Chapters By the Light of the Silvery Moon
To say that the last day for Jimmy had been interesting was something of an understatement.
Only that evening, he had gone out and decided to look at the moon, only, through strange circumstances, to be suddenly and quite dramatically be transformed into a version of Princess Luna he (or rather, by that point, she) had no familiarity with, and who looked like a stereotypical princess.
Only then did things get stranger still. Her own OC had appeared, and with her Princess Celestia, who did not seem to realise whom she was. After that, she had chosen to go back to Equestria as the Princess of the Night, and crossed through the portal with her (now) sister.
Falling out of the portal onto the ground, Luna brushed herself off and stood up, taking the vast expanses of the Canterlot throne room. The vaulting ceilings, vast Doric arches and pillars, the two thrones side by side (one for the day, the other for the night), the stained glass windows in the walls, and the red carpet followed by steps caused her jaw to drop.
"It never ceases to be stunning, does it?" Celestia asked.
"Yes, sister. I must say you did a superb job of remodelling the place while I was gone." Although Jimmy was very much still there in mind, her body and manner was firmly that of Luna, including her formal speech. "But it is the night! Should I not be on duty right now?"
"Relax," Celestia replied. "You need to rest. You have clearly been through a lot, and some rest will help you, I think."
"Then who will raise the moon and protect po- people from their nightmares?"
"I had to carry out both roles for over a thousand years. I think I can do it again for one night." Celestia suddenly regretted her words when she saw the expression on her younger sister's face. "My apologies. I remember with too much clarity the millenium we spend apart from one another, and never want to be apart from you again."
Luna nodded. "I know you meant no harm, Tia." She started to turn back towards the door, but still not quite sure of her footing, trod on part of her dress and toppled over, her skirts going everywhere.
Thankfully, both of them had a good sense of humour, and laughed as Luna got back to her feet, spreading out her garments again. "I'll have your security detail escort you to your chamber. You must be more tired than I thought."
"Thank you once more," Luna replied. "Fare thee well, and have a good night."
"Sweet dreams, sister," Celestia replied, making her way back to the throne. "Now why did I choose to wear this tonight? I need something more practical to wear all night."
Flanked by guards dressed in heavy purple armour, Luna was led through the corridors of Canterlot Castle. Her chambers were at the end of a long corridor accessed by a large brown door, followed by a flight of steps up to a tower (Luna found getting up those somewhat difficult for obvious reasons). Having reached the top, the guards opened the door for her. It was very wide indeed, at least six feet Luna estimated. The guards at the front of the formation stopped, and formed a semi circle in front of her, with the rear guards forming an identical shape at the rear. Two crescent moons.
The guard who had found her in Manteo spoke up. "My lady, will you be requiring any further assistance?"
"No thank you, Captain- pray excuse my slowness, but what is your name?"
The captain, if she was affected, showed no sign of it. "Captain Hook, my lady."
Luna suppressed a snort at that. "I would prefer to be alone for now, Captain. You are dismissed."
"Yes, my lady." The Captain bowed, and then indicated to the other guards. "Squad, abouuuuuuuuuut turn!"
The rear formation did a 180 degree turn, and the front formation followed.
"Squad, by the left! Quick march!"
Expertly weaving around the Princess of the Night, the soldiers marched out of the door and headed down the long flight of stairs, the Captain shutting the door behind her. At least, Luna thought the Captain was female. Yawning, as tiredness overcame her, she headed toward the bed, only to realise she had nothing in the room that would work as such a sleeping garment.
"This dress would hardly be fitting for retiring in," she said. It was then she had an idea. She recalled that her clothes had started to change when the moon had glowed, indicating her ability to change was somehow linked to the moon. This gave her an idea. Focusing her mind, she thought of something suitable for sleeping in.
The moon glowed in response. Luna glanced down to see, to her surprise, it seemed to be working. The bodice, which had a gap in it around her breasts, suddenly filled in, and the sleeves of the bodice shrank in size until they looked like normal sleeves. The waist of the garment increased in size as the corset vanished, making it easier for Luna to breath, the upper part of the dress turned a lighter blue.
Looking down again, the skirt suddenly glowed, and as she looked on it began to contract in size. It was as if the skirt was collapsing in on itself, the dome disappearing and shrinking into nothingness. The inner layers vanished, as if they had never been there, and this resulted in a skirt that was draped across the floor like a curtain. It brushed against her legs, and sure enough the skirt began to get shorter, pulling back towards her legs until it reached them exactly. In one last burst of transformation, it shrank back to her ankles. It was oddly comfortable, and the skirt flowed gently along her legs.
"This seems more appropriate for taking my rest in," Luna said finally. Taking off her heels, she walked over to the bed, climbed in, and closed the curtains, falling into a deep and peaceful slumber.
The next morning, the sun shot up so suddenly that every cockrel in Equestria was caught off guard. It was so piercingly bright that every teen rued the day, and Luna was shocked out of bed when the sun abruptly shone through her curtains.
She hit the floor with a bang, and groaned, looking up at the light coming in. "Why must Celestia start the day so early?" she groaned. "I am barely awake!"
Luna got to her feet and adjusted the curtains, looking out at the capital city which was already bustling with life. People walked up and down with business and other such matter important to them. Such a marvellous world she has come to.
A rumbling sound distracted her, and Luna realised it was her stomach. She was clearly in need of breakfast. She walked over to the door, and opened it. Two members of her security detail were standing there, and they both bowed.
"Good morning, my lady," they both said.
"Good morning," Luna replied. "You are both dismissed from your duties. I will find my way to breakfast on my own."
"Very well, my lady," said the first. "You heard Her Royal Highness; quick march!"
Both guards marched down the long, sweeping staircase, and Luna followed a few minutes later. Already, the Civil Service was hard at work, with papers, census documents, tax forms, and many other items being carried back and forth. A pair of butlers passed, carrying a massive pile of cake, and two others followed, their plates and platters piled high with mangoes, bread, and pitchers filled with many drinks and liquids.
"Aunt Luna!" called a voice. Luna stopped, and turned around. Rushing toward her was a much younger woman, with streaked pink, purple, and blonde hair. She had purple eyes, and a golden necklace around her neck. She wore a pink bodice with golden trim and puffed up upper sleeves (although became conventional long ones down to her wrists), and a large white skirt which, whilst not quite the size of the one Luna had worn the previous night, was impressive in its own right.
