Son of the Moon

"WHAT!?"

"It's exactly as I said, Your Majesty," Red Wind stated. "Polaris seems to have disappeared." Celestia found it hard to maintain her composure after the reveal of such shocking news, but somehow managed to regain it through deep breaths and happy thoughts.

"How could this have happened?" She questioned. A million thoughts ran through her head of what this could mean for not just her, but the citizens of Equestria as well should Polaris decide to take his anger out on them. There was no doubt in the princess' mind that her nephew still held a grudge towards her; he may harm innocents simply to spite her specifically. Or perhaps he was hiding, biding his time and growing stronger as he awaited the perfect chance to strike. There were too many possibilities to consider. This definitely threw a wrench into her original plans.

"Your Majesty, calm yourself, please," Red Wind interrupted her thoughts. While she was still frazzled about her revenge-seeking nephew, she was at least calm enough to listen. "If I may, I don't think Polaris will cause much harm."

"How can you be so sure?" Celestia asked with a tilt of her head to the side. Red Wind frowned.

"You know him far better than me. The colt loves to fight, but never has he once fought another who wasn't willing. Not even myself." Red Wind crossed his arms. "And you're supposed to be his aunt."

Celestia rubbed her chin, closing her eyes in thought. What Red Wind said was the truth, Polaris would only fight creatures that agreed to fight him. The only exceptions that came to mind were the Royal Guard that had stood in his way, stopping him from reaching the Elements of Harmony a thousand years ago. Yet even that could be excused to an extent, seeing as he likely saw them as enemies at the time who were attempting to prevent him from helping his mother and preventing her banishment. He was only a child, after all. What foal wouldn't do whatever they could to help their mother when she needed it most? He was simply returning the love that she had shown him. Celestia let out a deep sigh before opening her eyes.

"Alright." Celestia nodded her head. "I will ignore Polaris' premature escape for now, I only hope It doesn't bite me in the flank later." She crossed her arms over her chest, looking into Red Wind's eyes. "But do tell, Red Wind. Why are you so invested in him in particular?"

"I have my reasons," Red Wind answered with a shrug of his shoulders. Celestia eyed him suspiciously, but Red Wind famously had an infallible poker face that made it difficult to tell his thoughts at any given time.

"Care to elaborate?" She inquired with a raised eyebrow. Her tone made it clear that it was less of a request and more of a thinly veiled demand.

"I'm just interested in his growth," Red Wind said, a wicked grin upon his face.

Polaris groaned lowly and rolled over. He could feel something tickling his nose, but at the same time, he really didn't want to get up. Eventually, he gave in and opened his eyes, and was immediately met with two large, bright blue orbs staring back at him.

"AAH!" He yelled and jumped back, hitting the back of his head against the far wall and falling to the ground, clutching it in pain. He squinted his eyes open to see what had just scared him awake.

It was a cat.

But not just any cat. It had pitch black fur, and a white tail that seemed to curve like the crescent moon. It sat there calmly as it observed him, licking one of its paws nonchalantly. The thing seemed to take amusement in the scare it had just given him; he could swear he saw a shit eating grin upon its face as it gazed up at him.

"Are you a lunar kitten?" Polaris asked, the cat giving a meow in response, as if it could actually understand him. "You're a weird cat." It huffed in response. turning its nose up and looking away. Polaris just chuckled. He watched as it jumped up onto the bed and stretched out its body.

"Are you a boy?"

The cat looked away once again.

"Girl it is then."

The cat seemed pleased with that as it jumped off the bed and approached him, sniffing at him and crawling up onto his lap. Polaris smiled as he stroked her back. His body, while still not back to one hundred percent, was at least only a little sore now compared to yesterday. As he absentmindedly scratched the cat's ears, he thought about what he should do next. Celestia will have no doubt heard of his escape by now and maybe even sent out a search party. He was stranded in an unfamiliar time, in an unfamiliar location with no food, water or resources of any kind besides the clothes on his back, which had grown filthy from his nap on the dirty floor of a collapsed castle.

"First thing's first, gotta find out what year it is."

His stomach growled loudly.

