Chapter One: Running in the Dark
By: ShootingStar159
Edited by: Rainbow Dash

Luna watched the moon rise, a magical power causing it to climb gently through the night sky. She lay on a large rock that dominated the small forest clearing she was in, giving her a clear view of the surrounding trees. The stillness of the forest echoed around her, every small sounds magnified by the silence of the night. The shining lights of the stars crowned the moon with their glow. This was one of her favorite places in the forest, a place where she could sit and think for hours, where nopony would come to disturb her.

The moon shone through her dark blue fur and mane, giving her an otherworldly glow, and the light glinted off the three small jewels that sparkled from necklace of silver draped around her neck. Other than a slight breeze tugging gently at her mane, she sat motionless, her mind troubled by recent events. ‘Two years, she thought, it's been two years since Discord disappeared. Things have gotten worse since then. The depressing reality of her situation tried to overwhelm her, but she just breathed deeply and tried to exhale her troubles along with her breath. Instead, she chose to think of old memories, the happier times when she had her entire family with her.

She remembered how happy she felt when she would help her father raise the moon each night, and how he would look at her with pride in his eyes. Luna remembered all the harvests with her mother, and how she would smile when Luna ran up to her showing with amazed joy how large the golden apples were that year. Memories of all the late nights with Celestia, giggling quietly at secret jokes the two of them shared, trying not to get in trouble by waking their older sister. How the rising sun in the morning would shine right in her eyes, dragging her painfully from her dreams. She was still convinced that the only reason mother and Celestia raised the sun east to west was so that it would shine in her eyes while she was trying to sleep.

Luna thought of the time she spent walking the great forest with Nemus, listening intently as he told her the names of every tree and animal that lived within. She had always been amazed at how her eldest brother and his unicorn followers would magically bend the forest around them, moving the trees in new shapes, bringing a sense of order to nature.

She remembered the times when she would soar through the air with Atton, working to prepare the skies for winter and to clean up for the spring. She thought of the time her brother had risked his life to bust a thundercloud as large as a mountain that had been headed towards the forest. That fearless act had not only earned him her lifetime admiration, but that of every pegasus who had seen it.

Playing in the river with Marim had always been one of her favorite things to do, and the memory of the times they had spent together were some of her fondest. Marim was a natural swimmer, more comfortable in the water than on the ground or in the sky. She would always stand next to the rushing water, watch it flow west and wonder aloud where it would lead her.

The times she would sneak out of the tower late at night to visit the shapeshifter, Umbralaven, to learn the dark secrets he would teach. The thrill of mastering new magic, unlocking the secrets of the world around her while he watched with pale eyes from the shadows.

Every so often she would get caught sneaking back into the tower, usually by her eldest sister, Corvare, who would lecture her for what felt like forever on how dangerous Umbralaven was. That he was unpredictable and dangerous, and that he couldn't be trusted for every reason imaginable, even his tendency to hunt and eat other animals.

"What does that matter?" Luna would ask even if she didn't really care about the answer.

"He's a shapeshifter," was her sister's reply, and the distaste in her voice showed just how strongly she disliked Umbra. "He could eat anything he wants, but he chooses to kill." Maybe Corvare was right, but Luna hadn't cared much, she was far too excited to learn. She never got annoyed with her sister though, well not much anyway. Corvare may have been pushy but she only did it because she worried for her little sister.

And of course there was Discord, with his endless good-humor and constant 'pranks'. While he never hurt anyone, the chaos his "little jokes" as he liked to call them usually ended up wrecking something. Nemus and Corvare barely tolerated him, but Celestia and Luna usually enjoyed his company. He got along especially well with Celestia, who did her best to restrain his more destructive urges. That was probably why father had chosen her to watch over Discord and to do whatever it took to stop him if he ever were to let his chaotic nature take over.

And they were all gone.

