The Night's Companion

Chapters

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3

Prologue

The Night’s Companion

By: BrookwoodBronco

Disclaimer: This is a fan-based work of fiction. All My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic characters are owned by Hasbro and shown on the Hub television station. Please support the official release.

Prologue

The maroon stallion yawned under the shade of a huge oak. It was midday and the birds in the tree above him were singing their afternoon song. Previously curled up, the pony looked up into the branches and groaned. He got up, stretched, shook his mane, and plopped back onto the ground. His crimson mane fell over his eyes as he tried to drone out the chirping with his thoughts. It wasn’t helping. His dull, grey irises slowly crept out from under his eyelids as he scanned the open field for a better spot to sleep.

To his surprise, he spotted a duo of fillies scampering toward him. He grimaced as he thought of their grating, high-pitched voices. “Well, it’s not like I can get much rest anyway,” the stallion thought. He lifted his head as the fillies came to a halt in front of him. The fillies looked surprised when they saw the lazy pony awake and exchanged a hesitant glance. After a few seconds of awkward silence, the bolder of the two piped up.

“Sorry to wake you Sleepy Head, but we were told to invite you to Pinkie Pie’s latest party,” the turquoise filly said shyly. She tried not to make eye contact with the maroon stallion and kneaded the ground as she spoke, “She wanted to break her old attendance record…”

“Yeah. She said, ‘Invite everyone! Even Sleepy Head!’” The light pink filly squeaked out. After doing so she realized what she said and looked down, ashamed. Her friend rolled her eyes and finally met his uninterested gaze.

Sleepy Head smirked at their efforts and thought aloud, “It’s been a while since my last party…”

“So you’ll come?” The pink filly said excitedly. They both smiled in eager anticipation because Pinkie Pie promised free cupcakes for the ponies that brought the most guests. With Sleepy Head, they would be one step closer to fluffy, sugary goodness.

Sleepy Head laughed and responded, “Nope.” The two fillies looked at him dumbfounded as he chuckled some more.

“Wha- Why not?!”

Sleepy Head shrugged. “I hate big groups of ponies. There’s a reason no one invites me to anything, hon. Plus, having to go there… it’s just too much of a hassle,” he stated with a lazy grin. The turquoise filly gave him a displeased look while the other had a disheartened expression.

“Are you even a pony at all? What pony doesn’t like parties?!” The turquoise filly shouted.

“THIS pony doesn’t. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got things I need to be doing,” Sleepy Head retorted. He was getting irritated by their persistence.

“Like what? All you do is sleep all day!” The blue and red ponies glared at each other. The pink filly stepped in between her friend and the sitting stallion to quell the argument.

The blue filly sighed and snorted, “Well if you gather up the effort to actually come, the party’s at Sugarcube Corner.” With that she turned, motioned to her friend to follow, and the two sped off back toward Ponyville.

Sleepy Head yawned as he watched the fillies race off. He looked up into the oak to see the birds had flown away, scared off by the equine bickering. “Well, at least some good came from this.” He thought with a smile.

But as he rested his head on his hooves once again, he had nothing but his thoughts to preoccupy his time. And they weren’t happy thoughts.

“Oh who am I kidding, I’ve got nothing to do! That filly was right; all I do is sleep during the day. I mean, look at my cutie mark! It’s a nightcap! My special talent is to sleep all day…” Sleepy Head turned his head toward his flank and studied his cutie mark. Sure enough, his cutie mark was a blue night cap with a star in the middle of it. He snorted in disgust and tried to sleep again, but his mind would have none of that.

“Man, those fillies really ticked me off. Don’t they know I hate being bothered? Well… I think they knew that since they were kind of reluctant to talk to me… now that I mention it, I think everyone knows what I’m like. My name is Sleepy Head for crying out loud! What were my parents thinking when they named me? …Who were my parents… I wish I wasn’t an orphan…” Sleepy Head put his fore hooves on his skull and shook his head. Why now, of all the times, is he getting philosophical and moody. Times like these were reserved for the starry night sky.

“The night… why do I sleep during the day and roam at night…? It isn’t normal… hell, nothing about me is normal. I’m supposed to be cheery, light-hearted, fun, exciting. I’m supposed to like parties, enjoy working hard, help others, have BUCKING friends! Why don’t I care about anyone… why don’t I put effort into anything? During the night… I read, I play, I dance, I sing, I’m energized! Why…. WHY?!”

At this point, Sleepy Head was rolling on the ground. Every question he asked himself was like another blow to his body. He twisted and distorted his body in the soft meadow grass near the oak. This was unlike him; he’s normally calm, normally chill, normally tired. The mysteries of his life seemed unimportant in the past; he would brush them off and say ‘I am who I am.’ Now, the realization of what he really was seemed to have a physical toll on his body. His mind was racing at a million miles per second.

“I’m not normal, but who governs normality? Why does loving the night seem wrong? Is it the fact that the moon used to house evil? That must be it… but even when Nightmare Moon was in the night sky, I still loved the night. Does that make me evil? Were my parents evil night dwellers… or worse yet, is Nightmare Moon my mother? Ugh, that would be horrible… and unlikely since I’m the complete opposite color of her.” Sleepy Head was racking his brain with so many questions that he was starting to lose consciousness. He was grinding his skull with his white tipped hooves when he finally fell on his back. He had one more question before he blacked out completely,

“Who… who am I?”

“Hello, Sleepy Head,” A voice said with slight amusement. Sleepy Head moaned as he rolled over, eyes still closed.

“I’m not going to your stupid party, go away,” the maroon stallion grumbled.

“I did not know I was having a party…” The voice said kindly. Sleepy Head’s eyes shot open once he realized who was talking to. Only one being in Equestria had a presence like that; her shadow surrounding the body of the pony. He looked up at the face of the most powerful being in Equestria, shielding his eyes since he wasn’t accustomed to the light yet. Her mane blocked the sun and gave a godly halo around her as Sleepy Head squinted upward. This wasn’t just any pony, this was THE pony: Princess Celestia.

Sleepy Head lazily got to his feet and noticed that it was nearly sunset. He yawned a little as the alicorn smiled at him. Even though this was his first time seeing her (he slept through all of her visits to Ponyville), Sleepy Head wasn’t particularly at awe. Her frightening majesty had nothing on his persistent, unexcited stare. Besides she was the symbol of peace and harmony, nothing too exciting about that.

“So, what’s up- er I mean, how are you, Your Royalness,” Sleepy Head mumbled, still trying to shake off his lethargic state. He really had no idea how to greet the alicorn that brings out the day, and honestly, he couldn’t care less. He hated the day anyway.

“I apologize for waking you, but I have an important… favor to ask of you,” She said benignly. Sleepy Head had trouble growing accustomed to the motherly voice coming out of a pony that was twice his size.

“A favor huh? How could I be any help to anypony? My name’s Sleepy Head for a reason, ya know,” The maroon pony said, falling backwards to sit with his back against the tree. He has never really done anything of high importance, never achieved some outstanding feat, never discovered any new material. There are the famous six ponies of Ponyville to do that. So why would the pony of all ponies want him to do her favors?

“But I heard that you have a particular love for the night,” she said grinning meekly. At first, Sleepy Head gave her a shocked look, but it quickly turned into a glare of annoyance. It figures that she would know, what with Twilight sending her letters and royal guards patrolling the air. It’s not fair that she can just spy on everyone’s private lives, but she is the princess after all. Even if Sleepy Head could stop her, he would probably think it’s too much of a hassle anyway.

“Yea… so I like the night. Sue me,” Sleepy Head grumbled. His crabby attitude was just because he wished he were asleep. For some reason, the longer the day went on, the sleepier he got. But once night came around, something about the night would shower him with energy. Was it the moon? The stars? Maybe the brisk night air or the cool wind blowing through his mane. He could never figure it out, and he didn’t care one bit. As long as the moon rose, he would rise; simple as that.

“That is why you’re special, Sleepy Head. And that is why you’re the only pony for this job,” Princess Celestia stated matter-of-factly.

“Oh, so now it’s a job? The more you talk about this, the more it seems like work,” Sleepy Head retorted with an irritated look.

The princess chuckled, “Trust me, it will not feel like work when you are doing it.”

Sleepy Head grinned bitterly, “So, what would you have me do? Sleep for you?”

