This story crosses over into the story of Bubble Pop: http://askbubblepop.tumblr.com/
The author often refers to herself as Rue and her mod blog is here: http://bubblepopmod.tumblr.com/
I closed my eyes. I was soaring higher and higher, closer and closer to the sun and soon Luna’s beautiful moon. The clouds stretched out in front of me in an endless expanse of sky. I would soon reach Cloudsdale and my friends that lived there.
Of course I first needed to avoid all the dragons and other various dangers up here in the air with me. I careened quickly as one of them shot by. The dragon looked scary, but it actually waved and smiled as it went by. I waved back with my hoof, grinning at him. A phoenix flew by next, barely missing me as well. It shot forward, faster and faster. So it wanted a race huh? I was one of the fastest fliers in Equestria! It wasn’t going to beat me! I ducked my head down and- I heard something.
I shook my head, my imagination retracting and I looked up at the balloons helping me flying in the air. They and the ropes holding them seemed fine. So what was that- I looked down. Oh no! The rope holding me down had somehow fractured. I strained to close my wings before-another snap.
I screamed as I traveled into the air for real. I flapped and flapped but my tiny wings weren’t getting any traction. I shot up, the weather balloons carrying me like my weight didn’t even matter. My moms had warned me about using those balloons, why didn’t I listen? Fast and faster I went, my little wings doing nothing. “Help!” I screamed, but no one came.
I sailed over the Apple farm. There were clouds all around me. I buzzed my wings over and over, trying to get to any of them, but I wasn't making any traction. I would have liked this under any other circumstance, shooting through the air, but I had no control, and neither did anyone else. I was speeding towards the Everfree… the Everfree? I’d already had bad experiences in there, I didn’t want to go back.
I flapped my wings furiously and even moved my legs, trying to swim in the air, if that was possible. But I continued to sail on. CRASH! I looked up. The balloons were entering a small cloud that looked to be filled with ice. A snow cloud? Crap! I squirmed hard but- CRASH! Another one burst. I slowly started to fall into the forest. I bit my lip, looking over the forest. I was going to land very deep in it. I made sure to face myself towards the Apple farm. The second I landed I was going to make a dash for it. I started moving my legs in anticipation of meeting the earth again. I would have to run and run fast.
As I descended, I looked down. Something moved. Oh come on! A timber wolf! C’mon, this had to be a dream… that was it, I was having a nightmare, any minute I would wake up. Any minute… C’mon! The wolf sat there under me as I descended into the trees slowly approaching his waiting jaws. “HELP!” I shouted again. Tears streaming from my eyes I looked ahead, in my mind, saying goodbye to my friends and family, I knew it, this was it. I was too young to die. Water filled my eyes as I looked ahead. "Help... please someone help!"
A light seemed to open in front of me. Was it Celestia coming to guide me to my next life? Was this going to hurt? Would I be able to apologize to my moms as a ghost? I sighed, holding my head in my hooves as- a filly shot out of the light.
My eyes refocused seeing a yellow pegasus filly fly past me, carrying a small blue earth pony colt. The filly set down the colt and glared at the timber wolf. The wolf turned to her and growled. Electric bolts shot out of the filly and tore through the body of the wolf, sending splinters everywhere. The wolf’s body was scattered and… yea it was dead.
Two more bolts shot out from the yellow filly, bursting the remaining balloons carrying me. I was about to panic as she shot up into the air and grabbed me. She brought me to the ground beside the blue colt.
“You okay Bubble?” asked the colt.
“Wha… how… who are you two, how do you know who I am… what are you doing here… what?” I examined both foals. The filly was a pegasus with a yellow coat and a blue mane. Her mane was rather messy in the front but the back looked like a series of three neat triangles. Her face was also a mismatch, the right half covered in freckles, while the other side as clear. She had a huge grin on her face, eyes wide open. Her companion had a baby blue coat and a dark blue mane, which actually just looked like a normal colt mane, a short a messy crew cut kind. He had a small yellow highlight, but other than that, he wasn’t as much of a visual oddity as the filly. The colt seemed much more calm, just smiling at me.
“We’re big fans,” said the yellow filly above me. “We follow you on tumblr.”
“Wait… you what?” I asked back. “That silly program I use… stuff keeps happening with that…" I quickly remembered many things happening. A long time ago I got a computer and started using this program on it called "tumblr". When I first started using tumblr, it seems like just a message system, but over time, it seemed like the program started casting spells on me. Like me being changed into a colt, or me becoming a bat pony. All kinds of magic kept coming out of that program. It was more or less fun to find out what would happen next, even though I didn't understand HOW it was happening. Exactly why my moms let me keep using it I wasn't sure, but I mostly had fun "Now foals are shooting out of it?”
The filly’s head moved back a little in a small amount of surprise. “Um- well- I don’t think so. You see I can travel anywhere through many different universes that I want through a series of portals in my dad’s cave… but if you think about it... it seems like every world I go to has a tumblr page... all the worlds are linked by tumblr... I think… I guess we really did come here out of tumblr then… huh… wish I understood more about the program.”
“Portals? Cave?” I asked.
“Um… I come from another world… it’s really hard to explain. I saw you in trouble on your tumblr blog and I came through your portal to save you. You can thank me now.” she smiled at me. "I'm a hero, I am awesome."
I looked at the remains of the timber wolf. “Yea, thankyou, of course. Um... How did you do that to the wolf?”
“I command lightning. That happens to be my name too, but that’s unrelated.”
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Lightning Strike, and the colt is Dusk, my bestest friend and little brother.” I looked over at the currently rather quiet colt. He just nodded at me.
“You have a brother too? Hm, neat,” I said. I was a little confused, but enough time with tumblr had taught me to roll with things a little.
