Nightshade was your average foal. A grey unicorn foal to be exact. He lived about in the midnight mountains in a small town. He was a somewhat anxious and shy sort. He would never interact with many ponies yet when he did his interactions were always meaningful.
Nightshade's parents were of the normal sort. They loved for him. Cherished him. They let him do as he pleased within reason. Nightshade had a small friend group and was not too terribly social. Some of the other ponies in his school grade had gotten their cutie marks. He had not gotten his.
Eventually one night, his parents and him were sitting out back and enjoying the night sky. His mother would point out all the brilliant stars. Most importantly, the centrepiece of the sky was the moon itself. Its many craters. The seas, the light of it felt ethereal.
Until a little ways into the night, a spinning white star would streak across the sky. Nightshade looked on in wonder. Then, it streaked across again. It was close enough to see the actual points of it, but far enough away that any onlookers would not see anything else.
"Mom, dad! Do you see that?" Nightshade asked in exclamation.
"Yes, what is that? I've never seen anything like that." his father would say. His mother would remain silent at what had been seen. Later that night they talked about it but they could come across no conclusion. A few nights later, Nightshade would awake in the night. It was a full moon.
Nightshade felt...something. Something was off. It was as if it was an urge to go outside. He quietly walked throughout the house. The soft snoring of his caring parents was heard in their bedroom. He felt guilty truthfully, but whatever that something was felt slightly stronger by the moment.
As if he was watching someone else take controls of the way he was doing, his small hooves reached towards the door and slowly opened it. It creaked once, then he slipped out into the night. Truth be told, he was just observing his motions. The guilt made it seem he was but a passenger to his own act.
Outside it was a perfectly clear sky. The moon was brilliant and full, its silvery warm glow softly enveloped the landscape. He couldn't help but smile as he looked into the moon's full face, the many craters and streaks across its surface was absolutely tantalizing. He wish he had a way to see it closer, but his imagination would suffice.
Turning his head to the stars in passing interest, he liked the stars. But the Moon was always his favourite. It was the crown jewel of the sky. It was the centrepiece of everything. He breathed in the cool air, it was always satisfying to breathe the air. In the distance the same star from the other night would streak across the sky.
That star didn't stop though. It twirled and danced through the air, before eventually circling over him like a vulture would with its prey. Nightshade would gulp. Whatever that star was, it was after him. He began to run. As the star drew closer, it whooshed over him.
He was paralyzed by fear and could only stand there. He was a ways from his home now. His parents were too far to hear him even if he screamed. The star shape whooshed over him again and suddenly spun to the side and then slammed into the ground right where his path of where he would have ran.
He tried to run away from it, but he felt something stop him. Then, that star shape seemed to glow a bit and there was a loud popping sound as an alicorn figure flew out of it and landed next to him. The star shrunk, and became an amulet around the alicorn's neck. From what Nightshade could see, the alicorn was definitely female. To his shock, the alicorn was wearing some sort of visor that concealed her eyes. Her mane and tail had a tri-tone color of electric white, blue, and another color that he could not discern. He could see her cutie mark, being that of a...blotch? Something? He couldn't tell.
The alicorn would step forward. "You need not fear me. I come as a friend. Now tell me, what is your name?" she would ask in a calm way, as if trying to calm Nightshade down.
"W-what? W-who are you? A-alicorns are real? I-I thought they were only a legend..." Nightshade was utterly stunned. The alicorn would simply smile serenely as she walked forward. With her pure white magic, she would gently lift Nightshade onto her back.
"Alicorns are very much real. While I cannot tell you much, I will tell you that I have plans for you. You have the heart of a leader, a true leader. Even if you may not recognize it. Now, you have nothing to fear." her voice was soothing, in a reassuring manner.
"P-plans for me? What does that even mean? I don't even have my cutie mark yet...how do you know me?" Nightshade asks, as if this Alicorn was his mother.
"You will be the leader of what is to come. You will understand soon enough. You mention your cutie mark, that is what I am getting at. Look up at the moon, please. Do not look at my face, or I shall be very upset with you." she'd say in a slightly authoritative way. Nightshade did as he was told.
Laying on the alicorn's back, it was a perfect angle to look up at the moon. He stared and stared into the moon. Admiring it's features. He would dare not question the alicorn's words. He felt something within him. The alicorn would gracefully extend her wings, and fly off.
He kept looking at the moon, despite the obvious movement he felt...bliss. He was not worried about his parents, or his life. Or anything really. He felt his eyes close, and he calmly fell asleep. He was completely unaware of what had transpire when he was asleep.
