Son of the Moon

The colt and minotaur continued to stare at each other, neither one of them moving a single muscle.

Luna stared intently at the two combatants, silently observing them. "If the colt is aware of the power within himself, then he should win fairly easily. But if he is not..." Her thought went unfinished as her gaze hardened.

"BEGIN!"

Taurus moved first. Dashing forwards at speeds one wouldn't think possible for someone his size, he raised his axe above his head before swinging it downwards upon the colt, intent on cleaving him in two. The colt remained calm. With perfect timing, he struck the side of the axe with his palm, diverting its path and causing it to embed itself into the ground beside him instead. Without missing a beat, he followed with an elbow strike to the minotaur's stomach, making him cough as the air was knocked from his lungs. The colt finished with a fierce uppercut to the chin, making his opponent stumble backwards and fall onto his back.

Taurus remained on his back, having been surprised by the speed and power this young colt was hiding.

"That all you got, big guy? I thought minotaurs were supposed to be tough." The colt taunted, bouncing on his feet and doing a few jabs.

Taurus sat up; rage was written on his face as he wiped blood from his mouth. "Lucky shot, you little twerp."

"Whatever you say, meathead." He stuck out his tongue.

Luna's eyes narrowed at the display, not liking where this was going. "Too cocky."

Taurus crouched down, the muscles in his legs bulging as he glared at the colt. "I'll show you what I've really got."

The minotaur suddenly launched forward at a much greater speed than before, leaving a small crater where he once stood. The colt's eyes went wide, and he failed to react in time as his opponent was right in front of him in an instant and slamming a large fist into the pony's face, sending him bouncing backwards at high speeds until he slammed into the wall, leaving a crater, with the colt stuck against the wall.

Luna winced; she felt that hit from where she sat. "It seems he isn't aware of it after all. This could get ugly."

Not letting up, Taurus sped forward once again, driving his fist into the colt's stomach, making the pony cough up a bit of blood. The minotaur didn't stop there, as he continued pounding his fists into the colt, making him yell out in pain with each blow.

"That's right! This is what happens to anyone that insults me!" Taurus shouted in glee. "Scream even more! Show me the sounds of your agony!"

The crowd began yelling for him to stop, but Taurus didn't care as he continued to beat the child who dared to harm and insult him. Luna had shut her eyes tightly, unable to watch anymore. She was just about ready to jump in and stop the fight herself, when...

SNAP!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"

The screams of pain weren't from the colt, but from the crazed minotaur. He fell to his knees, holding his right hand, his middle finger bent completely backwards.

The colt slowly pulled himself from the crater, landing on shaky legs as he gave his opponent a bloody grin. "What's wrong? Can't take pain as well as a ten-year-old?"

The colt was suddenly taken off guard, his taunting interrupted as Taurus suddenly knocked him to the ground, before stomping hard on his left arm. There was a sickening crunch. The colt bit his tongue to stifle a scream, not wanting to give the crazy minotaur the satisfaction of hearing him.

Luna's frown grew deeper at the display. She had expected these underground fights to be brutal, but for a fully grown minotaur to relentlessly beat down on a young colt was going too far, even if he was asking for it with his constant taunting. Still, she decided not to intervene. At least for now.

As Taurus had gone to grab his axe, the colt slowly sat up. He clutched his now broken arm, which was swollen and had a large bruise from where Taurus had stomped on it. He slowly stood up, his legs trembling as it took all of his willpower not to collapse. He stared at his opponent, who had now retrieved his axe and was now walking back towards him, intent on finishing the job.

He took a deep breath, calming himself. The burning flame of resolve burned within him, visible in his eyes. Luna could see his determination clear as day. He would not lose this fight. No, he wouldn't allow himself to lose this fight.

Taurus swung his large battle axe in a horizontal arc, aimed directly at the colt's midsection. The colt, however, jumped upwards, landing on top of the axe before thrusting his leg forward and planting his foot directly into the minotaur's face and making him drop his weapon, stumbling backwards as he clutched his nose. The colt, not letting up, dashed forward, spinning rapidly to build momentum before swinging his leg, hitting Taurus directly in the liver, making him yell out in pain. He followed with a kick to Taurus' shin, bringing him to his knees before he grabbed his head with his good arm and slammed his knee into his face, knocking him onto his back.

Taurus groaned as he began to rise, but the colt was far quicker, leaping high above him, and doing several front flips as he descended before extending both legs, landing directly onto his stomach. Taurus coughed, spitting up blood before he passed out.

