I am currently trying to get an internship at a NASA facility where my uncle works at. I got interested in astronomy after what I was shown what happened at my birth. As uneventful as it sounds, an hour after being born, Jupiter was struck down by a meteor called Shoemaker Levy 9. The impact from the event startled and excited the NASA community; even I was when I was 7 years of age. My family is a military family, moving from place to place. As we moved around, the more I got into astronomy. Finally we stopped for a moment in a poor community in the shadow of the city. This is where I was introduced to one of my bronies and one of my closest friends. He told me about My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and how cool it was. I denied him of these and said that the show was for little girls, as I would say normally. Later on, as my curiosity usually gets the best of me, I started watching it. I immediately got hooked on the show when the story of The Mare in the Moon story was told. My love of space drew me closer to the 2 characters called Celestia and Luna, for they represent the sun and the moon. After that, I continued to watch the series until it stopped. I watched the episodes that had Luna in them. I even watched fan art, music videos and tributes to her. \I was inspired to make this after reading My Little Dashie and decided to make one for Princess Luna. This is how the story begins…….
All days start out normal for me. I go to school, go home, eat, and go to the chat rooms. I tend to avoid my family so I can talk to my friends and other bronies. I am a closet brony for the safety of socialization and mockery of others. As my dad is soon to retire, so my family is already finding a place to move permanently on a beach. At these kinds of times I draw. I usually draw to relieve stress, anger, or really anything else. I also chat with other bronies and pegasisters in the chat rooms. One of my friends, a fellow brony, is making a site so we can post about anything MLP. I am currently helping him with the site, also gives me more time to be with my friends. After he was done for the day, I would go to YouTube to watch the Luna episodes over and over. One of these days, when I get enough money, I’ll get a tattoo of her cutie mark on top of my arm and maybe a couple of constellations. Each night I go outside and count the stars to let the time pass.
Every so often, I gaze at the moon and my mind tends to space out, then I fall asleep. As we pack up our stuff and sort out what to bring, I listen to the news about a solar storm that is soon to hit earth. I really wanted to see the aurora for myself, but with my knowledge, you can only see the aurora near the poles. They said that it would be at least 2 weeks until it hit. That will be around the time we move into our houses.
A week later, were on the road again. I found a shack away from the city, only an hour from my parents and a half hour from the university. In the shack I had a kitchen, 2 bedrooms, and a living room. The bathroom was accustomed with the house along with heating and electricity. I had made the second bedroom my astronomy room so that I could work in peace. That night I went outside as I usually do to count the stars, then I accidentally fell asleep again. I woke up to a thunderous bang overhead and noticed that right there was a fluorescent flow of colors that reminded me of the sonic rainboom, at which was just a random blur of colors. I thought it would never happen but it was right in front of me. An aurora not at the poles, I had no idea how, but I was glad to see it and hoped it would never go away.
Two months after the aurora, I fell into a deep depression. I had no friends to talk to, no bronies, nothing. All I did was mope over the computer lying about how awesome it was living on the beach. I had gotten the tattoo, but it felt more like a burden than a source of comfort as I was the only brony I knew in the university. Still, at least I had Luna from the internet to keep me in check. I’ve even got my own plushy version of her, just for comfort.
It was about to be winter break, and have told my parents that I won’t be coming to their house for the break because of some work I had to do. They said they understood, but I could hear the sadness in their voices. Later that night, I went to take a walk on the beach. It’s not that I wanted to; it’s just that I keep hearing that it helps you relax and forget what is stressing you out. I looked up to see if the moon was there, but it wasn’t so I deducted that it was a new moon. I thought of what it would be like up there, but I shook it off as a dream.
Away from any houses, I decided to lie down and look up at the night sky. As usual, I counted the stars. As m y eyes wandered the nighttime sky I saw what looked like a star, but it was getting brighter. I noticed it wasn’t a star, but a meteor. I ran for the nearest cover, a dead log. The sound of the crash wasn’t much, but enough to make you jump still. I looked up from the log to see a small crater in the sand with an object in it. I went to the crater to see what had crashed down. The crater wasn’t hot at all; in fact it was quite cold. This was news to me as the next thing that happened. In the middle of the crater, was a small round rock with an indentation in it of a crescent moon.
I decided to take that rock home so I could take a look at it. There was nothing special about it except that indentation. What could’ve caused it made me clueless. I went to a professor to talk about it, but that would involve me taking it to him, in which I didn’t want to happen. This was a secret, something I found and claimed. I didn’t keep it in glass, for the sake of not turning into one of those people who have to glass everything. So I kept it on my bed, to remind me that it’s still there. I’ve spent hours trying to find out what it is, what it does, or how it was made. I couldn’t take any samples to the geological labs because of how strong it was. I tried even chiseling it and not even a scratch was on it. Next morning I decided to give this rock a rest and to go out to get my head together. I went to the store to buy moon pies (the only thing I could afford), ramen, and some salad (even I have to eat healthy sometimes).
That would set me up for the week I will have. Not much for a Christmas, but something for me. My parents sent me bits of meteorites, unlike I already had one, as my Christmas present. My friend sent me a 20% cooler sweatshirt of Rainbowdash, just because he wanted to send me something. So as usual I send cards saying thank you and happy New Year. This is all I could do to send them something, just anything. I spent the New Years sleeping, as I didn’t have much energy from working to schoolwork. I woke up the next morning with that rock beside me, as a reminder that I still have work to do. Even with the new year, I still did the same thing. I worked on that rock. As I keep working on it, I start to feel some warmth coming from it, so I back away thinking it was radiation from it. It was my mistake for that part; I didn’t know that a little sunlight entered the room and touched the rock, warming it up. I decide to go for a walk.
