//------------------------------// // Equestria! (Again) // Story: OC, Oh Crap! // by SmokeShadow95 //------------------------------// Earlier that day. . . . . Luna stood at her balcony and stared up at the sky. She had long since lowered the moon and allowed Celestia to raise the sun. She remained awake, however, as thoughts plagued her mind. Thoughts of the a very unfortunate fact she had come to realize during her nightly watch of the ponies and their dreams. You see, Luna had ventured into the dreams of a Manehatten colt during the night. He was having some issues in his marriage and Luna was determined to give them some much needed help. She had spent countless time with Cadance and believed she could at the very least push them in the right direction. How hard could it be, right? Yeah, she never even made it that far. Luna used her vast Alicorn magical powers to venture into this colt's dreams. She was not surprised to find that his dream happy place was bar. One she recognized from her time visiting the streets of Manehatten with her dear sister. She had never gone in, but she recognized the smell. It was always the smell. But she pressed on in the name of love! She walked into the bar after this colt, trying not to be seen by him yet. That didn't stop all the other patrons that were in his dream for reasons she did not know from see her. They saw her, they stared at her, they gawked at her. Some of them even whistled at her. Even more gestures that she did not dare to even look at were displayed also. The same could be said of the remarks she heard. She could not even find words to describe them. She did her best to ignore them until she found the colt she was after. He was sitting at a booth in the back of the bar. She slowly made her way over to him. She stayed low and quiet so as not to alert him to her presence. Love was not something that many ponies noticed after all. She got right to the booth behind him when she stopped. She was not even a hoofs reach away from him. She froze. The colt was talking, and he was not alone. “Yeah, my marriage is a bust. Now, if I could have that Princess Luna. Oh yeah, I'd be a helluva happy pony. She's a babe, what can I say.” Luna felt a little weird at his. She heard what he said. She was close enough she could almost smell his bad breath. She was not sure how to feel exactly at that moment. She felt kinda flattered that he thought she was 'a babe' as he put it. She assumed that meant she was sexy. She could hear the other ponies at the booth echoing their agreements. Apparently, she was 'a babe' in the eyes of many ponies. Then it hit her. Smacked her right in the face. She remembered exactly where she was. In the gritty dreams of a seedy pony. She was actually starting to feel good that a bunch of imaginary dream ponies thought she was a babe. She shuddered at her own oversight. This pony was a creep. She had to get out of there. Fast. She turned to leave when the colt started speaking again. It was about her again. “Yeah, Luna may be a babe, but she can be a real buzzkill in the social department. I mean, have you ever seen her talking to anypony who wasn't Celestia or some other royal ass. You know what I'm saying. It begs the question: Does that pony have any friends?” Luna no longer wanted to be anywhere near that colt. She picked herself up and stormed out of there. Since it was his dream she was in, her exit was rather chaotic and damaging. She left he colt with a bad dream and an even worse headache was waiting for him when he woke up. Luna snapped back to her own post at her balcony in the Royal Canterlot Castle. There she stood, deep in thought. Was he right, that terrible Manehatten colt? Was he right about her? Did she have any friends at all? She thought back to all the time that had passed since she was freed from Nightmare Moon. The only ponies she really talked to were Celestia, Cadance, Twilight, and a few other royal ponies. Luna gasped silently at the startling realization that that colt had been right. She did not have any friends. Luna stared up into the night sky. It was the same night sky she loved so much. It was the same night sky she watched over every night since she regained her freedom. She loved to look up at the stars. They were small bundles of light in an endless ocean of darkness, and yet there light would never go out. It would never fade away. This always gave Luna a little bit of hope. She liked it. And even among the endless ocean of night, there were certain things that not even Luna could control. As she stared up into the night sky Luna saw a sight she had never beheld before. A star, shooting across the sky. A brilliant, radiant light trailed after it. Luna struggled to remember the superstition that many of the ponies of this day and age believed in. A shooting star and you. . .? “AH! What is that I am supposed to do? What is it? I know I know this. I just heard it the other day. I believe it was from that royal mare's daughter. Something about wishing, I think.” Luna stopped talking. She held a hoof up to her face, and facehoofed loudly. She had just given herself the answer. Then she smiled. Talking through things out loud always helped her get through problems. Sometimes the answers were wrong, but she still got through them. She shook her head and turned her gaze back to the shooting star. Was it just her, or had it gotten bigger? Eh, no matter. Luna thrust her head and her horn out as far she could. Any farther and she would have fallen over the edge of her very own balcony. That would be embarrassing. She held her ground where she was and closed her eyes tightly. She wasn't sure if magic was needed for wishing on stars, but she was willing to try anything at that point. She focused in the shooting star