Author's Note

Er...Hi.
Now, I know it's been a really long time since I've updated this story, but I had a bit of a time trying to decide where I was going to go with this. Not to mention, Real Life stuff got in the way and there was Reaper Mare and all of the excitement with that to deal with. So, to make it up, I give you an extra long chapter. Hopefully, it won't be nearly as long to update this time.

N.D.

Chapter 8

I know I said I would never fly again, but convincing Luna to return with me to Ponyville took far more time than we anticipated. Celestia was able to hold the sun for a bit, but no more than an hour. Any more than that, and there would be serious repercussions for the rest of the world.

The Pegasi pulling it flew with every ounce of speed that they had. We had crossed more than half of the distance, but I could see the sun beginning to rise above the horizon.

“It's not going to be enough. We need more time.” I pointed out the sun to Luna. She took in the sight and, with a single nod, leaned down next to me.

“Keep yourself near the side of the chariot and stay low. It will buy us a few minutes more.”

Only a few minutes, and we still had an hour before we reached the house. I shook my head as I took my position, laying on the floor and pressing against the side.

Luna spread her great wings and flew backwards out of the chariot. With a twist and a flap, she caught up with us and braced her forehooves against the rear edge. With a single flap, we launched. The acceleration was nearly enough to send me out of the chariot, but I only just managed to hold on.

The wind reached around my glasses to burn my eyes as my hood was blown from my head, and we continued to gain speed. Each flap of Luna's wings made a sound of thunder as she pushed us onward, the lead Pegasi holding their movement to keep us steady.

“Your Majesty,” one of the Pegasi called out, “we must slow down. We're on approach to Ponyville.”

I peeked over edge of the chariot and spotted a few Pegasi, the morning shift of Ponyville's weather service, moving clouds about. “Get out of the way!” I cried, waving my hooves to gain their attention.

They looked up and scattered as we blew through their clouds. I glanced behind me and saw the pegasi shaking their hooves at us, screaming profanities that I was glad I couldn't hear. I hoped I wouldn't arrive home to find a thunderhead hovering over my roof.

“Princess, we're approaching the ground entirely too fast! Please, slow down!”

Luna's horn ignited in a blaze of midnight-blue energy, which enveloped the entire chariot. With a mighty yank, Luna's magic killed most of the momentum, allowing the vehicle to skid to a stop mere feet from my front door.

The street was filled with sunlight, which burned my weakened eyes. I could feel its heat through my clothes. I saw movement in the window and recognized Octavia. I waved to her and she turned, shouting something, presumably, to Vinyl. The door glowed with an ice-blue aura and opened. Leaping from the safety of the chariot, I galloped for the threshold.

Tears welled up as sunlight struck my unprotected muzzle. It burned. It actually burned. I could't believe it. I had heard of sunburn, but I had thought that was a metaphor.

Shade appeared over my head and I looked up to see Luna keeping pace with me, a single wing extended to shelter me.

I managed to enter my house without further incident and collapsed onto the floor. I'm not the most physically fit pony and the events of the night, combined with my...exciting...morning, had me completely wasted.

Luna shut the door and settled down next to me. “Are you alright?”

“Peachy,” I panted.

“I am sorry. I didn't realize that we would be arriving so late. Had I not procrastinated...”

“No, no. You're fine. It was...fun?”

She smiled. “You are merely saying that.”

“Well, you might have a point, but that's only because I really don't have any words for it. It was a novel experience, to say the least.” I turned to see my two friends lingering nearby, looking anywhere, but at us.

I caught my breath and stood. “Hey, why don't we go into the sitting room and get comfortable? Octavia, could you make a bit of tea? I could use a cup.”

Octavia's eyes snapped to her and, for a moment, she thought the mare was going to bolt, but she took a few steadying breaths and brought fourth a smile that was too bright to be genuine. “Certainly. I'll...erm...I'll just be right back.”

“I'll go and help her,” Vinyl stated with such speed that it came out as borderline gibberish before fleeing after her partner.

Luna's ears fell as her gaze turned to the floor. “They are afraid of me.”

“Can you blame them?”

Her attention snapped back to me, a pained expression on her beautiful face.

“Listen, we're friends, you and I,” I said. “Friends are honest with each other so I'm going to be honest with you. They have a lot to be afraid of. I mean, you're an Alicorn. You have more power in the tip of your tail than any other pony has in their entire body. Not to mention, your past didn't show you in your best light and your outburst the other night, while understandable, only served to reenforce the belief that you are dangerous.”

