Chapter 6: Don't Speak Against the Moon

"What did you need me for? You interrupted my appointment. I do rather enjoy when that little colt visits me."

"I do apologize, but there is trouble in Ponyville, and I feel you should handle this."

"Ponyville? Why can't your student handle it? She has been self-sufficient thus far."

"This is something somewhat... new to them. They do not know handle this, short of using the Elements."

"Oh? And you believe I can handle this better?"

"Well you do have an experience in this sort of matters, ones of the mind I mean."

"Oh... that is what you are talking about. This is happening to another pony?"

"Not just anypony, I believe you will want to meet this pony yourself, he speaks something rather interesting. He may be the last of his kind."

"...Ponyville you said? I will return when the matter is resolved fully."

"That's my Luna..."

****

"What do you know about me?" Luna fixed me with a look of authority that would scare the bejeezus out of anypony. Except the one who had just been to Hell and back.

I was pissed off, not at anyone in particular. But pissed was pissed, and I was a smart ass when I was pissed. I rolled my eyes and started rambling, making sure not to look at her. "Well you're an alicorn. Your coat is so black if I saw something floating at night I'd say 'Drop it Luna.' You control the moon, which is rather ironic seeing as how you were trapped on it. You speak a language that, much like your friends from before your banishment, is dead. You try to relate to my mental struggles, because you have also experienced it. But as an immortal being I wouldn't expect you to understand death, nor the guilt of failing others. I do not know everything about you, but I do know that you are a backwards, antiquated, guilt-ridden wretch that prefers to wallow in her own pity than go out and meet her subjects. You didn't even bother to learn the modern speech patterns. I know all I need to know. You can't get over something no one blames you for, and now you're trying to use your mistakes as an example to be avoided. You're a relic of the past, and now you are struggling to find a purpose. While it is noble for you to become a warning, don't... that's... that's about it."

"Good, then you have already filled in the blanks yourself. Although some are wrong." Luna maintained a neutral look even after the verbal beating I thought I had given her.

"Wrong?" I was out of words at the moment, so I kept it simple.

"Very. Although, I cannot hold you at fault. No pony aside from my sister would be able to guess my motives for helping you. You may have guessed wrong because you either relish the recent attention afforded to you, or you assume I am some weak-minded, weak-willed aegrota." (sick person) Luna breathed in the damp twilight air, the time between

"Minima Maxima sunt, (The smallest things are most important) What is it about your motives that you're not telling me?"

"Yes, well... that. The reason I have gone to such lengths, and believe me when I say I have, is because you are something unique, something of mine."

"Oh? I'm your property now? What would you have your arbiter do?"

"No you are a free pony, I have seen the wretchedness of slavery. It is not something to joked lightly upon Mr. Cato."

"Equestria had slaves?" This genuinely surprised me.

"No, but keep in mind Equestria hasn't always been here, and ponies had to come from somewhere. This brings me to my point very well though."

"And what is your point?" We were both being fairly short, but that was because I was mad and she was trying to conceal her emotions.

"You see, long before the founding of Equestria, Celestia and I created ponies. Celestia and I together made the unicorns and pegasi, but she alone made the Earth ponies. She gave them a strong connection to the sun, such as the ability to grow food. She made them from the earth," she tapped the road with her hoof for emphasis, " and they share a strong bond with it.  Naturally I wanted to also make my own version of Earth ponies. She made them from the earth, so I made mine from the dust of the moon."

"What are you saying?" I had stopped walking and was now sitting under a very familiar tree. The puzzle was beginning to fall in place.

"These Lunar Ponies, they had much in common with Celestia's Earth Ponies, but they shared their bond with the moon. I made them a language so they could be differentiated from earth ponies. But they also some of my mental... eccentricities. You see I kept them from the other three tribes of ponies. I hid them by giving them land near Zecora's homeland. This land was perilous, so they forged a strong republic. But soon they fell to the dangers around them... soon there were none left. The guilt and sorrow weigh down on my heart even today. But the Lunar Ponies laughed and played in my night, and with them gone no pony was out at night. This made me jealous of Celestia and the utopia her Ponies lived in. So I... I believe you know that story." Luna hung her head in shame and plopped down her flank next to mine. We sat below the tree for several seconds, watching the sun beat back the haze, and rouse the ponies in their houses. Luna sighed, and looked at my with sad eyes. "Do you see? These ponies rise like machines to the day, and flee from my night. No pony has truly seen my night as beautiful since the last of my creation died. That is, until now. Out of some miracle, you appeared."

