Your Loyal Subject

Aversion was now very far from Ponyville, flying like a pegasus without wings... or guidance, for that matter. Lacking voice and gravity, all he could do was continue to fly helplessly through the air. No amount of flailing of the limbs or attempts at screaming were helping.

Oh no... he thought. ...as if my life couldn't get any worse, now some mystical force is carrying me away from my home, and my voice has stopped working! It's probably gonna set me down in the middle of nowhere! I-I'll be lost! And... n-nopony... will care...! They'll... never try to find m-me...!

Aversion, in a vain attempt, tried to grab the branch of a passing tree, but it broke as he continued to be pulled by the seemingly-supernatural force. It was far to flimsy to stop him. He was scared out of his mind, not knowing what was to come. There was nothing he could do, being a mere earth pony. Tears streamed down his face as his fright was urging to be released.

I wanna go home... the young stallion thought. ...please just let me down... I just wanna go home...

He noticed, however, during his flight, he was subtly ascending (which was triggering his vertigo), and the direction he was heading in was bringing him towards...

...Canterlot? Aversion thought. Why I am I going there? Is there... somepony doing this?

After a few more minutes of flying towards the city, he began to veer subtly towards Canterlot Castle... the capitol building of Equestria... in which he had never set hoof. He ascended one of the taller turrets, almost to its spire, to a balcony. From there, he leveled out as he slowly drifted inside... eventually stopping and hovering in mid-air right in front of...

Princess Luna!? Aversion thought.

It was indeed the Princess of the Night, sitting in front of him with her hind legs crossed and her horn glowing while she was still in her meditative state. However, she opened her eyes to see him... and they widened as a smile appeared on her face.

"Aversion...!" she said, happily. "...We meet at last! Here, I'll give you back your gravity..."

With a subtle flash of her horn, Aversion slowly drifted to the floor, back onto his hooves, and his mane and tail fell back to their original shape. Luna stood up, towering over him, albeit only by twelve inches.

"I've wanted to see you in-person for a little while now." Luna said.

Aversion tried to speak, but all that came out was a hoarse exhale. Luna quickly took notice of this and remembered what she did.

"Forgive me for silencing your vocal cords." Luna said, charging her horn. "It was just to make sure you wouldn't scream and draw anypony's attention while you flew over here. I'll restore your speech for you."

With that, she channeled magic through her horn once more, and a tickling sensation manifested in Aversion's throat. After a few seconds, Luna stopped her magic.

"There. You're voice is back, good as new!" she said.

"...Ah..." Aversion uttered.

"Now then... about why I have summoned you here—" Luna spoke before getting cut off.

"P-Princess... please, have mercy...!" Aversion suddenly said, bowing on all four of his knees with his face to the floor, a dogeza bow.

Luna was a bit confused and caught off-guard by this.

"Whatever I did, I'm s-sorry...!" Aversion pleaded. "...I promise it won't e-ever happen again...!"

Luna stepped forward, and tilted his head up to meet her eyes. The young stallion was expecting a stern glare... but instead, the alicorn smiled at him.

"Aversion..." she spoke. "...there's no need to be so worried. You are not in any trouble."

Aversion tilted his head. "I-I'm not...?"

Luna shook her head. "No. You have done nothing wrong." she said.

"So... why did I... fly... all the way here?" Aversion asked.

Luna smiled. "...It is because I called you to me. I would have teleported you... but doing so from a long distance is extremely difficult, as well as unsafe. Levitation was the best alternative to bring you here. It is one such method without any... detection."

"A-and... why did you do this, exactly, if you'll... p-pardon my asking...?" Aversion asked.

She knew that he was very shaken up by this unexpected turn of events, but it definitely motivated her to reassure him that she just wanted to help.

"I have watched you from afar, Aversion." Luna said. "I want to help you. I want to make you realize that your life is the most valuable gift you have... and throwing it away would be the biggest mistake you could make."

"And... how long have you been... watching me?" Aversion said.

"Only for a day." Luna responded.

"Just... one day?" Aversion asked.

Luna nodded. "It was all I needed in order to know that you needed help from somepony. You are very much how I was, Aversion; you were bullied, ridiculed, abused... in fact, you still are, am I not mistaken?"

Slowly, and biting his lips, Aversion nodded.

"Not only that, but... I have gone beyond your mere psychology, and have read the memories of your heart." Luna said. "I could feel the pain that you are overflowing with. Nopony should have to suffer as much as you have."

Aversion was a bit unsure of everything that has transpired. He was summoned, against his will, to Canterlot by one of the Princesses, and she, of all other ponies in Equestria, actually sympathizes with him to a genuine degree. He was confused, needless to say, but also... he was quite flustered. Never had he expected this to happen, but it made him feel fairly good about himself if Princess Luna herself cared about his situation.

"I'm truly grateful for your concern for me, Your Highness." Aversion said.

"Please, call me Luna." Luna said warmly.

Aversion shuffled his hooves tensely. "A-are you sure...?"

