Let Nature Take Its Course

Chapters

Boy Meets Girl
Find A Friend
A Hero Steps Up

Boy Meets Girl

The first time Princess Luna and Greenfielder ever met was a very, very long time ago, back when they were both little foals. It was late afternoon, and the sun was just beginning to disappear behind the mountains of Canterlot, turning the sky an explosive pinkish orange. Night would be here soon. Sweet, beautiful night.

Luna was lying under the constantly diminishing shadow of a big tree in the castle courtyard all alone. She lay in the grass, trying to leave the world around her, wanting it all to just go away, to be gone and for her not to have to have to worry about it anymore. She tried to imagine herself away from all the cruel bullies and the even crueler jokes. But as the horrible memories of her first day of school came flooding back, tears began to stream out of her eyes like a faucet. She squeezed her eyes so tight it hurt, trying to fight back even more tears. But she couldn't. So there she was, sobbing, and curled up in the middle of the courtyard. She was in so much pain, so much emotional pain her heart ached.

She was honestly too young to understand why seemingly everyone was like this. She couldn't comprehend how people could be so absolutely cruel. They would call her names like weirdo and freak. But what was worse than the names was the looks she got: scared, judgmental, and cold stares met her gaze in every classroom, hallway, and bathroom she entered. Reflecting back on the events that transpired earlier that day made her sadder. She cried and cried for so long she lost track.

She opened her eyes just to see the last little sliver of orange light vanish behind the horizon. The sky was now purplish grey and Luna could see the first stars peeking out in the sky. She thought at first that this would make her happy, but as time moved on she knew it wasn't helping. She was about to break down again, but suddenly, she heard hoofsteps coming towards her. They were too light to be one of the guards. They always stomp around with uncalled authority. That left one possible pony; her big sister, Celestia. The footsteps got closer and closer, then stopped right next to her. She knew she wouldn't be able to hide her emotions. But she had to try to pull herself together.

She sniffled and wiped her eyes with her hoof, "Look, big sister," she said through a pained voice, "I just wanna be alone right now."

When her sister didn't say anything, she became confused. She turned around to find not her sister standing in front of her, but a small, familiar colt. He was green with an olive green coat and a forest green mane with forest green stripes all over him. At first, she though he was a zebra, but quickly dismissed that idea as soon as she realized what would a zebra be doing in Equestria? And since when are zebras that color. But this colt was no stranger, she knew him from somewhere. Then it hit her. She recognized him from her school, and her sadness quickly turned into outrageous anger.

"What do you want? How'd you get in here? How dare you come in here and even approach me!" she said with a huff as she got to her hooves.

"I-I uh..." the colt stuttered nervously.

"Are you here to torture me more? Was one day not enough for you? By Celestia, I will get the guards to--" she was about to say something but the startled colt suddenly spoke up.

"NO! I-I just wanted to say, that..." he paused, as if trying to get a fix on his words.

Luna sat with her hooves crossed, glaring at the colt who she believed to be her worst enemy at this point.

The young colt took a deep breath and spoke. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry for how they treat you, and... that I think you're... well... pretty." He quickly looked down at his hooves, nervously kicking at some grass.

Luna's harsh glare softened into surprise and shock. Her arms dropped and so did her mouth, and her's and the colt's cheeks turned a very bright shade of red. She was speechless for a few moments. She was barely complimented ever, even talked to her, mostly because everyone was afraid of the royal guard.

"You... you think I'm... pretty?" Luna asked, more trying to get a grip on what just happened than anything else.

"Mmhmm." he muttered, not looking up from his hooves.

"Wow, I've never had anyone tell me that I'm pretty before, except for my big sister, but big sisters are supposed to do that so it doesn't really count." she said, grinning a little.

"Well, that's really all I wanted to say, so I guess I'll just leave." he said, running hastily towards the garden exit.

"Wait!" shouted Luna, a little louder than anticipated, "What's your name?"

He kept running.

"Wait!" Luna cries.

But once he turned the corner, he was gone, out of sight.

"Hmm..." she sighed, laying back into the grass.

But instead of sorrow she felt the tiniest bit of gladness. In fact she was... happy. A small smile curled over her mouth. With the sky getting dimmer and dimmer by the moment, Luna knew it was time to go inside. But the whole way up to her room she couldn't stop thinking about that one colt. She was so focused on the enigma of this stranger she didn't even notice the fact that she was covered in grass clippings and was spreading them all over her bed. That colt, whoever he was sure did a number on her. It's strange; her persona, everything in her seemed to get brighter, happier. She spend hours thinking about him: his mane, his eyes. And as sleep finally began to take hold of her, she thought about what he said. "Hmm... pretty." Luna said with a big, goofy smile on her face.

