Learn the history of the treachery of Princess Luna and her effect on Equestria through the story of a prophesied child.
When a child is born in the middle of a cold night, many don't realize the significance. That is, until events begin unfolding that carry Equestria into very dark times. Will the child become a part of history, or race against the clock to fix it?
The winter air blew silently around the mountains as the moon continued its foray into the late night sky. Other than a few small towns dotted along the road, the land north of the city of Canterlot was relatively empty. Luckily snow had not fallen in the past few weeks and the roads were clear of obstructions. Still, however, the harsh cold whipped along the road as two figures made their way south in the darkness.
They were two ponies, unicorns to be exact. One was a large stallion with an icy blue coat and a dark blue mane. His flank displayed his cutie mark, a telescope, which was followed by a large wagon filled with an assortment of items. Walking beside him was his wife. She was a smaller pony with a light grey body and a purple mane. Her cutie mark, a book, was hidden by a protective cloak. Her walk was slow and abrupt in places. She seemed to be in pain as they had to wait many times, quickening their pace with each stop. With nopony around to help, they pressed forward only hoping they could find somewhere to rest.
Hours passed and the couple were beginning to become weak. The stallion's heavy wagon load and the mare's affliction burdened them heavily. The stone path was now winding around a small cliff next to a river and ahead of them, they spotted a light. A smile graced both of their faces as they neared the source of the light, what seemed to be a large castle tower. The sound of their wagon's wheels must have been loud though because before they could even reach the gate, a voice shouted into the night air.
"Halt! Who goes there?" A guard was on his way down from the tower from a staircase. The two travelers stopped dead in their tracks from the rough tone in the royal guard's voice.
The stallion stepped forward urgently, "Please you have to help us. My wife is about to give birth. We have no where else to go." He pleaded with the guard but his expression remained stoic.
"Considering the state of the kingdom at this time, I am under strict orders not to let any outsiders through our borders."
"No! Please help us! My name is Midnight Charmer. I'm with the Royal Astronomy Division in Canterlot! You have to help us please!" Midnight wasn't lying. He'd been the chief astronomer in Canterlot for twelve years now. Being a part of an official Royal science division had its perks. The job had given he and his wife a good place to live in the capital, but the job took up a large amount of his time.
The guard had just begun to leave when Midnight had spoken those words. He stopped and turned around to face the desperate family. "You said your name is Midnight Charmer?" he asked.
"Yes," Midnight replied, hoping that the guard will see the truth in his eyes. "I have my official documents here if you would like to see them. Whatever gets my wife to safety."
The guard had a surprised look on his face. He seemed to be paralyzed with thought when he shook it off and spoke abruptly, "There's no time for that. Bring your wife inside the tower. We have a medical station set up on the ground level."
Midnight let out a sigh of relief and led his wife into the castle, "Thank you."
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Hours passed. Midnight sat at his wife's side, taking her hoof in his own. Childbirth, as it seemed, was more than either of them imagined. "Everything's going to be okay Pearl. I'm right here," Midnight whispered into her ear. He kissed her on the cheek to comfort her. She continued to cry out in pain as the procedure progressed. The room had soon been filled with nurse ponies, all trying to help the family.
One of the nurses began to speak, "You're almost there. Keep pushing." Pearl could bear it no longer as she gave one last try. Her crying increased as the pain reached a climax. Midnight was terrified, hoping that everything would be okay.
Then, everything went quiet. A silence hung over the air with the only noise being the cold wind outside. The nurses around the room gave out a sigh as well as Pearl. Midnight had closed his eyes in the midst of the preceding chaos but had not begun to look around at everypony. Soon, however, the silence was broken. A smile came to Midnight's face when he heard what it was. It was the cry of a newborn foal. He turned to his wife who was crying, but smiling alongside him.
One nurse in particular after a short time, lifted up a tangled mass of blankets and towels. She made her way over to the couple and presented it to them. "Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Charmer. It looks like you've given birth to a healthy colt," she said with a smile. Pearl took the blankets into her forelegs and unfurled them. Inside was a small unicorn colt. His coat was dark blue. Very dark. One could have said it matched the night sky perfectly. His mane's white color contrasted his coat, adding brightness to his body. Midnight marveled at the sight of his firstborn child. He put his forelegs around his wife in an embrace and continued to watch as his son took his first breaths in his young life.
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Above the room, in one of the loftier parts of the castle, an older pony was busily shuffling around. The room was filled with books, charts, and equipment and the pony looked as though he hadn't gotten any sleep over the past few days. Periodically he would make his way to a window and look through a small telescope. Each visit solidified the serious look on his face as he continued to shuffle around the book-filled room.
A wooden door on the other side of the room opened and a young stallion made his way into the room. "Um...Cirrus sir? You wanted to see me?"
Cirrus turned around and a look of eager joy washed over his face. "Yes. Stone, my most trusted Royal guard. I just needed to make sure of something."
"What sir?"
"The family below us? Has the child arrived?"
"He has sir. If it's no trouble, I wanted to ask...why are you so interested?"
Cirrus was taken back by something. He was frozen where he stood. He finally spoke after a moment of silence. "Come over here Stone, I'd like to show you something." They trotted over to the window, the same one with the telescope. "Look through here. I think you'll be more than surprised at what we're seeing."
Stone positioned himself to see through the eyepiece and gasped almost instantly. What he saw was a group of four stars. These stars had begun to grow ever closer until they now formed what looked like a large eye. "What is that?" Stone asked, fixing his gaze on the anomaly.
Cirrus sighed heavily. "Have you ever read the star child prophesy?"
