Night Mare

Her gaze was incredible, simultaneously hard and understanding, and ageless. The wisdom of the aeons was held behind those eyes. My mouth went dry as she locked on to me and I suddenly found myself completely stupified.

I had to say something. I couldn't just stand there, at the edge of the path, and look like an imbecile. I would say something simple. A simple greeting. I took a breath, opened my mouth...

...and croaked.

The unicorn cocked her head at the odd noise I had made.

Great. Now I really looked like an idiot. My mother had always told me to make the best first impression and, here I was, doing the exact opposite. My parents must have been spinning in their graves.

I began to hyperventilate. For some reason, I desperately wanted this mare to like me. No pony's opinion mattered more than hers at this moment. I had to do something, anything, that might erase the fact that I had just made a total foal of myself.

“H-H-H-Hello,” I wheezed.

She smiled. Sweet Celestia, she smiled. That single smile transformed her, adding a vitality to her presence that made her enchanting.

“Hello,” she replied.

She spoke! She spoke to me! Her voice was soft and melodious and I felt I would be perfectly content to sit and listen to her read the dictionary if only to prolong hearing that heavenly voice of hers. I had to have a reply of my own. Something to impress her. Show her that rapier wit, Midnight!

“Hello.”

From somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard Vinyl's sardonic tones, as I often do when I do something inexcusably stupid. Smooth, Snow pony. Real smooth.

She giggled! Celestia help me, the mare giggled. It was nothing short of amazing and, what's more, I had caused it. My confidence, which had sunk so low that I was afraid I would never recover it, soared to new heights. I wanted to try something else now.

“Can I...?” I pointed to the spot next to her. Oh, what was that stuff called? The green, springy, stuff that would be cool and feel excellent against my suddenly hot belly. I knew what it was, its name was up there, in my memory, just out of reach, but I couldn't remember it. I began to fear that I had lost her. She wouldn't want anything to do with a pony too stupid to remember what the green stuff was called.

She giggled again! Two giggles in as many minutes. Hot damn, I was on fire!

She nodded and I began to wobble towards her, my legs suddenly having all of the support of jelly. The distance between her and I, though relatively short, seemed to take an eternity to traverse and I could not arrive at her side soon enough. I would have teleported if I knew how. Tartarus, I would have run straight to the library, woken Twilight Sparkle, and had her teach me how to teleport so that I could traverse that distance all the faster.

My jelly legs finally gave and I settled down next to her, inhaling a deep lungful of her scent as I did. Rose water with Lavender and Morning Glory, wonderful.

Alright, Midnight. Here we go. Now, we'll impress her with that famous rapier wit and in three...two...one. “Hello.”

Yes, Vinyl. I know. Real smooth.

She smiled at me, gently. “It's not often that another pony crosses my path. What brings you out?”

She wanted to find out more about me. That was a problem. Usually, after another pony found out about me, they wanted to get as far away from me as possible. As if I was some kind of Vampony or my XP was contagious. I scuffed my hoof against a small, half-buried, stone.

“I...uh...I couldn't sleep. Figured a walk would clear my head.” I looked back up at her. “And what about you? I haven't seen you before. Do you live nearby?”

The unicorn shook her head. “I live in Canterlot.”

My eyes widened behind my amber-tinted lenses, “Canterlot? You're a bit far from home.”

“Oh, I travel about a bit. It's difficult to see the stars from Canterlot. I come here if I wish to see the sky.”

“Seems a bit far to go just for stargazing.” I commented.

“To some. Not so much for me.”

I blinked. This was so unlike me. Normally, other ponies opinions of me didn't matter to me. A side effect of living the lifestyle that I did. I really didn't know why I wanted her approval. And I didn't even know her name.

“I'm Midnight Snow.” I introduced.

The mare smiled and giggled politely, “And I am Luna.”

Luna. Sweet Celestia, could this night get any better? I know. I know. I sound absolutely ridiculous and I still burn with humiliation after that night, but, what can I say, I was thoroughly smitten. Not only with the pure beauty of this mare, but with what her presence meant.

Now I had found a pony who appreciated the night in the same way I did. I had found a pony who didn't retreat with the sun. I had found a pony to share my nights with.

My life of solitude was over. Companionship was within my grasp. I need only to reach out and take it.

And, yet, I could not.

To this day, after wracking my memories, I still don't know what caused my sudden onset of social anxiety. As I said, other ponies opinions of me weren't my business. Yet, I wanted to make sure this mare saw only the best of me.

