Chapter 1
Free. She was finally free.
As Princess Luna watched the magical illusion of herself become sealed inside the moon, only one thought filled her mind: blissful, unencumbered, sweet, sweet freedom. Her silent wings took her swiftly away from the castle, away from her responsibilities, and most of all, away from the unappreciative annoyance that was her sister.
"Princess Celestia of the Sun," Luna spat with a roll of her eyes, “It is as if she's the only Princess in the whole kingdom.”
For the moment, she simply allowed herself to enjoy the wonderfully crisp air as she glided into her beautiful night.
This will sadly be the last night We shall set into place for a long while. Dipping below the clouds, the Princess of the Night gazed down at the trees as she wandered aimlessly across the countryside. She had passed over several small mountains before the warm glow of lanterns illuminated her vision from far below. To avoid being seen, Luna banked hard to her right, the blades of grass tickling the bottom of her hooves.
Soundlessly, she settled down a safe distance from what appeared to be a caravan of sorts. From this distance, she could make out the soft light of a campfire encircled by wagons of different styles. In the stillness of the night, the sounds of jolly ponies could be heard across the open plain where she now quietly crept.
The princess smiled at the cheerful sounds of the ponies ahead of her, Her eyes and horn began to glow as she felt the caravan growing closer and she felt her body shift and shrink. Once the spell had been enacted she felt her magic shift until the change was complete. She felt her head where her horn had once been then she felt for the feathery wings that adorned her back before closing her eye with a sigh of relief that the spell had worked. Smiling, she moved forward only to feel her hooves delve into a pool of water.
She looked down into a clear reflection of herself, or rather her new self. She stared into her pupils, watching the rapid change in color from teal to cyan blue. Her smile widened when she looked up and saw her now short and wild reddish-orange mane, running a hoof through it. It was splendid, to be out here, away from the eyes of those pesky nobles.
She grinned as the runestone necklace, her useful trinket that could be used to transform her shape as she wished, slid beneath the surface of her chest fur. Trotting softly across the open plain, she lifted her nose to the soft smell of smoke. Laughter echoed from where ponies danced around the fire. On one side of the fire, musicians attacked the strings on their instruments, the rhythm echoing across the plains, making her want to join in on the festivities.
As she stepped closer to the campsite, her smile widened as other more delectable smells invaded her nose. It reminded her of a time before all the politics of ruling a kingdom had taken such simple joys away from her. Meanwhile, as she reminisced about a time before, she was unaware of the fact that two ponies were approaching her.
“Hello there,” an older voice broke her of her thought, “I haven’t seen you around here before.”
“Are you here to join in on our festivities?”
“Yes, I am.” She replied with a soft nod of her head.
“Well then, what’s your name young one?” he asked with a chuckle.
She looked around with slight wonder, “M—My name is Carnival…”
Following the path of the area, she noticed a sign that read, “surprises ahead.”
“Surprise… Carnival Surprise. That's my name.”
“Well met miss Carnival Surprise.” the elder stallion chuckled, “Welcome to me and my friend’s Caravan of Surprise.”
Celestia inspected the ruins of the once, gorgeous castle. It used to feel so grand, so homely. Now it just felt like a new wound had just been inflicted on her heart. A wound that quite possibly might never heal. Her eyes felt perpetually damp as fresh tears continued to streak down her muzzle. "Why Luna?" she choked out, the words almost echoing as her voice cracked through her sobs, weighing her down. “Why did you leave me all alone?”
She gazed up at the figure in the moon as a hoof rested itself onto her shoulder and she turned to face her advisor and friend, Starswirl. “Your majesty, we should get you away from here, at least for a while... This place will be hard to be in. Maybe we should move to the newly furnished Canterlot?”
“I—you’re right, my friend… you always are,” she said, wiping her muzzle of the tears she shed before letting out a soft chuckle.
“Do you wish for me to set up a chariot ride, your majesty?” he asked with concern.
“No, I’d like to take the flight myself tonight.” she replied in a more royal tone, “I need to think upon what has occurred tonight and what I will say to my little ponies.”
She spread her long white feathered wings and took flight away from the past. She felt the air glide through her fur and feathers as she sighed softly, thinking, How do I tell them that my sister, my own flesh, and blood, had to be banished?
“I’ll figure it out eventually,” she said to herself with a long drawn out sigh as she crested the mountains before the new capital, Canterlot.
Carnival, formerly Princess Luna, watched the fire juggling with an awe. She felt at home here among these performers. She smiled as she listened intently to the storytellers weaving stories of past events that she had in fact witnessed. To hear how different it was from her memories was indeed fascinating. She felt a pop in her limbs when she finally stretched, the festivities starting to die down for the night.
“Do you have long to go home, Carnival?” a filly, presumably of one of the performers asked, a hint of sadness in her little voice.
Carnival knelt down to match the filly’s height, reaching out with a hoof. “I am not sure how far I'll travel tonight, little one.”
“I—I don’t want you to go, you were so nice to me and all the others. Why can’t you stay?” The filly whimpered softly, wrapping her little hooves around Carnival’s neck. “You stayed with us during the scary stories and I really liked your dancing."
“Maybe I can stay a little bit, but only if it’s ok with the Grand Jester,” she replied, trying to soothe the little filly.
“Haha, of course, you can stay, Carnival, You made not just my little grand filly's day but all the other little ones’ days as well,” the Grand Jester called out with a loud chuckle. He trotted slowly up beside her and stroked his white beard.
“Everyone here has taken a shine to you, including myself, and although you are yet inexperienced in the ways of the performer, it is your calling... “ He paused for a moment, still stroking his beard, “I can see how much you enjoy it, so I would like to take you up as my student. If you would like to, that is.”
“I think I would like that,” she replied, and nodded with a wide smile, still hugging the little filly.
Gazing up at the bright illuminating night sky that had been her domain, Carnival felt a twinge of sadness in her heart. She was going to miss being the painter of this sky. She had known the patterns like the back of her hoof, and the moon was her first 'friend,' but for the first time, she felt that these were going to be true friends who appreciated her. So maybe this 'banishment,' was just what she needed.