Phases of the Moon

by Laurence Brown

New -- Chapter 5

"Hello there Sunny Day, how are you doing?" Celestia asked the orange unicorn that had just entered the school. The princess had arrived around fifteen minutes ago, and had been welcoming guests as they showed up ever since. It was a point of personal pride for her to be able to greet each attendee by name, without them offering it to her first.

While it came across as an amazing feat of memory to the guests, she would admit that the task wasn't as difficult as it seemed. For starters, the number of ponies attending the event was only a couple hundred. In addition to that, many of the guests attended year after year, so the number of new names to recall was small, only a few dozen at most. Toss in a millennium of memory training, and pulling up the identity of the visitors as they arrived was quite easy.

Hearing the door open, she turned to see who the latest ponies to arrive were. She smiled when she saw that it was Luna and her friends. "Greetings, sister!" she called out. "And, oh my! Look at you four, I hardly recognize you."

Feather Down led Luna's friends into the building. She was wearing a yellow dress accentuated by narrow white stripes and trim. Her mane was also adorned by several white bows. Behind her, Dewdrop and Haystack walked side by side. Haystack wore a simple yet classy white collar with black lapels around his neck. A black bow tie covered where they buttoned up on the front, giving him a professional look. Dewdrop was wearing a red dress that had yellow dots along its edges. She also wore blue earrings that matched her water droplet cutie mark. Celestia smiled, glad that she had thought to include specialized jewelry for the mares in her plans.

At the rear of the group was Pine Needle, still looking uncomfortable, although not as bad as Celestia remembered him looking back in Luna's bedroom a short while ago. He was wearing a black dress jacket with golden buttons, with a white shirt and a black bow tie to complete the ensemble. Luna led them all up to her, dressed up in her princess regalia. Celestia was glad to see her sister looking so confident and happy.

"Hello, Celestia," Luna replied when she was next to her. "Is there anything that we can do to help?"

"We still have some time before we need to get everypony in their seats for the dinner," Celestia replied, "and ponies will be arriving up until then. I would appreciate it if you stood here next to me and helped greet the guests as they arrived." She turned to Luna's friends. "I would suggest that the four of you take this time to wander about. Get to know the building, find out where you've been assigned to sit for the meal, and mingle with some of the other guests if you feel up to it."

"Thank you," replied Dewdrop, "we'll do just that. And thank you again for the invitations for tonight's event, and for these wonderful outfits."

"I'm just glad that you like them. Oops, here come some more guests now. Hopefully we'll get the chance to talk later tonight." Celestia turned her attention to a pair of pegasi walking up to her. "Greetings, Mr. and Mrs. Breeze. Has your day been enjoyable so far?"

Waving goodbye to Luna, the quartet wandered deeper into the building together. "So, anything that anypony wants to do in particular?" asked Feather Down.

"Well," said Dewdrop, "I wanted to take a look around the place. While I would have never been able to pass the entrance exams for a place like this, I'd like to at least see what I missed out on."

"That sounds good to me," replied Feather Down. "Why don't me and Pine Needle go find where we're sitting for the meal, and then we'll catch up to you two?' Without waiting for a reply, she pushed a surprised Pine Needle down the main hall towards a large room, where several long tables could be seen through a set of open double doors.

Haystack blinked and softly said, "Sure, I'd like to do that, thank you for asking me." Shaking his head slightly, he turned to Dewdrop. "Well then, where to first?"

Dewdrop chuckled. "You know, you don't have to come with me if you don't want to," she said.

"I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I went off on my own. Besides," he added, "I'm not complaining about the decision, just the manner in how it was made."

"I know, dear," Dewdrop smiled, and then motioned towards an open room off to one side. "Let's go take a look in there."

The two found themselves in a classroom. One wall was dominated by a large chalkboard, covered in hastily scrawled notes and diagrams. The center of the room was empty, and the outer areas were filled with desks sized for fillies and colts. In one corner was a larger desk, with shelves on the walls behind it filled with books and teaching aids.

