tell me…” She sighed sharply, and when she spoke again her voice was louder and firmer. “Could you tell me how you and Princess Luna met?”

Dark felt his eyebrows climb towards his hair as a wave of surprise doused the simmering frustration in his chest. “You… why would you want to know that?” he asked quietly, his frown returning. “That’s… well, that’s not something that I-,”

“Because it’s the missing piece!” she said, her eyes rising from the dirt to meet his gaze. Her smooth features were scrunched into a determined frown as she sat up straighter. “You’ve told me that you did all these horrible things, but you didn’t tell me how it all got started. That’s the most important part: the beginning!” She raised her right hoof and stamped it firmly down into the dirt. “How is Trixie supposed to understand if you don’t give Trixie all of the information?” she muttered fiercely, her eyes flashing in the firelight.

Silence fell over the camp as Dark watched the mare, the crackling of the fire mingling with the crickets, birds, and frogs once more as he weighed his options. Why would she ask about something like that? Why would she even care..? His eyes narrowed at her, suspicions and accusations rising in his throat, but as he opened his mouth to tell her that he wouldn’t discuss such things, memories rose unbidden to his mind: flashes of a night sky much like this one, a castle long since gone, and a pair of teal eyes, so intense and proud…

After several minutes of silence Dark Star sighed heavily and managed to give Trixie a slight smile. “It’s been... a really long time since I thought about that,” he admitted. “Everything up until this journey has always been frantic, almost manic…” He turned his gaze back to the sky, where a crescent moon glowed amid shimmering stars. “For me it doesn’t feel like a thousand years… it feels like four years ago… but I’ve passed through so much time that the places I remember don’t even exist anymore. The ponies I knew are long since dead, and even the very ideas I fought for have faded away…” His lips curved into a smile that was far different than his last one, and as he stared upwards he felt an ache begin to build in his chest. “…but what happened on that night is something that time can’t tarnish or destroy.”

He cleared his throat against the lump that his memories had placed there, and after another moment of silence he spoke again, his voice soft. “I was a newly promoted Captain on the night I met the Princess… the sky was clear, just like it is tonight, and I’d been given the unenviable assignment of night patrol at Everfree Castle…”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The night wind was gentle as it teased Brightsteel’s coat, but despite the spring moon in the sky the misty gray stallion could still feel the teeth of winter nipping at his flank. In spite of himself, he shivered. This is without a doubt the hardest time of year, he thought with a sigh and a shake of his mane. Warm, beautiful days, bookended by nights that are still invaded by frost at times… truly the epitome of night and day. He shifted on his hooves, the metal encasing them scratching softly across the stone of the parapet upon which he stood. Of course, I’m counting on not staying on night duty for long, he thought, snorting loudly as his lip curved into a sour smile. How could anypony stand to be out at night like this? Its cold, it’s so dark and dreary…

He let out a sigh, his breath coalescing into a light fog that drifted away from him on the wind. All right Brightsteel, that’s enough of that kind of thinking. You’re a Captain of the Guard now, with subordinates who are going to be looking to you for leadership. He raised his head, the golden helmet that covered his steel gray mane shifting slightly as his eyes narrowed. You can’t complain about your assignments just because they’re not what you wanted, he chastised himself. At any given moment, one of the ponies under your command could come out of one of those doors behind you, or glance out a window and see you, and what are you going to be doing? Are you going to be slouching here like a new recruit, or are you going to be standing tall like a real Guardspony? He straightened his shoulders and neck so that he stood straight and proud against the night sky, his golden armor glowing in the light from the crescent moon above. The wind blew across his flanks again, the icy claws of the dying winter digging into his coat once more, but this time he refused to give in to his desire to shrink away from the wind and cower before its cold bite. Ponies will be counting on me soon, he thought. I won’t be laid low by a chilly breeze.

He let his gaze drop from the sky to the city that stretched before him: Everfree, the capital city of Equestria, lay sleeping in the soft moonlight, its already pale stone buildings made paler by the moonlight. The city was one of the largest in the known world, and it made Brightsteel’s heart swell with pride as he surveyed it, his green eyes vigilant for anything that might disturb the peaceful tranquility of the spring night.

