Moondancer
To say that Twilight was anxious was an understatement. She couldn’t take her eyes off the door to Moondancer’s apartment, and it was taking all of her willpower to resist letting her mind run wild with rampant speculation but resist she did. She took slow, deep breaths and focused on the thought of Rainbow Dash’s confident smile.
“Ah, yes, because that cocky smirk of hers is always the prelude to triumph, isn’t it?”
Twilight had to resist the urge to groan at Midnight’s snapping remark.
“You’re wasting your breath, Midnight.”
“Only because you’re too bull-headed to listen to reality.”
“How many times have I proven you wrong so far?” Twilight challenged, the corner of her lip twitching up slightly.
Midnight was unmoved. “Once or twice, I concede. But even geniuses make mistakes from time to time.”
Twilight blew out a puff of air. She didn't have time for this. Luckily, Midnight seemed content to let the discussion end there for the moment. She felt Midnight withdrawing into the depths of her mind as the door to Moondancer’s apartment sprang open, drawing her undivided attention. Rainbow Dash stepped out, and even from this distance, Twilight could see just how troubled the pegasus looked.
“Goodness, that doesn’t look good,” Rarity mused, her brow furrowing.
Twilight shook her head. “It doesn’t, no.”
Minuette shifted uneasily in place, glancing between Rarity and Twilight with clear anxiety. “How bad do you think it is?”
“Only one way to find out,” Spike replied.
Twilight took a breath before stepping forward to meet Rainbow as she flew back to the group. Her disquieted frown was even more apparent up close.
“So… what’s the damage?” Spike asked reluctantly from Twilight’s back.
Rainbow opened her mouth to say something, but no words came. She looked at Twilight. There was a clear storm of emotions raging behind her eyes, and it did not inspire confidence in Twilight. A few seconds passed before Rainbow turned back to the apartment complex. Her ears swiveled this way and that before, finally, she spoke. “I talked to Moondancer… She’s agreed to talk to you.”
Twilight didn’t miss how Rainbow dodged the question. She took a tentative step forward. “Rainbow…”
Rainbow didn’t look back. She shifted slightly, her gaze drifting from the apartment complex to stare at the cobbles beneath her hooves. “It’s better coming from her.”
Twilight flinched, biting her lip. A moment passed before she took a shaky breath, her anxiety rearing its ugly head again. “Alright. Let’s go,” she said, pushing her stiff legs into motion before her nerves could root her in place.
Rainbow eyed her as she passed, then went to catch up with her. She fell into stride beside Twilight, her lips drawn into a thin line. “Alright. Just uh… ya know. Be careful. She’s really not in a good place right now.”
It was a short walk, but it felt painfully long. In spite of that length, though, she did not feel at all ready when she came to the door. At the very least, she was able to take some comfort in the presence of her friends at her back.
Rainbow stood beside the door and gestured for Twilight to proceed. “It’s unlocked.”
Twilight swallowed the lump forming in her throat. She knocked gently on the door before pushing it open with her magic.
She was immediately hit by the smell of stale air as she entered the space. The apartment was cramped, and she couldn’t imagine it accommodating more than one pony comfortably. There were two doors against the left wall, leading to a bedroom and bathroom. Extending out from the right wall in the back was a counter cordoning off a kitchen. A plane coffee table was to the right, framed on either side by a loveseat and a trio of worn-out chairs. The curtains were all drawn, plunging the interior into a dim shade, with the main sources of light coming from a dull ceiling light in the kitchen and a lamp on the coffee table.
More striking than all of that were the stacks of books tucked wherever there was space. They were all over the room. Each tower of tomes was well-balanced and supported by smaller ones, and there did appear to have been a conscious effort made to keep the piles as out of the way and neat as one could get them without having a bookcase.
In the middle of it all, sitting on the sofa with a mug of coffee, was Moondancer. Twilight’s breath hitched in her throat. Surrounded by such cramped living conditions, Moondancer’s haggard appearance was even worse than Twilight remembered. The other mare’s eyes narrowed with disdain and barely-restrained rage.
