A/N: Wow, I'm past 15,000 words for this fic, and that's only counting the first four chapters! Seems that minimum of 3000 words per chapter thing I set for myself is actually working out. I probably spoiled a lot by directing you guys to my deviantart page, but be warned. I have PLENTY more than just those three in store. Oh yes, the ideas are coming to me as I speak. Hmm...that would be good...so would that...oh yes, that would be awesome...now to be able to make it work...

Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony, or anything that I make reference to in this FanFic, those belong to their respective owners. I do own BoltFire and any other OC's that appear unless otherwise mentioned.

Chapter 5: Cool Nights and Three Walls

*BoltFire*

Darkness...the Darkness of before...the Darkness of future times...the Darkness of hearts...most would say that the Darkness is an evil, wretched thing; waiting to devour those who take it too lightly and without caution. Well, that may be true, but that's only part of the picture. Darkness is a lot like fire, if you treat it with respect and don't flail it around like an idiot then you won't get burnt. The Darkness can protect and hide us from hostile eyes. Some say hiding is the cowards way out, but, in reality, it's the smart way. Live to fight another day, right?

Anyway, over the past week or so, this Darkness has been visiting...well, not visiting, more like waiting till I've fallen asleep to greet me. It does not say anything, nor does it do anything, but, for some reason, I've been picking up faint emotions in the form of colors. How can I tell they were emotions? Well, when the color came up, I felt the emotions themselves. Like for blue, I started to feel a little sad; For yellow, I was happy; pink, embarrassed or the feeling of love; Red, angry; etc. White never came up, and the Black of Darkness never gave off anything, so it might be a lack of emotions.

So, using this method, the Darkness has talked to me every night. It seems friendly enough, almost...motherly. Whenever I'm in its presence, I just feel so safe and warm. Most of the time I don't want to leave, but it just feels like the Darkness wouldn't want that, let alone allow it. Heh, just like a mother, It cares for me yet pushes me away. Well, at least I can feel safe around some...Hmm? What's that?

"...been sleeping for most of the day. I'm surprised he didn't get up when you put those pancakes under his nose, Spike."

[...Huh? ...Twilight? Is she talking about me? How long have I-Oh crap! I slept in! Dash must have been waiting for me all day!]

I open my eyes and immediately notice a brown...thing sitting on my chest.

[Huh...deja'vu] "Um...Who are you?"

It tilts its head, yet doesn't blink...creepy "Who?"

[Ah, an owl.] "You. Who are you?"

"Who."

"Yes, that's the question. Can you tell me who you are?"

"Who?"

"You...you know what? Forget it."

The owl sags a little "Who..."

"Hey, don't give me that. It's not my fault you can only say 'who'. Then again, it's not your fault either...wait...why am I having a conversation with an owl?"

Laughter to my left catches my attention, revealing Spike and Twilight. Spike is holding his sides and Twilight is holding a hoof to her mouth. Upon seeing them, the owl gently flys from me to Twilight, who seems to have gotten over the sight of me trying to get an answer out of an owl "He-he, I see you've met Owlowicious. I'm actually surprised to see him up this late in the day. Normally he sleeps in till about 7:30 pm."

[um...what kind of name is that?] "um...ok. any reason why he was on my chest?"

She taps her chin then looks at owli...owol...the owl. "Well, he might've been curious about you..."

The owl shakes his head.

Now, it was Spike's turn for a guess "Maybe he was hungry and thought you were food?"

Again, the owl shakes his head.

Just for the hell of it, I decided to take a guess "Maybe he just wanted all the noise to go away, so he could go back to sleep. Figuring that you two were talking about me, he began by trying to resolve the source of conflict?"

The owl nods fervently with a slight victory call "Who who!"

A random voice calls out from the window "I call 'em Tosho!"

"AAAAH" We all scream (Except for 'Tosho'...actually, that's not a bad name. I'm gonna start calling him that.) in fright from the unexpected comment.

After I calm myself down, I look towards Twi and Spike only to see Twilight missing and Spike laying there with his claw clutching his heart.

[Wonder where Twilight went...oh! The owner of the voice has just come through the window.]

