Rune looked around best he could, and saw nothing; just an endless darkness.

"Where am I?" He asked himself.

Looking around, Rune saw nothing but darkness; not some endless void but as if he was in an enclosed vessel. Despite the near claustrophobic feeling the vessel would give off, it somehow felt comforting and warm. It wasn't too long before a faint vibration was felt. The vibration soon spread all around him, the blackness soon began to crack. With a sudden burst, the darkness shattered around Rune. There was a light, it was blinding, but a figure soon covered that light. As his eyes adjusted, Rune saw a young dark blue alicorn with a mane that that twinkled like stars; it was Luna but, but she looked younger.

"Lulu." Called a familiar voice.

"Tia, look." Luna called to a young Celestia. "The egg hatched."

"Let me see." Celestia walked over. "Aww what a cute baby owl."

"I know right." Luna said hugging the little black owl close to her.

Rune felt a sense of warmth and love,but then realized something very strange. Rune was the owl.

"I'll name you Inaba." Luna said, looking at the cute little baby owl.

Rune's vision then blurred and faded away. When his vision recovered, he saw an endless void. But there was no darkness, but images, hundreds of thousands of countless images and visions. Looking at himself, Rune saw himself as a pony again, but then looked up. Before him stood the owl, massive and menacing. Yet Rune felt no fear.

"Inaba." Rune replied. "That's your name."

Inaba nodded.

"And these are all your memories?" Rune looked at the visions.

Inaba nodded, but then gestured its massive wing towards a nearby cluster of images. Rune looked over and saw another memory.

"Celestia would never approve of what we've done." Luna on a small shore, a still small Inaba on her shoulder and at least a few dozen small fillies and colts behind her. Many were in a dirty and poor state. Only a few looked well nourished and clean.

After a long argument with her sister on the subject, Luna, in secret, brought any filly and colt in Canterlot who were either homeless or abused, some simply chose to leave their lives behind to join Luna. Through a hidden under ground river, Luna brought all these foals to the interior of the mountain that supported Canterlot. In front of the group, Rune could see the land of the Lunar Kingdom, but there were no houses or even the castle.

"Pwincess." One of the colts said, tugging at Luna's wing. "Wat awe we gowng to oo?"

"It's okay little ones." Luna said with care and confidence. "We did not save you from the streets and sewers only to have your home be ruined."

Arching her head forward, her wings spread wide and her horn illuminating like a bright star. Firing the magic into the air, the light of the magic grew and grew until it formed a Moon. Switching her magic to a darker blue color, Luna pointed her horn towards the ground. Her eyes then erupted with a glowing white and swiftly lifted her horn up. The ground began to rumble, subtly at first but then the tremors became more and more intense. The surrounding cave walls soon cracked and disintegrated, forming more space, and much of the water vanished, allowing more land to form. The disintegrated elements gathered above the land in the form of twinkling lights and then rained upon the land. As the twinkling lights touched the rumbling ground, portions of the land twisted and moved as if alive. The portions soon settled into what looked like houses. The final touches of the spell was the remaining lights fired into the air to form stars.

"Your new homes fillies and colts." Luna smiled, watching the smiling foals ran around in a merry manner. "Fillies and Colts." Luna then announced. "We have given you the means to survive, but we must leave or else our sister shall notice our absence."

"Nooo." The foals protested. "Don't leave us."

"Fear not." Luna smiled, gesturing towards thirteen of the oldest looking ponies, who were still young but older than the rest. "We shall leave you thirteen to watch over your fellow ponies."

"We will." A few smiled while other still didn't want Luna to leave.

"And we shall leave Inaba to watch over you all." Luna said as Inaba jumped to one of the thirteen. "Inaba shall protect you, and remember, we shall return."

Luna then looked at the eyes of the ponies and vanished and a blur of magic and shadow.

"Those were the first Children?" Rune asked, looking back at the owl.

Inaba nodded, but pointed at another section.