"Princess Cadence!" Luna replied, and both women hugged in the corridor. "What brings you to Canterlot on this fine day?"
"I'm here for a conference with Aunt Celestia!" Cadence replied, full of her usual exuberant energy. "Shining is keeping an eye on both Flurry Heart and the Crystal Empire. King Thorax is also on the verge of signing a trade deal!"
"That is wonderful news, Cadence," Luna replied, as the two women separated. Crystal Guardsmen came to a stop in the corridor, wielding their early rifles tightly. The lead officer had a bushy moustache and a sword on his belt.
"My lady, we have finished unloading," the officer said, saluting both Princesses.
"Thank you, Captain Steimer," Cadence replied. "Again, I have no objection to you calling me Cadence. I never was one for formality anyways."
"Of course, My la- Princess Cadence," Captain Steimer replied. "Private Barker, those cakes are for the officials only! Escort the butler to the throne room!"
"Yes sir!"
Luna suddenly noticed Cadence looking at her in an odd way. "Is something wrong?"
"It's a bit weird to be wearing your nightwear to breakfast, isn't it?"
Luna glanced down, and immediately realised that Cadence had a point. "One moment." She once more focused her magic, and a bright flash echoed in the sky.
Her skirt grew longer, until it reached the floor, and suddenly began to gradually increase in volume, before reaching a reasonable proportion, without being excessively big, followed by a darker blue patch with a symbol of a crescent moon appearing on the side. The bodice shrank back to just above her breasts, but still looped over shoulders and around her back. Long, dark blue sleeves grew to her wrists, and a pair of white gloves appeared on her hands. Her crown then materialised back into being. "Much better, I think."
Cadence nodded. "Come on, Luna! Let's see what Celestia has prepared for us!"
Captains Hook and Steimer then gave orders to their respective units to follow, and both groups of guards began to follow, protecting their charges as the room echoed to the loud double time of marching feet.
The dining table had already been prepared appropriately. Rather than the long one used for banquets, this one had only four chairs around it (the fourth, of course, being for Twilight Sparkle, who was currently away on a diplomatic mission in the Changeling lands). Celestia indicated for the two princesses to sit, and both took their respective seats as Celestia sipped on a cup of coffee.
"Tell me, sister, why did the sun rise so quickly today?" Luna asked.
"I took some coffee to help me stay awake and may have been slightly too hyper," Celestia replied.
"You weren't drinking Aunt Luna's personal stash, were you?" Cadence asked. "You are aware that she likes hers very strong, right?"
"It was enough of a reminder to not do it again," Celestia sighed. "But enough of that." She indicated to the pile of pancakes sat on a plate before the pair. "Do dig in." She looked over to the head butler. "Some coffee for Luna, and tea for Cadence, please."
"Yes, my lady," the butler replied, vanishing into the floor on a platform. The platform rose again seconds later, and he reappeared with two pitchers. "Any sugar, your Royal Highnesses?"
"Only one, if you do not mind," Luna replied.
"No thanks!" Cadence answered. "I've got quite enough energy right now. Any sugar and I'd be bouncing off the ceiling!"
The rest of the day went by fairly normally. Diplomats to see, bills to sign, children to visit, all the usual things that monarchs do. Celestia handled the bulk of the political figures, whilst Luna took on the duty of taking care of everything else alongside Cadence. The younger princess' skills of interacting with children were quite remarkable, though that probably came with being a mother herself.
As the long night began to slide in, Luna headed up to the top of the tower to start her duties of monitoring the night. As the guards switched over from day to night, Celestia bid her sister good night, and went to her quarters to rest.
Luna glanced down at her clothes, and saw nobody else was around to see her. "I suppose switching into it cannot hurt," she thought, and glanced up to the moon.
Author's Note
I was listening to this whilst writing the chapter.
A quick note on nomenclature; the show alternates between referring to the Princesses as 'your majesty' and 'your royal highness'. The former only applies to a King or a Queen (hence, Thorax would be called 'your majesty'). As Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Twilight are princesses, and Shining Armour a Prince, they would be referred to as 'your royal highness'.
Luna liked the balcony that sat at the top of Canterlot Castle's observation tower. It had perfect sightlines as far as the eye could see, and on a clear night one could see Mount Aris glimmering in the distance like a diamond in the sky. Canterlot was built into a hillside, and as a result the higher elevation did catch some off guard, especially those who weren't so used to the slightly thinner air. However, the views were absolutely spectacular, and the moon hung above it all.
"Hmmm," Luna said to herself. "The positioning of the moon is not quite right, I think. Perhaps I should move it a bit?"
Harnessing her magic, she focused her thoughts on the moon, and looked up as it slowly began to move through the sky, stopping directly over the city and bathing it in beautiful silvery light. Given it was so cool and clear at night, Luna couldn't understand why people would want to sleep through it. That had been what had caused-
"No. Dismiss that thought immediately. Such thinking is what caused that great disaster a thousand years ago. I will not have it happen again."
To emphasise this to herself, Luna shook her head. She would never permit herself to give in to Nightmare Moon again, as another thousand years on the moon did not seem that appealing.
A quick glance down, once again, reminded her that she had gotten distracted. Before she potentially entered the dream realm, she wanted to be comfortable. And changing her attire could help with that.
As she knew well now, her ability to transform was connected to the moon. When it was full, it was at its most potent, its most powerful. And so, she focused her mind on her task.
The moon glowed even brighter than before, the land being washed in brighter light than had been seen in centuries. Nobody seemed to notice, except perhaps the Lunar Guard who were on patrol.
Up on the tower, Luna felt the energy of transformation flowing through her, and looked down as her gloves vanished from her hands. Her sleeves began to shrink in length, getting shorter at greater speed until they stopped at the bottom of her upper arms, just above her elbows. The shoulders and fabric then began to inflate in size until they stuck out several inches from her arms, and turned a lighter blue. The bodice stayed the same colour, but split open again at the top, with the collar looping back around her shoulders and back. A silver button appeared in the same place as last time. This time prepared for it, Luna exhaled as a corset appeared around her waist, pulling it in. The bodice shrank back to compensate as well, though it wasn't as bad as last time had been.
She looked down at her skirt. The symbol of the crescent moon and the darker patch vanished, followed by the skirt becoming a slightly lighter blue. Several extra layers appeared underneath it, followed by a metal frame brushing down her legs in front of her inner garments.
