I awake to a very, very, strange sight. "Is this..." I look to the left, right, above, behind. "The moon?" I can see giant ass holes in the ground, that don't go very deep. I look off into the horizon, I think, and see Equestria. The entirety of Equestria is right there. On the globe of green and blue. I walk off towards, any direction really, never been to the moon before, so I have no clue where I'm heading.
"How long has it been?" I look towards my home nation for an answer. "You do not work well as a clock." I continue walking. Ya know, this is good. I'm finally alone with my thoughts, for once. Nopony trying to attack me, no work to be done, I can just sit here and think. I do just that. A chill goes up my spine however. "Nya, freezing." I get right up immediately. How long will I be here for? Who cares? I can have all the fun I want. I throw my forelegs upwards. "I'M ON THE MOON!"
I can't take this. I can't just sit around and do nothing. I have to do something. I look off into the distance and an idea pops into my head. I crouch down, and jump forwards. "Weeeeeee!" I go flying off in some direction, all I know is that it's far from where I was sitting. This is pretty cool, I feel like a bird that's been set free.
"Bored now." That didn't last long. Actually it lasted quite sometime, I think. I don't know 'moon time'. What the hell is 'moon time'? I just continue on with my jumping. I wonder where I am now? This place looks exactly the same as before! Guess it can't be helped, I don't think anypony has been here before anyways. I almost fall into a hole as I land near it, it does trip me up, however. "Oh shit!" I fall into it and it seems deeper than the ones I looked into. I fall onto very hard ground and bounce off, just to fall onto it again. "Ow." I rub my left foreleg, trying to locate a bruise. I get right back up and, very anticlimactically, fall onto my knees. I didn't check to see if my rear legs were fine. "This sucks." I look up through the hole at the top of my prison.
"What am I gonna do now?" I look at my legs to see if they can withstand one jump. Maybe, just maybe. I stand back up, hesitantly, and crouch. "AHH!" I wince in pain as I slowly fall backwards. Nope, guess not. I get into a kneeling position, and go towards one of the walls. Maybe I can climb out. I grasp one of the many rocks that jut out. I continue with this until I'm half way up. "Fuck, how far did I fa- Shit!" One of the rocks slipped out of place and fell out of my grasp. When I swing to the right, the rock right here also fell out, taking me with it.
"Nonononononononono!" I fall all the way down once more. This is the third time, I can't believe I suck at climbing this much. I finally hit the ground, and I give up. There is no way out of here. Not until my legs heal up. I've said this before, and I'll say it again, this sucks. I don't know if anypony else is here, probably not, and if there were, the moon is huge. There is no way they would find me before I starve to death. I crawl to a little corner, that I fell into once, and sit there. I curl up into a ball to try and warm up, must be night. Wait, I'm on the fucking moon, how could it be night?
I hear sobs off to the right of me, in the darkness. I sit up to get a better look, nothing. It's way too dark to see. "Hey, is somepony there?" I crawl closer to see if my ears aren't deceiving me. I crawl into the darkness, surprisingly, I can see a lot better here. I, finally, see what's been crying. It's, young, that's for sure. All I see is a curled up, thing, crying in the corner. "Yo, you ok?" I whisper to it. I see a head look up at me with cyan eyes that seem to glow in the darkness.
"I-I won't cwy anym-mowe, I p-pwomise, p-pwease don't huwt me." It seems, very scared of me. It sounds like a young filly. Looks like one too. She has a horn on her head, she's a unicorn. I see a dark blue mane that drapes down the side of her face, she has a very dark coat. I can't tell if it's a dark navy or black, it's too dark to see. She seems to have been crying for a while now.
"I'm not gonna hurt you." I say honestly, she looks up at me again. This time, more fearful than ever.
"Y-you'we just saying dat. Wuwing m-me into a t-t-twap." She skitters back away from me. I see more of her now. She isn't very tall, definitely young. I shake my head in protest, I'm not going to hurt her, honest. "D-do you p-pwomise?" I nod my head to this.
"Come here, into the light." I say, she shakes her head frantically. "Why won't you come out?" I chuckle a little at how childish this is. "I already promised I wouldn't hurt you." I put on a warm smile as I crawl back into the light. Her eyes widen to, kinda scary sizes.