"You're saying that... I'm made of dirt?" I was to confused to put it together.

*Facehoof* "No, well yes, but special dirt. I'm saying that somehow you are born of the moon, and that you are the last of my ponies, and I have a way of proving it to you." Her horn glowed a mirror winked into existence, I glanced into it and realized how destitute I looked. It seemed each hair had an opinion of which direction was the best to jut out at. My eyes had bags, and my coat was stained with blood and muck in several places. The whole of me was sticky with sweat, and I knew I needed a bath, or a day at the spa. (Scratch that, no spa.) "You see I added something special in each of my ponies that would set them apart from Earth Ponies." Her horn again glowed and a pale light flushed over me, it drove back the newborn sunlight and filled me with a sense of calm. "In the presence of moonlight, their eyes depict the first night sky their eyes beheld." My jaw dropped as I saw my eyes, my pupils had turned to a full moon, and the rest was twinkling with the first Equestrian stars I had ever seen. I was enraptured with a wanting. I yearned to see those stars again. But as the sunlight poured in and my eyes reverted to normal, I was broke of the trance. I was speechless.

"I... I... what does this mean?" I kept staring into the mirror, suddenly not recognizing the pony looking back.

"It means that you know where you're special and that uh..." Luna looked slightly lost herself. "But aren't you happy to know what you are and where you're from?"

"Credo quia absurdum est. (I believe it because it is absurd.) Thank you I guess. For making me, and for telling me what I am. This probably saved a lot of confusion, but uh... could we maybe keep this between us?" I wasn't entirely sure how I was going to process this, but I still had something to thank her for though. "Actually, what did Celestia tell you about me?"

"Not much actually, just that you spoke Lutin fluently and that you were in trouble. I learned about you from Applejack while you Twilight woke. You didn't wake immediately. Oh! I almost forgot," She winked a small pendant, in the shape of a crescent moon, into existence, "this should let you sleep without being under the moon. There used to be more of these but..." A haggard looking Berry Punch stumbled out of her home to look at the Princess and the new pony next to her. Luna saw this and chuckled, "I suppose that is my cue. I must return to Canterlot now. I hope that back gets better Cato." With a flash she was gone, and I was left dumbstruck. I put on the pendant, and walked over to Berry Punch as she swayed in the slight breeze. With a haggard sigh I asked,

"You got any hard cider? It's been a rough day." She nodded her head, gave a drunken smile, and waved her hoof for me to follow. She looked happy to get a new drinking buddy. Yep, first alcohol then Sweet Apple Acres.

****

Berry Punch did indeed have hard cider, and she was very generous in the serving sizes. I stumbled out of her house with a friendly wave goodbye, and a slurred farewell. I stumbled down the street, past Sugarcube Corner, past Twilight's library, past the city limits, until I reached the path to Sweet Apple Acres. This normally easy walk had an added challenge, my inebriated brain. I had managed to stumble all the way here, laughing like an idiot all the while. My vision of the world swayed, and things melded together. One object in particular seemed to move more than the others, it also got bigger. This blob came up to me, looked me up and down, shook its head, and lifted me onto its back. I realized that I was being carried by Big Macintosh, and that he was taking me to the farmhouse I'd never been in. I got scared that I was going to meet Apple Bloom and Granny Smith drunk. Thankfully Big Mac nudged open the front door, and snuck upstairs. He knocked on the first door in front of the stairs, and nudged it open. Applejack was sitting just to the left of the door, surprisingly, reading a book. She had her hat hung on a hook to her left, and Big Mac plopped me on the bed to the right of the door. They started talking but I couldn't understand much. I looked at the nightstand on the far side of the bed. It had a picture of the Apple Family, a lamp, and a small vial. In my drunken stupor, I reached out for it and snatched it up in my teeth. I pulled out the cork, and downed the whole thing. Applejack slapped my hoof and grabbed the vial. I could understand what she said, "He just drank all a' Zecora's sleepin' potion. The idiot will be out most of the day. So we might as well leave before he starts talkin' in his sleep." Sleep potion? Oh hey, I am sleepy.