There was another flash of light, and the skirt, rather than the slow, drawn out growth on Manteo beach (which felt like an eternity ago), suddenly exploded outwards as if it had been held under compression and suddenly been introduced to a vacuum. Parts of it seemed to inflate slightly and bulge outwards, but otherwise it was a perfect half sphere of six foot diameter, which would have been awkward anywhere else, but the castle had very wide doorways.
And with that, Luna felt much more comfortable, and ready to assume her duties. She would never admit it to anybody, but she secretly loved wearing her ballgown. Rarity had made it for her when she had returned from the Moon, and for that reason she treasured it more than any other clothing she had. It was a symbol of her redemption.
Quite how she suddenly knew all of these details, despite having only changed into her the previous night, was an issue that Luna didn't bother herself too much with. Looking up again, and soaking up the spectral beauty of the night sky, the moon and stars hanging over the land, she closed her eyes, and prepared to enter the dream realm.
Instantly, she found herself floating in amongst many bubbles. In all of them were the citizens of Equestria, or rather those who were currently asleep. The awake had no place in this realm. The darkness was held back by the light, and it mostly seemed to be peaceful sleep for the people. No nightmares to be seen anywhere at this moment in time.
Moments after thinking that, Luna's attention was captured by a scream. She raised her hands, and began to move along the time stream to find the source of distress. Before her, finding it at last, was a girl with icy blue curled hair. Luna quickly accessed her dream. In it, she was cowering in a crater, an angry Celestia standing over her and two others whom Luna did not recognise.
"There is no punishment worthy of what you three have done!" the dream Celestia said.
Luna internally groaned. She knew exactly what this was.
"Please, have mercy!" the girl begged. "I- I can't help being the way I am! I had a bad upbringing, a- and clearly the Elements want us to be-"
Celestia scoffed. "You three are too dangerous to be kept alive." Her hands began to glow, and a yellow light shot from them at the three. The girl screamed.
"ENOUGH!" Luna boomed. The girl looked up, to see that time had frozen completely.
"Princess Luna?" she asked.
"I saw your distress and felt it my duty to help," the Princess of the Night replied. "And I wish to help. May I ask the cause of your distress?"
The girl stood up, and curtsied. "Sorry for my rudeness, your majestiness!" she said. Luna could tell this was not meant to be sarcastic. "My name is Cozy Glow. I have trouble with my temper. I struck out at my teachers today, and none of them believe I have anything wrong despite the doctor saying their is! All they see is a badly behaved child, and so do my parents!" The child began to sob. "Nobody cares!"
"No, Cozy," Luna replied. "I do. Where others may see a monster, I see a frightened little girl in need of help."
"But why?" Cozy asked. "Why do you care? You're so perfect!"
"I was not once," Luna admitted. "Long before you were born, I tried to overthrow my sister, Celestia, and establish a kingdom of eternal night. It was a foolish plan, in hindsight, but I let my anger get the better of me.
"I was sentenced to the moon for a thousand years, but when I returned, I returned as a monster, Nightmare Moon. Six young heroes came forward to stop me, and the Elements returned me to normal. I was like you in the dream. Broken, battered, and scared for the future. I was certain Celestia would petrify me too for my actions, but I was forgiven. Even then, I still had a long road to regaining everybody's trust."
Cozy looked on in awe. "Thank you, Luna," she said. "If someone as amazing as you can overcome the darkness in your heart, I can too."
"Indeed, Cozy," Luna replied. Before leaving, she turned to face Cozy. "If you wish, I can visit your school in person, outside of the dream. Perhaps apply some pressure. Royal authority tends to get things done."
"Yes please!" Cozy exclaimed. "All of us at school would love to meet you too!"
Luna nodded. "Then it shall be done." And she vanished back into the ether.
Suddenly, a loud bang shook Luna out of the dream realm, and onto the balcony. She looked about in confusion. "What in Equestria was that?" she asked. She looked up, and suddenly saw something descending from the sky. Flames and smoke roared out of the bottom of the thing, but it was falling very fast, almost plummeting out of the sky like a stone. It roared overhead, narrowly avoiding clipping the top of her tower, and vanished on the other side of the structure, heading straight for the courtyard.
"I must follow that object!" she exclaimed, before reaching for the radio set on a nearby table. "All Lunar Guard, do you read me, over?"
"Yes, my Lady," the voice of Captain Hook replied. "Are you in need of assistance?"
"A strange object has just flown overhead and is heading for the courtyard. I want you and the Noctis Metalican to secure the crash site."
"Yes, my lady. The Noctis Metalican will be on the ground in a few minutes."
"I will hold you to that, Captain. I am on my way now."
"I will meet you there, my lady. Gloria Noctis!"
The radio cut out, and Luna got on her way. Unfortunately, she was not watching her footing, and slipped on the first step. She rolled head over heels down the stairs and landed at the bottom in a heap. "This does make it hard to see where I am going," she sighed, getting up and dusting herself off. She set off for the courtyard in the centre of the castle, before suddenly running into Cadence, standing in the corridor, fully dressed.
"Aunt Luna!" she said, in surprise. "Did you hear the crash?"
"I did," Luna replied. "But why are you fully dressed? I thought you had returned to your quarters for the night."
"I couldn't sleep," Cadence admitted. "I'm worried about Shining and Flurry Heart. Are they OK without me?"
"At the moment," Luna said, "we have slightly more pressing issues. To the courtyard!"
"What's going on?" asked a man with blue hair, dressed in a sharp black suit with a bow tie.
Cadence facepalmed. "Blueblood."
Suddenly, two Lunar Guard appeared from a corridor. "Are you OK, my lady?" asked one. "We heard a loud crash from the staircase and-"
"I am fine," Luna replied. "Please do deal with this idiot."
The two guards walked to Blueblood. "Please follow us, sir."
"What is the meaning of this?" Blueblood asked, as he was led off. The coast clear, the two princesses picked up their skirts and began to run toward the courtyard.
The strange machine had somehow managed to land in the courtyard, but the legs were badly damaged. The warriors of the Noctis Metalican already surrounded the machine, their glaives bared and their heavy blue armour glinting in the darkness. However, Captain Hook appeared to be facing off against Captain Steimer, as several Crystal Empire Army soldiers surrounded the site. The confrontation looked to be aggressive.
"We found this object first, tin man!" Steimer boomed. "I hereby claim it in the name of the Crystal Empire."