Twilight swallowed heavily, but the lump persisted. She licked her lips and took a tentative step forward. When she spoke, her voice came out in a weak stammer. “M-Moondancer…?”
Moondancer gestured to the chairs across from her. “Sit.”
Twilight flinched from the edge in Moondancer’s voice, but didn’t argue. She stepped inside and settled down into one of the seats, setting Spike down with her magic on the way. Rainbow was close behind her, followed by Rarity and Minuette.
Once everypony was in, the door was shut by Moondancer’s magic. The silence that followed felt as impenetrable as a block of tungsten. Twilight shuddered, fidgeting uncomfortably in her seat. The backrest was rough and itchy. Rainbow took the other one. The others found places to stand around the table, maintaining a respectful distance.
Rarity glanced about with wide, almost horrified eyes. “My goodness… you’ve been living here?” she asked quietly.
Moondancer snorted. “Yeah, I have.”
Rarity looked like she had some sort of follow-up remark she wanted to make, but she held her piece for now.
Minuette, on the other hoof, had something to say. “I mean… at least it’s cozy?”
“Don’t patronize me. It’s cramped and it stinks like mold,” Moondancer snipped, rubbing the bridge of her nose with a hoof. “Please tell me you can at least see that much.”
Minuette flinched, her ears folding back as a look of shame crept across her face.
“Moon,” Twilight said softly, lifting a hoof out to her old friend. She wanted to say more, and the tiny tingle in the back of her skull demanded she scold Moondancer for her failure to be civil. She was quick to shut it down.
Moondancer closed her eyes and remained silent for several moments. She reopened them to take a sip from her coffee, set it down on the table, and leveled a glare at Twilight.
“You wanted to talk to me? Well, here I am. So talk. What do you want?”
Twilight hesitated. All throughout the day, she had been trying to run through what she would say to Moondancer in her head when the time finally came for them to have their discussion. Minutes ago, she’d thought she had it all primed and ready to go, but when finally confronted once again with the sheer contempt and vitriol behind those almost-familiar eyes… her words abandoned her. For an agonizing moment, she could only open her mouth in preparation to speak.
Finally, she closed her mouth and took a deep breath. “You can do this,” she told herself over and over, hoping the sentiment would chase away her doubts. She glanced sideways at Rainbow, and her girlfriend gave her that ever-supportive smile and nod.
It didn’t dispel her fears, but it gave her enough confidence to face them. She turned back to Moondancer and met her gaze. “I want to help you.”
Moondancer blinked, her brow furrowing in confusion. Her eyes narrowed with skepticism. She leaned forward in her seat, sliding her mug off to one side. “You want to what?” she hissed through clenched teeth.
Twilight flinched back but held her ground. “You have every right to be mad at me, Moondancer. Just saying sorry would never be enough to make up for how I hurt you. That’s a lesson I’ve been forced to learn a lot, lately… I could apologize for a thousand years, but it wouldn’t change anything. So, here I am. I want to make up for what I did to you properly. I want to help you. Or, at least, I want to try.”
Moondancer gawked at her like a deer in the headlights of the Friendship Express. She adjusted her glasses and shook her head in exasperation. “And what in the world makes you think I want your help?!”
“I know you don’t want it,” Twilight confessed, looking aside with a shameful sigh. “But I wanted to at least make the offer. Extend the olive branch, and bury the hatchet. That sort of thing. I want to be there for the ponies who call me their friend.”
Moondancer’s eyes widened, and her pupils dilated with rage. She slammed her hooves down onto the table with a loud slam and shot up to tower over Twilight. “Friend?! FRIEND?! Do you honestly believe that’s what you are to me?!”
Twilight jumped in shock from the sudden spike in volume. She cringed back, her ears drooping. She stammered to find her words, but nothing came.
