Chapter 10:
Getting Closer
The sun beamed through the window of the master bedroom and Luna's eyes fluttered open. She got out of bed and stretched her sleepy muscles and wings. It was a foreign feeling to wake without the imminent need to raise the moon and the night sky. Luna hoped Joseph was right about Celestia changing her mind. But outside the window it was a beautiful day. No time to dwell on what has happened. "Joseph, the morn has come," she said turning to where his bed was. But she didn't see him anywhere. His bed was made and sitting next to it was Luna's travel trunk. On the lid was a piece of paper with Luna's name on it. Luna levitated it and read the note:
You had a rough couple of days,
I wanted to let you sleep in.
I'll be in the hangar.
-Joseph
Luna smiled at Joseph's thoughtfulness and went to freshen up. In a few minutes, Luna left the bedroom and went downstairs. Granny Smith was knitting in her rocking chair.
"Morning, sleepy head," she joked.
"Greetings, Elde… Granny Smith," Luna said. She looked around and found the old pony was all alone in the house. "Where is everypony?" Granny Smith looked up at the princess and gave her an odd look.
"It's half past ten, dearie," Granny said. Luna was very surprised that she had slept that late. "But to answer your question, Apple Bloom is at school and Big MacIntosh and Applejack are outside gettin' everything away for winter. And that nice young feller said he left y'all a note he was goin' out to the barn."
"He did," Luna said. "As such I must join him."
"Well there's some apples on the table if y'all are hungry," Granny Smith called. "And I'll fix y'all something special for lunch." Luna trotted into the kitchen and took one of the apples and quickly munched it down. When she went outside, Luna was pleased to see Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy with Applejack. The consummate athlete was hovering above while gentle Fluttershy was sitting next to the farmer. But it was not the harmonious site Luna was expecting.
"I can't believe this," Applejack said with her hoof on her forehead.
"We're so sorry, Applejack," Fluttershy said gently. "We did everything we could to push it back as much as we could."
"Yea, you think I like having a sky full of clouds," Rainbow Dash added. "That limits my trick list to like, only a dozen." Luna trotted up to see what was the matter. Having few friends made them very precious and it was painful to watch them fighting.
"Friends!" Luna called. "Why do you act with such disharmony?" The three ponies gave a quick bow when Luna approached. Truthfully, Luna was beginning to get tired of the constant reverence, especially from her friends. "Friends, you may dispense with the formalities." The three ponies nodded with the request and Luna continued. "What vexes you Applejack, and why do you argue with our friends?"
"Oh that?" the farmer answered. "It ain't nothing serious, Princess. I just got news I didn't want to hear. RD and Shy here told me the snow is comin' early this year. The clouds will be set tomorrow afternoon and it'll snow overnight."
"And that is after we convinced the Weather Council to push it back a couple days," Fluttershy said.
"No kidding," Dash added. "Even Fluttershy spoke up when the council tried to keep the original schedule."
"Did she?" Luna gasped.
"Well I had to," the gentle pegasus said. "Some of my animal friends are not ready to hibernate yet. Oh, I better go tell Angel Bunny and the others." Fluttershy floated off the ground and gave a hug to her friends. "As soon as I am done, I'll come back and help you, Applejack."
"Don't you fret none, girl," Applejack said. "Take care of your critter friends. Big MacIntosh and I will just have to work lickety-split to get the last of the harvest and put away the equipment. But we'll be peachy as pie."
"Yea, and don't worry about helping with the snow clouds, Fluttershy," Dash said. "I have plenty of ponies on board to place them." The yellow pegasus beamed with joy from the consideration her friends gave.
"Oh thank you so much for thinking of my animals," Fluttershy said in her gentle voice. "I'll have to meet your new friend later, Princess." Luna nodded and also received a hug from the Element of Kindness. "Bye bye," she said and fluttered off.
"Ok," Rainbow Dash said. "I only have a few minutes before I got to leave to coordinate the snowfall. So I got to meet this guy and see this plane of his and split."
"You know of Joseph?" Luna asked with a little surprise.
"Yea, AJ told me everything," Rainbow Dash said. "And if this guy is a flyboy, you know I want to meet him."
