LEGEND OF THE GODDESSES

Mooneye Lagoon, 736 years ago

Just outside the jungles of the south there was a lagoon. Where the rainforest ended, a floor of gray rock began, giving way to a huge and perfectly round pool of amazingly bright blue water, sparkling beneath the faint light of a crescent moon. A cliff by the side of the lagoon held numerous caves and various outcroppings that could serve as erratic natural staircases. A very thin wall of stone separated the lagoon from the ocean.

A single, orange hoof stepped out of the jungle and touched the flat stone ground around the lagoon, creating an audible clack. Bogglesby slowly walked out into the open, the black-maned and leather-clad unicorn wearing his glasses and levitating his circular stone tablet in front of his head and scanning it as he walked.

He looked up from the tablet and pulled off his spectacles, losing his breath at the sight of the lagoon. "We're here," he whispered. "We're here, Kopé. Look."

Kopé hesitantly crept out of the jungle, Ngala sitting atop her head as usual. "Ohhhhh…" she exclaimed in delight. "What is this place?"

"This has been my objective for… I don't even remember how many years," Bogglesby muttered raggedly. "I've wanted to see it for who knows how long, been actively searching for it for half of my life. It's Mooneye Lagoon."

"Ohhhhh," Kopé said again.

Bogglesby pointed at the waterfall. "From this waterfall, and into this small freshwater sanctuary at the edge of the ocean, it's said that the water of immortality flows."

Kopé stared at the lagoon, stunned.

Bogglesby smirked at her overblown reaction. "You can't become immortal just by bathing in it or drinking it, there are procedures." He chuckled. "And I don't want to become immortal anyway, it seems like it'd be a load of trouble."

He walked across the flat stone to the edge of the lagoon, looking into the water. "Ah, look within," he called to Kopé. "Look at why they call it Mooneye Lagoon."

Kopé trotted over, looking at the clear and still waters. The first thing her eye was drawn to was the reflection of the moon itself, sparkling grandly. She then looked down at her own reflection, and squealed in surprise. The reflection of her eyes showed her irises as glowing white orbs. She glanced at Bogglesby's reflection, and his eyes were similarly affected. She looked at Bogglesby himself to make sure his eyes weren't really glowing like that, and indeed they were normal—or as normal as Bogglesby's eyes ever got, with the gray spots in their centers.

"Wow," Kopé whispered. "Remarkable…" She gazed up at the moon. "Doesn't really make our eyes look like the moon, though. The moon has those nicks on it that kind of look like a head…"

"Ah, yes, the Mare in the Moon," said Bogglesby, nodding. "She wasn't always there, though. So glad you brought that up… there's a true story behind that, another thing I've devoted myself to."

"A story?" Kopé said eagerly, her eyes widening in anticipation.

"The moon was once a pure white orb, like you see in the lagoon now," Bogglesby whispered gravely. "Nightmare Moon, sister of our goddess Celestia, turned evil and wanted to bring about nighttime eternal. So Celestia sealed her within the moon, which created the pattern of scars on its surface."

"Her own sister?" Kopé breathed, sitting down.

Bogglesby smiled and sat down alongside her. "Yes. She's cold, our Celestia. So very cold. I'm part of a very small sect of the pony population who's aware of that. They say that on the thousandth year of her imprisonment, the stars will help Nightmare Moon escape, and she'll create that eternal night she wanted. Some live in fear of that day, but I'm a member of a very enlightened group of individuals who will embrace her as the true princess of Equestria."

"And how soon is that?" asked Kopé.

"Oh, about seven hundred years from now, unfortunately," Bogglesby chuckled. "So, sadly enough, I'll miss it, but my brotherhood shall live on, generation after generation, waiting for her."

He gazed out at the sea, looking wistful and introspective. Kopé looked down into the lagoon, seeing her own eyes glowing white as well as Ngala's. The vivid blue microraptor nuzzled the back of Kopé's head.

"You don't talk much about where you come from, what you did before you came here to the jungle," Kopé said softly.

"No," Bogglesby agreed. "Not much to tell."

Kopé scooted closer to him. "Well, I heard about ponies when I was young. Ponies have a mark, right? A mark of destiny in the… flank area?" She looked to Bogglesby's flank, which as always was concealed by his leather robe.

"Yes, the cutie mark," Bogglesby said solemnly. "It tells us who we are and who we might become in the future."

"Oh?" Kopé said sweetly. "And what does your cutie mark say?"

Bogglesby glared at her. "That's none of your business, Kopé. Never ask such a question of me… EVER AGAIN!" He bolted to his hooves and loomed over her furiously, advancing on her with such malice that she was forced to start backing away. "What makes you think you had the right to ask me something like that, you stupid primitive beast?" he snarled.

"I'm sorry!" Kopé exclaimed. "You were telling me a story, like my family used to do, and I…" She paused for a second and glared angrily. "I guess I let myself believe that for a split second you had become NICE!"

He sneered. "I'm the nicest creature you're ever going to meet, and don't you dare to forget it."

Ngala lunged forward, shielding Kopé's face with her wings, and hissed at Bogglesby as she so often did. Bogglesby stared disdainfully and smacked the tiny creature in the face with his hoof, knocking her off of Kopé's head and down to the ground.

Kopé gasped and raised a hoof to strike Bogglesby in return, but the unicorn lowered his head and stuck his horn underneath the young okapi's chin. It was glowing blue, and Kopé could feel the heat of his magical energy as well as the pressure of his horn against her throat.

"So what do you think you're going to do about it?" Bogglesby whispered.

"Nothing," Kopé sighed reluctantly.

Bogglesby lifted Kopé into the air by her throat with magic. He wrung her neck and threw her backward against the stone.

"Enjoy your time at Mooneye Lagoon," he declared. "We shan't stay long." He turned around and started stalking away.

"W-what?" Kopé demanded in a squeaky voice.

Ngala chirped weakly. Kopé gasped and stood up, galloping to her companion's side.

"Oh, my sweet Ngala," she whispered, picking her up. "I'm sorry, this is my fault." She stared at Bogglesby's retreating back. "It'll have to be done," she whispered. "I'll have to kill him." She shook her head. "No… no, I can't. He says he's not staying here. So when he leaves, I just won't go with him, that's all. I'll have to practice, before he leaves, learn to appreciate a bit of silence again, if I can." She nodded. "I'll stay here, I'll force him to leave me behind… if I can."