Two Worlds Under One Moon
“Command, come in Command; this is Lunar Lander Intrigue, can you read?” Captain West was yelling into the microphone while trying to get his space suit on.
“This is Command, we read you loud and clear Intrigue,” crackled the ship’s radio.
“Command, this is Captain West. I am reporting that our navigation system has malfunctioned and we are heading directly towards the moon instead of establishing an orbit. All chances of trying to manually correct out trajectory have failed. We are preparing for impact.”
“Rodger that Captain, God speed and hope to hear back after landing.”
Landing the West thought quizzically. I guess you can call crashing at hundreds of miles per hour onto the lunar surface a “landing”.
“You’re still on the radio?!” West turned around and found his co-pilot, Major Spensor, standing in the cockpit’s doorway, “They’re not the ones possibly about to be turned into pancakes, no get back in here and strap in so you might have a chance of coming out of this slightly beat to hell.”
West closed the seal of his helmet and followed the co-pilot to the center of the ship where the seats designed for situations like this were placed. The tech-engineer, Michael, was already strapped into his seat holding onto the belt straps like that was going to add more security. Even in this dire situation West couldn’t help but chuckle at this site. Ever since the launch, he couldn’t think of a time that the engineer was ever out of that seat except for when he was forced out to help with the refueling at the space station. He wasn’t sure how that guy passed the psychological test, but I guess you get a free pass when you’re the only one that understands the equipment in the back that’s soon to become useless scrap metal. West sat down and connected the harness together. He looked at his co-pilot and saw he was just getting his straps snapped in. “Hey...Duke,” he spoke into the in helmet microphone to get his co-pilot’s attention, “last one to hit the surface buys drinks in the afterlife.”
Spensor looked in the direction of West and a hardy could be heard in West’s headset. “Well that’s no fair to the egghead; we’re closer to the front so we have a head start.”
“We are about to die and all you can do is sit and make jokes, and at my expense no less.” The unnaturally high pitched voice over the radio was now coming from the engineer behind them.
“We all have to die at some point, why go with a sour disposition,” West stated.
“You guys are psychotic.”
“No one cares nerd,” Spensor said annoyed. Michael was not well liked among the other two. They mainly hated him because he felt like it was his constant mission to inform them that his seven PhDs meant he was better than them. They neither knew nor cared what electromagnetic chemical energy distribution was, but Michael made sure to explain it to them every morning before their first cup of coffee. West was able to tune most of it out, which was good because he was the only thing that kept Spensor from shoving Michel into the airlock. Spensor turned back to West, “I think the best part of dying will be I will never have to hear him again. By the way, shouldn’t we have crashed by-,” Spensor wasn’t able to finish that sentence when his question was answered by a violent shutter when the ship hit the surface. Because the ship didn’t immediately stop when it hit made West think they must have hit the edge of a crater. The relief from the graze was short lived when the second hit was a dead on collision with the curve of the crater floor. The ship continued to travel along the surface by sliding down the curve until the nose slammed into a massive boulder. The sudden jolt had enough force to cause nearly everything to fly forward…including the engineer’s chair. That was the last thing West knew before the force caused him to blackout.
*****
West woke up to see a scene that could only be described as the aftermath of a massive explosion. Pieces of the equipment stored in the back were now embedded into the front wall, and the roof was torn off like a soup can and all West could see was a starry sky. “Is everyone alright,” West asked over the radio. He heard no response and asked again, “Spensor? Michael? Someone please respond.” Still no response. As the grogginess dissipated, he remembered that he had seen Michael fly forward which would explain the hole in the cockpit door, but Spensor wasn’t speaking up either. West turned to his side and noticed why. Through the center of his suit, Spensor had a part of an antenna from the payload sticking out. West removed his harness and stumbled out of his chair and made his way to Spensor. He looked through the visor and saw the empty open eyes of his co-pilot. “Sorry I have to leave you alone with Michael, my friend. I’ll make it up by buying your favorite drink.” West looked at his arm which had a computer screen on it stating several things, including his remaining oxygen, “Which may not be long.” The screen showed a bright “40%” in big numbers. Given the fact it was at 100% when this whole ordeal started meant he was out for quite some time. He knew it wasn’t leaking or the computer would have told him.
West navigated his way around the debris and made his way out of the ship and onto the moon. West surveyed the surface and saw the rest of the ship scattered for what had to be miles. “One small malfunction to cause a crash, one giant mess that I’m not cleaning up.” He even found Michael…or at least what was left of him. He looked down at his computer and tuned the frequency of his radio to the main channel, “Command, do you read me?” He was greeted with silence. He tried again only to get the same response. “Well, looks like I’m stuck here on my own. I guess the only thing to do now is to check out my new home.” He started off on his way, thinking about all the things he was going to leave behind: family, friends, warm sunny days, and cool starry nights. He stopped and chuckled at the last thing, “A starry night is now my front yard view.”