It has been a generation since Luna brought the children to live in the hidden land. During which, Luna has come and gone to bring aid to the Children. In that time, the Children have built better houses, and even the foundation of the soon to be castle. Some Children even acculturated back to the world outside the Lunar Kingdom but never forgot their roots, always returning when they could. Inaba has grown larger and larger, now the size of a large dog.

"We're happy that our children have grown." Luna smiled. "And we are thankful you have been there to guide and protect them Inaba."

Inaba smiled as it adorably rubbed its head against Luna.

"But we have sad news Inaba." Luna frowned. "Our sister tells us that there is a unicorn in a distant kingdom who is waging war and we must stop her."

Inaba let out a sad coo.

"Don't be sad Inaba." Luna hugged the large owl. "We shall return."

The image blurred away and all Rune saw after that was the Lunar Kingdom over the last thousand years. Inaba simply stood watch, even as the kingdom grew larger and more and more Children were born. For the last thousand years, Inaba stood watch, staying in the Kingdom and rested in the large birdcage, its last gift from Princess Luna.

"You've been waiting all this time?" Rune asked, looking at Inaba.

Inaba nodded, even though it didn't speak, Rune felt a great sadness from Inaba.

"It's because Luna was sealed in the Moon." Rune exclaimed to Inaba's surprise. "As I was reading your memories, you must have been reading mine! Luna became Nightmare Moon and was sealed away for a thousand years. When she returned, she must of feared you were all wiped out and couldn't bring herself to return here. You've seen her in my memories haven't you?!"

Inaba's eyes widened, thinking back to what it was seeing in Rune's mind. Memories, images, visions, all passing through its mind. Luna's smiling grin, her sorrowful eyes, but her confident demeanor all came back to Inaba. Inaba couldn't help but feel all the pent up emotions over the centuries swell up. Tears soon began pouring from its eyes. Luna didn't abandon Inaba or the Children as it once feared.

"But Luna is in danger!" Rune snapped Inaba out of it. "Bru is going to use the Midnight and many of the Children to wage war with Celestia. The Children will die and Canterlot will burn! You must help us!"

Inaba's mind went back to the last time it saw Luna, the feelings of regret and sorrow of her departure and the pain of not seeing her since. Inaba raised its head and let out its screech:

"KKKKKKKKKKKKKYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

The world around both Rune and Inaba faded away and Rune saw himself besides Dusk, Calligraphy, and Nightwing.

"Rune?!" All three ponies said.

"What happened?" Calligraphy asked.

"No time!" Rune said, charging at the massive cage smashing his side against it.

"What are you doing!?" Nightwing asked.

"We have to get Inaba out!" Rune said, ramming into the cage again and again. "It's the only way to escape, stop Bru and save Canterlot."

"Inaba?" Calligraphy said in shock then looked at Inaba. "So you told Rune your true name great Owl."

Calligraphy's resolve was set and joined Rune in ramming against the cage. Nightwing and Dusk soon joined in the smashing. Soon the cage bars were bending but it wasn't enough. Inaba looked at the four ponies who were working so hard to break it out. It saw that the ponies were getting bruised and bloodied from the charges, Inaba knew what it had to do. Raiding its mighty body, Inaba smashed itself against the cage, joining in. Quickly, the bars soon bend and bowed until they finally snapped in half.

"We did it!" Dusk said.

Inaba folded its wings and walked out of the cage, lowing its head toward the ponies.

"Great Owl!?" Nightwing said. "You don't mean?"

"Let's go!" Rune said, jumping on Inaba's back.

Dusk, Calligraphy. and Nightwing joined Rune. Inaba then spread its massive wings for the first time in centuries and:

"KKKKKKKKKKKKKYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"

Inaba then jumped from the ground and took to the air, flying towards the cage that held the Children in the Kingdom.

"We're coming for you Bru." Rune said to himself. "And we will stop you."

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

At the entrance of Canterlot, Bru, along with his small group disguised themselves as a small traveling caravan to gain entrance into the city. Looking up at the castle, Bru's rare smile emerged again.

"And so it begins." Bru said to himself as he gestured his "caravan" to follow.