Chapters The night was perfect for stargazing. But, for the pale young woman walking carefully outside, it would be more apt to call it ‘moongazing’, instead. In either case, it was a favorite hobby of hers.
The cool breeze swept through the trees above her, rustling the branches, yet she paid it little mind. With her hands full holding the bulky tripod on which the telescope rested, she had no choice but to carry the rest of her supplies in a backpack and in her mouth.
Gazing upwards at the full moon filling the sky, she backed up four steps, took three to the right, one more forward and finally stopped, satisfied. “Pewfct” she mumbled through the rolled up piece of paper held in her mouth. She set up the tripod on the grass, making certain it was level. She wasn’t going to go so far as to use an actual level , but the thought had occurred to her. Briefly, really, only briefly.
Once she was one hundred percent certain her telescope wouldn’t topple over, she began fiddling with the knobs which controlled the height. Quiet curses escaped her lips every few moments as she fiddled with the dials, sometimes missing the mark by just a hair. Eventually, she conceded that the tripod was adjusted to just the right height.
Finally pleased with how it was set up, she let her backpack fall to the ground with a small thud, took the rolled piece of paper out of her mouth, and retrieved a ball point pen from one of the smaller pockets in her bag. She unrolled the paper and clicked her pen open.
“Alright, lets see, checklist for the Lunar eclipse, version two, item one: borrow telescope from aunt and uncle. Check.” Oh yes, that had been an enjoyable experience. It never ceased to surprise her how many different fashions in which her aunt and uncle would threaten to maim her should she fail to return their telescope in one piece. Humor aside, it wasn’t like she hadn’t borrowed it every other month or so, anyway.
“Item two: pack backpack with essentials for moon watching!” She looked down at her Nightmare Moon backpack, which was filled with what she considered the essentials—though others, including her husband, might have disagreed. Included within was a custom made Luna plush she brought out to watch with. She was a pegasister and proud—no shame! Besides, her husband was at work and couldn’t watch with her, so Luna would be the one to keep her company tonight.
“Check. Item three: wait for the moonrise.” As she gazed up at the bright full moon which hung overhead, the breeze picked up and blew her dark brown hair into her eyes and mouth. She crossed her grey eyes and spit her hair out of her mouth, then wiped the remaining strands from her eyes with an irritable swipe of her right hand.
With a quiet growl she opened another one of the smaller pockets in her backpack and retrieved a dark blue scrunchie, along with a small hairbrush. Placing the scrunchie in her mouth, she brushed out her slightly curly hair and gathered it up to be put up in a high ponytail. After twisting the scrunchie just right, she sighed happily. “Addendum to checklist: put hair into ponytail, check. Moonrise has already occurred, so, check to item three.”
She unzipped the large pocket of her backpack and removed her Luna plush along with a length of red ribbon, which she used to attach the plushie carefully to the telescope. She grinned, then reached back into her bag in order to retrieve a black thermos and a bag of chewy chocolate chip cookies, both of which she placed next to her on the ground.
She paused a moment before she opened the bag and snagged a cookie, chomping it down with a grin. Oh, to heck with the diet, it’s just one night! She licked her lips at the idea of the hot chocolate waiting inside the thermos, scooping it up next. She took a large sip, savoring the rich flavor while she set it back down next to her on the grass, making certain to close it for now. She then situated herself to best see through the eyepiece, which in this case meant sitting cross legged on the grass.
As she got adjusted to viewing the moon she allowed her left eye to close so she could fully concentrate with just her right, focusing upon the image visible within. Her fingers twisted the dials with practiced ease as the cool night air swept through her ponytail, giving her a slight chill. For a brief moment, she considered returning to the warmth of her home, even if just to retrieve a windbreaker. Yet as she went to withdraw from the eyepiece, something caught her attention—the moon had just entered the penumbra. She really didn’t want to leave but she was already feeling the cold air cut through her clothes, and knew it was only going to get colder. Considering her options for a few moments she made up her mind, got to her feet and ran inside her house.
