What is friendship?

Is it a term or something so much more?

And can you be a friend to something so different but so similar to you?

Something that I'm sure has been done to death but, since reading East of Eden, I wanted to do something a little more thought provoking. I got the idea while I was alone in my house, with just the sound of a clock ticking to keep me company.

Art done by murphylaw4me

At first glance, Princess Luna's charioteers might appear to be little more than Royal Guards dressed in festive apparel for Nightmare Night. However, there is far more to the story than that - the Night Guards once played a pivotal role in the history of Equestria, and have sacrificed more for their beloved princess than most ponies are even aware of.

My attempt at a more serious 'Luna meets Neil Armstrong' storyline. What would really happen, both on the moon and on Earth? Inspired by 'The Eagle has Landed' by CyanBlackStone.

Princess Luna has found herself on a very different moon after some strange force interfered with her banishment. She doesn't know what the metal objects that keep orbiting and sometimes landing there are, but she wants to find out. Meanwhile, Neil Armstrong believes that being the first man on the moon will be the crowning achievement of his life. Hoo boy, is he ever in for a surprise.

For those who are interested, the most excellent Zanec has provided this link to an interactive Apollo 11 site.

This story is a sequel to Tantabus, Mk. II

The new and improved Tantabus has behaved itself thus far, but Luna has delayed telling Celestia about it. Until one night when it jumps into Celestia's dreams to say hi and inadvertently reveals itself. Luna must now introduce Celestia to her little bundle of self-aware psychic dream energy sooner than she imagined.

Trying to patrol the dreams of every pony in Equestria can be stressful. To ease her burden, Luna retools the Tantabus to turn nightmares into good dreams instead of vice versa. Aware of her mistakes from last time, she tests it out thoroughly, making sure there are no unexpected behaviors. And as far as she can tell, there are none.

Except that it's started calling her "Mom".

Faced with the prospect of possibly creating life, Luna seeks out Twilight's advice and assistance. With a little luck, they can get this all sorted out before the sun rises.

Twilight Sparkle discovers that the alternate timelines created by Starlight Glimmer in her misguided attempt at revenge did not, in fact, disappear when the original timeline was restored. Instead, they persisted as separate, parallel universes.

Never one to leave a job unfinished, she decides to employ the magic of friendship to restore those universes to a more harmonious state.

She begins with Nightmare Moon.

This story is the first in a series. The other stories can be found below.

1. For Want of a Horseshoe <-- you are here
2. A Big Brother's Duty
3. Healing

Cover art provided by the excellent Sini.

“On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape.”

Celestia was prepared to face Nightmare Moon in battle.

What she wasn't prepared for was to face her in a hospital bed.

Can be read both as a standalone and as a spiritual semi-sequel to “The Nightmare Crumples” by Eruantalon. Cover image courtesy of FluffyMixer, used with permission. Now has a Russian translation!

Caution: Story may contain cheese, overly dramatic moments, and a happy ending despite the 'sad' tag.

Princess Luna falls comatose and is revived by the love-sick kiss of one of Celestia's guards. As a reward, she leads him to the ancient hidden barracks of her long forgotten guardian force. Their slowly blossoming romance gives birth to a breed of royal guard not seen in 1,000 years. The Lunar Stallions!

Celestia and Luna retell the story of Nightmare Moon to a class of foals. Things don't go well.

Remember to follow me for more occasional one-shot comedies!

She had simply wanted recognition. Equality. Nothing more. She had never wished to be the cause of so much war and strife in a land once prosperous and peaceful.

Stricken by guilt and fearful of the judgment of her subjects, Luna, with the reluctant help of Nightmare Moon, sets out to remedy her mistakes and return the sunlight to Equestria, no matter what the consequences may be.

Meanwhile, as an ancient foe is awakened, and the changeling race is all but extinct, only their young and reluctantly crowned Queen Chrysalis stands against the total annihilation of her species.

Thanks to Darkflame75 for the coverart.