I'm not what you would call socially-experienced. Yeah, I had my friends, but they were all like me in their own way. Ditzy had her eye problem and her accidental nature. Vinyl was an albino who wore glasses and magically changed the color of her mane and tail. Lyra had her odd obsession with these bipedal creatures she called “Humans”. Octavia was incredibly neurotic and Pinkie Pie had that personality issue. Each of us was an outcast in some way and this was our link to each other. I had never ventured far outside of my circle of friends and, until now, I had no desire to.

The point is that all of my friends had something that made them obviously different and, thus, outcasts. But, this unicorn, Luna, didn't. She was beautiful, charismatic, intelligent, and sophisticated. Why wasn't there a crowd of ponies competing for her attention? Why was she sitting alone atop a cliff in the middle of nowhere?

Luna sighed, “It is true what they say. Silence is golden, is it not?”

I chose not to reply. Instead, I waited for her to elaborate.

“During my waking hours, there is always some pony who needs my attention. There is always something I need to see to and I rarely have time to myself.” She lamented, “It is here and only here that I can think.”

I blinked. I wish I could say I sympathized with her, but I had the opposite issue. I wasn't surrounded by ponies so much as silence. As a filly, I had wanted more friends then I could count and that was a dream that haunted me well into marehood, despite the fact that I knew it would never happen. Not once had I considered what it would be like to be so surrounded by ponies that all I would wish was to be alone.

“I don't know what that's like. There are few ponies in my life.” I confessed.

Luna exhaled, “I envy you. To have the time and the solitude to pursue my own hobbies, there's nothing I desire more.”

“It's not as great as you might think.”

“Oh? And what do you do in your spare time?”

“Celestia, anything I can just to eat up the days.”

“You take no pleasure in your pass-times?”

Oh, no.” I quickly assured her. “I love making music with my friends and reading books, but there's only so much one can do before one burns out. I try to space it all out to avoid that. However, I don't have many other interests.”

Luna nodded, “I, too, have varying interests. I do enjoy reading with my sister and I've been studying the lyre.”

“I know a lyrist. She's an excellent musician, if a little crazy.”

“Crazy? How?”

I smiled. “She's created these creatures called Humans, bipedals with round heads and tiny muzzles, and she's managed to convince herself that they're real.”

Luna chuckled lightly, “Of all the things.”

I gave her a companionable jab, “I know, right? But I love her all the same. She's a great friend who will go to extraordinary lengths to help the ponies she loves.”

“She does sound as such.” Luna replied. “Do you have any idea how fortunate you are to have such wonderful friends?”

I nodded. “We have our differences and disagreements but, at the end of the day, there no group of ponies I'd rather have around.”

Luna sighed. “If only I were so fortunate.”

“You don't have friends?”

She hesitated. “I suppose you could say I do. I have ponies that do care about me, like my sister, but...it's not the same.”

I thought for a moment. I knew what it was like to be alone. I knew the depression, the self-loathing, the envy at the sight of ponies enjoying the company of their peers. I had felt these same feelings, even though I had wonderful friends. It wasn't so much that I wanted more friends, it was that I envied their freedom. I was a prisoner in my own home, restricted to nocturnal activities and depending on others for what I needed. They had the freedom to go about as they pleased, when they pleased, how they pleased.

Luna was cute, and sweet, and kind. She didn't deserve that pain. Gently, I entwined a foreleg with hers. She glanced down at my leg before turning her gaze to me, a look of surprise on her face.

“Luna, I'd like to be your friend.”

I can honestly say that I didn't expect the reaction that I got. She began with whimpers, which gradually grew to sobs, which evolved into outright bawling. I lowered my head to keep from being accidentally impaled on her horn as she suddenly dove for my neck.

I didn't know what to do. I had always felt awkward around ponies when they were crying, like I was intruding on an obviously private moment. Luna sobbed into my neck for a while while I ran a hoof through her mane.

After a short while, she calmed down and sat up, hiccuping. It was absolutely adorable.
“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I-I don't know what came over me.”

I shook my head. “Don't worry about it.”

“I've never known a pony offer to be my friend before.”

I cocked my head at this. Surely some pony would have wanted to do right by her. Even Lyra wanted to be friends, once she understood that I wasn't out to attack her. Exactly what kind of life did this poor mare live?

I stayed by Luna's side through the night, enjoying the serenity of her presence and of the night. We didn't speak much, simply reveling in each others company. Finally, the sky to the east began to grow lighter as Celestia began to raise the sun.

“I have to go.” I said.

“As do I,” she admitted.

Slowly, I returned to my hooves and stretched, wincing as chilled joints popped. I lifted my hood to cover my head.

“Same time tomorrow?” I asked.

She smiled. “Yes. I would like that, my friend.” She gave a giggle at that.

I smiled and nodded. “I'll see you then.”

And, with those words, I hurried home, racing the rising sun for my front door.