//------------------------------//
// Arc 1 - Chapter 1 
// Story: The Lunar Millennium 
// by Sasha Nein 
//------------------------------//


Arc 1 - Grounded



Chapter 1


Nothing was going to go wrong... Why had she said that?
 
Carefully gathering her hooves beneath her, Luna opened her eyes. The room was pitch black; she couldn’t even see her muzzle, and that was saying something for the Night Princess. She groaned, the sound piercing the oppressive silence. She cursed at herself, why had she jinxed the experiment like that?

Standing, she assessed her condition. “Well, I’m still in one piece.” She raised an eyebrow. “Odd, the equipment is gone, and it doesn’t look like there was an explosion.”
 
Luna wilted as her next thought hit her: “Twilight Sparkle was right. I shouldn’t have charged the device with my magic.” 

She lit her horn and was shocked into stillness as the light illuminated rack upon rack of palace guard armor. Stepping closer to investigate, she noticed they lacked the gold finish and the winged flanges on the helms. Instead, the steel shone with a dull, silvery light as Luna’s light reflected and bounced around them.

Pulling her eyes away from the armor, Luna glanced around. “Twilight?” she called tentatively. “Twilight, are you there?”

Silence greeted her. 
 
Unable to keep her attention away from the racks, she turned a frown back to the sets of armor. They seemed oddly familiar. “Almost as if— No, Celestia told me she got rid of these...”
 
On closer inspection, the armor wasn’t that of the palace guard. These were much more like the armor her own forces wore before her transformation.
 
“Curious indeed,” Luna mused to herself. This wasn’t right, this armor should be gone. Yet, here it was. Where was she? Luna took a step around one of the racks, but stopped as the ground crackled beneath her.
 
A blackened circle, riddled with twisted hairline cracks, encircled her hooves as she looked down at them. She frowned and moved towards the door, the brittle, blackened stone crumbling beneath her hooves. She pushed it open... “Okay, maybe not”. Luna shoved against the door, her frown deepening when it did not budge. 

Backing away, she charged her horn and was about to blow it off its hinges, but paused at the last moment. Glancing back at the rows of armor, she decided that she had no idea what she was doing. Randomly throwing her magic around is what got her into this mess. Instead, she sent a few tendrils of magic beyond the door to confirm there was nothing there. Then, she teleported into the corridor outside.
 
She looked back, the door was barred. “...From the outside?” Then there was the armor stash. Luna looked up and down the corridor, the light from her horn flashing. It sure looked similar to the corridor outside of the experiment room... “Wait a minute, is this even the same room?” Luna looked at the door again. “Ahah!” It was exactly like the oak door she and Twilight had removed in favor of a more modern, and very thick steel door. It did not look near as aged as it had when they removed it though.
 
Puzzled, Luna began moving up and out of the depths of the palace. The torch sconces were all empty, and there weren’t any ashes to been seen anywhere. In fact, looking close at the walls, she could see mold growing. Luna was growing nervous. The layout of this place was exactly the same as Canterlot Castle, but this was clearly not home. As she continued upwards, she passed a number of other rooms that were as dark as the corridor. Rooms she knew Celestia to have had occupied for one project or another were all filled with sets of armor or weapons. Something was definitely... wrong.
 
“Stay calm, Luna. There will be plenty of time to panic when you figure out what is going on,” she reasoned.

Conjuring her magic once more, Luna drew the abundant shadows around her and became invisible. Whatever was going on, she wasn’t so foolish as to run around flapping her wings everywhere. Until she figured out what had happened, it might be best to just keep silent. She was not so large that sneaking around would be a problem. She didn’t clunk around like that big sunbutt she called sister.
 
Luna snorted. What had Twilight meant anyway? “Twice the normal mass?” Pshaw! She was a very petite alicorn, noticeably less massive than those hunks of stallions in--Luna flicked an ear as a ringing sound chimed faintly down the corridor, distracting her from reminiscing.
 
She kept moving. Soon, sounds of a smith at work reached her ears. Finally coming upon a lit corridor, she recalled it led straight to the smithy, which seemed to be buzzing with activity. She paused, it led to the smithy back in Canterlot Castle. While this place was very similar to her home, she was pretty sure her home contained a certain purple unicorn, lots of arcane equipment and modern lighting.
 
Focusing her attention back on the loud ringing, she decided it did not seem too extraordinary, the palace guards or grounds keepers were always needing something repaired. Still, Luna had seen the sets of armor rusting away back in the storeroom. If Equestria was at war, or needed guards, then wouldn’t all the armor be on ponies? Maybe they were preparing for war?
 
Sneaking to the large smithy doors, Luna looked through the cracks. She cringed at the din that was originating from within. There were at least a dozen ponies working around the large forge. All of them were working on what appeared to be some piece of war equipment. The noise was overwhelming and Luna quickly retreated, wondering what was going on.
 
Almost running into a pony rushing in the opposite direction, Luna reeled out of the way just in time. She looked to where the colt was heading, Luna remember it led to the wine cellar. Curious, she moved along until she came to the large room. There was a lot of sound coming from the cellar, as if a lot of ponies were very busy at, whatever they would be doing in a cellar.
 
