Disclaimer: I do not own any of My little Pony, Hasbro and co do.
The mare in the moon
"Momma what is that?" asked the young filly as she gazed up at the stars.
"What is what dear?" asked her mother as she joined her daughter at the window. Her frizzled mane jerked around as she tried to spot what her daughter had been talking about. She peered down at the fields in front of her.
"No up there," said the filly pointing upwards.
Her mother looked unimpressed: "That's the moon- do they teach you anyt-,"
"I know that, but what's on the moon?" asked the filly squinting hard. "It looks a bit like another pony. Is it a shadow momma? Or is there a giant pony living up there watching us? It doesn't watch me when I go to the toilet does it?"
"No of course not, that's just the mare in the moon," said her mother.
"Mare moon? What's that?"
"I've heard it was just a story- how Celestia's sister turned bad or some such thing and was eventually banished to the moon above. And that's where she has been ever since- if you believe such a thing."
"So there's a pony up there on the moon?" asked the filly. "Do you think she has fun up there? Do you think she ever gets lonely?"
"It's just an old mare's tale," said her mother. "A very very old one. Even my mother thought it was a load of old hay."
"But what if she was up there, and was waiting for somepony to come and say hi?"
"Oh you don't have to worry, I'm erm really sure that Celestia goes and visits her every year. Now go to bed Violet you don't want to miss school tomorrow."
"Ok…," said Violet, finally turning her gaze from the moon. "Do you really think that there's a pony up there on the moon? Even a tiny chance? The story would have to be a little bit true right; I mean why else would they talk about it?"
"Maybe it is true, and maybe it isn't," said her mother. "Maybe you'll figure it out in your dreams."
"Yeah! Maybe I'll meet the pair on the moon!"
On her way to school the next morning Violet had noticed, with some disappointment, that she had not dreamt about meeting the pony up there on the moon above her (which had scarily disappeared now- she hoped she hadn't scared it away). She had briefly dreamt of swimming in a pool of candy and then found herself running around a castle looking for a marshmallow cannon so she could send a crocodile back home. She didn't look too much into that particular dream.
She trotted her way to school alone, her short legs matching her tiny frame, as other taller ponies easily overtook her with their longer strides. The pink bow in her mane was caught in the wind, blowing back as she walked and occasionally whacking her ears. Her red mane was cut shorter than most of her classmates, cut at home by her mother due to her predisposition for ending up running around in muddy rivers and muddy mud. She liked it like that- the longer more flowing manes on some of her friends and classmates at school were just too girly.
But she betted that the pony up on the moon wasn't girly. She couldn't be, not if she wanted to survive up there all by herself. If she was Celestia's sister she might have been a princess, and though she knew all the princesses in her mom's tales were all polite and flowery and liked jewellery she was certain this princess would be tough and cool. A princess so awesome she offered to live on the moon, Violet having neglected to ask what banished meant.
"Hey Violet, you're gonna walk in the mud!"
Just in time the filly corrected her course and returned to the path as her best friend Sun Stripe raced to catch up with her. Being larger than her he easily caught up.
"Were you daydreaming or something? You almost went straight in the mud!" he said. "Wait, I shouldn't have said anything- that would have been funny!"
"Yeah sure," said Violet. "Until I patted you on the back."
"Nuh-uh I ain't afraid of any mud," said Sun.
"Prove it then," said Violet.
He shook his head: "Mum got me a new pack; she'd chase me around the house if I got it dirty…dirtier."
"Come on let's get going, I wanna ask teacher something," said Violet. The duo ran.
"Ok class, you have your twenty minute break now," said the teacher, pushing her giant textbook closed. Violet let out a huge sigh of relief- with an unexpected assembly she had had to wait until the first break of the school day to get a chance to talk to her teacher.
"Hey, Miss Cloud?" asked Violet approaching her teacher's desk.
"Yes Violet? Can I help you with something?" asked Miss Cloud, peering over her desk and down at the little filly.
"Have you ever heard of the Mare in the moon?" asked Violet. "I heard about it recently from momma. She said it was just a story."
"The Mare in the moon?" asked Miss Cloud leaning back in her chair. "Oh I can vaguely recall that story- it was about a sister being banished to the moon wasn't it? It just sounds unlikely to me; it was probably just a story for little fillies…like well you."
"So you don't think it's real?" asked Violet.
"I don't believe so," said Miss Cloud. "I mean Celestia has been around all my life- and my mothers- and my grandmother's life and so on. At least back to my great-great grandmother there's no history of somepony being banished to the moon."
"It'd probably be difficult to get to the moon too right?" asked Violet.
"I'm afraid I don't think anypony could do that, it's so very, very far away."
"Do you think there could be a chance in the future?" asked Violet.
