Starswirl ran over a constantly changing landscape. One moment he was in a dark forest, with tall trees surrounding him and branches scratching at his face as he ran, then the next twigs and grass were replaced by the cobblestone streets of the small village he grew up in. He ran as fast as he could, trying desperately to escape from—.

From what exactly? What is after me? He wanted to look behind himself to see, but dared not risk slowing his pace. Instead he lowered his head and kept running.

He ran for what felt like forever, until he rounded the corner of a building into an abandoned alleyway. It was completely empty, no trash or junk cluttering the path, just the cobble street and the building walls on both sides. He could see a bright light at the end of the alley, and he raced towards it knowing it meant safety from whatever was behind him.

With a sudden, ear-splitting crash, a giant tree branch tore through the building walls ahead of him, then another, and another, all of them twisting around each other to block his path. Starswirl's heart fell and his stomach twisted as he realized he was trapped. More and more branches grew to block the alley until not even a single ray of light pierced their canopy, leaving Starswirl in total darkness.

He stopped running, afraid of hitting something in the darkness. The skin on his back crawled; he was intensely aware that the things were right behind him. He closed his eyes and waited for some kind of attack, but one never came, just an eerie silence. He was just starting to relax when he heard the whispers. Many voices speaking with one another just behind him, too softly for him to understand.

Starswirl's front legs shook and a bead of cold sweat ran down his face. The voices grew louder and closer, but he still could not understand them. To be honest, he preferred not knowing what the voices were planning to do to him. He just stood there shaking and sweating until the whispers were right in his ear. A warm breath on the back of his neck made him jump, and with a cry he spun around to face his attackers.

A white light shone in his eyes, blinding him with its brightness. Starswirl raised a hoof over his eyes to shield them, blinking away the pain from the sudden change in light.The glow of the moon shone around him, revealing his surroundings once more. The alley was gone, and in its place a large cliff face stretched before him. Beyond that he could see the ocean, dark blue under the night sky. Looking behind him, he saw the forest once again, but all the trees were so tightly intermingled he stood no chance of pushing through them.

Only one way to go, I guess, he thought, turning back to face the cliff.

He looked to his left, then his right and froze. There, not a hundred feet away stood his mother, wearing her dark green cloak that matched the color of her mane over her creamy yellow fur to protect her from the breeze. She stood there on the cliff edge staring down at the ocean that stretched below her, and her mane flowed softly on the wind. He could hear the sound of waves crashing far below.

He felt his voice catch in his throat, and then he jumped in the air yelling out, "Mother! I'm here, I'm home!" She turned towards him, her eyes lighting up when she saw him and a big grin spread across her face. She raised one hoof to wave at him, and then it happened. The same way it happened every night. Her other hoof, perched precariously on the cliff slipped, and with a small cry of surprise she went over the edge. He froze, unable to believe what had just happened, then tried to run for the edge to see what happened to her. As always, something grabbed him from behind, but this time instead of the strong grip of a hoof or magic, sharp teeth dug into the back of his neck and he cried out in fear, then—.

He woke up, sweat on his brow and tears in his eyes. The same dream again, he thought to himself. The dream didn't even make sense; his family had lived in a mountain village. Starswirl had never even seen the ocean before. He lay quietly for a moment, blinking his tears away before realizing something was different. For one, he was lying in a bed, instead of a cold cave floor or grass field. It had been several months since he had even seen a bed, much less slept in one. He tried to raise his head to look around, but the sharp pain in the back of his neck brought back the memories from the night before with sudden clarity.

The wolves, he thought, sitting up suddenly— or tried to, as the pain in his neck erupted into fiery spikes and he fell back onto the pillow. OW, Ow, ow, ow. He raised both hooves up to his neck, holding it gently as he rocked his body back and forth. The pain finally ebbed away enough for him to sit up, slowly this time. He looked around, studying the room in an attempt to identify where he was. The room was small, but two large windows gave it an open feel, and in between the windows was a small opening to a large courtyard outside. Through the window he could see a similar room across the open courtyard filled with trees and flowers, the scent was of which was refreshing as well as serving to set his stomach growling. The sound of birds chirping came through the open windows.