"You are well off of Crystal Empire territory now, Steimer," Hook replied, her voice heavily distorted underneath the helmet. "Back down or face the wrath of the Princesses' chosen."
"I have five thousand men at my disposal," Steimer replied. "If you really want to make this a war, you will lose."
"And we shall tear through your ranks before you can even move." There was a sound of a weapon reloading, and Hook brought her glaive forward. "This weapon isn't for show, you know."
Steimer drew his sword. "Very well."
"CAPTAIN HOOK! THOU SHALL STAND DOWN IMMEDIATELY!" Luna boomed.
Hook glanced over. "This man has insulted the integrity of the Noctis Metalican."
"How does fighting make it any better?" Cadence asked, looking displeased at Captain Steimer. "I know you two have a rocky past-"
"That's one way of putting it," Steimer said.
"-but fighting one another won't fix anything. Remember what happened the last time Equestria and the Crystal Empire went to war?"
Hook seemingly grimaced under her helmet, but pulled her blade back and stood to attention. She, despite her anger, knew better than to disobey a direct order from Luna herself. "My Lady, the Noctis Metalican have secured the object. Nothing has moved from it in the past few minutes."
"The Crystal Empire Guard have already seized the roads," Steimer added. "Nothing is getting in or out."
Cadence nodded, nervously. She would have preferred to not have a security detail at all, but Shining had insisted. "What is this thing? United States? That's not a country I know!"
Suddenly, the main door on the machine opened, and something began to descend the ladder. It reached the bottom, turned around, and looked in shock at the soldiers facing it.
It then spoke. "Houston, we have a problem."
Author's Note
For those wondering, Noctis Metalican translates as 'Metal Nights'. It's a pun. Their motto translates as 'Glory to the Night', and the armour is loosely based on MKVII Power Armour from Warhammer 40,000.
What do you think was in the machine? Let me know in the comments below.
The tension in the courtyard was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. The 'thing' looked in confusion at the soldiers before it.
The soldiers looked in confusion at the 'thing' before them.
The 'thing' finally spoke. "Houston, we have a problem."
Steimer looked so surprised that he nearly fell over. "It speaks Equestrian!"
Cadence stepped forward, towards the 'thing'. It was humanoid in shape, but was all white, and wore a pair of heavy boots on its feet. The chest piece was covered in wires and cables, linked into an exo pack covered in dials and more wires. The arms terminated in a pair of black (or possibly grey) gloves, and in place of a head was a large, bulky helmet with a bronze visor.
Cadence spoke up again. "Hello?" she asked. "Can you understand me?"
"Yes, I can understand you," the 'thing' replied. On its left arm was a symbol consisting of red and white horizontal lines, with a blue badge covered in white stars set into the upper left corner. "You getting all of this, Buzz?"
"Buzz?" Luna asked, suddenly. "Who is this Buzz?" However, she got a sense of who these two men were.
Cadence stepped closer to the 'thing', which was now almost certainly a human.
"Are you sure it is safe?" Captain Hook asked, stepping forward.
Luna shot the captain a glare, before speaking herself. "Pray tell good sir, but what is your name."
There was a momentary pause, before the figure spoke again. "Armstrong. Neil Armstrong. NASA."
"Are you lost?" Cadence asked.
Armstrong moved the visor up, to reveal a human face on the other end. "You could say that," he replied. "This doesn't look like the moon."
"Is that what your machine was for?" Captain Hook enquired. "We thought it was some sort of military craft."
Seconds later, the other figure, presumably the 'Buzz' that Armstrong had referred to, emerged from the hatch and dropped down the ladder. He turned around, and started to walk over. "One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."
"Is there an 'a' in there?" Armstrong asked. "I thought it was 'one small step for man'."
"Beats me," the other said. "So, where are we?"
"You are in Equestria," Luna said. "We do not know of this 'United States' from which you hail, but it seems as though you have peaceful intentions."
Cadence spoke up again. "Should we move this field of conversation indoors? I doubt we want to stand in a cold courtyard in the middle of the night."
"And what is wrong with the night?" Luna asked.
"Cold?" Buzz asked. "It's absolutely boiling in these spacesuits. These were never built for such a high gravity environment."
"Corporal Bakewell!" Captain Steimer ordered. "Have the Castle staff prepare some attire for these two gentlemen. I imagine that they want some food and rest after their hardships."
"Right away, sir!" Corporal Bakewell replied. He and two other soldiers headed back indoors, presumably to find what they were ordered to find.
Neil Armstrong's life had gone in many different directions, but this wasn't quite what he had been expecting to happen to him today. He had ditched the spacesuit whilst indoors, and changed into a suit which had seemingly appeared from nowhere and yet was perfectly tailored for him. Now he was being escorted down a long corridor by two guards, both of whom were completely silent and dressed in purple armour which looked like it had come straight out of a fantasy film. He sighed. Life was sometimes bizarre. He just hoped that, wherever he was, his family was OK.
"Where are you taking me?" he asked one of the guards.
"To the throne room," the guard replied. "That is all I can say."
It was clear that no other answer would come from them. Neil just nodded and continued walking. The corridors somehow had a perfect echo to them, and his military training meant he found himself instinctively walking in step with the two soldiers on either side of him. As a result, a loud booming preceeded them as they walked down the hall, and this continued for many minutes. Neil pointed to one of the stained glass windows.
"What do these all mean?" he asked.
"Some of our nation's greatest victories," the other guard said. Suddenly, Blueblood appeared from another corridor, having somehow evaded the guards.
"Who is this?" he asked. "Who led the commoners in?"
"A guest for the princesses," the guards replied in unison, which was mildly creepy. "Now, sir, if you wouldn't mind, please go and let us continue."
Blueblood looked down his nose at Neil. "I've got my eye on you," he said, and walked off.
The trio resumed their walk to the end of the corridor. "Is he always like that?"
"I can neither confirm nor deny that," the guard replied. "Eyes forward, please." After a few more minutes of walking, they reached the end of the corridor, and the two guards stopped in front of the door whilst another pair relieved them. Both of them were more of the heavily armoured ones that Neil had seen earlier.
"Her Royal Highness' guest," said one of the first guards.
"We shall see him in," said the first of the Noctis Metalican. "You are excused from duty. Return to your posts."
"Yes sir," the two other guards replied, and turned. They marched down the corridor and returned to their posts.
After another wait, which seemed to last for an eternity, although Armstrong could not verify this as his timepiece had stopped working, a voice spoke from inside. It was filled with regal authority and natural power. "You may send him in."