that was crossing her night sky, and she made a wish. “I wish upon this shooting star.” Luna took a deep breath. “I wish that I had a friend.” Luna stood there for a moment, waiting. She waited for something to happen, anything. All she wanted was some acknowledgment that her wish had been heard. She got no such acknowledgment from the stars or the night sky. Luna sighed deeply and opened her eyes. It would seem that such pony superstitions should not be believed after all. She turned back to go into her own chambers. The night was ending soon and she would have to lower the moon soon. Luna wanted to have her bed ready and waiting for her. The past few times she had lowered the moon it had left her so tired that she didn't even have time to climb under the comfort of her soft, warm, blankets. Not tonight! She was going to make it under her blankets this time. Or so she thought. Luna finished preparing her bed for her arrival. She examined the bed and smiled. She was for sure going to make it tonight. At least, she would have it weren't for the interference from a force that not even Celestia saw coming. Luna walked back out onto the balcony. She looked up at the dark of the night. It was time for it to end and make way for the day. Luna used her Alicorn magic to do her duty and lower the moon so that Celestia could raise the sun.. It was the one thing she found that was easy for her to get back into doing after her ordeal with Nightmare Moon. It was not until after the sun had been raised into the blue sky that Luna said her silent goodnight to Celestia. She turned and laid eyes on her bed. She was so awaiting the comforts of the sheets, the softness and warmth of the blankets. She took one step and stopped. Something was wrong. Something was about to happen. She was not what it was or why she did it, but Luna turned back. Luna stood at her balcony once more. Some unknown, unseen force was telling her that something was about to happen. Call it instinct, intuition, or whatever you want. Luna stood there and watched the sky with her keen eyes. It took her a moment, but she saw it clearly after that. A large, flaming object heading right for Canterlot. Was it? Could it be? The shooting star she wished on? Impossible. Yet it was there in the sky for her to see with her own two eyes. She did a quick check of the star's path and found a most disturbing result: The shooting star was shooting right towards her. “AAAAHHHHHHH!!!” Luna couldn't help but panic a little. The one aspect of the night she had no control over was shooting stars, and now one was heading right for her. By the time she pulled herself together the star was right above her. Literally. Luna checked the sky again to see the the shooting star closer than ever. She turned tail and ran for the giant double doors that lead out of her chambers and into the hallway. She did not make it far before the room behind her exploded. The blast sent her into the doors she was running for, but not through them. She hit them hard and with a loud thud. She peeled herself away when another object struck her from behind and barreled her through the doors. The large set of double doors shattered under the pressure of such an impact, sending Luna into the hallway. Celestia raced through the halls of Royal Castle to reach her sister. Because of her having to raise the sun she did not see the falling star in time. She saw it hit Luna's chambers too late and was now racing to check on her little sister. She found her with several guards around her. All of them were clearing away pieced of rubble and debris that had fallen around the area. They all moved back and stood at attention at Celestia's approach. She scowled at them. Now was not the time for such trivialities. Damn fools. “Where is Luna?” The guards immediately all took a hoof and pointed it at the pile of rubble they had just cleared. Sure enough a pony lay in the mess. Celestia used her magic to clear the area around Luna. Celestia did indeed find her sister, and something else as well. A strange creature had appeared in the dust and debris. It was draped over Luna like a towel. Luna woke up to this fact. She looked between Luna and the strange creature laying across her midsection with a dazed look of bewilderment. Slight confusion filled her eyes as well, but soon all her senses came back to her. Luna blasted the strange thing off her body and into the nearest wall. She darted over and hid behind Celestia's body. As Luna quivered and quaked Celestia tried to get some answers. “Luna, what happened here?” “I don't know? Why in the hell do you think I know?” “Because, this happened to you. It fell on your bedchambers. Care to explain?” “I told you: I have no idea! One moment I am wishing on a shooting star, and the next thing I know I am going through my own doors the wrong way with you standing over me.” It was Celestia's turn to look confused now. “Luna, why were you wishing on a shooting star?” “I heard it was what ponies did when they really wanted something.” Luna's face turned a little red. She found it kind of embarrassing that a princess of Equestria was giving into stupid superstitions and she didn't want anypony else to know. Well, too late for that now. She had blurted it out in front of everypony, as well as her sister. “Well, you see.” Luna's blush faded as she came to a realization. “I wished for a friend, and I got one!” It was at that moment that Luna raced past her sister and to the wall where the strange creature still lay. It hadn't moved at all. Luna scooped it up and brought it over to Celestia. She held it for her sister to see clearly. Celestia recoiled back on instinct as the strange creature was thrust in her face. “Luna, do you even know what that thing is?!” Luna pulled it back