Stone was confused. "I have not sir. Why?" he asked.
"Not many have. It's a prophesy as old as maybe Equestria itself and has long since been forgotten by most ponies. No one knows how it came to be but it exists as a tapestry in one of the lower levels of Canterlot castle as a decorative piece." Cirrus walked over to a black book on his desk. He began to flip through the pages until he found what he had been searching for. He spoke,
"Take heed, take note of the danger to come, For a child will be born under the eye of the sun
Through the child of the stars, the danger will pass The dark times will end and love will last
Chaos, deception, and shadow, will fight, But none will prevail under the child's might
Although you are safe and the child is here, Endless night is inevitable, and the inevitable is near."
Stone brought his hoof to his face in quiet thought. He was confused. "So you're telling me that child down there is some kind of prophesy?"
"You're skepticism isn't needed. I have been looking for this sign for many years. I looked for it during the reign of Discord and even now during the Sombra crisis. I have no doubt that this prophesy has come true this time, and if so we need to act fast."
Stone stood up straight, "What do you need me to do sir?"
"We need to write a letter to Princess Celestia immediately."
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The family below was cradling their young colt. Midnight was sitting beside Pearl and was smiling at his son. He had now opened his beautiful, blue eyes and was looking directly at Midnight. In that moment, Midnight remembered something. He turned to Pearl, "Pearl, I almost forgot. What are we going to name him?"
Pearl paused and looked around in hard thought. She caught a glimpse outside through a small window in the wall. She saw a bright light in the sky that appeared to be a large star. She then turned to Midnight and kissed him softly. She then turned his attention toward their son and spoke,
Today was the day and Sirius wasted no time getting out of bed early. He was up and was racing down the hallway toward the kitchen. The wooden floor of the home made the young pony's presence known with its light creaking. His mother, fixing a small breakfast meal, and his father, readying a small saddlebag with books and papers, all looked towards the open door as the noise of small hooves got closer and closer until the dark pony burst through.
"I can't believe it's here! The entrance exam!" Sirius yelled as he walked proudly around the room. His mother chuckled as she watched her son. He had grown up so much since that night many years ago and things had changed, although she did not know if it was for the better or worse.
She had found out she was pregnant some time before Midnight, her husband, had been assigned a special job. Over the course of many months, what appeared to be shadows were rising over the northern horizon, where the Crystal Empire was located, and even the princesses were worried. Midnight, being one of the lead astronomers and sky watchers in Canterlot, was sent to the Crystal Empire to survey these strange happenings.
With a cart full of equipment and books, Midnight trudged through the harsh northern landscape towards the empire with his expecting wife. He had urged her not to come and stay safe in Canterlot, but she had insisted, not wanting to be lonely during his long trip away from home.
A surprise awaited them that dampened their spirits. The Crystal Empire was nowhere to be seen. All that was left were snow and a perimeter of small, stone buildings. Confused, they were greeted by a royal guard pony that had just stepped out of one of the stone buildings. He was frowning. He told them that it isn’t safe here and that they needed to leave. Midnight urged him to let them stay, but the pony refused, telling them that even the guards were evacuating. Their long nights of travel were over and now they were going to have to make the long journey again.
Looking back, Pearl would not have changed her decision about going with her husband. Of course there was danger, but had she stayed, her husband would have never been present at the time of Sirius’s birth, that cold night so many years ago. She remembers clearly the first time he opened his beautiful blue eyes, his first laugh, and his first tears. She also remembers when they were told of the prophesy. Would their child really grow up to save Equestria? When the older pony had informed them of it, she laughed, but her husband’s face grew serious. He had studied it for long periods of his youth and it ultimately hooked his interest on astronomy and the study of celestial signs and bodies. He made it apparent that they would need to return to Canterlot and have some time to think about it.
Now he was here, happily bouncing around their kitchen. They had never told him about the prophesy and hoped to tell him when he got older. There was no time for that however, because today was the day of the entrance exam for Celestia and Luna’s School for Gifted Unicorns, and Sirius was more than ready.
“Sirius," Pearl said as she set down a tray. Sirius stopped his running and trotted over to the table. There was a small plate with some bread, an apple, and a wooden cup of milk. “You’ll need your strength for this test today sweetie.”
“He’ll be fine Pearl. Haven’t you seen what he’s been practicing?” his father said with a laugh. Pearl thought for a moment. Sirius had nothing to worry about really. Compared to some of the other unicorns in his previous classes, he’d always had a special magic ability.
He went through books like crazy too. Pearl had quite a collection and she could recall countless times she would wake in the middle of the night to find Sirius, asleep on a sofa with a book over his face.
“I’ve heard a lot about the exam in school and the teachers say it’s one of the hardest tests ever!” Sirius said, his eyes bulging with emphasis as he began to eat.
The breakfast was definitely good, considering how fast he ate it. In a short time, he'd finished and got down from the table. He once again raced down the hallway towards the bathroom to comb his mane and brush his teeth and things like that, leaving his parents behind for a quiet moment to themselves. Pearl looked at Midnight, "Are you sure he'll make it? What if he doesn't?"
"Honey I have no doubt that he's ready," Midnight spoke softly as he got up. He put his forelegs around his wife. "I don't think it's that you're afraid of him not passing, I think you're afraid that he will."
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"You don't want him to grow up. You don't want him to face his destiny. I know the prophesy sounds dangerous, but trust me, he's going to be okay. He'll always be our son." At this, Pearl nearly burst into tears. She hid her emotions as soon as she heard, once again, the tapping of little hooves on their hallway floor.
"I'm ready!" Sirius said with his almost white mane freshly combed and his teeth shining.