All the work was going to my head, causing me to think the worst from the smallest thing. I went back to the house around 5:00 p.m., and crashed right on the bed. Around 2:00 in the morning, I started hearing noises coming from the kitchen. I looked to see if the rock was still there, it wasn’t. Thinking logically, I grabbed the nearest thing to me. Using a bamboo stick against a robber, or whatever it was, may have not been the best choice. I open my door slowly, peeking out to see that my fridge door was open, as a stream of light arrayed from the door. I progress with a pounding heartbeat not knowing what was in my house. As I come out, my door creaks. Whatever was moving it stopped, as if waiting to hear if anything else was here. I decided to do what I’d call reckless. I
jumped out of the doorway to whatever it was, but nothing was there. I relax, seeing that nothing was here, thinking I left the fridge open. But what I saw changed my mind. In a corner, scared out of its mind was a little horse with what looked to be a horn and a set of wings. Turn on the light to get a better look at this…..thing. As my pupils dilated, a blur of blue runs past me into my room. As my eyes clear up I decide to investigate what it was with clear eyes. I go into my room and see that whatever it was is hiding under my blanket. I pull the cover to discover it did have wings and a horn, and was a little cartoony. It took me a couple seconds to realize what it was. Lying in front of me, scared out of its mind, was a little filly Luna.
I stood here looking at this little filly Luna as If I were dumbfounded, in which I was. I back out of the room slowly so I don’t startle her, leaving the door open. I went to the fridge to see what was in there that she could eat. A couple minutes later, I found a salad in the back that wasn’t dressed. I come back to the room as slowly as possible, trying not to scare her. As I round the corner, I see that she went back under the covers, as a form of safety between me and her. I put the salad on the bed so she doesn’t have to go far from her “safety zone”. After placing the salad I exited the room so she could eat. I came back a couple minutes later to see the plate was empty of all the leafy greens. I took the plate to the kitchen, rinsed it off, and went to go sleep on the couch.
As I was sleeping, a bundle of warmth managed to lay beside me, but not on me. I was happy, even if she only came to me for comfort. As I start to doze off, I start to wonder how I am going to raise this filly while trying to keep everyone else away. It took me a while to realize I am going to have to go somewhere secluded from society, and a miraculous amount of money. That morning, I found that she had disappeared into my room again. So I went into the astronomy room to do some research on first, how to raise a pony, Second of all, where a good place to live, and lastly, how I need to get a decent amount of money in a short period of time. Then it hit me, a theory I developed would sell for at least $2 million dollars, but then I wouldn’t have the right to say it was mine. So I did what I had to do, I sold it. I had little filly. 2 weeks later she started to come out of the room more, but if I moved to fast she would just dart back in.
So I learned that if I don’t move in her line of sight she won’t dart back in her room. Yes I did say her room because I now consider that room highly off limits, only to give her food I am allowed in. As usual, I sleep on the couch, and yet she somehow gets near me and sleeps there. I once tried to get to sleep closer, but that never ended well. I startled her and she ended up kicking me in the head. A week later she started staying out of her room and more in the living room. I still think she doesn’t trust me, even if I do feed her and stay out of her room. One day, she started to snuggle next to me, I couldn’t move to the shock she actually came up to me without being asleep.
I spent the next 2 hours stunned at what had just happened. I started to move around, and she started feeling a little nervous. Before I did anything I noticed she didn’t have her cutie mark; In the show, I never knew how she got it. I slowly raised my hand over her, and she stared at my hand as it moved. I gently put my hand on her back, feeling her tense up then relax. I started to pet her, and that seemed to make her happy. This is where we started to become friendly to each other.
It has been 2 years, but I finally found a place where it is secluded. I also gained the trust from the filly Luna. I can interact with her without her getting nervous, in which she is always out of her room. She doesn’t speak yet, but when I move I’ll start to teach her. There is a place in Arizona where there is grass and where it is away from everyone in a 10 mile radius. I had this planned out so we could move out tomorrow. I packed some carrots for little Luna, and some for myself too. I thought what she should eat I should eat too. Also I noticed she is starting to flap her wings as if she wanted to fly. I told her not here, not yet for the sake of not letting you being seen. When I said that, she stopped and bowed her head as if she was pouting. I also told her that in a couple of days, she could have her freedom. She started to lighten up again. The next day, we moved. It was 3:00 in the morning, and she was still sleepy, I had the moving truck ready to go. I picked her up, brought her to the front seat and laid her down, and then we took off.
It was about a 6 hour drive, with stops every now and then. When we arrived, the landlord was there. I told Luna that it will be a couple of minutes until she could come out. I talked to the land lord, paid for the house, and got the keys from him. I watched him take his car over the horizon. I brought Luna out of the front seat to see where she is living. She started running around to get the feel of the terrain. The ground was a little rocky, but still plentiful with grass. I let her run around in her freedom, for the sake she was stuck in my shack for the two years I had her. While she played, I unpacked all our stuff and set it up in the house. I made her room just like the astronomy room, a little dark with constellations made out on the walls and the floor was midnight blue with a shag carpet. The bed was round and queen sized, just for her when she grows up. My room was fitted with all the rocks and stuff I had over the years, so my room looked like the actual terrain from somewhere else. There was a cellar just in case of dust storms and tornadoes.
I had the computer in my room so I can still do research while raising Luna. While we stayed here I taught her how to talk, which was quite difficult to do. I noticed she started opening doors with her magic, to compensate that she had no hands. I wouldn’t know how to teach her magic, as in our world we thought of it as illusions. I also started teaching her about the cosmos, which to my surprise she actually was interested in. One day she asked how she got her name, so I told her that the name Luna was Greek for moon, also for the god Selene which ruled the moon. She immediately lit up, knowing her name had to do with space.
