//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Nightmare Moon // Story: My Little Luna // by Alcatraz //------------------------------// It's been what, three months maybe four since I found Luna in the midst of that huge storm. Boy how time flies! She didn't grow much at all in that time, maybe a little weight gain from all the food she kept eating accompanied by all the sleeping. It'll forever puzzle me how she sleeps like that. I gave Luna freedom to watch the tv while I was away at work, we didn't get My Little Pony on the air over here so there's no danger of her finding out about anything that way. It's almost Christmas time, and for that I bought Luna a few little gifts. The sonic screwdriver that 9 & 10 used, a nice warm blanket, and a big cozy basket bed. The basket bed was originally made for a large dog, but I'm not going to tell her that. It suits Luna just fine. Curled up in to with the blanket tucked around and the screwdriver laying next to her, it is the epitome of adorableness. I can't resist taking a Polaroid and adding it to the growing collection of the album I've been keeping. New Years comes and brings a bit of a surprise, Luna starts slowly growing up! For months nothing happens, why start now? What caused it? But with growth spurts comes the increase of her magical capability. As a filly she didn't stand higher than my knee at most, and could really only pick up a few items at a time, but January saw that increase to picking up everything at once in the whole room, and she grew to slightly above my knee. February saw a huge spurt; Luna is now getting really tall! Standing half way up my thigh, and her hair does grow, but really only to match her proportions. It is normal hair like from season 1, and that makes me wander if or when she gets the Astral Mane like Celestia. However, Luna absolutely loved it when I brushed her mane while sitting across my lap as we sat down on the couch to watch tv after I got home from work. It's always nice to relax and cuddle. Luna's magic got even more strong; able to now pick up everything in the whole damned house! March saw another huge spurt, now she stands as high as my hip. Makes me almost wish that I had found an instruction manual or at least a guide on what to expect when raising a filly, such as when any why growth spurts happen and how to deal with magical energy. Nothing new happened with her magic at this stage either, which makes me wander how strong it'll be come next month. April. I decided against pranking Luna on April Fools, I don't know how badly it would scar her, if at all. We went for a walk into the forest yet again and to the climbing tree. This time however, I looked down to Luna, she looked up to me, I nodded my head in the direction of the tree. What happened was amazing. She didn't need to screw up her face to concentrate, simply closing her eyes, and then POOF! The fallen tree was sitting upright, planted firmly in the middle of the gorge. Ever get so used to something that you can never look at it the same way again? "Ok Luna, you can put the tree back now." Wow, never though I'd be saying something like that again. "But isn't it better like this?" "Sorry sweetie, but if someone else comes along and finds a tree that is upright when it was previously laying down for twenty years, they're going to want answers." "Awww, ok then." Pouting, she puts it back across the gorge. I hate seeing her sad like that, especially when she's growing more aware that I'm trying to hide her, and I can't keep doing it forever. May. Oh how I loathed May. It bought back so many memories from the accident with my parents. May is, or, rather was, my mother's birthday. Luna caught me laying down on my bed crying into the pillows. "Hey dad, what's wrong?" "Well y-you see..." Talking between sobs is hard. "T-today was my mothers birthday." I know Luna was upset by that too, she dipped her head in sorrow and cuddled up to me in bed, and I death-gripped her in a hug. Luna didn't budge, she just lay there and let me squeeze the life out of her. "It's ok, I won't leave you, ever." "You have no idea how much that means to me Luna, really. Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'm going to take a nap ok?" "Alright, I'll see you soon. I hope you feel better afterwards." Said Luna, giving me a kiss on the forehead and walking out the door. I lied, I wasn't going to sleep, I wanted to watch My Little Pony. It had been so long since last time. What better place to kick it off than the beginning of season 1! Half way through the second episode I have to use the bathroom. Putting down the laptop on the bed and sneaking out the door down the hall. By the time I get back to the bedroom, Luna is looking at the open laptop. It has Nightmare Moon on the screen. Luckily I had just gone to the bathroom, but I'm still shitting myself. "Dad, who's that?" Asks Luna, pointing her hoof at the screen. I begin to speak on autopilot. "That's Nightmare Moon, she's evil." "Why is she evil?" Pushes Luna "She wanted to shroud the world in eternal night, thinking it was better that way. But someone stood up to her, imprisoning her in the moon." Luna gasps. "In the moon!? Is she there now?" I have to chuckle at that. Closing the laptop and answering Luna. "No my darling, she's not on our moon." Hopefully