A Friend to the Night

by Silverintuition


As Found by Discord

As Moon Struck lay on the cloud, looking into the night sky for answers but only finding more questions in her heart, she failed to notice that the cloud had turned pink beneath her. All the clouds surrounding her had turned pink, and were slowly growing larger. When she sighed, knowing her questions would still be flitting around her mind, she looked away from the stars and noticed the pink cotton candy clouds because they were all starting to gather to the cloud she was laying on.
    Moon Struck tried to pull her hooves free, but she was trapped in the sticky mess, her flank and legs turning pink from the cotton candy, and she even noticed a few chocolate milk stains on her coat.
    “Discord,” she called out, albeit quietly.
    In answer, a burst of pink and teal fireworks appeared above her head in the shape of butterflies and flowers.
    “Discord, get me out of this cloud!” Moon Struck called out, this time much louder so she could be heard over the continuing fireworks. Another rocket burst above her head and shaped its yellow explosion into a giant tea pot. Following closely were two smaller rockets that showered green and blue sparks around her, appearing as tiny tea cups filled with tea.
    Discord’s claw reached past her and grabbed one of the firework tea cups. It turned into an actual green teacup filled with steaming hot tea; he sipped it as he looked at her with a rather smug smile.
    “Don’t you appreciate my little performance? It is just for you after all,” Discord stated calmly, as he continued to sip the tea.
    “The fireworks are plenty interesting, yes, but not when they are exploding right next to my head!” Moon Struck tried to not screech at him as another red firework burst above her head, this time in the shape of a large arrow, pointing directly down to her.
    “How else was I supposed to let everypony know where you had gotten lost?” Discord grinned as he tossed the tea cup up into the air, letting it explode into a shower of rainbow confetti around them.
    “Lost?” Moon Struck questioned him, confused. “I… oh no. The Gala. Twilight and the girls. I fell asleep out here and completely forgot to go back!” Moon Struck struggled against the cotton candy prison she was held in as she panicked.
    “As much fun as it is watching you turn yourself into a ball of cotton candy, I suppose I should let you know that Twilight and the others will be on their way here now, since I signaled to them. So just sit tight and enjoy the show,” he laughed, throwing a chunk of the cotton candy cloud into his mouth and staring at the burst of fireworks that shaped themselves into winged fruits and feathered trees. “Would you care for some chocolate milk?” He asked with a smirk.
    Moon Struck stared at him, mouth agape. She laughed. She laughed so hard she was crying as she watched the draconequus pull a glass out of nothingness and dip it into the cotton candy cloud, producing a glass of chocolate milk, crazy straw included. He offered it to her, but her hooves were still stuck deep into the cloud.
    “Little help?” She managed to choke out between her laughs.
    “Of course my favorite little Cuckoo,” Discord said snapping his paw, and in a flash the cloud they lay on was back to being just that, a regular white cloud.
    “Cuckoo?” Moon Struck asked, taking the glass of chocolate milk from him.
    “Well you are Moonstruck after all, so I thought you would be used to ponies calling you cuckoo!” Discord laughed, petting Moon Struck on the head.
    Moon Struck drank the milk and pondered that. Sure, lots of ponies had made fun of her, calling her all sorts of names; calling her crazy, loony, and her personal favorite of Moonbait. This was the first time somepony had called her Cuckoo though. She liked it.
    “Cuckoo, huh. Will you keep calling me that? I think it’s… nice.” Moon Struck said to him between sips.
    “And people call me crazy,” Discord smiled, another burst of butterflies and balloons in the fireworks above them, the red arrow still there as well.
    “Moon Struck!” A purple flash of mane blurred Moon Struck’s vision for a moment as Twilight Sparkle tackled her into the cloud.
    “Twilight?” was all Moon Struck managed to say as Twilight wrapped her hooves tightly around Moon Struck’s neck.