Occasionally, we would head outside at night and show her the constellations and the moon. She would listen to everything I say, even when I go off track of the subject. She didn’t care, she was learning from someone who knew what they were talking about. I got a model plane so she would be inspired to fly, in which case she was attempting to, but couldn’t get off the ground yet. So I recorded a show for her on how birds fly, for some inspiration. Believe it or not, she actually learned how to fly after watching the show. She was a little shaky at first, but after a while she got the hang of it. I bought a model airplane so that I could fly with her. She looked as if she was having a good time, which I was happy for her. We went inside to get some lunch, and we made a cake as a reward for her success in flying. I learned how to cook from my mother, for she had her own bakery. We were both exhausted from the day so we decided to go to bed early.
Through the years that passed, she has earned her mark, I don’t know how, but on her 8th birthday, she had it on her just like that, so we celebrated twice that day. Many days later she learned how to use her magic, in which she could change the phases of the moon. She was ecstatic when she used it. I couldn’t believe my eyes at what she did. Many years passed and she along with it had matured with it. She was 14 when she started getting curious about how she came here. I had to lie to her, for it would hurt her feelings if I told the truth. I told her I found her on a farm, outshining the other animals even when she was just a filly. She accepted the lie, even though it hurt me to tell her. She must never know that she was a rock at first, or the fact she was a TV cartoon. This was taboo to speak of around her. After that, she started acting a little sad. I asked her why she was sad.
“I…. I have no one else to talk to”
This made me think, should I get her a computer? If she did, I would risk her being discovered; Or even worse, her discovering something else. I thought of an old saying, don’t let pain get to you before it even happens, or you will hurt others before you have it happen to you. So as usual, thinking recklessly, I got her a computer. I told her to only stay on the sites I gave her, for her own safety. She agreed only to get on the computer. As time passed, she started cheering up more, feeling she could talk to someone else. When she was happy, I was happy. When she was sad, I would comfort her. When I was frustrated, she would be there to lighten my spirits up. We were there for each other.
From better to worse, a saying I regret hearing from time to time. These words make a party into a funeral in a flash. As time passes, the world starts to change and us along with it. The way you talk to people, the people you’re with, and how corrupt it makes you think. These things happened to an unfortunate soul who happened to be with me, Luna. She started acting all weird and grudged around me, which I thought of as her going through her teenage phases. She also started not eating what I gave her, but what she took out of the fridge or pantries. I would only see her from time to time, as if she was avoiding me. I started from there that something was going on, so I started to investigate the problem.
When she left for her afternoon flight, I went into her room. I didn’t open any tabs, to make sure she didn’t know I was on her computer. I brought up the history and saw that there were a lot of chats in it. I kept looking around until I found out what it was. I nearly choked when I saw the print, not believing she would ever find those words in her computer. I closed out the history, turned off the computer, and sat down to relax. How in the world did she come across that? Then it hit me, the chat rooms. I can’t stop her from going on there, otherwise she would be suspicious. So I improvised, I turned off all the power to the house. I spent the next hour in darkness, when the door flung open. It was Luna, but she looked mad, more mad than usual. I didn’t talk to her, even when she asked me why the power was out. I just looked off into space, trying to avoid conversation. She just walked past me, into her room and shut the door. Not a couple minutes later, she came back out. This is where problems started. She started yelling at me, not about the power, but about what I planned to avoid, My Little Pony.
“Why didn’t you tell me the truth? Why didn’t you say I was a cartoon? Why….”
“I DIDN’T WANT TO HURT YOU!”
This was the first time I raised my voice at her, thus it was a surprise to her as it was to me. She started to tear up, and then ran out the door. I hated myself, for what I kept from her. From trying to keep her locked up in my cage; to keep her all to myself. When she was gone for 2 days, I started worrying. I had all the “what ifs” in my head, which wasn’t helping my case. I started looking for her. She knows that she couldn’t be found by others, so it would have to be near the house. I looked around throughout the day till it was night, then I found her. She was sitting on top of a mountain of rocks we both called the sky charter, which was where we sat when looking at the night sky. I sat next to her, not saying a word. We didn’t speak for the longest time. So I decided to talk first.
“I brought us some food.”
“Why didn’t you tell me before?”
“Because I was afraid this moment would come.”
“Would that mean I shouldn’t be here?”
That sentence hit me like a train. I, for once, didn’t know the answer to that. Would she have to go?
“I…..I don’t know, I hope you do stay, your what keeps me in line.”
This made her feel a lot better; I could see it in her eyes. It was 10:00 p.m., it was getting late. She ate the dinner I brought, and then we decided to sleep under the stars.
“Goodnight Luna, hope you sleep well.”
“Goodnight dad, I love you.”
This was the first time I heard her say that in my life. It made me feel better, that I am a father. It made me forget all that happened that week. All things that were ever bad.
Weeks after the little skirmish, she decided that she doesn’t feel like being on the computer. I kept it in the basement, for safe keeping. After that, she wanted a telescope. I gave her the best one we could afford, which you could see almost anything clearly. Every week, we would bring it out it so we would look at stars together. She would normally look at the other planets, admiring their beauty as I did when I first saw them. We bond more and more every day, improving our father- daughter relationship. Time passed, and we both were a growing team. As we did go through the months, she started to mature further more. She was now about as tall as me, her eyes became full of color, and her hair started to flow. My parents died recently, and I had gone through a tough time with it.