Find A Friend

Luna woke up the next morning to an all to familiar singsong voice. As Celestia stepped into the her room, Luna sat up and began to rub the sleep from her eyes.

"Good morning, little sister." Celestia said, as she walked to the window and opened the shades.

She squinted her eyes to the bright sun her sister had risen just a few minutes before.

"Hey." Luna answered gloomily.

She knew what awaited her today, another day of hell. Celestia turned around to her, instantly picking up on Luna's emotions. "What is it my sister?" Celestia asked.

Luna instantly began to pour out everything. "I don't like that place, I hate it! Everyone makes fun of me and I hate it!" she cried, her eyes welling up with water.

"I know." her big sister answered her regretfully.

"What?" Luna asked, "You know?"

"Look, I--" Celestia began, but she was quickly overruled.

"You knew what I would go through and you sent me there anyway? How could you do this to me?" Luna screamed. There was a short silence and then Luna hit a revelation she thought was absolutely true. "You hate me." she said, staring at her betrayer, tears streaming down her face.

Celestia's usually calm demeanor was suddenly broken as she shot a very serious glare into Luna's eyes.

"Now you listen to me." she said in a strong, stern voice, "Yes, I sent you there. Yes, I knew what would happen. But don't you ever say that I don't love you."

Luna was stunned. She had never had her sister talk to her this sternly. Never. She hung her head down, ashamed of the accusations she made. "I-I'm so sorry." she said, crying.

"It's fine. I would've acted the same way if I was your age." her sister answered her sitting on the bed next to her, once again using her soft sweet voice, wiping tears from her little sister's face, "In fact, I almost did when I finally found out."

Luna looked up at her with a mixed expression of surprise and worry. "Wait, you mean..." Luna began. But Celestia confirmed her hypothesis.

"Yes, little sister. I have been in the same situation you are in now. It was terrible. They were so cruel to me." she paused, lost in thought, in terrible memories. "But the truth is, it has been this way for thousands and thousands of years, even before I ruled Equestria. Every ruler was required to go to a public school for at least their first three years of grade school." she explained.

"But why?" Luna asked.

"Well, they believe if we spend time with our subjects, we can better understand what they need, and how we can become better rulers." Celestia finished.

"But is it really that necessary?" Luna asked, hoping that it wasn't.

"Maybe, maybe not, but it is tradition, and we have never broken it." Celestia said getting up from the bed. "Now, get up and get ready. And I hope this conversation helped."

"Not really." Luna answered.

"Well, maybe this will. I was alone but I made a friend. She got me through it all. Remember this, sister; Forgiveness and friends who fight for you, are some of the world's greatest treasures." Celestia said.

"Forgiveness and friends who fight for you?" Luna asked.

"That's right. You can't think of anyone that might be your friend? Not one person?" she asked.

That's when Luna's thoughts snapped back to the colt from yesterday. How could she forget about him?

"Well, there is this one boy that I met yesterday. I think he could work." Luna answered, her disposition brightening.

"That's my girl. Find a friend and you'll be fine, trust me." she told her nuzzling her little sister lovingly, "Now hurry up or you'll miss your chariot." She walked out her bedroom leaving Luna to her business.

Luna knew that her big sister was right. Among other things, Celestia's advice was above the standard when it came to problems that Luna faced. She could never figure out how, but whenever something was wrong, she knew how to fix it with words. Somehow, someway Luna could always count on the wisdom of her sister, and this time would be no different. Luna walked into her bathroom and began to run her bathwater. She ran a hoof underneath the faucet and pleasantly warm water ran off of it. She bathed and brushed her hair and her coat, taking extra care to look nice today. After that, she raced back to her room and put on her saddlebags full of her schoolbooks.

The whole time she replayed over and over again in her mind what her sister had said: Forgiveness and friends who fight for you are some of the world's greatest treasures. She thought of the little green colt from yesterday. He did look strong for a colt, so she guessed that he would be able to fight. And after what he said to her the night before, she definitely forgave him for what ever it was he did. So he seemed like a liable choice for a friend. With all new determination, Luna galloped to the chariot lot, actually looking forward to the day. Not so much for the school or the bullies, but for the little green colt who she knew would be her friend, who would make her life so much better. After all, he did call her pretty. So it was pretty much guaranteed. She raced to the chariot and jumped in.

"WHAT ARE WE WAITING FOR LET'S GO!" she hollered at the two pegasus ponies who were harnessed to the chariot. Startled, the two quickly took off into the sky towards the school.

The wind whipped through her mane and her eyes were watering up from the wind. She let out a laugh so happy that her sister would've smiled for hours.

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath, "Here we go." And as she flew towards the school, she knew that this would be the best day of her life.

