Chapter One: A Filly Of The Night
Lunae Revertere
Chapter One: A Filly Of The Night
The night is an eternal pillar of our existence, known by all no matter what day and age. It both is the terror of foals and the savior of the weak, bringing both the unknown and respite from the harsh sun. Is it not strange then, that more ponies do not work at night, as to avoid the unkind gaze of that celestial orb? The estranged often find solace in the darkness, which soften their troubles and lifts their hearts. The stars' soft twinkle provide hope for the hopeless, even in the most darkest of nights...
Quick hoofsteps sounded across the quiet river as their owner made her way to the middle of the bridge spanning it. Her silvery-white hooves slowed as she reached the peak of the bridge, high enough to get a good look around her. In all directions lay a sleeping metropolis of wooden houses and timber mansions. She took a moment to take in the beauty of them, reflected with the moon on the water.
'I can't believe there is so many ponies here...' she thought to herself, putting her forehooves up on the railing of the bridge to get a better view. 'To think of all of them, oh it must be wonderful here...'
Glancing down, the young unicorn caught her reflection in the slowly flowing water. Her midnight blue mane was messy, small twigs and brambled in it from her trek to the city. The silver highlight down the middle had a twig sticking out right below her horn, with a single green leaf on it.
"Oh goddess, I can't go see her like this!" the unicorn filly gasped, horn beginning to glow with magic. Her small saddlebags opened, and a small brush floated out to assist her. She carefully groomed her mane, watching her reflection as the brush tugged out the snarls and pieces of wood. The leaf came free, drifting down and landing on her reflection's forehead as she determined that she had gotten it into a presentable look.
'There, I couldn't exactly see Princess Luna without looking my best.' She thought as she watched ripples cloud her reflection. 'Even if I am sneaking in to see her...'
The unicorn filly swing herself off the railing of the bridge, turning to look towards the castle a short ways to the north. Its ramparts were outlined in the moonlight, a single tall tower stretching above the rest still being built. The way it sat there beyond a few lines of houses and shops reminded the unicorn of what she now had to surpass.
"I hope the guards here aren't too watchful...." she said quietly as she started off towards the castle, quieting her hoofsteps as she approached.
Now, the stars and moon don't just rise on their own every night. Princess Luna, the younger of the Royal sisters, has the duty of raising and arranging them each night upon the dark sky, putting little points of light in the void. For an alicorn with the ability, it is a mindless task that doesn't take much time or extreme effort. That said, Princess Luna would have plenty of time to deal with other tasks of the realm... if there were any. The time was one of peace, so what problems were easily solved by her sister, Princess Celestia.
Princess Celestia was in charge of the sun, and therefore the day. She was a benevolent ruler, and loved by almost everypony. Even those that did not love her respected her for her immense power and defeat of the Lord of Chaos, the Draconiquis Discord. She was genuinely kind and caring, and did everything in her power to keep her subjects happy. However, little attention did she give to what happened when she lowered the sun and went to sleep in her soft bed.
For anypony who has ever sat awake into the night, they will tell you many of the same things about the time of darkness. First, that it is the most peaceful and serene times of the day, when they may reflect on what has happened and rest for the next day. And second? They will say how tremendously lonely it is. During the day, there is no end to ponies around, either on their way to unknown places or waiting for their tea to be ready, that creates a sort of uniformity or group-like state. Night has none of that. A stranger is not seen as a fellow, but as whatever horrible nightmare being that a pony's imagination can bring. There is no unity in the night, but a painful feeling of being completely and utterly alone.
And as Princess Luna finished raising the moon, she felt this feeling more powerfully than ever before.
The dark blue alicorn sighed as her celestial orb settled into its place in the sky. This was all she truly lived for, painting the sky with the moon and the stars. It wasn't a bad existence, for Luna enjoyed arranging the stars in the sky. She'd work animals, ponies, even some picture stories into the stars each night, whichever she felt like at the time. Of all canvases, the night sky is perhaps the best to show the art to everypony as it is being made. Yet, nopony truly ever looked at her work or saw the symbols in it. Luna had learned through one of her other duties, dreamwalking, that practically everypony slept through her work. It saddened the Princess of the Night immensely that they dreamed of the day throughout her beautiful night.
She sighed, momentarily turning her gaze from the sky to look at her surroundings. The Princess stood in the open doorway to the Royal Throne Room, facing out into the dark night. Stairs lead down to the courtyard, where she watched a few of her Shadowguard go back to their duties.
