Towards the Sunrise
By Pearple Prose
Change.
Many know it as “chaos”; complete madness, without restraint. Change, to a lot of ponies, is wrong. To them, change is an insane, twisted thing, with a certain affinity for crazy cotton candy clouds and chocolate milk.
And it was true, in a way. Chaos is, for all intents and purposes, change.
But without change, there is only stagnation. Without change, order and stability lose all meaning. Without change, there is no future.
Take, for example, the train running along the mountainside. Its purpose? To move forward. Always forward. Occasionally, it would stop and rest, drop off its passengers, and then it would return to the tracks.
There was something particularly odd about this train, however; namely, the little blue lump that lay on the roof, wrapped up in a blanket.
The lump, despite the powerful winds buffeting it, simply refused to budge. Even though the huge monster of iron beneath it was roaring along the rails at incredible speeds, the sleeping form didn’t move; in fact, if anypony had been up there next to it, they could have sworn they heard it snoring away, rather adorably.
The train let loose a deafening blast from its whistle, and the sleeping pony atop it shifted, before finally stirring, and cracking open its cosy cocoon. A bleary, teal-eyed mare with terrible bedmane poked her head out into the world. Yawning, she peeled back her moon-patterned blanket and stretched her untidy wings until they popped.
*****
“Luna!” Luna turned to see her sister standing there, glaring at her. She noted the anger in her posture.
Luna glanced at her, then returned to watching the night. “Yes, sister?” She preened her wing idly.
“Don’t ignore me, Luna.” Celestia spat. “You know very well what you’ve done, sister, and I am very disappoin-”
“Oh, yes, the princess is disappointed in her delinquent of a sibling. How very tragic. Celestia must always get her way, after all. Everything else is just a minor concern in comparison. ” Luna took a mental snapshot of the stunned look on her sister’s face, then returned to tugging on her feathers.
She heard the rhythmic tapping of metal-shod hooves against marble. “I never said you were a delinquent, Luna,” Celestia said, in that serene tone of hers that made Luna want to vomit, “and the world doesn’t revolve around me, as crazy as it sounds. I just want the best for my little ponies.” An alabaster wing brushed against her own in a feeble attempt at reassurance. “That’s why I want to know, Luna. Why? Why did you do it?”
*****
Luna shivered slightly. Fall had only just arrived, and there was already a crisp chill to the night air, one that quickly sobered the sleepy alicorn. She yawned loudly, then levitated her mug out from her nearby saddlebags, along with a tea bag and an old wineskin full of water.
With only the barest amount of magic, Luna had a softly steaming cup of tea sitting in front of her. She anchored it to the roof of the train with a quick spell as she brushed her mane.
It'd taken her a while to decide on what she would take with her, back in Canterlot. At first, she'd packed everything she had —just in case— and ended up with several briefcases full of luggage, and it was only after she remembered that she was going incognito that she decided to leave a few things behind.
In the end, she'd decided on her favourite blanket, embroidered with her cutie mark, with a matching mug, and a plentiful amount of tea, alongside the essentials —namely, food and a small collection of books.
She'd chosen not to take any money. Sure, it would be more difficult in the long-run, but it almost felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
Luna smiled. She was free. For perhaps the first time in her long, long life, she was free.
*****
Luna batted her sister’s wing away, turning to face her with a snarl crossing her features. “Why did I tell her? Because they needed to know, Celestia. I couldn’t just sit and watch you lie to them anymore!”
Celestia stomped her hoof angrily. "Damn it, Luna, it was none of your concern!”
“None of my concern? They are my subjects too, dear sister. I was under the impression that we were equals. Is that not true?” Luna was perfectly aware that she was pushing the boundaries of Celestia’s almost infinite good will, but enough was enough. Right now? She could barely look at her own sister’s face without feeling sick to her stomach.
“Yes. We are equals. But I need you to cooperate with me, Luna, for the good of Equestria.”