After her father and mother had left, the rest of the family didn't see any reason to stay. They had gathered their followers, and ventured off into the world to start their own kingdoms and live their own lives. But Celestia had stayed, and so Luna stayed with her. Now even Discord was gone, and since then Celestia had succumbed to a horrible depression that kept her shut in her room most days. Luna had tried to convince Celestia to leave the forest, and to look for Discord, but her sisters failure had crushed her spirit. Celestia refused to leave, insisting that one day, Discord would return and that everything would be fine then. Luna doubted this, but she refused to leave her sister alone.

Luna sighed deeply, sinking her head down to rest on her hooves. Her dark thoughts clouded her mind once more and this time she couldn't shake them. "What am I supposed to do?" she asked the empty air, hoping for some kind of answer, but of course none came, only the sound of trees rustling in the breeze, and the sound of something running through the forest drew her attention.

A large grey wolf came dashing out of the trees into the clearing, running towards Luna. "Lumba!" Luna cried in welcome, sitting up to greet her friend. The wolf leapt up on top of the rock to stand in front of her, but was panting too much from her run to speak for a few moments. When the wolf spoke it came out as a series of growls, yips, and whines.

"Luna, my friend, there is something in the forest." The wolf stopped to draw another few deep breaths. Luna, sensing something was wrong, waited for her friend, not wanting to rush her. "I don't know what it is, but it looks something like you, though rather small. I also think it's male, but it is hard to be sure."

"What do you mean it looks like me?" Luna asked, tilting her head. "Is it another alicorn?"

"I don't think so, it has a horn but no wings. If you want to save its life you must hurry. I couldn't stop the others." Luna felt a slight chill run down her spine.

"You don't mean—" Luna was cut off as a loud howling echoed through the forest. "Oh no..." She stood up and spread her wings, taking off towards the sounds of the hunt.

Another howl caused his chest to constrict and his heart thudded painfully in his chest, pushing his legs to run faster. His breaths came as ragged gasps, and his legs were already burning with the exertion, but he refused to give up. He had not come this far, had not lost everything he owned to be eaten now. Branches scratched at his face, leaving stinging welts behind. His long brown mane kept catching on other branches, slowing him down. The brightness of the moon was mostly obscured by the thick branches in the tall trees and there was only enough light to see a few dozen feet in front of him.

A panting noise started to grow close, and looking over his shoulder, he saw a great grey wolf had gained on him. The wolf's yellow eyes gleamed, its teeth bared in a snarl; a single leap and he would be in its jaws.

The wolf lunged, and the colt deftly avoided the leap, skidding to a halt and watching the wolf sail past in front of him, missing him by inches. Quickly, he turned to the left and ran, but the snarls and growls of the rest of the pack had only grown closer. Tears started to blind his vision, but he quickly shook them away. No matter what, I won't cry, he told himself as he tried to push his tired limbs to move faster, but the wolves were only growing closer. He came upon a dirt path that cut through the forest, and he turned to follow it, hoping that it would lead him to help.

Looking desperately ahead, he saw a dead tree just up the path. He focused closely on the tree, and his horn lit up with his magic. He concentrated on seeing the tree and then pictured it breaking and crashing down. The tree shattered, falling to block the path just as he ran under it.

A loud screech cut through the crash of the falling tree as it fell on a wolf, causing the young unicorn's heart to leap. They were much closer than he had thought, but he didn't dare to look back. He just focused on the path ahead of him. Suddenly a trio of wolves leaped out of the forest from his left, blocking the path in front of him. He skidded a little as he turned quickly to the right and began racing through the trees, but only made it about twenty feet before five more wolves blocked his path. He was surrounded.

He stopped running, closing his eyes in fear just as he felt sharp teeth sink into the back of his neck and lift him into the air. He screamed in pain as the teeth sank into his skin, and the edges of his vision went white. Then the wolf shook its head violently and he felt something give in his neck, and the white pain caused what was left of his vision to blur and his entire body to go limp as he realized he was about to die. Then a voice rang through the forest.