    “I was so worried when you didn’t return!  Princess Celestia told me not to worry, but as the Gala started winding down to an end, and you still hadn’t returned, I thought that maybe you got lost! Or worse, that you got hurt! I shouldn’t have you let you go alone, I should have gone with you!” Twilight rushed out, still hugging her friend in a vise-like grip.
    “Twilight… can’t… breathe…” Moon struck tapped her hooves against Twilight as she tried to breathe through the tight hold on her neck.
    Twilight let her go and sat back on the cloud, “sorry. It’s just, when you never came back, I was scared. So many thoughts went through my mind and I didn’t know what to do. In the end, I got the girls and Discord to help search for you.”
    “That explains the cotton candy and fireworks I guess,” Moon Struck mused. “Sorry, by the way. I kind of… fell asleep out here. I was more tired than I thought I was,” she said with a small semblance of a laugh. “I really didn’t mean to worry anypony. I had a… well I suppose you could call it a walk, with Princess Luna. It was amazing! She brought me into the land of dreams with her and we talked for a while. I got to see firsthoof how wonderful she really is. It made me respect her more than I already did, which I didn’t think was possible. I got to learn about her, and… and about myself some too.” She finished, looking down at her hooves, the smile fading from her eyes.
    “Moon Struck? Are you alright?” Twilight asked, concerned.
    “Hey, Cuckoo, look up!” Discord shouted from somewhere above them, as he was no longer laying on the cloud. Moon Struck looked up in time for a large crystal cruet to pour codfish oil on her head.
    “Discord! Why did you do that?!” Twilight shouted to the floating draconequus. “Can’t you see that Moon Struck was upset? That wasn’t very friendly of you to do to her!” She finished, shooting a bolt of magic at him.
    “Oh, how feisty we are, Princess Purple,” Discord said as he separated his body in half to dodge the magic.
    “Discord! Get down here now!” Twilight yelled.
    Moon Struck, dripping in codfish oil, looked at her two new friends and began to giggle uncontrollably.
    “Moon Struck? Are you… okay?” Twilight questioned her giggling friend.
    “See? She gets it!” Discord laughed alongside Moon Struck, floating down beside her.
    “Gets what?” Twilight asked, glaring at Discord as he leaned against Moon Struck who had collapsed on the cloud in her fit of giggles.
    “Codfish oil!” Discord said with a flourish of his claw, producing the crystal cruet.
    “A crystal cruet? Codfish oil?” Twilight asked again, more confusion than glare as she stared at him.
    “Would you have preferred I had given her only a tiny glass of water?” Discord smirked as Twilight’s face dawned in comprehension.
    “She isn’t sick!” Twilight said, remembering the time years ago when Discord had interrupted her day with Cadence, pretending to be sick so she would take care of him. “And the only water she needs now is the water to wash that stuff out of her mane!”
    “Twilight, it’s okay,” Moon Struck managed to say, her giggles finally stopping as she stood up, pushing Discord off her in the process.
    “It is?” Twilight stared at her, unsure if her friend had lost her mind.
    “Of course it is, Twilight dear,” Discord snickered.
    “Discord, hush. And Twilight, yes. He may have been causing his personal brand of havoc, but it helped. The complete randomness of his act of kindness pulled me out before my nightmares pulled me back in,” Moon Struck said, rolling her eyes at the draconequus as he pretended to pout.
    “Who said anything about me being kind?” Discord folded his arms as he stuck his tongue out at them.
    “You can’t fool me with an act that cheesy,” Moon Struck laughed.
    “Oh, cheesy am I?” Discord turned to face her, turning himself into cheese. He then snapped his cheddar claw and Moon Struck turned into a swiss cheese pegasus. “Look who’s cheesy now!”
    “I bet I taste delicious on rye,” Moon Struck said before sticking her tongue out at him in return.
    “One swiss pony on rye coming up!” Cheddar Discord shouted, snapping his claw again, making two pieces of rye bread appear, sandwiching Moon Struck. “Oh wait! We simply cannot forget the sauerkraut!” Discord snickered with another snap of his claw, sauerkraut appearing on Moon Struck’s back between the slices of bread.
