As she looked down in horror, Luna briefly considered changing back into Nightmare Moon, if only for the purpose of delivering swift and painful karma to the piece of shit who had stolen the life of the little filly before her. The four-year-old foal was skin and bones, her mane and tail were horribly tangled, and she was chained to the wall. When Luna met the filly in the Sacred Hall, the foal was screaming in such agony that Luna prayed that she would never have to hear such an otherworldly expression of pain again. It was unbearably clear that this young foal had already been forced to endure more suffering in her short life than most ponies experienced in their entire lives. Worse still, the foal had suffered at the hooves of those who were supposed to love and protect her; instead, those two ponies had conceived her and brought her into this world for the sole purpose of torturing her for the sake of their own disgusting pleasures. This little one had never known anything other than unimaginable pain. Luna trotted briskly over to the filly and knelt down to eye level with her.
“Hello, Windsong,” Luna whispered. The foal gasped, threw her forelegs around Luna, and clung to the princess, sobbing into her mane. Luna nearly burst into tears at the filly’s happiness to see her. She knew that Windsong knew why she had come, but foals rarely reacted to Luna’s presence with excitement. Most of the time, the only ponies who ran to Luna were the very old, those who had been terminally ill for quite some time, or the ones who had endured incomprehensible suffering, usually due to abuse; Windsong definitely fell into the latter category.
“Princess Luna,” the filly sobbed, cuddling under Luna’s wing, “I’m so glad you’re here! I’m so glad you’re going to give me another good dream.” Luna nuzzled Windsong, drying her tears gently.
“Darling little one,” she whispered, stroking the foal’s mane, “I am here to make you especially happy tonight. Now, how about some ice cream? What’s your favorite flavor?”
“Vanilla with sprinkles and chocolate syrup,”Windsong replied without hesitation. Luna forced a smile and gave the filly an enormous bowl of vanilla ice cream covered generously with her requested toppings. After Windsong had finished eating, Luna cleaned the foal off and curled herself around her small body. Windsong yawned and began to nod off, and Luna reacted quickly, anxiety momentarily filling her head.
“No, no, little one,” the princess said gently, licking Windsong’s forehead in the same manner she had done with her daughters when they were young, “you must not fall asleep yet. You need to stay awake for just a few more minutes so that I can do something very special for you. I know you have already been through so much, but you do not need to be afraid anymore.”
“Mommy and daddy only gave me ice cream if I promised to do what they and their friends wanted me to,” Windsong said flatly, “so what do you want me to do?” Luna’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second, and she made a mental reminder to destroy the filly’s parents as well as everypony else who had stolen so much from her.
“Windsong,” Luna said slowly, “what your parents did to you—what all of those ponies did to you—was terrible. It was not normal. You do not have to do anything for me. I am only here to take away your pain, not to facilitate it. Now, why don’t you give me your three greatest wishes? I’ll do everything in my power to make them come true.”
“I want to be a princess so I can look after my little sister,” Windsong replied immediately. “I want to help you with princess stuff, and I want a beautiful tiara and necklace like yours.”
“All right, Windsong,” Luna said, “then let us begin your coronation!” She sent a shimmering pink mist from her horn. The mist surrounded Windsong, lifting her into the air. Within seconds, Windsong had a beautiful horn and a pair of wings. A platinum tiara covered with diamonds appeared on the filly’s head, and a diamond necklace formed around her neck.
“Princess Windsong,” Luna said, “what is your first royal declaration?”
“To provide two royal guards for my little sister, and to make sure my parents never hurt her again,” Windsong said. Luna hesitated, but she knew exactly why the filly was making such a request. Sighing, she sent two guards in plainclothes to stand sentinel on either side of Windsong’s younger sister. Her parents would be arrested on many charges, including Windsong’s murder, over the coming days. Her sister would be safe.
“Now,” Luna said, “would you like to help me raise the moon?” Windsong gasped and began to jump up and down.
“Oh, yes, yes, yes, please!” Windsong cheered. Luna led her onto the balcony and showed the filly how to draw the moon’s path in the sky with her horn, then they raised the moon together. The dreamscape lapsed, and Windsong charged through the gates of Heaven, freeing herself from a life of darkness. Luna returned to the waking world and resumed her duties.