The buildings of Everfree were built a little higher than many other settlements, with their roofs regularly reaching three stories off the ground thanks to the protection of the tall trees around them. Materials were plentiful in the Everfree, with excellent stone quarries within walking distance and more wood than anypony knew what to do with, and that, combined with plentiful food sources and the desire of every Equestrian to have a true capital to call their own, had given birth to the most powerful city in all of the pony nations. It was a peaceful place with very little crime and almost nothing that required the attention of the Guards, but it was their sworn duty to protect the realm and the Princesses who guided it.

The thought of the Princesses brought a smile to the stallion’s lips, and after a moment he turned and allowed his gaze to fall upon Everfree Castle, a building so beautifully constructed it made the city around it look like a peasant’s hovel. It had tall, proud spires and grand, sweeping parapets, all in the dark gray of the granite found exclusively in the deeper parts of the Everfree – a land, ironically, that had become lost to the ponies as the deep reaches of the forest had grown feral and dangerous without apparent cause. The castle towered over its subjects, a gallant lady of stone in which two hearts beat in time: Princess Celestia, the Regent of the Sun, and Princess Luna, the Keeper of the Night, both called the Everfree Castle home, and it was through the guidance of the two alicorns that the nation of Equestria had stayed safe. Brightsteel felt his chest swell with pride as he looked up at the castle, its towers strong and safe. This surely is a castle that will stand a thousand years, he thought with a smile, and Everfree is a nation that will last that and a thousand more, with the Sun and Moon to guide us.

He gave the castle a minute nod before turning his gaze back to the city, his zeal for his nightly task renewed by his reflection. That’s what we’re protecting: that millennial legacy that the Princesses have started us towards. They can’t keep every inch of this kingdom safe by themselves, so we have to take it upon ourselves to keep it safe for them! He stood up straighter and puffed his chest out a little more, his armor drawing tight across his back as he did so. And nopony will have a greater hoof in shaping our legacy than ponies like me, he thought.

The wind sighed through the trees again, the spring buds upon them not ready to rustle in the breeze just yet; upon that gentle zephyr, however, rode a sound that, had the trees been fully clothed in their spring raiment, would have completely eluded the prideful Captain, so wrapped up was he in his self-important thoughts. As it was, his right ear twitched mightily as the sound that should not have been there teased the edge of his hearing, and without hesitation the young stallion threw his head skyward. Wings, he thought, his whole body tensing. There shouldn’t be any pegasi in the sky tonight. His eyes frantically searched the sky as he swept his muzzle back and forth across the starry expanse. Does that mean that we’re under attack?!

The wing beats grew subtly louder as he stared upwards, his heart pounding louder and louder in his ears as thoughts of what might be flying around him began to pile up behind his eyes. Fear slowly rose in the stallion’s chest as visions of pegasi, griffons, harpies, and dragons filled his mind to the brim, but just as he was about to make a mad dash for the castle to call for reinforcements against the invasion he was certain was only moments away, a single shape swooped out of the night, its form so dark that it had blended seamlessly into the sky around it. It dove at him, and with an audible yelp the Guard Captain ducked his head so low that his horn almost impacted the walkway. The shape whooshed past him, its wing beats hastening for a brief moment before the sound of quick hoofsteps resounded in the quiet night. The wings fell silent as the hoof beats slowed and, to his absolute chagrin, Brightsteel had to force his head up from the stones, his helmet slightly ajar so that it covered his right eye.

“S-stop!” he managed to call after a moment, spinning on his hooves as deftly as he could. “Who goes there?!” His eyes burned from beneath his lopsided helmet, his gaze almost as hot as his cheeks had become. That’s real brave, Bright… shriek like a schoolfilly at a horror play… He saw the silhouette of the pony who had dive-bombed him, but his wretched helmet was blocking a good chunk of his vision; with a muttered curse the gray unicorn lifted his right hoof and ripped the chinstrap free of its clasp. A swift jerk of his head sent the helmet to the stone below him with a clank, and once his vision was unobstructed he turned his gaze back to the offending pony, his brow furrowed in an angry frown and his jaw set into a firm line.

