I woke up in some strange stone room, "Good...welcome back." I swung my head around the room, landing on the mare from before. The mare sat a few feet away, laying splayed out on a large cushion. She slowly stood up and walked over, "I feel I, Princess Celestia, must...apologize. My actions might have been a bit...abrupt." She sat next to me, "Your colors...and you said you were from the moon...I made assumptions."

I just stared at her, the pain in my back slowly coming back, "Well your assumptions nearly killed me." I looked down, I had been sat on a large cushion just like her's. I pushed off and stood, "How about you tell me where I am." I asked coldly.

The mare's smile faded into a deep frown, "I brought you into the old castle of Equestria...it's isolated, not far from where I found you."

"On that note, how did you find me?" I leaned on the wall to steady myself. The headache I had suffered yesterday was slowly seeping back into reality.

"You flew out of the sky in a noisy machine, what kind of leader would I be if I didn't investigate." She tried once again for a laugh. I gave her none, "Listen to me human, the moon may seem simple to you. But there is something up there...something that I hold amongst my greatest failures."

"The girl?"

She was caught off guard, "She was not a filly! She was-"

I cut her off, "What was up there was a little girl! Maybe eight or nine." I walked over in a moment of bluster, "What is she to you!? Who is she!?"

The mare was taken aback by my sudden verbal assault. She slowly lowered her head, "Nightmare Moon...an amalgamation of evil and jealousy that overtook my sister lo-"

"A little girl, the amalgamation of evil!? Are you on meth!?"

"Human let me-"

I pushed her back a smidgen, "No, there is no way that little girl is any sort of threat to you! You calling her evil is just wrong!"

The mare narrowed her eyes, "Do you wish to see the devastation she wrought?" The mare quickly stood, "Follow." She started walking out.

I held my head as I trundled after her. Little by little the stonework seemed to fade into a bright sea of white. After a few moments my eyes adjusted, revealing ruined archways and broken buildings, "This was her doing." The mare walked me through the town, "We had to abandon the castle and move the capitol. Everything you see is her doing."

The grounds were awash with broken stone and cracked earth, "You're telling me a little girl did all of this?"

The mare shook her head angrily, "No filly. She was a full grown mare, is, a full grown mare. This filly Luna you speak of may exist, but understand, in another form she is a vile beast." She stared up at the sky, "My very own sister...I had to banish her to the moon." She lowered her head back to me, eyes slightly glassy, "What you've met is no more than part of her."

"Part of her- I don't- that doesn't make any sense!" I screamed.

"Luna was still locked away somewhere inside Nightmare Moon, perhaps what was left of her became seperated-"

I shook my head, "Enough, it doesn't even matter. Where the hell is my ship!?"

The mare refused to make eye contact, "I don't know why I expected you to have sympathies...follow me." She started off towards the edge of the grounds, several ponies slowly accompanying us as we walked, "Guards...they won't hurt you."

"Shut up...I don't know why you think I give a damn after what you did to me." I was ready to call this in and send the message to Cain with no quarrel.

My ship slowly came into view, parked in a small clearing with ponies surrounding it. I ran over as some younger ones were playing in the cabin, "Get the hell out!" I managed to grab one and hold her at arms length, "Who's idea was this!?"

"No! Ah no no no!" The girl kicked and flailed in my grasps, "Monster! Monster!"

I cringed at her words, slowly letting her go. She bolted off behind a shrub once she was free, "Monster?" I mumbled to myself.

"Forgive them...you're the first of your kind in Equestria." Celestia walked slowly over, "Here is your ship...do you plan to lea-"

"Yes." I cut her off with cold steel in my voice, "I'll find some other half of the planet to wait on."

"Wait on? Hold! Explain." The princess yanked me out of my ship, but I managed to grab my beacon before being pulled over, "What do you mean wait?"

I let my thumb rest on the confirmation button, "Exactly what I said...wait." She slowly put me down, "I press this button...my people start towards this planet on mass. You remember when I said we were looking for a home...well guess what: yours fits the bill." I pressed the button. I had about twenty hours to call it off if I so chose, but after how I've been treated I see no problem taking this planet from her.

"What did you just do?" Celestia asked with a slightly worried tone, "I have no problem housing you or your people if you would merely ask!"

I turned back to her, "Twelve billion? No...you won't be housing a damn thing...by the end of this, you'll be lucky if there are any of you left."

She ducked her and and got into an aggressive stance, "I will end you human...I will protect my subjects!"

I slowly marched over to her, "So you can stop a ten kg shot? You can stop a gun the size of an apartment block? I don't think you get it." I stared her down, "We've been wandering for forty years. We lost our planet sixty years ago. We started off with thirty billion in our system, now what we have left numbers just over twelve billion."

"Billion, twelve billion?!" She asked with a growing panic to her voice, "Tell them no! Equestria cannot handle-"

"This planet will handle us just fine...you however, your people...sorry to say I don't think there is gonna be enough room."