Luna peaked around the corner and froze with surprise. The entire cellar was alive with activity. True, there had always been some activity down here. But now, the place was packed in with as many, if not more than what filled the kitchens. Dozens of ponies rushed around cataloging, stacking, ordering and pretty much anything else that could possibly be done with the barrels.
 
The large wine presses and vats were all full. Luna had only ever seen one or two being used at a time, but now there were at least a dozen all being used to produce alcoholic beverages.
 
She decided to get some information, the colt who had almost run into her was busy cataloging a stack of kegs. It was a perfect little niche for her to interrogate somepony without any others coming and interrupting. Luna shed her disguise and cautiously approached the pony.
 
“Um, what is going-” She tried to ask, but was interrupted as the stallion jumped and turned to see her for the first time. He let out a very unmanly shriek.
 
“N-NIGHTMARE MOON!?” He screamed, backpedaling into a pony hauling a cart full of kegs.
 
They went down in a heap, the kegs falling everywhere. A few of them broke, splashing all nearby ponies in fermented juices. Ponies scrambled in all directions. Half the work going on in the cellar ground to a halt. The stallion had been soaked head to hoof, and he just lay on the floor, eyes wide and body twitching.
 
In no time at all guards arrived on the scene and the ponies scattered, working furiously back at their tasks while only a few were left to clean up the mess. When the situation was brought back under control, there was no Princess of the Night to be found. The stallion she had frightened was ushered, still shivering, out of the cellar by two guards.
 
Luna observed from the shadows, her dark coat making her nearly invisible. The guards were not wearing the bright regalia that she remembered. Instead, it looked exactly like the armor she remembered Celestia’s troops using at the time of her banishment. Luna frowned in confusion and followed the guards.
 
Before long, the stallion regained awareness of his surroundings and began to fight in the guards’ grip.
 
“No! What are you doing! Stop! I’m fine, let me go back to work!”
 
“You’ve been working in the cellars too long my friend, we don’t need anypony going crazy and impeding progress. We are barely keeping up with the Princess’ demands as it is.”
 
“Then let me help! I’m fine I swear! Maybe just a little tired, the alcoholic fumes were getting to me!” The stallion pleaded, all the while being dragged along.
 
“If you can’t handle a few smells then you shouldn’t be down there. The wine cellars can’t afford a lightweight like yourself.” The guard said impassively.
 
“No, please! I-I’m sorry, just give me a second chance!” The stallion was babbling, or blubbering, Luna could not quite tell which. Either way, it was disturbing to see the guards acting so cold.
 
Had she been like this at one time? Luna could clearly remember disowning working ponies for less than this. But, being the pony responsible for his unjust demise made the whole situation seem sickly to her. She followed the retreating ponies, maybe she could still fix this.
 
“It is not up to us to decide, you can take this up with the princess. If you’re lucky, she might just fire you.” The stallion went limp as the guards dragged him through the halls.
 
It wasn’t long before Luna realized they were heading for the throne room. She had no trouble following undetected as the halls were much darker than she remembered. There were shadows everywhere, she was able to move like a wraith behind the guards.
 
As they approached the double doors to the throne room, two guards standing at attention on either side gestured them to wait. Luna’s ears twitched as she heard shouts from within.
 
Whatever was going on, it did not seem to be going well. A moment later the doors banged open, two mares and a stallion beat a hasty retreat through them as screamed threats echoed through the halls behind them.
 
“... And if thou ever come back here showing those snivelling faces We shall personally rip them off thine skulls!”
 
That sounded very much like... Celestia. But, it carried the ancient accent with it that Luna had when she had returned from banishment. The words were also unnaturally loud, and slurred. Luna tried to crane her neck enough to see into the throne room from her hiding spot. But at that moment, the two guards carrying their prisoner straightened and adjusted their armor before walking inside, kicking the doors closed behind them.
 
The door banged loudly and bounced back open. Glancing left and right, Luna saw nothing. Odd that there were no guards, but she wasn’t complaining. Seeing an opportunity, Luna snuck up to the doors and peeked in.
 
The scene that greeted her eyes stopped her dead. It was certainly her sister, but not one she had ever seen. The alicorn had bags under her eyes, a coat stained with repeated spills of alcohol, a countenance consumed with anger and she was carrying a mug, of what Luna could only assume was wine out of the keg next to her, which she was continually swigging out of.
 
Her slack jawed assessment was cut short as the guards marched up to the dais and saluted smartly.
 
“Your Highness, this pony claims to have seen Nightmare Moon in the cellars. He was disrupting the workers and slowing productions, we have brought him to face your judgement.”

The stallion between the two guards tried to fling himself forward, but was stopped by the guards’ firm grips. “I swear it was a mistake! I can keep doing my job just fine. I... I... It won’t happen again I swear!”
 
Celestia regarded him coldly, her furious features having turned to stone the moment Nightmare Moon had been mentioned.
 
