Unbroken

NAMELESS

The pony had once been called Harvest Moon slowly woke to a pleasant darkness. His slitted eyes glowed as they reflected the dim light, and his coat was of a dull grey instead of the bright orange it had once been. He stretched lazily, yawning as he extended his new, purple wings.

He had no name, he thought, because he wasn't the same pony he had been. The pony he had been was an orphan who nopony cared for and whose death would not be mourned. The nameless pony was different. He was loved by his goddess, Luna, and he would live. He wasn't sure how he knew this, but he was sure that his goddess would protect him, watch over him, and guard him.

Standing up, he found himself in a room with four other ponies like himself. He saw a large table, empty now, and remembered. There had been a meal, and then a cup. He thought he was going to die, but Luna's mercy was something more than that, it seemed. She had spoken truly; he would never return to the life he had lived. Not while Luna remained, and she was eternal.

The door opened, and she entered. "You are a strong one, pony once called Harvest Moon, to have awakened so soon and so completely. But that isn't who you are anymore, is it?"

The nameless pony shook his head. No, he had changed. Harvest Moon was no more.

His goddess smiled gently as she regarded him. "Would you like a new name?"

A new name. A new identity. A new life. Her question carried with it a sense of rightness, a sense of having the authority required to make such an offer. He found himself smiling.

"Yes, my princess," the nameless pony responded, "I think I would like that very much."

"Then choose, for it is up to you now what you will become."

The nameless pony had once been called Harvest Moon, but that name felt wrong now. Something about it lingered within him, however.

"I think I'd like to be called… Sickle Moon."

If his goddess was surprised, she showed no sign. "A good name, Sickle Moon. It suits you well. Please remain here for now. It would not do for your friends to wake up alone. You are strong in will, to wake so quickly from the change. Your friends may still take some time. Let them rest for now, and I will return when they awaken."

It was some time before any of the other ponies woke up. Following some unknown instinct, Sickle Moon stepped into the shadows as one of the other ponies began to stir. It was Steel Wind, though with the pony's changed appearance, he was unsure just how he knew.

As the other pony slowly awakened, Sickle Moon reflected upon this. Was there some link that had been made between the five of them? It didn't feel like there was, beyond the friendship they had forged over their last meal. Perhaps it was merely remnants of Steel Wind's prior appearance. Looking at the other pony from his place in the shadows, Sickle Moon was nigh invisible, but Steel Wind was in plain view. There was indeed a trace of the pony he had once been. The gray of his coat, slightly lighter than Sickle's, and the tufts of hair on his ears, slightly longer.

Steel Wind was now well and truly awake. He looked around uncertainly. "Hello? Is anyone there? Where am I?" There was a pause. "Who am I?"

The time was right. Sickle Moon spoke from the shadows, "That is a question only you can answer. You will never return to the life you have left. That life is over." He stepped from the shadows into the light. "I am Sickle Moon, once called Harvest Moon. I am not the pony I used to be, however, and I suspect neither are you."

As Sickle Moon spoke, the pony once called Steel Wind turned to face him. "I don't think I am either. But who am I, then? Did she tell you that?"

Sickle Moon looked at the pony before him. Here was a pony much like himself, and his friend. He had to do his best to explain to this pony what Luna had told him, because she wasn't here to do it herself, and because the pony before him needed to know.

"Our goddess Luna spoke to me, not long ago, and this is what she said to me. You are not the pony you once were. Who you become is up to you. She will grant you a new name, as she did me, and that will begin your new life in her sacred darkness." Wait. Our goddess? Her sacred darkness? Where did that come from? Sickle Moon hesitated. He had long known of Luna as a Princess of Equestria, but he had never really thought of her as a goddess. Yet somehow it felt right to do so. There was no question in his mind that she was divine and worthy of his devotion, but he had never thought that before… He decided after a moment's thought that it wasn't important what he had thought before; he knew now of Luna's glory and her wonder, and that was what mattered.

The pony who had been Steel Wind, too, stumbled for a moment, but evidently reached the same conclusion as Sickle Moon. It was then that there was a sound from the other side of the room. Crimson Rose stirred. As one, the two ponies stepped back into the shadows as she began to awaken.

☾

Princess Luna watched as ripples spread across the pool. Her reflection disappeared, replaced by an image of a room containing five ponies. Only one was awake, the others all unconscious. As she looked on, one of them began to stir, and the pony stepped back into the shadows. She had told him she would return when the others awakened, but she wanted to see what this pony would do. What she had told him before was the truth; no other pony had woken so completely, or so quickly.

The princess of the night watched as he waited for the other pony to get his bearings, before speaking from the shadows, only stepping into the light as he introduced himself. A flair for the dramatic, it seemed. Luna smiled, remembering days long ago, as the surface of the pool rippled to replicate the pony's speech. When he referred to her as his goddess, she blinked. Such a rapid association was also rare. She knew that this pony would willingly follow her to the depths of Tartarus if she called upon him, and had the strength to actually do so. She shivered for a moment, and the image in the pool vanished.

☾

Sickle Moon turned as the door opened, his enhanced hearing picking up the slight scrape of the wood on stone. He bowed, followed by four other ponies, as Luna entered. His goddess looked upon him. Hail, Luna.

"My little ponies," she began. "I once offered you death. It takes a great deal of courage to accept such an offer, but it takes even more to live again. Now, I give you life again in my name. It is up to you what you make of it in these depths, far below Canterlot.

"You have no doubt realized that you are changed from the ponies you used to be. The ponies who followed me here were destined to die, but you can make your own lives now, your fates rewritten by the magic of the Font of Shadows. You are creatures of myth, now, all but forgotten in the mists of time. As creatures of the night, you fall within my domain alone. When you walk at night, my darkness will cloak you, but should you pass into the light of day, you will be seen.

"Even Celestia does not know that you exist today; she never knew the true origins of the nox equus, the pony of the night. The Font of Shadows itself must be protected from those who would abuse its power, and that task is your charge. Do not be seen by the light of day, but otherwise, your life is up to you."

Luna was not surprised when Sickle Moon spoke first, breaking a long silence. "I would live in the service of my goddess, if it pleases you."

Cocking her head, Luna feigned ignorance of his meaning. "Well, I suppose that depends on who your goddess is…" she trailed off.

The response was instant. "It is you, Princess Luna, goddess of night, of shadows, and of darkness. Your stars guide me in the night, and it is your shadows wherein I hide, your darkness wherein I find shelter. Your wonder is infinite, and your glory everlasting."

Luna blinked. This one would be a handful.

Her next words were very careful. She could make anything of this pony, anything she wished. A guard, a servant, an assassin, even a… she turned her mind from such thoughts. "Please, call me Luna. We have no need for titles in these depths, for in the darkness all ponies are the same. But I do have a need for ponies with your dedication. As I said before, the Font of Shadows must be guarded, and those who guard it must do so with their lives."

Sickle Moon simply nodded. As they always did.

"You will receive training far exceeding that found in the world above," she continued, "and far beyond the capability of the strongest ponies of the world you have left. Even with the gifts of the Font of Shadow, most ponies fail."

Her warning went unheeded, if not unnoticed. "I will pass any test you give me, Pri- Luna."

She smirked. Like all the others, he would break, eventually. "We shall see."