"I insist!" Luna responded with a nod. "You don't have to be so formal with me; feel free to treat me like a regular friend! Because, well... it's something I've always wanted... for a long time..."

Aversion was making very closed-off body language toward Luna. Given that he was very timid, he always had a hard time learning how to cope with authority figures. But in front of a Princess... this was something he thought would never happen. But now that it is happening, he has no clue what to do or how to act. He assumed she might just be trying to pull a fast one on him and get him into trouble for the smallest thing.

Luna, however, noticed that the earth pony was somewhat nervous. She wanted to make it clear to him that she has her own needs, just as he has his, and that both could fulfill each other's.

"Aversion..." Luna began. "...I understand if you feel intimidated by me. Lots of ponies do. But, I will assure you, with time, that I am really not much different than a regular pony! Plus, I really care about your life... I would hate to see it brought to a tragic end."

"Only... why do you want to help me, of all other ponies?" Aversion asked.

Luna took on a stoic expression.

"Because, Aversion, you and I... we are not so different." she spoke. "You have undergone ridicule and alienation from the society around you... you are different than most other ponies... you are hurt... broken... and yearning."

Aversion's eyes widened as she told him this, causing him to reflect on his life thus far... and she was right!

"I was like you, once." Luna continued. "The fact that I was being unappreciated, and even downright blasphemed... it hurt me. A lot. I felt worthless... I felt like I had no purpose... and it led me to..." she trailed off, sadness appearing in her eyes. "...take actions that hurt many others... and I regret it above all else. Even to this day, I still feel underappreciated, especially with my sister getting the spotlight."

Aversion slowly stepped forward, finally lightening up from his introverted persona.

"W-well, y'know, Your Hi... uh... Luna..." he began. "...I've always liked you!"

Luna's ears perked up and her jaw slightly dropped, but she managed to smile slightly at this remark.

"R-really?" she asked.

Aversion nodded. "Ever since you were... well, released from your inner darkness... you've always been my favorite Princess!"

Luna's gaze fell to the floor as her smile became wider and her face went slightly red. Aversion clear his throat.

"Um, so anyway..." he spoke. "...I'm glad that I have somepony to talk to who I can genuinely relate with."

"It's really nice to hear somepony tell me that they're grateful to talk and spend time with me." Luna said.

Aversion yawned. "Oh, jeez... I realized that I should be getting to bed soon."

"You may spend the night with me here, if you wish." Luna said. "I can easily teleport a bed from one of the spare bedrooms up here for you."

"Me?" Aversion asked. "Sleep here? In Canterlot Castle? Is... is that even allowed?"

"If I say so..." Luna said, closing her eyes and channeling her magic.

After a moment, there was a bright flash as a large shape materialized in mid-air, slowly drifting to the ground. It was a very ornate, four-poster bed with dark gray velvet sheets.

Luna opened her eyes. "...that it is allowed."

Aversion examined the bed for a moment, gently pressing down on the memory-foam mattress, rubbing the sheets to feel their texture.

"Wow..." he uttered. "...this is much nicer than the old, cheap, spring mattress I got from the discount store!"

"But of course! All accommodations provided to emissaries are to be of patented, royal-level standards." Luna said.

Aversion climbed onto the bed, and pulled himself under the covers. "Ah... so good. Like laying on a cloud..." he turned to face the Princess. "...thank you for doing this for me, Luna. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome." Luna said, walking over to her own bed.

She removed her crown, neckpiece, and shoes before climbing into her bed... and Aversion could not help but stare and blush as she did so. Just the act of removing her apparel was somehow... very erotic for the stallion. Not to mention... she looked rather... attractive... when she was not wearing anything.

Once she nestled herself into the bedsheets, Luna used her magic to switch off the lights, leaving only the faint, silver light of the moon. Aversion was, needless to say, very excited about everything now.

I can't believe this... my first sleepover in YEARS, and it's with a PRINCESS! he thought.

After having laid for a bit while trying to fall asleep... Luna thought about how this could all help to solve her loneliness. Aversion seemed to trust her, even if only just... and the fact that she could relate to him... something that she had never experienced before with any other pony...

"...How would you like to start visiting on a regular basis from now on, Aversion?" Luna asked.

Aversion was a bit concerned at the thought, and this manifested as a noticeable expression on his face.

"Don't worry!" Luna said. "I won't tell Celestia! This'll be one of our little secrets..."

The young stallion pondered, but eventually managed smile and nod at her in the dim moonlight.

"...Yeah!" He said. "I wanna start spending more time with you! Especially with having to put up with the same horsecrap, day after day... I need somepony to help me break the monotony."

"That's just what I wanted to hear." Luna responded. "Well, in any case, let us catch up on our nightly rest. Goodnight, Aversion."

"Goodnight, Luna." Aversion said.

With that, the Princess and the commoner both closed their eyes, and let their minds drift off... to serene memories... blissful thoughts... the mere physical presence of the other helping to ward off bad or harmful visions... until, soon enough, they were both off to sleepyland...