The Euphoric Secret
“Now remember Luna, you need your sleep. It’s important for your recovery.”
Luna didn’t answer Celestia, only giving her a simple nod to answer the elder sister.
“Good.” With that, Celestia levitated Luna up in the air and placed her in the bed. She wrapped Luna tight in blankets and tucked in her bed, giving a peck on the forehead. “Goodnight sister.” She told Luna soothingly, walking out of the room and shutting the door tightly behind her.
When she was gone, Luna growled and freed herself from the blanket cocoon she was forced in and looked outside the window.
It’s not even evening yet!
Luna crossed her eyes as she dropped her head on her pillow. She narrowed her eyes to the ceiling, a visage of Celestia coming to mind. The image was just laughing at her, and she started to glare intently at it.
What gives her the right to treat me like a foal!?
As the thought went through her, she could hear the annoying humming of Celestia coming from downstairs. Luna turned on her bed, trying to rid her ears of the hum. When it failed, Luna marched to the door and wanted to open it. When that failed, she sighed in defeat.
Luna sat on her bed, looking down on the ground with her eyes moist as she laid her head to rest in her hooves.
The sun’s last rays beaming down on her head, Luna groaned and made her way to the window to close the curtains. When the curtain closed, she made her way to bed, hoping sleep would help pass the time.
A knock on the window made Luna jump in surprise. She automatically donned her disguise and carefully used her magic to take hold of the curtains, opening them slowly. Luna nearly dropped on her haunches when she saw the face of her friend, Roseluck, on the other side.
Roseluck smiled and pointed to the window’s latches, hoping Luna would understand what she needed to do.
Luna quickly got up and made her way to the window, unlatching it and letting Roseluck inside. “Roseluck, what are you doing?!”
“Letting myself in of course.”
“Yes, I can see that,” Luna hissed, trying to keep her voice as quiet as possible. “What I meant was, what are you doing here?”
Roseluck smirked. “Oh come on. You didn’t really think that I was just going to leave after what happened this afternoon without doing something about it did you?” She motioned towards the window. “Now come on, we have to hurry before your crazy sister shows up and stops us.”
Luna was still confused. “Stops us from what?”
“Starry,” Roseluck answered with a sigh. “You have been cooped up in this library for far too long I’m afraid. You need to get out for a while, and more importantly, you need to get away from that overbearing sister of yours.
“I am treating you to a night on the town. You’re coming with me and meeting the rest of my friends and hanging out with us for one night. Give you a chance to actually see what this town is like without worrying about everything else for once.” She reached up and pushed the window open with a smile. “Now come on, time’s wasting.”
Luna hesitated. She pawed awkwardly at the floor unable to move forward. She looked out over the horizon seeing the sun slowly starting to descend below the horizon. She shuddered as she thought about what that meant. “I don’t know,” she finally said softly. “I don’t think that it’s a good—”
“Starry,” Roseluck answered a bit forcibly. “I know that you’re worried about this, but you have to trust me. You need to get out of here. It’s only one evening. I promise you, I’ll make sure that nothing bad happens alright. I’ll be right beside you the entire time.”
“Y— you promise?”
Roseluck smiled warmly. “I promise, Starry. That’s what friends are for after all.”
Friend. Once again, that single word was enough to completely calm all of Luna’s fears. Smiling back, she nodded. “Alright,” she said starting towards the window. She stopped suddenly. “Oh, just in case,” she said pointing back towards the bed. Her horn glowed brightly for a moment, and a single beam shot out towards the empty covers. Within seconds, the bed was filled with a pony that looked exactly like Luna’s disguise, sleeping peacefully.
Luna turned back to Roseluck proudly. However, her smile faltered when she saw the look of shock on Roseluck’s face. “What’s the matter?” she asked nervously. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Um… no,” Roseluck responded as though she’d come out of a daze. “It’s just that… wow. Creating a clone of yourself like that? That’s some very advanced magic. Most unicorn’s couldn’t cast a spell like that no matter how hard they tried.”
Luna just chuckled in response. “Just don’t tell my sister that I did that.”
Roseluck chuckled as well. “Wouldn’t dream of it. Now then,” she said stepping back, she waved her hoof towards the window with a smile, “are you ready to party?”
When Luna inhaled the fresh air of the outside world, she couldn’t help but sigh in relief. Relief that she was finally out of that library without the dominating presence of Celestia. As she was walking alongside her best friend Roseluck, she noticed the sun setting in the horizon and saw the marketplace closing down for the day. She lowered her head with her ears drooping, pouting her lips a little.
Roseluck noticed this and lowered her head to meet Luna’s eyes. “Starry? What’s wrong?”
“All the work places are closing for the day,” Luna muttered as she looked around, seeing all the ponies turn the ‘Open’ signs to ‘Closed’.
“Yeah, it’s closing time alright.” Roseluck cheerfully commented, oblivious to what Luna saw.
Luna nodded somberly. “And with that, all the ponies will be going to bed now. Fearful of the night and the stars, protected by the covers of their beds…” Luna grumbled on, but her ears perked and eyes widened when she heard Roseluck’s snorting and giggling. She turned to Roseluck, whose eyes were closed as she was wearing a large grin on her face. “Pray tell, what is so funny?”
Roseluck wiped her eyes before clearing her voice. “Sorry about that,” she smiled at Luna and pulled on her hoof towards an unknown destination. “You really need to get out more Starry.”
Luna remained silent, not knowing what Roseluck meant. As they continued walking, she started to feel light tremors. This spooked her a little, but her attention was brought to a building with neon lights covering it. Luna saw on the building the word ‘Infinity’, surrounded by even more neon lights. What surprised her even more were the number of ponies that were outside.
