Child of the Night

by Michael Hudson

Rating: mature
Tags: Scootaloo, Sex, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Luna, Drama
Length: 5776

On one Nightmare Night, Scootaloo finds out about one of Luna's most ancient duties, one that will change both of theirs lives forever.

Batponies are mysterious beings. They seem to come from pegasi, but no pony has ever been able to figure out when, or where the split happened. At least, not until Princess Luna came back. With her knowledge of the events, the race's origins are blown wide open.

Or so, most ponies think. Scootaloo, however, will find out the truth behind how batponies came to be.

Commissioned by Anonymous, and contains Foalcon.

Published 2016-06-11 00:20:01 UTC
Last updated 2016-06-11 00:20:01 UTC

A Wonderful Change

“Now class, to celebrate today, before all of you go to try to get your Nightmare Night treats, we’ll be discussing the topic of the Equestrian race, the bat ponies. However, we will not just be talking about how they are different from us, but also will be covering such things as their origins, their culture, and the special services they provide to the land. Before I begin though, any questions?”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes as she looked at her paper. It was a guide for the notes they were supposed to take, something to make sure they paid attention, but she wasn’t about to care, not today at least. Cheerilee had already told her to take it easy if she needed to, and that was exactly what she planned to do. Besides, she could just get the answers from Sweetie before they turned the papers in. Maybe I could try drawing? That might help.

She took ahold of her one of her pens and began slowly drawing in the corner of the paper. It was a fairly normal fantasy from her, with her starting with her idol, Rainbow Dash. Each line began to form the incredible mare’s strong, lithe body. First the torso, then the head, the hooves, outstretched as she flew at top speeds, and finally…

Scootaloo tapped her pen against the desk as she began to hear Cheerilee talk about bat pony wings, and how they rarely allowed the same speed as feathers, but were far more durable, and healed faster, an evolution always thought to help them fight off predators. The filly pushed it away though as tears came to her eyes, and she began to sketch herself in. The strokes didn’t come as easily as she drew her small body onto the paper. Instead, ink smeared against the paper as she kept it too long, and struggled to lift the pen away from the parchment. She was only maybe halfway done, staring at the currently bare back she had on the paper, when she dropped her pen, and a single drop of water splashed against the white. The tear had landed on her head, and she soon watched as it swirled, losing its form to the wetness.

“Scootaloo, are you okay?”

She snapped her head up, blinking rapidly as she registered the fact that Cheerilee was still there, still teaching, and had noticed her. Scootaloo stretched out, pretending to yawn as her classmates stared at her. She couldn’t care about them though, not right now. “I’m fine, Miss Cheerilee. Just a bit tired.”

She nodded, though refused to smile in response to Scootaloo’s forced grin. “I suppose so. Please, feel free to stand if it will help you stay awake then.” She then cleared her throat, and pointed to the board. “Now, onto the origins of bat ponies. Can anyone tell me the tale normally told?”

Scootaloo slowly got out of her chair as Sweetie violently swung her hoof into the air. For a moment, the orange filly considered trying to get in on the downswing, but didn’t want to do that to her friend, no matter how much she currently hurt. Instead, Scootaloo shut her eyes, and tried to listen to the tale that had been told to so many fillies and colts to help them understand their nightly brothers and sisters.

“So, one night, a pegasus laid on the forest floor, too young to fly yet, and too quiet to call for its parents. Lost and terrified, it curled up against the tree and began to pray. Silent and shaking, it was certainly doomed. With the scent of Timberwolves on the air, it waited to die.”

Cheerilee nodded and tapped on Sweetie’s desk, who shouted, “Diamond Tiara!”

The pink filly smiled, as even she knew the short tale, but liked her own way to tell it. “The coward would not find teeth against its deserving neck though. Instead, a force reached out to him, a being as black as night, and cold as death, offering it a chance to get away, and to change its fate.”

