//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 - The Decent of a Kingdom // Story: The Lunar Ponies // by bonedragon17 //------------------------------// Two ponies stood side by side atop a balcony, one Nightmare Moon with her translucent hair flowing softly to her side. Beside her stood a white pony, on his flank a crescent moon with radiant beams of light extending downwards. His short, silvery hair was being brushed by Nightmare Moon as his blue eyes gazed up towards the Earth, staring in wonder. “Look Lunar Light. Earth. That was where I once came from before my heartless sister banished me to the Moon.” Lunar looked towards Nightmare Moon tilting his head slightly before asking, “But, why would your own sister do something like that? Isn’t family supposed to help and love one another?” Nightmare Moon nuzzled Lunar with a gentle smile. “Of course my child. But my sister did not want to share the love of our subjects. She was jealous at how beautiful my nights were and tried to hide it under her light. When I tried to show everypony the nights I have to give to them, Celestia moved to stop me. We fought but she managed to overpower me. That’s why I shall return and give my sister the same courtesy by banishing her to her beloved sun.” “But you taught me to forgive and be patient mother, To understand the feelings of others before understanding myself. Won’t getting revenge go against everything you have taught me so far,” said Lunar as he turned back towards the Earth. “Oh my little pony, you will learn one day that there are some things that you cannot forgive,” said Nightmare Moon as she nudged Lunar back to the castle. “Now off with you, it’s time for you to rest. Mother has many things she must do.” Lunar nodded and headed off to bed, wishing Nightmare Moon a good rest. Lunar awoke the next day and entered the dining hall but much to his surprise, it wasn’t just him and his mother. There was a new pony sitting on the opposite side of Nightmare Moon, a unicorn. She had a gray coat with a white mane that shimmered as it moved. Her purple eyes grew wide as she looked towards Lunar, a smile growing on her face. “Mother, who is this,” asked Lunar as he sat down opposite of the new unicorn. Nightmare Moon turned her head towards Lunar with a surprised smile. “Oh Lunar, you are up finally! I would like you to meet your new sister, Crescent Eclipse. I brought her to life as you were sleeping and I’ve been talking to her about magic and other things until you came around.” “You’re my big brother, Lunar Light? I’m SO happy to finally meet you,” shouted the Unicorn as she bounced around Nightmare Moon and tackled Lunar in an overly excited hug. Lunar smiled widely as he rubbed her head and gave her a hug back. Nightmare Moon stood up from the table with a laugh before nudging them to the courtyard to play. Days went by, and more and more ponies started to appear. The castle was growing more and more lively and Lunar could not have been happier. Looking towards Nightmare Moon, he could tell that she was starting to lighten up, thoughts about her distress fading away. Time went by, the ponies played, the ponies learned. Lunar guided, scolded, comforted, and cared for his brothers and sisters when Nightmare Moon was not available but there were times when he himself would get in trouble. One day, Nightmare Moon disappeared with the last of the pony statues. For everyone, this was a rather large event. This was going to be the final sibling they will ever have. It was a few hours before the door opened and Nightmare Moon emerged with a look of victory upon her face. “My children of the moon; gather around. For today, I bring to you Moon Drop, your newest sister.” Everyone moved forwards to see a little filly trying to hide behind Nightmare Moon’s leg. She had a white coat spotted with dots of light gray and a short gray mane. Her big green eyes looked between all of the ponies, not sure what to make of them before seeing Lunar who stood behind the crowd, not smothering her with words or sounds of affection. She smiled, as Lunar smiled back towards her, gesturing towards the crowd between them. She accepted their words as she moved through them until, to Lunar’s surprise, she slipped through the crowd all together and stood before Lunar. Her smile grew wide as she looked up towards him and she said, “Hi big brother! I hope we can be the bestest of friends forever!” Lunar looked down to the young filly with a surprised look on her face. The last thing he expected was for the filly to push her way through the crowd to him. He blinked before realizing everyone was staring. He smiled as he lifted her onto his back and said, “Don’t worry, because we will be. Let me show you the castle, your other siblings, and where you will be sleeping.” The two took off, the crowd of ponies following behind with laughter in