//------------------------------// // The Moon Worshiper // Story: The Moon Worshiper // by CreatureofTheNight //------------------------------// The Moon Worshiper In the shadows of the Everfree Forest, under the light of the moon, a figure walked and smiled gently at the moon. “Lovely moon tonight,” the figure said. It walked off to the edge of the forest in silence, and it put a cloak on, heading towards Ponyville. When it arrived, it walked to the mailbox where the mailman Ditzy Doo was there picking up the mail from everypony. The figure approached her. “Oh hey, the mysterious shadow guy” Ditzy said, her eyes straightening for a moment. "Yeah, I came to get a letter delivered," the figured said, its voice being surprisingly deep for such a small frame. Ditzy Doo smiled as the figure reached in his cloak and gave the letter to her. Ditzy smiled and said, “A fan letter to Princess Luna, again?” The figure nodded. “You know you write her one once a month, I don't need to be reminded on where they go.” The figure turned its head looking embarrassed. The pegasus smiled. “Aw, don't be like that, I think it's adorable that the Princess has such a devoted fan, I'll give it to her post haste” The figured turned to go back into the forest, when suddenly it heard rapid hoof steps. It turned to move faster, not wanting to be seen, when a pink blur crashed into the figure, who went flying. Landing behind some barrels as he saw a pink pony jumping up and down excitedly as she handed a bunch of mail to the Ditzy. The figure gulped as it slowly extended its hoof, which was revealed to be a dark green with black markings, to it's cloak. Ditzy giggled at the pink pony. “Pinkie, you knocked some poor guy over!” she said, motioning to the figure who was leaning his head out, revealing his face. The pink pony gasped at the red marks on the face of the figure and the furry ears as it grabbed its cloak. It threw it back on quickly, and looked at the Ditzy and Pinkie staring at it. Pinkie bolted towards him but he put his hoof up to stop her. “Are you okay?” she asked the figure, and it nodded. “You sure, I mean those marks on your face!” He put his hoofs up and said, “Don't worry about it, I need to go back home.” With that, he ran back to the Everfree forest as fast as he could. Pinkie tilts her head and then starts to think about if it were possible for birds to come flying from underground. Pinkie then started to slowly turn back, then paused before she back home, curious about the mysterious stranger she just met. In Canterlot, the Ditzy flew to Celestia and Luna's castle, dropping off the letter to Luna that the figure wrote earlier. She looked at her bag, which was full of Pinkie's party invitations. Ditzy Doo rolled her eyes and placed two in the mail box and flew off to deliver to the other citizens that she knew would want to be at Pinkie's party. After that, she flew off one of the royal guards came down and got the mail, which was pretty full. The Guards went and took it to the throne room for Celestia and Luna, who were both waiting. Celestia smiled “I'm so glad that our subjects love us so!” she said. Celestia smiled as the pile was placed down, as the guards began sorting through who the letters were for. Luna's eyes were filled with disappointment as she noticed how few the letters were compared to Celestia's stack, which was getting bigger and bigger. "They certainly love one Princess a lot more than the other," Luna said under her breathe. “Do not worry Luna, the kingdom loves you just as much as they do me,” Celestia announced with a small smile. “I've just been around longer!" she pointed out. Gaining a small smile from her sister's words, Luna began to examine her fan mail, and then her eyes were once again replaced with sorrow. Every letter she read so far was about how great Celestia is, and if she could sneak them a meeting. Celestia noticed Luna's mood change, and Luna sighed slowly, feeling unappreciated, like she did one thousand years ago. Celestia was about to say something when Luna sighed and said “They all...really love your light over mine,” she said quietly. “I'm glad...for you.” Luna sat there, a deep sadness emitting from her body. Celestia noticed that Luna forgot to read one letter and smiled. “Well, there's one more letter, I'm sure that someone appreciates you as much as I and the other princesses do,” she said with a smile. Luna looked at the letter quietly, it almost taunting her in a way. She kept staring at it and eventually decided to open it, saying “What's the worst that I can expect?” She then paused as she recognized the handwriting, and gained a small smile as she read the letter. Dear Princess of the Moon, I hope you aren't finding the fact I'm sending these once a month creepy. If