Everfree Forest Stargazing [Full]

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Princess Luna made her way through the darkness, her horn giving the only light to guide her way. The moon was out, and full, but here in the forest, it's light could not penetrate through the thick leaves of the trees. She wore a dark cloak over herself, though her dark pelt already made her nearly invisible without the light from her horn. It had a hood as well, but it was off, lying atop Luna's shoulders.

It had been a long time since Luna had traveled along this path, and she found it difficult to find her way.

Everfree had not always been like this—wild, untamed. When she and her sister had ruled here, everything was bright and full of life. Ponyville was one of the first towns to ever exist in Equestria, when she and Celestia were both very young. They'd ruled in the castle whose ruins still lay somewhere deep in the Everfree Forest. That was, before it was destroyed.

But Luna had always had a favorite spot where she'd go to stargaze. She was one of the few who had ever bothered to notice the night sky. Sure, she had been the ruler over it, responsible for raising and lowering the moon—but that just made her appreciate it's beauty all the more. The thrill of seeing a shooting star, of observing the planets, watching a meteor shower... it was an entirely differently sky than Celestia's.

Luna reached the edge the Everfree Forest, and Ponyville was in sight. But that wasn't her destination. She stayed along the edge of the forest, hoping nopony would spot her, as she made her way to her special place. She couldn't recall if Celestia had ever been here—after all, she was usually far too busy running the kingdom during the day to spend a night stargazing.

And there it was. She'd built the treehouse in secret, somewhere she could go to be alone and observe the sky while watching over the ponies of Ponyville. It had remained unnoticed all these years, hidden among the other trees. It hadn't weathered or been destroyed, as Luna had enchanted it long ago to withstand just about anything. So it had remained untouched by pony or creature.

Luna dug around in the undergrowth, searching for the correct rock. Though the stone was immovable by a normal pony, it could still be buried under dirt and leaves. Luna had to move it with her magic, to reveal the keyhole which would open for her horn only. It would open the entrance at the base of the tree, revealing the spiraling steps to enter inside.

But it had been a long time since she'd been here, and she couldn't quite recall exactly where it was. It had her Cutie Mark insignia on it, a small sign that this particular area was 'hers'. Try as she might, however, it seemed that perhaps tonight was not the night she would be able to revisit her treehouse.

[Tempest Rime]

Malediction muttered obscenities as she stalked angrily through the woods, her way lit only by a thin wisp of green flame that sputtered and flared up with each curse. She'd been on another lore-seeking trip into the dark forest, but had lost her way, and now it was dark, and the miserable forest seemed to be plotting against her at every turn. Whenever she though she'd found her way back out, she ran into a thicket of briars, or a sheer cliff that had been concealed by overgrowth, or simply found a path that had twisted around into uselessness.

There hadn't even been the welcome chance of pace that a good monster attack would have brought. The woods had been remarkably calm, and the irritating sounds of nature all around her served only to further grate on her mental state. Mal didn't relish the thought of sleeping overnight in the woods, but it wouldn't have been the first time she had done so. She turned from her pointless meanderings at last to look for somewhere to shelter for the night, not noticing the soft glow that was emanating from not far off.

Almost immediately, she tripped over a lump of wet leaves, sticking up out of the forest floor. She cursed and called upon her magic, sending a lance of green flames into the lump, but rather than the satisfying incineration of the obstacle that had thwarted her, she felt her magic ground out. Something down there was warded against her magic?

Mal intensified her light source, illuminating the area around the lump in dancing, emerald light. She began to dig around it, pushing away dead leaves, loose soil, and detritus from the forest floor. After a little effort, she had unearthed a largish rock, with a clearly pony-made crescent moon upon it. The rock itself wouldn't budge, however, thwarting any further investigation.

