This has nothing to do with Dusty's Origin. However, I wanted to include a new short story I've been trying to post for a while now.
Enjoy! :)

Introducing: The Moon Princess

One night, with the Northern Lights directly overhead them all beneath a starlit sky, Luna rested her head as her violet gemmed eyes looked up to see the hopeful gazes her friends were giving her as they all sat around the warm light of the camp.

Lifting her head, she heard one of her friends ask, "Hey Luna, how about a story?"

"Well, I'm not the best at telling stories as someone I once knew …" she said, watching as her Mother came by to sit down next to her.

"Nia, come on," a confident voice said as a mess of black and white hair looked up from her game. "Any story will do …"

"Does any come to mind?" Her seasonal friend said as she planted some nearby flowers and pinned some up across her blonde bangs.

"Yeah, just pick one and let's get this Story Circle started," another one of her friends said as she pinned back her long brown hair out of her eyes.

"Well …" Luna said, met back with her Mother's encouraging smile. Nodding her head, her Mother guided their eyes up to where the Sandman's Cloud nearby touched the curvature of the Moon as Manny shined down above them.

Taking the reins of the tale, Terra said, "I know one story that's close to my heart, and it began with your Father …"

A long time ago, there stood the ever watchful eyes of one. Alone, he watched as the dreams filled the Earth with laughter. As time wore on, he watched as his old friend sprinkled his sands across sleeping children's eyes and watched their wonders come alive. However, the Sandman wasn't the only one that the Moon would choose in time.

Pausing to reflect, the Man in the Moon paced the surface of his home as familiar, yet faint, memories came to mind on that mysterious night.

Hearing the quiet footsteps of his long-time friend, he said, "Nightlight, my old and most treasured friend. Tell me, what do you see?"

Striding over to join him, a young boy dressed all in silver and bathed in pure light held his diamond dagger astride in one hand as he rested the other on the railing, his blue eyes taking in the dreams that served as lights on the Earth.

"Once long ago, it wasn't just the Earth that needed our care," Manny started, as if starting from the very beginning. "You know of the Golden Age, how my parents ruled the Universe in times of peace, looking after all of this with rule that inspired imagination, wonder, wishes, and dreams …

"A thread of time so delicate, so woven together, that when tragedy struck with force it broke without so much as a warning, and with it took the two most important guides of my life away from me. I never saw my parents again, even though I know they watch over me …" he said, gazing up to where the stars filled his shimmering tears. "… as I watch over the others."

Listening, Nightlight continued to watch him as Manny retreated back into the Moon. Gazing up to see the two most brightest stars fill the space amongst the others, he thought to himself a moment knowing what was wrong with the young ward he was so long ago charged with to protect.

He knew how lonely his friend would get, and with this thought, Nightlight took off flying up into the Night.

Manny, as he was commonly called by the Guardians and or referred to as the term 'the Man in the Moon' by some of the Earth, his real name was Tsar Lunar the Twelfth, or just simply MiM. It was his job and lifelong endeavor to watch over the children of the world, because it was their precious belief and faith that was so important and so fragile to protect that prevented the world to fall into the hands of chaos and fear. With fear came doubt, but with hope came belief: that balance was essential to keep the world safe. But that belief was not just important in keeping the world a humble place, it was crucial in the fate and the lives of his protectors, the Guardians of Childhood.

Stopping midflight, Nightlight noticed the thin streams of dreamsand that surrounded him. Touching one, he heard the shimmery laughter that reminded him of one that would be able to understand what Tsar Lunar was going through. So, with one thrust from his diamond dagger, he sent a streaming ray of light breaching towards Earth as he sent a message to the one that rode the shimmery golden clouds every night delivering dreams. And, with that one act, he darted back to the Moon, knowing that She would come to his aid.

The next night emerged just as timely as the last as Manny came out to see the beginning streams of sands wash about the Earth, but noticing the warbling mass of golden sand emerge from the side of the Moon, Manny all but smiled as Sandy appeared at the helm of his Cloud.

"Sandman …" Manny whispered as he saw Nightlight rush aboard with a curious eye.

Met with a honk, Manny watched as a Himalayan goose waddled across the landing as he looked up to see a young girl on Nightlight's arm as Sandy acknowledged to Manny with a nod why he had brought her.

With a leading hand, Nightlight brought Katherine forward as her auburn hair curled about the rest of her heart shaped face. With a caring smile, she bowed slightly to Manny as she brought up one of her hands across her yellow fur coat to take off the satchel she brought with her.

"Katherine, lovely to see you," Manny greeted her as her open pale gray eyes studied him for a moment.

"You're probably wondering why I'm here, Tsar Lunar, but I had to come," she started, pointing out Nightlight with an easy hand. "You're lucky to have such good and caring friends about you, never forget that, especially when you feel alone," she said quite simply.

A little shocked, Manny gazed up as Katherine said, "In those last moments they had with you, your parents told Nightlight to shield you and hide you away to protect you from Pitch's advance, but with your tear, you gave Nightlight what was needed to protect them as well as you. All but a child yourself, that single act saved many lives as you will save another …"

Gazing back into her pale eyes, Katherine passed him a list of coordinates as he asked, "What do you mean?"

"There is another, one as lonely as yourself …" she recited as if reading from a storybook. "In the depth of a misted field, there be a young maiden, a foundling so innocent that the Earth cradles her. You shall find that her cheeks are as soft as the rosiest shades of her waves; her smile as sweet as the morning's dew; her tears as silent as a cricket's song; her eyes as patient as a wishing star – You must hurry if you will find her, for she is adorned in reeds and silk at the edge of a winter's end stream …"

Finding himself stuttering, Manny remained quiet as he saw her in his mind, shivering with eyes closed unaware of the danger.