“Windbreaker, windbreaker… where is it? Oh, right, the closet.” Feeling rather foolish, she opened the closet door, pulled the light blue jacket from its hanger and slipped it on. Once it was zipped up and the hood was on, she went back outside and stared up at the moon. It wouldn’t be long now.
She carefully sat back down, placing her right eye back against the viewfinder and readjusting it—after a few moments of tinkering, it was perfect again. She smiled and grasped clumsily for the thermos of hot chocolate, finding it after a moment of blindly fumbling for it. She relished the warmth which traveled through her fingertips as she gripped the hot thermos, and brought it to her waiting, and admittedly, slightly parched lips. It wasn’t that she was dehydrated; the night air, while comforting, had a brisk chill to it which was making her lips chapped and her fingers very uncomfortable. For a brief moment she considered returning back inside to grab her gloves. No, if she was going to have them she should have grabbed them during her emergency windbreaker grab.
Note to self; next lunar eclipse, add ‘do not forget windbreaker and gloves’ to my checklist. Oh great, now i’m sounding like Twilight Sparkle. Not that Twilight would ever forget her windbreaker since, without a doubt, it would already be on her checklist! A dribble of hot chocolate fell from her bottom lip and trailed down her chin. Were her entire being not concentrated upon the image of the moon, she may have wiped it away. But, as it were, she ignored it. Not only was she gazing at the start of a total lunar eclipse, a rare occurrence in and of itself, but this was a ‘blood moon’ lunar eclipse. It was to be one of four blood red lunar eclipses that would occur every six months over the next two years. Scientists called this occurrence a ‘tetrad’—the last time this happened was in 1946, according to her records. She had plans to watch all four during the next two years. This one though? She could sense that this one was special. She wasn’t sure why she felt this way, it was just… something.
I have been watching way too much Friendship is magic. The only thing I can think of right now is how closely this resembles the eclipse Princess Luna created and used to transform into Nightmare Moon. You need to relax, or at least ground yourself from the show. Yeah, no more watching for a week! Ugh, I’ll never keep to that… oh! the umbra! She carefully adjusted the magnification as the umbra’s dark shadow slowly washed away the white of the large full moon. It wouldn’t be long now! Oh, harmony, she felt blessed that the weatherman had been wrong—there wasn’t a cloud in the sky! It was perfect. If she didn’t know better she would swear the moon itself was beginning to sparkle. That was silly. Ugh those so called relatives of her’s must not have cleaned the mirror properly!
The girl felt the wind pick up around, chilling her to the very core, yet she ignored it. She would be damned if she left now! She shivered, trying to bring her hood down further over her forehead to stop the heat from escaping. Next time she would grab an actual jacket. Her thoughts returned to what she was witnessing quickly though. The moon had just entered the total eclipse.
Her face lit up from the happiness she was feeling, until she noticed it. Her smile slowly left her lips as a red light beamed down upon her. Tha-that’s odd. I feel, I feel funny... Sleepy She dropped hard onto her back as the red glow surrounded her small body. She felt heavy, as if she was being crushed. She tried to force her eyes open as her vision was covered by the light. It was blinding. It was terrifying. I-it was so… right The red light covered her completely within a cocoon, and with no choice she felt herself drift off…
She realized two choice things as she slowly returned to consciousness. One, she was laying on a cool, hard surface, rather than the slightly dew covered grass which she had fallen upon. Two, her head felt like there was a mariachi band playing within it, and they were taking all requests.
A small groan escaped her lips as she reluctantly turned to lay on her belly. Her head disagreed with this sudden movement and she stopped as her entire body throbbed in time with her head. After some time—she wasn’t at all sure how long—the throbbing dulled a bit. She gathered herself a moment, hoping to avoid an attack of massive lightheadedness. Once she was sure she had prepared herself as much as she felt able to, she pulled herself upright onto her hooves.
... She looked down at herself, looked up again, and felt her thoughts blank out for several long seconds.