Studying the room more closely, he noticed that the walls were carved stone of some sort, and all the furniture was made of a lightly colored wood he couldn't identify. There was a dresser and mirror across from the bed, and a small bookshelf was against the wall across from a door that he guessed led further into— well whatever building he was in. Finally he gave up. Wherever this place was, it was certainly one he had never been to.

"Where am I?" he asked the empty room.The sound of something walking came from outside the room, and he looked over just in time to see the door open, and Luna to come walking inside.

"Good morning, Starswirl,” she greeted him cheerfully. “I am glad to see you're awake." She walked inside, a small tray perched on her back. Starswirl's ears perked up and he looked at the tray hungrily, but to his disapointment, there was just a glass of water and a small bottle of what appeared to be medicine on it. Luna levitated the glass to him which he took thankfully, drinking it all in one go. He sat there for a moment before turning to her.

"Um, miss Luna, where am I?" Luna set the tray down on a small table next to the bed, then turned to speak with him.

"You're in my home, but we need to take care of that wound before I answer any more questions. Done with your drink?" Starswirl nodded and held out the glass for her.
Luna smiled and took the glass back, and then picked up the medicine bottle. Turning back, she saw his face scrunch up with distaste. Luna smiled at him, remembering how much she hated it when she had to take medicine when she was younger.

"Now, Starswirl, I know from personal experience how bad this medicine is," she told him, "but I only closed your wound last night. The wolf not only tore several muscles, but also broke your neck in two places. It's amazing that you’re still alive. I healed the wounds but it still hurts I imagine?" Starswirl nodded, rubbing the back of his neck in pain. Luna held out the bottle to him and he took it with a grimace. "This will make the pain go away, and will help speed the healing process. Don't worry; one dose should do the trick."

Starswirl held the bottle between his hooves. "You can call me Star if you want." he said quietly, avoiding her eyes. "It's what my mother used to call me." He opened the bottle, then, holding his nose with one hoof, proceeded to down the whole thing in one go. He spat the bottle back into his hooves, and then coughed to try and clear his mouth and throat of the nasty taste. Amazingly though, the pain vanished as though it had never been there. He stretched his neck a bit, glad to be able to move freely again.

"Ack! Well, actually," he continued, "she would call me Little Star, but I never really liked that." He turned to face her, looking into her eye for the first time since last night, using his magic to return the medicine bottle. Luna studied him carefully for a moment before taking the bottle with her own magic. She turned and placed the bottle back on the tray, then looked out the window for a moment before turning back to him.

"Very well, Star it is," she smiled at him, though he noticed a strange look in her eyes. "Now, I imagine you're hungry. Come with me, and I'll get you some breakfast." Starswirl perked up once again at the prospect of food, and climbed out of the bed. "I'm starving!" he said with a huge smile on his face, cheered by the thought of food. "It's actually been a few days since I last ate real food, just whatever I could scrounge from the wilderness."

Luna stood waiting for him by the door, and then lead him out into a spacious corridor that stretched before them. The room he was staying in was the last in the hallway, and they walked towards the entrance. Luna was talking to Starswirl about something, but he was much too distracted by his surroundings to notice. The stone walls were cleanly cut, but he could tell they were very old by how faded they had become. The floors were made of a light rose marble, and the sound of their hooves upon it caused an echo throughout the corridor.

They exited the corridor into the main entrance, a large open hall. He stared about him in awe and confusion. The entrance to the castle, for that was all he could assume they were in, was beautifully designed, but the lack of decorations on the walls and the absence of furniture made the place seem lifeless and cold. To his left were large oak doors carved with intricate designs and two his right was a large staircase that led to the second floor, and another staircase beyond that leading to the third. This place is massive, he thought to himself.

"Well?"