Watching the raising of the moon was an initiational practice of the Shadowguard and there was precious few that even were willing to become part of her guard, so Luna greatly appreciated the little company they brought. However, they were still her guards. They had many tasks of their own at night, having no time to even keep the lonely princess company.
Luna jumped as a sharp clap of hooves sounded next to her, twisting away with forehooves raised to hit at the newcomer. A laugh made her blink at take another look at the armored pegasus before her. He was fairly tall, although still only coming up to the Princess's neck. His body's coat was dark grey, which went well with the pair of bat wings upon his back and the midnight blue mane cut short atop his head. The brightest parts of his body were the whites of his eyes around his dark green irises, and the meteor cutie mark on his flanks.
"I'm sorry Princess, did I scare you? I'm afraid I am too quiet for my own good." He apologised, still chuckling.
Luna lowered her forehooves slowly, gulping to try to remove the blush from her face. This was hardly an unusual occurrence, as Commander Umbra had been hoof-chosen by Luna herself for his swiftness and stealthiness. While she wouldn't have admitted it, the lonely princess quite liked the loyal sentinel.
"I.. It's alright.." she stammered slightly before recomposing herself. "I t'was not expecting anypony to be around after I raised the moon..."
"I usually watch," The dark stallion said softly, admitting his intrusion. "When you raise the moon I mean. I find it calming and peaceful..."
Luna nodded, standing back upon her legs and shaking her head slightly to get her flowing mane back into its normal place. She understood what the Commander meant, about the raising calming those who watched. After all, it was that same feeling that kept her raising it day after day....
Quiet gasping broke through the silent night time air as a small filly leapt off the wall surrounding the royal palace into the small confines of an uncommon white rosebush in the royal gardens. Her gasps turned to hisses of pain as she tried to free herself, only managing at first to tangle herself more before a light lit the area around her.
"Who's there?" A guard in dark armor yelled as he trotted through the garden, a magic ball of light on his horn illuminating the area around him like a magical lantern.
The motions in the bush instantly stopped, the filly inside scared breathless. Her sides barely moved as she thought of all the things a royal guard would do to her if she got caught.
'He'll ask where I'm from...' she thought, a quiet gulp making the guard's ear twitch. 'And send me back... back to my home...'
The filly shook slightly, partially from fear and partially from the thorns digging into her flanks.
'I.. I won't go back there... not until I see Princess Luna!'
The light suddenly faded as the guard walked off, head bobbing back and forth watching. He was barely around the corner when another 'Who's there?' echoed around the enclosed garden. With a little laugh like bells tinkling, the filly started extracting herself from the bush.
"I guess they're a little paranoid at night..." she giggled, picking out a few thorns from her legs with her mouth and wincing with every one. "Lucky I can see so much better this time of night than other ponies..."
Once her saddlebags and self were thorn-less, the filly tip-hoofed off in the direction he'd came from, glancing up every once in a while to look for the tallest tower with stood directly next to the throne room.
Princess Luna sighed, sitting back on her haunches in the middle of the throne room. Umbra had just left, saying that his duties around the castle had to be seen to before anything else. He had missed the sad look on her face as he left, the royal crown almost falling from her head as she looked down at her hooves and sighed once more.
She stared at the royal blue slippers, removing her hoof from one to look at the hoof beneath it. Luna sighed as she looked at her excellently manicured hoof, untarnished my dirt or toil. Too long had she stayed here in the castle, with only her books and personal attendants for company.
Turning her gaze upwards, Luna looked upon the massive stained glass window above the twin thrones. The glass mural had been made to portray the Princesses' triumph over Discord with the help of the Elements. Both Luna and Celestia were shown with three of the countless Elements, circling around the Lord of Chaos. It was meant to show unity, that opposites could work together to reach a common goal...
"Has it really been that long..." Luna sighed. "Almost three years in which every day it seems my sister is getting farther from me, and so do the ponies of our fine land...."
She hung her head, almost touching the royal slipper that rested on the ground with her nose.
"What I wouldn't give for those times..."
The sound of one of the main doors of the throne room creaking open made her jump slightly, spinning around to face the newcomer. Just in time did Luna remember to put the slipper back on, one of her sister's recent lessons echoing in her skull.
You are royalty to these impudent foals. These garments show it, so don't be without them!
"Uh, errr.... Yes? Who hath cometh?" Luna inquired, slipping into the Canterlot voice.
Author's Note
This chapter is not the full, original chapter, it's more like half. Since I'm spending more time improving what I have, I'm releasing it it smaller tidbits.
