Gravestones at sunset

>The wind blew gently across the glade as Noctua casually strolled through the long grass.
>Around her neck she carried a bag filled with paper, ink, food and other materials.
>Her hair was whipping around her antennae in the breeze.
>Despite the chill in the air Noctua was not cold as the sun was on it way down and the sky was clear.

>Today was the 3rd day of Noctua's adventure.
>She had decided to take a long journey somewhere to the east of her home to see if she could find any historical artifacts, ruins or even old stories from other moth ponies to add to her personal research.
>Noctua didn't expect to find anything.
>Most of her other journeys or 'field trips' had ended up with nothing to show, but the landscapes had been breathtaking.
>Not for the first time, Noctua wondered whether she should have brought Talvi along.

>Noctua's wings fluttered in the breeze as she reached the top of the hillock.
>The flowers and trees looked beautiful and Noctua's stomach growled.

"It's not supper yet stomach,"
>she said aloud,
"at least... I don't think it is."
>She thought again of Talvi, he was the one who reminded her to eat when she became too engrossed in her work.
>Maybe she missed him more than she thought...

"Oh my, what is this?"
>Noctua mused as she began her descent through the grassy glade.
"Is that... a graveyard?"

>From the corner of her eye, Noctua spied large grey stone poking haphazardly through the green grass and specks of wildflowers.
>She flicked open her wings ad glided over to the ruins dusted within the landscape.
>In the faint light of the dusk, Noctua could see at least 30 intact stones lying in the ground.
>Moss, lichen and wildflowers covered the grey slabs; ivy and other crawling plants were sneaking their way across the broken pieces that lay scattered across the ground.
>Noctua trod carefully through the sombre place, trying to make as little noise as possible.
>Finding it difficult, she fluttered upwards to identify the layout of the graveyard.

>There were two main rows of stones, each lined in a perfect pattern.
>Behind, there were three more rows where the spacing became irregular, as if the undertaker had been in a hurry.
>The final row could not really be called a row, more like a hotchpotch of stones thrown at the back of the level patch of ground.
>These stones were in the worse state of decay, with only a small fraction of their former selves visible above the ground.

"Hmm... strange place to have a graveyard,"
>Noctua said to herself,
"there is no temple or religious centre nearby... very different to what the books have said."

>Noctua fluttered a little closer, inspecting a stone covered in moss and large crack going along the right side.

"No words left, oh dear,"
>Noctua muttered, trying to push some of the moss away with a hoof.
>The stone began to flake away and she hurriedly placed the moss back, hoping she hadn't caused too much damage.

>She fluttered through the eerie place, trying to locate a sturdier stone.
>Eventually she found one and landed delicately in front of it.
>Using her tongue and mouth, she pulled out a piece of blank paper and a small piece of charcoal that she had discovered on her travels.
>As gently as possible, she took a rubbing of the gravestone, somehow managing to hold the paper with her hooves and use her tongue to get the outline of the gravestone's writing.
>By now the sun had set and other nighttime creatures had woken and began to circulate in the air.
>Fireflies began to buzz around Noctua's head and try to tangle themselves in her hair.
>She giggled and gently shook them out.

"Now now little fireflies, be careful of my antennae. Would you tell me the secrets of this place? Or do I have to do all the hard work myself?"
>she joked, more to herself than the fireflies, who tried to resettle in her brown and ginger hair.

>Noctua finished the rubbing with a little cheer and packed away her materials.
>This place was very interesting, she would love to spend more time here, maybe even coming here during the day.
>Maybe she should bring Talvi along, the various flowers dotted about the graveyard would greatly interest him.
>On the spur of the moment, she picked a bunch of the flowers and placed them inside her bag.
>As much as this place interested her, she should get back to her Talvi.
>Who knew what he might have brought up into the house?

>Yes, she had better go home.
>If she started now, she would be able to make it back home just before sunrise.
>It would mean flying and walking all night, but if it meant getting back to Talvi then it was worth it.

>With a sigh, she spread her wings and ascended upwards into the night sky.
>She could always come back to this place later to gather more rubbings after she had deciphered the gravestone's writing.
>And maybe next time, she and Talvi could make it into a holiday together.