"It reminds me some of the school I went to when I was younger," commented Haystack. "Of course, this place is bigger, and much more up to date than the one room building I attended as a colt."

Dewdrop nodded, and walked over to inspect the books behind the teacher's desk. "Same for me, although it looks like they also study more advanced subjects than me and Feather Down did when we were in school. That's to be expected, I guess, considering the nature of this place."

She turned and looked straight at Haystack. "While I have the chance to do so privately, I need to apologize. You were right, Princess Celestia was up to something. Mind you, I don't think we could have done anything about what happened back there in Luna's bedroom, but I'd like to think I would have handled things better if I had taken what you said to heart."

Haystack shook his head. "I don't know if it would have helped at all. I was just as caught up in all of it as you were, it happened so fast. One moment Princess Celestia was knocking on the door, and the next we were surrounded by her helpers, trying on outfit after outfit." He frowned. "Luna didn't seem too happy with all that happened either, from what I could see."

"You saw more than I did then," Dewdrop said, also frowning. "I'm sure Princess Celestia did it for good reasons, but I can't figure out why she did things the way she did."

"Me either," Haystack sighed. "It just makes me wonder though, how often does Luna have to put up with stuff like that? I want to ask her, but..."

Dewdrop walked up to him and gently nudged him. "I know. Even though we're friends of Luna, it doesn't feel right bringing up stuff about the two of them. They're princesses, and we're just regular ponies from Ponyville." She gave Haystack a small, sad smile. "After all she's done for us the last few weeks, we aren't being very good friends in return, are we?"

"I'm sure there's something we can do. I just need to think on it is all." Haystack's voice and face took on a determined edge. "Just give me some time, okay?"

"Of course," Dewdrop said while nodding in agreement. "And I'll be thinking on it too. It's not like making beds and cleaning rooms takes up all my attention, after all."

"There you two are!" Feather Down said as she entered the room, followed closely by Pine Needle. "We've got around five minutes before they'll let us sit down at the tables, and it'll be another ten to fifteen after that before they start serving." She looked around the classroom. "Huh. Interesting place. I'm not sure if I agree with the idea to put all the students on the edges of the room though. I would think it would make it harder to teach them all."

"Maybe they need the open space so they can practice their magic without any risk of hurting anypony else?" Pine Needle suggested. "After all, this isn't your average school."

"Hmm, that's a good point." Feather Down looked at Dewdrop. "So, see everything you wanted to in here?"

Dewdrop gave a final look a round the classroom. "I think so. It's not as different as I thought it might be. I suppose it's more how and what is taught, and not the classroom itself." She smiled, and then headed towards the door. "Well, shall we make our way towards the dining area then? No need to rush, but I don't want to make us, or Luna, look bad by showing up late."

---

Luna took her seat, which was positioned at the head of one of the three tables set out for the event. The one in the middle had her sister at the place of honor, and the one on the other side of Celestia's featured the Headmaster of the school. Using the school's bells, they had called everypony into the dining area. There was a short wait as the guests milled about, finding their seats and greeting others. Eventually, everypony was situated and the servers started placing salads in front of all the guests.

A third of the way down the table she saw her friends, who seemed to be getting along well enough. She caught Feather Down looking at her and flashed her a quick smile, satisfied when she received one in return. She was too far away to talk to them during the meal, but just being able to see them made her feel more at ease.

She nodded at the ponies who took the seats closest to her. This was it, she realized. Since returning from her exile, this was the first social event where she was, for all intents and purposes, on her own. Her sister wasn't there to give her support, nor were her friends able to lend a helping hoof. Even though this was just a formal dinner, she still found herself a bit worried about how she would be received. Celestia had said that this was an accommodating group, but that was in reference to her friends; would they extend the same kind of hospitality to her, considering her past? So far things had been okay. Of course, she hadn't expected anything else while she had been standing next to her sister. But now, even though Celestia was just a hop, skip, and a jump away, she was as alone as a pony could be in such a crowded room.