"Yes, my lady," the Noctis Metalican replied in unison. They opened the doors. "Her Royal Highness, Princess Luna."
The bright light from the chamber flooded the rest of the corridor, and Neil covered his eyes to avoid being blinded. He wished he still had his helmet on. Nontheless, he stepped into the room, and took a seat at the table before him.
Luna sat at the other side of the table, facing towards the doors so she could see this person. She was certain this person had no clue who she was, and she had to be careful not to reveal that she was of Equestria either, or from this person's world as well, just fifty years in the future. As she looked on, Armstrong covered his eyes to shield them from the light. A natural reflex, so she excused it. "Please do sit," she said.
Armstrong hesitantly took the seat, still quite wary of the situation. Again, understandable. To be thrown into a totally alien environment must be quite disorienting. Luna was used to it, knowing his intended destination all too well.
Luna spoke again. "Which would you prefer. Armstrong, or Neil?"
"Just Neil," he replied. "It'll make things easier." Suddenly realising what he said could be perceived as offensive, he quickly added something else. "Sorry, your majesty. I misspoke."
Luna sighed. "I would prefer if you called me Luna," she replied. "Constantly being called 'your royal highness' and 'my lady' does get a bit tiresome after a while."
"I can imagine," Neil answered, as he relaxed slightly, though still keeping his guard up. "This wasn't exactly where I was planning on ending up, but life has a habit of throwing curveballs our way."
Luna suppressed a chuckle at the irony of the statement. Both of them were foreign travellers, far from home. "Where are you from, Neil? I saw that your ship had the name of a country on it which I did not recognise."
"Ah, the USA." There was a momentary pause. "I was born in Ohio in 1931, and served in the air force for several years. I fought over Korea-"
"Korea?" Luna asked. "What is Korea?"
"The world is divided into two major power blocks, led by the USA and the Soviet Union," Neil explained. "We don't like each other very much, and Korea is divided into two countries. The northern bit, led by the USSR, invaded the south, and I was part of the forces deployed to drive the North Koreans back. Nearly didn't make it back, either."
He paused, as if his next thoughts troubled him. Luna sat patiently, giving him the time he needed.
She nearly jumped when he began speaking again.
"I was chosen in 1958 for the space program. That's another thing the Soviet Union and us are fighting over. The moon. In 1961, President Kennedy-"
"This President sounds like a man of great power," Luna commented.
"The President is the leader of our country," Neil explained. "We elect a new one every four years. It's currently Richard Nixon. Where was I? I remember. President Kennedy set it as our nation's goal to get a man onto the moon before the end of the decade, and we've been working towards that ever since. It's been a tough road, and I lost good friends along the way, but a few days ago our mission, Apollo 11, launched. I was to be the first man on the moon, but as you can see we're nowhere near there now. Instead of walking on the moon, I'm here, far from home, and talking to you." He stopped. "So, how about you, Luna? Are you somehow connected to the moon?"
Luna nodded, shifting slightly in her seat. "Yes. I am one of the two monarchs of Equestria. My sister, Celestia, is the Princess of the Sun, and I am the Princess of the Night. It is our duties as the diarchy to lead the people of Equestria, and we have other roles beyond signing laws and standing for photographs. The very cycle of day and night is ours to command."
Neil looked confused. "The sun and the moon move by gravitational force. No human can control that."
"That may be the case in your world," Luna replied, "but it is not the case here. In our world, magic is the lifeblood in everything. All creatures have their own magic, and each is unique. My sister has the responsibility of both raising and lowering the sun. I, on the other hand, raise and lower the moon. It is a great power indeed."
"With great power comes great responsibility," Neil replied. "Our country has checks and balances to ensure those who have power can never abuse it for their own gain or to become a tyrant."
"A pity no such power was exercised in my case," Luna sighed. "Or great heartbreak could have been avoided."
"What happened?"
"It is a long story," Luna continued, "but the people of Equestria played in the sun and hid through the night. I was in the background, destined to forever be in my sister's shadow, and I grew jealous of this. One night, I refused to lower the moon, and the result was not pretty." Now it was Luna's turn to pause as she began to process painful memories. "My anger changed me into a monster, and in order to maintain harmony I was banished to the moon for one thousand years."
"How did you survive?" Neil asked. "There's no air on the moon."
"I was sealed within it," Luna replied. "Eventually, I escaped, and attempted to plunge the world into eternal night. But a group of six heroes stopped me, and returned me to normal. My sister chose to forgive me for my wrongdoing, but it took me a long time to get used to the new ways of the world. I still fear that the monster I once was still lives inside me, and will escape if given the chance. That I cannot allow to happen."
"Good morning, Luna!" called a cheerful voice. In a panic, Luna quickly moved the moon out of the way, and the sun shot up just as suddenly.
Celestia entered through the doors, followed by some civil servants and a butler carrying cake. She (Celestia) was now dressed in her day attire of a white dress with low cut puffy, yet long, sleeves, golden gloves, and a full, but not excessively large, skirt with two panniers that looped around the back. On the back of that was the symbol of the sun, and Celestia also had her crown on her head, her rainbow hair swept back to keep it out of her eyes.
"I trust the night was not too problema-" Celestia stopped, and turned to see Neil. "Who's the visitor?"
Author's Note
Some more musical inspiration.
In case anybody's thinking I would, I am not shipping Neil and Luna.
A few days passed by since the arrival of the two strangers, and life continued to proceed as normal at the court of Canterlot. The Knights of Canterlot continued their security duties, in addition to dance routines and chorus scenes with foot work im- pecc- able. There was also much singing, and feasting too, although the diet did not solely consist of ham and jam and spam... a lot.
Naturally, the two new arrivals from another world had attracted much interest. One morning, as the sun shot violently into the sky as it always did, Buzz rose from his slumber in the guest room, and got himself showered and dressed in preparation for breakfast. Once this task was accomplished, he stepped outside to greet his guards. Celestia, it seemed, took the security of all at the castle very seriously, and the Storm King's invasion had led to a massive increase in the security budget.
"Good morning," he said, cordially, to the pair.
"Good morning, sir," said the first, trying to stand up under the weight of his helmet. "Did you sleep well?"
"Very well, thank you," he said. "May we head downstairs? I want to make the best use of the day."
"As you command," the other guard said, having a noticably easier time staying stood up. "Let's go!"
