RiE Chapter 5 - Moonlight

Celestia
>Smite him. No that would be bad. SMITE HIM. No.
>You fight yourself as Prince Blueblood continues walking back and forth telling you how you have failed as a ruler
"And giving such a title as "Knight of Equestria" to a hairless Minotaur before bestowing that honor on a member of the royal line is beyond insults." he drones on
>Prince Blueblood. Prince in name only. His family once ruled the Unicorn people. As part of the treaty that bound them together they gave up their power but were allowed to keep the title.
>Or Prince Pretty boy as the guards have started calling him.
>All he cares about is his image. He is a horrible little p0ny that drives you mad whenever you have to talk to him
"Not only that but you let a commoner into the Grand Galloping Gala at which she did me great insult and assaulted me. You however decided it was not worth any punishment. My ancestors are turning in their grave at that affront!"
>However smiting him would upset the noble unicorns so instead you look on.
>Fake smile plastered against your face as you suffer this barrage of idiocy and insults
>Looking over to Luna you see she is getting angry as well. Perhaps you should diffuse this situation?
>NOPE.
>As long as Luna does not kill him you can always pass it off as a misunderstanding.
>Amused smile on your lips as you see her face turn red
>You remember now that she has not slept yet today. Oh dear she will be quite irritable. Especially since she was pulled away from Anonymous for this
"ENOUGH!"
>She screams in her "Royal Voice". The one she does not seem to remember was used for issuing orders over a battlefield or addressing subjects from the top of a tower.
"We have sat here and wasted our time listening to thine ignorant outburst for nigh on an hour!"
>At least she is adapting to the new way of speaking. That was one of the hardest things for her.
"If I have to hear one more word against my and my sisters judgements I will not be responsible for my actions"
>She is angry. Very very angry.
>Blueblood looks taken aback but not scared. Oh my he cant be stupid enough to say something right now can he?
"I would not have to come here and complain if my aunts could do their jobs correc-"
>Incredible he was that stupid well what is she going to proclaim
"You should have heeded my warning nephew. Now I must punish you." She says with an evil smile on her face.
>"Sister perhaps you should" She gives you a look that would melt steel. Well that cannot be good.
"For thine insistence to speak against our rule I shall strip you of the ability to. Until the moon rises one week from this day not a word you shall utter." She says as a glow surrounds him
>Oh my that is quite fitting. I need to let her choose punishments more often.
"For insulting a Knight on his day of institution you shall be forced to scrub each of the statutes of the fallen knights in the Hall of Honor."
>My word there are over two hundred statues in there. A look tells you she is not done. This last one should be good.
"For disrespecting me and my sister by not heeding our commands and calling one of bearers of an Element of Harmony you shall live as a commoner. Until each statue is thoroughly cleaned you shall live amongst the serving staff. You shall eat with them and you shall dress as one of them. Your rooms will be sealed and your money shall be held by the crown until you are done."
>You have to restrain yourself to not only keep a smile from your face but to keep from breaking out into a laugh.
>Before your eyes you see his coat turn brown and his cutie mark turn into a bucket and a cloth.
>A simple illusion to keep him from running for help.
"Men what you heard in this room is to never be spoken of." Shining Armor announces with a large smile on his face "We would not want a noble p0ny to be ridiculed while serving his punishment. Now take this servant to the servant quarters and get him settled."
>Oh that was mean Shining. That just insures that every guard will spread the word of what happened here.
>What does he have agai-
>Oh that's right. After they got engaged Blueblood tried to "Talk some sense" into Cadence. He thought she should marry a "Real Man" not a "filthy guard"
>As soon as the doors to the room close you burst out laughing
>"Sister. Had I known how good you are at delivering punishments I would have let you do it more."
>She looks at you with anger on her face but that soon falls away as she begins giggling
"I am sorry Celest. I could not take another minute of that pompous fools speech." she says after she calms down.
>"Do not worry sister. Perhaps a week of hard work will force some sense into his head."