Taking a steadying breath, she turned to the pony to her left, an older grey unicorn stallion who sported a top hat and was wearing a monocle that was attached to his dress jacket by a golden chain. "Greetings," she said, "and thank you for attending today's dinner, good sir."

"The pleasure is all mine, your Highness!" the stallion replied with laughter in his deep, booming voice. "I'm always glad to support events like these, and to have a chance to talk to one of the rulers of the realm in the process? Truly, I am a lucky pony. But where are my manners? My name is Charger, and this here is my lovely wife Cloudsong," he said, motioning at the pale yellow pegasus mare who was seated next to him.

Cloudsong nodded demurely at Luna. "It's an honor to meet you, your Highness," she replied in a soft voice.

"I'm glad to make your acquaintance," Luna replied. She smiled at the couple, and then turned her attention to her right. "Hello," she said to a white earth pony mare. "Welcome to tonight's dinner."

"Thank you, your Highness," she replied. "My name is Snowflake, and I hope you'll excuse me for being a bit nervous tonight," she said, blushing slightly as she spoke. "Even though I've lived my whole life in Canterlot, this is the first time I've ever been in the same room with any member of the royalty, let alone sitting next to a princess. This has to be one of the most exciting days of my life!"

Luna blinked, and fought back an unexpected chuckle. She had been so worried about how things might go wrong, so focused on trying to calm herself, that she hadn't even considered that others might be nervous around her. With a friendly smile, she gently placed a hoof onto Snowflake's shoulder. "Only if you excuse any mistakes I make myself. It's been a long time since I've been a part of an event like this, so I'm a little bit nervous too."

Snowflake nodded and smiled back at Luna. The servers chose that moment to place the salads in front of them, and the conversation quieted down as they focused on their food. Luna glanced down the table at her friends again, hoping that they were also having good luck with the ponies they were seated next to.

---

Pine Needle slowly leaned forward and carefully took another bite of his salad. Across the table from him, Feather Down was happily chatting away with the pony next to her, and to his right was Dewdrop, who had Haystack sitting opposite of her. To his relief, nopony had gone out of their way to talk to him yet, and so he focused on doing his best to eat his meal without getting anything on his new clothes or making any embarrassing mistakes.

He swallowed and started to reach for another leaf of lettuce when the pony to his left, an elderly earth pony mare with a light blue coat and a yellow mane, turned to him. "Hello there, I don't believe I've made your acquaintance yet. My name is Marigold," she said while extending a hoof towards him.

Pine Needle stared at the proffered hoof, trying to recall what he was supposed to do with it. Was he supposed to lift it up and place his lips against it? No, that was only for royalty, but a hoof shake seemed a bit out of place for an event like this. Not knowing if he was about to be rude, but certain that ignoring the lady's gesture would be the worst thing he could do, he reached up and gently shook her hoof with his. "And mine is Pine Needle. A pleasure to meet you," he replied, hoping that his nervousness wasn't audible in his speech.

"Oh my, such a wonderful accent!" she said. "You must be from Stalliongrad?"

"Yes, I was born and raised there," he answered, surprised and a little pleased by her knowledge. "Not many ponies can so quickly place it, I am impressed."

"Well, to be honest, I've been there several times myself on business trips. I've even made some friends who live there, so I... oh! Did you say your name was Pine Needle?" she asked.

"Ah, yes I did," he said, not certain if he liked where things were heading.

"Would you happen to be related to the mayor, Pine Cone?"

No, he certainly didn't like the current line of questioning at all. "Yes, he is my grandfather, on my mother's side," he replied flatly.

"Oh, how wonderful! And here you are in Canterlot! Are you looking to follow in his tracks and pursue a career in government?"

