Chapter Four
Now that she had made her decision, Luna knew she had to act immediately, or else she could break down again. Luna knew her choice was the right one, that feeling in her chest only grew stronger as she thought about it, but it didn’t make it any easier. She didn’t want to be alone again.
She softly chastised herself at the thought. Luna was not going to be alone anymore. She had friends now, and one of them needed her help. This was not the time to dwell on such negative thoughts. With a low moan, Luna tried getting to her hooves again after centuries of lying upon the cold rock. Her legs trembled and shook as she exerted herself, protesting with every movement.
Shakily, she made it to her hooves, and she opened her senses to the surface of the moon again. The craft was still there and no one was on the surface. She focused her senses on Neil’s ship and felt two bodies in there. They had to be Neil and his teammate. Which was which, though? She couldn’t see through the craft, and she seriously doubted she would be able to tell them apart if they were wearing those suits.
Luna decided to trust in her feelings and picked one, reaching out with her mind to touch one of the humans.
“Neil?”
She could see one of the figures stir slightly, as if caught off guard.
“Neil, it’s Luna. I am speaking to your mind. Try responding in kind.”
There was a tense moment as she waited for a response.
“Shucks Luna, you are just full of surprises. Here I was, just about to tell Buzz about you too.” Neil’s voice echoed in her mind, and Luna could almost see his smile as he spoke.
“That I am, Neil. I also have a few more surprises for you. One you may like, the other, not so much.”
“What are you talking about Luna?”
Luna fell silent and reach out past the moon into space where she had always seen their planet. She probed and prodded the space looking, feeling, reaching for the planet Earth. It took only a moment before Luna felt it, the dimension veil keeping them from going home, and she had to pierce it.
Truthfully, Luna didn’t know if she had the magic to break into another dimension. It wasn’t a magic that had been researched much and was a topic of hearsay and much debate. This was for her precious friend, though, and she was willing to risk it.
“Luna?”
Neil’s voice came again in the silence of her own words.
“Neil…” She paused, thinking on her words for a moment before continuing.
“You saved me, did you know that?”
Luna took hold of the magic inside her, letting its warmth envelop her. With it strengthening her, she starting gathering magic into the tip of her horn. She had a guess, but it would have to work, it had to.
“I’ve been alone for so, so long on this cold and lifeless world.” Celestia’s word echoed in her mind as she spoke.
‘When the need arises, it will give strength to the weak…’
Luna continued to gather every last ounce to power into her horn, this was an all or nothing shot into the darkness.
“Luna, I…” Neil tried to start, but Luna interrupted him.
“Then you came here, reminded me of so many things, and taught me so many things…”
‘Warmth to the cold…’
Luna felt herself growing faint, the edges of her vision becoming blurred. She didn’t know how, but she pushed away the lethargy, focusing on her task.
“Even reminded me of an old friend, and gave me a new friend. Just these things, I could never repay even if I spent a thousand years trying, but the least I could do is this.”
'And makes the impossible more than possible to achieve…'
“Luna, what are you doing? Something is happening!” Neil’s panicked voice sounded miles away in her mind.
“Thank you Neil, for everything…if you can, don’t hesitate to visit again…”
“Luna! Luna!”
Luna took a deep breath and steeled herself, her vision was growing dark again, but she was determined. She took aim, and released her magic, a dark blue beam of light shot from her horn with a release of energy.
The shock of her magic was too much and the release of energy blew her back against the cavern wall, and everything grew black as she faded.
“Lunaaaaaaa!”
~~~
Even decades into the future, Luna could still hear Neil’s panicked yelling in her mind. It was like an old wound reopened. She wished that she could have responded, said a proper farewell.
Luna retired from her night court early, claiming a sudden illness. Nopony else had shown up and she was alone except for her guards, so there wasn’t much to do anyways, not that she would have been able to focus anyways. Luna had returned to her room with her radio and stood out on the open balcony where she could see her moon glowing with its serene light in the clear night.
Luna recalled those last few moments on the moon with Neil. She hadn’t faded into the void or been unconscious for that long. She had awoken after a time, confused and bewildered at what had happened. It took a few moments to remember what had transpired and she quickly looked to the surface to see what had happened.