Time passes, and now she is 16 years of age. Coming home from a field study I saw a mail truck come by our house, stop, and then leave. As soon as I saw it pass I ran inside to check on Luna. She said she was in her room watching TV and never knew that the mail truck came by. That was good, that means no one saw her. But one thing still remained, what was in the mail? I never gave anyone my address, not even my parents. I went outside and opened the mailbox, to see a letter. It wasn’t addressed by anyone, just my address. I opened the letter, and started reading it.
Dear whoever the residency is,
You have something that doesn’t belong to you. I want you to give her to me.
For if you don’t, there will be consequences.
C
This wasn’t any ordinary letter, in fact it was blackmail. Who was it who sent it? How do they know I have Luna? Why are they doing this now? It was making me terrified, and angry at the same time. I needed to protect her, now that we were in danger of who this person is. I went inside to tell Luna about what I just read. She was about as scared as I was, and we knew that it was going to be dangerous. We stayed in the house, no matter what.
1 month since the threatening letter we had, still worrying about what will happen and who it will be. The weather trapped us from going anywhere, which made getting out impossible. We had canned goods stored, but nothing from the fridge. The fridge got shot, we had no idea why, and the food was either spoiled or rotten. As we were together, we became more paranoid of the noises outside, even if it was dust, rain, or wind. Days later the storms had passed, letting us outside for the first time.
We decided to clean up around the house for the day. I went to get groceries while she cleaned out the fridge. She was done and had fallen asleep when I got home. We both forgot about the letter and when we did, we thought of it as nothing. So we went along our normal days. I did research while she watched TV. Happiness was in our lives again, but not for long. I was coming back from the field when I saw the front door was wide open; Luna and I never left it open. I went inside to see that the house was trashed. I called for Luna. She came from the trapdoor I had installed in her bedroom recently, which was for safety reasons. She started panicking.
“There were people demanding to come in, they threatened to KILL anyone inside who didn’t answer, so hid in the basement.”
I calmed her down, saying she had done a good job at hiding. I told her that she will have her room in the basement until this was all over. She understood. We started cleaning up the house, and while we were I noticed some of our pictures of me and Luna were gone. This was bad. They knew what we looked like, thinking they will come back for us knowing who we were. I dismissed the problem and got back to cleaning. I told Luna that no matter what happened or what she heard, that she was never to come out of the basement. She was scared when I said that, but she understood.
A night later on, a knocking sound woke me up. It wasn’t knocking; it was more like heavy footsteps. I heard them stop. I stopped breathing, struck with fear. I dared not to even open a slit in the window to see who it was. Instead, the door was kicked down. In this time, I never thought that she would be here. Not even as a culprit to who wrecked my house. Standing in the doorway was a tall white unicorn with a pair of wings accompanied by two unicorns with brass armor. It was Princess Celestia. I panicked and tried to run, but the guards were too fast. I collided to the wall as the guard horns dug through my arms and into the wall behind me. Blood seeped from their horns as they pinned me. I screamed in pain, only to take a mule kick from Celestia herself. I vomited blood on the floor and the dark bile on her as well. She backed away to clean herself off, and then came back to me in rage.
“WHERE IS MY SISTER?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Looking at me in disgust, she threw her horn into my stomach, causing me to vomit bile and bleed everywhere.
“WHERE IS SHE?”
“I’m not talking.”
She looked pissed, then smiled. Her horn started to glow, and I started to feel pain in my left hand. I looked over slowly to see that my fingers were being snapped one by one like twigs. The pain was excruciating.
“LAST TIME,TELL ME WHERE SHE IS!”
“Never …”
Her horn glowed again, but this time I felt something being pulled. All of a sudden a piece of me flies out from my body, causing an insane amount of pain in me that felt like a bullet passing through. Floating in front of me was my own kidney, in which after that I passed out.
I woke up in a daze, thinking it was a dream. I went to stretch, but noticed my arms were restrained. Pain surged back into my body. I screamed at the amount of it pulsating throughout my body.
“Oh, you’re awake. It’s nice to see that you’re still alive.”
It was Celestia, looking more fiendish that I’ve ever seen. She wore a black robe, to indicate that this was no ordinary situation. I looked around to see that we weren’t on earth, but in Equestria. I was on a table in which strapped to. I looked around again to see that we weren’t in a building, but outside.
“Don’t worry; we brought Luna with us too.”
She brought Luna? How did she find her? I was in panic, strangling to get out.
“Easy there, she’s not going anywhere, and neither are you too. In fact, you’re going to make the whole land of Equestria better by understanding how to KILL your species, first we will show the land of Ponyville what your species is.”
None of this sounded good. I wasn’t being withheld as a prisoner, but as a live dissection. Not only that, but there will be an audience too? Now that she said that I can hear the mumbles from a distant crowd.
“What will you….do… with…Luna?”
“Awwww… the poor thing still has it for my sister. For your information, she will be watching our little presentation. Oh and were about to start, let me just contact Zecora.”
Apparently, I am a new experiment for Zecora, lucky me. As if I wasn’t in enough pain, I hear a voice in the back of the stage.
“Dad…dad is that you?”
It was definitely Luna; I could hear it in her voice. She sounded scared and terrified at the same time. She was chained to the ground, looking at me as if I was someone else. I decided to not look at her, as it would hurt her if I saw her.
“Fillies and Gentlecolts,” Celestia spoke,” I have brought you here what had kidnapped my sister and changed her into thinking she was one of them. I bring the monster that had her captive in a dungeon below the household. I bring you, a human”.
