A Bright Light Appeared

By: Carol Molliniere

A/N: Just a little oneshot idea thingy that wouldn't leave me alone.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. I should just put a universal disclaimer on my profile or something. Or was it that obvious already?

A bright light appeared in the night sky.

At first, the Man in the Moon thought nothing of it. Just another star in the sky; only it seemed much brighter than most, probably brighter than his Moon Clipper from the humans' point of view. The Song of the stars, which Nightlight had taught him to listen to, was not disrupted.

(Though he could have sworn it sounded more joyful than before…)

Two years passed, and the star was still shining brightly.

Tsar Lunar noticed that astronomers were looking upon this star and pondering upon it, until they came to this conclusion: the star meant the birth of a great King. The wise men had followed it all the way to the distant land of Israel, laden with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They came to the capital of Israel, Jerusalem, coming to the king himself but did not find the great king there. So they were led, from the direction of the writings of a prophet, to Bethlehem. They apparently found the King – a simple child in a simple house; a child that was one of many under his protection. He watched from the sky as they left their gifts to the child's parents and left, the latter almost hurriedly.

Later that night, MiM saw a streak of dreamsand appear above the father's head, seeming to glow brighter than the other trails scattering across the sky. The father's brow creased as he slept, and MiM worried; were there nightmares running about again?

The father then woke, getting out of bed as fast as he could, and alerted his wife and the child. He said something about getting away, maybe something about a dream he had from the way he talked. Prophetic dreams were happening on Earth, MiM thought. He wasn't surprised; Earth was growing more and more to become a new Golden Age.

They escaped, running away from their home, before he even knew it.

Tsar Lunar wished he could not have witnessed the bloody massacre that happened the very next day.

By decree of the king, all baby boys of two years and under in Bethlehem and in the surrounding areas must be killed. He was shocked. Why would the king order something like that?!

A woman screamed as her baby was being torn to bits…

A father ran from the soldiers who were in pursuit of him and his son…

A young boy tried to bargain with a soldier for his infant sibling's life…

Being a Guardian of Childhood, the Man in the Moon couldn't tolerate such a thing; but he was helpless to do anything about it.

It reminded him of the fall of the Golden Age, when the Nightmare King plunged the worlds into shadow, extinguishing stars, killing people and creating Fearlings out of screaming children.

Then he remembered the small family on the run, towards Egypt, and he knew it was thanks to the father's dream that they were able to escape.

After this, he kept an eye on the Child as He grew, from an infant to a young boy. The Moon watched his parents as they searched for three days after he got lost in the pilgrim crowds celebrating their festivities (what were they again? MiM couldn't remember what it was called – or if he even knew at all) before finding him in the temple. He was talking with the grown-ups and answering their questions, and for some reason they all seemed impressed as they stroked their beards and murmured amongst each other. Then His mother took Him aside and began to chide Him, and the boy replied, saying something that silenced both her and His father. What He said, MiM didn't know, but they said nothing more on the trip home.

Tsar Lunar watched as the boy grew into a man.

Long after he stopped watching the man, he continued to watch the children of Israel as they played about, slept, and the moonbeams kept them safe from the shadows of the night, illuminating their way.

One day, a boy had died in the town of Nain. His mother was a widow, his father having died a few years ago. The community could do nothing but give her their condolences as the body was being carried out.

During the procession, a small group of people came to the town; and seeing the mourners and the poor woman crying, a Man stepped forward from the group. From his post on the Moon, MiM blinked, and squinted. Hadn't he seen that Man before…?

He went over to the woman and said something that made her stop crying, if only for a little bit. Then he came to where the coffin was being carried. The Man placed a hand on it, and suddenly the people who were carrying it stopped. Everyone looked up at him, some whispering questions.

His mouth opened, uttering words that, of course, MiM couldn't hear all the way on the Moon. What happened next didn't need any words to express his surprise – the young man in the coffin opened his eyes, sat up, and yawned. It was almost as if he had never died at all. The Man helped the boy up, and when the crowd saw this, some shouted, praising the heavens, while others talked amongst themselves about what had just happened.

Tsar Lunar couldn't believe it. A child rose from the dead, by the hand of an ordinary Man? This didn't make much sense to him. He wanted to keep tabs on this Man, but soon being a Guardian overtook his responsibility, and the Man was pushed into the back of his mind.

Another night found a little girl dying. A sweet child she was, dear to her parents; and she was their only daughter. Her father was one of the synagogue rulers, and he prayed earnestly for her healing, not allowing a single speck of dreamsand to entice him into slumber. And once again, MiM was surprised at how a single prayer from a seemingly insignificant planet could affect the Song of the stars. It was almost as if the lights themselves were praying with him.

