As I was unconscious from Celestia interfering with my summoning spell. Luna was watching over me. She had placed me back on my bed and reverted me to my pony form, since I would need it to use my magic.

“Curses! Why would my sister dare harm this colt? His knowledge and potential are endless, and he truly means no harm to anypony! Woe to those who dare harm my pupil! Be they regal or common folk!” Luna says, watching over me and trying to use her healing magic to restore my consciousness. As she is trying to restore me to my original state, she began to think about the last human teenager she became acquainted with, and how she tried, and failed, to stop Celestia.

WARSAW GHETTO: APRIL 19TH, 1943

Poland at this time in history was torn apart by the Nazis and the Soviet Union. The Jews living under Nazi rule at the time were treated like vermin, shunted into ghettoes, rounded up and slaughtered by the Nazi regime. Hitler himself had begun to receive visions from Daybreaker, Celestia’s true form, goading him to fulfill his fantasies of military conquest and genocide. She didn’t care if humans died, since the Jews were allied with Luna anyways. It is just one small obstacle in her way of domination.

Enter one teenager by the name of Efraim Narcyz, a young man of 15 years old. He was just deported by the SS, along with his family to the Warsaw Ghetto. He had suspicions about what the Nazi regime was going to do with him and his family, but nothing in his wildest dreams would prepare him for what would happen next.

It was the first day of Pesach, and the Jews in the ghetto were preparing to start an uprising against the Nazis. Efraim was heavily involved in the youth wing of the resistance, spreading Yiddish flyers across the ghetto to his fellow teenagers, urging them to take up arms to resist the Nazi occupation. He had just received a shipment of ingredients to make Molotov cocktails from the Polish partisans. Frankly, he had no idea of how they managed to smuggle them into the ghetto, given the intense security detail at every entry point. He didn’t start the fighting, because something incredible would happen to him imminently.

Efraim was hiding out in a bunker, with two rudimentary grenades and one Molotov cocktail. He was waiting for the usual nightguard to come around, making sure that all the Jews were locked away in their domiciles, cowering in fear. He expected them to arrive in half an hour, so he had some time to kill, and wanted to take a quick catnap. As sleep quickly fell on Efraim, something incredible happened.

“Efraim Narcyz, art thou listening to me?” A calm, gentle voice says. Efraim had never had a lucid dream before, so he was a bit scared at the voice communicating with him.

“Uh, yeah. And who are you?” Efraim said, unsure who this voice is, and why it was talking to him. In a blinding flash of light, a figure approached him. Efraim must be crazy. He could have sworn he saw a dark purple unicorn with wings approaching him.

“My name is Luna, sovereign princess of the night, the moon, and dreams. I have been allied with your noble Hebrew race since its genesis in Chaldea. Come closer, child, so I can inspect you further.” Luna said, beckoning the boy to come closer. She embraces the child tightly.

“Geez, Luna. I can’t breathe!” Efraim says to Luna, as she quickly loosens her grip on the boy, letting him go from her warm embrace.

“Thee must have many inquiries pertaining to my presence. Proceed, for I am willing to answer them.” Luna said with much chagrin.

“Okay...Luna. I only have one question for you. If you have been allied with my people forever, where the hell are you now, when every day 1500 people are sent to the train station for “liquidation”!” Efraim said, confused and a bit cross with the sapient alicorn. She approaches the lad and embraces him.

“I am trapped on the moon in a distant world, child. I can only manifest in dreams. My sincerest apologies. The vile human known as Hitler is allied with my sister Celestia, princess of the sun. Celestia is incredibly powerful and wants your people wiped from the face of the earth. Why? Because I helped advance your civilization, in defiance of her orders. Our interests are aligned. I can help you try and win this uprising.” Luna smiled and kneeled.

“Mount me child, and we will fly across your mind, putting you at ease. I will answer more questions in due time.” Luna says. Truthfully, she really doesn’t like doing this, but she knows that Earth’s equines do this all the time, and don’t complain. A little humility could help her achieve her goal.

“What are you doing?” Efraim asked, confused and scared out of his mind. First, a magical talking horse appears in his dreams, and now it wants to take him for a ride across the dreamscape? Anything is better than being spotted by SS personnel, I guess?

“Okay...sure?” Efraim says, climbing onto the alicorn’s back, sitting comfortably between the princess’ wings.

“Come, child. We will fly across the dreamscape, and all will make sense in time.” Luna said calmly, flapping her wings and flying across the vast expanse of Efraim’s subconscious.

“I have a gift for thee, Efraim. I will enchant your weapons, and give your partisan force a fighting chance, although I must warn you that winning this bout might not equate to winning the war.”