"First thing's first, gotta find food." He groaned and slumped over. He looked at the cat that was currently content in his lap. If it could really understand him, then maybe... "Hey, do you know if there's any villages around here?" The cat rolled her eyes and jumped from his lap, walking away a few steps before sitting down, waiting for him to follow. Polaris quickly jumped to his feet before a realization hit him.

"Wait, I need money. Hrm..." He crossed his arms in thought, remaining like that for a few moments before his ears perked up as an idea came to him. "I know!" He knocked on the floor a few times in different spots around the room. Eventually, he heard a hollow sound as he knocked on the spot beneath the nightstand. He smiled in satisfaction as he moved the nightstand and lifted up a piece of the floor, finding an untouched stash of bits underneath. "Bingo! Thankfully, nopony ever found this."

Taking a large handful of the bits and shoving them into his pockets, he moved the piece of floor back where it belonged to hide his secret stash before following his new companion out of the castle and through the dark forest.

"Ugh... I'm starving..." Polaris groaned. He and his new cat buddy, he really needed to give her a name, had been making their way through this forest for what felt like hours. He thought it was strange that the forest he had once gone to do occasional agility training in had been reduced to such a state. Maybe it was just inevitable; he did recall a few strange oddities such as the weather, and dangerous creatures like manticores or timber wolves beginning to crop up more and more as time went on. Maybe that was why Celestia moved Canterlot to a safer location? But he couldn't imagine being built on the side of a mountain was much safer. It was still badass though, in his mind at least.

Polaris shielded his eyes as he saw the bright light at the end of the many, many trees he had walked through. Smiling in excitement and curiosity, he ran forward ahead of the lunar kitten, reaching the end of the deep and dark forest. Off in the distance, he saw it, a small town. It didn't look as busy or shady as Rockmount, nor was it as big as Canterlot, but that was just what he needed, a simple town where he could buy what he needed without being questioned too heavily on his origins. Although, he wondered if he even needed to worry about that, considering no one seemed to even know of his existence or status as Luna's son. Actually, had anyone outside of Canterlot even known about him at all? He didn't think about that too hard.

He entered the town alongside the cat, looking around and taking in the sights. It was big, but far from the biggest town he'd seen; Canterlot was far grander and even Rockmount was a bit bigger. In other words, it was the smallest town he'd personally seen so far. It was simple, stalls set up to sell their goods from food to more food and even more food beyond that.

He didn't care much about the rest, he just wanted food.

Approaching a stand, he saw that it was run by an elderly lime green mare. "She could give Master Zen a run for his money in the age department," He thought to himself. He paused, looking down as he remembered his old master. The old zebra may have been a bit crazy, but he cared about Polaris and saw his potential. Sure, he was harsh, but in the end, it helped Polaris to grow as strong as he was now. If he hadn't met Zen, he would still be too weak to even deal with two or three opponents at once. The zebra had taught him the value of skill and technique in a fight, rather than simply relying on his strong body as he always had.

"Y'all okay there, sonny?" Polaris gasped in surprise as the lime green elder had suddenly spoken to him.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," he responded, wiping the tears from his eyes with an arm. He hadn't even noticed that he had been crying until that moment. "How much for five apples?"

"Five bits," The elderly mare responded, still giving him a questioning look. "Ya sure you're okay, son? Your eyes were leakin' like a roof in an old barn."

"I said I'm fine," Polaris restated before putting the requested bits on the table. The mare eyed them before taking the currency and fetching his apples in turn. It seemed the currency from his time was still useable today. Convenient, but he still had to find out when exactly "today" was. All the thinking of different time periods began to give him a headache.

"It ain't good to keep all your feelings bottled up, y'know," the mare said as she placed his apples on the counter. "It's easier to find somepony to talk to, vent your anger and such." She gave a kind smile.

"Yeah. I'll keep that in mind." He sighed, knowing full well that he couldn't do that, as it would end up blowing his cover if others actually believed him, or make him seem crazy if they didn't the latter was far more likely, but Polaris didn't want either outcome. After waving the mare goodbye and taking the bag of apples, he took one out and took a bite as he wandered the town, glad to finally be able to eat again as he reveled in the taste of the juicy apple.

