The New Problem

Morning had come and gone and Moonlight had wandered outside of Fluttershy's cottage. The guest room that she had been given was comfortable and all, but she'd much rather lay outside in the grass. It was something she enjoyed doing, the wind flowing through her hair, the sounds of nature. It was all relaxing and pleasing to her. Her eyes closed and a smile crept on her lips, the mare was content with where she was and she didn't want to go anywhere else.

"I see that you are rather enjoying yourself out here," said Discord to her left.

"Go away, Chaos," was the reply of the investigator. Her tone was more of annoyance than any genuine threat.

"But you and I could be having so much fun! What do you say!" the draconequus replied to this in his usual fashion.

"I believe you were asked to leave me alone by your precious Fluttershy. Unless you wish for me to go in there and tell her that you aren't allowing me to relax, you will leave me to my own devices!" Moonlight threatened.

Discord folded his arms and pouted, "Hmph. You're no fun," he said. A snap of his fingers caused him to vanish and leave the mare to continue relaxing.

The investigator closed her eyes as she had been taught, she listened to the wind and the water. Everything else became distant to her. The animals made their usual sounds near her and she lost herself to the sounds and feelings of nature. Moonlight breathed in gently and deeply as her mind finally focused. It was a calming technique that her former master had taught her to use in times of stress.

The crunching of leaves near her snapped her out of her trance and she opened her dark blue eyes to see none other than Luster Dawn standing there holding a basket of apples. "Applejack wanted me to deliver these to you, said that perhaps you could use some good food while you were recovering," the pink unicorn mare said to her.

Moonlight stood up on all fours and only gave a nod. She walked over to the apples and grabbed one with her teeth. It wasn't difficult for her to pull out and she grasped it between both her front hooves as she sat down. The investigator started to chew on the apple with a neutral look on her face. Luster however was smiling at this. "So how do you like it?" the student of Twilight asked.

"It's juicy and sweet, I prefer my apples to be a bit more tart than this, apologies," was the only reply from the investigator.

There was silence between the two, the pink unicorn kept smiling at the dark blue one. This put the investigator on edge, her face twisting from a neutral expression to a scowl. She didn't like being watched as closely as this. "Ask your question, Luster. I know you were there in the dreamscape, I threatened you there," she demanded in an angry tone.

"Who was that woman that you were so adamant about protecting?" was the question from the curious unicorn.

This caught Moonlight completely off guard. Her scowl was traded for a look of bewilderment. She didn't expect this question even though she should've. Normally the annoying persistence of the unicorn and her friends angered her, but now it just left her confused. She was at a loss for words and left on the back hoof for once in her life. She stood up and started to walk away as thoughts and memories she had buried deep within her mind started to surface.

"Moonlight?"

The dark blue unicorn turned around to see Fluttershy standing there with Luster. She knew that she wasn't going to be able to get far and she had a feeling that she wasn't going to be able to get out of answering this question. She sighed and looked down at the ground, pawing at it with her hoof.

She couldn't run anymore, she couldn't hide. She couldn't fight back as Discord would be there watching to make sure that no harm came to Fluttershy. She was backed into a corner, her face twisted in pain and anger as she looked up. "Fine, you want to know who that was? That was me! I used to not be like this, but Sunrise turned to dark magic to get revenge on me. I wasn't allowed to grow close to anyone or he'd go after them to make me suffer," she said in a low voice.

"Oh my, that's horrible," the yellow Pegasus said with a gasp and a hoof in front of her mouth.

"I've not been able to live a normal life in the last four years. That person that you saw in the dreamscape, the person that I was trying to protect from you and Twilight? That was me back then. She's who I once was and I would love nothing more..." the dark blue unicorn said in the same low voice.

She raised her hoof and looked at it, her facial features softened. She was hurting inside, fighting tears that were trying to stream down her face. The investigator closed her eyes and let out a heavy and saddened sigh. "To go back to that. I used to be so carefree and happy despite the fact that I came from a poor background. My family, we didn't have much of anything while I was growing up. I didn't even get to go to a normal school. When I was fourteen, I got a job at the nearby self-defense school and lied about my age. I was nothing more than a servant girl that brought tea to the teacher and the students and cleaned up the gear. It was hard work, but it was honest and it made me happy. It didn't take long for Cloud Runner to find out the truth, but he was able to enroll me into high school. He cared about me as if I was his own family and when I was old enough for him to pay me for his work, he made sure to pay me more than what my wages were so that my Mom and Dad could have a living too," she said sadly.