you are, I'm very sorry, I just want you to know how much I appreciate the work that you do. I know it's a little weird that I send these letters at least once a month, because there's only so much I can say about a pony who I've never even seen, even in a picture. I've only heard about you from word of mouth...which, I must say, makes you sound very nice. I hope you know that I appreciate all the work you do, and that I hope you never stop showing full moon in the sky. It's...the only friend I have...because of where I live. Thank you again, Your Number One Fan. Luna slowly smiled.. “Well, that certainly made my day!” Luna exclaimed. Celestia smiled, happy that her sister was happy. "Who is the letter from?" she asked. “Well, somepony that certainly respects me a lot. Whoever it is likes to calls himself or herself my Number One Fan,” Luna replied. She smiled at that, and looked at the letter again. Celestia paused at that and said, “Your Number One Fan? That can't be right!” Luna gave Celestia a weird look, ans Celestia smiled. “Because I'm your Number One Fan,” she said.Luna got an idea. She levitated a blank letter and wrote something to send to whoever the fan is. ~~~ ~~~ Back in Ponyville, Pinkie Pie is running around, trying to find one of her friends desperately because of what happened last night. It was so weird to see a pony with those markings last night, and the way he was hiding behind the barrel, it was like he was hiding something, and she was determined to find out what. She looked around for anyone to help her find out more about this guy, because he was running into the Everfree forest, which means that he either lives there or is hiding there. She excitedly bolted to Sweet Apple Acres. In Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack and Apple Boom were busy bucking down apples for their family, when suddenly in a pink blur Pinkie stood in front of them. She seemed excited. “Pinkie Pie, what in tarnation have ye' gotten ya'self into girl? Ye' are more excited than a cockroach at a garbage dump!” Pinkie smiled. “Applejack, I need to borrow Apple Bloom for a sec'! I got the most amazing thing I have to find out in the Everfree Forest, and Apple Bloom visits Zecora all the time!” she exclaimed. Applejack put her hoof on Pinkie's mouth. “Settle down girl, why would I put my own flesh in blood in danger like that forest anyways? Wit' Zecora it's easy because she don't live that deep in the forest and I know the Zecora would keep her safe...” She sighed and looked at her friend. “What's so urgent ya need my sister to drop what she's doing and go there?” As for Apple Bloom herself, she looked so happy that she might be getting a way out of her chores, she asked “Yeah, tell us why Pinkie Pie?!” She exclaimed happily. “Last night I was delivering invitations for the Just Because I Feel Like it Party, when I saw this guy delivering a letter too!” she said, bouncing up and down, making Applejack dizzy. “He was so spooky, wearing a brown cloak and everything! He had these red marks on his face and furry ears, too!” Pinkie smiled. “So you gonna help me find him, huh? HUH?” She was practically yelling by the end of her sentence. “We've been in that forest dozens of times,” Applejack started to say. “I've never seen anypony with a brown cloak other than Zecora, sure ya didn't just mistake her for someopony else?” Pinkie shook her head. “Nope, she speaks in riddles, this pony had a really deep voice!” She said excitedly. “So mysterious, he could be some sort of monster or something. Maybe he's a vampire pony or maybe he's some creepy weirdo” Apple Bloom paused. “Wait, did you say a deep voice?” Pinkie nodded. "Ah know that pony!” Apple Bloom said, just as excited as Pinkie. “Ah see him outside some times when Ah come home from Zecora's place!” “Really?” Pinkie gasped. Apple Bloom nodded. “What's he say, what's he do?” Apple Bloom paused. "Ah don't really know, Ah usually go home since I don't wanna cause no trouble,” she said. “Though, he's often writing something looking at the moon like he's talking to it or somethin'!” Tilting her head, the pink party master asked, “Talking, the moon? That's weird!” Applejack nodded curiously. “Yeah, little sis', ya sure this mystery pony was really talking to the moon o' all things?” she asked. Apple Bloom nodded, and that got Applejack to start getting curious. “I won't lie, that's really odd...” Applejack looked at Pinkie. “Okay, Pinkie, after Apple Bloom and I get done with our chores, we'll help ya.” Pinkie nodded and then Applejack and Apple Bloom went back to work. Pinkie then zoomed around town while waiting, and then accidentally crashed into somepony. She then looked down and saw that it was Fluttershy, who Pinkie Pie promptly got off. “Hi Pinkie Pie, why