//------------------------------//
// Chapter Five: The Adventures of Moon Knight 
// Story: The Many Dreams of Princess Macintosh 
// by Foal Star 
//------------------------------//

Big Macintosh suddenly woke up from a crazy dream. He looked around and saw that he was in a weird apartment building. It was relatively small and rather dull looking, minus the few posters plastered over his walls. He yawned, stretched his forehooves, then slowly trotted to his relatively small kitchen, where he filled up a pot of coffee. As the pot filled, he thought about the dream he had last night of being Cinderella and kissing his co-worker Luna. His cheeks flushed red at the thought, and he threw some sliced bread into the toaster. He then heard a radio chime as an announcer exclaimed, "good morning, citizens of Metropolis! This is Spike here, and I'm here to tell you all about the crazy events we had last night. The supervillain, the Mane-iac, struck again! and was going to amplify the power of her mane and use a massive hair dryer to make everypony's mane go crazy! Luckily the mysterious hero is known only as Moon Night! Once again, our city is safe, yet we still don't know the identity of this mysterious hero! If anyone has any information regarding who this hero is, don't hesitate to get in touch with the Maretropolis radio station! We would love to interview her and get the scoop on who she is and her powers!" 

Big Mac sipped his cup of coffee as he listened to the report and shrugged as if it wasn't his problem, but it was cool to hear that Moon Knight struck again! She was a fantastic hero fighting crime and supervillains, then slinking into the night. Nopony knew who she was, but everypony in the city honored her like a celebrity. Every reporter in the city has been after her trying to get an interview from her, but the most they could ever get was a picture if they're lucky. His dream was to find her and get to know her more. But then he turned to see a clock and saw that he had an hour before he had to be at work. Big Mac then took a shower, brushed his teeth, combed his mane, and slipped on a suit. He then trotted out of the apartment and walked through the streets of Metropolis. The city was relatively bustling, with ponies going to and fro to their jobs. Big Mac mingled with the crowd, just being another nameless face. He didn't mind, but he always wished he could be a superhero or do more with his life than be another worker bee.

The stallion eventually made it to the building he worked at. Looking upward, he could spot a massive metallic globe on top of it with "Maretropolis Gazette" engraved into the side of the metal orb. The stallion then slowly approached the building and showed his press badge to the secretary at the front desk. She nodded and waved at him without a word. The stallion rolled his eyes as he took the elevator to his office, where he sat down and typed away with his massive hooves over his tiny typewriter. It looked like he could easily break it, but he's been doing this for years, so he was used to it. After typing away, he looked over to see his shoulder co-worker Luna trotting over. The alicorn looked exhausted, with bags under her eyes, as she seemed like she didn't get any sleep last night. The mare trotted over to her desk while sipping a cup of coffee with her magic. When she sat down, the mare looked somewhat jittery. It seemed she must've had more than a few cups already. He looked away at first, rather anxious to say anything, but he didn't want to look rude and quickly said, "good morning."

"Good morning," the alicorn mumbled as she went to work, clacking away at her typewriter. 

The two then worked silently for some time, clacking away at their typewriters without many conversations. Big Mac's cheeks flushed pink as he thought about asking her out to lunch. The earth pony has been interested in her for some time and always wanted to ask her out. But he's always been too cowardly even to try. 

However, things were different as that dream of him kissing her last night was still on his mind. The hours flew by, and he saw it was nearing noon; if he wanted to ask her out to lunch, he had to do it soon. Big Mac then slowly got up and trotted over the stallion, getting nervous by the second with his forehead sweating and his heartbeat getting faster. He eventually came up to his co-worker and pulled on his collar before asking, "um..h…hello Luna."

The mare looked up and flashed him a smile, "oh hey, Big Mac need something?"

The stallion shivered as his heartbeat got faster, but he couldn't help but think about what he wanted to say, and he had to say something, or he'll stand here looking like an idiot. He then asked, "would you like to go out to lunch with me?"

Luna put a hoof to her mouth then, snickered under her breath then said, "yes, that sounds lovely."

Big Mac gave a deep sigh of relief; seeing that it was over, he wiped the sweat off his brow as the alicorn rose from her seat and followed after her. Big Mac couldn't believe they were going out on a date!







They then went to a small luncheon nearby, ordering some sandwiches and drinking tea as they enjoyed their lunch in silence. Big Mac lowered his head as he was having trouble saying anything, not knowing how to bring out conversation. But seeing Luna looking so tired and bored, he asked, "um…I don't mean to pry. But why are you so tired all the time?"

