In the town centre of Canterlot, ponies relaxed in the pleasant afternoon sun while the school ponies played outside.
Except one.
The one who adored the night, who felt vulnerable in the day. She felt that she belonged in the night, and that she should sleep in the daytime. She worshipped the night, the stars, the moon. She longed for the day she could fly high enough to reach the edge of space and be with that she loved so much. But these petty dreams about happiness couldn't improve her mood. She was the only filly indoors.
The dark blue coloured filly that avoided contact with anypony else. The filly who always stayed indoors to wallow in depression. Tears streamed down the face of the young filly as she watched her ‘friends’ having fun outside in the sun. As the filly peered from behind teary eyes and parted curtains, she instantly felt distraught about all parts of her miserable life. Luna would feel that she was permanently surrounded by laughing fillies tormenting her, poking fun at her.
Why am I here? She would think to herself while choking back the river of tears waiting to be unleashed.
Why does nopony like me?
What’s different about me than everypony else?
She would ponder about the annoying matters for hours every day to try and find a solution, but she couldn’t find out, and this would lead to more tears.
But she had one pony she could count on after her parents disappeared, one pony she could always rely on to make her feel needed. Her sister, Celestia. The white-coated filly, was the only pony who made Luna’s world worth living in, and she was outside playing with the ponies that make Luna’s world not worth living in.
They wouldn’t bully her due to a lack of a cutie mark, the only two fillies in that class with cutie marks were Luna and Celestia, but they’d bully her for other reasons.
'Loony Luna' they would call her, due to her strange behaviour during school time and Luna’s undeniable shyness to ever come outside. But they didn’t know the damage they were doing to the young fillies’ conscience.
Luna’s school would start at ten in the morning and finish at two in the afternoon, when the day was at its lightest, and she avoided sunlight whenever she could. She didn’t know why, it was just the way she was. As some young fillies would have nightmares about monsters at night, Luna would have the same bad feelings in the day, as if a horrible creature would reach out and drag her to some terrible place, it’s the way she was born and would always be. And why would she want to spend more time in a terrifying place like that? She avoided the light at any possible time, she would much rather sit inside her room in the dark contemplating her useless life. But her friends didn’t know that. They couldn’t.
Imagine if I told them. Luna would think to herself. What would they think then? Then they’d really bully me.
But the most horrifying, tear-inducing thing that Luna could see was that Celestia, the kind, selfless Celestia, her sister who would do anything to put a smile on her face, was outside frolicking with her tormentors.
What will happen to her? Will they change her? Will Tia not want to know me anymore?
Luna looked out of the window again and saw her sister hugging her enemies, and she let out a little whimper, fell backwards onto her bed and cried herself to sleep under her pillow.
“Luna!...Luna! Come on, Luna, get up!” Celestia shouted from downstairs. “It’s time for school!”
Celestia would always wake Luna and take care of her; she was the older of the two and was much more capable of the parenting job after their parents had disappeared. Luna didn’t know how they’d disappeared as she was too young and Celestia wouldn’t say any more to her on the matter except “but we have each other!”
Luna refused to get up, even if she wanted to, she couldn’t. She had only slept for an hour before awakening due to bad dreams about Celestia leaving her. After the dream, she had cried until daylight thinking about how she would manage without Celestia, she surprised herself as she didn’t know how she’d cried so much in one day. But this brief change of thought couldn’t disguise the fact that Luna needed help and care.
“Luna?” Celestia asked as she peered around Luna’s bedroom door.
“Are you seriously still in bed? Come on, get up, we’ll be late!”
Celestia was so used to saying something like this to Luna every morning that the words were embedded on her mind. But Celestia noticed that Luna really wasn’t right on this day. Normally she’d respond by saying “do I have to?” Or just a groan. But today Luna didn’t move a muscle, she just stayed there, clutching the cover she lay beneath and staring at the wall facing away from her sister.
“Are you alright, Luna?” Celestia asked in a concerned tone.
“Y-Yes, I-I’m fine” Luna answered.