Wait one second! Back up there! Hooves? Since when do I have hooves, anyway? Also, where am I, and where is my telescope! Ugh! My telescope, oh I hope no one steals it!
She balanced precariously upon her four hooves—if by ‘balance’, one actually meant ‘wobble like a jello mold’. Okay, she had four hooves rather than two legs and feet. There were two things that could have caused this. One, and the least likely, somehow she had been whisked off to Equestria to leave the human world far behind, live in harmony and discover the magic of friendship with the other ponies. Snort, yeah right, that just sounds like the beginning of a very bad self insertion fanfiction.
Option two, the far more likely option. Her telescope had tired of her clumsily trying to finger it into the right position, and had decided to take her out. That is to say, it had fallen on her when she got light headed and slammed her in the head, thus knocking her out. As of right now, she was going with option two. After all, right before she fell she had been thinking about the flashbacks from Princess Twilight part two. What else would her unconscious and quite concussed brain show her to keep her happy and healthy?
Well, I had better enjoy this while I can. I’m sure someone heard the clunk of my telescope landing on my head or onto the ground and will be coming to check on me. In the meantime though, where has this dream brought me? She lifted her head, hopeful that her dizziness had passed and that she might have enough balance to look around without falling on her face. She was partially right—her lightheadedness was gone. However, her new legs collapsed under her, sending her back to the hard floor with an ‘oomph!’ She laid there for a few moments, then sighed, laying her muzzle on the cool stone.
Funny. In all those stupid fics, humans turned into ponies have perfect balance. I call bull. This is hard! Alright, back to your feet- er, hooves. She lifted her head, pulled her forelegs towards her barrel and shakily clamored back onto her hooves. She swayed left and right for a few seconds until she was able to regulate herself with a bit of assistance from her tail. She wanted to take a look at said savior tail, or to a very least make it stop waving back and forth behind her. She was, after all, not at all used to feeling something like that on her butt. However she was only certain of her balance as long as she stood perfectly still, so turning to look at her own tail was going to have to wait. She began taking stock of her surroundings—not the easiest thing to do without moving, but she managed.
It was dark, almost pitch black in fact, but she oddly had no difficulty seeing. She was within a large room of sorts, or at least it had been a room at one time. Now, though, it was open to the elements through a large hole right above her. She carefully lifted her head to look up at the hole—it was pretty large actually. Huh, the moon is full but it’s not a blood moon. Odd, I would have thought my mind would have tried to connect the two occurrences...
She lowered her head and looked directly in front of her. There were two... chairs? She wasn't sure if calling them chairs was correct, they seemed to be far more than that. They were larger, with long backs. Behind them were long banners: one which was dark blue with several small moons and stars, while the other was gold and covered with multiple golden suns. Her eyebrow twitched, she recognized those banners; any pegasister worth her fandom would know them. After all, those were the banners of Princess Luna and Princess Celestia from one thousand years before.
Oh goody, I'm in the palace of the Royal Pony Sisters. What a lovely place to land! Especially when I can’t get enough balance to do more than stand straight! Alright body, I’m ready now. Lets wake up! Three... two... one... Now!
And... Nothing. She was still in the throne room of the Royal Pony Sisters. She still had the balance of a newborn foal. And it was still pitch black! This is ridiculous. Why couldn't I have landed somewhere else? Anywhere else! I mean, all the others landed somewhere other than the Everfree! Ugh, even in my dreams I have the worst luck.
She was starting to get a bad feeling that this may not be what she thought it was. Could— could this really be happening? Oh jeeze! Why couldn't I have landed in Ponyville? Even the Canterlot palace would be better than right here! Even if I was arrested by the guards I’d at least have a chance to explain myself... From what she had witnessed during the show, timber wolves weren't the greatest listeners. She wasn't sure what else could be in the Everfree and she was not eager to find out.
She wasn't certain what to do now, but standing still was starting to lose its appeal quickly. After thinking a moment she bent her back legs and was able to maneuver herself enough that she was sitting upon her haunches. After waiting a moment longer to judge how comfortable this position would be, she nodded to herself. That was better, much better.