    Moon Struck laughed. She laughed and laughed, collapsing against the cloud again, the sauerkraut and bread falling around her. Discord chuckled alongside her, nearly falling on top of one of the pieces of rye.
    “This isn’t funny! Moon Struck, Discord, be serious! Everypony else is still out looking for you, Moon Struck.” Twilight stomped her hoof on the cloud, staring at the two cheese creatures, no smile gracing her lips.
    “Oh, alright, killjoy,” Discord huffed, standing back up. With a snap of his claw, he and Moon Struck were both back to normal, the bread, sauerkraut, and cheese all now gone. “We were just having a gouda time,” he smirked.
    “I happen to a-brie with you there, D.C.,” Moon Struck giggled again.
    “D.C.?” Twilight asked, still unhappy with the two playmates.
    “Dis. Cord. Discord. D.C.” Moon Struck answered.
    “Ooo, I get a nickname too, my little Cuckoo?” Discord practically buzzed with excitement.
    “It only seemed fair, after all, since you gave me a new nickname.” Moon Struck smiled up at him as he flittered above the clouds. “Anyways, Twilight. I am sorry for worrying everypony, but Discord was just trying to cheer me up. I don’t see why that is something to get upset over, I mean, we were just having some fun. I don’t remember having as much fun in my whole life as I have had in this past day! I’ve made new friends, found a new home, met my hero, befriended the spirit of chaos, and even got to walk through the dreamscape! I only flew up here because I was so overwhelmed by all the changes that were happening so fast. I am so used to always, always, being alone. This whole day has been strange and wonderful, but it has also been completely terrifying!” Moon Struck rushed out, trying to explain everything she could to Twilight.
    “Why would it be terrifying?” Twilight asked, confusion and concern replacing the eye-roll she was giving Discord as he juggled blocks of cheese he seemed to have pulled from orange and yellow fireworks that had exploded above them. “Discord, would you please stop all those fireworks? The noise is giving me a headache already,” Twilight asked him, trying not to snap.
    “Just trying to make our presence a little more obvious,” Discord said, snapping his paw and ending the fireworks show. The red arrow remained above them, though, bright and glowing.
    “Twilight, have you ever just been thrown into a situation where you didn’t know what was going on, didn’t know what would happen, and it happened so fast that you couldn’t even understand it until more things happened, changing it even further?” Moon Struck said, so softly, Twilight could barely hear her.
    “Well… there have been a lot of occasions where things happened that I didn’t have control over and didn’t know what was going on until much further down the line. One day I woke up and all my friends had the wrong cutie mark! Another day, the sun and moon were both up and the Everfree Forest was attacking! Then there was the first day I was sent to Ponyville. Princess Celestia told me I had to come check on the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and then Nightmare Moon appeared and Princess Celestia was gone!” Twilight answered, pacing back and forth as she listed off different events from her life where changes she wasn’t used to and didn’t know how to deal with immediately occurred.
    “Alright, now think of how you felt during each of those instances. Were you scared, did you panic? Did it ever feel like things were happening too fast? Did you feel like you were losing control?” Moon Struck asked, her voice a quiet plea.
    “Well… no. I mean, yes I was a little scared and I did panic some. But Spike and the girls were beside me for it all. They helped me to defeat Nightmare Moon and bring back Princess Luna, they helped me to restore the Tree of Harmony, and together we helped each other so that I could return to them their rightful cutie marks. They were with me through everything, they helped me overcome it all. So I didn’t have to be too scared, because the changes were faced by all of us together using our friendship and our elements.” Twilight replied, smiling as she thought back to all the things that her friends helped her through and all the things that helped her to grow.
    “Now, imagine if you had to do everything alone. Nopony else, no friends. Not even Spike. Just you, by yourself, and all those events happening at the exact same time.” Moon Struck inched closer to Twilight, her face unexpectedly grim.