Midnight made his way over to the door where a small, green bag was waiting. "Here's your saddlebag son. I went ahead and packed it with some books you might need." Midnight helped slip the bag around Sirius's body and opened the door to their home. He stepped out and held the door open as his family made their way into the city of Canterlot.
At first, Midnight had thought about calling for a chariot, but they lived so close to the castle that he just decided that they would take a short walk through the city. Pearl wasn't too happy at the thought of losing some much-needed sleep, but now she was just happy that she could spend some more time with her family.
The glow of the morning sun had laced the city's buildings with a light orange hue and some ponies were getting an early start to their day. The pegasi had already arranged today's slightly cloudy weather. It wasn't too cloudy though and the warmth of the sun shone through.
Sirius looked up into the sky and felt something, something that told him that today would be a great day. Nothing could have made him doubt that.
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The royal castle was a hive of activity that day. Guards rushed around everywhere trying to get everything organized and leading families around the academy wing. They were all here for the same reason, and that was the entrance exam. Little fillies and colts, along with their parents, were paired with a guard and shown around the academy grounds until the scheduled time for their exam.
Through a large window, a pair of watchful eyes monitored the families. No, not just them. The entire city was being watched from one of the castle towers. Her dark blue body began to pace fervently. She was an alicorn, but not just any alicorn. She was Princess Luna, bringer of night and sister to Princess Celestia.
Her pacing stopped as she again took to gazing at the ponies outside. Their smiling faces lit by the warm sunshine. She watched as some were playing with their children, sharing a happy moment in the morning sun.
"Do they not appreciate the night?" she said to herself, with a hurt tone in her voice. "The majestic moon or the stars?" Luna's head dropped as she eyed her hooves. She was a princess, but didn't feel like one. No one played in the night. Each night, they slept through the beautiful masterpiece she had worked so tirelessly to bring. The night sky, in all its glory, and for what?
A knock appeared at the door and woke Luna out of her trance. She trotted through her watchtower room and put her hoof onto the door, opening it. Standing there was a royal guard.
He bowed, "Princess Luna," he said. She acknowledged his presence and he continued. "I have word from Princess Celestia that the exams for the young ponies are going to begin soon and that she would like you to join her in welcoming them."
Luna looked at him. "Tell her that I will be down as soon as I can."
"Yes, your highness." He left, closing the door behind him. Luna was alone again. She made her way to the window for one last look. She'd used this window thousands of times before, but never had it held such emotion for her. Her lengthy glance fueling those emotions until she couldn't bear the sight of even the sun anymore. She sighed as she left for the throne room of the castle, leaving her view of the unappreciative little city behind.
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Sirius and his family had now made their way to the academy building and were waiting to enter through a large, golden gate. Midnight led his son to a sign up booth to pick up their information.
"And who might this be?" the attendant pony inquired, looking at Sirius.
Midnight began to speak but was interrupted by his son. "Hi! I'm Sirius Charmer. I'm here for the entrance exam!" he exclaimed.
She smiled and looked over the large scroll in front of her. Her face lit up as she read. "There you are Sirius. I'll just need your father to sign a few things for me before you can go." Sirius stepped back, allowing his dad to access the booth. He watched as Midnight levitated a quill pen and signed his authoritative name on the documents.
Sirius began to look around at all the guards. Some had wings like pegasi, but others were unicorns. He had always thought of being a royal guard someday. He had dreamed of it ever since his school took a short field trip to the castle about a year ago.
As more families began to pair themselves up with a guard, one approached the sign up booth. He was a pegasus and had a light grey coat and a brown mane and a spear for a cutie mark. He leaned in and whispered something unintelligible into the attendant pony's ear.
She looked at him and asked, "Are you sure you want to? You haven't had a break from all this commotion." He nodded his head and the attendant shrugged. The mysterious guard stepped out and stood next to the booth as Midnight filled out the final page of Sirius's paperwork.
"All right Mr. Charmer, your son is all set. Stone, one of our night guards, has stepped in and decided to give you your tour," she said pointing her hoof toward the guard. "He will show you around until it's time for the exam, which is eleven o'clock."
"Thank you for your help," Midnight said as he left the booth. He led his family over to the guard. "Hello," Midnight said.
The guard smiled at them. "Welcome to Canterlot castle," he said. "I guess Marble got you set up alright? What time is your exam?"
"She said eleven," replied Pearl.
"Well in that case, we'll just go ahead and start the tour. We've got quite a bit of time before you have to be there." Stone led them all around the Academy, showing them the various sights and wonders that the School for Gifted Unicorns had to offer. First, they stopped at the location of the exam. They were held in large classrooms, plenty room for a pony to perform some magic. He showed them the archives and Sirius couldn't help being hypnotized by the large hourglass in the Starswirl the Bearded wing. He also introduced them to some of the teachers who happened to be in the academy that day. Pearl enjoyed their library and Midnight marveled at the learning observatory for young astronomers. The complex was truly magnificent.
As they went along their tour, Sirius became more and more comfortable in the setting. The environment was one he had always wanted to be a part of. The magic and learning filled him with excitement and he was now leading the group with Stone, his parents behind them enjoying some of the scenery of the academy's interior decor.
Stone looked down at Sirius. "So are you liking the tour so far," he asked the young unicorn.
Sirius turned his head. "I sure am. I'm just a little nervous for the exam."
"Don't be. I've watched quite a few and the tests are usually quite simple."
"What are they like?" Sirius asked, worried by what Stone might say
"Sometimes it'll be changing the color of something, teleportation, or even hatching a dragon egg."