“Oh yea… I wish we could have seen more of your visit with him, but the comics about that were only so many.” Lightning shrugged. I blinked, not sure I was comprehending her words entirely. Comics? I had always wondered how my followers saw me on tumblr but, through comics? Was that how? “So you’re from tumblr… how does that work?”
“I have no idea,” Lightning answered. I blinked a few times, hoping there was more than that. “At least I’m honest.”
“Yea well… thanks for saving me, but now, can you help me out of here?” I asked. I looked up at the surrounding trees, a sense of just how screwed I was setting in.
“I um… yea but… I’m not sure how to do that part,” Lightning replied.
“Just fly me out,” I said. “You can carry another pony.”
“And leave my brother, are you crazy?” she shot back. I looked at the colt again. “What if I can’t find him again?” Well, I didn’t want to endanger Dusk, I just met him, but that was no reason to want him hurt. He smiled at me. The smile seemed nice, he was probably a nice colt, I didn’t want bad things to happen to him.
“Can you carry us both?” I asked.
“I can lift you both, but carrying two ponies at once is really hard. I tried to carry him and Scootaloo at the same time once… we somehow ended up in a tree… three times… the same tree… you see the tree branches fell and then I turned around and- you get the picture, it was really embarrassing- it didn’t go well.”
“Well… can you just go get someone?” I asked. There was a nagging question in my mind about how exactly Lightning knew Scootaloo, but I decided there were other priorities right now.
“How am I gonna remember where you guys are? It’s a big forest,” I sighed and closed my eyes. There had to be a way out of this for the three of us. I wasn’t sure how Lightning and her brother got here exactly, but assuming they couldn’t just use another portal to get us out… safe assumption right?... what else could we do? I imagined myself flying over the forest.
How could I fly out of here and remember where I had been? What if I had the ability to command lightning… I imagined blasting a crater into the forest, to make sure I remembered where I and my friends had been. The forest around me caught fire, my friends started screaming and I could do nothing about it-okay bad idea. Restart. I was flying up in the air and using my lightning. What if I only set the trees on fire on their tops? I flew off and-came back to find my friends had to run way because… yea because the trees were on fire. Restart. I shot lightning into the air, trying to get the attention of other ponies. That could work. Other ponies watched my display from town… and they shrugged off my display because they had no idea what it meant or that it was even me, because no one knew this version of me.
I gritted my teeth, imagining one scenario after another. C’mon, something had to work in reality… if only we could all just walk out of here… hey wait…
I flew overhead slowly, keeping the farm in view. My friends could see me from below and were able to walk straight out. And hey, if there was any danger I would be able to see it and zap it! So simple!
I opened my eyes. “I’ve got it!” I shouted. Both foals looked at me. “Lightning, can you fly overhead and just lead us to the Apple Farm from the sky? You should be able to see it from up there,” I pointed at the sky.
Lightning shrugged and nodded. “Sure.” Up she flew.
As she left, a thought struck me. I was in the everfree forest and I had just sent the only protection I had several hundred feet away with only a little assurance that she might be able to save me before one of the many monsters in the forest tried to gobble me up... I shook my head. I positive thinking Bubble, positive thinking... hmmmm...
(***)
There was a pretty long walk ahead. For a few minutes I didn’t know what to say to Dusk, but after a while, his silence was getting aggravating, making the whole, being lost in a dangerous forest worse. I couldn't keep having the dangers of the forest being the only thing on my mind. I tried to start small talk. “So Dusk, what’s your family like?”
Dusk was quietly walking beside me. He blinked a few times looking over at me. “Hmm… oh, you’re talking to me... Bublbepop is talkign to me... COOL! Um… Okay. My daddy is a big dragon, that’s my sister up there and… that’s it.”
“What about your mom?” I asked.
Dusk stuck out his tongue and pointed at his throat making a choking out. “I hate her. Moms are dumb.”
“HEY!” I shouted. “I love my moms! I bet your mom loves you, how dare you say that.” Dusk walked quietly beside me as I talked, his eyes looking like they were swimming, looking for an escape. Good! He needed to feel bad about what he said. “Think of all the things your mom does for you all the time. I’ll bet she’s worried sick about you right now,” Dusk gritted his teeth. “Why when I get home I’m gonna give both my mom’s a big hug. Mom’s are nice and gentle and-“
“SHUT UP!” Dusk finally shouted. I stopped, looking at Dusk. “Just… just- just… shut up…” Dusk kept walking beside me. “Don’t talk about mommies with me. Just don’t.”
“But you should hear me, they’re great.” Dusk started to cry. “Oh… I’m " Something was wrong. Maybe I could help? "Sure she loves you still, did you two have a fight or-“
“Ya know, when someone tells you to shut up, especially someone super nice like my brother, it usually means you should just stop,” Lightning was now in front of us. “By the way, Dusk doesn’t shout unless you’re being mean to him. You need to know something.” Lightning stood up straight and started walking towards me. She was actually a little bigger than me and the way she stood emphasized that point. I started backing away as she came towards me, her shadow starting to come over me. “No one is mean to my brother,” she leaned down and we practically touched eyes, “Got it?”
I remembered what this filly did to the timber wolf not long ago. I gulped. “Um… yea… I-I wasn’t trying to be mean honest. I was just telling him not to hate mom’s… ya know… mom’s are nice… ya know?”
Lightning sighed, walking over to her brother. She put her wing over him. I trotted around them, not sure what was happening. I looked at their faces. Dusk was holding back tears and Lightning was hugging him to herself, biting her lip. “I… I’m sorry. You’re mom is gone isn’t she? My mom’s told me that sometimes moms go away. They don’t want to, but sometimes-“
“Shut up…” Dusk said very quietly.