“Magic does not work like that, my little pony.”

“Darn, that was our only hope.”

Princess Celestia ignored his contemptuous remark and continued with the job description, “You see, Sleepy Head, Luna has been alone for one thousand years. She is only been here for a year since then and I feel like she is just as lonely as she was before. You see, she sleeps during the day but is up all night, just like you. I think-”

Sleepy Head quickly interrupted her, “Oh no. No no no no no! I can’t hang out with the Queen of Night! She could still be unstable! Who knows what a thousand years of solitary confinement can do to you. And she’s big and menacing and powerful and dark. I saw her at Nightmare Night, she was intimidating!” At this point, Sleepy Head was rattling off like a little colt. He was pacing the ground in front of the Princess, who had her smile on the whole time.

“I remember hearing that you were quite the party animal at Nightmare Night.”

Sleepy Head again gave her a look of shock. He blushed and said, “Yea… it’s the only party I attend. I really get into it…”

“I say you would be the perfect match for her.”

The maroon pony’s grey eyes gave the princess a worried glance and he muttered, “But… night is my alone time. I enjoy the peaceful dusk air and the freedom the night brings. Being around other ponies… it feels like I have to meet their needs instead of meeting mine…”

Again Princess Celestia chuckled lightly, “Well, now I KNOW you are the perfect match for Luna.”

“Huh?”

Princess Celestia’s body towered over him. It seems when he wasn’t looking, the sun goddess had glided silently toward him. With her this close, he could almost feel the raw power she radiated constantly. A white hoof fell on the maroon pony’s shoulder as a comforting gesture. To him, it was kind of threatening. He felt as if she could take him out with a single flick of her hoof. He swallowed hard as she gave him a serious look, then she smiled.

“Look, if Twilight Sparkle has taught me anything, it’s that a person needs friends,” She said as she backed away from him. He found himself holding his breath during that time, but quickly let it out. She continued, “With friends, your experiences are a trade-off. You might have to do tasks for your friends, but they are more than willing to return the favor. Plus, the feeling you get when you help a friend is indescribable. I feel that you and Luna will be the best of friends.”

Sleepy Head gave the white alicorn a quizzical look and then turn to face the oak tree. He had to collect his thoughts, “Ok… so the goddess of Equestria is asking me to be Princess Luna’s play mate. The more I think about this, the more I feel like I’m being used. But then again, that’s what happens when you get a job.” The stallion then remembered his break down earlier, “It’s true. I need to do something! I can’t just be a sleepy head all my life. If my break down taught me anything, it’s that I’m desperate for work. And who knows, maybe I’ll find out who I really am.”

Sleepy Head turned back toward Princess Celestia. “This job… this job is probably the best job I can get. No, scratch that, this IS the best job I can get. Night dwelling with a princess; some stallions only dream of this! Ok… then it’s decided.”

“Alright. Sign me up, I’m in,” Sleepy Head answered. His mind was made up. Though he didn’t like making friends, I guess he will have to try.

Princess Celestia gave him an approving smile and nodded, “Good, I am glad you see the benefits of this opportunity.”

“Sooo… uhhh, when do I start?”

“You aren't busy now are you?”

“Not particularly…”

“Then how about tonight? It’s almost sunset and the sooner she gets an aid, the better.”

“You’re acting like she’s already unstable…” Sleepy Head laughed nervously.

She gave him another comforting smile, “Oh no, you do not have to worry. It’s just… my sister means a lot to me, and I physically cannot keep her company while she does her duties. With you around, it gives me the comfort of knowing that she does not feel destitute.”

“Well, that’s sweet and all, but tonight? I’m just an Earth pony and it would take half of the night to reach Canterlot by train.”

The white goddess laughed and pointed behind the red haired stallion, “That is why I brought my chariot.” Sure enough, behind the oak tree, Sleepy Head spotted a golden chariot with two pegasus guards in the front. They stamped the ground in alert formality as the two ponies approached them. Sleepy Head wondered why an alicorn needed to be pulled around the sky when she had wings. He didn’t mind though, it was better this way.

They climbed inside the chariot and Princess Celestia gave the guards the signal to start flying. The maroon pony slammed his back against the rear of the chariot as they lifted off. These pegasi are stronger than they look, and Sleepy Head clearly wasn’t ready for takeoff. Once he gathered his bearings, he looked back down on the ground at his field. The oak tree seemed to get smaller as they rose into the clouds, fast approaching the Canterlot castle. Sleepy Head was already missing his napping spot.

“So, how long do I have this job for?” He asked in a melancholy tone.

“As long as you like, Sleepy Head,” She said warmly. The maroon stallion didn’t like how she was using his name. It’s like he was expected to be formal, but she could be as casual as she wanted to be. I guess she’s aloud to do that, being a princess and all, “Wow, these alicorns can get away with doing anything,”

“So what is this job going to be like again? Sorry, Your Highness, but you were kind of vague on that subject.”

“Well, all you have to do is keep Luna company while she does her nightly duties. She usually plays by herself or reads during the night. With you around, she’ll have someone to talk to and she can build better pony skills. I feel that interacting with you will better suit her for when she will have to go into public. You saw that embarrassing show at Nightmare Night,” she stated all this while looking onward, toward Canterlot.

“So what? I’m her pet or something?” Sleepy Head said indignantly.

“Haha, certainly not. Think of yourself as… Luna’s companion. Her personal friend.”

Sleepy Head didn’t like the sound of that either. He felt as if he would turn into her butler. He had seen her at Nightmare Night, and she seemed bossy and stuck-up. Sure, Twilight kind of helped her, but the dark princess still never completely loosened up. In fact, she kind of acted like Twilight when she’s in one of her moods. “That’s probably why they got along so well,” the stallion thought.

As they grew closer to the great city of Canterlot, Sleepy Head couldn’t help but have a slight feeling of dread. He had no idea why, but there was something about this job that was too far-fetched. Was it Princess Celestia’s impeccable timing? Or maybe the convenience of the job. These thoughts weighed on the maroon pony too heavily, and the sun had yet to set. Still drowsy, Sleepy Head curled up on the floor of the chariot and fell asleep. He decided to worry about all that later, and hoped for a long ride to the castle.

Chapter 1

Sleepy Head’s face slammed into the front of the chariot as they grinded to a halt. Princess Celestia stifled a snicker as the maroon pony shook his head to disperse the dizziness. He had his rude awakening, and they had finally arrived at the Princess’s castle. The white alicorn dismissed the chariot drivers as Sleepy Head jumped out of the carriage. Once they had flown away, the princess and the stallion started walking toward the main entrance to her castle.

The castle was huge; bigger than what the books had shown him. He gawked at the size of Celestia’s home as she used her magic to bring the drawbridge down. Sleepy Head was checking to see if there were alligators in the moat when the rugged wooden overpass finally creaked down with a thud. It was only slight, but the maroon stallion thought he had heard the white goddess lightly catching her breath. Those thoughts were quickly diminished when he saw how the door towered over him. It wasn’t just the size that amazed the pony, but the details too: the fine grain sanded to perfection made it seem like it was brand new, and at the border were carvings of magnificent gold ponies of all races. If the door was this great, he couldn’t imagine what the inside was like.

He had heard about the magnificence of the castle from Applejack in the Ponyville market. About a year ago, after The Grand Galloping Gala, Sleepy Head had entered town for a bite to eat. Applejack’s fresh apples were always the best treat, so he usually headed over there for lunch. There, while browsing the Apple Family selection, he had overheard Applejack talking to another customer about her night at the Gala. Even though she was working most of the time, she spoke of the amazing garden where ‘them fancy ponies’ mingled and visited. The ballroom was also a sight of wonder, even though it got trashed soon after she had entered. “Heh, look at me now Ponyville. I’m staying at the place where you only dreamed of visiting for just a night,” Sleepy Head thought, gloating to himself.

As they approached the door, it began to groan as two guards slowly pulled it ajar. When it was open enough for the alicorn and Earth pony to pass, the two entered side by side. Princess Celestia nodded at the guards when she passed through, but Sleepy Head didn’t notice. He was too busy gaping at amazing beauty of the entrance room. The tiles shined so much that you could see your face in them, and the pristine velvet carpet led into all the rooms and up the main staircase. The room was decorated with all sorts of banners on the walls, and at the top of the staircase were shimmering stain glass windows. There, the stairs split off in opposite directions and Sleepy Head guessed that they led to rooms for the princess’s and guests alike.