He walked for what seemed like miles, but realized maybe a quarter mile for the fact he could still see the wreckage behind him. He still had a fair amount of oxygen, but it’s not a good enough amount to be climbing around rocky terrain. He turned back forward and noticed something that seemed out of place. It took some time to walk over, but when he was close enough he noticed that it was a massive pit. He knew the moon had plenty of deep craters, but they were also wide enough to engulf a city block, like the one I’m in thought West. This one, however, was no wider than a backyard pool, and yet he could not see the bottom. He grabbed a glowstick out of a pocket on his suit and snapped it so it would emit is neon green glow. He dropped it down the whole and watched it fall…and fall…and, “Jesus Christ, does it even have a bottom?!” The glowstick disappeared out of site before it ever stopped falling. West had studied many years of space and physics and could not think of anything that could burrow down so low yet create such a small opening.
As he continued to ponder, he didn’t realize he was leaning too far forward. The shift in weight broke a loose piece of the edge and he fell through. He tried to turn quickly and grab the edge, but it was out of his reach. He stared in dismay as he watched the opening become smaller the further he got from it. He couldn’t believe he survived a massive crash and was going to meet his end because he got too curious. He maneuvered himself back around towards the blackness of the pit. If he was going to hit the ground he could find before, he at least wanted to see it for himself. Plus, he thought if he could see it coming he could possibly survive the hit since the gravity was lower on the moon meaning he was falling at a slow enough speed for it. He waited for several minutes, but the bottom still yet to meet him. He hadn’t even caught up with the glowstick he tossed earlier. He was actually getting bored. He never knew someone could get bored while facing possible doom. He thought about taking a nap until he saw a small glimmer in the distances. He thought he had finally caught up to the glowstick, or maybe even the bottom. He was about to try and position his feet below him until he noticed something odd about the light. It looked to have some distance still to it and was already bigger than the glowstick. He squinted to try and see if he could make out what it was and went wide eyed when he recognized what the light was, “Stars?” Was he actually seeing stars? Did this whole go to the other side of the moon? Did he get slingshot back to the same hole? The last thought seemed unlikely because the glowstick was still missing. Before he could think of an explanation, he was shot out of the whole and looked back to see a bright lunar surface. This confused him even more because if he was on the other side of the moon it should be pitch black since he fell from the light side. He started to fall to the surface, but not directly back towards the hole. He tried to turn around but ran out of room to maneuver while he was thinking. He braced for the impact and waited to collide with the ground…but the impact never came. He opened his eyes and looked down to find himself hovering inches from the ground. “How is this possible,” he thought aloud.
“Who are you and why have you come here,” a voice of unknown origins bellowed.
“Who’s that?” West began to panic fidgeting around to see where the voice was coming from. No matter where he looked he could not find the location of the voice. He began to spin around and was lifted a little higher in the air. When he was turned 180 degrees around, he was face to face with a dark black horse with piercing turquois eyes. He was still panicking, but it was mixed with confusion. What is a horse doing on the moon? He looked closer and noticed a long glowing horn on its forehead and motion from his peripherals made him realize that it also had wings.
“I said, who are you and why have you come here,” the horse said with a more stern tone. The slits in its eyes narrowed and it showed its teeth in a snarl.
“It can talk!? Let me go you monster!” West started to swing his arms, but hit nothing.
“How dare you speak to me that way?!” The creature tossed West and he hit the ground hard. “You will not speak to me that way, and I am not a monster. You will address me as Nightmare Moon or Your Highness, is that understood?”
West looked back up at the creature and just stared. It was too much to take in; it was a talking horse in space, but also not a horse. He looked at the other parts of this “Nightmare Moon” and was still focused on the horn and wings. He took mythology as an elective in college and knew of pegasuses and unicorns, but not a mix of both. “What are you? How are you here?”
Nightmare Moon shot him a disgusted look, “Apparently manners are not taught where you are from. I have asked you a question, and instead of answering me you instead ask me some of your own.”
West stood there trying to remember the questions. “My name is Captain Johnathon West. As for why I am here, my ship crashed on the moon and I fell through a hole that led me…wherever this is.”
“Much better. To answer your question, I am a powerful alicorn and royalty to the land of Equestria. I am here because of my former self’s jealous sister not appreciating the glorious night I had provided for my subjects. I refused to lower the moon so as my subjects can appreciate my work, and in turn she punished and imprisoned me to the moon for 1000 years.”