“Stop,” he repeated again, his tone firm and authoritative… but that was as far as he got.

His eyes widened as they fell upon the dark blue form of a mare, her long mane a brilliant light blue that seemed to catch the moonlight as it fell to earth. A long, delicate horn protruded from her forehead above bright teal eyes that seemed to pierce his soul, and as he watched her face he saw a flutter of movement from her midsection. His jaw unclenched and dropped open as the alicorn before him used her left wing to fiddle with her shoulder-length mane, her eyes never leaving his as the moonlight sparkled against her crystalline shoes and silver collar.

Without another word the stallion fell to his knees, and to his horror he felt the grasping tendrils of fear snatch at his heart. By the powers of the sun… he thought, his chest tightening as his gaze dropped to the stones below him. It’s her…

“P-Princess Luna,” he managed to stutter after a long pause, his voice trembling. “I apologize for challenging you, Your Highness – I had no idea that you were out flying tonight, and-,”

To his surprise, the Princess of the Night raised her right hoof and stamped it back to the stones with a clack that was loud enough to stop his words in their tracks. “Enough scraping,” said the Princess, her voice cold and calculating. “Rise, Guard, and face thy sovereign.”

Brightsteel winced and, in spite of his lengthy training, he felt himself almost refuse her. He’d been raised as a pony who would one day serve in the Royal Guard, sworn to protect the interests of and obey the commands of the Two Sisters without question or hesitation. He had been purposefully trained to be calm and confident in the face of certain death as long as one of the two royal alicorns had given him orders to do so… and yet here he was, his face pressed against the stone in the hopes of not looking into the face of Princess Luna again. His legs, all bent to accommodate the bowing position in which he found himself, began to quiver as he stared at the stone, his training warring with his instincts.

He heard the Princess’s shoes scrape the stone, and after a moment she stomped again, harder this time. “Art thou deaf, Guard? Or art thou simply afraid to gaze into the face of the Night?” Her voice mocked him, her words dripping with disdain and disgust. “’tis a harsh truth, we suppose, but t’was not unexpected… though we had hoped for better out of our newest Captain of the Guard.”

Brightsteel’s frown softened as his forehead knit into furrows of worry rather than barrows of fear. “Your newest Captain, Your Highness?” he asked, his knees still firmly pressed against the stone.

“Verily,” the Princess answered simply, and, in spite of the fear still coursing through him, Brightsteel raised his eyes a fraction until he could see up to her knees. “My sister may have appointed thee, but we always choose to inspect the ponies chosen for thy post once the moon has risen.”

The stallion’s head came up a little further, so that he could see the glimmering silver collar that she wore low over her chest. “And... why is that, Your Highness?” His fear twitched inside him, like an animal desperate to be set free from its confines, but as the initial shock of the Princess’s appearance began to wear off Brightsteel found himself growing more and more curious about the elusive sister to the beloved Princess Celestia. It was well known throughout the Guard that Princess Luna kept to herself, typically only leaving her room at night and even then she rarely stayed around the castle; what wasn’t known, however, was how she did spend her time, and the lack of information had led to a plethora of rumors that the previous Captain had been kind enough to share with Brightsteel. They say that she wanders Everfree at night, reaping the souls of the dead and guiding them to the afterlife, he thought as he stared at the diamonds in her raiment. They say she is a goddess of Death, a mare who will steal your soul if you look into her eyes… His frown returned. But if that’s true, why would she approach ponies like me so freely?

“We choose to speak to ponies in thy position at night because it gives us a chance to test their mettle, Captain.” The Princess snorted loudly. “If thy Royal Guard compatriots believe that we do not know the rumors about us then thou art fools, down to the last pony.” He saw her resettle her weight from her right hooves to her left, her body shifting so that the moonlight played across her coat in a way that caused Brightsteel’s pounding heart to skip a beat. “And thus, we chose to come to thee when thy guard is down and thy spirits low – to test thy worthiness.”

