Author's Note
This is my first ever story on this website, or indeed on any
if you enjoy this, or have any criticisms, please comment, I'll be glad to hear them
Lunar Eclipse
"Do you think we'll be good parents?" Asked Night Moon, a Dark-blue-coated mare with a flowing man of dark purples. She was laying on her side, a picnic cloth separating her from the grass of the cool night. She'd dare not lay on her belly, as that space was currently occupied
Crescent Moon smiled at her. His body too shared cool colours, a light turquoise coat with a straight, short, dark blue mane "As long as he spends more time with you than he does with me."
The mare chuckled, gently stroking the stretched skin of her belly "Don't be so silly, Crescent. I fell in love with you, didn't I?."
"You did, I'm surprised to say. Didn't think I'd be able to marry someone prettier than Celestia herself."
"Oh, quit with the flirting; we're already married, aren't we?"
"Again, i check my consciousness whenever I remember that," He wittily responded, which pushed another giggle out of the mare. Crescent's horn glowed a light green as he opened the picnic basket, taking out two plates with small apple pies on both. The two were outside in the late moments of twilight, sitting together on their favourite patch of land; a small hill from which one could see Ponyville and the Everfree forest, plus Canterlot in the distance "Speaking of the little chap, how's he doing?"
"Not paying his rent," Night said, which almost sent two floating glasses of apple juice to the ground. She suddenly gasped, and with a smile squealed "Oh! He's kicking!" Crescent quickly set the rest of the cutlery down before laying down beside her, pressing his pointed ear to his wife's stomach
"Ohoh, this one's gonna love walking." He chuckled, lightly tapping her stomach. He got a response soon after "And telecommunication apparently"
"Hehe~" Her face grew more serious "Crescent...We're not exactly average. you know what bullies are like, they'll latch onto little facts. Parents who enjoy the company of the night more than the day"
"Hm...I've been thinking about that" Crescent began. Night raised an eyebrow "I'm from a family of explorers. My parents named me after the very tool which once saved their lives, the moon, using the direction of the crescent to find North. What say me, you and this little colt keep up the tradition"
"You mean..."
"Canterlot, Appleloosa, Los Pegasus, show this little guy the whole of Equestria"
"Hm...What about school?"
"I learned a lot more than just how a compass works back at canterlot Academy, we could both school him"
Night looked unconvinced "Winter...Ah, I want to explore with you, but just because we haven't been moving much since I got burdened with this little menace doesn't mean we should go straight into it. plus, I want him to go to Canterlot Academy as well"
"That's the other thing! We teach him as we explore round the world, and then when he's old enough we can settle in Canterlot. A great family adventure, before the academy."
"Why not after?"
"Well...yeah, I need to go exploring, and that long will probably drive me insane," He smiled nervously, hoping his little confession wouldn't ruin his plan. Night simply giggled "I'll think about it. We're not going anywhere soon."
"I know dear." He gave her a warm hug "So...when is this thing supposed to happen?"
She chuckled, shaking her head "This "Thing" is a Lunar Eclipse. The sun and moon are going to be completely opposite each other, and the moon will be shadowed by the great body of Terra."
"Huh...so, will it suddenly become daytime?"
"What?"
"y'know, like, with a Solar eclipse day becomes night, so will this be the opposite-"
"You know that won't happen."
"Hey, you're the astronomer."
"I'm a Stargazer as barely a hobby. This is just something a that's quite the phenomenon to behold."
"Sounds good to me." He said, letting his wife rest her head on his neck. They both watched the silver moon sit still in the sky. Night suddenly gasped, which made Crescent jolt "What is it?"
"N-nothing...Little guy must've kicked me...Ooof"
"Um...want some pie?"
The mare giggled "Now I understand why you didn't become a doctor."
"No, that's because I can't stand the sight of blood. And pies cure everything"
"And you'd belong well in the Apple family...Ooh, here we go"
A shadow had started to creep from the left edge of the moon. After a few minutes, which Cresent pointed out as being longer than necessary, which earned him a gently hood to the face, the moon had been completely shadowed, and was bathed in an orange-red light. Crescent whistled in awe "Wow...OK, that was worth it"
Night blinked "Crescent..."
"Why is it red though-"
"Crescent"
"Hm,maybe the light is bouncing around the atmosphere and-"
"Crescent!"
"Yes my dear?"
Night didn't reply with anything more than heavy breathing. her eyes were wide, pupils small "T-the baby!"
"What about it?" Crescent seemed remarkably underwhelmed
"I-it's coming!"
"Oh" A moment passed, then Crescent's calm composure shattered "Oh, OH! Night! Er, right, er...Keep breathing, keep-"
"SWEET CELESTIA THIS HURTS!"
"I can imagine, er...Dammit, the pie will go cold-"
"PRIORITIES, DEAR!"
"Right! Er...Hold on, I can just about..." He squinted as his horn glowed brightly. Sparks leaked out as a huge burst of energy rocketed into the sky. It exploded in the air like a firework, large red and blue flashing traces erupting out and almost floating in the air "Don't worry dear, the ambulance is on its way. Just keep breathing, I'm here. I'm here."