The colt had won against all odds. Luna smiled at his victory. He raised his fist as the crowd went wild, celebrating both his triumph and the fall of Taurus. He walked over and grabbed his cloak, making his way to the exit and through the crowd, many of which either showed concern for his condition or admiration for his abilities, some even wanting an autograph. He ignored them all and swiftly kept on his way.

Luna followed the colt as best she could through the crowd of adoring fans. He was difficult to keep track of, given his small size and the speed at which he moved. She ultimately failed as he disappeared within the crowd, but Luna didn't worry much. After all, she had another reliable method of tracking him.

So, she temporarily gave up on her pursuit, instead stopping at a nearby vendor to browse their wares.

The colt sat on top of a small shack that was outside of town. It was a small, abandoned little thing that was absolutely filthy, made of rotting wood and looked ready to collapse if someone simply breathed on it wrong, but to him, it was home. It had been about an hour since his victory in the arena, and he now donned a self-made cast around his arm comprised of dirty bandages that he had lying around. He also wore a dirty white tank top and equally filthy black shorts. He was currently stargazing, a hobby he picked up since he found that it helped him relax after a fight.

"So, this is where you went."

His head snapped towards the new voice. Standing there was a tall, deep blue mare. She wore a cloak which concealed the rest of her body, but the hood was down to reveal the gentle smile upon her face. He immediately took notice of her horn and long hair, which was constantly flowing as if being blown by a nonexistent breeze and had an appearance similar to that of the night sky. It looked almost ethereal.

"How did you find me?" He asked the first question that had popped into his mind.

"It wasn't that hard. You have a very unique feeling to the energy within you, as well as having much more than anypony else here." She stated matter-of-factly.

A look of confusion crossed the colt's face, but he quickly shook his head, clearing his mind of any questions for now. "Whatever. Just go, I'm not seeing company."

Instead of leaving, she approached him. "My name is Luna. I saw your fight."

"Luna? The princess?" His eyes went wide at the new information as he stared at her in shock. "What in Tartarus is a princess doing in such a shitty town? And watching fights too?"

"How is your arm?" She interrupted his thoughts.

The colt looked at her in surprise. Why would a princess care about some nopony colt like him? But looking into her eyes, he saw something that he had never seen from anyone else he had met: genuine concern. She was genuinely worried about him. He had met many travelers in his admittedly not very long life, but Luna, this princess who shouldn't even give him the time of day, was somehow the most genuine creature he had ever met.

He decided he could trust her, if only just a bit.

"It'll heal. I'll live." He answered.

Luna motioned to the vacant spot next to him. "May I?"

"Oh... Sure."

Luna smiled and jumped up, sitting next to him. Surprisingly, the shed didn't collapse, despite the added weight. "I was here for sparkling starfruit, which you stole, by the way." She gave a playful grin. It took the colt several seconds to process this. When he finally did, his jaw dropped.

"That was you!?"

"Mhmm." Luna giggled. "But do not worry, I was given another free of charge." She smiled, making him let out a sigh of relief, grateful the princess didn't hold a grudge.

"Why were you watching fights anyway? You should know how brutal they get, and fighters die pretty often."

"I was interested in this 'champion' that I had heard about. You can imagine my surprise when it turned out to be you."

The colt looked back upwards, staring at the moon. "... I never claimed to be champion. They just started calling me that since I had never lost a fight." He looked back towards her with a big, toothy smile spread across his face. "I just like fighting strong guys!"

"You... Enjoy fighting?" Luna received a nod of confirmation from the colt. She closed her eyes, humming in thought. "Why is that?"

It was the colt's turn to close his eyes. Looking back, he had never really thought much about his reasons for fighting or why he enjoyed it so much. He just simply did. "I dunno. It just feels like... I was made for it. Like it's what I was born to do." He leaned back, hands behind his head as he stared back up at the sky. "But I've never killed anypony in that arena. It just didn't feel right. To take away another's life because I have the power to... I don't wanna be that cruel. I may not have anyone that would care if I died, but others might."

Luna nodded silently, taking in the information. "You have a strong sense of justice, and you are surprisingly profound for someone so young."

"Well, growing up on your own makes you mature pretty quickly, I guess." He chuckled wryly.

"What of your parents?"

The colt shrugged absentmindedly. "No clue. I heard they sold me here as a foal."