and examined the thing she held in her hooves for several minutes. It did indeed look quite strange. A flat body with a bit of a gut. Four limbs extended out from that and a head was on top. Luna looked it over one last time before turning back to her sister. “Celestia, this is my friend,” Luna said, “What more do I need to know?” Luna smiled happily again. Then she felt the thing in her hooves shifting and moving. Luna set it down quickly, yet gently. She watched intently as it slowly sat up with it's back to the wall. The thing slowly opened up it's eyes. The first thing it saw was Luna's eyes staring back at him. On the inside it leaped back and had an epic freakout. On the outside, however it remained still. It was pretty good at keeping calm in unusual situations. It's own eyes widened a bit more, though as he came to realize just who was staring at him and where he was. “Princess Luna?” For a moment, Luna didn't even move. Then she was gone. She had jumped up high into the air as she shrieked with sheer excitement. She flew a few circles in the hall before landing right in front of Celestia. Celestia herself was still trying to comprehend it all. “You see, sister? It is my friend! How else could it know my name? There is no other way! Ahaha, I have a new friend! Yay!” Luna was hopping up and down in the hallway, much to the amusement of the present guards. Then she stopped mid jump and just hovered there for a sec with a look of worry on her face. “It needs a name. What am I going to call it?” “How about 'Prisoner'?” Celestia threw the hint out there to see if Luna would get it. “Oooh! Sounds tough, but it doesn't really fit.” She did not get it. “Well then how about we call him 'Gone' or 'Hell No'? How do those fit, Luna?” “You know I love you, sister, but you are absolutely terrible at naming friends.” Luna grinned and Celestia frowned. “Just so you know.” Celestia looked down and closed her eyes. She put a hoof to her temple and rubbed gently. This whole thing was giving her a headache. She was getting really irritated with Luna and the most un-princess like behavior that she had shown the past half an hour. Whatever that thing was, Celestia knew it was dangerous. She could tell by the rather large hole in the side of the Royal Castle and the present damage done to Luna's chambers. Not that Luna cared. She was too busy trying to think of a name for this thing. Luckily, she didn't have to. “I already have a name.” Both Luna and Celestia stopped everything. If they could have stopped breathing they probably would have. It got awkwardly quiet in the hallway as all eyes made their way to the thing against the wall. Luna knelt down next to it and looked into the face. “You can talk?” It was part question, part statement, and part awe, and all happiness. “Yes, I can. I called out your name before. My name is Austin by the way, and I am 'he' not an 'it'.” If Luna could smile any more she would have. If she could have jumped any more she would have. If she could have shrieked any more, Celestia would've shut her up. She had a headache. Luna just ran up and embraced Austin in a huge hug. She wrapped her hooves around him and squeezed. Celestia didn't even try to stop her this time. There was no point. Austin could have been a toxic, deadly invader from a hostile land full of pony killers for all she knew, but that didn't matter to Luna at all. She hugged him still, and Austin was suffering for it. Her hooves came around him on either side. Before he knew it he was in the air and being squeezed like a rag doll in the hooves of a filly. His arms and legs hung loose and flung about as he tried to keep his head attached to the rest of him. A moment later and he found what little breath he had was leaving. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't tell himself, but he was sure he was turning blue. Oh no! Killed by a Princess of Equestria. Oh, the irony itself hurts. Austin was about to say goodbye to this not so cruel world when he hit the floor. His legs gave out underneath him and his face was the next thing to hit the hard floors of the hallway. For a second he didn't move. He lay still on the floor with Luna and Celestia standing over him. When he didn't move after a moment Luna reached out with a hoof and nudged him. Austin spurred back to life and lifted himself up off the floor. Luna smiled for he was alive still. For a moment she thought she had killed him. Good thing she did not. Celestia spoke to her sister after that. Both of them were able to come to an agreement on one thing. This thing, Austin. It needed to be questioned. Luna took Austin in her hooves and in a dark flash they were in another room: Celestia's chambers. She burst into her own room just moments later. Luna was sitting quietly next to Austin, waiting for her. Celestia started right away. “So, Austin. Where did you come from?” “A world far off. Similar to that of Canterlot High, but different enough to separate the two.” “How did you arrive here?” “I have no idea, Princess I don't really remember much of anything before now.” “How is that possible?” “I have no answers for you, Princess.” Celestia frowned. This was not going exactly as she planned, but at least he was polite and respectful. Celestia left him with Luna while she went to write a letter. She needed help, and if there was anypony who could help her out in this situation it was Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship. “Celestia, do you have any glue in here?” “Glue?! What do you need glue for?” “My time spent with Twilight and her friends has revealed much to me. Pinkie Pie in particular has expressed an interest in this thing called scrapbooking. I do so much enjoy it, but I require glue, and glitter, and many other things.” Epic facehoof.