Pinkie steps off the window sill and turns to me "He-he! Morning Bolty! or should I say evening? Anyway, Dashie sent me over here to make sure you didn't forget your lessons were today and then I saw you guys in such deep thought that I couldn't help but make a loud noise when speaking up and then BAM you guys were soooo shocked, ahh good times...Hmm? where's Twilight?"

The mare in question was back in her room, getting a +100 defence boost from her blanket.

"Ah well, she'll show up eventually. But c'mon Bolty! Let's go! You're late enough as it is!" And with that, she jumps out the window...from the second story of the tree "Ah Pinkie wait!" Too late, she already jumped out. I rush over to the window and look out, trying to see if she hurt herself.

"Hmm? Wait for what?"

I turn around and see her standing in the doorway. I honestly have no words for how confused I am, other than the stuttering I was uttering when pointing from her to the window "You...but...how...I...wha..."

She just smiles and giggles at how stupid I most likely sound and/or look "Tee-hee! Your so funny! C'mon, we don't wanna keep Dashie waiting, right?"

I start to say something, but hold it in. Just remembering I wasn't the only one in here, I look at Spike to see if he saw what just happened. He did. His head kept looking from the doorway to the window, trying to figure out how in all of creation that was possible. A couple of seconds later, he passes out with smoke coming out of his ears. Poor guy, and poor brain. On that lovely yet confusing note, I go about my morning rituals. Once finished, I find Pinkie downstairs, reading a pretty big book. The only thing wrong about that is that the book is upside-down in her hooves and she is upside down on a chair. Basically, out of all three of them, Pinkie was the one who is upside-down. Shaking my head and dubbing it as a 'Pinkie thing', I go into the kitchen for some lunch.

She either saw me or sensed my passing, honestly don't know which, but she stops me before I make anything "Oh, you don't need to get anything. We're meeting Dashie at Fluttershy's place before your lessons."

[Oh, okay. Fine by...wait...we?] "Um...we? You mean, you're coming with me? Don't you have things to do?"

Again, she giggles like I missed the most obvious thing in the world "Of course not, silly billy! It's sunday! You know, no work day?"

[Huh...who woulda thought...sunday, huh? Hmm...if Dashie...ah crap, now Pinkie has me saying it! Anyway, if we finish early, I could start looking for a job. Don't want to mooch off Twilight for the rest of my life. Also gotta find an apartment...]

I suddenly feel a tapping on my shoulder, jolting me out of my mind "Hellooooooooo~! Equestria to Bolt!"

"Huh?! Oh, what is it Pinkie?"

Without answering me she slaps me across the face. Hard enough to turn me around "Ah! What the hell Pinkie?! What did I do to deserve...that?" I stand there, completely lost and confused as to what I see in front of me.

The reason for my confusion is quite simple. Before she slapped me, I was in Twilight's house talking to Pinkie. Now, I'm outside Fluttershy's cottage looking at Pinkie. The distance between the two locations is about a two to three-hour walk. Basically a mile or so. It just takes longer because we have to make a lot of turns to get to the path for Fluttershy's cottage.

[Okay...remain calm...don't try to think about it...] Too late, my brain decided to screw with me and try to explain what just happened. I ended up much like Spike back at the Library. The last things I see before passing out is a laughing Pinkie Pie, a very concerned Fluttershy, a Rainbow, and an angry Bunny.

A sea of black, a feeling of warmth.

"Why hello there Darkness, we meet again. And so soon, might I add?"

A pulse of blue, yet no emotions came with it.

"Hmm? Why are you sad? There's nothing really to be sad about."

A flash of yellow, and still no emotions. Kinda weird, but oh well.

"See? You should be happy that we get to be together right now."

A flash of pink, a pause, then white.

"Um...I don't understand."

A flash of...basically every color in the rainbow.

"Ok, now your just screwing with..."

I'm interrupted by voices.

"Ohmygosh! Pinkie, what did you do?!"

[Dash...?]

"I don't know. I just got us to where we needed to be. He just decided to pass out."

[Pinkie...]

"Oh my...will he be okay?"

[And Fluttershy.]

*Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap*

[Well, that's annoying. Almost as much as the heart monitor, but at least I can finish my-]

*Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap*

[...damn it.]

I decide to get up at this point and notice a slight pressure on my chest. Opening my eyes reveals yet another animal on my chest, this time a white rabbit.