Luna would interpret that as not being real, and she took the bait. "That's good then, 'cause it must be really boring on the moon with nothing to do." "Yeah it's got to be. Anyway, what would you like for dinner? Since I don't want to cook, how about we get pizza?" I venture, trying to change the subject. "That sounds yummy! What's pizza?" I forgot, I had never introduced Luna to pizza! "Just wait, you'll love it." How long before one of these 'bullets' hits me? I order two vegetarian pizzas, both with different toppings, one with tandoori sauce and one with bbq. When they finally arrive and I pay for then, Luna comes out from hiding and sits at the table. She picks up one of the tandoori slices and takes a small, princess-like bite out of it. Her eyes grow wider than the tv, and she bites half of the slice off, speaking with a substantial mouthful "Oh my gosh it's delicious! We must have more!" By the time I'm done with half of one, Luna's already finished the other. June. Things haven't been going well since Luna saw Nightmare Moon on the computer. I can't really explain it, but seeing Nightmare Moon must have triggered something. Luna keeps saying she has flashbacks of things she can't explain, and during these "flashbacks" her horn often shoots sparks. I try to talk to her about it, but she keeps brushing it off. One night I find her outside at the top of the willow tree in the middle of the yard, doing something with her magic. "Luna, honey, what are you doing?" Grunting and straining, she keeps trying to cast magic into the sky. "T-Trying to make you happy!" With a huge blue flash of light that completely clouds my vision, all I see next is Luna in front of me. "There, I did it." I can't believe what I'm hearing. "Luna... What did you do?" "I made the night stay, just like you wanted." She says gleefully. "Now you can look at the moon all you want instead of the nasty, hot sun!" I squat down to meet her gaze. "Luna, put the moon back now!" I say, raising my voice at her. "No good is going to come of this, one side of the planet will freeze and the other will burn!" She looks me dead in the eye and says very calmly, "You can do anything you want, and it's always going to look nice. 'Cause you did it, and you're wonderful, and you have to believe that." Oh shit, I just got my own words thrown back at me, and in the worst possible way. "I remember, father." "Remember what?" "What you tried to keep from me." At this point Luna is speaking through gritted teeth. "Neither of us know how I ended up on this rock, but we both know where I came from." "But how do you remember?" "When I went into your room and saw the picture of that mare on the screen, it... triggered something. Memories that were locked away somehow. I don't know who was on the screen, but... It all seemed so familiar" Luna winces as another spark, and quite certainly another repressed memory breaks through. "Luna please, believe me when I say I wanted to tell you, I just needed to find the right time!" "Before someone says something they'll regret, you have the opportunity. So speak now, father." Never before had she said that word with so much bitterness. I have to concede at this point. "Fine. I'll show you what was on the screen." Luna, refusing to budge tells me to "Fetch the portable device with the moving pictures." It seems that Royal Canterlot Voice of hers is coming out too. This can't be good. I set the computer down on the concrete driveway and play the beginning two episodes. Luna watched with a thorough blank expression. Closing the laptop, I turn to her and speak. "Please, just hear me out. I have no idea how you got here, but I did what I thought was best for you. Imagine the horrible things someone else could have done had I not found you!" Sitting down with her tail curled around her feet, Luna speaks normally. "This much is true. If not for you then I could be..." she trails off. "If darkness and anger take hold, you will become that which you most fear." I say, gesturing to the computer. "Remember that, and never forget it. Nightmares, My Little Luna, are nothing but fears that live inside of us all. We all have the power to defeat them if we just shine the light of love upon them!" And with that, I give her a kiss on the horn followed by a nice, soft, loving hug. "I'm so sorry. So, so sorry. For ever doubting you." "So... are you going to put everything back to normal?" I let out a little chuckle, albeit inappropriate, and Luna responds with one of her own. There's another flash from her horn, but nothing seems to have changed. "There, the night will continue as normal." There's a flash from inside the house. What was that? "The envelope! How could I have forgotten!?" I run inside and turn the tumbler to open the safe and take out the envelops, using my letter opener on the dresser to open it. The enchantment must have been broken somehow. I pull out a plain white piece or paper. There are no words on it! Turning it over several times, they slowly appear on the paper. The words on the were few and simple. You have done well to prevent my sisters transformation into Nightmare Moon. We will speak soon. - C And with that, the words fade. Luna pokes her head into the room. "What is written on the paper?" "Everything is going to be ok Luna. Everything is going to be ok."