West continued to stare without moving. He tried to process the information, but too much of it sounded like something he would have heard back in college during one of the many drunken parties. When he finally had the mental capacity to move, he looked down at his arm to see the oxygen meter was now down to 29%. “I get it now,” said West. He looked back at Nightmare Moon, “You’re not real. You are just a hallucination caused by the lack of oxygen. There are no such things as ‘alicorns’ and everything else you said sounds like some fairy tale I would tell my kids.”
An irritated look flashed across Nightmare Moon’s face, “Not real you say?” Her horn began to glow and she lifted West off the ground. She tossed him back and forth like she was playing a tennis match in the sky and he was the ball. “Is this real enough for you?” She began to maniacally laugh like it was a game to her.
“Alright, alright; you’re real, now put me back down!” Nightmare released West from her magic and he hit the ground with a hard thud, “Ugh, now that definitely felt real.”
“Now, I’ve told you what I am,” Nightmare said standing over West, “Now tell me exactly what you are.”
West stood up and looked at Nightmare Moon, “I am a human being, and astronaut if you want a title. I come from a planet called Earth which, if we are still on the light side of the moon, is right over the-“ West looked back where he thought he would see his planet and instead saw something else. It was a planet, but it did not contain any land masses that were familiar to him.
Nightmare walked up next to him but continued to look in the direction he was pointing, “That is not the place you call Earth, but it is Equestria. That is the place I told you about that I call my home, my kingdom.”
West dropped to his knees in defeat. He couldn’t make any sense of it. How is this the moon and Earth is nowhere to be found? The planet he was looking at should not have existed. He knew he was never going to make it back home, but he always assumed he could view his home to the very end. Now he even had that taken away from him.
Nightmare looked down at West for a moment and turned back to the view of Equestria, “I sense this sight troubles you. I do not know how to fix this, but if you need help coming to terms with this, let me know. I may not sound like it, but I do care about those below me. When I look back, I do see how my eternal night may have seemed selfish, but I only wanted it because my subjects were never able to enjoy the night.”
West looked up at Nightmare and stared speechlessly at the way she stood. At first sight, she seemed like the image of evil. It seemed as if you could not look at her without falling under a possession. But as he looked closer at her, he saw something different. He saw poise, elegance, strength, and…pain. She may not have had a human face, but he could see the look of pain; one that someone has when they have regrets. He knew this look because he knew it was the same look he had to be carrying. He regretted the fact he will never see home again. His gaze broke when he heard a chirp in his helmet. The noise was a notification sent from his computer. He looked down and saw that the oxygen levels have reached 20%.
“I saw you looking at that before, what is that device,” Nightmare asked.
“My life line,” responded West. “This tells me different thing like atmosphere, radio communications, and how much air I have left.” When he mentioned air, he looked up at Nightmare Moon, “How are you able to breathe up here?”
Nightmare looked at West with a confused look. “I never really thought about it. I guess the air is the same here as it is down on land.”
West looked back down at his computer and started typing furiously. Nightmare became curious and placed her head next to his to see what he was doing. After he got done typing, the computer began to analyze the composition of the surrounding air. After a couple of minutes it came back with its results. “Unknown,” West said disheartened.
“So, I guess that is a bad thing?”
“Yes, it’s-whoa, too close.” West took a couple of steps back finally noticing Nightmare inches from his face, “It basically means that the chemical makeup of the surrounding air is not known to anyone that programed this device.”
“So what does that mean for you?”
“It means when this number reaches zero,” he pointed to the screen, “I…die.”
Nightmare made a face that he had not seen on her since he met her. She looked legitimately concerned. “Is there anything I could do to help?”
“Not unless you could find a way to fill my pack with oxygen or get me back to my home.”
“Not exactly. I could renew the air if I knew what it was made of, but because I don’t I might fill it with something that might be poisoness to you; and as for transporting you home, because I am unaware of your home, I might end up sending you to my home or somewhere in deep space.”
“Yeah, we don’t want any of that to happen.” West looked back at Equestria and another thought crossed his mind, “Wait, if you could send me back to your home, why can’t you go back?”
“As I had mentioned, I am here as a punishment. I cannot return for 1000 years.”
“Oh,” West said. “How much longer do you have on your sentence?”
“Roughly about 300 years.”
“Wow, and I can’t sit at work for 8 hours. What do you do to pass the time?”
“Plot my revenge.”
“That’s…kind of dark. Ever thought of something a bit more calming like drawing pictures in the ground?”