>She looks tired. You should do something
>"Sister go to bed. I know you want to speak with him but that can wait until later. You need rest."
>She acts like she wants to fight you but she finally gives up
"I do not wish to return to the moon today. I will rest in my quarters here."
>You give her a comforting smile as she leaves the room.
>"Shining. I want your opinion. What did you think of him?" you ask turning to him.
>Shining armor and his sister are the closest people to you other than Luna
>You dare not mention the next part of your plan without consulting him
"He was as pompous and idiot as usual Princess. What do you expect from Blueblood" he says with a smirk on his face
>You go to correct him before you realize he is messing with you.
>"You know who I mean Shining"
"Its hard to say. I did not get to talk to him much. He seems like a decent guy but it could be an act. However I think you could trust him. Star Sword said he seemed like a nice guy to him even when the pegasi I placed on guard were giving him trouble"
>"Giving him trouble?" you ask concerned
"They scared him when he went onto the balcony first and then laughed when he fell. They even got Philomena to tempt him to come close and then burst into flame to mess with him."
>Oh dear that may explain why he seemed jumpy "Did you have a word with them about that?"
"I decided that if they have enough energy to prank a guest that they needed to do a double scouting mission over the badlands"
>That is the most boring and exhausting flight over equestrian soil. You smile at the thought
"Princess I know you usually ask my opinion but I somehow feel that there is more to this than usual." he says hesitantly
>"He needs to learn about Equestria. I fear keeping him around here will just cause trouble. Especially once Blueblood gets his voice back. I was hoping to send him to Ponyville to be under the watchful eyes of the Elements of Harmony." as you finish you see Shining flinch.
>He is quite protective of Twilight. As are you. However you know that she can handle this
>"I know Shining that you don't want to put her in harms way. However she is the best p0ny to teach him. Her and her friends can also defend him if something happens." you say trying to comfort him
"I understand. Would it be possible to send a small guard along with him? I know we have been wanting to put a contingent there due to all the chaos that occurs there. I could send a preliminary force to oversee construction of a watchtower and keep an eye on events." He asks with hope in his voice
>You had not done that yet because you wanted Twilight and her friends to be bound closer through trials but at this point you don't see the harm in doing so. They are too close to be torn apart easily and have proven that they can step up to any challenge.
>A smile to calm him "Shining you may send up to 5 ponies to watch over the town. However I only want volunteers. The last thing he needs is a guard who is resentful at being sent with him."
>"It might be better if Twilight and her friends meet him here first." you say as the thought comes into your mind
"Yeah Twili would probably take that better than if he showed up with a letter" he says with a chuckle
>"I will send her a letter inviting them here. You get your guards selected. I will want to speak to them before they go.
>As he leaves you retrieve a quill and piece of paper from from a nearby desk with your magic.
>"My dear student Twilight Sparkle..."

Anon PoV
>the rest of the day has went on pretty well
>You would hang out with Star going up and down the hallways asking him about tapestries and looking up historical information about them
>The tapestry of Celestia fighting the dragons was showing the final battle when Celestia fought the dragon king Smaug and his lieutenants
>You looked at many pieces of art including a painting that star walked you halfway around the palace to show you
>It had a bunch of guard fighting these black ponies called changelings
>They were defending a mare and her foal
>And guess who was dead center between two magic copies of him
>"Star you magnificent bastard you fought those things?" you ask him jokingly
>He gets a serious look in his eyes and says
"It was the most insane thing I have ever done. They would turn into your friend and family and you would have to keep fighting." He shudders "This was painted by one of the guards who came upon us and fought his way to us. We nearly killed him before we realized that he was not a changeling. What this does not show is the mare we were protecting was actually a changeling as well. She attacked us while we had our backs to her. Luckily I was able to get her." He stares off for a bit remembering it "The disturbing part is that the foal was real. We never found who his parents were. A noble family has taken him in and is raising him" he shakes his head as if trying to shake the memories out
>You place your hand on his shoulder trying to comfort him
"It was bad. But luckily Princess Cadance and Commander Shining Armor were able to drive them off" he says with a sigh
>Princess Cadance. There are more Goddesses. "Is Princess Cadance like the other two Princesses?" You ask
"She is an Alicorn like them but she is only a little younger than Shining Armor and is less powerful than the other Princesses" he says matter-of-factly
>you decided to save the conversation for another time
>After that you went with Star to the kitchen and got lunch and ate with him.
