The Dark Side of the Moon

by TheIceManCometh

When She Loved Me

“Come on big sister, you promised you’d play with me!”

“Hehe okay, okay, I’m coming,” said Celestia playfully. “What’s gotten into you today Luna? You’re usually not this rambunctious.”

“I can’t help it; this castle is so boring and you’re the only pony who’ll play with me. Now hurry up!” Luna said as she trotted down hallway.

The hallway looked like what you’d expect to find in a castle: unnecessarily big and empty. On one side was a row of doors that housed the servants and on the other side were large stained glass windows that stretched all the way to the ceiling. Celestia looked out one of the windows.

It was like this every day. The life of a young princess was surprisingly mundane. Celestia’s routine day consisted of waking up, eating breakfast, studying, a lunch break, more studying, some play time, dinner, even more studying, and then finally sleep. Luna’s routine was similar, but being younger than her sister her studies were less intense.

Through the window she saw the citizens of Canterlot going about their everyday lives. She wondered how much different Luna’s life would be if she could live amongst them. At Luna’s current age, she would be going to school for the first time like all the other little fillies. Celestia was only a few years older than Luna, so they would end up going to the same school. Celestia wondered what it would be like to go to the same school as her sister with all the other normal ponies. At that moment she heard an irritated younger sister that snapped her back to reality. Celestia put the thought into the back of her head and, not wanting to keep her sister waiting any longer, quickly proceeded to follow her down the hallway.

As heirs to the royal throne of Canterlot and all of Equestria, Celestia and Luna were not allowed to ever leave the castle. As such, they were unable to make any friends or socialize with other ponies their age. By their father’s orders, they were to be groomed into the future rulers of Equestria. All of the servants in the castle were either too old or too busy to spend time with Celestia and Luna. Their teacher, having been given the grave task of instructing two princesses, was always much too strict and serious to be a friend to the young sisters. Their mother was no longer with them, and their father, the current ruler of Equestria, was much too busy to ever find free time to spend with his daughters outside of special occasions. In essence, the only thing the young sisters had was each other to escape lonely life of a princess.

The sisters went outside into the castle garden. They would frequently play hide-and-seek within the maze of hedges that the garden encompassed. No matter how well Luna hid, Celestia would always find her before the dinner bell rang. Today, Luna was determined to finally best her older sister.

Celestia followed Luna down into the castle garden’s hedge maze.“So, what do you feel like playing today, Luna?”

“Hide and Seek! I found a new spot, so I know you won’t be able to find me this time. You count to 100 while I hide somewhere in the maze and if you can’t find me before dinner time, you have to read me a story before we go to bed, ok?”

Celestia giggled to herself. “Okay Luna.”

“And no cheating!”

“Only if you promise that if I can’t find you, you have to come out at the sound of the dinner bell, alright? After all, you’re still a filly and I don’t want you to get lost.”

“You’re still a filly too, ya know,” teased Luna.

“Well I’m still the older one, so that makes me the more responsible one.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Luna said as she hopped into the maze.

Thoughts began permeating into Celestia’s mind as she was counting to 100. The image of the ponies she saw outside the stained glass window kept coming back to her. What are they like? Are they normal like Luna and myself, or are they proper like the other servants in the castle? Wait… are we even considered normal? We have servants who wait on us hoof and hoof, we aren’t allowed to leave our home, and our father is the ruler of the entire land, so how could we be considered anything but abnormal? ...Is Luna really happy here, trapped inside this castle? Am I really happ— She stopped. She didn’t want to complete that thought.

“…98, 99 100. Okay, ready or not, here I come!” Celestia shouted into the maze.

As she was walking through the maze, that last question kept popping up in her mind, nagging her, begging to be answered. No matter how many times she tried to push the thought out of her mind, it somehow kept coming back. She was scared to answer it, for if she did, she thought she would be betraying her sister in some manner.

Am I really happy with my life here?

Suddenly, she stumbled across Luna hiding in one of the hedges near the opposite side of the maze.

“Aww, I can’t believe you found me already. You didn’t cheat did you?”

“Of course I didn’t,” Celestia said sincerely. “Actually I can’t believe it took me this long to find you. You usually just hide near the fountain in the center of the maze. You’re getting much better at this.”

The faint sound of a bell rang throughout the hedge maze, signaling not only dinner, but Luna’s defeat as well.

“I would have won if I picked a spot a little farther than where I was, you know,” said Luna in a defeated tone as they were walking towards the castle. “Then you would have had to read me a story tonight.”
Not hearing a response, Luna looked up at Celestia. She wore a firm countenance, neither smiling nor frowning, but rather somber, as if she was contemplating a serious problem. Feeling a little dejected, Luna hung her head down and stared at the ground as they continued to walk.

“Luna,” said Celestia in a serious tone.

“Umm…yes?”

“During dinner I want you to think about what book you want me to read to you.”

“Huh? Wait, but I thought—”

“If you can’t think of a good book before bed time, then I’ll have no choice but to pick one out myself; and you can be sure I’ll pick a book so long and boring that you’ll be asleep before you know it,” Celestia said cheerfully.

Luna’s worry that she had somehow angered or agitated her big sister melted away as Luna looked up and was greeted with Celestia’s smile. “Don’t worry, I’ll think of something for sure!” Luna said with newfound strength. As they were just about to head into the castle, Luna started to walk a little closer to her big sister.

