We spent a few days in Canterlot. Three nights straight and I haven't gotten any sleep. Oddly enough, it didn't bother me as much as it should. I spent my nights wandering around, sometimes going outside. During the day I was usually in the library, looking for books about Nightmare Moon with Twilight. Either that or I was hanging out with Pinkie, or sometimes Rainbow Dash.
I knew that I was being followed throughout the nights. I didn't see them, but I knew they were there.
I didn't feel tired, but I knew that when I finally fell asleep, you'd have to give Pinkie a megaphone just to wake me.
I checked on Luna once. The guards by her room even let me in, but she was still sleeping.
We all met up with Celestia again. She didn't look all that happy.
"Something wrong?" I asked.
"It's my sister. She hasn't woken up yet." she said, "It's been four days."
"Should we wake her?"
"No." I said.
They all looked at me.
"Let her sleep for now." I said, "Luna is Nightmare Moon, and if she's coming back, then Luna must be trying to stop her."
"That's... I didn't think of that." said Celestia.
"I think we can forget about the whole me-being-here thing for now."
She nodded. "Twilight, it's time to equip the Elements of Harmony again."
'No, it's too soon. I don't know if I'm strong enough yet.'
"What could you do with them?" I asked, "I don't know if zapping Luna is gonna help."
"It's better to be safe than sorry."
I nodded. "Alright. Can I come with?"
Celestia stared at me for a few seconds, thinking it over. Finally, she said, "Sorry, but you can't come with."
"Ok. I'll be in the library." I said, "I'll see ya in a few."
Celestia gestured at a guard and he walked over to me.
I shrugged. "Lets go, buddy." We walked off.
"Don't you trust him, Princess?" asked Twilight.
She didn't answer. She headed to the chamber where the Elements were held, with the others following close behind.
I grabbed a random book and started reading it. In no way was it interesting, but I had absolutely nothing to do.
The guard kept staring at me. He definitely wasn't having fun. Wasn't my problem, though.
I started looking around the library from behind my book. I don't know why, it wasn't even that interesting. I closed my eyes.
'Man, I don't feel so good. Ok... just calm down. You need to calm down. What's... I-I can't... I... can't...'
I heard a scream in the distance, then slumped against the bookshelf and fell asleep.
"What was that?!"
"Luna!" said Celestia, "She's in trouble."
They all put on their Elements and ran to Luna's room.
She was sitting upright, sweating and panting. She seemed terrified.
"Luna? Are you ok?" asked Celestia.
"Y-Yeah." she said, "I just... had a nightmare. That's all."
"It's alright Luna, we all know." she said.
"You do? How?"
"A human said it while he slept. He said that she's back."
"A human? There's a human in Equestria!?" she said, almost yelling. She got out of the bed. "Take me to him. Right now."
"Is everything alright?"
"Right now!" she yelled.
Celestia was taken aback. Luna doesn't get this fierce.
"With me, all of you." she said.
They all went to the library at a high pace. Luna barged in and yelled out, "Where is he?!"
The guard got startled and said, "Over here."
Luna ran over to us.
All the ferocity that she had seemed to disappear. She breathed a sigh of relief. "It isn't him." she said.
"What do you mean? He's the only human here." said Celestia.
"It isn't him." she repeated.
"Finally, it's been three days since he's gotten to sleep." said Twilight, "I was beginning to wonder if humans slept at all."
Luna took a look at me. "There was a human in my dream, but he was older than this one. Years older."
"What was your dream about?" asked Celestia.
"A human somehow got to Equestria, and he and Nightmare Moon attacked and defeated us. I thought she was gone. How did she come back?"
"I don't know, but we have the Elements of Harmony ready in case anything happens."
It was freezing. I looked around. Pitch black. 'Well this is just fantastic. The animation budget ran out.'
A blue mist slowly surrounded me. I heard shrill laughing.
"Well someone's having a good time!" I said, "Who's laughing? Can I get some of that?"
She stepped out of the mist. I remembered what happened before.
"Nightmare Moon." I said.
She was still weak, but noticeably stronger. Her armor had been repaired.
"Human." she replied.
"Man, do I have some questions for you."
"You think I'll answer them?"
"Fair enough. Proceed."
"I have some commands for you to follow."
"I'm not gonna help you. Go screw yourself." I said, "Or better yet, go screw me."
She cast a spell on me. I froze up, then felt myself walk towards her, but I wasn't in control of myself.
"You don't understand who you're dealing with." she said, "I'm far more powerful than you. I can force you to carry out my orders if I need to."
"Then why are you telling me anything?"
"Because I know that you're willing to help me."
"Yeah. So what?"
"I'm giving you a choice."