Celestia levitated me up, "Call them back now!" She slammed me against my ship.

"Go ahead and kill me! I sent the message, killing me won't solve a damn thing now!"

She stared at me, eventually seeing the truth in my words and setting me down, "Then we are finished? You've killed us?"

"I haven't killed a thing, I won't have to-" I felt something tug on my leg, "What!?" I screamed, turning to a small filly at my feet.

She shrank away from my yell, "I just...we...I'm sorry, we saw your thing and we...sorry." She slunk away.

A sudden bout of self hate flooded over me, "I-" I looked around to see a large group of younger horses watching from the bushes. The group slowly grew as more and more ponies entered the scene, "What the hell do they want?"

"If you're leaving...if..." I turned as the princess started struggling with her words, "Will you go back to the moon? If this is truly the end...and Luna is...if she is there. Tell her I'm sorry for everything I did. I'm sorry I couldn't stop it before it happened." She started sobbing, "How long...?"

I took a moment to think, "I don't know how you measure time...rotations just about the same as earth so...two years?"

This served only to deepen her sadness, "And when they come?"

I slowly relaxed my posture, "If you cooperate, you'll all be sterilized to avoid population growth, if you resist...you'll all be killed or taken as...I'd say slaves...but pets seems more accurate." I took a few steps away from her to give her some room, "We lost three billion in one settlement attempt...after that...our leader said we weren't about to take any chances." I could feel the crowd around me growing, "Even if you comply...the best you can hope for is to die out naturally. Even then...there is a lot of hate for aliens right now...a lot of people hurt, and those scars don't fade."

The princess collapsed to her stomach, "I'll have to watch my subjects die...watch as little by little my people die out."

"What?" I asked with a growing worry.

"I'm not normal...not like them. An average ponies might live to be a hundred...I have been alive for nearly a thousand years. Luna's banishment was...seven hundred years ago...Discord's was..." I let her trail off.

That little girl has been up there, alone, for seven hundred years? My mouth went horridly dry, "I need to go...I..." I felt my hand tighten around the beacon, "I need to think. I need to ask someone something." I turned away from the princess and hopped into my ship. I didn't bother letting them clear out, a little rush of air wouldn't do anything to them.

As quick as I had landed, I was slowly exiting the atmosphere of the earth-like planet. A different look at the moon saw a large horse head inlayed through craters and scars. I quickly dipped into its gravity and started scanning the surface for life. After an hour I found her and settled down, "Luna!? Luna!?" I ran over to her and scooped her up, "Luna...how would you feel...about..." I shook my head and just ran back to my ship.

"Mister where are we-" Luna tried to argue but I cut her off with a loud tsk.

A few moments later and I pushed us back into E-27's atmosphere, "Luna...do you...do you love your sister?"

"Yes? I- ah!" She curled up in my lap, holding her hooves against her head, "Ow! Owwie!"

"Luna!?" I yelled looking over her.

"Ow...that was weird...are we-" She stopped as she looked out the cabin window, "Equestria!? But- I-"

"I to see something." I muttered as I brought us back down in the same clearing. I quickly spotted a bright white missile flying beside me.

"Celestia! That's Tia!" She pressed her hooves against the cabin as she watched her fly. I quickly brought us down and popped the cabin. Luna quickly scrambled out and watched as Celestia landed nearby, "Celestia!" Luna bolted over to her.

"Luna?" Already on the verge of tears Celestia let her body fall limp. Luna quickly scrambled under her chin and held her up, "Luna is it...you're back?"

"Celestia I missed you!" Luna latched onto her face, "I'm sorry I was bad...I didn't want to be bad but I was and-" Her verbal tirade was quickly cut off by a white leg pulling her against Celestia's chest.

"Luna...I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I've missed you too. I've missed you so much." Celestia peered over Luna, towards me, "Why human? To mock me?"

"No...." I pulled the beacon out of my suit pocket. I let my hand clench around it, "I needed to see for myself." I let my hand lazily gesture towards Luna, "Like I said...I found her on the moon. How many of your people are there?" I went straight to the point.

Her eyes darted around a bit, "In all of Equestria...several million."

My mind when into overdrive as I weighed my options. I could save my people, I could be a hero. But I'd be condemning a people...an entire species to death. There were other pioneers, but I had what we needed...I hadn't been recalled yet, "Luna..." I called her over.

She peaked her head over Celestia's hooves, "Mister?"

I licked my lips a few times, "Do you love your sister? Is she a good person?"

She gave me an incredible smile before nuzzling Celestia's chin, "I love her more than I love...uh...the moon! She's the- ah ow ow ow!"

"Luna!?" Celestia watched as she held her head once again, "Oh Luna no..." She pulled her tight before looking at me, "She can't stay here...the rest of her, the rest of Nightmare Moon is still on the moon."

"Celestia!" I snapped her out of her worried trance, "What is my name?"

She looked confused, "Hastings?"