Sirius was surprised. Those things didn't sound like anything he'd thought he had to do. "Oh. I guess those aren't too tough."
"You'll do fine." He was thinking about Sirius. Could he really be the prophesied child? He had been tasked by Celestia herself to guide Sirius, but he was still apprehensive about the prophesy. He thought back to that night many years ago. Did Cirrus really know what he was talking about? If not, Stone was about to find out anyway.
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Time had passed and the group was making their way back to the exam rooms. Once there, the families gathered together in a small auditorium as instructed by the guards. Idle chatter kept the air of confusion hanging over the small crowd until suddenly, music began to play. Ponies across the room quickly identified it as the royal welcoming orchestration and looked around eagerly.
They were satisfied when, from two large doors, walked in the princesses. Both Luna and Celestia made their way onto the small, wooden stage and smiled at their subjects.
The elder waited for the excitement to quiet down, then she spoke, "I would like to welcome everypony here today. I would also like to especially welcome the young students who have journeyed far in their education to these new heights. That is why we are here today. To welcome them to a higher understanding of their own magical abilities."
She now turned toward Luna, who seemed caught off guard by her sister's gaze, "Uhh...um...We will now begin the examinations. This test will tell if your child is ready to enter the school for the gifted" She turned and pointed her hoof toward a small door on the other side of the auditorium. There, a desk was set up with a pony and a clipboard. "Your child's name will be called in due time and then you will proceed with them into the testing room."
Young ponies everywhere were now either studying or nervously awaiting their number to come up. Celestia looked out over the sea of ponies and spotted Stone. He seemed to be doing his job alright and she could even see Sirius talking with his family. Celestia smiled and spoke to Luna. "There he is."
"Who? Do you mean the starchild?" Luna asked fixing her gaze on the family.
"Yes sister." Celestia turned toward Luna. "There may be dark times ahead and all I can ask of you is that you be watchful. Even I do not know where the darkness from the prophesy will come from."
"I will try my sister."
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"Sirius Charmer! Number seventeen! Sirius Charmer." The words echoed across the auditorium. Sirius shook. He knew that it was time.
He and his parents as well as Stone walked over to the desk. The pony at the desk motioned for them to go on in. Midnight went forward and opened the door. Inside, the room was still relatively empty, except for a few ponies in the classroom seats who Sirius identified as the judges for the exam.
Pearl turned to Sirius, "Listen honey. I know that you can do this. Don't be worried, you'll do just fine."
"Your mother is right son. We have no doubt that you'll succeed." Midnight pat his son on the head and Sirius was off, trotting to the front of the classroom. Stone had made his way into the audience as well.
One of the judges shifted in his seat and looked over his clipboard. His older appearance coupled with his white mane gave him a wise and serious look. "You are Sirius Charmer?" he asked.
"Yes sir." Sirius said.
"Are you ready for your exam?"
Sirius turned to his parents. They were smiling at him and motioning for him to go on. "Yes. I am."
The judge pony checked over a few things before calling out for exam number seven. In from one of the room's side doors, a pony pushed a cart. On the cart was a painting and a canvas. On the floor was a confused young unicorn.
"You will have five minutes to use copying magic to copy the painting onto another canvas. Do you understand?"
Sirius gulped. "Um...yes." he said quietly, his body shaking.
The judge turned to one of the other ponies and nodded. The other pony held an hourglass. With the flip of the device, the exam began. "You may begin," said the judge rather calmly.
Sirius was racking his brain. He was sure he'd learned copying magic, but couldn't remember it. His parents saw the confusion and began to grow worried. Stone watched in curiosity.
No matter how hard he tried, Sirius couldn't remember the spell and was begining to think he would fail. Just then a thought came into his mind. No, not a thought, a memory. He remembered sitting at home. His mother had secured coloring supplies for the young Sirius and he was drawing on pieces of paper. One drawing in particular he remembered his mother taking and placing in a frame. Sirius wanted to keep it but couldn't reach the frame. His magical ability wasn't the greatest at the time, but he clearly remembered using a copying spell to bring the picture down onto another piece of paper.
His strenuous thinking had now ceased and he was completely still. Everypony in the room watched in awe as his horn glowed its signature light purple. The painting was now glowing as well. He thought harder and harder until the colors seemed to jump off of the canvas. The original painting was still there, untouched, but the copy was glowing and floating toward the blank canvas.
Everypony was now leaning in, watching the sight of the magic feat, even Stone. With a sudden zap of energy, there was a flash on the canvas. Sirius's horn had stopped glowing but on the other side of the room, two identical paintings stood across from one another.
Sirius stood, his mouth open in astonishment as his parents rushed up to him, wrapping their forelegs around him and congratulating him. He was paralyzed from surprise. The judges were busy writing something on their clipboards and some were even clapping.
"He did it," Stone said under his breath. He sat back in his chair and thought to himself. "Maybe Cirrus had been right." If so, Stone realized, he was about to be in for the ride of his life.
The early morning light flooded Sirius's room and soon, his eyelids fluttered open. Pulling the covers off, he hopped down onto the wooden floor and opened his small window. His house, situated on the edge of Canterlot, had an amazing view of the sunrise every morning. The walls of the city usually blocked the horizon, but his home was also built on a small hill, making the beautiful pinks, reds, and yellows of the early light visible.
While the young pony was getting himself ready for whatever the day had in store, his parents were already up.
"Well Pearl, I'm going to have to go into work today," Midnight said, entering the kitchen. His wife had been preparing a little breakfast for him, knowing he'd be up.
"Is it going to be an overnight trip?" she asked as she lifted the bread she was baking out of the stone oven, horn glowing.
