Beyond dimensions, beyond distant worlds, lies the great kingdom of Equestria. Two majestic princesses—Celestia and Luna—reside within Canterlot Castle, both having sole power over the sun and the moon respectively, and govern all of Equestria in perfect harmony.
Sadly, such harmony was nowhere to be found as Princess Celestia raised the moon up that night. It has been five days and she’s still missing. Where could she have gone?, she thought to herself as she paced by the courtyard. Princess Luna has not been seen or heard by anyone within the castle for a while. Not even the Royal Guards, who scouted day and night for her, have had any luck. She would constantly ask for hourly reports but her soldiers and subjects usually came back with nothing.
The Royal Guard Captain and a pony subject walked towards their Princess. “Your Majesty.” They greeted in unison as they knelt before her. “Please stand. Anything from the search?” Celestia, getting anxious to know if her sister has been found, asked the both of them. “We still cannot yield any results, Your Majesty. No sign of Princess Luna in the air, around Canterlot and inside it. Not even my assembled troops in the Everfee Forest have seen her. But we will do our best to double our efforts in finding Her Majesty, Princess Luna.”, said the captain gallantly. The pony beside him began to speak just as the captain finished his report. “No sign of her on Ponyville or any other city within the reaches of the kingdom, Your Majesty. But, we will do whatever we can to bring the Princess back. We will not falter, my princess. And you have my word.” Although she felt disheartened with the results given, Celestia was still impressed and touched by her subjects’ dedication, patience, and perseverance. “Thank you both. And thank you for your efforts thus far. They truly are worthy of praise. But it is with a heavy heart that I implore you to never falter in looking for Princess Luna. You may know go, and thank you once again.” Celestia forcing a smile as she said these things to her subjects. The captain and the pony subject knelt, bowed, and left to carry on their search for Luna. By now, Celestia began to lose faith, regardless of the drastic measures she set out to search for her sister—wherever she may be. Anxiety, fear, disbelief, and frustration have taken over her on account of her sister’s questionable disappearance. She tried searching by herself at the grand castle halls, the throne room, Luna’s private quarters, and just about every nook and cranny—even going as far as possible to the deepest, darkest corners of the castle dungeons.
After another failed attempt towards finding her sister, Celestia decided to call it a night and return to her quarters to rest. When suddenly, she saw the Princess Nocturnal herself softly landing by the corridor to the private chambers! At last! My sister has finally come back home!, Celestia thought to herself as she hid from behind a thick, dark purple window curtain. But then, that relieved look in her face took a quick turn towards anger. Anger because of Luna’s return that has long been overdue. Anger because of Luna’s flippant behavior and irresponsibility and what Celestia perceived as arrogance. With her sister silently observing her from the curtain, Luna frantically surveyed the area to see if her subjects are out and about or worse, Celestia. Quietly hovering in mid-air, Luna attempted to reach her quarters in the hopes of not being able to notify the patrolling guards around the area. If I ever make it, I promise to discuss this matter with my sister...and be completely honest about it. Luna thought as she was just a few flaps away to her quarters.
“And where have you been this whole time, Luna?”
Luna fell to her feet in shock and froze to the sound of her sister’s stern, commanding voice. She slowly turned her head to see Celestia not looking very pleased with what Luna did. Guilt and annoyance overran Luna as she greeted her sister. “Oh, good evening to you, dear sister. I take it that you are raising and setting the moon for me as of late? Commendable, if I do say so myself.” She said indifferently as her eyes were fixed elsewhere. With that, Celestia angrily widened her gaze upon Luna. There was a fury welling up inside her because of how her little sister greeted her in such a fashion. But, she had to restrain herself and find a calm and elegant way to reach out to her sister and get to the bottom of it. “What has gotten over you, Luna? Why have you shirked on your duty? On your responsibilities here in the castle? Why are you doing this?”
