I started gaining conciousness, although as strange as it sounds, I wasn't able to move an inch. Essentially, I was paralized. The dizziness quickly faded away and got replaced by a bothersome soreness over my whole body. My wings felt stiff and very awkward, as if something was holding them against my sides. Trying to analize my current condition, I noticed that I was laying on a soft surface, a bed. Well, it wasn't soft, considering that it was the most unbelievably uncomfortable matress I had ever slept on, at least during my time in Equestria, but much to my relief it certainly wasn't a hole on the ground or a sack filled with rocks. Why am I here? What is this place?

Then it hit me. The memories of the recent events swarmed my still befuddled mind. There was a pony, he ran away and I was ambushed by fierce beasts. As I struggled to finally solve the puzzle, I realized that my body was, though in a lethergic manner, responding at my will. My eyes slowly opened. Everything was blurry, the only distinguishable component of my obscure surroundings being a dim light, a dark shape obstructing a portion of its faint shimmer. After frantically rubbing both my eyes with my hooves, I was once and for all able to see clearly.

I was inside a cave. The dim light originated on the entrace, and the offending shape was, once again, that mysterious stallion. To my surprise, he was remarkably larger than I thought, actually, he seemed to be even larger than me. His coat was a dull grey, almost black, and his sloppy mane was sheer white. Regarding his behaviour, it was quite intriguing. He only kept staring outside, completely motionless. Something was seizing his whole interest. It even looked like he wasn't even breathing.

Eventually the expectation of any reaction from him faded, thus I gradually uprooted my gaze from the unusual fellow and focused on the remaining portion of the apparent shelter.

The first think that stricked me was the writing on the walls. Countless words, letters, expressions, drawings covering almost the whole entirety of the wall, being written using a wide selection of small peddles that were nicely organized across the floor . The words and characters were continuously repeated multiple times, one aside the other. Some of them seemed to be purposed to help to improve, or to maintain a decent grammar, and others looked like mementos of some sort. Next, there were the drawings, these being meticulously depicted over a darker portion of the rock. To my bewilderbent, they portrayed several creatures, plants and literal monsters, each one seconded by even more notes that presented various lists of traits, possible uses, among other things of the sort. My glare kept stirring over the long hall of scribbled rock before another conjuction of simbols caught my interest. Hundreds of lines were displayed inside a bordered space to discern from the rest of the scrawling. The lines were organized in separated groups of four vertical lines crossed by a horizontal one. It didn't take long to notice its purpose, it was a calendar. And judging by the large amount of marks, whoever drew it must've been living here for a remarkably long time.

Being consumed by sheer intrigue, I genuinely considered to stand up and count every little line. Apparently, the mere idea of moving was able to bring back the niggling sore on my back and wings, so I decided, although apprehensively, to check the damage. If my mind wasn't betraying me, the beasts almost had chewed my wings off.

The first thing I noticed was that my regalia was gone. It must've fallen off during the atack. I shifted my gaze over my sides, and to my relief, there were barely any signs of blood, even when the size of the wounds were horribly large if I recalled correctly. All the cuts and bruises they were carefully cleaned and sanitized. Bandages composed of some leaves, herbs and vines, along with a stick to keep the wings stiff in their place covered my whole torso. Also, considering that most of my wounds partially sealed, I concluded that I had been slept for a whole day. Celestia's going to shave me for this.... Lowering my gaze I found out that I was laying over a pile of hay held together by a some twigs and sticks tied together to resemble a normal bed.

Once again I shifted my gaze over the stagnant stallion. According to all the hints I could muster and sheer logic it was obvious that he lived there, and that he'd for a long time. It was also obvious that it was him who saved me from those beasts before and the one who healed me.

Realizing I was continuously rambling in my thoughts instead of spitting a single word, I forced myself to ignore the pain as best as I could and speak. "Hello." I muttered, half expecting the stallion to be sleeping on his current pose.