The mare sighed deeply as she took a sip from her tea. The mare looked rather exhausted and even somewhat hesitant to say something. Still, eventually, she explained, "I have another job I have to do at night, and it's rather exhausting."

Big Mac paused, wondering what he should say next; he tapped a hoof to his chin before asking, "so, do you like this job?"

Luna took a bite from her sandwich and said, "I do enjoy it, but things keep piling up between that job and my day job, leaving little time for sleep, let alone doing anything else."

Big Mac nodded, seeing how crushed Luna was and wondering if she only went on this date because it didn't involve working. But at the very least, the two are talking and getting to know each other more. He cleared his throat and was about to say something, but then dark clouds started to form overhead, with lightning flashing and thunder clapping overhead. Then there was maniacal laughter as an evil-looking alicorn with bat wings flew downward, her head rearing up and continuing her laughter. Nightmare Moon started to zap chariots and blew them up with her magical blasts while laughing maniacally. Big Mac cried in horror and was under the table but saw the masked hero Moon Knight fly across the sky. The mare was spriting a dark flowing cape with a silver-colored moon mask and sporting what appeared to be armor underneath her clap. The badass-looking mare then flew towards the other alicorn at breakneck speeds shooting out a beam of magic at her rival. Nightmare Moon was ready as she created a shield then the two started to battle it out in the streets. Nightmare Moon seemed to be winning at first, using massive blasts of magic at Luna as she devastated the city. The hero seemed to be much more agile as she was able to dodge Nightmare Moon's attacks and took the opportunity to wrap a magical rope around her arch-nemesis. Then Nightmare Moon slams down into the streets, kicking and swearing, "Luna, I swear! You won't hear from the last of me!"

Moon Knight stood over Nightmare Moon, who was now tied up with her horn lighting up as she sighed, "I bet I won't. But until then, you're going back to the moon."

As Nightmare Moon was slowly being sealed back to the moon, she screamed, "I'll come back; you'll see!"

Big Mac watched Moon Knight fly off towards an ally and saw that this was his chance! If he could get to her, he could get an exclusive interview with her which would give him a ton of bits and maybe even a promotion. Big Mac was determined to go through with this as he didn't want to be stuck writing stupid boring articles for the rest of his life! He then ran through the streets going after Moon Knight, then caught her slinking down an alley. Big Mac continued to chase, slowly descending the path, then quickly jumping into an empty dumpster, peaked his head up, and saw Moon Knight looking around her. She slowly took her mask off, and his mouth dropped, seeing Luna's face! She then looked towards him, but he quickly ducked back under the dumpster with his heart racing as he wondered if she saw him. He waited for hours, then slowly peeked out again to see Luna was gone. Big Mac clambered out of the dumpster, stunned as the realization that his co-worker was a superhero was dawning on him. 







Later that evening, Big Mac was trotting back and forth in his apartment with a worried look. Learning that Moon Knight was his co-worker was crazy!? Now he knew Luna was the hero, what should he do? Should he try getting an interview with her? Should he keep her identity a secret!? But she would be so pissed knowing he found out her secret. Should he wait? If so, for how long!? So many questions were going through his mind he knew that he had to do something!? Big Mac tore at his mane and shouted, "what do I do!?" 

The stallion then remembered in the report yesterday that there might be clues he may not be able to ask her questions. Still, he wanted to see if he could find more information on her before confronting her. He then remembered Spike on the radio earlier, saying something about a massive battle between Moon Knight and Mane-iac. Maybe before engaging Luna, he should learn more about her villains to understand her better. It sounded rather stupid, but it was better to appreciate his co-worker more before just coming out at her with her secret. The stallion then slowly snuck out of the apartment in the middle of the night, heading towards the warehouse where Moon Knight and Mane-iac had their last battle the previous night. Big Mac slowly trotted through what appeared to be an empty warehouse. The place was trashed, with boxes and fences torn apart, and there was a giant hole in the ceiling. The most exciting thing in the warehouse was a massive hair dryer that was smashed to bits. Big Mac continued trotting around the smashed spray bottle and spotted an amulet on the ground. The stallion then slowly picked up what appeared to be a silvery crescent moon. The piece of jewelry started to vibrate and glow then, out of nowhere, the moon amulet attached itself to his chest. His mane and tail grew outward as his face elongated, a cute light green skirt came over his flank, and a golden bridle collapsed over his chest. His eyelashes grew longer, and lipstick and makeup suddenly appeared on his face. The stallion then turned to see his reflection in a puddle of water, and upon seeing his reflection, then started to freak out, seeing he looked like a princess alicorn!? He screamed then cried out, hearing his soft feminine voice and cried, "am I a girl!?"