their voices and a bounce in their steps. The days went by, everypony went about doing their assigned chores before spending the day however they wished. The Pegasi were charged with keeping the higher parts of the castle clean, using their wings to fly up to the harder to reach places. Many of them even took the time to take care in cleaning the windows from the outside. The Unicorns were in charge of organizing and putting away various items that have been used and left out. Cleaning the dishes was also part of their routine and Cresta was the one responsible to make sure everything went smoothly for the Unicorns. She would help here and there just to make sure they would be finished quickly before dismissing the others. Finally, the Earth Ponies were charged with cleaning the lower parts of the castle as well as tending to the courtyard by covering any craters and removing meteors that may have fallen during their sleep. Lunar was in charge, making sure that those under his supervision were doing things fast, safe, and thoroughly. On many occasions, he let them leave early and finishing up the chores himself. He’d rather see them happy than to have the day drag out when he can complete the chores faster. One day, Lunar felt a pat on his hind leg after dismissing the ponies for the rest of the day. Looking down, he saw Moon Drop looking up at him with her large round eyes. “Big brother Lunar, can I help you with the chores,” she asked, a slight sound of a cry in her voice. Lunar looked up towards the Pegasi who were still busy cleaning before turning towards Moon Drop saying, “Why aren’t you helping your Pegasi siblings? They look to still be hard at work.” Moon Drop lowered her head and with a whimper said, “They said that I was still too little to fly up that high and help. I told them I could help with the dusting but they said I didn’t have to. Instead they told me to relax and play but I really want to help Mother…” “Have you talked with Cresta then? Surely she has something that you can do,” said Lunar as he sat down next to the little filly. “I did go and ask but she said that I was too little to put such heavy books back on the shelves or that I was too clumsy to clean the dishes. Then Cresta said something under her breath. I think it was something about someone being useless." She was starting to cry now but stopped as Lunar gave her a one-leg hug. “Alright, no tears Moon Drop. You can help me by scrubbing the fountain’s base and statue. I’ll be nearby moving some rocks that rolled into the courtyard back outside. Afterwards, we can go get mother to show how good a job you did cleaning her fountain,” said Lunar as he pushed her onto her feet. Moon Drop agreed and gave Lunar a big hug before skipping off to the fountain. After Lunar finished pushing the rocks out of the courtyard, he looked towards the fountain and raised an eyebrow. She was struggling to keep in flight as she was washing the statue. Suddenly, she faltered, her right wing missing a flap and she started to flip about in place before starting to fall. Lunar had already expected that may happen and ran towards the fountain. He jumped, catching her in the air before landing on the ground. He looked back to Moon Drop who was on his back and looking rather sad about what just happened. “I am useless aren’t I,” asked Moon Drop as she dropped the brush to the ground, tears starting to fill up her eyes. Lunar lowered his head and picked up the brush before giving it back to Moon Drop. “Never say that. Time and time again, you may find yourself falling or failing in the things you do but you must get back up and try again. You will find it easier to get up after falling many times until you realize, you aren’t falling anymore.” “But-“ “Don’t worry, I’ll be here to catch you when you fall. All you need to do is try and believe in yourself,” said Lunar as he watched his little sister flap her smallish wings before taking flight to give cleaning the statue another try. It wasn’t for another week before Nightmare Moon gathered her children out within the courtyard. “My Children, I fear that my time to return to the lands below is drawing near. But fear not, my sister Celestia will pay for my banishment and when I rid myself of her, I’ll return to bring you all down to my side,” said Nightmare Moon as she spread her wings. The Lunar ponies all around stamped on the ground, cheering for their mother as she looked to her sides. She first looked towards her left to Crescent Eclipse who had a hoof raised cheering loudly along with her brothers and sisters. Riling them up to send their hopes and love to their mother. Nightmare Moon then looked towards her right to see Lunar Light and Moon Drop, the filly jumping up and down with the crowds cheering but Lunar stood there, a look of pain crossing his face. “Lunar, what pains you? Don’t worry, I’ll