Chapter Two: That Which Goes Bump In The Night
Lunae Revertere
Chapter Two: That Which Goes Bump In The Night
The filly gulped, ducking back into the doorway as Luna turned around to face her. She could hardly believe it, her idol - the Princess of the Night herself - was right there! The unicorn peered around the doorway cautiously, wide eyes locked on Luna. Her mind was buzzing with barely withheld excitement, almost squeeing with glee. I found her! And I didn't get caught! Oh my gosh oh my gos-
As Luna looked around for the newcomer, suddenly the throne room door was pushed open farther as if of its own volition. The small pony yelped, ducking down to hide herself, but there was nothing to hide behind. The princess's eyebrows raised when she saw the young filly, then almost immediately afterwards spotting the culprit behind the opening door.
"it would appear that somepony is here to see you Princess." Commander Umbra chuckled, hovering silently near the top of the doorway. "Storm Cloud spotted her climbing over the castle wall and quite the clever one she is. Avoided all those silly Solar guardsponies, at least."
The filly turned bright red as he continued talking, circling down to land beside her.
"Got over the wall by hovering rocks up in front of her and using them as a staircase apparently, so she was quite dedicated in getting here."
Luna smiled softly at the crouched unicorn, walking slowly over to the doorway. When she got within a length of her, the Princess stopped and sat. Gently lifting the filly's head up to look at her, noting how her chest was moving quite quickly and her eyes were darting around like a cornered Ursa, asked quietly:
"My little pony that worked so hard to get here... what is your name?"
Gulping, she started to respond.
"M.. mah name is..."
The filly blushed, clearing her throat slightly and sitting up on her haunches. No! Speak clearly, you worked on this! Think of how those others spoke! She gulped, trying to put away her country accent.
"My name is St.. Star Fall..."
The little unicorn bowed, horn nearly touching the ground as she used the gesture to hide how nervous she was.
The princess giggled quietly, raising a hoof to her face to cover her grin.
"Dearest Star Fall, why hast thou come to me? T'was no easy feat, even getting by my sister's Royal Guards, if not my own Shadowguard."
She gave a little bow to Umbra, as she continued:
"Or even my hoof chosen Shadowbolts."
Luna got up, walking over to Star Fall's side, much to the surprise of the little filly. As the little pony seemed to sit there in shock, the Princess of the Night leaned over to her Commander.
"You're dismissed, I do believe I can handle one little filly."
He nodded, ears twitching slightly to show his acceptance of her dominance. Glancing once over at the unicorn, the batpony took off, fly out through open doors and closing them gently behind him. Once she was sure Umbra had gone - or, as Luna suspected, taken up a hiding spot to watch over them - the lunar princess wrapped a wing hesitantly around the young filly.
"So, why did you brave all of them? You could have much more easily gone to my sister, she has daily counsels for this sort of thing..."
A look passed over her face, like she didn't like saying it.
"B... but you don't..."
Star Fall looked up hesitantly, shivering under the princess's wing. Her eyes couldn't quite meet Luna's, but she glanced up at her periodically as she continued.
"I... I wanted to see you... since you... you set out the stars and moon..."
The filly eeped, curling up under her saddlebags. Luna giggled at how her silvery mane fell over her eyes, lifting it magically out her face.
"You like my work with the stars?" She asked softly, taking off Star Fall's saddlebags and setting them nearby with a sad smile. "I didn't think that anyone got to see them, since everypony sleeps during the night..."
Breathing shakily, the small filly tried to collect her thoughts together. Oh my... I'm really talking to her... and... and she's talking to me...! Her thoughts were racing trying to come up with something to say. Pulling out of her idols hug, Star Fall turned to face the princess unsteadily. She gulped down her nervousness she ventured a quick glance up at Luna. The princess of the moon was gazing down at her kindly, but her eyes said something more. As the alicorn drew back in the wing that had been around her, the filly identified it. She's... lonely?
"Y.. yeah, well, ah usually... I mean, I don't sleep much at night. I have to tend to mah-..." She faked a cough, trying to hide her accent. "Ahem, tend to my family's fields when they're all asleep, so the stars are the only things that keep me company..."
When Star Fall looked up again, her thoughts of how the princess were solidified in Luna's sad smile. The alicorn looked like she was about to cry, but with a shake of her head what had looked like tears seemed to disappear. A small smile curled Luna's muzzle upwards as she lay down next to the small filly.