“Remove him.” She hiccuped. “We have no place for hallucinators and procrastinators in Our palace.” Celestia waved a hoof dismissively, ignoring the pleas of the sobbing stallion.
 
Luna quietly retreated and waited for the tragic procession to exit the throne room. Already having forgotten what she had just done, Celestia plopped back onto her throne and demanded more wine. Any chance of her observing Luna’s presence was lost in a sea of inebriation and impatience. 
 
With a shake of her head, Luna closed the throne room doors in disbelief as she left. The guards outside, preoccupied with the now struggling stallion, did not notice Luna’s actions.
 
They made it to the end of the corridor before one of them finally brought his hoof down on the stallion’s head. It didn’t knock him out, but he went limp immediately as he regressed into a daze. Luna continued to follow quietly. She wasn’t sure what to do, but it seemed wrong to just leave the stallion she had caused to lose his livelihood.
 
Once outside the palace, Luna rolled her eyes as she found out it was raining. She watched the guards haul the unresponsive stallion out the gates and drop him on the streets of what Luna could only guess to be Canterlot.
 
When the guards barred the gates and retreated inside, Luna abandoned her hiding place and teleported through the large oak doors to the stallion’s side. He was still laying on the ground, his coat and mane already matted with the rain water and mud.
 
Picking the stallion up with her magic, Luna quickly retreated to a covered alley. If this was Canterlot, it certainly wasn’t filled with the vibrant life and paved streets that she had come to know. She was beginning to have suspicions that the teleporter had performed something similar to, or very much like, time travel.
 
It was a crazy, wild idea. There was no way any of their readings could have predicted this, yet that was also why it might could be possible. Things had gone horribly wrong, something that could not have been predicted...

“All I need to do is find Twilight Sparkle and get back to...” Her thoughts ground to a halt as the logic side of her brain caught up with the rest of it. There was no Twilight Sparkle. Yet. There was also no equipment to even attempt a return trip with.

A peal of thunder reverberated through the alley and the sky flashed. Luna pushed her thoughts to the side and refocused on the pony at her hooves. Right now she needed to find a place to spend the night. If this was Canterlot in the past, then it was probably wise to assume there weren’t any places open this late and to get any answers she’d have to wait until morning.
 
The bigger, more pressing problem, however, was that she had a dazed stallion in her keeping, and she was probably the single most feared being in the world at this point in time. The latter making any combination of circumstances rather dangerous.
 
While her countenance resembled little of Nightmare Moon herself, ponies had made it clear to Luna that her normal features were just as terrifying. Which was really unfair and rude on their part if she thought about it.
 
“Well... when they didn’t know better”, Luna reminded herself. It was rather unfair of her to demean ponies for their behavior so drastically. She had learned that lesson the hard way, but thankfully Twilight had been there...

Anyway, a disguise. Luna laid the slowly recovering stallion down in the shadow of an overhanging building and began to prepare herself a magical persona. It was a complex piece of work. She’d have to weave the spell to be undetectable from the outside, give herself normalizing features, but also align it in a way so that it would conform to her body well and lessen the chances for it to be foiled.
 
Still, it was something she was quite familiar with. After all, it had been her who had designed the Nightmare Armor, more or less. She had also had a hoof in various other projects of shadowy nature, ones that Celestia had never been able to figure out. Creating a second skin for herself was like child’s play.
 
First choice to be made was what her new coat color and mane were going to be. Luna pondered her choices for a few minutes. It would probably be best if she didn’t choose anything that would resemble herself too closely, as her personality might make things obvious. After all, she had no idea how long it was going to take to get back to her timeline, or wherever away from her home was. Or how many other ponies she was going to have to interact with between now and then.
 
Perhaps an orange, or blue, or maybe a pink? So many choices… Luna stood contemplating all the options with a grimace. So maybe making the changes was simple, but she’d never really had to worry about actually choosing the colors. She had other ponies for that. The stallion groaned and tried to sit up, but ended up only placing a hoof to his head.
 
Luna shook her head and quickly began forming her magic. Time was up, it would be easier to explain her presence without having to go through the whole magic thing, not to mention he would probably flip out again if he saw her usual form.
 
She decided on a blue coat, not as dark as her natural color, but still deeper than a sky blue. Having lived with blues her whole life, it was a little difficult to just discard it on the spot. Next was her mane, it needed simplification and coloration. A light pink should suffice, that wasn’t too abnormal was it? Her sister used to have a pink mane, it looked good.
 
Next was deciding if her horn or wings went. It was a big, and tough, choice. What would she need to use more? If she kept her magic then there was a lot more she could do. She’d have to be careful not to use too much of her power if a situation arose, but it would certainly allow her to explain away a great more than if she kept her wings.
 
But, if she got rid of her wings, she’d be grounded. Nopony who ever had wings would ever want that. Not being able to fly just for the sake of flying would be terrible. Luna had never been the best of flyers, but she liked to think she could give a Wonderbolt a run for their money. Still, it was the least logical choice, even if it was the more desired option, in her opinion at least.
 
