“Princess Luna, it’s been a long while,” a feminine voice permeated the Moon Goddess’ bedroom, causing the small alicorn who had been gazing at the moon to startle.
Pupils dilated and cyan eyes swept the room as the newly returned princess tried to identify the origin of the voice. When the circumstances of her return had been announced to Celestia’s court, there had been an uproar over what should be done to her.
Fortunately, her sister had very firmly informed her subjects that Luna was not to blame for the actions of Nightmare Moon, and that the threat had been subdued by the Elements of Harmony. Most ponies had heeded the Solar Princess’ words, but Luna had seen several ponies still staring at her with suspicion, fear, or a combination of the two.
As such, it terrified her that one of them had somehow managed to get past the guards Celestia had posted outside her room, or worse, had been let in by the guards. And with her recent exorcism, she had little power, magic or otherwise, to fend off an attack.
Luna’s head whipped toward her bookshelf at the sound of wings being unfurled and refolded. Her already wide eyes grew even larger as she saw the intruder lounging upon a cushion, silently flipping a book close before lifting her head to look at the princess.
Terror filled Luna’s mind, as reptilian eyes bore into her own, bringing thoughts of Nightmare Moon to the fore. Mentally screaming for her older sister, she found herself paralysed and unable to utter a single sound.
“Calm yourself, princess. I am not Nightmare Moon,” the intruder asserted as she stood up, spreading her wings again.
That broke Luna out of her panic. While still unmoving, being able to think somewhat coherently allowed her to give the other mare a once-over. Her coat was a hue of deep blue so dark she could blend into the shadows; likewise, her long, lush mane and tail were a shade of reddish brown so deep they seemed almost black. Her eyes, while slit, were a purplish grey.
The lack of a horn was a source of immense relief to the alicorn, cementing the fact that the intruder was indeed not the being which had plagued the princess. Finally shifting her gaze to the pony’s side, her jaw fell open.
She already knew the pony had wings. She was expecting feathers. Instead, a set of bat-like wings adorned the intruder’s side.
“W-wha-? W-who? B-but I t-thought… D-didn’t…?” Luna began stammering as her mind began casting back to the distant past, trying to recall the last time she had seen wings like that.
“Ah~ You still remember. I was worried that being possessed by Nightmare Moon for a millennia had addled your memory,” the intruder said impassively.
Seeing the mare approaching her, the trembling Luna tried to retreat, only for her legs to betray her, leaving her splayed on the ground. Throwing her forelegs over her head and tightly closing her eyes, she awaited her death at the other pony’s hooves.
The plush carpets that lined the floor of her room easily muffled the sound of any hoofsteps, but she knew that even without them, no one would ever hear the bat-winged pony approach, unless the mare allowed it so. The Princess could just imagine the intruder deliberating, judging the blue filly-sized alicorn of crimes committed over a thousand years ago.
She wondered of the mare’s fury; if Canterlot’s populous had already shown such displeasure for what had happened in a single night, how did the mare feel after a millennia?
Another body touched hers, the feel of leathery wings being draped over her startled the princess once again as the larger pony laid next to her. The accompanying sigh caused Luna to slowly move her forelegs off her head, eyelids fluttering as she shifted her gaze to her company.
Silence again ensued as Luna tried to get over the fact that her skull was not splattered around the room in tiny pieces. Several moments passed before she mustered enough courage and volume to ask: “Why?”
The mare looked deeply into Luna’s eyes. “Because the children had begged me not to. Because I believe that you had been sufficiently punished. Because you are not Nightmare Moon,” she murmured.
“B-But so many of them died! Because they followed me!” Luna cried softly, her face sorrowful as she recalled what her companion had said to her back then, and then what had happened to the ‘children’.
“Yes. And I was infuriated. It was not easy for them to cool my anger. But you did not coerce them. They continued to serve you because they wanted to. They believed that under the evil that was Nightmare Moon, their beloved Princess Luna still existed. And that she did not choose to become that creature; that the anger and hate was the product of external forces. They followed you because they hoped to have you back, protecting you for whatever miniscule chance that you could be redeemed,” the winged pony’s replied, voice tinged with heart break. “And with your presence before me, you had proven their conviction correct.”
Luna sniffled, eyes again closed. “I’m so sorry; I didn’t want them to get hurt. But they were always by my side. And when Celestia banished me… they were fighting her guards, trying to get to sis, to stop her from using the Elements… Wait. What happened to them after I was sent to the moon?” she turned to the mare pleadingly.