are you so excited today?” Fluttershy asked, quiet as usual. “Because Applejack and I are gonna go find this weird dude in the forest who speaks to the moon!” She ansered excitedly. “That's so weird right? He talks to the moon, and lives in the Everfree forest, and he's got these weird marks on his face AND weird furry ears!” Fluttershy looked at Pinkie “W-Weird marks on his face?” She asked, suddenly feeling nervous. Pinkie Pie nodded. “Yeah, weird marks on his face, they're all red and bizarre looking!” she smiled. “He's also got this weird green skin and furry bat-ears! So strange, but so cool!” “So...that...that's who left the Everfree forest last night," Fluttershy mumbled under her breath. “You saw him too!” Pinkie Pie said, as happy as can be. “Did you see what he looked like under his cloak?!” She shouted, unintentionally frightening Fluttershy. Fluttershy nodded, but smiled gently. “I didn't see that pony with out his cloak on, but I did see his eyes before he put his hood up, they were really, really, red!” she whimpered. “Oh my Celestia! He is a vampire pony!” Pinkie Pie shouted. “That's so cool!” Fluttershy gulped quietly. “You gotta come with Applejack and me to the forest!” Fluttershy looked away. “I-I don't know Pinkie, trying to find a vampire pony...that sounds dangerous” Pinkie Pie nodded. “But that's what makes it so FUN!” Fluttershy looked around nervously. “Please?” Pinkie asked, giving Fluttershy some goo-goo eyes, and eventually Fluttershy, against her better judgment, nodded. “THANK YOU!” she then bolted off again “I really hope I did the right thing,” Fluttershy whispered. Once again running through town, Pinkie Pie noticed Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle floating in the air. Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash “Am I doing this right?” she asked. Dash nodded. “Yeah, you're doing great, thanks for helping me with this Twilight.” Dash backed up and then bolted at Twilight at hypersonic speed. Twilight looked confused as Rainbow Dash made her spin around in circles. Rainbow then stopped Twilight's spinning and smiled. “YES!” she cheered. Pinkie walked to them. “Hi guys, whatcha doing?” she asked. Twilight landed, a little dizzy, but in one piece. “Rainbow Dash was trying see how fast she could stop someone in a tail spin!” she said, regaining her senses. Rainbow Dash smiled. “And I NAILED it!” she exclaimed, boasting with confidence. “Oh, cool! That's almost as exciting as this vampire pony I found last night!” Pinkie responded. Rainbow and Twilight both gave her a skeptical glance. “Vampire Pony?” Princess Twilight Sparkle asked curiously. “Are you sure that's what you saw?” Pinkie nodded happily. “AWESOME!” Rainbow Dash cheered, clearly excited. “Are you sure it was a vampire pony?” She said almost getting to Pinkie's level of excitement. “I'm pretty sure, I saw him last night. He was a pony with green skin, red marks on his face, furry bat-ears, and Apple Bloom said he saw him talking to the moon of all things!” Pinkie responded. “Well, maybe he's just a big fan of Princess Luna!” Twilight reasoned. Pinkie smiled. “Maybe, but doesn't she appear in dreams?” Twilight nodded. “So why would he be bothered to talk to the moon?” she asked. Twilight paused. “I have no idea” She admitted quietly. “Well, you don't know for sure he's a vampire!” Rainbow Dash looked disappointed until Pinkie Pie said, “Fluttershy saw him last night, too! She said he had really red eyes! Proof positive, vampire!” she said matter-of-factually. Rainbow looked really excited. “So are you gonna go find him, huh? Huh?” she asked. “I wanna prove that I'm tougher than a vampire pony!” Twilight sighed. “Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, there is no such thing as a vampire pony!” she said to them calmly. “Besides, I'm sure there is a logical explanation, for all this!” Pinkie Pie smiled. “Well Applejack, Fluttershy, and I are going to the Everfree forest to meet him,” She said with a mischievous smile. “You guys wanna come?” “Of course!” Rainbow Dash replied with a big, gleaming smile. Twilight looked at Rainbow and Pinkie Pie. “You know what, I would love to meet this so called vampire, if only to prove this whole thing to be a very silly idea,” she said. Pinkie smiled. “I don't care why you wanna come see the vampire, just as long as all my bestest friends see it!” She zoomed off, deciding to get her last friend on her list. Rarity was at her house, working on a new order for a new client when Pinkie Pie burst into Rarity's room. Rarity lost her focus and ruined the dress. Seeing this, she turned with a glare, only to see Pinkie Pie bouncing on her floor. “Rarity, you gotta come with us!” she said with a smile. Rarity was about to object when Pinkie Pie suddenly