"Zzzz-Ch-I'M HERE! I'M-"
"Er, mister Moon, I know" The slightly unamused mare said, wearing a nurse's hat. She had gently nudged Crescent into awareness of his surroundings, which was one of the many halls of Ponyville hospital "Your wife is ready to see you"
"Oh...Oh! She's...I'm..."
"You're a father, mister Moon. Congratulations"
"I was going to say tired but that works fine"
The nurse retained her bemused expression, but put on a smile whilst leading him into the ward. Night was in one of the beds, her hair a little frazzled, her eyes looking heavy, and a small package in her arms which was writhing a little. The doctor stepped aside. Crescent was dumb-struck by the situation as he slowly walked up beside the bed
Night smiled as she lightly pulled the towel open a little more. There, squirming in a neat huddle, was a small baby pony. It's Coat was a dark purple which was amazingly pleasant on the eyes. It's man was frizzier that it's father's, a combination of their mother's purple and their father's Turquoise. The doctor chose now to speak. "It's a Colt, Mr Moon, a very healthy one at that. His quietness stirred a little worry, but he seems perfectly fine"
"Fine?" Questioned Crescent "More perfect and beautiful than all the stars in the sky is much better a description"
Night let out a soft chuckled, tiredness taking hold. The Doctor smiled "We get that a lot. Have you decided a name?"
"I believe we agreed on your grand-mother's name"
Night sighed "He's a boy, Crescent."
"Right, yeah..." he looked out the window for a second, trying to find inspiration. The night only allowed the moon to be viewed, which had long since passed its ecliptic phase "How about Lunar Eclipse"
"Hm...I want him to keep part of our name. Something Moon"
"Hm...Full, New, Half, Satellite, Orbiting, er..."
"That one"
"Er? Er isn't a name, dear"
"No, Satellite, you dork"
"Satellite. Satellite Moon" The stallion smiled "I love it already"
The two nuzzled against each other. Satellite evidently wanted a part of the action, and so stuck out his little hooves managed to brush his father's chin, which made both his parents and the doctor chuckle. Even the nurse let herself smile
The young colt could care less about travelling
As Satellite Moon grew up, he found he could never base himself onto anything. His parents were constant, but nothing else was. It felt like they'd never stay still for any more than a couple of moons before they were off to another distant corner of Terra.
He wasn't really bothered by this when he was just a baby. To him, this was what childhood was, a seemingly endless adventure, though the adventure part started to wear thin. he didn't hate seeing new sights and tasting new foods, but he wasn't exactly beside himself whenever the next location was pointed out on a map
He wasn't quite sure why he couldn't say this to his parents. They both loved exploring the world, his father especially, he'd bring up his parent's reasoning for his name at any time it be deemed relevant. His mother enjoyed it, though her parents were still a mystery to him. She said that they lived in Canterlot, but the subject changed whenever Satellite pressed on. The best response he ever got was:
"I have an old family. Some say older than Equestria itself"
"Older than Celestia?" The young Satellite asked. Night chuckled as a response, and that was it
Accepted as another law of the land by the colt, his mother's family remained a mystery
But the next destination was actually quite the speciality. They would be returning to somewhere they had been before, something brand new to the colt. Returning to where he spent his days as a baby
They were returning to Ponyville
The Friendship Express chugged happily through the mountains, the newly-risen sun just reaching over the tips. A light beam managed to get past the range and reach the window, hitting the young colt's closed eyelids, shattering any hope of additional sleep
Ah, now, there was another thing. Friendship. Albeit expected, Satellite had no real friends. He had memories of varying strength depicting him having fun with other ponies, but no friendship could withstand his unstable accommodation. Even for the most skilled post-pegasi they had, the mail service couldn't keep him well enough in contact with any of them. Except one
"So," Silver Moon began. The earliness of their departure from Appleloosa hadn't phased her at all, another odd thing about his mother, she never seemed tired "Have you and your pen pal arranged a get together?"
Limelight. If Satellite had to pick a name from his short list of friends that stood out the most, it would be Limelight. His parents made up for his lacking memory; the two had met in a daycare center, before Satellite's parents had deemed him old enough for long-distance travel. Apparently they were inseparable. Apparently so, as he was the only pony he had sustained communication with
The two traded stories for most of their letters, Satellite of his travels and Limelight for events in Ponyville. Satellite was fascinated at how a single town could continue to be so interesting. Satellite kept a few letters from Lime which interested him the most, tales of the Everfree forest, the many events that took place between seasons. Winter Wrap-up was his favourite, but not of the stories. That was reserved to something very special
Limelight's Cutiemark
Satellite had read the letter so many times over he almost had the situation pinned to memory:
Dear Satellite
Today was pretty ordinary. Standard day at school. There was that school play I was telling you about, Manebeth. Oh, and i got my Cutie mark.
