Chapter 16
He looked at the picture. “I get it… like Yin and Yang.” He was on some of the first pages of the book Twilight gave him, ‘The Adventures of the Elements of Harmony’. The introduction had assured him that everything in the book had happened, and he remembered Rainbow had mentioned he could read it instead of talking with Twilight. Since Twilight hadn’t come to talk with him yet, he had decided to start reading. He read on.
“Damn Twilight, that’s cruel of you. Spike had even found a gift for this… Moon Dancer and you just force him to work. At least let him send a message saying he won’t be able to make it…” He had a habit of commenting on movies and books, one which made it pretty hard for him to watch movies with others.
“Wait a minute… Twilight's a unicorn!” What the fuck? Why did she have wings now as well? Must be an answer somewhere in the book.
Twilight made it to Ponyville.
“Ha! First impressions are overrated anyway…”
She made all the preparations, got surprised by her ‘welcome to Ponyville’ party, made it to the ceremony, only for Nightmare Moon to show up.
“Oh… Nightmare Moon has taken the town by surprise, neutralized the guards, and apparently done… something to Celestia. Everything is going her way. How will they get out of it?”
…
“Well that was lame. Why the hell would she flee? She has everything going her way. No guards to stop her, no Celestia apparently… was she afraid of the villagers?”
They team up and venture into the Everfree, not knowing they are being followed by Nightmare Moon in her… mane form?
“Alright… a gorge… I guess that’s fair enough… or. Or. OR, you could just zap them the same way you did the guards! What is wrong with villains, did this really happen? Why is she following them anyway? Why is she staying hidden? Does she not know where her own castle is? Is she hoping Twilight and company can find the elements and defeat her? Does she want to lose?!” He took a deep breath, calming himself down. He tried to read on but apparently a gorge was one of the better ideas Nightmare Moon could come up with.
“Oh come on! She cut his mustache, making him cry? And did she even do anything to the trees? Please Twilight, tell me you dumbed the story down so children could read it as well…”
They finally found the elements, only to find out they were stone.
“She actually says that? ‘you’re kidding?’ Could she see down from the moon to learn modern English? If she could then she should have known where the elements were…” Let’s see how they get out of it…
“Aaaand now they’re friends. I would complain about that but I’m just happy that I’m not the only one who made friends in a ridiculously short amount of time. Good on you Twilight, 5 friends in one days and one long night.”
They use the elements on Nightmare Moon, Celestia comes out of nowhere and…
“Luna?”
“Yes.” He almost dropped the book out of shock. Luna sat beside him.
“Luna?!” She looked down at the floor, biting her lips, ears down. He looked at her with surprise.
“How long have you been here?” he asked suspiciously.
“Since you realized Twilight had been a unicorn. I did not try to hide, you were just really engrossed in the story. I did not say anything because… it would be easier for you to read it for yourself than having me explain it. Easier for me at least.” She turned her head in shame.
“So this-“ He gestured to the book, “- really happened? You were trapped on the moon for a thousand years? That’s why you talk like you do sometimes?” She nodded. He sighed, at the incredibility of it all. She was more than a thousand years old. It was just…
“Can I ask you some questions then?” She looked up at him shortly, nodded and looked down again. Was this how she acted when she was nervous?
Where to start though…
“How… Why… Hmmm… Arrgh so many questions! Why did you think eternal night was a good idea? Wouldn’t everything just die? How did you survive on the moon? There shouldn’t be an atmosphere up there. Could you look down on Equestria? What did you do with Celestia when you returned? You know you could easily have won upon your return by not letting Twilight leave, or by doing nothing at all? And what’s up with these half-assed traps you set for them?” To his surprise he heard a soft laughter from Luna.
“It is almost like you wanted me to win.” She said with a soft smile, still looking down.
“Yeah well… It’s almost like you wanted to lose.” She took a deep breath before looking at him.
“It bothers you more that I did not succeed in taking over Equestria, than the fact that I tried to do it in the first place. To be honest I thought you would be… angry or scared or… suspicious.” She looked down again. “Does this not make you more suspicious of me?”
“Please Luna… You were a terrible villain.”