"Y'all go ahead," Applejack said. "I got to go tell Big MacIntosh we got snow coming." With that, Applejack ran off into the orchard to find her brother. Luna was practically dragged to the hangar by Rainbow Dash. Oddly they weren't the only ones who ventured to the new building. A long orange cord was snaked from the barn house to the hangar. When the two ponies came to the door, they heard music coming out of the structure…
Black lace, on sweat
I hear you calling and it's needles and pins (and pins)
I want to hurt you just to hear you screaming my name
Don't want to touch you but you're under my skin (deep in)
I want to taste you but your lips are venomous poison
You're poison, running through my veins
Poison
I don't want to break these chains
Poison...
Luna and Rainbow Dash opened the door just as the music hit its bridge. Rainbow Dash seemed to be enjoying the music, but Luna cringed with each hit of the drum. Inside, Joseph had returned to the engine and was continuing to take it apart. He noticed the two ponies and gave them a wave. Luna pointed at her ears and Joseph signaled he understood. He wiped his hands off and went over to the stereo he'd unpacked to turn it down.
"I shall never understand the appeal of modern music," Luna chimed and rubbed her sore temples.
"Modern?" Joseph said. "That song is over 20 years old." Luna gave a slightly annoyed looked.
"I'd expect somepony as intelligent as you would favor more classical music," she said.
"I do, classic rock," Joseph answered with a chuckle.
"Hey, I don't care how old it is," Rainbow Dash said. "All I heard was an awesome sound." The cyan pegasus floated right at Joseph's eye level and both we smiling.
"And whom might you be, my multi-colored friend?" he asked.
"The name's Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria," she said.
"Good to meet you Rainbow, call me Joseph," he said. Rainbow expended her hoof and shook with Joseph before she turned to the plane.
"Ok, let's cute to the chase," she said with an "evil" smile. "How fast does this thing go?" Joseph smirked and looked Rainbow Dash dead in the eyes.
"When pushed to her limit," he began. "She'll go 219mph and fly as high as 4 miles." Rainbow Dash and Joseph stared in silence with their poker faces.
"Cool," she said after a moment. Luna was overjoyed to see that another of her friends had easily accepted Joseph.
"Joseph, where did you procure that music?" Luna asked. She had been wondering about it since she heard it.
"I had it with me," he said. "As I mentioned, I was moving to take a job as a university professor. I packed my valuables into the plane because I didn't trust them with the movers. That included my collection of vinyl records." Rainbow Dash and Luna saw there were a few boxes sitting to the side of the stereo. "Applejack said I could move a few valuables into the house." Luna nodded and was about to ask another question before Joseph interrupted. "I did find this odd though," he said. Joseph walked around to the back of the stereo and pointed to the plug connected to the extension cord. "Do you see this?" he asked. Luna and Rainbow Dash looked at each other. Rainbow wore the most confused look on her face.
"Uh yea, it's called electricity," Rainbow said with an arched brow. "It's not exactly something new."
"Joseph, this certainly can't be that wondrous to you," Luna added. "You come from an advanced society, surely something as simple as electricity cannot dumbfound you."
"So what if he's dumb, at least he's cute," Rainbow said.
"Rainbow Dash!" Luna snapped. But the cyan filly just started laughing.
"I'm kidding, Princess," she said. "I know what dumbfound means. But I could pass up that good a set up."
"Anyway," Joseph began. "This is what is amazes me." Joseph pulled the plug and showed it to the two ponies. "It's compatible, the size of the plug and the voltage."
"I still don't follow," Rainbow said.
"Nor I," Luna said.
"I'm sorry," Joseph said. "I am getting a head of myself. This just reminds me of a theory one of my professors studied. He called it parallel evolution."
"Say what?" Rainbow asked. But where Rainbow ash was confused, Luna made sense of what was said.
"I think it means that some aspects of different cultures will develop in similar paths," Luna said.
"Basically, yea," Joseph said. "I thought it was bullsh…uh hogwash," Joseph corrected. He plugged the stereo back in and took the needle off of the record. Applejack took this moment to come to the door and borrowed Luna for a moment.
"You got more music like that?" Rainbow asked. Joseph nodded and Rainbow did a loop on the spot. "Sweet, I have to get my crew together and plan everything for tomorrow. I'll stop by for some more tunes when we are finished. I may not know where you come from, but you're cool in my book."