“And while yes, I was cold due to the recent snowfall, to say the pony was a coward is not true, as I found her only after she had escaped two Timberwolves.”

The classroom became silent, and Scootaloo watched as Diamond Tiara slowly turned around. Sitting behind her, casually eating an apple, was Princess Luna. Pipsqueak could be heard hitting the floor as they all stayed silent, and soon Diamond Tiara was on the floor in front of Luna, cowering behind her hooves. “I-I’m so sorry princess, I did not mean to insult you or her, if I so did, I promise. I was merely-”

Luna silenced the filly with a pat on the head, before she began to make her way to the front, where a smiling Cheerilee awaited her. “You merely wanted to add your spin to the story, which I will not judge or try to silence. I suspect with my claims, I will be told I am lying, trying to make myself more important to you all. I promise though, that I merely want to come back and set the facts straight, now that I can.” She bent her front knees, and bowed to the class. “Will you please listen to me?”

Scootaloo was silent with the rest of the class, listening closely as Luna began. It began as they all expected, with the lone, scared pegasus. It picked up a bit more as Luna described the chase, as it had been described to her by the mare, and how she vanquished the last one. “I suppose this is where the story changes though, as I touched the cowering, waiting mare, and she looked at me with fear in her eyes. She had been badly hurt, even missing a wing now, and I told her I could not help her. She pleaded with me, begged me to find a solution. So, I gathered my magics, and did all I could to try to save her, allowing Harmony to guide my spell.”

Apple Bloom leaned forward and quietly asked, “So… you made the first batpony?”

Luna nodded, a soft smile on her lips as her mane swept over her front, and a slight red tinge added itself to her cheeks. “Yes, I do believe that is accurate. One was not enough though, and I began seeking out other pegasi, injured or disabled, looking to heal them as I had that mare, so that Equestria may have a guard that would protect the entirety of the night, rather than one mare, even with as powerful as she is, by herself.”

Scootaloo’s hoof shot into the air, and the filly didn’t breathe as Luna turned her way. She had to ask this question, had to get it right, because for the first time in the last two days, she had hope, and it all relied on her answer. “Yes, little one?”

“Can you still do it?”

Luna blinked a few times, growing silent as she thought, before shaking her head. “While I suppose there is the possibility of it, there would be no use for it. Today, a pegasus doesn’t need their wings to survive, we have strong communities that can band together and protect each other; there would be no need for me to do it again.”

Scootaloo nodded, but her smile left, and as Luna watched those shining eyes, staring into her own, she knew this was not to be the end of their discussion.

======+++++======

Luna hummed to herself as she sat on the couch within the castle foyer. While she had enjoyed last Nightmare Night’s festivities, between taking back more and more of her responsibilities and helping Twilight with recent experiments, the princess had decided she wanted a quieter night. Besides, passing out candy to foals and getting to see their smiles warmed her like few things ever had. Of course, if that orange filly were to come over…

A heat came to Luna’s cheeks as she took in a shuddering breath. The thoughts faded as she let the air out, but she knew where they manifested from, and in her mind, she could not escape the big, thestral eyes that looked into her. That had been a pegasus only a few moments ago, but now one of her children of the night. She smiled as a tear came down her face, before shaking her head. Celestia had told her to refrain from such manipulation, as such acts were no longer their dominion.

Luna was just about to usher the last of these thoughts away as a gentle knock came against the castle’s front door. She levitated the large bowl of candy that her and Spike had fought over throughout the afternoon, one for passing it out, the other for a pre-Nightmare Night snack, and walked towards the door. One of the princess’s light blue shoes touched the doorknob, and she pulled. “Well, who might be visiting a princess this-”

She stopped looking down at the three in front of her. Only two wore costumes now, and they pushed their friend in the middle. Said friend was the orange filly from the class today, who seemed to be having some sort of neck problem, for she only stared at the floor. The flimsy excuse to not care melted away as the pegasus placed a hoof onto Luna’s leg, and whispered, “I-I hope this is enough to let you see me.”

