//------------------------------// // Another Quiet Night // Story: Moonlight // by Ocean Heart //------------------------------// In the beginning, there was chaos. Unhindered and uncontrollable chaos that plunged the world into darkness, the fires never ceased and His rage tore apart nations. Crops were but ash floating in the wind, water fouled by his hatred and air poisoned by his greed. Yet it was His heart, the blackened heart of a god, that plunged into the most shattering chaos. The All Mother, the one who birthed the first light in the darkness; in her grace and strength, stood against His rule; but in time...she fell. For years, chaos was the only reality the world knew...until two lights, flickering in the darkness...became a blaze that swept the nations, destroying everything He built and mending the things He tore down. It was the children of the All Mother, two sisters born of immeasurable power, gifted from a world beyond ours....The power gifted from the very sun and moon. Celestia, with her mothers grace and intelligence..and unspeakable beauty. Luna, wrath given the form of disarming mystique and artful cunning.  They alone were unable to overthrow the mad god...His cowardice kept Him in power long enough to undo the efforts of the Sisters. Until they found the last relic of their Mother's grand creation. The Elements of Harmony. In these relics lie the things the world was deprived: Loyalty, when the mad god abandons all; kindness where there was none left, honesty, laughter.. all the emotions and feelings He repressed to keep his rule...all unleashed on one fateful day. Now the mad god lies trapped in stone, Chaos never to rise again so long as the Harmony is kept in the world. Years drift by, the world rebuilds around their new goddesses. Each given higher status for their deeds, Celestia quickly falls into her new position of power and leads her people to the light of day; full of infectious hope and love. Luna however, steps aside to let her sister take on the task..for she is far too humble to seek such responsibility or praise.  But the sisters have grown apart...decades pass like water though a stream and yet something is eating at the younger...the darker sister's mind. She realizes that she is but a shadow compared to her sister......thoughts of inferior nature take root, turning into bitter hate as the years pass...and now we come to a cross road. The Harmony is wavering, and yet while the mad god lies trapped...how long will He remain in stone, should the harmony be broken... Or is there another threat hiding on the dark side of the moon... _ _ Chapter One: Another Quiet Night The sun had set on another day of politics, policies and new politicians biding for good favor. All the same faces begging with fancy gifts and a silver tongue for Princess Celestia to lend an ear to their own ploys of plight and trouble, even though the dark times were long over. Princess Luna stood on a balcony looking east and closed her eyes; her horn lit up blue and the wind around here created cyclones of leaves and dust as the ground around her withstood the force she was exerting. The world was dark for mere seconds until the moon broke the horizon, rising silently in the night and stars coming into view as the sun grew farther away. Time passed without the princess noticing, her full focus on the task at hand until the moon was high in the sky shining beautifully to light the night in calm and cool, majestic light. Luna opened her eyes and a bright light in them faded until her normal light blue eyes remained. Looking up at the glistening sky with pride...but lowering her head when the she remembered... Why doth they fear the night... A question the princess constantly asked herself, she wished the answer was simple but she knew it was something deep down that nopony wanted to answer her. "Sister?" Princess Celestia asked, Luna didn't hear her enter the room, but she turned around and put on a soft smile. "Sleep for now, I shall guard the night as I always have and always will." Celestia smiled and walked to her younger sister. "I know thee will. I only hoped to wish you a goodnight." Luna sighed and nodded to dismiss Celestia, turning back around and staring out into the starlit void of the night sky. Celestia knew something was bothering her sister, but Luna lived such a solitary life; she was unsure how to approach the princess of the night about her growing concerns. "Sister...is there something plaguing thee?" Luna looked back but didn't bother to turn around, soon enough her sister would leave to sleep away the beautiful night. "Not at all, go ahead and rest. I will be fine here." Celestia still looked worried but reassured by Luna's words; it was enough to put her mind as ease and for now...she departed, closing the door behind her and leaving the princess of night alone with her thoughts. Luna looked up and started finding stars again; picking out large bright ones and small dim lights and giving them names if they already didn't have ones. "Hello, Vigil." A star close to the moon, not bright or impressive compared to the others but it was the first she named back when she was just a child, star gazing with her mother. Of course no answer returned, but she found it comforting to be able to talk to something she could consider a friend. "The gentlecolt from the eastern town came by again, he demanded to be seen by my sister...she forced him to wait two hours until she approached him just to turn him away when it was talk of money..." Luna sat down, staring at the star and managing a small smile... "He was so furious that the guards were forced to throw him out." She laughed quietly, remember the representatives face when his flank hit the ground and he crashed into an angry mare passing by. Luna looked back down at the ground and tapped her hoof quietly to her favorite song...a piano number written after the fall of the evil of the world that was soft, somber and calm but the pace could change depending on how you want to remember it; perfect for the princess and she even quietly sung the words under her breath. Another cold night alone...the world is crashing around me... Her hoof tapped harder as the beat picked up and she smiled a bit brighter when the words filled her soul with a strange peace. The lies of a god, and the truths of the wicked...show me a life not worth living... Luna felt her heart pick up with the beat; soft drums echoed in her mind and gentle wind flowed across the balcony... The cities are burning...and the mad god gazing on his destruction...playing a sad song for those still running.. Luna spread her wings and took off from the balcony, flying into the night sky with speed in her