//------------------------------// // Always in the Wrong // Story: Remember the Moon // by Leviathan //------------------------------// I was in the library awaiting Rainfall. I noticed her blank, eggshell white flank in the corner of my eye. She was walking towards me at an average speed. It appeared she did not fear me anymore, her trot being loud and paced well. As she sat by me she gave me a smile and an amiable nod. “Hello, Princess Luna. How are you today?” “I am fine, dear. Are you quite ready to hear more of my tale?” Her eyes widened as I finished my question. Her smile was blindingly bright, and seemed to stretch from one ear to the other. Her eyes were sparkling as she said in a rather gleeful voice, “Oh, yes, please! Please, please, please! Oh Luna, you absolutely have to finish your story, it was going somewhere! I want to know what you found!” She was practically jumping at this point. I ignored that she had addressed me as Luna rather than Princess. “Fine. Then we shall begin.” I smiled inwardly, knowing how interesting this part of my story was. ___ It had been a long and arduous day. Celestia and I had been occupied helping the local guards contain the last remnants of the chaos creatures. Chaos creatures being foul beings conjured by Discord; all of them had parts from several different animals. Some were just corrupted forms of regular animals while others were new beings entirely. When Discord had been in control they roamed rampant, spreading general disarray. Capturing them was quite simple. The difficulty came in deciding what to do with them. Some suggested we slay them, others thought we should keep them as exhibits in something called a ‘zoo.’ Even more suggested that we keep them as pets. One idea, which I found particularly extreme, was that we should compel them to combat each other and then store them in tiny balls until we wanted them to fight something else. I mean, we always knew Professor. Fern was insane, but battle animals? That was just on a whole new level. My sister and I found all of these solutions barbaric of course. Our plan was to set them free in the Forested regions and cast an enchantment upon it to prevent escape. The enchantment would last for about a year, by which point most animals would have adapted to their new environment. Though, if they came back in mass once the enchantment faded we decided that Professor. Fern’s idea was a good Plan B. Even though the idea was exceptional and practical it still took some time to convince the council. Politicians make the worst listeners. It took the entire night to show them our way was far superior to theirs. After much bickering, and quite a bit of hard cider, Celestia convinced them to bow out. My sister had to raise the Sun so I was left to perform the enchantment and whatnot. It took approximately two hours for the Equestrian Militia and I to round up the animals and another three to cast the enchantment. When I returned to the castle I was exhausted and headed straight for my room, too tired to search out secrets. I admit that I might have been harboring some resentment towards Celestia for leaving me to cast the enchantment alone. Upon reaching my room any sense of fatigue evaporated. Some kind of strange aura was present. It irradiated outwards in such powerful bursts that I could almost smell it. The ripple of force was causing my eyes to water. It filled the entire room with it’s presence, giving everything a diabolical tint. I could barely move the vigor of the force was so awesome. Yet, it did not stretch beyond the threshold of the doors. With so much power it was not hard to locate the place in which it nested. I marched forward at an agonizingly stagnant pace, inching closer to the point of origin. My body was feeling the pressure as skin tightened around my form, and bones began to condense around my organs. What could possibly give out this much power? As I looked down I saw what had engulfed the entire room; a lens. Before me lay a lens. As I reached out to grasp it I felt that it’s power was decreasing exponentially. My skin loosened, my ears popped, my bones didn’t feel so pressurized. I was well-versed on enchantments and their extents and this item just served to baffle me. Nothing could hold the sheer aggregate of power I felt permeating from this object. I sat on my haunches and studied the item, it obviously wasn’t created by any pony of my age. It was pitch black. I do not just mean black like my flank or the sky, I mean black. It was not an elegant black either, it was a severe, threatening black. Intricate engravings covered the object, seeming to spell out a message in a language that even I was ignorant to. On the back, there was a small note attached, written in ancient Equestrian, the contents of which, ignited a yelp within me. Dear Luna, Perhaps you will find enlightenment within my chambers. Answers tend to be very plentiful there. -The Library of the Night I quickly tucked the lens away as I heard guards shuffling towards my room. “Is everything alright Princess!?!” One of the two shouted as they burst into the room. “Yes, yes, everything is quite alright. I had a nightmare. That tis’ all.” I used my Royal Canterlot voice to indicate that I was in no mood to chat. The guards bowed and walked out shutting the door behind them. As soon as they did I pulled the lens out and laid it against the table. What was this thing I had? How