With a sigh, Luna began disguising her wings. Celestia may be able to get away with being a pegasus now and again for fun, but Luna still wasn’t sure just how serious this situation was. It would probably be best to be prudent from the start instead of stirring the pot with accidental magic.
 
Just as she finished her disguise, the stallion sat up. Flipping her restyled mane out of her eyes, Luna turned to him. He still seemed rather out of it, those guards must have hit him quite hard.
 
She frowned, that was unacceptable behavior. No guard would behave thusly, if it had been one of her guard she’d have- Luna stopped for a moment, thinking back to her days before and as Nightmare Moon.
 
Yes, she had acted like that when she’d been in power then. If anypony crossed her, or got in her way, she’d punished them quite severely without even thinking about it. But, a few hundred years on the moon had kind of tempered that mindset, even though it had been the Nightmare that had returned. Now, since her reformation, as most liked to call it, she’d been introduced to a world of kindness that she’d enjoyed quite a lot.
 
But now, seeing this sort of brutality first hoof after so many years, it was rather shocking. Luna wasn’t sure what Celestia was up to, but it did not seem like the one she’d been banished by. Well, there was only one way to find out.
 
Luna looked down at the stallion rubbing his head. He was looking at her quizzically when she turned to him, but he quickly turned away when she did. She couldn’t get his color very well in the dark and rain, but he seemed to be a brownish. He didn’t seem to be as skittish now, hopefully that meant her disguise was working.
 
“Hello there,” Luna said. She cursed inwardly, she hadn’t changed her voice at all. Turning away from the stallion she quickly used her magic to change that as well.
 
Luna turned back to the stallion and tried again, “My name is… Clover.” Luna finished not so smoothly. Her voice was now higher, having a distinctive trill over her normally rough tone. She smiled inwardly, she still had it.
 
Stepping towards the stallion, she leaned down to be level with him sitting and put her nose close to his face. “What is yours?”
 
The stallion blinked a few times and leaned back uncertainly. “Uh, Copperhoof… , what are you doing?”
 
“I feel that is the question I should be asking you.” Luna responded.
 
Copperhoof sighed dejectedly and pinched his nose with a hoof. “I can’t believe this. One little hallucination and I freak out. You’d think an earth pony could handle a few liquor fumes. Why couldn’t I just keep my muzzle shut?”
 
Luna cocked her head. “Hmm?”
 
The stallion glanced at her again, this time taking a good look at the mare before him. “Why are you out here? It’s a terrible night, what do you care if somepony got shoved out of the palace gates?”
 
“I, uh, was just out?” Luna offered. The stallion's suspicious tone caught her off guard.
 
Copperhoof shook his head and sighed. “It’s fine, I know nopony would be out in this unless they were forced to be.” He went silent again, dejectedly wiping mud from his muzzle. “So,” he said finally. “Who kicked you out, and when?”
 
“I… Well,” Luna stammered, grasping at her knowledge of the past.
 
Actually, she had no sure idea of when or where this was. Based on the behavior and structure of the guards, as well as the architecture, she was guessing it was after her defeat as Nightmare Moon. But, even that was grasping at straws, time travel wasn’t even supposed to be possible. Still, she had to entertain the notion, being an experimental scientist with Twilight Sparkle kind of forced that sort of thinking.
 
An idea came to the disguised alicorn. “I’m not sure when, what year is it?”
 
Copperhoof gave her another quizzical glance. “It’s seventeen years after the Nightmare’s demise.” He paused and raised an eyebrow, wincing at it moved the growing bruise on his forehead. “How long… You don’t look like you’ve been on the streets longer than a couple days. How can you not know?”
 
Luna sighed, slumping her shoulders dejectedly. “Time never meant much at the academy.” She said heavily. Thinking quickly, she added, “You’re right, I’ve only been out for just today. Nopony talks to me willingly, it’s like I don’t exist.”
 
Even though she was beginning to suspect some sort of time travel mishap, it was still no less shocking to have it confirmed. Questions were bubbling up thick and fast. How was that even possible? What repercussions could something like this have? How was she going to get home?
 
Forcing those thoughts down, Luna focused on her current situation. Memories of this day and age were resurfacing and she was trying to piece together an extra seventeen years. There were differences from what she remembered, but not too different judging by Copperhoof’s reactions.
 
Obviously academies were still as aloof as they had been a few years prior. The night was still shunned and ponies had an irrational fear of Nightmare Moon. But, there were also some things different. Celestia was not the pony she remembered, and Equestria itself was making no changes towards the better world Luna knew it had been forged into.
 
If she had to guess, her banishment had played a major role in Celestia’s reaction. At that thought, Luna stilled. ‘Tia had always made mention it had been hard, but never brought up that it had been this bad. Even before, Luna always remembered her sister giving ponies the time of day just so long as they asked nicely. She never had the same patience ‘Tia did, and that was part of the reason she’d become so jealous.
 
But, enough of that, Luna shook her head to clear away her reminiscing.  The fact that Celestia was acting too harshly was disconcerting. It was possible she’d been transported into some kind of different dimension, one that had a more brash Celestia. After all, if time travel was possible… why not interdimensional travel?
 
