Touching the Moon

by Lucky Break

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Human, Sad, Other, Princess Luna
Length: 10484

News of a friend's passing reminds Luna of her past, and the bittersweet memories it holds.

While holding her Night Court, Princess Luna receives the news of a friend's passing. Struck by the sudden death of one of her most precious friends, she becomes overcome with sadness and in her grief remembers when they met and the lessons they taught each other.

A story of friendship, magic, and making unlikely friends in places you would never expect.

Published 2012-09-06 09:34:04 UTC
Last updated 2012-09-10 21:25:41 UTC

Chapter One

If there was one duty that Princess Luna did not mind having to perform for a thousand years, it was holding court and dealing with dozens if not hundreds of ponies everyday. Granted, she had her own night court, but it was much smaller and did not have as much in the way of the attendees. The thought of having to keep up appearances for hundreds of ponies made Luna shudder with apprehension. Luna couldn’t comprehend the fortitude her sister must have that enabled her to see row upon row of ponies clustered together with an idea, petition, or grievance that could only be solved by the Princess. It was almost enough to make Luna glad she had been on the moon. Almost.

Since her return, Luna was pleased to see that ponies had come to enjoy the night she had so painstakingly worked on. It was even quaintly named “the nightlife,” a term that made the princess giggle and clap her hooves privately every time she heard it. It wasn’t like the hustle of the day, but it was more than enough. It was actually the night lifestyle that brought ponies to her court. Ponies looking to open new clubs or bars, bringing new drinks and food for the princess to sample and approve of. Occasionally she would have to mediate a disturbance, although Luna quickly learned that it was usually some minor complaint or grievance.

Her small court was her sister’s way of trying to get Luna used to the new Equestria, and vice versa. She was grateful for her sister’s efforts, doubly so that she didn’t have to worry about the day court, but the lack of ponies seeking her advice or approval meant that most of her night was spent lounging on her cushions while playing games and eating snacks, hastily hidden anytime a pony entered the room. Luna was content though, she really couldn’t feel otherwise after her imprisonment.

Shaking her head to rid her mind of painful memories, Luna decided to pull out something special. She excused herself from her guards, explaining she needed to retrieve something and then made her way to her bedroom. Upon arriving to her suite she disregarded the rest of her room and moved to a locked cabinet that adorned a wall beside her bed. Reaching it, Luna looked around making sure nopony was paying particular attention to her. Even her sister didn’t not know the full contents that this cabinet contained, and Luna had even gone so far to make her sister swear an oath that she would not pry into it. One could never be too careful though.

With the coast clear, Luna unlocked the cabinet with a simple spell, opening the doors revealing only a few items. One was a only letter, yellowed with age, and a large metal capsule that was dented and slightly charred. The final item was a black box smaller than the capsule with an assortment of knobs, a telescoping metal rod and cord attached to it. It was the only one of its kind, and priceless to the princess. It was an old radio, and while radios were common, this one was the only of its kind. The radio was gathered in Luna’s magic as a small smile crossed her dark blue muzzle.

Princess Luna made her way back to the courtroom and settled back into her cushions as she placed the radio down next to her. Her horn lit up with more magic and she directed it to the tip of the cord on the radio. The plug glowed the same dark blue as her magic and the radio came to life with the constant buzzing of static. Making some adjustment with the antennae, Luna turned it towards her moon and the signal become clear.

Soft music was playing from the radio, and Luna leaned back into her cushions with a content sigh.This radio was one of her prized possessions, and she guarded it jealously much to her sister’s amusement and at the same time, annoyance. It was only an radio though, just with special origins and a special purpose. After a few minutes the music faded and a voice came from radio, speaking formally and slowly delivering news and announcements. Luna let her mind wander a bit, picking up a cup of fresh tea and bring the hot liquid to her lips. The news that this station usually reported on were usually worlds away, and often did not concern her.

“...and today Neil Armstrong’s funeral service will be held. The first man on the moon died last Saturday at the age of 82. The astronaut...”

The next words were cut of as the sound of a teacup shattering upon the ground echoed across the room and the magic was abruptly cut off from radio. Stunned, Luna sat there slack-jawed and stared wide-eyed at the radio. Only moments passed before her vision became blurry, and she felt the tears beginning to form and she hastily reapplied her magic to the radio.

“...he is known as one of America’s greatest hero’s, being part of the historic Apollo 11 Lunar Landing. He will be missed, not just by his friends and family, but by the world.” The radio fell silent again as Luna let the magic fade once again.