“I’m afraid your version of the “good of Equestria” does not coincide with mine. I fail to see how twisting lives to your own design is anything but unacceptable.” With that, Luna returned to watching from her balcony… or, at least, she tried to.
*****
Luna wondered if Celestia had found her letter yet. She hadn’t hidden it at all, just left it sitting on her bed next to her regalia, waiting to be found.
Of course, it was entirely possible that Celestia had decided to ignore her for a few days, as an unspoken punishment. It was another manipulation tactic, Luna had figured, to make her feel guilty, and therefore susceptible to her sister’s subtle coercion. Or maybe Celestia had already read it, and figured it wasn’t worth the hassle to go and find her.
There were many possibilities, but Luna knew how her sister worked. As long as she maintained a low profile, the world was her oyster.
It was for that very reason that Luna had neglected to actually find out where she was going, beyond “very far away indeed”. It was all up to fate to decide her destination, if it even existed at all.
And who knows? Perhaps she would return at some point. They wouldn’t miss her in the interim, now that they had Celestia’s protege.
Luna’s mood plummeted at the thought of the newly ascended alicorn. She wondered how she was holding up now…
She shook the bleak thoughts from her head. It was no longer her responsibility, after all.
*****
A golden hoof grabbed her by the shoulder and wrenched her head back around to face two burning magenta orbs. “How dare you,” Celestia hissed, “Tell me how to rule my country. I’ve sacrificed everything —everything— to make Equestria what it is, and I will not let an ignorant teenager like you ruin everything I have created.”
For the first time since this entire debacle began, doubt began to worm into Luna’s mind. Had she gone too far? Her sister blinked, as if she had just realised what she was doing, and promptly released her iron grip. Luna dropped to the floor, and didn’t bother to get back up.
Celestia’s look of shock brought a bitter smile to Luna’s face. She had been right after all. There was no place for her here.
‘Luna… I-” Celestia froze. Luna watched her, puzzled; she was staring with abject horror at something out the window. Perking her ears, she could just barely make out the sound of crying.
Before she knew it, Celestia had gone. Luna lay there on the balcony for a while, then got up and looked at what her sister had seen.
A lavender alicorn ran along the city streets, tears trailing down her cheeks. Celestia was standing nearby, head bowed.
Luna watched them for a while, then turned to leave.
Off in the distance, she heard the sound of a train approaching.
*****
Luna stared into the brownish liquid inside her mug. A teal-eyed mare with terrible bedmane stared back. She noticed idly that, with the absence of her tiara, her powder blue hair fell over her eyes somewhat.
She liked it. It made her look different, somehow. Like a new mare. Light struck her eyes, blinding her slightly, and she turned to see the sun rise over the horizon.
In the end, Luna didn’t know if she had done the right thing, really. For all she knew, Celestia was right; maybe change was a bad thing. Maybe Luna should have just kept quiet; maybe she should have let Celestia keep their —her— subjects in blissful ignorance, incapable of realising just how much potential they truly possessed.
Luna realised that she didn’t care. Not anymore. She was a new mare now.
Her new life was off towards the sunrise, and that's where she was headed.
I like it, keep on writing ^^
3089857
Thank you, it means a lot
10/10 for 1000 words.
I like this. I can't help but wonder what Luna will do with her new-found freedom...
Anypony can be ascended, giving the proper requisites?
Hmmwell. This was... this was something, actually. And not for the reasons I'd anticipated.
As per usual, perfect grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Evenly spaced paragraphs that kept my eyes from rolling away in terror. And an extra bonus for characterizations (especially in Celestia's part. That made me smile). And it seems you have taken an inkling to 'inner-conlict'. Which means we can expect more heart-wrenching stuff from you.
You and all your pearple nonsense.