Luna glanced at the candy, before sighing, and pushing the candy back towards the yellow and white fillies besides the young pegasus. “While I am flattered, such offerings are for my other self, not for me. I wish to give candy tonight instead.” She then paused, before accepting what she knew she had to. “Though, I’m guessing that you do not wish for simple candies as your treat tonight.”

The filly looked up as Luna gently grazed the side of the small pony’s cheek. It was soft, but also wet, a side effect of fear and anxiety she suspected. The filly nodded, and Luna took a deep breath in. To simply dismiss her would shatter her heart, especially if she had the problems she suspected she did. However, allowing her entry would only tempt Luna more, and she was no longer immune to the consequences of society as she once was. Her morality won out in the end, and she looked to the other two foals. “I’m sorry, my costumed fillies, but for me to even discuss the treat your friend desires, I need to do so in private. Please, go.”

The white one stepped forward, the small unicorn’s tightlips now breaking into a large smile. “D-does that mean you can help her?”

Luna was silent for a moment, before hardening her eyes, and clenching her jaws. “As I said, I cannot discuss my thoughts on this matter publicly. I have asked you politely to go, but will command it as a member of the royal family if I must.”

The orange filly turned to her friends and gave them the faintest shadow of a smile. “Don’t worry, girls, I’ll be fine. Besides, the worst thing she can do is say…” the filly hung her head down, and whispered, “no.”

Luna felt shard of slam into her chest as the pegasus turned her attention back to the princess. She gently put her hoof to the tender flesh of the pony’s cheek. She could pinch it all she wants, blow raspberries to make her laugh, and all she would need to do… No. It didn’t go that way a thousand years ago, it won’t go that way now.

Luna stepped to the side, using the hoof that had pet the filly to now gesture to the inside of the building. “Please, do enter, and, if I may inquire, please tell me your name.”

The pegasus slowly nodded as their hooves sounded off against the crystal. “M-my name is Scootaloo, and we’ve actually met before. You… you helped me back then too.”

Luna laid on the floor beside the filly, slowly lowering a wing over her. Now she remembered Scootaloo. Always trying to act so brave, always having something to hide, even from herself. She glanced to the small wings on the other pony’s back, and wished she was not there, because even back on the moon would be better than to have to either break the filly’s hopes, or her own heart. “It’s not bad to seek help, little one. It’s a sign that you can accept your weaknesses, and flaws, something that helps one grow.”

Scootaloo lowered her head more, nuzzling into Luna’s primary feathers as she saw a tear come down her-the- little filly’s face. “What if you just sometimes feel like you grew wrong? Like Equestria doesn’t want you?”

Don’t say those things. Don’t make me want to comfort you. Please, just be like all the other ponies and smile, so I do not have to hurt myself, and do things that will make me feel only loneliness. She forced herself to breath evenly as she stroked Scootaloo’s mane. “Yes, I do know that feeling. What one must believe is that Harmony has a plan though, and while it may be tough at times-”

“It will work out in the end.” Scootaloo was now staring at Luna, her eyebrows shifted down as the fire of being told the same patronizing things over and over filled those little eyes. She then blinked, and forced a smile to her face. “Oh, your mother died giving birth to you, and your dad ran away? Well, how about we shove you into a shitty orphanage that will make you decide to become a squatter instead? Well, at least you have an idol! Yeah, because that’s so wonderful when they’re amazing at flying, and you can’t ever get off the ground! What pegasus can’t even do that?”

Luna watched as the filly seethed beside her, every inch of Scootaloo’s body trembling against hers. It was a fury she had not seen since returning, and seen so few times before. Her mind flashed back to the first one, the one that looked at her, cursing at her family for forcing her out of the tree, even while they knew timberwolves stalked the forest floor.