“N-Neil is g-gone?” Her breath came in shallow gasps and the princess’ tears began to run down her cheeks as memories began to resurface, brought forth by the latest news.

~~~

The Moon.

It was cold, lifeless, and devoid of any color besides various shades of grey. Above all that, though, it was a prison. A cage that had held Nightmare Moon and Luna for the almost a millennia, and it could be another millennia before she could escape. Most of her power had been stripped away when her sister had decided to use the Elements of Harmony on her. The rest of her strength had dwindled away to almost nothing during her imprisonment.

Luna’s loss of power had shrunk her back to the size of a filly, and her mane had lost its luster and shine making it more of a pale blue than the starfield it use to be. Not that anypony could see her. Banishing her had sealed her body in the moon, away from prying eyes. At first Luna had been furious and in her angry carved her likeness into the moon’s surface as an act of defiance. To scream, “I am still here!” to her sister and ponies still on Equestria. Time passed though, and that anger turned to uncertainty, then to sadness, then despair, and finally nothing.

Luna was numb and rarely felt much in the way of emotion, but she had two things that comforted her and made the endless days pass ever so easier. One was looking over Equestria, seeing the majesty of the land that could only be appreciate from the moon. At certain points the sun would be hidden from view and the land of equestria would become speckled with lights. Luna was surprised that they could have so many fires going without burning down the land. It almost made her smile when she saw that.

The second was a rare occurrence but infinitely more exciting. Recently somepony or someone had been trying to reach her moon, but it wasn’t anypony from Equestria, it was entirely new world. Luna even suspected that they were a different space or dimension. Over the past several years strange objects had been crashing or landing on the surface of her moon, while others had merely circled. Luna had regarded these objects with fear at first, but that had quickly switched to anger, and finally settled on curiosity. These objects came in several shapes and sizes, but never spoke.

The most interesting thing about these arrivals, and the basis of Luna’s extra dimensional theory was the fact that every time these objects appeared, Equestria would disappear from sight. The first time this had happened, Luna had panicked, a thing she hadn’t done since she began her banishment, for Luna thought she would never be able to return home. She had wildly used her magic to look for where her home had gone. In her search she had discovered a planet were no planet should be. It was located on the opposite side of the moon from where Equestria should be. It was larger than her home by far, covered in colors of green, white, and blue. Its discovery had temporarily shocked Luna out of her panicked state, and she looked at the new world in awe. After a time though the planet vanished much like her Equestria had done, and Luna’s homeland had reappeared.

Luna came to look forward to these “breaks” as she called them. They weren’t exciting or entertaining, but they were different. They broke the monotony of her imprisonment. So when Equestria disappeared once again, Luna looked with expectation to the reemerged new world, waiting whatever new object would pass by, land, or even crash upon her lunar surface. It didn't take her long to see what she was looking for.

Almost immediately Luna had noticed something different, that object was several times larger than usual, and shaped more like a badly designed ship. It did not land on the surface of the moon, but instead launched another object to the surface. Luna’s curiosity could only grow as she watched the metallic object land on her surface. This object was also larger than any of the things that had come before it. It was big enough to hold a pony or two inside it in fact.

It was a tense moment, but then a hatch opened on the side of the object and Luna’s heart leapt into her throat. Something was coming out! Someone or something was here on her moon! Someone besides her! Thoughts began filling her head like a flood

Who are they?

What do they want?

Are they ponies?

Do they mean harm?

Are they diplomats?

Can I talk to them?

Will they keep me company?

Will they be my friend?

She watched as the creatures emerged from their craft, she knew immediately they were not ponies. For one the creatures only walked on two legs. They were white and bulky, with scrunched up skin and large, reflective heads. They moved awkwardly as well, hopping around and only taking small steps. Luna had never seen a stranger being in all her time on Equestria. Mostly likely because they were not from Equestria, which made sense in an abstract kind of way..

For several hours, the two beings moved in the cold silence of the moon’s surface performing an assortment of mysterious tasks that Luna couldn’t understand. They would enter their craft time and time again to bring out objects, set them up and mill around them poking and prodding. It was somewhat amusing to watch them, Luna had a feeling that these creatures were on nothing more than on a camping trip or field trip from school.

With all field trips, though, they have to end eventually, and the time came where the bulky creatures moved all their objects back to the craft and climbed back inside of it. Luna sighed with a combination of regret and relief. Soon they would be gone and she would be alone again, but at least she wasn’t discovered. Several minutes passed though, and there was no movement from the ship, then a hour.

Was she wrong? Maybe they were merely setting up camp? Perhaps they would be staying longer? Maybe they were staying forever!?

While these thoughts ran rampant in Luna’s mind, the hatch opened on the craft again and the two creatures stepped onto the surface once more. They didn’t have any equipment or objects on them as before. They seemed to be agitated about something, as they’re movements were quick and jerky. They kept pointing into space, and Luna turned her senses to see what exactly they were pointing at.

Turns out, they weren’t pointing at anything. In fact the nothing was the reason for their distress. Where their great blue world had been, now only empty space with a backdrop of lights existed.

Their world had vanished.

Chapter Two

Luna knew almost exactly how the creatures felt about losing their world, she had gone through the exact same experience herself after all. Unlike herself though, it didn’t seem that these beings had the senses to feel their world beyond the dimensional veil it was hidden behind. Equestria had appeared as usual, but her visitors were on the far side of the moon from it, therefore they couldn’t see her home, so as near as she could tell, the creatures must’ve felt extremely lost and confused at the moment.

The imprisoned princess watched the two beings point and gesture in what could only be understood as panic, fear, and anger. It seemed that they had some way to communicate among themselves and Luna wasn’t privy to it. At the thought of being left out, she felt a sharp pain in her chest. The first beings to communicate on her moon in ages, and she couldn’t even hear them.

Suddenly, one of the creatures’ frustration seemed to hit its peak, and with a shove sent the other creature flying onto the surface. The shoved creature floated across the moon’s surface in an almost comically slow motion fall before landing gently on the grey surface of the moon. It just laid there as the aggressor reentered their craft and closed the hatch once more.

Was the fallen one injured? Luna watched with hesitation as the being just laid there. After a moment though, it awkwardly rolled and kicked onto its belly and got to its feet after a few tries. The motions made it seem like a strange bipedal turtle, or was it tortoise? It stood there, facing the empty space where its world used to be and Luna could see it’s shoulders slump and its head fall in defeat. They were stuck on the moon, just like her.