"You can't control me outside of here, can you?" I asked. She made me punch myself in the face.
"Will you help me, or will I have to make you do it?"
I didn't say anything. I just gave her a blank stare. I tried to study her. For the most part, she was unpredictable. I knew what she wanted, but I didn't know how she could get it.
'It's impossible to best these ponies. Why doesn't she realize that? Even with me helping her, we couldn't take them on.'
"Well?" she asked.
"You are Nightmare Moon... and you need my help."
"I..."
"Let me speak for a minute, please. Now, I may help you, or I may not. I've thought about how to take on these ponies. It's just something I gave some thought to a while ago. There are no less than three gigantic problems with that. The least troublesome would be the Elements, because you could just steal them or something, but then you run the risk of having them discovered, but you can't do anything else about them. The biggest would be the freakin' God of Chaos himself, Discord. Between those, you'd have to deal with everything that these ponies could throw at you, and you couldn't beat them before, so how could you beat them now?"
She smiled. "I'm actually glad that you've already figured that out. I've watched this world very carefully since the moment I was defeated. I know these, and you knowing it saves time."
"You don't even have a real body anymore. Your power lies within Luna. You can't achieve anything close to the power you've had before. You're a shadow, a ghost compared to your former self."
I seemed to have hit a weak spot in her plan. She looked away and processed what I said.
"Then I'll take your body." she finally said, "You possess more darkness within you than any pony."
"Or I may reduce you to nothing." I said.
'Damn, I'm never like this. What's with me today? I like it.'
She laughed at me. "Impossible."
"Don't underestimate any of us if you wanna win. Not even me."
"You stupid child. You can't compare to my power."
"I'm trying to help you here. These ponies aren't my boss, but then again, neither are you. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Nightmare Moon." I said, "Don't misunderstand me, though. I still respect you. We have little more to say to each other. Release me. Keeping me here any longer is pointless."
"So be it." she said.
I felt myself waking up. "Until we meet again, my friend."
"He's back!"
"Are you alright, Phil?"
I sat up. "Yeah. I'm fine. I had a weird dream."
"What was it about?" asked Luna.
"Can't remember, but it was weird. Hello, Princess Luna."
"Just Luna is fine."
I looked around. Celestia was the only other one here.
"You were asleep for three days." said Celestia, "Are you sure you're alright?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. Perfectly fine. Thanks for waitin' for me. Did I miss anything?"
"Nothing very important."
"Hey... I heard you scream, Luna. What was that about?"
"It was a simple nightmare. Nothing more."
"Oh, ok. Where are those other ponies?" I asked.
"They all went back home."
I nodded, then got of the bed. "What are you all looking at me for? I'm fine."
"Something strange is going on." said Luna.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"As the Princess of the Night, I am able to enter the dreams of anypony I choose. Everypony except you. While you slept, I attempted to speak with you inside your dream, but was unsuccessful. I'm very curious about you. I'd like to try again at a later date, if you'll allow me."
"Hey, you need me to do anything for ya, just ask. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now Luna, lets be friends."
She smiled. "I'd like that."
"Also for now, breakfast. Sleeping for three days means no food for three days, and I am starvin'. Whatcha got for eats around this place?"
Celestia laughed. "Don't worry about that. We have something for you."
"Aren't humans... carnivorous?" asked Luna.
"Um..."
They both stared at me.
"Well, I'm omnivorous. I'll eat anything if it's good. I don't really need meat, though. Don't worry, I'm not a hunter. I won't go around catching prey like a wolf."
"Do you promise?"
"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." I said.
"You... know Pinkie Pie's special promise?"
"It's a promise from back home." I lied, "If Pinkie does it, it's just a coincidence."
"Alright." she said, "Luna, can you join him?"
"With pleasure, sister."
She brought me to the kitchen. This place was huge.
"You sure you got enough?" I asked.
"It's the largest in Canterlot, fit for royalty. I'll have our chefs prepare something for you. What would you like?"
"No idea. I don't eat a lot of the things you ponies eat. Probably."
"What do you usually eat for breakfast?"
"Just a bowl of cereal, maybe some toast. That's pretty much it, actually."
"That's..."
"Pancakes!" I said suddenly, "This isn't even a debate anymore. Pancakes."
"Alright. I'll have them make you some pancakes."
"Booyah." 'I'm not even gonna question why the Princess's chefs are making me pancakes. Never turn down free food.'
She talked to one of them, then pointed at me. He nodded, then got to work. She walked back over to me.
"So... What else does a human eat?" she asked.
"Humans can eat anything. On rare occasions, they even eat inedible things, such as lightbulbs. Now, I don't want you to use me as the norm for all humans. We're way too different from each other. I'm not entirely normal either."
"In what ways are you not normal?"
