It’s About Time to Save Moondancer
By Alaborn
Standard disclaimer: This is a not for profit fan work. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is copyright Hasbro, Inc. I make no claim to any copyrighted material mentioned herein.
Twilight Sparkle’s plan was not going well.
A nice dinner with her old friends had failed to break Moondancer out of her shell. The lonely unicorn got up and left the restaurant before the group of old friends had even finished their appetizers.
But Twilight Sparkle was not a mare to give up so easily. She teleported outside the restaurant, gaining her bearings. She spotted Moondancer walking away.
“Moondancer!” Twilight Sparkle called, just before teleporting in front of her. “You've got to give friendship a chance!”
“Gah! I gave friendship a chance a long time ago!” Moondancer replied. “It didn't work out then. It isn't going to work out now.”
Twilight Sparkle stared, shocked. She didn’t even notice Spike walking up to her.
“Twilight, are you all right?” Spike asked.
“No. No, I'm not,” she replied as she walked away, head hung low.
Spike ran after her. “W-Where are you going?” he asked.
“I don't know, Spike. I really messed this one up. That party was everything to her. I can only imagine what it must have felt like when I didn't show up.”
Twilight Sparkle stared. She realized she was in the west castle courtyard, the exact place where Moondancer’s party had been held. And as she realized that, her imagination painted a clear picture of how her thoughtless actions had affected Moondancer.
“If there was only a way to undo the damage....” Twilight Sparkle blinked. “I know what I need to do. And I know just who can help me. Come along, Spike.”
“Where are we going?”
“Back to our old tower. We’re going to find those gifts we should have given Moondancer five years ago.”
They returned to the forgotten tower room. Spike picked up the discarded teddy bear and sighed. The bear was already a lost cause when Twilight Sparkle slammed him into the door, and his tail got stuck in the package. “At least this framed picture still looks good.”
“That’s right! I never got her a gift,” Twilight Sparkle said. She scanned the shelves. “Fortunately, I now know she would appreciate a copy of Hayscartes’ Treatise on Ponies.” With a flash of her horn, the book was boxed and wrapped.
“I know you heart is in the right place, Twilight, but Moondancer doesn’t seem too receptive to receiving gifts right now,” Spike said.
“Sure, now. But the Moondancer of five years ago would love our gifts.”
“But how would... Twilight, when you said you knew who could help you, who did you mean?” Spike asked.
“Why, me, of course. Or, rather, future me. That would be me me, present me, right now.”
Spike facepalmed. “Twilight, no! I learned my lesson about not overeating. And I thought you learned your lesson about not traveling through time!”
“But that was past me, Spike. Unicorn me. I have considerably more magic now, and years more study of the fundamentals of chronomantic magic. It is clear that a temporary trip into the past, to Moondancer’s party, is all that’s needed to turn her life around and make everything better, and I can do that safely. Now, come along, Spike.”
“This can’t go well, Twilight,” Spike said.
“Well, future me hasn’t shown up to give me a warning, so that’s a good sign. But you’re right in one way. It won’t go well if you don’t come, because back then, it would look very strange if you weren’t with me.”
“Fine,” Spike said, crossing his arms. “But I’m only doing this to help Moondancer, and to keep an eye on you.”
“I’m glad you agree.” Twilight Sparkle levitated Spike onto her back, crushed gift box and all. “Let’s go.”
Spike clutched his head. He had gotten used to the sensation of teleportation. But traveling through time was ten times worse than the first time Twilight Sparkle had teleported him. He started to slip, and his claws sought purchase on the joint where her wing met her body.
Spike gasped. “Twilight! Your wings!”
“Oh, right!” Twilight Sparkle concentrated and rendered her wings invisible. Fortunately, she had arrived in the break between the last class and dinner, when few ponies wandered the campus. She looked at herself in a nearby window. “I look just like I did back then.”
“Um, maybe we should hide?” Spike suggested.
“Past me is surely busy researching the Mare in the Moon right now. But you’re right. It’s best I keep a low profile before the party.”
Twilight Sparkle took the opportunity to enjoy the beautiful summer day. She trotted along the seldom-used paths that winded through copses of trees and manicured gardens.
“I don’t think I took enough time to appreciate the beauty of Celestia’s School when I attended,” Twilight Sparkle commented to Spike.
“Yeah. You better enjoy it while you can,” Spike muttered.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.”
Twilight Sparkle stopped and turned her head to face Spike. “Are you sure? Because it sure sounded like you were implying my being here was going to bring about the destruction of all existence.”