The trio proceeded down the staircase, and Buzz noticed that the two guards posted to watch Neil's room were already gone. He must already be downstairs, he reasoned, and they descended the staircase, which went down and round and round and down for what seemed like an eternity. Once they reached the bottom after an age of walking (although he was used to walking for long distances with heavy loads thanks to his training), they saw a gaggle of reporters suddenly appear from nowhere, dressed in badly cut suits and equally crooked ties, completed with dodgy fedora hats. The moment that Celestia appeared from another corridor, surrounded by more security, the reporters seemingly went wild. Their cameras began wildly flashing, taking twenty pictures a second from the speed at which the flash bulbs were going off. They also began to ask and shout questions.
"Is it true that visitors from another dimension are here?" asked one.
"Are there other worlds beyond Mount Aris and our own?" asked another.
"Is it true that you and Luna plan to retire at the end of the year and let Twilight Sparkle take over?" asked the third.
"Is it true there was a confrontation between Crystal Empire and Luna Guard forces a few days ago?" asked the fourth to speak.
"Is there cake?" asked a fifth, a short, fat man with the roundest stomach Buzz had ever seen.
Several guards marched over to disperse the reporters, but Celestia raised her hand. "HALT!" she called, her voice, though at nowhere near the deafening volume it could produce, still full of authority. "I shall answer their questions."
The guards nodded, and stepped back, though to the sides of the Princess of the Sun.
"First, I can neither confirm nor deny that statement. Second, there is indeed lands beyond the Rocky Seas and Ice Oceans, but we are yet to explore that far and map those lands. Third, whom is spreading that rumour again? The last transfer of power from Laurelore to myself was chaotic enough. In these troubled times, stability is needed for the people, and a change in power would not facilitate such stability, irrespective of Twilight Sparkle's achievements or not. Fourth, I can neither confirm nor deny that statement. Finally, there is indeed cake, but if you reporters continue to act like children there shall be none for you."
That seemed to satisfy the reporters, and they went away, satisfied with their answers. Buzz stepped over with his security detail to Celestia. "Do you get that often?" he asked. A few days earlier, Celestia had insisted on speaking with him on first name terms, which made life a lot easier than needing to repeat her title over and over again.
"Indeed," Celestia sighed. "The reporters all seem to think I am the more photogenic of me and my sister, which is not a positive sign. If Luna were to learn they thought this, it would hurt her self confidence." She paused. "Updating her grasp of the Equestrian language was hard enough."
Moments later, the door opened, and Luna stood on the other side. "Are you going to come in, Tia?"
"I had to get rid of some reporters first," Celestia replied. "The rumour that we plan on retiring has reared its ugly head again, and it's the last thing I want to deal with at the moment."
"Now would be a good time to harness the power of the faculty lot," Luna replied.
"Aunt Luna, what is this 'faculty lot'?" Cadence asked, currently seated at the table.
"I shall explain later," Luna replied. "Right now we need to prepare for the Grand Galloping Gala, possibly the most boring night of the year. I hope my suggestions for music have been accepted."
Stepping back to let Celestia in, the guards shut the doors behind the incoming entourage, and the other set of guards now stood outside the door to ensure that nobody got inside whilst the royals and their guests were dining. Buzz took his seat and saw the Neil was already conversing with Cadence over something or other. That woman was so different to the other two. She was somehow so much more bubbly and energetic than Luna or Celestia. Anyways, the meal soon started, considerable piles of pancakes and other things, such as salmon (who eats salmon for breakfast?).
"I hereby concur," Luna said, suddenly speaking up, "that tonight shall be a night of fun and celebration. I have proposed that a band play for our entertainment, playing the most up to date and lively of tunes."
"I'm not sure you understand what the word 'concur' means, Aunt Luna," Cadence said.
"It matters not!" Luna replied, suddenly full of joy. "Trumpets!"
Night came, and the Grand Galloping Gala was underway, with many people important and not so important in the ball room dancing and making small talk with one another. The music was certainly helping to liven up the atmosphere a great deal over previous Grand Galloping Galas, and Neil had certainly been the centre of attention for many of the nobles of Canterlot (although he found their manner somewhat insufferable, although a chap called Fancy Pants had been a nice change from the usual mixture of gaudy entitlement on parade that night). As the music seemed to be subsiding, he chose to excuse himself. Taking a glass of punch with him (and avoiding a girl with brown hair whose mouth was full of sprouts), he walked outside and stood outside (as you'd expect of a person who had walked outside). He looked up at the moon, hanging beautifully in the sky and illuminating the city.
"It is beautiful, is it not?" asked a voice. Neil looked back to see Luna, in all her finery and regalia, walking towards him with a smile. "I have always found the night to be my favourite time of the day."
"I can imagine," Neil replied. "I needed some air, that's all. That, and some people were getting a bit too annoying."
Luna's face changed to one of sympathy. "I understand. Many of the nobles expect the world given to them on a plate, and constantly gave me grief when I returned." She then stopped. "But I never had a chance to ask you about your planned mission that ultimately did not end. What happened?"
Neil took a seat on a bench, and Luna sat next to him. "Well, we had been travelling to the moon for several days. We were preparing for orbital insertion for the landing. Michael Collins had just taken up position in the Apollo Service Module, and Buzz and I were in the Lander..."
July 20th, 1969. In Lunar orbit, 1743 hours.
Armstrong switched on the radio, all launch preparations complete. "Apollo control, this is Eagle. We are ready to commence separation for landing, over."
Roger Eagle. You are cleared to separate and burn, out."
Armstrong reached for the docking controls. "Columbia, this is Eagle. Initiating separation in 3, 2, 1. GO!"
Seconds later, a blast of smoke shot from the docking assembly between the Lunar Ascent and Command Modules. The Eagle began to turn and fall away towards the surface of the moon.
"The Eagle has Wings!"
Collins looked out of the porthole window of Columbia to see the Eagle falling away towards the moon. "Eagle, you are good to go, over. All systems go."
"Roger that, Columbia. Houston taking over for Powered Descent."
Suddenly, glancing out of the window at the moon, Armstrong saw the Moon start to suddenly and violently glow. "What in the-"
Seconds later, the Eagle began to shake violently. The computer began blaring sirens.
"1202 alarm."
"1201 and 1202 alarms, copy," Armstrong replied. "Are you getting this, over?"
"Eagle, please specify, over."