“Why are all those ponies outside Roseluck?” Luna asked her friend curiously. “Is this some form of accommodation?”
“What?!” Roseluck snorted out, trying her best not to laugh out loud. “No Starry, this is a nightclub.” Luna only blinked at Roseluck’s answer, causing the latter’s laughter to subside. “You don’t know what a nightclub is?”
Luna shook her head. “I have to say that I am unfamiliar with the term. Should I know what it is?”
Roseluck just shook her head, muttering something about overbearing sisters. “It seems to me that you needed to get out even more than I realized.” Grabbing Luna’s hoof she pulled her toward the front of the crowd. “C’mon. We need to get you inside, and quickly.”
Though surprised by her friend’s sudden action, Luna didn’t fight as Roseluck dragged her forward. The pair navigated through the sea of ponies quickly. Most were either too busy chatting to notice or care about them, or seemed to sense Roseluck’s urgency and stepped aside letting the two pass.
Within no time, the pair had reached the front where they were greeted by a rather plain looking set of large doors. Finally, Roseluck released Luna’s hoof. Stepping forward, she reached up and grabbed one of the handles. She turned back, giving her friend a big smile. “This is a nightclub,” she said pulling on the handle and allowing the door to swing outwards.
The moment the door cracked open, the blaring of music, the likes of which Luna had never heard before, filled the area. She couldn’t help herself as she reached up and covered her ears to try and drown it out. However, it had little effect. The music pulsed through her regardless, as the tremors seemed to intensify from the sheer volume alone.
Roseluck laughed at Luna’s reaction before grabbing her hoof and pulling her inside the room. Like the outside of the building, the interior was decorated with large neon lights, though they did little to illuminate the room. Near the front, there was a large stage like construct. A single white unicorn was seated at the top, fiddling with a variety of knobs in front of her. On either side, a random collection of lights blinked and glowed in time with the beat of the music. In front of the stage, several ponies were dancing while along either side, were a collection of tables where several other ponies were chatting with one another.
Luna was dumbstruck. She had never seen anything quite like it before. She turned to Roseluck who was standing expectantly with the same large grin on her face. “All of these ponies here,” she started, yelling to make herself heard over the music. “What is the purpose of this gathering?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” Roseluck answered back. “They’re here to have fun and relax after working all week. They come to meet up with their friends, dance, and enjoy themselves.”
“But it’s so late. Aren’t they all going to leave to go home soon?”
Roseluck chuckled. “They call it a night-club for a reason Starry. The music goes on all night long, sometimes even past dawn.”
“...All night long?”
“Yes, all night long,” Roseluck repeated. “Honestly, Starry. Have you been living under a rock for the past century?”
Luna giggled nervously, sweating a little as she turned her eyes. “Of course not! I mean, I just—”
Roseluck placed a hoof on Luna’s shoulder and gave her a reassuring smile. “Relax Starry, didn’t mean anything by it. Now c’mon, let me introduce you to my other friends.”
“You think they will like me?” Luna asked curiously, even though she was frightened by the concept of meeting others.
“Hey, if you and I click together, you’ll click with them. They’re gonna love you.” Roseluck winked and dragged Luna towards a table that was occupied by a few mares. “Hey Derpy,” Roseluck called out to a blonde maned pegasus with grey coat, who had a cutie mark depicting bubbles.
“Rosey!” Derpy called out and stood up from her table, giving her friend a brief hug. “How you tonight?”
Roseluck smiled broadly. “All good here,” She looked around herself, squinting her eyes. “Where’s Thunderlane?”
“Somepony called?”
All the mares turned to their side, seeing a dark grey stallion pegasus with silver mane walking up to the group carrying a plate of drinks on his back. “Sorry to keep you waiting.” He told Derpy as he placed the plate on the table.
“It’s okay sweetie,” Derpy replied, giving Thunderlane a soft kiss on his lips. When the kiss ended, she turned to Roseluck and noticed Luna standing beside her. “Oh! Who’s your new friend Rosey?”
“Everypony, this is Starry Sky.” She pointed a hoof to Luna, who meekly waved to the group of ponies.
Derpy’s jaw went agape slightly before closing. “Oh I remember you. My little muffin told me about what happened on Nightmare Night,”
“Little muffin?”
“It’s her nickname for her daughter, Dinky,” Roseluck explained with a wink. “Derpy always has had a sweet spot for muffins, haven’t you Derpy?”
The remark made Derpy blush and grin just a bit, though she couldn’t deny the claim.
Chuckling at the response, Roseluck turned her attention back to Luna. “Starry, these are my friends. Derpy and Thunderlane you’ve met now,” she said pointing at them quickly before moving on to the next in line, “and this uptight mare here is Octavia.”
“I am not ‘uptight’,” the grey earth pony stated flatly, stirring the small glass her hooves gently. “I simply do not care for this ear-splitting environment is all.”
“Oh really?” Roseluck smirked. “Then how come you keep coming back here each week?”
“You know very well, that I’m here because Vinyl asks me to come,” she sighed. “Not like she’d even notice if I didn’t, what with her DJ-ing all night long.”
Roseluck didn’t bother responding to that, turning back to Luna. “You’ll have to forgive her,” she said whispering in her ear. “Octavia’s a classical musician up in Canterlot and not a big fan of the loud music. Once she gets a couple of drinks in her though, she’ll lighten up.”
“Anyways,” Roseluck said, pulling back and speaking so everyone could hear again, “last but not least, this mare on the end here is Golden Harvest, grower of some of the best carrots, celery, and other vegetables in all of Equestria.”
The goldenrod mare chuckled with a light blush. “I don’t know about all that,” she said bashfully. “It’s just what I enjoy doing, that’s all.” She extended her hoof, offering it to Luna. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Starry.”