“I thought it best that I left for a while, and—“
Celestia, beginning to boil up inside with her sister’s careless remark, interrupted Luna. “And what? Take a vacation while I fill in for your supposed duty? Since when was that the best choice to make huh, Luna? Never, in my life, will I do such a thing to you.” Celestia pounded her hoof loudly. A few seconds later, she sighed heavily, trying to ease her agitation and toning her voice down.
“—you...y-you would never understand what I feel. Or how I feel.” Luna continued, still not facing her big sister.
“You feel that way because you do not even tell me about it! I am always here for you, sister! I care about you. All I wanted from you is to never be afraid in opening up to me.” Celestia said in a concerned, yet caring tone. She was about to nuzzle her sister, hoping that Luna could find the strength to tell her the problem, when Luna suddenly retorted. “I just can’t believe that somepony so foolish and thick-headed is made ruler over all of Equestria!” She was about to open the door to her room when a magic bolt hit her, sending her a few meters away from the door. Celestia did not know what to say after her sister’s blind and careless retort, that she released the bolt with a seething rage. Now feeling insulted directly, she hit another wave of magic towards Luna. Her wrath was becoming evident in her face.
“I did my best to try to listen to you. To give you aid and guide you when you were in trouble or in doubt. All this time, I have always been there for you and this is how you show gratitude, with a thoughtless, reckless remark? You do not even see the pressures of ruling Equestria anymore that such narcissism has consumed you! You understand no one, but yourself! Never again!”
Now in a fit of blinding, burning rage, Celestia summoned a portal. Luna—now becoming terrified of having to force her sister’s hand—struggled to get away from the traction of the portal, desperately holding on to a column nearby.
“Until you have realized all that I said and put them to action, you are hereby banished from the Kingdom of Equestria!” She released one more wave of magic to ensure Luna falls to the portal. “You can’t do this to me! You wouldn’t dare!” Luna cried out in fear, using all her might to avoid getting sucked up by the portal. Her wings never did her any good as she was consumed by it.
“No! Nooooooo!!” Luna screamed in all finality before the portal closed itself before Celestia.
“I am truly sorry, my dear sister. But I do hope you could see everything clearly.” Her head looking down in remorse of her actions, but nevertheless, it was just and right to teach Luna a lesson. With her ears drooping down, Celestia sadly walked the way to her private chambers.
It was a peaceful evening in his room when Tom was playing chess all by himself. His parents were sound asleep in the master's bedroom, assuming that their only son is having a good night’s sleep, as well. Already past his bedtime, Tom was trying to figure out how to get his white king out from a corner by a handful of black pieces. Aha! I’ve got it! He thought to himself.
Just when he was about to move the white king from a sticky situation, he heard a thud coming from the forest beyond their family yard. The sound of it surprised him that he jumped out of his chair, went straight to bed, and hid under his blanket. The chess pieces fell out of their places and some managed to fall to the floor. Tom was never sure when he thought that everything was clear. That wasn’t an alien! Right? Or, robots? Alien robots? I think I’ll stay here until it’s all over. He thought to himself. Slowly yet surely, Tom fell asleep. Yeah, I think I’ll finish my game tomorrow. Tom finalized as he felt sleep come over him.
Still shaken by the impact of her crash, Luna woke up and viewed her surroundings, her vision still hazy and doubled. “W-where...am I?” She stammered. By now, she got hold of her bearings well again and observed the area. Her eyes widened to the foreign layout of the forest. “This is not the Everfree Forest!” She said to herself as she trotted across the forest. Surely, the woodland creatures could not talk like those from Equestria. But there were creatures which she found foreign, like raccoons and opposums. She tried to remember every single forest she has been to as Princess of the Night. The White Tail Woods, Froggy Bottom Bogg, the forests of the Ghastly Gorge, and many others. None of these places seemed to fit for her. She galloped from one area to another, far and wide, trying to find her way out of the vast forest to no avail. Nearly losing her breath, she stopped by a relatively wide area with a singular huge chunk of rock as a legend.
