In the Eye of the Storm
by SPark
Prologue.
Luna stood on her balcony and stared up at the moon overhead. It was waxing towards full, and the silvery light spilled over the quiet palace and city that lay spread out below her.
She heard a soft click of hooves on stone as her sister Celestia landed gently beside her.
"It's a beautiful night, sister," she said softly.
"Thank you," said Celestia. "You don't mind that I'm still raising the moon?"
"Mind?" Luna blinked at Celestia. "No! I'm grateful. I still worry about taking my full power again. I don't feel ready. I wish I did..."
"I don't expect you to be recovered from a thousand years of darkness in just one year, sister. And I've raised the sun all this time, I can keep raising it a little bit longer yet."
"Thank you."
They were both silent for a time, and Luna felt a warm glow. Spending time just being with her sister... she had missed it so much. She was the one who'd stopped speaking with Celestia all those years ago. The banishment had come later. The arguments, the fighting, the bitterness and hatred... those had come first, and they had all been her fault. But her sister had forgiven her so easily. She just wished she could fully forgive herself. Her long years on the moon hadn't paid for her wrongs. She wasn't sure what could.
"You know, it's strange that I still love the moon so much," she said softly. "You'd think that I would hate it after being trapped there. But I don't."
"I..." Celestia sighed, sounding regretful and sad. "I'm so sorry I banished you, sister. If I'd known it would last for a thousand years I wouldn't have done it. I just had to do something..."
"Don't be sorry!" said Luna. "You did the right thing. My eternal night would have destroyed the world, eventually, and killed every creature on it. You saved me from becoming a worse monster than I already was."
"You were never a monster. Nightmare Moon was the monster, not you, not my sister Luna."
Luna sighed. She had never been able to really explain that there was no "Nightmare Moon." There was only her, Luna. The name had been a childish conceit, an attempt to look cool and powerful by a filly who wasn't really ready for power, but had grasped it anyway. She could recall begging her sister to let her raise the moon, so very long ago, and her kind sister had helped her learn how. And she could recall the slow slide into darkness, begun with that tiny seed of jealousy, that had brought her to oppose her sister. And although she had named the dark part of her that wanted power, that hated and was jealous, "Nightmare Moon" it wasn't some other pony living in her, it was only her. There was no one else to blame it on.
But her sister seemed to completely, even deliberately misunderstand Luna's explanations, she just insisted that it wasn't Luna, that Nightmare Moon had done those things, and that Nightmare Moon had been destroyed by the Elements of Harmony and was gone forever.
Luna wasn't so sure about that last bit either. Certainly the raw power of magic fueled by friendship, love, and virtue had shattered the hold the Nightmare Moon part of her had over the rest of her emotions. But the pieces were still there. She could feel resentment and anger still, and it would be very easy to let those blossom into a new hatred. And if she took her power up again, it would be very easy indeed to become Nightmare Moon once more. That fear was what held her back from raising the moon. She hoped to do it again someday, she still loved the night. But not yet. Not until she was sure Celestia was right, and Nightmare Moon was gone forever.
"Celestia?"
"Yes?"
"Do you ever get angry? Do you ever want to... want to hurt people who've upset you?"
Her sister stepped closer, and nuzzled Luna softly. "Yes. All the time."
"You do? Then... then what stops you? Why don't you? You have so much power!"
"Why is there no 'Evil Daydream' storming around, you mean?"
"Well yes."
"Partly I think it's because of you."
Luna blinked. "...me?"
"Yes. I always had you to take care of, when I was growing up. I was responsible for you. So I just couldn't let myself get angry and hurt you. It wouldn't be right. And later..." she sighed softly. "Later, when you weren't there, my friends helped me through it. I've always made friends easily. Having people who depend on you, and who you care about and don't want to disappoint, makes a lot of difference. I would think 'my friends would be so sad' when I got mad and wanted to do something awful. And so I didn't."
"I've never made friends easily," said Luna.
"I know. Some people don't. I had to give my student Twilight Sparkle a letter assigning her to make friends before she managed to get any, you know." Celestia smiled fondly, and nuzzled her sister again. "Maybe I should give you an assignment too?"
Luna chuckled. "Maybe. I don't know. I've never been... I mean... ponies can be so frightening. They can say such cruel things. Books never laugh at you when you've done something stupid."
"Good friends sometimes laugh at you too, but they laugh kindly, not to make you feel bad."
Luna nodded.
"You know, you and Twilight would probably get along. She loves books nearly as much as you do. And she loves the night too. Did you know she's an astronomer?"
"No, I didn't. Loves books and the night... well, maybe we could be friends. Though I don't know. She's the one who defeated m... defeated Nightmare Moon. Would she want to be my friend after that?"
"I think so."
"Then..." Suddenly Celestia's head jerked up and she looked towards Ponyville. Luna felt it too, a pulse of power, coming from somewhere in that direction. It was strong, and very strange. It cut off almost as soon as it began, leaving the night seemingly unchanged.
"What was that?"
Celestia shook her head. "I don't know. It reminds me of something... Something. I can't remember what. Something from a long time ago. Maybe I should go and see..."
"I could go," said Luna.
Celestia looked at her. She hesitated a moment, then nodded reluctantly. "Yes. I have too much to do right now. But if you get in trouble, little sister, don't hesitate to call me. I'll come, no matter what I'm doing. I don't want to lose you again."
"I'll be careful," promised Luna.
"You'd better be," said Celestia with a sudden grin. "Or else... I'll tickle you!"
"Eek, no!" Luna leaped away from her sister. "No tickles!"
"There's no escaping the tickles!" Celestia advanced on her, one hoof raised.
"Nooooooooooo!" Luna laughed and flailed as her sister tickled her. It was just like when she was a little filly, so long ago.
She was breathless, and her sister was too, when they stopped. "Evil tickles," panted Luna, still laughing.
Celestia was laughing just as hard. "My punishments are harsh but just!"
After Luna caught her breath she said, "I should just go now. I can get there tonight, there's still plenty of time left before sunrise."
"Do be careful though, please. Don't go charging into anything. Promise me."
"I promise," said Luna. "It's probably nothing dangerous though. And maybe while I'm near Ponyville I can talk to Twilight, or make a friend."
"Maybe you can."
Celestia hugged her, and she hugged back. Moments later she was in the air, soaring beneath a silver moon towards strange magic and, even stranger, the possibility of making a friend.