The Night is all around us

Rush shifted uncomfortably on the seat. It was a good chair, the foldable type, but good enough. He was not an expert in chairs – he was only an expert in driving and welding, and one of those things was now out since the completion of the factory. If he had expected the Princess to come in and bop each and every one of them on the nose for a well-done job, he had another thing coming.

One morning he had to wake up at five o’clock to cut steel beams, the other he could sleep in bed for how long he wanted, his contract expired.

When jumping from job to job he always allowed himself a two-weeks sabbatical when he pushed his truck as far as he could into the endless plains of the Equestrian interior, just see how far he could go before he had to stop and repair the choking, sputtering engine.

But this time he was too restless to do anything.

Bide. Bide for what?

When would his moment come?

By night things got even worse. If he tried to just hop on his ol’ faithful and go for a night drive he would just push it for a few miles and then slow it down and then stop and then look up at the sky.

It’s full of stars.

Rush shifted again on his chair. He brushed his tired eyes.

Bide. He felt like a big fat fish on a hook, being pulled this way and that, getting tired. He never got into fishing, his pops always thought it stupid, but he knew you were supposed to get your prey tired before going in for the kill.

Bide for what?

There was something coming. Something big. Did not know what exactly but he did feel like it was, and together with him, one those creaking folding chairs hundreds, no, thousands of ponies seemed to feel the same, looking towards the stage where the Princess was talking about the rights of Thestrals.

He needed a minute to understand what the word meant – he had always called them batponies or some other less-than-savory term, but now with the Princess looking so passionate about her subjects, he did feel a little stupid for never asking how they preferred to be called.

The waves and waves of ponies cheered and clapped with every word, so that even with the aide of the Princess’ magnified voice he only got bits and pieces of what exactly she was talking about. Equality, friendship.

And yet he felt like something was about to happen. Under the blanket of stars, in that city that never sleeps, night was encroaching for maybe the first time. It pressed all around them, it shifted and turned, it caressed each of his hair and tickled his chest as it laughed in his ear, all tinkling noises and very pointed teeth.

He lifted his gaze from the crowd to the Princess, standing out with her wings wide open, raising a hoof as her speech rose to its climax.

A speech about peace, about a new era of wonders and friendship. The crowd stood up, chanting her name: Luna, Luna Luna.

“Luna,” he felt it roll off his dreamy lips. “Luna,” he tried again. It was getting easier.

He did feel a little better now.

Bide.

For what.

For this!

“Luna!” he cheered, clapping his hooves with the others. Maybe this was what he had always missed, he realized in a flash. “Luna!” This was the moment. The moment when it would happen, the moment when he found something greater than himself. The stars beckoned. “Luna! Luna Lu-”

The last syllable died on his lips when the stage exploded in a white-red flower. The rumble of the detonation hit him like a slap moments later – he fell back and hit his head.