>He seemed a little put off by the slice of ham on your plate but he didn't say anything.
>Well he is a p0ny. Maybe they don't eat meat.
>After you ate he led you back to your room so you could read while had a meeting with Shining Armor
>A couple of hours later he came in smiling
>You asked him whats up and he brushed it off as "Guard Business"
>You then went out in the gardens and looked around
>Remembering a line in the book you suddenly decide to ask him "I was reading the book we got earlier and it mentions Princess Celestia raising the sun and Princess Luna raising the moon. What does it mean by that?"
"What do you mean? It means exactly what it says. Each morning Celestia raises the sun from beyond the edge of the world. Every night Luna raises the moon"
>Space does not work that way "Wait but how does everyone know that they just dont rise naturally. I mean that's how it works on my world."
>The same look you are giving him is plastered over his face. That combination of "WHAT?" And "This guy is fucking with me"
"Well we know for sure because when Princess Celestia is angry or has been taken out of commission the sun does not rise. Also the night that Princess Luna saved you the moon didn't rise until after she got back here with you. She was too busy saving you to raise the moon."
>Holy shit. The princesses actually keep day and night working
>How does that even...Magic. Got it.
>So physics does not work right here. That is good to know.
>You walk silently for a bit mulling it over until you see a familiar shape
>a statue in the shape of that freaky creature from the history book
>"Hey look its Discord" you said jokingly
>He hit jumped behind a bush and summoned a sword with his magic
>What
>"Whats wrong Star?" you ask
"DUDE DO NOT JOKE ABOUT THAT!" He says with relief
>"OK I am lost. I only know that the Princesses killed Discord. Why are you freaking out"
"Discord was not killed when the Princesses fought him. I dont even think you CAN kill him. Anyways he escaped earlier this year and Commander Shining Armor's sister and her friends sealed him away again."
>What. "So I take it you were there for his escape from how you are acting?" He nods "What IS he"
"Discord is the living embodiment of chaos. I think he is called a Draconequis but I could be wrong about that. When he was free...everything was strange. Day and night would start and end randomly every few minutes. Part of the city was freezing under a cold fire. The street tried to eat me"
>Fuck. This guy is some kind of god of chaos. "So how was he sealed away?"
"They turned him into a statue again using the Elements of Harmony" he says eying the statue with a scowl
>Elements of Harmony. You read about those earlier. Some sort of magical relics that are extremely powerful.
>"Wait so this statue is Discord?" you ask incredulously
>He nods at you. "WHY WOULD THEY KEEP HIM HERE?"
>He shrugs
>You walk around the statue giving it a wide berth. You can almost feel that statue watching you now. Fucking crazy p0ny gods
>After that he took you to a part of the wall so you could see Canterlot
>It was beautiful. Maybe one day you can go down there and visit the shops
>On your way back in you asked Star about getting some painting supplies
>he said he would ask around
>Finally you stopped at the kitchen again and got your dinner. You asked for a normal p0ny meal this time to spare Star
>It was pretty good except that the food had flowers on it. Star gladly took yours and devoured them.
>Must be pretty tasty to ponies
>After dinner he dropped you off at your room
>You stayed there reading until just before sunset when you received a knock at your door.
>Opening it you found yourself looking face to face with Princess Luna

Luna PoV
>You knock at his door.
>Nervously standing there for the time it takes him to come answer it.
>You can tell he is shocked at seeing you here
>You can feel a surge of power from him when he sees you
>"Hello Anonymous." you say as cordially as you can "We did not get to talk much earlier. I was hoping you would walk with me and talk"
"S-sure" he says quickly.
