Alone Together
Silence and loneliness, two things that in combination no one liked. For a young Twilight Sparkle, it was a reminder. A reminder that she had no family. A reminder that her parents were dead and her brother was away. She didn’t hate her brother for always being gone, he was protecting her after all. With Equestria at war against the Griffins, her brother wanted to make sure that she was safe and to do what he needed to defend Equestria so it would remain safe for her. She loved her brother, but knowing why he did it didn’t make the loneliness go away, it just made it worse. She felt like a drag on those around her.
Most fillies her age had their cutie marks, not her. Shortly after their parents died, Shining Armor set to work training in the royal guard. Within months he was out of training and helping in the war effort. She was twelve and she could barely even levitate a small, paperback book. All the foals in the orphanage were younger than her, mostly by about two years. They all had their cutie marks and all the unicorns could use their magic.
Why was she so useless? Every time ponies came to adopt a foal, they always overlooked her. Was it because she had no cutie mark? Was she not cute enough being older than the others? Was there something wrong with her? These were questions that plagued her every night. Every night she would lay awake in her bed staring up at the ceiling of her room as the light of the moon shown on her gently, deep in thought. The moon her only friend, the only constant in her life was the mare on the moon. It always looked down on her as if it was watching over her like a mother watches over her sleeping foal.
Twilight wished she still had a mother. Someone to love her, to read her stories and tuck her in at night. Someone to tell her everything would be alright, to scare the monsters away from her dreams. Someone who would always be there to encourage her, and help her up when she fell. Was all that too much to ask? She looked to the moon.
She read recently that the moon would grant wishes to the sad and hopeless, Twilight never believed in those superstitions. She believed that things need to have some sort of proof to even be considered a theory, and even then it was just a theory, it still needed to be tested to be proven. However, Twilight was lonely and she didn’t want to be anymore. She wanted to have a mother again, she wanted to be loved, so she had nothing to lose
Sitting up she slid out of her bed and trotted towards the window. She stared up at the moon for a moment, contemplating. Was she really going to make a wish on the moon because a fairytale said it could happen? Yes she was, she wasn’t risking anything and she wasn’t expecting it to even work, so she wouldn’t be disappointed if it didn't. Closing her eyes she concentrated on what she wanted; a mother. Someone to love her unconditionally, to care for her as one of her own. Then she spoke her wish.
“I wish I had a mommy,” she spoke softly.
The world around her suddenly burst into chaos. Magic flowed in and around her violently. She was scared, no terrified. What was happening? Why did everything hurt? Reality began to distort around her. She could feel the space around her and begin to squeeze like it wanted to crush her tiny frame. Then as suddenly as it started, it stopped and she was gone from the world. She didn’t know where she was, but she knew one thing; she wasn’t in Equestria anymore.
Silence and loneliness, even after almost a thousand years of being on the moon, Nightmare Moon never got used to it. If it weren't for the fact that she spent her time on personal projects, she surely would have gone insane by now. She built an entire kingdom on the moon, minus any citizens. She was a Queen without subjects to rule over, just an empty castle. She had even made a magic dome filled with breathable air over her empty empire. She even grew plants using her magic. Trees and grass made forests and valleys that dotted her territory, making it lush and gorgeous. It was a paradise, and she had no one to share it with.
Despite her best efforts to distract herself from the feeling of loneliness, it still tugged at her heart. The only other feeling that made it bearable was her anger. She really shouldn’t have still been angry at being banished to the moon, she deserved it after she tried to kill the planet in her jealousy by plunging it into eternal night. She couldn’t, however, let go of her anger and become Luna again, if she did the isolation would have surely driven her mad, no matter how much she tried to distract herself from it.
She would be free in a few years time, but by now it was almost impossible to let go of her anger, for it was now fueled by the loneliness it was supposed to distract her from. Now insanity was knocking on her door, it would only be a matter of time before she was so long gone that she couldn’t hope to change back, it was already impossible to do it now. What she wouldn’t give to share her work with another.