    Twilight stepped back, the idea catching her off guard. She sat down on the cloud and pondered over having to do everything, all of it, alone. “I suppose I don’t know what I would do then. I would probably be confused, and terrified. I don’t know if I would have the strength to battle all those problems alone much less piled together if I didn’t have my friends there to support me through it all and give me the strength to continue forward. It would be like before we reformed Discord, when he almost won. I would… give up.” She answered honestly.
    “That feeling of being alone, wanting to give up, was pretty much my everyday before coming to Ponyville and meeting everypony else. Everything happened so fast, it was so overwhelming, I panicked. I had to escape so I could breathe again. I didn’t want to hurt anypony’s feelings by saying I couldn’t handle being around them all, but it felt like I was suffocating at the Gala. I had to get out to somewhere I could recognize. Being in the night sky, in the clouds and the comfort of the Moon’s light, it calmed me. Helped me relax and breathe again. I didn’t think I would fall asleep up here, but all the tension and fear left my body, and the next thing I know, well, you get the picture.” Moon Struck said, tucking her hooves beneath herself as she lay down on the cloud, resting her chin against the white fluff.
    “I didn’t know. Why didn’t you just tell us? We could have gotten you a room, or I could have talked with Princess Luna and maybe you could have accompanied her with her nightly duties. She may have appreciated the company, and it might have been easier for you if you didn’t have a whole crowd of ponies surrounding you.” Twilight stood and walked over to Moon Struck, placing a hoof on top of her head in a calming, gentle gesture. “Which reminds me, you said you met Princess Luna in your dream and she pulled you into the dreamscape. Why did she enter your dream in the first place?”
    “I… was having a nightmare. I was dreaming about all the ways I had messed up, how I had been hurting everypony’s feelings since I arrived, and I was afraid. I know you all have been very forgiving, but the fear is still there in my heart, eating at the back of my mind like a termite. So, Princess Luna rescued me from the nightmare and the darkness my heart was harboring. She pulled me into the dreamscape to help show me that I wasn’t the only one who was afraid. I wasn’t the only one being chased by their own darkness. It helped some, but it is a fight I will have to continue on my own,” Moon Struck sighed.
    Twilight looked upon her new friend, comprehension and understanding now reaching her face. “Everypony does face darkness and fear in their hearts. It affects everypony differently, and everypony fights it differently. Not everypony succeeds either. Some fall to the persuasion of the darkness, Princess Luna is no exception to that. I am no exception to that. The only thing we can do is look to our friends to find the strength to fight back. You have us now. Apple Jack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and myself. We are your friends, we will be your strength, so don’t hesitate to find us when you need help.” Twilight said, offering her hoof to Moon Struck. Moon Struck accepted the outstretched hoof and stood.
    “Hey, don’t forget about me! I’m your friend too, Cuckoo!” Discord shouted, not wanting to be left out of the conversation any longer.
    “I could never forget you Discord,” Moon Struck said, a slight smile creeping back onto her face.
    “I should think not, somepony as amazing as I am would be hard to forget. But you can’t go forgetting we are friends now either. I don’t give that honor to just anypony, you know!” Discord harrumphed as he floated past into a cotton candy cloud. He pulled himself free from the sticky mess covered from the top of his antler to the fluff of his tail in pink cotton candy. “Oh dear.”
    “You… you look like a pink cotton candy sheep!” Moon Struck began to laugh again. This time even Twilight couldn’t hide her smile at the pink, fluffy draconequus.
    “Ha ha, let’s see how you two like it,” Discord grinned that trickster grin of his, before snapping his claw. A pink cloud of cotton candy zipped past him and landed on top of Twilight and Moon Struck. Another snap of his claw and it lifted back up off them, and zoomed off to the other clouds. Twilight and Moon Struck were both now covered head to hoof in the pink, sticky mess. “Pink fluffy ponies prancing on white clouds!” Discord held his pink candy-covered stomach as he laughed, pointing at the two cotton candy ponies.
