The Baying Moon

Outside a small house on K. West Street in Canterlot stood a nerdy unicorn mare and an equally nerdy alicorn princess. The property looked a lot better than the last time Twilight had seen it. The stone fence had been mended and polished, the yard weeded and mowed, — although it needed another mowing, like last week — a flower bed blossomed with color and joy, and even the gnarled tree in the front yard had bloomed.

The one-and-a-half story house too was refurbished. The cracks on the outside were filled and painted, the shutters, chimney, and roof tiling replaced, and the purple front door with the moon shaped window was patched where Twilight had accidently and literally knocked a hole into it. Overall it was a lovely home sandwiched between the larger charmless buildings that littered the capital city.

Moondancer walked past her open fence. The tall grass skittered across her soles. Moondancer screeched out a laugh and threw herself again the fence to stop from falling down.

“Moondancer!” Twilight rushed up and held her.

“I’m fine. I’m fine.” Moondancer pushed her glasses snug against her beat red face.

The unicorn took a long step over the grass and placed her foot along the first flagstone of her walkway. She took careful wide steps over the mischievous grass in-between each stone and collapsed against her front door.

“So… Umm, thanks again for saving me Twilight. I’ll, ahh, just go inside now.” Moondancer opened her door and slid halfway inside taking care to avoid the round fuzzy blue doormat insdie. Twilight placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Moondancer.”

“Y-yes?” The terrified mare gulped.

“Can we speak inside?”

Moondancer nodded with dread. ‘Twi knows I was going to betray her! Oh Celestia, now she really hates me.’ Twilight looked at her with concern and compassion. ‘I just hope she doesn’t yell too much. I don’t wanna cry in front of her.’

Moondancer opened the door all the way and let Twilight inside. She dropped her sneakers next to the door and closed it. She led her guest to the living room, and before they walked in, fired off a spell to yank down her Reading is Magic poster with Twilight on it.

She plumped herself on one of her couches, and curled her knees up to her chest. Twilight sat right next to her instead of taking the other couch and laid her arm across Moondancer’s shoulder. Moondancer sniffled ready to break down but choked back her tears and laid her head against Twilight.

“I’m really sorry about what happened to you, Moondancer. I can’t imagine what you must have gone through down there. I wish I could have found out what happened sooner.”

Moondancer only nodded, too emotional to speak without bursting into tears.

“I, ahem,” Twilight let out a fake cough, “noticed that they also put another ring on you, down there. And I wanted to give you some privacy removing it without Spike around.”

All the blood in Moondancer’s body rushed to her cheeks. All her anxiety about Twi hating her shifted to anxiety about her embarrassing predicament. On the verge of passing out Moondancer weakly nodded.

Twilight, rosy cheeked as well, asked. “Do want me remove them here, or in your bedroom, or--”

“Bathroom!” Moondancer squealed. “There’s… a lot of backup, and when you take them off I think I’m going to…”

Twilight nodded back with be eyes closed. “Wait, them!?”

“There’s two.”

“Wow! If they needed two to keep you from ejaculating that must mean you have a really--”

“CAN WE PLEASE DICUSS THIS LATER!? Or preferably never!”

“Right! Sorry!”

The two mares made their way to Moondancer’s restroom. Twilight took a studious look at the situation beneath Moondancer’s briefs and assured her friend she could relieve her of it. Moondancer begged her never to say the word ‘relieve’ again, Twilight agreed. She stepped outside the restroom, closed the door, and cast her counterspell.

Ten minutes of wall shaking moaning, knocks on the door from concerned neighbors, and one cum clogged toilet later — Moondancer stumbled out. Twilight caught the unicorn and helped back to her couch.

“Better?”

Dazed, Moondancer gave a shaky thumbs up. Twilight held her friend as she napped off her orgasms.

Light from the afternoon sun streamed through a window and hit Moondancer in the face. The unicorn stirred and woke up the princess snoozing with her. The two blush and fumbled off the couch.

“Thanks again, for everything, Twi.”

“You’re welcome. Oh, in case you were worried by the way, we were able to return those library books you dropped off at the castle.”

“You got those!? I thought that the dogs must have thrown them away or lost them and my tape recorder.”

“Tape recorder?” Twilight echoed.

“If you didn’t get my tape recorder than how’d you find me?”