She let out a whimper.

“But...Luna, look at me...but they still want to give you a chance. They haven't fled out the door, which is a good sign, but being around you will take some getting used to. I'm not lying when I say that even I'm a little intimidated by you.”

She let out a weak giggle. “And yet you show me the sharp side of your tongue.”

“Not sharp, Luna, but blunt.”

“We could turn thee into dust for such an insult to us.”

“But you won't,” I countered. “I trust you, Luna, and you trust me. Now, trust me when I say, lose that royal 'we' and that tone. You wanted to be a normal pony, here's your chance. Act like a normal pony long enough, and you'll be treated as one. Everypony will come around, eventually. It might take longer with you, but it will happen.”

Luna seemed to take heart from this. Her spine straightened and I saw a hopeful gleam in her eyes. “Do you think so?”

I shook my head. “I don't think so, Luna, I know so.”

She followed me into the sitting room and, with only a bit of encouragement, took a seat on the sofa. Tavi came in with Vinyl, who was holding the tea tray in a magical aura. Carefully, she set the tray on the table between us and joined Octavia on the opposite sofa, never once taking her eyes from Luna.

“Girls, listen, we really need to air out this dirty laundry between us...” Luna cut me off, placing a hoof to my wither.

She sighed deeply. “I understand why you are both afraid of me, and I do not hold that against you. I was a terrible creature before, driven mad by my own pain, and fear, and selfish desire. I was jealous of my sister and the adoration she held while I remained shunned. Ponies spoke of her as if she was a supremely beautiful being while I was some cretin, cast off as some dark and evil thing.” She took a ragged breath before continuing. “Eventually, it all became too much. I lost myself to my own envy and destroyed everything I held dear. I have regretted everything I did and it is a regret that I'll have for the rest of my days.

“But, the Elements of Harmony have made me new and I wish to start again. Please, I am no threat to you. Please trust me.”

“How can you say that?” Octavia fixed Luna with a piercing glare. “You go completely insane, threaten to kill us all, depose of the Princess, your own sister, in a rage, nearly kill all of ponykind, then show up and tell us you're all better and that we should trust you?”

“Octavia, all she wants is a chance to make things right.” I snapped, getting a little short with my friends.

“I want to believe her, Midnight. I really do, but I don't know if I can.” She held her head in her hooves. “It's all so much to take in at once. I can't make sense of it. I was raised to believe that a pony couldn't change their colors, why are you the exception?”

I placed a hoof on Luna's back, but she shook me off. A strength came to her voice as she sat a little straighter. “You said this would not be easy, Midnight. It is no fault of your own, rather a shortcoming of mine. I can overcome this.” She turned to Octavia. “You say a pony cannot change their colors, but I have heard stories about how you used to be. You were once a creature of incredible habit, needing everything to be exactly as you thought it should be. You could not take any deviation from this and became quite irate when you could not have your way. However, you are no longer that pony. While you do not embrace change, neither do you run from it. You have learned to accept the inevitability of change and not fight it.

“And you, Vinyl Scratch, who were once shunned and tormented by your peers because of your appearance. You, who didn't leave the sanctuary of your home unless forced. You, who never spoke to anypony, save your family and few friends. You now find yourself thriving as the center of attention for throngs of adoring fans. You have traveled the nation and beyond, and spoken candidly with ponies you had not seen before or since.

“If the two of you can change your ways, your coats, why not I?”

Both of my friends were dumbstruck at how much Luna knew about them. Octavia, as always, was the first to recover. “How did you...?”

“Midnight spoke a great deal about the two of you during our most recent meeting in an effort to convince me to return here. Rest assured, she spoke very highly of you both.” She paused and thought a moment. “Perhaps this will help.”

Her horn lit up as she took the blanket from behind us and draped it over her back, hiding her wings. She began removing her royal attire, neatly stacking her jewelry with her shoes on the floor. Raising a hoof, she lifted away her tiara and set it on the seat next to her.

“There. Now, I am no longer Princess Luna, merely Luna. I hope this makes you more comfortable.”

“But, Princess, we couldn't possibly-” Whatever objection Octavia had was cut off as Luna raised a hoof.

“Please, as I said, I am not a Princess. Not here. As far as any of you are concerned, my name is Luna and I am a unicorn.”

“Princess Luna-”

“Must I make it by royal decree?” Luna asked, shooting an annoyed look at Octavia.

