Prologue
A tiny white filly with a light blue mane skipped across the orphanage playground in the small puddles from the previous rainfall the day before. She loved jumping into the puddles and she loved to look up at the night sky when she occasionally slipped on the water. See, this filly was different from the other orphans at Canterlot Orphanage. For one reason, her name was Moonbeam and she swore Princess Luna visits her in her head when she stared at the stars from her room window.
"Rain puddles, rain puddles are so much fun. Make a little splash and it'll muddle. Come and see in the dark night sky. I see the moon and starts zoom by!" She sang to herself, jumping into the biggest mud puddle in the playground. Mud scattered across the wet grass and Moonbeam giggled when she looked at herself covered in mud.
"Moonbeam, honey, you'll catch a cold." Broomhand the janitor called from the backdoor. "Come on back inside."
"Awww, just five more minutes?" The unicorn filly called back with puppy dog eyes toward the old stallion. The only response she got from the old coot was a shake of the head.
"Nope. Those sad eyes of yers won't work this time, young filly. Come on inside before the headmaster sees you out here." He opened the door wide open for her.
Moonbeam pouted a bit and trots into the building as Broomhand closed the door. She looked down at herself again and smirked at the mud still on her and tip-hoofed past the janitor. But she underestimated him because he whipped her back with an old tattered broom and dumped her in a bucket of soapy water.
"Nice try, Moonbeam. But you know what the headmaster would do if she sees mud all over her fancy new rugs." Broomhand scrubbed her down and gently over her horn.
"Owie." The unicorn filly cried and winced. She glanced over at two fillies and a colts her age as they trotted past them toward a pegasus couple at the orphanage's entrance. Her heart ached watching the others get hugs and kisses from their new mommy and daddy and her own little heart tried to reach out for them to notice her. But it was only a sad attempt; they left with their new children out of the building and out of her life. Moonbeam struggled a sob and saw the other ponies laugh at her in the bucket before galloping away toward their rooms upstairs.
The other orphans did not bother to socialize with her not because they didn't believe Princess Luna talked to her. In fact, they did not want to be around her because of Moonbeams broken horn. Even though Broomhand and the staff loved her helping them, they were weary around that horn of hers. The main problem the filly had always been since she first came, no one wanted to adopt her.
Moonbeam was always the one a couple would pick first until something goes wrong from her broken horn and the potential adopters would run out of the room and choose the next pony in line. It's been like this time and time again. It became routine and the headmaster, Miss Punctual Prips decided to just have couples see Moonbeam last so the others could have a chance and see if anyone would bother to see her. It really wasn't her fault for her horrible adopting luck. It was just her horn that everyone was afraid of. No one but Moonbeam knew how it broke and she never wanted to tell anyone, in fear they would laugh at her.
"Aw, what's the long face for?" Broomhand asked, drying her off with a towel.
"Those ponies got adopted.." Moonbeam hung her head down but she pouted when her mane went puffy. She patted it down.
"You'll get adopted one day. Just the right one hasn't come to get ya yet." He reassured her, getting her on his back and trotted upstairs.
"That's what you keep saying every time! When I am ever gonna find my forever home!?"
"Soon, little filly. I have a feeling you'll find that special family soon." He replied, sliding her off his back and into her bed. Every other pony was already fast asleep except of course for Moonbeam. "Now, get some rest. Tomorrow is another big day."
Moonbeam snuggled under her blanket and hugged her pillow before closing her eyes. Broomhand kissed the top of her head before trotting quietly out of the room and closed the door behind him. He had a long night of cleaning ahead of him before he himself could get some sleep. But little did he know, that little filly didn't give up so easily. She just couldn't sleep. Or she was just too stubborn to go to sleep and ready for another adventure.
"Why should I sleep when everypony else is asleep? I wanna stay up. I can sleep in the day." She whispered to herself and hopped out of bed. She looked at her room window and froze seeing beautiful colorful lights streaking across the dark sky. There was streaks of red, blue, green, pink, yellow, and purple waving across the night sky and Moonbeam has never seen anything like it.
Those are so...beautiful!, she thought to herself and hopped over to the window to get a better look. She noticed they were coming from the castle itself but it was odd. If she remembered her biology correctly, the color show was an aurora borealis and it was only seen in the coldest regions of Equestria. So what was it doing here?
"I better take a look at this." Moonbeam said to herself, and grabbed hold of a vine underneath her windowsill and slid down. She hit the blackberry bushes below hard but she licked the juice off her face. She galloped out of the orphanage grounds and into Canterlot streets. It was Friday night and she knew it meant stallions and mares were either partying or just goofing off so she had to be careful if the headmaster herself saw her out past her bedtime.
Moonbeam ducked into the shadows of a nearby alley when she saw Punctual Prips trot with one of her wealthy clients, Moneybags Galore, and she shaken in fear she was going to be discovered.