A Hero Steps Up

As Luna walked up the large stone steps to the front door of her school, she was beaming with confidence. She just knew, she was absolutely certain, that the little green colt would be her friend. It was actually kind of funny; she had been calling him that so much, she almost though that was his name. As she stepped through the large mahogany doors, she entered a dark and scary world that, even though she had been there once before, it was still strange and unfamiliar territory.The hallways were full of chattering foals, but it became unnaturally quiet. Luna became nervous. She could already feel beads of sweat forming on her brow. Quickly, the little alicorn scurried to her class, dashing between groups of ponies.

A wave of relief washed over her as she enter the classroom. But it was a brief victory. As she sat down in the front row of desk where her name tag was placed, she watched horrifically as two fillies walked into the classroom. She recognized these fillies as her tormentors. Luna tried to hide her head in her shoulders, bracing herself for the lashing she was sure to receive. One of the ponies noticed her sitting in the front row. A devilish smile curled on her lips and her eyes were seemingly staring right through Luna. She turned to her friend and whispered something behind a hoof. The filly grew the same devilish smile and eyes.

Thousands of thoughts raced through Luna's mind; mostly of terrible outcomes of this situation. For all she knew, they could stuff her and mount her over their fireplace. The two ponies began to approach her. Luna's head went further under her shoulders as the shadows of her enemies towered over her.

"Hey, moon-freak, your in my seat." the lead filly said with a smirk.

What was with these ponies? Can't they just leave her alone?

Bravely, or possibly foolishly, Luna answers, "Well, actually I'm pretty sure this is my seat."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't recall asking anyone what they were sure of. Do you, Sweet Pea?" the leader asked.

"No, I certainly don't, Silkstarr." Sweet Pea.

So that's their names; Silkstarr and Sweet Pea. Luna was too scared of embarrassment to respond.

"Listen, I'm already at my third level of magic studies, so unless you want me to levitate you out of here, I suggest you beat it, moon-freak." Silkstarr threatened.

Luna knew she couldn't rival her. She was only in her first level of her magic studies, and her wings wouldn't have helped at all because she hasn't stayed off the ground for more than a few seconds. So, with her head hung low, she got out of the seat, and went all the way to the back of the classroom. On her way there, she could hear Silkstarr, Sweet Pea, and plenty of other fillies and colts snickering at her. She sat down in a creaky old desk way back in the corner of the room.

But her reward was to come. She remembered why she even bothered going to school that day. The little green colt. The one who would become her friend. She couldn't exactly explain why she was so hopeful of this one colt. All she knew was that he was just a little different from all the other foals in school; I mean how many others could just waltz past the royal guard and find his way to the the castle courtyard?

Just at that moment, the bell rang and all the little foals rushed to their seats. Luna looked around. She didn't see the little green colt anywhere. After giving up looking for him in the classroom, she slumped in her seat disappointed. But just then she heard the classroom door open and her ears perked up immediately.

"Sorry I'm late, Mrs. Beeline. I was on my way here and--" the boy colt began.

"It's fine, Greenfielder. Better late than never." the teacher said with a smile, "Let's just try to not let it happen again, okay?"

"Yes ma'am." he replied as he head to his seat.

Luna had to contain herself immensely from jumping up cheering. She waved to him as he walked to his desk; which was in front of her and to the left, next to the window. He blushed, and shyly waved back and sat down. Luna wasted no time starting a conversation with him.

"Hi, uh, Greenfielder was it?" she asked.

"Yeah, umm are you still mad at me about yesterday?" he responded.

"What? No, no. In fact I--" she was about to explain to him everything she had thought about, but Mrs. Beeline interrupted.

"Okay class, today we are going to learn about the four different species of ponies." Beeline began. "Let's start with the Earth pony. Earth ponies are born with no wings or a horn and therefore no magic or flying capabilities. They often make up for this evolutionary handicap by naturally having stronger front and hind legs."

Luna looked at Greenfielder after that sentence to evaluate Mrs. Beeline's information. He did seem muscular, and he was pretty slender so he could probably run pretty fast. Luna suddenly realized she was almost scanning his entire body and began to blush.

"Next, we have the Pegasi. These species of ponies have wings that allow them to fly through the sky. Also, the pegasus pony is able to stand on clouds thanks to magic imbued within the feathers of its wings, but that is the only form of magic any pegasus has ever possessed." Mrs. Beeline said. "Then we have the unicorn. This species uses magic to complete most of their tasks. Their magic is imbued within their horns and can only be released out of their horns."

Luna began to zone out after that. She gazed out the window and stared at the castle, watching the waterfall rush over the edge and a rainbow shined against it. Luna began to feel calm and relaxed. And then, she began to dream...