Luna returned the gesture, bumping hooves with her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you as well,” she said with a bright smile. “It’s a pleasure to meet all of you.”
“Likewise,” Octavia said, taking a small sip of her drink. “Now that we’re all introduced, perhaps somepony could be so kind as to explain to me exactly what happened on Nightmare Night? I was up in Canterlot playing for a party and apparently I missed something that happened.”
“Oh, well…” Roseluck started sheepishly. “I don’t think that we really need to—”
Luna quickly interrupted her. “No, it’s alright,” she said. Taking a deep breath, Luna started, “Some ponies decided that it would be fun to pull a prank and I happened to get caught up in the middle of it. I… panicked, when it happened and ran off into the woods afterwards.”
“I know how that feels,” Derpy told Luna bitterly as she looked down. “I remember when I was pranked countless times in school because of my eyes.” She pointed to her lazy eye that was drifting from one side. “Even my little muffin Dinky gets pranked because of me.”
Thunderlane folded a wing over Derpy, drawing her in close before looking at Luna. “Someponies just like to pull of cruel pranks now and again, not taking the target’s feeling into consideration.” He said as he nuzzled Derpy’s head a little. “But from what I heard, Pinkie was not impressed by it one bit.”
“No she wasn’t.” Roseluck said, taking a sip of her drink. “She literally scolded everypony present at the prank scene just for playing along with it.”
“What about the prankster? Or pranksters?” Derpy asked curiously, looking at Roseluck.
“From what I heard, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash dealt with them personally.” Roseluck explained. “Though I wouldn’t know exactly, I was in the forest tending to Starry here.” Roseluck gave Luna a warm friendly look as she smiled softly.
Luna smiled in return before looking at her drink curiously and taking a small sip from it. It tasted like litchi, but had a tingling after taste that Luna enjoyed very much.
“Well speak of the devil.” Golden Harvest suddenly said looking past Luna. “Looks who’s here tonight.” Golden Harvest pointed with a hoof
All the ponies at the table turned to where Golden Harvest was indicating to and they saw a familiar pink earth pony with a cyan pony dancing wildly on the floor, laughing as they danced along with the music.
When the music changed, Pinkie and Rainbow left the floor still giggling. Pinkie’s eyes landed on Roseluck and the group she was with. She smiled broadly as she made her way towards them. “Hey Rosey!”
“Hi Pinkie, we were just speaking about you.”
“Really?! Is there somepony’s birthday I don’t know about?!” Pinkie questioned Roseluck, before pulling a journal out of no where and scanning through it. “Nothing I see for this month—”
“Relax Pinkie,” Roseluck pulled the journal away from Pinkie’s eyes, rolling her own as she chuckled. “Nah we were just chatting about what you did on Nightmare Night.”
“Ooooooooh…” Pinkie trailed off, before turning to the other ponies. “Hey Derpy, hey Thundy, hey Octi, hey Goldie, hey Starry—” Pinkie blinked a couple times before jerking her head to Luna, who lowered her head shyly. “L-Starry!?”
Before Luna had the chance to respond, Pinkie seemingly disappeared only to reappear instantly right next to her. “Oh my gosh! It really is you!” she said excitedly jumping around appearing from all sorts of odd directions. “I can’t believe that you’re really here! If you’re here then that means that you’ve gotten better. And if you’ve gotten better than that means that we can finally throw you a party!”
By the time the hyperactive pony stopped bouncing, Luna’s head was spinning. “Oh, well actually—”
“Oh this is the best news ever!” Pinkie said trotting quickly in place. “We’ll get balloons and streamers and cake and lots of chocolates, and we’ll have to invite everyone in Ponyville! Oh, there’s so much to do, I’m going to have to get started right now to get this all planned. I’ll just have to talk with your sister to figure out what sorts of things you’ll like. Oh, that reminds me where is Cherry now? I don’t see—”
Pinkie was promptly cut off as Roseluck shoved a hoof over her mouth. “Cherry’s not here right now Pinkie; just Starry.”
Pulling the hoof away from her mouth, Pinkie gave Roseluck a curious look. “Cherry’s not here?” she asked inquisitively. “But that doesn’t make sense. Cherry would never let Starry out of her sight.”
Luna coughed. “She um… doesn’t know that I’m here right now.”
Pinkie stared at her confused for a moment, before suddenly lighting up with realization. “Ohhhhh…” she said with a wink. “It’s a secret fun night. I gotcha.”
“Yes it is,” Roseluck answered. “And we’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell Cherry about her sister being here tonight. Pinkie Promise that you won’t.”
“Oh, I can do that,” Pinkie said with a couple of hops. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she added going through the motions as well. “This is still so exciting! I can’t wait to finally throw you that party!”
Roseluck and Luna shared an awkward glance. Noticing it, Pinkie Pie quit hopping. “Oh come on!” she whined. “You can’t be serious!”
“Sorry Pinkie,” Roseluck responded remorsefully. “But we need you to keep this quiet. That means no party for now, alright?”
Pinkie huffed. “Fine…” Pointing her hoof at Luna, she added, “But you have to let me throw you at least three parties for all of this!”
Roseluck smiled at Pinkie’s antics but said nothing. Instead, she turned towards the other mare who had trotted over who was being very quiet. “You promise too, Rainbow?” Roseluck asked her, hopefully getting the same answer she got from Pinkie. She cocked her brow when Rainbow just nodded before she came to the table.
“Sure,” Rainbow said flatly, performing the same promise Pinkie did a moment ago. When she finished the Pinkie Promise, she looked at Luna for a moment before looking away.