It was absurd, but unfortunately Luna couldn’t discredit the preposterousness of the situation. She turned back to the stallion, who was looking at her expectantly.

“I’m sorry, I missed that.” She apologized, realizing he had asked her something.

“I asked, why did you pull me in here?” he repeated.
 
Luna shrugged. “I saw you get shoved out the doors, you didn’t look so good. I couldn’t just leave you there.” She turned to him, this was her window of opportunity. “I was hoping you would be able to help me.”
 
The stallion laughed bitterly. “Me? Help you? A fancy academy student? Not sure what you’re implying, Miss Clover. You probably have enough of those fancy magics you’d do fine anywhere.”
 
“I don’t know anything about the city either.” Luna interjected. “I’m an academy student, remember?”
 
From what she recalled, the few prestigious academies that had been established didn’t accept traditional applicants. They had, when they’d been founded. But, Celestia’s lax governing of them allowed the ruling boards to develop their own selective means of accepting ponies.
 
They had what were called ‘scouts’ who went out and tested young fillies and colts to see if they would qualify for the special training and lifestyle the academy would offer. It was a selfish method of teaching. The ponies that emerged from those academies all had the same bias, ideals and misguided ideologies of the secluded professors who had no understanding of the outside world.
 
While it was a wish for any parent that their child would grow up wanting in nothing, the price of sending them to an academy, where that was possible, was steep. A parent would not have control over that child ever again. Yes, they might see them from time to time, but that child would never see them as their true family. They usually grew up being embarrassed to go meet with family, having been indoctrinated to see them as lesser ponies. It was a catch twenty-two all the way around. On the one hoof, that child would live an easy life to the end of his days, but on the other he would never grow up to be the strong, independent and loving pony that would have come from a life of hard work.
 
There wasn’t much practical use for knowledge beyond the family trade in this world, so scholars usually stayed at the universities until the end of their days; destined to be single hermits who never knew what love, life, or family was.
 
It wasn’t much of a stretch to expect Copperhoof to know this. It was common knowledge to everypony, and a real controversial topic for families with children that qualified. At least, it had been when Luna still ruled with her sister. She hoped her statement still carried enough implication that he wouldn’t ask further.
 
Thankfully, he did. “So, why did they kick you out? Why aren’t you with your family?”

Luna grimaced inwardly; out of the frying pan and into the fire. “I was…uh… ‘Unruly’.” Luna emphasized the word by waving her hooves. “And I don’t remember having any family.
 
“But, enough about me.” Luna gestured towards the palace. “Why did you get kicked out? You said you were hallucinating?”

Copperhoof grimaced and held a hoof up to his swelling forehead. “I… It’s dumb. I saw- I made a mistake in the cellars. I got kicked out for it.”
 
“I’m sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?”
 
Another look. “Filly, you know how many ponies would take advantage of your obliviously innocent offer?”
 
“Should I not be offering to help you? That’s barbaric!” Luna trilled in an aghast tone.
 
The stallion sighed. “Look, we can talk about this later. First we need to find a dry place to spend the night.”
 
It wasn’t raining on them in the alley, but Luna was all too aware of the water seeping along the cobblestones and through her tail. “Where would you suggest?”
 
Copperhoof sighed and stood up, wincing and holding his head.

Luna pursed her lips and stepped closer to him. “Here, let me fix that.”
 
She moved to place her horn against his forehead but he shied away exclaiming, “Hey, what do you think you’re doing?!”
 
She rolled her eyes and sighed in exasperation. Of course, while the unification of the tribes was already ancient history to these ponies, the equality and trust had yet to reach its fullest.
 
“Honestly,” she groused, “You’d think ponies would be a little more trusting of someone who’d already helped them.”
 
“Listen, filly,” Copperhoof began indignantly.

 Luna interrupted him, “It’s, Clover.”
 
“I appreciate you getting me out of the rain and all,” he continued, ignoring her interruption. “But, I just met you. You can’t just go waving your horn around and doing all those shady… Er, fancy magicks on just anypony.”
 
Luna rolled her eyes. “Oh please, you’re ridiculous.” She grabbed him in her magic and pulled him closer. “If I wanted to hurt you I could have done it a million times already.”

Ignoring his protests, she held him still and hovered her horn over his skull. It would have been better if she could have made contact, but even she realized that would be a little too presumptuous. She still needed him to be her friend, and invading his personal space even more was a sure way of losing what little relationship she had established.
 
It wouldn’t do to have him walking around with a head injury, not when she could fix it easily. Once he realized that he was healed he would probably change his tune. At least, that was what she hoped, it would be very hard for her to function without a male to turn to.
 
This time and age did not take kindly to a mare on her own. It was just unheard of for one to be working or making a living on her own. There was always a stallion of the house earning the bits. Even mares who had lost their own husbands, or had never married, lived under the roof of a working stallion. That was just the way things were. Luna remembered this now, and she had no intention as passing herself off as a stallion.
 