Losing all sense of hope, she looked to the ground, stomping it hard and deep with her forehoof. Clinching her teeth, Luna looked up and shouted angrily at the night sky—the moon and the stars seemingly betraying her. She was angry at Princess Celestia for bestowing such a punishment upon her. She was also angry at herself for not having been able to explain to her sister that nopony appreciates her gift of the night, for allowing her bitter jealousy to consume her. Now that she got out of her anger, she wept heavily, realizing that she could not return to her abode. She had to atone for berating her older sister like that. But for now, all Luna could do, without a way to return to Equestria, and despair getting the best of her for the moment—was weep.
Chapter 1: Family Reunion
The following morning, Tom woke up to the sound of birds chirping. Slowly opening his eyes to another day, he stretched his arms and feet out. He sat on his bed feeling energized and looked at his alarm clock, only to find out that he woke up way too early. It’s five twenty-three in the morning? Wow, must have waked up early. Tom thought to himself as he held his hands together, rubbing them. He got out of bed and walked to a nearby window to open it, inviting a cool morning breeze to the room and his face. “Perfect!” Tom said softly to himself as he breathed in the cold air and slowly breathing it out. The tranquil morning twilight shrouding the forests of Scituate in indigo and orange; this was one of the few things Tom fell in love with since having settled in a few months back. Aside from the calming effect of the view, he gently smiled as he remembered the first few days in his new home.
How he felt that living in downtown Delaware—with its museums, parks, and zoos that delighted him to his heart and mind’s content—was a lot better than living in a place surrounded by forests. He thought that his new home had nothing more to offer but trees, and lakes and—more trees.
Because he was advised to transfer and find potential associates and clients for the company he works in, Tom’s father decided that they would all move to Rhode Island. He thought this to be the best choice as he wanted to be close to family while focusing on his job at the same time. “Don’t you worry a thing about the forests, Tom,” he smilingly reassured his son, patting him on the shoulder after heeding to his son’s complaint. He was busy carrying and moving huge cardboard boxes from their car to the house. They did require moving service at the time, but they thought it would be better to handle their personal belongings themselves.
“It’s nothing compared to what they have in store for you. With creatures that take wanderers and residents out of the blue and are never heard of again, you’ll have a lot on your shoulders to--”
“Lawrence! Must you really do that?”
Just when he was about to finish, Tom’s mother came in to join them, having heard of her husband’s story. She raised an eyebrow towards Lawrence and looked at her son in a concerned, yet reassuring manner. “Tom, there are no such ghastly creatures like those living in a forest as peaceful as this.”
“Relax, Mom. Those things must be urban legends around these parts. I don’t even think they exist anymore,” said Tom who felt cocksure that nothing like that even existed. His mother knelt on one knee with her hands on her son’s arms, saying, “I know but I just care about you that much, darling.” She softly kissed Tom on his forehead. Lawrence was shaking his head lightly, thinking that his wife was overcompensating Tom. At that rate, you’ll soften him nice and slow, Emma. He thought to himself. Accompanied with a smile, her elegant southern British accent gave sheepish Tom a great sense of security and calm; that his mother cared an awful lot about him—maybe too much of it.
“Except, of course, for the occasional jersey devils and spectres lying about out there,” she continued in rapid succession.
Lawrence laughed as his wife decided to play along with him. “Oh, come on, Mom!” Tom said as he laughed, knowing that she was having fun with him. There really are no such things in these parts, right? He thought to himself. But, he felt great getting to have some laughs with his own folks as they moved things to their new home. Soon after, they talked a little more before getting back to the tasks at hand.
With that thought aside now, Tom was just about ready to head out of the room to stroll around the house on such a fine time of the day, when he saw some black and white pieces scattered across the floor. The game from last night! He was instantly reminded of the game he had with himself. He fell on one knee and started picking up the pieces, placing each one of them in his foldable chess board. He also remembered what caused the pieces to fall to the floor like that. “It was that thudding sound from last night,” he said to himself. He set his sights to the forest across the window, yet he wondered what it was that fell out of the sky and how the crash could have created such an impact. It could have been a meteor or a comet if he saw some light, or noticed some of it. “I have got to find out what’s out there!” Tom said with resolve.
