//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 - A Nightmare's Night // Story: The Lunar Ponies // by bonedragon17 //------------------------------// “I’m so excited to see our new home Lunar,” shouted Moon Drop as she ran circles around the group, a smile on her face that seemed to reach from ear to ear. They were heading to the edge of town to where an older house stood, the Mayor was happy enough to let Lunar and Moon Drop have it for free once the situation was explained by Twilight. “It was nice of the Mayor to give you a new home darling. And for free none the less,” said Rarity as they carried on with a light step, deciding to swing by the house since it was on the way to the quarry anyways. “Well she did say it was a fix-me-up… What does that mean exactly,” asked Lunar turning towards Rarity. “It means that it needs a little TLC and repairs before it is suitable for living.” “T… L… C?” “Oh right, I forgot you aren’t used to Earth just yet. TLC means Time, Love and Care,” said Twilight with a smile. “Um, is that it,” asked Moon Drop, the expression on her voice was filled with disappointment. Everyone looked towards the direction of Moon Drop and beheld a rather depressing sight. It was a house, yes, but the windows were broken, the roof was starting to cave in, the walls looked like they were rotting out and the door was hanging off a single hinge. Twilight looked around to confirm the location and said, “This does look to be the place. “It certainly is… A fixer-upper… I guess we know why the mayor was alright to give it out for free,” said Rarity as she took a step back from the atrocity. Lunar’s face went from surprised to a mild smile as he took a step forwards. “It may not be much now, but we will make it our own.” He turned his head towards Moon Drop who walked up next to him. “After all, we are our mother’s children.” Moon Drop smiled up towards him before Spike gave a cough to get the attention onto him. “So we’ve seen the house, lets get to the Quarry and help Rarity with those gems!” His mouth was watering a little as he spoke, obviously showing where his interests lie. “Oh! Of course! How could I have forgotten, I’m sorry darlings but I have to get those gems if I hope to finish that dress for Sapphire Shores before she leaves on her tour in a few days,” said Rarity as she started to walk away with Spike closely following. “Let us come with you. I’m sure we can be of some help,” said Lunar as he turned towards the three. Twilight turned towards Lunar. “But don’t you need to start getting to work on fixing up your home?” Lunar chuckled. “Well, we don’t really have the materials to even get started. We’ll pick up a few resources on the way back from where you are going to at least make it liveable.” “I would appreciate all the help,” said Rarity as she gestured towards a cart on the side of the road ahead. “Spike is a good digger but he can’t really pull a cart filled with gems rather well.” “I’d move mountains for you Rarity,” said Spike, obviously smitten by her physical appearance to notice everypony rolling their eyes with a knowing smile. _____________________________________ Walking down the dirt pathway towards the quarry, the five talked about a lot of things. They shared stories from their lives with one another, cracked jokes for laughs, and spent the time traveling explaining things to Lunar and Moon Drop on what things are and how things worked on Earth. “Oh, that reminds me Lunar, I asked earlier but I don’t think I got an answer. How did you and Moon Drop get such lovely, sparkling manes,” asked Rarity with a enthusiastic smile. “Well, you remember when I explained that Nightmare Moon crafted our bodies from stone and moon dust right? Well, she found gems on the moon that she ground into a dust and used as coloring,” said Lunar. “I see, that would explain such a beautiful shine when the sun passes through every strand.” Rarity’s eyes lit up a little as Moon Drop shook her head, displaying an example of what Rarity admired. “Lunar, do you know how Nightmare Moon used the spell to animate you,” asked Twilight, her eyes bright with hope of learning a new spell possibility. Lunar frowned as he shook his head. “I’m modeled after the Earth Ponies so I’m afraid I don’t know much about magic. If I can find any of my unicorn brethren, maybe one of them knows about the spell.” Twilight’s ears drooped a little upon hearing that, her hopes of learning a spell to animate statues dashed aside. Moon Drop however had a curious look on her face. “Why do you keep asking about mother? Didn’t she come down to Earth a couple years ago?” Twilight, Rarity and Spike stopped before looking towards each other with worried looks