Another mediocre day on Earth is finished for me. I am what others call a "disabled" person: I am a person whose motor neurons have been permanently damaged by both a premature birth, for I came into the world when my mother was seven months pregnant and perinatal asphyxia, a lack of oxygen in my mother's umbilical cord which led to a cerebral palsy three weeks after my birth.

From what little I know about my condition is that it is called spastic diplegia, a condition which causes my leg muscles to become extremely stiff after a short period of time, usually five minutes.

I was adviced by my physiotherapist to use crutches for short distances and a wheelchair for longer ones: when I first started to use these aids, I didn't pay attention to what others said about me but the more I got to use them, the more I realised I was... something different.

I didn't do things like other people, for even the most basic ones were... hard for me to do. For sixteen years I tried to gain as much mobility as I possibly could but "able-bodied" people still thought of me as "the poor guy" or "the guy that needs help" and... to be frank with you... it hurt more than some of you can ever imagine.

As I get close to my bed by pushing my desk's swivel chair with my legs, I get up using my arms, that are now on the bed, spin about ninety degrees to bring my butt on the bed. I take my clothes off and put them untidily on the swivel chair. I stay there for a couple of minutes, my head low in shame, thinking about what kind of a life I had up to this point.

"I didn't have much of a life so far: few opportunities, few friends and... my mood is at an all-time low. I don't even seem to understand myself sometimes; whenever I'm out, I am a nice, calm and understanding person. Instead, whenever I'm home, I become an angry, frustrated, disrespectful and foul-mouthed person. Perhaps some sleep will help me forget how miserable my life is," I think to myself, allowing sleep to get the best of me after a few hours.

And so, I was in the realm of dreams for what seems to be the millionth time in my life but instead of having nightmares or... dirty dreams, I was peaceful for once, as I was greeted by a warm and confident voice from the deepest parts of my dream.

"Greetings. I am Princess Luna, Diarch of the Night and Guardian of the Realm of Dreams," she introduced herself politely to me, appearing in front of me in all her magnificent beauty.

"Buonasera, Principessa. My name is Indrit, which would translate as Enlightened in English," (Good evening, Princess) I say as I attempted to bow but my back was so tense that I rose back up immediately in a fit of unexpected pain.

"That is a very meaningful name. You've been hiding something very painful for so many years as if trying to hide a sort of sin," she says understandingly, looking at me with her big, expressive cerulean eyes.

"Wait... how did you... I guess that was to be expected from a Princess who was banished for a millennium on the Moon. You read my heart like it was an open book," I say, only to get a shocked expression from the Alicorn.

"Excuse me but how did you know that?" she asks, that shocked expression still on her face.

"I... read your story in a few books. An interesting story indeed," I say, though I am not sure if she knows I am lying.

After a few moments of silence that seemed interminable, she speaks to me once again.

"I heard your cries for help all the way from Equestria. As I looked into your dreams, I felt a lot of anger, pain and desire to go away from your homeworld. Can you please tell me why?" Princess Luna asks with concern in her voice, bringing herself down to face me and looking at me straight in the eyes. I sigh, as her voice was so true and convincing that I feel like I have a sort of duty to tell the Princess of the Night this painful truth, hidden in the deepest and darkest part of my soul.

"I feel like I was born to be nothing but a failure. Every single thing I do here is never fully appreciated or understood. Even though I try my hardest to live in this world, it's never enough for them! I am fed up with living here! I can't stand this anymore!" I say as a few tears start running down my cheeks.

Silence hit the both of us for the second time. Princess Luna smiles and wipes my tears away with her gentle hoof in an attempt to comfort me and perhaps give me a little bit of hope. I smile back at her, nodding as I understood her intentions. I decided to calm down and tell her my story.

"Despite the difficulties you had in your life, you managed to move forward, even though you had to work harder than anypony else. To me, that shows the strength of will and determination you have: these qualities you possess are what makes you strong. Make sure you never forget this," she says while raising up and standing proud beside me, bringing me closer to her with one of her large wings.

"I won't, your Highness. Grazie," (Thank you) I say as I hug the Alicorn back.

"Are you still considering the thought of coming to Equestria, Enlightened?" Luna asks me, looking at me with a genuine smile on her beautiful face.

"Your Lunar Majesty, I want to come to Equestria to learn new things, make friends but above all I want to understand the reason why I was given the chance to live. I know it will take time but I believe this experience would certainly help to find that out." I say, a strange conviction apparent in my voice. I can't explain it but... her voice inspired confidence in my heart as if Luna was trying to make amends for something she felt was very wrong and needed to be corrected by doing something good.

"Alright, the portal to Equestria is ready. Let us hurry before it shuts down," Luna says, making my wheelchair appear out of nowhere.

Without thinking, I hopped on it and pushed myself through the portal. Luna appeared beside me and once we got inside, it felt like my body was out of energy as all of a sudden I felt very, very sleepy.

"Sleep well, Enlightened. I will see to your sleep and protect you from any kind of nightmare you might experience in the future. I will protect you because your life is about to begin anew." Luna thought to herself as she slowly pushed my chair through the portal with her magic.

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait! I know I am painfully slow when I do stuff and it saddens me that you had to wait this long. Drop a like if you feel like this story has somehow touched you. Until next time, everybody!