could my name be written in something so old? What secrets would be revealed to me? Who or what is the Library of the Night? Why had the energy of the object dispersed when I neared it? One of those guards had been unicorn. Did he not feel the strange aura in the room. Whatever it was, it obviously was not a prank. The energy emanating from the lens had proven that. The inscription on the back looked as old as the engravings, there was no clear sign that it had been added recently. Yet, it had never been there before. I had no idea what the Library of the Night was, but it apparently had ideas of me. It also was not the work of Discord. The inscriptions outdated him, even. Plus, his energy was usually much more distraught and mirthful. This power just felt...strong. Whatever this thing was, it was impossibly old. The language could be Draconian, Slevenian, Gandolfian, even iverunoutofideasin. I then examined the lens of the lens. It was a deep hue of brown, purple, and red. It was reminiscent of mirror but it did not appear to reflect anything. As I twisted it in my hoof it began to morph in color, jumping from brown, to red, to yellow, to blue. Its imprint of primary colors implied that it was the origin, the start. In a sense I suppose it was. Well, it was for Nightmare Moon at least. Then I did something bold and unusual, well, bold and unusual for me. I brought the lens to my eye and peered through it, it revealed the most atypical of sights... ___ “We shall pick up another time Rainfall.” I waved the young filly away with a hoof. “I have some important reading to do.” I hid a smirk. “NOOOOO! It’s getting so suspenseful, you have to keep going this time, please Princess, pleeeeeeeaaaaasssse!” She was on the ground begging. “Well alright, but you better not let any mare say that I am not kind.” I winked at her. She smiled at me with an expectant look in her eyes. “Well then as I was saying...” ___ Through the dispersal of light I saw the truth. The lens revealed the truth about everything about the castle. I could see the very construction of anything I viewed through the lens. It revealed the presence of all manner of secrets from passages, to hidden rooms, to trinket chests, to things of an even more bizarre nature. It was an x-ray of the entire castle, revealing every source of magic. I was amazed to say the least. I could not believe that such an item could reveal so much. I was, of course, suspicious of its power. How was it able to show so much? I was a curious young mare, however, and soon any suspicion I felt was pushed aside. I began to scan the entirety of my room through the patterned lens. Behind my desk there appeared to be some sort of staircase activated by a pressure plate masquerading as a doorstop. My balcony was connected to a trap door that somehow led to the banquet hall (despite the fact that there was nothing under it). Even my own bed concealed a secret. Under it there was a closet in the floor, yes, a closet in the floor! The true jewel lay within my mirror, however. My mirror was one of the few items I had not placed in the room myself. It was connected to the wall of my room and of a very voluminous size. Gemstones ranging from diamonds to sapphires adorned the structure, giving it a radiant sense of beauty. The mirror hid something though. According to the lens there was an elongated passage behind it. This was something quite peculiar about the passage that I could not place my hoof on. Something about it seemed to call to me, almost daring me to come towards it. I approached the mirror slowly, cautious of what I would be facing. I raised a hoof and pressed on the thick, reflective glass. Nothing happened. I pressed harder. Nothing happened. I pushed even harder on the glass and still it did not budge. This frustrated me more than it should have. I reared up on my hind legs and brought my front two hooves down upon the mirror with as much might as I could muster. The end result was my entire body aching as I lay in front of an unscathed mirror. So obviously, this was not ordinary glass. Perhaps there was something special that needed to be done in order to open the mirror. I looked through the lens again to check for any type of lever or pressure plate that needed to be activated. There was none. So I sat quietly looking at my own reflection in the mirror. “Why do you not open? Am I not worthy of you? Am I, the Princess of the Moon, not loved? What must we prove?” I whispered towards the mirror angrily. The mirror stood still for a moment. Then it proceeded to recede into the wall. Slowly at first, then it began to quicken it’s pace. I watched in slight disbelief as it moved back as if in response to my comments. It revealed a hollow and dark passage. That was rather convenient. I began to trot down the length of the hall, without any sort of caution. I was bluntly walking confident that the ancient structure, which I knew nothing about, was safe. I let the excitement of discovering what lay in the hall overshadow my suspicions of the hall itself. The hall bore the same strange engravings as the lens. After a copious amount of walking I came towards the end of the impossible tunnel. The walls began to funnel outwards, creating much more breathing room. There, at the end of the tunnel lay something that was rather unexpected...a door. A black door that reflected the Night, having many paintings of stars and such on it’s