***

It was now well into the night. Luna sat in her bed, eagerly awaiting the arrival of her big sister. Luna loved the beauty of the night: the sea of stars only visible at night, the silence that enabled her to hear the faint sound of a choir of crickets and cicadas, and most of all the radiant moonlight that pierced through the clouds and illuminated the world around her. Her room was decorated in a fashion that tried to recreate the beauty she saw at night, the most notable of which were the countless glow-in-the-dark stars that stuck to her ceiling; although you could plainly see them in the light, their true beauty was only revealed when they began to shine in the darkness. The only source of light in her room was a subdued light emanating from her lamp and the moonlight that shone through her windows. After a moment, Celestia finally came into Luna’s room. After a quick greeting, Celestia brought up a nearby stool and placed next to Luna’s bed.

“So, did you decide what book you want me to read you tonight?”

“Hehe, I sure did.”

“Well, where is it?” Celestia asked sincerely.

“It’s on top of my bookshelf over there.”

Celestia let out a quick sigh as she got off of the stool. “Geez, you could have at least had it ready for me.” Celestia stepped towards the bookshelf when she saw the book began to move on its own. The book slowly levitated through the air, past Celestia, and into Luna’s hooves. Celestia fixed her gaze unto Luna, staring at her in disbelief. She had just started to learn magic and here Luna was, still unable to read, yet able to perform magic, however basic it might be.

“…Did…did you do that?”

Luna softly giggled to herself, “I sure did! Cool huh?”

“When did you learn to do that?”

“Hm…I don’t really know. It’s something I just kind of picked up on.”

“Wow, that’s really amazing Luna, even I haven’t learned to do that yet. You must have some sort of natural talent that I don’t.”

Surprised and slightly embarrassed, Luna turned away and partially hid her face behind her book. For a moment, Celestia thought she saw her blush slightly.

“Y-You’re just saying that.”

Celestia smiled and laughed to herself. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t mean it Luna. I’m very proud of you.”

Still hiding behind her book, Luna asked Celestia softly, “Hey…big sister?”

“Hm? What is it?”

Luna hesitated for a moment. “Do…do you think…do you think you could…sleep with me tonight? I’m not scared or anything! I just…”

Celestia gave Luna a warm smile and said, “Alright… but just for tonight, okay?”

“Okay!”

Luna slid over to the opposite end of the bed to make room for her big sister. Celestia put the stool back in its proper place and lied down next to her sister, pulling the blanket over them. Luna snuggled up to her sister and gave the book she was holding to Celestia. The book she handed over was Luna’s favorite short story; it was a myth about the sun and moon.

In the story the sun and moon take turns watching over the creatures of Earth. The sun brought them life and energy while the moon protected them from the blackness of the night. The creatures began to worship the sun and depict the sun as many different gods such as Ra and Tonatiuh. The moon, however, was shunned in favor of the sun as many people would simply sleep when the moon was out. The moon, angry and envious, blocked out the sun one day covering the whole land in darkness and frightening the creatures. Worried for the creatures, the sun banished the moon to the other side Earth where it would stay for 1000 years in total darkness. As time went on, however, the sun wondered if she had made a mistake. As more and more time passed, the sun realized the moon only wanted the creature’s respect and therefore showed them what it would be like if she wasn’t there to bring light to the darkness. The sun became lonely, and the thought of the moon sitting in total darkness brought tears to her eyes. The sun began to wait patiently for 1000 years in loneliness for the chance to apologize to the moon; and so the sun began to give a little of its light to the moon at night to show her love and regret until they could be together again.

Celestia opened the book to the first page, put her arm around Luna, situated the book so it was between the two sisters, and began to read. Celestia read in a manner befitting a mother reading to her young filly, and soon enough, she began to feel that way as well. All the uncertainty and pestering questions that festered within Celestia’s mind earlier melted away as she told a bedtime story to the most important pony in her life. Her once tense muscles were now completely relaxed. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt this at ease; she was given a huge burden to shoulder as the next princess of Equestria. Truly, this was her only respite from the daunting task and all the expectations that came with it.

Celestia noticed that Luna had fallen asleep near the end of the story. Celestia smiled and placed the book on her nightstand. She was just about to turn off the light when something inside her made her stop. She turned and gazed at Luna still nestled against her. She could hear Luna breathing softly. She then realized it was Luna’s quiet and indistinct breathing that stopped her. Suddenly a few tears began to quietly spill on the pillow next to Luna. Celestia finally knew the answer to the question that had been plaguing her mind. Am I really happy with my life here? Relieved and with tears still managing to escape her, Celestia turned out the light and held the most important pony to her in her hooves as if in fear that she would somehow lose her sister if she let go.

Comments

[Blaze1]

Mm a very good story indeed I'll be happily waiting for more :)

[MonganuWrites]

Truly wonderful. I love the ending and how it all nicely rolls up into it. The story sounds a lot like what happens to Luna which I can see the reason why that would be Luna's favorite story. Over all awesome work. Keep it up!

[Blaze1]

Oh wait its complete lol I should really read if its complete or not
well its still a really good story short but interesting and very good :D

[TheIceManCometh]

2876771 To be honest there was more but i have procrastination issues so I didn't finish it. I did want to release some of it however, so I just released the first chapter.