before looking away from each other as well as Lunar and Moon Drop. Lunar took a step towards them, “Something happened to her then. Please, you have to tell us, is she still alive?” Twilight reluctantly spoke up, “She’s alive… But not in the way you remember her. After she returned to Earth, well… My friends and I went and found the Elements of Harmony… And defeated her… Turning her back into Princess Luna.” Twilight braced herself for an outburst from Lunar or Moon Drop but it never came. She looked towards the two to see them looking at each other, a pained look mixed with relief covering their faces. “You’re… not angry?” Lunar turned towards Twilight, a tear forming in an eye. “Though it pains us to know our birth mother is gone, we’ve always known there to be a brighter side to our mother. This Princess Luna… Did she forgive Princess Celestia and receive forgiveness in turn?” “Yes. She did.” “Brother, mother is finally happy! Maybe we can meet her again and live with her, happy like always,” said Moon Drop as she started to cry tears of joy. Lunar pulled Moon Drop close to him in a one armed hug with a smile and nodded. After a moment of emotions from Lunar and Moon Drop, they calmed themselves and with teary-eyed smiles, they opted to continue to the quarry even though Twilight and Rarity offered to wait a little longer, a prospect that Spike agreed whole-heartedly. ______________________________________________________ Arriving at the quarry, Lunar and Moon Drop gazed at how large the area was, a large quantity of holes scattered here and there looked to have been done recently. Rarity looked to be dealing with dirt that has covered the very bottom of her hooves, muttering to herself curses on the dirt. Twilight and Spike were unpacking what looked to be a notepad and quills, as if getting ready to take notes or something. “Rarity? How do you find gems,” asked Moon Drop as she wandered over towards the unicorn. Rarity recoiled, not noticing that the filly had even approached her before giving a confident smile. “Oh, that’s easy enough to answer, dear. I use magic,” she answered in a dramatic fashion. Lunar looked towards Twilight who cleared her throat to clarify why she was there herself. “I asked Rarity some time ago if she could show me the spell she uses to find gems. I wanted to see if there was a way to improve it so that she could find more gems. Alright Rarity, ready when you are.” Rarity nodded with a smile as her horn started to become covered in a light cyan glow. Gems immediately around her started to glow under the ground, revealing their location for all to see. But that was not the only thing that happened. Lunar and Moon Drop started to glow, the crushed gems that were used to color them before their animation reacting with Rarity’s spell. Moon Drop and Lunar looked at themselves, a smile crossing their faces as the young Pegasus started to bounce around, leaving a streak of the glow behind her which quickly disappeared. Everyone laughed along with Moon Drop as she continued to run around before slipping into a nearby crater, popping her head out with a grin and a giggle. Twilight put down her notepad and quill, calling for attention on her. “Alright Rarity, I think I can make the spell go farther without using more magic than is necessary. I’ll test it out and teach it to you if it is a success.” Rarity nodded as she stopped her spell and let Twilight have her space. Everypony watched as Twilight’s horn started to glow a purple hue before expanding over the area around them. At first, gems started to appear below the surface and even further down than Rarity’s version but that wasn’t it. Moon Drop screamed at the top of her lungs, jumping out of the hole that she fell into. Glowing within it, Lunar was the first of the rest to realize what Moon Drop was afraid of. “What… What is this,” he shouted as he detached himself from the wagon he pulled from Ponyville. He jumped into the hole and started to dig vigorously at the spotted object. It was not long before he emerged from the hole holding a statues head, tears streaming down his face. Around him, more statues, broken and shattered started to illuminate from their craters. “This can’t be happening. Our family… Here and broken…” “How? Why? My family… I’ll never see them again… Mother is going to hate us, I just know it,” said Moon Drop, curled into a little ball with her hooves over her head. Her eyes clamped shut trying to hold back the tears but a light started to emanate from the crack of her eyelids. Lunar noticed this and ran towards her, wrapping his hooves around her while rocking her back and forth. Magical energies started to swirl around them as Lunar tried to