//------------------------------//
// 8 - Reading in Moonlight 
// Story: Born Under Silver Moon Light 
// by David Silver 
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Having tasted the heady elixir of freedom, Crescent was swift to take another snip. She trotted down the roads of the city, tail swaying eagerly behind her. Her ears trained on every little noise, and there were so many to choose from. She could hear a whole living city of happy ponies going about their business.

She stopped at a park, smiling brightly. "They have these out here? Of course they do." She bonked her own head, actually sifting through her memory to several such parks she'd seen as Luna. "Lovely places." She decided firmly she would visit a park that day, walking out onto the grass with the soft presses of her hooves on the grass beneath her.

Most of the other ponies there were enjoying the sun and playing games. Some families were together. One foal rushed up to her and invited her to play, which distracted Crescent for about an hour of fun and games.

Panting, but pleased, crescent sat on the grass and looked around for other ponies to approach. There was one that wasn't playing. They weren't with foals, watching them play either. They were reading, quietly. Crescent inclined her head at the sight, considering how she would approach the curious mare.

Walking up felt right, heading directly. "Hi!"

"Hello." The mare didn't look up, still engrossed in reading.

"Is it good?" Crescent went in for a peek.

The unicorn shifted in her seated position to deny that. "Yes."

Crescent fell to her belly to see the cover at least. Star Swirl's Treatise on Aetheric Conflicts in Personality and its Magic Consequences. "Looks heavy." She sat up. "Enjoying it?"

"Yes."

Crescent rubbed her cheek gently a moment. "It's a nice day." She waved at the other ponies running and enjoying themselves. "Why not play?"

The unicorn lowered her book to examine Crescent for the first time. "My friends are all busy with their various jobs. I'm reading. It's a nice day for reading."

Crescent pointed at herself. "I'm Crescent! Nice to meet you. Now you have a friend to play with."

The unicorn cracked a smile at that. "You make friends quickly, but that's a two way street, kid. You need my permission to be friends with me." She huffed, but smiled a little. "Name's Moon Dancer. Reading is my hobby, and my calling."

Crescent squeaked with obvious joy. "Nice to meet you, Moon. Now we know each other's name."

"We do. A small step towards friendship." Moon folded her book shut, giving up on reading it while Crescent remained. "Do you like reading, Crescent?"

"Mmm. That's a good question!" She thought to her past life. "I remember some good books, but I never tried as Crescent. I should." Crescent tapped at her chin a moment. "Any suggestions?"

Moon started with surprise. "Oh, well." Moon adjusted her glasses with a hum. "That depends on the topics that interest you."

Crescent scrunched her snout thoughtfully. "Well." Her eyes swept over the park as if for inspiration. "I really like learning new things! And stories about cool ponies going on adventures. Oh! And stuff about magic is super neat too."

She bounced lightly on her hooves. "I wanna know all kinds of stuff so I can help ponies better, like my mama does." She puffed her chest out proudly. "My mama's Princess Luna!"  

Moon Dancer's eyes widened at that revelation before she schooled her features back to careful neutrality. "Is that so? Well, any subject the Princess's daughter wishes to study, I'd be happy to recommend readings for."

She patted the grass, inviting Crescent to sit. "Let's start with broader topics to help narrow your interests, then go from there. Have you learned about plants or animals much?"  

At Crescent's eager head shake, Moon Dancer's horn lit up, a scroll and quill floating from her satchel. "Then let's begin with species identification and classifications. We can make a trip to the royal gardens after." She pointed in that vague direction.

And so Crescent found herself plunging enthusiastically into her new friend's impromptu biology lesson. Moon Dancer was clearly in her element sharing knowledge with such an eager student. "Beetle!" The book had a picture of one, captured with its wings spread out wide. "Gross, but neat. Do you think there's one of those around here?"

Moon Dancer read out its specific scientific name. "And it's right--" She pointed across the field. "--there."

"Really?!" Crescent dashed off after it with a squeal.

Moon flipped her own book open, resuming her reading. "Peace." She eagerly absorbed her words in blissful silence that lasted only a few minutes before the book was shoved down, Crescent's smiling face replacing it.

She jumped in surprise, dropping the book to the grass. "You're back? Did you give up?"

Crescent's glowing horn pulled up the wriggling beetle right into Moon's face. "I found it! They tried to fly away. Look at it." She reached up to trace along its intricate legs. "Neat."

Moon adjusted her glasses back into position. "I see. That is--" She leaned in for a better look. "A male of the species. Healthy at a glance, and likely upset that you're holding it."

Crescent brought the beetle closer to herself and it grabbed her face to her squeaking horror. She thrashed and rolled until she let go of the bug and it flew away back to its own business. "Bye bye!" She waved at it, as if forgetting the little tussle they'd just had. "That was super cool. Did you like it?"

Moon Dancer blinked bemusedly as Crescent popped right back up, seeming no worse for her tussle with the annoyed beetle. "It was--" She ran a hoof along the back of her neck. "--educational," she replied diplomatically, levitating her dropped book to wipe specks of dirt off the cover. Biology lessons did tend to get rather hands-on. "But we should allow it to return to its natural behaviors undisturbed."

Crescent nodded agreeably, already bouncing on to the next topic that caught her eye across the field. Moon Dancer had to smile softly, shaking her head. The boundless energy was admittedly endearing, if a tad distracting for a studious pony like herself.

Still, Crescent's cheerful passion for discovery was refreshing, awakening long-dormant recollections of adventure-filled summer days spent investigating the world beside equally eager young friends. Images of Twilight hopped to her mind, a reason to smile to herself.

Moon Dancer blinked out of her reminiscing as Crescent suddenly reappeared, tugging an exasperated butterfly along in her magic. 