The next day – the Moon was visible in the daytime sky, coincidentally again – and he watched as the father of the dying girl approached the Man in tears, kneeling at His feet, seeming to plead with Him. The Man pulled him to his feet, and then they were headed towards the father's house. When the people saw the Man next to the father, they began to crowd around Him, following Him, as if expecting something from Him. The Man, His followers, and the father were slowed down because of this.

A pale woman reached out to touch the Man's cloak, almost shakily; but when she touched it, color immediately returned to her skin. She looked restored. The Man turned around, asking something, and then His eyes searched the crowd until the woman came forward, saying something. He said something to her as well, but even as He was saying it MiM noticed a few men come to the father and say something to him. They said something that made the father weep, but the Man turned to him, put a hand on his shoulder, and comforted him. They headed on towards the father's house.

Once there, the Man called forward three of His followers, and they came into the house. Since Tsar Lunar could no longer see what was going on under the roof, he waited. He waited until the Man and His followers came out, their eyes wide. People asked them what had happened, and one of them opened his mouth, but then shut it before his lips could move anymore.

Later that night, he found out the girl was alive and well, and that her mother and father were rejoicing. It delighted him to see such happiness within a family, but what had that Man done that cured the sick twelve-year old?

Now MiM was interested in the Man. He watched Him go from village to village, preaching something that aroused the crowds and led them to root for Him, and every time that His enemies came to trap him, He evaded their verbal attacks every single time. He did many amazing things, which led to more and more people believing in Him. MiM couldn't hear any of what the Man said, though, so he didn't have a clue why His enemies were so jealous of Him.

On one occasion, children had been brought to Him, so that He might bless them and pray for them. His disciples had been unwilling at first, driving them away, but then He rebuked them and began to put His hands on the kids. The disciples didn't shoo away the parents who had brought the children to Him after what the Man said. With that, MiM liked Him even more.

Every night (except for when there was a new moon), Tsar Lunar would send one of his moonbeams down to Earth to keep away any shadows that might come near Him. He felt that he was closer to remembering who this Man was – maybe he had seen Him as a child. Maybe he could remember, but he didn't.

At least, up until one night.

The Moon was shining brightly in the sky, though not as brightly as he wanted it to – it wasn't a full moon; that was for sure. The Man disappeared into a building that night to celebrate one of the Jewish feasts. MiM waited for Him to go to sleep, but He didn't. One of His followers ran out of the house, in the direction of their Temple. He wanted to see what this man was doing, but then the Man caught his attention as he continued to say things that made His followers confused and scared about the things to come. And again, MiM wished that he could hear what was being said on Earth, but he was not allowed such a privilege on the Moon.

The Man and His disciples headed out into the cold night, towards a certain grove of olive trees. They talked some more for a while, until He stopped, turned, and raised His hand, saying something once more, and then the three followers of His that had seen how He had cured the little girl came with Him, following Him to a secluded clearing of the garden. Then He left them, going a stone's throw from them, and knelt down, beginning to pray.

MiM saw that shadows were creeping closer and closer to the Man as He looked even more scared. The moonbeam MiM sent tried to fight off the darkness, but it wasn't enough. That was when suddenly, an angel appeared, seeming to guard the Man from the shadows. Even as the Man stood up, the angel followed Him where He was walking – to the three disciples who were accompanying Him, only to find them asleep.

Appalled, the moonbeam shone onto them, and they woke to see Him. He said something to them as they struggled to keep their eyes open in order to hear what He was saying. Then He left to pray again, the angel guarding Him from the darkness. This happened again, but the third time He did it, a large form of darkness appeared in front of the Man. The moonbeam itself was scared, as was Tsar Lunar. Was it Pitch? No, this was much, much worse than Pitch. MiM realized what this Man was dealing with was on a much grander scale than what he knew. When this happened, the Song of the stars was suddenly hushed, as if waiting for something to happen, whether the Man would be tempted or not.

Surely this Man was no ordinary human.

MiM watched as the angel and the Shadow quarrelled, trying to strengthen or weaken Him respectively. The Man in turn was grieved even more in His prayers, even sweating blood. MiM found himself waiting expectantly for the outcome of this event alone, even as he was sending moonbeams down to the children of Israel. In the end, the Shadow was the one to retreat, defeated by the Man's own light and His refusal to be swayed by what the shadow had to say to Him. He was afraid, alright, but He wouldn't let it get in the way of what He had to do.

("But what did He have to do?" MiM wondered.)

He walked over to His followers, who were asleep yet again. This time He shook one of them awake, and with only that the two others awoke as well. He said something, but even as He was talking, torchlights in the middle of the grove caught MiM's attention. A veritable army of soldiers and officials from the Temple were the sources of this, along with the one disciple that he saw run away from the building they were once in. Upon further inspection MiM saw that they were also carrying weapons; as if He had any intention to hurt anyone!