“You… You really think so?” She asked hopefully. He got the feeling that it made her happy to hear that.
“Yeah, I mean… you lost to a bunch of untrained girls who barely knew what they were doing. On the other hand it looks like you barely knew what you were doing as well.” A smile spread on her face.
“There is a reason for that. To answer some of your questions, you need some… backstory.” Her eyes glazed over, probably looking back to a thousand years prior.
“Me and Celestia had always been close. After we defeated Discord, we only had each other left. But, alas, as we took on our roles as rulers of day and night respectively, we started to drift apart. The first years were because we were both busy. Rules had to be made, order built, diplomatic convoys made. I did not even realize how far apart we had drifted until we met in the hallway one day and I did not know what to say to her. In hindsight it is easy for me to see that I should have done something about it… but I did not. I just let us drift further and further apart.
As new generations were born, I started to notice something. Celestia shined like a beacon to them, while I was barely noticed. I told myself it was nothing, but as the years went on, I noticed it more and more, until it was all I could see. They loved her day, while my beautiful night was being ignored.” She sighed sadly.
“If only I had… talked to her, tried something, anything… instead I just let my jealousy grow into anger and bitterness. I don’t know when, but at some point the Limelight, a parasitic magical lifeform, took hold of me. It fed on my anger and sadness, whispering sweetly in my ear, about a way for them to notice. If the night lasted forever, there is no way they would not notice. They would look up, and see its beauty, and then I would be the one who was noticed. I tried… I tried to resist, to argue, but as my despair grew, so did its power. And so, Nightmare Moon was born. Celestia had no choice… She used the power of the elements upon us, in the hope that it would free me. Alas… The elements are strongest when shared between ponies with a strong bond. Celestia managed to use it on her own, since she by herself could represent all the traits, but it was less than half the power we had together. And so it was that I was sealed on the moon, my own beloved moon, for a thousand years. As for how I survived, my body was turned into magical energy and bound to the moon in the form of craters. By that time, Nightmare Moon was less me, and more the Limelight. I was still there, deep inside, replaying everything that had happened. The Limelight had stopped whispering to me, distorting my vision, since it was already in charge, and I could see… what a foal I had been. I spent a thousand years regretting what had happened. The one thing that kept me sane all those years, the one thing I clang to with all my remaining strength, was the slight chance that everything could still be set right, that I could still be saved. And so the fight began. I fought with all my power against the Limelight, with all my might, but I was but a sliver of myself by then. What I had was not much.
But then it happened… the hold of the elements became so weak that we escaped. The Limelight had used up much of its power to escape, while I had only grown more adamant in my fight. You asked what happened to Celestia? She refused to use force on me, refused to hurt her sister again, even if I was taken over by the Limelight. My resolve strengthened, and I managed to stop the Limelight from killing her, and made it imprison her instead. That was the first time I had managed to influence it, not the other way around, my first victory in the war where I had only loses. I gave my everything from that point forward, my hope grown. You think it is weird that Nightmare Moon fled after her confrontation with the villagers? It was my third victory, after making sure the guards were not killed. Following Twilight and the others to the elements? Also me. I was not in control yet, but a fierce battle was being waged behind the surface, and I was gaining territory. You say it was like I wanted to lose? It was because I did. I wanted Twilight to use the elements on me, even if it meant another thousand years on the moon. Rather that, than having Nightmare Moon win...” She ended her story with a whisper.
“Wow…” Jax didn’t know what to say. What do you say after hearing something like that? She looked him in the eye for the first time since beginning her story.
