Through alleys and empty streets he ran through the night, away from the firelight and the accompanying shouts of those that pursued him. His hooves slamming into the bricked ground that covered nearly all of Canterlot, he was fast yet he knew that he could not avoid the Royal Guard for long. Their reason for so relentlessly chasing him was a mystery but he was not keen to face the driving force behind them, Celestia. He had evaded her for so long; intent to never find out what her judgment would be on his very existence. He needed a plan to keep that event from happening.

He had expected the night to be safe, that he might enter the very seat of power of the one he had avoided; he had been foolish it seemed. He leapt around a corner and into a main street, just to come face to face with a group of his search-party…

“Halt!” the guard at the front of squad commanded after a moment of surprise. Even before the golden-armored pony uttered the command, he had doubled back into the shadowed alleyway he had come from. He knew that he could not keep this chase going for much longer, he sighed and came to a stop in that alley. The squad was already at the entrance and still expecting a chase; they quickly approached him but slowed as they realized he had stopped. He turned slowly to them, noting quickly that three unicorns had their horns lit and ready for any move he might pull. He was not so worried about them yet, he wondered though why he saw no pegasi among the group.

“We are here under the princesses’ orders to bring you to the castle. Come with us.” The same guard as before said from behind the line of unicorns. He said nothing as he thought through a strategy. Five unicorns, two armed earth ponies, the one that seemed to be in command was a unicorn as well… They had brought mostly unicorns to combat his own magic but why had they not brought any pegasi? The Royal Guard was not lacking in them based on how many he had seen throughout the city and yet they had brought none to capture him, and none had been searching for him by air…

He readied his horn in the blink of an eye and blasted the entire squad with a wall of force far enough that they lay haphazardly back in the street they had entered. He had made sure to not use enough to severely hurt them but interlaced with the force spell he had put a charm that would render them unconscious for a few hours. He began running again quickly but just as he began to resume his sprint he was forced violently into the ground.

“Mine sister wouldst like to have a word with thou.” A feminine voice rang through the night air clearly. He struggled against his magical binding with not only any spell he could think of but also physically, nothing was working in the slightest. The sheer power feeding the spell gave no room for error, he might be more versed in the ways of magic than many, but to a god he was nothing. He gave a sigh and let himself fall still, still hoping that his encounter with her would never come to pass but knowing that it was fruitless. He dreaded to keep his eyes open as he was flipped around to face his tormentor, but was soon dumbfounded, “Who are you?”

The winged unicorn dropped her hardened look after such a question, “We are Princess Luna, who art thou to not recognize our visage?” Her voice was soft as her confusion took the best of her. Her sister had been vague when she had sent out half the guard to retrieve one pony; she had seemed so troubled that Luna had taken her own guardians to search from the skies. Now she had found him, and he had no idea who she was? He was a tall unicorn with a cobalt coat, his mane and tail were a deep black which seemed to absorb all light, but he possessed two features that would have distinguished him from any other pony. His eyes were grey, a color almost unheard of in such bright creatures, and there seemed to be no spark behind them; only a distant and calculating look. The second feature was that of his body which was covered generally in scars, many shapes and sizes of rubbery tissue riddled him as if he had seen war unlike any known to recent history.

He watched her as she looked him over, waiting for a reply which he had no intention of giving her, she was like Celestia with her wings and horn; she was a god. Fear gripped him with its icy jaws as her words finally clicked in his head, she mentioned a sister, she was a god, and her mark showed a crescent moon wreathed in inky blackness along her flank, and striking most of all was her name; ‘Luna’. His decision to be silent was soon swept aside, “Luna of the Stars…” his eyes held disbelief as wonder laced his voice. She was even more taken aback now at this almost whisper, “Thou knowest of our title from before our fall, we ask again, who art thou?”

“… Everlast, Goddess, my name is Everlast” he said slowly, knowing that his name would lead to a conclusion in her head. Her eyes widened but she shook her head and her look now hardened. “We shall take you now to our sister; perhaps she canst shed light on this subject.”