>He is nervous. You cannot blame him however. He sees you as a god.
>He goes and sets a book down and comes back to the door
"What did you want to talk to me about Princess?" he asks.
>You can hear the apprehension in his voice
>"Anonymous you can call me Luna." You say with what you hoped was a calming smile. "I wished to know about you and your world."
"Pr-Luna if you want you can call me Anon." he returns trying to meet your smile
>You start walking to the tower of the moon and he starts following you.
"What did you want to know?"
>"Well what did you do back in your world, what were your brother and parents like, what kind of friends did you have, and things like that."
"How did you know that I had a brother?" he asks you in surprise
>"You often prayed to me regretting the fight that drove you from thine family. Several times you mentioned missing thine brother" you say cautiously not wanting to upset him
"That's right. I did didn't I? Well I was cook at a bad restaurant on my world. I had graduated college with an Arts degree that was useless." He sighs "I have always loved painting but it is hard to support yourself on it in my world. So I had to get a job to survive and I ended up with that"
>"What sort of things do you like painting Anon?" you ask
"Scenery mostly thought I did like painting pictures of girls." he says the last part quietly
>"What do you mean by pictures of girls?" you ask curious now
He seems a bit nervous "Well I like painting the female form. I find it to be quite beautiful. I have asked Star to see if I can get the materials to paint. I would love to paint agin" he says wistfully
>"I will see to it that you get the materials you require Anon. I would love to see thine work."
He smiles at that "Thank you. I will paint a picture just for you then"
>"So what was thine family like if you don't mind me asking?" you ask
"My dad was always a bit of a jerk but only because he wanted me and my brother to be strong. My mom is overbearing and nosy but she means well. My brother. My brother is everything my parents wanted. He is smart, good looking, and he followed my dads example and went into the military." he sighs
"When I graduated I decided to try to turn my painting hobby into a paycheck. My dad treated me like I was an idiot. My mother refused to talk to me about it. My brother treated me like I was a traitor. None of them believed in me and all of them refused to help me in the slightest. So I left and did it on my own."
>He stops and seems to stare off into the distance for a bit
"Dad said I was going to ruin my life. My mother cried and would not look at me. While my brother disowned me and pretends I don't exist. I just waned to live my life my own way and follow my dream. I got my masters in the fine arts and was one of the best artists of my class. However when I graduated the economy took a downturn. People stopped spending as much money on art. It was almost impossible to get featured in art studios after that. Many artists suffered. I gave up and got a series of jobs to pay my bills. Having a fine arts degree was worse than useless at that point. People treated me like I was useless because of it. I got more job offers by not listing it."
>"I am sorry" you say sadly "I didn't mean to drag up bad memories."
He looks at you with a small smile "Its fine. I would be dead had you not saved me. Besides I get to start a new life here serving you and Princess Celestia" the thought seems to cheer him up
"So why are you so interested in me Luna? You already know a lot about me from my prayers." he chuckles nervously
>"When I heard thine prayers I felt sorry for you" you say looking into his eyes "More then that I identified with you. I shared many of thine fears. I know what many of thine pains feel like. Most of all I know the loneliness you felt. That loneliness caused me to turn on her and all my people. I was angry and allowed a darker side of me to take control of myself. When I finally regained control of who I was I had alienated all but my sister. Now so many fear me it is hard to find those that will speak with me."
>You smile at him as best as you can "When I heard your prayers I truly believed I found someone who could be my friend."
>He wraps his arms around your neck and pulls you into a hug. You wrap your wing around his back
"You didn't have to do all this Luna. I would have been your friend if you had asked." He smiles at you
"Now obviously we were walking somewhere before we got distracted. So where was it that we were going?"
>Smiling you point at the tower steps with a hoof "I was heading to the tower to raise the moon. I was going to show you if you wish it."