Midnight sat at the table and sighed. "I don't know. Shimmer's note seemed pretty serious but there hasn't been much activity at the observatory recently." A plate came to rest in front of him with some bread and butter.
"Well I wish it wasn't. I promised that I would visit my mother today since she's been feeling very ill lately. I'd take Sirius, but I don't know how long I'd be there."
"I could take him to work with me again," Midnight suggested.
"Are you sure? Every time he does, I'm worried you don't get much work done."
"It's fine. Ponies bring their kids all the time. We've redesigned the loft to fit that need. There are toys, some furniture; he doesn't bother me at all."
"Okay. Thanks sweetie." Pearl pulled him into an embrace. Pearl held him a little longer, thinking. "Do you think we've waited too long? " she whispered into his ear. "If we tell him any later, things could get bad."
Midnight whispered back, "Honey, trust me, he'll be okay. Had it not been for Princess Celestia, we may have never known that he was the fulfillment of that prophesy. I think when the time comes, she'll be able to help. She'll know what to do." They both stood there for a little, just holding each other close. Pearl almost let a small tear fall, but she was startled when the kitchen door slowly opened and Sirius stepped through.
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“Why did you need to go into work today?” Sirius asked his father. They were now nearing the Royal district of the city. Ponies were opening shops and the smell of food wafted throughout the air.
“I’m not sure," Midnight replied. "Whatever it is, Shimmer was very urgent about it." Sirius looked up at him, confused. Midnight turned to him. "Shimmer's sort of our leader over at the observatory," he said, satisfying Sirius's curiosity.
In time, the two had arrived at a large golden gate, one that Sirius had remembered from the day of the exam. They climbed quite a few flights of stairs, going past balconies and walkways until they reached their destination. Midnight put his hoof against the metal door and pushed it open. Inside the round room was a large glass roof that appeared to be able to move to accompany the large, golden telescope in the middle of the room. The large facility was also adorned with notes and boards of all kind. They had a great deal of scientific information on them but what interested Sirius the most was the pony who seemed to be working on the telescope.
"Oh! Midnight, I'm glad you made it," said the earth pony as he made his way over to them. His purple coat was stained with grease and he had quite a few tools in a saddlebag at his side. "I've been having some trouble with the telescope and I was wondering if you could help me out?"
"Sure, but why do you need it fixed so urgently?" asked Midnight.
"Before it went out of commission, when we were using it to measure the annual star charts, I noticed something strange in a particular group of stars." he was now roaming the room and pointing to some of the charts. He stopped and turned toward Midnight, "One of the stars in it was moving. Stars don't generally move noticeably, and this one was moving fast. We don't really know what it means, but all I need right now is some help getting the telescope fixed." His frantic expression changed as he walked over, looking as if he'd forgotten something. "I'm so sorry. Where are my manners?" He held out his hoof to Sirius, "My name's Shimmer."
Sirius shook his hoof and smiled, "I'm Sirius."
Midnight spoke up, "My wife was busy today so I decided I'd just bring Sirius along."
"You never told me you had a son Midnight," he said with a smile.
"Yeah. I've brought him only a few times in the past. I don't think you were here to actually meet him though."
Shimmer thought for a moment, "Well, that's good that you brought him because I brought my daughter with me today as well. She's been looking for somepony to play with. I'm sure she's around here somewhere Sirius, if you'd like to go play?"
"Go on upstairs Sirius. It'll be a while before we get the telescope working again," Midnight said.
Now that Sirius knew he'd have somepony to play with, he just had to find her. He didn't know where to begin looking. He jumped onto the spiraling staircase and made his way up to the familiar loft.
It was dark. The toy chests in the corner of the loft were closed and nothing was moving. Where was she? Sirius walked past one of the couches but was startled when he heard a noise. It came from behind him and Sirius was genuinely frightened because when he turned around, nopony was there. He looked around at the couches he had past just moments ago and saw nothing and decided to return to his search, turning his body to walk.
"Boo."
Sirius nearly fell back down the stairs from the sudden noise. It was the last thing that he had wanted to hear in the dim light of the upstairs loft. After his fall, he regained his composure and noticed that there was a small pink unicorn standing before him. She was giggling.
"What did you do that for?" Sirius asked angrily, rubbing his head.
"I'm sorry. I just wanted to have some fun, it's not everyday that I have somepony else to play with. Anyways, my name's Gemini."
"I'm Sirius." He was still a little unsure of the situation but Gemini seemed okay. He eventually mustered up the courage to ask another question. "Do you come here often with your dad?"
"Sometimes. He has to come in to work a lot, so I stay home with my mom. She's a pegasus though and sometimes she has to go and work at the weather factory in Cloudsdale, so then I come here." She sighed. "Sometimes. It gets boring though if we stay for long and I can't ever go and explore because there's no one to go with me." She said this with a frown and a little hint of expectance in her voice. She flashed her bright green eyes at Sirius, hoping he would get the message.
Sirius soon felt sorry for her, overcome by the look. "I could go with you. I haven't had much time to explore the castle either."
She perked up immediately, shaking her light yellow mane up and an enormous smile spread across her face. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she yelled, taking Sirius into and embrace that felt more, to him, like she was trying to kill him. She released and sped off at blinding speed towards a door that seemed to lead outside from the loft.
Sirius followed and soon they were both outside. Gemeni was standing impatiently on a thin walkway that appeared to wrap all the way around the castle.
"So where are we going?" Sirius asked turning his head to get a better look at the place.
Gemeni looked around. "I don't know. Maybe the castle has a dungeon!"