****

OW, OW, OW, OW. My head throbbed in time with the undulations of my stomach. I opened my eyes and saw a trash can. My mouth did the polite thing, and gave my ass a break for a change. I shoved my head in and lost what little food I had eaten in the last couple days. After the contents of my stomach had emptied into a new container, I lifted my head up to take in Applejack's room. I was shocked, to say the least. There before me, apparently oblivious to my sickness, was Applejack reading a book.  She had her hat off, and her hair undone. Seeing her like this made me curious as to why she wore a ponytail. I looked back at myself, and saw the opposite. I was filthy, and my mouth was ringed with vomit. I was disgusting. I looked back to Applejack and saw her big green eyes looking at me. She facehoofed,  then motioned for me to get up. She was nice enough not to talk when I had such a terrible headache. I rolled off the bed and made for the door, Applejack in tow. I did my best not to break my back, again, on the stairs. I ducked out before Apple Bloom or Granny Smith saw me from the kitchen. I didn't need food right now, I needed to wash. As if reading my mind Applejack had a scrubber and a bar of soap in a basket with a towel. At this point I let her lead the way, and she led me to a nearby pond that looked clean enough. I trudged into the pond's sludge. Applejack set the basket down next to the pond and sat down next to it. After getting myself submerged and completely wet, I went to get the soap. Applejack hadn't moved since I got in and I was curious why she was watching me bathe.

"Are you gonna leave?" I gave her a suspicious look as I reached into the basket for the scrubber and soap.

"Why would Ah do that? It's not like ya'll are doin' anythin' embarrassin'. Hay, Ah might just join ya'll in a minute." Applejack shrugged the look off.

"But, I'm bathing." I still didn't understand her argument, my hangover prevented all rational thought.

"Uh, Cato? We don't normally wear clothes. Ah don't see the big deal." I gave a big 'Ooooooh,' and took the soap and scrubber in the pond with me.

"You look nice with your hair down, why don't you wear it like that more often?" I attempted to make small talk while I washed.

"Well ya'll will soon find out that long hair is a might impractical workin' on a farm. Gets in the way of things. Do ya'll really like it?" She looked genuinely surprised. Either she didn't get a lot of compliments, or she didn't wear her mane like this often.

"Ya!" I shot her a smile, "the gold really shimmers in the sunlight." We sat in silence for a couple minutes while I mentally berated myself for saying something so stupid. I finished washing, and turned to Applejack. "So what are we gonna do till the sun goes down?"

"Well, Ah reckon ya'll know your way 'round the farm well enough. How 'bout we take a dip? In a pond that ain't full of yer sweat that is." She jerked her head in the direction leading away from the pond, and lead me to a small pool that had carved itself into the side of the mountain. It was a small thing, but it bubbled and steamed with heat. Applejack reached for her hat, and realizing it wasn't there blushed slightly at the reflex. She kept her end of the deal, and dipped herself in the hot water. I plunked in opposite of her.

"Well this is nice, how'd you find this?" I stretched out as far as I could. My hoof pumped Applejack's under the water and we both drew our hooves back, awkwardly.

"Well, Spike showed me actually. After stealin' all my leaves he thought it only fair to show me this, and dig up some gems for me. Ah almost wish he would steal the leaves more. Ah made more bits on the gems than Ah would've made on the apples."

"Leaves? How do you steal leaves?" I could feel the tension in my body melt away as I closed my eyes and laughed at the story Applejack told me. She told me how Spike had started to mature, and that meant he started to steal everything.

"So Ah gave him a blanket, and he thanked me about fifteen times!" She erupted in laughter, "I'll admit I didn't believe Twi' when she said Spike was the one stealin' mah leaves. I mean come on, sweet little Spike runnin' wild." I stopped laughing for a second, and gave Applejack a thoughtful look. "Bit for yer thoughts, Cato?"

"Huh? Oh right. I just wanted to say I can never thank you enough for what you've done for me. I don't wanna sound like Spike and say it so much it loses it's meaning, but..." I move over to her in the spring, and lay a hoof on her shoulder. "I mean it when I say this, I owe you my life, and I can never ever repay you in full. I'm going to work pro bono until the day that I die." Applejack inhaled as if to object, but once she saw the look in my eyes she knew that this was just as much for me as it was for her. "Applejack, you don't know how it feels to die. To feel that spark die, and know that all you've done up to that point has meant nothing .But I have a feeling that you know death, and that you know how bad it can hurt. You had that sleep potion for a reason, and I want to hear the story eventually. For now though, relax. You've got Applebuck Season coming up, and Celestia knows what else. So stay here and relax while I go see if Big Mac can tell me how to do your chores.

"Cato, I..." Applejack was still stammering as I trotted down the mountain path to Sweet Apple Acres. She slumped down in the spring and started thinking about what I meant.