A vibrant blue ring had opened in space, and not just in space, but dimensions as well. That great blue planet Earth could be seen through that ring. She had been successful, and Luna had almost passed out again with relief. She then remembered the spacecraft Neil had come in and panicked once more and sent her senses far and wide looking for it.
She spotted it quickly. Well, spotted both parts of it, to be exact. The craft had broken into two pieces, one that stayed where they landed and the other which was rocketing towards the blue ring and planet. Luna had exhausted most of her magic, and now didn’t have the strength to speak to Neil again at so far a distance, so she merely watched him go.
Her friend was going home.
The craft passed through the blue ring, and Luna smiled to herself in triumph. She had done it, something nopony could ever dream of. Then the tears began to fall again.
Luna wasn’t sure exactly how long had passed for the humans. She didn’t know if they operated at the same time as she did. But time did pass. The remnants of that visit faded from her moon eventually, as they weren’t of her dimension and couldn’t sustain themselves for long. Soon it was just her and the moon again.
A surprise had come for her one night, though. Earth had appeared again and a wild hope flared in Luna, hoping that perhaps Neil had returned. That hope had been quickly dashed as it was one of the smaller probes that Neil had told her about. She gave it a cursory look and was about to ignore it when something on the side caught her eye.
Painted on the side of the probe was only two words, but they couldn’t have been clearer in their meaning.
TO LUNA
Luna had grabbed that probe before it hit the surface with her magic and brought it to her cavern. It had taken her sometime to figure out what the probe was for and discovered to her delight that it was a container. It had held two items in it.
One was a curious black box, the same box that was playing mournful music on her balcony at the moment. The other was a letter from Neil. Luna went back to that cabinet and opened it, taking the letter in her magic. She opened it slowly and began to reread the same letter that had brought her so much comfort in those last few decades.
Dear Luna,
This has to be the most difficult and embarrassing thing I have ever written. Writing “I love you” notes to high school crushes has nothing on a letter to a moon princess, I can tell you that much right now. I know a lot of folks would call me crazy for wanting to send a letter to the moon, and maybe I am crazy, but that doesn’t change the fact that you saved us Luna. Buzz and I both, although Buzz doesn’t know what happened, he thinks it some moon madness. Shoot, no one else knows what happened.
You see, I was thinking as Earth reappeared, what would happen if the rest of the planet discovered you? I didn’t like what I thought of. Sure my planet has a lot of good people on it, but there are the bad ones on it too. I don’t want to go into detail about what could have happened, but it’s safe to say that you are a very well-guarded secret, one I intend to keep.
To keep this secret though, I have to ask you to do something for me. More people are going to be coming to the moon, and however tempted you might be to meet them and talk with them, you must not make contact. I can’t guarantee how they’ll react to you and I can’t help but assume the worst. It will be hard I know, but you are stronger than you look.
I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it back to the moon. Our trip has sparked a worldwide fever that left me swept up in parades and foreign countries and all sorts of hoopla. It’s a lot of attention I really don’t want, but I think after this, my usefulness to my country will grow a bit thinner. I’m not complaining too much though, I’ve had enough of the spotlight to last two lives. I only regret not being able to tell you goodbye properly.
To try and make up for it, I sent you a gift. It’s something on my planet we call a radio, I told you about those right? I worked on this one myself; it should be able to receive signals from the Earth. You can use it to listen to our music, our shows, and our news. Maybe it will dispel the loneliness a bit. I was a little concerned about how you are going to power it, so I sent batteries along with it that will power for a good while. By the time those run out of juice, I’m sure you’ll have figured out some way to power the radio with your magic. Stay strong Luna, and know that, in my heart, you are the true hero and, every time I look at the moon, I will see one of my dearest friends.
Your Friend,
Neil Armstrong
P.S. This probe was launched by a group who didn’t ask questions, and knew when a man had a mission even if it meant skimming more than a little from the top. God bless them.
Neil had been right about that radio, even more so than he expected. Once Luna had read over the instructions half a dozen times and learned to power it with magic, that radio was rarely turned off. She would listen to all sort of things, from radio and news shows to dramas and every sort of music. She would sing, dance, and gasp at the strange device.