Alright, lets see... What do I know? One: for some reason I am a pony, of which race or persona I’m not certain, although i’m really hoping that i’m still a girl—please let me be a mare! Er, brief freak out. Okay, focus. I hope I didn't take over the body of one of the main characters.That would be far too weird. Two: this does not seem to be a dream after all, for the reason that not only am I feeling the pain from my headache, dull as it may be now, but it seems that upon losing my balance I twisted my right, front ankle. Wait, do ponies even have ankles? Huh... Well, I twisted something, and it hurts! Three: I’m in the palace of the Royal Pony Sisters... In the Everfree forest... Unable to even walk... In the middle of the night. In layman's terms: I am screwed.
She returned her eyes to staring at the ground. Even the ground seemed magical. Well, she was in Equestria, after all; the land of magic and friendship. Okay, that’s enough staring at the ground, it’s not that interesting! She looked up at the hole she was sitting under. The moon, it was so close... so beautiful. Wait? What was that? A dark dot was coming towards her, getting bigger as it approached. A pegasus maybe? No, it’s too large to be a normal pegasus. Oh please don’t be a dragon— she refused to finish that thought and instead watched the dark dot fly closer. After a few more moments she felt a grin upon her muzzle; she recognized that dot!
I’m saved! Thank harmony! It’s Princess Luna! She’ll be able to help me! Yes! She clumsily bowed her head in reverence as the Lunar princess landed before her, tucking her wings to her side while she walked towards the mare. In trying to be respectful to the Princess, the woman didn't notice the wary, calculating look that Luna was giving her.
Princess Luna gazed at the pony before her with a consternated expression. Her head cocked one way then the other. She had many times battled with this idea in her mind, the idea of seeing the dark mare before her again. Mind you, in her visions, it was always a fight to the death, not a meeting with a very humble acting pony. There was only one explanation, no matter how impossible it was. “Goo…” she paused, clearing her throat. “Good evening, I am Princess Luna. While you appear as… some pony I once knew, you do not not, in fact, behave like her. Who are you?”
The large black mare lifted her head from bowing, and looked up into the round blue eyes of Princess Luna with her own teal, draconic ones. “Destiny, my name is Destiny.”
The air was still as a pause between the two ponies ensued.
Finally, Luna’s narrowed expression broke. “Are you quite sure that’s your name?” she asked slowly. “Is this a trick, then? An illusion? Surely it must be.” She kept herself and her magic prepared for an ambush.
Destiny blinked back her own sudden confusion. “What? No, and I think I know my own name .” Nervously, she reached for the Luna plush toy near her fore hooves, and picked it up with a little difficulty.
Luna had endured enough of the tomfoolery, and squared herself up against her old, former self. "Do you take me for a foal? Nightmare Moon!?"
The woman recoiled on impulse. Then, she felt her brain shut down. “Wait. What?”
“Wait… what?”
Luna watched as Nightmare Moon stared, unblinking, into her eyes before her own eyes rolled back and she pitched forward.
Luna cocked her head before walking over and looking down at the large, crumpled mare. “This is the Nightmare who is my biggest fear? I do believe there has been a… mistake.” She shook her head and sighed. “Nothing to do for it but wait until she reawakens.” With that decided, Luna took a seat beside the passed-out mare and waited, looking up at the cloudless night. After several minutes Luna heard a small groan coming from next to her.
“Ugh… No Mommy I don’t wanna go to school today…” Nightmare Moon groaned, bringing a foreleg up over her eyes.
“I see you are conscious again Nightmare.” Luna glanced over to see the black mare peer up at her from under her pastern.