"Okay, food's covered for now. Now, gotta find out what year it is..." His face scrunched up in thought as his cat companion pressed a paw against her face in exasperation. Polaris snapped his fingers. "Library!" He exclaimed before looking at his cat. "Do you know where the library is?" The cat rolled her eyes and began walking away with Polaris following close behind. However, as the two made their way through the town, Polaris occasionally glanced around the area, catching glimpses of some of the townsfolk giving him an odd look. Looking at himself, it was apparent why; his clothes were filthy from sleeping all night on a dirty floor, and he was missing a pair of shoes as they had been ruined from his daring mountain slide. Overall, he looked homeless, which he absolutely was, but he couldn't exactly look the part if he wanted to blend in.

"I'm gonna need new clothes..." He muttered, stopping in front of a clothing store. Looking up at it, he looked back towards the cat. "You should wait out here," he suggested. The cat yawned and laid down. Nodding his head in approval, Polaris opened the door to the shop, making his way inside and hoping he wouldn't draw too much attention with his appearance. Looking around, he saw the cashier, as expected, but he also spotted a white unicorn filly with a mane and tail styled into a curl near the end. Polaris shrugged his shoulders and began browsing the inventory, eyeing the various colors and styles of clothing, he soon gave up and made a random selection, reaching towards a bright yellow tank top.

"NOT THAT ONE!"

Polaris froze in place at the shrill voice that suddenly rang out, his hand inches from the shirt. After blinking a few times and checking to see if he had gone deaf from the noise, he turned towards the source of said noise: the unicorn filly. "Uh... Why?" He questioned.

"It clashes horribly with your complexion!" The filly exclaimed, the tone of her voice sounding as if the fate of all of Equestria, possibly the entire world, was at stake.

"My... My what now?" Polaris only grew more confused as the conversation went on. The filly facepalmed at his ignorance.

"Your complexion, darling." She received nothing but a blank stare. "The color of your coat!" She exclaimed in exasperation. "Such muted, sophisticated colors clash horrendously with the bright neon you set your sights on!"

Polaris scratched the back of his head in confusion. "I don't really understand," He looked around awkwardly, glancing at the various clothing articles lining the shelves. "Clothes are just clothes, aren't they?" His question seemed to break something inside the filly's brain. She stared at him wide-eyed, mouth agape with one eyelid twitching, looking ready to murder Polaris on the spot while screaming a string of profanities not fit for a filly her age.

"Wha- I- Ju- You-" The filly stammered, unable to speak properly at this point. She promptly fainted, but not before using her magic to pull a couch from Celestia knows where to flop onto and avoid falling onto the dirty ground. Polaris settled on a plain white t-shirt and black shorts as well as a pair of red sneakers, purchasing the items and leaving while deciding to question absolutely nothing about the events that just transpired.

"That was... strange. She acted a bit like the ponies in Canterlot, all snooty and everything," Polaris rubbed his temples, having gained a headache from the filly's screeching. The cat made a noise that sounded like snickering, Polaris glaring as she did before they continued their walk through the town. Now that he had proper, non-filthy clothes, he would garner less attention from the townsponies. "I should really name you something..." He pondered as he looked at the cat, tapping his chin with a finger. "Onyx!"

The cat hissed; Polaris winced at the reaction. "Not a fan, huh?" The cat simply continued walking, ignoring Polaris' question and leaving him to think of something else. "Hey, this is my first time naming something! Give me a break!" He exclaimed, jogging to catch up with her. "How about... Midnight?" He asked.

The cat simply meowed in response, making Polaris smile. "Midnight it is, then!" He stated. The newly dubbed Midnight simply rolled her eyes and kept walking. "You can at least pretend to be a little happy, you know!" Midnight gave no response. "Cats, I swear..." He grumbled in annoyance before sighing in resignation and begrudgingly following the stubborn cat.

Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, they arrived at a large tree. It had a door, windows, and even a balcony just like a normal house would. "A literal treehouse. Is this the library?" Polaris looked at Midnight, the cat nodding in response to his question. Polaris closed his eyes and took in a deep breath to steel himself as he had no idea what the librarian would be like. "Here goes nothing," he uttered, knocking on the door. Not long after, there was a loud crash which was soon followed by a cacophony of other loud clattering noises before the door swung open.