“This place only gets cleaned two times a year, so right now it may look a bit shoddy,” the white mare said with a smile.

“You have got to be kidding me… Your Highness. I don’t even need a mirror; I can just look down!” the maroon stallion exclaimed. He couldn’t believe he would be staying at a place like this. This doesn’t just beat his shabby apartment in Ponyville, it knocks it to the ground and curb-stomps the crap out of it.

Some butlers had come from the side entrances to the room and bowed before the sun goddess. She began sending them to do tasks, “I would like a room made ready for my guest tonight, as well as accommodations for a meal at midnight. You can feed him the same food you feed Luna, just make a portion for him as well. Also I’d like-”

“Tia! You’re finally back!” the white alicorn looked up to see Princess Luna galloping from the stairs toward them. Sleepy Head, who was previously rolling on the carpet like a dog, jumped up in surprise. Princess Celestia caught Luna in her hooves and they gave each other a warm hug. Sleepy Head’s grey eyes widened as he saw the royal blue princess in the arms of her sister.

“Ok… what?” the maroon pony shook his head as if to dispel an enchantment. Princess Luna looked nothing like she did when she was at Nightmare Night. Now, her body was about his size and her coat was a lighter shade of blue. Her mane seemed normal, in contrast to the starry, ever flowing mane she wore the night he saw her. At that time, she had looked a little similar to her sister; now though she seemed smaller and more fragile. “Now… now she’s kinda cut-” Sleepy Head shook the thought away. This was his employer, and nothing about doing work for someone is attractive.

After they had finished hugging it out, the night princess finally spotted Sleepy Head. The maroon pony gave a nervous smile, but Princess Luna quickly hid behind her sister. His smile quickly turned into an agitated glower. He could already see how troublesome this job would be.

Princess Celestia gave him a warm smile and said, “Don’t worry. Luna is not used to personal guests. She’ll warm up to you soon,” the sun goddess gave the maroon stallion a wink.

“Uh huh…” Sleepy Head cocked an eyebrow at the Queen of the Night, who was peeking out from behind her big sis’. She quickly went back to hiding when the two made eye contact, and Sleepy Head let out an annoyed sigh. Looks like her personality had also changed, but he decided to worry about that later as the bigger of the sisters continued speaking.

“Now Sleepy Head, you will be on the same schedule as my sister here. Accompany her throughout the night and go to bed a little after sunrise. Then, you will wake up when it is sunset and the cycle will continue.”

The maroon pony shrugged, “Works for me.” His schedule wasn’t really changing all that much. In the past he had to wake up every so often during the day to get food if he hadn’t found enough the night before. Now, his schedule was even better, so he had no complaints.

Princess Celestia nodded to her servants, “My butlers will provide you with food and a room. Now, if you will excuse me, the sun is almost set and I need to head to my quarters.” At this point, she looked a little drained from the day’s activities.

The sun goddess turned, whispered a few words to Princess Luna, and began trotting off.

“Wait, so am I just suppose to know where everything is? This place is huge,” Sleepy Head interjected. The white alicorn stopped and turned back toward him.

“Well put. I think Luna would be happy to show you around the house,” she said with smile. Luna looked at her sister with a disheartened expression. Sleepy Head rolled his eyes, “Awesome, this is gonna be swell,”

“B-b-b-but wait! Sister!” but the blue princess’s plea fell on deaf ears as Princess Celestia had vanished to her quarters.

Once the butlers had departed, only Princess Luna and Sleepy Head were left in the entrance room. An awkward silence hung in the air as the two ponies stood there without a word. Princess Luna kept her eyes on the ground to the left in obvious shy embarrassment. Sleepy Head kind of felt sorry for her, and definitely wanted to break the silence.

“Sooo… how are you? My name is Sleepy Head. I’m going to be staying here for a while… so… do you wanna show me around?” The maroon stallion was finding it hard to talk to her when she flinched every time he made even the slightest gesture. She didn’t say a word and still would not make eye contact with him. “Is this how a princess is supposed to act? I wouldn’t want any leader of mine being this timid! She’s almost as bad as Fluttershy… almost,” the stallion thought while suppressing his frustration.

Suddenly, the moon princess squeaked out some words, “Sorry, but I have to go do my nightly duties now.” She immediately bolted away, and just like that, left him in the room. Her sudden outburst surprised the often calm stallion, but he quickly sighed heavily. Why was he here to improve her pony skills when he clearly had none? Sleepy Head yawned a little and realized that he was still exhausted. He wanted to find a balcony or something to soak in the night, but had no clue where to look. Then he remembered which way the butler that was told to fix his room went, so he decided to head in that direction.

Wandering through the corridors, hallways, and spiral stairs of the great castle was straining on the mind. Still, he finally found a door agape and in there was the butler he had seen before. The unicorn butler bowed as he came in and told him she was freshening up the place for him to stay there. Sleepy Head nodded and began inspecting his room. It seems his room was at the top of one of the many towers in the castle. His room was huge: big bed, big artwork, big wardrobe. There was a dresser in the corner for all his supplies, but since he didn’t come with any bags he didn’t really need it. Now that he thought about it, he really didn’t own anything that he held at high value. “Princess Celestia didn’t even ask if I wanted to bring anything… it’s like she knew…” He hoped she wasn’t always spying on him.

The butler had finished prepping his room and quickly shuffled out. Finally, Sleepy Head was alone. He opened the balcony window in his suite and walked onto the portico. The maroon stallion slowly breathed in and closed his eyes. His fiery red hair gently swayed in the breeze as he focused on his senses. He smelled the leaves in the breeze, tasted the crisp night air, felt the warm glow of the stars. He opened his eyes slowly to see the moon peeking out over the horizon. Eventually, he felt the energy flow through his whole body, and he smiled genuinely for the first time today.

“HOW ART THOU STALLION!?” Sleepy Head planted his foot into the ground to steady himself from the force of the voice. He groaned and turned around to see a looming dark figure inside his room. He wasn’t surprised this time because he knew full well who was behind him.

“Ya wanna tone down your volume a bit?” the maroon pony asked bitterly. He rubbed his ears with his hoof as she apologized. Now fully energized, he could tolerate some commotion without getting cranky; plus this version of Princess Luna was way better than the shy version.

“We art sorry. We often find ourselves using the Royal Equestrian Voice when we art excited,” she said, bowing her head in pardon.

“Still using the second person when you talk too, huh? You haven’t changed a bit in a year’s time,” Sleepy Head stated with a clever smile. He walked passed her and jumped on the bed to test it. Dang, was it soft; the softest bed the maroon stallion had ever felt.

The moon goddess looked at him with surprise, like she hadn’t noticed she was speaking that way. Then she slowed down and stammered, “W-I-I have been working on it. Big sister has been trying to practice with us- I mean me… when we get to see each other.” While she was speaking, Sleepy Head was jumping on his bed in delight. When the night queen gave him a quizzical look, he smiled sheepishly and jumped off.

“Welp, I guess your sister hired me so she won’t have to give you those lessons anymore. When I’m through with you, you’ll be as normal as me,” Sleepy Head said with a grin, “Oh, and don’t get your hopes up, ‘cause I’m kind of a weirdo.” Princess Luna looked at him with a cocked eyebrow. The maroon stallion sighed and added, “That was joke. You’re supposed to laugh at them.”

“Oh… HA. HA. HAAA!!!” Princess Luna yelled in her Equestrian Voice. Sleepy Head’s hair blew back with each ‘ha’ she shouted. He shook his head to help his mane fall back in place and glared at the moon princess.

“Looks like we have a lot of work to do,” he muttered, turning toward the door. The princess apologized again as the two made their way down the tower.

After Princess Luna had shown him around the castle, the two settled down in the garden for their early night meal. Sleepy Head was still amazed at how big the castle was, for it took them about an hour to scope the entire place out. The moon princess had told him that this once was the home to an old Equestrian king, but it was long since abandoned when the Princesses had arrived. Sleepy Head thought in interesting that the ponies still carried on without a leader, but he guessed they had some sort of counsel after that, like in the Hearth Warming play.