Sirius smiled. "Or a deep, dark, mysterious cave?" he suggested.
"There aren't any caves in Canterlot silly. If there were, I'm sure we would have heard of them." Gemini and Sirius laughed for a little before trotting away, not knowing what they would encounter.
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Had they been considerably louder, the sound of their wandering hooves may have resonated throughout the entire castle. They crept to and fro. They didn't need to. It wasn't like where they were going was off limits. Still, they had great fun pretending to be spies, sneaking around statues and fountains and hiding from the royal guards.
After quite a while of walking, they finally settled on a destination. The large building in front of them had a small sign on the door,
"Canterlot Archives Artifact Wing"
Sirius had been to the archives before, but not to this wing. His father usually just bypassed it when they went, but now he and Gemini were curious about what was inside and wasted no time in opening the door to a world of ancient history.
“Umm…hello?” The building was empty. Sirius’s voice echoed through the halls; devoid of evidence that anypony was home.
Both he and Gemini stood there for a while, staring into the abyss until Gemini broke the silence, “Let’s go!” With that both of them were off, darting into the first set of corridors around the central structure.
Most of the doors they ran into along the way were locked. Time after time, they would approach one expecting to enter, but their hopes would be dashed. Eventually they found one that wasn’t barred. Inside the room, a small window cast rays of sunlight where Sirius and Gemini stood. What surprised them were the contents of the room; just books. Gemini stomped around the shelves, looking for something of interest. Sirius was having a different experience. He quite liked books and wondered why they were here in the artifact wing.
“It’s nothing but books!” shouted Gemini, who was now climbing the side of a bookshelf. “Where are the ancient weapons, or um…the crowns, or the treasure?” She definitely wasn’t what Sirius had expected. Her pink coat and soft yellow mane were deceptive to her personality. Sirius liked it though; she was unlike any other pony he’d ever met.
“I’m guessing that’s what the other locked doors were for,” Sirius said, flipping through an old Equestrian history book.
“Well then let’s go already! Maybe they’ve got something interesting.” Gemini rushed out pulling Sirius with her, leaving the book he was reading to rest on the floor. Sirius followed her back down the corridor, snickering to himself. If Gemini was expecting to take home some Equestrian war treasure or the old royal crown jewels, she’s going to be in for a big surprise.
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Work was tough that day. He was usually assigned a night guard duty, but Stone was a little dismayed when he learned he’d be investigating a crime scene. Along with another twelve guards, he was waiting to start the investigation outside the Equestrian archives. There had been a robbery and they turned away anypony they saw trying to get in so they could begin the investigation. It wasn’t anything big, just a few small items of questionable importance, but Equestrian justice needed to be dealt, unfortunately for this group of night guards.
The investigation initial investigation proceeded normally; gathering evidence and listing suspects. The thing that troubled Stone most though was that so far, no suspects or evidence could be gathered.
“Whoever committed this crime sure knew what he was doing,” one of the guards said. “There’s no trail or anything.”
“I know. I just don’t understand the reason they needed to dispatch a group of night guards! We’re going to have to go back to work again tonight!”
Stone overheard the conversation. His serious nature saw no problem with the dispatch and the lack of morale within the group saddened him.
“I don’t think you all understand the Princesses’ position on these kinds of situations,” he said. “We’ve been through a lot in the past few years. I think the easiest thing for us to do right now would be to split up, search the archives, and just get the job done. I’ll take the history and artifact wings.”
All the guards agreed on this proposition and they split from the group. Some went toward the Starswirl the Bearded wing, others to the Royalty wing, but Stone quietly meandered his way towards his favorite. His father had died during the old Equestrian wars before Discord’s little coup d’état and his mother took him to the archives many times. Being her only child, the widow protected him through his adversity in joining the order of the royal guards and was always by his side.
However, only two years ago, she passed away. Stone had been devastated resorting to long nights of loneliness, speaking to no one and trusting less. His slow walk to the grand building rebuilt his memories within his mind. He remembered the statues, the books, and he remembered his mother’s stories about his father.
Only if…only if. Over the years, Stone continued his life, but pushed himself harder trying to take on the honor and courage that his father had. Now he can only wait patiently for his time to come. “Alright Stone pull yourself together,” he said to himself as a tear came to his eye. He had a job to do. His hoof pushed the archive door open and the sullen, grey Pegasus entered the dark domain, only hoping for a chance to redeem himself.
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“Ohh! This looks interesting!” Gemini was standing in front of a large golden case. Pressing her hooves against the glass, she peered inside. “It’s a suit of armor! Sirius, do you think it could have been used in battle? On the back of some brave stallion, leading the charge, sacrificing his life for Equestria?”
“Don’t know, maybe.” Sirius was too busy looking around the room for other things. They were in a basement that looked promising. Sirius still couldn’t figure out why nopony was around. Usually, silly looking tourists from all over Equestria would wander through the halls, ooh-ing and ahh-ing at everything.
Sirius’s curiosity had landed upon another shelf with scrolls. One by one, he opened them. Most were just notes or records about historical events, nothing out of the ordinary. That is until the stack was gone and a little blue book sat alone. Expecting another textbook about the history of wheels or a collection of poems, Sirius sighed while he opened the book’s dusty cover.
He was thoroughly surprised with the contents. With the signature calligraphy of a unicorn writing using magic, he read the title on the first page:
“My Search”
Who’s search? Sirius was intrigued and he sat in the dim basement, patiently reading the book. A few more pages in, the story became clear; the unicorn who penned it was named Cirrus. And he was obsessed with some old Equestrian prophesy. Apparently a child was supposed to be born that would protect Equestria from some danger, from some darkness.