Roseluck squinted her eyes for a moment, thinking she saw moisture in Rainbow’s eyes. When she turned to Luna, she saw her friend shying away from Rainbow Dash as though being near the cyan mare was hazardous to her health. Before Roseluck could question her friend’s well being, Rainbow spoke.
“Well it was nice seeing you all, but we must be going.” She said plainly, pulling Pinkie away from the table and giving the ponies a wave before dragging her friend out of the club.
Pinkie tried to resist, but submitted to Rainbow’s strength. “Bye everypony! Remember, three parties I have to throw for you! Bye!” Pinkie waved her hooves frantically, before she and Rainbow were out of the door.
“That was unexpected.” Thunderlane finally spoke, after an awkward silence. “The boss’ usually more sociable than that.” He said as he finished his drink. “Something happened lately to her?” He asked nopony in particular as he stared at the exit.
“Not that I know of,” Derpy replied to her coltfriend. “Though to be honest, Rainbow and I don’t exactly get along.”
Luna’s ears perked when she heard Derpy speak. “You don’t get along with Rainbow Dash?” She asked Derpy, who nodded in response. “Why?”
Derpy sighed as she shook her head. “Because of my eyes and my clumsy nature, most ponies think I’m mentally challenged.” She lowered her head as she glared sideways. “Even though I was a straight A student in Flight School.” She grumbled and took a sip of her drink.
“There will always be ponies you just can’t stand in life Starry,” Golden Harvest spoke up as she leaned into the conversation. “I should know, I personally can’t stand foals who act like they own Equestria.”
“Let’s not dwell on such depressing matters,” Octavia spoke up with a goofy smile on her face. As Roseluck had predicted, the drinks were doing wonders in improving her mood. “We’re here to have fun aren’t we? So, let’s not dwell on stuff like that tonight.”
“You’re absolutely right,” Roseluck said with a grin. “No point in starting the night off by getting upset. This is Starry’s first time with our group. It should be a night to remember.”
Derpy giggled. “Well then,” she said happily, “let’s get this party started!”
Luna couldn’t remember the last time she had so much fun. Though at first, she wasn’t sure about how things were going to turn out, her fears were quelled within minutes. Everypony was eager to know all about her, where she came from, how long she had been in Ponyville and other information like that. Although she didn’t like having to lie to them to keep up the persona of Starry, they all seemed to genuinely care about what she had to say.
Over a couple of light drinks and refreshments, she got the chance to learn about each of them as well. Things such as how Derpy and Thunderlane had been dating for the past six months, and Golden Harvest’s friendly rivalry with Sweet Apple Acres and the Apple family. During a break in the music, she also got the opportunity to meet the pony who was “DJ-ing”, as they called it. Apparently, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia had been friends practically since birth. It definitely helped to explain why Octavia had been willing to come in the first place.
After chatting for quite a while, Derpy and Thunderlane excused themselves to go dancing. Golden Harvest left with them and after another drink, even Octavia was willing to head to the dancefloor as well. Roseluck stayed behind with Luna trying to convince her to go and dance as well. After much persuading, she finally managed to do so.
Initially, Luna wasn’t really sure what to do. The way that everypony else was dancing was so unfamiliar to her. She was used to the more structured style that she had grown up with. But this, it was like they were just moving along with the music, disregarding any form of structure. Their movement was almost hypnotic. Soon, Luna found herself unable to stop her hooves tapping along with them to the beat. The tapping of hooves slowly evolved as the rhythm infected her as well and she began dancing along as well.
They stayed like that for who knows how long. Everypony laughing, dancing, and overall just enjoying themselves. For the first time in over a thousand years, Luna could feel all of her cares melt away. There was no worry or fear in her mind. She was happy, pure and simple.
Luna misstepped accidentally, tripping over as she yelped. Before she could reach the ground though, Roseluck was there to catch her in time. Luna couldn’t help but giggle as she hugged her best friend, with her new friends smiling with her too.
When the music began to die down, the ponies inside the club started to diminish in number. Almost as though a hidden command activated inside of her, Luna let out a yawn that she quickly covered as she was starting to feel tired.
“Guess that’s that for the night.” Thunderlane said as he stretched his wings and legs. “Better head home now, otherwise my little bro will have it out for me.”
Derpy giggled as she nuzzled her colftfriend. “Should I come over to your place with my little muffin? I’ll make breakfast.” Derpy asked as she winked to Thunderlane, pressing her lips against his softly.
Thunderlane gave a goofy smile as he blushed. “Sounds good to me.”
“Urgh!” Octavia sat on her haunches, her head lowered as she looked down on the ground. “Get a room you two! Urgh!”
Luna blinked and cocked her brow as she scratched her head. “What’s wrong with Octavia?” She asked Roseluck, who just shook her head as she smirked.
“That’s what happens when you bang your head to the music all night long,” Roseluck leaned towards Octavia and inhaled. “Right Octy!?”
Octavia covered her ears and groaned. “Urgh!”
Golden Harvest chuckled as she walked up to her friends. “I’ll see you all later today.” She bid each of them farewell, giving each one a brief hug before departing through the exit.
“Guess it’s time we got you home too Starry?” Roseluck mentioned to her friend, seeing Luna’s downcast eyes. “Hey don’t worry, we can do this again tonight.”
“Really?!” Luna’s head jerked upwards, her eyes shining with hope and happiness as she beamed.
Roseluck nodded and smiled in return. “You bet!” She turned to Derpy and Thunderlane. “How about you two? Want to show Starry more of a good time?”
“Sure,” Thunderlane replied, looking to his fillyfriend. “As long as Derpy is fine with it, I’m all in.”
Derpy smiled as she closed her eyes. “Anything for a friend who wants to have fun.”
“Excellent.” Roseluck said, marching up to the door and opening it. “After you, Starry.”