That common factor, that shared feeling, drove Luna to her decision at last. Not only did she have someone else here on her moon, but they were in the same situation. They could relate, they had common ground. For the first time in almost 1000 years, Luna reached out to someone.

Well, reaching out was probably the wrong term to use in this situation. It was more of a surprise attack and ambush. Luna sent tendrils of magic throughout the moon and made a path from her prison to the surface, and with an inaudible pop created a tunnel to her chamber. Another tendril of magic snaked out and hooked the creature around one of its thick legs, and with a quick jerk, pulled it under the surface of the moon.

The creature was obviously distressed, as it was being pulled through the tunnels it tried to grab hold of the smooth tunnel walls. It could find nothing to keep a hold of so it continued it slow descent into the moon. Eventually it was brought to Luna’s chamber, although chamber was probably too strong a word for a mere grey cave inside the moon. The creature landed with a soft thud upon the cavern floor and Luna released her magical hold on it. She took a moment to close up the tunnel she had created and then regarded the creature in her presence.

And realized she had no idea what to do next.

It had been a moment of sympathy that prompted Luna to bring the creature here, but now that it was here, she didn’t know what to do. She didn’t even know if they could communicate on any level. Worry started to grip Luna as she thought frantically about her next step. All this time on the moon had really taken a number on her problem solving abilities, it seemed. While she thought, the creature seemed regain it senses after its capture.

It took it a few tries to get back to its feet, and stood with its back to Luna. It didn’t stay turned for long as it moved in a slow circle, clearly confused and bewildered as it looked around. As it turned to face her, Luna saw it stop suddenly. Luna then found out something interesting, the creatures face was reflective, and she could see herself in its reflection. As she looked at herself, she imagined the creature saw what she saw.

She laid on a small outcropping of rock, her legs tucked up under herself and her head and tail nestled against her side. Her coat has a was shade of blue that reminded her of blueberries, and her mane and tail were the color of a clear sky. Things she hadn’t seen in ages. The thoughts brought tears to her eyes. Did that creature see her as lonely and pathetic as she saw herself right now? She squeezed the tears from her eyes, and turned her head to regard the being. It hadn’t moved from the position it had taken when it had seen her.

If Luna had the strength, maybe she would have stood up, or waved. At the moment though it would seem that even managing a smile was beyond her. So they just stood there, regarding each other.

The creature made the first move. It took one slow step towards her, then another, and then another. Luna was quite sure that if she needed to breath she would be hyperventilating right now. Why didn’t she think this through? She didn’t know what this being was capable of, and she had brought it here on a emotional whim. Of course, she could use some of her magic and blast it back, but that could weaken her beyond recovery and as lonely as she was, disappearing into the void was not on her list of options. So Luna did the only thing she could think of; she screwed her eyes closed and awaited whatever the creature was going to do to her.

Closing her eyes didn’t really do much good as her magical senses still allowed her to see what was happening. The creature kept advancing on her and as it drew closer, raised it’s arm slightly forward. Was it going to strike her? Luna couldn’t take it anymore, and closed her other senses as well. She was effectively blind as she awaited the consequences of her actions.

Those consequences came as a soft touch against her mane. A slow stroking motion that could only be described as gentle. Luna open one eye to look at what had happened. The creature was standing beside her now, with one hand on her mane, petting it softly. It was nice, it was comforting, it was physical contact. It was too much.

Luna felt the tears before they actually fell and yet could do nothing as she burst out crying. She felt a rush of emotions, mostly relief, happiness, and longing. She didn’t know how much she had missed the company of anybody else until that moment, and it was glorious and painful at the same time. She wasn’t sure how long she cried, but the creature had taken a step back then just stood there, most likely shocked at her sudden outburst. It stood there frozen while she bawled, it was somewhat comical actually, like a foal with no idea what to do about a crying baby.

It brought a small smile to her muzzle, and she managed to wipe her eyes and looked to the creature again. That seemed to undo whatever paralysis had overcome it and it reached out its hand again. This time, Luna met the hand halfway, leaning forward slightly and bumping her head against it. The creature stroked her mane and neck a few times and did something odd.

Luna watched it lift its other hand to its face and with a slow but deft motion, proceed to slide its face up and straight back! Luna mouth dropped slightly at that and leaned back in shock. The irony that their roles had just been reversed was not lost on her though. It was then that several things occurred to her. The creatures new face was transparent, and she could see inside of it. Was that another face inside of it? Yes, it was a hairless, contorted face but a face nonetheless. What did that make those first faces? Another look revealed that answer, what she had thought was the face at first was actually some glasslike material.

The gears inside Luna’s head whirled as she grasped the implications of that. If that was the actual face then what was the rest of the body? It only took a moment before it hit her, and she would have smacked herself upside the head if she could. Regular ponies couldn’t travel to the moon cause they couldn’t breath, why shouldn't it be the same for others? That wasn’t a skin it was wearing. It was a suit that allowed it to breath here. It reminded Luna much of the awkward diving suits that were being made before her banishment.

That was why they couldn’t talk, and that why they always looked so clumsy! Luna felt a moment of pride for figuring it out, and looked to the face once more. It seemed masculine but soft, its eyes intelligent and focused. If she could get him to take off his headgear, they could finally talk. Luna wanted to talk to this being, it was a matter of the higher priority.

Drawing upon her low magic reserves, her horn lit up with magic. The creature’s eyes widened a bit and took a step back at the display. Luna dismissed it, concentrating on the task at hoof. Creating an atmosphere wasn’t difficult, but she was out of practice and had to be careful with her magic. It only took a moment longer before the magic went off with an audible pop, and a rush of air and heat filled the cave.

Luna sighed with pleasure as the heat set in, slowly driving away the ingrained cold she had put up with for the better part of a millenium. At first during her imprisonment, she had kept herself warm for a while, but as her magic had faded she had used the spell less and less until cold vacuum was her only companion. Luna took a deep breath, savoring the use of her lungs again and abruptly started coughing. Apparently her body had forgotten what it was like to breath as well.

She regained control of herself and looked to the creature in the really awkward diving suit, he was looking at her in what she took as confusion. His facial expressions didn’t seem that different from a ponies, just stranger with a flat muzzle. Now she had to get him to take off the headgear, and then they would finally communicate.