"Thanks, I'll be waiting," he said. Rainbow offered a hoof bump and Joseph returned a fist in kind. The cyan pegasus flew over to the door and said goodbye to her friends. In a flash, Rainbow had disappeared into the wild blue yonder. "Where I come from?" he whispered. Joseph walked over to the boxes he had taken out of the plane and began digging through one of the medium sized ones. He dug through it until he found his favorite cd. In the same box, he found one of his old text books. A thought came to him and grabbed the book. Joseph put the cd in the tray and flipped the switch on the stereo from "phono" to "cd." Joseph skipped ahead to song five and a slow guitar started playing. He sat down and opened the book to an appendix map of the world, his world. Joseph's eyes were focused on the east coast of the United States. With his finger, Joseph traced a rough idea of what his flight plan was when he changed his course. A vague idea started to come to mind…
Nature, nurture heaven and home
Sum of all, and by them, driven
To conquer every mountain shown
But I've never crossed the river
"No, couldn't be," he whispered. Joseph traced a line with his finger from the southeast to an island of the eastern seaboard, then south to another island before returning northwest to the first point.
Braved the forests, braved the stone
Braved the icy winds and fire
Braved and beat them on my own
Yet I'm helpless by the river
Joseph's mind thought back to the flight and just how long he traveled the altered path.
Angel, angel, what have I done?
I've faced the quakes, the wind, the fire
I've conquered country, crown, and throne
Why can't I cross this river?
"This is impossible," he thought.
"Joseph," Luna said snapping him out of his thoughts.
"Huh?" Joseph stammered and turned down the volume.
"Applejack asked if we might retrieve Apple Bloom from school," Luna asked. "She and Big McIntosh will be indisposed for the remainder of the day while they prepare for the coming snow."
"Oh, sure," Joseph said. "That's not a problem." She walked to Joseph's side and sat down with him. Joseph fumbled with the book and Luna looked down at the map.
"Is that the world you come from?" she asked.
"Yes it is," Joseph said. He pointed out the specific area where he came from and Luna let a sigh out.
"Does it pain you to be away from your home?" she asked.
"A little," Joseph answered. "Mom must be worried sick about me."
"Do you miss your mother?" she asked and Joseph nodded. Luna could see the sadness in his face. "I have no memory of my mother. Celestia said she died giving birth to me."
"I'm sorry," Joseph said.
"Thank thee, but it was beyond my control," Luna said. "I made peace with it in my youth." To Joseph's surprise, Luna reached across his body. Her ethereal mane wafted across Joseph's face. It felt like a piece of silk being gently blown on his face. In that brief moment, Joseph could smell something of morning dew. But he was curious why the princess had reached across…
It'll take a lot more than words and guns
A whole lot more than riches and muscle
The hands of the many must join as one
And together we'll cross the river
"I am enjoying this song," she said turning the nob back up. She sat back down and listened with Joseph until the song was over. "Is this a song of boy afraid to pursue his love?"
"I always thought it was about peace," Joseph said. "But it might be about love."
"More likely you are right," she said. Luna lost her grin and felt a twinge of pain. "What would I know of love? I am out of my time, a traditional lady in modern times. A princess nonetheless, who would pursue me without apprehension?" Joseph gave her a nudge with his elbow and got up.
"Don't say that," he said going back to the engine. "There is someone for everyone, or everypony in your case." Joseph turned back with a smile and Luna answered with one in kind. "He'll find you when you least expect it." Joseph went back to the engine and began removing the last of the parts. Luna rubbed her shoulder where she had been nudged. Twice in less than a week a male had dared to touch her. But this time, not only did she not mind, she liked it. Luna had grown more confused in the last few days than any other portion of her life. But she couldn't focus on it at the moment.
Joseph continued to work while Luna watched. Eventually, she lay down and picked up the textbook. It was nestled in her forelegs and she began reading. Joseph pulled parts off left and right. The task was beginning to become more frustrating with each part he removed. The engine was nearly stripped and he hadn't found a single thing wrong with it. Finally, he pulled the final part from the engine block and let out a hard sigh.