Sirius had never heard of any legend like this one before. Sirius found it wasn’t a book, but a journal and the next few entries were much more recent. It mentioned the Crystal Empire’s disappearance and the princesses and the defeat of King Sombra but after that, nothing.
“Could he have given up on his search?” Sirius asked himself. As he did this, he began franticly turning pages, searching for something. Not too far away from the last entry, something caught Sirius’s eye. This entry looked rushed, as if he had just opened the book up to a page and began writing as quickly as he could;
“I have been delighted with the fact that after many years, the sign of the child has appeared. Not only that, but over the very castle that Celestia had sent me to. It couldn’t have happened more perfectly. The child was born and I have seen with my eyes that he is truly something special. I’ve already sent a letter to the princesses but before I leave this castle for Canterlot, I had to learn the name of this child. His parents chose to name him…”
Sirius turned the page, eager to end the mystery. He was close and was very excited but just then, a wall of armor, weapons and shelves came crashing down next to him. In surprise the book left his hooves and slid under a large shelf next to the wall. The dust from the crash had settled and Sirius saw Gemini standing there, a sheepish grin on her face. “It was an accident, honest!”
They scrambled to get out, knowing that somepony would hear them. They climbed the stairs to get out but stopped dead in their tracks as the door swing wide open.
Moments before, it had been quiet, but now a booming voice was looming over Sirius and Gemini. They both turned toward the stairway leading up from the basement and saw who it was. It was one of the royal guards and his face, mixed with all sorts of emotions.
Gemini looked at Sirius quickly, sweating, and then jumped toward the guard. “We were just checking this place out, you know? We sort of knocked down a display.”
“We?” said Sirius scowling at Gemini. The guard looked to Sirius with an odd look of excitement and fear. “We were just curious sir,” said the small, dark unicorn.
“What were you doing down here exactly?” The guard said directly to Sirius. Sirius looked around the nearly destroyed room.
“Well, we were just looking for something interesting. We found books and treasures and as you can see,” Sirius pointed his hoof to the basement floor, “a few sets of armor.”
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This was bad. What could he have read? Celestia’s plan for revealing this child’s destiny could be at stake. “You two shouldn’t be here. Quickly, we must get going,” said Stone. The two children followed him up the stairs and within minutes they had made it back to the entrance of the building. Stone was sure that somepony else in the guard would have heard the crash, even if it did come from the basement. Some of those guys were a lot quicker on their hooves than anypony would realize.
He opened the door and stepped quietly out onto the castle grounds. The twilight gave them enough cover to escape without any other ponies spotting them, but Stone still made sure where he was going.
Once they had made it into an alley near another wing of the archives, Stone turned. “Where exactly did you two come from?”
Gemini pointed her hoof through the alley and out over the castle to a large dome of gold. “The observatory. Our parents are there working on a telescope.”
“Well then let’s go. Follow me”
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“I could get into a lot of trouble for this you know?” the guard said leading the children around the castle grounds. He had made it past most of the archives but knew that until the children were out of there, they were all in danger.
Something was strange about this guard as well. Sirius couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d met him before. Interrupting his thoughts, Gemini piped in, “Are we in trouble?”
“In a sense, yes, but right now we just need to worry about getting you two back. We’re out of the archives so we can walk,” said the guard. In the sudden quiet, Sirius had a revelation. The guard! He was the guard that showed his family around Canterlot Castle. He had also been present at his exam. There was another time when Sirius had accompanied his mother to the market and he was sure the grey Pegasus had been present. His thoughts wandered but were abandoned when they had finally made it to their destination.
The guard tapped his hoof on the large golden doors. The young ponies were now cowering behind him.
Maybe Sirius should have been a little more concerned about his actions and his situation. He apparently did something wrong and he didn’t think this guard was going to let him off the hook. He looked down at his little hooves and then over to Gemini. “What do you think is going to happen?” he asked her.
She shook her head, “I just hope I can go for a few months without fun ‘cause that’s probably what my dad’s probably gonna take away.” She eyed the ground as Sirius did, kicking a little pebble around as she did so out of fearful anticipation.
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“Well, that should do it.” Midnight had just finished turning the last screw in the loose structure of the telescope. He’d calibrated some of the mirrors and was sure he’d fixed it. “Is it working?”
Shimmer pressed his face to the eyepiece and peered through. The twilight sky shone bright orange in the telescope and he could see a few stars very clearly. “Aha! It’s working! I can’t thank you enough Midnight. I guess we won’t have to stay overnight. It took a lot less time than I thought it would.” Shimmer walked around the telescope and slapped Midnight on the back with his hoof. “I don’t think I need anything else done so you can head on home if you’d like.
“You sure you don’t need any help cleaning up?”
“I’m going to stay an hour later. I’ll do it. Go on home,” he said, smiling.
“Well, thanks. If you need anything else just send a letter.” Midnight wandered over to the bottom of the stairs. “Sirius! We’re done so we can go home now!” he shouted up the stairs.
There wasn’t a response. “Sirius?” No response again and Midnight was a little worried. Just as he was about to climb to the loft, there was a knock on the door. Midnight was close enough so he opened them, still wondering where his son was.
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The door’s handle began to turn as minutes turned to hours. Gemini and Sirius cringed as it swung open. They looked up and saw their respective fathers, standing with wide eyes looking down at them.
“Sirius?” Midnight was confused. His son was here now and he was relieved, but the fact that he was with a royal guard didn’t seem to make much sense.
Stone spoke up, “Sir, our division in the royal guards was performing an investigation in the archives and these two were found inside.”