Luna tried the simplest approach first, and merely told him to take it off. Her voice was quiet and weak though from the centuries of disuse. To her ears, it sounded nothing more than a squeak, Luna didn’t want to even guess if the creature could hear it. She tried to speak again, this time using her hooves to pantomime taking off the headgear. This time it came out a croak, which was an improvement considering her previous attempt. It wasn’t enough though, the creature seemed to get an inkling of what she wanted, and he shook his head saying something that she couldn’t quite make out.

Luna made an educated guess that he was saying he couldn’t because he was in a cold vacuum devoid of air. How to prove that there was air? It had that infuriating quality of being invisible, which made proven it was there difficult. Usually ponies just accepted it because the wind was there.

Wait a moment. That was it, wind. Air currents to be more exact. Struck by her genius, Luna grabbed a loose stone with her magic and crushed it into a ball of dust, bringing it to her hooves. Making sure that the creature’s eyes were on her and the dust in her hooves, she blew on her hooves and watched the moondust fly off into the air. She did the motion of taking of the helmet and finally was able to say in a quiet voice,

“Take it off, you will be safe.”

Her voice was both a stranger and old friend to her, another thing she had come to miss and didn’t realize. The dust trick had apparently done its job though, Luna could see the comprehension dawning on the creature’s face, followed by a look of confusion and worry. Luna tried smiling, considering the possibility of taking the helmet off herself if this didn’t work. Fortunately, that wasn’t needed. The worry and confusion was replaced with resignation, resolve, and above all trust as the creature reached up and gripped the headgear in both hands. It’s face was scrunched up, most likely as the being was letting Luna deal his fate right there, but unbeknownst to him, he had nothing to worry about.

With a firm twist and yank, the headpiece moved to one direction with a sharp hiss of air, and finally came off. The creature inside still had its face screwed up in expectation, but as moments passed and nothing happened, he opened one eye and the the other, looking at Luna with eyes of wonder and curiosity. Luna spoke first,

“Greetings, I am Princess Luna. And you are?”

The creature’s face broke into a small grin as a laugh escaped his lips.

“Well I’ll be...I’m Neil. Neil Armstrong, pleased to make your acquaintance, ma'am.”

Chapter Three

Luna felt an instant wave of relief at the sound of Neil’s voice. For one, he was still alive, which meant the spell was working; for another she could understand him. If there had been a language barrier she would have had to expend more magic just to understand him. Thankfully, her precious reserves did not have to be depleted any further.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Mr. Armstrong.” Luna’s voice grew stronger with each syllable. “I expect that you have questions about...” She waved a hoof around, “all of this.”

Neil’s smile didn’t fade as set the clumsy headgear on the cave floor, responding with, “Well shucks yeah, Ms. Luna; you have just blown decades of planning and research out of the water. As a man of science and a human from the planet Earth, you can bet I have questions.”

Neil’s voice was soft but strong, each word carrying a note of good nature. Luna instantly felt comforted and strengthened by it; in fact, she was feeling a little stronger. Why was that? She kept her attention on this man of science and human of Earth though. Luna took a moment to study his face for a moment. She didn’t know how to judge the attractiveness of a human, but Neil’s face carried wisdom in every line, his eyes glittering with curiosity and intelligence. His smile was youthful and infectious; Luna couldn’t resist smiling a little in turn at it.

“Well, Mr. Armstrong, if you don’t mind tarrying a bit, perhaps we could exchange questions and answers?”

The human’s smile faded at that, as if reminded of something.

“Well, I don’t have anywhere to go at the moment, with my planet missing and all.”

Of all the times to insert her hoof into her mouth. Luna’s mind scrambled for a quick yet appropriate response.

“I see. Perhaps you can tell me of your planet, and I can tell you of mine?”

Neil brightened slightly at that and began to speak of his home. Luna was surprised to hear about such a world. A world filled with millions of other humans like Neil, all of them different. Entire cities filled with buildings that could reach the sky. His world was filled with machines that could fly through the air or go into the water by harnessing different types of power. Crafts that moved faster than the quickest pegasus or strongest earth pony and moved for much longer.

Neil spoke excitedly about these machines, going into details on how they worked, to which Luna had to wave him on, saying they had no such things in Equestria, so she could barely understand the specifics. Neil then switched to talking about governments and nations. Neil's world had hundreds of countries of all different shapes and sizes, each with their own rulers. It was here that Luna had to interject with a question.

“Pardon my interruption Mr. Armstrong, but with so many rulers, isn’t there an abundance of conflict?”

A dark look passed over Neil’s eyes, and he grew quieter but continued to talk.

“Yes, we have conflicts. Wars even. Millions of men fighting and slaughtering each other at the orders of their leaders. The lines between good and evil become blurred then, and only the winner can say who was right and who was wrong.”

This didn’t seem like a subject that Neil would want to dwell on, and after hearing those few lines, Luna didn’t want to either. There had never been a conflict of that scale in Equestria; Luna and her sister had been more than enough to deal with any uprisings or disturbances. Even then, it was dealt with peacefully and without casualty. Usually.

This seemed a good time to explain Equestria to Neil, and so Luna decided to go into it with gusto, beginning with how Luna and her sister commanded the moon and sun. Almost immediately Neil interrupted with, “There is no way that is possible.”

Luna gave him a flat look, “You are with a magical pony princess trapped in the moon, who is letting you breathe in the cold vacuum of space, and you question whether or not my sister and I are capable of moving heavenly bodies?”

Neil had to good graces to flush a little and look embarrassed. “Err...yeah. Sorry, science got away from me there for a moment.”

Luna did a mental raspberry at her verbal victory. Outwardly, though she kept her regal manner. She may not be on Equestria anymore, but she was still a princess. Thankfully, since it was Neil, Luna didn’t think she would have to use that dreadful formal or royal Canterlot voice. All those “we’s”, “thee’s”, and “thou’s” were downright irritating, especially when she had to yell them constantly.

She decided to dive back into telling Neil of Equestria. As she talked, she watched Neil’s eyes grow larger and it seemed they were going to pop out. Apparently, on Earth they only had earth ponies, and they couldn’t talk. They didn’t have unicorns or pegasi even, though they had legends and myths about them. The same went for griffons, dragons, manticores, and all manner of creatures that resided in Equestria.

She explained how weather was controlled by the pegasi and how unicorns could use several types of magic depending on their special talents. Luna went on to speak about cutie marks, showing off hers, the crescent moon on a night sky. She explained it was because her talent was to move the moon; therefore, much of her magic was night-themed in appearance.

Luna would have gone into a more detailed explanation about magic, something Neil was really interested in, but she had to dissuade him much to her regret. She had to explain that her long imprisonment had resulted in her strength waning. This brought up a question that Luna had been expecting and dreading at the same time.