“Look you shouldn’t hate her because she went away you two, I’m sure she didn’t want to-“
“THEY THREW US AWAY!” Lightning shouted. I stopped talking. “We were adopted together, but we don’t have the same mother. We were both found in dumpsters when we were babies. We’ve been told we’re both lucky we’re alive. SHUT UP ABOUT STUPID MOTHERS! I HATE MOTHERS! WHO THE HELL THROWS AWAY A BABY!? I HATE MOTHERS!”
My eyes were wide, mouth stuck open. “What?” I asked. “No… mom’s don’t throw you away…”
“Ours did.”
“That can’t be…”
“Can we just get out of here?” Lightning asked. I puased, searching for something to say. I didn't even know what to think. I just nodded. Dusk started walking next to me again as Lightning flew overhead again.
As we walked… my mind was kinda stuck. Moms… momies are good… they don’t throw you away. A mom would love you too much to do that… they had to be wrong… they’re mom’s made a mistake maybe… maybe they didn’t know these two would turn out to be nice… no, that wouldn’t be a good reason to throw away babies. Babies aren’t mean… how could someone throw away a baby?
I looked at Dusk walking next to me. His tears had dried up, his smile was back. He quietly smiled at me, suddenly looking concerned when he saw my frown. He pushed up next to me, smiling at me bigger. I smiled back, not sure how this was making me feel, but I wanted him to be happy.
I had to introduce these two to my mommies. Two real mommies… whatever they had-they-they must not have been real mom’s. Not sure why anyone would call someone who threw away a baby a mom, but that’s not a mom. These two needed to know that. They were nice. I had to show them. Mommies are nice.
Dusk moved away a little. “Hey,” I started. “About your mom” Dusk looked at me nervously. “No, I’m not gonna be mean. Look, you can meet mine… I’ve got two, you can have one…” I gritted my teeth… could I really? How could they not have a mommy? But I couldn’t give up one of mine, I loved my moms.
“I don’t think you can do that,” said Dusk. “I don’t want a mom. I have my daddy.”
“But daddy’s are never there…” I said. “I’ve never seen my dad… dad’s just aren’t there.”
“They're not always around, but they love you and they watch over you,” he said back. “Mine watches me.”
“Oh yea? Where is he?” I asked.
Dusk grinned nervously. “We didn’t tell him where we were going… I wish Lightning could just get us home.”
Part of me wanted to rub this in his face, his father wasn’t so great, dad’s aren’t that great really, or I’m pretty sure they’re not… mine’s never shown up. Still, he wasn’t being mean, so I wasn’t going to be either. Still… “How can she get you home… and why won’t it work?”
“Lightning can make portals with her electric powers, but the Everfree makes her powers not work very well.”
We walked for a few more minutes. I was starting to wonder about all the dangers supposedly in the forest. I had thought something would attack us every second, but nothing was coming. Was the danger of the Everfree made up?
I looked around. Actually the woods were kinda pretty. The wild trees, the phoenix’s flying overhead, the way the leaves reflected the light… wait… “LIGHTNING!” Dusk shouted. Two phoenix’s shot after my new yellow friend. Two bolts flew out from her at both of them, blasting one, but missing the other as it blazed towards her, biting her wing. The two fought in the air, Lightning’s powers tearing the phoenix apart to no surprise, but even in winning Lightning fell down. Dusk and I both ran to her, the filly landing on her bit wing. “LIGHTNING!” Dusk shouted again.
Lightning got up, tears streaming out of her eyes, hissing and trying very hard to keep from screaming. Lightning strained to open her wings again, pushing her brother away. As her right wing stretched- she screamed. I quickly tore into my saddle bags. “Stop trying to fly!” I shouted.
“We won’t get out of here if I don’t…” Lightning said. I heard her, but I was trying not to think of that. She was hurt, I hurt a wing once too, it was NOT fun. My mom Sweet Night made me pack bandages after I got hurt, saying I needed to be able to help myself if something bad happened again. Lightning tried to move her wing again and I grabbed her around the waist, holding it fast.
“Stop!” I shouted at her. “I need to wrap it. You can’t flying like this and that’s that.”
“But we have to get out-“
“How far are we anyway?” I asked, wrapping her wing against her will. I had no doubt she was stronger than me, but her hurt wing couldn’t fight me.
“I guess we could just walk… maybe a few minutes…”
“Then we’ll just walk,” I said, trying to be patient. I was scared too, but… well I had to fix her wing, I just had too. I tied off the bandages with my mouth. “Now c’mon you two. Let’s get out of here-“
“Guys… maybe we should run…” Dusk backed past us. I looked up to see the trees behind us swaying. I heard growling. “I remember something about Timber wolves, they sometimes get really... well bi-“
“JUST RUN!” Lightning shouted. I had no problem with that command. “That way!” Lightning pointed straight ahead. Dusk and I took off.
After a few seconds of running, I realized Lightning wasn’t with us. I stopped. “Where’s your sister?” I shouted to Dusk. Dusk looked back, coming to a stop himself.
“Lightning?” He asked. I quickly started running back, Dusk following.
I came back to where Lightning was and my eyes widened. A massive timber wolf was bearing down on my new friend. Two huge bolts tore off from Lightning, but they only skittered along the surface of the wooden creature’s skin. Lightning backed away, but she was holding her ground way better than I would have. The wolf had stopped, but it was slowly approaching her, looking to size her up. “Lightning run!” I shouted to her.
“I have to protect my brother!” she shouted. “Get him out of here.”
“I won’t leave without you!” Dusk shouted behind me. Four new bolts flew out from Lighting, ripping across the face of the gigantic beast. They cause small fires, but they seemed to only make the creature angry.
“I...” Lightning looked back and forth between the wolf and her brother, backing up again. "I... please Dusk, just get out of here."
"NO!" Dusk shouted.