Pine Needle politely chuckled, while cringing at the fact that everypony around them, including his friends, were now looking at him with interest. "Oh, goodness no. I'm only here with some friends, I actually live in Ponyville. Stalliongrad was getting a bit too cramped for me, I guess you could say. So I left home, looking for someplace else to live. I prefer to work with plants more than ponies, to tell the truth."

"My goodness, from Stalliongrad to Ponyville? That must have been quite the change of pace for you."

"Indeed," he said, nodding in agreement. "But it is one that I like. No crowds to fight in the marketplace, ponies are much more friendly here... And of course, the warmer climate is much more comfortable. I just wish mine body would get the hint and stop trying to grow such a thick winter coat," he said, glancing at his foreleg ruefully.

Marigold laughed. "Oh, I can only imagine. Well, it was nice to meet you, Pine Needle."

"And I am glad to have met you too, Marigold," he replied. He watched in relief as she turned her attention back to her meal. He started to do the same, but held up when he saw Feather Down staring at him intently. "Yes?" he asked his friend.

"How come you never told us about your grandfather being some sort of big shot government official?" she quietly asked.

Pine Needle quickly glanced around. Everypony else had shifted their attention away from him. "Look," he said in a whisper, "I'll tell you later, I promise. Just not here and now, okay?"

Feather Down's eyes narrowed. "Okay. When the dinner is done, and we get to the mingling part, we're going to go find someplace private, and you're going to tell me. Although I can't figure out why you're acting so secretive about it."

Pine Needle grimaced. Instead of replying however, he simply took another bite out of his salad, leaving his earth pony friend to think things over for a little while longer.

---

Luna was surprised by how fast the meal passed by. She barely found time to to eat her food with all the conversations that swirled around her; it seemed that every time one pony was done talking to her, another would jump right in with something to say. While she feared she would have to ask the cooks back at the palace to make her a night time snack when she returned, she certainly wasn't upset by how things had turned out.

Her current conversation with Snowflake was brought to a halt when the caterers came and took away their dessert plates. She was about to comment to Snowflake on how tasty the peach cobbler had been when the tinkling of a bell cut through the hum of conversation that permeated the room and slowly brought the dining hall to a state of silence. Luna looked over to see her sister using her magic to ring the bell and call everypony's attention to her.

Seeing that she had all eyes on her, Celestia smiled warmly. "Thank you everypony for attending tonight's event. Before I begin with what I have to say, let's all give a round of thanks to the fine ponies who put this dinner together, and served us such a wonderful meal." She led the round of applause, and then patiently waited for things to quiet back down again.

"Thanks to all of you attending tonight's dinner, we've raised enough bits for my school to be able to keep offering the same number of scholarships for financially disadvantaged families as we have for the past decade." Celestia paused as another round of applause broke out in the room.

Luna watched her sister intently as she continued to give her prepared speech. Now that she knew what she was looking for, she could spot the signs. Eyes that stared straight ahead, instead of slowly moving about to encompass the whole room like the books she had read on public speaking suggested should be done. An almost imperceptible slouch in her posture. The ring of true excitement in her voice that she knew so well that was missing. Luna didn't want to believe it, but she knew she couldn't ignore what her senses told her.

Celestia was bored of these events, and if Luna's guess was correct, her sister would rather be back home with a book, curled up in front of the fireplace reading instead of doing what she was at the moment. She turned and looked at the crowd. Everypony's eyes were centered on Celestia, and it seemed that none of them had any idea what was going on. She was the only one, it seemed, who saw through her sister's mask.

Her thoughts were interrupted as she heard her sister say, "...and to my left, as I'm sure you've all noticed by now, is my sister, Princess Luna!" Suddenly finding herself the center of attention, she smiled and waved, doing her best to not be overwhelmed by the applause and all the happy faces turned towards her. After a few seconds, and the applause started to fade, Celestia asked her, "Is there anything you would like to say?"