Luna had been having a good time. So much in fact, that she had completely lost track of the time. Several hours before, when she walked into the club, the sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon. At that moment however, the sun was nowhere to be found. Instead, in it’s place and directly in her view, was the large, glistening moon.
Immediately, Luna’s eyes shrunk to pinpricks as the lunar body seemed to fill her entire view. She began shaking uncontrollably as she started pawing at the ground to move away from it, stumbling over her own hooves and falling to the floor. Though she didn’t scream out as she had before, she still couldn’t help as she began to cry out in uncontrollable, sheer terror.
“No, please! I don’t want to go back! I can’t go back! Don’t make me go back! Please!”
Seeing the sudden change in Luna’s attitude, Roseluck quickly slammed the door shut. “Starry!” she cried out rushing over to her friend’s aid. “Are you alright? What happened?”
Luna couldn’t answer. “Please don’t make me go back,” she cried out again, clutching Roseluck tightly. “I’m so sorry. I don’t want to go back.”
“It’s alight Starry. Nopony’s going to hurt you or send you away anywhere.”
“But I… I…” Luna began to stutter as the image of the moon burned away from her vision and the world seemed to come back into focus. All around her were her new friends, the looks of concern evident on their faces. “I… I’m sorry,” she muttered softly, closing her eyes to try and hide the tears pouring from them.
“You’re fine. You didn’t do anything. Are you alright now?”
Luna didn’t answer save for a single nod of her head.
Roseluck and the other’s sighed with relief. “Are you sure? What happened exactly?”
Luna clutched Roseluck just a bit tighter as she started shaking again. “The moon,” she answered simply.
“The moon?”
“It’s just... I mean… I can’t… I’m sorry...”
“No, don’t worry about it,” Roseluck responded soothingly. “I didn’t realize. You don’t have to apologize for anything. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Yeah, it’s alright Starry,” Derpy added moving in on the other side. “We all have things that scare us. Do you want to talk about it? It’ll help.”
“I…” Luna began, but quickly stopped herself. She did want to talk about it. She wanted to tell them everything. Instead, she just shook her head.
Roseluck looked to her friends Derpy and Thunderlane, all three nodding just before they came up to Luna. “Let’s get you back home safely Starry,” she helped Luna up and reached out a hoof to her shoulder. “We’ll walk you home together.”
“But I—”
“Starry,” Derpy cut her off as she looked her in the eye, doing her best to have both of her eyes looking at hers. “You don’t have to be afraid, we’re here for you.”
“That’s right.” Thunderlane said as he reached for the door. “Now when you see the moon, don’t think of it as something that’s gonna get you. Rather think of it as a big light in the night sky.”
Luna gulped, her lips quivering a little before she nodded reluctantly. “Okay,” she answered back, taking a few slow steps towards the door. “But please, don’t let me go alone.” She pleaded to her friends.
“You’re crazy if you think we’re leaving you alone.” Roseluck smirked as she stuck close to her friend. For a moment she looked back at Octavia, who was still incapacitated on the ground. “We’ll see you later Octi!”
“Urgh!” Octavia groaned, covering her ears with her hooves whilst resting her head on the floor.
Luna looked back at Octavia, waving to bid her goodnight. Seeing Octavia’s state caused her to snort a laugh before her attention was brought back to the door. She nodded to Thunderlane, who opened the door slowly to let in the moon light. Luna tensed up, trying to back away but stopped when she felt Roseluck and Derpy by her side.
“Remember Starry, don’t think of the moon as a bad thing. Rather as a big light in the sky.” Derpy reminded her as she nudged Luna to walk onwards, which she did at snail pace.
With all four ponies outside, the group made their way to the giant tree in the centre of Ponyville, where the library and home of their friend Starry was located. Even though they were in a slow canter, Luna was not screaming as she moved on towards her goal.
When the moon entered her line of sight, a myriad of memories came back to her. Most of them were of her time on there, when she had no control of her body and she was begging for anypony to come and free her. Even though she yelled out for help over there, no sound was emitted by her. Nor were there any sound heard. When the Nightmare controlled her body, she had never slept nor dreamed. Every second of every day was a continuous routine of seeing the world that was her home, feeling the ground that was as welcoming as fire is to paper. Luna bit her lips hard, trying her best to stave off the memories.
Roseluck immediately took notice as Luna began shaking once again as she gazed up at the sky. “Look at me Starry,” she said calmingly, grabbing Luna’s head and turning it towards her. “We’re almost home, alright? There’s nothing to worry about.”
“But I—”
“Starry,” she reiterated a bit more strongly, “I may not know why the moon scares you so badly, but I promise you that nothing bad is going to happen.”
As Luna gazed into her eyes, she could see the concern and determination between what she said. “How can you say that?” she asked nervously. “How can you promise nothing bad will happen?”
Roseluck smiled. “Because I promise that no matter what happens, I’m going to be here to help you through it.”
“And me as well,” Thunderlane added.
“And me,” Derpy said flying in. “We’re your friends Starry. We’re here for you no matter what!”
“You see Starry,” Roseluck continued, leaning back and giving Luna a good look of all the smiling faces around her, “we’re all here for you. Even Octavia once she sobers up a bit more,” she added with a chuckle.
“We’re your friends Starry. No matter what happens, we’ll be here to help.”
Luna moved between each ponies expression. Each of them had the same look of concern and determination. But more importantly, there was a deep caring in their eyes. Roseluck was telling the truth. It was evident from each of their faces.
“Thank you,” she whispered calmly. “You have no idea how much that means to me.”
“That’s what friends do,” Derpy said offering a hoof to help Luna back onto her hooves again. “Now, let’s get you home before anything else happens, alright?”