“Look Princess Luna, er, your highness I know this is hard to believe but i’m not Nightmare Moon!” Destiny moved to stand up just as shakily as when she had first woken up. Yes, hooves are definitely going to take some time to get used to. “Please just listen to me your highness, I-I am not your enemy... my name is Destiny Yeager and I'm twenty four years old. I’m not even really a pony! I’m a human. I-I can prove it maybe?” Destiny sat back down on her haunches, trembling and holding her Luna plushie to her chest. If Princess Luna doesn’t believe me… What will happen? The elements aren’t around anymore. Will they just…
“What is that you are holding?” Luna asked, firmly interrupting Destiny’s panicked thoughts. Luna frowned, still sitting beside the larger mare. There was something going on. Can it be true? Is this really a case of mistaken identity? A human who was transformed by the mirror maybe?
“Oh, ah well… This is kind of embarrassing but, where I’m from this,” Destiny waved a hoof around, “all of this is a television show. A cartoon. It’s one I watch a lot. And, well you’ve always been my favorite character, Princess. So I went to buy a stuffed toy of you. And I couldn’t find any so I paid someone to make it for me.” Destiny slowly turned her Luna doll so that it was facing towards Luna “Do you like it?”
Luna peered at the plush toy. Green button eyes stared back at her. It was obvious the toy was made with love. It had a dark-blue felt body and a multi-colored yarn mane. She cocked her head and glanced at the well crafted cutie mark on both flanks. A sewn smile was on the doll’s muzzle. Even her regalia was recreated with fabric. “It… is well crafted, Nightmare.”
“Destiny, please your Highness, I realize I look like her. But… d-do you truly think that Nightmare Moon would have a plushie made of you? “ Destiny brought the plush back to her chest, trying not to tremble as Luna got to her hooves and seemed to pace. She snorted a bit every few seconds, as if getting annoyed with herself. Finally, she turned to look Destiny in the eyes.
“Very well! I will refer to you as Destiny if you agree to come with me to Canterlot of your own will, that you will not run.” Luna’s eyes narrowed as Destiny cautiously stood up. “Because if you run, I will smite you where you stand! Am I understood?”
Destiny’s ears pinned back as she nodded. “Yes your highness I swear I will not run. Even if I wanted I don’t think i’d be able to do much more than toddle.”
Luna snorted at the image of Nightmare Moon toddling like a foal before sighing. “That does present a problem, doesn’t it? You are unable to fly and I am unwilling to leave you alone long enough to fetch a chariot.” Her horn began to glow. It sent a burst of light blue into the sky like a flare from a flare gun.
Destiny watched mouth open in surprise. “To summon help?” she asked, setting her Luna plush on the ground next to her hoof.
“To summon my sister to be exact. She’ll be here shortly. I would suggest laying down and staying still until I introduce you. She… is less understanding than myself when it comes to Nightmare Moon.” Luna sat back down and watched as Destiny lay down suddenly and groaned as her belly hit the ground hard. “I am starting to believe you, Destiny…”
Destiny looked up at Luna, her eyes wide and shining. “You believe me? Really?” She pulled the Luna plush closer to herself as Luna sighed.
“I am not certain as of yet… but, in the thousand years I was part of Nightmare Moon she was not such a competent actress. Nor was she such a… what is the new phrase… Ah yes. She was not as klutzy as you appear to be. Those stones are not soft, and falling upon them as you just did, are you hurt?”
“No, A bit embarrassed at my favorite princess calling me a klutz but I’m not physically hurt.” Destiny sighed, glancing up to see Luna’s almost hurt expression and felt her ears pin back. “...Because I’m used to falling like this as I’m… a bit of a klutz… okay more than a bit in fact. When I was a kid I fell out of a tree I was climbing and my head hit a rock. When I woke up I couldn’t remember anything. Doctor said I was lucky I was only five at the time.” Destiny messed with her hooves a bit. picking up small stones and setting them back down again. “Huh so that's how that works. I’ve always been curious.” Destiny blinked. feeling hot air on the back of her neck. She looked up to see Luna’s eyes widened “...Princess Celestia is right behind me isn’t she?” A simple nod was all the response Destiny received before she was muzzle to muzzle with a very enraged Princess Celestia.
Author's Note
Ha! Not quite 3 years between updates... just, almost. Ugh, I will be updating this one more often. MUCH more often.