Both young ponies approached the door from behind the guard, looking away from the disappointed gazes of their parents.
There was a long pause. “We’re sorry dad,” Sirius said, still focused on the ground.
Gemini’s father gave his daughter a glare. “Gemini, how many times have I told you to stay here when I’m working?” She stepped inside the doors facing her discipline.
Midnight looked down at his son, “We finished our work so we’ll have to talk about it with your mother tonight,” He said sternly. “Bye Shimmer!” Shimmer waved goodbye to his friend and colleague and the door shut behind Midnight.
He turned to the guard. “I can’t thank you enough for this.” The guard stopped in response to Midnight’s comment. He couldn’t just let it go. He had to know the danger his son was in.
“Well…you’re welcome.” He paused for a moment as Midnight turned to walk away before shouting, “Wait!”
Trotting up to meet them under the nearly dark sky, Stone spoke, “Listen Midnight, could I speak with you in private?”
Midnight nodded and then turned to his son. “Sirius, wait over there by that bench please. I need to talk to this guard.” Sirius obeyed forced his sullen self upon the bench.
“I hope he didn’t cause too much trouble,” Midnight said to the guard, “I told him to stay here.”
“It’s okay, but that’s not the reason I wanted to speak with you.” Midnight was confused. “Yes, he was trespassing in a locked down area, but it was where he was trespassing.”
Midnight remained silent despite his curiosity. “You see sir, my name is Stone and I had served under the Royal Court Wizard Cirrus many years ago. You knew him didn’t you?”
“Yes?” said Midnight hesitantly.
“Well it was almost ten years ago that I was stationed in one of Equestria’s northern forts alongside Cirrus during the Crystal Empire crisis.” Midnight began to piece the information together. He was there at Sirius’s birth. He was there.
“What does this have to do with Sirius?” he asked slowly.
“Well, the place I had found them was the artifact and history wing. He had stumbled upon some books in the basement,” Stone delivered the information.
Midnight was stunned at the news. He turned to look back at his son. Sirius. Midnight wished to protect him from his destiny until the time is right. He turned back to face Stone who only responded with one final statement before flying off.
“I know.”
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Sirius’s parents had sent him to bed right after dinner. Sirius wasn’t even very hungry after all that had happened that day. His room was dark as he laid under the covers of his bed. The night had encroached upon the world and now engulfed everypony in a solemn quiet.
Other ponies didn’t like the night. Sirius had heard stories that other fillies and colts made up about the dangers of going out at night. They were silly tales and only led to somepony getting scared.
Sirius reached for his favorite toy, a stuffed pony that resembled a canterlot royal guard. He may have been a little old for these kinds of toys, but it left him with a secure feeling. His eyelids began to close and his mind entered a state of thought. What was that book that he had read? What was it about? He wasn’t sure it was relevant, but the questions persisted as if something was trying to tell him something. In his wonderings, Sirius drifted into sleep, a deep sleep that welcomed the surreal and the fantasy.
He was dreaming. Sirius was alone in Canterlot castle. He was looking at the stained glass windows adorning one of the castle hallways; vivid portrayals of battles, discoveries, and stories of old. He was standing there, marveling at what was before him, when a voice came from behind, “Beautiful, aren’t they?”
It was Princess Luna. Sirius turned and smiled. “Princess Luna! I don’t remember going to the castle.”
“It’s because you didn’t. You’re dreaming Sirius.” Sirius began breathing heavily at the shock of being in a dream. He could feel it fading away until Luna placed a hoof on him. “Don’t get too excited. Your dream will fade.”
Sirius calmed down. He sat down and looked at his surroundings. Why was he at the castle? More importantly, why was Princess Luna here? It was said that she visited ponies rarely. This was a true chance encounter. “If this is a dream, then why are you here Princess?”
Luna sat down next to Sirius. She paused then looked up at one of the stained glass windows. “You are troubled. Is there something wrong?”
Sirius thought for a moment. “Well, I’m just a little curious about a book that I read in the archives today.”
“You were in the archives?” Luna was surprised.
“My friend and I found our way in. We didn’t know it was shut down, honest.” Sirius had just been reprimanded and was a little afraid of getting in trouble again.
Luna laughed. “Continue child. I know it was not you.”
“We were there and I read a few books in the artifact and history wing. None of them really stood out to me except this one that told about a prophesy. I never got to finish it and I don’t know why, but I can’t forget it.”
Luna closed her eyes. She knew much like everypony else that this child did not need to be told of his destiny until the time was right. The fact that he read that book is dangerous enough, but Luna had to take on this issue calmly. “You know Sirius; sometimes our search for facts can ruin how we see life. How we see ourselves. Some secrets just aren’t meant to be known. Maybe you’re not meant to know what happened to the prophesy.”
Sirius looked down. Princess Luna was right. How was a book like that going to change him? He would only loose focus on what’s important. “Thank you Princess.” Sirius hugged her. She had not felt love like that in a long time. He let go of her and then proceeded to ask another question. “If it’s okay, I wanted to ask you; why do you appear to so few ponies? It’s not everyday anypony gets to meet a princess.”
Luna once again looked upwards. “Not many ponies enjoy my night. They drift into sleep with hopes of emerging again to see the sunlight of the new day. They don’t understand my night like you do Sirius.” She turned and smiled at the little unicorn.
“I’m sorry Princess. Ponies should really appreciate the night more,” Sirius said as he sat there quietly with the princess. She was mixed with feelings. She felt happy that there were ponies out there like this; ones who understood her. Not happy enough, however to change her mind.
