The night was the worse kind for a tale about either birth or death that day. The sky was cloudy preventing a pony from seeing the stars shining down upon the land beneath and the moon’s gaze was not upon the world that night. On the outskirts of a large village a hill rose from the grass covered plain it occupied reaching toward the heavens above as if to beg its attention for a moment. Upon this hill covered in moonflowers and other night flora one could spot a middle aged unicorn staring above at the sky.
The unicorn who gazed lost into the sky above possessed a pink coat and a cutie mark of a field of five stars. Her mane and tail flowed with a pale color bearing a small purple stripe through her mane. Her eyes, normally purple, were somewhat pale and dulled as they searched the heavens above perhaps unable to see what she sought out. This unicorn’s breathing was hitched and ragged occasionally interspersed with a gurgling sound which was not such a surprise given the wound that any observer close to her could see went through her barrel.
“Oh dear Moon, are you there? My eyes are dulled with fatigue and my time draws short. Stars above, is your light still shining down or am I seeing the other side already? My battles and trials have ended and my village and friends are safe from the roving dog beasts that had beset us and yet I dare not return home to join in the coming revelry. Magic has aided me all my life but here it fails as I lay dying. Please Moon, Stars, nay the Night itself, let me gaze upon your majesty just one more time before I depart. Let not this despairing sight be the last thing my eyes see before they never more open.” The unicorn begged and pleaded to the universe around her with what few cobbled bits of energy she could spare. Her soul itself crying out for one more moonrise before it departed.
A voice unlike any she had ever heard began to drift into her ears as a soothing wind blew by. The voice was beautiful by anypony’s standards and contained both cold precision and wild passion in equal measure. “Oh noble daughter of magic, why do you despair so when you have created a new magic and have proven yourself to all with your valor? Instead of seeking loved ones to share in your final moments you stand out here begging for one more moon rise.”
The unicorn looked around spooked at having heard this voice upon the wind. “I do not desire to burden my allies with my final moments and ruin their happiness at the end of this conflict. To whom do I now speak that would know so much about me?”
“I am the moon, the stars, and the very night itself my child. Your soul’s plea has caught my ear and I am willing to grant your request. If you will tarry upon this plane for a moment longer, I have something I would like to discuss with you.” As the voice said this the unicorn noticed that the wind that had been blowing through had removed the clouds above and now the moon waxed full gazed down upon her and her alone upon the hill. As its light settled upon her and the hill the moonflowers began to bloom and, as if timed to match the opening buds, stars began to occupy the dark above around the moon.
The unicorn wept upon seeing the beauty of the night once more. She knew now that she could leave this world happy having seen her beloved moon and stars again. However the night had a request of her and she was more than willing to listen as it had granted hers. Steeling what little life and energy she had left she settled onto her flanks and gazed above. “I shall try to stay long enough. You have been so kind to me this night and it would be terrible to repay that kindness with departure.”
“Thank you, my little pony, for staying. It is very rare for me or my sister to encounter any who will talk to us in these times. Let me begin with a question. How would you like to see the moonrise again tomorrow? And perhaps the night after? I would hate to see your fire and leadership fade from this world before my sister rises from her bed.”
The unicorn did not hesitate to answer. “That would be a wonderful thing I think. To see the moon and stars again without fear that it will be for the final time. Though that would be impossible I think.”
“Not so. I can heal you but it comes at a price. If you accept you will likely never see the day again. You will become one with my power but the light of the sun shall likely weaken and possibly harm you. However, you will forever more be assured to gaze upon my greatest lights without fear. Will you accept?”
The unicorn could not believe her ears. A chance to remain in the land of the living and see yet more beautiful nights was grand though the loss of the day sounded like a major downside. She coughed and noticed yet more blood on her hoof. It was likely that her lungs were beginning to fill up with the stuff at this point. There would not be much time for an internal debate. Agree and live to see another night or reject and die. Perhaps the price of the day is worth living into tomorrow and she owed the night for its kindness of granting her last request as it was. “I will accept your proposal.”
“Very well then. Prepare thyself.”
From the moon dropped what had the appearance of a single tear containing darkness and light in equal measure upon the unicorn. The moment it contacted with the dying unicorn her body began to burn from the inside. She could feel her wounds sealing off and her strength returning to her formerly useless limbs. Her magic once more began to replenish itself now that her body wasn’t subconsciously redirecting it toward a futile attempt to heal herself. In that moment she also felt the night around her on a level she never had before. She could smell all the little details that her nose never noticed before ranging from the flora about herself to the now active party in the village behind her. The formerly dim night now looked as if it was the middle of the day even though she could still pick out the proper colors. Her hearing had altered to the point that she could hear the fireflies as they floated about on the plains surrounding her hill.
“There. I do believe it is done. How do you feel, my darling child?”
“Better than I ever have. Oh Glorious Night, I thank you for this boon.” The unicorn had by now stood up and was twisting and prancing about in happiness at her body’s continued health. “My only problem is I do feel a bit weak. Perhaps I need to eat or sleep to recover from this.”
“Oh dear, I did not expect that.” The moon almost seemed to move closer to the land below for a moment. “It would seem your blood loss has had an unexpected effect on my blessing. You need new blood, my dear. Without it your body will begin to seize up. You will live but you will not be able to do much else but lay there. Easily fixed though. My purview includes all things that stalk the night and I think you will find you now have instincts your kind never possessed. Follow them my dear and you will be right as rain.”
The unicorn was somewhat alarmed at this but after a moment decided that she would make do. She had likely done worse to survive before during the war for her village’s sake. “So just follow my instincts, you say? Very well, I shall. I ask Moon, Stars, Night, what may I call you?”
“It shall be many years yet before your kind shall know my name however due to your rebirth as one of my children I shall answer you. My name is Luna. We shall be close, you and I, I can feel it. Perhaps someday we may eventually be able to walk side by side in your world. May I ask, little child of the night, what is your name?”
“I look forward to that day Luna. As for my name, you may call me Twilight.”