"Aah you are fucking kidding me," he said throwing the part to the side. Luna looked up from the book at the annoyed man. She knew that the one word she didn't know was likely another profanity. But she let it slide considering the look on Joseph's face.
"Did you find your query?" Luna asked. Joseph sat down again and flopped onto his back. This put him right in front of the book in the princess's forelegs. The two were face to face, although inverted.
"Nothing," Joseph sighed. Luna was taken aback by what she was told. "Not one broken or damaged part. Mechanically, she's fine." Joseph saw the look Luna gave him and anticipated her question. "That must mean the engine cut out from the turbulence shaking something loose."
"And this means?" Luna asked.
"Time to put her back together…" Joseph said getting up. He went back over to the engine and began to put the parts back into place. Luna returned to the book and continued to read more about Joseph's history. Occasionally she would ask a question and assist Joseph with her magic. Granny Smith brought them a basket of sandwiches when lunch time rolled around. Joseph put some more music on for the two to enjoy. Joseph made sure he didn't put on any of his "preferred" rock music. One song in particular caught Luna's fancy. After lunch, the two resumed assembling and reading. Because he wasn't looking for any trouble, Joseph was able to get the engine mostly assembled by the time it was half past two. Joseph was surprised to see that Luna had finished half of the 500 page book. Luna said nothing and gave Joseph a triumphant wink. He went back to the pump outside and cleaned himself off with Luna's help. He quickly changed into a clean shirt in the hangar to pick up Apple Bloom from school.
"Joseph we must make haste," Luna said walking over to the door.
"Coming," he called running to the door. Together, the two made their way off the farm.
The bell at the school house began to toll. Dozens of little colts and fillies burst from the school. They all giggled as they ran to their parents, sisters, and brothers. Soon, only a few children were still waiting for their families. Apple Bloom joined her friends Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo by swing set. Together they discussed ideas for earning their cutie marks, but were interrupted by two ponies they wish had left already.
"Well…well, look who's here, Silver Spoon," Diamond Tiara said taunting. Silver Spoon looked left and right before shrugging her shoulders.
"I, like, don't see anything, Diamond Tiara," the grey filly said.
"Exactly," the pink bully said and pointed at Sweetie Belle's flank. "There totally isn't anything here." The two let out high pitched laughing at their classmates. The three fillies did their best to ignore their tormentors. It was something they had been mastering for quite some time.
"Ha ha, aha," Scootaloo droned out. "You two are hilarious."
"We know," the spoiled fillies said together. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom looked at each other; this was going to be a long wait for Applejack.
"I'm actually surprised you're still in school, Apple Bloom," Diamond Tiara said. "I heard a falling star crashed into Sweet Apple Acres and you had to move away."
"Daddy heard that too," said Silver Spoon. "He said wanted to buy the land and plow it down for a new shopping center." Apple Bloom grit her teeth at that last statement. These two fillies knew how to push her buttons. But Apple Bloom tried to take the high road.
"There ain't nothing wrong on the farm," she said. "We just got a surprise visitor from out of town."
"A visitor?" Silver Spoon questioned. She lowered her glasses and looked at her friend.
"Well obviously this visitor so doesn't have any taste," Diamond Tiara added. This got Apple Bloom's attention. Scootaloo tried to get her to ignore it.
"Because if he or she did?" Silver Spoon continued. "They'd spend time with the upper crust of Ponyville."
"And not some lame blank flank and her filthy family," Diamond Tiara finished. Apple Bloom's teeth clenched as her anger grew. Sweetie Belle saw the anger in her friends face and did her best to end this.
"Ok, you've had your laugh, now leave us alone," she said as bravely as she could.
"Don't worry," Silver Spoon said. "We are totally done. It's not smart to waste our valuable time on something so sad."
"Good one, Silver Spoon," Diamond Tiara said.
"Bump, bump, sugar-lump, rump," the two spoiled girls chimed as they celebrated their taunting. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon laughed as they walked away. Apple Bloom could no longer hold her anger in. Though Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo tried to hold her back, Apple Bloom broke away and charged the two. The two bullies turned around when they heard the earth filly screaming. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle chased after their friend to stop her. Apple Bloom plowed into Diamond Tiara and knocked her to the ground. Silver Spoon stood frozen in shock of what she saw. Apple Bloom had tackled Diamond Tiara and pinned her down to the ground with one hoof and raised her free one above her head.