"Houston, the moon is glowing. Flashing quite fast, and suddenly. I know it sounds crazy, but-"
"We see the problem, over. Mission Control is currently running a bypass ov-"
Suddenly, the radio cut out, and a giant white hole opened up in front of them. The Eagle was powerless to resist, and was sucked in, falling through a vast kaleidascope of rainbow colours.
"Are you seeing this?" Buzz asked. "I'm not just dreaming, right?"
"I'm seeing it too," Neil replied.
Moments after having entered, the Eagle emerged from the hole, seemingly over a city. The craft lurched, and began to fall like a stone.
"Commence preparations for powered descent," Armstrong ordered, as the Eagle narrowly avoided clipping a tower. "Disable flight computer. I'll land the Eagle manually."
"Roger that, disabling flight computer. She's in your hands."
Armstrong took the controls, the craft seconds from crashing. He put the engines to full power. The fuel guages dropped rapidly as the Eagle slowed down, before slowing to a complete stop and landing on the ground. The fuel tank was empty. But they had landed safely.
Buzz glanced out of the window to suddenly see a group outside. "It looks like there's a welcome party."
"Indeed," Armstrong replied. "Suit up; I'll go down first."
Present day.
Luna looked stunned. It was then she realised what was going on. "This is my fault!"
"Huh?" Neil asked. "Did you just say-"
"This was all caused that night!" Luna exclaimed. "That night when I transformed into Luna! The moon glowed repeatedly as Luna's magic is tied to the moon itself. And I fully intend to ask her, when I find her, precisely what she intended by all this!"
Neil looked confused. "If you're not Luna, then who are you?"
"I was but a man called Jimmy Hook," Luna replied. "I have a tendancy for ending up in these scrapes, and was observing the moon one night when I became whom you see before you. Then Celestia arrived and took me back to Equestria. I heard somebody say something when I stepped through the portal, but now I know what it was!"
"And it was?"
"Jimmy gets to be his favourite princess for a few weeks whilst I get a holiday. Luna must be where I am originally from! But I can fix this!"
"How?"
"By using my magic to generate enough power to send you both back in time to the corect point. It will mean, of course, that you won't remember these occurances, but history will be put back on the correct course." Luna focused on the moon, which moved into position above them. Drawing as much energy as she could, the moon suddenly flashed the brightest it had ever been before, and the light grew so bright it was blinding. Neil and Buzz vanished, as did the damaged Eagle.
But Luna suddenly found herself falling. Falling into an infinite void that stretched before her.
Author's Note
Just goes to show that actions have consequences...
The Apollo portion is based on the original style of the radio transmissions, but the dialogue is not exactly the same as in the original transcripts for dramatic purposes.
Luna found herself in a featureless, empty, dangerous black void. She was also falling at great speed into the blackness. She fell faster and faster, down and down and onwards it went for what seemed like all eternity. She was falling face first, so there was no chance of slowing her fall. Due to having no sense of what was up or down, and being in the thralls of gravity, she couldn't easily rotate and use her dress as a parachute. So onwards she continued to fall, plummeting through the endless, lightless black. Brief flickers of something appeared all around the further she went, the light suddenly starting to increase around her.
There was a sudden shock, and Luna quickly glanced at herself to assess the damage. The chamber suddenly became full of light, and she could clearly see that the bottom was nowhere near close. The chamber seemed to stretch on for all eternity, and she continued to fall down. It was then she felt an odd sensation in her feet. As this happened, her heels started to get tighter on her feet.
She then had a horrified realisation.
"Am I being changed back?"
The pressure on her feet continued to build before stopping altogether, followed by a loud bang. The ruined remains of a pair of high heeled shoes fell past her into the abyss, before suddenly what must have been socks could be felt on her feet, followed by a pair of shoes appearing on them which had the feel and consistency of trainers.
Her legs increased in width and gained hair as her hips began to narrow, followed soon after by her butt shrinking in size to much smaller proportions. Luna knew what was coming next, and grimaced as something else appeared around that area. His waist began to widen as the corset vanished, and his breasts shrank back into her chest, leaving him flat as a board and the bodice awkwardly sagging down, clearly far too big. His shoulders broadened quite suddenly as his arms and hands increased in size, starting to strain the sleeves of the dress, and a lump grew on his neck which caused his voice to drop back into its usual register before all this had happened many moons ago. His hair turned back to its usual brown shade, and curled back to behind his head rather than sweeping down the sides of it. It then began to grow longer. Luna (or should we just call them Jimmy now?) grabbed at his head in pain as root hair cells continued to force more and more hair out of his scalp, flowing down his back for a considerable distance until it was a fair way past his shoulders. His jawline shifted to that of a mans, followed by his eyes shifting to a darker shade of blue and a neckbeard forming on his, well, neck.
This left Jimmy in the state he had been in in Manteo, stuck halfway through. As he glanced about, his glasses returned to him and a black hair tie fell into oblivion. He looked down again, and saw below him that the bodice was starting to stitch itself back up, the button that had held it in place vanishing into nothingness and a normal set of upper shirt buttons appearing in their place. The sleeves shrank back from orbs to usual sleeves you'd see on a polo shirt, and the collar reverted to its usual shape on this garment. The entire thing then turned red, and a loud tearing noise could be heard as the shirt and skirt separated from one another.
Another woman's garment that had been needed previously vanished, and as Jimmy looked on the skirt began to contract. It looked like it was a wormhole collapsing in on itself, the frame decreasing in size at an increasingly rapid rate as it was reduced to simply being a floor length skirt. The inner layers of petticoats vanished, and it fell onto the metal frame, which could now be clearly seen as the skirt had a lumpy texture to it. This soon vanished, as did the skirt under that (there to provide a level of modesty), and it stopped for a few seconds.
Jimmy knew it was almost over, but he wasn't sure how to feel. There was another loud tearing noise, and the skirt began to split in two, forming two legs that joined together where pants would have. A gap opened up in two places, adding space for a button and a zip, both of which did themselves in place, as otherwise the pants would have fallen off.
The blue shade seemed to melt out of them entirely, the colour fading from top to bottom like water pouring from a tap. The colour that was left over was a beige shade, and sure enough, the legs began to shrink back up his legs, the sensation of fabric sliding up and down his legs being so familiar to him it had become quite ordinary. They had changed back into his shorts which he had worn so often through these experiences (and had on an equal number of occasions had been destroyed in the process), and as he went onwards, he continued to fall downwards, any changes that needed to be done apparently over.
