> Groom of the Moon
>  by Lil Penpusher
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A lonely Night
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's spring.
A cold breeze floated around in the streets, dancing around the light poles in the empty streets and knocking on the doors of the houses. 
Water dripped down the trees, the water slowly forming puddles. It had been a rainy start into the spring. The Temperatures had been as cold as usual around this time, yet many people were still frustrated having to wear scarfs and gloves to protect themselves from the icey cold.

The day came to an end as the sun gave out a quiet yawn and lowered itself to enjoy it's deserved slumber, leaving the land in a shroud of darkness. However, the darkness could not stand firm for long, as the moon showed itself at the other side of the horizon. It pushed itself upwards, towards the stars, fighting off the darkness that threatened to consume the land without it's help as it rose into the sky. 
Then, it reached it's destination, hanging as high in the nightsky as it could. Its light illuminated the streets, the fields, even the homes of the people. 

But even though the moon brightened up the dark path of the people, even though it offered the breathtaking beauty of the star-filled nightsky, even though it protected them against the darkness...

They did not value it. They pushed themselves away from the moon's warming and guarding light. Instead, they put up their own artificial light sources to guard them. Instead of the moon, the light poles in the streets now made sure the ways ahead would be brightly lit. Instead of the moon, the floodlights would lead people to safety. 
It seemed like the moon's service was no longer needed, like the creatures it had sworn to protect were the very creatures that now seperated themselves from it. 
Yet...it was there. It would be there, no matter what. No matter how much people would try, there would always be a little corner left uncovered by their lights. No matter how much they tried, their lights would never shine bright enough to outmatch the moon. 
The people didn't realize they needed it, but the moon did. It would always be there to protect them and light their way. They were only human afer all.







James looked outside of his window as he laid on his bed. Ever since his parents helped him renovate his room a few years ago, he had wanted his bed to be right next to his window. The sole purpose of it was so that he could look out of it during the night when he couldn't sleep. Unfortunatly for him, those times were plenty.

Like tonight.

James sighed, slowly breathing in and out as he watched the moon. It by now hang high in the sky, the stars seemingly formed up next to it, forming a truly beautiful sight. Unfortunatly, an this was much to James' knowledge, people would never get to see this beauty. They were too busy, too ignorant for such a simple thing like the moon and the stars. James, however, was different. He saw the true beauty of the moon. He saw the true beauty of it's nature, it's calming and wise light had enlightened many big people in the past, yet now the people feared the moon's wisdom more than anything else. 

James had thought over this time and time again, how humans treat nature, how they treat their very own planet. They were chomping up the planet's ressources without any regret or caution. They polluted the air that they breath themselves yet they don't stop it. Things like that make James think. They make him ask questions. Questions like:

Why do we do this? Why can't we just stop? Stop the drilling for oil, stop the destruction of nature. Why can't we just stop all that, look around and say "What have we done...?"

Questions like that had plagued him for multiple months now. Ever since he saw a documentary on how forests and jungles are merciless being cut down by gigantic machines...he knew he couldn't live with that thought. Ever since he had sworn to respect nature and what it offers us, not just destroying nature and robbing it off of it's treasures.

There were so many questions he asked himself, so many questions that he simply couldn't answer. He simply had no answer to all this destruction. He searched ans searched, he thought and thought but...he would never find a real answer to any of the questions. 

One day it had simply been enough for him though. That day he was tired of not having an answer for this cruelty against nature. So, with that in mind, he figured the following:

He was an alien, not one of them. He didn't fit in, didn't follow their way of destruction and greed. He respected nature and it's beauty while they cut down the trees and destroyed the green grasslands. No. He was not one of them. He was now sure of that. He was truly different. Though, with this first set of questions gone, he would now face a fully new set of questions:

What was he? Where did he belong? Why was he different? Was he the only one different from the others?

Those questions laid much heavier on James than the previous ones, despite his love for nature. Now it wasn't just about Nature and how people treated it, now it was about him personally, about his identity.