framework. I wondered what could possibly be behind it. Some strange energy irradiated off of it, not necessarily an evil energy but a powerful one. As I came closer I was prepared to open the door. I was in for quite the surprise upon reaching it however. The door’s handle was painted on. I frowned at the door as if it could see me. “What’s the point of placing a door here if it doesn’t have a handle!?!” I tried to push the door open with my magic to see if it opened that way. There was no response. It appeared to be immune to magic so I tenderly raised a hoof to push it open. As I brought my hoof to the door a painful shock ran through my body, igniting a yelp from within. A cold silence rushed through the hall. My blood ran cold as a coarse whisper echoed through the halls, “Why are you here?” I fell back on my hooves, taking a couple paces back. “Who said that!?! Reveal yourself immediately!” The whisper had frightened me. It sounded so harsh and distant yet so cold and close at the same time. Could it be coming from the black door? No, it couldn’t be. Or could it? “Why are you here?” The voice repeated itself. This time there was no doubt in my mind where the voice originated from. I stared up at the door, slightly intrigued and very frightened by it’s self-awareness. The ominous aura surrounding it was petrifying. I swallowed down the knot forming in my throat and gave the door a reply. “You are in my castle, not the other way around. I demand that you tell me of your origins and of your presence here.” My voice was calm, cool even. However, inwardly I was little more than a frightened filly. “That is incorrect. Why are you here?” The door was not very impressed by me. It seemed my best course of action would be to answer the question it posed to me and see where that led me. As it was, my method of intimidation did not work well on the door. Ha, I must have sounded insane. I was trying to intimidate a door. “Fine then. I am here out of curiosity.” “That is incorrect. Why are you here?” I was a bit taken aback. Apparently there was a very specific answer the door wanted. I thought long and hard about this. Perhaps the answer was something relating to Discord since he did construct this castle. “I am here because of Discord.” I sighed. “Is it something relating to Equestria?” “That is incorrect.” “So I take that to mean it is not in relation to Equestria?” “That is incorrect.” “So it does relate to Equestria?” “That is incorrect.” “You’re no help at all.” “That is incorrect. Why are you here?” The impression I was getting of magical talking doors was not exactly fabulous right then. Having analyzed every possible course of action I decided upon the most logical: guessing completely at random. “I am here because of chaos.” “That is incorrect. Why are you here?” “I am here because of Equestria.” “That is incorrect. Why are you here?” "It think I bloody well know why I am here!" "That is incorrect. Why are you here?" "You know I hate you, right?" "That is incorrect. Why are you here?" This went on for much longer than I am proud of before I finally gave in and exited through the tunnel, leaving the door behind. I walked back out of the passage and as I did the mirror closed behind me. I was determined not to be defeated however, and planned on trying to find the key phrase in the library. There had to be some sort of clue. At that moment, however, I was tired. Strangely so. I lied down on my bed, fatigued, and decided that all of that could wait until the next Night came. But, there was one thing I wouldn’t do, and that was tell anypony about what I had found, including Celestia. I suppose I wanted to find out for myself, be the hero for once. Not be just another shadow. ___ Rainfall yawned. She must have been tired considering how late I had kept her the Night before. “We shall pick up tomorrow, I have to tend to the Moon as of now.” “Okay, Princess.” Rainfall got up to leave but not before nuzzling my leg and saying, “Thanks for the story Princess Luna.” She trotted away leaving me smiling inwardly. It was nice to know that at least one of my subjects approved of me. I headed towards the balcony to raise the Moon once again. I had pulled another all-dayer today and would likely be feeling its effects this Night. ___ I walked out in my jewel-incrusted equine dress. I scanned the crowd for the familiar face of my sister. As I searched I could not help but take in my surroundings. There were decorations adorning the sizable foyer that were meant to make it seem even more impressive. A table sat in the middle of the room that was home to some of the most lavish and expensive foods available. The ponies in the room were all dressed in the most sumptuous and elegant garbs. Regrettably, their personalities were not as interesting as their dress. They spoke of mundane things in eloquent voice and superior tones, but their facade did not deceive me. They were simply pretentious. It made me sick to view these ponies. Even back in my own era I had always hated attending parties. I found them to be full of foals and egotists. Scattered here and there were a few egoists as well. These ponies all made up the more prominent section of Equestria. Meaning that I had to be kind and nod along as they spoke of how inadequate their staff was and other such trivial nonsense. I had to greet several of these ponies who I found so abhorrent. I was able to hold face, though; I