I thought fast as I could. How could I save them... if I had lightning powers- “Shoot its eyes!” I shouted. Lightning obeyed, the wolf backing away when it’s pupils were hit. I ran over to her and put my face in hers. “Now let’s run!”
The three of us took off together.
Faster and faster we all ran, the light outside of the trees getting closer and closer, a growling behind getting closer as well.
The three of us tore out of the threes. I looked back watching as the massive blind wolf crashed through the trees into the light. It howled into the night. I now took in the wolf. It must have been a full twenty feet tall, bigger than a house. We couldn't out run it all day... what could we do. If Lightning couldn't hurt it- wait when did it become night…
I looked up. Something HUGE and green was standing over me. As I watched, my friends crashed into me. The head of… something shot over me and my friends as we stopped and toppled over each other.
The mouth of a massive dragon closed around the giant timber wolf and it carried the wolf into the sky.
As I watched the dragon threw it’s head forward and catapulted it’s opponent into the air and shot a fire ball at it, blasting it. “Daddy!” Lightning shouted.
Several ponies started running towards us from the Apple farm, one of my moms, Morning Dew, among them. She grabbed me and hugged me tightly. “Stop doing this to me!” she yelled. “Please Bubble… are you okay, please don’t be hurt.” I just hugged her back.
“I’m fine mom.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yea.”
The dragon crashed back down to the earth, many of the ponies scattering. The green reptile’s tail went around my two friends, hiding them from view. The dragon growled low and his eyes surveyed the area around. “Those two foals… let them go you beast-“ my mother shouted. She spun around, putting me behind her and glaring up at the dragon.
“That’s their dad mom,” I yelled. She looked about to run to my friends, but she stopped. The dragon lifted his tail and offered his hand to Lightning and Dusk. They climbed into it.
“Really?” mom asked. She took a step back. She cocked her head at the sight of my friends both being able sit in their father's hand together. They were so small to him.
“I guess…” The dragon shot back into the sky with his foals. “Mom… is that what a dad is like?” The dragon kept flying away. “Do… do they know what a real mom is like?” My mom was just silent, watching them go with me.
If they didn't know, I hoped they would find out. As for me... I wasn't sure... what did I want as far as a dad anyway?
Author's Note
Okay, first off, before anyone tries to attack me for saying anything is wrong with single or gay parents, get off it. I do in fact believe two parent male+female homes are the ideal, but I know that can't always happen. The failing orphan care systems around the world are something kids need to be rescued from, and I hate people using kids as tools for their political agendas. However ignoring the ideal just because it can't always be isn't wise. Men and women both have something to contribute to children. Also, feelings aren't politically correct. How the characters feel, is how they feel, if they're made realistically, they're going to want things they can't have and not always know why not.
I hope everyone had fun with this, regardless of politics, oh and don't forget to support Rue, the creator of Bubblepop: http://bubblepopmod.tumblr.com/
Queen Moon: The Adventure Begins
featured blog: AskQueenMoon
Weeks before:
Lightning flew down the passage ways of her father’s cave. Room after empty room she passed by, exploring her massive home. To her father, the space was rather limited, but to her, there was plenty of room to soar. Lightning was suddenly possessed by the urge to explore every nook and cranny she had missed before, or at least, a few of them.
Truth was, Lightning and her family lived in a naturally occurring cave with several alcoves and tunnels, many of them put there by nature, not her father. This meant, sadly, many of the places to explore really didn’t have much to look at. There was actually a small network of tunnels and smaller caves in her home, but nothing of interest in most of them. The filly was learning a system for what probably wouldn’t have anything interesting though. If the hole leading to a room looked too small for her father to push his hand through, there probably wasn’t anything of interest in there.
By Lightning’s system, she was about to fly by one room, however, she stopped and flew backwards after passing it. The entrance was far too small for anyone much bigger than an adult pony to fit in, but she had seen something in it reflecting the light. Rather a series of somethings. Lightning landed near the entrance and looked in.
She saw several mirrors. They looked to be arranged haphazardly and to be completely covering the opening of the room. Naturally, seeing a series of mirrors in a strange room, Lightning wanted to touch one. She walked into the room and reached out to one. As she crossed the opening however, her entire environment changed.
The mirrors near her moved out from her, the door frame behind her seemed to disappear, replaced by a massive opening. The floor beneath her changed from a dull brown to a gleaming white. The mirrors formerly around her flew out, hundreds of feet away, some flying up, some to the side and some forward. Lightning turned around on the now near glowing floor, seeing hundreds of mirrors floating all around her, save for behind her where the massive opening resided.
Lightning slowly looked around at her surroundings. All those mirrors, most of them reflecting nothing, but they were still… well they had the appearance of old fashioned standing mirrors anyway. She flew into the air and began spinning to look at it all. A smile spread across her face. Goodbye boredom, this was awesome! So many mysteries about what just happened here… what were these mirrors? Where did they come from? Was what she saw before an illusion, or had things really just changed when she crossed the threshold? Would this change have occurred for anyone or just for her- time to fly out the door and find out!
Lighting shot out the opening, flying in the air, curious if she would slam into the wall. She didn’t. As she came out of the room she heard a swishing noise. She turned around and saw the massive opening had disappeared. She raised an eye brow. She shot back to the wall and crashed into it at full speed- okay… bad idea… the wall was NOT an illusion. She slowly flew back down to the ground, her head acing a little from the impact. She didn’t land however. She flew through the entrance. N… no… nothing happened.
Lightning landed inside the small room and- it became massive again. The floor, the opening, the mirrors, they all changed again. So this was all responding to her touch… this was so amazing! So then… what about the mirrors? Lightning flew up and shot over to one of them. She reached out her hoof, noting that she would later need to find out if the mirrors that appeared before she touched the other side of the threshold felt the same as this was going to.