[Alright, what the hell is with animals laying on my chest when I wake up? Jeez, I hope this doesn't happen again. Three is more than enough...Is..is it glaring at me?]

Sure enough, the white rabbit is glaring at me. I would normally find this adorable but there's just something about his posture that tells me it means business.

A voice to my right pulls my attention from the angry bunny "Oh! Dash, Pinkie, he's awake!"

I turn towards the voice and the first thing I notice is that I'm no longer outside. My guess is that the girls pulled me inside and set me on the couch. Pinkie and Dash stop their arguing and look towards me, relief in their eyes.

Dash steps forward "C'mon Bolt, what gives? Why'd you have to pass out like that? Now we practically have no time for today!"

I just rub my head and began trying to explain. I couldn't find the right words so I might as well use the basic one "Well, I guess I did the stupidest and most dangerous thing to do around here. Or in all of Equestria, for that matter..."

Dash crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow "Oh yeah? And what would that be?"

I sigh "Attempt to make sense of Pinkie Pie."

That got the three of them to snicker "Heh, yeah. That is pretty dangerous. Careful, or you might roast your brain till there's nothing left."

I chuckle "Yeah, thanks for the advice...by the way, how long was I out?"

Pinkie pulls an over-sized pocket-watch out from nowhere "It's almost 4:30 now, sooooo...two hours."

I stare for about a minute, then get slapped for the second time today "Ow! What's with all the hitting?!"

Dash just smirks while waving her hoof a little "Sorry, it just looked like you were going to try to think of how what she just did is possible, again."

I rub my cheek and chuckle in embarrassment "Heh, yeah. I guess I was. Thanks for the save, Dashie."

Almost immediately, it turns dead silent in the room. If it happened, I'm pretty sure you could've heard a fly fart...do they even flatulate to begin with? Oh, well. Right now, all the mares are looking at me funny. Fluttershy has a shocked expression, Dash is the same except for a light blush, and Pinkie is just smiling like crazy. I tilt my head in confusion but then realize what I just said "...damn it Pinkie! Now you got me saying it out loud!"

Pinkie starts rolling on the floor, laughing maniacly. I honestly have no idea how long she can keep this up before passing out. Probably forever. Fluttershy still has the shocked expression, though I believe I see a small amount of...sadness in her eyes? And Dash's blush has gotten a little brighter. I start to get up, but the pressure from earlier returns. I look and see the rabbit is still on my chest...giving me a death glare. I start to sweat from the intensity of it's glare, until it mercifully hops away. I get up and look in the direction it left to see it standing at the end of a hallway. It was still giving me the death glare but pointed at its eyes, then to me and back again. It hops away after a couple of seconds.

I just sit there, sweating a bit "Um...who was that...?"

Fluttershy snaps out of her trance and addresses me "Oh...that was Angel."

Pinkie stops laughing and adds her own two bits "Yeah, he's her special pet rabbit. Sure, she cares for a lot of animals, but she only has one pet. Like I have Gummy and Twilight has Tosho."

Fluttershy tilts her head in confusion "Tosho...? Oh, you must mean Owlowicious."

Pinkie nods "Yup, that's the one. Anyway, Dash. Why don't you tell him about...Dash?"

I look to her and don't see Dash in the spot she was in. We look left and right, but Rainbow isn't anywhere to be found. Pinkie tilts her head then shrugs "Oh well, she probably wanted to get home before dark. I should probably go, too. Bye Fluttershy! Bye, Bolty!"

She says this while walking into a closet. I get up and walk to the closet, not finding a Pinkie Pie that SHOULD be in there. I just stare then shake my head "Well, I should probably get going, too. Sorry for any inconveniences I may have caused."

She shakes her head and gives me a small smile "Oh, no. It was no trouble at all. Pinkie and Rainbow did all the heavy lifting. I just had to keep my animal friends in check."

After that, we say goodbye and I start heading back to town. As I make my way back to Twi's house, I keep an eye out for a message board or 'help-wanted' signs anywhere. About half way back, I find the former next to the town hall. At this time, it's almost 5:00 so I can barely make out what's on the board. Luckily, the street light above me turns on. Looking back, I see invoices for various jobs and discounts at stores. Apparently, there's a sale going on at a prank shop.

