The night was perfect for stargazing. But, for the pale young woman walking carefully outside, it would be more apt to call it ‘moongazing’, instead. In either case, it was a favorite hobby of hers.
The cool breeze swept through the trees above her, rustling the branches, yet she paid it little mind. With her hands full holding the bulky tripod on which the telescope rested, she had no choice but to carry the rest of her supplies in a backpack and in her mouth.
Gazing upwards at the full moon filling the sky, she backed up four steps, took three to the right, one more forward and finally stopped, satisfied. “Pewfct” she mumbled through the rolled up piece of paper held in her mouth. She set up the tripod on the grass, making certain it was level. She wasn’t going to go so far as to use an actual level, but the thought had occurred to her. Briefly, really, only briefly.
Once she was one hundred percent certain her telescope wouldn’t topple over, she began fiddling with the knobs which controlled the height. Quiet curses escaped her lips every few moments as she fiddled with the dials, sometimes missing the mark by just a hair. Eventually, she conceded that the tripod was adjusted to just the right height.
Finally pleased with how it was set up, she let her backpack fall to the ground with a small thud, took the rolled piece of paper out of her mouth, and retrieved a ball point pen from one of the smaller pockets in her bag. She unrolled the paper and clicked her pen open.
“Alright, lets see, checklist for the Lunar eclipse, version two, item one: borrow telescope from aunt and uncle. Check.” Oh yes, that had been an enjoyable experience. It never ceased to surprise her how many different fashions in which her aunt and uncle would threaten to maim her should she fail to return their telescope in one piece. Humor aside, it wasn’t like she hadn’t borrowed it every other month or so, anyway.
“Item two: pack backpack with essentials for moon watching!” She looked down at her Nightmare Moon backpack, which was filled with what she considered the essentials—though others, including her husband, might have disagreed. Included within was a custom made Luna plush she brought out to watch with. She was a pegasister and proud—no shame! Besides, her husband was at work and couldn’t watch with her, so Luna would be the one to keep her company tonight.
“Check. Item three: wait for the moonrise.” As she gazed up at the bright full moon which hung overhead, the breeze picked up and blew her dark brown hair into her eyes and mouth. She crossed her grey eyes and spit her hair out of her mouth, then wiped the remaining strands from her eyes with an irritable swipe of her right hand.
With a quiet growl she opened another one of the smaller pockets in her backpack and retrieved a dark blue scrunchie, along with a small hairbrush. Placing the scrunchie in her mouth, she brushed out her slightly curly hair and gathered it up to be put up in a high ponytail. After twisting the scrunchie just right, she sighed happily. “Addendum to checklist: put hair into ponytail, check. Moonrise has already occurred, so, check to item three.”
She unzipped the large pocket of her backpack and removed her Luna plush along with a length of red ribbon, which she used to attach the plushie carefully to the telescope. She grinned, then reached back into her bag in order to retrieve a black thermos and a bag of chewy chocolate chip cookies, both of which she placed next to her on the ground.
She paused a moment before she opened the bag and snagged a cookie, chomping it down with a grin. Oh, to heck with the diet, it’s just one night! She licked her lips at the idea of the hot chocolate waiting inside the thermos, scooping it up next. She took a large sip, savoring the rich flavor while she set it back down next to her on the grass, making certain to close it for now. She then situated herself to best see through the eyepiece, which in this case meant sitting cross legged on the grass.
As she got adjusted to viewing the moon she allowed her left eye to close so she could fully concentrate with just her right, focusing upon the image visible within. Her fingers twisted the dials with practiced ease as the cool night air swept through her ponytail, giving her a slight chill. For a brief moment, she considered returning to the warmth of her home, even if just to retrieve a windbreaker. Yet as she went to withdraw from the eyepiece, something caught her attention—the moon had just entered the penumbra. She really didn’t want to leave but she was already feeling the cold air cut through her clothes, and knew it was only going to get colder. Considering her options for a few moments she made up her mind, got to her feet and ran inside her house.
“Windbreaker, windbreaker… where is it? Oh, right, the closet.” Feeling rather foolish, she opened the closet door, pulled the light blue jacket from its hanger and slipped it on. Once it was zipped up and the hood was on, she went back outside and stared up at the moon. It wouldn’t be long now.
She carefully sat back down, placing her right eye back against the viewfinder and readjusting it—after a few moments of tinkering, it was perfect again. She smiled and grasped clumsily for the thermos of hot chocolate, finding it after a moment of blindly fumbling for it. She relished the warmth which traveled through her fingertips as she gripped the hot thermos, and brought it to her waiting, and admittedly, slightly parched lips. It wasn’t that she was dehydrated; the night air, while comforting, had a brisk chill to it which was making her lips chapped and her fingers very uncomfortable. For a brief moment she considered returning back inside to grab her gloves. No, if she was going to have them she should have grabbed them during her emergency windbreaker grab.