"Did you see that horrible statue in the castle grounds? The princess insisted it stays until further noticed!" She overheard Moneybags Galore scoff pompously.
"Which statue?" The headmaster asked.
"That horrid alicorn statue! You know the one that cries."
"Oh yes, now I remember! Who is it supposed to be anyway?" Punctual Prips narrowed her eyes behind the huge red framed glasses at her friend.
"I believe no one important but Discord and the princess' say it's of an old friend. Someone who's been missing for over two years now."
"Whoever did that statue should have done a better job!" Punctual Prips scoffed.
"That's what I'm saying!" Moneybags Galore trotted off into the street-life with the headmaster until Moonbeam couldn't see them anymore.
A statue that cries? Moonbeam thought to herself. This was something she had to see. She couldn't resist a juicy rumor like this. She ran the rest of the way until she crashed into a hedge and got thorns in her hoofs. She squeaked from the painful thorns, but she had to quiet down her squeaks. The daytime royal guards were going on their last patrol before turning in for the night, allowing the nighttime guards to take up the slack until morning rose up again. Despite the filly being white, the guards were too tired to notice her and yawned as they trotted past the bushes and into the castle gates.
"Me and my big ideas." She muttered to herself, moving back from the bushes. She yelped pulling the thorns out. She took a quick scan around and gasped in amazement at the royal gardens.
The garden was a giant to her and compared to the gardens back at the orphanage, this place was heaven for flowers and free from the insects minus the bees and butterflies. She was tempted to take a nibble at a nearby apple. The apple was plump and juicy compared to the apples the fruit the orphange got. But this filly was on a mission. She knew she didn't have time to eat. She had to see the statue for herself and then go back to her room before anyone noticed she was gone.
Across the castle guardians of Celestia's castle were the stone statues and beautiful hedges full of flowers in bloom. There was statues of guards and pegasus' and even the Princess' themselves, but there was one statue that caught Moonbeams eye-a statue that was crying. The statue was a alicorn with huge wings and a long pointy horn, its cutie mark was a note surrounded by a feather, and its expression was of shock. It's mouth was open like it was screaming or trying to say something and its eyes had water flowing down its face, but before the drops could touch the grass, it evaporated in the air and into the lights above.
"Woah." Moonbeam blinked. She slowly trotted toward the statue and looked up at the falling water drops trying to get a taste. Though this attempt was a waste. It would evaporate before it reached her mouth.
"Who's there?" Moonbeam heard in her head and looked around fast, believing it was a guard or maybe Princess Luna.
"Who said that?!"
"That would be me. I'm right in front of you." When the filly looked up, it was just the statue.
"AHHHH! GHOST STATUE!" She hollered backing up fast.
"Ghost!? Wait a minute, I'm not a ghost!"
"The statue is talking to me!" Moonbeam screamed and ducked into a nearby bush. Sadly, it was the same rose bush she ran into and she yelped in pain from one thorn in the front right hoof.
"Do not be afraid, I won't hurt you. I'm sorry if I startled you, but please don't go.." She heard the statue say sadly in her mind. Moonbeam peeked from her hiding space and hesitated.
"This night is getting crazier and crazier! I gotta be dreaming. Okay, Moonbeam, get it together. You're just dreaming and that's a statue is talking to you. Yeah, that's right." The filly nodded to herself.
"I'm not really a statue, child. I'm actually a real pony but I was put under a curse. I'm actually really nice! Discord , Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and and my siblings can vouch for me if you ever meet them! And my friends in Ponyville too!" The statue spoke out, disproving her dream theory but she did shock her at the world 'princess'.
"How did you know the princesss'?!" Moonbeam poked her head out of the bushes at the statue.
"It's a bit of a long story."
"Well...you don't sound bad. Or evil for that matter." Moonbeam took a small step forward.
"I dunno whether to be flattered or insulted"
"Sorry. Can I listen to your story?"
"You really want me to tell you my story?"
"I got nothing better to do. And I really don't want to go back to the orphanage just yet." Moonbeam shrugged.
"Well, alright. This is a first. Most ponies would run in fear if they heard me. But you just came back."
"I never met a talking statue before. Or a pony cursed in stone. My name is Moonbeam, by the way." She laughed a bit, trotting to the statue again.
"Nice to meet you, Moonbeam. My name is Nightingale. But my friends sometimes call me Gale."
"Pleased to meet you." The little filly sat herself on a soft, comfy patch of grass in front of Nightingale and looked up eagerly to listen.
"Okay, let us begin."
This is my first MLP story so those of you who are hardcore fans PLEASE DO NOT HATE!
I only own Nightingale, Broomhand, Punctual Prips, Moneybags Galore. Moonbeam was a name of an old mlp character but I do not think it is her so this version of Moonbeam is mine.
Everything else belongs to Lauren Faust