Is Your Friendship Mistaken?

“You have GOT to be kidding me.” The blond-haired teenager said to the young red-head sitting on a nondescript gray couch in front of a mid-sized TV with a bowl of Frosted Flakes in her lap.

“No way, Kyle.”  The 6-year-old said to her elder.  “I got up first, so I get to watch what I want to watch.”  She said with a hint of smugness in her voice.  Victory was sweet when you were denied it at every turn.

The young man groaned a little and sat down next to his sister with arms crossed.  “Any idea what you’re going to watch?”  He asked.  She nodded to him and snatched up the remote control.

The TV turned on with a flash of white light and a whining noise, as per the usual.  The channel number was entered so fast that the boy was unable to see it.  In another lightning-quick flash of light, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, was playing onscreen.

The only reaction that her choice received was a second groan.  He figured if he could outlive his sibling’s attention span, he could watch something more mature.  After 30 seconds of the post-theme song show, the young man couldn’t take it anymore.

The pale blond boy walked behind the TV set and prepared to yank out the power cord.  Just as he set his fingers on the solid red and black-corded cable, he felt light. As if the floor had dropped out from under him.

Kyle was enveloped by warm, white light, and the floating sensation stopped.  He was standing on a white tile floor. There was a silhouette in front of him.  It was a large, resplendent figure with wide wings of white.  It was an angel.  No, it was a horse.  Why did good things never happen to him?  If he had died, this hell would have been over.

His expression visibly depressed.  “I die unplugging a power cord, and all they send me is a horse?”  The figure sharpened, and it grew a face.  As well as a flowing multicolored mane.  It was a kind and understanding face with a very sharp horn at its end.

It spoke, with a light, caring voice that spoke of happier days.  “I am Princess Celestia.  I’ve brought you here to talk."

“A horse.  A horse wants to talk to a dead man.  A PRINCESS horse want to talk to a dead man.  Why do they never just tell me when I’m in hell?”  The incredulous teenager asked with a look of irritation.

The unicorn got an annoyed look, but quickly hid it behind the mask of a smile.  “You’re not dead.  And you’re sarcastic and anti-social tendencies are exactly what I want to talk about.”

He simply gave her a scowl.  “Okay.  A horse wants to talk to me about sarcasm and anti-social tendencies.  What’s the matter?  You don’t have anything more important than talking to some fifteen-year-old?  No… Y’know, royal duties, such as taxes, foreign relations, education, and any number of other things.”

The Princess dropped all pretenses and gave him her best serious glare.  “Allow me to explain.  We’ve observed you from afar and decided to-“ She magically picked him up and opened the floor beneath his feet before waiting for him to shut his mouth.  “Thank you.  We decided you weren’t going out and meeting friends or being normal; all shut up in your home.  and you needed good friends to influence you.  Therefore, you’re going to… visit Equestria and make a few friends.  Then, when you’ve learned the value of friendship, you can go.”

She released him and allowed him to set his feet on the now-closed floor.  She did not however, allow him to speak.  She knew his type.  He would make comment after comment until she got so frustrated she gave up.  Her horn began to glow as she cast a spell.

He began to protest, “Oh no you don’t you-“He launched himself forward, but was encased by the same light and his vision began to fade to midnight black.

He sat bolt upright screaming “BITCH!”  He took a moment to look at his surroundings.  He was in a forest.  It was daytime, but it was unnaturally dark.  It was as if the sunlight gave up halfway through penetrating the tree’s branches.  He was lying next to a path.  He pulled himself up and dusted off.

“Well, at least I’m outta Whitewashed Hell.  Or Purgatory.  Whatever the hell that was.  But where does this Princess chick get off sending me to a fictional place?”  The rather annoyed young man whined to nobody in particular

He decided it would be a good idea to stop talking to himself and to explore a little.  Following the horrible little dirt road seemed like a good idea.

“Follow the path and life will… I dunno, fix itself?”  He said in an attempt to be philosophical, but then completely forgot his earlier resolution to not give a damn about life.  He soon left the forest and found himself wandering into a town in the distance.  After closing the distance between them, he noticed nobody was around.

“Godammit!” He yelled at the buildings, “This had better not be some apocalypse crap!”  Suddenly, he saw a flash of movement ahead.  The yellow blur disappeared behind the shutter of a window.

He charged heedlessly towards the building, a determined look on his young face.  He arrived at a small, earth cottage.  He slowed to a halt as he reached the door.  He slowly and ominously opened the door.  Effect was important as well as first impressions.

He saw a small pony cowering in the middle of the floor, surrounded by animals.  As he opened his mouth to ask if anybody was there, the animals scattered, leaving the whimpering pony alone.