James remained on his bed as he thought back to all this. He watched as the moon pushed itself into the sky. And, even though these questions plagued him much, they were nothing when he looked at the moon. It had such a calming effect on him, like he suddenly forgot about the others and their problems. All that would matter in the end was he himself, not the others. 

James felt how his jaw slowly opened as he watched the brightly lit nightsky. His eyes shimmered as the moon watched him, how he laid on his bed in his room, staring out the window towards the sky. 

"Where do I belong?" James mumbled in a weak, quiet voice. "I don't belong here, I'm not like them." He continued, this time only thinking to himself. 

The moon, much to his disapointment, showed no response. It continued down it's usual path, the path along the sky, down the horizon where it will rest until a new night beginns. And, although it was not time for the moon to disappear once more, James could feel that his questions would not be answered. Not tonight, not tomorrow.

A feeling of sadness and disappointment overcame James. He sighed as he now sat upright, still watching the moon as it made no move to help him in these tough times. 

"I wish I could talk with somebody who understands me. I wish I wasn't the only one seeing things like this." James murmured in disappointment. His wish was merely part of the increasing disappointment and sleepiness in him. 

James looked to his right, towards his alarm clock. 2am. It had gotten late. Whether James wanted to or not, he would need to go to sleep sooner or later. He figured it would only be a waste of time to delay his sleep further, the reason being that there was nobody to talk to anyways. 

And so, with one last glance at the moon and it's nightsky, James rolled down his blinds and laid back down onto his pillow, grabbing his blanket as he did so. Thin shimmers of moonlight still managed to break through into his room through the window blinds. Now though, his room was mostly black, consumed by the darkness as the light of the moon was made unable to fight it. Still, the little might it had, the little bit of light that it could manage to fit through, it used it to fight as best as it could, leaving James' body in dim moonlight while his surroundings were completely darkened.

"I know I can't be the only one..." James thought to himself as his eyes were closed. "I know there's somebody out there who sees things like I do. I know there is." 

Then, he fell asleep. His mind slipped off into the realm of dreams, a realm which all humans entered thousands of times in their lifes, yet nobody could truly figure out it's secrets, it's true magic.

Until one lucky human was visited by the Princess of the realm herself.

> The Queen of Dreams
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

James lay in his bed. Barely awake, barely asleep. He was on the cusp of entering unconsciousness when a cold breeze floated from the open window and tickled his nose. His eyes opened in a sleepy fashion, allowing him to glimpse his surroundings piece by piece. He issued a slight groan, more like a squeak really, as soon as James opened his eyes fully the breeze darted from his nose, slipping out of his field of view. James could suddenly feel it fly through his hair. When he raised a hand to his head he failed to grab anything. The cold breeze had slipped away from his sight and grasp once again

When the strange breeze got out of sight, James looked around for the first time since he had opened his eyes. He saw he was standing on a moonlit field, a few pink and red flowers grew on it too though they were not in bloom just yet. When James turned around he finally saw that he was standing beneath a tree. A very old tree in fact. James examined the tree, though did not find much of anything that was interesting or different. It seemed like a perfectly normal tree, a normal, usual thing in this increasingly weird scenario. The tree didn't seem to hold any kind of fruit, though it did have all it's foliage, even though the flowers on the field were not blooming. 

Then though, when James touched the bark of the tree, he felt that it was ... soft. His hand pulled back in surprise for a moment, then touched the surprisingly soft bark again. James was clueless by now, never had he known of a tree race that had soft bark. Little did James know though that this would just be the beginning.

A sudden ray of light blinded his sight. James lifted an arm to protect himself from the bright light that seemed to be coming from the moon. In a moment's notice though, the light turned from an annoying, blinding, bright light into a warm, welcoming light. As if James had been hypnotized by the light, his arm lowered again, leaving him to stare into the light of the moon. He could no longer feel any kind of cold breeze around him. That coldness was now gone as he was wrapped into a cozy coat of warm light. He didn't know how this was all possible, nor did he know why this happened or where he even was. All James knew was that he loved it, that he felt attracted to it, that he, for once, for the first time in his life, felt like he had a clear direction in life.