“Moonie, please…” Minuette cut in, drawing Moondancer’s balefire glare to her. The blue unicorn flinched away but maintained eye contact. “Can you just hear her out?”
“And why should I do that?” Moondancer snarled. “Why should I even listen to you?! You didn’t listen to a word I had to say last time!”
“I know! And I’m sorry, too!” Minuette shot back, her eyes starting to glisten. “For not believing you! For upsetting you. I was wrong, okay? I was wrong, and I’m sorry! That’s why I’m here.”
“Why we’re all here, darling,” Rarity added with a slow nod. “Now, please. Take a breath. We’re not here to fight or spark an argument. Can we at least be civil?”
Several seconds passed in silence. And it was in that silence that Twilight saw something far more vulnerable under Moondancer’s furious exterior. She was shaking, and her breaths were becoming ragged.
Twilight’s heart twisted at the sight. She lifted her hoof. Her lips twitched open, but once again, her words failed her.
Moondancer’s attention snapped back to her a moment later. “You never cared, did you?”
The question took Twilight by surprise. “Huh?”
“About me. About our friends. You never really cared about us. We were just another assignment to you. Another test to turn in to the princess.”
Twilight leaned back in surprise, hurt. “Moondancer, I… I didn’t-”
“Tell me I’m wrong!” Moondancer snapped, her brow angling again. “Look me in the eye and tell me, honestly, that I’m wrong!”
Twilight wanted to, but the words caught in her throat. Because they would be a lie, wouldn’t they? And she didn’t have the luxury of lying. Not to her friends. Not to herself. Not anymore.
When Twilight didn’t immediately answer, Moondancer looked away with a bitter scoff.
“Maybe you’re right. Maybe I didn’t care back then. But… I care now,” Twilight finally managed to get out.
Moondancer was quiet for several long seconds. She reached up and pulled off her glasses with her magic, looking at the still visible seam where Twilight’s spell had repaired them earlier. The fire in her eyes dulled somewhat. Her posture sagged, and she let out a defeated sigh.
“What happened to you, Moondancer?” Spike finally said, breaking the silence he had been holding since he got here. “You’re so different from how I remember you.”
Moondancer actually gave off a tiny laugh at that. “Different? Heh. That’s a word to put to it… Fine. You want to know what happened to me? I’ll tell you,” she finally relented, putting her glasses back on. “I’ll tell you everything.”
Twilight leaned forward intently, waiting.
“Tell me. Do you remember the day I invited you to that party?”
“Party?” Twilight frowned, confused. “I… don’t remember you ever inviting me to a party.”
Moondancer snorted. “Of course, you don’t. You were busy that day…”
Several years ago…
Moondancer’s heart fluttered anxiously in her chest as she slowly ascended the steps of Twilight’s observatory. The chilly mountain air of Canterlot felt even harsher than usual in spite of the mid-summer month. It was like the wind was mocking her, taunting her, telling her to give up this mad endeavor and let somepony else - somepony more qualified - handle it.
“It’s okay, Moondancer,” she whispered to herself, trying to calm down. “It’s just Twilight, and it’s just a party. It’ll be fine. Just go up and ask her. The worst she can do is say no.”
Not that Moondancer would admit it, but the prospect of Twilight saying ‘no’ was terrifying. Oh, who was she kidding? Everything about this was terrifying! Deciding to throw a party to celebrate their imminent graduation, being the one to orchestrate it all, inviting anypony to spend time with her of her own volition? Yet here she was, going to invite Twilight Sparkle, the one pony she wanted to attend more than any other, personally.
All of these things went contrary to what Moondancer was normally like. She didn’t like parties, mostly because of loud music and big crowds. She didn’t like being bumped around by throngs of obnoxious ponies getting blasted on cider. She didn’t like feeling out of place, and like she was missing out by not participating. All of those ponies were there to chat and dance and sing and have a good time, and there she would always be, withering away in the dimmest corner she could find, hoping a stranger wouldn’t come up to strike up a conversation. She hated being approached by strangers. Especially when they opened up with compliments. That was always the worst.