“Are you sure?”
No answer. Celestia tiptoed closer to Luna to comfort her about whatever was worrying her. Luna continued to stare blankly at the wall until she stiffened and shook at the sound of her school colleagues laughing outside.
“Luna, seriously, what’s wrong? You need to tell me or I can’t help you.” Celestia begged.
“I can’t do it, Tia!” She yelled back at her sister as she got up to wrap her arms around her in a tight embrace.
“Do what?” Celestia asked as she returned the embrace to comfort her sister.
“This life, I can’t live it any more!” Luna shouted back.
“Why? What’s wrong with it? We have a lovely house, the weather is always nice, we have many frien-”
“Don't…say…that word!” Luna screamed back. “We don’t have friends. You have friends, nopony likes me. They all hate me, all of them!” Luna cried as she exploded into tears again.
“Luna, what in Equestria makes you think that?” Celestia asked.
“Why shouldn’t I think that? They all call me names and make fun of me.” Luna answered while trying to fight back tears.
“Well…you do act quite, strange” Celestia nervously pointed out.
Luna sighed knowingly. “I know Tia, I know, but I have to, it’s the way I am, I hate the light, I can’t be comfortable in it.” Luna answered sadly.
“Luna, don’t be so stupid,” Celestia said aggressively as she stood up.
Luna shot up at her sister's strong tone. “Leave me alone! I knew they’d change you!” She yelled as she ran from the room and down the road.
“Luna! Wait! Come back!” Celestia yelled after her as she chased her.
“Luna! Please!” Celestia shouted as she chased Luna down the street past the confused onlookers.
“No, leave me alone!” Luna yelled back as she shot down the street towards the Everfree Forest.
“Don’t you dare go in there Luna! It’s dangerous! Do you hear me!?” Celestia screamed desperately at her younger sister.
This slowed Luna as she contemplated the fact that Celestia was looking out for her wellbeing. Had they really changed her, or was Luna taking it too seriously? Luna obeyed her sisters’ order and stopped running, but Celestia couldn’t slow down and they crashed together in a heap on the floor.
“Oh, they haven’t changed you Tia!” Luna rejoiced as she jumped up to embrace her older sister.
“Well of course, no-one could ever stop me looking out for you; you are the pony I care most about in my life.” Celestia answered.
Luna started to tear up as she realised that she could still count on her only friend.
When the two finally released each other, they took in their surroundings. They were just on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest, where the sun didn’t shine as brightly and the paved roads ran no further and only marshy greenland lay underfoot.
“Hmm.” Luna contemplated her thoughts. “I don’t mind a place like this, no sun, no bullies.”
“Are you mad Luna?" Celestia scoffed.
"Yes, there’s no bullies, but there’s monsters beyond your wildest nightmares waiting to gobble you up.” She half-joked.
Luna smiled wryly as she said. “Well, I’d rather live here than in Canterlot with them. Either that or I’d claim control of the moon and make it darker forever.”
“Oh yes Luna, of course you’ll gain control of the moon.” Celestia said through a terribly hidden smirk.
“But we’re alicorns; we must have some type of power.” Luna pleaded.
“We’re no better at flying than any Pegasi and no more powerful than any Unicorn.” Celestia pointed out.
“Yeah, I guess.” Luna said sadly.
“Simple little fillies like us will never have that type of power, just keep on dreaming.” Celestia quipped sarcastically.
The two shared a laugh for the first time in ages and Luna felt like she was ready to take on the world.
But then the sun dropped from the afternoon sky instantly to the sound of murmurs of discontent and worry in the town as the moon and the stars arrived across the blackening sky.
“What’s going on?” Celestia asked while staring at the night sky.
“How did the night arrive so quickly? This doesn’t make any sense.” Luna questioned while looking confused.
Just as the words had left Luna’s mouth, a quiet, evil chuckle rang throughout the Canterlot streets.
“This doesn’t make any sense?” said the voice sarcastically.
“But what fun is there in making sense?”