As he picked up his chess set and placed it back in his drawer, he was having second thoughts about actually heading to the forest. Could there really be those kinds of things in the forest? Going back to that time when he and his parents talked about that as they moved in. No, no, I mustn’t think that way! It really ought to be urban legends. That’s what it is, alright. He shook his head to try and quell his doubts. He definitely wanted to go to the forest to look for whatever it was that crashed there, no matter what it could be.
Few hours later, Tom and his parents were having a lovely outdoor breakfast on the porch. Tom, still in his pajamas, while his parents were dressed for work; Lawrence in a navy blue business suit, and Emma in her maroon long-sleeved top and rugged jeans—her blonde hair tied in a bun. They were talking about things planned out that day, including the family reunion to be held there later in the evening. While Emma was checking on who will be attending the event, Lawrence agreed to come back home early in the afternoon to help with the finishing touches.
“You think you’ll get good pictures today? You can’t really tell how cranky the weather can get up here,” said Lawrence to his wife, newspaper in hand.
“You really are a worrywart, aren’t you, darling? It’s possible that things can go brill. The weather reports can hit or miss sometimes, love; and I’ll be fine with Tom around me.” Emma replied.
Tom immediately broke out of his meal as he heard this. “I don’t think I can go, Mom. I, well... I have a...s-sprained ankle. Yeah, that’s what it is. I must have pressed on it with my other foot and it’s been aching until now.” Tom was faking his pain by holding on to his ankle. Tom wanted to be by himself and play chess, thinking that with this method, he can excel in the sport.
“Oh, really? Tell me, how did you manage to walk out here just fine when you sniffed your breakfast, hmm?” Emma asked her son with a smirk on her face.
Tom winced when his mother saw through him. He could see his father silently exclaim “Busted!” as he broke out from reading the day’s news. Tom grumbled and insisted that he stay indoors. For him, viewing the vast, wondrous forestry was one thing; stepping into it was another.
“Sometimes, you gotta break out of the indoor habit, son. Even if it’s board games. Some outdoor activity should help you exercise well. But, don’t worry, we’ll play chess later—and I'll beat you again!” Lawrence told his son.
“Oh no, you won’t! I’ll surely win this time, Dad!” cried Tom.
Tom rushed back to the house to freshen up and pack some snacks. Soon after, Lawrence left for work and Emma grabbed her cargo vest and her camera and took Tom with her to the forest for a walk—and hopefully, good shots of the Scituate forests.
Tom and his mother were in the middle of the forest now. Having pinned down markers onto the trees, Emma made sure they would find their way back home easily to finish the preparations for the family reunion later. Emma was checking her camera for a summary of the shots she took. Squirrels with acorns on their paws, passing and gathering by the trees. Several shots of different bunch of trees: spruce, pine, fir, and redwood. Birds perched on branches of trees. But, these shots were nothing compared to what she just chanced upon: a small lake surrounded by trees near a shoreline of white rocks. Somehow, she found it calming, captivating, and serene. She looked it at for a minute or so before taking a picture of it. She called Tom to her side and asked him to sit along with her. “What do you think of this one?” Emma asked her son, showing him the picture she took.
Tom looked at it for moment before giving back the camera and responded, “It looks beautiful, Mom. One of the best you’ve ever taken.”
“It is, isn’t it? Better than staying indoors, huh?”
This time, Tom admitted it was a good idea to go out and smell the fresh, clean forest air, to see some wildlife up-close, and to walk around the forest. With this, he gently nodded in response, showing his appreciation for tagging along with his mother. They continued to take full view of the beauty of the scene around them for several minutes.
Tom’s attention was caught by a moving object of light purple. He could not see it clearly, but he definitely saw something move in the middle of some trees. “Mom, did you see that?” Tom said without looking at his mother. “See what, darling?” Tom was pointing his finger to exactly where he found the creature move there. Emma was looking at the direction Tom showed her. Narrowing her eyes, she found nothing there. “I don’t think I see anything there in the trees, Tom.”