Spike looked away.
“Really, Spike. You need to stop reading those comic books. All we’re going to do is show Moondancer that she’s a friend worth having. And then we go back to our own time, where I’ll still need to make it up to my friends for not staying in contact.”
Over in the west castle courtyard, Moondancer confirmed every detail of her party. On one table sat the treats, colorful cakes as well as fruit for those who wanted something healthy. Another table held the punch bowl. There were colorful tablecloths on the tables, and balloons floating in key locations. It was exactly what a casual party for friends should have, according to One Hundred and One Ways to Party. She looked up, and smiled as she saw her friends approach.
“Hey, Moondancer! Look at this spread, huh?” Minuette said.
“Thank you so much for coming!” she replied.
“Of course. We wouldn't miss one of our best friends' parties,” Twinkleshine said.
Moondancer looked around. “Is Twilight coming?” she asked.
The three guests shuffled their hooves nervously.
“Oh, okay,” Moondancer said glumly.
Twilight Sparkle hurried to the party, Spike holding on tightly. “Hey girls!” she said.
“Twilight! You came!” Moondancer squealed.
“I thought you said you had to study,” Lemon Hearts said.
“What I was studying was a topic of personal interest, not a school assignment or something directly from Princess Celestia. I realized that seeing my good friends was more important,” Twilight Sparkle said.
“Well, I’m glad you came,” Twinkleshine said.
“It’s just that being the personal student of Princess Celestia is such a commitment. I mean, at any time, she might ask me to continue my studies elsewhere. Hypothetically speaking, of course. So I better take a chance to enjoy this free evening with my friends!”
“Who’s up for some cake?” Minuette said.
The young mares enjoyed Moondancer’s party. They danced, badly. They consumed far too much sugar. And at the end of the night, Moondancer opened her gifts.
“A copy of Hayscartes’ Treatise on Ponies? How did you know?” Moondancer said.
“He’s one of my favorite thinkers, and seeing how you read almost as much as I do, I thought you might appreciate this,” Twilight Sparkle said.
“I do! He made so many contributions to magic and philosophy!” Moondancer sighed and clutched the book to her chest.
“Well, I think it’s time I headed back home,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Goodnight, everypony!”
As Twilight Sparkle departed, Moondancer trotted after her. “Thank you again for coming,” she said.
“No need to thank me, Moondancer. This is what friends do,” Twilight Sparkle said. “I think you should thank the rest of our friends, too. I mean, they’re the ones that accepted your invitation right away!”
Moondancer pawed the ground nervously.
“Is there something you wanted to say to me?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“It’s just that, I always wanted to be like you,” she replied. “Princess Celestia’s personal student. I thought that maybe, if I studied as hard as you, I could be like you. Twinkleshine and the others, though, they said there’s more to life than studying. They told me I should do more fun things. They finally wore me down, and I organized this party. I thought that, maybe, if you could enjoy a party, then I could too.”
“Parties are fun, Moondancer. I know it took me a while to figure it out because it’s not explicitly written in any book. It’s something that can only be learned through experience.” She waved goodbye. “Until next time!”
“Bye, Twilight!”
Twilight Sparkle trotted away, and ducked into the shadow between two buildings. “Well, that went well,” she said.
“I don’t know, Twilight,” Spike said.
“Now, there’s still the matter of me making up for being a bad friend these last five years. I can apologize to all four of them without all that struggling!”
The alicorn concentrated, and returned to the point in her past where she would begin her apologies.
Spike’s groaning told Twilight Sparkle that they had finished moving through time. She was standing in front of the bizarre hourglass-shaped door of Minuette’s house, and it was slowly creaking open.
Minuette rushed forward and gave Twilight Sparkle a strange look, before breaking into a big smile. “Twilight Sparkle!” she said, laughing. “You old so-and-so! What are you doing here?” She turned to Spike. “Hey, Spike!”
While Spike thought it was nice that she acknowledged him, Minuette focused her attention back on Twilight Sparkle. “Look at these wings, huh? Hey, grab a picture of me and the princess, will you? I tried to tell my co-workers we used to be friends back when, but they've never believed me!”
“This seems familiar,” Spike groaned.
“Wait, wait, wait! Really fluff 'em up, huh?” Minuette said.
Once the picture was done, Minuette continued her interrogation. “So what are you doing here? I mean, I know you're here all the time, but you never come to see me. Hey! I just had the greatest idea! You want to go see Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine?”
“Of course! My old friends!”
