The clouds above the pine trees parted like a mercury veil, letting the light from earths satellite fall upon the lonley road far from any human habitation. The calmness of the night was everywhere.
Watching.
Listening.
The only sound to be heard was the slow *TINK* of the Chevelles cooling engine and the intermittent *SNAP* of Alecs Nikon. The camera was performing quite well at the task. The solem ball of rock that had bore witness to every single night since the dawn of the planet itself was captured digitally by the camera over and over again. But he didn't care. The moon was, in his opinion, more beautiful than the sun. Not only because you could actualy look at it, but because it had certain qualities the sun did not.
It was mysterious. It was the small ball in the night sky that everyone knew the name of. Moon. Or in latin terms Luna.
Luna.
Alec lowered the camera and turned to the Chevelle sitting on the side of the road. The moonlight falling upon it turned it into a piece of the night itself. There it sat just like the moon.......Just like luna.
Calm.
Silent.
Lonley.
All of those things were silent watchers of the suns absence. The had all seen many things and not questioned any of it.
The moon forced into the sky every night.
The Chevelle handed around for decades.
Luna herself being confined to her own special orb for ten centuries.
It seemed time had a bone to pick with them more than anything else. And it picked it slowly.
Alec bagan taking pictures of the midnight blue muscle car. He was reviewing one he had just took when he saw it.
The reflection in the screen. Alec turned to see if it was just a typo.
But it wasnt. There, hardly skimming the tops of the trees, was the projectile that had just seconds before been in the night sky. Alec stared in wonder at it. He couldn't tell what it was. The vibrant aura surrounding it seemed so familliar to him. It almost felt calming.
At least until he realized it was heading straight for him... and his car.
"OHMYGOSHHHIIIIIIITTTT" was all he managed to get out as he leapt across the hood of the Chevelle "Dukes of Hazzard style" and curled into a ball beside the front tire. He closed his eyes and waited to die as the ball came across the highway only 15 feet above him still doing a good fifty kilometres an hour. Alec heared a chorus of branches snapping on the other side and then a splash. Whatever it was must have wound up in a pond or something.
Alec layed balled up beside he car for a few more seconds. He then opened an eye.
Yep. still alive.
He then got to his feet and set the camera, that miraculously wasn't broken, on the hood.
He looked off into the woods. A trail of sheared branches let to the crash site. It looked to be nomore than 50 metres away in woods.
Alec looked as himself. He was still wearing his DC's, Skinny jeans and West 49 hoodie complete with oil stained T- shirt.
Rarity would flip.
The woods was uneven, filled with mossy rocks, branches and water hazards of every type. Then there was the chance of a run in with a coyote or a bear. But what was that thing?
Alec thought for a minute, his entire life experience compiling into an answer he knew would suit the risky situation perfectly.
"Yolo" he shrugged as he started off into the woods.
The darkness was even more intense as he went in. The trail of broken branches was as much of a benifit as it was a danger. One wrong step and he'd be stuck out there with a broken foot. Thats the last thing he needed. Especially if there were aliens nearby......
Soon the soggy ground turned to bog. Alec grumbled to himself as his shoes filled with swamp water.
"This better be worth it"
In his head he knew it probably wouldn't. But he pushed deeper still. The path of branches ended in the middle of s deep puddle. By then the water was up to his knees.
Alec looked around. The grimy tree trunks surrounded him like a maze. He took another sweep and almost turned back. The sudden *SPLASH* stopped him dead in his tracks.
He surned back to the audience of timber.
"Hello?"
When he heard an answer he nearly jumped out of his skin.
The sound came from a trunk directly in front of him.
Whatever it was was hiding from him and doing a rather poor job at it.
He disregarded the last part and chuckled to himself. He just figured it was someones dog lost in the woods.
"C'mon out. I wont hurt you"
The glimpse of a blue sweater blowing in the wind was the first thing he saw. But there was two problems he noticed immediately.
One.
There was no wind.
Two.
The sweater was a mane.
And as if that wasnt enough, the mane was attached to a head. The head was attached to a body.
And that body was a mud covered Luna. Half hiding behind a tree trunk less than five feet away with a look of pure fear on her face.