Alright, i lied about the ordinary part
It was the end of the performance, with characters taking their bows. Of course i, as Macbeth, did mine at the very end. I got a standing ovation, can you believe it!? I thought the stage would fall over, the audience were clopping so hard. I felt my flank tingle in a weird way, but I tried to ignore it. The show must go on and all that
Ponies started gasping. i though the set was indeed falling over, so I looked around a bit. Almost the whole cast was looking at me. I followed their gaze to my flank. it was glittering, shining, sparkling, both sides. The applause stopped as everypony took a deep breath, then there was this huge flash of light and boom, Cutiemark
A photograph had been taken of Limelight and presumably by Limelight as the image was a little shaky. Against the pale turqoise of his flank was two masks, one smiling, the other frowning, a small ribbon behind them both
There was an even bigger round of applause which definitely shook a few screws loose. I was congratulated, my parents had tears in their eyes. Crikey. Acting, not so surprisingly, but I'm glad it's what I'm made for
I hope you get this soon, i know you'll want to ask a load of questions
Limelight
He did ask a lot of questions, the specific timing, the feeling, the play, the list went on. This was mostly due to the young colt not yet having his own Cutiemark.
His father's was a dark blue compass whilst his mother's was a full moon surrounded by dark purple clouds, but his had yet to show itself. He knew that it would represent not only his unique talent but also him as a pony, his personality and hsi traits. He was passed the average age where Cutiemarks are gained, information he learned from a quiet conversation his parents had that he probably wasn't meant to hear. The advice he got from them varied: Try everything and see what sings to you all the way to live life normally and it will come to you
He pointed out that his life wasn't exactly normal
The Friendship Express' speed slowed down to a halt, which sent Crescent Moon forwards out of his chair onto the ground with a thump. He remained sleeping
"Honey, wake up." Silver nudged him with her front hoof which, somehow, resulted in more of an effect. Crescent snorted awake
"Whazzi-Ch-Oh...Was I always on the floor or did they have to sell the chairs for fuel?" The Stallion groggily asked. The other two giggled
"We're here, dad" Satellite explained in the canterlot accent he had inherited from his mother. He looked out the window, surprised by how small the station was despite Ponyville's population and popularity. Crescent managed to stand on all fours, looking out the window
"Huh, hasn't changed that much since we left. Do you recognize it?"
"No...well, it seems familiar. I'm not sure"
"It'll come to you" Assured Silver as she guided her head through her satchel strap. Crescent used magic to put his on, and Satellite attempted to follow suite. He focused on his satchel and thought about it lifting off the ground and settling on his body, as Crescent had taught him. His horn glowed a light aqua, slightly darker than his father's magic, and the satchel was surrounded by an aura of the same colour. No came the tricky part. he focussed on lifting it, and the strap lifted up with ease, but the main body of the satchel which mostly consisted of books struggled to leave the ground. He groaned, putting more strength into his horn. The satchel shakily left the ground and hovered over to him but at the halfway point he gasped, unable to sustain his concentration, and the satchel fell to the floor and spilled out some of its contents
"Ahh, don't worry," Encouraged his father, starting to move the books back into his satchel "It took me until I was quite a bit older to lift heavy objects like books. I think your magical strength scales up with your age..." He focused on one of the books, a hardback copy, thicker than any of the others. Crescent moved it closer so he could read the title. " "An Astronomer's guide to the Night Sky"...Where did you-"
"From me," Silver spoke up, ruffling Satellite's mane with her front hoof. "He seemed interested in the stars, so I thought this would help him out."
Crescent started flicking through the pages "But...But this is pretty advanced. A lot of it's based off Starswirl The bearded's discoveries"
Satellite blushed, though he wasn't exactly sure why
"Come on, the train'll leave with us if we don't get off soon" Silver said. Crescent nodded, putting the large book back in the satchel and placing it over Satellite's back. Satellite had surprisingly strong legs, probably from all the walking they did in their travels. They quickly clopped off the train, which set off to its next destination soon after
"Do you reckon Sugar Cube Corner is still here?" Inquired Crescent, gently massaging his growling stomach
"Satellite?" Came a voice from behind. Satellite turned, and his eyes settled on a young colt with a very light blue coat with a short mane of varying greens, a cutiemark of two Acting masks on each side of their flank
"Limelight" Registered the colt. The two got up closer to each other. Satellite wasn't sure if this was the same for Limelight, but this was one of those moments that one would accept as forever out of reach. Finally, after only understanding his existence from photographs, Satellite could actually see him
The two remained gazing into the other's eyes. Limelight was the first to break from their shared hypnotic state, moving forward and hugging him. "I can't believe it! You're actually here!" Apparently Limelight did feel the same way
"I know! I never thought I'd meet you." Satellite continued almost as if on auto-pilot. A bunch of emotions were somehow bottlenecking at his throat and managing to form short sentences. Satellite's parents were side by side, smiling at him. His mother looked as if she was on the verge of tears
"I know, right?" He broke the hug, and the awkwardness of the atmosphere returned
...
"So..." Crescent broke in "Who's for breakfast?"