He lifted his ears and slowly turned his head, staring at me with a semblance that I could only describe as a mix between fright and sheer surprise. Now having his faces turned on my direction, I was able to make out the rest of his features. A unicorn with blue eyes and... white marks on his face. One over his snout, a rectangle with 3 triangles on top, and another one, a triangle at the side of his eyes. He also had another square shaped one on his chest. I'd never seen a pony with marks like those before, it was quite strange. Even after several seconds he still continued with his inquisive look, not sparing a single word.

Soon enough I realized why he was looking at me in such a way, it was because he couldn't see in the dark as well as I. "Apologies." I said with a nod, proceeding by casting a basic light spell. As soon as the emanating shimmer of my horn lightened the cave and my frame became totally visible for him he adopted the expression of someone who'd just seen a ghost.

It wasn't surprising, many ponies frighten when they're standing in front of a princess or nobles, especially when it comes to my sister and I. "Do not fret, we a-"

"Y-you're an alicorn? A p-princess?" He interrupted stammering, his eyes focusing on my gleaming horn.

I tried to find any hint of a jest on his expression, but I perceived none. "But of couse we art. How is it possible that thee didn't realizest before?" I bemusedly questioned whilst trying to raise from the mound of dried grass, only to stumble and start falling face-first to the ground. Unexpectedly, an ethereal force quickly snatched and placed me on the fodder just in time to prevent the smashing of the last wholesome portion of my body.

Even though manipulating a princess would be considered a crime worth of a season in the dungeons in most cases, after noticing his horrified grimace I decided to ignore it, giving him a reassuring nod to show that everything was okay.

"Thank thee for helping us, mister...?" I finished gesturing him with a hoof to end the sentence.

"Shadow... My name is Shadow Beam..." He hesitantly uttered raising his gaze inquisitively afterwards."If I may ask, your highness, what's your name? I didn't know about the existence of another princess besides Princess Celestia and her niece."

I didn't question him, but I was indeed flabbergasted at his oblivious behaviour. Regally craning my neck and closing my eyes with a pose I answered. "We are the ruler of the night and raiser of the Moon, Princess Luna."

After spending a handful of seconds in pure silence on the wait of an answer, I opened one eye to make sure that he was still there. His eyes were locked on the floor and a single hoof placed on his mouth, hinting that he was deeply musing over something. Both his eyes slowly widened until he left out a brusque gasp.

"Princess Luna...? I've read about her when I was studying. She was possessed by Nightmare Moon's spirit and then banished to the moon more than a thousand years ago... Did you escape...?" He bluntly retorted, a freightened tone at the end of the sentence.

The humongous calendar, the drawings, simbols and now his complete obliviousness about recent events. It was clear that, due to unknown reasons, Shadow lived here for a very, very long time. The important question now was how much and why.

Wishing to leave the subject as fast as possible, I gave him a short version of the story. "To summarize it, a couple of months ago, still under the control of Nightmare Moon we returneth from our imprisonment. Thankfully Nightmare's wicked plans were quickly frustrated with the help of the elements of harmony, ones of the most powerful sources of magic in Equestria, and their new bearers. They didn't only erase the evil spirit from existance, but the magic of the elements was also able to bring me back to my former state." I explained, slightly amused at the noticeable relief of the hermit.

I cleared my throat. "So, now that all thine doubts hath been clarified, wouldst thou mind if we askest a couple of questions?"

He took a step back, concern starting to drift on his face. "W-what kind of questions?"

I went straight to the point. "Why and how long hath thee been living here? This place is too dangerous for a pony."

Upong hearing those words, his look of concern was instantly replaced with a somber expression. As he started turning back to the entrance of the cave, he opened his mouth. "I..." Tears subtly started forming on his now glazed eyes. Words seemed to get lost in his throat. Gloomily he shooked his lowered head, trudging to the same place he was sitting on earlier. Releasing a deep sigh, he leaned his body against the stone wall and locked his gaze upwards.

I had botched up badly. "We ask for thy forgiveness, We didn't know it would bother thee so much." I regretfully alleged.

He shooked his head. "It's just... It's been so long... I honestly never thought I would see somepony else ever again."

Considering my period of banishment, it would be an understatement to say that I wasn't empathetic of his situation. As much as I wanted to know why somepony would be dwelling in a cave inside one of the most hazardous places in Equestria, It was obvious that discussing about the matter was extremely despiriting for him. Hence, I tried to leave the topic for a quite trivial query that had been naggling me for a while.