She had been needed then, and she figured she was needed now. Luna slowly extended a hoof to Scootaloo, and gently placed it under the filly’s chin. “Calm. If I… If I’m going to help you… You need to be calm.” Every word was agony to her, as she knew what it ultimately led to, but at least it removed the fury in the filly’s eyes, and so helped the pain that was immediately before her.

Scootaloo placed her hooves onto one of Luna’s forelegs, her body still trembling as she looked deep into the princess’s eyes. “P-promise me that you will. Too many ponies tell me they can, so I need you to promise that you actually can make me fly.”

Luna slowly ran her hoof through the filly’s hair and knew that no matter how much she had protested, no matter how long it could have taken for Scootaloo to break down crying, she would have had to help this one. It was simply who she was. “I swear upon my dignity as a ruler of Equestria that I can help you, but I will need you to trust me completely in order to do so.”

Scootaloo smiled this time as tears came down her face. “If it means being able to fly, I would trust anypony right now, let alone one who has helped me so many times before.”

Luna let a smile come to her face. She was not made of ice, and to see a pony be breathed new life into, while knowing it was your fault, was a feeling she relished in. The princess slowly leaned in, rubbing the side of her muzzle against Scootaloo’s, and getting a small giggle out of the filly. Only centimeters from each others faces, Luna breathed, “Than I suggest we retire to my room upstairs, as I wish for you to be comfortable for the ritual.”

Scootaloo nodded eagerly, her eyes shining with the optimism that only a foal could have. It warmed Luna even more, though only by her forcing the increase of the promise the future held for them back into the depths of her mind. She had to focus on the now, and making this wish come true, rather than the wish that would die in a few days.

Scootaloo bounced onto the bed almost the instant she opened the door to her room, which, while it was cute, would also not do. Luna’s horn flared for a moment, grabbing the filly, and putting her under a mild aura of calm. “As I said before, you being too emotional may cause issues with the ritual.”

The filly fidgeted on the bed, now walking in a circle as she obviously was trying to figure out what she was supposed to do. “How am I supposed to be acting than?”

Luna stepped beside the bed, looking Scootaloo in the eyes for another moment, before bopping the young pony on the nose. Once her subject had fallen upon the beds, she descended, her lips soon coming against the foal’s fluffy tummy. A loud, sound, not too different from a motorboat starting, soon erupted, only to be drowned out by that of the small filly. Luna thanked her stars that Twilight and Spike would be out celebrating, because otherwise, they would be forced wide awake by the quick minutes that passed as she tickled the little pony.

As Scootaloo started to quiet down, and her struggles lessened, Luna let her head rest on the filly’s stomach. She watched for the last few moments that those purple eyes stayed shut, before smiling at them. Scootaloo blinked for a few moments as she stared at Luna, and giggled as the princess brought herself up. “Well, I’m calmed down now.”

Luna nodded, her body knowing what she should do, but still, it stayed still. She knew why, but it scared her. It was her duty to the filly though to pursue what she felt. “Scootaloo, do you know what will happen to you?”

Scootaloo stopped for a few moments, before pushing a muzzle against Luna’s muzzle. “Hey, as long as it doesn’t hurt me, and I don’t lose my friends, I really couldn’t care what will happen. So come on, let’s get this started already!”

Luna paused for a few moments, before gently brushing the filly’s cheek with her hoof. “You won’t forget them, but you will look different, and you’ll probably be away for a while. Week or two at least.”

Scootaloo shrugged, before looking Luna straight in the eyes. “I trust you Luna, and if you say I’ll be fine after this, I won’t question it. Now please, can you start?” The filly blinked, and Luna saw tears at the edges of her eyes. “Please?”

Luna blinked away her own tears as she leaned in closer, the filly’s warm breath hot against hers. “I need to link our bodies and magic together, which means that I need your complete trust, something I’ve found to only come in one way. Do you mind if I touch you?”