calm her down. “Moon Drop! Moon Drop, listen to me! Mother isn’t going to hate us, she could never hate us! Calm down, listen to my voice. Don’t lose yourself to your emotions.” Twilight cast a bubble barrier around Rarity, Spike and herself. She tried to call out towards the two Lunar ponies but her voice was drowned out by the roaring winds caused by the foreign magics. “They’re all dead, Lunar. They are all DEAD and it’s all our fault,” shouted Moon Drop. “We shouldn’t have listened to Cresta! We should have listened to you at the start and live out our lives and now look what has happened!” The magic was intensifying as Moon Drop opened her eyes and looked up towards Lunar. A steady dark blue hue of magic escaping from her eyes. Lunar gritted his teeth as he buried her face into his chest, stroking her mane in an attempt to calm her down. His voice became soft and gentle as he spoke. “The truth is that I agreed with Cresta. I wanted to see mother just as much as everyone else and when she proposed that spell… This is our punishment for disobeying mother and we will have to live for their sakes. So calm yourself dear sister, think of what mother would think of us if you became a Terror…” Moon Drop’s wailing softened into muffled sobs. The magic was starting to subside as she started to calm down. “But they are all dead Lunar… How can we face mother like this?” “I don’t know about you, but I don’t see all of our siblings here. Surely those who didn’t land here is still alive,” said Lunar as he rested his head upon Moon Drops forehead, continuing to stroke her main. “We will find them someday, hopefully soon, and we’ll just have to forge a new life here on Earth. So no more tears little one.” With that, the magic subsided. Moon Drop crying softly into his chest as he continued to comfort her. Twilight lowered her barrier after a moment before slowly walking up to Lunar and Moon Drop. “Um, pardon me but what in Tartarus WAS that?” Lunar looked up towards Twilight, continuing to comfort his little sister as he did. He could see the worry in her face and sighed. “Remember when I told you mother brought us to life to have a family? That was only half the reason for our existence. We knew that Nightmare Moon was only one half of our mother, a darker half bent on taking her revenge. Nightmare Moon wanted an army that would sacrifice themselves for her and become ponies of immense power. Under intense physical, emotional, or mental stress and even through pure conviction of will, we can release all the magic within us to make us more powerful, probably as powerful as an alicorn in her prime. We call ponies that release this power, Terrors. “But this ability has a terrible price, however. The amount of magic released is not controlled so after some time, we return to being statues… We die… Only twice did this happen back in the kingdom and on both accounts, the Terrors nearly destroyed everything around them… But mother would appear before their full transformation and return them into dust.” Twilight, Rarity and Spike just stood there, not knowing what to say as Lunar went back to caressing Moon Drop. Spike nudged Rarity and the two silently slipped away from the scene to finish what they came to do. Twilight, however, walked up towards the two slowly before sitting upon her haunches and wrapped her hooves around Lunar and Moon Drop, trying to add comfort for the poor filly without realizing that she was comforting Lunar as well. He was on the breaking point too, not only realizing that his decision to go through with Cresta’s fool plan to teleport caused this, but that he almost lost his sister to becoming a Terror because of it. They stayed like that for hours until Moon Drop finally fell asleep. Rarity quietly caught their attention to the full cart of gems, signaling that they were done. Twilight lifted Moon Drop onto the cart where she continued to sleep as Lunar pulled the cart back to Ponyville. ____________________________________- The sun was almost gone and Lunar had done what he could that day to at least make a room windproof. The fireplace ablaze providing warm as Moon Drop sat on a bed made of hay and leaves far enough away from the fire to be sure that it wouldn’t light up from a stray ember. Lunar sat down next to Moon Drop and she leaned upon him, her eyes never drifting from the fire itself. “Will we ever be happy Lunar?” “Why do you ask that?” “We lost everything. Our home, our family, our birth mother…” “We didn’t lose everything you know. We have a home. We just need to make the best of it. As for our mother, we lost the worse half. Princess Luna is our mother now, the kindness that shown through that darkness and spared us from