Luna blinked in surprise. This certainly wasn't anything they had talked about previously! Was this more of her sister having fun? Looking at her, she decided that no, this was merely a spur of the moment, friendly gesture. Simply an opportunity for her to take, if she wanted, to talk to the assembled ponies. Deciding that she did want to speak, she nodded her thanks, turned, and looked at the crowd in front of her.

"Thank you, everypony. I'll admit, when my sister asked me if I wanted to attend this dinner, I was hesitant. It's been a long time since I've attended an event like this. Not many chances for gatherings like this on the- at the school I have been attending the past couple of months." She did her best to hide a wince; she had almost blown it by reminding them all of her lengthy banishment on the moon. Fortunately, she had remembered the cover story Celestia had told her she had used to explain her absence while she had been in Ponyville, disguised as Moonbeam.

"However, Celestia assured me that I wouldn't find a more accommodating group of ponies, and was she ever right! Since I've arrived, you have all done nothing but offer friendly greetings and kind words. So, thank you for being so willing to help out my sister's school, and thank you one and all for the amazing time I've had tonight, Please feel free to come up and chat with me afterwards, I would love to make your acquaintance if I haven't done so yet."

She waved to the crowd as applause washed over her, and then turned and smiled at her sister, indicating that she was done speaking. Celestia smiled back at her, and after the crowd had once again quieted down, resumed her speech. Looking down the length of her table, Luna saw her friends all looking at her proudly. She was glad that they seemed to be enjoying themselves too, and couldn't wait to get a chance to talk to them later, although she feared with the invitation that she had just given out that wouldn't be happening until after they had returned to the castle after the dinner.

---

As soon as Celestia had finished her speech and invited everypony present to take the chance to mingle, Feather Down grabbed Pine Needle and led him through the halls of the school. The first rooms they passed were already filled with other groups of ponies with goals similar to hers; finding a private place to have a conversation, away from the hundreds of other ponies in the vicinity. After rounding a corner in the hallway, she found a small walk-in closet, and motioned for Pine Needle to enter.

"I think you are overreacting," Pine Needle said once Feather Down had followed him into the tiny enclosure. "I don't see what you are so upset about."

"I'm not really upset," Feather Down replied. "I'm just shocked, I suppose. Not only because of what I heard, but also after I thought about it, I realized I had never thought to ask you about your life in Stalliongrad before."

Pine Needle shrugged. "I never thought it was that important. It's all years in the past and hundred of miles away from where we are now. For me to bring up the fact that mine grandfather is a mayor, without any real reason to do so, would just be bragging."

"But surely you're proud of that, right?" Seeing an uncomfortable look cross her friend's face, she sighed. "I know I would be if someone in my family did something grand, or accomplished something like that. There's no need to be that self conscious!"

"Well, like you said, nopony ever asked me, and it really isn't all that important." He looked over Feather Down's shoulder to the hallway behind her. "Are we done? I'd really like to go see how Luna is doing. When we left, she looked like she was about to get mobbed by half the ponies in attendance."

"No, we're not done!" Feather Down said, stomping a hoof for emphasis. "Look, maybe this isn't the best time, place, or method for this, but I'm honestly intrigued by what life must have been like for you growing up! Luna is going to busy for another hour at least, so that leaves us plenty of time to talk, especially since this is fresh in my mind."

"But Haystack and Dewdrop-"

"Will be fine," interrupted Feather Down. "So, you share part of your name with your grandfather. Is that part of why you're attracted to Applejack, similar family name traditions?"

"While we may share several things in common, they aren't the reason why I love her," Pine Needle huffed. "But yes, my family does have a, as you say, naming tradition. Off the top of my head, I can think of Pine Bough, Pine Wreath, Evergreen, Douglas Fir, Foxtail Pine, and many others too. Our family is old, and takes pride in that."

"You don't," commented Feather Down. "Now that I think about it, I can't remember you ever bringing up your family before. You hardly even mention Stalliongrad either, for that matter."