grabbed her and dragged her off towards the forest area where the others were ready. Twilight looked at Rarity when she got there. “How did Pinkie Pie drag you into this?” she pondered aloud. Rarity just pointed to Pinkie Pie dragging her by her tail. “Somepony mind filling me in on what we're doing?” “Pinkie saw a vampire!” Rainbow Dash yelled excitedly, flying in circles over her friend's heads as Fluttershy muttered to herself in fear. Applejack gave Pinkie Pie a confused glance. “So he's a vampire now?” she asked. Twilight groaned. “There are no such thing as a Vampire Pony!” She muttered quietly. “Once we find this pony, we'll put this whole thing to rest.” “I'm with Twilight on this darlings, I mean what proof do you have that he's a vampire?” Rarity asked as the Mane six began their trail trying to find this guy. Pinkie went down her list of reasons that he was a vampire pony. "He likes to talk to them moon, he's hiding something, he has red marks on his face, he has furry ears, and he has red eyes!" As the shadows of the night rose, the six friends were pretty deep into the Everfree forest. “It's weird that we haven't seen any creatures of the Everfree Forest yet,” she said. looked around at the foliage of the forest. “Pinkie, are you sure you saw this so called "vampire" going in here?” she asked. Pinkie nodded. “Unless Fluttershy had him in the cottage!” she exclaimed. Fluttershy shook her head furiously at that. Rainbow Dash, who was hovering overhead, groaned, getting bored. “Man where is he, already? Doesn't he know that somepony's have stuff to do?” she muttered angrily. “Have some patience, Rainbow! After all, this vampire might just come out and attack us for our blood or something!” Rarity teased, which caused Fluttershy to hide a little. Apple Jack looked at Fluttershy and said “Don't worry, Fluttershy, no pony, not even a vampire pony would be stupid enough to attack us all in the while we're in a group” Twilight was about to say something when she was cut off by a deep voice, just like Pinkie Pie said. She hushed her friends and slowly moved them towards a grove where they saw a pony in a brown cloak with his hood down. He was looking up at the moon, and was indeed talking to it, as the moon made his mane glow in the dark, revealing it to be jet black, and his eyes to indeed an uncomfortable crimson. He took a deep breath. “So, how are you doing tonight?” he asked the moon. “We found our vampire pony!” Pinkie Pie whispered. Twilight looked at her and rolled her eyes. The mystery pony continued. “That's good to hear, I'm okay too.” He sighed. “I sent another letter to the one who was so kind to raise you!” There was a deep emanating sadness that came from his voice, and he sounded almost regretful. “I know, I know, I shouldn't do that to myself, to have interactions like that, no one should see me...” He paused as he looked up. “What was that? You want me to sing that song?” He looked down. “I don't know, I mean what if I'm to loud, people will see me then...” Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash who was about to burst onto the scene. "Rainbow, sh!" she whispered. The mystery pony started to hum gently, starting with a nice slow tune, and then started to sing. “Some ponies have lots of friends, Some ponies have make others swoon; however, I love my only friend, the one and only moon.” The figure stood up and grabbed his cloak, unveiling his true form, which caused a combined gasp from the six friends, which went unnoticed as this mystery pony went to his song. “I was born with bat wings, I was hated by even my own family. I sought comfort, but everywhere everypony rejected me. So I acted out, and tried to get attention, but all I ever earned was every ponies rejection. So I got this necklace, and tried to become a shaman priest. To say that didn't end well, was an understatement at least. Then I looked at your gaze, I looked at the stars at your mercy, it helped me though all my lament. I then felt what it was like to be in the light of someone with no scene of ill intent. I know it's not normal, to talk to you, I know it's not right to want to meet the one that raised you,” His eyes closed as he began doing a little dance, his bat wings spreading in all their glory, causing the Mane Six to look on in awe. “But it's a dream that I once have, even if I know it can never come true. No form as ugly as my form, was ever meant for such a beautiful light, so I will always live in the shadows of the night. Some ponies have friends, others make ponies swoon but my best friend is the kind and loving moon.” He smiled and looked at himself, and then looked down at a reflection where he saw a more normal looking pony looking right back at him. “And even though I wish for one day where I