The curtain opened and the whole crowd gasped saying things like “ugly creature” and “monster”. I now know how it feels to be alienated from a society. “we will be offering a live dissection from 2 ponies that you all know, Dr. Hooves the medical doctor and Zecora the Medical Shaman. Now we shall get started.” I started to hear what was electricity and a bone saw running. All of a sudden, i saw the two faces i dreaded seeing, Dr. Hooves and Zecora.
“Now, we will put this wire into your heart, so you will stay alive while we are doing the operation. We will also put in an IV so you stay hydrated too.”
The bone saw dug into my skin at the rib cage where my heart was, then with a gnawing away at bone. It tore all the way through till there was nothing left to cut. They removed the saw and took out a piece of my rib, putting the wire in my heart. The pain was indescribable, only to know that wasn't half the pain when they turned the wire on. It was like a fire inside of you while rubbing sandpaper throughout the veins. As i screamed in pain i felt a needle not go into my arm, but straight to the heart as well. I heard screaming, it was Luna, watching me get hurt while she was there doing nothing was torturing her as well. They started going through my organs, poking and prodding around. when they started taking them out, was a whole other story. They started taking slices of my liver, thus i began screaming. the pain started messing with my head, as they were playing doctor with me by putting their hooves in my organs. After they were done they stitched me up, showing a cross-like scar on my chest. I started seeing darkness, about to pass out.
As I was slowly fading away, a giant explosion broke out behind me, after that a shriek from a horse. It was Luna, but she looked….. different. Instead of her coat being blue, it was pitch black. Her mane wasn’t like its normal self, but a little more malicious like. She wasn’t Luna at all, not by the way she acted either.
“STAY AWAY FROM THIS HUMAN FOR HE HAS DONE NOTHING WRONG. IT IS YOU WHO SHOULD BE PUNISHED, ALL OF YOU FOR KILLING A POOR SOUL THAT HAD SAVED ME FROM THE REST OF SOCIETY.I AM NIGHTMARE MOON FOR YOU ALL SHALL PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE.”
Everypony in Ponyville screamed in terror at what had happened. I was taken away from the stage, seeing what used to be Luna fighting Celestia. I started seeing clouds passing by, and then entering a household. It was dark, made of a wooden frame. I started hearing a conversation between two ponies, I believed. “So what do we do with this….. thing? We can’t do anything with it, or Celestia will have our heads.”
“Relax Dr. Hooves, put it on the top floor It will be watched and nothing more. Celestia has guards all over the place He will be captured if he ever escapes.”
“Ok Zecora, but we will have it in the detention room, just in case if it does try to escape.”
I can’t remember how long it has been since the day I was put in here. What seems to be eternity in this prison caused me to turn psychotic. The room itself reminded me of a solitary confinement room in a prison. They put apples in my cage for me to eat, but always spoiled. I see that they treat me as if I was an animal, in which case I was. I had no medical attention to my wounds on the arms and stomach, not even a look of concern to why I would be whimpering in a corner. I felt weak, not even sleep could recover my strength. Once a day, I would be brought into what they would call a “decontamination room”, in which I would be hosed down, what it looked like a firefighters hose on full blast. It was painful, but I got used to it as if it was daily torture. They would shove me back into the room, lock it, and then mumble about why they even need to deal with me. This was a routine that I did every day.
One day, a doctor named Dr. Hooves came in, but I was too scared to even know who it was. I was in my corner, what I called my own safe zone. He seemed to understand that it was mine and not his, so he stayed away, even if he didn’t even want to be near me. He told me in 10 days time, that I would see Celestia, to meet my judgment. I decided not to hear him, for I didn’t want to know the time in which I die. Dr. Hooves said also that they had captured the so called “Nightmare Moon” and was in a prison far from Ponyville. This I heard and started to go into a rage. Dr. Hooves ran out calling out guards to hold me down. I tried to resist, but my energy was too small to even keep a good resistance against them. He had a needle, in which he gave me a shot. I started to get drowsy, seeing the world black in and out, and then I passed out.
I woke up to see that I was on a table, strapped in like I was when I was about to be killed the first time, except it was vertical, not horizontal. I started to see what looked like Dr. Hooves and Zecora talking, but I couldn’t hear them, for I was still trying to wake up. I started seeing more figure walking in, smaller than Hooves or Zecora, but not filly size. There were at least six of them in total. Another figure walked in, taller than the rest. As I started to hear them talk, I passed out again, feeling darkness cloud my mind. Once again I wake up, but back in my cage. I start screaming, I don’t know why but it felt better when I was done. I started growing tired, laying back down on my bed. I start to wonder what happened after I got carted away, if Luna is okay, if she’s even alive. I tried to keep these images and thoughts out of my head, but they work their way back. Being trapped here makes you bored, so your mind tries to keep itself busy. I tend to either scream or cry myself to sleep, whichever it is. Sometime later, Dr. Hooves came in.
“It’s time for you to go to Celestia.”
“I don’t want to go.”
“You’re going to have to, you have no choice.”
“I know, I’ll fight before I have to die.”
Dr. Hooves called in the guards, but I didn’t fight them at all. I just let them drag me to the table in which I was strapped into. They put the table up vertically, and pushed me out of the hospital. As they wheeled me through Ponyville, I noticed that everyone was inside, trying to hide from me as if I was going to hurt them. About halfway through the square, we were stopped. Zecora told me to eat this plant for it would give me some energy to keep me awake. I turned my head away, giving the say that I’m not going to eat it, no matter what. She nodded her head, saying she would understand too if she were in my position. I don’t know if it was her being nice or trying to suck up to me so I could eat this plant, but I wasn’t going to make sure. We progressed to see the townsfolk looking through windows, as Zecora and the guards walked me all the way to a miniature castle that looked to be a little medieval to the city.