But it just… seemed right this time. She couldn’t describe it. Maybe that eccentric princess, Rainbow Dash, was rubbing off on her. That young mare was an absolute party animal. ‘Abandon hope all ye who let the princess into your cider closet’ had become a saying among the student body for a reason.
Normally, Moondancer would avoid a pony like that. But she didn’t get to do that, because Rainbow Dash was basically fused with Twilight at the hip.
And Moondancer wanted to be around Twilight.
The two were a package, and despite the young princess’ cocky attitude and wild behavior, there was something about her that just felt good. A general feeling of reassurance and security. Like she had your back. It was thanks to that feeling that Moondancer was here now.
At long last, Moondancer made it to Twilight’s door. She stared up at it, suddenly feeling small and insignificant in comparison. She swallowed heavily before lifting her hoof and knocking, the sound echoing in her ears like thunderclaps.
There was a shuffling sound behind the door before it popped open to reveal the unicorn herself. But instead of the warm or at least neutral expression Moondancer had been hoping for, all she saw was a troubled, impatient frown.
She suddenly felt ashamed and unwanted.
“Oh, Moondancer. Hello,” Twilight greeted, forcing a small smile. It had to be fake.
Moondancer shied back slightly, not quite able to meet the other mare’s gaze. “Uh… h-hey, Twilight. Um, I was wondering… Uh… I was thinking that, er… maybe… you see, I… erm…”
Twilight sighed, her smile fading. “Moondancer, can you please cut to the point? I don’t want to be rude, but I’m in the middle of some really important research right now.”
With the pressure mounting, and the added guilt that she was interrupting something significant, Moondancer’s words became even more broken and disjointed. “I just, uh… w-well, you see, since we’re all gonna be graduating soon, I just thought that maybe our little group could, uh… y’know, get together? Have a little celebration?”
Twilight almost looked offended. “Ugh. Now’s not the best time, Moondancer,” she said dismissively. “And I don’t think I’m going to be available for any get-togethers anytime soon. Maybe some other time?”
Moondancer deflated on the spot. “I… b-but, I…”
From somewhere inside the tower, Spike’s voice rang out. “Hey, Twi! I found it!”
Twilight looked back over her shoulder, then turned back to Moondancer, speaking in a hurried rush. “I’m sorry, I need to deal with this. I’ll talk to you another time, Moondancer,” Twilight said. Moondancer didn’t even get a chance to speak before the door shut in her face.
She remained there for several seconds, her ears lowering. The wind was jeering at her, disparaging the effort and lambasting the result. The hope she had felt walking up here sputtered and died like a candle dropped into the ocean, leaving her cold and restless. She took a few timid steps back.
“I… I’m sorry I wasted your time,” she mumbled before walking away. The trip back down the tower felt even longer than the trip up, her mind torn by feelings of mounting inadequacy and disappointment.
By the time she was reaching the edge of the courtyard, she heard the sound of a door opening not far away. She turned to look to see Rainbow Dash emerging into the courtyard from another entrance, her expression contorted with grim contemplation. Something was troubling her, clearly. Moondancer felt a tiny tingle of an urge to go ask her what was wrong, but she had already made so much of a fool of herself today, she wasn’t eager to make it worse.
She watched as the pegasus ascended Twilight’s tower just as Moondancer had, eventually knocking on Twilight’s door. But unlike Moondancer, who had been brushed away with dismissal, Rainbow was practically yanked into the tower, the door slamming shut behind her. Moondancer felt a sting in her heart, and it soon journeyed to her eyes. The world blurred around her as she finally left the courtyard.
Twilight’s eyes were wide by the time Moondancer concluded her tail. A heavy feeling of guilt and shame settled over her chest, and she found herself once again unable to meet Moondancer’s gaze.