"THEY WHAT!?" Immediately, Luna had shot up, completely outraged. Her voice boomed at unnatural levels he didn't think possible for a pony.

The colt's eyes widened, surprised to see her this upset about something that had happened ten years ago. After all, he had simply accepted it as a simple event that happened, which he had no control over. He looked up as her horn flared to life with a bright blue light and a deep blue magical sigil appeared in front of her. Instantly, the colt knew her plan and quickly moved in front of her.

"STOP!!!"

Thankfully, Luna had enough control over herself to cease her attack before she obliterated the colt along with the city behind him. She looked down at him, staring into his eyes and seeing that same flame of determination that had appeared before.

"I know this city is terrible... I know that it goes against your principles... But there are a lot of innocents in there who didn't do anything wrong! They don't deserve to die because of your outburst!" He panted heavily as he thought back to the filly he had helped, the tourists who were visiting and the few there who really didn't know the true darkness of the city. "This town may me a total shithole, but it's my home! AND I WON'T LET YOU DESTROY IT!"

Luna stared at the colt, surprised at the courage he had for stepping in front of such a powerful attack that was intended to destroy the entire town, as well as the backbone to speak back to someone he knew was royalty, and far more powerful than he could even imagine. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. This colt was right. Had she acted rashly, she would have ended many innocent lives along with the criminals.

"I... Apologize for my outburst." Her cheeks turned red in embarrassment as she sat back down.

"Well, as long as you don't do it again, I guess it's fine." He gave a smile and sat down as well.

Luna let out a small giggle. "A colt telling the Princess of the Night what to do. What are the odds?" She smiled, resting her head in her palm. "What is your name?"

"Don't have one," he said. His answer was immediate, almost reflexive. "My parents never left a name tag or anything."

"Then how about I name you?"

The colt did a double take. A princess seriously wanted to give him a name? It seemed too good to be true. He had gone just fine without one up until now, but still... It would be nice to have something to call himself. "Go ahead."

"Hmm." Luna looked around the area for inspiration. Her eyes eventually landed on the sky; in particular, the stars. She smiled as something came to her. She would name him after her favorite star in her beautiful night sky, the North Star.

"How about Polaris? Polaris Starshine."

"That's lame."

"Huh!?" She turned towards him in shock, not expecting such an immediate and cold response.

"Still..." His frown slowly turned into a smile. "It's a name you came up with, so it's special. Polaris Starshine it is."

Luna was elated, her smile even brighter than her sister's sun as she clapped her hands happily. "I'm glad!"

"By the way..." The newly dubbed Polaris interrupted her. "Why did you come and find me? I'm guessing it wasn't just to make small talk."

Luna stopped her excited clapping, her happiness fading away and being replaced by an air of seriousness. "Correct."

"Well, what's a princess want with me, then?" Polaris asked, leaning forward.

"I'll be upfront. I want to take you in to live with me." She stated.

"... Wha?"

"Your potential is outstanding. I fear if someone else were to train you in how to use it, then it would be misused." She explained.

"What, so I'm just some tool?" Polaris glared daggers.

"No. But I fear others may see you as such." She looked towards him with pleading eyes.

Polaris' expression softened. He could tell that she only wanted what was best for him, and didn't want him to be tricked or abused by anyone. Sure, he could handle most threats that came at him on his own, but fighting would only get him so far. He knew, at least to some extent, that he wasn't exactly the best example of intelligence.

Besides, he would have to be crazy to give up a chance to live with royalty.

"Okay, I'll go with you. On one condition." He held up a finger.

Luna covered her mouth with a hand to keep from laughing. "Making demands? You're quite bold."

Polaris only grinned. "You gotta beat me in a fight!"

Luna had a blank stare. "... You're serious?"

"Dead serious! I wanna see just how much of a gap there is between us, so I can get even stronger!" Polaris took a fighting stance, raising his fist. Luna looked at his still broken arm in concern.

"Well... If you say so." She sighed before quickly vanishing from sight. Before Polaris could even begin to wonder where she had gone, he was out cold; Luna had given him a quick hand chop to the back of the neck. She made sure to catch him before he hit the ground and possibly damaged his arm even more.

"I guess that means I win." She said with a smug grin. She removed her cloak to reveal a pair of large, dark blue wings, as well as the sparkling blue dress she wore. "I suppose he would not mind if I simply took him home like this. That was the deal, after all." She held the unconscious colt in her arms and with a flap of her wings, they took off towards the castle where she lived.

As well as Polaris' new home.