Was it too much to ask, to not be lonely at least for a day? Oh, what she wouldn’t give to share her kingdom on the moon with someone. Her mind started to drift as her imagination began to take hold. She imagined herself sitting on a throne with ponies coming to ask for her help and guidance, and next to her on a smaller throne a daughter. Luna had always wanted to have children, but ponies hated the night and made her an outcast, no stallion would want to sire the foul of a demon that brought darkness every day. At night the monsters of the world came out, so the ponies hid and shunned her and her beautiful night. To them, she was just as much a monster as the beasts that roamed during her night.
Looking at the planet below her thoughts drifted to her sister. Had she ever started a family and had children in her absence? Was her sister just alone as she was being the sole ruler of an entire kingdom of ponies who looked up to her as a goddess and unrelatable? At least she had ponies to interact with. Nightmare had no one, she was totally and utterly alone, and her heart ached. She wanted to have someone to hold, how she longed for that dream of having a daughter to share her night with to be a reality. She would give up anything to have just a small bit of happiness, at least for one day.
A frown crossed her lips. This was not the first time she had this conversation with herself, maybe she was insane? What was the point in hoping anyway? “Why do I even bother?” she said aloud to her self. It felt good to use her voice, she hardly spoke being that there was no one to talk to. “Why do I keep hoping to share this kingdom with someone? Why do I keep wishing for a daughter like one would just pop out of the ether?”
As if to answer her question, the moon she sat upon seemed to pulse. She could feel the magic radiate out towards the planet below. “What?” she asked, next she felt a folding of space behind her. Turning around she could see a point of light hovering just above the floor of the balcony she was sitting on. “What!?” she asked again as if someone were going to answer her. Instead, the point of light grew brighter and space around it seemed to bulge outward, then suddenly it stopped. The anomaly just seemed to freeze in time.
CRACK
The space around the point of light burst outwards along with the sound of a cracking whip and a flash of purple magic. Nightmare shielded her eyes with her hoof, not just from the light of her normal vision, but also her magic sense too. Whatever just happened, it produced a massive amount of magic. The only beings that could produce so much magic would have to be an alicorn!
“Celestia?” Did her sister just teleport to the moon? Why she would be stuck here too wouldn’t she? After about a moment later, her magic sense had cleared, and she was able to somewhat determine what it was that just happened. It was obviously a teleport spell, that much she knew, but what teleported here? The magical signature was not Celestia’s, so whose was it? Had a new alicorn ascended in the time she was gone? Finally, her vision became clear and she would have her answer….
“WHAT!?”
This was not the answer she was expecting. It was not an alicorn, nor an adult for that matter. No, instead before her lay a unicorn filly. Nightmare could barely process what she was seeing. Was this some kind of cruel joke? She had just been lamenting on how she wished to share her kingdom on the moon with someone, more specifically a daughter to share it with. Then as if to grant her wish the moon somehow spawned a young filly into existence. No, not spawned, that was obviously a teleport, that was even more surprising. Only one known family of unicorns had ever had the ability to teleport and that was Starswirl’s lineage. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a groan of discomfort.
“W-what happened? Where am I?” the filly spoke while sitting up and rubbing her forehead with her hoof. Nightmare didn’t respond, what could she say? Hey, my moon just wished you here to become my daughter call me mommy! No, that wouldn’t do she had to find a way to get her home, but how? Once you pass the sealing barrier there was no way to leave. This filly’s family is probably worried about her, and she would probably miss them. As much as Nightmare hated being alone, she could never subject someone to the same punishment. It was hers and hers alone.
“Um… hello?” the filly spoke. She had recovered from her shock of teleportation and was now looking at Nightmare with big, curious eyes. The first thing that really stood out to Nightmare was just how purple she was. Every part of her except for a pink streak in her mane. The next thing that stuck out was her horn. She didn’t know how old the filly was but even alicorn foals didn’t have horns as long as that. How powerful are you? She wondered. “Are you an alicorn?” The filly asked.