“It'll be great! Come on! Let's fly! Get it?” And with a spring in her step, Minuette took off.
“See, Spike? Nothing changed,” Twilight Sparkle said.
“I don’t know, Twilight. Did Minuette look at you strangely last time?”
“I’m sure it’s nothing. You’re so focused on finding something wrong, your mind is tricking you into thinking something’s different.”
“You know, she didn’t mention Moondancer,” Spike said.
“I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation for that.”
“Hey, Spike, long time, no see!” Joe said as the dragon sat at the counter.
“Doesn’t feel like that long for me,” he muttered. “Chocolate doughnut with sprinkles, and keep them coming.”
“You know a little fellow like you shouldn’t overdo it.”
“I said keep them coming!” Spike said, pounding his little fist on the counter.
“Look. You want to talk? Stallion to stallion?”
Spike sighed. “It’s Twilight Sparkle. She came to Canterlot to apologize to her old friends. That’s good. But the way she’s going about it, that’s not so good.” He glanced back; their conversation looked like it was going the same.
“Is this like bringing-down-the-Grand-Galloping-Gala not so good?” Joe asked.
“Worse.”
Over at Twilight Sparkle’s table, her old friends had just finished laughing at her heartfelt apology. Even attending that one party didn’t erase her reputation for not thinking of her friends.
“Oh, come on, Twilight! Sure, it might've stung a little bit when you ran off to Ponyville without saying goodbye, but it's not like we weren't used to that from you!” Minuette said.
“Yeah, we didn't take it personally,” Twinkleshine added.
“But it's really good to see you now. Hey! Anypony up for a blast from the past?” Lemon Hearts asked.
“Wait. Speaking of a blast from the past, whatever happened to Moondancer?” Twilight Sparkle asked.
“Moondancer?” Lemon Hearts said.
“You know, our other friend?”
“Oh, right! Moondancer! I remember her!” Twinkleshine said.
“I wonder what she's up to,” Lemon Hearts said.
“Yeah, I always liked her. We just sort of lost touch after you left,” Minuette said.
“I think she went to live out by the stadium, didn't she?” Twinkleshine said.
“Well, let's go see,” Lemon Hearts said.
As the three unicorns headed out the door, Twilight Sparkle headed over to the counter. “Spike!” she hissed. “Come on!”
“What’s wrong, Twilight?”
“It didn’t work! Everything’s the same!”
“Then we’re just going to have to come up with a solution that doesn’t involve magic,” Spike said.
“No. We’re going to figure out what went wrong, and fix that, too.”
The group of old friends came to a ramshackle home. Moss-covered flagstones set a path through a lawn choked with weeds. “I think this is the place. Didn't used to look like this, though,” Minuette said.
“Doesn’t this place look a little, you know, more bad?” Spike whispered to Twilight Sparkle.
“We just need to talk to Moondancer. I’m sure we can figure it out,” Twilight Sparkle said.
Twilight Sparkle knocked on the door. She heard no movement. She knocked harder, even though she knew she would break a hole in the door. But she didn’t. Instead, the force of her hoof knocked the door off its hinges. The door fell inward, sending clouds of dust into the air.
“Well, that’s new,” Spike observed.
“Hello? Moondancer?” Twilight Sparkle called. She turned to her friends. “Come on, girls.”
They stepped around stacks of books, dusty furniture, and old newspapers. “Did she move?” Lemon Hearts asked.
“She wouldn’t have left her books,” Minuette said.
“I don’t think anypony’s lived here for years,” Twinkleshine said.
Twilight Sparkle choked from the musty smells in the kitchen. A moldy loaf of bread and dirty dishes, also covered in mold, suggested that this place was abandoned.
“Ponies just don’t disappear, right?” Lemon Hearts said cautiously.
“There’s got to be some clue as to what happened,” Twilight Sparkle said.
She wasn’t sure what she would find. But she didn’t expect to see what was in Moondancer’s bedroom.
All four walls were covered with pictures, articles, hornwritten notes, and more. Strings connected various articles, and more notes were pinned to them, brief words talking about connections. There were pictures of Twilight Sparkle’s Ponyville friends, the three other princesses, Spike, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, and more, but the main focus of the display was Twilight Sparkle herself.
“Uh, Twilight? I don’t think we should be hanging around here,” Spike whispered.
“What is this? What happened to Moondancer?” Twilight Sparkle said.
“I’m with Spike,” Twinkleshine said. “Let’s get out of here.”
