Luna was wandering along the lonely battlements of Everfree Castle. Her eyes were high in her night’s sky sorting the stars, forming the pictures of rare and mythical animals. She had always loved painting pictures even when she had been younger. When she grew older and her magic got stronger she found out, that painting the sky with stars and milky ways was just as easy.
And just like with those old paintings, she had made, there was no pony around her to watch her arts arranging the heavenly bodies. She sighed quietly.
Painting the night sky had been a favorite moment every night for her for years now. She had always imagined the animals come to life and visit her in the sleeping castle. She knew the tales about the dangerous Ursas and other mythical creatures, but she had never feared them. Creatures made of stars and ether, gleaming dots and silky clouds, living, breathing.
She sauntered down the wall-walk to the next door. There was little more work for her to do. With all the ponies being asleep she had to watch the night and keep the castle safe.
Centuries ago, in the early times after the unification of the three pony tribes her job had been hard. Horrible creatures had gotten loose to terrorize ponies and their settlements. She’d had her own guards to accompany her on her nightly watch. But times had become more and more quiet. With the peace treaties her sister had agreed on with the griffons and the dragons even the danger from predators had dwindled to almost nonexistent.
Luna turned around a corner into one of the seemingly endless corridors of the castle. The Night Guard had no longer been needed and to safe funds for more pressing matters her sister had decided to move those ponies into the day shift as well, or sent them home to be with their families again.
Luna’s hooves stopped moving and she turned her head right to gaze at the big double doors displaying the sigil of sun and moon. This was the throne room. Every pony that wanted to ask a favor from the princesses had to enter through these very doors. But although there were two thrones on the dais on the other side of the big hall she could not recall her last time being in there with her sister together.
Thought of it, she couldn’t recall her last time in the throne room at all. Since there had been no pony for months to attend her court, Celestia had simply cancelled the night court several decades ago.
Luna still wasn’t sure what was more depressing: Sitting in a throne room alone, flanked by two bored or faintly snoring guards or not even sitting in court at all. She shook her head and completed her round in silence with her mind wandering.
The last pony she had seen was one of the bakers on his way to the cellars in the early morning. It always took time to bake the sweet delights for her cake loving sister.
Finally she lit her magic to open the door to her private chambers. The ebony door adorned with her glowing white crescent opened just as silently as she had been all night.
After closing the door behind her, she turned around to her vanity. It wasn’t as big as her sister’s, but she loved the memories of a better time, when her sister had visited her in the morning to get her ready for breakfast and to tame her unruly light blue mane and tail. She wore a dark mane now, sparkling with stars and ethereal flow like her sister’s.
Her eyes fell upon her reflection in the mirror. A sad and tired face looked back, the eyes half opened and little specks of moisture glistening in their corners.
Had she been crying? The mare in the mirror seemed heartbroken. While she watched the mare in the mirror slumped with her beautiful blue wings drooping. The glistening from her right eye started to wander down the meekly face of an alicorn that seemed all too familiar.
“How can I cheer her up?” Luna spoke to herself. “Well, if I could get her out of there, we could do the nightly tasks together.”
Luna knew it was just her own reflection in that mirror, but she didn’t care. What good was magic if it couldn’t lift the spirit of a single lonely pony?
She closed her eyes and reached for her magical essence, reached for the power of her moon and the creatures between the stars and pulled. It was hard, very hard but there was something she touched with her magical senses. Something was living behind the surface of the mirror, was forming and flowing into the shape of a pony.
She opened the eyes she had closed due to the strain that old magic had put on her and looked into the mirror. There was still this figure looking back at her. Her spirit sank. She had obviously failed.
Wait, wasn’t the figure in the mirror slightly darker than a moment ago? And when had been the last time she had seen a smiling face in there?
“Are you… are you me?” she asked the mirror and felt stupid in the same second. Who would try to talk to his own reflection in mirror?
“I am you, and I am more, Luna.” The mirror answered.
Luna gasped and shuffled three steps back. “How can you speak? You are a mirror!”
The reflection chuckled in a dark and contralto voice. “I’m your reflection and I’m your desire. You wanted some company and here I am, Luna. You caught me between the stars and invited me here. I’m here to be your friend.”
Luna tilted her head. “So… you will do my duties together with me and share my nights with me?”
“More than that, my dear. I’m here to fulfill your wishes, your dreams. I’m the Mare of the Night and I will be with you until the end of times. Your loneliness ends tonight, Luna. Tonight starts our reign!”