Scootaloo swallowed hard as a red tinge came her to her cheeks, but she nodded without question. Luna nodded back, before leaning in. Scootaloo’s lips were soft against hers, even as they stayed closed at first. A little prodding, and a gentle lick, got them to open. Luna kept the kiss brief, only letting her tongue glide across Scootaloo’s own lips. A deep sign of affection, but no deeper than Luna desired with one of her children of the night. Now for the awkward part.

Scootaloo’s body twitched underneath her as Luna began to make her way down. First she let her tongue glide over the soft, orange neck, taking in the pulse of her little one. So close to her own, and every beat was one Luna would cherish, if allowed. She shut her eyes to the magical spike of agony within her, but instead kept it level as she moved to Scootaloo’s barrel. There her lips gently pecked the middle, strong enough to not tickle, but soft enough not to hurt.

Scootaloo’s shakes grew stronger as she made her way down. In front of the filly’s eyes, all she could see was the bright, glowing horn of the princess, while the mare’s lips caused weird sensations up and down her body. Between her thighs was the worst, especially as the princess’s breath came against her lower lips. “L-Luna, I’m feeling really weird.”

Luna hushed the little filly as she let a hoof gently rub her barrel. “It’s perfectly normal, and you have nothing to worry about. And please, let me leave at that, as any further, and I fear for your continued innocence.”

Scootaloo nodded for a moment, before mewling out a small moan. Luna muzzle gently ran against the space between her thighs, and despite not knowing why, Scootaloo felt her cheeks flush with heat. Her hooves came over her face as a tiny flick came against the side of her nethers. She looked through her forehooves as she felt her hind ones be gently pressed into the bed. “S-sorry.”

Luna shook her head, her breaths coming in long and slow. She refused to feel arousal due to this, not while she was doing it with her, a, little filly. It was not easy with the moans so characteristic with carnal actions filling her ears, and the scent of the filly’s enjoyment being so much of her world right now. Still, she had to maintain calm. Even if it’s pointless to hope she’ll be more than just another batpony?

Luna shut her eyes, and forced a gasp from the little filly as she buried her muzzle into the filly. She could feel her magic fluctuating, even as Scootaloo’s became so close to being available. She had to calm down, and so gave herself to the place she had been absent for a thousand years. A gentle lick her, a small nuzzle there, and she could feel ripples of pleasure run through her as she could feel every quiver of enjoyment from the filly.

Still, Scootaloo was just a filly, and so had no reason to fear or wish for more of the strangeness between her legs. What she knew was that it felt oddly good, and that with each tender tap from her princess, it grew more and more. Her body started to tense in preparation, and Luna could feel it. She checked her magic for a moment, wishing she didn’t also have to put her arousal in check while she did so, before slowly dragging her tongue the filly’s slit. Scootaloo shuddered and gasped with each inch, bump, and ripple of the large tongue against her thin thighs, before Luna reached the top, and gave Scootaloo’s little clit a kiss.

Scootaloo’s almost popped out of her skull as she felt the bundle of nerves be touched. Fire ran through her body, building and stoking the ball of pleasant warmth within her, until it reached a critical boiling point. She shut her eyes, and could feel her whole essence ripple as she buried her head into a pillow. A muffled scream escaped her as the fire rushed out. Instead of going away, it rushed back in, forcing her eyes open as a secondary fire coursed through her veins.

She glanced down as her body became stiff as a board, unable to even figure out the sort of pleasure and happiness that was running through her. She could see bits of Luna’s mane beginning to wrap around her hooves, but it didn’t feel that way. No, Luna was in her legs, and it filled a hole in her heart. A promise that Scootaloo was willing to give into.

Luna panted as she slowly pecked the filly’s barrel, watching as more of her hair became snakelike tendrils, and coiled themselves onto Scootaloo. She could feel every inch of the filly already, but still ripples of pleasure and joy ran through her at the closeness they shared.Scootaloo’s essence played with the tendrils that now sank into the filly’s deepest reaches, and teased the soul within.