Princess Luna smiled happily as the food had arrived, and Sleepy Head was just as happy. When the servants opened the lid to the food, the sweet aroma of boiled carrots and onions wafted into his nose. The food smelled delicious, “Now THIS is the high life.”

They both dug into the meal, Princess Luna more enthusiastically then the maroon stallion. He stifled a chuckle as he watched the dark blue mare eat messily; very unlike a princess. He gave her leeway on it, since she hasn’t been in public much. His grey eyes closed and he decided that he would have to teach her proper edict also. At that moment, his mind was flooded with thoughts about the Queen of the Night,

“Alright. Princess Luna. Kind of intimidating in size. She wasn’t nearly that tall when I saw her at the beginning of this night. She was my size then, but now she’s way bigger than I am. She’s a little smaller than Celestia, but her whole presence has changed too. She seems more powerful now, and I can see why people feared her at Nightmare Night. Hell, I didn’t even go near her then… now look at me!” Sleepy Head opened his grey eyes and looked at Princess Luna. She was still too absorbed by her meal to notice him staring. “How did she change forms? Is this even the same Luna from before? If this isn’t the same Luna, where is the other one? Is this one-”

Princess Luna stopped eating and finally noticed Sleepy Head, “Why art thou staring at me so? Is there something on my face?” She was looking at her muzzle cross eyed when Sleepy Head had snapped back into reality.

“…Oh! No, I was just... just noticing how you ate. If you were to eat like that in public, some people might be worried that Celestia starves you or something!” He laughed as the moon princess blushed and levitated a napkin to wipe her mouth.

“My sister tells us- I mean me… she tells me that when we eat together. I feel that it should not matter since this is my house,” she declared, trying to sound dignified.

Sleepy Head winked at her, “As the saying goes, ‘Practice like you play.’ We’ll work on your eating edict later though. What would you like to do tonight, Your Clumsy-ness.” At this point, the maroon pony had stood up and was taking a mocking bow.

Princess Luna giggled a little, “Hehe, I think I am catching on to this joking business. Oh, I know! LET US PLAY A GAME!!” She covered her mouth too late and the voice had blown Sleepy Head on his back. But this time, the maroon stallion just laughed on the ground. The night goddess helped him up with her magic and laughed on with him. The magic that had surrounded Sleepy Head was warm and caring, and he was actually laughing honestly. Usually the only time he laughed was in sarcastic contempt or in mocking annoyance. Suddenly, he realized that he wasn’t the only one being taught here: Princess Luna was teaching him to lighten up.

“Haha, so what game shall we play?”

The two companions spent the night playing all sorts of games. Princess Luna noticed that the games she played by herself were doubly fun with another person. Sleepy Head wasn’t complaining either, and since the moon was out, he had boundless amounts of energy. They played hopscotch, pin-the-tail on the pony, and tic-tac-toe. They drew pictures, read stories, and even did the maze in the garden. Sleepy Head couldn’t remember the last time he had this much fun and Luna was loving every bit of it too.

Finally, the pair found themselves back in the entrance room with some time to spare. Sleepy Head was bursting with energy, but the Princess seemed a little fatigued.

The maroon pony was excited, “So Luna, what should we do next?”

The princess smiled at him faintly and said, “Well, I am becoming tired. I have not had this much fun in a while… and it seems to have taken a toll on me.”

Sleepy Head sat on his plot and put a hoof to his chin, “Hmm… Well, how about this. Let’s play hide and seek. If you hide first, you’ll be able to find a good hiding spot and rest for a bit while I search for you.”

Her cyan eyes became dull, but she nodded in agreement. “That sounds like a wonderful idea,” she heaved. She began trotting off and Sleepy Head quickly turned the other way to count.

“I’ll count really slow for you, alright?” Sleepy Head shouted behind him. The lunar princess gave no reply but the maroon pony could faintly hear the clip-clopping of the alicorn’s hooves leaving him.

“One!”

“I wonder what’s wrong…”

“Two!”

“I didn’t hurt her did I…?”

“Three!”

“That’s silly. I didn’t even touch her.”

“Four!”

“She isn’t mad at me, is she?”

“Five!”

“Why would she be mad? We’ve been doing fun things all day!”

“Six!”

“She’s just tired, like Princess Celestia was earlier tonight.”

“Seven!”

“She said herself that this was a new experience. She just needs some rest is all.”

“Eight!”

“I should just trot around slow so she has more time to rest.”

“Nine!”

“There’s no doubt that this has been the best night ever… for the both of us.”

“Ten!! Ready or not, here I come!”

Sleepy Head opened his eyes and looked around the room. Alone in the huge entrance room made him feel small compared to everything around him. The darkness inside the castle was eerie; not like the night outside. Still, he was a stallion and would brave this castle to find his friend. With two alicorns and a bunch of guards, he should have no worries about being alone in the fortress.

He climbed the steps to the right and entered a long hallway. The candles lit on the sides of the hall gave off a spooky glow, and the shadows made by the faint light were long and ghastly. True to his promise, he trotted along slow through each hall, admiring the paintings on the walls and other items in the house. He entered every guest room he could find, just to take his time and search thoroughly. His red mane seemed to glow with the reflection of the candle light, and he smiled while he reflected on the night he just had.

“Wow, today was amazing! I had no idea Princess Luna was so much fun. Sure, at first she was kind of awkward and intimidating, but once you get to know her, wow, she’s something else. Princess Celestia was right; this doesn’t feel like a job at all. I wouldn’t mind doing this all my life!”

While he was thinking, he peeked his head into another guest room. There he immediately spotted the starry, flowing mane of the princess coming out an open wardrobe. The mane seemed to drift out like smoke, and it was easy to spot in the moonlight that shone through the window. Sleepy Head felt he had given her enough time to rest and entered the room confidently. The doors of the wardrobe were in the way, but the maroon pony knew who it was and trotted toward the opening.

“Ya know, if you had closed those doors, I probably wouldn’t have found you soooo… ooooohh no,” the stallion’s grey eyes widened in horror as he saw what was in the armoire.

She was lying on her legs in the giant wardrobe, but when Sleepy Head spotted her, her cat-like eyes shot open. She rose and stretched as the maroon stallion backed up in terror.

She gave him a wicked smile and said, “Finally you found me. So, I guess it’s my turn now?”

“N-n-n-n-n-nightmare M-m-moon?!”

“You might want to hide well, ‘cause ya never know what will happen if I find you,” the demon said smiling down at her upturned hoof.

“B-but the Elements of Harmony destroy-”

“One!”

“You should be de-”

“Two!”

He didn’t need another hint. Sleepy Head bolted out of there with a flash. He ran. Ran as fast as his legs could run. The halls seemed even scarier now that he was running for dear life in them. Even though he had galloped far away from the room, he could still hear Nightmare Moon’s frightening voice. Her voice seemed to penetrate his very soul, but still the questions flooded him.

“Three!”

“What’s going on?! How is she still alive?!”

“Four!”

“More importantly, where is Luna?”

“Five!”

“I hope she’s safe…”

“Ten!!”

Sleepy Head panicked. He looked around desperately for some place to hide. He ran to the nearest guest room and shot under the bed. His whole body shook while he was prone under the mattress. He couldn’t for the life of him control his breathing, and it seemed like his breath was the loudest thing on the planet. His heart was pounding, his mind was racing… And Nightmare Moon was right outside the door. Sleepy Head guessed it took her at least five seconds to actually find the room he was in, but calculations weren’t important now.

“Ya know, if you had closed that door, I probably wouldn’t have found this room so easily,” she said in a mocking tone. The cowering stallion spotted her hooves, iron clad with sharp metal horseshoes. He held his breath as she searched the room for him. The few seconds he hid there felt like hours, and his blood was pounding in his head so hard that he was sure she could hear it.

Finally, she had given up and stomped out of the room in disgust. Sleepy Head waited for a moment… and then breathed out to catch his breath. As soon as he did, the bed over him flew off and he was exposed in the pale moonlight.

“Did you really think I didn’t know you were in this room?” Nightmare Moon sneered. Sleepy Head started to crawl away, but as the demon trotted closer to him, he flipped onto his back to confront her.