"Well technology does always seem to be getting better," mused the teacher to herself. "Who knows what we might be able to do in the future."
"What's a technology?" asked Violet.
That evening Violet had found herself drawn to the shabby, poorly organised library of the small town. Not to learn what technology was, but to read more about the Mare in the moon. She was able to find a few books, even a children's story book with pictures. She sat for a while peering at an adult textbook, eyes glazing over as she realized she knew only a couple of the words on the page. The diagrams and long winded theories written by 'experts' who clearly loved the look of their own words bored her even more.
But this did not deter her from her work. She continued to visit a few times every week, rereading the pages, slowly learning more from her own work, as well as the work she did at school. The days turned to weeks, the weeks to months, and finally the months to years. The young filly, often seen as a pony more likely to go and play and get dirty rather then study found herself the most competent reader in the entire school filly/colt population.
It was a surprise to her, her mother, her teacher and her best friend.
~12 years later~
"Don't tell me you're going to help that crazy old pony again?" asked Sun in a distinctly unimpressed tone.
"Sure I am," replied Violet brushing her permed mane out of her face. "He said today might be the day we finally launch, why would I miss that?"
"Well…this isn't about that Mare in the moon thing is it?" asked her friend. "You went on about it for so long at school, and then you finally stopped a couple of years ago- it isn't like you to just drop something."
"Maybe it is about that, maybe it isn't," replied Violet sticking out her tongue. "And why does it matter to you?"
"I just don't like seeing you getting obsessed with something you won't be able to do. And well I like hanging out with you, I mean really like and well-,"
"I'll be back later," said Violet, having paid little attention to her friend as she quickly packed her things. "I'll be back a little later we can talk then!" And with that she was gone.
"I like you!" called out Sun to the closed door. He turned away grumbling to himself.
As Violet ran towards her destination, the sky above filled her with glee. Such a beautiful day, a bright sky clear of clouds, the Pegasi ponies having recently performed a Spring clean. There was no sign of rain on the horizon, so it seemed a perfect day for the mission.
"Ah Violet, right on time as usual!" said the elderly pony as he chucked a lunchbox into a large basket. "I've finished all the preparations, it's time to go!"
"I've been looking forward to this for a long time," said Violet grinning.
"Me too," said the elderly pony standing in front of a large hot air balloon. "The first ever flight, of the first ever hot air balloon not made in Canterlot! Of course if it had been the first ever this would have been a truly great day, instead it's just a hobby-,"
"You're rambling again."
"So I am, so I am," he chuckled to himself before awkwardly climbing into the basket. Violet followed her mentor, and then sat down, looking over the basket. Nopony paid much attention to them even as they started their ascent- hot air balloons were old news by now.
But a personal balloon was something important to both of them.
"Haha look at us go! Bye town!" called out the elder pony leaning over the edge of the basket. Violet peered over too, before feeling her legs wobble as she started to notice how high they were.
Violet watched on as the town became a tiny miniature beneath them, before suddenly the elderly pony let out a cheer that startled her.
"What is it?"
"I reckon this is roughly the height of the highest clouds seen in this area, and we're going high above it. One day I reckon I might even be able to go higher than the Pegasi themselves!"
"O-one day?" asked Violet.
"What's the matter Violet, you look annoyed about something. Aren't you enjoying this adventure?"
"We can't go really high?" she asked.
"I think in about a minute we'll reach our limit," replied the elderly pony.
"Surely we can go higher right?" asked Violet. "You've been working on this for over a year now; surely we can get a bit higher?"
"Not yet, it'd be dangerous."
Violet let out a gasp of exasperation and returned to the edge of the basket, holding one hoof up to the sky. They were so high- and yet so low. She was probably closer to the moon above than any (non-rich) Earth pony before her, and yet for all of that achievement she might well have just stayed on the ground. Perhaps it was impossible to climb that high. Perhaps it was something only Celestia herself possessed the ability to do.
"I'm not exactly sure what you want to do, but I'm afraid we're going to have to start our descent."
"Fine, fine," said Violet with a sense of resignation- before her ears suddenly perked up. "You said once you wanted to tweak the design didn't you?"
"Well of course, I'm certain with more time I could create a far more efficient design, able to go further into the untouched regions of the sky above."
"Would you still want me as your assistant?"
The elderly pony smiled.
~3 years later~
"Oh-ho ho there it goes again," groaned the old pony as he heard his back click. Violet stood nervously, would this injury ground another flight? He had already had to call off a number of launch attempts following colds, joint problems and that one time he thought he was having a heart attack (it was just indigestion).
"Are you still alright?"
"Oh don't worry about that," said the pony instantly knowing what his partner's concern must be. "Today we're going to soar!"
Violet nodded and climbed into the balloon basket, trying to do her best to prevent the other pony from seeing the huge grin on her face. She had always felt embarrassed when she showed off too much emotion…
The older pony climbed on board beside her, creaking and cracking as he went.