The corner of Luna’s companion tilted upward ever so slightly, her eyes softening. “You wondered why I did not kill you. This is why; you still care for them,” she paused, “I summoned the survivors back after Nightmare Moon was banished. Celestia believed that without your magic sustaining them, your ‘magical guards’ dispelled.”
Luna offered a weak grin. “I still can’t believe big sis never realised that they weren’t magical constructs. And what happened after you summoned them?”
“They wanted to go back, to continue the fight until they found some way of bringing you back. I refused. They cried, they begged, tried to sneak off. I stopped them,” the deep blue pony sighed. “I considered wiping their memories, breaking all ties with you. They stopped after I told them that. I thought that that was the end of it. But they had other ideas. They knew I worried about that, and that I was deeply hurt by the deaths. However, they did not want to forget about you either. So they finally decided to ask me to place then into the Sleep.
“They knew that Nightmare Moon was not dead. That meant that you weren’t, either. And if there was any chance of getting you back, they would do anything for it. Even if it took decades, centuries, millennia, they refused to give up on you. It took time for them to convince me. I finally agreed, with the stipulation that in the event of Her return, I will first observe how events unfold. If I decide that you were beyond hope, that would be the end of it. All contact with you would be severed, and they would be awoken with knowledge of their failure.”
Luna winced at that. She knew how devoted to her the children were. She knew just how heartbroken they would be if that happened.
The mare stroked Luna’s mane reassuringly. “I had been observing you since your return. For a while, I had feared the worst. Then watching the girls gather the Elements of Harmony gave me a glimmer of hope. I had no idea what the Elements would do, but knew that it would give the children another chance. And when the girls actually exorcised Nightmare Moon, leaving you essentially unharmed, I was surprised. Could you truly have returned? I needed to know if truly that creature is gone, or if it was another one of its tricks. And now that I have met you again, face to face, and spoken with you, I know without doubt that the children have their Princess back,” she ended, giving the smaller pony a nuzzle, a glimmer of wetness in her eyes.
At that, Luna threw her forelegs around the other pony’s neck, sobbing quietly as she repeated a chorus of “I’m sorry” and “thank you”.
“W-will I be able to see them again?” Luna asked quietly after her emotions were finally spent, her companion having spent the whole time holding the filly alicorn.
“Not for a while yet,” the winged pony shook her head. “Waking from the Sleep takes time. It will take a while for them to recover after that, as well. And you will need to regain some of your power. How else will you be able to summon those ‘magical guards’ of yours?” she gave the princess a wry smile.
Luna returned the smile with one of her own as she wiped away her tears. “Oh, indeed. I wonder how much longer can we hide the truth from sis.”
The larger mare nodded, and stood up. “I must be going. The earlier I return to the children, the sooner I can wake them. I will visit you again, when they are ready to meet you,” she informed Luna as she opened the balcony windows. “And Princess Luna?” she turned her head to regard the goddess. “Remember, there will always be ponies who love you. Keep that in your heart whenever you are feeling down,” she imparted.
Luna smiled again, this time in happiness. “I will. Thank you,” she murmured, as her companion lept off the edge, bat wings making not a whisper, her silhouette disappearing so quickly one had to wonder if she had ever been there.
Settling on her bed, Luna thought over the day’s events. It had been emotionally tumultuous, but for now, her fears had been assuaged. She was free of the moon and nightmare, and her sister had once again extended her hoof of friendship. A thousand years apart… there was so much she needed to catch up on… Tomorrow was a new day, and there would be ponies who still loved her…
Author’s Note:
I’ve been lurking around the site for a while, and so I thought it was time I added something to it. It’s been a while since I did any writing though.
This story originally started out very differently. Originally, it was inspired by Christopher Pike’s ‘Monster’, Kenneth Oppel’s ‘Dead Water Zone’, and Luna’s Guards from S2EP04 ‘Luna Eclipsed’. Somehow, after the first half page, the fic just began writing itself. I hadn’t even realised how different it had been from my original idea until it was approaching the end.
The ‘Other Mare’s’ name and history with Luna was deliberately vague because this was originally supposed to be a sort of prologue to a story about the creation of Luna’s guards. Honestly though, don’t expect there to be any updates on it. I’m terrible at completing long fics, with a record of zero completed in the past ten years I’ve tried writing. That’s why this is written in the style of one-shots.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this story!