Other than a few interesting sales, I didn't see any I liked and was about to walk away when I see a sliver of paper under the others. Curious, I lift up the papers covering it and find that it's a 'Room-mate Wanted' notice. Next to that was a 'Help Wanted' sheet from Sweet apple acres. Seeing as both were hidden by the others, I decided to just take the papers and read them later, seeing as no one miss them.

I go to put them in my bags when I realize that I didn't bring my bags today. Hell, I didn't even bring my goggles. But I guess that's what happens when your woken up and (somehow) randomly teleported in the span of about five minutes. Sighing, I continue to walk back to Twilight's with the papers in my mouth.

An hour later, I arrive at the library. I turn the knob only to find it locked.

"Uf...jush gre. jush fuging gre..."

I start to knock on the door, getting an answer after about five seconds later.

"We're closed! Jeez, doesn't anypony read the sign?!"

I spit out the papers into my hoof, noticing the small amount of saliva that built up on them...eww "Twilight, it's me! You know, BoltFire?"

A clamor of hooves on wood closely followed by the turning of the lock. Twilight opens the door, a look of relief gracing her features, quickly replaced by anger "Where were you?! After Pinkie left, Spike and I couldn't find you anywhere!"

I just shake my head and let out an exasperated sigh "She didn't leave by herself. Somehow we got where we needed to go in a matter of seconds. Not to mention pain on my part."

We walk into the main room and I try to explain to Twilight what exactly happened without frying either of our brains. I can proudly say that I succeded...somewhat. Both of us where fine, it's just that, unknown to us, Spike joined us about halfway through. We only found out he was there when we heard a thud and saw a string of smoke emanating next to Twilight. When we see him laying there, we both sigh, shake our heads, and mumble two words.

"Not again..."

She takes him upstairs to their room and I get something to eat. Nothing fancy, just some fruit and a sandwich. After I finish eating and cleaning up, I walk into my room and look at the two papers I picked up earlier. The one from Sweet Apple Acres just says that if any are interested, they should meet up with any of the Apple family for further details. I shift my attention to the other and it practically says the same thing. Except instead of the Apple family it has an address.

"Oh, what do you have there?"

I turn around to see Twilight standing in the doorway "Oh, just some notices for a place to work and a home for rent."

Her ears droop a little "Really? You don't like living here?"

I gulp and choose my next words VERY carefully. For some reason, I feel like I'm treading on thin ice "Um...no it's not that. It's just...I don't want to have to rely on someone for everything. And seeing as you didn't ask for rent or anything in return for me living here, I kinda felt like I was being a burden."

She perks up when hearing this "Bolt, you're not a burden. Not once have I said otherwise."

I rub my neck "Yeah, I know. But I still want to do this. And it's not like we won't see each other anymore. We're friends, right?"

She giggles "He-he, yeah. You're right, we are friends...Well, if this is going to be your last day here, I might as well help as much as I can. Can I see the rent notice?"

I hand it to her and she starts scribbling down directions "Okay, here. These are the directions from here to the house your going to." She hoofs me the papers and smiles.

I smile back and a yawn escapes my throat "haaa...thanks for everything, Twi. I'll try to visit everyday if I can."

Her smile grows bigger "I'd like that. Well...goodnight, Bolt."

"Night Twi."

She leaves and I start to get under the covers. I don't immediately go to sleep, just lie there and stare at the ceiling. Multiple sounds become present. The mass chorus of crickets, the soft swaying of trees, the occasional hoot of an owl, all in all, the music of the night. I turn to the window and see the moon smiling gently upon the inhabitants of Ponyville. Covering all it sees in a gentle ivory light, lovingly coaxing all to rest and save their energies for the next day. It is only at this point that I realise I haven't seen the night sky in all my conscious days.

I walk over to the window and push it open. Once that was done I open my wings and start to fly out. Before going too far, I turn around and start to fly to the top of the tree. At the top, I land on a flat bed of leaves that almost look naturally made, though if I really looked I'd see that the area's been stamped down. For the next couple of hours, I lie there and stare at the beautiful night sky. Taking in as much as I can before sleep eventually takes me.