be victorious and you will be with me soon,” said Nightmare Moon as she lowered her head towards Lunar. He looked to her, sadness in his eyes, before shaking his head. With sorrow in his voice, he said, “For the time that I’ve been alive, I have known nothing but forgiveness and patience. I practiced showing kindness and calmness to everything presented to me. You were the one who taught me all of this and yet now, you show no signs of practicing what you taught me.” Cresta looked around Nightmare Moon to look at Lunar, having heard what he had said before saying, “Mother already told us that there are some things that cannot be forgiven Lunar. You can be too forgiving sometimes and that will be the end of you. Would you forgive a pony if they chopped off your leg? Highly doubt it." Nightmare Moon moved forwards, bringing the attention back to her. She spread her wings wide before kicking off into the air, her horn starting to glow a brilliant blue before the light intensified to the point where no pony could look directly at her. Then the light was gone. Nightmare Moon had disappeared and returned to the land below. There were cheering and goodwill shouts for their mother before the crowd died down and went about their ways. Lunar looked towards Cresta and noticed she was staring up towards the Earth with a tear in her eye, obviously sad that Nightmare Moon didn’t take her along so she could help. The Unicorn glimpsed over towards Lunar before a frustrated look crossed over her face and trotted off, nose in the air. Years past and not a sign or word from their mother came. Most of the ponies were already convinced that their mother had been defeated yet again, wanting to go to the Earth to save her. Others were skeptical that she lost and believed she left them behind to solidify her rule over a new world under her rule. Another group of ponies believes that she was merely too busy raining destruction upon any threats that may harm them when Nightmare Moon brings them down to the Earth. Lunar was the lone pony who showed no interest in whether or not Nightmare Moon would come back for them or not. He lived everyday tending to the problems amongst the ponies, caring for the castle grounds and making sure his brethren were living comfortably. Cresta for the past few months had secluded herself in the library, reading up on the books written by Nightmare Moon. Lunar had no idea why or what she was up too but he was too busy to think about it for too long. One day, Lunar was passing by the library when he heard Cresta talking with Moon Drop. “You stupid little filly! Do you know how long it took for me to organize that book shelf?” Lunar poked his head through the doorway to see Moon Drop climbing out of a pile of books that had fallen from the shelf nearby. “I’m sorry Cresta, I just thought I could help you by putting the books you were done with back,” said Moon Drop, her voice starting to quiver. “Help? Help? If you want to help, then leave! You must be the most moronic pony mother had ever given birth too! All you do is get pampered by everyone and making nothing but messes no matter where you go! You can barely even fly and you think you can put a book back on the top shelves? You are ridiculous,” shouted Cresta as she started to pick up the books with her magic, quickly shoving them into the shelf. The filly started to cry, tears were streaming down her face before abruptly stopping when Lunar stepped into the room. “Cresta! That’s enough! Can’t you see you are making Moon Drop cry,” said Lunar as he stood next to Moon Drop, a stern look on his face. “And you, you are almost worse than her! You do nothing but tell everypony to wait and you refuse to help look for a way to get to the lands below! Something may have happened to Mother and the longer we wait, the less chance we will have to save her,” shouted Cresta as she threw a book at Lunar. Lunar grimaced as the book hit him on the side of his head before looking towards his angry sister. “YOU ARE BOTH ABSOLUETLY USELESS! Leave me to my work you incompetent fools.” Lunar stared angrily towards Cresta before shaking his head. He picked up Moon Drop and put her on his back before leaving the room without another word, the little filly crying silently as she gazed at her sister who went back to reading a book she had laid out earlier. Lunar walked Moon Drop to her bedroom and set her down upon the bed before sitting down on the floor, giving off a deep sigh of pent up frustration. “Does… Does Cresta hate us,” asked Moon Drop as she lowered her head into her pillow. Lunar put a hoof upon her back as he shook his head. “Cresta is merely frustrated that she wasn’t able to go with Mother when she left. I’d assume that she is trying to find some way to distract herself from the thought but that is only going to make her more angry and crossed with everypony