Dark Side Of The Moon

Chapter 28: Napoleon

"W-what do you mean, they got?" Napoleon could detect the fear in Celestia's voice, the way her eyes flitted up to him nervously, before focusing on something on the ground; the way she would shy away when he offered her his hand.

Napoleon smirked, enjoying the rare occasion. He spent so much time paranoid about his own life, it was a relief to get the chance to relax a little bit.

"I forget how deeply you feel," Napoleon remarked. It still surprised him, seeing people get so sad over trivial little things. No wonder they'd lost. War was not for the faint of heart.

"You don't?"

"If we felt things the way you did, we would be broken. We're really not as heartless as you think."

"You say that, but the way you kill without flinching makes me think otherwise," Celestia retorted.

"I wasn't always like this," he admitted. "Come, walk with me." He extended his hand to her, watching as she shakily put her hand out, before withdrawing it. He didn't have time for this. "That wasn't a choice."

It was ironic how cold her hand was, considering she was the princess of the sun. He led her to a balcony, taking a seat on a loveseat. She took the seat across from him, letting a small bird land on her finger before it flew away.

"Let me tell you a story. I think it'll clear things up..."

****

"Hey! Hey you!" A high voice chirped.

He turned around from the pebble he was kicking, feeling a twinge of annoyance. This was the short break he had after another grueling day of training-the last thing he needed was someone pestering him.

A scrawny boy around his age popped out from behind a crate. He had a head of reddish-purple hair, the curls cropped close to his head.

He narrowed his eyes at the boy, drawing his dagger instinctively. Even at the young age of ten, he had learnt to be wary of everyone he didn't know. "Who are you?" He demanded, putting on his scariest voice.

"Devan. I just moved here. That's my house over there!" He pointed to one of the shacks in the distance.

There wasn't much that remained of the once-glorious Duskan empire. Ever since the Netherbane-Nightshade alliance was established roughly forty years ago, the Dusks had been driven out of most of their territory. His mother and the citizens had to flee all the way to the mostly uninhabited Tenebrisian islands up north, and partnered with the Song family.

The only true building in the area was the giant fortress, which he was standing behind. It was mostly people moving out, never in.

"I'm from a pretty small village," Devan explained. "It's basically in the middle of nowhere."

He nodded, satisfied with Devan's answer. Devan then revealed something from behind his back-it was a spherical object, but rubbery and squishy.

"It's really cool-it bounces when you throw it. See?"

They played, throwing it to and fro, bouncing it on the ground and tossing it as high as they could.

From a distance, he heard the calls of ereza.

"I gotta go," Napoleon muttered, heading around the corner. Devan followed him.

"Who is it?" Devan asked.

"Sister," he mumbled.

"Can I meet her?"