As Scootaloo began to pant, one of the star filled tentacles moved towards her mouth and began to trace along her lips. In some ways it felt like Luna’s tongue but also...different. It was so hard to explain. However, Scootaloo opened her mouth allowing the tentacle to enter. The young filly’s eyes widened in surprise. It felt like it had form, but at the same time, it didn’t. The tentacle began feeling the inside of Scootaloo’s mouth before while pushing to the back of her throat.

Soon it found itself deep within Scootaloo’s quivering throat. The filly knew she should have been worried or had a gag reflex or something. However, it felt like she was drinking something warm and sweet, filling her with something pleasurable, causing her expression to relax. She didn’t mind that Luna’s mane looked like it was filling her. All she longed for at this moment was for this to continue.

While this was going on, more tentacles moved behind her. Two of them moved towards her dripping wet cunt and proceeded to spread her lower lips as a third brushed against the entrance. First it traced itself along her petals, feeling the texture before moving in. Scootaloo let out a moan of contentment as she felt it enter her. Part of her knew she should be feeling fear but all she knew was joy and happiness. Like the one in her mouth, it felt solid, yet wasn’t. It pushed against her walls in a way that stimulated her, while also leaving parts of her untouched, such as passing through her virginal wall like it was nothing, and leaving it intact.

Back and forth this tendril went, each time reach deeper into the filly, and each time bringing her more pleasure that was drowning any last bits of fear within her. With each thrust, Luna’s magic seeped deeper into her. Scootaloo was so deep that she didn’t realize that the limbs that Luna was holding with her mane were beginning to fade. Slowly they turned from orange into the same blue, star filled ethereal material that was Luna’s mane.

One last tentacle began to move in on the filly, moving aside her tail so it could penetrate her remaining hole. Slowly, it began to circle the outside over and over again, causing Scootaloo to cry out. Nopony had ever touched that area of hers before. Somehow, she took a deep breath as she felt it poke its way in slowly, her eyes looking into Luna’s as it did so.

As the tentacle began to move in her rear, Scootaloo found herself lost in an ocean of pleasure. She could feel her body melting away with each thrust as Luna’s power began to absorb the filly into her. As all of this happened, Scootaloo kept her gaze locked on the alicorn who was doing all of this. She could feel and hear a heartbeat that wasn’t hers. It added a nudge of comfort and a desire of longing, one that the small filly had never known before. It felt...safe. Something that she wanted to be near for as long as she could.

The thrusting of the tentacles began to speed up and Scootaloo’s body could stand it no longer. It was a miracle she had lasted this long. As she climaxed, the remainder of her body began to fade away. She could feel herself moving closer to the heartbeat but she kept her eyes on Luna. As her features began to fade more and more, she never let her gaze leave the mare who was going to grant her dreams. The mare that was remaking her. And so, before the last of her vanished, she called out to her in a way that made sense.

“Mom.”

And with that, Scootaloo became one with Luna’s star field surprising the mare. As Luna’s mane retracted, she brought a hoof down to her barrel and patted it. She knew that Scootaloo was safe and sound where she was; being remade inside of her. Within a few hours, Luna’s pregnacy would begin to show. Then, after a few days, Scootaloo would be reborn as a bat pony, and her heart would break, as it always did..

======+++++======

Celestia opened the door to her sister’s room, and simply watched. She had made sure to get Kibitz to wake her up a little early, and it broke her heart to watch what she saw. Her sister stood over a crib with her hoof within, and Celestia could barely make out the gentle coos that Luna had used so many centuries ago to play with her batponies. And each time she heard them, Celestia knew they would turn to tears in only a few days.

She gently wrapped her hoof against the door, and watched Luna jump at the noise. The two sisters made eye contact through the crack in the door, but instead of coming over, Luna turned away. “Who is a good, little foal?”

Celestia sighed, before slowly opening the door and stepping in. She would play along, at least a little. “Well, the chefs had told me you were asking for some odd recipes. Might it be for the new orphan?”