'I'll teach y'all some manners!" Apple Bloom screamed. Diamond Tiara was begging for somepony to help her.
"Apple Bloom!" a deep and powerful voice called. All the children looked up and saw Joseph standing by the fence with a furious look on his face. "Let her go, right now!" he bellowed again. The children were both confused and in awe of this thing in front of them. Even more shocking, Apple Bloom was listening to him.
"But, but, Mr. Joseph," Apple Bloom stammered.
"Do not make me tell again, young lady," he commanded with emphasis on the "not." Apple Bloom's face remained contorted for a moment until she relaxed and let of the struggling filly. Diamond Tiara scrambled away from Apple Bloom and grabbed Joseph's leg in a hug. But before she could say anything to the man that "saved her," Joseph stepped back and pointed his finger at her.
"You are damn lucky you're not my child," he scolded. "If you were you wouldn't be able to sit for a month!" Diamond Tiara sat with her mouth wide open, as were Silver Spoon, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. Apple Bloom sat where she was. She had a feeling she was going to get it too.
"H-how dare you speak to me like that," she snapped back at Joseph. He shot her a dirty look and went over to Apple Bloom. "Nopony speaks to me like that!" the pink filly added growing angry. "I demand an apology." Joseph turned around and glared at the arrogant child. Diamond Tiara stared back, but was distracted by a collective gasp from the other children and watched them all bow. Joseph gave the filly a smirk and Diamond Tiara looked behind her. In an instant, she dropped down in a bow as well. "P-P-Princess Luna?" Diamond Tiara stammered out.
"Silence!" the princess snapped. Diamond Tiara's mouth snapped shut and she shook in her little hooves. Luna stood tall and formidable over the child. Luna pointed at Silver Spoon and then next to Diamond Tiara. The grey filly quickly moved over by her friend and both began shivering under the princess. Luna lowered her head to be face to face with the children. "If we should ever witness or hear of this callous behavior again, thy punishment will be far worse than any action thy parents can deliver. Have we an understanding?" Luna's tone was serious but calm. Diamond Tiara shook violently at the threat, but nodded her head. Silver Spoon shook just as much, but her fear of Luna's threat made her release her bladder in a puddle between her legs. Luna stepped to the side and pointed her hoof off the schoolyard. "Away with you," she said with venom to the two fillies. Diamond Tiara ran off as quick as she could while Silver Spoon waddled away. "And you as well," Luna commanded at Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.
"Yes, ma'am," they said together and disappeared in a flash. Apple Bloom looked back and forth between Luna and Joseph. They both wore an angry look. The red maned filly knew she was in trouble. Joseph picked up Apple Bloom's school bag and walked over to Luna and waited. Apple Bloom took the hint and left the schoolyard as well. The three walked silently back to the farm. When they got back to the barn house, Granny Smith was sitting in her rocking chair with a cup of tea. Before she could say "hello," Joseph gave Apple Bloom her saddlebags and spoke to the child.
"Go to your room and stay there, Apple Bloom," he said sternly. "I'm going to find Applejack and tell her what you did." Granny Smith stared at her granddaughter in shock. Apple Bloom looked to her grandmother but was met by a green hoof pointing upstairs. Joseph sighed and left to go find Applejack as Apple Bloom climbed the stairs. Luna went over to the window and watched as Joseph walked off. Unconsciously, Luna let a small nod as she watched Joseph. Granny Smith caught a glimpse of that in the reflection, but she didn't say anything. It was too soon to mention what her experienced eyes were recognizing.
"Apple Bloom get in another spat with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?" she asked.
"Yes," Luna answered. "She was but a second away from turning violent before Joseph intervened." Luna began to tell Granny Smith all that she had seen. The old pony took in each bit very seriously, but she did get a good chuckle hearing that Silver Spoon wet herself. Not long after finishing, Joseph came back into the house. He had brought the book Luna was reading and another. Joseph put them on the couch and looked at Granny Smith.