“It was only the first time I ever put myself out there,” Moondancer said tiredly. “And when I finally let my guard down, when I finally let Minuette, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkleshine convince me that other ponies might like me and want to be my friend, the one pony I wanted to connect with the most, the one pony who was supposed to be my friend already, didn’t even have the time of day to hear me out.”
Moondancer’s expression darkened, and she leaned forward. “But she did have time for the princess.”
Twilight blinked, her jaw agape as she searched for her words. “I... But I… I’m so sorry, Moondancer. If I had known how important that was to you…”
“Ah ah ah,” Midnight whispered in her ear, sending a chill down Twilight’s spine. “No lying, remember?”
Moondancer leaned forward angrily. “You didn’t even give me a chance to tell you!”
“Hey!” Rainbow cut them both off before their voices could rise again. “In Twi’s defense, she had just found out about Nightmare Moon, like, an hour before either of us showed up. And she was smart enough to figure out that it wasn’t just some old phony ponytale, either.”
“Oh, so I wasn’t even important enough to be warned?!” Moondancer shot back.
Rainbow held her ground, not even flinching. “Moondancer, Nightmare Moon had been a myth for a thousand years. A story to scare kids. About as real as Daring Do, as far as we were all concerned. If Twilight had told you that she was not only real, but also about to pop back up and bring eternal night with her, would you have even believed her?”
Moondancer’s disdain held for a moment. Then it faded, albeit only slightly. “I… I suppose not. Fine. Fair enough. Maybe that gives you an excuse for not coming. It doesn’t give you an excuse for brushing me off the way you did!”
“It doesn’t,” Twilight agreed, bowing her head. “I know it doesn’t.”
Moondancer fell silent, then looked away with a heavy sigh. She was shaking again. “Then you just left. You went to Ponyville and you never came back. You never even said goodbye, and when you came up to Canterlot, you never once took the time to see Minuette, Twinkleshine, or any of them…”
Moondancer glared at Twilight again. “I was humiliated! I felt like I wasn’t important!” The fire had returned to her eyes, and with it, something else. Something volatile. “And then, to top it all off, after Nightmare Moon and Discord, everypony thought you would be there to protect Equestria! They all sang your praises, confident that you’d be our hero! And I believed them! But then, when it was time for the changelings to take their swing at us, YOU WEREN’T THERE! And I…”
Moondancer’s tirade petered out before it even had a chance to fully manifest. A hollow, distant look came over her eyes. Twilight withered in her seat, recognizing that look as the very same one Rainbow had experienced long ago in Manehattan when they first ran into Starlight Glimmer in the streets…
Minuette inched forward, her ears drooping. “Moonie?”
“I… I-I, I… They…” Moodancer mumbled, her eyes completely unfocusing. She shuddered and wrapped her hooves around herself so tight it almost looked like her sweater would rip apart. She screwed her eyes shut as if trying to blot something out.
Rainbow was at the distraught mare’s side in a heartbeat, wrapping her hooves around her in a tight embrace. It only took a moment for Twilight to follow suit, followed closely by Rarity, and finally a dumbstruck Minuette. Moondancer made no effort to protest or shoo away the sudden phalanx of warm bodies enveloping her, nor did she respond to the soft whispers of reassurance from Minuette.
“It’s okay, Moonie,” Minuette told her, stroking her mane. “It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything…”
“They just… they just appeared,” Moondancer said. She didn’t register what Minuette was saying. “So fast. It all happened so fast. Ponies just… became them. They were in my house… Crashed through the roof. Lit it on fire. I c-couldn’t run. I tried. I tried… But they just…”
“Moondancer, please. It’s okay. You don’t hafta tell us,” Rainbow urged softly.
Again, Moondancer didn’t respond to her. She kept mumbling, recounting her experience in a strangled whimper of a voice. Even enveloped in so many ponies trying to help her calm down, Moondancer’s trembling was getting worse.