“So Ms. Luna, why are you here on the moon and not still in Equestria?”

This time it was Luna who had dark thoughts cross her mind, and she was fairly sure that Neil picked up on that. Nonetheless, Neil had spoken about things that bothered him, so it was only right that she did as well.

“Mr. Armstrong, I...” she began.

“Whoa there Ms. Luna, I don’t mean to interrupt you, but do you think you could stop that?” His face held a sheepish smile on that broke some of the tension in the cavern.

“Stop what?” Luna was quite perplexed at his request. Did he want her to stop talking? It was the only thing she had been doing.

“The whole Mr. Armstrong thing makes me feel old. Just call me Neil.”

“Oh, okay, but then I must insist you must call me Luna. It would only be fair.”

“Seems fair to me, Luna.”

“Very well then, Neil. Should I continue with my story?”

“By all means.”

Neil’s quiet smile made a particular feeling pass over Luna, but she couldn’t pinpoint what it was or what caused it. She brushed it aside as she took another deep breath and proceed to tell her story again.

“I was jealous of my sister, to put it in the simplest ways. Our subjects would play and dance under the rays of her sun, but later they would hide indoors and sleep under the light of my gentle moon. Any time something would go bump in the night though, I would be the first to be blamed. My sister tried explaining to our subjects that I only controlled the moon, not the night and everything in its shadow, but our ponies were timid and jumped at every shadow.”

Luna sighed at the memories; they were not pleasant to recall at all, but she continued.

“Eventually, it got to the point where I started resenting everything. I resented my sister for having the love of our kingdom and controlling the object of their affection. I resented our ponies for loving my sister so much and blaming me for everything when they did not even try to understand me. I resented the moon for not being as wonderful as the sun. Most of all I resented myself, for feelings all of this...resentment towards everything.”

“Eventually that resentment turned bitter and changed into anger. I struck out, mostly at my sister. I refused to lower my moon to make way for the sun. I wanted to force everypony to acknowledge me, praise me, and love me. In my mind, it had all made sense, but I could not be more wrong. I see that now, but then...in the past, I was blind.”

Luna paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts and looking to Neil. He was quiet, his smile gone, and his eyes were completely focused on her. He was serious, and he looked so focused and intent on Luna’s past. It didn’t matter if he was the ugliest human on Earth; right now with that expression on his face, Luna thought he was the most handsome being in creation.

Again, that feeling crossed her chest, and she felt confused once more. Neil noticed the change and was about to speak up, but Luna silenced him with a hoof and small but sad smile.

“My story is almost finished. My anger transformed me into something unsightly, a dark and insidious creature that came to be known as Nightmare Moon. My sister and I would battle over the control of the heavens; I would rampage across the land, and she would try to stop me. It was a stalemate until my sister used her trump card on me; the most powerful magic we knew of. The result sent me here, where I have been ever since.”

Luna paused again, feeling the tears starting to form around her eyes. Why now? She didn’t want to cry in front of Neil again. Luna struggled to hold back the traitorous tears.

“Neil, it took me a while to realize it, but I don’t think I have ever hurt my sister so much than when she had to banish me here...”

She couldn’t hold it anymore, and a wracking sob escaped her, and she was about to throw her head into her forelegs when she was suddenly swept up into something smooth and white. Neil had taken her head and neck into his arms and was embracing her. It was too much for Luna.

She started bawling, tears flowing uninhibited down her cheeks, making a river into Neil’s suit. Choking sobs would steal her breath, only to bring on a fresh wave of tears. She hiccupped, gasped, and wept in the embrace of that strange man from Earth, who only held her in silence not letting go or pushing her away even once.

Eventually, Luna’s sobs grew quiet, with only the occasional hiccup and sniffle punctuating the silence. It was that Neil spoke, stroking her head again as he did so.

“If there is one thing I know about family, is that no matter how bad you mess up, if you are honest and earnest, they will always, and I mean always, welcome you back with open arms.”

Luna sniffed again, lifting her head slightly from Neil’s suit.

“But I messed up so badly...Celestia probably will never forgive me.”

“None of that never talk. I’m sure your sister forgave you long ago. Shoot, I’m willing to bet she never blamed you in the first place.”

Luna turned her head up towards the human. “How do you know?”

Neil merely shrugged at that. “Just a hunch.”

Luna let her head fall back against Neil’s suit letting those thoughts sort themselves out in her mind. It would be just like her sister to be that way. That was one of her most endearing and irritating traits after all. Why had it taken it so long for her to realize that? She let out a soft chuckle at the thought, pulling herself away from the human.

Neil let Luna go, a look of concern upon his face.

“Are you feeling better now?”

Luna nodded, wiping the last of her tears away with her forelegs.

“Yes Neil, thank you. I’m sorry for my... emotional outburst, but thank you.”

As they broke their embrace, that strange feeling that had been stirring within Luna shifted again, and Luna could feel some of her old strength returning. She was about to mention it to Neil, when the human jerked his hand to his head, his face growing serious.

Caught off guard by the motion, Luna was only able to open her mouth slightly before closing it again. Upon taking a closer look, Neil was touching something in his ear. It looked to be one of those pieces of technology that Neil had mentioned. Luna was able to think about it for only a few seconds before Neil turned his attention back to the princess.

“I need to get back to the surface. I think my partner is trying to reach me.”

“Partner?” Luna then remembered the other being that had come with the craft was well. “You mean the one that struck you?” Remembering the scene caused a small flourish of anger to rise within her. What was with these emotions?

“He was upset. It isn’t every day you see your planet vanish before your eyes. Besides, it’s been a while, and he doesn’t know about you, so he must think I have a death wish or something.”

Luna was about to make a comment about seeing her own world vanish several times, but thought against mentioning it. She decided along another track of thought that had surfaced.

“How do you hear him? He is still on the surface.”

“Oh, that.” Neil pulled out a small object from his ear, playing around with it for a moment.. “This is a communication device. Usually I can hear my team on it, but I’m fairly sure being under several tons of moon rock is interfering with the signal.”

Luna could only think of one thing to say. “Oh.” Technology was strange and wonderful indeed.

“It’s been dead for a while, but now I’m picking up all sorts of noise and feedback on it. Probably means Buzz is trying to reach me. So how about that lift?”

“Returning you will be easy enough, but would you mind visiting later perhaps?”

Neil smiled at that request, “Not a problem, we might be here a while, so I might as well bring Buzz, as well, so he can get acquainted with our new friend.”

Friend. The word struck Luna like a heavy blow upside her muzzle. At the same time, things began to click into place with that word.

“We’re friends?” Luna muttered dumbly, but Neil mistook the question with a look of confusion.

“Yeah. At this point, I say it’s safe to say we’re friends. You have to be the strangest friend I have ever had, though, and I know some strange characters.”