Nightmare blinked a few times and shook her head to refocus her thoughts. Straightening her back she spoke.”Yes, I am. Now I must say I’m surprised to see another pony all the way up here. Tell me where did you get the power to get here?”
“Um… I don’t know, what even is here?” she asked, looking a bit intimidated. Nightmare decided to relax her posture to avoid scaring her off.
“Thou art on our moon,” she said plainly.
“Th-the m-moon!” She exclaimed and jumped to her hooves. Her head and body whipped around trying to take in her surroundings. Nightmare had to admit it was kind of cute to see such childlike curiosity and excitement. The filly finally looked past the dark alicorn and up towards the sky, directly to the planet.”OH MY GOSH I’M ON THE MOON!” She squealed in excitement. As the filly ran back and forth across the balcony, Nightmare couldn’t help but feel her heart swell. No one ever loved my night, let alone the moon. “I’m on the moon, I’m on the moon, I’m on the moon!” she chanted excitedly. Nightmare let out a small chuckle.
“Yes, it appears thou art. Tell us, what is thine name, young one?” She asked with a kind smile. It’s been so long since I have smiled.
“I’m Twilight!” She chirped while still looking around curiously.
“Tis wonderful to meet thou, young Twilight. If you could tell us, what were thine doing before thou came here?” she inquired. If she were to get this filly home she had to know as much as she could about her. At the question, the purple filly stopped and sat down before the older mare with an ashamed look on her face.
“I umm… uh… kind of made a… wish,” she said the last part so quietly Nightmare was surprised to find she could hear it. A wish? This wasn’t exactly impossible, in fact long before her banishment when ponies did not shun her, some would wish upon her moon. Sometimes if the pony making the wish was truly in need of it, their wish would be granted by some means. Sadly, ponies became greedy and tried to wish for things they didn’t need, so she stopped the moon from granting wishes, that was the start of when ponies began to resent her. So then what did that have to do with this filly teleporting to her moon?
“Tell us, what did thou wish for?”
“Um… I wished for…” She trailed off a small blush growing on her cheeks. Taking a deep breath she spoke again.” I wished for a mommy,” she admitted. WHAT?! Her mind practically froze at that moment. It took a while before her mind could form coherent thoughts, but when it did it came through like a storm. Taking another moment to sort said thoughts, she began to fit the pieces together, and her conclusion was hard to believe.
I must admit my thoughts of wishing for someone to share my kingdom with more specifically a daughter, at the same time this young filly, likely an orphan, was wishing upon the moon to have a pony be her mother. This combined with the sadness and loneliness that likely resided in both of their hearts caused her moon to grant their wish, but the moon couldn’t possibly be able to teleport someone such a long distance, so how did she get here!? It was at that moment she noticed the filly’s cutie mark. A six-pointed purple starburst; the symbol of magic. Nightmare’s mouth hung open. If it were not for the rules of biology and physics her bottom jaw would have crashed through the balcony and to the moon's core.
“Um, are you okay miss alicorn?” Twilight asked, poking Nightmare’s hoof. In response she began to tilt, her mind not able to process all the information thrown upon her. She fell over and lost consciousness, or she would have if not for the scared shriek of the filly standing in front of her. She had still fallen over, but was fully conscious and was looking at the panicked filly in front of her. Twilight was shaking with fear and concern.
“We… we are okay,” she reassured the younger pony as she sat back up. Twilight was still visibly shaking and had begun to hyperventilate. Thinking quickly in hopes of preventing a panic attack, Nightmare unfolded one of her wings and gently wrapped it around the filly’s small form. Twilight leaned into the embrace, albeit reluctantly. It seemed to just now dawn on Twilight that she is in someplace that she has never been before with somepony she has never met.
After a few moments, Twilight had finally calmed down enough that Nightmare decided to speak. “Art thou feeling better?” she got a nod in response.”Good, now we must know, when did thou get thine cutie mark?” Twilight gave her a confused look.