The rest of the trip home went by without any troubles. After confirming that Luna’s room was empty, save for her doppelganger, Thunderlane and Derpy helped her up and into her room.
“You sure you’ll be alright?” Derpy asked as Luna passed through the window.
Luna nodded. “Yes, I’ll be fine now. I’m sorry for the trouble that I caused tonight.”
“It was no trouble at all,” Thunderlane said with a smile. “In fact, I think that we should do this again sometime.”
“I… I’d like that,” Luna grinned back. “Thank you all for the wonderful time.”
“And thank you for coming,” Roseluck said as well. “Have a good night. We’ll see you around.”
“I’ll see you around,” Luna repeated as her friends lowered themselves down. She watched as they trotted off, looking behind and waving as they left her view.
Cautiously, Luna turned her gaze back up to the sky. A cold chill ran down her spine as the large moon came into her vision. Yet, as she gazed up at it, she could almost see each of the other’s eyes, her friends’ eyes, still looking down at her and filled with love and concern.
And somehow, the moon seemed more distant than it ever had before.
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I suppose the next chapter will address the problem of a smothering sister?
about time she got out and had some fun without Anti-Fun there
I get the sneaking suspicion there will be conflict between luna and tia next chap or soon after. but i may be wrong
Once again, Luna gets all the psychological treatment to help her over her trauma, and Celestia is left to rot with her guilt and pain. Somepony needs to do something about that, preferably soon. It's kind of mean that despite Celestia's most well-meant efforts, she gets nowhere with Luna, but Roseluck only has to introduce her to random strangers once and Luna's instantly cured of her Moon-phobia. I don't think that's going to go over very well with Celestia, and to be fair, not entirely without reason either. I know Luna has it tough and all that, no arguing there, but all she seems to think about is how bad she has it. Which is kind of selfish, considering that, because Celestia only cares about Luna, there's nopony left to care for Celestia. Again, I'm not denying Luna needs this kind of help, I'm just saying it's not exactly fair Luna gets all help and Celestia gets none. I mentioned that last chapter as well, but given that I didn't get a reply, it bears repeating.
That aside, I'm still enjoying the story so far.
3421689
I agree.
It is time that Celestia got some help for her emotional trauma/sense of guilt as well.
3421689
I agree with everything you have said.
Oooh boy, Tia's gonna be PIIIISSED!
Wish I had more to say, but all I have is that I'm loving this story.
3421689 I agree as well, however, the reason I don't feel bad for Celestia (for getting less attention) is because she's dedicating this bit of her life to Luna. She does feel awful about what's happened and just does what she thinks will counter her guilt ridden conscious. And the more she smothers Luna, the more secure she feels and closer she feels to redemption. So for Celestia, her attention is Luna so she's satisfied just 'helping' Luna
(terrible joke!)
Before I forget, this isn't Softening the Stone, it's Smothering the Stone
3422279 that seems like an incredibly naive perspective to me. Celestia isn't going to get better by exhibiting unhealthy behaviour like this. And what of when Luna confronts her? Celestia's mind is already guilt-fucked; if she comes to the conclusion that she can't do anything right for her sister where will that leave her?
3422565 I never claimed this behavior to be healthy, just that Celestia doesn't believe she has a problem other than the guilt of banishing her sister and that is the main focus on her mind thus the purpose of all her actions; leaving Canterlot, caring for Luna, feeding her, walking with her, talking for her, protecting her. I don't feel bad for her in the sense that she wants attention; she doesn't want attention. But those are often the ponies who need it most
What the two sisters need is a neutral party to offer some family counseling. I am still a bit confused as to Blueblood's overall objective besides just being a douche.
Oh god I want the next chapter to be out so baad, I can't wait.
3421689I don't think that is true. Yes Celestia is also suffering from guilt and pain. But what if other ponies assume that she is Ok and well? After all she has been going through it for 1,000years. And nothing bad really happen to Celestia within that time period. So in their mind's eye, Celestia is well and had already finish crying not only that but she is the princess that leads Equestria alone successfully in that time period. So she is healthy both physically and mentally.
Now remember only ponies that knows the truth are the doctor, cutie mark crusaders, Cadance, Twilight and her friends and maybe Twilight's brother. So its obvious ponies will look down on Celestia from bring over-protective etc and that is because they didn't know. So really I believe the author got that part right.
If you spend 1,000years believing that you are right and did the right thing on sending your sister away only to find out that she was innocent 1,000years later. Not only that but almost got her kill as well, how do you make up for that? You leave her alone than it like you don't care, you care for her too much than you are smothering her. So what is the middle ground here? Because if it was me, I will be doing what Celestia is doing right now because I know nothing I can do will really make up for it ( though I know I will get a slap, kick and a punch cause she will feel that I am being annoying but I will still do it anyway cause its the only way I know how to make up to her). Which brings in another thing we must consider, what if this is the only thing that Celestia knows how to do? Celestia hardly makes mistake, so she had little experience on correcting the mistake. Luna is her only family and sister and when Celestia did something wrong to Luna when they were a foul, she make up to it by babying her? (p.s this are just guess work and a bit of personal experiences with my own sister)
You might felt that its mean to Celestia that Luna's cure of the moon was done simply by making friends making all of Celestia's work in vain. But you must remember what is the main reason why it happen in the first place. It was because Luna had no friends 1,000years ago so she grew lonely, jealous and angry. Now by making friends with Roseluck's help with random strangers help ensure that Luna won't be taken over by Nightmare again. Which also means she doesn't have to go back to the moon because she is not alone. I don't really count Twilight and her friends as friends of Luna yet here, simply because I felt that they are doing this for Celestia,cause they felt that it is partly their fault and they are bearers of the elements.