Note to self; next lunar eclipse, add ‘do not forget windbreaker and gloves’ to my checklist. Oh great, now i’m sounding like Twilight Sparkle. Not that Twilight would ever forget her windbreaker since, without a doubt, it would already be on her checklist! A dribble of hot chocolate fell from her bottom lip and trailed down her chin. Were her entire being not concentrated upon the image of the moon, she may have wiped it away. But, as it were, she ignored it. Not only was she gazing at the start of a total lunar eclipse, a rare occurrence in and of itself, but this was a ‘blood moon’ lunar eclipse. It was to be one of four blood red lunar eclipses that would occur every six months over the next two years. Scientists called this occurrence a ‘tetrad’—the last time this happened was in 1946, according to her records. She had plans to watch all four during the next two years. This one though? She could sense that this one was special. She wasn’t sure why she felt this way, it was just… something.
I have been watching way too much Friendship is magic. The only thing I can think of right now is how closely this resembles the eclipse Princess Luna created and used to transform into Nightmare Moon. You need to relax, or at least ground yourself from the show. Yeah, no more watching for a week! Ugh, I’ll never keep to that… oh! the umbra! She carefully adjusted the magnification as the umbra’s dark shadow slowly washed away the white of the large full moon. It wouldn’t be long now! Oh, harmony, she felt blessed that the weatherman had been wrong—there wasn’t a cloud in the sky! It was perfect. If she didn’t know better she would swear the moon itself was beginning to sparkle. That was silly. Ugh those so called relatives of her’s must not have cleaned the mirror properly!
The girl felt the wind pick up around, chilling her to the very core, yet she ignored it. She would be damned if she left now! She shivered, trying to bring her hood down further over her forehead to stop the heat from escaping. Next time she would grab an actual jacket. Her thoughts returned to what she was witnessing quickly though. The moon had just entered the total eclipse.
Her face lit up from the happiness she was feeling, until she noticed it. Her smile slowly left her lips as a red light beamed down upon her. Tha-that’s odd. I feel, I feel funny... Sleepy She dropped hard onto her back as the red glow surrounded her small body. She felt heavy, as if she was being crushed. She tried to force her eyes open as her vision was covered by the light. It was blinding. It was terrifying. I-it was so… right The red light covered her completely within a cocoon, and with no choice she felt herself drift off…
She realized two choice things as she slowly returned to consciousness. One, she was laying on a cool, hard surface, rather than the slightly dew covered grass which she had fallen upon. Two, her head felt like there was a mariachi band playing within it, and they were taking all requests.
A small groan escaped her lips as she reluctantly turned to lay on her belly. Her head disagreed with this sudden movement and she stopped as her entire body throbbed in time with her head. After some time—she wasn’t at all sure how long—the throbbing dulled a bit. She gathered herself a moment, hoping to avoid an attack of massive lightheadedness. Once she was sure she had prepared herself as much as she felt able to, she pulled herself upright onto her hooves.
... She looked down at herself, looked up again, and felt her thoughts blank out for several long seconds.
Wait one second! Back up there! Hooves? Since when do I have hooves, anyway? Also, where am I, and where is my telescope! Ugh! My telescope, oh I hope no one steals it!
She balanced precariously upon her four hooves—if by ‘balance’, one actually meant ‘wobble like a jello mold’. Okay, she had four hooves rather than two legs and feet. There were two things that could have caused this. One, and the least likely, somehow she had been whisked off to Equestria to leave the human world far behind, live in harmony and discover the magic of friendship with the other ponies. Snort, yeah right, that just sounds like the beginning of a very bad self insertion fanfiction.
Option two, the far more likely option. Her telescope had tired of her clumsily trying to finger it into the right position, and had decided to take her out. That is to say, it had fallen on her when she got light headed and slammed her in the head, thus knocking her out. As of right now, she was going with option two. After all, right before she fell she had been thinking about the flashbacks from Princess Twilight part two. What else would her unconscious and quite concussed brain show her to keep her happy and healthy?
Well, I had better enjoy this while I can. I’m sure someone heard the clunk of my telescope landing on my head or onto the ground and will be coming to check on me. In the meantime though, where has this dream brought me? She lifted her head, hopeful that her dizziness had passed and that she might have enough balance to look around without falling on her face. She was partially right—her lightheadedness was gone. However, her new legs collapsed under her, sending her back to the hard floor with an ‘oomph!’ She laid there for a few moments, then sighed, laying her muzzle on the cool stone.
Funny. In all those stupid fics, humans turned into ponies have perfect balance. I call bull. This is hard! Alright, back to your feet- er, hooves. She lifted her head, pulled her forelegs towards her barrel and shakily clamored back onto her hooves. She swayed left and right for a few seconds until she was able to regulate herself with a bit of assistance from her tail. She wanted to take a look at said savior tail, or to a very least make it stop waving back and forth behind her. She was, after all, not at all used to feeling something like that on her butt. However she was only certain of her balance as long as she stood perfectly still, so turning to look at her own tail was going to have to wait. She began taking stock of her surroundings—not the easiest thing to do without moving, but she managed.