I start to drift off when I hear the flapping of wings followed by the shifting of leaves. Turning my head from my downed position, I see a pony I'm not too familiar with. The pony in question was obviously a mare, her dark-blue coat somewhat glistening in the moonlight. Her hair was long and seemed to be blowing in a non-existant wind. The color of which seemed to be slightly translucent and reminiscent of the night sky. Her eyes were a calm teal and she was staring at me with slight confusion. The last thing I notice is her wings...and her horn.

[Hmm...what did that book call winged unicorns...oh, yeah! Alicorns...but that must mean...]

I spring to my hooves and start to say something. She puts a wing to her lips "Shhh."

I realise I might have shouted and begin to calm down. After a bit I feel calm enough to talk "Um...hello? Who are you?"

She smiles a little and walks towards me. She sits next to me and looks sky-ward "So what do you think of my night?"

I was going to repeat my question, but her statement confuses me "Your night? What do you mean 'your night'?"

She covers her mouth with a wing to suppress a giggle "Well, the same way as it sounds. I would like to think so seeing as I made all those stars and constellations up there."

That stops me in my tracks and causes my eyes to widen. I stare at her blankly and switch from her to the sky and back again.

[She made those? All those beautiful, twinkling orbs in the sky? Wow...]

And once again, someone laughs at my idiotic expression "He-he, I take it your shocked?"

I could only nod my head.

She laughs again but turns silent and looks back towards the sky. A small sigh escaping her lips, as she starts to speak with a melancholic tone "You know...not many ponies enjoy the night. Most are scared that something will jump out at them and take them away. They would much rather stay in their homes and wait for my sister's sun to light up their paths."

I open my mouth to say something, but close it immediately. Not wanting to interrupt her and seem rude, I let her continue.

"...long ago, back when Equestria was still young, I grew resentful of the praise that Celestia always got. The band of followers, fans, the exclamations of love (although they were all misguided fools who didn't know the difference between real love and idolation)...over time, I became a cruel, spiteful being. One day, I finally snapped and tried to make the night last forever. Ponies started calling me 'Nightmare Moon' out of fear. This forced Celestia to send me to the moon for a thousand years. Those thousand years were the loneliest I had ever felt. If I was thinking straight, I would've figured out how many would be devastated by my imprisonment and how many more would weep for me, as if I passed on. During those years, I began thinking about all that had happened up until that point. With no one to talk to, I started to talk to myself, which made me grow more and more resentful of Celestia. After the thousand years, I escaped and tried to do the same thing as last time. This time, however, I was stopped by the mare whose tree we're on and here friends."

My eyes go a little wider, soon enough I'll have Pinkie sized eyes...Jeez, that'll suck on a windy day "Wow...but...why are you telling me this?"

She seems to realize something and rub the back of her head with a slight blush. Ha! I'm not the only one who does that! "Sorry, it just sort of wormed it's way out. I normally don't talk to many ponies, so I don't really have any conversational material."

I tilt my head in confusion "Why don't you talk to ponies? You seem like a great mare to hang out with. Sure you may have done something horrible in the past..."

"Twice..."

I shake my head "It doesn't matter. The point is that its in the past and you weren't all there when it happened anyway. Just anger and hate doesn't make someone who they are. That's only part of them, not the whole picture. And if I had a guess, I'd say that this 'Nightmare Moon' was only a shell, covering up a sad, lonely mare that just wanted to be loved and accepted by others. And now that the Nightmare is gone, everyone's too afraid to notice that Nightmare Moon isn't you. Hell, she never was to begin with."

As I say this, her eyes begin to get larger as I continue. Tears start to form and slowly drip down her face. Seeing the tears, I couldn't help but wonder what's wrong. I open my mouth to speak but stop when she raises a hoof, effectively silencing me. She wipes the tears from her eyes then looks at me with a small, hopeful smile "Do you...really mean that?"

I nod, smiling with my eyes closed.

"But...why?"

I open my eyes, tilt my head and raise an eyebrow.

She understands my confusion and clarifies "Why would you, a pony who just recently met me and who knows about my past, be so kind and forgiving?"

I put a hoof to my chin and begin to think about it. After a minute, I shrug "I guess it would have to be a gut feeling of mine. And why would I not be kind when you never did anything wrong to me or my friends? As I said before, Nightmare moon isn't you. She's more like...a defense mechanism. You were sad, scared, and lonely. Celestia probably didn't have enough time to hang out from ruling the country which caused you to curl more and more into yourself, causing your emotions to, instead of leaking out by talking to someone, curve around and come back at your already depressed state...I sound like a shrink right now, huh?"