    Moon Struck looked at Twilight and laughed more; Twilight glared at Discord but she was unable to hold her laugh back anymore as she looked at Moon Struck. The three of them laughed until they could barely breathe, crying from the joy. When they all finally calmed down Discord clapped his paw and claw together making the whole mess of cotton candy disappear, including the surrounding pink clouds.
    “As much fun as this little world of chaos we are creating is, it appears we have guests,” Discord said, floating beside Twilight and Moon Struck, throwing glitter and confetti into the air around them.
    Moon Struck and Twilight looked around for the supposed guests. As Moon Struck turned to look below the clouds, a rainbow twisted through the air, barely missing her. Rainbow Dash landed softly on the cloud between Twilight and Moon Struck, wings out as she struck a pose.
    “Finally found you! I was following Pinkie Pie, but she just kept leading us to bakeries. We ended up in Joe’s Donut shop a half dozen times so she could lick the frosting off the walls! I can kind of see why he doesn’t want Maud and the CMC in there anymore,” she said, stretching her wings. “I don’t have any frosting on me, right? It was falling from the ceiling like rain.”
    “Ooo, frosting rain! That’s a good one; I’ll have to try it later,” Discord grinned.
    “Don’t even think about it,” Twilight stared at Discord.
    “What? I wasn’t going to try anything, why I’m practically a saint!” Discord chimed, a halo appearing above his head, a harp in his claw.
    “Wait, Joe is still up cleaning? It’s almost sunrise though, how bad of a mess could one mare and three fillies make?” Moon Struck asked Rainbow as Discord tossed his harp back into nothingness while Twilight continued to stare at him.
    “You don’t want to know,” Rainbow replied, thinking back to the shop covered completely in frosting and sprinkles. She even could have sworn she saw a few gems glittering as they stuck out of the mess. “Anyways, Moon, where the heck have you been hiding? We were looking all over for you when you didn’t come back!”
    “I fell asleep up here.” Moon Struck answered simply.
    “Huh. Well, this is a really nice cloud, I can see why you would want to nap here,” Rainbow smiled, poking the cloud with her hoof.
    “Are y’all gonna come down here or what?” A voice yelled from below the clouds.
    “C’mon. Apple Jack and the others are waiting for us on the ground.” Rainbow said before taking off and racing back towards the earth.
    “Discord, you coming?” Moon Struck asked as she turned to the draconequus, now fully garbed in white robes to match his golden halo that was glowing above his head. Twilight was still eyeing him until Rainbow took off from the cloud.
    “Oh of course, my little Cuckoo, of course. Would you like me to lend you a claw?” Discord snickered, popping his claw off and offering it to Moon Struck in his outstretched paw.
    “Why thank you, I always wanted a sentient back scratcher!” Moon Struck chimed with glee as she took his claw before he could react and started to scratch her back right between the wings. “Yep, that is the spot. So hard to reach right there.”
    “I’ll take that back now, if you don’t mind,” Discord said, snapping his paw and making his claw reappear at the end of his arm. “Well, ladies; shall we?” He grabbed Twilight and Moon Struck and jumped from the cloud. As they began plummeting towards the earth, Discord shouted, “isn’t this great?”
    Twilight screamed, fear overtaking her at the sudden descent towards the ground; but Moon Struck yelled in joy and delight as the wind rushed through her mane.
    “Discord!” A voice below called up to them, causing Discord to slow the fall to a graceful and soft landing in front of Fluttershy.
    “We were just having a little fun, I promise Fluttershy,” Discord frowned as he set Twilight and Moon Struck down. “No pony was going to get hurt,” he finished, hanging his head as he looked at Fluttershy with puppy dog eyes.