“Looks like I found you, Night Lover,” she said triumphantly, “In the end, this was probably how you wanted to die anyway!” As soon as she said that, she surged at his underbelly with her spear-like horn. He quickly dodged to the left as she penetrated the wood floor instead. The stallion hastily scrambled to his feet, shoved Nightmare Moon to the side, and dashed out of the room. He found the entrance room, darted down the stairs and out into the garden again. His grey eyes searched behind him to see if his Nightmare was following. As he was looking, the stallion ran right into strong, black legs.

“Looking for me?” Nightmare Moon asked, now in front of the maroon pony. He stumbled back, shook his head, and looked at the towering mare. He couldn’t run anymore, now that he knew there was nowhere to run to. Nightmare Moon stamped the ground as he slowly backed away in fright. “This time I won’t miss,” she stated definitely.

As she charged him, he got on his hind legs and shut his eyes, “So this is how it ends: killed by a pony that’s supposed to be dead…”

Sleepy Head braced himself as a body rammed into his chest. He flew backward a few feet and landed on his plot, catching a pony. He groaned as he opened his eyes to see the smaller Luna in his arms. At first, he couldn’t believe that he was still alive, but quickly checked to see if Luna was still alive too. Luckily, she was just unconscious and breathed lightly in his lap. His heart was still racing when he pushed himself back to his feet. The maroon stallion placed her limp body on his back and started back toward the castle. Sleepy Head had only one thing left to do.

After carrying the smaller, lighter Luna to her quarters, Sleepy Head quickly tucked her into her bed and made his way toward Princess Celestia’s room. It was sunrise, so the maroon stallion figured that the sun goddess would be risen as well. He was clearly freaking out and questioned his sanity, “If anyone can tell me what’s going on, it’s Princess Celestia.” He was determined to get some answers after almost getting killed by a supposed ghost.

Sleepy Head burst into the princess’s room to see her prepping herself for another day’s work. She turned in surprise when he entered and started talking a million miles a minute.

“Princess! Your sister… I have no idea what’s wrong, but she keeps on changing forms or something! First she was my size, and then-”

Princess Celestia didn’t seem to care about what he was saying, “Sleepy Head, you seem a little tired.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me, I’m wide awake! After fighting Nightmare Moon-”

As he rambled, the sun goddess had glided over to him. She put a hoof lightly on his mouth, “Shh… you are just tired is all. You look like you need some rest.”

“Don’t ‘shh’ me! We have a crisis in this very castle! Don’t you-”

Princess Celestia seemed to be ignoring him and a bright glow began to shine at the tip of her horn. She touched his head with the light and stepped back a bit. He was still shouting even when he felt the effects of her magic.

“Wha-what did you do to me?” He heaved, for his eyelids began to get heavy.

“I didn’t do anything; you are just sleepy. Here let me carry you to your room.”

“No… wait… … … … stop.” He couldn’t hold on anymore, and fell into a deep sleep…

Chapter 2

Sleepy Head awoke with a start. Cold sweat was pouring from his forehead as he placed his hoof on his heart to try to slow it down. He looked around and found he was alone in his room. When he tried to get out of bed, he felt bruised from what happened the night before. He trotted over to his balcony and noticed that the sun had already fallen, and the moon was just coming over the horizon. He let the warm glow of the stars refuel his body as he collected his thoughts.

“Last night… something happened… I was getting to know Luna… and then…” He shook his head, “Why can’t I remember? Ok, so we ate… and then we played some games… the last game I remember was… hide and seek! Yeah, the princess hid first and I found her… and then… nothing… I’m blank as a sheet,” He opened his eyes and snorted in disgust. His body heated up as the night air healed his wounds, but he was still frustrated that it could not heal his memory. Starting with his tail, a quiver went up his spine as the pain left his body. Once finished, he breathed a sigh and turned back toward his room.

Sleepy Head spotted Princess Luna at the doorway watching him. She was still the smaller Luna he had seen when he first got here. He guessed she always changed forms when she brought out the moon, but apparently he had guessed wrong.

“You’re finally up! I apologize for what happened last night,” she said bowing.

Sleepy Head was walking up to her, “Yea… my head’s kinda fuzzy on that subject.”

“Our fight was kind of rough.”

“We fought?! Now that you mention it… I remember some sort of… fight…”

The lunar princess put her hoof up to her mouth in shock, “Oh! I didn’t mean fight… I meant PILLOW fight. It seems I got carried away and knocked you unconscious. I had read in one of my books that pillow fights were essential to a good sleepover.”

“Uh huh…” Sleepy Head rubbed his head, “Well, lucky for you, the night always makes me feel better. No matter what happens, I can always count on the stars to heal me.”

“Is that… some kind of magic?” She said with an examining look.

“Well… I don’t think so. I’m an Earth pony, so magic isn’t exactly my forte,” he said with a smile.

She giggled, “Well, the night’s just started! What would you like to do tonight? I was thinking we could settle down and read a nice book together…”

Sleepy Head shrugged, “Whatever floats your boat.” They were about to head down the spiral steps when the maroon pony’s stomach started to growl. “Onnn second thought, do you have anything to eat? I think I missed breakfast.”

“Oh, my sister and I already ate, but we can head over to the kitchen if you’d like.” Sleepy Head nodded and Luna surprisingly bolted down the steps. “Race ya to the kitchen!” she shouted behind her. Sleepy Head rolled his eyes and took his time down the steps. Though he was carefully traversing the steep steps, his mind was racing as fast as Rainbow Dash.

“So she knocked me out with a pillow huh? Didn’t think I was that weak. Of course, at the time she was almost twice my size. I wonder why I can’t remember that happening… or why Luna grew to that size all of a sudden. Something about that story doesn’t seem right…”

Sleepy Head had forgotten where the kitchen was, and soon found himself lost in the maze-like castle. After a while, he stumbled across a servant unicorn and asked which way it was. She pointed the direction and he thanked her kindly. On his way there, he grumbled under his breath about how his memory wasn’t straight. The maroon stallion found the impact doors leading to the kitchen and pushed his way in.

The kitchen was a fine white tile and the cabinets were of sanded oak. In there, one of the cooks was wiping all the counters except for the island in the middle. On the island was a certain blue princess, snoozing while she waited for her companion. She opened one eye and smirked at Sleepy Head as he trotted over to her.

“What took ya so long? I almost got a good night’s sleep before you got here,” she said triumphantly. Her voice seemed slightly raspier than before, but Sleepy Head ignored it.

“When’d you become a giant prick?” he mumbled under his breath.

“Did you say something?”

“I said ‘I forgot where the kitchen was.’ That’s my bad.”

“Well hurry up and eat something so we can start playing some games,” she exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

“I thought you wanted to read a book or something,” he said with his head in the pantry.

“I decided books are too boring, we need some action! I’ll be waiting in the garden, try to keep up!” And with that, she bolted out of the kitchen. Sleepy Head finally found some dandelions when she sprinted out of the room. He sighed as he munched on his breakfast.

“What’s gotten into her?”

“Luna, I’ve decided that tonight we would start with our manners and speaking lessons,” Sleepy Head said sternly. He had come into the garden to see Luna jumping all over the place. She was smelling the flowers in the flowerbed when he confronted her.

“That sounds boring; let’s just play!” she shouted, grabbing the maroon pony’s hooves and spinning him around. Her voice seemed a little high pitched now, but Sleepy Head was too preoccupied with what she was doing to worry about how she sounded.

The maroon stallion shook her away and tried to calm her down, “Princess, we did a lot of play yesterday. I think it would be best if we-”

“Have you felt this grass?! It’s sooo soft!” she exclaimed, obviously not paying attention to a word he was saying.

“Luna, I have to do my job. What would your sister say if she saw you rolling in the mud?”

“But rolling in mud is fun! You’ve gotta try it!” she said, grabbing his hoof again to pull him down with her. He jerked it away from her and took a couple steps back. “Ok… what’s going on… her personality keeps changing…” Suddenly, a mud pie slammed into his face. Luna laughed hysterically as Sleepy Head wiped the mud from his eyes. That was it, his patience had run dry.

“LUNA! That’s it, I’ve had it! What is WRONG with you?!”

“Huh?”

“I’m done!” he shouted, stomping away in outrage.

“Wait-”

“Don’t follow me!” He didn’t care anymore. She was just too much to handle. Why was he trying to give her speaking lessons anyway, she has obviously mastered it already. What happened to the bigger, kinder, less crazy Luna? He had thought the smaller Luna was timid and shy, but now she’s loud and obnoxious. His head was spinning as he fumed angrily.