Efraim was confused. “Enchanting weapons? Magic doesn’t exist! What are you talking about, Luna?” Efraim says, scared and holding onto Luna’s mane for dear life, terrified that he will fall off her back into the abyss of his mind.

“Maybe not on Earth, but in Equestria, it does. Have faith in me, boy, for I have faith in thee. Fight these evil henchmen of death itself, and prove that your race can withstand the test of time!” Luna says, using some of her magic to imbue Efraim with new strength. What kind of strength? Courage.

“When you wake from thine slumber, thee will find that thine weaponry is enhanced, and more accurate than before. Aim with your heart, Efraim! Strong and true! Awake, child, and find strength in your heritage!” Luna says, using her magic to wake Efraim up from his catnap.

“Huh, I just had the strangest dream where I was riding a purple talking horse in the sky, and she said I could beat Nazis,” Efraim says, before realizing that the two grenades he brought with him are glowing purple. “Wait. Maybe it wasn’t just a dream? Luna said my grenades have more power now! I have 90 seconds. Let’s light this candle!” Efraim says, looking at his wristwatch, given to him by his Bubbe, who was just shot by the SS two weeks ago for not wearing her Yellow Star.

The next ninety seconds were the longest of Efraim’s life, as he waited for the guards to show up on their patrol. Eventually, he saw them a few metres away. He pulled the pin of the first grenade and felt some sort of energy flowing through his body. “This must be the magic Luna was talking about!” Efraim says, rolling the grenade on the floor, while quickly grabbing the second grenade and pulling its pin. He felt the same energy and rolled the grenade in front of the second SS officer.

“What are these two grenades doing here?” The first SS officer asked the other, before realizing that the pins were missing.

“Shit! The Juden have weapons!” The SS officer said, before being blown to smithereens. The second grenade detonated shortly after, giving the other SS officer the same fate. The noise of the explosions quickly brought the entire ghetto out into the streets, encouraged that one of their own had the audacity to stand up against the regime. Soon, the entire ghetto organized and began fighting back, beating up all the Nazis in town, stealing their weapons, and having a fighting chance.

Sadly, this uprising was not successful. It lasted for less than a month, ending when the Nazis decided to liquidate the entire ghetto block by block. The surviving Jews were sent to the Majdanek and Treblinka death camps. On May 21st, 1943, Efraim Narcyz was put into a gas chamber, huddled together, naked with 500 other men. As the Zyklon B gas began to pump through the ventilation system, Efraim could have sworn that he saw the same purple alicorn who gave him newfound strength. Obviously, she wasn’t actually there, but in his mind, like before.

“I am truly sorry, child. Thee have proven thyself to be a valiant warrior. I am sure Elohim will reward you with eternal life, sacrificing your life Kiddush Hashem. Celestia and Hitler proved to be too powerful.” Luna says, planting a gentle kiss on the boy’s forehead, as he began to have trouble breathing due to the gas, quickly blacking out.

EQUESTRIA’S MOON:

Luna could not stop thinking about how she failed Efraim back in 1943. She tried to give the boy strength to fight his oppressors (and Celestia), but it proved to be for naught.

“Seventy-seven years, Efraim. I am so sorry. I hope Noah can avenge you.” Luna says, now filled with a newfound source of power. Her healing magic increased tenfold, and I was able to wake up from my Celestia-induced coma.

“Ah, you are awake, Noah. I am truly pleased, however, if Celestia was able to find you here, then a new course of action would need to be taken.” Luna says, casting a spell imbuing me with more power.

“What did you do, Luna?” I ask, a bit confused with this gift.

“I gave you a last resort attack. Five seconds of stopped time. Nopony, except for me, has the power to stop time. I am giving you this ability for when you must face my sister in due time when my imprisonment ends on the moon. I will train you in this ability once you have recovered.” Luna says, using her magic to bring me a book to read.

“Read, Noah, and recover. Your body is weak. I will help you, okay?” Luna says, as I quickly embrace her. She certainly wasn’t expecting that! She returned the embrace.

“I can’t tell Noah about Efraim. He will lose his mind.” Luna thinks to herself, as she sheds a tear.

Author's Note

This chapter references an actual historical event that took place in the Warsaw Ghetto between April 19th, 1943, and May 16th, 1943. While Efraim Narcyz does not exist, the Warsaw Uprising happened, and 13,000 Jews were deported to death camps as a result of the brave actions of valiant young people.

May Their Memories Be A Blessing for Israel and the World.

GLOSSARY:

KIDDUSH HASHEM: Dying for the sanctity of G-d, refers to martyrs.