//------------------------------//
// Prologue 
// Story: Tabluna Rasa 
// by SIaanme 
//------------------------------//

	As was her custom of late, Princess Luna sat on the balcony staring at her sky. It was a new moon, and freed from its light, the stars fought for attention, each trying to outshine the others. As they squabbled for attention, Luna sighed. It had been almost a year since she was part of that sky, locked inside the moon. She could remember the arguments of the heavens, although not clearly, each star and celestial body wanting to be paid attention, appreciated. It was a reflection of her, always wanting attention and praise, but never getting it. She remembered becoming Nightmare Moon, trying to make the night last forever, just so ponies would see her artwork.

But before that, she remembered nothing. No memory of what she was like before she was twisted by the jealousy in her heart. For a thousand years, that jealousy had kept her alive, consuming her, becoming her. And then a year ago, it was all stripped away by the Elements of Harmony. With her jealousy gone, Luna was forgiven by her sister and allowed to move back to Canterlot. She was even allowed to resume her duties over the night sky. Inside however, she was confused. Who was she now? No longer the attention-seeking Mare in the Moon, what was left of her?

She hid behind her work using the hours she kept as a way of avoiding contact with anypony. Celestia was the only one she saw regularly, though not for lack of effort on Celestia's part. She'd even arranged the Grand Galloping Gala start later in an effort to get her younger sister to attend, but she'd had no luck. Luna spent most of her waking moments simply staring at the sky, thinking. Sometime her inner turmoil would be reflected in the sky, with meteor showers swirling and falling, bringing wonder only to the few who saw them. To Luna, they were reminders of her doubts.

"Who am I now?" she asked of the sky. She received no reply of course, not that she expected to. The sky was too far away to hear her, but it was a question she had been asking for a while now, so at this point it was purely habitual. But tonight, for the first time, Luna had a new thought.

Why am I asking the sky? It's others I need to ask, ponies who can actually answer. Maybe, just maybe, if she found out how others thought of her, she could get a better picture of the sort of pony she was. Of course, there was a flaw in this plan. But who can I actually ask?

Celestia was the obvious choice, but Luna dismissed the idea quickly. She didn't want her sister to worry about her, and besides, Celestia would remember Luna as she was before she became Nightmare Moon. And if Luna was certain of one thing, it was that she didn't want a repeat of those events. But no-one else had really seen Luna in the time she had been back, so it seemed this idea was a dead end. Unless....

"Of course! The Elements of Harmony!" They were the only other ponies who had really met Luna, even if mostly when she was Nightmare Moon. And there had been that party afterwards, where she had given a quick apology to them. Sure it wasn't much, but Luna never doubted the ability of ponies to deduce a great many things even in the space of about a minute. They must have some ideas about who she was, even if it was all guesswork.

"Right then, it's settled! I'll ask the Elements of Harmony who they think I am!" Luna beamed at the sky, but a frown shortly found its way to her face. "Oh... but that's not exactly a question you can ask of people is it? 'Hello, I'm Princess Luna, do you know who I am?' 'Yes, I know who you are.' 'Oh great, will you tell me?' 'You're Princess Luna.' No, that's no good at all..."

So then, how to approach this problem. A disguise maybe? Luna decided against this. Disguises were prone to being seen through, especially since Luna was taller than almost all other ponies. A truth potion maybe? This too was rejected, on the basis that truth potions had been banned for use outside of law enforcement, and even then they were rarely used due to the unfortunate side effects that sometimes happened. Truth spells were out for the same reason. But spells... that definitely sounded like the right approach.

Luna headed back inside, and returned a short while later, levitating a spell book in front of her. She flicked through the pages, skim reading to find something that would be helpful. She was hoping to find something she could do from here. If she went out during the day, Celestia would insist on either coming with her, or assigning her personal guards, and Luna didn't want to intimidate anypony. But then, if she snuck out during the night, everypony would be asleep, and that would be equally unhelpful. Just when she was about to give up hope, she found the spell she needed.

"Oh! Of course, why didn't I think of this sooner?" Luna read the page a few times, to make sure she understood everything involved with the spell. It was perfect! She didn't even have to leave the palace. Luna closed her eyes to focus better, and her horn began to gather magic. As she concentrated, the glow around her horn became steadily brighter, until finally she unleashed the spell. The night sky briefly glowed the colour of Luna's magic, and then it faded.

Luna smiled, tired, but confident in the knowledge that her first spell had worked. Now all the ponies in Ponyville would be dreaming of her. That was maybe the hardest part of the plan done, and it would have been impossible for anyone without an alicorn's natural proficiency for magic. The second part would be easier, but still impossible for a lesser unicorn. Luna glanced up at her sky once more.

"Well then, wish me luck!"

And with that her horn started to glow again. She felt herself become lighter, so light that gravity seemed to lose interest in her, and she began to drift upwards. Luna looked down, and saw her body was still there, lying down as if asleep. It had worked! She permitted herself another smile.

"Now then, who do I visit first?"