Destiny swallowed hard as she heard a quiet growl emanate from Princess Celestia’s muzzle. She had her eyes shut tight and may have had her forehooves covering her head. So she was only pretty sure that Celestia was snarling much akin to a large dog protecting their very juicy bone. Or in this case, Luna. Wait did I just think of Princess Luna as a juicy bone? Ngh focus!
“Give me one reason why I should not smite you where you lie monster….” Celestia’s eyes narrowed down at the trembling black mare.
Luna stepped between Celestia and Destiny with a small sigh. “Sis as much as I appreciate you trying to protect me, and verily I do, I doubt we have much to fear from a pony who is almost wetting herself in fear.”
Heh, right… almost… Destiny’s cheeks grew red with a slight blush.
“And how do you know that this isn’t one of her tricks? She could easily be trying to play helpless only to lure us into a trap.”
“Considering what she has told me and what I have witnessed since arriving…” Luna shook her head. “Nightmare was never a credible actress dear sister. This pony is not her. I would gamble it upon every bit in our kingdom that we have nothing to fear from her.”
Destiny glanced up to see Celestia pacing in front of her mumbling to herself before finally she shook her head “Fine! Fine but if she steps a single hoof out of line…”
With a unconscious swallow Destiny nodded “Yes your Highness! Not one hoof!”
Celestia simply raised an eyebrow as she watched the pony stumble to her hooves. “...My sister may be correct about you. Do you have a name or much I be forced to refer to you as Nightmare?”
“D-destiny, Destiny Yaeger your Highness.” Destiny carefully bowed her head in reverence.
“Destiny, fitting… alright, now what are we to do with you… We cannot leave you here. The Everfree is not safe for any pony especially one who struggles to even stand on their own hooves.” She brought a foreleg to her chin. “Canterlot is an option but it’d be difficult to explain why you are not locked in the dungeon weighed down with chains.”
“What about letting me stay with Twilight Sparkle?” Destiny offered to find herself shoved forcefully back to the ground. ow, stupid, stupid, stupid Destiny. Don’t offer information you shouldn’t have any way of knowing.
“And how is it Destiny that you already know the name of the pony I was about to suggest you stay with hmm?” Celestia was glaring at her looking straight into her eyes holding her in place with her magic. “I suggest you explain. Quickly…”
“I’m not from here!” Destiny howled in fear “I’m a human! A-a woman! Homo sapien cacusia!”
“A who-man?” Celestia frowned her eyes crinkled in thought “Like through the mirror?” She shook her head “That still does not explain how you know Princess Twilight Sparkle’s name.”
“I-in my home, this, all of this is a show er like a movie but only thirty minutes at a time and animated. It’s a rather popular show called My Little Pony and it’s all about Twilight Sparkle and her adventures. From the day she first came to Ponyville and the most recent episode was about Rainbow Dash passing her history test to become a reserve bolt.” Destiny licked her upper lip as Celestia stared in shock “Seems she learns while shes flying so they…used that to teach her?”
“How could you…thats impossible unless…” Celestia trailed off as her horn stopped glowing before she glanced over to Luna.
“Exactly sister, such knowledge should be impossible unless, of course Destiny speaks true. And here is another addition to her story.” Luna gently levitated the small plush “I will restore it you have my word Destiny.”
Destiny simply nodded but made no other movement. Honestly don’t feel like being slammed into the ground… again. I hope Twilight has a soft bed I can rest on after all this… I’m ready to sleep.
Celestia took the plush in her own magic before turning it this way and that. It was obvious to her that it was meant to be her sister. A lovingly made facsimile. “And Destiny had this with her when you found her?”
“Indeed, she told me about our world being a car-toon?” Luna frowned at the word before shrugging. “During the explanation she told me that much merchandise had been made but alas she was unable to find such a toy of myself and commissioned one herself stating that I am her favorite.” She rubbed her chin in thought “Might that be why she appeared in such a form?”