She touched the glass- her hoof passed through the glass, the cold material it was made of rippling like water. Lightning quickly retracted her hoof. Lightning looked at her hoof and examined it thoroughly. It was fine… she pushed it through again-pulled it back again. It was fine… Lightning bit her lip. What was on the other side of the mirror? If it was like water, it would be harmless… it didn’t feel like water on the other side, actually she didn’t feel anything on the other side so…
Lighting closed her eyes. She flew forward and pushed her head through the mirror. She opened her eyes, expecting- she didn’t know what she was expecting. She now looked out, through the mirror into a wide expanse of dark air. She looked down and saw… Canterlot castle? How could Canterlot be in this mirror? But there it was… could be an illusion… would that even make more sense in the first place? Lightning flew back.
Lightning was in the mirror room again. The room hadn’t changed, the mirrors floating all around her. She looked at the mirrors all around her. Were all of them like that… whatever that was? Wait… if she was surrounded by mirrors, it was logical that there was one in the middle of these mirrors. The middle was often an important spot.
Lightning looked up. There was a mirror in the middle of the ceiling that looked… different. She flew up to it. It had cracks in its frame. Lightning pushed her hoof against the glass of the mirror and… it felt like glass. There was a small cracking noise as a piece of the mirror snapped off.
CRAP! Would her dad be angry? She didn’t want to break her daddy’s stuff. The piece fell to the ground and she flew after it. She slowly picked the piece back up. Maybe her dad wouldn’t notice? She gritted her teeth. Lightning had a small pack on her back. She put the piece of the mirror in it. What was she gonna do?
This was an amazing room, but she broke something… what would her dad think? He had been so nice to her and now she was flying around breaking his stuff? Some daughter she was being.
(***)
Lightning remembered back when she was still with Luna.
Almost a year ago now, Lightning and her brother had been adopted by a very evil stallion. However in her dreams Lightning had pleaded with Luna to save them. Luna did rescue them, and attacked the evil stallion. Lightning had been grateful for this but still… Luna had looked so strong when fighting the evil stallion, so angry so… so… scary…
Luna had both foals escorted by very strong looking bat ponies to Canterlot Castle and to her bed chambers. Lightning had thought to fight, but when one of the bat ponies picked up her brother, at the time seriously injured, she simply complied.
In Luna’s bed chambers Luna had approached them, Dusk barely roused and was still unable to walk. Lightning grabbed her brother. If Luna wanted to hurt him she would have to go through Lightning. Lightning surrounded them both in electricity and glared. She ripped up the floor and ripped apart the princesses’ bed with powerful bolts of electric energy. She affixed a daring glare on the princess. Princess, monster, it didn’t matter, they had been abused long enough. If anyone wanted to harm Dusk…
Luna looked at her bed and sighed. “Well… there goes that taxpayer money.” She looked back at Lightning and her brother. Luna backed away slightly. She leaned down, fear showing in her eyes. Good! She needed to be afraid.
Luna bit her lip. She put a hoof forward on the ground very slowly. She spoke again. “You need not fear. Listen, we are very sorry about what that stallion did to thee, the one who had thee. We are sorry the laws our sister and we made allowed him to adopt thee. However please, believe us, we never wanted foals to suffer as thou did.” She back away from them.
“He tried to kill Dusk!” Lightning shouted.
“We know.”
“He hit us both… he tied me up… he burned me… he shocked me… he made me believe he buried Dusk…” and the most damnable thing “HE HURT DUSK!”
“We… I know. Thou told us… me. I will never understand, but I know. We can see thou’s love for thine brother… possibly more than we love our sister.” Luna slowly stood, continuing to back up. “We have supplies in this room to perform a healing spell. What was done to your brother was more than just bodily harm. That… monster… tried to drain his very life energy.” Luna went to her night stand and did something. What, Lightning couldn’t tell.
The stallion, Gray, often did things so she couldn’t see. Luna’s horn started to glow. Oh no she didn’t! Bolts flew out from Lightning and ripped into the night stand. Luna wheeled around, a glow of anger in her eyes. Here it was. Lightning had destroyed too many things that belonged to Luna, there was going to be a fight, Lightning knew it.
Luna looked up at her horn. Wait… on second look, the look in Luna’s eyes was worry, not anger… what? “We… we have the cure still. Please, stop fighting us child. We humbly request to see thine brother. See how he is suffering?” Lightning looked at Dusk. Dusk’s breathing was becoming raspy and he was moving slow, even for him.
Lightning needed him to hold on. Please Dusk… “You… you can help?” Luna gently nodded her head, her horn still glowing. “Even after I attacked you? I destroyed your things…”
“It matters not. Please, let us help thee.” Lightning closed her eyes. The field of electric energy around her disappeared. Dusk was slowly levitated away from her. Lightning watched, shaking with fear. Blue energy surrounded her best friend, her only friend. The energy seemed to shoot into his nose. Electricity sparked around Lightning, moving with her emotions.
Her friend was lowered to the ground. Dusk slowly stood up, blinking his eyes. He smiled at Lightning. Lighting quickly flew to him and hugged him.
(***)
Melony, Lightning’s care taker at the orphanage, Gray, her former father, other children… destroying someone’s things always made them fight… except for Luna. Lightning didn’t want to fight her daddy. Maybe Luna would be able to talk him down… Lighting looked back at the first mirror she had gone through. Could she go through and talk to Luna just like that?
Lightning couldn’t leave without her brother. She quickly flew out of the room, ignoring its transformation as she shot back to her and Dusk’s room. Dusk was playing with his blocks again. She grabbed him up and flew out. “Lightning!” he shouted at her. He grunted, but as she carried him away, he didn’t fight her.
Back into the room they flew. The mirrors did their thing when Lightning landed, Dusk looking around bewildered. “Um… what is-“ Lightning grabbed him again and shot up to the mirror she had been through earlier. “You’re not gonna explain much today are you?” Dusk asked. Lightning wasn’t really listening to him.