He slowly walked up to it.  It seemed feminine, so he decided he would call it a her.  It was a full minute before he reached the creature.  In a sudden flash of uncharacteristic caring, he knelt down next to it and tried to comfort it.

“Hey there,” He cooed gently into its ear, “Just calm down.  I’m just a guy.  Who’re you?”

“Fluttershy” Was the response.  He heard it speak well and clear.  His jaw dropped low, unable to understand what was happening.

“You’re a horse.  A horse is talking to me.  I am talking back.” He stood, forgetting his earlier attempts at normality.  “So, if you can talk, can you tell me where I am?”  He asked, trying not to be an ass to the first… creature he had met.  She might be the only.  Looking closer, he noticed it had a bright pink mane, and three butterflies on its flank.

“Equestria” It responded.  “Please don’t hurt me.”  It said, panic lacing its voice.  He gave a look of complete and total confusion.

“Now why would I do that?”  He asked, trying not to sound harsh, it seemed to be a reclusive and sensitive pony-thing.  He didn’t want to drive away his only potential source of information.  After a moment of silence he asked, “Can you at least help me?”

“I don’t think I can help you with that.  Ask somepony else.  I’m not good with this sort of thing.”  The yellow and pink pony told him.

“Fine.  I can take a hint.”  He said, clearly agitated at the shy pony’s reluctance.  He skulked back to his forest with his own personal raincloud following him all the way.

As he neared the sizable ditch he had landed in when he first arrived, he felt a strange, peculiar tingle in the back of his head.  He’d had these often.  It meant he needed to sit down and think.  It was an odd urge indeed, but a powerful one nonetheless.

However, it was getting dark, and he had no idea where to go from here.  Foregoing sleep, he sat down at the edge of the forest, one knee straight up with his arm hanging off the kneecap, while the other was almost completely parallel to the ground.  He looked up at the stars.  Night was his favorite time.  He knew that if he wasn’t programmed to sleep at night, he would admire the stars and the sky, all night, every night.

He looked up at the bright, larger-than-he-was-used-to moon.  He saw a horse’s head in the moon.  Now wasn’t that odd.  He felt like tonight he would voice his thoughts.  As he stared up at the night sky, he said to himself, “I love the night, why is it that it’s never respected?”

“I agree.” An odd voice said from somewhere, the trees carrying the voice, making it impossible to tell its source.

“What the hell?  Who are you?  Where are you?”  He asked, incredulous that his ramblings coaxed a response from something.

“You are like me, you enjoy the night.  Come, find me, and seek your reward.”  It said, a certain allure to its voice.

Kyle thought a moment, shrugged, and followed the path deeper into the forest.  The voice told him to keep following the path, and no harm would come to him.  And so he did.  He came across what he imagined to be a manticore, (sleeping, thankfully), a wide, flowing river, to which he was offered passage by a happy sea serpent, and a rickety, yet intact bridge.

Eventually, he came across an old stone fort; however it was ruined and fractured, like it was part of a castle in the middle ages.  Yet there were no other buildings.  He walked inside, into what appeared to be a large antechamber.  The room was empty, but it felt as if there was somebody there, watching him.  He continued to explore, walking as far as the opposite end.  As he reached the center of the circular end of the room, the voice beckoned to him for a final time.

“I am strongest here.  Please, accept you reward.”  Suddenly purple, transparent, ropes lashed around his wrists and ankles, and then yanked themselves up, hoisting him into the air as well.  “Please,” The voice echoed in the same enticing tone, “Stay here until I may come for you, and then, you shall be my servant in the eternal night.”

“Great.  Didn’t Mom and Dad tell me not to talk to strangers?”  He asked himself in a harsh, sharp whisper.  He spoke audibly now,  “I’m fifteen for Christ’s sake.  I shouldn’t be this stupid.  Anyhow echo-ey voice lady, at least I’m assuming from the sound of your voice you’re female, do I have a choice?”

“Well, you can become a plebian like the rest.”  It said with a light, almost joking tone in her voice.

“Then that’d be the ‘kiss my ass or die’ option.”  He said, finally realizing the inconvenience of his current predicament.

“Fine, I’ll stay.”  The ropes suddenly dropped and the teen collided with a resounding thud onto the cold hard floor.

“Very well, I suppose introductions are in order.  I am Nightmare Moon.  But you, my faithful frie-“ She quickly corrected herself, “servant.  You may call me Nightmare.  Nopony appreciates my lovely night, but you do, and for that you will be rewarded.  I will allow you to roam.”

“Well, at least I’m on the winning side.  When can I see my glorious leader?”  He asked, shouting at the ceiling, unable to discern the source of Nightmare’s voice.