“And it worked! Against all the odds… despite everything, I was given another chance, the Limelight cleansed from my body! For the first time in a millennia, I was myself again. But so much was lost in the process. The world I was in now was weird and alien to me. Though I could still recognize a lot, a lot had changed as well. For a time, I locked myself in my room, refusing to leave. I had achieved the greatest victory of my life, and I simply did not know what to do next. I was lost, I had nothing in this time, except for what Celestia had saved from a thousand years ago, and what she gave me. At least that was how I felt at the time, unable to see all I did have. My sister was still there with me, and I can see now that that is a blessing unlike any other. My night guards as well, still loyal to me after a millennia.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Celestia managed to get me out of my room, giving me a purpose again with night court, and slowly I started to accept it all. I had missed a thousand years, so I started to study, until I fell upon a certain holiday called Nightmare Night, where fillies paid Nightmare Moon candy to not get ‘gobled up’. A silly holiday I can see that now, but at the time I took great offence at it, even going to Ponyville to show everypony that there was no need to fear me anymore. If Twilight had not been there to assist me, things might have ended badly, but I came out of it with a lesson learned… I could still fit in, but not with all those old traditions I still carried around. I had so much fun that night… For the first time in a long time, I had fun…” A small smile spread on her lips, so honest and innocent that Jax almost couldn’t look away. It made him smile as well. He slowly sat up and turned fully towards her. Then he slowly embraced her and drew her close. He had never felt so much empathy for another creature before. He had no words that could make her feel better, so he chose to simply hug her.
“Hugging ponies causes you pain. You should not…” She whispered.
“Don’t worry, I can take a little pain. I think you need this hug.” He whispered back.
“Thank you. Thank you for listening to me. It felt so satisfying to finally tell somepony all of that. To finally get it out…” Her wings embraced him as he felt warmth spread through his body. It felt nice.
“Any time, Luna.” How long had it been? A day? Day and a half perhaps? And his defense was already crumbling. What was it about ponies that made him trust them so easily? He should by every logic he could think of become suspicious of Luna after he found out she had in fact used her powers for evil before, not feel closer to her.
He started stroking her mane. It still felt funny. How can something feel liquid and solid at the same time?
This didn’t make any sense though. Was it the country itself that made him less paranoid? Did the magic in the air make him more trusting? Or was it perhaps their giant eyes, that made it seem like he could see every emotion clearly reflect in them… Eyes were windows to the soul after all.
“Could you…” She faded out. She sounded embarrassed for some reason. Before she could say anything else, a white coated fashionista and an orange coated apple…farm owning… pony, entered the room. They both bowed when they saw Luna.
“Ah, apologies dear, we should have knocked. We’ll come back later.”
“It’s fine Rarity.” He said as he laid back down. “Not a single person has knocked on that door before coming in. What can I help you with?”
“Ah, the question is rather what I can help you with.” She took out some cloth from her saddlebag and presented it to him with her magic. “Tadda!” It was his outfit, he guessed. It consisted of a pair of pants and a shirt, and both looked… fabulous. Green emeralds were forming patterns of flowers and trees, some only when the two pairs of clothing were worn together. Other than that it looked pretty decent, the material was almost black, and it felt nice and soft.
“It looks… fabulous.” A huge smile adorned her face at the words. Applejack ‘tsk’ed and looked to the side. “But… I would like to commission more clothes, can they… not have gems on them?” This time Applejack smiled and Rarity looked to the side.
“See? Ah told ya he was a simple stallion. Give him a good, sturdy outfit that he can wear, none of those… decorations.”
“I actually like decorations on my clothes. Just not made with gems, in flowery patterns.” Jax objected. This shut Applejack up, and seemed to pique Rarity’s curiosity.
“Oh? It seems like none of us were right Applejack. What would you like to decorate your outfit with then, Jax?”
“Dragons. Wait how do dragons look like in this world? Used to be I liked wolves as well, but Timberwolves ruined that for me. Those cunning little… This one time, when they found my camp and couldn’t get past the bushes I set up, they actually destroyed one of their members and threw the pieces over. When he regenerated on my side, all he had to do was walk over and bite me in the jugular. Lucky for me, I turned around right when he attacked, he still left a good mark on my neck.” He showed them the scars left from the bite-mark on his neck, one of the few scars that wasn’t covered in burns, because Fluttershy had decided it didn’t need bandage anymore. Applejack looked surprised, Luna looked sad, and Rarity looked uncomfortable. No need to mention that the entire pack had ended up in flames then.
“What were we talking about? Oh yeah, I’ll try to find some pictures around with creatures I would want to be stitched on my clothes, I’ll of course pay extra for the trouble.” He smiled at Rarity.