"What is my race?"

"Human."

"What am I?"

This took her some time, "A pioneer?"

I took a deep breath, "For the human race above all others, we will find a home"- I held down the buttons on the beacon, "But this isn't it." The beacon gave a loud whirl and turned off, "It's everything we needed...but...I can't hurt this girl anymore...I won't." I pulled Luna away and set her pained form in my ship, "If you...if my race finds yours again...treat them well."

"Wait!" Celestia pulled me back, "Did you just-"

"There are others looking...I'm sure they'll find somewhere better. I don't think I could live with myself if I hurt someone this little girl cares about. I can't even imagine what centuries alone must be like, and I couldn't live with knowing I made it worse."

"Will you...where will you go?" Celestia asked, visibly shaken from my actions.

"You won't see me again...I failed my mission...even if I tried to keep looking I'd just end up drifting off into space-"

"Human...I...one human...we could care for one human." She walked over, "One...kindhearted, selfless person."

I just stared her down, "I failed. And..." I looked back at my ship, "This isn't my life to live, living here...it's not for me. I've made my choice. Besides...I won't be alone in the end."

Celestia took a few moments before realizing what I meant, "Human don't you need air to-" I nodded, "Then- I see...but...you could live here saf-"

I shook my head and walked back to my ship, "Like I said...this isn't my life. I gave my life to my mission, and I failed. Don't argue...maybe I'm just being stupid...but it's my decision. I've made a few questionable decisions before...giving up a perfect planet, hugging a little moon born girl, taking this job in the first place...I'm full of questionable ideas, and I'm not about to change. And I think she needs me a lot more than you do."

I crawled back into the cabin and got into place, "Hastings...Salem, you've done so much to and for me. You've done in hours...what hundreds couldn't do in decades...humans will have a friend should their need be practical."

I just nodded and pulled the hatch shut. Once again I took off, "Celestia?" Luna murmured in a haze, "Where are we...where are we going?"

"Back home."

The words warning: fuel minimal. Kept flashing on the screen. Even as I turned the engine off for the final time the words were burned into the screen. I stepped back onto the Lunar surface with a soft thud, quickly setting Luna down and pulling a medical kit from inside the ship, "You're gonna leave again aren't you?" Luna asked quietly as I walked over to where she had set the blanket down. "You said you'd come back...and you did. You even brought Celestia!"

I quickly laid down next to the blanket and searched the medical bag, a piece of paper floating out as I did, "Hey Luna..." I grabbed the paper, "Do you remember how I folded that hat?"

Her eyes went wide as she felt around her head, "Oh no! I-"

I gave a quick laugh as I held the paper out for her, "Do you think you could do it?"

She beamed at me as she took the paper in her magical grip, "I sure can!" She laid down on the blanket and quickly started folding it.

I took the moment to mix a few medicines into a poisons slurry of opioids. I wasn't about to die from starvation or suffocation...and at least this way it would be painless.

"Got it!" Luna popped back into view with a new paper hat, perfectly folded and perched on her head, "Uh, mister what are you doing?"

I started to set everything in place, setting the syringe through my suit and into my arm, "Luna...you..." I pressed the plunger down, "You don't deserve to be alone...no one deserves to be alone." I could feel the drugs going to work, numbing my body and leaving me stupid, "I failed them...but I can...maybe I can make it...I'm sorry...Luna...Maria...mom, dad, I tried to save her..." I could tell Luna was shaking me.

"Mister!? Mister are you okay!? What happened!? Mister-"

I finally realized who she reminded me of...

"Maria jump! You have to jump!"

"Salem I'm scared! Salem where's mom, where's dad!?"

"Maria jump! Maria please...I don't want to lose you too!"

The beacon chirped wildly, "Any and all able bodies pioneers are to head to the following coordinates," A series of numbers and letters rang from the dust covered machine.

Luna slowly walked over to the long abandoned ship. She levitated it over and set it with Hastings' body. A collection of paper hats sitting all around him, now joined by the chattering beacon. Luna did as she had each night since he went to sleep, and laid next to him, chin on his chest, eyes searching in vain across the solid blue visor.

She spent days at a time, folding paper boats and floating them out into space. She missed Hastings, but she always remember him as her best friend. Even as she changed back into Nightmare Moon, even when she returned to Equestria. Even after her return to Princess Luna. She remembers the man how had stayed with her for hundreds of years. Keeping her company and becoming her best friend, just by being there.

As she acclimated to life, she realized just how important he had been. She had a friend, more than a subject, more than family, she had a friend. A friend that she could never truly repay, but a friend that never asked for anything in return.

Salem Hastings did his duty, to protect and preserve the lives of those he deemed worthy of protecting. In the end he had done his service to humanity, and was honored with each and every non returning pioneer.

In the capitol of humanities new home sits a memorial: In loving memory of the Hasting family: George, Diana, Cain, Salem, and Maria. Those who gave their lives for humanity entire.