To reach for the light.

As tears formed in his eyes, James once again lifted up an arm. This time, it slowly rose up, towards the warm light and its source, the moon. His hand then stretched out towards the moon, trying to grab it. Yet, once again, he was disapointed as it was to no avail. Not only did he not reach far enough to reach the moon, but also the light, James' coat of warmth, disappeared aswell. All that remained was James, the tree and the moon. 

A spooky silence filled the air as everything, including James, remained silent. The tree was the only one that made any kind of sound as the wind drifted through the leaves and branches. And so, the silence was only broken by a silent whistle of wind. 

"Not even now..." James mumbled to himself as he sat down at the tree, looking down. "I guess I'll just sit here forever, maybe then I'll find an answer for all this..." 

A sudden ray of light drew his attention towards the moon again. For a brief moment the moon shined as he had never seen before. Then, a few seconds later, it stopped already. 

Before James got the chance to feel disapointed once more, he heard a loud whistling right above his head. The wind now rushed through the tree's branches with far more speed and strength. James stood up, fearing that one of the branches might give in to the increasing wind strength, yet he was lucky. None of them gave in and fell off. 

As the wind slowed down once more, James could once again spot the same kind of wind breeze from before. It now travelled away from the moon, clearly visible as it flew straightly towards James with the moon behind it. James had to watch as the blue cloud swirled around him, from top to bottom. Afterwards it flashed away from him, flying into the sky once more. Yet this time it flew straight up, not towards the moon. James raised an eyebrow at the weird behavior of the 'breeze of wind'.

He had not to wait long for it to return though, as it soon came back into sight, crashing down towards the ground. James gasped as he saw it speed towards the ground and was met with a sudden, bright flash of light as it collided with the ground. James had covered his face just in time to protect himself from the blinding light, he had blocked his view with his arms. 

When James opened up his eyes again though, he was stunned. The air was now filled with tiny sparkles of light, shimmering as the seemed to hover in midair. James instinct told him to run up to one of the sparkles of light, yet there was no time for that as his attention was needed elsewhere.

A blue cloud had formed in front of James as he was looking around. Now, this cloud was advancing towards him. James tried walking backwards but soon had to remember that there was no going back as the tree stopped his retreat. With nowhere to go, James could only hope for the best as the strange cloud came ever closer. It came closer and closer, until it was about 5 meters away from him.

Then it stopped. Instead, a mysterious figure stepped out of the cloud. The first thing James saw was...a hoof. Much to his surprise it was an actual hoof. It was followed by another hoof. Then the cloud revealed the rest of the figure. A dark necklace with a white symbol in the shape of the moon showed itself, followed by the head of the mysterious figure. The first thing James spotted was the long horn on the head of the horselike creature, later on he could also make out a crown-like object behind said horn. As the figure stopped infront of James a few meters away, the cloud disappeared into thin air behind her. Now James could see the mane of the creature clearly, the deep blue mane that fluttered in the wind. Only now the creature opened its eyes, revealing a pair of light blue eyes that now looked straight into his own pair of eyes.

"What...are you?" James asked the creature as it stood in front of him. He had many questions, yet this one seemed to be the most important and urgent.

The creature gave no response as it only came closer to James. James began to slightly shiver as the creature got closer. Then it stopped, close enough for James to touch with his very hands. And, right as James opened his mouth to speak, the creature finally began talking. 

"Fear not, young one, for I am no enemy nor evil spirit." The voice of the creature alone stopped James' shivering. It was almost mesmerizing, which only grew in effect as the creature continued talking. "I mean no harm to you for I am a big part of you. I am the Queen of Dreams, Mother of the Night and Princess of Equestria." The voice explained, James could only cock his head at her speech though.

"W-where am I? Why are you here? Why am I here?" James asked hectically in an entire line of questions. He figured the creature may silence him or otherwise be mad at him for asking such hectic questions, but he was, once again, proven wrong.