“In a few short hours, at the time of the Summer Sun Celebration, I will make my appearance.  I will then head here.  If anypony comes here besides me, you will assist me, correct?”

“Sure,” The young man replied, hoping cooperation would earn him answers. “I love the night.  I can’t say an eternal one is the worst that could happen to me.”

He sat in the darkness for only about five minutes, when the strange, but now familiar feeling entered the room.   This time it seemed stronger, as if what it had said was true.  It had gotten power from that Summer Sun thing.

But, then the same purple, ropy substance came from the walls and formed into a solid, gyrating mass.  It quickly took the shape of another Alicorn, similar to Princess whatshername.  It wore midnight armor, and had black fur, with a purple mane, and generally gave off an evil aura.

But the most terrifying feature was her eyes; they were serpent-like, looking as if they had seen more any anybody ever had.  Her elongated teeth looked equally threatening.   They weren’t quite fangs, but looked like they could do some damage.

However, her eyes seemed to hold some sort of… endearment towards him.  His examination was cut short by the midnight mare asking him, “So, you are the one who appreciates my night.”

“Yeah, I guess I am.  So, what are we exactly doing, now that this eternal night thing is going on?”  The unafraid young man asked the imposing mare.

“We will wait; allow these foals to take in the gravity of their situation.  Then, I will build my kingdom with you at my side.”  He gave her a look with his head cocked to one side, similar to a dog.  The dark empress simply smirked, as if she knew something he should.

“Well, if she represents evil, she certainly represents lust well enough.  But that’s disgusting!”  The young man’s mind raced, trying to find a solution that wouldn’t end up with him under the horse’s heavy black-metal boot.

Thankfully for him, the pitch-colored mare’s suddenly narrowed, and she disappeared into the thick, ropy, purple substance she had been before, and phased out of the walls, and out into the eternal night.

He sat near a large hole in the wall, thinking once more, about this Nightmare Moon.  She was imposing, and definitely evil, but there was something behind her eyes, and it seemed, that there was another being trapped behind her sinister gaze.  An unmatched innocence, that was lost.

His reveries always took time, and this was no different, soon, the dark horse reappeared, but with a violent look in her eyes, she had been challenged, and she was going to fight for her newly-won kingdom.

The boy had a sudden suspicion that he was going to see the challenger soon enough.  As they waited, he once again examined his dark ruler.  The innocence was gone, replaced with an open fury.  But, there still seemed to be a hidden aspect within her, oppressed, but there nonetheless.

The doors flew open, and in walked six young ponies.  He instantly recognized the yellow-pink pony from before. “We’re going to stop you Nightmare Moon!”  A purple one proudly proclaimed.

“Six little foals cannot stop me, Nightmare Moon!”  The dark ruler said from her place at the circular end of the room.  Then, suddenly, five white spheres, each with a different symbol appeared around his new master.  She screamed, but it was unwarranted, as the spheres quickly fell to the ground after a quick zap of white lighting between them.

The six looked surprised, as if something different should have happened.   Then, the midnight mare smashed her front hooves into the ground, and the shockwave smashed all five.  The six looked even more surprised.

Then, something played behind the purple one’s eyes.  And she got down in a ready stance and pawed the dirt with her hoof in challenge.  His midnight mistress accepted, and the two charged at one another.

Suddenly, the challenger’s horn began to glow purple, and in a flash of light, she disappeared and reappeared next to the shards of the white spheres.  Her horn began to glow once more, and a few shard of each sphere floated around each of the ponies.

The crystals gained color, and then formed necklaces for most of the ponies, and a tiara for the purple pony who the teen assumed was the leader.  They began to say something about friendship and magic, but to be honest; he was more concerned about the look on the midnight mare’s face.  She seemed… frightened, but another part of her seemed happy to be defeated.

A large spiral of rainbow color shot into the air, getting closer and closer until it came to a point near the ceiling.  It all came crashing down on top of the fearsome Alicorn.  It turned into a swirling mass that swallowed her, and she and the tornado disappeared in a flash of light.

He was knocked flat on his butt several feet away.  He was momentarily blinded by the flash of light, and when his vision cleared, another blast of light came through the window.  But this was the appearance of a familiar tormentor.

He glared at her with narrowed eyes.  She ignored his gaze and crossed over to where what once was Nightmare Moon lay.  Now there lay a smaller, younger looking Alicorn.  She was similar in color but she was all around a lighter shade.  She had a look of shame on her face as well.  The boy thought she seemed much more beautiful without the fearsome armor and eyes.  In fact, he could go so far as to say he liked her looks.

