Time is Magic

I don’t remember the last time I saw my mother this stressed about something. Here she is, in another universe with her two children, as a pony, going to see her son get crowned as a prince of night and time. I am already over it, but I don’t think my mother feels the same way. Besides her erratic flying, which I anticipated, I can see a lot of sweat on her muzzle.

“Um, Noah. I know you transferred ten millennia of memories into my puny human brain, but weren’t you scared at all when you met Princess Luna? I mean, I am still a bit horrified at the current circumstances!” My mom says, still flying erratically, while I am making sure that she doesn’t crash into the ground.

“Well, it’s a complicated story, I can tell you, if you want?” I replied.

“Oh, let me tell the story, Noah. I think you might have been a bit out of it during your first quantum jump!” My sister pipes in from behind.

“It all started on March 13, 2020. Noah was listening to a lecture online, and Luna just showed up and put a sleeping spell on him!”

“That is fallacious! We would never do something of that caliber!” Luna whines, trying to defend her variant.

“Well, Rivka is half-right. The other Luna did foalnap me, but it was more nuanced than that. Once I ascended to alicornhood, I realized that a lot of my “memories” must have occurred in a dreamlike state, so they only really came back to me then. Apparently, it was a lot cooler than that! Like, before she ponified me, she tried to calm me down with books and stuff, but I was still a bit spooked.

“Didn’t we allow thee to mount us for a test flight? We presume Rivka did the same thing?” Luna asks, as we get closer to Canterlot.

“Honestly, I dont kn-”

And then the memory came back.

***
I was freaking out. What in G-d’s name was a giant purple horse with battle armor doing kidnapping humans and bringing them to space?

“Noah, I need your help. Please calm down!” Nightmare Moon said to me (remember that this Luna was more adept in Modern English than the new one), trying to think of anything she could do to prevent me from acting up.

“You put f*cking chloroform on me and teleported me to the moon! How can I calm down?! Does that make any sense to you?” I cry, totally flabbergasted as to why I am in space in a giant castle.

“Look, you might be freaking out now, but I assure you that you are totally safe under my care. In fact, I have a good way of proving to you I am benevolent.” Nightmare said with a grin. “Wait one minute, and I will be right back.” Luna teleported away, and I was left in a giant bedroom wondering what the hell this sapient horse wanted from me. Pacing around, and trying not to hyperventilate, I saw this “Nightmare Moon” come back with a few key additions, namely a saddle, bits, and reins.

What… what in G-d’s name is an eldritch-tier creature doing with horseback riding equipment?

“Uhh...what? What are you doing?” I asked, a bit confused by this turn of events.

“I am going to take you for a ride, silly. Isn’t that what humans use these for?” She asked rhetorically, knowing full well what the equipment is used for.

“I am more than acquainted with your reality, Noah. I know how humans treat their equines. While I might find it odd. It could prove to be a good way to get to know you. Besides, you are what? 16 years old? I’ve carried more apples than a kid your age!

Wait what? First this horse kidnapped me, and now she wants to take me for a ride? Where?

“Wait a sec…”Nightmare”, you can fly, right?” I asked, looking like an idiot.

She nodded.

“So that means...if I ride on you, we are going to fly?”

She nodded, using something, probably magic to levitate me into the air and placed me in between her two cosmic black wings.

“Don’t want you to fall or anything, kid. Before we go. A little scratch on the ear would be nice? I have had human passengers before, and this is my way of asking for payment. Pretty please?” Nightmare said, looking at me with these really cute puppy dog eyes (or is it pony eyes?).

Well, what was I supposed to do. This “alicorn”, as she called herself, was a powerful entity. She could kill me if she wanted to, and she just wanted to play cowboy? I did as she asked, scratching her left ear. I felt her mane shake in front of me in pure bliss.

“Ahh, now, that is nice, indeed. I advise you, Noah, NOT to pull on these reins too hard. They are for your balance, not for you to control me. I trust you understand this?” She said, stomping a hoof into the ground, before carefully trotting towards the gate of her citadel.

