Moon moved over towards the castle. Of course. A monster… That’s what Celestia made me. What she… She… The alicorn slowed down for a moment. Her heart felt so much different than just an hour ago-- than back before when she didn't have Strawberry in her life.

Once upon a time, she thought she felt complete. She had suffered. She had endured that horrible loneliness. Yet she had still had a complete heart, although a broken one. She had filled herself with vengeance. Everything had felt totally right-- or so she had convinced herself. Then, that unicorn trotted into her ballroom.

She came to a stop with the castle just about two-hundred feet way. She fluttered over some kind of lake. She saw the moon, glowing bright, shining in the water below. As if on cue, her mind replayed Strawberry’s music.

It’s… It’s not the same now. It doesn’t matter what I felt before. I’m feeling something different now. It’s just a matter of fact. It’s as indisputable as water being wet, as fire being cold… She lowered herself to the lake, and she let the water brush up against her hooves. It seemed to tickle.

There’s a gigantic difference between a broken heart and this… this… She felt more like her heart was an apple fritter wrapped in thick tinfoil. Everything inside— warm, smooth, calm, and safe— had been kept safe by that hard, metallic outer layer. Now, that horrible itchy sensation only made things worse. It felt so… The only word she could think of was ‘alien’.

Oh, come on, now… So you have feminine urges. It happens to every Princess, every Queen, every imperial ruler… Only natural! It’s not as if any of your guards or staff or anypony else would be able to give you ‘no’ for an answer, not with your power! She blinked. She couldn’t take it anymore. She had completely had enough. Those alien sensations just had to go.

“No,” she declared to herself, “I could never be with anypony else. A Princess deserves a Prince.”

As if it would really matter… Really feel any different if it was one of those muscular goons? You need to scratch an itch, that’s all. Moon suddenly found herself pulled out of balance. Her right wing almost wouldn’t flap for her anymore, and she shook her hooves in sudden distress.

“Of… of course it matters…” the alicorn stammered, tumbling like a bumblebee through the air onto the roof of the castle, “It… it’s… clear…”

Oh, please! Her wing seemed to totally go out. It makes no difference!

“IT MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD IF YOU’RE IN LOVE!” Moon shrieked. She then crashed onto a spare balcony. She popped herself on her hooves in an instant. She then seized her tiara and held it right up in front of her.

She panted hard. She saw that horrible, despicable scowl looking back at her. All of that rage, fear, hatred, anger, and everything else that used to keep her running stared Moon in the face.

“I don’t CARE if I’m a monster!” Moon yelled. She never felt more confident in her words in her entire life. “I don’t CARE about my past! I don’t CARE about my future! He’s MY date! And I don’t need you ANYMORE!” She clutched the tiara tightly in her hoof, and then she hurled it with all of her strength straight upwards. The item burst through the air like a shooting star.

Moon shook her head and made a huge grin. She felt totally relieved. She knew something had changed, and changed forever. She paused. She then let out a frantic gasp.

“Oh my gosh,” the alicorn called out, and she flew herself back up in the air after the tiara, “I need that for… for… Strawberry. For the rest of my date!” She chased after it. She headed through cloud layer after cloud layer.

Oh, wow… I think I gave that thing enough force to take it to Mars… Moon took a breath, and then she rocketed herself up. She positioned herself in front of the tiara and then it smacked her on the side like a line drive into a center fielder.

“Looking…” the alicorn began, and she set her eyes on her reflection for the umpteenth time. She liked everything that she saw. The smirk looked playful. The poise looked charming. The fluttery eyebrows looked seductive. “Good!” She expanded her smile a bit wider. Okay, time to get back to my date. She made a little giggle.

Moon sailed down to that same balcony. She landed onto the roof with a soft flutter. She then hurled open the doors— accidentally knocking them off of their hinges. The alicorn saw herself in some kind of stallion’s dressing room. Marks stopped spraying himself with a musky brown something and hiked up the towel at his waist. Two other, very young looking colts leaned down behind a huge white hamper.

“Your… highness?” the stallion asked.

“Hel— hello,” Moon stammered, “Oh, ah— pardon our intrusion, please. We were just trying to find Strawberry.”

“He came by just a few minutes ago,” Marks replied, still a bit stunned, “I believe that he could still be on the castle premises, your highness. I last saw him besides the west entrance. Oh, and he did look extremely downhearted. I take it things did not…” He stopped— realizing how incredibly rude he sounded to ask that. He flinched, expecting to receive a venomous rant or worse.

“Oh, that’s just, that’s so incredibly wonderful,” Moon said, bouncing about in place, “Thank you!” She jumped up and then bounced down to the other side of the castle. Her heart rattled like a drum.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

Several minutes before then, Strawberry had fixed his angry stare at the dirty pool in front of him. His mind stayed blank. He stepped a bit to the side, and his hoof grazed his satchel. He picked it with his magic to put it back on. His guitar tumbled out. The instrument landed at the side of the water with a tiny splash.

The unicorn leaned over, and then he held it with his hooves. He took a gulp. What does it matter anymore? It’s over. It’s all over. It never was anything to begin with, stupid. He tried to summon some kind of righteous anger, but he failed. He couldn’t really feel anything except total emptiness… and total loneliness.

“I suppose it’s a bit like a thousand years up there,” Strawberry said to the moon. He chuckled. He then picked up his guitar, and he aimed straight at the heavenly body. He leaned back to give himself some momentum, and then he chucked the guitar with all of his might.

He took a step to the side, satisfied that he had wiped his hooves of Nightmare Moon. Yet he halted immediately. A soft, soothing blue feeling had burst inside of him.

He had felt it for a while— all the while as he walked through the blow out castle remains. Moon’s magic… Even in anger, even in despair… It doesn’t really make me afraid— no, not really. Her very essence felt like a kiss, and now he suddenly felt it all over.

“NO!” Strawberry screamed. He turned around and then splashed into the water. He glanced all around. Whatever little spark of Moon he had felt just a few seconds ago had turned into a flame in his heart. He spotted his guitar— stuck in some kind of gnarly tree yards and yards away. He concentrated, and then it flew right back to him with his magic.

“It doesn’t matter it’s just… it’s…” he muttered to himself. He cried a little. He thought he still felt sad for a second. Yet no, that wasn’t quite right. It was tears of… happiness. “I know it. It’s you. It has to be you.” He clutched the guitar tightly to his chest, and he sang a little bit more.

“Only… you…”