Inside Brightsteel’s chest he felt a stabbing pain in his heart, a jolt that shook the stallion to his hooves. “And… how have you found me, Highness?” he whispered through clenched teeth.

The Princess shifted again, her shoes scraping against the stone in an exaggerated fashion as she turned away from him, her tail flicking once across her back legs. “Thy martial prowess is apparent – when we heard that thou were one of the candidates for Captain, we made a priority of seeing thee in action and therefore we viewed some of thy training. Thy dedication to thy position was made proven as thou stood these last few hours at thy appointed post, moving neither flank nor fetlock.” He heard her exhale sharply, and could not resist raising his eyes farther from the ground to look up at her a little more. His gaze wandered the soft curves of her rump and back before rising to the gentle arch of her neck, his green eyes drinking in the sight of a Princess who he had never seen before… and despite the horror stories that had been told about her, Brightsteel found himself holding his gaze on her as she raised her face to the sky, the moon’s light dancing across her bright blue mane. “Thy dedication to my sister we have no reason to question,” Princess Luna continued, “for it is easy to see thy devotion to her.”

The Princess’s words did not falter or change, but Brightsteel’s ears twitched as her voice betrayed a hint of sadness behind them… and in spite of his fear he found himself rising silently to his hooves as he had been instructed to before, his movements slow and cautious until he was standing upright once more, his head level with her own. “My devotion is to the sisters who rule this land,” he said, a touch of defiance sliding into his voice, “not just to the Princess of the Sun.”

To his surprise, Princess Luna barked a laugh that held mirth as cold as the bite of the wind. “Thou must be joking,” she said, her face still turned towards the stars. “Soldiers such as thee cannot be devoted to a Princess who he has not seen and does not know. Soldiers need a figurehead, a brilliant beacon shining at the front of their army, guiding them to victory.” She shook her head. “Nay – thy devotion to me is but a moon shadow of the devotion thou and thy brethren have for Celestia. It has been so for many years, and thy reaction has shown me that it shall continue for many to come.”

“You’re wrong.” The words slipped from between Brightsteel’s lips before he could even hope to catch them, their sound firm and more than loud enough for everypony present to hear. Princess Luna’s shoulders tightened and she spun on her hooves, but for the first time since she had arrived out of the night sky Brightsteel could see that he had caught her unaware. Her eyes widened when she found him standing at attention where he had been bowing before, and it took everything the Captain had not to smile at the modicum of discomfort that passed over her face before she stood tall once more, every inch a Princess of Equestria once again. Didn’t expect that, did you?

“Thou wouldst suggest that we are wrong?” she asked quietly, brow furrowing incredulously. “That our assessment of thee and thy dedication is incorrect?”

Brightsteel’s throat tightened. They said don’t look her in the eyes, he thought frantically, his gaze seeking every place on her face and neck that he could focus on while still appearing to look her in the eyes. Just look everywhere but her eyes and you’ll be fine, Bright… just fine…

“I beg your pardon, Your Highness, but yes.” He bowed his head slightly, dropping his gaze back to her hooves.

“And upon what grounds would thy accusations be based?” she asked, her voice cool.

“Forgive me, Your Highness,” he said again as he raised his head upright once more, his gaze coming to rest firmly on the hollow of her chest, “but I would present to you the oath that I swore when I became a member of the Royal Guard.” He lifted his right hoof and pressed it firmly against his chest over his heart, the metal of his shoes and breastplate clinking together softly as he did so. “I swore to uphold this nation for the sake of the Sun and the Moon, for the protection of the Day and the Night, and so that the prosperity of our nation would be secured beneath the rule of the Two Sisters.” He lowered his hoof back to the stones, and a small smile touched his lips. “Even in the streets the ponies still say ‘May the Sisters watch over you’… and I suppose that as a colt, I took that to heart.”