can walk among them, and not hide from them, I know that it is a fantasy that eventually I'll look just like them, but for now, I'm perfectly happy listening to your voice. I'm perfectly happy living with this choice. After all, when you are a monster like this...” He raised his hoof as the reflection morphed into what he actually looked like, and then he splashed the water in frustration. “Why would anyone love you, and give you any form of bliss?" He sat back down and looked at the ground, then back at the moon. “Some ponies have friends, others make ponies swoon; however, I'm happy being under the light of the kindly moon.” He gritted his teeth, sighed deeply, then clenches his hooves and looked up with a tear in his eyes “Even though I know it's not natural, or right, my best friends are the moon and the night! And even though, how much I wish for it to be true, I will never be good enough to meet the one who raises you. My friends aren't real, and I know it to be a catch all but having you as friends, is better than having no friends at all” He looked down and cried silently away from the moon. “For I walk the path of a monster, forever alone, and distraught, but one day I hope for the day I will be happy, even if it's all for naught. I hope that one day...I can be happy without you, my best friend...the lonely...moon.” He looked back up, and sniffled slightly. “How was that, was it as good as last time?” He wiped his eyes, and said, “Thank you!” He leaned down and tried to bite his cloak, but to his surprise it wasn't there. He looked around frantically for it, trying to find it as fast as possible. He then turned and looked in the direction of the Mane Six, and saw his cloak floating there with a blue aura. He gulped and backed away from it, knowing what was on the other side, another being. “You can keep the cloak!” He shouted. “I'm not coming anywhere near you, forget what you saw here, this was just your imagination!” His bat wings flapped frantically, as he made sure his necklace, which was a brown rope with a skull on it, was still attached, and flew in the air. He looked around and then saw clouds blocking him off. He gulped quietly, and then dived down. He started to fly through the trees as fast as he could, trying to dodge tree branches left and right, when he saw a lasso coming at him. Before he had time to react, the thing hooked his leg. He tried to fly over the branch, bucking his legs up in the process. The pony beneath him hit their head on the branch. “Sorry!” he called. He got smacked in the mouth with a tree branch, which caused him to fall out of the sky. He decided to back track to confuse his chasers and ended up back in the grove he was in earlier. He landed panting in the grove. “I think I lost whoever that was,” he muttered to himself. He looked around frantically to make sure and then sighed with relief. Suddenly, vines with a purple aura burst from the ground and surrounded him. They wrapped around him making it difficult for him to move. He struggled against the vines and tried to bite them, but gave up when he realized he was stuck. He started to cry in his trapped state and looked down as the tears hit the cold hard ground. “Please, just make it quick.” Suddenly he looked up to see the six ponies standing, except for on who was flying, next to him. “What are you talking about?” the purple on asked. “You're here to kill the monster aren't you!” The mystery pony screamed at the Mane Six. “You'll be doing me a favor!” He screamed louder, tears streaming down his face. “I'm a FREAK” Suddenly Fluttershy was right next to him, and gently petted his muzzle, leaving a confused expression on his face. “It's okay, no one's gonna hurt you," Fluttershy assured him. He tilted his head at her, and she smiled at him. Pinkie Pie paused and went closer as Fluttershy politely moved out of her way. Pinkie forcefully opened his mouth. "Aw, darn!" she turned and said to the others “Guess he wasn't a vampire after all guys, sorry” “Great, now I'm a vampire,” he said. “This day gets better and better." “Well, what is he than? I mean, he's got the body of the pony, but the wings and ears of a bat?” Applejack asked. “That and those marks on his face!” Rarity added. He looked away at that. Rainbow Dash looked at the tied up pony. “Well he's obviously some kind of pegasi, but what kind? I've never seen a pegasi with bat wings before!” she paused. “Well, except the ones that pull Princess Luna's chariot, and even then, I've only seen the two of them!” Twilight began to started to think about it, and then tried to remember something she read in a book about a rare medical condition where some pegasi have deformed wings on their back. Which means that this pony they were looking at was indeed of that rare