“Well it all started a few days ago I came back from a trip to Hayseed Swamps to find a cure to Swamp Fever.”

“But Swamp Fever doesn’t have any know cures!”

Twilight giggled. “Of course you’ve studied medical books too. But yeah, there is one. It was discovered by the Mystical Mask, Mage Meadowbrook.”

“The Mystical Mask was Mage Meadowbrook!?”

“I know right! I was shocked too when Fluttershy made the connection.” Twilight geeked out but stopped herself. “Anyway sorry, back to the point. Spike had found some books left by the front door that didn’t belong to the Ponyville Library. He figured out they were from the Canterlot Library and when I got back we return them and found out that you had checked them out. I got really concerned when they said you hadn’t checked out any other books in days.”

“I’m that predictable, huh?” Moondancer snorted.

Twilight smirked. “We went to your house but you weren’t there, and none of our Canterlot friends had seen you either. We returned to Ponyville to ask if anypony had seen you around town. Nopony had, but back at my castle we looked around outside and Spike found this near the steps.”

Twilight pulled out a scuffed gem stone from her skirt pocket and handed it over.

“Whoever left your books must have dropped it.”

Moondancer rubbed her neck where her collar had been and explained the plan she’d concocted with her tape recorder. “I guess Bewlay must’ve lost my tape recorder but not the books? That explains why he looked so ashamed last time I saw him.”

“It was a good plan, and in the end it still kinda worked. I wasn’t sure what to make of gem, but Spike recognized that it came from the forest outskirts. Rarity and Spike had been there before to collect gemstones and run into Diamond Dogs.”

“Wow, Spike is my hero twice over.” Moondancer smiled.

“I don’t know what I’d do without him.” Twilight mused. “Once we realized you must have been kidnapped by them, I gathered everypony I could and we stormed their mines.”

“I can’t keep saying thank you enough Twi. It got really rough down there.”

“From the looks of it they were, tickling you?”

“Yeah, that null ring was enchanted to use laughter as a power source for a gem finding spell so the dog would know where to dig.”

“That’s too advanced for them. That’s too advanced for most unicorns.”

“They had help. A pegasus, Nightshade. She said she’s the captain of the Shadowbolts.”

“Hmm…” Concern washed over Twilight’s face. “Rainbow told us about them. Nightmare Moon had used them to try and get her to abandon us during her return. But they weren’t real ponies, just a fragment of Nightmare Moon’s magic.”

“I don’t what to tell you Twi, but she is very real. She talked a lot too since she thought I’d be their prisoner forever. But more importantly Twi, she’s after you, you and all your friends. She’s working with more creatures that just the Diamond Dogs. And… they’re willing to do anything, use ponies, anything to get what they want. She even mentioned having done to your brother what she did to me.”

“Shining?” Twi looked to the side and processed everything. “Do you think she could have been lying to try and dishearten you?”

“I don’t know. I hope so, but, that mare is evil. Twilight, please be careful.”

“I will.” Twilight nodded.

Moondancer described what had happened to her down in the Diamond Dogs mines and all the information the dogs and Nightshade let slip and teased her with. Twilight was mortified, sympatric, but she just let Moondancer talk. The mare left out a few key details towards the end about modified sneakers, new fetishes, what team she agreed to join the night before. That didn’t matter anymore, she hoped. The two sat in a comfortable silence.

“It’s getting late; you should go back to Ponyville.” Moondancer said.

“I can stay the night if you want.”

“I do want you to stay, Twilight, but you shouldn’t. I-I’ve have an unhealthy crush on you. I’ve had it for years and it’s not fair for me to dump this all on you. I need time and help to figure myself out.” Moondancer exhaled a heavy breath. “My sister’s wanted me to talk to a therapist for a long while now. I think she’s right and I’m going to.”

“That’s a very brave decision, Moondancer.” Twilight cupped Moondancer’s hand. “I have feelings for you too, maybe as more than just a friend, but I’m not sure. I’m still trying to figure myself out too. Promise you’ll look after yourself after I leave?”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.” Moondancer mimed the motions to an impressed Twilight. “Pinkie taught me last time I saw her. So you know I mean it.”

“That’s all the assurance I need then.” Twilight chuckled.