“Possible, we’ll have to look into this closer, were the mirror still active I would suggest we send her home today, however it will not function again for thirty moons. She was correct that the best place for her to stay would be with Twilight Sparkle. However…”
“Yes, her visage… What if we applied a glamour?” Luna considered after a moment of thought to which Celestia raised an eyebrow.
“Of what type of glamour do you supposed would be best? Of age or of species?”
“In this case? I’d think a glamour of age would hold best. Far easier for Twilight Sparkle to explain a young alicorn student than a grown mare who is a unicorn who is unable to use magic or a pegasus unable to fly.” Luna glance down at the tall mare “And though many earth ponies live in Ponyville one without strength would be even harder to explain.”
“Agreed, a glamour of age it is. Come let us take her to Twilight Sparkle while the night remains dark. It’ll take all three of us to apply the glamour.”
“A query if I may sister?” Luna smiled gently up at her elder sister.
“Of course Luna what is it?”
“How exactly are we to get a mare as tall and girthy as yourself who is unable to walk not to mention run throught the Everfree in the middle of the night?” Luna cocked her head and smirked as Celestia opened her mouth to answer before she frowned.
“Buck…”
Author's Note
I make no more promises about updates only that they will come.
“I cannot believe I am doing this,” Celestia grumbled as she slowly walked through the Everfree Forest, trying to balance Destiny on her back. The nervous human-turned-pony clutched to her neck as Luna walked beside them, trying insanely hard not to laugh. Her own horn was lit to stabilize Destiny as she kept sliding down the side of Celestia’s back.
“I…honestly can’t believe that you are either Princess Celestia.” Destiny squeaked out as Luna’s magic grabbed and centered her again. “I’ve been horseback riding before…” She trailed off, her eyes going wide as Luna snorted. “N-not that you’re a horse, your Highness. I mean, the size is comparable. I uh…”
“Destiny, dear?” Celestia’s voice interrupted the nervous mare, whom she could absolutely without a doubt state was not Nightmare Moon.
“Um, I uh, yes, Princess?”
“Please stop before you hurt something. We’re close to the edge of the Everfree. Luna, are we safe to precede?” Celestia glanced at Luna, who was desperately trying not to snort through her closed mouth.
“I am certain we are, sister. While I enjoy the ponies of Ponyville, night owls, they are not.” Luna and Celestia both paused in their stride. This had the undue effect of causing Destiny to begin to slide again. This time, Luna wasn’t prepared to catch her, and both mares winced as she hit the forest floor hard.
“I’m okay…” Destiny mumbled, “It’s fine. I landed on my head, not like I needed it or anything… What the. Oh, come on!” Destiny cried in a manner very familiar to Luna. “Um, Princesses… my horn is stuck.”
Celestia glanced over to see that Destiny’s horn was buried in the soil. “I’m going to pull you out. Do not brace, or you’ll likely fly out and knock us both to the ground.”
“Don’t brace, got it! Uh, whenever you’re ready?” Destiny swallowed as she stopped trying to pull her horn free. Instead, she froze in place as she felt Celestia’s magic wrap around her and tug her free with a small pop.
“And there you are, my Little Pony. Free again.” Celestia smiled down at Destiny. The longer she stayed with the young mare, the less concerned she became. She was like an adorable toddler.
“Thank you.” Destiny smiled a touch nervously as Luna walked over to her. Her horn was glowing again as she lifted Destiny back onto Celestia’s back, tying her to her back with summoned ropes.
“That should keep you safe from slipping off Tias’s back before we reach Twilight’s palace. Tia, I suggest that night owl or not, we proceed at a gallop.” Luna smiled as she watched Destiny’s eyes go wide.
“Wait, hold on a second, gallop? Let me grab tight.” Destiny scrambled to grab hold of Celestia’s neck as the mare took off at full gallop.
Oh my God! I’m gonna die! I’m for sure going to die! But man, what a way to go!
Twilight looked up from the book she was reading when she heard a loud knock on her front door. “That’s odd… Who would be coming over so late at night?” She flapped her wings a few times before she flew from the library to land before the front door, hoping that whoever her late-night visitor might be, they weren’t in huge peril.