Silence fell over the two ponies, the sighing of the night wind the only voice between them as a moment stretched into two, then three as Brightsteel stood silently across from the Princess. Slowly, the fear that had been pushed into his stomach began rising once more, the acidic tang of it stinging the back of his throat as he stared at the Princess’s collar. You did it now, Brightsteel, he chastised, you made her angry. You made one of the ruling Princesses of Equestria angry and now you’re going to be thrown in a dungeon, or run out of the city on a rail, or something awful like that. The stallion felt his stomach clench and had to fight to keep it from showing on his face. She’s probably never had anypony speak to her like that…

“We don’t believe we have ever had a pony speak to us thusly…”

Oh dear Celestia I’m a dead pony.

“…but we are impressed.” To Brightsteel’s shock, the Princess’s voice was not filled with anger and disappointment, as he had expected it to be. It was not full of disdain or outrage or vehemence at his denial of her claims, but instead her words softened around the edges, as a cube of sugar placed into a cup of warm tea. The stallion blinked in surprise and, in spite of his various and constant warnings to himself, he raised his head and brought his gaze to meet hers.

The eyes of the Princess were like nothing the stallion had ever seen before. It wasn’t that she was an alicorn, or royalty – he had looked into the eyes of Princess Celestia and never thought twice about it – but there was something about Princess Luna’s teal eyes, the color of a deep tropic sea that sparkled in the moonlight that whisked the breath from his chest and left him standing before her, wordless and gawking as she laughed again, a sound so different from the first one that he wasn’t entirely sure that she was still the same mare at all.

“We suppose that, by thy argument, we stand corrected, Captain,” said the Princess carefully. “We had forgotten the oath that thy brethren swear, and dismissed the words of the common pony as mere tradition, followed out of habit and not out of reverence.” She offered him a gentle smile, and Brightsteel felt his heart pound loudly in his chest. “Perhaps we should not focus so firmly up on the rumors we hear around the castle.”

“Well… if it makes any difference, there is one rumor that is correct,” whispered the stallion, and the Princess’s brow furrowed as she tilted her head to one side.

“And what rumor, pray tell, is that?”

Brightsteel took a deep breath and exhaled shakily before speaking again. “They… they say that anypony who looks into your eyes will lose their soul,” he said softly, his gaze meeting hers firmly. “And I’m starting to wonder if they were correct…”

The Princess arched an eyebrow at him, and after a moment she laughed again, the sound echoing around them as she brought a hoof to her mouth. “Oh Captain… we think we shall like thee,” she said between snickers. “Losing thy soul, indeed…” The Princess let out a long sigh that sounded to Brightsteel like the sound that cats make after they’ve had a particularly satisfying stretch and placed her hoof back to the ground. “Making us laugh on thy first night is a good mark upon thy record, Captain…?” She gestured towards him with her hoof, and it took the stallion a moment to gather himself enough to respond.

“Captain Brightsteel, at your service, Your Highness,” he said, throwing a salute out of sheer habit. The Princess of the Night nodded, her eyes watching him closely.

“Captain Brightsteel,” she said slowly, as if she were rolling the words carefully across her tongue to see if she liked the taste of them. “Very well, Captain Brightsteel: continue to show us thy devotion to both sisters, and thou shall truly be a soldier to remember.” She turned away from him once more and extended her wings, her midnight pinions shimmering in the moonlight… and before she leaped into the night sky she threw him one last look over her shoulder: a look of interest, and a smile that put the stars in the sky to shame.

Then, with a flap of her wings, she was gone, leaving the bewildered Captain Brightsteel behind, his post all but forgotten as he stared up into the stars.

Perhaps it’s not your soul that she takes… he thought as he smiled and turned back to the city. And perhaps I wouldn’t mind being on the night watch for a while longer…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“…and that’s that,” finished Dark, his gaze locked on the dancing flames of the campfire. “I saw the Princess every night after that and before I knew it…” his lips curved into a smile as he breathed a nearly silent laugh through his nose, “…I was in love with her, and she with me.” He blinked quickly as his mind withdrew from the memories of his past and snapped back to the present; the cold night air of an Everfree a thousand years gone was replaced by the cool breeze of Equestria’s western plains and Luna’s presence was replaced by Trixie, who stared at him openly, her purple eyes wide.