"What do I do!? What's going on!" Big Mac cried out, and he started to panic. However, as he calmed down, he felt that his genitals were still present. Other than his physical appearance, he still felt like a stallion. The amulet must've only altered his appearance. 

Big Mac squeaked as he heard somepony coming as he hid behind the remnants of the giant hairspray. The new feminine alicorn started to crawl through the metallic cylinder and peeked through a hole, where he saw Mane-iac come inside, using her tentacle-like mane to crawl through the ceiling. She looked rather suspicious, looking around to make sure nopony was around. She then took out some test tubes and samples of some toxic green liquid on the ground. The villain then raised the vials in the air and laughed maniacally as she shouted, "even though Moon Knight destroyed my hair, dryer! I can create a formula replicating my crazy mane and spread it over Maretropolis another way!"

"Not this time Mane-iac!"

The supervillain looked upward and saw that Luna was coming through the ceiling hole, with the moon's glow above outlining her. The hero slowly flapped her wings through the hole in the ceiling, sailing right at her. The two then slammed into each other, with Moon Knight shooting magic beams at the tentacle-like appendages that made up the Mane-iac's mane. But there were too many of the slimy green tentacles to fight off, and a few were able to wrap around the hero quickly. Moon Knight screamed in pain as they tightened her grip and shouted, "I won't let you get away this time, Moon Knight! You're going to be crushed!"

Mane-iac slowly tightened her grip with Moon Knight kicking and screaming for help. Big Mac then realized if he didn't do anything, Mane-iac would crush Moon Knight! He had to act fast, so without thinking, Big Mac flew up on his wings, soared through the air, and blindly zapped the supervillain with his horn. Mane-iac was caught entirely off guard as a few of his wild blasts of magic hit her, knocking the villain out cold. Then the tentacle-like mane loosened its grip on the alicorn she captured. They then together wrap up Mane-iac in her mane.

"Thank you for saving me; I…I must be getting rusty," Moon Knight laughed rather sheepishly.

"N…no problem.." Big Mac stammered, somewhat embarrassed.

The mare nodded as she picked up Mane-iac and said, "hey, let's catch up after we drop her off."

"Right," Big Mac chirped as Luna rose and spread through the air. Big Mac was somewhat surprised. He then spread out his wings, flew up into the air, and followed after her.

After the alicorns placed Mane-iac back in the Maretropolis asylum, the two flew to the top of a building. It was rather beautiful, the moon outshining its silvery glow on a bustling city with the building's lights aglow. As you looked down, ponies still trotting about could be seen below like toys. It was all rather breathtaking, and he could probably sit here admiring the view for hours. But then he turned his head towards the alicorn, and she asked, "It's a nice view, isn't it?"

"Ey'yup!" Big Mac chirped, seeing he was admiring the view as well. 

Luna looked out over the city, seeming rather impressed with the view as she said, "It never gets old. I could stay up here for hours…too bad I have to spend most of the time-solving crime."

The stallion nodded and said, "well…you help people, isn't that awarding?"

"Yes, it is…but this job can become rather tedious," Luna sighed; she whispered, "also, I want to say thanks for helping me. I haven't been on my A game recently."

"It…It was no problem!" Big Mac squeaked in a worried voice, still being rather sheepish, having saved the city's most popular hero.

The mare turned her head towards him and asked, "So you're new to being a hero, huh?"

Big Mac paused, not knowing what to say right away, but he didn't see the point of lying and said, "Ey'yup."

"That's cool. Have you thought of a superhero name?"

Big Mac started to feel sweat then stammer, "m...my name is um…um…."

Moon Knight chuckled as she threw a hoof, "it's fine; you don't have to tell me right now. It took me a few nights before I decided to name myself Moon Knight."

Big Mac nodded, seeming to enjoy the name Moon Knight, then got up, held out a hoof, and asked, "would you mind helping me patrol tonight? I could show you the ropes of being a hero, and I could use the help."

"Yeah, sure!" Big Mac squeaked as he got up on all fours and followed her through the city skies. They flew through the air soaring above the city skyline. He was thrilled flying alongside the city's most famous euro, and knowing she was his co-worker, Luna made this all the more worthwhile. But he had to stay focused and learn from her about crime fighting and using his powers. Looking up at the moon, he had a smirk on his face seeing the silhouette of an alicorn on it. Knowing that Nightmare Moon will escape again next time she does, he'll be ready to help Luna take her down.