The creature gave out a small giggle as it got ever closer to James, now standing right in front of him, James still having his back leaned on the tree. "You are dreaming of course. It is the only way for me to communicate with your kind. Unfortunatly so, may I say." 

James scratched his head as he asked back: "But...this feels so...real. This can't be a dream, can it?" 

The creature smiled at the unknowing human boy in front of it, replying: "A connection like this, between me and you, requires a very strong connection and bond. It is this which restricts my ability to appear in other's dreams. In my entire life I have only been able to establish very few connections with humans." The voice of the creature became almost saddened as it mentioned the latter.

James was all the more curious now. "So...why are you here then? In my dream?" 

"I will tell you. Though, for now, I want to show you something very important." The creature replied as it turned around, away from James. It then continued on, walking away from James in a slow pace.

James walked a few steps after it, then stopping and asking: "What is it that you want to show me then?" 

The creature laughed once more, replying in a giggly voice: "You will have to see for yourself. There are many things impossible in the waken world that are very much possible in my realm, your dreams." It then used it's magic to form a white portal, it's horn lighting up in the same blue color as it's mane. "Come now, young one, we have much to do."

James agreed with a nod, although the creature was not facing him. Before the creature stepped into the portal, it turned its head to James once more and asked: "What is your name, young one?" 

James stood still, frozen in place by this sudden awkward question, and stottered out an answer. "J-James..." James couldn't resist but ask the creature back. "W-what is...your name?" If it hadn't been cold James would have been covered in sweat by now.

The creature smiled at James in joy, replying: "I have many names." It turned towards the portal, its first hoof disappearing into the portal. "But you can call me Luna." She replied right before she completely disappeared into the portal. 

James too now smiled slightly, following the strange creature into what he assumed to be a portal. Whatever it may be, he though, it was safe, the creature had stepped into it aswell.

And so, James put his first foot into the white matter. He first gulped as his foot was now gone from sight, but decided to go through no matter what. He closed his eyes, walking 1, 2, 3 steps forward, arriving at the other side of the portal.

"Welcome, James." Said the same soft voice as before as James spotted the creature from before not standing far from the portal. "Welcome to my home. Welcome to Equestria."


> A Long Journey's end
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

James took a few steps forward, towards the creature that stood not far away from him, staring towards something James could not yet see. He stopped halfway as his eyes drifted off towards his surroundings. 

He stood in the middle of an open field which was surrounded by a thick line of trees. The leafs of the trees wore a healthy light green color. The trees were not the only thing of interest for James though as he noticed the wide variety of life flourishing in the forest. There were birds building their nests on the trees' branches, butterflies were fluttering around near the ground, landing on the blooming, brightly colored flowers. James even saw a squirrel jumping around between the trees.

James didn't notice that his mouth hang open during all of this. That was until his head turned back towards the mysterious, equine-like creature. James watched, still not moving, as the creature stared off into the distance. James, becoming increasingly intrigued, took his first few steps forward again. The creature did not move or react to him approaching whatsoever. 

As James got closer to the creature, he noticed it was standing at the edge of a cliff. When his head drifted off, he noticed the distant sky had taken an orange tone. James' pace increased as he wondered what it was that caused this.

Arriving at the edge of the cliff, to the right of the creature, James came to an abrupt halt. His mouth hang open once more as he saw what was ahead. A beautiful sunset was taking place, coloring the far distant sky in the orange tone which james had seen. The sun itself shone brightly, even now as the day was nearing its' end. 

James had never seen a sunrise as beautiful as that one. He had often gone out to watch the sunset before, most of the time because his parents got on his nerves. This sunset was not like the others though. It was different. James couldn't get a grasp of why it felt like that but he knew for certain that this sunset, for whatever reason, felt different. It was not like the ones he had seen on earth.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Asked the creature as they both watched the sunset. 

