It was that time of the year again. The Summer Sun Celebration. The time everypony would give praise to Princess Celestia for her raising of the Sun. To remind them of how peace has been restored to the land after the terrors of Discord and King Sombra, and of course Nightmare Moon had been swiftly dealt with. The ponies of Equestria waited outside the castle near the pedestal where Celestia would trot forth and raise the Sun while lowering the moon. True, whey see this task performed all year round, but today was a day when Celestia would provide a display for all to see that few ever were able to witness at any other time of the year.
Celestia sighed in joy and relief. She felt so happy that her subjects felt a sense of security this day. "Princess Celestia.... the subjects are ready for you," Celestia's personal protege', Twilight Sparkle informed.
"Thank you Twilight. Having you here today to watch this makes this day feel a little more special," Celestia stated.
This in turn made Twilight Sparkle blush. Soon, Celestia began to trot out and heard one of the Castle Gaurds announce, "Behold, her royal majesty, the mare which brings forth both day and night, our faithful ruler, Princess Celestia!"
Soon the iconic trumpets that signaled her arrival were sounded. And as always she met everypony with a smile on her face.
Near the front of the crowd, one pony, who wore a cloak and hood watched as once again, Celestia began to raise her beautiful sun, and lower the majestic moon. Celestia had paid them little attention. This wasn't one of those overbearing worshipers that painted the alicorns in a bad light, or they they would have been trying to get closer, and they had died out centuries ago.
As Celestia finished the raising of the Sun and setting of the Moon, she proclaimed, "Let the celebration begin."
The ponies among the crowd cheered. Well, most of them. The hooded figure merely trotted off. The crowd paid little attention. This pony didn't expect anyone to notice them leaving anyways.
Meanwhile, Celestia was enjoying the company of her student, as well as many of the subjects at the celebration. Most of them were nobles, and as always, one or two of them would be assaulting her with political agendas and how they feel the ideas would better Equestria, but Celestia knew the ideas were more to better the noble's life more than anypony elses, but she came to expect this among the nobles. What she did enjoy was whenever her student got the chance to tell her how her studies had been progressing. What she had learned, what she was in the process of learning, and what she planned for future tasks that were on her weekly, if not monthly "to do" list. Celestia found it quite amusing at how inquisitive and organized her faithful protege' was. But she also worried.
Twilight, although she did hang around with a group of friends when she wasn't with Celestia, was beginning to receive a bad reputation. Not the kind some nobles got for being self-centered and full of themselves, putting themselves on an imaginary pedestal, acting like the should be worshiped like a deity. No, her student was getting a rep for being too focused on her work, rather then socializing. Her friends didn't mind her being a bookworm, but they also didn't try to defend her when ponies shot comments about her being self-absorbed. Celestia wasn't sure how she was to go about this.
As the festivities died down, Celestia and Twilight retired to the inside of Canterlot Palace. Celestia had some paperwork to read over, and Twilight, she knew, was eager to get back to her magic lessons. As Celestia was reading over a parchment that was to help better the plant growth in the royal city, her attention was soon altered as she heard a voice cry out, "Let me go! You can't treat me like this!"
Soon, out of nowhere, the doors to the throne room flew open, sending in a huge gust of wind. As Celestia came to her senses from the sudden intrusion of air, she saw a very strange sight. A pony, she couldn't tell of what race, was being dragged in by two of the castle guards. They were the same cloaked figure that had been at the Summer Sun Celebration ceremony, hence why Celestia couldn't identify their race, for they were still cloaked, and their face was still shrouded in the hood, with only their muzzle visible. "Guards, I wasn't expecting any visitors to the castle today, what is going on here?" Celestia demanded.
"Your highness. This colt was seen leaving the festivities as soon as the Sun was risen into the sky," One guard answered.
"I did not sign any law that said he had to stay at the celebration, Lieutenant Firemane," Celestia iterated.
"We merely found it suspicious that he would depart so soon your majesty. We felt he was possibly planning something," Another guard stated.
"I can understand if you have raised suspicions, but that still does not dictate you bringing him to the castle against his will. My apologies my little pony. Sometimes my guards can be a little over expressive, but they were trained to look for signs of suspicious nature," Celestia says.
"Pardon me for speaking out of turn Princess Celestia, but that's a bit of an understatement. I've been present for these celebrations many times, but this is going off the deep end for your guards," the colt stated.
"I can understand your point of view on that matter, but may I ask, for I am a bit curious, why is it you left the festivities as soon as I had perfromed the rising and setting of the the repected pieces of the heavens?" Celestia inquired.
"I had no interest in staying. I have my own opinions about the celebration, and I keep those to myself, for I feel my opinions would be frowned upon by most," the colt stated.
"Well, this makes me all the more curious, what are your opinions you keep so closely to yourself? You have my permission to speak as you wish," Celestia assured the cloaked stallion.
The colt sighed, "This celebration is nothing but a constant reminder of what happened so long ago. While it is true, they celebrate the safety that is provided to them, mostly all forget where that safety was first rooted. All I see is an excuse for the subjects to worship the Princess of Day. While I am not against all the accomplishments that were made to ensure Equestria's safety, I am disgusted by what has been forgotten."
"And what would that be, young colt?" Celestia asked. This colt's outburst intrigued her, and it was very hard to catch her interests as such.