They hurried out of the abandoned house, only to be accosted by somepony next door. “Hey! What were you doing in there?”
“Sorry! We were just worried about our friend,” Twilight Sparkle said.
“Friends? That crazy mare didn’t have friends.”
“Old friends,” Twilight Sparkle corrected herself. “Um, sir, do you know what happened to Moondancer?”
“She was carted off to Canterlot Asylum two years ago, for her protection. And ours.”
“What?” Twilight Sparkle screamed. “Oh, this is bad, this is bad.”
Minuette rested a hoof on Twilight Sparkle’s withers. “There’s no way you could have known,” she said.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen!” Twilight Sparkle said
“But what can you do?” Lemon Hearts said.
“I don’t know. But I’m going to help Moondancer.”
“Good luck, Twilight,” Twinkleshine said.
And with that, Twilight Sparkle trotted away, Spike on her back.
“Told you so,” Spike said.
“Shut up, Spike.”
Twilight Sparkle hesitantly entered the looming stone tower that housed Canterlot Asylum. No amount of paint, stonework, or decoration could conceal the foreboding nature of the institution.
The mare seated behind the reception desk bowed, a rather awkward gesture to make while seated. “Princess Twilight Sparkle! How may we be of assistance?”
“I would like to speak with the doctor responsible for the care of one of your patients. Moondancer is her name.”
“Of course. Let me page the doctor.”
Five minutes later, Twilight Sparkle was seated at a table with Dr. Clear Mind, a unicorn stallion with a graying orange mane. A cup of dreadful hospital coffee was between her hooves. “I want to help Moondancer, Doctor!” she said.
“I’m afraid I can’t discuss the specifics of her case, even with a princess,” Clear Mind replied.
“I saw what was inside her old home, Doctor. I know she’s obsessed with me, but I don’t know why. Look. I came here to make amends with my old Canterlot friends, and if I did something to hurt Moondancer, I want to help. I’ll do anything.”
Clear Mind took a sip from his own cup of coffee. “There is one thing we haven’t tried, and that’s having Moondancer meet the subject of her obsession. Illusions of you don’t fool her. If you want to help, I can have you meet with her. We will observe your interaction.”
“Okay.”
Twilight Sparkle sat in a plain room. It was split into two halves, with a wall and large window dividing it. Her horn picked up the presence of multiple magical wards, ready to activate if there was trouble.
The door at the other end of the room opened. Moondancer shuffled in. Her body was covered in a white jacket that went down to her hooves; straps dangled from her legs, and buckles covered the jacket. A straitjacket, she noted. A horn blocker prevented her from using magic.
Moondancer’s eyes opened wide, and then narrowed. She peered at Twilight Sparkle. “You. It’s finally you this time.”
“Uh, hey, Moondancer! How are things?” she asked nervously.
“You should not exist. You should not exist!” she hissed.
“Um, I know some ponies didn’t quite understand the whole alicorn thing, but I assure you, I’m the real Twilight Sparkle.”
“Oh, really? Do you remember that party?”
“Yes?” Twilight Sparkle squeaked.
“I went to your tower the next morning. You were gone.”
“Well, Princess Celestia sent me to Ponyville, but I’m sure you’ve heard that story.”
“Do you know what the guards said? They said you left that morning. After spending the whole evening researching, and then packing for your trip.”
“Uh....”
“Thanks for the gift. You know, I C-wave dated them.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Remarkable magic, C-waves. Only created by living things, and they decay at a predictable rate. So it’s possible to see how old something is, like a bone, or a wooden beam... or a book. Your book was printed that year, but it was five years old.”
“Um, it was printed on old paper?”
“Spike’s photograph? Also five years old.”
“Um....”
“Nopony can be in two places at once. And nopony should have books like that. They should not exist. You should not exist! What are you, Twilight Sparkle? Alien? Changeling? Dimension traveler? Doppelganger?”
“No, I’m... oh, boy.”
Moondancer leaned forward, pressing her muzzle to the glass. “For the good of all Equestria, I will find out!”
Orderlies rushed into the room, and pulled Moondancer away. Feeling numb, Twilight Sparkle exited the room.
“Sorry to waste your time,” Twilight Sparkle said.
“On the contrary, you’ve helped reveal a new level to Moondancer’s delusions,” Clear Mind said. “Any information can help us in curing her. Now, do you have any insight into the meaning of her words?”
“It means I was a failure as a friend,” Twilight Sparkle said. “Come on, Spike.”
Spike waited until they were outside the asylum before speaking. “So what happened in there?”