As Neil had said, though, more crafts came to the moon, and Luna would stay hidden like Neil had asked. She had taken steps to make sure that these beings did not become trapped on the moon by using her magic to anchor their planet so they could leave without being any wiser. Everytime left her drained and weak from the effort, but it was satisfying in a strange sense.
And so the final parts of her imprisonment had passed. She returned to Equestria after a thousand years, not with feelings for revenge as she would have previously, but of contrition. She had been somewhat surprised to find that her return had been heralded by an ancient prophecy. Not one to disappoint, she had decided to play her part and took on the appearance of Nightmare Moon once more. Celestia had always praised her acting skills.
After her “defeat” at the new Elements of Harmony, which had incidentally made Luna wonder if Celestia had thought of every last detail of her return, she had returned to Canterlot. With her only possessions being her letter and radio, Luna threw herself into catching up with Equestria and what she had been missing for the past thousand years. Luna would often find herself looking at her moon, though, thinking of that strange creature that had befriended her.
As she looked upon the moon again, another news report interrupted her thoughts.
“With the funeral service concluded and the will read, it had come to light that Neil Armstrong wished to be cremated and part of his ashes sent to the moon. Many of the details have seemed to be left out, but the President of the United States has called this, “a grave no more fitting for such a man and has called that the ashes be launched as soon as possible…”
Luna didn’t heard the rest of the broadcast. She scribbled a quick note to her sister saying she would be back soon and took off from her balcony, her destination the blue orb hanging in the night sky. The journey would not take that long, unlike before she was at full strength and was not subject to being under a magical seal.
The cavern hadn’t changed at all in the time she had left it, but that wasn’t important. Luna was waiting for one more probe, waiting for that planet to appear one more time. The days passed slowly, but Luna was ever vigilant. She had spent a thousand years in this room; she could bear a week or so easily. Her sister had visited her in the cavern, confused about Luna’s intentions. She had explained she was waiting for a friend, and left it at that. Celestia grew thoughtful, and said she would take care of things while Luna waited.
Luna did not have to wait for too long though, as the blue planet appeared once more and Luna saw the probe making its way towards the moon. She caught the lettering on the side and a tear came to her eye.
FOR LUNA
She didn’t wait for the probe to land on the surface, electing to teleport it straight to the cavern where she opened it quickly. Inside, like before, were two objects: an urn which held his ashes, and a sealed envelope with the words, “To my friend,” on it. Luna quickly grabbed the envelope, and tore it open with a small wave of magic.
Luna took the letter in her hooves and read it shakily. Iit was much shorter than his first letter, but no less emotional.
Dear Luna,
I’m getting old. I’m not going to make it to the moon again. I don’t know if you are still there or not, but I figure that if you can live a thousand years, you’ll probably outlive me. If anyone deserves a piece of the first man on the moon, it’s the moon itself. So I put instructions in my will to send some of my ashes to the moon along with this letter. If you are reading this, do what you will with me. I’m not sure if you hate me for leaving you alone, but I’m fairly sure you don’t. This might not be me actually coming back, but it’s the best I could do.
Thank you Luna, you saved me and Buzz all those years ago.
Your Friend, even in the end,
Neil Armstrong
Tears fell onto the letter making small damp smudges on the paper, and Luna quickly wiped her eyes. She refused to have an episode in front of her friend again. She had already cried so much in front of him. Instead she gingerly picked up the urn with the ashes inside of it and gently laid her head against the cool container.
“Welcome back, Neil…”
It took a few hours and more than little bit of work, as sculpting was not something that Luna was skilled at, but she was done. Luna gingerly set the urn inside a small depression placed at the base of her latest work. It fit snugly, which made Luna smile slightly as her horn glowed with magic and she sealed the urn into the sculpture with a spell. She didn’t want it fading back into the other dimension, and Luna felt she was entitled to a little selfishness.
Luna took a deep breath, a few tears running down her cheeks before she could stop them. Her voice shook with emotion as she said her final words to the first man on the moon.
“Thank you, Neil. You saved me too.”
With that she spread her wings and vanished from the cavern, leaving a rough stone sculpture of a man in an awkward suit embracing a winged unicorn. At the base, a small plaque was etched into the stone which read:
Here lies Neil Armstrong, man of science, human of the planet Earth.
