Ink Blot's Unassorted Encyclopedia of Absolutely Everything

by Nevlamas

History of Equestria: Nightmare Moon

It is common knowledge that Princess Luna’s fall took place a thousand years ago, merely a century after Prince Melody had suffered a similar fate. One can only imagine the blow this must have dealt to her sister Celestia: not only did the golden princess lose her second sibling so shortly after the first, but this time it was much less expected. Where Melody had been marked for disaster all along, Luna had always been a strong and dependable co-ruler that had never showed any signs of corruption. Now the quick succession of Melody’s damnation and her own has led to the popular believe that the two events were somehow connected: that either Luna did not have the strength to swallow what happened to her brother, or that Discord slowly poisoned her thoughts from within his stony prison. Weakness and deceit are the two more common theories, but the author has his own opinion on the subject, which he would like to present here.

The most likely reason for Luna’s sudden madness is - as a closer look would suggest – not to be found in Discord’s mind nor her own. If we really intend to make sense of her sudden bitterness, we’d best look to a mortal woman born in the first decade after the draconequus’ banishment; a blind girl by the name of Snowdrop, still today revered as a heroine amongst her people, the pegasi. Much and more has been written about her life, and it would be a waste of words to speak about it once again. Of our concern here is her connection to the silver princess, which is commonly known to have been quite remarkable, but not to the depth to which our theory will lead us.

As any pegasus will tell you, the lady Snowdrop was blind from birth. Like so many others with her affliction, she made up for her lack of vision with a sense of hearing that was that much sharper. Even before she presented Princess Luna with the first snowflake, she had been taught by her mother to listen to the most delicate of sounds. Snowdrop was the first being on Equestria to understand the connection between the stars above and the world beneath. Through her love for snow, she learned to see their delicacy just as much. She would be the first and the last mortal to ever hear their twinkling.

Needless to say, the Night Guard soon fell in love with their little admirer, as did the princess of the night herself. Snowdrops dreams would always be sweet, her rest undisturbed and her mind at ease. From dusk to dawn she would sit listening to their silver voices and learn their words, one by one. No one had ever or would ever understand the night like she did. Luna, who had never known a friend before, grew immensely fond of her. For a millennium, the people of Equestria, her people, had shunned her beautiful night without a second thought. She had her Night Guard to attend her, but they were her servants and her children – they could never be her friends. Now that she had met a soul who could accept her how she really was, someone who was worthy of her friendship… she sensed a hole had been filled that she never knew existed.

But as we all know, this story has no happy end. Being just a pegasus, Snowdrop was destined to die eventually. She lived a long and fruitful life, and thousands upon thousands mourned for her passing, but she did die nonetheless. Now, several trustworthy reports exist that tell of Princess Luna visiting her on her deathbed: she who she had found love for the first time now learned the meaning of loss; to have a dear one snatched away, not fallen to chaos like her brother Melody, but eradicated root and stem and gone forever. She begged Snowdrop not to do this to her. She offered her a place among the stars. Without trial and without initiation, the pegasus woman would have been made an immortal Night Guard there and then.

Snowdrop took Luna’s hand in her shivering own and turned her lightless eyes to her. All reports agree that – though it may seem strange – she was the one lending comfort to the princess, not vice versa. Her destiny had been fulfilled. She had lived a long and blissful life, she said, and she had been amongst the stars all along. If she became one of them, would she still hear them twinkle? Would she turn seeing? Would she still be herself? Gently, she refused the alicorn’s offer. She died with her face frozen in the same serenity that had carried her all her life.

Yet where Snowdrop’s struggle ended, Luna’s battle had just begun. Her office was the protection of dreamers. She spent her service fighting nightmares with her own inner light. Now that she had found and lost a friend, she had become painfully aware of her own loneliness. She had her Night Guard and had never failed in her duty, but did the Equestrians, her own people, consider her any more than they had her brother Melody? She didn’t like the answer. No longer was she willing to humbly serve in solitude, not after that one taste of friendship. She remained weakened and uncertain of herself, and thus her mind was vulnerable. It didn’t take long until a powerful nightmare managed to slip past her defences and take root in her thoughts. Eventually, Luna’s doubts consumed her as they turned to self-loathing. Loathing turned to fear, fear turned to sadness and sadness made way to seething rage.

One fateful night she refused to lower the moon, turning to Nightmare once and for all and setting of the events that would one day be known as the Twilight War. But that sad tale is for another day.

Author's Note:

Stating the obvious: the contents of this chapter were heavily influenced by the animated short 'Snowdrop' by Silly Filly Studios.