=Eol=

'Oh Gods, I'm gonna hurl!' I grab the bucket next to my bed, throwing up what seems to be half of whatever was left in my stomach. I slowly get up from my bed to find a cup of warm tea, still steaming hot even after what seems like...

'How long has it been?' I look around, my vision finally stabilizing after desyncing ever since we launched off. I looked around to see if I could find Ellie. She wasn't there.

I lifted my legs over the side of the bed, slouching for a bit before getting back up. At least the ground wasn't shaking anymore. I glanced at the other sick patients in the ward: some sleeping peacefully, some snoring loud enough to wake the dead. I took some cotton balls from a jar and plugged them into my ears. I was amazed by how no one was waking up by the loudest one of all, a black colt who apparently had too much to drink last night or something.

'Heh, I hope none of them are married, it'd be a miracle for their mates to get ANY sleep.' I stood up slowly and stretched, loosening up hours of bedridden immobility. Now I get why cats feel so good in the morning whenever THEY stretch. I always thought it was because they were lazy and slept for hours on end. After meeting Elli, however, I found her not to be the case. She was one of the cats in charge of tending to the sick in any way possible: healing magic, bandages, even surgery. She told me she wants to be just like Geirmund, minus all the crazy bits and the mechanical limbs. I had no idea who Geirmund was though.

I walked over down the rows and got to her office. Technically it was Nadene's, since she was the expert on mixing potions and medicines, but other than that, most of the nurses just used her office as another bedroom. I knocked three times on the door.

"Elli? Elli, are you in there?" I shouted to whoever was inside. The door was locked, almost dead bolted. I heard a clanking of unturned locks before the door opened again to reveal her familiar, cream coated face.

"There you are..." I said with a smile. What she did was unexpected to say the least. She pretty much JUMPED on me and gave me a huge hug, she seemed scared out of her mind. After a few seconds she looked up at me.

"Eol, is it true that Aoi is your... Alpha?" she ask, her voice quivering in fear.

"Well, yeah, since by my clan's practice, I was banished from it the moment I left." She simply wept and went over to a chair.

"Elli, what's wrong?" I went over and sat down next to her, comforting her and stroking her fur. She looked back at me and started to explain.

"That... THING is a demon from the stories told in my former clan. Selma would have sensed it as soon as he walked on deck." She rubbed her eyes free of tears.

"What do you mean by Demon, he's the Lunar legend sent to free us from the dragons, that's why I joined his clan to start with..."

"Lunar... Legend?"

"Yes, According to the prophecy, he's suppose to save Gem Fido from the..."

"Then your prophecy is incomplete..."

"What?" I looked at her in complete confusion, "How could it be incomplete?" The prophecies were straight from the grand elders themselves, from the very beginning of our race, told from the Star Beast themselves, how could they be...

"Because they only tell half of the story, the Bast have held the other side of the ancient prophecy through our race as well, just like the Diamond Dog clans." She sighed heavily, "Listen to me..."

"What is it?"

"Your 'Lunar Legend' carries with him a demon, one that lurks inside his soul. Right now that demon is dormant, so he appears cold, am I right?"

"Well, not really, he seemed to have fun at the Gala... but that was only... never mind..." I waved the thought away, "Go on."

"But you've never seen him angry, at all."

"No, but I know he has been..." I think back to when Aoi told me about his other life, "When I met him, he seemed just like me, except more... I don't know..."

"Empty?"

"Yeah, that's it, like he's missing something." She sighed, pulling a small piece of parchment from her robe.

"I fear that it's already begun."

"What's begun?"

"This," she said, unfurling the piece of parchment before my eyes, "'He will soon gain what he lacks, but lose it once more. When he loses that which he had longed for, his fur will be etched with evil black as the night sky, and tear asunder the tallest mountains: A demon manifested from the ancestors of the dogs.' This is one of the pieces of prophecy my clan members bear. Selma, Tiras, and I each carry a piece, but Selma's piece is lost now, along with her." Her eyes drooped, sad at the memory of her lost friend. She tucked the piece of parchment away in her robe. "I fear for you Eol. Who know what will happen if he loses that which he lacks."