He was not only the first man to land on the moon.
But also the first man to touch the moon’s heart.
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Thank you all for reading "Touching the Moon," I hope you all enjoyed it.
Very good ending. A fine tribute to the man!
this touched my heart greatly
I shed a manly tear at this. I will leave you with this comic.
encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQVh9nmbc7Ck3LFpvUEYsdM6SQ8mYtWlw6gDUlEHNzTU0Cv8Z0paQ
I'm sure, in whatever afterlife he's in right now, he found this and read it. Most likely enjoyed it too. You did something great here, and I thank you for that.
1254843 oh my god the feels they hurt
What if this is what actually happened?! Men, we have a shot! If Neil could do it, so can we!
t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR9_HHmPoqC31A3MMYc_zxXQPTMXNx7H12XS7YvwzMWoLa-DrTE
You actually made a story that got me to tear up a little, it's incredibly hard to get me tear up, good job!
Perfect bro. You did the hero great justice. No matter what others think, this story is amazing, dont forget that.
Good job.
You got this old horse to tear up a bit.
Beautiful story brony.
An excellent job sir
dontloseyourdayjob.com/wp-content/uploads/Big-Boss-Salute.jpg
Sad, yes, but also comforting, a very good job.
"that her returned had been heralded" -return
"Luna gingerly set the urn inside a deposit on her latest work." -Very unusual usage, will jar some readers out of immersion in the story, wondering what you mean. "hollow" or similar would be better.
1298562
Fixed, thank you very much.
Good story. I really loved it :)
Neil died a hero, both for his world and for Luna
Good, heartwarming story. Nice tribute to that man. Thumb up....also...
manly tears have been shed
I would love to see if celestia knew anything about this.
1849885 an also s302.beta.photobucket.com/user/walkseva/media/ManlyTearsHaveBeenShed.jpg.html
25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_majqpaoRj01r0livmo1_500.gif
Even with how old this story is, it was great, and deserves many more views. You did good, and as was previously stated: Right in the feels.
I normally don't favourite stories because I have a really good memory and can remember even small details so rereading is an alien concept to me. But this deserves it.
You sir are excellent at bringing out emotion in readers. I would slow clap but this is text.
A fitting tribute for a great man. May he rest in peace.
I nearly burst into tears when I read the last three line.....
It was so sad!
But so good. I love this story
derpicdn.net/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMTMvMDMvMDMvMDZfMDRfMTJfMjIxXzI2MTAwOF9fVU5PUFRfX3NhZmVfdHdpbGlnaHRfc3BhcmtsZV9hbmltYXRlZF9maWxseV9maWxseV90d2lsaWdodF9hcnRpc3RfZG0yOS5naWYuZ2lmIl1d/261008__safe_twilight-sparkle_animated_solo_filly_crying_cute_adorable_heart-attack_adorable-as-fuck_filly-twilight_artist-dm29_woobie.gif.gif
Words cannot describe the feels I am having at the moment because of this
My feels
ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=HN.608036218134728421&pid=1.7
Oh god that went right to the heart. I was holding myself together so well until the last few paragraphs and then it just broke down. That was so well done and so beautifully written. You sir made this fella cry. Forever favorite.
I am emotionless and soulless. I didn't cry when dumbeldore died, when anyone died in a movie or book, when Bambi's mom died I laughed. This made me cry. You sir, deserve an award.
tis been a while since i read this and the first time made me cry like hell.
still did it the second time. love this story
I don't think I've ever cried this hard for a story or any other form of art before.
It's incredibly well-done, touching, and human-meets-pony done right indeed. I'm reduced to a sobbing mess and I expect that I will everytime I read it no matter how many.
I use to be a reader of stories on fimfiction.net. Then I took an arrow in the feels.
derpicdn.net/img/2015/9/17/981733/large.jpg 3.bp.blogspot.com/-JfobCdxoJIY/TkzsqkvCPOI/AAAAAAAAKpc/wBbz-ut0OwA/s1600/my-little-pony-friendship-is-magic-brony-houston-were-coming-home.jpg
A truley sweet and touching fic, well done.