"I don't think I'll be able to do this for too much longer," he said ruefully. Violet said nothing. She had spent the best part of the last two years watching him deteriorate more and more. He was nothing like the pony she had known during their first flight three years ago- and even then he had been old.
"Well then let's see how high these two earth ponies go today," he said, noticing her silence.
The flame roared and the balloon began to lift from the ground, ascending high above the bright burning lights of the town below, which Violet had to note, had grown a surprising amount since they had last taken flight. Just like she had- and her knowledge.
The younger Violet had been foolish. Scientific work had never interested her, what was above them was boring save for the moon and the mare upon it. But as she had matured, now almost nearing her twenties, she had started to take more of an interest in how the world around her worked. She had long moved on from the school and the shabby tiny library and had managed to find far more impressive texts. Texts that discussed more than just the Mare in the moon. Much talk of space she had sought out, and it had been a year and a half ago that part of her dream had been crushed.
The authors had spoken of how space was likely a vacuum, with no air for a pony to breathe or something like that- she hadn't paid too much attention to the details- she had just sought out other books to check this idea. All seemed to support the idea a pony just would not be able to survive up there. Save for the potential Mare in the moon. And then she had found discussions of a supposed 'atmosphere' or something like that which any balloon they made would be unable to pass through. Or something like that. Once again she had not been very interested in the why, just the what.
And so she had changed tack. If she could not go to the moon, she could at least be the pony to get closest to it. It had taken months of begging but finally the old pony had agreed to a night-time launch. They would rise high, and she would be closer to the bright light in the sky then any earth pony before her.
A silence fell over the duo as they continued to rise, the starlight sky drawing ever so slightly closer (she had eventually read how stars were in fact reeaaallly far away). Finally the older pony broke the silence.
"Equestria looks a bit eerie when you look at it up here at night."
"I guess so," said Violet looking down for a moment. It was odd, almost a purple like shadow below them, occasionally interrupted by the bright lights of torches gathered around larger settlements.
As she leant back into the basket she started to shiver. That was the time to break out the blankets. She took one for herself and handed two to her partner. He thanked her and was still for a moment, in thought.
"I think we've just broken our record," he said.
Violet said nothing, instead merely willing the balloon on. Go higher!
And higher it did go, until finally she allowed herself to climb out from under the blanket and have a look. She shivered again, more strongly this time. It was so cold up here; she didn't know it would get this cold. Probably would have been an idea to bring more blankets.
But in front of her stood the bright beautiful moon, larger and clearer than she had ever seen it before. It almost seemed to glow in the darkness, and the shadow of a mare stared back at her. She was still for a moment, feeling an odd giddy sense of excitement pass through her, her cheeks start to flush. The joy turned to a faint sense of melancholy as she held up one hoof, holding it in front of the moon. Reaching out to touch, yet also knowing she never could do so. This was as high as any pony could probably soar. Far higher than any earth pony should ever expect to go. And yet it would never be enough.
She stood there for a few minutes, ignoring the coldness engulfing her. She was lost in her thoughts, her regrets, her dreams- and the beauty of what stood before her. Perhaps there was a Mare in the moon. Perhaps it was just a shadow. Whichever it was, it had allowed her to break the limits of what an earth pony might be expected to do. What a poor pony from a small town might be expected to do.
Finally as the old pony started to protest, she turned from the moon and wrapped the blanket back around herself. Now she felt the cold start to bite- it was odd how she had been so entranced she was able to completely ignore it beforehand.
The balloon hung in the sky for a short time, even the elderly pony braving the cold to venture a look. And then it started to descend, bringing the ponies back home.
~20 years later~
"Mummy, mummy come here there's something strange!"
The mare put down her book and stood up. She stepped outside to join her daughter, to find her husband Sun standing there too. She crouched down beside her small imp of a daughter, brushing her mane from her eyes.
"What is it dear?"
"Look mummy, up on the moon! It looks like a pony! A unicorn pony!"
Violet looked up and smiled. Beside her Sun laughed to himself, a momentarily private joke between husband and wife.
"Yes dear, they call it the Mare in the moon. When I was younger, a bit older than you are now I always wanted to meet her. I even wanted to when I was a bit older too."
"Did you ever meet her?"
"No," said Violet shaking her head with a smile.
"Do you think you will mummy?"
Sun rubbed his daughter's mane as Violet stood back up again.
"It sure would be nice to- I'd certainly still like to meet this mare," she said quietly. "According to legend it happened almost six hundred years ago- how much longer could she stay up there?"
Her daughter said nothing, but instead the family merely stood in silence together, staring up at the bright sky above. Just for that night the moon seemed brighter, the shadow of the mare bolder.