around her,” said Lunar as he stroked Moon Drop’s mane. He stayed with his little sister until she fell asleep before leaving the room as silently as he could. He looked down the hall to see a group of unicorns galloping towards the library, their faces filled with curiosity and excitement. Lunar gave chase and caught up with a black unicorn with a dark gray mane, gasping in between words as he asked, “Night Wind, why is every pony in a rush?” “Cresta just gave word that she may have a way to get to mother! We are all headed to the Library to see what she found,” said Night Wind with such happiness in his voice. Lunar slowed to a stop with his eyes wide in surprise. Was that what she was doing for the past few years? Lunar shook his head to clear those thoughts before rushing to find Crescent Eclipse. Gathered around the entrance of the Library, nearly every pony was present, shouting questions and demanding information on what Crescent Eclipse had found. Standing on a make shift stage made of books piled high, Cresta smiled towards her siblings as she waved a book over their heads with magic. As soon as she saw Lunar she started to speak, “It’s true my brothers and sisters! In this book, Nightmare Moon, our beloved mother, has detailed a way for us all to come to her! This must be a test for us to over come, a test to see how worthy we are to stand by her side!” She looked towards Lunar and so did the rest of the crowd. Lunar looked towards everypony, taking a step back, not knowing what was going to happen. “What do you say brother? Should we wait a bit longer in case mother will return? Or shall we prove to her we are indeed her children worthy of her love by going to her ourselves,” asked Crescent Eclipse, a sly smile upon her face as if she just triumphed over everything Lunar stood for. Looking upon everypony’s face, Lunar could see how determined they were to go to Nightmare Moon and gritted his teeth. As much worry as this instilled within him, he too missed Nightmare Moon. He lowered his head for a moment before holding it high and looked towards Cresta with a stern face. “Today, we prepare for our decent to Earth. Cresta, tell us what you need and we will get things ready as soon as we physically can.” The next day, everypony gathered outside of the castle in the courtyard. The unicorns were gathered around Cresta going over last minute details of the spell that was going to be cast, the pegasi were flying overhead, practicing keeping in formation without drifting away from each other, below them was a solid shadow of a runic symbol detailed in the book. Lunar was in charge of leading the earth ponies in mixing the ingredients to make the reagents for the spell, Moon Drop assisting at his side. Soon everypony declared that they were ready, the reagents placed within the runic symbol as the pegasi stayed in formation up high. Lunar stood upon a stage with Moon Drop and Crescent Eclipse standing at his sides. He nodded to the earth ponies and the unicorns, signaling them to begin the chanting and spell casting. The green magical aura from each of the unicorns started to fuse together before extending towards the shadow rune left by the pegasi, eating away the reagents before the rune shadow started to glow a blue hue that grew brighter and brighter until everything was basked in a brilliant white and light blue light. Lunar looked towards his side when he could no longer tolerate the blinding light to see Cresta taking a step back, her horn starting to disintegrate into dust. Picking up that something was wrong, Lunar moved as quickly as he could to push Cresta out of the light but was too late. The unicorn burst into a large dust cloud as soon as Lunar touched her. He froze for a moment, not believing what was happening before hearing a scream behind him over the screeching that was the spell itself. He turned to see Moon Drop starting to disappear the same why as Crescent Eclipse and jumped to her aid. Just like Cresta, Moon Drop broke into a cloud of dust as Lunar reached her but not before she gave him a frightened look filled with tears. Lunar then looked to himself to find he too was disappearing. He gave a shout of fear and then suddenly everything went black. He was floating, cold, alone in darkness. He couldn't help but to think to himself that he must be dead, the result of a spell gone wrong. Due to their selfish desire to see their mother again, he felt that they all had paid a heavy price with no reward. He could feel the tears flowing from his eyes as he thought about his sisters he failed to protect and the siblings he would never see again before the sense of weightlessness started giving way to a sense of falling. His body was starting to warm up to the point at which it felt unbearable, causing him to grimace in pain before finally his mind went blank and he fell into a deep sleep.