//------------------------------// // 11 Dictionary by Toratchi888 // Story: Full Moon Fever: A MoonLight Prompt Collab // by TheLastBrunnenG //------------------------------// Dictionary by Toratchi888 “I hate you.” Nightmare Moon grinned. “I think that is not what you mean, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight Sparkle, Element of Magic, glared at the Mare of Midnight. Stars twinkled behind the black-and-blue silhouette of Nightmare Moon in the deep velvet of the sky; the early crescent moon just peeked over the horizon, framing the Nightmare’s left side. It was a perfect night; a perfect night, moreover, that was RUINED BY A CERTAIN EVIL PONY! “I hate you.” Nightmare Moon’s grin did not falter. “You keep using that word—” Twilight snorted, lowered her head, and pawed the ground. “I KNOW WHAT IT MEANS!” Nightmare Moon’s grin softened into a smile. “Dear Twilight, we are not displeased by your words. In truth, your honesty is most endearing. Wouldst thou not join us in contemplation of the night’s wonders?” Twilight again snorted—though in disgust this time—and turned about. “Well, since you’ve decided to ruin my stargazing by thrusting yourself into my line of sight, I’ll just have to find somewhere else without you cluttering up the scenery.” At that, Nightmare Moon’s smile faltered, and her ears drooped. “Is that… how you see me?” she whispered. Twilight’s ears twitched, but she refused to turn around. After several moments of silence, a quiet rustling betrayed the Nightmare’s departure into the evening sky. Twilight looked up to peer at the stars, and stepped back in alarm when she saw a few of them begin to drip from the sky, as if they were raindrops… or tears. * * * “Hatred: Intense dislike.” Twilight sighed as she flipped shut Wordsmith’s Wonders of Language (Abridged), propped on the reading stand in the Library. She was relieved; she did understand hatred. Hadn’t she felt it when facing the enemies of Equestria with her friends? Sombra hated the light; that was easy to understand. Discord… well, he was more of a prankster, but he could inspire intense dislike by being incorrigible. Though Twilight didn’t… hate him. She frowned. She didn’t hate Sombra either. She didn’t hate Trixie, who was just a show-off, even if she turned Twilight’s world upside down twice. So… why did she hate Nightmare Moon? Just the thought of that Black Snooty… Twilight snapped a hoof down on the ground, frowning. Twilight was the only pony who had believed the prophecy. She had dutifully informed Princess Celestia, who hadn’t believed her; stars, was sent away from her beloved home of Canterlot for it! Yes, yes, she had made friends in Ponyville, but Twilight Sparkle loved nothing if not organization, and being sent away messed that up. And then, of course, the harrowing trek through the Everfree and the confrontation in the ancient castle, and… …and wasn’t it Nightmare Moon who brought her friends together? Twilight stamped again, though the force was missing. She had been happy when, on Nightmare Night that year, Princess Luna had returned to society and been welcomed by other ponies, and it had Twilight who helped her make a good impression. Twilight was proud to have helped the Princess, though Luna was not a close friend. But then… Then Nightmare Moon had somehow, beyond reason, manifested one night in Ponyville, looking for Twilight Sparkle. She had… The Nightmare had flirted with Twilight! In front of everypony! Had called her adorable, and so stroooong, and full of sparkle, like the stars of night… the very stars that had helped the Nightmare return. Twilight had done nothing but blush and squeak, and had run off in despair. It had taken more than a week for her to leave the library again, and the Nightmare had not reappeared since. Twilight had spent that week mulling over her feelings about the Nightmare, and she figured the Nightmare took on the mocking tone to cover her embarrassment over her defeat at the hands of Twilight’s friends; as such, Twilight figured the Nightmare hated her, so Twilight concluded she hated the Nightmare back. No, I hate you. Twilight glanced at the dictionary. Books don’t lie, not to me. I don’t like Nightmare Moon; really don’t like her. Must be hatred. Twilight glanced out of her front window. The stars continued to drip from the sky, and she heard a faint something just at the edge of hearing; it sounded like a rustle in the sky, but Twilight thought it might be… crying? Why would the Nightmare… cry? Surely Nightmare Moon, evil pony she was, wouldn’t… cry. Twilight could only imagine Nightmare Moon, resting on her knees, hiding in her room with the curtains drawn, little tears trickling down her snout, tiny sniffles— Twilight felt warmth building in her cheeks. Why am I blushing?! Twilight raised a hoof to her chest, inhaled, exhaled. She