“Well then, this will conclude our story for today. Now, I believe it is getting late. I would hate to keep your Mother waiting.” Said the stallion.

“But, but, you aren’t done with the story yet! This is just a cliffhanger.” Said Orin, pouting.

“Yeah!” Said Ava, a little emotional because of the ending. “What happens to Dasher? Does she join the resistance? Where do you come in, in this story? This can’t be all.”

“Ah well, that is a future story that I will tell you. There is much more that is to come. Yet it is late already, and I believe I have kept you two for quite the time. I am glad your Mother brought us food since you two were so engrossed in my story and wouldn’t budge for anything.” Said the stallion.

“But it isn’t that late. You still have time to tell us more.” Said Orin, but he hadn’t looked outside, which was well into the night.

“Oh but it is, I think we just finished before 11 pm. Way past your bedtime. Don’t worry, we can pick up right where we ended the next time you see me.” Said the stallion, smiling.

As luck would have it, both instantly yawned and were struggling to stay awake. It was at that time that their mother entered the room. “What’s this I hear that the story is over, so quickly? I would have thought you would stay up all night.” She said.

“I didn’t say all of it of course. Just ended with a good cliffhanger. Plus, I saw that they were getting sleepy. So now is a good time to stop.” Said the stallion.

“Ah, as only you could. I hated when you did that when I was just a filly. You would drive me crazy with your story telling.” Said the Mother.

“But Mooom! We want to hear what happens next!” Said Orin.

“And you will, later. Trust me, your Grandpa does not disappoint. Right now, it is bedtime for you and your sister. Be thankful that I let you stay up this late.” Said the Mother.

“But what if I can’t fall asleep?” Said Ava.

“Oh, but you will. You can dream up all the fun adventures you could have. Daring escape attempts. Dastardly villains. Saving the damsel in distress. You both have a very active imagination and I have full confidence you will sleep just fine.” Said the Mother.

“But what if we…” Started Orin, but was already drifting off, with his sister quickly following suit. The two remaining that were awake shared a chuckle as they both picked up the sleeping forms and brought them to their beds.

“Grandpa.” Said Ava, waking up from her bed. “Will you tell us the rest of the story?”

“Of course Ava, you don’t have to doubt me.” Said the stallion smiling.

“Do you promise?” She continued, so innocently.

“I promise, now get some sleep, that was one interesting story, aye? Don’t stay up too long thinking about it.” He said.

“So, you ended with Flutter Moon’s death, I assume?” Said the mare.

“Of course Velvet. That was your favorite spot to stop anyway. You loved stopping there for emotional reasons.” Said the stallion.

“I now, but I also knew what was to come. They are experiencing all this for the first time. You might shatter how they see the world after this.” She said.

“Well, maybe that is a good thing. Sometimes ponies need to grow up. I certainly had to grow up fast, faster when I was their age. Life isn’t always sunshine and rainbows all the time.” He said.

“I know that, but are they ready for, everything? Like your scars for instance. How you got them was pretty graphic. I know that when you finally told me, I had nightmares for a week.” She said.

“I have already thought about my story and a way to eclipse that out. I plan on watering it down, immensely. Since that is probably the most intense and traumatic part. Just like for you, I will keep the event vague enough that it will be sufficient to quench their curiosity.” He said.

“How are you going to pull that over them? I was very skeptical when you said you just ‘fell down’ and kept them.” She said.

“I know, I know, that was a pretty bad way of explaining it to you, but you were young, and I didn’t want to scare you. My past was a scary place you know.” He said. “Now I seem to recall it’s your bedtime too. Remember when you used to doze off when I told my stories?”

“How could I forget; your voice was the only thing that got me to fall asleep.” She said.

“Ah, those were the days; you were so cute when you fell asleep. Your mother would throw a fit if you stayed past 9:30.” He said.

“She always did worry about us. She was so pure.” She said.

“And I was so dark. She helped me get out of that darkness you know. It’s why I married her.” He said.

“Yeah. I miss her songs. She had the most angelic voice, better than any I could find.” She said.

“Yeah, I miss her too. Not all of us survived the reversal. I know that if I wasn’t so skilled as a unicorn, I would probably have perished a long time ago. Even now I can feel my mind slipping. That’s why I love telling stories, it helps exercise my mind.” He said.

“Well don’t stay up too late yourself Dad. I know you might be a legendary figure, but even legends need to sleep. Maybe I can join the foals as you tell us the story. I know that if I am with them, they will feel more welcomed.” She said.

“That’s a great idea. It’s been awhile since I have told you the story. Goodnight my little Velvet.” He said.

“Goodnight Dad, sweet dreams.” She said.

Author's Note

And thus, ends the first installment of the next few stories to come. I plan on touching up the first few chapters, since I didn't really know what I was doing and splatted words on a page. After that I plan on taking a break for a week or two, then jump right back in. Enjoy!

Edit: And finished with all the edits. If you don't see any message edits at the end of a chapter, then ding ding ding! I didn't mess up enough to put an edit at the end. Anyway, I plan on doing a little more advertising for this story, then immediately work on the next one, enjoy!