The colt continued as tears rolled down his eyes unseen, "They forget..... they forget about the one who kept their nights safe. They forget about the one who would protect their dreams, who would help them to understand what some of those dreams meant. They forget about all she did for them to ensure their nights would not be met with terror. She..... she was their guardian, and they just tossed her aside and made her seem like she was no more then a rumor on the wind. The only thing they remember is the one who would be there while they are all awake. But they showed no respect for the one that protected them while they slumbered. It makes it all the more painful every year for my eyes when the sun rises on this day."
"Why does it pain your eyes dear?" Celestia pondered.
"Because, this day is a constant reminder that she fell. She fell into her own darkness within her, and no one tried to help her. Not even her own sister. She looked to her sister for help, and was rewarded with silence. Her own sister had failed her. The ponies slept through her night. They didn't even wait for her moon to rise. They treated her as if she was an outcast. They only came to her for their convenience, but when she turned to them, they cast her aside," the young colt cried out, his voice cracking from his outburst.
Celestia was developing her own tears now. This colt spoke the truth, no matter how harsh it was. "How dare you accuse her of such things! Celestia saved us from a monster that threatened Equestria's way of life!" Bellowed Celestia's nephew, Blueblood, who had trotted in a while back, listening to, what he considered, this ruffians rant.
"That monster only surfaced because no grown pony that was there at the time gave the Princess of Night any attention! You all celebrate the day that Nightmare Moon was defeated, and remember the other monsters along with that. But where is the respect for the Princess who once protected our night?! Where is respect for the night itself among most of the populace?! I see little, if any, for only few, including myself remember! But I remember more then most!" The young stallion spat back at Prince Blueblood.
"This is outrageous! Guards! Arrest this pony!" Blueblood ordered.
The young colt in the cloak stood there, and waited. He wasn't about to fight them. There was no point. He stated the truth, and was willing to be thrown in the dungeons, or banished. Just as he thought the guards would have him put in chains, he heard, "No. Do not touch him. He is right. He speaks the truth. I failed to protect my sister. And for a while, I had forgotten what this day truly meant for me on a personal level. While it pains me to be reminded by another, it does give me some sense of joy that I am not the only one who remembers my sister's true legacy. But I don't understand how you know this young colt. The history books state only the fall of Nightmare Moon, as I had battled her, and it speaks of her banishment, but no history book states what truly led to those events. How was it you knew of what happened over 1000 years ago, before Nightmare Moon had surfaced?" Celesta said as she trotted towards the young stallion.
"Because," the colt said before removing hidden shades from his face and the cloak, "I was there when it happened."
Celestia trotted a step back, and Prince Blueblood fainted at the scene before them. The guards' wore shocked expressions as their jaws nearly fell to the floor at what they were seeing. There, in the throne room, was a stallion with pointed fluffy ears, eyes that resemble that of the fabled dark mare, and most distinctively, a horn, and wings. But the wings were not of normal pegasi origin, these were wings normally seen on their cousins, the thestrals, more commonly known as Bat Ponies. His fur, mane and tail resembled that of the mist, seen sometimes in the evening in areas along the coast, or in the early morning, just as the sun rose over the horizon. His eyes were deep navy blue, and somehow it wasn't noticed before, he had to elongated fangs that surfaced over his lower jaw. And his cutie mark bared a similar look to that of the Lost Princess of the Night. "I was almost worried you wouldn't recognize me once I revealed myself aunt," the colt stated.
"N-Night Mist?" Celestia studdered.
"Yes, son of your sister, and an heir to the Lunar throne," Night Mist stated.
"B-but, I thought you were gone forever. When my maids came to look for you, they couldn't find you anywhere," Celestia said.
"That's because I ran. I was there to see what happened to my mother. And being how young I had been, I was frightened. I thought you were going to do the same thing to me. And I miss her. And still no one gives my mother any appreciation. That's why I hadn't come back before," Night Mist said.
"Night Mist, I-I'm so sorry. I was so caught up in my own grief, I never even considered how the situation affected you. Can..... can you ever forgive me?" Celesita pleaded.
"I already have..... can you forgive me.... for being so self-centered and not coming to you for aid?" Night Mist asked.
Celestia chuckled through her tears and pulled her eldest nephew close, "Of course. We both made our own mistakes, but that is how we learn. That is how we grow and become wiser..... Now, how to get you known to the public? All ponies know you for, right now is, "The Lost Son of the Lunar Princess"."
"Yeah, sorry about that," Night Mist chuckled in embarrassment.
"My student is gonna have a lot of questions when she meets you," Celestia admitted.
"If I hadn't known better, I would have thought she was a mortal daughter of yours," Night Mist stated.
"Hmhmhm, who says she's not?" Celestia trolled.
"..?.." Night Mist tried to contemplate what Celestia just stated.
Celestia then broke him out of his trance, ruffling his mane, before she said, "Come, we best get you a good bath, all that time living outside the palace doesn't seem to have done wonders for your coat."
Night Mist scratched his neck with his hoof, and soon, after the guards and the hoof maidens and butlers came back to their senses, they escorted Night Mist to the Lunar chambers of the castle.
Author's Note
End of Chapter one. Tell me what you think. For right now it's a oneshot, but if people request more, I will look into continuing this story. For now, leave your comments below and I'll *Stardust engulfs the room.* *cough* knock *cough* out. *cough* Sleepy time. *I collapse on the floor near Luna's laptop.*
Luna: That's enough computer time for you today Nighty. Time for some sleep. *Levitates me over to my lunar bed.*
Me: *in my sleep.* No Mama, I not wanna eat the nasty broccoli.