Light of the moon

“Hello Twilight. I apparently died and got better. The Princess needed something. Before we talk about that, I need food. It seems nutrient supplements do nothing for the body’s desire for taste. What’s for lunch?”

Twilight laughed at the statement. He seemed so calm while saying it, that anypony else would think that he just got done reading or something. Suddenly, she heard a loud growl, as her stomach decided food would be fun. After a quick glare at her rebellious belly, she sighed.

Five minutes later they were sitting down outside a cosy diner Twilight frequented. Several daisy and sunflower sandwiches sat in front of the six ponies, as they caught up on what happened in the forest. The giddy delight Moon felt was fading, to be replaced with apprehension.  He knew he had to apologize, but without Pinkie Pie, it seemed pointless. From what he understood, Pinkie was the most hurt by his actions. A tapping sound pulled him out of his thoughts, and he looked at the others, realizing they had asked a question.

“Ah said, where did ya go in the forest? Not even Zecora could find ya!” Applejack said, and immediately took a bite of her sandwich.

“Well, first off, I don’t know who Zecora is, but I found a ruined castle. It was… What’s wrong?” All of the others’ faces fell at the mention of the castle.

“That castle… That’s where we defeated Nightmare Moon. That was deep inside the Everfree Forest. How did you even get there?” Twilight asked, confusion evident on her face. “There were so many things that tried to stop us, and I don’t think all of them had to do with Nightmare Moon’s return!”

Moon shrugged, as he didn’t rightly know either. He quickly continued his tale, excluding the strange wall and armour. Those are my secrets for now. Once I find out what they are, they will definitely like me! He smiled at that thought. With a cool discovery like that, maybe he may even get his cutie mark in ancient relic hunting or something. It wasn’t a great idea, but it was better than nothing!

After recounting the tale of the strange, multi-coloured pony, Moon quickly found himself embarrassed. He had fled from an ally, and one that had personally risked a dangerous part of the forest to find him! Moon suspended his story and hung his head down in shame.

“Oh, no sweat. Zecora was fine, she probably knew what was going. Too bad we didn’t tell her you are such a scaredy cat!” Rainbow Dash teased, oblivious to the blush that lit Moon’s face. Fluttershy’s eyes widened, and she suddenly reached across and grabbed a sandwich and began eating it earnestly.

Everypony was shocked by the shy pegasus’s abrupt action, but none of them wanted to be the first to ask about it first. Shrugging, Moon concluded his tale. “I flew up into the clouds to ask the pegasi how to get to Ponyville, but I ended up getting hit by lightning. I started falling to the ground, and… “ Moon scratched his head. What came after that? Something seemed to be missing. “I dunno, I guess I woke up at the hospital getting electrocuted. Huh…”

Twilight noticed the strange pause, but did not wish to push it any further, due to the possible traumatic experience he may have had. Well, food was done. Time to go to stage two of her plan!

Rarity and Rainbow dash made themselves scarce soon after, having duties to perform, leaving Moon with Fluttershy, Applejack, and Twilight. Fluttershy approached Twilight and whispered in her ear. “um… is it ok if we talk in private for a bit? I mean, if that’s ok. I know you have to show him his new home, but maybe Applejack could do that… if you want.” The pegasus's whisper was barely audible compared to her normal voice, so only Twilight was able to understand it.

Twilight nodded her head. Turning to Moon and Applejack, she used one of the oldest excuses in history. “Sorry, I would love to show you around, but I have to go back and check my books. You know… So… uh… Have fun! Bye!” With that, the purple unicorn took off towards the library, with Fluttershy in tow.

Applejack shook her head. “That girl is crazier than an apple worm on Sunday! Anyways, let me walk you home. Where ya staying?”

Moon blinked, trying to understand the simile, and failing. “Oh, uh, I didn’t get a place, I was just going to stay at the castle. It’s fine, I can get back there on my own.” He was nearly knocked off his feet by a playful bonk to the head from the earth pony.

“Didn’t you already find out how that goes? And how well did that turn out for ya the first time? Nah, if you are going to talk with us, you got to live with us too! That means you can either buy a house or work on the farm. Trust me, compared to the others’ houses, workin’ on a farm is easy.”

Moon shrugged. “Well, I lost all my bits when I, um, fled. So, I guess I’m going to work on your farm. No guarantees that I can help too much though, seeing as I’m kind of disabled right now. Sweet Apple Acres, right? I remember running past it. It’s that way, I think. Right?”

Applejack was impressed. Remembering a sign while running is difficult as it is. Remembering how to get there after running through an entirely new city was something else entirely. They began walking toward the farm. “Yep! Now, first thing’s first, you have to watch out for mah sister. She is a blank-flank, and… Oh… Ah didn’t mean any offence or anything…” Moon dismissed it with a wave. “Anyways, she and her two friends are part of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They keep trying a lot of stuff to get their cutie marks, despite the fact that it’s obvious. They just need to learn it themselves. Also, it would be fair to warn ya to cover your ears when you enter yer room. Just a friendly warning.”

Moon and Applejack arrived at the gates of the farm rather quickly. Looking around, Moon was impressed by the sheer number of apple trees. They stretched almost as far as the eye could see. Inside the main house, the lights were on. However, when the two ponies entered, nobody was to be found. Applejack muttered something under her breath. As Moon thought, something she had warned him about still didn’t make sense. Pushing open the door to his new room, he turned to her. “Why did you tell me to cover my ears? It doesn’t seem like there are any—“

“SURPRISE!!!!” thirty ponies shouted all at once.

Moon’s eyes grew wide. “Pinkie Pie wasn’t missing, she was waiting. She planned this, somehow knowing what I would choose! But where is she? I don’t see—“

Moon was cut off again, this time by three tiny fillies. “See! Ah told ya! He aint got no cutie mark either! He’s just like us, girls! Maybe he could join us!”

That must be Applejack’s sister, Applebloom. This was faster than he anticipated, and he knew that what he said would be his first words to the majority of Ponyville. He couldn’t mess this up.

“Um... hi.” He facehoofed. Smooth, Moon. Real smooth.