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Abandoned Drabble: Moony's Confession
🕑 Added 2020-01-29 05:07:14 +0000 UTCI figured one more thing I could make patreon exclusive are the bajillion lil scraps and bits of writing that I end up either abandoning, or setting aside for later. Here's a brief scene between Moondancer and Cupcake, set in their late teens. It didn't sit well enough with me to make canon, but who knows, maybe I'll touch the idea again someday. For now, enjoy a scene that never was.
~~
"This is absurd."
"It's good to talk about your feelings."
Moondancer scowled. "There aren't any feelings to talk about. I'm just having a bad day, is all."
"Because Panny beat you in a magic duel?"
"No."
"....Moondancer."
"Fine." Moondancer groused. "...Yes. Not because she beat me. Because she crushed me. I spent weeks working on that new curse, and for what? She countered it without a second thought." He sighed, sinking to the ground. "....I might as well be an ant trying to fight an elephant."
"True." Cupcake nodded. "So why do you keep trying?"
Moony glanced at her. "Haven't you been competing against your mother in the Great Canterlot Bake-Off since you could hold a whisk? Surely you understand the importance of rivalry. It's kind of a big deal for unicorns. Why else do you think my mother always tries to get under Princess Twilight's skin?"
"The war between my mother and I is another matter entirely." Cupcake waved her hoof dismissively. "I don't want to defeat her, I want to destroy her. It's not about petty rivalry, it's about proving my complete and total baking supremacy to the world, once and for all."
"Yes, that sounds very normal, and not insane at all."
"In any case, in the rare instances Mom manages to best me, I always take my defeat in stride. I don't sulk about it all day."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, darling." Moondancer smiled at her, and it only widened as she gave a rare pout. "....Are you implying that I sulk?"
"Sulking is putting it lightly. You marinate in your own bad feelings, like some sort of sourpuss stew. You've been avoiding Panny since the duel." Cupcake paused. "...That hurts her feelings, you know. She talks a big game when she's tossing around hexes, but underneath that, she's sensitive."
"Oh, please, Cupcake. The she-beast doesn't know the meaning of 'sensitive'." The unicorn's brow knit in frustration, and some strange emotion Cupcake had yet to place. "She's just so.......stupid. When it comes to other ponies' feelings. I just wish...." He trailed off, chewing his lip.
"For as many powers as she claims to pack, mind-reading isn't one of them. That's dark magic, forbidden arts, all locked up and safe within Celestia's archives. She can't know what you're feeling unless you tell her, Moony."
Moondancer jerked, and his expression became careful and guarded. "....Unless I tell her what, Cupcake?"
"...Um." Cupcake froze. His eyes were accusing, and she feared she'd perhaps misread the situation. "....I don't know. Why you're always so angry at her...?"
"Why shouldn't I be angry at her?" He said testily, "She's an idiot. She blunders around with those stupid powers and accidentally flips the school upside down, or turns my coat bubblegum pink. She snored through my ballet recital. She ate my mother's heirloom teapot, tray and all."
"That she did." Cupcake pondered. "....Didn't she quest for a month to find an exact replacement? With real sapphires?"
"Yes." Moondancer groaned, rubbing his temples. "She stumbles her way through life, keeps making mistakes- big mistakes, mind you- and she thinks she can fix it with some....sheepish smile, and priceless Kirin-forged teapot? Maybe my mother preferred her old tea set with big fake gems. But the thing is....I can never stay angry. Never for too long." He sighed. "....I don't know why. Perhaps she's enchanted me."
Cupcake frowned. "With......magic?"
Moondancer looked away. "No."
For a long moment, there was silence. Cupcake had always enjoyed that aspect of her friendship with Moony- unlike many ponies, he didn't feel the need to fill the air with inane chatter, which was just as well, because she wasn't the best conversationalist. But now, the silence felt heavy. She wondered what her mother would do. A jaunty song about smiles and parties would probably make Moony feel worse. Maybe a balloon animal? Or a-
"I think I love her."
Moondancer had mumbled it to no one in particular, so softly Cupcake barely caught it. Again, there came silence.
"....What?"
Moondancer finally turned to look at her. "I said this is stupid." He growled. "This is....Every play I've seen, every book I've read.....they all make it seem so easy. It should all just....click into place, right? The girl watches from her balcony as the stallion gives some grand confession, and it's poetry, and the words never get tangled up, and his feelings don't gum up in his stomach, and the maiden swoons. Cut, scene, fade to black." He'd stood abruptly to his hooves, beginning to pace. "What do you do if your maiden is a twenty-foot long mayhem monster, with big purple eyes that make you feel brave- and afraid- all at the same time? How do you find the right words? How do you say Pandora, you colossal, perplexing, vexing creature with a brain cell count in the single digits- can't you see I'm in love with you?"
He paused, breathing hard.
Comments
SmilesPerHour
Thank you for sharing this. A lot of good emotion, although I understand why you're keeping it out of your official canon. I almost wonder if part of Moony's animosity toward Pandora, even in the canon universe is stemmed from his secret admiration of Pandora, and how he lost his chance to tell her how he really feels, now that she's with Cupcake? And in regards to Moony's plight: it's never easy to live in the shadow of a more competent sibling or friend (I know that from experience), but it doesn't do any good to wallow in self-pity and cry about how you'll never be good enough. You don't know what the other person is going through, what they had to do to get where they are. I'm sure Panny spent plenty of time taking special lessons to learn how to use her magic properly, without blowing up a chalkboard or turning her mom into a sentient pickle. And I'm sure unicorn magic, although less powerful is a lot easier to control than chaos magic. Panny would really have to pull her punches, so to speak, to keep her spells from doing serious damage. Besides, Moony is far too fixated on his weaknesses, and not on his strengths: he might not be the most adept mage, but he's surely one of the most graceful dancers that Equestria has ever seen. Perhaps if he had taken a lesson from his mother's book, and learned to forge his own path instead of fixating on fruitless duels, he wouldn't be in such a sorry state today... but then again, perhaps not.
Dragon Turtle
Pretty nice stuff. Though I can see why you want to take your time with something like Moony's confession. But I can totally see the other elements of this in the world: Pandora absolutely dwarfing his effort with her sheer ability; Cupcake having a similar rivalry with her mother; yet not fixating on the results so poorly.