The end of this strange tunnel seemed to be brighter now, and Jimmy seemed to be slowing down as he reached the bottom of the tunnel. The light grew brighter and brighter still, and Jimmy covered his eyes with his hand, with now seemed absolutely massive, as the intensity increased. Light washed over him, and at long last he seemed to stop falling onwards. He stopped, seemed to turn in midair, and was then suddenly thrown forward into the light again, being spat out somewhere else. He flew out of the portal and crashed into a bookshelf.
Jimmy groaned as he pulled himself back from the bookshelf, rubbing his head as he did so. "Ow, my head," he groaned. "Talk about a rough landing." As he recovered from his accident, he sat up and then stood up. His room. He was back in his room in Manteo. His usual collection of boxes, display items, My Little Pony merchandise, which included toys, DVDs, and plushies, as well as a growing collection of chapter books, and a framed portait that his friend Fude Chan Art had drawn. Not of himself, but of Sunset Shimmer.
"So, this is it?" he asked, as he glanced about again. "The end of my time in Equestria?"
"Maybe it was not such a good decision," said a voice in the darkness. Jimmy, suddenly startled, switched on his room light, the moonlight continuing to shine strong through his window. Standing in the corner was a person he had come to know very well.
"P- Princess Luna!" Jimmy exclaimed. "What're you doing here?"
"I detected a disturbance in the world, and your distress, not to mention being suddenly changed back to my true form."
Jimmy looked confused. "You've spent the last few days as me?"
"You should know how this works by now," Luna replied, with a gentle smile, trying to shuffle closer. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a tight squeeze. "What did you do to the dress? I am certain it is a lot poofier than before!"
Jimmy, instead, walked over to her.
Luna continued. "When you, or indeed anybody else, becomes a person or creature from the other realm, that individual becomes you, or them, to restore the balance. But the truth is, I should have asked you beforehand. Whilst I did need a rest, it was wrong of me to change you against your will, and for that I am sorry."
Jimmy spoke up. "Luna, if you had asked, I wouldn't have thought twice about saying yes. And I had quite the adventure. I ended up bringing some astronauts from the past to Canterlot by accident, and my efforts to send them back caused me to return here."
Luna nodded, a smile still on her face. "I had an interesting encounter with a... you call them dough nuts, right? The serving lady at a place where they are put into cups of liquid mentioned something about a Hook who ate a cup cake whole."
"Oh!" Jimmy replied. "Dunkin' Donuts! That was a wild one!"
"I can imagine that it was," Luna answered. "I also found the Faculty Lot. Sadly, it was not the place of power that I had imagined, simply being filled with self propelled carriages and some very rowdy people. I chose to leave as soon as I could do so. Fitting in as you was difficult, I will admit."
"You think you had a hard time?" Jimmy said. "You weren't hauling a ballgown around all the time!"
"True." Luna looked closer, and saw the sadness on Jimmy's face. "Pray tell me, what upsets you? What troubles your heart?"
"This may sound crazy, but the time I was you, I was having the time of my life," Jimmy told her. "And now it's over. I wanted it to last forever."
The Princess of the Moon sighed. "Jimmy, we cannot swap places permanently. I do not belong in this world, neither do you belong in mine. Eventually, you would want to switch back, just as I want to return to my royal duties in my world."
"Then let me come with you!" Jimmy countered, starting to tear up. "I can be by your side for the rest of my life, protect you, comfort you. You can change others, right? Then change me into my counterpart there!"
Luna's eyes were heavy, but yet full of understanding. "We cannot have two of Captain Hook running about in Canterlot," she sighed. "As much as I care about all of my subjects and those who adore me in this realm, the second option is not viable. You may want to spend the rest of your life with me, but I cannot spend the rest of my life with you. I may look young, but I am thousands of years old. I would outlive you."
This was too much for Jimmy to take, and he began to sob quietly. Sensing the pain in his heart, Luna went forward to hug him. She held the young man in her arms for what felt like hours. "There, easy. Just let your emotions flow. It is best to let it out than to bottle it up- a lesson I learned the hard way."
When Jimmy was done, he broke from her embrace. "I'll miss you," he said. "You will always be my favourite princess."
Once more, Luna smiled. "You remind me of Pipsqueak. You may not be able to come to Equestria permanently, but I can arrange a compromise."
She extended her hand, and the moon glowed brightly. A mannequin appeared at the side of Jimmy's wardrone, and fabric and cloth began to thread themselves upon it. Slowly but surely, a replica of Luna's dress appeared on the mannequin, and the process was completed when the skirt suddenly ballooned outwards, taking up a fair bit of space.
"This dress is linked directly to the dream world. If you ever want to swap places with me for a brief while, just put the dress on. That will alert me that you want to switch, and I will initiate the transformation. However, I will stay in contact to ensure you do not simply stay there permanently. And if you ever want to make a flying visit to Equestria, or if I want to visit Earth for a short while, you know where to find me. The magic journal on the desk will allow us to converse with one another."
Jimmy smiled. "Thank you, Luna. I don't know why I feel such a connection with you, but I do."
Luna smiled in return. "It is never a problem, Jimmy," she replied. "You are a fair, noble, and charming young man. I wish you the best of luck in life, but I must go. The night is almost over, and Celestia must be wondering where I am."
As the sun rose over the Outer Banks, Luna faded, and gradually vanished, leaving Jimmy alone. He sat down in his chair, picking up his Luna plushie and hugging it.
Seconds later, the landlord came in. "Hello Jimmy!" he said.
"Morning, Mr Fogg," Jimmy replied.
"Is everything OK?" Mr Fogg asked. "I heard a woman's voice in here, and came to check you were OK."
"I'm fine," Jimmy replied.
Mr Fogg left, doing a double take when he saw the dress. "Jimmy, you have weird tastes."
Jimmy cared not for his words. He opened the journal and began to write.
Dear Princess Luna...
This story is dedicated in memory of Neil Armstrong, 1930-2012.
One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Mankind.
Author's Note
Well, here we are. The end of another story. I hope you have enjoyed this curveball from my usual material in all its wackiness, and I hope to revisit this world someday. I would like to thank Jimmy for suggesting this idea and the prequel. It's been a fun journey.
In homage to Jimmy, I'll leave some of my favourite art of Luna here.
(Compare and contrast)
Cheerio until next time. Gloria Noctis!