He hadn’t notice where his hooves were taking him, but suddenly found himself in one of the side hallways inside the castle. He gave out a sigh, trying to calm himself down as he looked around. There was an open guest room in front of him that looked inviting. For some reason, Sleepy Head felt drawn to the room. “Well, maybe I can evade Luna longer if I stay in this room for a bit. Just enough to cool down.” He peeked inside the room and found that it was in the same format as his room. It made sense, seeing as he was staying in a guest room too. He pushed the door open and trotted in.

“Luna… why are you so CRAZY?! You weren’t that crazy last night… what happened last night… my memory is still kind of fuzzy on that subject…” He let out a long breath and told himself to keep calm. “All of my questions will come to light eventually; I just have to be patient.”

Sleepy Head started studying his surroundings in hopes of calming his nerves. Something about this room seemed familiar, but he couldn’t quite place it yet. The bed looked exactly like his, only a little less fluffy. The curtains were made of fine silk and smooth to the touch. The dresser had a mirror on top of it, which was cleaned to perfection and he could see himself clearly. He noticed he still had mud on his mane and shook it off onto the wood floor. “Oh crap,” he thought, “The maids are gonna get pissed at me if I leave this here!” He quickly shoved it under the rug that was in the center of the floor.

Suddenly, something under the rug caught his eye. He threw the rug off and studied one of the wooden boards in the floor. One of the boards looked lighter and newer than the other ones around it. He rubbed the board with his hoof, drawn to it for some unknown reason.

Just then, somepony bumped into him from behind. He yelped and landed stomach first on the rough wooden boards. He flipped on his back to see who did it, clearly frustrated.

“Hey, watch where…” he trailed off as he looked at the figure in front of him. The moon cast too dull a light, and a silhouette of a dark pony stood above him.

“Ahh, sorry ‘bout that. And ah’m sorry ‘bout earlier, I just got carried away,” Luna said in a deep southern accent. Sleepy Head didn’t reply and just stared at her, mouth wide open.

“Uhh, ‘you alright hon?”

Everything came flooding back: the fight with Nightmare Moon, the horn that pierced the floor boards, his near-death experience. He remembered it all, but also understood another fact. It was so obvious; he wondered how he had missed it beforehand.

Sleepy Head rose with a grim expression. Luna took a step back when he rose, in mild fear of his attitude. His mane hung over his eyes as he spoke to the moon princess.

“It ok Luna, I just need to go to the bathroom. Where is it again?”

“Uhh, take a right and it’s the last left in the hallway. ‘You sure you’re alright?”

“I’m fine. Could you… wait in this room for me to come back?”

“Sure thing,” Sleepy Head began to trot out as Luna continued, “An’ I truly am sorry.”

The maroon stallion didn’t look back but raised his head and replied, “I know. Me too.” With that, he hurried away.

“Celestia! Wake your sorry plot up!”

Princess Celestia rose sleepily from her bed and groaned, “Would you like to step outside and try that entrance again?”

“You’re a real piece of work, ya know that?” Sleepy Head retorted.

“What is troubling you, Sleepy Head?” The sun goddess was getting out of her bed, calm and collected.

“Wow, uhhh, I don’t know where to begin. So much crap has happened to me in the past two days that it’s hard to find somewhere to start!”

“Do tell,” she seemed cranky from being woken up in the middle of the night.

“Well, I just found out that your sister isn’t crazy. She’s WORSE than crazy! She has multiple personality disorder to the extreme! I’m pretty sure I’ve figured out why too!”

“Uh huh.”

“Well, this is just a guess, but I’m ninety-nine percent sure the Elements of Harmony didn’t defeat Nightmare Moon. The bearers of the Elements tried, but instead overshadowed Princess Luna with their personalities to keep Nightmare Moon at bay. But I’m sure you knew that and still preached on saying ‘she is vanquished forever’ or some bull crap like that.”

Princess Celestia laughed, “What makes you think Nightmare Moon is still alive, my little pony?”

“Oh, I dunno, maybe the fact that SHE TRIED TO KILL ME LAST NIGHT!!”

The princess paused and cocked an eyebrow at Sleepy Head. “I thought I made sure to wipe that memory from you.”

The maroon stallion was slightly surprised that she would just say that, but quickly collected himself. “Wow, you really are something else. Well, that’s it. I quit this job and I’m leaving tonight. You sisters sort out your own problems, I’m out.” With that, he started galloping out, but before he could get out the door, he suddenly stopped. He was moving his feet, but when he looked down, he noticed that he was floating in midair. Princess Celestia’s magic was surrounding him and blocking him from leaving.

“Now that… that we cannot have,” she said calmly. She floated over to where Sleepy Head was trapped in her magic snare.

“Let me go!” He tried to move away from her, but she just brought him closer to her face.

“So what? So you can burst out of here screaming ‘Nightmare Moon has returned!’ That would not be alright. You see, ponies are fickle beings. Just the hint of a rumor will alert the masses and spread chaos throughout Equestria.”

“You can’t… trap… me here.” Sleepy Head was finding it hard to move his mouth as the magic surrounding him tightened its grip.

“Haha, of course I can. Think about who you are talking to, silly pony.”

“You… you won’t get… away with this!”

“Get away with what? Saving the people of Equestria from mass panic? How about saving you from being called a lunatic, but seeing as you already ARE called a lunatic, nothing much would change,” she said with a grin. Sleepy Head mustered up the courage and spat in the princess’s face. When she was hit with it, she recoiled back in disgust. Her calm demeanor quickly faded to a rage and she slammed the maroon stallion into the wall. The force of the blow knocked the wind out of Sleepy Head and his body went limp as he tried to stay conscious.

“Listen up you ungrateful little punk, if it weren’t for me you’d still be a lazy little bum, rotting in the slums of Ponyville. It took all my tolerance just to recruit you for this job. You’re lazy, stubborn, self-centered, hateful, childish, and basically the scum of the Earth pony race. You’re so lazy, even when you’re presented with the best job in Equestria, you probably still would have rejected it! If I hadn’t hit you with that anxiety spell, who knows if you would have actually come!”

Sleepy Head remembered his breakdown at the beginning of this journey. “YOU! You did that to me? I passed out because of that!”

She ignored him, “And after two days… TWO DAYS, you barge in my room and say your leaving? I thought bringing you here would help my sister with her… problem, but it seems to only gotten worse. I mean, you have the cutie mark and everything!”

“I almost died! TWICE! And problem? How could I have possibly known your sister was a deranged psycho housing a demon?”

“Ohh, shut your mouth!” Her magic vanished around him and he fell to the ground in a heap. Though he wanted to run, his body was too hurt to even stand. Princess Celestia was collecting herself as Sleepy Head caught his breath. “Now… you are staying here, whether you like it or not. Do not try to leave, because you will only get yourself in trouble with the guards. From this day on, your job has changed. You are to accompany my sister and help her keep control of her body as I find out what to do next.”

“And how long will that take?”

“As long as it takes!”

Sleepy Head had made up his mind; she’s the scarier of the two sisters. He laid on her carpet trying to move, but his body wouldn’t listen to him. Princess Celestia saw that and rolled her eyes in frustrated disgust.

“Oh, get up!” She opened her balcony and threw his limp body out into the night air. The moon and star’s glow enveloped the stallion and made his body quiver. In a few seconds, he was groaning and standing up gingerly. He slowly trotted toward the door, making sure he glared at Princess Celestia on his way out.

He was outside the door when the princess called his name. Reluctantly, he turned his gaze toward her smiling face.

“Oh, and I would keep my sister in the dark if I were you. Who knows what might happen if she actually knew Nightmare Moon was still inside her.”

And with that, she used her magic and slammed the door in Sleepy Head’s face.

Chapter 3

He had come to this castle with questions, but instead found more mysteries. Sleepy Head cracked his neck as he trotted away from Princess Celestia’s room. Some royal guards came running around the bend and asked Sleepy Head what had happened.

“We heard a loud thump coming from the princess’s quarters. Is everything alright?”

Sleepy Head scowled and replied, “It’s nothing, I accidently knocked over a chair is all.” The two guards nodded and trotted back to their stations. Sleep Head snorted in disgust, “Telling them what actually happened would be pointless. Better just keep that ‘conversation’ to myself so I don’t get in more trouble.”