Lightning flew through the mirror completely with her brother.
(***)
Dusk gasped. “What- the palace?!” he yelled as they flew through the air.
“Yea, we’re gonna go see Momma Luna,” Lightning said. Dusk grinned. They shot towards the tower where Luna normally slept during the day.
As they approached Dusk started to squirm and when they actually landed on the porch he took off like a shot to the door. “Momma Luna!” he shouted at the door. Lightning flew quickly above him, both foals grinning like mad to see their first real parent figure.
The doors flew open and a - black alicorn a bit larger than Luna with a much longer horn stood before them. Both foals moved back. “What are you doing he-“ she regarded them. “Sometimes I swear… parents these days.” She sighed. “Not like it’s the first time someone has allowed their pegasus foal to come up here, or didn’t stop them in time.” Lightning landed next to Dusk, a look of confusion on her face equaling her brother’s. “Well you two are cute… especially this whole, freckles on only one side of the face thing you got going on here um… Yellow.” The two just looked at each other, rather speechless. “Well…” the mare looked right and left. “What’s wrong. You look like you were expecting someone else.”
“Well we were… momma Luna…” Lightning said.
The black alicorn’s eyes flashed with surprise at first, but she visibly calmed down. “You must mean you’re lost. Some care taker of yours no doubt.” The dark alicorn sighed. “Come in, what would the public think if I kept two lost foals stuck out on the balcony, especially if one was an earth pony that could easily fall to his doom?” The two foals slowly walked in, with looks of confusion on their faces. “Now this “Luna”, what does she look like?”
“She’s a blue alicorn,” Lightning said, she looked at the alicorn as she turned. “She has a cutie mark that… looks a lot like yours, but it’s darker. How do you not know the princess of the night though?”
The alicorn stopped. “Excuse me?” her head turned and her eyes flashed blue. They returned to normal. “It is not funny to say such things, I am the only ruler of this land, there are no princesses. Such talk would normally be considered treasonous, but I am a gracious ruler and you are but a child, I will be merciful-“
“She’s the princess, who the heck are you?!” Lightning shouted. She flew up and around the dark alicorn.
“I am Queen Nightmare Moon.” She looked Lightning in the eyes. Lightning’s eyes grew and she flew backwards.
“Nightmare Moon?” Lightning shouted. She shot down to her brother. “We have to get Celestia, she’s back.” She took off but was suddenly encased in light blue magic and pulled back. Lightning was forced to spin around and look Queen Moon in the face.
“Celestia?” The queen raised an eyebrow. “How do you use that name so casually? She’s been in the sun for a thousand years. You couldn’t possibly know her.”
“What are you talking about? Where’s Luna? I’ll find her, she’d never become you again, you must have-“ Lightning and her brother were forced to the ground.
“How do you know the name Luna? There is no Luna here, there is just me, Queen Moon. I am your ruler.” Bolts of electric energy shot out from the pair and blazed a scar across the queen’s face, the queen rocking back in surprise. Nightmare glared at Lightning. Lightning pushed her brother behind her. “How did you do that?” the Queen quickly started studying the filly with her eyes.
“I am Luna’s daughter!... Kinda… sorta… for a month-or two… but I was her daughter. You don’t mess with Luna without messing with me!” Lightning shouted.
“Luna’s daughter…” the queen paused. “How is that possible?” She looked around the room. Her eyes fell upon a pile of messages in the corner. “Is it possible?” Her magic dissipated around the foals. It then started moving the messages, opening them around queen moon. “Might explain your power… these messages I get from my citizens I realize have strange connotations in their text. So many ponies acting like Luna is the ruler of the land and I the one who is strange to the land. Perhaps…” Nightmare looked at the foals again. Lightning spread her wings, electricity dancing around her. “It’s like that electricity moves on your whim… I don’t know how that would happen without a great deal of magic… could you be… is there… another Luna?”
“Another?” Lightning asked. “There’s only one, and she’s gonna kick your butt if you hurt us!”
“I would never harm children… still… why would there be another Luna? And how are so many so familiar with her?” She looked down at the children. “Luna…” she sighs. “Why do I always envy you? You were so weak, so childish. Yet you had a sister who loved you and now you have a double who has actual children.” She gritted her teeth looking at the foals. “How? I can’t have children, how can she have them? How can any Luna have children… how can there be another Luna?”
“Let us go!” shouted Dusk.
“You are not prisoners- you are the children of an enemy to this crown…” Nightmare looked up at the crown on her head. “So then you should be prisoners…” the foals looked at each other in confusion. “I can’t harm children… but perhaps- what if… what if you were my children? The two started backing away. “Yes… whatever she had, or could have, or has, I can have too. She has a sister, I will have a sister, and she will love me soon, she will.” She looked back at the foals. “I am not her inferior. I am her better, and I will have what is hers. I am her better. I will have her sister, and now I will have her children.”
“Um… we have a daddy,” Lightning said. She bit her lip.
“You need not fear for him then. Is he Luna’s husband?”
Lightning shook her head. “No. I said we were only her children for a few months. He adopted us permen- perman- per-men-ant-ly.”
“I see, you will be my children, permanently- and I will be teaching you better language skills. As Luna’s kingdom loves me, as her sister will love me, so you, her children, will love me.”
Lightning snatched up her brother and flew over Nightmare, moving over the queen and out the still open door. Queen Moon rolled her eyes behind them.
Lightning shot out of the royal room, scanning the palace grounds. Where were Luna and Cel- she slammed into the chest of the large dark alicorn. “Forgive me a clechie’ line, but where do out think you’re going?” She swiped with a leg to grab Lightning.