"Don't worry, I wilst not press on with the subject." I supported my head on a hoof "However, if thou don't mind us asking. What were thee doing laying on the grass last night? We thought thou were asleep, but it sems like that's was not the case."

Immediately his head raised, energy visibly filling his body at the right words. He turned his head at me, now a faint smile on his face. "I was stargazing." The now rejuvenated stallion proudly replied.

A left out an enthusiastic smile. "Thou enjoyest stargazing?"

He took another glance at the sky. "I love stargazing. I always did, and ever since I got stuck in this place it was the only possible thing that could keep me from going insane." He snorted, growing a full grin. "Or maybe I'm already insane and stargazing just makes me happy. In each case I still take it." Given his sudden outburst of nonchalance I couldn't help myself but giggle.

Eagerly, he stepped closer and sat down in front of me. "Princess, would you like to stargaze too? If you want I can carry you and the straw closer to the entrance."

Matter-of-factly, I actually liked the idea. If I was bound to rest over an uneven pile of straw, at least the distracting beauty of the stars would help a lot to pass the time. However, the idea of being carried around wasn't something of my liking, but taking on account that my last attempt on walking was futile I didn't complain. Or at least not much.

"Is it really necessary to carry us?" I huffed.

Heartily chuckling, he approached and extended a hoof. "I wouldn't like you to smash your face on the ground. I was lucky the first time"

Wincing at the idea, I took hold of his hoof. "Very well then."

He lowered his head and placed my foreleg around his neck. As I clumsily attempted to stand up with his help, Shadow's magic took hold of the straw, smoothly swaying it in direction of the entrance, neatly placing the hay close to the edge of the cave afterwards. After a couple of failed attempts, I finally rose up at my full height.

Slowly and taking every possible precaution, he walked me over the entrance and placed me over the improvised mattress. From our angle we could now see a big portion of the sky. Sighing relaxedly, Shadow stretched out over the ground, his gaze locked on the stars.

"Fascinating, aren't they?" He whispered. "Every night since I got here I observed them excluding the stormy ones of course, the weather here can be a real ache."

Upon hearing 'every night' something felt a bit off. "What doth thou meaest by 'every night'? Don't thee sleep enough?"

"Oh, that." He shrugged. "Basically, my special talent is being nocturnal. It's kinda symbolized on my mark, which represents my aura as white simbols and the night as the black patch. Putting it mildly, my mind and body simply work better during night time. Therefore when I got stranded here I settled on sleeping during part of the day and staying awake through the rest of it." He clarified nonchalantly.

One of the most mysterious wonders of pony's magic was their talents. I always pondered about them. All being so diverse, so special. There were infinite posibilities of talents, only limited by the population. Truth be told, it was almost comical that precisely the pony who stumbled upon me, presumably the only one who was in this entire forest, held this specific gift.

I glared at him one last time, his mane was dropping over the right side of his face and his blue eyes were completely captivated by the black veil upon us. Smiling at his astonishment, I followed his steps and shifted my look over the silent spectacle.

Time swifted by, and the Moon dived on the horizon. Thankfully my sister was able to control both astros, for I was too weak to command the Moon that night. As the orange shimmer of the bright sun filled the skies and concealed the stars, the inexorable need to repose slowly invaded me.

"We shall sleep now, have a good rest." I announced as I nuzzled the straw.

Smiling, he replied. "Of course, sleep well Luna." As his words left his mouth he immediatly widened his eyes in apparent apprehension. "I-I mean Princess."

Diverted by his reaction, I decided to just shrugg it off. Truth be told, I was elated that someone finally avoided including my title. It felt more personal, more [i]me[/i]. Softly shaking my head I reinsured him that everything was alright. "Fret not, thou can callest us Luna if thou wishes."

Lowering my head, being now curled up against the welcome less-hardness of the hay hump, I mused about the recent turn of events. But one thing stood out from everything else, and as the drowsiness invaded my mind, it was the last one that succumbed to its might.

The thought that maybe, just maybe, I made a friend.