>He stares at you dumbfounded for a moment
"Luna. As a friend tell me truthfully. Do you really raise the moon every night?"
>Giving him a strange look you say "Of course. If I did not how would it rise?
>He shakes his head looks at you
"If you would show me I would love to see it."
>You smile reassuringly at him "Place your hand on my side and I will blink us to the top of the tower"
>He places a hand on your side behind your wing and you blink the both of you to the top of the tower
"OH GOD" he says as he promptly stumbles and falls over
>"Are you OK anon?" you ask nervously "You are not hurt are you?"
"Its fine. Its just a bit of vertigo. Is that normal" he asks
>"I am not sure. I have not blinked another person in over 1000 years. I cannot remember" you say sheepishly.
>He manages to sit up
>He looks little sick. He looks to the west to see the last vestiges of the sun falling beyond the horizon
"So Luna how long until you need to raise the moon?"
>You look to the west as well "I must wait for the last traces of the sun to fall before I do so. We have arrived just in time it seems. I shall raise it in a moment. Look to the east!"
>He turns as you leap into the air. Your magic flowing through your body into your horn you summon forth the moon forcing to rise beyond the horizon

Anon PoV
>This has been a strange meeting. You unloaded your story on a god and now have a friend. Who is also a god
>She seems to have a story of her own as well.
>After she told you of her loneliness you could not help but accept her friendship. It was the most heartfelt thing anyone has said to you in a long time
>She was awkward and sweet that it you had to hug her
>You still feel that awe that you felt when you saw her before however now its not as overwhelming.
>That teleport thing she did, Blinking she called it, messed you up
>After you landed everything felt like it was turned 90 degrees
>Everything but your stomach
>You got sitting and the world righted itself in time for you to see a gorgeous sight
-- Suggested Music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb4TTtbbrVY&feature=BFa&list=PLB18DD478C90E0B2A --
>Luna rising into the air in front of you radiating rays of light.
>They started as a deep almost black blue near her body and lightened as the reached a halo of white about five feet out from her
>As she did this you see the moon rising from the east shedding its brilliant light as the stars appear first as singular pinpricks of light then exploding into thousands of thousands of stars
>Slowly she lowers to the ground leaving you lying there in pure awe basking in
>"That was incredible" you say unable to put words into the beautiful act that your eyes have witnessed
>She smiles and stares at what you could only call "her domain"
"You really think so? Few ponies appreciate the night. Those who do usually only appreciate the lack of sunlight" you hear her say with a sigh
>"This is the first time I have ever been able to appreciate the night sky here. Before now the night held too many dangers for me to stop and look" you say with a silly grin on your face
> "By far this is the most beautiful sight I have seen since I have landed in this world" a simple thing but it was quite true. The earth sky is empty at night compared to the swaths of color that show themselves here.
>You glance at Luna and find her staring at you with smile on her face and was that a blush?
>Nah must be the light
>You lie there staring at the stars with her not saying much of anything
>Finally what feels like hours later you feel the gentle hands of sleep starting to take you
>"Luna I would love to stay here with you but I am about to fall asleep" you say with a yawn "How are we getting back down?"
"I have an idea we can try but I am not sure how well thine body will take it." she says with a frown.
>"Whatever it is, is worth a try"
>She extends her hoof to you and you take hold.
>Immediately it feels like your body is being pulled apart piece by piece however you feel no pain
>Your body turns into a mist that flows at Luna's whim
>You fly through the air and circle around the palace until suddenly you feel your body being thrown together and pressed
>Your next thought has you leaned up against the railing on the balcony to your room Luna flying in front of you
"How did that trip feel?" She asks concerned
>You lean back feeling like jelly "It was...interesting. It didnt hurt but I cant quite describe the feel."
"I am glad we could spend this time together my friend" She says with a smile
>At this you stumble into your room and collapse on your bed
>Sleep overtakes you instantly


No longer a WiP but I am heavily considering rewriting the last half of this to fix some pacing issues. If it changes I will change the tag