Nightshade would awake laying on a grey surface. He felt fully energized from his rest. The alicorn was standing over him. She'd nudge his cheek softly. "You should take a look at your flank. Do not look at anything else." she'd say.
Doing as he was told, Nightshade would look at his flank. He had gotten his cutie mark! He jumped up and down in excitement around the alicorn. The alicorn smiled, but he did not look up at her smile. Upon stopping to look, he would see a grey orb with an orange orb, a yellow orb, a green orb, and a purple orb seeming to spin around it.
Nightshade would ask, "What does this mean? Please tell me." he would ask pleadingly.
The alicorn chuckled. "I suppose I can tell you that. My dear Nightshade, you are the leader of the spirits. You are the spirit of the moon. The spirits will look up to you for advice. They will be your friends for eternity. One could say, your family. They will go through many trials and tribulations. You will guide them. There is nothing to fear, you have been granted something of which very few will receive." she'd say in a very informative manner.
"But...why me? Who are you? Whats a spirit...?" he'd ask, his tone droning off.
"I see everyone. I know everyone. As for who I am, you already know who I am. A spirit is well, you will see. Now, your name is no longer Nightshade. It is Lumino. As some will call you some day, the Moon Lord." she'd reply and...bow before him.
Lumino would nod slowly to that, silently. Despite how unusual this was, it felt natural. The alicorn would seem to detach the small star from her necklace. She'd walk up to him slowly. "This will feel strange. Don't fret. But you will understand. This is what must happen." she'd say in an authoritative manner. With her white magic, she spun the star to show its sharpest point to Lumino. Then all of a sudden, she stabbed the star into his back.
Lumino whimpered at the pressure. It oddly enough did not feel painful. He felt a rush of power and energy flow into him. One that was of the night, and one that commanded the respect of all others. As this happened, he understood. He understood his purpose. His purpose was to watch over the world, to guide others down the right path and to oversee the dreams of ponies. To help them.
After the strange transfusion was complete, he felt something on his back. The alicorn removed the star from his back, and placed it back on her necklace. There was no blood. She'd say to him calmly, "You may look up now." her words were to the point.
Lumino looked up. Seeing a black sky, and the entire globe of the world was just...there. It was amazing. He could see all the continents, the clouds and the oceans. The warm glow of the planet. It was night. He realized he was on the moon. Smiling, he jumped up. He felt light, and jumped far higher than he could ever hope to. The alicorn jumped with him.
"Beautiful isn't it? The world. This is the world you will watch over, and protect." she'd say, Lumino wouldn't reply. He already knew who he was.
Soon enough they touched the ground again, softly. The alicorn smiled. "I am afraid that I cannot stick around for long. Remember who you are. Remember who you can be. You know what to do." she'd say. While he could not see, he could feel that she winked at him.
Lumino stood there, content. "Words cannot convey how humbled I am by your grace, or your knowledge. But I have full confidence within myself." he'd look to his...wings? He had wings. He was an alicorn just like she was, but he was still a foal. While he knew that he had been tampered with, he did not dare object.
The alicorn would nod in a parting gesture. With a popping sound, she pulled out the star from her necklace. With a twirl of a hoof, the star whisked through the air and then stopped a short ways away. She jumped lightly, and the star got larger. Large enough to fit her inside. She jumped into it, and the star then zoomed away.
Lumino was transfixed by the landscape around him. He was satisfied with who he was. He was ready to be a leader. A leader of the spirits.
There once was a blacksmith shop in the town of Innbruck. It was ran by two mares, Flare Trail and Fire Sparks. These two mares were also in deep love and were very caring to their recently adopted foal. The two mares had decided to name this foal Flame Shine. Flame Shine was never really interested in anything else but the metal working.
They never gave him proper education, either. Flare Trail and Fire Sparks were both marked by their intense tempers, and would often argue with each other but would never insult one another. These two mares, despite their shortcomings had proven to be great parents to the young Flame Shine. The town was rather quaint and rather unimpressive all things considered.
Flame Shine was never a particularly intelligent sort, marked only by his knowledge of crafting tools from fire at a very young age. He was a young pegasus, and his parents were also pegasi. They would fly amongst the clouds as a family, and laugh together. Mostly arguing though, but they grew to have a fondness for arguing and were seen as strange by everyone else. Flame Shine's favourite thing to do would be to set clouds on fire in an attempt to create flaming clouds. While most attempts, this would hilariously fail but regardless his parents pushed him to the best of their capacity.
The town was an independent town, as in this era of time most towns and areas were highly autonomous and independent of others. There were no established nations, but some of the towns were starting to ally against other towns. Sometimes, this would include acts of war to expand one's power. Innbruck, was never a part of this but little did they know, they would be soon.