Nightmare looked at West with a raised eyebrow, “I have no time for silly things like that. My plans must be exact to seek revenge for what my sister had done to me.”
“You could do that, or you could do something that won’t get you sent back here for another 1000 years.”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“I’m not going anywhere, enlighten me.” West sat down on the surface crossing his legs and arms, using his oxygen tank as a back rest.
Nightmare looked at west with a melancholic gaze and sat down in front West. “Both me and my sister has ruled the land of Equestria for many years, she the day and I the night. The ponies of the land would always bask in the glow of her sun. They praised her for the warmth she brought, the light that brightened the land, and the life that helped give life to the fertile land. But what did I get? Nothing. My sister’s sun may have given those things, but it was just the sun and nothing more. I, however, did the impossible and brought light to pure darkness with the soft glow of the moon. I cooled the land after the land had baked under the day’s heat. I created art with the arrangement of the stars above. Whereas Celestia’s sun remained in one place till the time she were to bring it down, I created a moving tapestry by giving life to the stars, sometimes spectacles that would rival that of a firework show. Yet still the ponies refused to watch, but rather remain in their homes and create wonders of their own within their dreams. As Princess Luna, I became disheartened and begged my sister to allow the night to remain so that others may witness my work, but she refused and ordered that the sun must rise before the wake of the other ponies. So I cast away the name of Luna and took on the look of what you see today. I challenged my sister to combat and after a glorious battle, I had struck a crippling blow to her. Just as I was about seal my victory, she underhandedly used the Elements of Harmony against me.”
West motioned for her to stop, “Wait, sorry to interrupt, but what are these Elements of Harmony.”
“They are elements that compose of the strongest parts of magic. As Luna, I used to be able to use some of these with my sister to defeat the enemies of the kingdom. I never thought they would ever be used against me though.” Nightmare readjusted her seating and stared back at Equestria, “That is why I must plan my revenge with utmost certainty so that I will succeed in reclaiming my rightful place on the throne.”
West sighed and turned his gaze to where Nightmare was looking. “From the story you told me, I can understand why you should feel this way, but may I leave you some information that might help you with your plans?”
“If you must,” Nightmare said without altering her gaze.
“From what I have learned from the history of my planet, taking the will of people by force has never ended well for those that brought about this force. Many of them ended up in the same situation you find yourself in now…or worse. Great leaders instead rule their land with kindness and fairness. Do not force your night onto others, or they will come to associated it with fear and anger. Instead, promote it with intrigue and wonder and allow your subjects to enjoy the beauty you give to them. Just keep that in mind when you seek you revenge.”
“I will mull it over.” They both sat silently staring back at Equestria until Nightmare broke the silence, “Will it hurt?”
“Well, that depends on how far you go with this revenge. Will it be like a practical joke or do you plan on putting your sister’s head on a spike?”
Nightmare reared back in shock over the answer, “What!? No! I mean when your air is depleted.”
“Oh, well from what I heard, not in an extremely painful way. The most pain I’ll feel is my breathing will be a bit shallower and more labored, like as if I ran a marathon. I can already feel the air getting thin and becoming harder for me to breathe. Eventually asphyxiation will take over and I’ll just doze off to sleep, and then finally pass away.”
Nightmare looked back towards her home pondered West’s words, “I’m sorry to hear that.”
This piqued West’s interest and forced him to look at Nightmare Moon. He had noticed she was becoming calmer and showed a range of feelings around him, but she always kept a stern regal atmosphere around her. The voice he heard this time carried with it a trace of sorrow and helplessness. He looked closer and saw a tear roll down her face. He looked back down at his suit and opened a pocket near his chest. He reached in and pulled out a small pin that resembled a set of wings.
‘What is that,” Nightmare asked.
“These are my wings.”
Nightmare looked at them in confusion, “Kind of small to be used for flying.”
West chuckled, “No, they’re not used for flying. I used to be in the Air Force, it’s a branch of the military back home, and I used to fly jet airplanes. Do you know what airplanes are?”
Nightmare shook her head, “No.”
West sat and thought about how he could explain it in a way for the alicorn to understand, “Well, they’re like giant metal birds that humans sit and fly in. There are different types, but the one I flew was used for fighting and defense. When you become trained and are a full-fledged pilot, you earn your wings.” West took it and handed it to Nightmare Moon, “Here.”
Nightmare looked down at the metal wings and then looked back at West, “But they are yours.”
“True, but what good are they to me when I go. We have a saying back home ‘you can’t take it with you’. Besides, the reason I have it with me was to leave it on the moon so that when I were to go back home there would still be a little piece of me among the stars. But now, I can use it for something greater as a token to bring two worlds together by giving it to you. Plus, when you head back home, a little bit of me goes there too, and no one from my world has ever been there.”