There are two things that... Well, I'm not entirely sure what to make of this. As I read through, I detected an 'abstract' approach to your narration. Everything was obscured, yet so vividly clear. The events were shrouded and layered, yet hinted in the most deliciously taunting way. There were a number of possibilities that resulted during your tale's climax. And that, my good sir, is what kept me locked in.
Understand that most abstract narration turns me away on the first or (if they're lucky) second paragraph, because of HORRID execution. Then there's this. Had you not laid the situation so avidly, so straightforwardly, it may have doomed itself. This wasn't the case. Instead we've been graced with a provocative oneshot, open to excruciating amounts of interpretation.
Why does Luna feel it so imperative to leave? Why did she feel so obligated to tell her subjects the truth. What WAS the truth? Why was Twilight crying? Why was Celestia so ashamed and defeated, she couldn't chase after her more than she had? Why is it that Doridos are, have been, and always will be the meaning of life?
All these questions, and more, haunted me as this tale drew to a close. But along with it came emptiness. Personally, I'd love a paragraph of foreshadowing at the end; perhaps an epilogue of what she'd gotten herself into, and what was in store as a 'new mare'. That would have sealed it for me in the best way.
All the same, this received a like from me.
Craine...
PS: Yes... Yes, I was eating Doridos as I read.
3090783
That made me laugh more than it should have.
Anyway, thanks for the overwhelming review. How is it you can see these things in my writing and I can't?
Hmm... an epilogue, eh? Intriguing...
3090799
troll.me/images/ancient-aliens-guy/perspective.jpg
The same thing happens to EVERYBODY. A different perspective puts everything into a different light, or better or for worse.
Now, about this epilogue...
3090799
Well as long as your entertaining the idea I figure I might as well throw my two cents in.
I find myself interested in where she will find herself in ten, twenty, or even fifty years down the road, and not where she immediately finds herself at the end of the train ride. To me it feels like she is starting a new chapter in her life and I am mostly interested to see where it took her. Does she come crawling back Celestia? Did she find a new life beyond the borders of Equestria, and if so what kind of like did she find? Did she live a humble life and start her own family or did she start another country? Are any of my guesses even coming close to what she did? These questions are what fascinate me.
Long story short. I look forward to the destination she arrives more than the journey it took to get there.
That's my two cents for what's it's worth.
If you where to make a story of lunss future adventures alot of people would read it....just a suggestion
3090799Im enjoying it keep up the great work man.
This.
All of the unspoken possibilities.
I like this.
3090031
What about the other 464?
I would love to see a epilogue but as someone already said it shouldn't be set in the immediate future but a few years down the track.
3092396 3090957 3090783
So yeah, I've got an idea for a short epilogue, and I'll probably have it out soon enough.
Stay tuned.
3092717
i1.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/medium/000/011/065/YES%20MEME.JPG
The concept was pretty clear--I enjoyed trying to discover everything that had occurred and piecing it all together. It wasn't dense so as to cause one to become over-encumbered and uninterested, and it wasn't simple enough to be a straight-on tale. It had that sense of poetry, in a way, from how it was portrayed. Stories like this can be analyzed from different angles, and that gives it a stronger feel because of it.
But it has no substance as a story. It tells you, vaguely, of Luna running away with snippets of information that turn out to be useless in the grand scheme of things--catharsis is not felt when she leaves, and the whole scenario feels forced and unwarranted. The ambiguous parts of the story aren't executed as well as they could have been, like when Celestia had left towards the end and was cut off rather quickly by Luna leaving. I understand the reason for this, but it still leaves it void of actual feeling and turns the thing into a shell of what it's supposed to be.
What is it that Luna did wrong?
*Applauds softly* That it made you happy to craft is what truly matters.
Interesting and by turns touchingly sad. Well done.
Well done, though I wouldn't mind if it had more explanations.
Edit:
A-OK now.
3840197
Thanks for the read :3
And good catch. Fixed.
To Author's Note: if your are just writing this cus you like it, then other s will too, including me!