“My plan made things worse! I can’t attend Moondancer’s party in the real me’s place.”
“So now what?”
“Say, Spike, do you think that you could send a letter to past you?”
“Well, sure, but....”
“Great! Then what we need to do is have Princess Celestia,” Twilight Sparkle said, making quotation marks with her hooves around those last words, “order past me to attend Moondancer’s party before looking into those old books. It’s perfect! Moondancer will get to see the real me, and I’ll still go to Ponyville!”
“Twilight, isn’t it time to look for a solution that doesn’t involve time travel?” Spike asked.
“Nonsense. Why look for something else? With time travel, we have all the time in the world!”
Twilight Sparkle’s horn glowed as she prepared to return once again to the past.
Twilight Sparkle sat on her favorite comfortable couch, a book open in front of her. In fact, it was the same book she was reading when she realized that she had forgotten all of her Canterlot friends.
From the kitchen, she heard the sound of a dish shattering. “Spike? Is that you?” she called.
“Twilight? Are you my Twilight?” Spike replied.
“If by that you mean the Twilight who was expecting to appear five years ago, not five days ago, then yes.”
“But what happened?”
“I don’t know, Spike. Something must have interfered with my magic, but I can’t sense what.”
Their conversation was interrupted by an urgent pounding on the castle door. “I’ll get it,” Spike volunteered.
“That’s funny. We didn’t have any visitors the first time,” Twilight Sparkle said to herself.
“Oh, hey! Come on in!” Spike said.
Soon, Spike returned with a familiar pony. “Minuette?” Twilight Sparkle said. “You know, I was just thinking about you!”
“I know,” the mare replied wearily. “And present me will be thrilled to catch up with you. But I’m future Minuette.”
“Future Minuette?”
“You of all ponies should know what I’m talking about. You’re a hard mare to find, Princess. Alicorn time travel is a lot harder to track. So where were you going this time?”
“I was going to have Spike create a fake letter from Princess Celestia, telling past me to go to Moondancer’s party before going to Ponyville.”
“You learn after the party that the letter wasn’t real,” Minuette explained. “You can’t trust Princess Celestia’s command to make friends. The bonds of friendship fail to form between you and your new Ponyville friends. Nightmare Moon wins.”
“What if I come back to Canterlot that first year? Make amends with all of you, including Moondancer, before things get too bad?”
“It saves Moondancer and makes us better friends. But we’re such good friends that the fake Princess Cadance won’t risk having us as bridesmaids. Three mares you’ve never met fill that role, and while mind-controlled, stop you and Princess Cadance from leaving the crystal caverns. Chrysalis wins.”
“Um, write a heartfelt letter of apology?”
“Displaces one of your friendship lesson letters, the one that broke Discord’s hold on you. Discord wins.”
“Well, how about if I just....”
Minuette pressed her hoof over Twilight Sparkle’s mouth. “Just stop. I mean this with all due respect, Princess, but stop. You can’t do time travel. Ninety-four percent of my work is undoing the problems you create.”
“That’s your job?”
Minuette motioned to the hourglass on her flank. “What did you think my job was?”
“Weren’t you a dentist?”
Minuette facehoofed. “You go to one Nightmare Night party...” she muttered. “By orders of Princess Celestia, I’ve protected the time stream for seventy years.”
“You look pretty good for a seventy year old,” Twilight Sparkle said.
“I’m eighty-nine. One of the benefits to this job is that I enter a time in an age-appropriate body. But I’m not here to talk about my work. I’m here with a direct order from Princess Celestia. Go, reconnect with your old friends, and find a way to connect with Moondancer that doesn’t involve disrupting the time stream.”
“I think you should listen to her, Twilight,” Spike said.
“Yeah, you’re right. You were right the first time, Spike. Knowing that we were able to solve the first mission from the map when I didn’t have my magic at all, I should always stop and think about solutions that don’t need my magic.”
“So we have an understanding, Princess? Good. Now I need to depart, before Pinkie Pie tries to throw me a Welcome to Ponyville party and I end up confusing the mare again.” And with a flash of time magic, Minuette disappeared.
“You know, I bet Pinkie Pie could help,” Spike said.
“You’re right. Friendship is magic, and my friends have proven to be as powerful as my magic. Even new friends, like the ones from that village.”
“So whatever happened to that Starlight Glimmer pony?” Spike asked.
“I don't know. But rest assured, we’ll find her,” Twilight Sparkle said confidently. “If she comes within a hundred meters of me, I’ll know.”