"I don't really know. Lets change the subject."
"Alright. So if you're not a normal human, then I'll ask about you. What do you like to do for fun?"
"Usually I play video games."
"What are those?"
"Well, they're games that you play on a... thing called a console. Hmm... How can I put this... Uh..."
"Excuse me, but your meal is ready." said the chef.
He gestured to the cart next to him. Luna opened it. A nice stack of then were piled up on a plate and covered with some butter an a lot of syrup. 'Damn, he got those done fast.'
"Those look like the most delicious pancakes I've ever seen." I said.
He smiled. "Enjoy!"
Luna covered them back up and said, "Take them to the table. We can eat there."
We followed him to the table. Luna sat down, and I sat next to her.
They set out plates for us and gave us some utensils. I eyed the container of pancakes.
"Luna, I have to ask. How much emphasis do you put on manners?"
"Please, be dignified." she said, "It would be rude to my chef."
I sighed, then said, "As you wish, madam."
They lifted the lid. Luna got herself some, and I did pretty good in getting myself some. I even cut them before devouring them. it didn't feel right in my mind.
"Well... That's certainly the best breakfast food I've ever eaten." I said. I was still kinda hungry, but I just ignored it.
"I'm glad you enjoyed it." said the chef.
"Still wanna know about those games?" I asked Luna.
"Sure."
"Ok then." I gave it some thought, then said, "Imagine a movie where you can completely control the main character. That's kinda what a video game is like. There are thousands of these things. Some are way more fun than others. There are different genres like movies, too. Playing video games fills most of my time up."
"What exactly do you mean that they're like a movie?"
"Well, say that there's a movie you really like. It could be really action packed and have all that cool stuff in it. A video game makes that movie playable, and allows you to go through it in a more in-depth fashion."
"I still don't understand. What do you do in these games?"
"It depends on the game. Like in one game, you start out as a mercenary who fights with a group of eco-terrorists to save the world and in the end they fight this really strong guy with awesome hair. I'm talking exceeding the grading criteria awesome. It's long and white and shiny and it just fits him so much. It is just so awesome."
"Hair?"
"Hey, you've never seen it. And the guy goes insane and tries to become a god, so you gotta take him down." I sighed. "It would be easier to explain with a game with me, but I don't have one. They're really fun."
"Well if you come across one, be sure to tell me, ok?"
"Sure."
"Other than that, I listen to music. All the time. Sometimes while playing video games. I have this little music player that had 2260 songs on it. Most of which I liked. And now I don't have it. Not having my music ticks me off."
"That's a lot of music."
"And I'm in school at the moment, so I... do that."
"You're still in school? How is it? I haven't been a student at a school for a long time."
"I don't do my homework or study, and I pass all my classes with Bs or above, so I guess I'm doing pretty good."
"Impressive." she said.
I gave it some thought. "Huh... I don't do much. Man, I get bored easy."
"Was that it?"
"Just about." I stood up and pushed my chair in.
"What do you want to do now?" she asked.
"Dunno."
She got up as well. "Walk with me."
"Alrighty then."
She led me through the castle a little, then we went outside into the garden.
"So tell me Phil, do you like it here in Equestria?"
"Yes I do. You ponies are really friendly and I've had lots of fun here."
"Do you like it more than your world?"
"Gonna go with yes again."
"Why?"
"I'd rather not say."
"Why not?"
"I don't really wanna talk about it now."
"Tell me."
"With all due respect Luna, it's not your business."
"Alright." She sat over by a tree and patted the ground next to her. I joined her.
She started gazing to the sky. "Do you like my sister?" she asked. The tone of her voice was very relaxed, almost sleepy.
"Yeah."
"Do you like me?"
"Yep."
"What about the others? Do you like them?"
"I like all you ponies." I said.
She leaned against me. "That's good. I'm really glad we're friends."
"Me too."
"Hey... If it isn't too much to ask, may I sleep here?" she asked, "I feel very tired all of the sudden."
"Um... Yeah, sure. Go ahead."
"Thanks."
She snuggled up against me and fell asleep.
'Ok... This is really weird.' I thought, 'Why is she so tired? Maybe this Nightmare Moon thing is taking a lot out of her. I hope she's gonna be ok. I need to find a way to fix this, and fast. Maybe the answer isn't in a book. Maybe I can find it in the world. It could just be friendship, like before. That would be nice. A simple answer to a complicated question. Well, not that complicated.'
I looked at Luna. I hadn't noticed it before, but she looked exhausted. Almost like she ran a marathon. 'Why didn't I see this?'
She was out like a light. She looked really happy, even while she slept.
'Man, she's really cute. This is awesome. She's awesome. They're all awesome. Awesome to the max.'