Luna's voice finally pierced the awestruck haze around his mind. Starswirl whipped his head around, trying to remember what she was saying. "Um, I...uh," Luna's eyes narrowed in annoyance, and his bowed his head, feeling his cheeks redden slightly. "I'm sorry, Luna, I wasn't paying attention."

"Really," Luna replied, her voice mildly sarcastic. "I was saying that first we need to go see my sister, see if she would like to join us for breakfast." Luna turned towards the stairs, ascending them quickly, while Starswirl followed closely after her.

"This place is huge," he said, "where is everyone?"

"They all left a long time ago," Luna responded without turning around. "Only my sister Celestia and I remain."

Luna stopped at the second floor, and turned down a well-lit corridor, walking down to the second room where she stopped and knocked twice on the door before opening it. Starswirl started to follow her inside, but Luna stopped him with a hoof.

"Wait here Star; I need to see my sister alone." He backed up, sitting down next to the door looking around the hallway.

"It won't take long," Luna reassured him as she pushed the door the rest of the way open and went inside. Her sister's room was much the same as it was every morning. A spacious living area dominated by a large fireplace lay just inside, with a equally roomy bedroom adjacent. There was a doorway on the other side of the room that led out to her sister's balcony, the doors to which were open, and Celestia could be seen sitting on a large cushion outside.

Luna walked inside, stopping to look at the vase of flowers on the table in the center of the living area. The petals were starting to droop, and Luna made a mental note to gather some more flowers later that day. Looking into her sister's bedroom she saw that the bed looked untouched this morning as well. Luna was still unsure when or even if her sister slept anymore.

Luna sighed deeply, then walked quietly to the balcony doors, which she peeked through tentatively, not wanting to wake her sister just in case she was asleep. Even though Luna was certain she had not made a single noise to give herself away, Celestia turned to look at her from over her shoulder. "Good morning Luna." Celestia said, her voice full of warmth. Luna smiled back, but one look in her sister's eyes told her nothing had changed. The fire that once burned brightly there was still gone.

Luna stepped through the doorway and moved to the cushion next to her sister, taking a seat. "Good morning, 'Tia," Luna said after settling herself down. They sat quietly together watching the forest before them teem with life. Luna waited for her sister to say something, but when Celestia remained silent, she spoke up.

"We have a guest this morning 'Tia," Celestia turned to look at her sister, and Luna's heart leapt when she saw a glimmer of fire return to her sisters eyes.

"Discord?" Celestia asked, hope and joy in her voice. Luna's heart dropped like a stone, and she felt a coldness pass through her chest for a moment. She was barely able to force out her reply.

"No, I'm sorry Celestia I haven't heard anything about him." The fire was extinguished, and Celestia turned to look out into the forest once more. Luna sat miserably next to her sister, guilty for unintentionally hurting her sister further, and unsure of what to say.

Just as she was about to get up and leave, Celestia spoke again. "So, who is our guest?" she asked. The tightness in her chest prevented Luna from speaking for a moment, but she quickly regained control of herself.

"It's a young unicorn colt. I found him in the forest last night just before the wolves got him. I brought him back with me." Celestia tilted her head and looked at her sister with curiosity.

"What is a unicorn doing wandering the forest?" she asked, a bit of life back in her voice. Luna's spirits rose slightly to hear some life in her sister's voice again.

"I'm not sure, I was going to ask him after breakfast this morning and I wanted to know if you wanted to join us." Celestia sat thoughtfully for a moment, and then stood up, shaking a bit of dew from her fur.

"I think I will join you for breakfast, Luna. I just need a few minutes to make myself presentable." Luna stood up as well, happier than she had been in a while.

"Of course 'Tia, we'll wait for you in the kitchen." Luna turned and walked towards the door, and one of the burdens worrying her mind eased a bit.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading.
Well, I think the revisements are going well, but what do you think?
Please leave a comment letting me know. Do you like it, hate it, find it boring? Anything?