This causes her to laugh, tears slipping down her face. She wipes her eyes again and smiles at me, this time a much happier smile "He-he, yes you do...and thank you."

"Huh? For what?"

"That was the first time I've ever heard anypony say something like that to me. It's almost as if you don't know about Alicorns being royalty."

I shrug "I honestly don't care about the status of others. We're all living, breathing beings here. And I do know that Alicorns are the Royalty, but I feel that even Royalty needs to unwind every once in a while."

She giggles then mutters something along the lines of 'You and Tia would get along well.'

I chuckle a little and look back towards the sky. She joins me for about ten minutes or so till she got up "Sorry, but I have to leave. Celestia might be worried if I stay out too long."

I feel saddened that she has to leave, but then remember it's close to midnight "Oh, okay. Besides..." yaaawn "It's late and I have to get up in the morning to get some things done. Anyway, it was nice meeting you...what did you say your name was, again?"

She laughs "You never asked, but it's Luna."

[Um...I think I did...didn't I? Meh, oh well.] "Okay, Luna. Oh, before you go, can I ask a question?"

She smiles a bit "You just did, but go ahead."

[Did a member of the royal family just crack a joke?] "Well, I had fun talking to you and I wanted to know, wanna be my friend?"

She stares at me, seemingly stunned by my offer "D-doth thou jest?"

PERFECT BRAIN AND MOUTH SYNCHRONIZATION!

[um...what?] "Um...what?"

She shakes her head "I mean...really?"

I shake my head as well "Of course. Why would I joke about things like this?"

She looks away, slightly embarrassed "Well, it's just that I didn't expect this to happen. I mean, we only just met and you already want to be friends with me? I'm happy, don't get me wrong. I'm just shocked."

I smile "Yeah, I know the feeling. Well, I should probably stop taking up your valuable time and get some sleep."

Her ears go down a little "Oh...okay."

Seeing that sad expression on her face pulled at my heart-strings.

Meanwhile...

A mint-green unicorn suddenly wakes up from an excessively...steamy dream. She looks around her room, trying to find the source of the disturbance. Not finding any and checking her clock, she yawns and crawls back into bed, curling up against a cream-colored earth pony and letting out a happy sigh before sleeping.

Back to us...

I just couldn't let her go looking sad to leave what is most likely her first friend "Hey, don't be sad." She lifts up her head "If you want, we can hang out here tomorrow night."

"Really...?"

I nod, and the next thing I feel is pain. Lots of pain.

"Oh, Thank you Thank you Thank you!" Squee~ "I gotta go tell Tia'! Bye, Bolt!"

And with that, I'm relieved of my pain (which turned out to be an atomic hug) and Luna flies off towards Canterlot.

After I make sure my ribs were intact, I open up my wings and glide back down to my window. I close the window and yawn for the last time tonight. I hop into bed and almost immediately fall asleep, but before that happens, I have one last thought.

[How did she know my name?]

A/N: Well, there you guys go. My longest chapter so far. And Luna was (re)introduced! So, as usual, tell me what you guys think. Also, sorry about not posting last week. I was distracted by double XP weekend...sad excuse is sad. And another thing, if the title confuses you, think of Pinkie and her "abilities" with reality.

?: Um...you never asked them what they thought before...

Holy shit! who are you?!

?: *Face palm* Idiot, I'm you.

No you're not. I'm right here, I can't be over there and over here at the same time.

'Other-me': *Bridge of nose pinch* Dude, Pinkie's here. I'm here. Magic is involved. It's not impossible.

Wait, what? I don't see Pink-

Pinkie: HIYA!

*Girly scream followed by goat-style faint*

'Other-me': Huh...you think he'd be used to it by now...

Pinkie: Yeah...oh well, he'll get up and start the next chapter soon, so it's all good. Wanna get something to eat, Dark?

'Dark': Eh, sure. So, I'm gonna be called 'Dark' from now on?

Pinkie: Yup, can't have two people named Nick in one area, now can we? Besides, you came after he changed his pen-name, so it's only fitting.

Dark: Huh, guess you're right. Alright, let's leave him to get better and grab some grub.

End Chapter 5