Turning to Nightlight, he immediately signaled towards Earth as the Moon turned to be meant back with clouds blocking his view. Taking off, Nightlight dived into the clouds and past the streams as Katherine disappeared from Manny's sights.

Later that night, as the Moon started to disappear to let in the Dawn, Nightlight appeared before the Man in the Moon as he laid the covered child before him on the balcony. Bending down, Manny lifted the shivering bundle into his arms as he took her inside and laid her down on a bed of her own. Unwrapping the blanket the Nightlight had warmly wrapped her in, Manny was met back with a heart shaped face with lovely auburn red waves of hair brushing aside her sleeping eyes.

Staying beside her that night and the next, Katherine's words replayed themselves in his head as he prayed and brushed her bangs past her forehead, "You will save another … as your parents once saved you …"

To his relief, on the morn of the second day, her starlit gemmed eyes blinked open as she found herself gazing up at him with a fond smile.

As the years passed merrily for them both, Manny soon gave her the name Themis Terra and made her the Guardian, or Caretaker, of the Earth, with all its innocences and splendor. Although renamed, Terra proved to respond to it as she cared upon the Earth with a tender spirit, a kind heart, and most importantly a green thumb.

Her presence upon the Earth seemed to make the vegetation grow and seasons pass with ease, but although she lived for the Earth, she was commonly living up on the Moon with her love as they established their lives as one, taking care to share the burden of watching over the children of the World.

One day, however, something special became evident to Terra at the very same moment they saw Katherine paying them another visit.

Seeing how much Terra had grown, Katherine nodded in respect as she recites, "Themis Terra, righteous as the rain on a summer's day, gentle as the leaves on the autumn's fall, peaceful as the snow's hum on wintry's play, beautiful as the blooms that flourish on spring's wall, Nature has called you its Righteous Earth … It is evident that life has become veritable upon you, a blessing for you both …"

Knowing what it meant, Manny takes his wife's hands as he asks, "Are we ready for this, I mean …"

"Did you not expect …?" Katherine teased him as Manny chuckled up at Terra as she personally beamed.

"It is true that you shall have a child, one as beautiful and wise as the both of you," she said, taking out a key stone to which she handed to Manny. "It is true that my gift allows me to tell others about their story, but your child's gift will be a mystery even onto me. I cannot always tell the future from my tales, but this key will prove useful to your daughter's abilities. Guard it well, Tsar Lunar …"

Puzzled, he saw her shimmer away as Terra said, "What did she mean when she told us that 'this key will prove useful to [our] daughter's abilities?' How would she know if our child proved to be a girl?"

"Katherine has a special way of telling stories the way she sees or heeds them," Manny replied, knowing the path to which Katherine emerged as the Guardian of Storytelling. "She just has a way of knowing, but however our daughter's life will turn out to be, I know that you and I will be right there with her and to guide and teach her along the way …"

The seasons passed from fall to summer before the night came to which Terra brought forth their daughter. And, wrapping her in swaddling blankets, she was passed to her Father's arms as he gave her the name, Luna.

Giggling in her Father's arms, Luna opened her gemmed violet eyes as there proved to be something special about them as her eyes suddenly flashed before her Father. Clutching her tighter, Manny wheels back as temporal spray of memories replayed themselves before his eyes as he sees the events that his parents took to save his life. As they disappear, Manny looks down to see that Luna is asleep in his arms as he silently passes her to her Mother's waiting arms as she adds the name, Millennia, to the end of her name.

True to her name, Luna grew to explore her new abilities as she continued to grow. At four years old, she spend equal time with both her Mother and Father on Earth and the Moon whenever the respectable part of the Day came about. But for the longest of time, Manny and Terra agreed to keep their daughter's temporal abilities a secret until they knew more about it and until they knew how they could help their daughter control her tendencies.

Watching their daughter play around the stars, Manny turns to Terra as he says, "I just want to protect her, Terra. I just don't know what to do."

Comforting her husband, she replied, "You will." Taking his hand, she walked with him in her willowy green dress as she told him, "I know this may be a little hard for you to understand, but we cannot forget that Luna will have to make her own decisions one day. Until then, we'll live each day, cherishing it above the rest until …"

"What if one day my burden becomes hers? What if I can't be there for her?" Manny suddenly asked her, gazing after their daughter as her vibrant auburn waves, the same as her Mother's, waved about her face. "Will she know how much I want to keep her safe?"

"She does and she will," Terra told him, watching as their daughter came running over to them. "You'll always be there for her, the same way your parents were for you and still are. Don't forget that, and I love her as much I love you."

Kissing him on the cheek, they both picked up their daughter as Luna whispered some names she heard in the stream in her parent's ears.

As Terra's story ended, she turned to see her daughter asleep on her shoulder as she kissed her goodnight. Turning to see the others asleep, too, she blew out the candle wall lights as she closed the door behind her. Looking up, she met Manny's moonbeams as they enveloped her through North's skylight. Smiling, she whispered something she knew he could hear as she felt the wintry gusts of the Arctic whistle past her hair with a fond and loving touch.

I chose to end the story this way to make it seem a Mother and Daughter story as well as what the title of this story stands to represent the bond between Manny and Luna. In a nutshell, this story tells how Luna and Terra came to be in my sequel, ROTG: Dusty, Spirit of Wishes.

I hope this story trues inspiring, for it really made me honored to write this. Enjoy! :)

Also, I own nothing but my two characters, Themis Terra and Luna Millennia, all outside story credit goes to their respective authors. I only used or mentioned information that would proves representable to the story.