Even though the princess told him not to try to leave, Sleepy Head was determined to try anyway. He could think of no excuse for the guards to restrain him from leaving. He walked confidently toward the main gate and confronted the two door ponies. They were surprisingly alert, even though it was the middle of the night.

“Excuse me, but I would like to leave now. Could you open the gate for me?”

“We were given orders that a maroon stallion was not to leave the premises,” one of the guards said. The two golden plated ponies didn’t even look at him when he spoke.

“By who?”

“Princess Celestia.”

“Wha? Why?! What possible reason does she have to keep me here?”

The guard to the right of the door finally looked at Sleepy Head, but his expression didn’t budge, “We were told that you were suffering from posttraumatic stress after being hurt from a… pillow fight. She felt it was necessary for you to recover at the castle instead of leaving on your own.” Sleepy Head couldn’t say a word and just stared at them. Though what they had said was totally absurd, neither of the guards changed their expression.

Sleepy Head spun around and fumed off. “How does she DO that?!” The maroon stallion stomped off back toward the entrance room. He decided the only place he could go was back to where he told Princess Luna to stay. On his way there, he collected his thoughts.

“I feel kind of bad that I told Luna to stay in that room when I was planning on leaving. She is a lot of trouble and annoying as hell, but it really isn’t her fault. The Elements of Harmony did its best to restrain that evil mare. Actually… now that I think about it… the Elements of Harmony couldn’t destroy Nightmare Moon in the beginning, so it makes sense that they couldn’t destroy her when the Ponyville mares used it. The Elements did weaken her though; that much is certain. If my fight with her taught me anything, it’s that she can’t control Luna’s body for long.”

Sleepy Head finally entered the guest room. In the middle of the floor, Luna was resting her head on her forelegs, sleeping soundly. The moonlight from the window cast a long shadow of her on the floor as Sleepy Head trotted toward her. He was irritated, but couldn’t find the courage to wake the sleeping princess. Though he wished the taller Luna were around, this one was, at least, acceptable. He smiled as she mumbled illegible words in her slumber. “Wow,” he thought, “Not a care in the world. It’s amazing how she can keep the moon up while sleeping so soundly.”

Suddenly, the shadow she cast started to move. Sleepy Head jumped back as the shadow moved across the floor and onto the wall near the door. The shadow spun, twisted and finally came to rest in the form of the fiend that dwelt inside her. The maroon pony gritted his teeth in anger; this was all her fault! Sleepy Head was not in the mood for another battle, but stood his ground the best he could.

“N-nightmare Moon!”

“Oh, don’t get your tail in a tizzy. I’m just a shadow.”

“What do you want then?” Sleep Head took a step toward her, sounding more confident.

“Well, I just wanted to inform you that I won’t be having fun with you for a while. I can only appear when Luna’s in her real form. It seems someone has put a magic seal on my vessel here.” The shadow was sitting on her legs and pointed to little Luna, who was still asleep.

“Magic… seal?”

“Are you dense? It means she’s stuck in that blasted Elements form until something breaks the seal.”

“Wha… really?”

“You really are stupid, aren’t you? Celestia probably put it on her so she wouldn’t have to worry about you crying like a little baby,” Nightmare Moon sneered.

“Heh, figures,” Sleepy Head mumbled. He walked over to Luna’s sleeping body and suspended his hoof above her head.

“Hey… what are you doing?” Nightmare Moon asked unsteadily.

“Oh, I was just going to wake up Luna. She doesn’t need to be sleeping through her beautiful night,” Sleepy Head said with a smirk.

The shadow slithered across the floor and surrounded the stallion. It rose from the floorboards and materialized into a smoky mare. Her body was fluid, but had a recognizable structure. Everything about her was hazy except the yellow glow of her eyes as she peered down at Sleepy Head’s back. Nightmare Moon put her hooves on the back of Sleepy Head’s shoulders in a comforting gesture.

“Now, now, let’s not be too hasty. We still have much to talk about.”

Though the monster was at his blind side, he just turned his head and grinned at her, “It should be fine if I wake Luna. I think she would love to join the conversation.”

He was about to shake Luna awake, when he suddenly stopped.

“Please stop… my son,” and Sleepy Head’s heart skipped a beat.

He dropped his hoof and turned to her, “…What did you just call me?”

“Son, my child… my very own child,” she moaned, more creepy than soothing.

Sleepy Head backed away from her smoky presence, “Are you… talking to me?”

“Who else would I be talking to, my little colt.”

“No… NO! You’re just trying to mess with my head. How could you possibly be my mother?!”

“Aww… you don’t remember do you?”

Sleepy Head shook his head in frustration, “Stop, trying to be motherly! You know what I DO remember? Yesterday, when you tried to kill me!”

“Ohh, that was just to test your strength. If I wanted you dead, you would be,” she gave him a wink, trying to be cute. She was anything but.

Sleepy Head growled, “You’re pulling this out of your plot and you know it!”

“Oh really? And how’s that?”

“Well, let’s see… ok how about this? I’m, what, a full grown stallion? You escaped the moon a year ago! If I am your son, I’d have to be born on the moon! And you were trapped there by yourself!”

She looked sullen, “You even forgot about our time on the moon?”

Sleepy Head lost his breath for a second. What was it about that sentence that struck a nerve? “‘time on the moon...’ I think I remember being on the moon… I remember… a darkness so empowering… was it the moon?”

Nightmare Moon had a look of crafty understanding, “So you DO remember…”

Sleepy Head scowled at her, “Maybe… but that still doesn’t account for the fact of how I got there. You were alone, remember?”

The dark mare laughed, “Hahahaha, magic can do all sorts of wonders.”

“Huh?”

“Tell me, why are you an Earth pony that has a magical ability? That’s not natural.”

“I… I…” Sleepy Head didn’t have an answer.

“Let me tell you the answer: It’s because you’re not actually a real pony! You’re the physical manifestation of magic I stored for nearly one thousand years… and the key to my escape.”

“No…”

“I realized I needed to create some form of energy, a burst of energy strong enough to destroy my lunar prison. Since the only magic I had came from the moon, I decided I would make a night power strong enough to actually destroy a barrier of night.”

“No.”

“And the best way to hide such a key is in plain sight. No one would suspect an Earth pony for releasing me!”

“NO!!”

Sleepy Head’s yell startled the sleeping Luna. As soon as she popped awake, Nightmare Moon dissolved and Luna’s shadow became normal again. Little Luna rubbed her eyes and yawned as Sleepy Head stared at the floor.

“I apologize for snoozing, darling, I just had a horrible time trying to stay up for you. With all of the unfashionable curtains and furniture, I just couldn’t bear to look at this room any longer. …Sleepy Head?” She trotted over to the stallion who was staring out into space.

When Luna walked into his line of sight, he quickly gathered himself, “Oh! Sorry… I just got here, so it’s alright. I didn’t want to disturb you since you were sleeping so soundly.” He tried to give her a smile, but just couldn’t gather enough his spirits to do so.

Luna walked in front of him, toward the door, “Oh, it’s quite alright dear, but you DID take a long time to go to the restroom. I can tell you certainly took your time to make yourself presentable.” She turned her head and smiled at the maroon pony.

He looked surprised, “Really?... I mean, yeah! Of course!”

She continued out the door, “Now, I wanted to tell you all about my decoration ideas for your room…” her voice trailed off as she turned the corner and out of sight.

Sleepy Head rolled his eyes and sighed. “You’re too kind, Luna,” he said and followed her out of the room.

He spent the following days trying to escape. Being an Earth pony, there wasn’t much he could do to get over the walls of the castle. And even if he managed to get over the walls, he still had that moat that surrounded the fortress. He wasn’t sure what was in the moat, and he wasn’t about to find out. Even so, whenever Luna was preoccupied with something, Sleepy Head would slink away to look for some path of escape. He tried everything: climbed a tree to jump out, inspected the wall for any kinks, fashion a pole vaulting stick. He even tried to find some way out through the huge hedge maze in the back of the garden, hoping there was some magic in there that could teleport him home.

Through some of these endeavors, he would get maimed in a terrible way. And although the pain was splitting, the night would kindly repair any damage he caused to himself. Whenever that would happen, he’d be revisited with visions of Nightmare Moon. Her words echoed in his mind and cut into his very soul. Was he really the embodiment of a dark power? It was unlikely, but it was also the best explanation he’d been given all his life. But then again, he didn’t really know anything about his life, for all the memories past a year ago ceased to exist. All he could think about was getting away from this awful place.