James found himself slowly turning towards the creature. The creature, again, did not react to this in any way as it continued watching the sunset. 

"It is." Was all James said. Only now the creature's head turned. Its' light blue eyes met the brown eyes of James as they found themselves staring at eachother rather than the sunset. "How?" James added.

The creature let out a brief, joyful laugh at the question. "I will tell you on our way for we still have a long journey ahead of us." 

James raised a confused eyebrow. "Journey? What journey?" 

The creature smiled at him before turning back towards the sunset. "You will see." 

James' eyes widened as the horn of the creature lit up. It glowed in the same blue tint as its' coat, a dark blue. James could suddenly feel himself getting lighter. He gasped as he looked beneath himself, only to notice that his feet were not touching the ground anymore. He wiggled around in mid air, trying to somehow reach the ground again. However, his struggle only seemed to speed up his ascend as he soon found himself at least 20 meters above the ground. James paniced as he looked down to the ground where he had been standing a few moments prior. He breathed quicker and quicker as he imagined what would happen to him if he fell out of the sky. James was, after all, afraid of heights.

James then closed his eyes, afraid to look down. His body began shivering as the cold breeze up in the sky combined itself with his fear. 

James could feel all of his worries become irrelevant though as he felt something grabbing his hands. He opened his eyes, only to face the creature once more. He looked down, seeing how its' front hooves held his hands. He opened his mouth, only to be muffled by one of the creature's hooves. 

"Ssshh, you can ask questions later." It said in quiet, soft voice. It pulled back its' hoof from James' mouth to hold both of his hands again. 

Before James could react, the creature's wings unfolded. He gasped as he was the creature pulled him with it as it flew away. He tried covering his eyes in fear though it proved impossible as the creature refused to let go of his hands. He saw how high they were and gasped. He could feel his heartbeat in his chest, how it got faster and faster. He could feel his fingers become numb from the stress that was building up. 

Then, they stopped. James looked around hectically but was unable to see much of anything. The ground had disappeared and in its place was a thick layer of fluffy clouds. As James realized that, he saw that he was in fact surrounded by clouds. Snow White clouds now surrounded him on every side, except for the sky. James looked up to see the moon. It was perfectly aligned with the hole that had been created in the cloud layer as the moon was positioned right in the middle of the hole from James' point of view.

It was then that he realized something rather disturbing. The creature, the one that had brought him here, was gone. Once again James looked around, only to see clouds. He wanted to panic, wanted to cower as he found himself in an unknown land which he didn't know nor understand. 
But he couldn't. Instead of panicing, he felt lonely. Rarely had James felt loneliness in his life. He was usually a person to stick to himself anyways, he didn't have many friends. He had always thought it was better for him that way, seeing how most people these days only care about girls, sex and money. He didn't want anything to do with people like that. And, unfortunatly, it seemed to him that his school was filled with those people.

Now though, he felt lonely. Like he was actually alone. Like he was...missing somebody, like there was a sudden gap in his life. James was confused at first. For all this time he had felt awkward. He felt like the creature was some weird thing from a third dimension. He even felt threatened by it at times, thought it would let him fall to his death during their flight. Now he realized though...that he was wrong. Completely wrong. The creature wasn't out to hurt him. It was out to make a friend. A good friend. 

All was silent. All except for James who had begun to sob. He sat down, beginning to cry quietly. He covered his face with his hands, muffling his sobbing. Never had James felt so...helpless. So alone. For once, for the first time in his life, he actually felt like he was alone, like he had lost somebody he knew very well. Somebody he...had a connection to. 

The clouds behind James moved slowly, opening up like a curtain. James did not hear this however due to his intense crying and sobbing. Neither did he hear the dampened steps of the creature that had just stepped out of the clouds. The steps were almost inaudible due to the soft clouds. 

It was until a shadow fell over James that he finally looked around. What he saw quickly turned his tears into tears of joy. Before him stood the creature from before in all it's glory as the moon's light shone brighter than ever, sending down a sparkling ray of light that engulfed the creature. 