The Man, seeing them, asked them something, and then they replied, and He said something that made them draw back, falling to their knees. This happened again, and then the disciple who was in the crowd came forward and kissed Him. At this, the quietude of the crowd stopped, and they came forward to arrest Him. One of the three followers with Him drew a sword and ran forward, cutting off someone's ear. The Man came to the disciple, reprimanding him (at least that's what it seemed like). MiM watched as the Man picked up the fallen ear, came to the wounded man and put it back, healing him. He then said something more before the soldiers seized Him and the disciples fled – and a cloud covered Tsar Lunar's view.

The moonbeam returned sorrowfully, and MiM was there to greet it. "I'm sorry," he said. "I couldn't defend Him well enough." "You did what you could. That's enough," MiM encouraged, even as he heard the Song turning sad and dark.

The Song was like this the next day, with the Moon still being covered by clouds. The Sun was a bit luckier, getting some of its light across, but even it stopped giving light upon Israel somehow. MiM listened on as the Song grew more sorrowful and grieving.

"What's happening?" he asked the constellation of his parents. "I don't understand."

He consoled himself with watching the other children from other places, seeing them kiss their parents goodnight and be roused by the Sandman's dreamsand to sleep and dream. He wondered what had happened to the Man, but still he couldn't see until the next night, when the Song suddenly felt soft, despondent, the notes piercing his heart as much as when he realized the Man's followers were in hiding, and He wasn't with them.

They were as sad as the stars were. It seemed as if a hush had come over all of Israel; and not just Israel, the Moon creatures as well were silent, because emotions always came faster to animals rather than humans.

But even if that were, Tsar Lunar himself still felt like crying.

The night after that, though, was very different. It had been the third day since the day after the night the Man was taken away, and MiM was watching the children, as he did every single night without fail. Moonbeams were sent to Earth, and the Sandman's dreamsand to the children of Earth; in this case, the kids living in Palestine. The children slept soundly without fear of any shadows that might lurk in the corners of the place, for the moonbeams shone brightly and eliminated all darkness.

The one moonbeam that MiM had once sent to watch over the Man was doing its job as best as it could, though it was uneasy because of the night He was arrested, and it couldn't do anything about it, and oh that big Shadow was really scary, it wanted to consume Him—

The moonbeam was passing over the Man's tomb. It saw the Shadow by it, and it was afraid, hiding away to see what the Shadow would do.

The Shadow was trying to keep the tomb from opening, trying to keep something from getting out and ever returning – but what was going to return? What was coming out of the burial place of the Man? What would come out?

The Man.

He would come out.

The moonbeam rushed out from its hiding place, preparing to defend the Man from the Shadow trying to keep Him dead. It shone on the Shadow, making him hiss and flick at the moonbeam as if it were a mere fly. Still, the moonbeam persisted, fighting the Shadow even if it would have to be destroyed before it got back to the safety of the Moon. The Man must come out and make His followers happy again! The Man must be alive!

Suddenly the Shadow rose, grabbing the moonbeam as if it were tangible, and prepared to extinguish it with his darkness, a bright light appeared behind him. It was coming from His tomb. The brightness of the light made the Shadow's eyes widen, and then it exclaimed a "NO!" before vanishing himself.

A great figure – no, more than that; God – stepped out into the dusk, His wounds exposed for the entire world to see what He had done for them. The moonbeam bowed before Him.

When the night was over, the moonbeam came to its home with more joyful news than any other of the moonbeams had.

"He is risen!" It proclaimed.

MiM's eyes widened, and then asked, "Who is risen, dear moonbeam?"

"The Man," it said joyously, "the Man is alive!"

Tsar Lunar stood up, and then closed his eyes. The Man was…

Alive?

The Song of the stars had suddenly turned great and praising, glorifying the LORD God who had made this happen; even happier than they were when the baby under the shining star was born.

And then he remembered where he had seen Him before; in that little baby, running from a king who wanted Him dead, and in that twelve-year old who stayed in the temple three days before returning home.

He died. But then He was resurrected.

And suddenly, all the days and months and years following after that, the dreams of His followers were turned into good dreams, sometimes even prophetic dreams, because He was alive.

The Song of the stars was singing praises to Him – what a beautiful sound when you listened closely enough. The brightest star in the sky that had appeared when He was born was still there – people would tend to ignore it as civilization went on and brighter lights, brighter than the stars and his moonbeams (to the eyes of humans on earth) were lit at night; but it was there all along. You would know if you looked closely enough.

And because he knew, Tsar Lunar was happy as well.

A bright Light had indeed appeared, one that outshone the stars, his Moon, and even his Guardians.

But it outshone them in a good way.

(Hope you enjoyed this one!

…What? You didn't? Oh well.)