our true purpose. And as for family, you still have me and I have you. Maybe we can adopt this town as part of our growing family.” “Is that enough to be happy though?” “It is if you make it happy.” Moon Drop laid down upon the bed of foliage, squirming about to get comfortable. Lunar laid down behind her, a hoof wrapped around her to keep her close with the crook of his neck caressing her head like a pillow. They remained silent, listening to the crackle from the fireplace as the flames danced in an orange glow. They watched until the flames started to die, and they drifted off into sleep… ___________________________ It has been a few weeks since the incident at the quarry. Since then, Lunar had done his best to clear his mind of the graveyard by working as hired help for the town, using the money he earned to fix up the house and provide for Moon Drop. He also made some friends with any of the locals, doing a little more than what was asked for him for free. The home itself was relatively finished, a few window shutters stilled needed to be repaired, a hole in the floor of one of the room still needed to be repaired, but other than that it was rather pleasant to live in. Of course, he didn’t do all he repairs alone, Applejack came by to help with the yard work, making the front and back yards look very pleasant. Rarity assisted in decorating the inside, making the wallpaper, carpets and drapes during her free time with her fabrics. Fluttershy came to assist moving the animals from his home into her home as well as clearing out any pests that refused to leave. Rainbow Dash helped break down the walls that were rotting out as well as repair worn down parts of the roof while Twilight made sure that everything was planned out, measured, and most importantly, done correctly. Once all the repairs were done and Pinkie had spare time, she threw a party that Lunar found rather fun. Moon Drop looked like she was having a blast too and even made friends with Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo; effectively joining the Cutie Mark Crusaders with just as much enthusiasm. It was only a few days after the party did they learn of a holiday that was coming up soon… “Such an insulting holiday. If mother is no longer Nightmare Moon, why do they continue this farce.” Said Lunar with disdain. He stared out the window at the ponies starting to bring out the decorations for the event itself. Moon Drop came out of her bedroom with her costume on, an outfit that was designed after the image of Nightmare Moon. “I remember Twilight telling us that this was more a holiday for kids. Come on Lunar! Free candy!” “I just don’t understand why mother doesn’t have them change the holiday into something less… Degrading. Have you even heard some of the traditions and stories these adults tell their children?” “Well, yeah. Mother never ate any children, why would they say such things about her?” Moon Drop sat on her haunches next to Lunar, curiously looking up at him to try to read his thoughts. Lunar groaned as he threw up his hooves in frustration. “There is so much about this holiday I just can’t get upset about… But at least the children look like they are having fun so I guess there is at least one reason why mother would not end this holiday immediately,” said Lunar as he looked down towards Moon Drop. “That’s a rather good costume. Did you make it yourself?” “No, I asked Miss Rarity if she could help me out by making one in her spare time. She not only did mine but she did one for Applebloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo!” Moon Drop’s smile spread for ear to ear, her wings fluttering about as she jumped up and down in excitement. Hearing that Rarity made the costume made Lunar chuckle a little. He knew that the unicorn was talented but this costume just made him create a whole new level of professionalism for her alone. The quality of her work could show from not only the color scheme of Nightmare Moon’s fur and armor but also the flowing hair that seemed to shimmer in a translucent glow just as he remembered. “So you are playing as mother’s dark side, what are the other Crusaders dressed as?” Asked Lunar as he walked to the kitchen. He watched her out of the corner of his eyes as he pulled out a few leftovers from the cabinets. “Umm… I think Scootaloo is dressing up like Cerberus, a three-headed dog that guards the gates of Tartarus… Sweetie Belle is dressing like Celestia because we came up with this idea at the same time… And Applebloom, I think, is dressed up like an apple flower? Still not sure what that looks like.” Lunar couldn’t help but to smile as he watched her make scrunched faces as she thought. The two ate their breakfast