turned back to her dictionary, and opened it to “A”. Her eyes scanned the page quickly. …yup, thought so. Twilight tapped the page. “Adorable.” Twilight sat back on her haunches, staring blindly at her dictionary. She flipped to another page, this time under “L”. “Sad because of having no friends or company. Lonely.” Twilight thought back. Nightmare Moon had mocked her that time, but now, it seemed playful, not spiteful. Twilight also cringed at the way she had treated the Nightmare just an hour ago; she had called her a waste of space, when she was offered a… stargazing friend? Twilight covered her eyes with her foreleg. Sweet Celestia, how stupid can I get? I’ve been a fool. And like I said, books don’t lie: Nightmare Moon is… lonely. Twilight stared into the Nightmare’s dark eyes in her mind; unlike all those months ago, she could see beyond the teasing to the vulnerability. Twilight had spurned the Nightmare’s advance, when all that the dark pony had wanted was to be seen like Luna: a pure, soft moon. Twilight stood up. Maybe the Nightmare wouldn’t forgive her, but she had an idea how to apologize: her way. She grinned at the dictionary. * * * Nightmare Moon lay in a small glade north of Canterlot Castle. She rested on her crossed forelegs; occasionally, a small sniffle would drift through the clearing. Tiny trails of stardust flitted around her, carried by tiny starmotes like fireflies. Nightmare Moon favoured the glade it as a place to just be, without needing to be something: it was always quiet, always in shade thanks to the castle rising behind her. Nightmare Moon’s ears pricked at the soft sound of trotting hooves. Whoever the pony was, she wasn’t trying to be stealthy, but neither was she barging in. Nightmare Moon shook her head, wiping her eyes with her foreleg. Now that she was alert, she sensed unicorn magic as well. Turning, she started to find Twilight Sparkle emerging from a copse on the south side of the clearing. Nightmare Moon glanced past Twilight to the castle; it seemed obvious that Twilight had come from that way. Something floated along behind Twilight, carried by the unicorn’s magic. Twilight stopped about five strides away from Nightmare Moon; she let her package settle behind her, and her head dipped nervously. Nightmare Moon was curious, but wary all the same. “Twilight Sparkle. To what do we owe your visit? Hast thou found this humble glade more suitable to the viewing of the stars, since no trees might obstruct thy line of sight?” Twilight flinched, and Nightmare Moon sighed. “Twilight Sparkle, we understand thy fear of us. We are dangerous—or were, once—but we wish it were not what we are. Truly, we desire only to take our place among ponies, and work for the good of Equestria’s citizens. We hoped…” Nighmare Moon glanced up. “We hope that thou, the pony with the mark of the stars, might understand what it is like to be the moon: so high, so far away…” Twilight galloped over and hugged Nightmare Moon; the latter was very nearly knocked to her rump by the energetic tackle. “I’m sorry,” Twilight whispered. “You just… came on so strong that time, and I guess… I guess… it was just easier to pretend I hated you than to… to have feelings for somepony who… hurt my friends.” Nightmare Moon blinked over Twilight’s head. Then, tentatively, she reached up one hoof to stroke Twilight’s withers. “Twilight Sparkle, we forgive thy fear of us. We do not beg thy forgiveness; we only wish to earn it.” Twilight broke the embrace and turned her head to levitate the thing she had brought. “I can do better than that… Black Snooty.” She smirked slightly. Nightmare Moon grasped the object in her own magic. It was a box, wrapped in purple, with a blue ribbon tied in four around it. Twilight gave a cheesy grin before galloping off towards the castle. Nightmare Moon raised a hoof, but let it settle in perplexity before untying the ribbon. Inside the box was… a book. Nightmare Moon smirked at that; Twilight Sparkle was nothing if not a bibliophile. Nightmare Moon levitated the book before her, and read: “Wordsmith’s Wonders of Language (Abridged), Volume 10—Part of the Century of Language Project” Nightmare Moon flipped to the frontispiece, which said the dictionary was part of a project to catalogue and explain how the Equestrian languages had changed over the last century. “Oh, how thoughtful!” Nightmare Moon cooed. Certainly, the language of ponies had changed in a thousand years since Princess Luna had been banished to the moon; catching up on the last hundred years would be pretty easy— Nightmare Moon caught sight of a bookmark about a quarter of the way into the book. She flicked to the page, and noticed the letter reference was “Fr”. She quirked an eyebrow and skimmed the page, settling on the word Twilight had put a little crescent moon and star next to, and smiled. Friend.