breed. She sighed and explained this to the girls, which caused the mystery pony to looked away from him. “That song he was singing earlier probably confirms that he has that condition, and probably has had a very difficult life,” she finished. “Am I wrong?” she asked. That caused him to look away from her. He looked away as Fluttershy. “What's your name?” he asked. “It's...” He started to think and then looked down as it slowly hit him. “My name is Dark Sidewinder. My parents weren't the most kind ponies,” he said, looking away. Suddenly he felt gravity under him as the vines went away, causing him to plummet and crash on the floor. He looked up and saw Pinkie offering her hoof to him. He looked nervous. Pinkie smiled and helped him up anyways. “Well I think your wings look cool!” She got an idea. “COOL WING PARTY!” That caused a look of confusion to fill Dark's face. Rainbow Dash floated down to him and he backed up afraid of what she would do. “You're really jumpy, are you okay?” “A-are you shy?” Fluttershy stuttered. “Why are you all being so nice to me?” Dark said really confused. “I mean look at me, I'm a monster, this isn't normal!” “Oh stop being silly!” Rarity exclaimed with a smile. “Everypony here is unique in their own ways! In fact,” she said looking around. She looked at the setting and began using her magic on something, almost like she was in a trance. Applejack looked at her and rolled her eyes. “What she means is, it's okay if you got those wings and talk to the moon. Don't mean a hill of beans to us!” she explained. Dark looked down. “You all are...to kind...” he said, tears unwillingly falling. “Thank-you!” he said. It was clear that years of emotional abuse was coming off his shoulders. Twilight noticed something on the ground and then saw it was a letter. She reads the first line “Dear one who summons the moon,” Dark looked away and said “I'm a bit of a fan...” He admitted quietly. “I send her a letter once a month.” The Mane Six looked at him quietly. “I know it's weird, isn't it?” Rainbow Dash started to say that it was, when Rarity hit her side to be quiet. “Well, maybe a little, but...I know that Princess Luna probably appreciates the letters,” Twilight walked to Dark and asked, “Do you want to meet her?” Dark backed up. “I don't know...” He looked away. “I mean, what if she thinks I'm...a monster...” Twilight smiled. “She won't, we promise...if you really want to be happy as you said earlier, you gotta go out there and take the chances to be happy. You can't hide in here all your life.” Dark looked away. “I used to think that friendship was unnecessary, but after meeting my friends, I realized how wrong I was!” She held Dark's head up and made him look at every one of them, who all gave encouraging looks. “I think that some real friends, not just the moon, is what you need as well.” After a long bit of silence, Dark slowly nodded. “Will you six come with me?” he asked sheepishly. Twilight nodded. “Of course!” A few days later, at Canterlot, the train pulled up. Celestia was outside with Luna. “I wonder what Princess Twilight wanted?” Luna asked as Twilight and the others started to come out of the train. Celestia was aware; in fact, she used her magic to see this guest before they even arrived, but this was a surprise for her sister. “I do not know sister, when she told me in the letter, she only said that it was a surprise for you!” she replied. Luna smiled slightly. “Well, I don't get much surprises,” she said. Twilight looked back at the train. “Princess Luna, can you come down here?” she asked. Princess Luna slowly came down, albeit with a peculiar look in her eye. She looked ahead and then Twilight told whatever was in the train car to come out. Dark finally slowly emerged, revealing that the thing that Rarity was working on in the forest was a new outfit for the bizarre pegasi. Luna gasped at his appearance. Dark looked away. “It's nice to meet you Princess Luna,” he said sheepishly. Luna looked at him confused, not used to getting this kind of worship. “I...I hope you appreciate the letters I've been sending.” Luna looked at him and then started to put two and two together. “So you're the one I have to thank for all the nice letters.” Dark nodded, not wanting to look at her. “You can look at me you know.” Dark slowly looked at her, and said, “I'm sorry if I wasn't what you were expecting your biggest fan to look like.” Luna smiled slowly. “That is okay. I think right now,” she patted his head. “I'm pleasantly surprised. Thank you for the letters, they helped me out through some tough times.” “Well, you deserve them,” Dark said with a smile. “Your moon helped me though a very troubling time in my life.” “I'm glad,” Luna said to Dark, as the Mane Six, and Celestia looked on with a smile.