“Princess Luna,” The large white Alicorn interrupted, “It has been far too long since I’ve seen you like this.  For what you’ve tried to do, and for what you’ve put these you ponies through, I’m not sure what to do with you.”

The boy came to her defense.  “Lay off!”  He shouted, anger permeating his tone, “Perhaps you are too blind to tell, but she’s been through enough.  She is NOTHING like the creature that was here moments ago.  Just look!”  He gestured to her with both hands, his voice rising with his irritation, “She just gets the living hell shot out of her, and you consider punishing her!  Forget you, if somebody HAS to be punished, I’ll stay here longer.  Now let her be.”  He ended his rant with a step towards Celestia.

She looked down onto him, a disdainful look in her eye.  “Very well,” She said, “Come my little ponies, we’ll leave them to recover.”

All of them filed out promptly afterward.  He walked back a few steps and fell down on his butt next to the Princess, who still lay prone on the stone floor.

She looked at him with the same endearment that was hidden behind her eyes during her time as Nightmare Moon.  Luna simply stared back.  Well, if he was supposed to make friends, here was a start.

He extended his hand to the prone Princess Luna.  She stared at his hand with a blank expression, obviously not understanding him.  “Shake it.”  He ordered.  She reached out, a worried look in her eyes, as if he would hurt her. He grasped her hoof gently; aware she might be sore from being hit with a rainbow.

It felt awkward to shake hands with a non-human.  He decided it would be best to leave before it got worse.  As he stood, it started to get up with him, as if to follow.

“Thank you.  I’m… Princes Luna.”  She hesitated, clearly surprised by his appearance.  Still, was surprised that he could speak.  He knelt in front of her, respecting her position.  She shook her head over his stopped form.  “Rise.”  She commanded, the tone of command seeping back into her voice.

He did as she commanded, and started towards the door, “Sorry Princess, but I’ve got to find a place to stay before night falls again.

“You could always stay at the castle in Canterlot.  I’d like to talk to you a bit more.”  She said, with a fleeting tone, as if she expected him to leave, and wanted him to stay in any way she could.

“I’d love to, but I can’t.  If you can’t already see, your sister and I don’t get along.  In fact, I can’t stand her for what she did.  However, I’d be happy to take you up on that offer when I’ve cooled down a bit.  And I’d be happier still to talk to you.  But now I can’t.  I’ll see you around.”

“Can you at least tell me your name?”  Desperation creeped evermore into her voice.

“Sure.  I’m Kyle Blackson.  But… just call my Kyle.”  He said, looking at her from over his shoulder now.  “Anyhow, I’ll see you in a bit.  Feel free to come by and talk to me though.”

“Oh,” She responded, feeling left out, “But everybody sleeps through the night.  I know you do too.”

“Ever heard of insomnia?”  He asked before leaving.

Princess Luna smiled to herself as he left, knowing he would make a fine friend.  She then took flight in the direction of Canterlot, the bright town in the distance in great contrast to her dark blue wings.  She quickly became a small black dot in the distance.

Kyle watched as she flew away towards what he guessed had to be Canterlot.  He continued his way on the path towards a small town in the distance.  Hopefully the ‘peace’ and ‘love’ that every one of these ponies was always on about applied to strangers.

After a few short hours, the young man arrived in Ponyville.  At least, that’s what the sign said.  He decided an actual house would be preferable, so he checked with the structures that resembled houses.  The residents seemed quite more accepting of him after he ambled through their town only a day earlier.

After being told multiple times that there was no available room, he decided to expand his search to the other buildings.  He received similar results.  Finally, after a hour of searching, he arrived upon a peculiar building.  It seemed to be a tree with a house crammed inside it.  Or perhaps it was the other way around.

Either way, when he knocked on the door he was greeted by a familiar purple pony.  After seeing her display with Celestia, he explained his situation in terms that didn’t show his feelings about the antagonistic monarch.

She was very understanding, inviting him to stay with her once he mentioned Celestia had sent him here.  He noticed the sun was setting, and climbed out the window, in an attempt to view the sunset.

Kyle was only part-way up when the sun finished setting.  However, he kept on climbing, by the time he reached the top, the night was still young, but well underway.  As he reached the top, a cloud of blue smoke came from the recesses of the tree’s leaves, and headed towards him.  They stopped next to him and took the shape of Princess Luna.

When he noticed her, he nearly fell of the branch, remarking, “You were serious about the ‘talk to me anytime’ thing I said weren’t you?”

She graced him with a smile before saying, “Of course, Celestia said I should make some friends.”

“Funny, she told me something similar.”  He grumbled.

Luna giggled at his comment, and changed the subject.  They spent the whole night talking to each other about anything that came to their minds.