Flame Shine had grew up a bit, he was honing into his craft to the point where he would become violent when distracted from forging metal into intricate shapes. It almost became an obsession. While he was normally just forging for fun, it would become a necessity. Word would come from a messenger pony, that the town nearby to Innbruck had declared war and had been taken over by a dictator. This dictator was known as Corigula. Corigula was an Earth pony stallion who only cared for his own power and control. He and his elite guards, would starve anyone who didn't follow him.
Flame Shine's parents were divided on what to do. Flare Trail wanted to leave, while Fire Sparks wanted to stay. Flame Shine would end up staying with Fire Sparks, while Flare Trail had left suddenly. She didn't take anything with her, and left without a word. She was too worried about her own self that she never said goodbye. Flame Shine ended up staying with Fire Sparks.
Soon enough, the invading army had struck and began fighting. It was rather gruesome, many ponies would end up dying at the hands of Corigula's army. As this happened, Flame Shine would finish crafting a weapon. It was some sort of cannon that fired a fire ball. Upon finishing this weapon, he positioned it in the grass outside an embankment and fired it off at the invading army. Many of Corigula's soldiers were struck by this and were wounded, some were even killed.
Flame Shine knew he was doing the right thing, protecting his town against an invading force. The town was surrounded, as fate would have it. Flame Shine and his mother would hide inside, but Flame Shine's burning hatred for what had happened would cause a spark to ignite in his heart. He was going to fight for his home, even it meant he would die for it.
He would grab an axe and put on make shift armour and run out the door. Outside he would see a sight that even years later he would never forget. The dictator, Corigula had his army surrounding the ponies they had managed to gather up who were all tied up and blind folded.
At that moment, his rage had broke. However, in the distance a spinning star would fly over the scene. Oddly enough, everything seemed to freeze. Time stopped, or so it seemed. Flame Shine caught the star in his eye. Something about it was alluring, little did he know the star was entrancing him.
He ran after it, as if his legs were no longer his own. The star had apparently stopped and was hovering over a clearing in the woods beyond the town. Suddenly, a female alicorn figure with some sort of visor would jump forth. Flame Shine would back up, intimidated by the alicorn's presence. He had never seen an alicorn before, but had heard legends.
"Who are you?" he asked in a rather gruff, abrasive manner.
"I come as a friend, I know so very much about you, Flame Shine." the strange alicorn would say. Her voice carried a strange accent, one of which he has never heard before.
He simply grunted to that and rose an eyebrow. He had nothing to say, he was not a talker in the least.
"Not much of a talker, are we? I thought so. I know your potential, and I know what you can be. You are currently trying to save your town from an invading force, correct?"
He growled. "Of course I am, I am going to teach those bastards a lesson!" he was fuming with rage. "They have a lot of ponies trapped, and are going to do bad things if I can't stop them! Can you help me?" he seethed.
The alicorn grinned knowingly. "You can only do that yourself. But I am here for other reasons. You see, from a young age you have always been one of fire. You have always proved yourself to be worthy, but you have one last thing to do." she would look at him with a pause.
He'd raise an eyebrow and stammered slightly.
"And what would that be?" he asked with a scoff.
"I am going to bestow upon you something very powerful. It will take time to understand. But, your name is no longer Flame Shine. It is Eruption. You will be the Spirit of Flame. While you will have much self discovery to do, but know this, you are ready for this. I know that you are." she would say and command him to turn around. He would silently nod, having no real choice but also feeling a great deal of thrill.
He turned around and the alicorn somewhat harshly would speak. "Do not look at me. I will be very angry if you do." she would say. The star she had stepped out of turned smaller. She brought it up above his back and stabbed a point of the star directly into the young foal's back.
He let out a grunt, and a cry at the pain but no blood was drawn. He felt an otherwordly power flow into him, overloading him and he had passed out.
Later on he would awaken...as a full grown stallion. He knew his place, he knew what he was meant to do. While there was much to learn, he knew what he was. A spirit. The Spirit of Flame. The alicorn would stand over him, with her hoof resting on his head.
He would awaken, shocked to see his new form. He smiled, and for once he was happy. The alicorn watched him silently. Before she spoke, "I have granted you this gift, do good with it. You know what to do. You know who you are." she said with a smile, before jumping into the white star behind her that then flew off.
Not even a chance to thank her, Eruption would look at his wings. He was going to free his town from Corigula's control. He felt something on him. It was armour that looked like the surface of the sun. He sneered, and charged into town.
It is unknown to history what happened next, but Eruption had freed his town from those that wanted to control it. Many years later, he had moved on from those events and found himself living alone in his own landscape of a burning hot orange desert. It was his biome. It was where he was comfortable.