    “Next time, remember to ask before grabbing somepony and jumping, alright?” Fluttershy said as she grabbed his paw. “Otherwise, you could hurt or scare somepony. Now, I think you owe them an apology,” she finished, giving Discord a look that made him scowl before he turned and faced Twilight and Moon Struck.
    “I’m...sssssorry. For scaring you.” Discord grumbled, making his apology sound like a low hiss when he said sorry.
    “There, that wasn’t so hard now, was it?” Fluttershy smiled as she pat Discord on the back.
    “I accept your apology, but if there’s a next time,” Twilight warned him.
    “I promise I will not jump off a cloud with you in my arms without asking first next time,” Discord said, placing his paw over his chest as he spoke. “Now, a mountain on the other hand…”
    “Discord,” Fluttershy gave him the look again.
    “Kidding, only kidding Fluttershy my dear,” Discord replied quickly.
    “I thought it was kind of fun, I mean, we have wings so what’s the harm?” Moon Struck answered.
    “Of course my little Cuckoo would enjoy my pranks,” Discord snickered.
    “Who’s Cuckoo?” Spike asked, staring from Discord to Moon Struck, although he couldn’t help but also glance at Pinkie Pie who had pink and green frosting dangling from her mane as she tried to lick it off.
    “Moon Struck, of course!” Discord responded, pulling a small cuckoo clock bird out of nothingness and squeezing it. It made a loud squawking noise that sounded slightly like the words moon and struck.
    “So, what the hay were y’all doin’ up there, anyhow?” Apple Jack asked, ignoring Discord’s antics.
    “Moon here was napping apparently,” Rainbow replied first.
    “Well, actually I had woken up just a little bit before Discord found me, but yeah, I had… fallen asleep up on the cloud. I’m sorry for worrying everypony.” Moon Struck answered.
    “Well shucks, sugarbait, if ya were tired, why didn’t ya say so? I’m sure the princesses would’ve been more than happy to get ya a bed in a quiet room and all,” Apple Jack gave Moon Struck a very caring look.
    “I didn’t realize how tired I was until after I had fallen asleep, actually. I had flown up there to just get some fresh air.” Moon Struck said, looking at her hooves as if she were a filly with her hoof caught in the cookie jar.
    “I think It’s about time we all head home. It’s been a long night for everypony, and we could all use some sleep.” Twilight said, cutting any other conversation off.
    “Yes, I do believe it is time to go home and get some beauty sleep. If I don’t, I will have to spend the whole day at the spa to recover!” Rarity sighed. “Although, nopony can have too much time at the spa I always say.”
    “I think you look beautiful no matter what!” Spike complemented Rarity, a dreamy look on his face.
    “Aw, thank you Spikey Wikey!” Rarity cooed at him.
    “Discord, would you send us all to our homes please? You can stop by my cottage for a cup of tea before you head home as well,” Fluttershy asked Discord who was contemplating all the things he could jump off from while holding Twilight, just to see her reaction.
    “Oh, yes, of course Fluttershy. Anything for my favorite pony after all!” Discord answered, snapping his claw. Everything spun for a few moments as the sudden movement through space yanked everypony from near Canterlot castle all the way back to Ponyville and their respective homes. Moon Struck found herself standing beside Twilight and Spike, at her castle of friendship.
    “I guess… I can sleep here?” Moon Struck asked Twilight, staring up at the huge crystal castle.
    “Of course, we have plenty of guest rooms after all,” Twilight answered nonchalantly, having already expected Discord to teleport Moon Struck there as well. “Come on, Spike can lead you to your room and you can finish getting some sleep. And Spike, after you show Moon Struck to her room, I need your help sending a letter to the Princess to let her know we found Moon Struck and got home safely.”
    “Sure, Twilight. There is this really beautiful guest room that Rarity decorated that I think you will really love, too, Moon Struck,” Spike said enthusiastically as he led Moon Struck up the steps and inside the castle. “It’s right down this hallway, not too far from the main entrance, and not too far from the kitchen either,” he chuckled, licking his lips.