Lightning threw her brother in the air as the queen reached for her. As the queen’s hoof touched the foal bolts of electric energy shot up her foreleg, burning into her, ripping her skin and royal clothes. She released the foal, pain shooting through her. Lightning shot after her falling and screaming brother.
“STOP DOING THAT!” Dusk yelled. “I can’t fly, you know I can’t fly!”
“I can’t shock while I’m holding you!” Lightning yelled back.
“DON’T DROP ME!” Dusk yelled back. “It’s scary!”
“I don’t mean to I j-“ brother and sister were forced apart. “DUSK!”
Nightmare turned them both around in her magic. “You will be my children.” She stated. “I will be kind, but firm when I must be.” Electricity started to surround Lightning, her gritting her teeth. “Go ahead and fight child, overwhelm my power. Next time, I won’t let you catch him.” Lightning’s eyes went wide.
Dusk’s eyes went wide too. “NO!” He yelled. “You don’t just use me! Not again! You don’t use me to make her do what you say, you don’t, no one will, never again, not again-“ magic surrounded his mouth.
“In time it won’t be necessary,” The queen calmly explained. “You see, in time you will both love me, so there will be no need for me to negotiate like this. But for now…” she peered over at Lightning. “Where did you come from?”
The magic around Lightning release. Lightning started flying on her own, looking fearfully at her struggling and furious brother. “Don’t hurt him…” she said.
“Where did you come from child?”
Lightning flew slowly, letting the queen follow her. “Up here… I don’t… I don’t know where it is. The mirror, you fly through it… where is it?”
(***)
Queen Moon’s POV
Queen Nightmare Moon looked at the filly. She saw nothing in the open sky. What was she supposed to be seeing? This child loved her brother, that was obvious, she wouldn’t just risk him for nothing, but nothing was here. What was going on?
“It was here it was… daddy?” the filly seemed to ask out of nowhere.
Queen moon scanned the sky again. Then she saw something. In front of her, a faint red glint. She looked at it. Something green moved in the sky, almost like green smoke forming in front of her. The red glints started to grow in intensity. What was she looking at?
The smoke seemed to be forming on the other side of a slowly evidenced plane of some form. Like a giant pane of glass was separating her and… something on the other side. She blinked as the red glints now began to obviously glow.
“Daddy? Daddy help!” Lightning shouted.
The red glints started to take form. The queen started to fly back. They weren’t just glints, they were eyes, huge eyes! On the other side of the plane she was looking at a massive green dragon, at least five stories tall. Smoke billowed from it’s nostrils as it’s form became clearer and clearer. Nightmare gritted her teeth.
“Monsters cannot enter this realm without battling its protector,” she said, mustering up as much bravery as she could manage, looking at something so massive that she knew almost nothing about. The dragon glared at her. It pulled back a fist and threw it forward.
The plane between Nightmare and the dragon seem to shatter as a huge reptilian hand came through and grabbed her, forcing her to lose hold of the colt with her magic. The filly shot down and grabbed her brother.
Nightmare found herself pulled back and then launched like a pony baseball into the air. The plane between her kingdom and the dragon shattered and the monster flew through, letting out a powerful roar.
Queen Moon opened her wings and slowed her forced flight. She looked down, hearing the screams of her citizens below. She wasn’t sure what this creature was, but she had to protect her little ponies below from it.
The dragon circled around her in the air. She looked at the children, thinking to protect them as well. The filly screamed at the dragon however, “Daddy! Help please!”
““Daddy”” Nightmare repeated aloud. “What could that mean? That thing can’t be her father-right?” Her eyes widened and she quickly casted a shield spell as the huge creature turned and flew straight for her, fire spewing forth from its maw.
Nightmare was barely able to push herself out of the way of the gigantic beast as it bore down on her. Concentrating on evasion and blocking at the same time her shield faltered and one of the claws of the beast smacked into her.
She turned and glared at the monster, eyes flashing white. Nightmare reached out with her mind and wrapped the creature in telekentic energy, throwing him at the ground below the city of Canterlot.
“DADDY!” the filly and colt both shouted. This made no sense, where was all this coming from? Children of Luna? A monster from- another world Nightmare could only suppose- that two foals called father?
So what was going on? She tried to think. That plane, it must have been… perhaps a barrier between hers and another world? Perhaps… maybe that’s where the children had come from. That could explain many things about how some ponies who were communicating with her were talking about Luna. Perhaps there was a world out there where Luna was not just a part of her mind, but still in control?
If that were so, and Luna had children and maybe she had tamed a monster… this Luna was looking better than her over and over. NO! She was not better than Nightmare! Queen Moon was superior to Princess Luna, she would prove it! This monster would suffer for attacking her, and these children of Luna would be hers. She was the better ruler, the better mare. At the very least she was equal, and that would be evidenced.
Truly Nightmare was still somewhat confused, but she pushed that to the back of her mind as the monster shot back into the sky above her. She might have guessed one hit wouldn’t stop something like this.
As the dragon circled around for another attack, Nightmare assessed her opponent. He was five stories, his eyes about the same size as her entire body. His scales and muscular body didn’t suggest many weaknesses either. He did seem to like closing the distance to attack-
He shot towards her, maw opening again, flames shooting out. The queen spread her wings, horn lighting up. She vanished and reappeared behind the monster as it passed through thin air. She fired a beam of energy from her horn at him, it scratching his skin, but not doing much damage. About what she would have expected. The dragon twisted in the air and shot back towards her. Nightmare’s horn lit up again and with her mind she grabbed hold of the dragon, throwing him like a stone to the ground again.
Queen Moon looked over at the children from earlier. The filly was dropping off the colt on a building. Nightmare then looked back to see where the dragon had gone- and suddenly remembered why it might be a bad idea not to watch the filly- a wall of electric energy fired off from the filly straight at her.