Luna still gripped him in her magical glow as she and her accompanying guard of batponies flew toward the castle. The princess of the moon was swift and soon she landed at the doors of the great Castle Canterlot, she was approached by the guards of her sister that stood at that large threshold. “We hath acquired the pony our sister asked of us to retrieve. Recall thine comrades.” The guards bowed low before her and one strode away while the other returned to his post. Everlast was gently lowered to the tiled floor and the glow faded, “Will thou walk with us to mine sister or shall we be forced to incapacitate thou once again?” Luna asked slowly. For some reason, even though he had been avoiding such an encounter with the god of the sun for a very long time, he felt resigned. “I will walk with you, Goddess.” She smiled gently at this.

They began their walk through the halls of the castle, Luna studying him as they walked, “How came you to acquire such a name?” she asked finally. He sighed and looked toward one of the tall windows that shone moonlight into the darkened hall, “I was not born with it if that is what you are asking; I have given it to myself. I suspect you already know why but it should be obvious once this night has passed.” She nodded to this answer but she pressed further, “If what you imply to be thine reason for this title is true, and we very much doubt that it is, we can see why you wouldst have trepidations upon meeting mine sister.” She stared unabatedly at the tall unicorn as he continued to look upon her moon, “I have avoided this discussion for a rather long time goddess, yet your presence here in Canterlot has allayed many of my fears about your sister.”

They finally came to the massive golden doors that lead to the throne room of Equestria. “I have a favor to ask of you, Goddess of the Moon” he asked as the unicorn guards began to open the titanic doors. “I shall hear it, Everlast” she said simply. “I have heard many things about you, many of them were horrific, and yet it seems you now stand together again with your sister. If your sister lives up to my fears about her, I would ask that you defend me; I feel that you may more easily understand my situation.” His eyes were hard, his expression serious, as the golden doors fully opened; Luna laughed aloud. He gaped at her as she tittered merrily beside him, his face showed betrayal and confusion. Her laughter died down after a few seconds and she genuinely smiled at him, “Let us meet with mine sister, Everlast.”

She strode confidently ahead into the ornate throne room; he followed her with his eyes but not his hooves. He finally brought his gaze to that which he had dreaded to see, the goddess Celestia, looking straight at him. He found that instead of his hooves sending him in the opposite direction they slowly carried him to her, a grim determination flowing through him that he had felt before, the kind that might fall upon a pony before battle.

Moonlight swept across the large throne room, the tapestries were dark, a darkened gold throne sat upon a large pedestal of marble, the entire scene ethereal in nature. Even in the dead of night where all were bathed in the soft glow of moonlight, the goddess Celestia seemed to shine as the Sun. Her mane and tail were a flow of soft colors, her coat was a bright alabaster much like the blinding light of the sun, her eyes a deep magenta. She was adorned in gold, a large crown inset with an amethyst that sat behind her lengthy horn, a peytral similarly inset, and hoof shoes with styled fleur-de-lis’ of gold. Even without seeing it from his position, Everlast could envision her mark of a radiant sun. She watched intently as he slowly marched toward her along the large red carpeting that led all the way to the pedestal.

Luna stepped upon the pedestal and turned to await Everlast beside her sister, and as he walked slowly he studied both their faces; Luna smiled slightly at him and Celestia kept her face neutral. The sight was different than he had imagined his encounter with Celestia being, it was almost welcoming in comparison to his dark ruminations; he now only wished to get through it rather than flee. “Goddess Celestia, you seem to have gone to a lot of trouble to speak with me.” The ghost of a smile graced her lips even as she tried to keep her indifferent façade. “I have indeed, my little pony. You see, I sensed a surprising magical aura as I began to lower my Sun. I remembered your aura… and now your face as well; from a very long time ago indeed. I wish to ask you a simple question; how long have you lived my dear Aegis?”

He was taken by surprise at the mention of his name, but finally his lips curled into a hesitant smile and he snorted in amusement, “If you remember me so clearly then you already have your answer… If I have counted correctly, then this will be my one-thousand and thirty-second year upon this world.”

Author's Note

First story in a rather long time. I expect a good amount of grammatical errors so please try and get past it or possibly mention it?

Enjoy!