[Beat Match]

Beat Match was walking through the woods as part of a dare she'd taken back in Ponyville when she suddenly saw a glow. Curious, she checked it out and saw Princess Luna looking for something, "What in the hay is Princess Luna doing out here in the Everfree Forest?." Beat thought as she hid behind a tree. Not wanting to be noticed, she began to walk away when SNAP!, she had stepped on a branch. "Aw, horseapples." She thought.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Luna gave a sigh, concluding that she would have to come back another night. She'd made the trip all the way out here for nothing. She pouted, kicking at some leaves before turning to head home. But as she did so, she heard someone—or something. Her ears perked up at the sound, and she swiveled her head around, brightening the light from her horn to better see the surrounding area. That just seemed to create more shadows, and Luna dimmed her horn quickly.

The woods weren't very safe, even during the day time. They had been, a long, long time ago, when the sister's had ruled there in their castle. But since then, the Everfree Forest had been abandoned, becoming overrun with beasts and plants. It was as it should be... old memories had been laid to rest and hidden away deep within the forest.

But that sound—it wasn't anything in particular, just a branch snapping... There wasn't anything particularly dangerous about that. It all depended on what kind of creature it came from. Her gaze turned at a bright flash of something nearby... but it went out before she could catch what it might be. Maybe she'd just imagined that. Her fear was making her see things, become jumpy...

Luna gulped, staring into the darkness. “H-H-Hello?” she called shakily. “W-W-Who's there?”

[Tempest Rime]

Mal startled as she thought she'd heard a voice. She cast out a few more wisps of flame to spread light through the trees. "Whoever that was, I warn you, I'm no easy meal," she called out, aggressively. A voice ruled out manticores, of course, but there were plenty of monsters that could speak. Dragons, worst among them, but she pushed that thought aside. No point getting worked up if it was just another stupid, lost pony.

Ever since the Nightmare Moon incident, it seemed like the usual fears of the forest that had kept ponies out were breaking down, and more often than not, Mal would be the one who ended up running into the morons who got themselves lost. It did not occur to her that she was currently the pony who was lost.

"SHOW YOURSELF!" She yelled, louder this time. "I know you're there, I heard you speak. Don't try to pretend otherwise."

[Beat Match]

Beat bowed and said "I'm sorry, Princess Luna, I didn't mean to intrude on anything if I did, I was taking a dare and..." "SHOW YOURSELF!" "I know you're there, I heard you speak. Don't try to pretend otherwise." Beat heard a pony behind them and said, "How about we hide now, Princess?"

[ExtraSoap]

DarcMoun was yet again on another nighttime pleasure flight. He skimmed above the trees of the Everfree forest, relishing Princess Luna's beautiful creation. Night was always this peaceful, which was the way he liked it. All of the sudden, he saw a series of bright green flashes through the tree limbs. He stopped in mid-air, and hovered in place, peering into the inky darkness beneath the canopy. After a few moments, he heard muffled yelling. He couldn't make out the words, but whoever was saying it, they weren't happy.

"Hello?" He called.

After a long pause, he decided to go check it out. After all, somepony might need help. He folded his wings and landed on a branch, and hopped down from branch to branch until he reached the ground.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Luna whimpered at the harsh sounding words of the pony she had yet to see. She'd roughly pinpointed the other pony's location from the unnaturally colored, and obviously magical, flames. Maybe she should just leave and come back when it was lighter... that would probably be best, and wise. The other pony—assuming the other voice belonged to a pony and not something... else—didn't sound quite so friendly. She could just slip away and—

But what if she was just lost? Luna had been through the Everfree Forest before; she used to know it like the back of her hoof. Time had changed things though, and the once friendly wood where she had spent much of her childhood had grown unfamiliar and a bit daunting. Night didn't bother Luna in the slightest... but for everyone else, it was a dark and foreboding time, from which only the sun could bring relief.

Still debating with herself, Princess Luna turned to glance over the dark forest. She gave a surprised gasp as a dark pelted Unicorn was suddenly bowing in front of her. “I—W-Well, where?” she stammered, even if that wasn't the exact solution she'd had in mind.