“They toyed with me… I f-felt l-like a m-mouse, and t-they were the cats. And then… th-then… they… they…”
Moondancer could say no more. She curled into herself even tighter, choking out a sob.
It didn’t take a genius to deduce what had happened next. The changelings must have trapped Moondancer in one of those disgusting pods. And judging by her response, she had been conscious for the whole ordeal. Or enough of it to leave a mark, at least. Twilight closed her eyes and squeezed Moondancer even tighter.
“Moondancer, look at me,” Rainbow suddenly spoke up when Moondancer sobbed again. Her voice was firm, yet still gentle. Twilight blinked and glanced at Rainbow as the pegasus extracted herself from the huddle and knelt in front of Moondancer, finally drawing her attention. Rainbow held her gaze for a moment.
“They… they…”
“It’s okay, Moondancer,” Rainbow said quietly. “It’s okay. The changelings are gone. They can’t hurt you anymore.”
“T-Twilight… She-”
“She wasn’t responsible for that,” Rainbow cut her off, a slight edge creeping into her voice. She looked away, a hint of all-too-familiar guilt appearing in her eyes. “...I was.”
Moondancer blinked. “W-wha…?”
“Rainbow, that’s not true, and you know it,” Rarity stated matter of factly. “Do not even think of-”
Rainbow closed her eyes. “Look. Whether or not I was responsible for the attack, It was still because of MY decisions that we weren’t there to stop the changelings when they attacked. I was the one who pulled the whole group away from Ponyville to go off to Manehattan because of my own stupid paranoia. Whether or not I’m responsible for the attack’s not the point.”
She lifted her eyes back to Moondancer and set her jaw. “If you gotta blame anypony for what happened to you, if you have to be angry at somepony besides the changelings, then be angry at me. I abused my power as a princess to go under Celestia’s nose and do things I wasn’t supposed to. I basically made all of my friends leave their posts, and it left Canterlot vulnerable to the changelings. It wasn’t Twilight’s decision. Heck, she tried to stop me. But I was too stupid and frightened to listen to her.”
Rainbow leaned forward slightly, taking one of Moondancer’s hooves into her own. “Now, take a few deep breaths. Can you do that for me? C’mon, deep breaths.”
Moondancer complied, taking a deep breath, and then another, guided by Rainbow. It might have been surprising for anypony else to see the pegasus in such a role, but not for Twilight. She watched Rainbow going through the motions with remarkable precision until finally, Moondancer’s episode began to subside.
Moondancer took one last deep breath and gingerly brushed the ponies clinging to her away. “Th-thanks…” she mumbled.
“Are you okay, now?” Spike ventured, having remained outside of the cuddling mound of bodies.
Moondancer shook her head. “N-no… but I will be. Maybe? I think? Ugh… I’m such a mess,” she lamented, burying her face in her hooves.
“Moondancer…” Twilight tried to console her, placing a hoof on her shoulder.
“Don’t even,” Moondancer snipped, brushing Twilight’s hoof away. “I’ve been a mess since I got busted out of that c-cocoon. My house was destroyed, my savings along with it, and the library where I worked got turned into rubble! Now I’m out of a job, my rent is due, the landlord’s threatening to kick me out, and to top it all off, I can’t even keep my composure enough to hold down a job for more than a month! GAH!”
Moondancer slammed her hooves down onto the coffee table with enough force that it sent the half-empty mug toppling over to one side. The instant before it would have spilled its contents, however, a glow of lavender magic enveloped it, holding it carefully in place. Twilight gently moved the cup back to the table, not quite able to meet Moondancer’s gaze.
“I’m sorry,” she finally muttered yet again.
Moondancer shook her head. “Yeah, you keep saying that. I don’t care. Just save it, okay? Just… just save it.”
A heavy silence fell over the entire room. Twilight took a few deep breaths of her own while her mind was spinning. She opened her mouth more than once to try and say something. Eventually, though, she was able to force something out. “Is there anything we can do?”