in relative silence, purely enjoying one another’s company as they contemplated what they were going to do that day. Lunar had already agreed on helping the town by putting up decorations and setting up some of the games. He could remember the trouble he had keeping his emotions in check as he tried to worm his way out of helping at all but when Twilight came by with Fluttershy, they put up a rather compelling argument. Moon Drop, however, was more focused on the prospect of free candy and fun games to get too worked up over a holiday dedicated to exploiting the Mare in the Moon legend, in turn their mother. Her mind wandered from thought to thought on where to go, when she should meet the other CMC, how much candy could she carry and so on. They had just finished their meals and were starting to clear the table when a rapid knock on the door cut the silence. Lunar let Moon Drop answer the door, hearing the familiar cheering from the CMC. He smiled as Moon Drop announced she was going to play with her friends before the festival started and gave her his okay. The door shut, the water hitting the plates echoed through the now silent home. He felt content, happy to make do with what family he had left but his heart started to sink as he gazed out the back window. Scattered in small plots, small plaques dedicated to their brethren spotted the garden. Lunar had taken the time on his days off to return to the quarry and dig up the remains of his family with the help of Twilight and her magic spells. He remembered nearly breaking down himself as he placed the shattered statues of his brothers and sisters into a cart to bring them to a better resting place. He couldn’t bare to bring Moon Drop along as he had convinced himself she did not have to burden herself with a sin she did not commit and couldn’t thank Twilight enough for lending a supporting hoof during his time of emotional distress. “I guess it’s about time I get to helping with the festival… May Mother grant me strength to get through this day.” Mumbled Lunar as he put away the dishes. _____________________________________ “Lunar, you are putting up the wrong decorations!” Rarity’s magic engulfed the string of hanging Nightmare Moon head silhouettes before the entire line was pulled down, another string adorned with skulls floating up towards him at the top of the stepladder. “Sorry Rarity, you know my stance on this holiday so you can’t really blame me for my lack of enthusiasm to get everything perfect.” “Well you should! It’s for the children after all, think of the looks on their faces when they see beautifully created decorations draped over the streets in an aesthetically pleasing manner that will inspire awe and adoration for the finer arts! ‘Rarity,’ they will ask, ‘Who made these wonderful decorations!’ And I would announce that it was I who made most if not all of the decorations for the celebration tonight! They will then see the beauty of my crafts and come to my boutique with requests to become beautiful in their own rights with my dresses that I~” “Rarity! Gone off on another tangent there.” “Well excuse me for enjoying my profession.” Rarity left Lunar to hang up the new set of decorations she had handed him, muttering what obscene curses under her breath. Lunar sighed as he looked around the town square. Everpony was busy with their assigned tasks; Twilight taking charge in making sure that everything was going as smoothly as possible. His gaze turning a bit into a stare before realizing what he should have been doing. He couldn’t help but to think that for being a Princess, she didn’t like to use the title even to those who didn’t know her as well as the town did. She was adamant to get Lunar to stop with the formalities that he was so used to displaying for his mother that it even made Lunar feel just as uncomfortable as she was receiving them. From the story she told about how she ascended into Princesshood, Lunar would probably agree that she didn’t deserve it either but he realized that it was just Twilight venting her frustration of her new title. Tightening the knot with his teeth, Lunar climbed down the stepladder as he looked back to the decorations he had put up. Not bad work if he were to say so himself but knowing how much of a perfectionist Rarity was, he felt inclined to double check the slack at a distance. “Good work there, Lunar.” The new voice from behind him nearly gave him a start. He quickly turned around to see Applejack hauling a cart of apples behind her, her eyes gazing up at the decorations. “I would agree but I think Rarity would have everything to say against the notion.” Said Lunar with a hint of depression. “Hon’, Rarity can find fault in