"Don't worry Elli, I won't let that happen, I promise. But Aoi's not like that. I mean, sure he kicked my tail in training a few times, that and the murderous gang, but I know him, he's not a demon in disguise waiting to tear the scat out of Gem Fido." She snickered a bit, but still didn't let go of her worried expression, "Hey, if it's any help, in hand to hand combat, I could pin him down maybe once every 40 times, and I like those odds, so if worse comes to worse, I won't let him touch a single tuft of fur on your head. I promise."

"Really?"

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a gemstone in my OW!" Dammit, I keep on forgetting not to do the last part. She broke out in a light chuckle, her worried expression gone now. After rubbing my eye a few times, I leaned back in the chair.

"So Elli, we never got to talk much at the Gala, tell me about yourself."

"Well, there isn't much to say, I was part of the Witri Tribe, but I was captured by the Diamond Dogs. Griffin saved me, but I had no one left to go home to... so I stayed on the ship and have been here ever since," she said it so casually, like it was nothing. But I knew from firsthand experience that it was more than that.

"What happened to your family if you don't mind me asking?" I asked, half knowing what the answer was. Her mood changed to sadness, ears drooping from their usual perky self.

"In the mines, we were part of the tunneling crew. It happened so fast: people screaming, rocks falling, then the collapse..." She had lost her parents, same as I did. She didn't really have anyone now...

"Well, if you wanted to... maybe... you could join our clan..." She seemed almost insulted when I offered. "Hey, listen, if you get to know Aoi, he's a big softy at heart." She grinned. "No really, I mean, yeah he's rough with the training, but I think it's more that he wants us prepared in order to defend ourselves. I've seen it. He gave me a choice to leave the clan when I first met him, find my own path."

"Well, why didn't you take it?" I had to think about that. I could have gone off, started a new life somewhere, maybe even a respectable job at the... no... no pony would take me in as a librarian's assistant. When I think about it, even that unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, it was a look I had gotten so many times before. Ponies, griffins, basts, everyone looked at me with distrust, like if they had let me stay for more than a night I would slit their throats in their sleep. It was... sickening. Aoi and Ubi, they're family, they trusted me more than my own clan did, and Aoi...

"He's like a father to me, when I thought I would never even SEE my father again, there's something about Aoi, maybe it's the eyes, that there's some remnant, some... spark of my father in him."

"So then why did he ask if you wanted to leave, if you see him as a father? Does he see you as a son?" I never really thought about it. I follow him without question, yet never felt like he was keeping me caged, or like he was simply using me as a tool. He never really talked down to me like I was inferior, like I was a minion, even though he was of way higher class than me. He saw me as an equal.

"I think to him, I'm not a son, but a brother, even though he's much older than me, and stronger, by far, he doesn't really treat me like a little kid. I think Ubi sees him the same way, even though he's older than Aoi." Bit by bit, she started to relax a bit, but I could tell she was still thinking about the prophecy.

"I understand, you've got your place in the captain's crew. You should be happy now, forget I asked..." I stood up to go back to my bed. She grabbed my paw.

"Wait..." I looked back, "I'll... think about it... I'm not much for heights either..." With that she let go... "So what about you, what clan were you from?"

"A rather large clan, The Boneshire Brothers are what we were to outsiders, but the name the other clans knew us by were the Inura. My full name is Eolus Lazuli Inura. I know, a mouthful isn't it. That's why I go by Eol."

"It's beautiful, poetic even..." she started to blush, "my name's Elsweyr vi Witri."

"Wait, vi Witri, then you're..."

"Royalty among my tribe, but now that it's gone, I guess my name doesn't really matter now does it?"

"I guess not." I sat down again. "So what are your plans? Stay on the ship?"

"Actually, I'm thinking of going back to Canterlot when I save enough bits."

"Canterlot? Weren't we just there?"

"Yes, but I'm talking about moving there, settling down with a home and family, and setting up a pharmacy, and that requires a lot of money."