The guards knocked on the door with a pattern. As the door opened, it gave a creak that about killed my ears, but not affecting the others. They looked at me, giving a disgusted look, and preceded into the building. It was a long corridor, to see Celestia at the end of it. I noticed the six figures I saw at the end of the hallway were the ones I saw before. What I didn’t notice before was that I knew these six, the main characters from My Little Pony. They each sat there; giving a interested look that about drove me insane. I started running my mouth for I wasn’t going down without a fight.
“So you’re let them watch you kill me? You’re more fiendish and disgusting than I thought.”
The others gasped as if I had offended their god. With Celestia there, I might as well had.
“No, I’m not. You’re not even going to get killed. We just want to hear your side of the story, that’s all.”
She acted differently from last time, more friendly. I despised the fact that act after the night she came. But if she wanted a laugh, I would give her one. I told my story, when I first saw the meteorite, when I met Luna, skipped the bad parts, all the way up to where I am now. The six were in shock, along with Celestia.
“Now that I told my story, why don’t you tell your side of the story, and don’t skip ANYTHING.”
She sighed,” Okay I will, not skipping ANY parts, it all started like this….”
“All of my days start out normally, sitting in the hall, appointing business matters, all the usual. My sister was out traveling Equestria and would be back in about 2 weeks. I waited for those two weeks to come, but she never came back. I traveled all over Equestria until i stopped at Univale, an all unicorn population. They said that Luna was there, but disappeared after an eclipse. They looked for her everywhere, even her suite was left like it was when she got there. I did all that i could to find her, nowhere to be found in Equestria. I went to Zecora to see if she had some insight. She did more than that, she told me the location of her. It was in another world where corruption and madness exists and taints the minds of all who occupy there. When she said that, I thought it would be to late to change her, and whoever has her in his or her grasp will be killed after interrogation. I sent a letter to whomever it may have been to give her up and then spared their pitiful lives in a pitiful world. When we arrived, i noticed that the house was in a different place then the rest, in solitude like a prison. I became more enraged and knocked on the door demanding someone to open it or that they will be killed. No one answered, so i decided that nobody was home and i would enter at my own will. When i entered i noticed pictures of you and her thinking you corrupted her mind and trashed the settlement. I took a picture of you and her to identify if the next one who answered would be tortured in the most venomously way, meaning to keep the torture stuck throughout his miserable life. I came back late at night to see if you would be sleeping there, and you were. The look on you’re face told us that you knew why were here and not really how. When you passed out we took you to Equestria, so we could ridicule your species in front of the whole population. After the procedure, Luna was filled with rage that she turned and became Nightmare Moon. I bound her, but still she fought back. We sent her to Cloud Citadel to be contained until converted back. I had time to think of what to do with you, I cant undo what was already done. I am sorry i had tortured you for what i thought you had changed my sister into a monster. Instead, i changed her into it, will you please forgive me?”
“YOU EXPECT ME TO FORGIVE YOU? YOU MUST HAVE GONE MAD WITH HER AS WELL! YOU MADE ME INTO A LIVING AUTOPSY! THEN YOU LOCK ME IN A CELL WHICH I WAS TREATED LIKE A STRAY ANIMAL? AND THEN BRING ME HERE SO YOU CAN SAY SORRY? I’D RATHER SPEND MY DAYS BACK IN THAT CELL THAN TAKE AN APOLOGY FROM YOU. IF YOU WANT TO HAVE AN APOLOGY, YOU GO THROUGH THE SAME THINGS I WENT THROUGH!”
It wasn’t wrong that i yelled at her, she deserved it. I took care of her sister as if she were one of my own only to be tortured and have her turned into the thing i did not want her to be. All those years raising her had gone to waste.
“You’re......you’re right. I am sorry, its just that I did not know that you were trying to avoid her turning into Nightmare. It was my fault, and ill do anything to make up for it.”
“well first you can take me down from here.” Celestia nodded to the guards to unstrap me. When they did I collapsed on the floor. The guards picked me up, and I told them to get me a mirror so I could see myself. When they brought it, I didn’t even recognize my own self for i was too disfigured to see myself in a mirror. I was nothing but bone, only to see bandages on my ribs, holes where the guard punctured my arms, and an unfamiliar face to see. I was devastated, only to be back on the ground again. The guards went to pick me up again but I swatted them away, trying to give myself some room. I got up on my knees, then started standing up. I had grown to about 6’5”, almost as tall as Celestia herself. The main six started to back up, terrified at the way I looked. Celestia came up to me, but i didn’t allow allow her to come any closer, so i backed up. She knew i was still afraid, so she backed up as well.
I kept the shackles I had on as a form of security, don’t know why but it made me feel secure. My pants were torn and worn away, but enough for me to be comfortable in. Rarity looked at me if I were a walking horror fashion show. As usual, Fluttershy was hiding somewhere, don’t know where. The others were just sitting there, looking at me. I decided that they weren’t going to harm me,even if Rainbow Dash looked like she was going to kick my ass. I asked if i could have some food, fresh food and not rotten apples. They brought me some fresh apples and nearly devoured half the bucket.
Celestia had arranged a private train for a party of eight. There were 3 boxcars, Celestia and I had ones all to our selves. That saying, she was the princess, and two, who would sit with a monster like me? Exactly no one. I had put on a dark robe to hide my body from everyone else along with a mask I had found while waiting for the arrangements. It was a plague mask, and it would have to do. It was colored in a brilliant red and a hazy black, marbled on there if you would call it that. While on the train, I covered the only window the car had, I didn’t want anypony looking into my car for some strange reason. As we progressed in the train, conversations in the car ahead of me were taking place, but I wasn’t the kind of person to eavesdrop. So I decided to try and sleep for the first time in a while. I finally got to sleep for once in the month I have been in Equestria. It was short, but worth it. Not a dream, but one of those dreams where its pitch black and feels like it just turned to the next day. When I woke up, I found out we were at a stop. I went to see where we were, and immediately hated it. Canterlot, the most stupidly pristine city I’ve ever known. I heard a knock at my window, to see it was Celestia.