"Moon! What kind is this? Isn't it pretty? Can we take it home and watch it hatch baby butterflies?!"

Moon Dancer gently extracted the indignant insect from Crescent's grasp, letting it flit away. "Ah, best to simply observe their beauty in nature, little one." She waved over the field. "If every pony here took a piece home with them, there wouldn't be a lot left for anypony."

Some boundaries still required minding around such enthusiastic curiosity. But Moon had to admit - when was the last time she'd truly taken a moment to appreciate living things' fleeting splendor herself? 

Perhaps she'd gained an unexpected new teacher today - one whose wide-eyed wonder at the world kindled long-neglected delight in simple things within Moon's own heart. "But you are getting in the way of my reading." She pointed at her book. "I can't read this as you come rushing back to me every few moments."

Crescent looked appropriately contrite, rubbing her hooves softly. "Um, well, what's that book about? Tell me about it."

"It's a bit dense for a foal." Moon turned away. "It's about magic."

Crescent brightened at that. "I just told you I love hearing about magic! What kind of magic? Who wrote it? Oh, Star Swirl, right? He's smart, but a little dry." She stuck out her tongue as if parched and desperate for water. "But smart."

Moon inclined her head. "He is like that, but his work is quite insightful." She ran a hoof over her cherished book. "He writes what's important, and sticks to the facts. That would be the 'dryness' you mention. I happen to prefer it that way. I came for information, not opinions."

Crescent clapped her hooves as she rocked left and right. "But what a pony was thinking, and where they are standing, will change how they see the facts. It's good to know that too."

Moon raised a hoof to hotly deny, only to lower the hoof. "Insightful." She flipped to the next page, carrying on her reading.

Crescent beamed at Moon Dancer's faint praise, plopping down in the grass beside her new studious companion. 

For a little while, a surprisingly tranquil silence reigned. Crescent peered curiously at Moon's book every so often, but seemed content for once to simply sit quietly. 

Moon found herself gradually relaxing into the unusually peaceful atmosphere the energetic filly now provided. She had just begun to reach a pivotal theory in the dense magical text when-- "Soooo whatcha readin' 'bout now?" Crescent finally piped up, draping herself across Moon's shoulder. "That looks like a pretty spell circle!"

Moon Dancer suppressed a sigh. Ah well; the serenity was sweet while it lasted. Gently nudging Crescent off her withers, she considered how best to summarize.

"This chapter discusses using containment spell matrices to isolate and study dangerous magical artifacts without risk," she explained simply. 

Crescent scrunched her snout. "Dangerous artifacts? Like cursed treasure in those Daring Do stories?" Her eyes went starry and round. "Have you ever found cursed things?!" 

Moon Dancer chuckled indulgently. This filly clearly had the heart of an explorer beating in her tiny chest. 

"My studies typically focus more on magic's scholarly applications in modern society," she replied primly. But privately, memories came unbidden of youthful days dreaming beside old friends of adventures beyond the mundane of wondering what mysteries the stars might hold.

"But--" Moon met Crescent's gaze sidelong, feeling an almost forgotten fire kindle within. "I have researched some artifacts with rather fascinating histories behind them." Images of strange relics danced in her mind, some few she had looked at next to Twilight in school.

Perhaps she had more tales yet to tell this bright soul beside her. "You are Luna's, are you not?"

"Yep!" Crescent fell against Moon, snuggling without prompting, or permission.

"Has she ever taken you exploring, to see a forbidden artifact of your own?" Moon raised a bushy brow. "Perhaps you could tell me a story or two."

"Well, yes, but no." Crescent sat up, thinking about that, and the countless relics she had seen as Luna. "It's a little complicated." She pawed at her new friend. "Did you want to hear about them?"

Moon inclined an ear at Crescent, curiosity building. "Name one."

"The Staff of Sea Mist." Crescent made a gesture of length with her hooves. "That's an interesting one, lost for at least a thousand moons."

Moon jerked upright with surprise. "You've seen it?!"

Crescent pursed her lips at Moon Dancer's astonishment, little brow furrowing. Had she said something wrong? 

"Not me, exactly," she hastened to explain. "But--" She cycled her hooves wildly. "--the version of me who was in Mama Luna's memories saw where it was hidden a super long time ago." 

She bit her lip, suddenly anxious. Her special connection as Luna's dream filly was confusing even to herself; it must have sounded bizarre to anypony else. But Moon had asked.

"It's hard to explain. But sometimes I just sorta know things or remember stuff from being in her dreams?" She scuffed the grass awkwardly. "The princess me saw it once helping move artifacts that couldn't fall into dangerous hooves."

She peeked hesitantly up at her new friend from under her starry mane. "That...probably sounds really weird, huh?"

But Moon Dancer merely looked thoughtful, tapping a hoof to her chin. "Hmm. Actually, it's quite fascinating." Her scholarly side quickly overtook any skepticism. "As a manifestation of Princess Luna's dreams and memories given form, naturally you would retain access to her experiences."

She summoned a parchment and quill from her satchel, eyes alight. "In fact, by serving as a living conduit to such ancient historical knowledge, you could unlock entire vaults of lost history relevant to my studies!"  

Catching Crescent's wide grin in response to her growing excitement , Moon coughed, composing herself as she adjusted her glasses primly. "Purely academically speaking, of course. But I would be quite...intrigued to document any details you retain regarding such artifacts."

She offered a faint, bashful smile to the beaming filly. "That is, if you were inclined to share more scintillating stories with this dull bookworm?"

Crescent hopped to her hooves. "You already taught me interesting things. You're a good pony! Let's talk." She circled Moon in a hurry. "The future, the past, right now."

A new friend had been gained.