He stood there as his mind processed the scene that most certainly not a dog.
He then realized what was actually occuring.
Alecs face then became identical to her's.
The once silent night was then interrupted by two screams from two worlds echoing through the swamp.
Alec continued screaming as he splashed behind another trunk nearby. Luna retreated behind her initial location. "Wh- Wh- What the FUCK" He stammerd while peeking around he tree to take another glance. Luna did the same. They made eye contact for the second time in their lives. They both fought the urge to run for some reason and stared for a few moments until Luna spoke first.
"Considering the fact that you spoke equestrian, i thought that you would be a pony or at least something i had seen before. I can now quite safely say that you have indeed not lived up to that expectation"
Alec, in a state of shock temporarily forgot who he was in the woods with and the entire fact that he was a brony, replied to the best his mind could function at the moment.
"Ya well... i was kinda expecting something from earth myself"
"What is this "Earth" you speak of?" Luna asked with a hint of realization in her voice.
"Where we are right now Luna" Alec said.
*wait* He thought,
*Luna*......
It was then he gained full comprehension of what was happening. He immedieatly retreated behind his tree and put his hand over his mouth inhaling so much it almost got wedged in his throat.
"What do you mean earth?"
Then it dawned on luna.
The spell.
Discord.
The place he was speaking of.
Luna chose her next words carefully.
"Are...are you going to hurt me?" she asked dreading he answer with a quivering tone.
"Um...no" Alec replied blankly.
Alec had by then gained some control over his inner fanboy and had began to approach the shaking princess slowly.
"I promise i won't hurt you"
Luna could've fled.
But she didn't.
This bipedal being on a foreign planet was the first thing she had encounered since arriving less than a few minutes ago. To be honest she was rather glad it wasn't going to maim her and/or eat her.
"Promise?" she said, her voice less shaky.
"Promise"
Luna slowly rose from the chest high swamp water and came out from behind her tree. The two then approached each other until they were less than two feet from each other.
Luna looked this "stallion" as she guessed by his voice up and down.
Clothed.
4 legs.
2 used for walking.
2 used for manipulating objects.
Alec did the same. To be honest she looked much like she appeared in the show. Her mane still flowed without wind. Her eyes glistned in the night. Her coat was filthy and there were many cuts of varying sized on it. She stood with the surface of the swamp just inches below her belly and rose to a total height just below his chest.
Alec decided to end the awkwardness then and there. He held out his hand and preended he knew nohing about her.
"Alec Dirkson, pleased to meet you"
" Princess luna......But for the time being you may acknowledge me as Luna" she replied gingerly holding her hoof out.
Time slowed down for alec as his hand inched closer to lunas soaked hoof.
*Moment of truth, please don't be a dream* he hoped.
Luna set her hoof into his palm. Alec closed his fingers around it and did his best not to squeal.
The hoof/hand shake lasted for a moment. But the two would remember it for a long ime to come. A cold gust of wind sent through he now almost pitch black forest caused them both to shiver.
"It's getting cold out" Luna began.
Alec knew what came next was inevitable. He jumped at the chance.
"I wouldn't mind you accompanying me back to my abode for the night"
Luna weighed her options. This stallion seemed innocent enough. The planet also looked not all that diffrent from equestria. Luna needed someone who could understand her and perhaps explain her situation to in the morning.
And another thing, was this the planet of cruelty and corruption she was informed of. Becase if it was then she had definently seen worse.
Of course, first impressions can be misleading.
But after a multi dimmensional journey she was dead tired.
Sleep first, questions later.
"Thank you Alec. I would appreciate that"
" I imagine we both have a lot of questions for each other,but that can wait until tomorrow" Alec said.
"Indeed"
"I live a good ways away from here. My car is up by the road. Follow me."
Alec turned and began to wade out of the swampy part of the woods. Luna followed but thought to herself:
*Whats a car?*
Alec was squealing inside his head.......still. He wasn't thinking about the car with HER cutie mark on it.
The Chevelle would force some questions to be asked there and then.
For what is tonight but last night's tomorrow.
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