It was dark, almost pitch black in fact, but she oddly had no difficulty seeing. She was within a large room of sorts, or at least it had been a room at one time. Now, though, it was open to the elements through a large hole right above her. She carefully lifted her head to look up at the hole—it was pretty large actually. Huh, the moon is full but it’s not a blood moon. Odd, I would have thought my mind would have tried to connect the two occurrences...
She lowered her head and looked directly in front of her. There were two... chairs? She wasn't sure if calling them chairs was correct, they seemed to be far more than that. They were larger, with long backs. Behind them were long banners: one which was dark blue with several small moons and stars, while the other was gold and covered with multiple golden suns. Her eyebrow twitched, she recognized those banners; any pegasister worth her fandom would know them. After all, those were the banners of Princess Luna and Princess Celestia from one thousand years before.
Oh goody, I'm in the palace of the Royal Pony Sisters. What a lovely place to land! Especially when I can’t get enough balance to do more than stand straight! Alright body, I’m ready now. Lets wake up! Three... two... one... Now!
And... Nothing. She was still in the throne room of the Royal Pony Sisters. She still had the balance of a newborn foal. And it was still pitch black! This is ridiculous. Why couldn't I have landed somewhere else? Anywhere else! I mean, all the others landed somewhere other than the Everfree! Ugh, even in my dreams I have the worst luck.
She was starting to get a bad feeling that this may not be what she thought it was. Could— could this really be happening? Oh jeeze! Why couldn't I have landed in Ponyville? Even the Canterlot palace would be better than right here! Even if I was arrested by the guards I’d at least have a chance to explain myself... From what she had witnessed during the show, timber wolves weren't the greatest listeners. She wasn't sure what else could be in the Everfree and she was not eager to find out.
She wasn't certain what to do now, but standing still was starting to lose its appeal quickly. After thinking a moment she bent her back legs and was able to maneuver herself enough that she was sitting upon her haunches. After waiting a moment longer to judge how comfortable this position would be, she nodded to herself. That was better, much better.
Alright, lets see... What do I know? One: for some reason I am a pony, of which race or persona I’m not certain, although i’m really hoping that i’m still a girl—please let me be a mare! Er, brief freak out. Okay, focus. I hope I didn't take over the body of one of the main characters.That would be far too weird. Two: this does not seem to be a dream after all, for the reason that not only am I feeling the pain from my headache, dull as it may be now, but it seems that upon losing my balance I twisted my right, front ankle. Wait, do ponies even have ankles? Huh... Well, I twisted something, and it hurts! Three: I’m in the palace of the Royal Pony Sisters... In the Everfree forest... Unable to even walk... In the middle of the night. In layman's terms: I am screwed.
She returned her eyes to staring at the ground. Even the ground seemed magical. Well, she was in Equestria, after all; the land of magic and friendship. Okay, that’s enough staring at the ground, it’s not that interesting! She looked up at the hole she was sitting under. The moon, it was so close... so beautiful. Wait? What was that? A dark dot was coming towards her, getting bigger as it approached. A pegasus maybe? No, it’s too large to be a normal pegasus. Oh please don’t be a dragon— she refused to finish that thought and instead watched the dark dot fly closer. After a few more moments she felt a grin upon her muzzle; she recognized that dot!
I’m saved! Thank harmony! It’s Princess Luna! She’ll be able to help me! Yes! She clumsily bowed her head in reverence as the Lunar princess landed before her, tucking her wings to her side while she walked towards the mare. In trying to be respectful to the Princess, the woman didn't notice the wary, calculating look that Luna was giving her.
Princess Luna gazed at the pony before her with a consternated expression. Her head cocked one way then the other. She had many times battled with this idea in her mind, the idea of seeing the dark mare before her again. Mind you, in her visions, it was always a fight to the death, not a meeting with a very humble acting pony. There was only one explanation, no matter how impossible it was. “Goo…” she paused, clearing her throat. “Good evening, I am Princess Luna. While you appear as… some pony I once knew, you do not not, in fact, behave like her. Who are you?”
The large black mare lifted her head from bowing, and looked up into the round blue eyes of Princess Luna with her own teal, draconic ones. “Destiny, my name is Destiny.”
The air was still as a pause between the two ponies ensued.
Finally, Luna’s narrowed expression broke. “Are you quite sure that’s your name?” she asked slowly. “Is this a trick, then? An illusion? Surely it must be.” She kept herself and her magic prepared for an ambush.
Destiny blinked back her own sudden confusion. “What? No, and I think I know my own name.” Nervously, she reached for the Luna plush toy near her fore hooves, and picked it up with a little difficulty.
Luna had endured enough of the tomfoolery, and squared herself up against her old, former self. "Do you take me for a foal? Nightmare Moon!?"
The woman recoiled on impulse. Then, she felt her brain shut down. “Wait. What?”