[Tempest Rime]

Mal listened to the sounds of the night. The shouting had silenced the bugs, so she was able to catch bits of voices, at least three different sets. Dragons were solitary creatures, and she didn't know of many other monsters that could speak in equine tones save for griffins. A party of griffins, however, could be exceedingly dangerous, Mal had heard tales of them eating ponies, and she was in no mood to risk being taken unawares.

"If you're friendly," she called out, her voice significantly less harsh this time, "come into my light where I can see you." She intensified a wisp of flame into a bonfire, sitting it atop the indestructible stone with the moon symbol. Mal herself ducked into the undergrowth, to ensure she would get a look at whomever came to investigate before they got a look at her. If they were griffins or monsters, Mal also had a secret weapon in the bonfire itself, which she could launch at an unwary opponent.

She sat in the bush, watching for a moment before it occurred to her that the glow from her own horn might give her away as she maintained the flame spell. She quickly dug a piece of paper out of her saddlebag, wrapping it around her horn awkwardly. The result wasn't perfect, but it was still awfully hard to spot with the sickly green glow of her bonfire flickering over the scenery.

[Beat Match]

Beat said to Luna "Hang on, while I talk to the pony behind us." as she switched directions "Hello!?! Who's out there? We don't mean you any harm!" she said in the most stupid sounding tone possible.

[ExtraSoap]

Darcmoun heard two sets of voices, both apparently calling out to the other. He figured they must have gotten separated while exploring, and set out to find the nearest one. peering through the darkness, the night-loving stallion could pick out an obviously magical source of light. Getting a bit nervous, he skirted around the magical bonfire, looking for potential threats. He might not spend much time in the Everfree Forest, but he was no idiot, he knew the potential dangers that came with strolling through the forest, especially at night. Seeing nothing too out of the ordinary, save for the magical bonfire, he called out:

"Hello? Anyone there? Are you lost?" He perked his ears to make sure he heard a response if there was any.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Luna heard the mysterious voice accompanied by the flames again, this time a bit softer, if still just as loud. She turned toward the sound, nothing that the unearthly green flame had now grown into a tall fire. It was obviously controlled, so it was not a threat to the creatures of the forest. However, it would scare anything that didn't know a thing or two about magic.

She turned her head toward the dark Unicorn again as she spoke. “How did you know—” she started, but almost immediately her ears perked and she turned back toward the bonfire, hearing a third voice calling from the darkness. She silently gulped, feeling her heart pounding even though she tried to calm her nerves. With darkness all around and tension high, somepony could easily get hurt by somepony else. She, and the pony whose name she had yet to find out, would need to be careful.

“Perhaps we should head that way.” Luna indicated with a hoof toward the oddly colored fire.

[Tempest Rime]

Mal heard somepony call out. "Don't mean any harm, sure," she grumbled, "you can say that, but how do I know it's true." Still, nothing had appeared in the lit area yet, and Mal was not a patient pony. She abandoned her hiding spot and slunk in the direction she'd heard the voice, moving the fire into the air in front of her.

She finally spotted them, at the edge of the newly illuminated area. Ponies. "Oh, you're ponies. Good, I was suspicious you might be like, dragons or griffins or something. You never know in this pla-" She caught her breath as she spotted the flowing starry mane, horn, and wings of the bigger pony. Her flame flickered as her concentration was disturbed.

"Nightmare Moon!?" She exclaimed in instant fascination. She didn't bow or scream, she merely stood there staring.

[Beat Match]

Beat saw the pony frozen, staring at Luna and said "The joys of being a princess, huh?" as she cantered up to the pony. "Hi there, my name's Beat Match and I think you know who this is" as she chuckled a tiny bit and asked "So what's your name?"

But before the other pony even had time to answer, Beat said "Wait a second, what exactly are you two doing out here in the middle of the Everfree Forest anyway?" "I mean, I figure Luna'd be too busy princessing or raising the moon or something and I don't even know you so I have no idea what you'd be doing."