“But I saw something move there! It was purple in color! It looks like a horse in some way. But, other than that, I don’t know what it is!”
Emma looked at Tom questioningly. But seeing that Tom described his creature and was convinced with the confident look in his face, she got up and packed her camera in her bag, putting her black cap on. “Alright, we’ll go check this horse of yours. But I swear if you go so far as trying to surprise me by hidi—“ Before she could even finish, Tom darted his way to the woods. Emma sighed at this and followed suit. “Wait up, would you, Thomas!” She said as she ran trying to catch up with her son.
Tom was running fast as he tried to take another glimpse of the creature he saw earlier. He stopped several times trying to look and guess what direction it ran off to. This time, he was relying on his sense of direction—uncertain as it may be. Several dashes and wrong guesses later, Tom felt exhausted. He rested upon a large chunk of rock in the middle of a small, open field in the forest breathing heavily. Where could it have gone? Tom thought to himself as he looked around his surroundings, not realizing that he could get lost running really fast like that. He sat down near the rock and took out a sandwich and a canteen from his small backpack. Munching on his snack, Tom waited for Emma to keep up with him. He made an assumption that his mother would be able to find him, seeing that she placed marker stickers by the trees they passed by earlier, should they get lost. He suddenly froze when he heard a mild trotting sound. The trotting came to a halt in an instant, followed by a soft whinny.
A horse! It has gotta be one! He deduced. Saving his snack for later, Tom walked to the direction of the sound he heard, just opposite to where he stood. He walked quietly, so as not to startle whatever it is that was beyond a few trees and gallop away. He caught a glimpse of it and hid behind a tree. He was making sure his cover was not blown and he could stay a good measure away from what he saw. Slowly he peeked from behind the tree to see a pony, light purple in color. The horn on its head gave Tom the idea that it was a unicorn. A unicorn! These things don’t exist anymore. Dad may be right, there are such creatures in here.
“Tom! Tom, where are you? Tom!”
Tom’s mother shouted from a distance. Tom lost focus of the unicorn as he looked to where Emma’s voice came from. The unicorn pony disappeared as Tom looked back at it. “Over here, Mom!” He shouted out and ran away from the scene. They found each other by the rock when Emma saw her son. She began to catch her breath from running a fair amount of distance just to find Tom.
“I thought I lost you. Where have you been?”
“I’m alright, Mom. You cannot believe what I just saw: a unicorn!”
Emma rolled her eyes, disregarding Tom’s claim easily as a teacher would when someone’s homework was chewed on by a dog. “Now that was just splendid, Tom. Well, I guess we’re done here for today,” said Emma, indicating preparing for the family event later in the evening. Tom followed behind her, adamant in proving his mother wrong about his discovery. “I really saw a unicorn right there!” Pointing to the direction where he saw the mythical creature, Tom had his mother’s attention now. “It had a crown, a necklace around its neck, both black. It had a mark on its leg close to its tail, hair for some reason, and colored purple! I know it sounds silly but I saw what I saw. It. Was. There.” There was an aura of seriousness surrounding them.
Emma closed in on Tom. She said with a straight face, “Alright, when you find this creature that you spoke well of, you let me know.”
“What are you thinking of, Mom?”
“You just let me know.”
Tom nodded in response as Emma walked ahead of him, wanting to get back home to prepare. Tom looked at the spot where the unicorn stood once more before catching up to Emma.
It was the night of the family reunion at the Rudolphs. The entire first floor was occupied by relatives of Lawrence—except for the kitchen where every dish is being served for the buffet stand. Some of the men gathered to talk about each other and how they were doing, with a smoke or drink in hand; the women, catching up to anything going on in their lives with their drinks, food, and cake—and the eventual gossip. “I’ll get it!” Lawrence quickly responded to the door bell ringing, opening the door to a cousin of his and her kids. “Cousin, good to see you!” She cried out as she gave Lawrence a warm embrace.