"No need to," he replied while looking at the floor at his hooves. "It was where I grew up, different than Ponyville, but not necessarily better or worse. It was crowded though, a lot of ponies living together in one city due to all the nearby mountains. That's why I left."

Feather Down studied her friend's face. She slowly nodded, and backed out of the closet. "Fair enough. But seriously, if you ever feel the need to talk about the past with me or anypony else, don't be afraid." She smiled warmly at him. "We certainly won't think of you as a braggart if there's something that you want to share with us. There's no need to keep it all bottled up, okay?"

Pine Needle nodded as he stepped back into the hallway. "Thank you, I will keep that in mind." He looked up and down the hallway. "For now though, I would simply like to go back and make sure that Luna doesn't get overwhelmed."

"Says the pony who was the most nervous of us all just a few hours ago," Feather Down said with a chuckle. "All right, it's this way," she gestured as she turned, and led the way back to the dining hall.

---

As soon as Celestia had finished her speech, Luna had been swamped by other ponies coming up to her. While she was uncomfortable with the sheer number of them, all eagerly yet patiently waiting their turn to get to speak with her, she didn't feel panicked or afraid that something bad was about to happen. Soon, she found she was able to simply focus on the one in front of her and tune out the rest, and in doing so found herself much more comfortable with the situation.

Her only regret was not being able to spend any time with her friends. The only chance she got to see them was when Dewdrop had managed to work her way through the throng and finally get a chance to talk to her. It was a welcome, if short, reprieve from the steady flood of the same questions, asking how she was, what she had been up to, and if she was going to be at any other functions in the future. Sadly, the press of the other ponies kept their conversation to a minimum, and soon Luna was once again on her own.

After what felt like forever, but was likely only a couple of hours at most, she found herself suddenly free of having anypony right in front of her. Blinking, she scanned the room and saw that the servants had long ago cleared everything away. The only other ponies left in the room, besides the retreating forms of the happy couple she had just finished conversing with, were her friends and her sister. Walking over, she gave them a tired smile and said, "I don't think I've talked to so many different ponies before in my life!"

Celestia chuckled. "I think this was the first time in years where I haven't been the most sought after pony to talk to. You did well, sister. Thank you for the easy night."

Luna's stomach chose that moment to remind her that how empty it was. "With all the new faces so eager to talk to me, I'm afraid I didn't have much time to eat," she said, her cheeks red from embarrassment.

"Well then, we'll simply have to visit the kitchens when we get back home, won't we?" She turned to look at Luna's friends. "And I imagine you all have a lot of stuff to talk about."

"Do we ever!" exclaimed Feather Down. "Seeing the school, meeting other ponies, this wonderful dress, thank you again for it, Princess!" Seeing Celestia nod, she turned to Luna. "So, is this going to be a regular part of our visits? Attending dinners and dances?"

"I don't know," admitted Luna as the group started to move down the hallway towards the front doors. She looked up at her sister. "I know that a lot of these things happen during the fall and the winter, since the cold weather and the snow makes a lot of the outdoor activities unfavorable. So I would guess that we'll probably be attending more of them in the months to come?"

Celestia nodded. "If you want to. None of you will be forced to go to any that you don't want to, and I'm sure there will be times when you will want to do other things as well, which is perfectly fine." Her horn glowed briefly, and the doors opened, letting the cool night air wash over them as they stepped outside. "Still, I think it will be good for you to attend as many as you comfortably can, at least in the near future. It should only help overcome the rocky start you had when you first came back after the Summer Sun Celebration."

Luna nodded and looked up, taking in the star filled sky. She thought back to the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville, and how quickly things had changed for her since then. Like her sister had said, things hadn't gone that well for her to begin with. But after she had spent some time in Ponyville, her luck had been steadily improving. She didn't know if it was because she had a group of really good friends, or if it was because her link to Nightmare Moon had been destroyed, and the evil, jealous part of her was now banished to the moon again, but she was looking forward to what might happen next.

Perhaps all she had needed, she thought, was a new perspective on things.