Currently, her plan was to find herself a little niche somewhere she could carry out some form of study on her accident. Maybe there was a way to get back to her time, and Twilight Sparkle, but for now she needed a place to gather her thoughts and begin research.
 
 Luna allowed her magic to pass into the stallion’s forehead and begin assessing the damage. It was a fairly simple head injury, something that would heal on its own. But it would swell quite extensively and possibly cause headaches. The blood needed to be redirected and the veins repaired.
 
Once she finished, she set the stallion down gently. He didn’t move, but was breathing heavily. After a moment, he cautiously raised a hoof to his forehead and felt around for his injury. After a few knocks and lots of feeling around, he lowered his hoof and stared at her.

“How…” he trailed off, staring at her. “Nopony has ever been able to pick me up with their magic before… Who are you?”

Luna almost facehoofed, even for all her preparation, her carelessness was going to get her in trouble! Unicorns were normally unable to manipulate biomass that was living. This meant animals from parasprites to ponies to manticores were all beyond the ability of a normal unicorn to lift.
 
Most thought it was just because they were alive, that living material was unmanipulable. But Luna knew the reason went deeper than that. Twilight Sparkle, bless that little bundle of knowledge, had figured it out shortly before becoming an alicorn herself.
 
It wasn’t because the target was alive, it was because of the magic that resided in them. There was a complex network of magical life flowing through all living beings, and it was especially strong in ponies. Gryphons had stronger resistances than most, minotaurs too, but they had other means for avoiding magical influences.
 
But that was a story for another time. Luna racked her brain for a way to explain away her abnormal magic use. She laughed nervously. “Please,” she scoffed. “I’m an academy student, you really think I’ve not got a few tricks up my mane?”
 
Thankfully that seemed to pacify Copperhoof, but she resolved not to slip up again. Maybe she could figure out some way for her to sense when she was using too much, maybe like a magical alarm. She’d have to look into it when it wasn’t pouring rain.

Copperhoof began to shiver. He stood up and spoke slowly. “Okay, listen. I know a few places we can go for tonight. So, as a return of thanks for your help, I’m offering whatever room I get, to share.” He paused, as if to let it sink it. But Luna was more intent on not pumping her hoof in success. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, if you have somewhere else you can go,” he continued. “But, I’m guessing that you don’t have anywhere.”

Luna shook her head. “No, I... don’t have anything.”

The stallion nodded and moved towards the alley entrance. His hooves squished into the mud, squeezing water out around them as he pressed down. Looking left and right he seemed to gather his bearings before turning back to Luna. “Alright, the nearest inn is at the end of this street, thankfully. Maybe we can get a room there.”

Luna merely gave him a short nod and stepped up behind him. She lit her horn as Copperhoof bolted out into the rain. He ran a few steps before looking back up at the sky in confusion; he wasn’t getting rained on.

There was a faint blue aura around both him and Luna, causing a dome shaped cascade of water to fall down a few feet from them all around. He turned back to Luna who only smirked.

Copperhoof chuckled sheepishly. “I didn’t realize how useful you unicorns are.”

She didn’t reply to his comment, as nothing she thought of sounded anything more than boastful. She wanted his help, not to drive him away by seeming to be a prideful unicorn. Right now, he was her only option of figuring out just what was going on.

As remiss as it was, she’d never really studied an in-depth history of the time when she was banished to the moon. She had studied it in general, wanting to get caught up on big events she had missed. But the casual, day to day history of the period, especially the early years, she had skipped over. The irony of now being stuck in that same period, was not lost on her.

Following alongside Copperhoof, she walked through the rain-slicked street of Canterlot. It was so different from the city she was used to. Her mind was working, unlocking memories of her time in the city before her banishment.

The buildings around her were unfamiliar with what her most recent memories were trying to tell her. Yet, a sense of deja vu was creeping in. Once she and Copperhoof were safe and warm inside a room, she’d test the waters, ask him some questions about the current time period. Though she wondered just how long her excuse of being a sheltered Academy student would hold out.

The stallion led her to a large building at the end of the street. A wooden sign, hanging over the door and flapping lazily in the breeze, proclaimed it to be the Bronze Shield Inn. A warm glow was emanating from the cracks around the door, and the muted sound of conversation spilled into the street, barely audible over the rain.

As Copperhoof pushed open the door, she let her shield fall. He held the door open for her. Giving him a thankful nod, she stepped past him and into the inn.

Inside, there were tables set up on the floor, as well as several booths along a side wall. A long bar ran down the far wall, a pony standing behind it, wiping a glass with a rag. Seated at the tables and booths was a motley mixture of ponies. The majority of them were earth ponies, with only a couple of unicorns at a booth, and a single, solitary pegasus at the end of the bar. 

When they entered the bar, silence reigned as every head turned to look at them. It was a natural reaction, Luna reasoned. What pony in their right mind would be out this late in this weather? Yet, as she looked around the room, many of the curious glances turned to frowns of... disgust? After several moments, the sounds of conversation started up again, but the furtive glances towards the duo at the door persisted. It made her feel guilty, as if she’d done something wrong.