heart when she heard the cello and violins chime in. Speeding up the pace of the song and sending the beat reverberating in her body. "And the great queen lies shattered! And the children stand screaming...for a hope long forgotten...and a dream worth dreaming!" Luna passed though the clouds, spinning to send the dense veil around her body like water frozen in time once she left the thick mist. Luna heard the choir echoing in the sky and she hung onto the last lyric until she leveled out. "You won't see...a fool like me, rushing into battle...Thy fortune is not mine, nor fight ours to win..." Her tone turned quiet and the song slowed down for the last part, the part she always forgot about... "And all I need for this chaos to end...is my love to show me how to truly live..." _ _ Deep in a forest, far off the beaten path and only illuminated by the moonlight shining down and the fireflies that spotted the clearing. A lone stallion was waking in a clearing with a full saddle bag, the weight was not that much but to the thin framed stallion, it was an effort. He found his spot and dropped the bag, putting on a dirty old smock and looking out at the meadow to find a muse. The painter perked his head up when he heard an echo...somepony was singing. He set the canvas down as he looked up to listen... "Is my love to show me how to truly live..." The voice was full of sadness, floating though the sky and carried on the wind. The tune was unfamiliar to him, but the voice was stunning. Grabbing the canvas and easel from his bags he tried to hang on to the voice as he prepared the paints and began giving vision to the beautiful melody that echoed in his mind. Inspiration was calling his name, and as the dark blues and heavy greens flowed onto the canvas, he started losing track of where he began; painting and creating though the night. "Milady...thy voice was as cold as a winters night and sorrowful as a mother who hath lost her foal....How is it thee could sound so beautiful and yet heartbroken? Acrylic Evenfall picked up more colors from his bag and worked faster, the memory starting to blur as time went on. Working in the bright lights of the lightning bugs and doing his best to create an image to the voice he felt so much inspiration from. "Acrylic lad...thou are in love with a voice in the sky...Or perhaps in thine head." He laughed and kept working though the night on the canvas. Thinking about how long it will be before he hears the voice from the heavens again. His hooves were stained by paints and smock hanging off his side, custom made and self stitched to stay out of his way when he got carried away with the brushes. The moon hung in the air and a cloud move out of the way to illuminate the meadow completely; his emerald eyes sparkled in the night and ashen coat specked with paint when he clumsily dug into the smock pocket for more colors. The brush waved in the air blanked in dark green magic; and he laughed quickly when an idea for an image struck him. Acrylic made a few adjustments and brought in more light to bring a natural spotlight on the center of the meadow, a mare cloaked in darkness and a dark hood obscuring her features took the center of the painting, singing into the sky and he noticed a tear running down her face. A second small brush was in the air with the aqua color wrapped in green magic. Painting is a hobby for some but for Acrylic Evenfall...it was second nature, he even found himself painting things in his works that he never knew he added. Something in the back of his mind knowing how to add just that small detail that makes a work pop. "I hope I can lower the cowl off thy head someday..." _ _ Luna returned to the castle in Canterlot after a little longer clearing her head in the sky. Landing with practiced grace on the balcony and walking slowly out of her room and down the near empty halls, a guard passing by occasionally and avoiding eye contact with the princess. Luna walked far into the castle, until she found herself outside of a room that her sister planned on having as a 'Room of Reflection'. Nothing but stain glass deceptions of history; it was a sound idea but Luna did not care for the past... Walking quietly back to her room and going back to star gazing, not feeling any fatigue from the flight or the late hour. Simply watching the sky and trying to find a reason to open her mind to the dreams to ward off nightmares of the ponies below who shunned her night... "There is no point, is there, Vigil?" Who cared if somepony had a bad dream, her life was a walking nightmare of solitude. Nopony ever came to rescue her... The only comfort she found was in recalling melodies to sooth her mind and books to distract herself with during the nights. Luna was humming to herself for the rest of the night, flipping though books and enjoying an adventurous tale of a knight and dragon... Hoofsteps came from the hallway and she closed the book,laying it on her bed and standing back up to look like she kept her promise to that watchful. Staring out into the night in the doorway of the balcony until a soft voice addressed her. "It is nearly time again, sister." Celestia yawned and fixed her mane a little, the light pink flowing mess, knotted with bedhead. Luna turned around to greet her but held back a startled laugh. "Oh do not laugh! I want to raise the sun before the shower so I have time to fix this mess." Luna couldn't help but let a boisterous laugh escape her; Celestia let out a suffered sigh and walked past her struggling sister. Celestia's horn lit up and the moon was sinking back into the horizon; just as the last light of the moon vanished the bright sunrise broke the horizon. A soft wind picked up from her sisters immeasurable power exerted in raising the sun and noise below started to pick up as the citizens awakened to bask in the suns warmth... Luna sighed quietly and waited, once the sun was in the sky and Celestia could relax, she immediately tried to get her out of the room so she could sleep. "And with that, I wish to bid you another fine morning...now I doth apologize but I must ask thee to leave a little hastily today, I seek to rest my weary eyes as soon as time permits..." Celestia nodded understandingly and stepped out, the door shut behind her, and Luna was left to watch the curtains glow in a blue swirl; shutting with a small exertion of magic. The room fell into darkness and Luna climbed onto the large bed. Dense covers and soft sheets welcomed her with open arms; she fell asleep thinking back to the adventurous hero of the book, how other praised him for his good deeds and the dragon that hung over his head waiting to breath its flurry of blaze and lava as soon as he lowers his guard...