Luna laughed at that line, and Neil smiled as well. Luna had to wonder if he was doing that on purpose. She had scarcely met the creature and here it was, making her laugh.

“Very well, it’s official. We are friends.”

“Good. Now that we got that cleared up, could you send me back to the surface? Don’t want to keep Buzz waiting.”

Neil picked up his helmet off the cavern floor and was about to reattach it to his suit again when he paused and looked to Luna again, a hint of humor in his eyes.

“Next time I come down thought, I would greatly appreciate it if you didn’t use such a…sudden method to bring me down. They weren’t lying about having your life flash before your eyes.”

Luna could only chuckled before nodding.

With that, Neil placed the helmet over the suit and with a twist and snap, refastened and resealed it. He made a curious motion with his hand as he curled the digits into a ball but left the thumb sticking straight up. Luna wasn’t sure what it meant, and tried to duplicate the motion with a hoof. It had less than stellar results.

Still, it seemed to satisfy Neil, and he dropped his arm and waited expectantly. Her horn glowed brighter as her magic enveloped him and lifted him slightly and she released another tendril of magic into the collapsed tunnel, reopening it. With less effort than she expected, she lifted Neil through the tunnel. The trip only took a few moments, and Neil was back on the surface again.

Luna reopened her other sense and looked upon the surface. Neil had taken a long look back at the tunnel and then made his way back to the craft, moving in that awkward bouncing shuffle. She watched him until he reentered the craft and closed its hatch behind him. For the moment, she was alone again.

Wait. That wasn’t right. She wasn’t alone. Not anymore. She had a friend.

Luna closed the tunnel once more and her other senses go dark, wanting to be alone with her thoughts.

“Friendship is Magic.”

Luna recalled the words her sister loved to speak on and on about, and until that moment, Luna had never realized what she had meant, even when her sister had tried to explain it.

“You see sister, true friendship is something that cannot be bought, sold, or even traded. It is a pure force that connects the hearts of people no matter how far apart they are, and when the need arises, it will give strength to the weak, warmth to the cold, and makes the impossible more than possible to achieve. That’s it’s magic, it’s power, and it makes it one of most powerful forces in our existence.”

Celestia’s word’s echoed in her head.

“I understand now sister.” Luna whispered to herself, “I’m sorry…”

As she spoke she felt that budding surge of strength, but this one was more familiar, like the warmth of the sun’s rays on a cool day. It felt like a sister.

“Celestia…” Another tear fell across her cheek.

As she said it, more of her sister’s words came to mind.

“But the power of friendship is not a force that can be captured and controlled. You can't capture and control friends, so the power of friendship can not be abused. With making friends you also have to know about losing friends. Friendship is knowing when to let go and how to welcome them back. It’s something that at times requires sacrifice and sometimes will cause hardships, but true friendship is worth it and will endure through the toughest times and longest distances.”

The tear fell from her cheek to land softly on the cave floor.

Neil. He wasn’t from the moon. He probably had family, other friends. A world with all those marvels and creations, and yet here he was stuck on the moon with an irritated man and a trapped princess. Neil was a good man, but Luna highly doubted he would decide to stay here, if he had the choice, though Neil didn’t have that option right now.

Luna felt the growing power within her and then looked at her prison wall, right where she knew that the hidden planet Earth would be. She had the options, though.

She would send them home.

Chapter Four

Now that she had made her decision, Luna knew she had to act immediately, or else she could break down again. Luna knew her choice was the right one, that feeling in her chest only grew stronger as she thought about it, but it didn’t make it any easier. She didn’t want to be alone again.

She softly chastised herself at the thought. Luna was not going to be alone anymore. She had friends now, and one of them needed her help. This was not the time to dwell on such negative thoughts. With a low moan, Luna tried getting to her hooves again after centuries of lying upon the cold rock. Her legs trembled and shook as she exerted herself, protesting with every movement.

Shakily, she made it to her hooves, and she opened her senses to the surface of the moon again. The craft was still there and no one was on the surface. She focused her senses on Neil’s ship and felt two bodies in there. They had to be Neil and his teammate. Which was which, though? She couldn’t see through the craft, and she seriously doubted she would be able to tell them apart if they were wearing those suits.

Luna decided to trust in her feelings and picked one, reaching out with her mind to touch one of the humans.

“Neil?”

She could see one of the figures stir slightly, as if caught off guard.

“Neil, it’s Luna. I am speaking to your mind. Try responding in kind.”

There was a tense moment as she waited for a response.

“Shucks Luna, you are just full of surprises. Here I was, just about to tell Buzz about you too.” Neil’s voice echoed in her mind, and Luna could almost see his smile as he spoke.

“That I am, Neil. I also have a few more surprises for you. One you may like, the other, not so much.”

“What are you talking about Luna?”

Luna fell silent and reach out past the moon into space where she had always seen their planet. She probed and prodded the space looking, feeling, reaching for the planet Earth. It took only a moment before Luna felt it, the dimension veil keeping them from going home, and she had to pierce it.

Truthfully, Luna didn’t know if she had the magic to break into another dimension. It wasn’t a magic that had been researched much and was a topic of hearsay and much debate. This was for her precious friend, though, and she was willing to risk it.

“Luna?”

Neil’s voice came again in the silence of her own words.

“Neil…” She paused, thinking on her words for a moment before continuing.

“You saved me, did you know that?”

Luna took hold of the magic inside her, letting its warmth envelop her. With it strengthening her, she starting gathering magic into the tip of her horn. She had a guess, but it would have to work, it had to.

“I’ve been alone for so, so long on this cold and lifeless world.” Celestia’s word echoed in her mind as she spoke.

‘When the need arises, it will give strength to the weak…’

Luna continued to gather every last ounce to power into her horn, this was an all or nothing shot into the darkness.

“Luna, I…” Neil tried to start, but Luna interrupted him.

“Then you came here, reminded me of so many things, and taught me so many things…”

‘Warmth to the cold…’

Luna felt herself growing faint, the edges of her vision becoming blurred. She didn’t know how, but she pushed away the lethargy, focusing on her task.

“Even reminded me of an old friend, and gave me a new friend. Just these things, I could never repay even if I spent a thousand years trying, but the least I could do is this.”

'And makes the impossible more than possible to achieve…'

“Luna, what are you doing? Something is happening!” Neil’s panicked voice sounded miles away in her mind.

“Thank you Neil, for everything…if you can, don’t hesitate to visit again…”

“Luna! Luna!”

Luna took a deep breath and steeled herself, her vision was growing dark again, but she was determined. She took aim, and released her magic, a dark blue beam of light shot from her horn with a release of energy.

The shock of her magic was too much and the release of energy blew her back against the cavern wall, and everything grew black as she faded.

“Lunaaaaaaa!”