Following Copperhoof’s cue of ignoring the patrons, Luna followed him through the tables and up to the bar. As she passed by, she heard small snippets of conversation she didn’t think she was supposed to be hearing.

“What’s he doing with her?” one stallion was asking his friend.

“That stallion’s gonna get in trouble hanging around the likes of her,” another said aloud.

One particular stallion eyed her flank as she passed. “I bet she comes cheap,” he remarked to his table.

The comments were confusing. Except for that last one, she knew precisely what he was referring to, but she just chose to ignore it. She guessed the other comments were related to that last one in some way. Still, it was confusing as the why they thought she was a harlot, was she missing something? She was the only mare in the room, so perhaps that had something to do with it.

The bartender, now that she got a closer look at him, was a grizzled, old earth pony stallion. Above him, mounted on the wall, was a large, bronze shield. Various images and tableau were etched onto its surface.

The stallion regarded them for a moment. “Can I help you?” he asked, his voice rough. Setting down the glass he was wiping, he picked up another, repeating the process.

“Yes, I’d— We’d like a room, please,” Copperhoof said. Several nearby heads turned in their direction, including the stallion who’d wondered if Luna was ‘cheap.’

“This isn’t an inn for whores,” The barkeep said rather loudly, slamming the glass he was cleaning into the bar. “I don’t—”

The innkeeper was cut off as Copperhoof set a small sack on the table. “We’re not that. Just give us a room.” he said.

Luna felt her ire rise at the innkeeper. Just by looking at them, he had insinuated such a thing? She was a Princess! She would never do something like that with a pony she had just met. And she would certainly never stoop to selling herself. Her mouth opened as she began to deliver a tongue lashing to the innkeeper.

“You listen here, you miscreant! I’ll have you know that I resent any insinuation you’ve made about me. I am a proud—”

Once more, Copperhoof cut somepony off. This time, it was Luna herself, as he rapped the side of her head. “Shut up, Clover,” he said, glaring at her. “I’ve got things handled.”

Luna turned on Copper, her ire having found a new target. But before she could do more than open her mouth, what he had said hit her. “Clover”. That was the name she was going by now. She wasn’t Princess Luna, a mare of class and distinction. Here, she was Clover, a lost little Academy unicorn, ignorant in the ways of the world. Clover wouldn’t speak out like that, she wouldn’t draw attention to herself.

So instead of snapping back at Copperhoof, she took in a deep breath and tried to calm down. They needed a room, a place to stay the night, and alienating the stallion who controlled access to those rooms was a good way to be sleeping on the streets. She tried to not glare at the barkeep, but her eyes still contained a hard look.

She became aware that for the second time since they’d arrived, all the conversations in the room had stopped. Heads were once more staring at them. She’d been here for less than an hour, and already she was drawing too much attention to herself.

Copperhoof stopped glaring at her. Taking a deep breath, he spoke to the innkeeper. “I assure you, we aren’t like that. We just need a room out of the rain, somewhere to sleep.”

The innkeeper’s head swivelled back and forth between the two of them for a moment. “Room’s sixty bits a night. Includes breakfast in the morning. I’ve got one room left,” He pointed towards the stairs leading up. “All the way at the end of the hall.”

It was at this point that Luna realized she didn’t have any bits on her. And even if she did, they were most likely different than the ones used back in this time. She was completely broke.

“Thirty bits,” Copperhoof countered.

“Sixty bits, kid. You’re lucky I’m even offering you a room. That hornhead,” he gestured to Luna, “will drive my business away.”

Staring at the innkeeper, Copperhoof slowly opened his bag and counted out the requisite number of coins. By the time the room was paid for, the bag was nearly empty. It would seem they were both in dire straits.

The innkeeper reached under the bar, producing a key. He slid it across the bar to Copperhoof, who grabbed it. “Enjoy your stay,” he said, though his eyes were still giving them a hard look.

Reluctantly thanking the stallion, Copperhoof headed over to the stairs, Luna following. Together they headed upstairs and down the hall. She could feel him hustling her, forcing her to move faster. As they went, the patrons of the inn watched them, their looks a mixture of curiosity and disgust.

Copperhoof opened the door to the room, revealing it. When Luna got inside, the first thing she noticed was that it was clean. There was a single bed, large enough for two ponies to sleep comfortably. A nightstand held an oil lamp. A dresser was set against one wall, a standing mirror next to it.

When the door was closed, Copperhoof faced Luna. “Okay, I know you’re an Academy student and all, but what the buck was that? You can’t just go saying things like that to ponies! We’re lucky we’re not outside right now, looking for an alleyway to sleep in!” He was nearly yelling by the time he finished.

She was shocked. Obviously, she’d done something wrong in standing up for herself. But that thought was brushed aside as she countered with her own heated response. “That... That stallion called me a whore! Why should I not defend myself?”

Copperhoof grit his teeth. “It’s-” he began loudly, but then stopped. He glanced at the door before turning back to Luna and hissed out in a forcibly controlled voice, “What did you expect? You’re a unicorn in an earth pony inn! You should have known this would happen, Academy seclusion or not!”