(P.S.S Sorry If it confusing but this is so far the only way I can word it out. And I am never really that good with words)
3422680 a lot of people with psychological and emotional problems don't want attention. It doesn't mean you shouldn't sympathise just as much.
Seems Celestia is massed up big time too.
In her attempt to help and comfort her sister, she is smothering her.
Rainbow thinks Derpy is Mentally Challenged maybe? Hmm, Oh boy, looks like we are going to get possibly two blow up scenes? MOAR!
*pulls out sniper rifle* time for some big game Alicorn hunting. Now.. Don't. Move. An. Inch. Celestia
3422997 Okay, you win
Celestia and Luna both need a therapist or something. Or maybe a plain old intervention from....any and or all ponies
3425663
1- True, we don't know there hasn't been a major incident. Poor word choice on my part. My intent was to indicate that we can quite easily infer that she has ruled for the past thousand years (at least) without making a major mistake. Why? Because the attitude of the Ponies is "It's the Princess - she _always_ knows what to do."
This attitude wouldn't be quite so prevalent if there were, for example, clear examples from history lessons of a major disaster wrought by her own incompetence. That isn't to say she won't have encountered _problems_ during her reign - simply nothing of her own making. And when you rule for at least a millennium, not having a disaster befall your nation due to something you did is quite impressive. Modern politicians sometimes fail to manage that, and they only hold office for half a century, at the most.
2- You will notice, please, that I am not arguing that she can't make mistakes. I rant about two things. The line that triggered this rant was the one quoted, as, and I do say this in my previous post, _it indicates a level of planning entirely inconsistent with what we actually saw_. The majority of the rest of the rant builds on this, detailing the ways in which that outing could have been better planned.
You again make the mistake of assuming that they _bothered to look it up at all_. Re-read the beginning of the chapter. Does that sound like an event planned in advance? No, it does not. We see them step out of the door, and immediately encounter problems which even a modicum of forethought could have prevented. They failed to prepare _at all_, and yet that line implies that they had plans which merely overlooked this one tiny detail. But that is _clearly_ not the case, and to indicate otherwise is simply absurd.
3- Really? You’re going to argue that, because it hasn’t been explicitly demonstrated in the show, clearly Ponyville doesn’t have it? Dear Lord, that must mean Ponyville doesn’t have a dentist’s surgery! Or a pizza parlour! Or literally anything else that could be used to fill in the background!
If it was a requirement that fanfiction adhere strictly to that which has been revealed in the show, many stories simply would not be possible. It is sufficient that it has not been explicitly denied by the source material. There is not one whit of evidence demonstrating Ponyville lacks either of those facilities. Even the school trip to Canterlot doesn’t count against this idea – any school would organise a trip to a national landmark like, say, the palace.
4/5- Okay, firstly, it’s a country, not a race. Even if we subscribe to the theory that all three types of Pony are one race, we still have donkeys, mules, minotaurs and zebra to account for. Secondly, _yes_ they will pay attention to small details. In a military situation, attention to tiny little details can mean the difference between a celebrated victory, and a disastrous rout. When passing laws, attention to detail is necessary to ensure that you don’t do anything stupid, like leave it ambiguous and open to interpretation. When attending a formal function, attention to detail is necessary to avoid committing a faux pas which would decrease your standing. The list goes on and on.
And this makes a rather large mistake. This isn’t a ‘small detail’ or an ‘issue of lesser importance’ we’re dealing with. This is the reason she _stopped ruling her country_. Every tiny detail is of vast personal importance here – so saying she “doesn’t care about little details”, even if it were true of her style as a ruler, doesn’t apply here.
6- A nice sentiment, but it doesn’t really work with regards to feedback. Allowing an author to see what sort of emotional response their writing has engendered allows them to see if they have achieved their aim, or if that which they intended to shock has been overshadowed by something else. Moreover, the majority of my criticism was directed _at the characters themselves_. Yes, I believed them to be acting stupidly, but I did not believe them to be acting out of character, and therefore the complaint got levied against the characters, rather than the author. However, my complaint as regards that one line _was_ directed at the author, as it concerned a piece of writing which severely threatened my immersion in the story.
7- Indeed. And you should also consider what others have said before responding; lest you fall foul of that trap yourself.
PS – uttering meaningless platitudes does not soothe the ire of those you have patronised and insulted.
Would an earth pony like Roseluck know the extents of a unicorns ability and what spell is hard to cast or not? Especially one that seems pretty specific.
3429954 Happens to be well-educated?
That was... pretty interesting. We got to see a side of Derpy Hooves that we don't typically see often, and I very much enjoyed it.
I also like how Luna is slowing getting over her moon-phobia. However, I don't think that Celestia is going to be very happy once she finds out that Luna has been sneaking out to go to a nightclub, when she is supposed to be at the library. The thing is though, is that this will be very beneficial for Luna. By making friends of her own, having social interactions in today's world, and learning about how the country's overall culture and customs have changed in the past 1000 years will have a HUGE impact on Luna. She can start to live a normal life again. One that isn't filled with uncertainty and doubt.
And like 3421689 said, while it is good that Luna is now on a sure path to recovery, Celestia is missing some therapy. While she has been able to rule Equestria for the past 1000 years without any major mental or emotional problems, it's the now, that we need to focus on. Celestia has just been told that it was not Luna herself that caused her to become Nightmare Moon, but rather a parasite that latched onto Luna's negative emotions. Thus, as we now know, Luna was innocent the whole time, and she got banished to the moon for it without Celestia even knowing!