~~~

Even decades into the future, Luna could still hear Neil’s panicked yelling in her mind. It was like an old wound reopened. She wished that she could have responded, said a proper farewell.

Luna retired from her night court early, claiming a sudden illness. Nopony else had shown up and she was alone except for her guards, so there wasn’t much to do anyways, not that she would have been able to focus anyways. Luna had returned to her room with her radio and stood out on the open balcony where she could see her moon glowing with its serene light in the clear night.

Luna recalled those last few moments on the moon with Neil. She hadn’t faded into the void or been unconscious for that long. She had awoken after a time, confused and bewildered at what had happened. It took a few moments to remember what had transpired and she quickly looked to the surface to see what had happened.

A vibrant blue ring had opened in space, and not just in space, but dimensions as well. That great blue planet Earth could be seen through that ring. She had been successful, and Luna had almost passed out again with relief. She then remembered the spacecraft Neil had come in and panicked once more and sent her senses far and wide looking for it.

She spotted it quickly. Well, spotted both parts of it, to be exact. The craft had broken into two pieces, one that stayed where they landed and the other which was rocketing towards the blue ring and planet. Luna had exhausted most of her magic, and now didn’t have the strength to speak to Neil again at so far a distance, so she merely watched him go.

Her friend was going home.

The craft passed through the blue ring, and Luna smiled to herself in triumph. She had done it, something nopony could ever dream of. Then the tears began to fall again.

Luna wasn’t sure exactly how long had passed for the humans. She didn’t know if they operated at the same time as she did. But time did pass. The remnants of that visit faded from her moon eventually, as they weren’t of her dimension and couldn’t sustain themselves for long. Soon it was just her and the moon again.

A surprise had come for her one night, though. Earth had appeared again and a wild hope flared in Luna, hoping that perhaps Neil had returned. That hope had been quickly dashed as it was one of the smaller probes that Neil had told her about. She gave it a cursory look and was about to ignore it when something on the side caught her eye.

Painted on the side of the probe was only two words, but they couldn’t have been clearer in their meaning.

TO LUNA

Luna had grabbed that probe before it hit the surface with her magic and brought it to her cavern. It had taken her sometime to figure out what the probe was for and discovered to her delight that it was a container. It had held two items in it.

One was a curious black box, the same box that was playing mournful music on her balcony at the moment. The other was a letter from Neil. Luna went back to that cabinet and opened it, taking the letter in her magic. She opened it slowly and began to reread the same letter that had brought her so much comfort in those last few decades.

Dear Luna,

This has to be the most difficult and embarrassing thing I have ever written. Writing “I love you” notes to high school crushes has nothing on a letter to a moon princess, I can tell you that much right now. I know a lot of folks would call me crazy for wanting to send a letter to the moon, and maybe I am crazy, but that doesn’t change the fact that you saved us Luna. Buzz and I both, although Buzz doesn’t know what happened, he thinks it some moon madness. Shoot, no one else knows what happened.

You see, I was thinking as Earth reappeared, what would happen if the rest of the planet discovered you? I didn’t like what I thought of. Sure my planet has a lot of good people on it, but there are the bad ones on it too. I don’t want to go into detail about what could have happened, but it’s safe to say that you are a very well-guarded secret, one I intend to keep.