Moondancer walked Twilight out the door and hugged her. The Princess of Friendship flew up into the moonlit evening sky; she turned around and called out. “And don’t forget, reading isn’t the only thing that’s magic!” Twilight teleported away.

Back inside Moondancer picked up her poster off the living room floor and unfurled it. Under the bold word Reading in silver marker and Friendship was added. Twilight’s signature flowed underneath in the same silver ink. Moondancer didn’t care that the poster was now grammatically incorrect. She hung it back up and smiled.

* * *

Elsewhere in Canterlot the same crescent moon hung high in the cold blue sky. Beneath it in a one of the hundreds of towering building Nightshade sat on a windowsill and listened to the sweet sounds of whirling machines and tortured high-pitched feminine laugher coming from next room. Heavy footsteps thudded up the stairway. Nightshade hopped down and walked through a magical barrier towards the noise. Once she passed through the force field all the sounds of laughter were muted. An annoyed Shining Armor awaited her.

“Is there a reason you called me?” He spat.

“Yeah!” Nightshade fired back. “Why didn’t you have the nerd replaced like I told you to?”

Shining Armor’s face twisted in rage. His eyes flashed green and he bared his teeth. A cicada like screech bellowed from his throat. Sickly green fire burned up his legs replacing them with a much taller black exoskeleton with gaping holes that went all way the through the limbs. The fire passed over the elongating chest and revealed a green carapace wrapped around the torso and gossamer wings speckled with more holes. The hands burned away and left five razor sharp claws attached to each rotting arm. Silky turquoise hole-riddled hair tumbled down as Shining Armor’s face was immolated. White pony fur now a black shell with a long gnarled horn and tiny black crown a top it.

Two eyes opened, faded green sclera with green irises and slit pupils like two razor blades that would slice a lesser pony to ribbons towered over the Captain of the Shadowbolts. The insectoid creature ratcheted its head 180 degrees upside-down and its eyes were still above the pegasus. Its mandible split open and a forked tongue licked between dozens of venomous fangs.

“I told you!” The things voice sounded like it was being spoken multiple times at different pitches. “I will not waste any more of my remaining loyal subjects on another pet for you.” Green liquid and vapor rolled out of its mouth.

“Gross. And cut the nightmare fuel act, Chrysalis. If I wanted to see true horror I’d watched Celestia’s acting.”

“You will address me as Queen!” Chrysalis righted her head.

“Queen of what, ten Changelings now?”

Chrysalis screeched again. Nightshade rubbed her temples.

“The nerd wasn’t even a pet for me. We could have used her to bolster our ranks and help capture Twilight, I had a plan.”

“I’ve only put up with your so called ‘plans’ because being so close to Cadance and her child has kept me and my remaining subjects engorged these last few months. Any changeling could mimic that mare or anypony else long enough to get close to Twilight and her friends and capture them. You’re delaying my revenge against Starlight and that traitor Thorax with your childish games.”

“Rushing is how you got found last time. It’s no use taking over Equestria if you can’t hold onto it. We need to not only take the Elements of Harmony and the Princesses outta play, but also every other major figure we can get our hands on too. I’ve had the Wonderbolts for years now with the real Spitfire replaced. You can easily cripple and devour the Crystal Empire anytime. My other colleges are already in motion to capture Starlight for you, as well as the rest of the Elements. But I need you to work with me, and replace the ponies I tell you to replace.” Nightshade strained to keep her tone neutral.

“Fine!” The trypophobia incarnate monster spat. “You can use all of subjects to replace whoever so long as it gets me my prey.”

“Thank you. And trust me, this all be worth it when we have every one of them as our prisoners.”

“Hmm” The monstrosity mused. “I do regret not getting to see Twilight’s face as one of real friends betrayed her.”

“I wouldn’t write Moondancer off yet. Just make sure whoever you’ve got pretending to be Rarity is half decent and I’ll organize the rest. Starlight will be in your, whatever it is you have, very soon.”

“Excellent.” Chrysalis transformed back into Shining Armor. “Now if you’ll excuse me, my wife and child are waiting for me.” Chrysalis left the way she came.

The front door slammed shut and Nightshade slumped down.

“UGGGGGHHH! I hate everybody…” Nightshade dragged her hand down her face. “SPITTY! Where’d I leave you tied up? Your Mistress needs to take her frustration out on somepony.”