Nightmare looked back down at the wings and picked it up with her magic. She studied it closely and looked back at West, “Are you sure this is alright?”
“Yes. If I didn’t want you to have it, I wouldn’t have given it to you.”
Nightmare looked down at her armor and she placed it inside. “Thank you.”
West smiled and followed it with a yawn. He realized that his breathing was extremely shallow now and his eyes were becoming heavy. He looked at his computer and saw that is oxygen level had made it to 8%. “Well, I believe it is time to catch some shut-eye.” West went to stand up but stumbled. Nightmare stood up and helped him up. “Thank you.” West stood the best he could and bowed towards Nightmare, “It was a pleasure making your acquaintance Your Highness. Our time together may have been short, but it was interesting to get to know you.”
Nightmare gave a small smile and bowed towards West, “And to you as well, Captain.”
West sat back down and propped himself up with his oxygen tank. Nightmare Moon laid down beside him and placed a wing around him. West leaned to the side and used Nightmare’s side like a pillow, “Is this alright? The suit isn’t hurting you is it?”
“It is alright. Rest easy, for as long as I am here I will remain by your side. Sleep well my subject, I mean, my friend. We shall meet each other again in our dreams.”
West took one last look at Nightmare Moon and smiled, “Luna,” he said thinking back on the conversation, “I like that name.” West closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.
*****
She had planned for everything to ensure her reign would be secured for her return; everything, except for six ponies to be able to wield the Elements of Harmony. Before she knew it, Nightmare Moon was engulfed in a band of rainbow colors and torn apart. All that remained was pieces of her armor and her former self, Princess Luna. Luna looked up and saw the six ponies accompanied by her sister Princess Celestia. Luna reared back in fear on more punishment from her sister, “I am sorry sister.”
Celestia approached Luna, kneeled down in front of Luna, and gave her a big hug. “No sister, I am sorry. I regretted sending you to the moon. I am just glad that you have been returned to me.”
Tears of joy rolled down Luna’s face and she returned the hug. She was glad that to finally be back and to find that her sister was not furious with her.
The six other ponies all looked on in a mix of happiness and confusion. While the others quietly watched, Pinkie Pie saw something glisten out of the corner of her eye. She walked over and found something in Nightmare Moon’s chest plate. “Ooo, what is this shiny object.”
Luna turned to see what the mare was talking about and saw a pair of tiny wings in her hoof. Luna went into a fit of rage and yelled in the royal canterlot voice, “DON”T YOU TOUCH THAT!”
This caused Pinkie Pie to drop the pin and shoot up in the air. She grabbed ahold of an old chandelier and her hair had deflated. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to touch it, I just saw something shiny and it caught my attention and it looked pretty and I wanted to see what it was I didn’t know it was really reeeally important to you. Please forgive me.”
Luna calmed down and looked at the Pinkie. She then turned to the other five ponies that were now hiding behind Princess Celestia. “I am sorry for yelling at you. It is just that it is important to me, so please don’t touch it.”
Pinkie dropped down from the ceiling and puffed her hair back up. She apologized and went to join the other ponies.
“What is that,” asked Celestia pointing at the pin.
“It is a gift from friend of mine I met while I was away.”
Celestia looked at her sister in confusion, “But, you were the only one that was on the moon.”
“Not exactly, I shall explain it to you later.”
*****
When they returned to the castle in Canterlot, Luna immediately went to her room. She looked around to see everything from the old castle was moved to this one and arranged in the same way. Luna took the pin and walked over to the window. She stared at the moon, a well pronounced smile across her face, “I thought about what you had said. I could not resist fighting back, but remembering your words allowed me to see the errors of my ways and I…gave in. I allowed them to remove the horrible Nightmare Moon from my identity, and I’ve never been happier. I can’t wait to let you see the real me.” Luna looked at the pin in her hooves, “Then again, why wait.”
Luna closed her eyes and her mind was transported to a familiar place. The land was a desolate place covered in light grey dirt and scattered rocks. The view was that of a night sky covered in stars, and two planets. Luna knew one right away as her home of Equestria, the other she had come to know as a place called Earth. In the middle of nowhere sat a wooden bench with iron sidings. On the bench, sat a tall man in a blue jumpsuit. It was a man she had visited on several occasions while she still called herself Nightmare Moon. She walked up to the bench, just stopping a couple feet behind the man, “A beautiful night as always, isn’t it Johnathon?”
The man turned to greet her with a wide smile, “Much better now that I have somepony to share it with, Luna.”