To keep this secret though, I have to ask you to do something for me. More people are going to be coming to the moon, and however tempted you might be to meet them and talk with them, you must not make contact. I can’t guarantee how they’ll react to you and I can’t help but assume the worst. It will be hard I know, but you are stronger than you look.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it back to the moon. Our trip has sparked a worldwide fever that left me swept up in parades and foreign countries and all sorts of hoopla. It’s a lot of attention I really don’t want, but I think after this, my usefulness to my country will grow a bit thinner. I’m not complaining too much though, I’ve had enough of the spotlight to last two lives. I only regret not being able to tell you goodbye properly.

To try and make up for it, I sent you a gift. It’s something on my planet we call a radio, I told you about those right? I worked on this one myself; it should be able to receive signals from the Earth. You can use it to listen to our music, our shows, and our news. Maybe it will dispel the loneliness a bit. I was a little concerned about how you are going to power it, so I sent batteries along with it that will power for a good while. By the time those run out of juice, I’m sure you’ll have figured out some way to power the radio with your magic. Stay strong Luna, and know that, in my heart, you are the true hero and, every time I look at the moon, I will see one of my dearest friends.

Your Friend,

Neil Armstrong

P.S. This probe was launched by a group who didn’t ask questions, and knew when a man had a mission even if it meant skimming more than a little from the top. God bless them.

Neil had been right about that radio, even more so than he expected. Once Luna had read over the instructions half a dozen times and learned to power it with magic, that radio was rarely turned off. She would listen to all sort of things, from radio and news shows to dramas and every sort of music. She would sing, dance, and gasp at the strange device.

As Neil had said, though, more crafts came to the moon, and Luna would stay hidden like Neil had asked. She had taken steps to make sure that these beings did not become trapped on the moon by using her magic to anchor their planet so they could leave without being any wiser. Everytime left her drained and weak from the effort, but it was satisfying in a strange sense.

And so the final parts of her imprisonment had passed. She returned to Equestria after a thousand years, not with feelings for revenge as she would have previously, but of contrition. She had been somewhat surprised to find that her return had been heralded by an ancient prophecy. Not one to disappoint, she had decided to play her part and took on the appearance of Nightmare Moon once more. Celestia had always praised her acting skills.

After her “defeat” at the new Elements of Harmony, which had incidentally made Luna wonder if Celestia had thought of every last detail of her return, she had returned to Canterlot. With her only possessions being her letter and radio, Luna threw herself into catching up with Equestria and what she had been missing for the past thousand years. Luna would often find herself looking at her moon, though, thinking of that strange creature that had befriended her.

As she looked upon the moon again, another news report interrupted her thoughts.

“With the funeral service concluded and the will read, it had come to light that Neil Armstrong wished to be cremated and part of his ashes sent to the moon. Many of the details have seemed to be left out, but the President of the United States has called this, “a grave no more fitting for such a man and has called that the ashes be launched as soon as possible…”

Luna didn’t heard the rest of the broadcast. She scribbled a quick note to her sister saying she would be back soon and took off from her balcony, her destination the blue orb hanging in the night sky. The journey would not take that long, unlike before she was at full strength and was not subject to being under a magical seal.

The cavern hadn’t changed at all in the time she had left it, but that wasn’t important. Luna was waiting for one more probe, waiting for that planet to appear one more time. The days passed slowly, but Luna was ever vigilant. She had spent a thousand years in this room; she could bear a week or so easily. Her sister had visited her in the cavern, confused about Luna’s intentions. She had explained she was waiting for a friend, and left it at that. Celestia grew thoughtful, and said she would take care of things while Luna waited.

Luna did not have to wait for too long though, as the blue planet appeared once more and Luna saw the probe making its way towards the moon. She caught the lettering on the side and a tear came to her eye.

FOR LUNA

She didn’t wait for the probe to land on the surface, electing to teleport it straight to the cavern where she opened it quickly. Inside, like before, were two objects: an urn which held his ashes, and a sealed envelope with the words, “To my friend,” on it. Luna quickly grabbed the envelope, and tore it open with a small wave of magic.

Luna took the letter in her hooves and read it shakily. Iit was much shorter than his first letter, but no less emotional.

Dear Luna,

I’m getting old. I’m not going to make it to the moon again. I don’t know if you are still there or not, but I figure that if you can live a thousand years, you’ll probably outlive me. If anyone deserves a piece of the first man on the moon, it’s the moon itself. So I put instructions in my will to send some of my ashes to the moon along with this letter. If you are reading this, do what you will with me. I’m not sure if you hate me for leaving you alone, but I’m fairly sure you don’t. This might not be me actually coming back, but it’s the best I could do.

Thank you Luna, you saved me and Buzz all those years ago.

Your Friend, even in the end,

Neil Armstrong

Tears fell onto the letter making small damp smudges on the paper, and Luna quickly wiped her eyes. She refused to have an episode in front of her friend again. She had already cried so much in front of him. Instead she gingerly picked up the urn with the ashes inside of it and gently laid her head against the cool container.

“Welcome back, Neil…”

It took a few hours and more than little bit of work, as sculpting was not something that Luna was skilled at, but she was done. Luna gingerly set the urn inside a small depression placed at the base of her latest work. It fit snugly, which made Luna smile slightly as her horn glowed with magic and she sealed the urn into the sculpture with a spell. She didn’t want it fading back into the other dimension, and Luna felt she was entitled to a little selfishness.

Luna took a deep breath, a few tears running down her cheeks before she could stop them. Her voice shook with emotion as she said her final words to the first man on the moon.

“Thank you, Neil. You saved me too.”

With that she spread her wings and vanished from the cavern, leaving a rough stone sculpture of a man in an awkward suit embracing a winged unicorn. At the base, a small plaque was etched into the stone which read:

Here lies Neil Armstrong, man of science, human of the planet Earth.

He was not only the first man to land on the moon.

But also the first man to touch the moon’s heart.