"You'we an Ewth-Pony?" She stares at me with those huge eyes. I slowly nod, smile still on my face. Her eyes close, and I no longer see her form. Going back into the light only made the dark, well, darker. I then see the same little filly jump towards me. I notice that she has little wings. When she hits, I feel the air get knocked out of me. "A-another pony, I nevew tought I'd see somepony else!" She says this, a bit of a quake in her voice I might add. I feel tears stream down my chest as I feel her hug me tight. I hug back, trying to avoid hurting her wings. My smile becomes a genuine one as my ears register what she had said.
"Don't worry, nopony will hurt you ever again." I say to calm her down. I feel her hug me tighter than before. "It's ok, I'm here now. No need to c-cry." I feel a tear go down my face. How long has she been here for? Is there anypony else here? How did she end up here? Why is she alone? Who would do this to a little filly? I start to massage her mane as we hug. Wait, I'm here, she's here, there must be others! I look up through the hole and think of a way to get out of here. Wait, did she fall down here like me? Are any of her legs hurt, her wings?
I don't notice her hold of me lessen, nor her examination of me, as I examine her wings to see if anything looks out of place. Nope, that's a relief. "Umm... d-do you know how to get o-out of heew?" I look her in the eyes and notice she has stopped crying, her eyes turn to concern as she wipes away my tears with her wing. "Why aw you cwying?" I didn't even notice I was crying.
I chuckle lightly, surprised at her change of emotion from loneliness to concern. "I don't know." I answer honestly. "To be honest, I thought I was the only one here also." I look back up to the entrance of this prison. I try to think of a way to get both of us out of here, nothing comes to mind. "If my legs weren't in so much pain, I could carry her as I jump out of here." I say under my breath, she must've heard me, her eyes widen with concern again.
"Oh, we'we sowwy, I didn't mean to huwt you." She is so, I don't know, caring, that's the word. Reminds me of, well, me. She can't be any older than when I started caring for others. "I won't huwt you anymowe." She jumps off my lap, and kicks me in the gut in the process. I can't blame her, she's just a filly. Besides, it didn't even hurt, that much. "Wet us heew dose wegs." This is just too much, I can't think of any reason why she wants to help me so badly. Lost in thought, I feel a slight tingling sensation in my legs. I look at my legs when the tingling stops, and I don't feel any pain anymore. Curious, I jump right to my legs and straight for a wall. To my surprise, I jumped back off the wall and slowly fell back to the ground.
"Holy crap, no pain what so ever." I look on in astonishment as I softly land. "How did you?"
"I am an Awi-cone aftew aw." She smiles at me and puffs her chest out, making me smile. Huh, she is an Alicorn. How did I not notice this until now? "Hey, Ewth-pony, can you hewp us out of-EEP!" I interrupt her by grabbing her and jumping from wall to wall. I see the landscape as I quickly jump out of that hole of a prison. I land softly and slowly on the soft ground. I look at my passenger to see her covering her eyes with her hooves. I place her down on the ground and tap her forelegs as a sign to look. She slowly lowers her hooves and looks at the surface. She looks directly at me, dead in the eye with a look that's, supposed to be intimidating. It's not, it's friggin' adorable when she does it.
She stomps her hoof into the ground. "I-we, did not give you pewmission to cawwy us, Ewth-pony." Aw, she's trying to look tough. "But, we thank thee for the hewp." She turns around and sits. I see her cutie mark is a crescent moon, surrounded by a night sky.
"I have a name, ya know." I say, a smile on my face as I tease her. A thought crosses my mind, which worries me a little. "I believe you have one as well?" I hope she does. Has she been here so long that she forgot it, or did she have one in the first place?
"Ow name is Pwincess Woona. Might we know thine name?" She looks at me with a pout on her face, she's a little annoyed. It brings a smile to my face. Wait, Princess Woona? I look at her cutie mark again. Oh, she must've said Luna. Princess Luna, that sounds, very familiar. "Hewwooo?" I look back at her. I scratch the back of my head, a sheepish smile across my lips, eyes closed.
"Sorry," I open my eyes again. "My name is Scar Cross." I say blandly, smile still on my face. "It's nice to meet you Luna." I put my hoof out towards her. She looks at me as if I had done something wrong, like, mispronounce the name of one of her favorite foods on purpose. She puts her hoof into mine.