"You... you're the first one I've heard to ever even look up at them, besides my Shadowbolts and Guard..." The princess sighed, head hanging lower than before despite the smile. "I thought no one liked them."
"That's not true!" Star Fall blurted out, sitting up suddenly and her mouth starting to blabber. "They're gentle and happy, letting me know that even in the loneliness of night there still is somepony there who cares about beauty and that.... Besides! Night time would be much more scary if everypony didn't have them, and... and... oh! The moon doesn't hurt to look at like the sun!"
She blushed at how the Lunar Princess had shifted back away from her surge of speech, finishing her little rant more quietly.
"Um... and ah like to find out where you've moved them... when you do, ah mean..." Star Fall murmured, eyes falling to her forehooves. In the awkward silence that followed, she moved her weight from leg to leg, ashamed of her outburst.
Luna's eyes widened a little from her words, the sadness once there completely gone. She put a wing over the unicorn, gently pulling Star Fall to her side. The alicorn used a forehoof to tilt her head up, so they were looking into each other's eyes.
"You..you appreciate my work? No one ever has really complimented me on it. I do it to calm myself in the long quiet hours. It gets quite lonely at night, with everypony asleep, and everypony here has work to do..."
The little filly cuddled up against Luna's side, earning a small smile from her as she replied:
"How could anyone not notice how wonderful it is? I mean, I know Princess Celestia's sun is needed to nurture plant life and such, but without the night, everything would get all scorched and .. stuff."
Star Fall stopped for a moment, gulping down her hesitation.
"And I hate to say it, but she just raises the sun. You raise the moon, place ALL those stars, plan meteor showers.... amazing things!"
The princess laughed, remembering how she'd draw the creatures she'd read about then transferred into the sky. Some unbecoming black splotches still were in her fur from the most recent, blending well with her dark coat. It was these small things that had kept her sane in the past years.
"I... I guess you're right." She said softly, thinking over what had happened day to day for 'Tia and herself. "She has everything happening in the day, so she doesn't have time to worry about details. I on the other hoof, I have nothing but time."
"Well, you should arrange things to happen at night time!" The little filly beside her prompted, stepping out under Luna's wing to begin pacing back and forth. "Like... A festival!! It's gotta sound moon like, connected to the moon... maybe a Moon Festival! It can be near the end of the day so everyone can be able to be there, and they could be happy and enjoy the fruits of their labor! Or maybe if that's too much, you could have one on the Harvest Moon, when everypony's got plenty to eat and are sad about the cold coming...."
Luna's mind was momentarily overwhelmed with thoughts of how it could work, of ponies accepting her as much as her sister, and of wonderful company of smiling faces like this Star Fall's... She was jarred out of the thoughts by the filly curling back under her wing, shivering slightly. She... is she alright? Maybe she feels a bit cold from thinking about winter. The princess knew well from the books she'd read that winter was a harsh and merciless killer, and if the Hearth's Warming tales were to be believed it nearly made everypony of the clans perish. Taking mercy on the little one, Princess Luna curled her wing back around the unicorn and sharing her warmth.
"Hmmm... That does sound like it would work," She reassured Star Fall and herself. "However, we would have to get my sister to help, so as ponies could come to it. I don't think she will be quite agreeable though. She's been... difficult since our dealing with Discord."
Her mind thought back to that time, when they had been in that intense magical maelstrom fighting for their lives....
Magical torrents were ricocheting around the princesses as the draconicus Discord gave his last fighting efforts to fend off the magic of the Elements, sending spells, cantrips, and curses off in all directions. Luna barely could react in time to the chaos, dodging sudden fireballs and giant squirrels alike to keep the Harmonic magic flowing into Discord's body. Celestia wasn't bothering to dodge, instead countering the majority of mishaps thrown at her and taking a few hits from those she didn't bother to block. The rainbow of magic flowing from them began pushing back the tide, and in a matter of minutes a statue of the Chaos Lord stood in his last pose, mismatched hands trying to ward off the Element's curse.
Celestia's head slumped, legs quivering as she heaved several deep breaths. Her appearance was one of somepony that had just gone through hell, flanks and sides with long scars, mane disheveled, and bruises spreading across her fatigued form. Luna knew she too must look awful, she could feel a bit of blood running down the side of her face from one near miss from a flying mountain's peak. She raised a forehoof up, wiping her forehead and letting out a long sigh.
"Oh Mother, thank goodness it's over..." The Princess of the Night groaned, falling back on her haunches in the dirt. "I.. I don't think I could have held out much l... longer.."