Because of this tidbit of information that Celestia is just now knowing about, there is extensive psychological and emotional trauma to her psyche as well now. And since every individual has some sort of coping mechanism to get by when faced with this situation, Celestia has one as well. Which would be her smothering Luna. Even though Applejack had that talk with Princess Celestia several chapters ago about the parasite thing, it was still not enough. Celestia needs to know, that in order for Luna to truly be herself again after such a long time, she needs to let Luna interact with today's society. Don't get me wrong, Celestia being protective of Luna is touching and very sweet, but she is going a little too far with it. There's a fine line between being a responsible older sibling, and being a over-dramatic/overprotective sibling. Somepony, besides Luna and possibly Spike, needs to realize that Celestia needs to tone it down a little bit and seek some counseling.
In short, very good chapter once again Myth and Fox. I like to contribute my input on aspects of stories like this one when it comes to it and I will continue to do so. Again, very good chapter and I can't wait for the next one!
~ Super-Brony12
Just... urg.
I CANNOT read this chapter. Until Celestia actually starts acting like CELESTIA I'm going to be skipping over the chapters.
Well, there's only one thing to say: MORE!!!!!
3472552
You could also just skip her actions.
3549501
Rather hard to do... I think that's the first time my comment's been hidden. People don't know how to use the thumbs down.
3549909
All that you do is you skip the scene with her in it. Piece of cake, really. Wait, why does no one say slice of pie?
3725524
If you'll notice, that these references weren't being made was the main thrust of my complaint.
Yes, we have a reference to a Zecora being met the other week. Except, if you'll recall, RD references her as 'that zebra from the woods we met the other week'. Which would be an odd way of referring to her if, as a Ponyvillean, she had been hiding from her every month for however long - I mean, seriously, Zecora's name was taboo for Apple Bloom, so they knew who she was!
But okay, that could perhaps count as a reference. So where was the one for Dragonshy? I mean, it would make sense to reference that, even if the regent got someone else to deal with it, as the whole 'blotting out the sun' deal would likely get a reaction from Luna.
That said, it doesn't really make _sense_ for the season to proceed as normal. The Ticket Master, for example, couldn't work, and Look Before You Sleep certainly isn't going to happen. So we shouldn't be assuming anything has happened except that which is explicitly mentioned in the story.
Which, I hasten to add, is _nothing_ (at least, up until ch15). As I recall, the only 'episode' we can definitively say has occurred within this story's universe, asides from the opening, is some variation of Bridle Gossip - and even that we are forced to infer from the fact that Zecora is apparently part of the Nightmare Night celebrations!
i think celestia needs some love and when is the next bloody chapter already?!
Read this there are splatterings of grammatical errors throughout the story so far. But other than that. It's been a good fic so far. I like the Rose Luck and Luna Friendshipping. And while it'd be cool if there is actual shipping between the two as a side thing later on. I know you enough as a writer (from your previous fics) to know that is extremely unlikely. Which is sad since it'd be good for Luna and it'd be cute.
I hope "Nightmare" isn't in her but in Blue Blood. I also hope the Dashie stops hating on Luna so bad. Als are we ever going to see Luna come out in the open with her friends on her true form?
I am a huge fan if Twiluna shipping, but, I really love this relationship budding between Luna and Roseluck . You are doing a great job talking about PTSD too.
i'm getting scared that celestia might have the nightmare
3775831
Wait and see
And it sucks so hard
3950250
Muffin?
I think I it have a good idea on what might happen with Celestia and Luna.
Thanks to the overbearing and highly protective new nature of Celestia, she will not only try to control and manipulate every and all actions (eating to much food, sleeping way to early, not going out, not enjoying herself) and other things that you chose not to show us.
With that in mind and Luna's new friends, Luna will grow angry at Celestia for not letting her be herself, as far as I remember the Ndogo or Nightmare is still within Luna (even if it is just a little it's still there) thanks to the new events the parasite will have fresh hatred and anger to feed on, maybe Luna will become Nightmare Moon again, maybe Celestia has the evil parasitic life form and that's what's making her change her way of behaving towards her sister.
Or maybe I am just overthinking this to much and I'm making dumb conclusions regarding the story.
Either way I am enjoying myself reading this story of yours TheMyth
I am beginning my read now.
Read completed!
Yay, Luna has friends a bunch of friends now!
Pinkie is going to have a blast throwing an extra party for that!
Just a quick news alert to the "Constructive critics"
You're not exactly helping. Sometimes authors need more encouragement than "fix it" lists, no matter how nice you think you're putting it. SO, here's an idea if you actually want him to keep writing,
Give the poor fool a clap on the back once in a while, eh? Tell him what he did RIGHT for once, and leave it at that. Authors generally are painfully aware of their shortcomings, they don't need constant reminding.
('Cept the whiny sue writers. They need a smack up the back of the head AND a list of what they did correct. Gotta give them something to work off, right?)
More plz, this story is amazing!
I really hope Celestia and Luna have a confrontation soon. I feel like Luna realły needs to let Celestia know that she is getting better, and that Celestia shouldn't smother her. Celestia also needs to tell Luna everything she's been thinking. She needs to apologize to Luna for sending her to the moon, tell Luna that it's all her fault that Luna got sent, and promise her to be a better more caring sister. Until Luna and Celestia have a deep meaningful conversation and get everything out not the opening, they'll both never get better. Plus it will probably solve Luna's phobias for good, and allow her to get back into her normal life.
I feel like this story has been leading to a really heartfelt moment between Celestia and Luna, and I'm so excited and filled with anticipations for it, that I just want it to happen right now
.
Also I really like this story, keep up the good work.
i really like this story hope to see another chapter soon
It's a shame this story is dead.
Unfortunate.
4663036
This story will go on... I am just very busy at the moment with real life issues, but I will continue it... I only ask for your patience
4665688 all right then.
When is the new chapters . We need to see royal sister love and the new nightmare blueblood.