"Sleep is the golden chain that ties health and our bodies together."
-Thomas Dekker
Luna sighed in her sleep. It was almost funny in a way. To the outside observer, she was in a peaceful slumber as her sister's day slowly gave way to her night.
In reality, she was anything but at peace. She never was in her times of rest.
Luna was happy to do what she did for her subjects. Whenever one was suffering from a nightmare, she would end it. As far as she was concerned, none deserved the torture of a restless night. For the Princess of Night, it was a terrible thought. She was like her sister in that sense- the happiness of her subjects and their peace and safety was always top priority.
There was a time, she knew, when she could care less of those who suffered nightmares, but that was only when she herself was a nightmare. She'd long vowed to never let the demon get to her again. Nightmare Moon would never return if she had anything to say about it. She knew well how the demon manifested.
It only started when conditions were right. A nightmare is an ideal growing ground for the Nightmare, after all. Luna knew. She had suffered many in her long life, both during her banishment to the moon and afterward. One thousand years was a long time, even for an immortal alicorn. The moon gravity was a pleasant distraction for a few moments but wore out its welcome very quickly.
She couldn't bear the thought of one of her subjects becoming a possible vessel for Nightmare Moon. Come to think of it, she didn't even like the thought of them having any less than a pleasant night's rest. She really was her sister's sibling- Celestia hated seeing her subjects so much as frown.
Speaking of, her sister was strong in many ways, but there was one thing that Luna could do better than her, and that was sense the pains and struggles of sleeping minds. Her sister had oft tried to emulate her special ability, but Luna knew that it came from within herself- while Celestia was able to raise the sun, she could also control its temperature, luminosity, and mass. It all came from the cutie mark. In Luna's case, all things involving the moon and dreams came from her own. Each had a treasure the other could never touch.
Celestia could and would comfort subjects who needed it- she once broke away from her royal guard solely to cheer up a filly that was feeling upset. However, her realm was that of the day. Luna's was that of the night.
With that came one special ability of the younger sister: the ability to enter the dreams of any, and eliminate fear, sadness, or the seeds from which nightmares blossomed. She did so every night, and she did so without hesitation. Dive into the dreams of struggling ponies, locate the nightmare causing them stress, and then dispose of it so it may give way to something peaceful; more befitting a paradise.
There was a cost, though.
She shot up with a gasp, panting heavily. Her covers had fallen from her bed again. Her heart was racing- it had only been a dream. Another terrible, terrible dream. By her count it was the third that day.
Because Luna owned the night, she slept in the day. As a result, she was not often seen around the palace by commoners. After her return from the moon, she tended to hide in her room when she was not needed for her royal duties- it took her sister some gentle coaxing to get her to forgive herself and leave her quarters more.
1,000 years alone does some bad things to a psyche, though. Luna was no exception. Even after some much needed therapy (she went at Celestia's behest), there was one thing Luna learned on the moon, and that was self reliance. She wouldn't ask for help in finding a book, much less anything else. As for offering help, she was always ready to oblige. Luna prided herself on once eliminating a nightmare her own sister was suffering. She still never heard the end of her gratuity. Whenever she was thanked, the Princess of the Night would simply say she was doing her job, and then wish sweet dreams for her subjects and herself.
"What irony," she muttered to herself. "The Princess of the Night cannot get a good rest."
Luna rolled over on the bed, and did not bother to retrieve the blankets she'd kicked off in her terror. Her eyes wandered to the light rays bouncing off the ground- the curtains had been pulled to allow her some darkness, but she could still tell how far along the day was by the intensity of the light spilling to the floor.
"If I were a betting mare, I'd say it's still around midday."
She groaned silently. Still, she knew she needed her sleep. Even if she had to suffer night terrors, it was better than allowing her subjects to. She would never tell others about the horrid dreams she'd ended for her beloved citizens. She saw every atrocity from otherworldly war zones in the case of one filly to a scenario where Nightmare Moon claimed victory in the dreams of Twilight Sparkle. Then there were the nightmares Spike suffered for weeks after King Sombra's attack.
Every night she would hunt down the nightmares that were plaguing her ponies, and every day she would suffer them herself so they would not have to. Needless to say, Princess Luna rarely got a good rest of her own, though when she was asked, she would say otherwise. There was no reason to worry her subjects or her dear sister.
It was a cross she was proud to bear, but also one that none would ever know of.
Her eyes screwed shut again, and a single tear leaked out.
It was better this way.
It was better this way.
EDN