"Hello, welcome to Golden Oak Library, where you can harvest the fruits of knowledge! I'm Violet Rose!" Polaris stared blankly at the disheveled pegasus mare at the door. Her coat was a vibrant red while her hair was violet in color, reaching just below her shoulders in length. She had amaranth eyes and sported a sky-blue hoodie that looked far too big on her, as well as equally baggy jean shorts and her hair was a mess, having random strands sticking and looking like she hadn't taken a brush to it in about a week, at least. Most notably, however, was that she seemed to be near Polaris in age; she was far too young to be running an establishment on her own. "It's... a new slogan I'm trying out. Get it? Fruits? Like... Like a tree...?" She chuckled sheepishly.

"..." Polaris' mouth twitched several times as he fought back a smile at Violet's pun; he found it absolutely hilarious but couldn't afford to lose sight of his goal now. Clearing his throat, Polaris spoke. "Right. Can I come in and look around?"

"O-Oh! Of course!" The flustered mare stepped aside, allowing Polaris to enter, looking at the assortment of books as he did. It was all completely organized, alphabetically, no less, which made him wonder what all the noise earlier was about. He decided to chalk it up as just yet another strange occurrence within this town when a completely terrible smell made itself known to his nostrils.

"What is that!?" He exclaimed, pinching his nose to block the assault on his senses. Midnight appeared to melt into the floor, taking the appearance of a shadow on the ground and slipping underneath the door to escape the scent.

"W-Well, you interrupted me in the middle of cooking!" Violet defended. "You made me burn the hayburger I was making for myself!"

"You didn't even put up a 'closed' sign or anything," Polaris countered. After a few seconds, he paused, taking in what she said. "Wait, 'cooking'? This place has a kitchen?" He asked curiously.

"It sort of doubles as a house," She responded as she made her way to the kitchen to toss the inedible hayburger into the trash. "There's a room upstairs and everything. It's basically a big house that has a library in it."

"So, you're camping out here," Polaris summarized.

"Well... yeah." Violet nodded her head in confirmation. "But it's not like I kicked anyone out by force or something like that!" She quickly added, holding her hands in front of herself defensively. "The place was abandoned when I got here!"

"Hm." Polaris nodded. "By the way, what's this town called?"

"Oh!" Violet jumped a bit at the sudden question. "This is Ponyville. Also, it's rude to interrupt people, you know." She pouted.

"I don't really care why you're here. Not like I'm a cop or anything." Polaris walked past her to browse through the books. Grabbing a book on ancient history, he quickly skimmed through it, finding the modern script different, but still readable to him. He shut the book with a groan, not finding anything useful in it; apparently, both he and his mother had been forgotten, their names lost to time. He turned towards the wall, looking at the calendar specifically. His eyes went wide as dinner plates as he ran over to the calendar, snatching it off the wall and reading the date on it.

It had been nearly one thousand years since he had been turned to stone.

Tears ran down Polaris' cheeks as he dropped the calendar and stumbled backwards, holding his head in his hands. He began to hyperventilate, his chest heaving as his breathing sped up drastically, though his lungs never felt full regardless of how much air he inhaled. Memories played over and over in his mind. Memories of his time spent with Zen, the Royal Guard, who always seemed to care for him despite his antics, even the citizens of Canterlot during the rare times he would leave the castle. He would see his mother again, as alicorns, he had learned, were effectively immortal. But the rest of them were gone, and he was still here. Letting out a cry of anguish, Polaris fell, the shock of everything being too much for his mind to take in.

"H-Hey! What's wrong!?" Violet rushed over to his side as he landed on his back, staring up at the ceiling, his face matted in tears, as if in a trance. Midnight entered the building via slipping underneath the door once again, seeming just as shocked as the mare was.

"Celestia...! She did this!!! Celestia! For my mom, for Master Zen, for everyone else you forced me to leave behind!!! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU, CELESTIA, YOU BASTARD!!!!!"

Those were the last thoughts to go through Polaris' mind before everything faded to black.