"I... I didn't know. You had things so hard growing up. That must be the reason why you're so afraid to let people get close," Luster said.

"My socioeconomic status has nothing to do with it. Back in high school, I was a social butterfly. I didn't have much at all growing up, but I treasured what I had and I was happy. Sure, I didn't have the latest games or the fanciest gadgets. But, there was warm food on the table every night, we ate well. We could afford some basic clothes to keep us warm. My needs were taken care of, but it was Sunrise that caused me to become like this. He... no, I'm not going to tell you the full story, it's better if you don't hear it," Moonlight replied.

"You have to trust us if you want us to help you," the pink unicorn stated.

Moonlight's facial features returned to the scowl she had before, she knew when she was being pushed. She hated it constantly, memories of her being called into the director's office surfaced in her head. Her teeth gritted as she remembered how he would always try to push her for more information, unlike his predecessor who was very nice to her due to her particular circumstances.

"Is everything okay, Moonlight?" Fluttershy asked, concerned for her guest.

The dark blue unicorn shot the pegasus a glare, she didn't want to answer any more questions. She stormed inside the cottage and slammed the door behind her, startling a few of the animals and stormed into her room. She flopped on the bed and punched her pillow with a hoof. She was furious at this, first these ponies enter her head without her permission and now they continue to keep getting her to drop her guard.

She wondered what it was about this world that kept causing this to happen. Back where she came from, it wasn't a problem to keep up her cold and distant persona. No one tried to approach her, no one tried to talk to her. She was left alone and she enjoyed that. The unicorn looked out the window and she could hear the birds chirping and she tried to use the calming technique that she had learned years ago, but her mind was too deep in turmoil. The sun shined on her face and she could feel the warmth of it. She started to remember the picnics that she had gone on before Sunrise had sworn revenge on her. She enjoyed eating the cooking of others and she enjoyed the sweets.

"Moonlight..." a faint voice spoke out to her, it sounded familiar to her.

Her head shot up from the bed and started to look around. She had no idea what she was hearing, but it sounded like someone from her past. "Who are you?" she asked.

There wasn't any answer, she looked around to see if there was anything near her again. When she found nothing was around her, she looked down and laid back down in the bed, disappointed. She wanted an answer, she wanted to know what was going on, but she wasn't fully recovered yet and she knew it. She would have to rest some more before she went out to investigate this new mystery.

She reached for a glass of water and sipped at it quietly. She opened up a book and started to read it. It was a Daring Do novel, not something she was interested in normally, but it at least passed the time. A few hours passed as she read the book before a knock on her bedroom door broke her out of her concentration. "Come in," she said instinctively.

Fluttershy walked into the room with a bowl of food and a glass of water. "I'm sorry for disturbing you. I know you want to be left alone, but I figured you could use something to eat and drink," she said timidly.

The yellow pegasus placed the bowl and glass on a table next to her guest and turned to walk away. She reached the door before a sigh stopped her and she winced, thinking that she had annoyed her guest.

"Fluttershy, thank you for the food and drink and the hospitality. I'm sorry for being so hostile, it's not your fault that I'm like this. I hope that once this whole thing with Sunrise is taken care of, you and I can be friends," Moonlight said calmly.

The pink maned pegasus smiled and didn't notice as the unicorn grew a little again. "I look forward to the time we can be friends, Moonlight. I know that deep down, you're a really good and kind pony, I just wish that you would allow yourself to show this side of you," the pegasus replied

The investigator didn't have a response, she fell silent knowing that deep down she wished that she could show this side of her too. But ultimately, she didn't trust any of the ponies, she didn't believe that they would be able to stop Sunrise if he were to try to attack them. She started to eat the meal that she was brought by her host with a heavy sigh. She was going to have to go back to the School of Friendship once she recovered from her concussion. Her thoughts turned towards the professors and fellow students that would try to keep teaching her how to make friends. All she could do is groan as she fell back onto the bed and closed her eyes. She just knew that the day after the next was going to be a very long day for her.