“Would you like anything while we stop?”
“Some food.”
That is all ever thought about since I was in the train. My body practically would kill for any kind of food. About an hour passed, and started hearing people come up to the train. The deportees returned with food, enough for everyone. I had gotten a apple pie, and to be honest, I was getting sick of apples. My body didn’t care, it needed sustenance. I had nearly eaten half of it before I was done. We started moving again, and back to the destination. It took a couple of days, but we managed to get there. There was one thing I had forgotten, they didn’t name it Cloud Citadel for a reason, only Pegasuses can walk on clouds. Apparently Celestia was thinking one step ahead. Remember the episode where twilight has a spell that will allow you to walk on clouds? Well Celestia did just that. She put her horn to each forehead, casting the spell. She came up to me, but I backed up, for I was still paranoid that she would still try to hurt me.
“Good god, why don’t you get over your fear of me? I’m not going to hurt you, i promise.”
As usual Pinkie jumps in.
“You PINKIE PIE SWEAR?”
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
While they were having a good time, I just stood and stared at them until they stopped.
“Fine, I’ll let you near me. Any funny business and ill exploit myself as one of your experiments.”
This made her change moods quick, neither she or I want people to see me. One, it will be a disgrace to see what the Princess has done. And two, I would be ridiculed by my looks and be tried to get killed. I took my mask of for a brief second for her to do the spell. When she was done, I got off the car. It was weird to stand on a cloud, it feels solid but you have that feeling that your standing on nothing and falling. I took small steps to make sure that it felt right. As I was done, the guards of Citadel were looking at me, for i was not what a normal pony shape would look like. But they didn’t interfere for I was with Celestia. I noticed that the Citadel wasn’t your normal looking cloud city. The ground was black with patches of grey as a walkway. The tower itself was an ominous grayish green, giving a current of electricity on the side of it from time to time. The door itself was wrought iron, didn’t know how they put it up here but they got it. The doors opened with hellish screech that hurt my ears. The others didn’t even phase, like there was no noise. The guards looked at me again, seeing that I was hunched over in pain. When the doors stopped screeching, there was a ringing in my ears, but I was still able to get up and proceed on. The inside was a spiral tower filled with chambers. We progressed until we got to the stairs.
“You have to go alone. We can’t go any further due to... her condition.”
“What condition?”
“Well... she has gone mad with rage. She still looks like Luna, but acts differently around other ponies.”
“So your saying you can’t go because your afraid to be harmed by her?”
“No quite the opposite, so I don’t hurt her if she does anything.”
So I went on with going up the stairs, but it was very slow. I didn’t have all my strength to even climb a flight, but now i have to climb 50? It would take a while. About an hour later, I collapsed on the 29th floor. I was too exhausted to go on. While I was trying to catch my breath, something stood over me. Not standing, but flying. It was Rainbow Dash. “Look we don’t have all day, so me and Fluttershy will take you up, right Fluttershy?”
“Y....yes.”
“Okay now just give us your....whatever they’re called.”
As she grabbed my arm, she grabbed the one spot where I hope she didn’t grab, the holes in my arm. I screamed in pain as they were painful to the touch. She said that she didn’t mean to, so she grabbed me by the wrist. Fluttershy took the other wrist. It took them a while to get me off the ground. When they did Rainbow Dash mumbled something and Fluttershy started whimpering. We got to the end of the 50th floor where they dropped me off. They made a hasty retreat back to the bottom, where as I was about to meet Luna again.
I was rounding the corners, well the curved parts of the Citadel. As i was doing this, I heard sounds of what reminded of me screaming in my own cell. There was a dim light of blue that came up ahead. I sat down re-thinking of what she will do when she sees me. The what-ifs started crawling back into my head. I stopped thinking about it so I don’t go insane while I’m here as well. I walk up to the cell, to see a Luna that is patched with black, one of her eyes had a blueish glow to it. It was still Luna, but with touches of Nightmare.
“Hey Luna, it’s me your father.”
She lit up and walked to the front of the cage. Then she had a puzzled look on her face.
“Why are you wearing a mask?”
“I don’t want you to see what condition I’m in. What I worried about was how you were doing.”
“I am doing fine, the cell is nothing compared to my room. Its a little stuffy in here.”
“Well as long as your doing fine, I’m going to talk to Celestia to let you out.”
When i mentioned Celestia’s name, she started getting angry. The patches of black started to grow, and the other eye was starting to glow. Her mane was starting to go to that ominous look. She was changing again. Before I could warn anyone about her changing into Nightmare, she burst out of the cage in which she was held in. Flying out free, she immediately knew where Celestia was. As she was charging down, I jumped on her back which was a bad choice. Immediately i felt madness and fury, something about it made me feel, stronger. I was more awake, more alive, but I couldn't stop it from taking over itself. I had to bail or I would become like her, so I jumped. The next thing I see is the floor, and I braced for the impact. Instead of feeling pain in all over my body, I only felt it in my torso. I noticed I was in the air, floating. I looked down to see Rainbow Dash slowly bringing me down to the ground. She looked exhausted, so I thanked her, even if she ignored the praise I gave her. I came to see that Luna was face to face with Celestia, Luna that was going to look like she would kill. When I looked at Celestia, I was surprised to see her,crying. A tear was shed from her eye falling to the floor to see that her sister was being consumed by the darkness in her.