    As Moon Struck followed Spike down the hall towards her temporary shelter, she gave one last look to Twilight who was walking the other way. She felt bad making all her friends worry over her, worse for making them have to go out and find her as well. If she had just stayed at the Gala, stayed at the party surrounded by everypony, no one would have had to worry. But, they may have worried more if she had started panicking. She didn’t want her friends to see the panic take her. She didn’t want them to think she was some kind of freak.
    “Here you go, isn’t it wonderful?” Spike had led her into a large room with a canopied bed, and a large set of windows that looked out into the field behind the castle. Moonlight streamed in through the open curtains, casting the room in a soft white light. The room seemed to hold a theme of shades of purple and blue; the curtains were the deep sapphire of Twilight’s mane and tail, with the curtain pull ropes being a twist of vibrant purple and dark pink like the streaks in her mane and tail. The bed canopy was a light lavender color, same as the blankets and pillows. The floor was carpeted with a plush, dark purple, fluffy carpet that Moon Struck’s hooves sank into in warmth of softness. There were paintings and pictures of flowers on the walls, a mahogany dresser on one wall, matching mahogany vanity nearby. There were nightstands on either side of the bed, a lantern sitting on one. A small bookshelf sat in a corner, with a small table next to it, a book sitting atop it already. Moon Struck slowly walked to the little table and examined the book. Tales of the Moon read the title. She placed one hoof on the cover, gently caressing the book like a long lost friend. “I had help from Rainbow Dash to get your things from the cloud you had them sitting on while you napped at Rarity’s house. Twilight thought you would prefer that they were in your room when we got back. That way you wouldn’t worry,” Spike said as he watched her look around the room, finding different small objects from her life of traveling.
    “Thank you,” she whispered.
    “Don’t worry about it, that’s what friends do, am I right or am I right?” He beamed at her. “I’m gonna go to the kitchen to get a snack, then I will be with Twilight to send the letter to Princess Celestia; so if you need anything just give a shout, okay?” He finished. When Moon Struck gave him a small nod of understanding, he took his leave and closed the door behind himself.
    Moon Struck walked over to the vanity and found her small pet rock, Stardust. As she picked up Stardust, she then walked to the window, placing her rock friend on the sill while looking up into the night sky.
    “They barely know me, and yet… they are so kind to me. They have been so accepting and forgiving. How could I deserve such kindness? Why do I deserve their friendship when they are so amazing, and I am so… nothing?” she asked to the moon that shone above. No answers came from the quiet sky before her. With a soft sigh, she walked to the bed, leaving Stardust in the window to bathe in the light of the loving moon that shone down. As she lay in the bed, pulling the covers up around herself, she looked at her little rock in the window. She did not feel she deserved to be in the light like her friends or Stardust, neither that of the moon, or that of the sun. The shadows and the darkness is where she felt herself to belong, where she had always belonged. Maybe the shadows in her nightmares were right, she thought to herself. “No!” She shouted into the darkness; she would not let herself become captured by her fear and self-loathing.
    As the panic set in, though, her breathing quickened and she cried. She squeezed her wings around herself, her hooves crossed over her chest, cradling her heart and her fear as she tried to keep calm. Curling into a ball, she rocked herself as she had done many times in the past, repeating the same words to herself she always did. “It’s not your fault, it’s not your fault, it’s not your fault…” her whispers fell into the silence around her. Tears streamed down her face into her mane, the covers twisted around her like a cocoon. As she rocked and whispered to herself, she slowly calmed down; but the fear was still there, a weight in her chest. She hadn’t gone to a hospital for her panic attacks in years, she had learned to control them for the most part. Every now and again though, she would be paralyzed for hours from it, but she had always been far from anypony else. If Twilight saw her like this, what would she say? What would she think?