“Hi, Peggy. Kids. So, how was the trip?” He said as he let go of the brief hug by her.
“Coming from Ohio, it wasn’t so bad. It’s how getting here’s exhausting. The kids were all ‘Are we there yet?’ So I tell them, ‘Let’s just sing songs to help us get to your Uncle Lawrence’s house faster.’ We sang quite a lot but they still whined about how long we were inside the car. I told them about you guys having cakes, though. They really got excited once cakes got involved. Still a good trip, though.”
Lawrence chuckled at his cousin’s story. “Must have been fun,” he commented.
“Yeah, it was. So, how’s Emma? How’s Tommy?” Peggy asked, looking forward to see them both.
“They’re fine. Emma’s over there by the living room with the ladies, Tom’s at the back with the other kids. Why don’t you guys get some dinner? That was a long trip, remember? And there’s cake!” As soon as Peggy’s two children heard the word “cake”, they cheered and ran off to the buffet area with Peggy following them.
Tom was playing with his cousins on the well-lit backyard. They played nearly just about anything they could think of: tag, hide and seek, and many others. He thought it was better to play chess with some of his older cousins, his grandparents, his uncles, or his father than play with kids his age, those a little older than he is, and his younger relatives. But seeing as he is one of the hosts of the evening, he knew that it was his duty to entertain them as well as bond with them. He knew it would be exhausting. He knew it would take so much out of him but he knew good memories of their staying at his house for the event will be treasured. Emma was at the porch now, telling everyone to come inside. All of them followed suit for an announcement. Tom was told to get back to his room and change his clothes, as he was to perform for his relatives later that night.
Moments later, with everybody gathered at the living area while talking to each other, Lawrence stood by the fireplace calling out to them.
“Can I have everyone’s attention?”
All of them put their discussions on hold and their attention fixed on their host.
“Thank you. Now, I want to thank you all for the taking the time out of your day, and night, to actually be here on our family reunion.” Lawrence was truly grateful for his relatives coming to keep him company, even for a short while, for one summer night in their new home. The Rudolph clan was known to actively participate in any family event they would be given news about, even travelling from great distances apart from each other. A family tradition, as one could put it.
“Considering the time it took us to get here? Sure, no problem.” One female relative wittingly retorted.
Everyone, including their host, chuckled at her well-timed remark. Lawrence gestured his hands as if pushing something lightly against the air, telling his audience to let him finish. “And to show our appreciation, our son Tom has volunteered to play the piano for us.” His open hand directed the audience to where Tom is. Everybody clapped and cheered for him. Some of them, getting to hear Tom perform for the first time, were excited for what he has in store. Tom walked towards the piano several feet away from the fireplace and close to a wide glass window. He was smiling until he sat down in front of the piano, feeling proud of playing it to the audience’s delight and entertainment. “Hi, guys. Well, I’ll be playing Debussy’s ‘Clair de Lune’ and I hope you’ll like it.” The area was now lulled in silence as Tom began to hit the first opening notes. They were all endeared by how graceful Tom delivered the piece. Couples held on to each other. The adults, young and old alike, and the children mesmerized by Tom’s rendition of a romantic tribute to the Moon.
In the forest beyond the house, Luna’s ears swiveled to her right as she roamed across the open woods, having heard a faint sound of music coming from nowhere. She listened to it well and attempted to deduce where it came from, wanting to know where the source of such a remarkable piece of music can be found. Minutes later, she was able to find out where it came from. She hid behind some trees to avoid possible detection but being spotted from several meters away from the house seemed most unlikely, whereas everyone was inside the house. Although she could not see who made this music she heard, she was content in having to hear it from a distance and was rather captivated by it as well. “It is so beautiful!” Luna said to herself looking up at the night sky and the moon. A tear falling from her cheek, Luna was swept away by the music coming from the big ochre house across her.