“Cutie mark?” she questioned and looked down to her left flank. “I don’t have a…” She froze as her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. ”I GOT MY CUTIE MARK!” She squealed so loud that Nightmare had to fold her ears down to block it out. Twilight began jumping around Nightmare in joy chanting, “I got my cutie mark!” Nightmare couldn’t help but smile at the filly’s joy.
She got it when she teleported here. The moon granted her wish by helping her unlock her magic and then guided her magic so she could teleport to the moon. It tried to grant both of their wishes. She frowned at this. I did say I always wanted a daughter, but now that the opportunity has been given to me I am unsure. The moon is no place to raise a filly, and it feels so sudden. I didn’t have much of a choice though, she is trapped here like me now, I can't just ignore her. Her mind was set. The moon granted her wish and she really didn’t have any other option. She was going to raise this filly to the best of her ability. She wanted to be a mother and now was her chance, this filly wanted a mother so she would attempt to fill the role.
“Twilight,” she called gently but not quietly. The purple filly stopped her excited hopping and turned to Nightmare. “Thou said thee wished for a mother, yes?” The filly nodded. “Well, w- I was also wishing for something,” she explained as Twilight came to sit down in front of her. “I had wished for a daughter, I have been trapped on this moon for over nine hundred years, and I have grown lonely. My moon has heard our plea and has granted our wish. I would be honored if thou would allow me to be the mother you wished for,” she finished with a tinge of nervousness in her voice. Tears were welled up in the corners of Twilight’s eyes. She responded by jumping to her hooves and running up to the alicorn and wrapping her small hooves around Nightmare’s midsection as best she could. Tears now flowed freely from her eyes and a small sob of joy escaped her lips.
“Thank you miss alicorn,” she spoke out between sobs. How long has this filly been alone to be this overjoyed at finally having a mother?
“Please call me Ni…” She thought for a moment. “Call me Luna.” Luna, I could finally be Luna again. I can let go of this anger and I won’t go insane!
“C-can I call you m-mommy?” Twilight asked, now looking up at Luna, her cheeks streaked with tears and her eyes bright and hopeful. Luna smiled.
“Of course you can.” She pulled the filly back into a hug wrapping her wings protectively around the tiny pony. Neither of them knew how long they had stayed like that, but neither really cared. Twilight finally had someone to call her mother and Luna finally had the daughter she had always dreamed of. It may take time for them to fully fit into those roles, but the two could not be happier either way. However, all good things must come to an end and it came in the form of a yawn from the small, purple pony. Luna grinned. “Looks like somepony is tired.” At that, a yawn escaped her lips and Luna couldn’t help but chuckle. “Looks like we both could use some rest.”
Twilight nodded tiredly, barely able to keep her eyes open. Smiling softly, Luna picked up Twilight and placed the filly between her wings and walked into the room connected to the balcony, Luna’s bedroom. Luna closed the balcony door with her magic, then made her way over to the large bed against the wall in the center-back of the room. She gently laid the filly down on the bed so that her head rested on the pillow.
Luna slipped under the covers and rested her head on the pillow before pulling up the star covered blanket and tucked the both of them in. Twilight, however, did not stay put on her side of the bed. Instead, she pushed herself up against the alicorn and attempted to snuggle into the crook of Luna’s neck. She complied and pulled the filly close.
“Good night, Twilight.”
“Goodnight… mommy.”
Luna smiled pridefully. It was clear that Twilight was trying to get used to the idea of having a mother. It was going to still be a bit awkward to call her as such, but Luna didn’t mind, she had a daughter now and she would do anything to make sure she was happy. A tear slipped its way down her cheek. Luna had been alone for almost a thousand years, and Twilight had been alone half of her life. They were still alone, but at least now they were alone together.
Author's Note
I hope you all liked it. This took me way too long to write due to writer's block, but I'm glad at how it turned out. Before you ask, yes there is a multi-chapter sequel planned, but because I have other projects it may be a long while before you get it so just be patient.
Be sure to like and comment and have a wonderful rest of your day!