Luna opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Copperhoof was quite upset, maybe it would be best to just defuse the situation now. She started to apologize, but was cut off again.

“Just... Don’t do that again, okay?”

She nodded, doing her best not to grit her teeth in frustration. “Very well.”

Had the segregation been as bad as this when she’d still been around? She tried to remember how she’d acted around ponies back before becoming Nightmare Moon. It came as no surprise that she didn’t have much to go on. All her memories were of ponies ignoring her night, retreating to inns just like this one to wait for a new day. She had been doing the very thing these ponies had without even realizing it.

If only she knew more about what was going on. Her source of information was sitting right there, but getting that information was going to be a trick if she wanted to keep her cover. She didn’t know how much she could start asking before he decided something was up.

Copperhoof continued to stare at her for a moment, then turned away with a sigh. Luna simply sat, watching him fiddle with his nearly empty bag of bits. She decided to simply take the plunge.

“I do not understand what happened below, I requi- would like to know what it was I did, or said, that they would see me as... as such?” she asked, hesitantly.

The stallion turned back to her with an incredulous look. “Are you seriously asking that? After walking in with... You really don’t get it, do you?”

“Do not get what?” she asked. It may be that her memories of this time period were more deficient than she realized, but she could not recall an example of why she would be so reviled simply for being a unicorn mare. 

“I don’t...” Copperhoof trailed off, scratching his head and grimacing. After a moment, he started again, “Are there only unicorns from that academy where you’re from? Have you been there your whole life or something?”

“It is true, there are mostly unicorns at the Academy. I have spent my entire life around fellow practitioners such as myself. So please, forgive me for being so negligent about the state of current affairs.” Luna scuffed a hoof along the floor. 

Copperhoof sighed again. “Alright, fine. I don’t know how you can’t be aware of this, but it’s not like any of the three pony races get along.” He paused, gathering his thoughts. “Surely you’re aware of Equestrian history, right? The legend of Hearth’s Warming and the arrival of the princesses?”

Luna nodded. “I am familiar, yes.”

“Good,” Copperhoof groused. “Well, as you know then, the right hoof ponies to the three tribe’s races collaborated together to defeat the Windigo threat. What you’re obviously missing is that not everypony took to their values of friendship that easily.

“Yes, we get along, but only well enough to keep the cold winters at bay. There are no big hearts floating over cities like they said there were. There is only acceptance and acknowledgement of the other races, if that.”

The stallion stopped and gave Luna a hard stare. “I brought you into a haven specifically marked for earth ponies. Maybe if you had walked in and found yourself a seat in some corner, nopony would have thought twice; ponies sometimes want time away from their own kind. But, you were with me, at an inn, and it was clear we weren’t a couple. What would you conclude in a situation like that?”

She thought for a moment. “I... I would conclude that you were an honorable stallion, simply seeking a good time with a... less honorable mare. Ponyfeathers. I suppose it makes sense, seeing as to how you brought me to an establishment dedicated to earth ponies.”

Copperhoof snorted and turned to the bed. “Honorable, right. No honorable stallion would even look twice at a mare not of his own race.”

She wanted to ask him whether the divisions between races were that bad, but no matter how many different ways she worded the question, it didn’t sound natural. Instead, she settled for a self-deprecating answer. “I suppose, I suppose I thought that ponies outside the Academy were above such things.” She made her way over to the bed, sitting upon it. Looking down at her hooves, she tried her best to look contrite.

“Yeah, well, sorry to disappoint you,” Copperhoof deadpanned.

He began untucking the blankets on the bed and pulled a pillow onto the floor. Next he went to a cupboard and removed a folded blanket which he then set next to the pillow. After a moment of thought, he pulled the large quilt acting as a bedspread and laid it on the floor as well.

“What are you doing?” Luna asked. “We can share the bed, it is more than enough for both of us.”

“Fil-” Copperhoof grimaced. “Clover, that is a very inappropriate thing to suggest, especially considering our situation? We are not sleeping together, you’re lucky I even let you walk in here with me.” Copperhoof turned and climbed into the bed. “Set up your blankets and turn out the lamp.”

Luna stared at him. Surely he wasn’t suggesting that she sleep on the floor tonight. Why, the floor was hard and uncomfortable, certainly not fit for a Princess like herself. If he had any manners at all, then he would concede the bed to her. After all, she was the mare, and he was most certainly not a brute, forcing her to bed upon the floor.

As she stared at him, she realized how serious he was. No, he was taking the bed tonight. His hard stare at the thin sheet laying on the floor was enough to convince her.

Well then, if that was what it took to get what she needed from him, then she would spend the night on the floor. Taking the blanket in her magic, she folded it upon itself, making a sort of pallet. Utilizing the extra blanket and the pillow, she was able to approximate a bed. It wasn’t the most comfortable, but it would do for now.

Laying in the bed, she pulled the thin blanket up to her chin. “I’ll have you know, I do not appreciate being referred to as... that.”

Copperhoof merely grunted and rolled over.