"So I'm guessing you're staying with the captain in hopes for a 'big haul' if I understand it correctly?" She nods.

"I've been keeping the gems he issued for spell-casting, requisitioning more bit by bit. On estimate, I have about 23000 bits in gems saved up."

"So what now, hold out until you go back to Canterlot?"

"That's the plan at least, I just hope I'm alive by then."

"That's silly..." I hold on to her paw, "Of course you'll be alright." I reassured her, staring into her eyes. They had a golden shimmer to them, unlike the harsh yellow some of the other basts had.

"After all, no diamond dog from ANY clan would want to hurt a sweet thing like you..." She giggled.

"For a diamond dog, you sure know how to flatter a cat..." I felt my face go red, my arms felt like jelly, and my vision desyncing again. It felt like my soul was on fire, like it was dancing, like it could leap from my chest at any moment. It was just like the storybooks I had read described, every single feeling, every single living moment. It was all so fast, yet time seemed to slow down. My heart seemed to ram against my chest, wanting to break free. I felt light headed, almost like I was about to faint.

We sat there, just gazing into each other's eyes, smiling, occasionally a small giggle would escape our muzzles. I looked out the window, seeing the sun set.

'Had it really been that long, I mean, how long have we been sitting here for?' I thought the better question to ask myself was, 'Did I even care?'

"I guess you should be heading down to dinner," I stated shyly, "Wouldn't want you to get caught behind the crowd..."

"Right..." I started to get up and head towards the direction of the mess hall... "I'll bring up some food later, I'm pretty sure you can eat solids now..."

We moved up to the stern of the ship to eat under the moon. I snuck the blanket from my bed up there so we could sit on it. It was just like a picnic, except all we had was the main course of the evening: spaghetti and fishballs. Maria took the time to learn how to form little round ball out of ground fish meat. It was really good, a bit chewier than regular meat though.

We ate in silence, only sparing a few glances back and forth at each other before we turned our gaze back at the moonlight. Without even knowing it, Elli leaned on me, licking her fork clean of the tomato paste. I wrapped my arm around her, twirling a wad of spaghetti around mine. We shared one big plate, since the cook was a stickler for seconds, Elli went around that rule by piling her plate high so that there was enough for both of us.

There were only a few stars out that night, along with some strands of stratus clouds and the moon. I don't know why, but our clan always took the night off each month for a night like this, just lounging about under the beams of the full moon. It was one of the few days of the month me and my dad could spend some time together.

I missed him, he would always save a few precious diamonds just so we could have something special to eat on nights like these, it made living in the mines worthwhile if I could just spend even if it was only a night alone with my dad. And now he's gone. he used to tell me that diamond dogs that have passed on from this world are never really gone, but instead their spirits rise into the sky, to find everlasting rest on Sirius, the dog star, so that they could always watch over the ones they left behind. I wondered which star was Sirius, and if my dad made it there all right.

I lifted the wad of spaghetti to my mouth, slurping up a stray strand. The strand seemed to go on forever, so I kept chewing and chewing. Little did I know Elli had somehow grabbed the same spaghetti strand as I did, and our lips touched as we each held on to the strand of spaghetti. Elli wrapped her arms around me, drawing me closer as we shared a long, subtle kiss. She drew away after what seemed like seconds and hours all at once. I finally lapped up the strand dangling from my mouth. Elli giggled before leisurely slipping another fishball into her sauce covered muzzle. I leaned over and licked off the excess sauce from her whiskers, my heart thudding, pumping blood through my veins like thunder.

I felt like it was just me and Elli, floating on air. Heh, maybe it was because we WERE floating on air. After finishing our dinner, Elli laid down her head on my lap. I gently stroked her fur, soft and silky to the touch. A small chilling breeze sent a slight tingle down my spine. I pulled the blanket over Elli, hoping to keep her warm. She purred, the soft sound calming to my ears, soon, she fell asleep, right on my lap.

It wasn't long before I nodded off as well, two unlikely companions on an airship 1000 miles high under the moon, it was like something straight out of a romance novel, except this time...

... I'm a part of it...