She swung the door open, and for a few seconds, she wondered if it might not be a better decision to simply close the door and head straight to bed as she had obviously been awake for far too long. She gave herself a shake and took another look.
In her doorway stood Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. It was obvious to Twilight that Luna was doing everything she could not to burst out laughing. The cause of this was obvious, as Twilight just stared at Celestia. As always, she looked immaculate until you noticed that tied to her barrel was…
“Uh, why is Nightmare Moon tied to your back like that Pri-Celestia?” Twilight finally got out. She honestly wasn’t too concerned that Nightmare Moon seemed to be back as she looked as harmless as a foal.
“That would be because she is not Nightmare Moon except in body,” Celestia answered with a smile. “May we come in, my precious Twilight Sparkle, to explain?”
“Yes! I mean, of course, Celestia.” Twilight backed up to allow all three mares to come inside. She took a better look at the mare, who at least appeared to be Nightmare Moon. She seemed to be trembling, her forelegs tight around Celestia’s neck.
“Fast…very fast too fast, way, way too fast.” Destiny shivered as Luna carefully removed the ropes and set Destiny down on her hooves. The pony looked a bit shaky, but she managed to keep from falling.
Destiny followed the others very slowly, kind of getting the hang of walking. Almost as if she had once known how long ago. She watched as Twilight pulled out four pillows and sat on one with a happy sigh.
No more falling on my head, at least. I have got to stop doing that
“Twilight Sparkle, I’d like to introduce Destiny Yaeger. She is a human similar to the creature Sunset Shimmer is now. Somehow, she was brought from her world to ours. While Luna and I search for a way to send her home we were hoping she could stay with you.”
“Absolutely! I mean, another type of human? Think about what we can teach each other! Just, um, one little problem?” Twilight hesitated as Celestia nodded.
“Yes, her appearance is rather startling if you aren’t expecting it. Luna and I felt the best idea would be to place a glamour over her. A three-layered one so that it will not fade under neither the sun nor the moon and as long as friendship fills her heart, of course.” Celestia gave her former student a fond smile.
“Of course! What type of glamour are we going to be placing on her?” Twilight seemed to be channeling Pinkie as she trembled in anticipation.
“One of age, a filly alicorn will be far easier to explain than a mare of any one race without a cutie mark,” Luna said with a sad smile as Twilight nodded in agreement. “If you are prepared, I will prepare the spell; I only need you both to add your magic to mine.”
“Of course, Sister.”
“I’m ready, Luna!”
Destiny looked up at Luna to see both her eyes and horn glowing brightly. She squeaked once before she felt Luna’s horn touch hers and closed her eyes tight on reflex.
“...Are you sure you didn’t possibly go a bit far with the glamour, Lu?” Celestia asked as she blinked a few times.
“I’m sorry, but did you see how she toddled after us? If anything, I did not go far enough.” Luna frowned at her sister.
“I think she looks adorable.” Twilight beamed at where Destiny still had her eyes closed.
Destiny finally opened her eyes to see she was far closer to the ground than she had been. “Could… er, may I see a mirror?” She asked after a moment.
Twilight quickly produced a mirror so that Destiny could look at herself in the mirror. Her fur was still space black, and her eyes had normal pupils but were still turquoise Thank God for small favors Her wings, which had been large and intimidating things, were now fluffy little things held to her sides. Her horn was far shorter and dull. Nightmare’s mane was gone, replaced with a mop of purple hair. She looked a lot like Penstroke’s original character, Nyx. The only thing was she was certain Nyx had been like nine? Destiny didn’t look that much older than the Cake twins.
Transported to Equestria for a magical fantasy adventure, and I’ve become Mini Nyx…fan-fucking-tastic.
Author's Note
Nyx belongs to Penstroke; Destiny is not Nyx. She just bears a resemblance to her. Hope you guys enjoy the Eclipse summoned surprise!