"Since you have stwayed fwom the fowmew, we'ew do the same, Scaw." She closes her eyes, as if to act mature. I'm not buying what she's selling. A thought crosses my mind from earlier.
"Hey." I say calmly, as to not make the young princess angry, anything but that. She looks at me waiting for me to finish what I started. "How... How long have been here, exactly?" I Wait for an answer from her, but she seems hesitant. She looks away from my gaze and towards the ground. She takes her hoof away from mine and starts to trace with it.
"I... We, have wost count... Quite some time ago." She looks saddened as she says this. I feel a lot of sadness creep into my mind. How can one pony stay sane, not to mention a filly, after being here for so long. I start to feel a crying fit come closer. This, this is unacceptable. I can't let her be alone anymore. I hug her, tightly, thinking that if I hug her, this sadness will disappear. That we will end up at my shack, away from all this darkness. Where I can take care of her and never let anypony hurt her ever again. Tears stream down my face, dripping to the ground. I can't... I won't let her be alone, never again.
"Why?" A quake in my voice as I say this. "I will never let you feel alone, never again." I say. With as much strength as I can gather, I hold onto her, never wanting to let go. I feel her wing gently rub my cheek, wiping away my river of tears. I move back a little to look her in the eye. Tears are beginning to well up in her eyes.
"P-pwease, d-don't cwy-y, or ewse, I wew c-cwy." A cute little quake in her voice breaks her, mostly, formal speech. She pulls me into another hug. We sit like that for who knows how long. I'm crying, she's crying, we're both crying. We begin to finish, and I get an idea.
"Hey." I move back to allow her to look at me. A warm smile crosses my lips. "You wanna play some hide and seek?" I ask her, her eyes brighten when I ask her this. She jumps up and gets all excited.
"I-we would wove to." She looks so happy. Almost makes me forget that crying fit we had. "So, who count's fewst." I point to me. She goes and runs off while I count to ten.
"Nine... Ten, ready or not, here I come!" I get up off my haunches and start looking for her. It's not long before I hear giggling behind a giant rock. "You're it." I say warmly as I tag her.
We play for what feels like hours. I had long forgotten about our crying fit by now, just paying attention to the game. She is much better at hiding than I am. What do you expect, I'm red, trying to hide in a black and white landscape. She has great camouflage, being mostly dark colors. This has been really fun though. No points, no frustration, just, fun.
"She won't find me here." I smile, it's a little cruel that I found such a great hiding place. I don't want her to wander off. Nevermind, I'll hide somewhere else. I find a huge rock near the hiding place. What a coincidence. I hide there for a few minutes, and I hear her running this way. I crouch down into the shadows, waiting for her to pop up and tag me.
"AAHHHH!!!" I hear a loud shriek. Did she hurt herself? I jump out to see her run into me. I fall to the ground as she tackles me. I hold her close, looking for any injury.
"Luna, are you ok?" I ask with all seriousness.
"Hide me, pwease!" I look to where she came running from, and see a giant, monster. It's, dark. A giant, black, behemoth has appeared from no where. It looks like a giant, morbid Celestia. A slick, black skin where a coat should be. Long teeth that would make the sharpest of knives jealous. A horn that branches of at the tip, the longest going into a hook like shape. Claws where the fore hooves should be. Four rear legs. Six demon-like wings. Navy fire at the hooves. It's fucking huge, like ten times taller than any minotaur I've seen. A mane that floats in the air. Hollow, empty eyes. Its spine appears out of the back, resting upon it with skin still attached. Several ribs come off the spine and surround the chest. A tail like that of a serpent. It's... a living nightmare. Is this why Luna was so scared to come to me? Is That the thing that did this to her? Anger replaces fear as I stand up, Luna in my forelegs. A roar escapes the mouth of the demon in front of me. I place Luna gently on the ground. She seems to terrified to let go.
"Luna?" I ask, a pure inferno behind my eyes. "How long has this... Thing... Been scaring you?" I ask. She gives me no answer, she still hides behind me. I hear a demonic chuckle and look towards the nightmare before me.
"What is this, have you made a new friend Lulu?" A very feminine voice pierces the lips of the creature. It still sounds demonic. "I thought I was your friend?" It lets out a chuckle that makes Luna shake behind me.
"How dare you?" I let out a whisper. The beast seems to have heard me.