“You… you really were there… weren’t you,” she whispered. “The Stallion who loved the Moon… the story is true…”

Dark gave his head a minute shake, hoping that the motion might settle his intense memories back where they belonged. “I’m sorry Trixie... I didn’t mean to get so lost in my thoughts.” He smiled at her again, but after her words registered to his jumbled mind his brow furrowed in a curious frown. “The Stallion who loved the Moon? What kind of story is that?” Of course, given the name of the story and your reaction, Trixie, I’m pretty sure I can guess what kind of story it is…

“The Stallion who loved the Moon,” Trixie said again slowly, her eyes staring at Dark unblinkingly, “is a story about a young stallion who fell in love with the Mare in the Moon. I heard it from my grandmother when I was a filly…” The mare took a deep breath, her gaze never leaving the black stallion as she spoke. “According to the story, the stallion loved the Mare in the Moon so much that he wanted to be with her more than anypony else in the world. He climbed to the highest peaks in Equestria, striving to be closer and closer to her… always seemingly just within reach, yet never achieving his goal.”

“And is that how the story ends?”

Trixie shook her head. “No… the story that my grandmother told me ends with the stallion falling to his knees in the snow atop some unknown mountain, his tears turning to ice upon his cheeks as he cried up at the Moon. Why do you always elude me?! He cried… Why can’t I be with you?!” Now the mare blinked and turned away, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment. “The Moon spoke to the stallion then, her voice filling him: You have pursued me long and far, stallion. Far longer than any pony in history. If you have a request, I will grant it as long as I am able.” Now her smile returned, a soft curve of her lips in the firelight as she stared out into the night. “The stallion asked that he be allowed to be with her, high in the sky forever… but the Moon replied Forgive me, stallion, for that is one thing I cannot grant. The powers that placed me here are not my own, and my power cannot alter it. The stallion was crushed by this news, but instead of giving up he smiled and said, Then make me your shadow, dear Moon, so that wherever you go, I shall be also.”

Dark Star smiled. Well, they’re not far off, I suppose. “And did the Moon make good on his request?”

The mare nodded. “She did… the stallion vanished, forever destined to be the shadows cast by the Moon itself.” Trixie shuddered suddenly and squeezed her eyes shut, her hooves pulling her cloak around her a little tighter. “When I was young, I thought it was stupid. Why would the stallion become shadows just to be near the Moon? It didn’t make sense to me then.” She sighed, and Dark watched her shoulders relax. “As I got older, I understood the love he had for the Moon, and saw it as a cautionary tale – to not pursue love that is out of reach, and be content with the love you find around you.”

The dark stallion stretched out and lay his head down onto the saddlebags that sat near him, his eyes gazing up at the stars. “And what do you see in this story now?” he asked lightly, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Silence answered him for several long seconds, and he was about to simply close his eyes and go to sleep when Trixie’s voice floated over the fire to him, her words soft and muddled by sleepiness.

“I understand why the Moon would have granted the stallion his stupid wish…” He heard her chuckle lightly. “After all, even the Mare in the Moon would…” she yawned, “…would understand the love he had for her… and what mare wouldn’t want that kind of devotion… and passion… and diligence…”

And insanity, and blind loyalty, Dark though sourly… but to his surprise, Trixie’s answer didn’t stab him in the heart as he thought it would. He stared up into the night sky for several moments, his mind churning with thoughts and words that he could say to properly express his feelings… but then he heard Trixie snore softly, and when he raised his head to gaze over at her he saw that she had leaned upon her saddlebags and fallen asleep, her lips curved into a soft smile.

The stallion breathed a sigh and smiled at the mare before returning his head to his bags, his eyes on the moon above them. Telling Trixie his story had brought feelings rushing back to him that he hadn’t felt in a long time, and after a long day of walking the emotional drain quickly drew Dark Star down into the blissful comfort of sleep…

…but before he closed his eyes he found himself wondering about the story Trixie had told him… and what he should draw from such a tale.