James couldn't trust his eyes as he saw her. How she stood in the moonlight as her mane flapped in the wind. He opened his mouth carefully but was unable to say anything. He was simply stunned it seemed. 

Unable to find the right words for the situation, he fell to his knees in front of the creature. The creature smiled at him, something that gave James he strength he needed. Once again, his mouth opened. This time though, he knew what he wanted to say.

"Who are you?" 

James knew the creature had already told him that previously, that she was some kind of princess and all that, but he knew there was more. He knew there was more to her, a different reason for why he was here. 

The creature giggled quietly, raising her right hoof to stroke James' cheek. The two looked eachother into their eyes for a moment before the creature replied. "A misunderstood mare." She said."One that has been looking for her special somepony for thousands of years." 

As sad as it sounded, James couldn't help but feel happy. The soft, calming voice of the creature almost had a hypnotic effect on him.

"And..." She continued, "It seems that I've been wrong all this time." 

James' eyes widened at her statement. "W-what do you mean?" He asked in a very quiet voice. 

Smirking back at him, Luna replied: "It seems my special somepony isn't a pony at all." 

James' mouth hang open in sheer shock.  He did like what he was hearing, yet his mind couldn't comprehend actually hearing it. 

Luna came closer to James, looking him deep into the eyes, speaking in a quiet voice: "You feel it too, don't you?" 

James was surprised at her question. It took him a few seconds to fully realize what she meant with her question. She was referring to the feeling of loneliness. The feeling that had so suddenly plagued James, making him feel horrible and break out in tears. All of that only because of...

...her. It hit James like a truck as he realized how he started feeling lonely as soon as he was all alone, when the creature left him. When he was stuck in a strange place, in a strange world. All by himself without anyone to guide the way. She was the reason for that, no doubt. Now James had to ask himself what it really meant. Was this strange, supernatural creature really meant to be someone special in his life? Was it even real? He was dreaming after all, wasn't he? That's what she said herself, right? And if this was not a dream, why would he happen to be 'special' to someone like her? She was a supernatural being, why would he be special to her?

Despite all this though...James felt something he couldn't brush off, something he couldn't hide. This feeling....this loneliness...it was still there, despite Luna standing right in front of him. He felt like she was so close, yet so far out of reach. He felt like she could just disappear at any moment, like nothing was holding her here, with him. James couldn't live with this feeling. It was like a fire threatening to consume him from the inside. He had to do something. He didn't know what, he didn't know how. All he knew was that he had to do something. 

James nodded silently at Luna, at which Luna could only reply with a slight smirk. "It feels weird, doesn't it? It started a long time ago for me. Ever since I've been wondering what caused it, tried getting rid of it. It has never worked though, even my sister was clueless as to what it was."

"And?" James asked, "Did you find the reason for it?" 

Luna chuckled lightly, stroking James' cheek once more. "I believe so. Me and you both found the reason for this weird feeling, James."

James raised an eyebrow in surprise. "We did?" 

"We are the reason for it, James. It seems unlikely, yet I don't think there is any doubt that this feeling...it must have to do with us. Both of us."

James stood still, thinking about what Luna was saying and, more importantly, what she was going to say.

"James." Luna began, attracting James' attention once more. "I have met many individuals throughout my life. I have spent thousands of years alone, looking for someone to join me in my lonely life. Someone who would understand and...love me. I have looked in places and worlds you don't know even exist, James. Have tried so much, only to fail over and over again." 

She paused, looking off towards the sky. The moon mirrored itself in her eyes as she stared at it. Without eye contact she continued. "But now, at last, I have found what I am looking for. My sheer endless search has found an end. And for that, James." She said as she turned back to James, "I want to thank you."

James couldn't help but smile. He didn't resist nor intend to do it, it just... happened. 

Luna continued on, turning back towards the moon which now shone brighter than before. "However..." She began in a slightly saddened voice, "I am afraid that after all this, even after I've found the one for me, I am met with disappointment."

