//------------------------------// // Bad pony manners // Story: When the Moon saved the stars // by kittypetro //------------------------------// Chapter 8 Bad pony manners Her friends waited in a circle, having managed to start a fire. “Hi guys” Vinyl said smiling. Luna looked up. “How did it go?” “It was like dancing on a piano, it was fun… kinda scary at first, but fun.” “Good job” Derpy said smiling, coming up to look at the flutes around Vinyl’s neck. “Ohh that looks fun to play.” “I tried them out a little” Vinyl said smiling. “They are quite nice to listen to. So… where too next?” “We decided to wait until you came back, to make sure we didn’t disturb your trial” Derpy said smiling. “All right” Vinyl said, sitting down next to Trixie, warming her hooves. “You guys do your best.” “So” Trixie said as the rest of the group, with the exception of Luna, Soarin and Spitfire started concentrating on the elements once again. “So I got attacked by a ferocious bear and you got to dance on musical ice?” “Pretty much.” Trixie scowled. “The world is so unfair.” She and Vinyl looked up at a familiar shine, seeing Gilda glow and rise from the floor. “All right” Gilda where are we going? Spitfire asked, still close to the flames of the fire. “Preferably somewhere warm” Soarin grumbled, shuddering slightly. “Well it’s warmer than here” Gilda said, blinking to get some spots out of her eyes. “I recognized the place… we’re going to the Griffin kingdom.” Luna looked at her. “You sure?” “You think I wouldn’t recognize the mountains I have flown in since I learned to fly?” “All right, valid point I suppose… Now we should head back towards the town, I’ll raise the moon and we’ll all get some rest, is everypony ok with this plan?” Everypony nodded and turned to face the cavern. The wind had died down, although it still snowed hard. It took the group almost twice as long getting back as it had getting to the cave, as they now had to find out where they were going with zero visibility and no magical flute playing to show them the way. Finally they came back to the town, finding the closest inn. Just as they stepped in Vinyl saw the sign, the happy digger. Getting inside everybody sighed as they felt the warmth of the nearby fireplace. “Can I help you?” The voice came from a gruff looking grey stallion, looking at the nine with suspicion. “We need a place to stay for the night” Luna said, dragging out a few bits that the group had managed to scrape together before their trip up to the frozen north. “This should cover it” she said laying it down. The man counted the bits. “Sorry miss, you are 20 bits short.” “What? There is enough bits in there to cover the rent for 9 ponies.” “Correct” the pony said, looking at Luna who looked at him with indignation written all over her face. “However I only see 7 ponies, plus a griffin and a zebra… I repeat, you are twenty bits short.” Luna scowled at him. “Last I checked the royal princesses made it illegal to up the prizes for creatures that are not ponies.” “And which of the princess would that be?” the pony asked with a scowl. “The one currently trapped in the sky or the one that’s on the run?” Luna opened her mouth and was about to say something when a sweet tune filled her ears. Looking back she saw that Vinyl scratch had lifted her new instrument to her lips and was playing a soothing tune. “Ah sorry miss, what were we talking about?” Luna looked back at the rude pony that looked calm and content, a huge smile on his face. “We uhh, were discussing our stay for the night.” “Ah of course, you are a party of nine, here we have one 3 pony bedroom and three 2 pony bedrooms, share rooms with whoever you want.” “I thought you said we were 20 bits short?” “Don’t worry about the money” the stallion said with a smile. “For such a group of lovely companions how can I force you to pay?” Luna decided to not look a gift pony in the mouth and took the bits and the keys. “Soarin and Spitfire we’ll take the three pony bedroom. Gilda and Derpy you take one of the other rooms, Trixie and Vinyl, here is a key for you, and Big Mac and Zecora the last room is for you two, try to get along everypony. And Vinyl… next time give us a warning.” “Sorry” Vinyl said, not sounding sorry at all. Everypony went to their rooms, Spitfire and Soarin more or less collapsing in their beds. “You two doing ok?” “Yeah” Spitfire said exhausted. “We’re simply not used to this kind of stuff. We’re racers, we don’t usually travel long distances by hoof in all kinds of weather defeating evil, that’s the guard ponies