The Princess of the Day spun suddenly, raising an accusatory forehoof at her sister.
"What were you thinking?!?" Celestia bellowed, eyes narrowed with anger. "You were supposed to make sure he didn't mess anything up more or get away, not fight him with me!!"
Her gaze went to the area surrounding them, chaotic taints fading now that their master had perished. However, a large area around where they had fought the final showdown was completely decimated in all directions for hundreds of yards. The only thing still standing in the dead area was the ancient castle where the two of them had found the Elements and learned of their power. It was more damaged than before, two of the three towers that had been left were collapsed and the stonework was scotched black.
However, Celestia only had eyes for the last massive burst of magic Discord had let off in an attempt to rescue himself from defeat. It wasn't fading like everything else, instead sinking into the very landscape behind Luna, into trees and the dirt alike. The plants began waving erratically, then stopped. Little white flowers seemed to change colors momentarily, but then faded back to normal.
Luna didn't see that last part, only her sister's eyes narrowing in rage as she braced herself for the explosion. 'Tia didn't disappoint, mane and tail erupting in a burst of flame as her eyes glowed a bright gold.
"Sister, you deliberately disobeyed me, neglecting your duty to protect the land and its people, just to foolishly help me!"
The white alicorn turned, flames calming only marginally as she began trotting away.
"Now I need to clean up your mess, you idiot. I expect you to go think about what you have done, while I actually do something about it!"
Celestia stormed off, entering the castle and leaving Luna in the dirt with her eyes watering.
Luna shook her head a little, trying to get the memory out of her head and get herself back into the present. The view of the inside castle that had survived the battle didn't help much, but she tried to keep talking for Star Fall's sake.
"Y.. yeah... well, it's my fault the Everfree Forest is starting to get strange lately... I don't know if you came from that way, but ponies are saying deeper in there are trees that hunt like wolves."
The little filly shook her head, not looking up.
"Nah, I came from the coast... I only passed through a small wood on my way here... the Whitetail Woods?"
The dark blue alicorn nodded, knowing it from maps she'd seen but rarely been that way in the past ten years.
"I see," Luna sighed, not sure where to go from there. She needn't have worried, the unicorn quickly spoke back up.
"But I know how to make everypony like you!" Star Fall spoke, wide eyes watching her idol. "All you need to do is save somepony from ah monstah!"
Author's Note
The hardest thing with being an author is you often have to live in different worlds at different times - sometimes at the same time - where you have to multitask to the Nth degree to finish anything at all. Being an author is like trying to survive the Matrix, but instead of avoiding the Agents and Sentinels and trying to figure out if you are the One, an author must maneuver through the plots and characters, take both criticism and compliments with a grain of salt, and then try to figure at the end of the day if you deserve anyone's praise at all. Then drop your life on top.
Well, this story has been on Hiatus for the past - um, month I guess - because I couldn't seem to find the spark to continue writing it. I must humbly say I have found the spark to write it once more, and must embarrassingly admit it was from the one person that helped me start it in the first place, Miss Cross-over-lover-232. Everything, and I mean everything, that happens when Star Fall is even remotely involved in a scene was roleplayed out over a year ago. The embarrassing part is that the spark that I now get from her is that it was her birthday just over a week ago, and I couldn't find a better way to continue a story that has already been written without that sort of push.
So, to start to conclude this rather long author's note, I would like to wish Cross-over a happy birthday and thank you for your continued support of my work, even if its just as much yours as mine.
Then I would like to ask you, the readers, to do two things for me. First, if you so desire, wish Cross-over a happy birthday in the comments. I know she'll appreciate it if you do, although probably chew me out for asking you to do it. Second, I have a task for anyone that wants to see this continue. While I will try to continue this story at full steam ahead, I cannot just pump out a chapter everyday on my own. Nope, not with ADD/ADHD making my head bounce around like Pinkie Pie on Party Mentats. However, with the help of a few of you, I could be much more diligent in my work. Anything at all would be a huge help. A like, a favorite, even a comment about what you like would be greatly appreciated. Most of all, I'd like a few people to message me, asking about the next chapter. I will always message back, if not right away, and if not with a response about when the chapter will be done, I am more than welcome to answer any of your questions. Just those small things - and Luna forbid you want to draw art for me - would go leaps and bounds for my low confidence at getting this story back in action.
EDIT: I have found a way that this story could be an assignment for the Creative Writing class I am currently enrolled in, so there is a good possibility of more chapters before the end of the year.