Now, he was afraid of what he might remember.

A week had passed since he had arrived at the castle. One faithful night, he had left the Twilight Sparkle version of Luna fast asleep in a book. This time he just trotted to the closest wall, but could think of no tricky way to get up it. Instead, he tried desperately to grind the wall to dust with his hooves. He cried. He cried because he knew it was hopeless. He would never leave with the knowledge he retains. He knew he would forever serve a crazy moon princess under the careful eye of her all-powerful sister. He wailed bitterly there and continued to grind away at his prison.

“What are you doing Sleepy Head?”

The maroon stallion didn’t want to turn around. He didn’t want Luna to see his face like this. Stallions were strong, dependable, and courageous. If they had a weakness, they didn’t show it. But… he had to speak to her.

Sleepy Head stopped chipping at the wall and hung his head, “I’m gonna be honest… I don’t want to be here… not with you, and definitely not with Celestia. I’m finished.”

Luna didn’t say anything for a minute, and Sleepy Head assumed she had flown away. His tears silently flowed as sat on his plot, still facing the wall. He shut his eyes tight to try to stop his weeping, but the hopelessness, the pain, the sorrow, the truth still weighed heavily on him.

After a moment, he suddenly felt a warm embrace from behind him. Luna’s hooves wrapped around his neck and she rested her head on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Sleepy Head… for everything,” she whispered.

He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt so comforted. His tears stopped and he could feel his cold demeanor melt in the grasp of Princess Luna. “The mare feared by so many ponies… how could anyone fear such a loving princess… how could I have been so dumb as to think running away from my problems would somehow resolve them… No, I have to stay here; for Luna and for myself!” Sleepy Head smiled as she nuzzled his neck with affection. He returned the gesture and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“I should be the one apologizing, Luna. You didn’t even do anything wrong!”

She looked surprised, “Oh but I did! I was the one who got you injured from the pillow fight!”

“Huh?”

“My sister told me you were still suffering from anxiety attacks from that first night. I really am sorry. I’ve read more on what we can do at night so I can prevent myself from hurting you anymore.”

Sleepy Head looked at her for a second and burst out laughing. She gave him an odd look as he rolled on the ground in merriment. He got up and put an arm around Luna neck, “Sister knows best. I feel like she and I should have a talk tomorrow evening. How early do I have to wake up to see her?”

“Oh, uhh… well, we usually have dinner at seven o’clock. You could come then.”

“Wow… that’s early… I dunno if my body will get up then,” he said with a grin.

Princess Luna giggled, “Don’t worry, Sleepy Head, I’ll make sure you get up in time.”

“Don’t get mad at me when I throw a pillow at you when you try to wake me up. We wouldn’t want another pillow accident on our hooves.”

The two laughed as they made their way back toward the castle.

“Sleepy Head! Wake up!”

“Uhhnnn, go away. It’s not seven yet,” he mumbled.

“It’s eight now! I’ve already finished dinner, and sis’ is almost done!”

Sleepy Head pulled the covers over himself in protest. He quickly found himself floating in midair, a blue glow surrounding his body. Luna shook the stallion in midair with her magic to wake him up. He was a little dizzy, but collected himself and reluctantly walked down the stairs with the moon princess. They had been around each other so much that Sleepy Head could tell which personality Luna was just by hearing her voice. “Her voice was a little raspy, so she must be Rainbow Dash.”

When they made their way to the garden, he spotted Princess Celestia finishing her meal. Luna flew ahead of him and joined her sister at the table. The sun had yet to go down, and Sleepy Head’s eyes were still heavy. Still, he was determined to talk to Celestia; hopefully she would give him the answers he needed. He cringed as he recalled their last confrontation. “This time, I’ll be more subtle.”

When he reached the table, Princess Celestia greeted him warmly, “Good evening Sleepy Head.”

The stallion nodded his greetings and went straight to the point. He turned to Luna and asked, “Luna, could I talk to your sister in private?”

“Sure!” she said, smiling. “Pinkie Pie now, huh?” he thought, for he recognized the high pitched voice. Princess Luna bounced away as Celestia rose from her seat.

“Let’s take a walk, Sleepy Head.”

“I was thinkin’ the same thing,” he agreed, following her toward the fountain. The fountain was still in the garden, but surrounded by statues of famous ponies. The Discord statue was not there, for obvious reasons, but the action poses of each stone pony was a sight to see. The fountain was outlined by a marble pathway, and lush grass grew in places not covered in fine stone. Princess Celestia sat on her legs in the soft green near the fountain, but Sleepy Head wanted to stand while talking to her.

“So, I have some ques-”

Princess Celestia quickly interrupted him, “Before you start, I have something to say.”

“Yeah?”

“I want to apologize for the way I acted back in my room. That was uncalled for and childish.”

Sleepy Head rolled his eyes, “You can say that again.”

“It was just a combination of things that day that really had me stressed. I had a hard day at work and I welcomed the time I had to rest. When you burst into my room shouting, I was a little irritated.”

“That’s understandable,” he said, remembering how he acts when people try to wake him up.

“That coupled with the fact that you wanted to leave us after the first night, it was hard to bare. I get passionate when it comes to my sister, and I have never been spat on before! I did not know how to react, and I apologize deeply,” she hung her head in repentance. Sleepy Head was taken aback by the politeness, and quickly forgave her.

“That’s actually a good segway to what I wanted to ask you. You injured me enough to cripple a regular pony, but knew about how the night can heal my wounds. I have never revealed that to anypony, so how did you know?”

“I have connections,” she said with a wink.

Sleepy Head was not amused, “Come on. I’m awake at night, so I know you aren’t watching me then. Give me a real answer.”

“That… that is something I can never tell you…” she said, with a distant look in her eyes.

“Great… well, can you tell me why my cutie mark is so important. You said something about how my cutie mark was supposed to help Luna… I think… It was hard to make out what you were saying while I was getting beaten up.”

“I… cannot tell you that either.”

Sleepy Head was angry now. “Can you tell me anything?!” he shouted, standing over her.

The princess looked up at Sleepy Head, and her face struck a nerve in the stallion’s heart. Her kind demeanor faded to an expression of sad longing. Suddenly, she seemed older than she appeared; like the years of her life weighed heavily on the poor mare. Sleepy Head took a step back, afraid of what he had done to the usually chipper alicorn.

“I wish I could tell you… but decisions I have made in the past have forbidden me to speak of it. All I can say is that you have to power to save Luna from herself…”

“Really?... are you sure about that?”

“Pardon?”

Sleepy Head grey eyes burned with a fiery passion, “Tell me this then! Who were my parents? Where did I come from?”

“How am I to know-”

“Am I really a pony, or something else?”

Celestia looked at him, surprised. Sleepy Head started to confess, tears forming at his eyes with every word, “A few nights ago… I was visited by the shadow of Nightmare Moon. She said… she said that I was her son; the physical form of a dark power she had created on the moon… I.. I-I really don’t know what to believe anymore.” The tears were streaming down his face now, overcome by his emotions and the thought that he was a demon spawn.

Celestia rose and walked over to the maroon stallion. She rubbed her head with Sleepy Heads neck to comfort the sorrowful pony. Her flowing multicolored mane rubbed against his muzzle as she hugged him softly. At that very moment, Sleepy Head’s heart skipped a beat. “The smell of her mane… the warmth of her body… this all seems so familiar…”

“I can tell you this,” she whispered behind his ear, “You were born on this world, naturally, as a real pony. That is the truth.”

She backed away with Sleepy Head putting a hoof against his heart. She smiled kindly at him and said, “Now, I must return to my quarters, for the sun is about to set.” Princess Celestia began to fly toward the castle when Sleepy Head shouted at her.

“Wait!”

She turned in midair, “Yes?”

“One more question: Princess Luna… is her form now really her or is it just the Elements controlling her?”

Princess Celestia smiled and answered, “The way she acts on the outside might be the Elements of Harmony…” The stallion looked disheartened. Then she added, “…but the way she FEELS is definitely the real Luna. They cannot change her emotions.”

And with that, she left him to wonder by the fountain.