"Stop! Put him down now!"

The strong grip of the wolf vanished, and he fell to the forest floor, darkness overtaking his vision.

When he came too, the first thing he thought was that he must be dead. His second thought was that dying was much more painful than he had thought it would be. The back of his neck was aching, and the rest of him wasn't much better off. Finally coming to the conclusion that he might, in fact, still be alive, he sat up to take a closer look at himself. Looking back, he noticed a small cluster of scars on his neck where the wolf had bit him. They hurt, but at least he wasn't going to bleed to death.

To his surprise he realized that there was also no blood staining his light grey coat. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he had looked so clean. He sat up looking around, able to see clearly in the bright light of the moon. He lay in a large clearing dominated by a large rock in the center. The clearing was empty, except for a dark blue mare who appeared to be speaking with... wolves!

He tried to quickly jump to his hooves, but then realized just how much they hurt. He could barely move them, and just the attempt made him whimper in pain. The slight noise attracted the attention of the dark blue pony, who turned her head toward him for a moment, then turned her attention back to wolf pack, who lowered their heads and tails at the harsh tone she was speaking in, whining pitifully.

With a final wave of her hoof, the pack bowed low, turned, and ran out of the clearing, except one, the largest who stayed sitting by her side. The mare turned and began walking towards him, the wolf close at her side. A dozen thought began soaring through his mind. Who is she? Is she the one who saved me? But why, she seems to be their leader or something? Oh no! What if she stopped them because she wants to eat me instead? He tried desperately to stand, but he just couldn't will his limbs to make the effort.

Instead, he settled for inching away from them as fast as he could. The mare stopped and tilted her head at him, a concerned look flashing across her face. Her expression cleared a moment later and she turned to the wolf and spoke to it in a low tone that he could not understand. The wolf turned to her with a hurt look on its face, then walked away towards the great rock in the clearing.

Probably upset that she won't share me for dinner, he thought to himself as he tried even harder to escape. A spike of fear shot through him as a blue aura surrounded him, pulling him closer to the monster that was about to devour him. He shut his eyes tightly, then a voice, calm and soothing spoke to him.

"Hello, young one, what is your name?" the voice said. The voice was kind, and one of the most beautiful things he had ever heard, and he began to hope he was safe, but he crushed that feeling instantly. He had read of monsters that would appear to be kind and beautiful, right up until they sank their horrible fangs into you. Instead he squeezed his eyes tighter, and put his hooves in front of his face.

"Please, oh please don't eat me," he whimpered. To his suprise, he felt himself lowered to the ground, and heard soft laughter in reply. The laughter was not mocking or evil though, just amused and bit... sad? The voice spoke again, and this time he opened his eyes and looked up at her.

"I promise, I'm not going to eat you," the mare said, smiling down at him.

The first thing he noticed was that she was tall, taller even then most stallions he had seen. Despite this she carried herself with the grace of one who had barely entered adulthood, still getting used to their new size. Her fur was a shade or two lighter than the night sky, and her mane was only a shade lighter than that. A silver moon glowed on her flank that matched the briliance of the real thing, and three small gems graced her neck along a silver chain. Nestled further down her back were a pair of....wings? They certainly looked real, but he was having trouble understanding how that was possible.

But the thing that captured his attention most was her smile, how it spoke both great joy but also great sorrow. He had seen that smile on his mothers face often, every time she saw him practicing a new magic spell. He had not understood her smile back then, but now that smile haunted his dreams. All he could do was look upon the beauty of the mare before him, until she poked him gently with a hoof.

"Well, are you going to tell me your name," she asked, that smile still upon her lips. The boy stood shakily upon his tired legs, bowing before the mare as he had been taught to do before royalty, one leg forward, his chest and nose barely hovering over the ground.

"My name is Starswirl," he said quietly.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading!
This story is going through some editing, so the layout and such between chapters may not be consistent until the edit is complete. Sorry, just bear with it please until the editing process finished.