"What was that? I couldn't hear-"
"HOW DARE YOU CALL YOURSELF HER FRIEND!!!" I shout at the top of my lungs. The beast is amused by this little act of mine. It was no act. "How can a monster like you call this friendship!" I then look at Luna, still behind me.
"Heheheh... Hahahaha... HAHAHAHAHA!!! This is classic! A small foal, standing up to the 'monster', just to save their new acquaintance. Look, just run along and your death won't be caused by me." Does it think this is a joke.
"BACK OFF!!!" I let out the sound of a demon as I shout. "I WON'T LET A MONSTER LIKE YOU TOUCH HER!!!" I stand in front of Luna, trying my best to keep her from seeing the monster. A black tendril appears behind me and pulls Luna away from me. I feel her grasp disappear and go to reach for her. Unfortunately, I am pulled back as well and thrown towards a giant boulder, smashing right through it. I look on in horror as the nightmare walks towards Luna, still in the tendril. "No." I whisper. No, no, no, no. This isn't happening, I can't let it happen. Memories of a dream from long ago come back to my mind. The wings of a dragon. Claws where there should be hooves. White, glowing, emotionless eyes. A black, fire-like aura. The cracked head band.
"Now, lets play a game, shall we?" The beast looks at Luna, hungrily. "Let's have the stars be our savior, and aid us in our escape from this rock infested prison."
"SCAW!!!" Luna screams out.
No, I can't let this happen. I get up from the rubble and look at the nightmare. I crouch down, forelegs dangling at my sides. I reach a hoof behind me. "I said." My voice is quiet, but still catches the attention of the beast. It looks towards me with a soul crushing stare. "BACK OFF!!!" The demonic voice returning to my lips. I charge at the creature at blinding speeds. Too quick for it to keep up. Now a mere foot away from the creature's face, I shoot my hoof at my target. A bone crushing sound is heard when it connects with it's face. With the power of an army, I shove my hoof further, resulting in the creature being sent afar. I slowly fall as I see the creature tumble into a hole. The tendril has disintegrated into shadows and vanished, letting Luna fall free. I land on the ground and jump towards Luna.
"THAT'S IT!!!" The creature came out of the hole it fell in. A glow began to form around the tip of the horn. A giant wave of navy-blue fire came rushing towards Luna at unbelievable speeds. I catch Luna and begin our descent, the fire still coming towards us. I shield Luna from the blast, still rushing at us. I look at Luna with a tear going down my face, Luna smiles dreamily.
"Thank you, Scaw." Is all she says, before the wave finally hits.
"LUUUNAAAA!!!" I shout at the top of my lungs as I sit straight up. A cold sweat had formed on my head. I look at the window, just to see that morning has come. I'm in my sheets, breathing heavily. I head for the window to see if I'm not dreaming. I see the tree I planted, the timber wolf that I've befriended, and a cross sticking into the ground at a slight angle, a red scarf wrapped around the top. Nope, not a dream. I sit back on my bed and place my head in my hooves. What was that? Was that a dream? I can't remember it. Damn. I look at my calendar, today is my fifteenth birthday. I head downstairs to make myself some breakfast when I hear something hit my door. I look at it to see an envelope slide in through the mail slot. I open the door to see the bubbly, cross-eyed mail mare having trouble with it. I rub my eyes. "Hey there, Miss Hooves. How's the mail business goin'?" I grab the mail from her, before she hurt herself like yesterday. And the day before. She nodded to me.
"Not bad, could be better. How's training coming along?" I look at the mail, and then back at her.
"Great, actually. I finally got to Canterlot and back in less than twenty hours." She flies off with a wave goodbye, I return her wave.
I open the letter to find that it's from Blur. I read it aloud.
Dear Scar,
It's been a while since I've come to visit. I've been training for the royal guard, I graduated early. Just wanted to know how your training's been. Also, the Summer Sun Celebration is being held in Ponyville this year. Celestia is planning on sending somepony named Twilight Sparkle to watch over the preparations. It should be the day you get this letter. Tell me how Bolt sensei is doing. What's new in Ponyville?
See ya later, Blur.
I put the letter down and look at the cross in the front yard, the scarf swaying in the wind. "Sensei." I walk to my table and turn on the radio. One of my favorite songs is on, 'We're Not Gonna Take It', by Twisted Mares. That should brighten up my day. "Hmm. Twilight Sparkle, where have I heard that name before?"