Queen Moon barely managed to throw up a magic barrier in time, the barrier too weak to keep her from feeling the force of the blow and being throw hooves overhead summersaulting through the air. Nightmare spread her wings again, fury filling her mind.
Nightmare stopped in the air. She warmed up her horn. If this filly wanted to fight, so be it. Another mass of electricity flew at the Queen. The queen sent a pulse of energy at the foal, the pulse overpowering the electricity and ripping through it, tearing through the filly’s side. The child screamed in pain, her flight faltering. The filly’s brother barely managed to catch her hoof as she fell.
No mere child could take down the queen of the moon! The monster rose from the ground again. Tiresome. Nightmare reached out with her mind and used the creature’s own momentum to throw him above her and force him head first into the side of Canterlot Mountain. The dragon pushed away from the mountain, obviously suffering from the repeated hits. Fire spewed forth from his mouth again at her. This time Nightmare sent a powerful beam against that fire, stopping it and over powering it. She successfully lanced the beast across its lower jaw, the monster roaring in pain. “Stop hurting my daddy!” the filly shouted, being helped up by her brother.
That stupid filly would be punished for talking against her soon to be new mother. But there were priorities. The dragon was far from defeated. Taking something that big down would be hard, even with all of her powers. The dragon flew away from her, circling around her again. Nightmare warmed her horn, preparing a devastating lance attack. She could only fire a few of this spell in an hour or so, but she would have to try. The dragon flew straight for her again. She fired the spell, the dragon banking quickly, dodging the brunt of the attack, though the attack still ripped through his skin, drawing blood.
Nightmare had three more of those lances that she could cast. The dragon swooped around her again. He moved to fly above her and stopped in the air. His eyes started to glow. He wasn’t moving? BIG MISTAKE!
Her horn glowed as she glared at him. A large jewel on the dragon’s neck started to glow. Nightmare, casting her spell, still allowed herself to look at the jewel. It had a carving of the two foals she had met earlier on it. The filly’s carving was glowing yellow and the colt’s was glowing blue… Quaint.
The mouth of the dragon started to glow. So he had something to fire at her himself did he? They were about to see which was more powerful. The queen let loose her lance, the dragon opening his mouth a powerful beam firing out of it. The lance and the beam met in the air, Moon preparing to feed her spell to fight the- it never stood a chance. The lance gave way like a wave before a speed boat. The beam cut through ripping towards the queen like nothing stood in its path.
Nightmare barely got her head out of the way, her side being ripped in to.
Nightmare’s eyes stopped glowing, she started to feel afraid. That was one of her most powerful spells! She shot back to the city. Were she to have time she could have prepared for a confrontation like this, but the monster was right there. This monster… there had to be a way to beat it. Her side screamed in pain as she shot away from the dragon. Her mind was racing. What was that thing on his neck?
She looked ahead at the children whose images adorned his necklace. She reached out with her magic and grabbed the colt.
Fury welled up in the queen. Her kingdom, her pride, her own life all were in danger. She was going to beat this monster, even if she had to do the unthinkable. Her horn warmed, the small colt floating into the air. “Dusk!” shouted his sister. The injury on the side of the filly caused her to falter flying. “Leave him alone!” she demanded.
“My children will be obedient,” Nightmare said. She looked at the dragon, flying towards her. She summoned the power to evoke the royal Canterlot voice. “Continue, if you both wish me to end his life!” the colt started to struggle in the air, becoming very afraid. The dragon stopped.
Nightmare looked at the struggling colt. Good, this was working… but if it didn’t, if she killed him that jewel on the dragon’s neck would- wait… kill a child? Could she really cross that line? Have a foal’s blood on her hooves? The dragon’s voice came, deep and foreboding. “There is no going back from this. I WILL destroy you if you harm him.”
“Don’t hurt my brother,” the filly started to plead. “Please, just let us go.”
“These two are to be my children now. They claim Luna as their mother, and thus I, Nightmare Moon, will become their mother, you will see, I am her better-“
“I care not for your squabble with the princess of the night, I know who you are Queen Nightmare Moon,” said the monster. He had her attention with this line. “If you harm my children, the screams of your citizens will haunt your beautiful nights. You think you’re a monster?”
Nightmare flew backwards a little. She realized the monster had not attacked her kingdom the whole time. If he were to start… She clenched her teeth. “I… I cannot go through with this. Please, take the children and go.” Her eyes flashed white again. “Never harm my subjects and never enter this land again!”
“I swear we shall not. Pursue us and your reign will end,” the dragon warned. The beast held out his hand. Nightmare knew his guard was down, if she wanted to, she could turn now and- no, Nightmare could not and would not harm foals. She levitated them both into the dragon’s palm.
(***)
Lightning’s POV
Lightning’s father took her back home, through a means she barely understood, and frankly she didn’t care to. She and her brother were safe, that was all she cared about for now.
When they returned to the mirror room she sadly looked at the chipped mirror. “I… I broke it…” she admitted. The dragon looked at the mirror.
“You had a piece of it?” he asked. Lightning nodded. “That’s good then. Without a piece of that mirror, you would have been trapped in that world… well if I hadn’t found you.”
“You’re not angry?” Lightning asked back.
“Upset that you didn’t come to me immediately, perhaps, but I am, for now, simply happy that you are safe.” The dragon held his claw out and gently stroked his daughter’s mane. “Just know for now and for all time, I love you. No damage to mere things will change that.”
“You’re sure?”
The dragon smiled. “How could I not be?”
Author's Note
So yea, here's the next chapter. I'm still going to give this story a shot, see if people can grow to love it. This is essentially a continuation of sorts of Mentoring is Awesome, but as you can see, it really wouldn't work as a story supposedly from Vinyl's perspective.
In any case this is my take on the Queen Moon Blog: AskQueenMoon