Luna froze for a few moments, before hanging her head over the crib. “Please, Celestia, just-”

“Give you a few more day?”

The princess of the night became silent, only moving when her sister’s hoof touched her shoulder. The two stared at each other for a few moments, before a tear rolled down Luna’s face. “Sh-she even called me mom right before I made her be reborn. D-do you know how much that hurts?”

Celestia gently wrapped a wing over Luna’s side, before placing a hoof onto her sister’s cheek. “She has friends, and family. Would you take her away just to make that pain stay away? She’ll grow up naturally no matter what, and then she’ll just resent you for taking them away.”

Luna shut her eyes as she grit her teeth. “D-don’t say those things. You’re supposed to understand, and comfort me. Why can’t you do that?”

Celestia hung her head down as she looked to the filly in the crib, and the batfilly tried to wave her hoof back. She could see another set of violet eyes staring at her, awed by her mere presence. “It’s because I know that the longer we hold onto that which we want, it only becomes that much harder to say goodbye, even when we have to.”

Luna was silent for another few moments, before a soft sigh escaped her, and she wrapped a hoof around Celestia’s. “A-at least… at least this time I may be able to continue to call her friend, even when she leaves… right?”

Celestia nodded as she met Luna’s eyes and gave her sister a smile. “Yes, and then one day, your little filly may just be able to be your peer, instead of prisoner.”

Luna nodded as she turned back to her little filly. “A thousand years did good for your intellect, even of it made you a little more blunt. I thank you for both facts though.” She noticed Celestia nod in her peripherals, and watched as her sister walked out of the room. Once the door had clicked close, Luna shut her eyes, and didn’t flinch. If she didn’t cast the spell now, she didn’t know when she would.

A blinding flash of light came from both the crib, and Luna’s horn. It took much of her power, but she knew it was a spell that was worth it. Otherwise, her words to Scootaloo, those promises she had made a week ago while earning her trust, would all be lies.

Unfortunately, this was the very spell that always hurt her. Always burned at her afterwards, no matter how prepared she was. And this time, she wasn’t prepared at all. Tears rolled down her face as she heard a rustling from the crib, and she couldn’t bear to look as she heard Scootaloo’s voice whisper, “L-Luna?”

She slowly forced her head up and down, not willing to give anymore response than that. A gentle flapping filled the air, before a gasp came from the filly. “I-I can fly? I can! It worked, Luna, it really did!”

The princess glanced up, watching as Scootaloo awkwardly flew around her chambers. It was in starts and fits, with almost every flap of her new, leathery wings threatening to throw her into a wall. Soon enough though, Scootaloo was managing to hover “Look, look what I can do!”

Luna wiped at her eyes, and barely squeaked out, “Y-your parents will be proud of you.”

Scootaloo’s wings were the only thing that met the silence, before the sound of her hooves on the tile replaced the flaps. Scootaloo gently picked at one with her hoof, her eyes now to the floor as her wings folded beside her. “A-actually, umm…” Scootaloo shook her head before waving a hoof in front of her. “N-never mind actually.”

Luna’s eyes widened at the stutter, her memory recovering. What had been ignored because it was shouted was now at the front of her mind, and she could feel her knees grow weak as she realized what was possible. What she could finally have.

“Scootaloo, would you like a parent that is proud of you?”

Scootaloo glanced at Luna, confused by the words. “W-what do you mean?”

Luna swallowed hard, and stepped over to sit beside the little filly. “I mean… I mean that since you have none to take care of you, I-I would be willing to care for you. Be your parent.”

Scootaloo looked up as the emptiness in her heart glowed with a foreign warmth again, just like that night with Luna. She stepped forward, and let her feelings rip the words from her throat. “You… you would be willing to be my mom?”

“Only if I can have you as my child.”

Tears fell down both of theirs faces as they both stayed still, before Luna finally embraced her true, child of the night.