“Of course darling. Here, after my little argument with Applejack I decided to make you an outfit without the gems as well.” She took out another outfit, completely the same as the first, except there weren’t any gems on it. Jax gave her a huge grin.
“Thanks Rarity. It’ll be nice to have pants on again.”
“Ah almost forgot partner, I found a stick in the barn when we cleaned it after the party, Rainbow said it was pretty important to you, so I brought it with me. Of course, this being a hospital ah couldn’t bring it in with me, but ain’t no rules against leaving sticks outside the windows.” His smile somehow widened.
“Better be careful there partner, or you’ll outsmile Pinkie.” They all laughed a little at that. It was good to have his trusty weapon back, even if he doubted he would need it.
“Well, thanks for that Applejack. I appreciate it.”
“Well, don’t make us wait, take it on!” Rarity insisted, and for a second he got a picture of him inside a giant stick, before he realized she was talking about the outfit she had made for him. He burst out laughing.
“Sure Rarity, which should I start with?” He asked before he realized the obvious answer.
“The gem encrusted one of course. Come on girls, let’s give him some privacy.” She said before she made her way outside with the others, which he was glad for. He took the outfit on with a huge smile. It was good to have pants on again. Everything fit perfectly. The material felt soft against his skin as well, which was probably the reason she had chosen this material. He wished he had a mirror, he was a hundred percent certain that he looked absolutely fabulous.
“You can come in now.” He called to the others. Rarity gasped as she came in.
“Oh my, you look absolutely gorgeous darling, are you sure you don’t want any gems in your clothes? The emeralds really bring out your eyes, and to be completely honest you could benefit from some focus there.” He looked at her for a moment before turning to Applejack.
“You’re the element of honesty, so tell me honestly. How do I look?”
“Well, ah donno much about fashion sugar cube, but Rarity does have a point. Ah didn’t even notice your eyes were green until now.” He turned to Luna.
“It looks good on you.” She said with the slightest blush. He nodded, satisfied. He crouched down to be in eye-height with Rarity.
“Thanks for this Rarity. I really appreciate it.”
“Think nothing of it darling, it was my pleasure really. Welcome to Ponyville.” She said with a smile. He smiled back.
“Thank you.”
***
“Luna, can I ask you something?” Rarity had gone after he had explained the concept of underwear to her. She said something about starting as fast as possible, even though he had told her to take it easy, he was going to be in the hospital for a while after all. Applejack went back to her farm, presumably to work. Jax was laying in the bed, his mighty stick of awesome in his hands. It felt good to have it near again. Luna was laying nearby, a book in her magical aura, ‘a beginners guide to jokes and pranks.’ He wasn’t going to ask why she was reading a book about jokes. She looked up at him.
“Of course.” She simply said.
“Is this planet round?” She looked curiously.
“Yes, it is. Why?”
“Then you don’t really raise the moon, ‘cause it’s always moonrise somewhere. Do you move the moon 24/7?” Luna smiled at that.
“Calling it ‘raising the moon’ is simplifying it. What really happens when me and Celestia raise and lower the moon and sun is a bit more complicated. The spell we use is hard to explain, it basically… it is an equation that tells the moon the path it needs to take across the sky… Wait that is too simple. It holds information about the distance the moon needs to keep at which degree on its path on the sky, and enough energy to move it. So we basically use enough energy to send the sun and the moon 180 degrees across the sky.” She made a face at that. “That is still simplified, but I think you understand.”
Jax nodded. “You practically emulate gravity.”
“Gravity?” She tilted her head a bit, to look adorably confused. Ponies and their cuteness.
“It’s what makes the planets move in my world. Earth, my planet, moves around the sun because the sun is several thousand times bigger than Earth, and has thereby made it orbit… Well as I said I’m not a scientist. The moon, also called Luna sometimes, orbits Earth the same way. Gravity is what makes stuff fall when you drop them.” A crude explanation. Maybe he should have paid more attention in class.
“Your moon is called Luna?” She asked with a small smile.
“Yes. Funny isn’t it? All the weird similarities.”