everything and anythin’. Just tell her that it’s fine and she’ll drop it.” Lunar couldn’t help but to chuckle at the prospect. If this was how Applejack disarmed Rarity then why hadn’t he discovered this method earlier? His eyes drifted back to the rather large cart of apples with a curious thought of how strong Applejack must be. “That’s right! Lunar, can y'all help me out by going to the farm and pulling a cart to Sugarcube Corner? Pinkie is gonna make ‘em into treats for the young’uns.” Lunar nodded and the farmer continued to pull the cart, saying her thanks with a slight strain from pulling the cart. Lunar smirked, if there was any pony that should be thankful right about now, it was him for getting an excuse to escape from Rarity’s never ending criticism. It didn’t take long for him to reach the farm and haul the oversized cart filled with apples, not being as heavy as it looked. He dreaded seeing Pinkie Pie in fear of her springing a surprise like she always did but today he might be lucky. Hoping that she was too busy helping the Cakes with the baking, Lunar entered the front of the shop. “Hey there Lunar! Applejack said you would be coming with some apples!” Lunar jumped to the side, Pinkie suddenly appearing at his right, a hoof to his chest as he tried to calm his heart. “For the love mother, Pinkie! Would you please stop appearing out of nowhere like that? You know how much I hate jump scares!” “Well sorry Lunar, I didn’t mean to scare you. I was watching you pull the cart in front of the shop at that window over there and thought you saw me when you started to walk in.” Pinkie’s hyperactive attitude caused her to overly express everything she said from pointing to the window and mimicking his walk up to the doorway. Hardly a bit of sincerity sounding from her apology but that was just how she spoke. Lunar looked around the room as Pinkie continue to talk about things that he started to care less and less about, tuning her out as background noise. The place looked like a tornado had swept through it; pots and pans were strewn around the floor and table tops, patches of flour, dough, and fallen deserts littered the floor, dripping from the ceiling looked to be blotches of icing as well as oozing dough. He looked towards the pony with an arched eyebrow. “Um, where is Mr. and Mrs. Cake? Shouldn’t they be here helping with the cooking?” “Oh, they are out of town visiting relatives with the babies for Nightmare Night. Why do you ask?” “It’s just that… This place… Pinkie, would you like some help?” “OH! That would super dooper spectacularific! You handle the cleaning so I can keep on making these treats!” Said Pinkie as she jumped up and down before zooming back into the kitchen just as a timer rang. Lunar just stood there for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts on what needed to be done and harden his heart incase Pinkie does something to scare him again before cautiously walking into the kitchen grabbing a nearby mop. _____________________________ “OKEY DOKEY! Thanks for the help Lunar! I can take it from here!” Lunar sighed as he leaned across a countertop resting his head from the exhausting exercise from just trying to keep up with Pinkie. He once thought that Applejack had limitless stamina when it came to work but Pinkie had just proven him wrong. Not only was she still bouncing around everywhere and moving from one place to another in a blur, she was even managing several ovens, mixing bowls, beaters, and decorations without breaking a sweat. “Pinkie… You are one amazing pony… Wait, didn’t you have a pet alligator?” “Yep, Gummy! He’s so fun. Did you want to play with him?” “No, no… It’s just that the last time we… met… he was hiding within a batch of muffins waiting to try to eat me… Where is he now?” “If he isn’t in the cake or the bathtub, then he’s probably in my mane!” “Wait, wha~” Lunar lifted his head with a confused look, turning towards Pinkie out of reflex. As he did, he saw a familiar pair of eyes popping out of her mane before the alligator erupted out of it’s hiding place latching firmly onto his face. Lunar froze, his brain trying to register what just happened before letting out a scream and pulled the alligator loose from his face, running out the front door in the process. “Heheh, poor Lunar gets scared way to easy,” Pinkie said with a giggle, “Right Gummy?” About a block from Sugarcube Corner, Lunar continued to run around a building his heart beating fast and his mind constantly telling him to run. He was moving so fast, he didn’t even see Fluttershy until it was too late and he ran into her. “Oof!” Lunar gripped his head trying to stop the world from spinning before looking at who he just ran into, quickly jumping to his feet. “Oh, Fluttershy! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to run into you there.” He helped her up, hoping that he hadn’t injured her. The Pegasus looked around as soon as she got her bearings straight before giving a sigh of relief. She picked up her saddle bag which was thrown from her back when Lunar collided into her before turning her attention back to Lunar with a quiet voice. “Oh no, I’m quite alright. Why where you in such a hurry? I mean, if you have the time to tell me…” Lunar gave a sigh of relief. “Oh it’s nothing. Just Pinkie’s pet giving me a jump scare again… Really have to stop asking where the alligator is.” “Oh, I see.” This provoked a smile and a small giggle from Fluttershy, finding the situation funny much like every other pony who hears about it. Lunar rolled his eyes in a pout. “Well not all of us take well to Pinkie’s antics, surprises and choice of pets… Anyways, what are you up too Fluttershy? You seemed awfully worried about your saddlebag when you couldn’t find it.” “Oh, it’s nothing special. I’m just bringing seasonings for the bat’s food before we release them at the start of the Nightmare Night celebration.” Lunar made a face that was easily spotted by Fluttershy. He got up and walked around a bit, trying to keep his emotions in check. “Did I say something wrong?” “No… It’s just that this holiday just feels so insulting to mother… I mean Princess Luna. To have a holiday based around over fabricated stories of her alter ego, I bet she wants to end this holiday so bad.” “Actually, Lunar. Nightmare Night is one of the few holidays that the princess can interact with her subjects. In fact, she’s supposed to be here soon to help finish the preparations and join in the festivities.” Lunar was about to say something but stopped himself. What did he know? This pony had no reason to lie to him. Lunar sat down on his haunches, thoughts swimming through his head on how to respond before lightning made him jump back to his feet. He looked around to see Fluttershy on edge just like him and they both looked up to see Rainbow Dash dealing with a rather troublesome storm cloud. “Rainbow Dash, be causeful! You aren’t wearing any protective clothing!” Shouted Fluttershy which, to her down fall wasn’t very loud at all. Lunar continued to watch Rainbow Dash try to discharge the renegade storm cloud by kicking it a few times but on one of her kicks, a bolt of lightning discharged in Rainbow Dash’s direction, causing her to react by closing her wings and curling into a ball. Though the lightning bold missed her, se started to fall towards the ground with a shout, too shocked the move. Lunar ran as quickly as he could as the nearby ponies who were watching gave out gasps of surprise and shock. Just before the Pegasus hit the ground, he slid under her, acting as a pillow to cushion her fall. “Are you okay, Rainbow? Seriously, you should know better than to play around with lightning.” Rainbow Dash looked at Lunar with a surprised look on her face, amazed that he was able to reach her in time but more so still surprised from the sudden bolt that almost hit her. It was a little bit before she realized that their faces were extremely close together, enough to feel each others breaths on their muzzles. “Rainbow Dash! Are you alright?” The voice belonged to Scootaloo who was quickly followed by the rest of the CMC, Moon Drop included, and Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow Dash was quickly brought back to the world around her and she flew up into the air, her front hooves behind her back with a sheepish smile crossing her face. “Uh, heh. Yeah. I’m fine! Who do you think I am squirt? It’s gonna take more than a bolt of lightning to take me out of commission.” Lunar rolled his eyes as he looked towards everypony, Twilight doing the same thing with a smile on her face. Everyone froze and looked towards an opening in the clouds as trumpets began to play, signaling the Royal Carriage has arrived with tonight’s special guest. Lunar got up and stood next to Moon Drop, eagerly awaiting to speak with the guest of honor. As the carriage landed, a somewhat familiar face emerged with a pleasant smile. “Citizens of Ponyville! I, Princess Luna, have arrived! Let the fun begin!” She shouted and was greeted with a cheerful shout from her subjects. Everypony started to gather around their princess, trying to get their greetings or words of kindness in but once the crowd started to die down the princess was immediately set upon by a small Pegasus filly who hung herself around the alicorn’s neck. “MOTHER!” “Moon Drop? Lunar? What are you two~” “Hello Mother… It’s been a long two years hasn’t it?”