Moondancer shrugged. “I don’t know. You tell me.”
Another beat of silence came and went.
Moondancer rubbed the bridge of her snout with a sigh. “Look. I appreciate that you want to make up, Twilight. But right now? …Right now, I just want to be alone. It’s been a really stressful day, and you’re not helping right now. So just... just go.”
Twilight flinched, feeling as if she had been struck. She turned to Moondancer, opening her mouth to say something, but thought better of it at the last second. Instead, she simply settled for looking down at the ground. “Alright... We'll leave you be.”
With that, Twilight pulled open the door with her magic. One by one, the other members of the group began to filter out of the apartment, offering up hushed farewells as they passed. Minuette, in particular, lingered and even went so far as to give Moondancer one more hug before scampering out the door, hiding her face from view.
Twilight was going to be the last one out, following Rainbow and Spike. As she was passing through the threshold of the doorframe, however, a low, audible growling reached her ears. She glanced back at Moondancer to see an uncomfortable grimace on her face and a hoof on her belly.
With that, an idea came to her. It wouldn’t be anywhere near enough, but maybe, it would be a start. She turned to face Moondancer fully one more time. “Moondancer?”
“What?”
“...Can I at least go and buy you some donuts?”
Moondancer quirked a brow. “Donuts?”
Twilight put on a small smile. “From Donut Joe’s. We used to go there all the time when we were foals, didn’t we? It’s not much, I know, but… Maybe it’d be a start?”
Moondancer stared at Twilight for a moment, visibly perplexed. She then gave off a small snort of a laugh and shook her head in disbelief. “Pfah. Sure, why not? I could go with some comfort food right now.”
“Okay. Take care, Moondancer. I’ll figure something out. I promise.”
Moondancer met her gaze one more time. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Twilight’s smile faded. She said nothing more. With a quiet sigh, she closed the door behind her, leaving Moondancer in silence. She only briefly took note of the contemplative frown on Rarity’s face.
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11470988
Dash can afford it. maybe not moondancer but with two of those events by default counilers would be provided.
Okay rant time:
Rainbow is NOT to blame for the changeling invasion. CELESTIA is. You learned that time was altered because of Starlight. In fact your daughter is your daughter because of her. And while there are differences theyre are many similarities. After Doscord your adopted daughter freaked out if a starlight altered time again it be worse. THAT IS A GENUINE CONCERN. A simple comment that you have agents keeping an eye on her just in case and no awol hunt, no changeling invasion at that time. Such an idiot ball move. And then no therapist for ponies that clearly need it.
Woo. Caught up with all the new updates. I'm not nearly as active on this site as I was when this story was first uploaded. Good to see this continued, though! I always did enjoy this series.
I'm glad Moondancer let Twilight talk. I...don't really see them reconciling, but hopefully Twilight can at least set Moondancer down on a better path. Gonna agree with the sentiment that therapy/counseling could prove very beneficial for her, given how she's clearly traumatized by the changeling invasion. Donuts is a start, at least.
Just finished reading this whole series and might I say, this is genuinely one of the most well written stories out there. You can see and feel everything that all the characters are doing and how the pony the POV is focused on feels about it.
Though, it does come at a bit of a cost. Any small mistake seems a lot more prominent. There have been a few moments where there’s either been a short word missing or some punctuations which were off, and this, at least for me, takes me out of the story, if for just a moment. Most other stories can get away with it because they don’t feel as immersive. It’s hard to tell whether this is a benefit or a complaint to be honest, it’s just kind of something I noticed.
Keep up the good work though! I look forward to seeing what comes next!
Wow, so Twilight having a friend (besides Spike of course) actually made her look worse.
11477833
Yeah, she essentially shifted center of mass away from Moondancer, turning her into an angry wallflower.
Poor Moondancer. At least in the main universe, she could at least take comfort in knowing Twilight was basically a friendless shut in before Nightmare Moon. Here she doesn't even get that.