"Applejack is in the middle of finishing the last few trees in the east field," he said. "She's a little busy with Big Mac, but she told me what punishment to give Apple Bloom." Granny Smith told Joseph which door was Apple Bloom's and he went upstairs. Luna excused herself and followed Joseph up stairs. Joseph didn't seem to notice Luna was following him. She watched him knock on a door and go inside. Luna crept up to the door but didn't enter. She didn't know why, but she was letting Joseph handle this. Curiosity did kill her cat and Luna put her ear to the door.
"Applejack is very disappointed in you, Apple Bloom," Joseph said. "That was absolutely foolish of you to do."
"I know," Apple Bloom answered. The child was sitting on her bed surrounded by her homework. She may not have been Joseph's child but she was listening to him as if she was.
"It doesn't matter how angry you get," he started. "You can't just put your hooves on someone like that." Apple Bloom listened with her head down while Joseph spoke. "The only reason your sister isn't here to tell you this is because the snow is coming and she still has work to do. But Applejack told me what your punishment is." Apple Bloom gulped when Joseph came to this. He sat on the bed with Apple Bloom and looked at her dead in the eyes. "She said you were going to be grounded for a month and going to bed with no dinner tonight." Apple Bloom's eyebrows arched and she looked down. Even Luna brought a hoof to her mouth in remorse.
"I guess I deserve that," the child said.
"You guess?" Joseph asked inquisitively.
"Ok, I know I deserve that," Apple Bloom said as she tucked her legs and lay down on the bed.
"Why?" Joseph asked.
"Because I put my hooves on Diamond Tiara," Apple Bloom said. "And that was the wrong thing to do." Joseph put his hands behind his head and lay down next to Apple Bloom.
"What should you have done?" he asked. Apple Bloom looked at him with regretful eyes.
"I should have told my teacher or my family," she quietly said. Joseph nodded that she was right. "But y'all don't know what it's like, Mr. Joseph. She bullies my friends and I all the time."
"That doesn't mean she'll always get away with it," Joseph said. "They both got caught and warned by Princess Luna. My gut tells me your problems might be over. I also know what you are going through, Apple Bloom. I and many of my friends were bullied when we were children too." Apple Bloom was shocked at this. Joseph was huge, who'd be brave enough to bully him. "What are you going to do if Tiara and Spoon give you trouble again?" Joseph asked.
"Ignore her, or tell somepony," Apple Bloom said. Joseph smiled at the child and gave her a pinch on the cheek. Apple Bloom giggled and Joseph got up from the bed. "Well, least I got month to think about way to avoid Diamond Tiara." She went back to her homework before Joseph lifted her face with his finger.
"A week actually," Joseph said. Apple Bloom perked up and gasped. "I cut a deal with Applejack if you could tell me why you're being punished. Finish your homework and come down for dinner." Apple Bloom leapt into Joseph's arms, hugged him and barraged his ears with thanks. Joseph returned a hug in kind and left the filly on her bed. When he opened the door, Joseph saw Luna standing in the hallway. She was wearing a warm and kind smile.
"You'll be a wonderful father someday, Joseph," she said with warmth.
"Just need to find the right girl," he said.
"Anypony would be proud to have you," Luna said with a slight blush. Joseph walked up to the Princess of the Night and raised his hand to her face. Rather than pull away, Luna allowed Joseph to cup her cheek with his hand.
"I was just thinking the same thing," he said. Joseph only kept his hand on Luna's cheek for a moment but for Luna it ended too soon. Unlike that stallion in Canterlot a few days earlier, something told Luna that this was right. Luna let out a sigh and slowly went down stairs as well. Only Granny Smith was waiting for her when Luna was in the den. She saw Joseph through the window making his way back out to the hangar. Luna went over to the couch and retrieved the textbook she had been reading earlier. Granny Smith eyed the princess as she looked at the book with a look of content on her face. As Luna left the room, Granny Smith let out a chuckle.
"Hehehe, well," she chimed quietly. "Ain't that something…"
A/N: Hey Everypony, another chapter has come and gone. But more questions have been raised. Why was Joseph looking at that map. What is happening to our little Luna? She's gone from an untouchable lady of the past to a slowly evolving modern woman. Just what is going on inside her little head? More importantly, what will Celestia have to say about these changes in her sister? And what of the Grundles? What is Lord Omus planning to do?
Tune in for the next edition of Line in the Sand to find out.
Read and Review my fellow Bronies
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