“How can you make a royal decree if you aren't a Princess?” Vinyl queried with a smirk.

Luna smiled and jabbed at Vinyl with a hoof. “She understands.”

“Very well then...Luna.” It was obvious how uncomfortable Octavia was addressing royalty without the proper title. “Of course you know, it's a common practice for a mare's friends to pass judgement on anypony that mare has a relationship with.”

Luna gave a nervous nod, happy that she was making progress, but unsure about where this topic was going. “I will answer any question you may ask to the best of my knowledge.”

“Very well. What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?”

With a smile, she immediately latched on to that question. “I do enjoy reading the modern great works of fiction, particularly the works of Emerald Mask and Shadow Meadow.”

Vinyl let out a snort. “Trashy romance novels?”

Luna blinked. “I beg your pardon?”

Octavia let out a chuckle. “Luna, dear, those are popular romance novels and they're popular for a reason.”

“And what reason is that?”

Octavia began to blush, as she did when topics began to turn inappropriate. “Let's say that they're of the feminine arousal variety.”

“Masturbatory aids for fillies,” Vinyl clarified only to receive a swat from Tavi.

“Don't be vulgar.” She admonished.

Luna blinked and looked embarrassed. “I-I had no idea.”

Vinyl took this as an opportunity to laugh. “Next, you'll tell us that you enjoy the dulcet tones of Ponitera.”

“Hey, I like Ponitera.” I shot back.

She fixed me with a look. “No, you don't. Nopony likes Ponitera.”

I raised a hoof, rubbing the back of my neck in embarrassment. I was going to say something about her music, but the words died in my throat as my hoof grazed a lump. Carefully, I probed the unseen mound of flesh, praying it wasn't what I thought it was.

“Midnight, is everything alright?” Tavi asked, noticing my expression.

Everything had been going so well. Everypony was relaxed and joking and having a good time. Why did this have to happen now?

Noticing their concerned expressions, I resolved to keep this matter to myself. I didn't want to ruin this for my friends. “It's nothing. Nothing at all.”

“You're certain?”

I nodded a little too vigorously. “Yeah. Yeah, it's nothing. So, where were we?”

“Mocking modern bands, if I remember correctly.”

“Unfortunately, I don't particularly care for modern music.” Luna stated.

As a friendly argument began to break out over the best genre of music, I continued to probe and knead the lump. A knot of worry grew in the pit of my stomach as it seemed to have more tension than I expected.

This was not good. I needed to tell somepony. I got up and went over to Vinyl, leaning forward to whisper in her ear. “I need to speak with you privately.”

Vinyl nodded and stood. After reassuring Tavi and Luna that we would be back, we went into the kitchen and out of earshot of the other two.

“What's up?”

I sat down. “I don't want you to worry, but I know you will. What I really don't want is for you to tell them.”

“The girls? Tell them what? What's going on?”

I turned my back to her. “There's a lump on the back of my neck. I need you to see what you can see.”

“ A lump?”

“Yeah, just check it out, will you?”

“Snow, I'm a Deejay not a doctor.”

“I'm not asking for a prognosis, just a description.”

“Alright, let me see.” I lowered my head so the Vi could see better and held still as she ran a hoof along my neck.

“I don't feel anything.”

“Up a little and to the left.”

“Still nothing.”

“No, you've gone too far, come back right a bit.”

“Still don't...wait.” Vinyl was silent as she pushed back my mane to get a good look at it. “Sweet Celestia, Snow. This doesn't look good.”

“What can you see? Please tell me it's a pimple or a skin tag or something.”

“No,” she twisted my head to get a better look at it. “I think it's some kind of mole but it's really huge. Raised. Kinda pear-shaped.”

“Keep your voice down.”

“Sorry, sorry, but ya really need to get this checked out.”

“I will. Don't worry.”

Vinyl's nostrils flared. “Don't worry? My oldest friend might have a life-threatening illness and you're telling me not to worry?”

“Yes!” I hissed. “We don't know what it is and there's no point in worrying until we do. I'll make an appointment with Doctor Forrest tonight, see her tomorrow, and have our answer by the end of the week at the latest.”

Vinyl looked uncomfortable. “Snow, Tavi and I are supposed to catch a train out tomorrow morning.”

“So go. I'm a big filly. I can take care of myself.”

“I can't leave you when you need me.”

“Vinyl, please, I can't stand having to inconvenience you or Tavi. I don't want you two putting your lives on hold for anything.”