“What did you do to her?”
“I didn’t do anything, all I did was see her.”
“Well you must have done something!”
“I think she might be mad at you!”
This made Celestia more aware of what she had done to me before she turned. She now understood why Luna was turning, why she turned in the first place.
“Luna, I’m sorry about what happened to him, to your father. I was only trying to protect you from any harm.”
Luna's voice was mixed in with Nightmare Moons, almost like a voice-over mix.
“PROTECT ME? I WASN’T THE ONE WHO NEEDED PROTECTING! NOW YOUR THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE PROTECTED!”
She came at Celestia with a charge, seeing Celestia not move. I knew she wouldn't move, so I did what I’d hate the most. I jumped in front of Celestia at the last second, feeling a sharp pain. I look down to see that Luna’s horn was in my chest, in my heart. Blood was everywhere, flowing down her face after she had removed her horn. I immediately saw that she was turning back to Luna, as shock had taken over her. Falling over on the ground I heard faint screaming from her as I was fading away, into darkness. The world was now behind me, seeing onward toward another way. I arrived at a tall blue tower, one of many other colors. The doors opened to see that there were balls of light in a line, but I was going another way. I assumed they were souls that were going to be devised whether they were good or bad. I went up a steep corridor in which I arrived at what looked like a court house. There was only one seat, and four balls of light, each a different size and color. There was a small red one, a regular green one, a small dark one, and a blindingly bright one. I was seated, as they started what I’d call an evaluation. They all spoke at once as one being.
“You have proven yourself that your life was more than the people who tried and kill you. You have redeemed yourself for another life of your choice. Whether it be happy or sad, rich or poor, good or bad, it is your pick. The only restriction is for you to lose your memory in the process of reincarnation. What is your choice?”
I had chance to redo my life, be happy, and to have everything. But would it be the same leaving Luna? Either be happy or never see Luna again.
“I choose nothing, I was happy in my old self. I spent half of my life raising something that didn’t exist. But I kept myself in to take care of something that needed help, and in doing so I did. I want to propose this offer until death then do as you wish. That is my choice.”
“So shall it be, you will spend your days back where you began. We will put you back in your body where it is now. We have arranged our deal, and be put into action.”
As it was done speaking, light surrounded me, and then darkness. I woke up to see that I was in a hospital. Everyone was around me, Celestia and Luna with the main six. Everyone started to get excited as I came back. I was alive again.
It took 2 months for me to heal up, then I was able to come out of the hospital. My body had healed from previous wounds, except for the holes in my arms. They stayed, it would never heal anyway. I spent the next year with Luna, with Celestia we re-introduced her into Equestria. Everywhere we went, the more I became friendly Celestia. I decided what happened in the past stays in the past, no matter how bad you want revenge. She became more like a sister to me, even though we weren’t of the same kind. We enjoyed each others company with Luna at our side. I hadn’t felt like this, like a family. I had a suite in the castle in Canterlot, where I spent my time with Luna. She also had her own room, which I had planned the decoration as a surprise to her.
Her room was like her old one, but a lot bigger. She was very happy about it, and so were Celestia and I. More days go by, and the more I want to stay. I traveled across Equestria, learning from what each city or town offered. I was different, but they learned that I wasn’t a threat. After my travels, I came back to Canterlot to see how things were going. I was returned with a feast in the castle from my return. After a matter of what seemed like days, 2 months passed as time was speeding up. Each day felt like a minute, feeling the world around me start to pass by. I decided it was time to make a living in this world. I asked Celestia if I could have a shop in Ponyville, away from Canterlot for this city was starting to wear me out. She gave me an astrolabe site outside of the city, so I could study these new stars and make calendars for Ponyville. As it was being made, I spent some time in Ponyville to know whats around me. I met up with Twilight, asking if she had any books about the stars. Big mistake if you ask her for a book, she wont stop talking or suggesting other books. But that was her and not me, so I just listened and took what she gave. It took a month to build the astrolabe, settling in and fixing things. I had learned from the books Twilight gave me that there were different constellations than on Earth. Celestia and Luna even had theirs own constellations.
I have been selling calendars for the past 4 months, and noticed I was starting to fade. I wasn’t supposed to be in this reality, and it’s taking its toll. I went to Celestia, proposing that i go back to my world for I'm not supposed to be here. We made an agreement with Luna that even though she spent most of her time in my world, that i would have to go for this reality was rejecting me. The reason she stayed was she arrived as a filly, not as an adult like I did when I got here. She didn’t want me to go, but I had to. If I didn’t, she wouldn’t see me anymore at all.Celestia said if I come here once a year, it would be okay. Luna was asking if she would come with me, but Celestia and I said that she would have to stay her, where she is supposed to be. She ran to her room, saddened by the answer we gave her. The next day, Celestia opened a portal in which was how she came in the first place. I gave my goodbyes to everyone, saying to Luna that she will be fine here and that I will be back in a year. We both cried, as it was my first time leaving her here. I walked into the portal, seeing brilliant colors radiate within. I felt it pull me in, and then push me out on the other side.
I was at my house, i turned around to see the portal close. I went inside to see that it was cleaned up. It had been a long time since I’ve been here. I went to the computer to see it had been 5 years since I've been here. I had a lot of catching up to do. The place felt empty, without Luna here. I kept my spirits up, saying I would get to see her again soon enough. Happiness runs in our lives, no matter how bad it gets. Find your happiness, and hold onto it for you may never know when it has to go. The world is your oyster, and you will find your pearl.