[ExtraSoap]

Seeing the ponies step out of the darkness, Darcmoun figured he might as well show himself as well, and make sure everypony was all right. He stepped through the bushes and into the artificial bonfire's magical glow. Strolling up to the three ponies in front of him, he announced his presence:

"Hi! My name's Darcmoun! I heard some calling while I was flying over the forest, and I thought someone might be in trouble. Do you need any he-"

Darcmoun caught sight of one of the pony's features. A horn and wings? An Alicorn? in the forest? "Wait a second..." he though to himself, dark pelt, beautiful, flowing mane, that distinctive cute mark...

The realization hit him like the wind of a sudden gale.

"P-P-P- Princess Luna!? I-"

He realized how rude he must seem to the princess, and bowed immediately, inwardly cursing himself for not doing it sooner.

[MyLittlePonyTales]

But, just as Luna suggested they head toward the fire, it started heading toward them. Luna did her best to stay calm—after all, if she ran away, she could get lost, or run into something worse. And she certainly wasn't going to leave this Unicorn behind, in any case.

Besides, as she'd already observed, the fire was too odd to not be magical in some way. Luna didn't know of any creatures outside of Unicorns that could use magic, so the chances were good that it was a pony. Not to mention, it had spoken, so whatever it was could hopefully be reasoned with, if it came to some sort of fight or quarrel.

Her suspicions were confirmed as the blue Unicorn quickly came into view. However, Luna was taken aback by her reaction. She recognized her—or at least, who she was—but then she wasn't afraid. That, or she was in too much shock to say or do anything. Luna assumed the latter.

But before she had time to correct Unicorn holding the flame, another pony appeared. He was a dark Pegasus, so it was no wonder nopony had been able to spot him before. Luna backed up a few paces from the rest of the group, feeling as if she was in the figurative 'spotlight'.

Luna lightly cleared her throat, drawing attention to herself, as if she didn't already have the eyes of all three ponies present. “I am Princess Luna of Equestria, and I have come to the Everfree Forest on this night in search of something very dear to me. However, my efforts thus far have proved unfruitful.”

“Now, I don't know who any of you are or what you're doing out here at this hour, but I would appreciate if you would all introduce yourselves so everypony is better acquainted.” she paused. “And, if you'd be so inclined, explain what your intentions are in being here this night.” she looked sternly at the ponies present.

[Tempest Rime]

Mal stared at Nightmare Moon, not even noticing the other two ponies at first. When Luna spoke, it finally startled her back to reality. The Princess had actually introduced herself? Mal couldn't help but laugh. "Hah! I think we all know who you are, Princess." She sneered slightly, but made an effort not to be too impolite. Even if Nightmare Moon had been defeated, it didn't mean that the Princess wasn't still a dangerous pony to make an enemy of.

Still, Mal was not going to just roll over and kiss flank like this pegasus. She looked the Princess straight in the eyes, and spoke "I'm Malediction. I was out looking for..." She paused, narrowing her eyes. The Princess hadn't actually said what she was looking for, so there was no reason for Mal to explain her own purposes either. "Well, I was looking for 'something' too."

She paused, giving the other two a detailed look over. She hadn't paid any attention to their names, but that was just as well. She'd figure out some nice degrading nicknames for them if she needed to. "You foals lost too?"

[MyLittlePonyTales]

Luna shifted uncomfortably at the disdain in the Unicorn's voice. She didn't seem to like her very much, but Luna knew she couldn't blame her. Still, while most ponies talked behind her back, this one wasn't afraid to show her loathing. Did she not fear the royal line at all, even Princess Celestia herself? Surely she realized what consequences could befall her for her insolence?

But, after the first comment, her demeanor seemed to soften. Luna decided to let it side, hopefully earning some 'good points' with this Unicorn and the others around her. Compassion was something she had been taught to practice, and now was as good of a time as any.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Luna said, ducking her head.