A Response and Thank You to ABagOVicodin · 2:10am Sep 14th, 2015
ABagOVicodin has written a wonderful paean to Luna. At least I will call it that because it seemed to me a love letter of sorts. For us lovers of Luna (and you know who you are) we have hearts that ache for news of her, her life and her trials. There is a reason that this is so and I will try to expound upon that here.
There are trials... and then there are trials. If you live long enough and if your life is rich enough you will eventually commit an act, or be forced into a situation in which you will have to commit an act for which there is no turning back, and for which you know you will never have full closure. It is not something I would wish on anyone and yet for all of its anguish you will grow from it as a person, if it does not kill you in the process.
But you will never be who you might have been, what you might have been. This is one of life's great mysteries. From the outside, you might appear reserved, reclusive and even bitter. But that would be mistaken really. For while you might be part of each of those things, in actuality you become much more, only it is a something which no one else can access. You could possibly gain your closure, possibly not, but doing so would likely destroy you in the process as well as others you love. So you live with it. It is your pain, your sorrow, your bitterness, mostly at yourself.
But it gives you an insight like nothing else on the Earth (or Equestria) can. You could not give up this part of yourself if you wanted to, but if you are wise you will not wish to lose it. The fairly tale of turning back time forever lost to you, you move forward with the baggage, your dowry of experience.
The ponies of Equestria (Celestia bless them) will never be as close to Luna as they might to any other pony. Only Celestia can get very close at all and that is because of the balance which comes from each of them desperately wanting the other to forgive them and not being able ever to truly believe it can be so. I assure you Celestia completely forgives Luna and Luna completely forgives Celestia but neither can ever completely forgive themselves. I would imagine Celestia is nearly as torn as Luna but a thousand years of putting on a confident smile and raising the sun every day has taught her better to reassure her subjects.
I do not think we will ever see Luna become jolly and carefree, though she may have moments of these emotions. I do not think we would wish her to thus transform. Luna has learned a great lesson at a great cost. She continues to learn it every day. She will learn it for all of her remaining days. That is the way of those who return from the battlefields of life. We love Princess Luna because we know her so well. She helps us carry our burdens by carrying hers.
Well said.
(I'm glad this turned out well because I saw the title and went "Oh snap, Illya's got beef with Vicodin?")
It's why my little black heart goes out to Nyx as well. I've always had a stronger sympathy for Luna than Celestia, though Celestia certainly has her troubles (such as the banishment of her beloved sister, though I constantly question 'why 1000 years?').
Sympathetic portrayals of Luna and her rise as Nightmare Moon really appeal to me also. Just seeing the narrow view, that she wanted to seize power for the sake of it is too limited, flat to me. So it's no wonder I really like the Lullaby for a Princess song and animation, as well as the Daylight's End PMV. Nightmare Moon was terribad, don't get me wrong. Like Past Sins shows, eternal Night would have not been so great (and the other half of the world would be no better off). Still, who knows what would have happened if NMM succeeded in taking over Equestria. She might have been as heartless as she appeared, or she might have changed, eventually, upon seeing just what her reign was actually doing to the world. I'm sure many a fanfic has covered that idea though.
This is also why I like Starlight Glimmer.
And Amelia in Pirene. And so, so many others.