//------------------------------// // Chapter 17 // Story: The Voices of Nobody // by BowtiesandFedoras //------------------------------// When I turned the corner containing my room, I was someone standing at the window at the end. As I got closer, I could see that it was Luna. I found my door, but as I put my hand on the knob, I thought I heard something make a sound; a sort of sniffing sound. I dismissed it as nothing and went inside to change. When I got back out, I heard the sniff again. I then saw Luna reach up to her face holding a tissue. I made the deduction that she had been crying. "Luna?" I asked. My question startled her a little. "Yes? What is it?" She tried to sound okay and avoided looking at me as she replied. "Are you... alright? You sound like you're-" She sniffed again and cut me off, "No, no. I'm fine. Why aren't you downstairs enjoying the Gala?" "Why aren't you?" I countered. At that point, she turned to look at me. My suspiscions were confirmed: She had been crying earlier. Her eyeliner was running a little, and her eyes were a little red-rimmed. I did see myself as somewhat of a gentleman, so I approached her and asked earnestly, "What happened? What's wrong?" "I-I... I don't want to go down there... I didn't want to go down there last year, and I don't want to go down there now..." She wiped her face again with the tissue. "Why not? You're a Princess; these people love you. What's the problem?" "They don't love me... You know about what happened so long ago, don't you?" "Well, yeah, but that was over one thousand years ago. That was the old you. You're not-" "No, you don't understand. When I came back, I was worse than what I was at the beginning of my banishment. I wasn't as... evil back then. When I was brought back, I hated everyone here more than you can imagine. I was pure evil..." She was beginning to work up even more crying than before, "Everyone was so terrified of me... Even after the Elements of Harmony expelled the evil, people still-" "Stop saying that." "W-What?" "Stop saying that word. Evil." "B-But I was; I-" "No, you weren't. Trust me, if anyone knows what evil is, it's me. I've seen evil first-hand, and you are nothing like that. You were just jealous of your sister. No one could see your night that you worked so hard on, and you were much younger back then, maybe childish. You probably had a jealous tantrum because you didn't know better. The thousand-year banishment was no way to go about reasoning with you and didn't help matters. When you came back, you needed to let off a little steam. If the people down there don't understand that, it's their fault, not yours. You have nothing to feel bad about. The past is the past, and Nightmare Moon is long gone." The words that came out of my mouth surprised both Luna and me. I felt odd, like a father trying to comfort a daughter, and it worked. Luna looked up at me, teary-eyed, but the tears were not of sadness or regret. I knew because two and a half inches below her starry eyes was a tiny smile. She hugged me tightly and pressed mer head into my chest. "Thank you... I needed that." Not exactly knowing what to do, I simply hugged her back. When she let go, she pulled herself together and said, "I'll see you downstairs at the Gala..." She then left and started down the hall I suspected she came from. I myself decided I should get back downstairs to see how things were going. Apparently, in the ten minutes I was gone, everything had gotten into full swing. Nearly all the guests had arrived, music was playing, people were either dancing, talking, or eating, and everyone seemed content. I couldn't see the others around, so I decided to just explore the events of the Gala. The string quartet was occupying the stage at the moment, and they were playing a catchy piece full of unique bursts of pizzicato. The castle grounds smelled of natural freshness, and a harpist played in the background. The harpist actually stopped his/her song, and I saw a crowd starting to form in the distance. I went over to see what was so interesting, and I saw Fluttershy, with her back to the crowd, waving a conductor's baton at a nearly-bare tree. I, confused greatly, got a little closer, and saw she was not trying to conduct the tree, but the birds on its branches. The birds, in what is still one of the most confounding things I've ever seen, actually produced not random tweets and chirps, but music! There was an organized melody being emitted from their tiny bird throats. I would have expected at the very most random-sounding tweets but on cue, not a literal symphony of chirps! When they finished, I stood there dumbstruck by what had just occurred before me while the crowd applauded as though this was normal. I managed to congratulate Fluttershy (and her birds) on the performance. I then heard a throbbing bass sound coming from nearby. I turned to see flashing lights coming from several windows and went over to investigate. I did not expect to find what I did at such a high-class gathering. Inside was a rave/mosh pit/club with techno music blaring out of gigantic speakers on a stage with a DJ table and the blue-haired DJ from earlier. When I walked in, she must have recognized me, because she pointed at me and then flashed the "rock on" symbol. "Oh, hey!" someone shouted called to me, "Glad you could make it!" I looked around, but couldn't find out who was talking. "Up here!" I looked up, and saw Dash perched on the rafters of the room. She, against my will, swooped down, grabbed me, and flew me up to where she was. It is not easy to sit comfortably on a steel girder. I clung, almost for dear life, and she asked simply, "What's up?" She had to shout so that I could hear her. "G-Get me down from here!" I commanded. "Aw, but this is the best spot!" she teased, "Hah-ha! Fine, I'll put you down!" and before I saw the mischievous look in her eye, she flew me back down onto the ground... face-down. She snickered as I got back up. I brushed myself off and turned to her, "That really hu-" I stopped when I saw that she was wearing her dress. I hadn't seen her in it before (in fact I couldn't have even imagined her wearing a dress in the first place), and I stood there for a moment admiring Rarity's handiwork. It actually looked very good on her and sort of reflected her personality with multi-colored streaks and cloudlike, fluffy edging. "Hmm... It looks good on you!" I shouted over the music. "What?!" It still wasn't enough. "Let's go outside to talk!" I suggested. I then led her back into the gardens. "I said that the dress looks good on you." "Oh, yeah. Rarity's, like, the best designer ever." "Yeah, she's pretty good. Now, why is there a rave at the Gala? I thought this place was supposed to be classy." "Well, this just got added this year. The Princess thought things should be more exciting. You shoulda seen it last year... Pinkie Pie was- Oh! That's Spitfire! Gotta go!" And with that, she shot off in Spitfire's direction, hitting me with a blast of air and dust. For the third time. Spitfire was a member of The Wonderbolts, a famous group of Air Beings that held events that showcased their incredible maneuvers and speed. They were the equivalent of the Blue Angels, but without the jets. Every chance she got, Dash would try to get their attention and become part of their group. She worshipped them, needless to say. I straightened my tie, and brushed myself off... again. I heard more of the throbbing bass sounds of the music, and left the general area of the rave, but not before seeing Pinkie crowd-surfing in the mass of glow stick-wielding bodies. Author commentary: Hey, guys. I'm sorry if I've offended anybody with this interpretation of Luna. I just liked the season one Luna better (you know, the sensitive one that cried a lot), so I decided to use that one in this story. But don't freak out: she is by no means a weak character in this fic.