job.” “Well I think you are doing great so far” Luna said smiling. “Now I need to tell you something and I’d like it if it stayed inside this room.” Soarin and Spitfire looked at each other with a worried expression before turning to Luna. “We’re here to serve your majesty.” “Thank you… Nightmare Moon is back in my head.” Soarin sat up. “What do you mean back in your head?” “I can’t explain it” Luna said shaking her head. “But every time I raise or lower the moon, it’s like her voice grows. She keeps talking to me in my head, trying to convince me that I need her power to defeat Starvoid, or even to simply let her win.” Spitfire got up from her bed and walked over to the Lunar Princess. “Your majesty listen to me, this isn’t like you… you are not Nightmare Moon, not since the elements purified you.” Luna frowned. “You don’t know who I was… what I did. And the elements might have helped but… the holders are up there in that cold now… and there is this feeling inside that sort of wonders if they understand the pain I went through staying there myself for a thousand years. But they don’t deserve it… I did, but not them.” “Your majesty please stop this” Spitfire begged. “We hate having to see you like this.” Luna looked into her brown eyes. “Please help me… please promise me that if I ever turn back into that terror… do whatever you can to stop me.” “We won’t let it get so far” Spitfire promised, Soarin nodding in agreement. “We’re the wonderbolts, we can do anything.” Luna laughed at him. “Yeah everything… except defeat a dragon going rampaging in Ponyville… and don’t think I don’t know of the incident at the best flyers competition where a flailing pony knocked you all unconscious.” Spitfire looked indignant. “Hey that was not our fault, that unicorn had a lucky shot, that’s all.” Luna laughed, feeling better already. Looking out she sighed. “Time to get to work” she grumbled, opening the window flying out. She flew high, landing over the clouds with a clear view of the sky. Taking a deep breath she let her magic loose, finding the moon, lifting it from the ground. Back in Canterlot Starvoid sat by a fire, enjoying the warmth, as she talked to Luna, prodding the little black form in the back of Luna’s head. “Evening my dear Nightmare, how has your day been?” Luna ignored the voice. Starvoid pretended to hurt, all the while wondering why she felt cold all of a sudden. Searching around she found her answer, Luna was somewhere north. “Ouch are you really giving me the silent treatment? Well let’s see how long that lasts. So I’ve been thinking, who were those ponies I saw you with in that forest? They didn’t look like they were much and after much work I’m still not convinced that they are a threat. But don’t worry I won’t bother you on whatever lame brained scheme you are thinking of doing. Mostly that was because Starvoid had had enough of the cold to last a lifetime, but this she did not tell Luna. Truth of the matter was that she had been looking into the silhouettes of the figures she had seen, but just like with the holders of the elements nopony seemed to be able to give her any answers on who they where and how they knew each other. But for now it didn’t matter. In the end I’ll get what I want… you’ll be mine soon my dear Lulu, and then the fun can begin.” Luna let go off the moon, panting heavily. What in the world was Starvoid plotting? A small cackle made her groan. “Why don’t you go and ask her?” “Get out of my head.” “Make me.” “You know I can have you banished from my mind right? All I need to do is to go down to the others and tell them what’s going on.” “You could… but you won’t.” Luna gritted her teeth. She hated that smarmy voice. “You won’t go down there because of the same reason that you didn’t tell your sister that you still had some of my powers when you came back. You’re afraid… afraid that they will hate you again as they did before.” “Shut up” Luna growled, not wanting the dark alicorn voicing the truth. “Very well… I suppose it’s enough for now… if you ever need to talk Lulu… you know where to find me.” Luna scowled but her scowls and growls turned into sobs and tears. Looking up she saw the constellation that was Celestia. “Help me sister” she begged to the stars. “I can’t keep doing this, it’s too hard.” She didn’t get an answer. She wasn’t surprised, she hadn’t expected it either. With a few more sniffs she dried her eyes and went back to the room at the inn, walking to bed quietly, not noticing that Spitfire and Soarin was watching her while pretending to be asleep.