was always good at hiding my emotions. Well, except for that one time when I tried to take over Equestria and create Eternal Night. Most of these ponies didn’t even respect me. They saw me as Celestia’s inferior, not her equal. They saw me as some kind of political joke, as some kind of passenger who was just along for the ride, insignificant in every sense of the word. I was not worthy of them. I, the Princess of the Night, was not worthy of these pompous foals! The few who did approach me usually just bowed and asked where my sister was. Some did not even bow. Any inquiry into what they needed was met with a polite refusal as they did not think I was ‘qualified’ to help them. The nerve of a few of these air-heads astounds me. In the olden era I likely would have reprimanded those who did not address my position with a bow. As Nightmare Moon I would have never let them see the light of day again. Now, all I could do was hold my tongue and hope that these ponies would grow to respect me. Not that I wanted the respect of stuck-up politicians. No, they were not the ponies I cared about. I wanted my subjects to respect me. The common-pony. And the only the only way to earn the faith of my subjects was to befriend their favorite politicians. And, as much as I hated to admit it, these blubber-heads were quite important to the community. Many served on the court council with Celestia. They usually bickered over petty positions and such but every once in a while they actually did something. Most of the time that something was my sister’s idea. These ‘somethings’ garnered respect among the ponies of Equestria. It helped place the council in a very righteous light. If ponies knew that most of the good things pumped out of the council chambers were Celestia’s idea and not ordinary ponies I think they would hardly appreciate these idiots so much. That is not to say that there are not any virtuous ponies on the council. There were a select a few who truly did care about the good of Equestria and it’s people and usually they were rewarded for their good-heartedness with a promotion. Some became judges, others became dukes, others handled defense, and some even served as advisors to Celestia and myself. The problem with this reward system was that it sometimes left the council short of well-meaning ponies. And of course by sometimes I mean all times. I continued to scurry through the crowd of ponies looking for my sister. Eventually I spotted her surrounded by several of her closest advisors and a few ambassadors. “Ah, Celestia, there you are! I have been seeking you out the entire night!” “Hello my dear sister. How are you enjoying the party?” “Oh, it’s just delightful.” I rolled my eyes to imply sarcasm. She either did not notice or pretended not to. “Well that’s good, have you met with all of the royals? Most are descendants of ponies you once knew.” She gave me a smile. “Yes I know. They are just as annoying as their progenitors.” She gave a frown. “Perhaps next time you invite me to a party you could show me the guest-list?” I returned her annoyed frown. “Perhaps we should take this conversation somewhere more...private.” Celestia was not amused. She turned to the advisor next to her, “Crescent, my sister and I are going to go converse in private. Make sure no one misses me too much.” Crescent looked up at Celestia with a look of concern and said, “Of course Princess, is their anything else you may need?” “No, that is all.” With that Celestia led me to a (surprisingly) dimly lit part of the foyer. She sat and stared at me a moment before saying, “Don’t be so gloom, Miss Moon! I don’t like these parties any more than you do, but we have to keep up appearances in regard to the public.” I was a bit ticked off at my sister’s comment. I thought it insane that she was able to act so indifferently towards the attitudes of the other party-goers. “These are hardly the ‘public.’ They are more like foals. They just chatter on and on, talking of air-headed things! From the council sessions I’ve seen you hold it appears that none of them have any Idea as to how a government should be run! They’re, to put it simply, morons, Celestia.” Celestia was a bit taken aback. I had been doing a rather good job burying my feelings since the Elements of Harmony freed me, but now my feelings of disgust just poured out of me. She took a moment to gather herself before saying in a quiet tone, unlike the one she normally used, “I know that. I know they’re selfish and moronic. Yet they are also capable of great things. Their families have helped me keep Equestria peaceful in the years of your...absence... To you they may appear pretentious and dumb, but times have changed Luna. Canterlot is not as chaotic as it once was.” I swallowed my tongue. Even having studied this modern era, I still knew nothing about it. The world was a mystery to me. The way everyone acted was strange and rather and bizarre. It was all as foreign to me as a polar bear is to the heat. So much had changed in the time I had been gone. Perhaps I was not ready for this world... “I think that it would be best if we did not speak again tonight, Luna. It seems you need some time to think.” Celestia walked away with the slightest trace of disapproval on her face. So I sat alone in a dimly lit corner of the room, contemplating. It wouldn’t be the first time I was stuck in such a situation. And it would likely not be the last