---

Marigold entered her house, glad to be home after the lengthy dinner. It had dragged on for much longer than she had expected it to, mostly because of Luna choosing the event to be her first public appearance in Canterlot since returning home. Not that she begrudged the princess, goodness no. It's just that she had something she had been wanting to do for hours now, and to have left the dinner early would have been rude, to say the least.

Now that she was finally home, she could get to work. She trotted to the study of her house right away, not even bothering to take off her outfit despite the fact that it was a little bit uncomfortable around the neck. Pulling out a piece of stationary, and grabbing quill in mouth, she started to write with a speed and skill that spoke of many, many hours of practice.

Dear Pine Wreath,

I hope this letter finds you doing well. I hope you will forgive my sloppy writing, but I am so excited by what just happened at a dinner I just attended that I have to write it down as fast as I can, before I forget any details.

I remember, while I was up in Stalliongrad this past summer, hearing you talk about your family, and how you were hurt by the fact that your son moved away without telling you where he was going. Well, imagine my surprise when I found myself seated next to a young stallion who not only turned out to be from Stalliongrad, but had to have been your son! His name was Pine Needle, and he admitted to being Pine Cone's grandchild, so I can't really see him as being anypony but your prodigal colt. He told me that he is living in Ponyville, a small village that is a short ways from Canterlot.

I hope that this news will enable you and your family reunite. If there is anything that I can do to help you out, please don't hesitate to ask.

Your friend,

Marigold

Looking over her work, she nodded and smiled. It felt so good to be able to help out a friend, she thought, especially when the aid being provided was unasked for but would be welcomed. She carefully folded the letter up, put it into an envelope, and after addressing and affixing postage, she placed it in the mail slot to be picked up in the morning. Smiling, she headed upstairs, her good deed done, and got ready to go to bed.

---

There were times, Nightmare Moon realized, that having a superior intellect was a curse and not a blessing.

It had been only three weeks, not even a month let alone a thousand years, since she had been sent to the moon, and she was already going crazy from the boredom. At first, she had been willing to simply lie still and wait things out, secure in knowing that in the end she would once again have her chance. Her mind was restless though. At first, it had worked through her past failures, studying her mistakes and how she could avoid them the next time. Then she had thought about what she would do once she was once again free. Finally, all she could do was think about how long she still had to go.

At that point, she had simply raged. To be forced to spend so much time locked up! To know that the weak part of her was still free! Eventually her anger faded, and she had finally been able to simply zone out and let her thoughts wander aimlessly. But every time she thought she would be able to let time rush by in a thoughtless haze, the very act of realizing that she was about to reach the mental state she so desperately wanted snapped her out of it, sending her back to square one. With nothing else to do though, she kept on trying. She hoped that, if nothing else, she might accidentally stumble onto what she was hoping for through blind luck.

As she felt her thoughts starting to wander once again, she felt something else, something new. Somehow, she felt a faint pulsing of... power? Energy? Magic? She didn't know how to describe it, only that the sensation was different. The moment she tried to focus on it, however, she seemed to lose it.

Intrigued, she thought about what she had done, and what she had just experienced. She tried relaxing again, but it wasn't until she was almost to the point of complete distraction that she was able to sense it. This time, instead of lunging at it with all of her will, she slowly took her time to narrow her thoughts, to carefully bring her focus in on it. Finally, she had a fix on the source of what she was feeling, and she slowly stood up, letting the small layer of moon dust that had settled on her fall away.

She started walking. She could tell that what she was headed for was a long ways off, but she had time. Lots and lots of time. She wondered why she hadn't felt this before. Had being a part of Luna during her previous incarceration on the moon kept her from noticing this? Was this something she could only hone in on because she was no longer linked to her weaker half? She might not know the answers, but for the first time since being banished she was looking forward to what might happen next.

Perhaps all she had needed, she thought, was a new perspective on things.

Comments

[Starscape]

Amazingly well done.