    She stopped her thoughts from trailing that way, she could feel another panic attack trying to set in if she continued thinking that line of thought. Once she was able to unwrap her wings, uncross her hooves, and de-tangle herself from the blankets, she got out of the bed and walked over to the little table. She grabbed her book, the Tales of the Moon and went back to the bed. She lay down, her book in front of her, and opened to a page somewhere in the middle as if by memory. Her hoof knew where to turn, as it always had. The story she opened to was a short story about a little filly who became a star. The little filly was born unable to hear anything. She never got to hear the voices of her mother or father, she had trouble making friends because of hearing. But that meant she never heard the names they called her either. She lived her life with a smile on the outside, but sadness in her heart. She shared her sadness with the night sky and the stars. She had one particular star that she considered her best friend as it shone brightly every night, and she felt the star was shining just for her. She didn’t speak well because of her hearing, her words were mumbled, sometimes incoherent, but she tried her best to let the star know everything. She gained confidence and courage from her star friend so that she could always smile for her parents. Her parents were sad for her, sad that their little girl would never get to hear them say ‘I love you’ or ‘goodnight, sweet dreams my little filly’ but they still said those words to her every day and every night. She learned to read their lips, the movements of their mouths, so that she could respond in turn, but she could see the sadness in her parents’ eyes at her mumbled attempts to speak. She tried harder, practiced her speaking every night to her star. One day, though, she was out practicing her talking in the day to herself to be ready for her conversation with the night star. That morning there had been a terrible storm; ponies everywhere were trying to clean up the branches that had broken off the trees, and were pulling down the now broken branches that the storm had struck with lightning, or that the winds had ripped away at. As the little filly was hopping through the puddles underneath one such tree, a large branch near the top had broken the rest of the way with a loud crack, but she couldn’t hear the noise. Other ponies had shouted at her to watch out, to move or run or something, but she heard none of them.
    The branch landed on top of her, crushing her small body.
    Her breath came out in a gasp. Her whole body shook with pain. Her eyes were clouding over as her body was racked with burning pain. Some ponies had come over to where she lay, they pulled the branch off her but it did nothing to relieve the pain she felt. She tried to look at her body but found she couldn’t move her head the way she wanted. As she lay there, crying, trying to mumble out words, she barely saw her parents running up the path towards her. She smiled a small smile as they approached, and her final words were able to escape her mouth. She had practiced so hard, she was so happy she could finally say them without mumbling.
    “I love you momma, I love you papa,” she whispered with her last breath, closing her eyes and letting the warmth fade from her body. She was free of the life that had been so hard on her, she was free and she could hear! She watched as her parents held her limp body, watched as they cried for their little lost filly. She had used the last of her strength for those clear, beautiful words. She was sad, leaving her parents behind, but she was finally able to hear them too. They said ‘I love you’ over and over to her. She cried over her wonderful, caring parents. In spirit, she hugged them both one last time before she ascended into the sky. She flew past the borders of the sun’s light and joined her friend star in the sky. That night, after her parents had finally gone home, they looked into her little dark room, their sweet filly now gone. On her bed, beneath the pillow, was a small handmade book. The book detailed all her talks with her friend star, along with how to find him in the sky. He shone alone in the night sky, brighter than any other star. Crying more, they walked to her window and sought out her comforting friend star. But, to their surprise, there was a star neither had seen before, right next to her friend star, shining brightly in the night. It was their little filly, they felt it in their hearts. They hadn’t lost their daughter, she had just gone to play out in the night sky with her best friend of the night. She would always, always, be there looking down on them.
    Moon Struck’s tears fell silently as she read the story. Of all the stories in her book of fairy tales, this one was her favorite, despite how bittersweet it was. She was impressed by the courage of the little filly, and happy that she could finally hear, but sad because of her passing. The filly had joined her friend in the sky, but the cost seemed so high. Every time Moon Struck read the story, she felt just a little stronger when dealing with her own fears. When she had finished reading the story a few more times, she placed the book on the nightstand beside the bed, then curled into the blankets to sleep. She drifted off into a, thankfully, dreamless sleep.