“Well, you could have killed me at any point, and you just want to take me for a ride, so...I am going to play dumb for you, okay?” I said, gripping these reins like my life depended on it.

“Now, I assume you have never flown on an alicorn before, since there aren’t any on Earth. I only have one thing to ask of you. PLEASE, for the love of G-d, do not throw up on my mane. I work VERY hard to keep it clean. Ready, my little rider?” Nightmare said, spreading her wings in glee, knowing that I was probably going to freak out.

“Well, not everyday is someone kidnapped by an alicorn and taken on a joyride, so sure?” Based on what I remembered from the one or two times I went horseback riding, I gently tapped my shoes against Nightmare’s barrel, signaling that I was ready.

“Oh, a change of heart, I see? Well, saddle up, kid!” Nightmare said, while raising her front hooves, and began galloping on the lunar surface, faster than any horse I have ever seen or ridden on.

“This is just a warmup. Gotta acclimate you to my awesomeness, kid. Now, ready to fly?” She said, spreading her wings once more, for real this time.

“Don’t do anything crazy, Nightmare. I want to go home in one piece.” I said, gripping the reins in anticipation of what is to come.

“Here. We. Go!” She said, launching herself into the air at a 60 degree incline to reach the outer orbit of this moon. With each flap of her powerful wings, we got further and further away from the citadel.

“Hold on, how...how am I able to breathe in space?” I asked, while looking around at the vastness of space beneath us.

“Umm. I enchanted you before placing you on my back. I told you I need your help with something, and I wouldn’t want you to asphyxiate on the job!” She said, banking to the left.

“WOAH, don’t do that again so sharply, please?” I asked, still terrified of this mare, but less so than before. There is something about her that I innately liked, but I didn’t know what it was at the time.

“You know, not everyhuman gets to ride on an alicorn princess. I picked the best for this job. Now, how would you like to travel supersonic, dear Noah?” Nightmare asked me rhetorically as she began to increase her velocity in space.

“Umm...will I die from this?”. I asked, holding onto the reins for dear life, while closing my eyes.

“No, you are with me. Taking you on this flight is proving to you that even in a dangerous scenario, I will be there for you. Why don’t you get that yet? Apogee in three...two...one…”
Now, if we weren’t in space, I presume that a sonic boom would have occurred, but since there is no air in space, I just felt a sharp jolt backwards in the saddle as the sound barrier was breached.

“Okay, now this is epic.” I said silently to myself.

“Hm, did I hear you say something, rider? Are you enjoying yourself?” Obviously, I wasn’tquiet enough.

“Alright, you got me, Nightmare. What do you want me to do for you?”

***

“Wait, why would that awesome memory get wiped? It is ripped straight from “How to Train Your Dragon!” I exclaim, a bit annoyed I forgot that for some ten thousand years.

“Methinks it had something to do with the initial unicorn transformation?” Luna said, as we finally arrive at Celestia’s castle.

“Glad to see you brought some company, Jewnicorn!” Celestia says, popping out of nowhere as the four of us get all of our stuff together.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself to your mother! I am Princess Celestia, former diarch of the sun and co-ruler of Equestria. My sister and I abdicated to allow for my pupil Twilight Sparkle to rule in our stead.” She says, extending a hoof out to shake with my mom.

“Umm...I’m Jewnicorn’s mother, Ms. Weinstein.” My mom says, accepting the hoof and shaking hands.”

“DARLINGS. RARITY BELLE IS IN THE CITADEL! LET’S GO SEE THE CROWN PRINCE AND HIS LOVELY ENTOURAGE!” Somepony says from down the hall.

“I take it that’s the clothespony?” I ask Celestia.

“Yeah, Rarity Belle, AKA the Element of Generosity. I assume you met the other one, right?”

I nod. I wonder what kind of clothing I am going to get? Hopefully something nice!