James' eyes grew in shock. Had he heard right? Was she suddenly calling him a...disappointment? That couldn't be right, could it? "Disappointment? Why?"

Luna sighed as she stared upwards. "We live in two completely different worlds, James." She shook her head. "It's not meant to be."

James felt his legs become weaker as he felt his heart starting to ache at her statement. "But...I'm here, aren't I?"

"It's only a dream, James..." Luna replied quietly.

James froze as Luna confirmed what he had hoped not to be the truth. A dream. It was a dream. All of this...a dream. "But I saw you using magic." James remembered, "Can't you use your magic to somehow fix this?" James knew she would say no, he himself thought it to be absurd. Yet he had to say something. He had to.

"Unfortunatly that's not how it works. Even I am not powerful enough to do such things. I am afraid there's simply no way to make this work, James." Luna said. Her head slowly sank as tears began forming in her eyes. James watched as a single, small tear flowed down Luna's left cheek. 

James wanted to sit down and cry once more. Finally, when he thought to have found the one for him, he finds out that it's not meant to be. That it is impossible. That the very appearance of his special somebody is just a dream. He wanted to be some kind of a bad joke yet...he knew it wasn't. He knew Luna was serious, he knew she was right. Deep within he knew she was right. A human and a supernatural creature from a different world...truly, it was not meant to be. Even then, their connection was strong. It was there and they could both feel it. 

James resisted the urge to cry. He instead did what he knew what was right. He took all that was left of his courage and kneeled down next to Luna. As Luna opened her watery eyes, James used his right hand to sweep away the tear which he had seen. The two simply sat there for a brief moment before it was James who now looked up towards the moon. Luna quickly did the same.

"I don't know how you found me or why I am special, but I know that it has been the best thing in my entire life." He paused, waiting for a reply from Luna. As Luna did not reply, he continued. "My entire life has been lonely and isolated, I have been the outcast all my life, a misunderstood freak. Until now. You..." He started, turning towards Luna who did the same. "You finally understand me." 

Luna's eyes shimmered in the moonlight as she looked up towards the moon again. She saw how the moon was ever so slowly moving. Luna saw how the first parts of the moon disappeared beneath the clouds. Luna knew what would happen when the moon fully disappeared. The sun would rise, and with it the night would find its end. 

"We don't have much time." Luna said to James who remained facing her. 

James shook his head. "No." He said. Luna turned towards him once more, this time in surprise. "We have all the time we want."

Luna looked at him in confusion. "I don't understand. We-" Was all she managed as she was interrupted by James as he pressed his lips against hers into a warm, loving kiss. Her confusion turned into joy as she embraced the kiss. For that moment, those few seconds, all of their problems became irrelevant. All that mattered was them, right here and now. 

As their lips parted, their eyes were locked onto eachother. It seemed to them that the eyes of their partner were talking to them as they could seemingly see a message within the eyes of their counterpart. The message was: I love you. 

Eventually time caught up to the two as the bright moon light disappeared beneath the clouds. The two looked up to see that only a tiny bit of the moon was still visible to them. They had only a minutes, if not mere seconds left. Despite this, they were not sad. No, not this time. This time they knew that their feelings were true, that they had found their soulmate. 

As they watched the moon, James grabbed Luna's left forehoof with his right hand. Luna and James turned their heads towards one another for one last time. 

"Maybe one day we'll meet again." James said.

Luna smirked as she replied: "Maybe. I would prefer to meet at night though." 

The two laughed briefly as the moon fully disappeared. Not a second later James' vision became blurry. Even then, he stayed calm, in the hands of his loved one and gave his last goodbye: "I love you." 

As Luna faded away he could hear her distant voice for one last time as it echoed through his head. "I love you too." 

Then all went silent. For one last moment, everything around him was hulled in darkness and silence. Then he could hear a soft breeze, then voices in the distance. He could hear the voices become louder as a stomping accompanied them. Suddenly, he could hear them clearly as he heard his name being shouted.

Then...he woke up.