//------------------------------// // Paranoia // Story: Moments in Time // by Shingo //------------------------------// As time changes, so do customs, behaviours, and terminology. Words that were commonly used fifty years ago can be seen as obsolete and foreign to those in the present. If there is a large gap between fifty years and the present, then the gap between a millennium and the present can be considered immeasurable. The younger of the two diarchs of Equestria needed to learn as much as she could about the citizenry as possible and as fast as possible if she was to be a good leader. Under a suggestion from her sister, she had decided to immerse herself in the current cultural landscape. Among the things she learned about the present society, there was one activity that she did on a regular basis. A small amount of the population did something that was illegal. Despite the possible consequences they continued to do it. To learn more about it and the ponies who did it, Luna had decided to try it herself. After the first try, she knew why they did it. While trying it she felt a euphoria that she had never felt before. Everything was better while in that special state of mind. After trying it, she tried to change legislation to make this activity legal. But, due to bureaucracy and other government policies, her crusade to make it legal was halted. It didn’t matter to her though. She still had access to the substances needed for this activity and a place to go to. On a rather ordinary night, Luna walked out onto the Canterlot streets from a vapour lounge with two other ponies. She had a smile on her face and a pair of round red glasses over her eyes. Like Luna, the ponies accompanying her had smiles on their faces. “Will you two be safe to walk home?” she asked. The two ponies nodded. “Have a good night then.” They waved to Luna as she walked away. Luna skipped down the street silently humming to herself. After a few moments of skipping, she looked up at the sky. “Wow,” she said. “The night sky is so beautiful. I should probably thank the pony who painted it… oh wait a minute, I did that.” Luna giggled to herself while standing in the middle of the street. She began her trek back to the castle still giggling to herself. A sudden noise caused her giggling to stop. “Who’s there?!” Luna stopped in her place. A rat scurried out of a nearby alleyway. A sigh left her mouth. She resumed moving towards the castle. “Just a rat. Calm down, Luna. There is nothing out here that can kill…” Again she stopped in her place. Luna’s eyes were as wide as saucers as she stared in front of her. Standing a few feet away was a large shadow coming from a tree. Its branches were spread out causing the shadow to look like claws. The shadow cast by the leaves formed what looked like a head and the spaces between the leaves created eyes. “A…a monster,” her horn lit up. “DIE MONSTER!” A beam of blue light flew towards the tree. The tree burst into flames causing Luna to cover her eyes from the sudden light. She moved her foreleg and stared at the burning tree. “Oooo, pretty,” she said. “Wait a minute, something’s wrong. There was a monster coming after me in the middle of Canterlot. I’ve never seen a monster while out in the middle of the day. So that must mean… oh no.” Luna’s head moved back and forth. Her eyes were wide and sweat was forming on her brow. She galloped towards the castle as fast as she could. “I thought I could trust it, but it appears I was wrong.” * Walking down the halls of Canterlot Castle was the elder diarch of the country. She had a sleepy expression on her face and a parfait was floating beside her. A yawn left her mouth as she turned a corner. When she entered the new hall, she noticed something different about it. All of the windows had their curtains drawn and the hall was incredibly well lit. Further down the hall, silver coloured objects were scattered around. The spoon in the parfait went into Celestia’s mouth. This is new. She continued her walk back to her room. Celestia stopped in front of the silver objects. They were pieces of a suit of armour that were placed in between an alcove. A pair of round red glasses was sitting by the armour’s helmet. What in the name of… Celestia’s ear twitched. From up above her, she could hear barely audible muttering. She closed her eyes in concentration in an attempt to translate the mutters. “I’m not safe. No matter where I go, it is always there waiting for me. I have to hide from it, but there’s nowhere to hide…” Celestia looked up. Hanging from the alcove was a midnight blue alicorn. All of her legs were fully extended and pushing against the sides of the alcove. Her mouth was moving and her eyes were constantly moving back and forth. “Luna?” Celestia asked. “What are you doing?” Luna looked down. “Celly!” she moved her legs and dropped down. She landed on the ground with a dull thud and her wings fully extended. “I need your help with something insignificant…no, wait that’s not true. I need your help with something of the utmost importance. You see, I can’t…. is that a parfait?” “Yes it is, and I’ll help you if you answer a few questions,” Celestia looked into Luna’s eyes. Both of them were glassy and had a light shade of pink in them. “Why are the curtains drawn, why is this armour scattered across the floor, and why were you hanging in this alcove?” “Interesting questions,” Luna answered. “But they all have the same answer. To hide.” “Hide? Hide from whom?” A midnight blue hoof pointed to Celestia. “Not whom, but rather what.” “Okay, what are you hiding from?” “Something I thought I could trust. Something I work on a regular basis.” “And that would be?” “The night,” Celestia blinked. “The night has betrayed me. And I can’t trust it anymore. What do I do?!” “I don’t understand.” “What’s not to understand? The night has stabbed me in the back! I can’t trust it anymore, it’s out to get me. And I have to hide from it to be safe.” “Luna, the night can’t hurt you. It’s completely harmless,” Luna pointed at Celestia in horror. “Is something wrong?” “You,” she said. “You’re working for the night! I can’t believe it, I trusted you. I thought you could keep me safe from the menace trying to kil…” A spoon covered in a gold aura was stuck in Luna’s mouth. Luna blinked. The spoon moved out of her mouth and a pleased smile replaced it. “Mmm, tasty,” Luna said. “Feel any better?” Luna nodded. “Good. I have to get some rest. Try not to exhaust yourself. Have a good night, Luna.” “You too!” Celestia walked down the hall before entering a door to her left. Luna walked in the opposite direction humming to herself. After a few steps forward, she stopped. “Wait a minute. Night, night, night. Why does that sound important?” She tapped her chin in concentration trying to remember why that word was important. “Oh, right. The night betrayed me,” Luna continued her walk down the hall. She reached a door with a stylized crescent moon carved into it. It had wings at its sides and a star was underneath it. Her eyes widened as her hoof was reaching for the door. “The night betrayed me!” Both of the doors were covered in Luna’s magic. They swung open and she ran straight into it. Immediately she hid underneath the blankets of the room’s bed. She sighed in relief as the doors closed. There. The night can’t find me here.