I ran through the field with Tia, my older and most beloved sister. We were playing a new game that Tia invented. We have to tag each other and run. It was so fun! She invented it all by herself! Tia is so clever and smart. I wonder if I'll ever be as clever as her?
Probably not...
It came so suddenly I almost fainted. The words echoed through my mind, a dark voice belonging to someone I didn't recognise.
How could you ever be as clever as her? She is older than you... Much, much smarter...
There it was again, a voice that was not my own, echoing through my head and stopping me dead in my tracks.
"Luna!" Celestia came running towards me, but the voice had stopped, as quickly as it had began. I realised I had gone pale and felt very weak.
"I-I'm fine Tia..." But I trailed off. Something strange was happening to my sister. She was floating... Floating up and up and glowing...
"Tia!" I cried out more urgently, the sky was darkening. But it wasn't a bad thing... How could it be? She was flying on her own, her horn was glowing...
She was moving the sun, all by herself.
When she finally came down, she landed softly in the grass next to me and lifted her head. I ran up to her, all strange voices forgotten.
"Tia! Tia!" I cried laughing.
"Wh-what?" She said shakily. I couldn't believe she hadn't noticed!
"You've got your cutie mark! You raised the sun and — and you've got your cutie mark!" There it was, a bright golden sun resting on my sister's flank. Little did I know that this cutie mark would become the reason of my nightmares for the rest of my life.
"I-I got what?" Moving her head slowly, as if afraid it would disappear if she moved too quickly, she looked at her flank.
There was a moments silence. And then -
"I got my cutie mark!" She wept joyfully. I beamed at her. "I really got my cutie mark! Mum! Dad!"
I stood up to follow her but she leaped up and knocked me over to the side. Sure she would help me up, I sat up slowly only to see her galloping away, leaving me on my own. My head hurt from where she had hit me and I thought I was confused... She couldn't have left me, she couldn't have!
But there she was, running away from me, leaving me behind.
For the first time, she had neglected me.
"I got my cutie mark! I really really got it! Mum!" She was yelling, her younger sister completely forgotten.
She does not care for you... She left you, see? She does not need you...
Confused, alone, sad, I sat in the grass until Mum came out and told me it was time for dinner.
It wasn't the first time she neglected me. Our parents were reaching the end of their lifespans. Even alicorns can only live for so long.
Celestia stayed with them as they left Equestria and shut me out, as if I had no right to say goodbye to them. My parents. My mum. My dad. Gone forever, with no chance to say goodbye to me.
She had said goodbye to them, and I had not.
That night, I sat alone in the grass, the same grass I had sat in years before, feeling the same way as I did now. Alone, confused, sad... Maybe a little angry.
I don't know how long I sat there for, watching the sun go down. She was doing it. She was doing it all.
Angry at her, angry at her for feeling that she was more important than I, I stood up in the grass and lifted the moon. It hurt at first, but gradually began to feel more normal as I did it. I was becoming more powerful. I liked it. I liked having power.
I suddenly felt a tingling sensation where my cutie mark should be. It was coming.
My cutie mark was nowhere near as dramatic as my sister's, and that was how I liked it.
The wind whipped at my short blue mane and I could feel it changing. It grew longer and sparkled. A symbol of power.
I looked at my flank and wasn't surprised to see the little moon shining back at me. It felt normal. It felt good.
You can have more power... Yes, I can give you more power...
The voice spoke to me again. It didn't startle me. I didn't jump.
I am called Nightmare... I can help you....
Nightmare... It felt normal.
You can get back at her... You have powers she could only dream of having... I can help bring them out...
I didn't move, just stood there listening to the voice. Finally I spoke.
"Show me."
It was a command, a command for this Nightmare to show who she really was.
Show you? The Nightmare laughed, a soft sound, filling my mind and enchanting me. Yes... I can show you. But you must let me...
I thought. What did she mean by 'let her'?
Finally I gave in. "Yes."
Instantly a lightness filled me. I no longer felt any pain from my sister's betrayal. I no longer felt any grief for my parents. It was bliss not to think, not to feel. I felt nothing, blankness filled my brain.
Allow me to help you... I gave in and felt myself change.
"Yes.. Good little Luna," I hissed. Words came out of my mouth but I didn't speak them. "We shall get revenge on your sister..."
I smiled. What Celestia did was unforgivable.
Nightmare was going to help me.