“Indeed, though I must admit I am happy for some of them. Having to teach you to speak and read a new language would be troublesome.” He laughed at that.
“Yeah, would definitely make things more complicated… What about the stars though? Do you control them as well?” She looked at him thoughtfully.
“No, that would be much too difficult. Controlling the sun and moon take a lot of energy as it is. But between you and me…” She came a closer to him so she could whisper the next part. “I can affect the light, making it seem like I control them.” She had a mischievous smile that faltered a little as she realized something. “But I have not done so since before my exile. Ponies have gotten used to the positions of the stars, even using them to navigate with. I cannot simply change the night sky like I used to.” She looked a bit sad at that, but Jax saw it from a different perspective.
“They don’t use all of them to navigate do they? Back on Earth we used one constellation to find the North Star.” She gave him her confused puppy look again. The tilted head really did the trick.
“Well… No, but…”
“Oh, you and I are gonna have some fun tonight Luna.” He thought about what he just said.
“Okay that could be misunderstood. Ah well, got some time after sunset?”
She blushed slightly, but otherwise kept her composure. “Yes Jax, I do. You want to… what is the phrase… ‘hang out’?” she looked proud of herself to have remembered the words.
“Yes!” He ponted at her, then at himself. “You, me, the night sky above us. Prepare that spell that lets you 'control' the stars.” A giant smile spread on her face.
“Okay, I shall just… prepare it. Yes, excuse me.” She backed out of the room, looking at him all the way. As she closed the door a happy squeal could be heard on the other side. He raised an eyebrow at that.
“Well, she seems happy.” He said with a smile of his own. Making her happy felt so rewarding. Yep, his defenses had almost crumbled and he would probably forgive her for everything that night.
Must be something in the air.
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Cuteness overload?
5935012 hahah damn ponies and their cuteness XD
stuffpoint.com/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic/image/81374-my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-luna-and-oreo.jpg
yes am try to give heart attack
5935674 d'awwww XD
Only Several times? the sun is a little bit bigger that, in fact, the sun is so large that about 1,300,000 planet Earths can fit inside of it, and our sun is only a small star, hell, look at VY Canis Majoris, If placed at the center of our Solar System, VY Canis Majoris's surface would extend beyond the orbit of Jupiter.
I'm impressed, I didn't find any mistakes. 'Course, I had just woke up when I read it, so I may have missed them.
I think the way you addressed the nightmare moon stuff was good.
5936643 yes. As he said, a crude explanation XD No need to get technical ^^
I changed it to 'several thousand times bigger' instead :) hope you are at least a little satisfied now :D
5936843 hahahaha! Finally XD This is a victorious day for my ff XD
Thank you, I'm happy you like it :3
... I think i know whats in the air
Progressing a little too fast for my taste, liked it when the other ponies were more important to the story. Luna showed up and pretty much is dominating the limelight and it seems a little forced. Like they are so buddy buddy it's crazy. His relationship with twilight and co seems a little more natural.
6881042 hmm too bad you feel like that ^^
*giggles* he said must be something in the air, and given the romance tag in the description, this was what instantly popped into my head.
I can see what's happening What?
And they don't have a clue Who?
They'll fall in love and here's the bottom line
Our trio's down to two. Oh.
The sweet caress of twilight
There's magic everywhere
And with all this romantic atmosphere
Disaster's in the air
6956869 Glad you like it XD
... now I have that song in my head XD
In Lullaby for a Princess, when Celestia says "For such is the way of the limelight it sweetly takes hold if the mind of it's host," the host is Celestia, because limelight is synonymous with spotlight. And if you already knew this, then oops.
7404997 hmm I know that limelight = spotlight, but in this story I decided to call the being that took over Luna limelight.
Okay. I kind of figured, but I wanted to make sure.
he better make her draw a dickbutt
6337558
I would assume love.....
CAN YOU FEEL THE LOVE TONIGHT!!!!!
7909050
No that's the antihistamine kicking in...
Hmmm, you said Luna was taken over by a demon called "the Limelight." That reminds me of a mlp music video called Lullaby for a Princess.
8312650
... wonder why XD