“This isn't just anything, Snow. Your life might be in danger.”

I gave her a smile. “My life is always in danger, Scratch.” The smile vanished as she grabbed me in her magic and pressed me against the wall.

“Listen here, ya stupid, noble nag. I'm not going to abandon you when ya need me the most. Even if you don't think ya need me, I would never be able to forgive myself if this thing turned out for the worst. I'm staying and that's final. Ya got that!”

“Vinyl, is everything okay?” Octavia called from the next room.

Vi released me and returned to the sitting room. I followed, taking my seat next to Luna as Octavia continued what she was saying. “So, we'll be leaving tomorrow to continue our tour-”

“No, we're not.” Vinyl cut her off

Tavi glanced at her partner with a look of concern. “Vinyl?”

“Something's come up and we're gonna be staying a few more days.”

Tavi looked really concerned. “What's this about?”

Vinyl gave a pointed glance at Luna. “We'll talk about it later. Right now, we're ignoring our guest and that's rude, Tavi.”

Octavia looked to Luna and gave a single nod. “Please excuse me, Luna. I didn't mean to be rude.”

Luna glanced around. “Is there something I should know about?”

I shook my head. “No, it's a personal matter. We'll handle it.”

She looked a bit hurt. “Midnight, please. I trusted you, now you need to trust me. Please don't keep any secrets.”

“I'm not. It's just that something personal came up, and Vinyl and Tavi are going to help me with it.”

“I can help.” She offered. “I want to help. Please, Midnight, let me help you.”

“This is something best left between the three of us for the time being.”

She looked between the three of us. “I mean no offense, but what can you do that I can't?”

“What Snow means is that we're the ones the ones best able to help her.”

Luna looked to me. “Is something wrong?”

I tried to put on a brave face. I didn't want to scare her, and risk her blaming herself for this, if it turned out to be something to worry about. “I'm okay. I just need to make a visit to my doctor for a bit of a check-up.”

She gasped. “Are you ill? Was it because of this morning?”

Octavia spoke up, trying to assuage Luna's fear. “I'm sure it's nothing.”

“How can you say that? You do not even know what might be wrong.” She returned her attention to me. “Please, Midnight, let me help you.”

I got up and began to gather Luna's things. It had taken such work to convince her to come here, that I hated to throw her out so soon, but my priorities had shifted. “It's okay, Luna. Go back to the palace and rest. There really isn't anything you can do right now anyway. I promise, as soon as I know anything else, I'll let you know.”

That didn't seem to satisfy her, but she knew there was little else she could do. She rose from her seat and donned her apparel. “Very well, so long as you make certain to inform me if anything changes.”

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” I said, reciting the Pinkie Promise.

Her muzzle wrinkled. “I beg your pardon?”

I blinked. “It's nothing. I promise I'll let you know. For now, go and get some rest. I have some things I'm going to take care of, then go to bed myself. I would walk you out to your chariot, but...the sun.”

She raised a wing. “I could shield you again.”

I grimaced. “I don't think that's going to be enough this time.”

She glanced out the door, and saw that it was nearly noon. “I expect a letter when you know more. If not, I'll come back.”

I smiled. “Come back anytime. Really, it was a joy to have you around.”

Closing the door behind her, I noticed Tavi trot past. “Everything okay?”

She sighed. “No, everything is not okay. I'm going to fetch a doctor. Vinyl will stay here with you. Neither of us will be going anywhere until we know what's going on.”

“But, your tour...”

“Oh, come now, Midnight. Even you should know better than to compare bits with what we have. The fans will be disappointed, yes, but a few missed dates is nothing to leaving you in your time of need.”

“I'm going to call Doctor Forrest tonight.” I objected.

“I'm going to fetch Doctor Forrest now. We'll not wait while that...thing grows on you.”

“It might just be a benign tumor.”

She fixed me with a look. “As far as I'm concerned, Midnight, there's no such thing as a 'benign tumor' for one in your condition.” And, with that, she was gone. I returned to the sitting room, my tea having grown long cold.

Sitting down next to Vinyl, I said, “I really don't want you putting your life on hold for me.”

“Ya said that already.”

“And I mean it.”

Vinyl sighed and removed her glasses. “Listen to me Midnight. You might not think this is such a big deal, but we do. We love you and we can't just sit around without trying to help you. I don't care if you whine and complain the entire way, we're going to help you, right up until the time when we can't help you anymore.”