The Bright Equestrian Moon

I’m in my friend’s house as he is setting up some sort of summoning circle or something in his spare room. His name is Jack and tends to have an interest in the occult and eldritch. We’ve been friends since high school, since I was the only person happy to have him as a friend. I suppose a similar thing could be said about myself, I’m not good at socialising with many people other than Jack.

He is wearing a black t-shirt and dark blue jeans. He looks up at me with an excited smile, his brown eyes hard to see in the candlelit room. “Ready to try out this ritual, Travis?”

That’s my name, although I suppose I don’t really need to say that. I give him a nervous smile, unsure of whether this will actually do anything or will be another false ritual that does nothing. “I suppose so, although after all the different rituals we’ve tried, I don’t know if this one will be the real deal or not.”

Jack chuckles. “Yeah, I know what you mean, but I have a good feeling about it this time.” He looks down into an open book that he has in his hand. It is a grimoire I believe, if he’s taught me anything about this kind of stuff. “Apparently one of us needs to sit inside the circle, whilst the other reads the incantations.”

I look around the dimly lit room as I think. What if this actually does something? What will happen? Nah, I’ll be fine, I trust Jack. “Since I’m no good with reading that strange language, I guess I’m the one to be in the circle?”

He nods. “Of course, who knows what can go wrong if anything is pronounced wrong?”

I look around once more and check my phone, it is approaching 3 am, the witching hour. There don’t seem to be any messages for me, but that’s expected. I then slowly walk into the circle and sit down with my legs crossed. “Before you start… Do you even know what this thing does?”

Jack nods again, although somewhat uncertainly. “Yes… It is to infuse your mind with eldritch knowledge… Then with that knowledge you can do the same for me tomorrow…”

I stare at Jack for a moment. “Isn’t that dangerous? If I know anything from reading H.P. Lovecraft, it’s that eldritch knowledge could drive me insane…”

He shakes his head this time, his black hair getting in the way of his eyes for a moment. “No, that’s just fiction, not real magick. Besides, it’s possible nothing will happen at all.”

“All right… Fine… Go ahead.” I close my eyes and begin to shake a little. Even if that is fiction, something terrible could happen if this ritual works… I then hear Jack beginning with the chanting. I couldn’t say what language it was, or how ancient it may or may not be. So far, nothing… Until I feel a slight buzz… No way… I open my eyes to see the circle glowing a bit… The chanting intensifies to the point where it becomes frightening… Something that couldn’t possibly come from a human mouth… Jack’s eyes are shut and he isn’t even looking into the grimoire… Not only that, but he’s levitating a tiny bit from the ground… I have second thoughts, but it’s too late… There is a bright flash and all of a sudden, I’m not in Jack’s house anymore…

I feel exhausted… I try to look around, but I’m too dizzy... What happened? Where am I? I close my eyes until I feel my head stop spinning. I open my eyes and attempt to get my bearings. I’m in a garden somewhere, and it seems to be night. I notice a fountain and crawl towards it. It takes so much energy. The fountain seems to have clear, reflective water inside. I see my reflection due to the bright moonlight. My dark brown hair looks unkempt, and my blue eyes tired. Turning around, I prop my back against the fountain edge. I check my clothes, my white t-shirt seems fine, although my black jeans are scuffed with grass. Looking up, there appears to be some sort of mansion or castle in front of me.

I’m so confused… Did that ritual teleport me somewhere? I thought it was meant to grant me eldritch knowledge… How far away from Jack’s house? Am I even still in Australia anymore? And what about Earth? No… That’s too far. This whole thing is impossible. I must have become unconscious… Am I dreaming? I pinch myself. Damn! That actually hurt… This whole thing is ridiculous. I mean, come on. Could Jack have been right about this actually being real? He was wrong though about what that ritual does… Unless he pronounced something incorrectly? I need to stop thinking about all of this. I take a few deep breaths to calm myself. Maybe things will go back to normal in a moment. Perhaps I’ll get sent back.

There is a sound of rushing footsteps. Something is off though. They sound like hooves as they make a clip clop on what must be stone. I can’t believe it as I see a horse with a magical flowing mane. Its coat seems to nearly match the colour of the night sky. The horse has a horn though, and wings. It also seems to be wearing a tiara or crown of some sort, as well as some kind of collar with a crescent moon on it. This horned, winged horse also appears to be wearing what I can only describe as metal shoes that cover the hooves.

I try to be still as the dark blue horse is towering above me. I don’t know what to expect or do, I haven’t really been around many horses in my life prior to this. Whatever I do, I don’t want to provoke it.

To my absolute surprise, it speaks, and has a firm feminine voice. “Art thou all right?”

My jaw drops and I shake my head, rubbing my face. What the fuck? It’s speaking… This seriously can’t be real… Maybe I’m not dreaming, but tripping out… Can a ritual even cause a trip though?

What I assume is a she continues to talk. “Doth thou understand us? Can thou speak?”

I blink a few times and somehow find my voice. “Y-Yeah… I understand… B-But, how can you talk? Is this real life?”

She gives me a strange look. “We learnt as a young filly to speak and read. Why should we not be able to speak?” The mare giggles lightly. “And yes, this is real life.”

This is just so crazy… That’s it, I must be insane… The eldritch knowledge turned me bat-shit crazy… I’m sure of it… Oh well… I suppose I’ll try to keep going… “Wh-Where am I? And who are you?”

The mare raises an eyebrow. “Thou art in the Canterlot Castle garden. And how could thou not know us? We art Princess Luna, the princess of the night. What of thou?”

I try to take in this new information. “Well, I’ve n-never heard of Canterlot Castle, Princess. My name is Travis… I don’t know exactly how I got here… Just that there was some sort of ritual that went wrong… You think I’m crazy right? Rituals shouldn’t be real.”

Luna shakes her head. “Travis… An intriguing name, but it is clear that thou art not a pony. We do not believe that you are crazy, rituals do exist… Although they are only performed in dark magic… Art thou a dark wizard?”

This time I shake my head. So, this princess is a pony, not a horse. “No, I’m not… My friend performed the ritual… But he’s not a dark wizard… At least, I don’t think he is. Just a guy who studies the occult…” I sigh and take another few deep breaths. “Look… This is a lot for me to take in… Where I come from, ponies don’t speak, nor are they civilised… No offense.”

Luna puts a hoof on my shoulder and looks into my eyes. Her eyes are a bright blue. “None taken… We understand that thou must be very confused. It would seem that thou art from another world… As a Princess of Equestria, we have a duty to ensure the safety of the land, its inhabitants, and visitors.”

I nod. It would appear that this Princess Luna isn’t unreasonable. Also, I know now the name of this world or country… Then I remember that I’m very tired. That’s when it hits me, my eyelids getting heavy. I won’t be awake for much longer.

“Travis? Stay awake Tr…” I hear her say, before blacking out.