Two Moons

by TheGreatEater

Chapter 1

Two Moons

by, TheGreatEater

Chapter 1:

It’s getting harder and harder to tell dreams from reality now in days. As I look over this cliff that I’ve over looked so many times now I’m feeling oddly contemplative. Even as those shadowy eyes watch me from the forest that stretches behind me. I feel myself looking back on things leading up to this point.

Trixie Lullamoon was the daughter of Mason Stone, a Cream white Stallion, with Light Grey mane and tail. With piercing Navy blue eyes, and Ara Lullamoon. An Indigo Mare with a wavy, White Mane and Tail. With radiant Gold eyes. Way off in a little town near Trottingham called Canter’s Peak. They were a small family of fallen nobility, much like the Belle’s and the Pie’s. Oldblood that had fallen out of the light as time had progressed leaving not but their family names to ever show their genealogy from greatness. Making matters more difficult was their state of near poverty growing up. But even with all those burdens and ghosts of the past, they were happy.

When Trixie was at that age where a foal starts school, and prepares for what will become the rest of their life. Trixie was working at her families store trying to help them make ends meet. While at night she would hear them argue about getting her into a good school, but that would devolve into them arguing about the bits and how they couldn’t afford it. Even with the scholarship afforded to a select few. Trixie was far away, and of such low familial standing that chances of such a thing were next to impossible. And those arguments tore at her, she didn’t care about good schooling, or anything that’d be detrimental to everypony she just wanted her family to be happy.

So she started training everynight by herself, drawing inspiration and creativity under the moonlight. It’s light, and presence always calmed her and filled her with the feeling that she could do anything. And with the Mare on the Moon looking down on her she felt as if she was giving a private show to her. Something that helped feed her confidence when she did things right, and helped get over her failures since it never judged, never scolded her, nor did it even talk. It just watched over her as she trained, and in the end that’s what mattered the most.

As the weeks flew by, she started regarding the moon as her special friend. Somepony that no matter what would always be there for her. A constant friend that never asked for anything, but was just a moonrise away. Under the watchful eye of the Mare on the Moon, she progressed quickly. Learning all kinds of tricks and skills, all the while her mind seeing the connection of things allowing her to create little things on the fly as it were. All the while feeling a deeper, and stronger connection with the moon. Almost as if was empowering her, and imparting it’s knowledge to her through bouts of inspiration.

It wasn’t much longer before the moon passed it’s last gift upon her. She was dreaming about looking at the moon, when the dream became lucid. She could feel the presence of the moon, and feel as if there was something just out of reach. A door that was waiting to be unlocked, but she never in all her years managed to open it, but from that spark of lucidity she was able to practice her magic in her dreams. Shaping and constructing things in her mind, and seeing life breathed into them. It was here in the mindscape of her dreams, where the moon, her magic, and her creativity became one that a flash of light ran through her entire being with a symbol of that connection and special talent for magic that burned itself into her memories before she woke up. Only to notice that on her flank was a Cutie Mark.

With a Squeal of delight that woke up the household and brought to them her family, she showed them her Cutie Mark and in the exuberant energy that all foals have started telling them about The Moon, her dream training, and how she had been training in secret for months. Her mother regarded her with a tilted head, before looking over to her husband. With a nod he walked over and ruffled her Mane before telling her that he was going to start planning her Cutecenaera. Mentioning that she should think about what she’d like.

Her mother setting her down on her rear knees and embracing Trixie with both magic and forehoof told Trixie a Story. “Listen honey, this is a tale of your many times, great grandmarm, Nova Lullamoon. There is a tale passed down by word of mouth from mother to daughter when they become of age. And it’s something that you with your talent are old enough to hear.

A long time ago there was not one Princess, but two sisters -”

“Two Sisters, but there is only Celestia. Everypony knows that right?” Trixie interrupted.

“Yes. But this is an important part of our history, and while I don’t know why they said there were two just listen ok?” Ara asked, and didn’t start until Trixie nodded in affirmation.

“Anyways. There were two sisters. One ruled the day and used her light to feed the land. But the other ruled the night, having a strong connection with the moon and the stars in the sky. There in that age were few who stayed with her, being afraid of the night and all it held. But Venus, felt that connection, and was able to use the night to bless her with great magic. So it was only natural that two Lunarmancers, would gravitate to one another. It was her service to the night that eventually earned her name to ascend to nobility. Since it had as ours is fallen out of repair after the Unicorn tribes joined Equestria.

But it was not meant to last long. Eventually a darkness swept up the sister, and a battle over the sun and moon was fought. When the dust settled and the sun rose victorious. Lunar Magicks became taboo, and those who practiced it’s powers were either prosecuted or shunned. And slowly just as the name Lullamoon waxed into it’s height. It eventually waned again as our family was forced to hide it’s connections.

But every now and then the Moon chooses one of our kin. Then blesses them with it’s light and grace. And that my dear is the story of the house Lullamoon, and why we must never allow outsiders to know of our connection to the moon. Nor those of us who have as strong a connection as you. A Lunarmancer hasn’t been in our family in generations, since the Equi-Griffo Conflict of 912 CR. So we must unfortunately lie about your Cutie Mark, but I want you to know that we love you and I’m proud of you. You will do great things when you get older. I know it.”

Trixie at the time was lost, on one hoof she learned a secret story that was handed down from mother to daughter just like what was happening to her, but she felt a part of her heart shatter in that she had to lie about her Special Talent. The one thing that was supposed to make her special, all because what she did would hurt her or her family. This isn’t fair!, she thought to herself when you get your Cutie Mark, you’re supposed to be happy and all grown up. You’re supposed to be happy, but how can I be happy when I have to live a lie my entire life? But my mother is right. If I was great and powerful, if I could prove myself to everypony, than maybe I could restore my family name. Then I wouldn’t have to hide the truth. That’s what I’ll do! It won’t have to be forever. Just until I can make others accept me, and show the greatness of not just the moon but my family name. Then I can be free of the lie I’m going to have to live in.

But that moment never came. Her party was a somber affair where she was given her carriage, a cape and a hat. All made by her family’s own hooves, and that made it just a little bit more special to her. Even if it was in the guise of a “Showmare”. But she took to it, since it made her family happy, it made her somewhat less unhappy. And she put herself into the mask of an egotistical braggart. All to make her stage presence more liked. Especially when kindness was ignored, and rudeness garnered attention. If she should find some hecklers who wanted to ruin her performance, well everypony loves a little bit of Schadenfreude. With the extra bits she earned she was able to get her family a better life, and even get herself a little sister. But just like how the luck of the Lullamoon’s went, just when things were looking up, they had to fall back down. Crashing into the unforgiving ground beneath their hooves.

Ponyville! That one word that evoked, dread, hate, and sorrow. It didn’t take long after her old friend the Mare on the Moon stopped showing up on the moon. And stories of Luna returning from the moon. With tales of Nightmare Moon being fought by some unnamed ponies, and Luna appearing out of the blue. Add in the fact that her old friend was nolonger there, and it all pointed to Ponyville.

She tried to go to Canterlot, and see Luna, see if she knew her. Especially with the old story about her families past. To know that there were actually two sisters, and it wasn’t just an oldmares tale. But when she got up to the castle gates, she just couldn’t do it. She couldn’t stand it if her only friend outside her family since her foalhood didn’t remember her. And worse even if she did remember her, she wouldn’t want to be reminded of such a horrible past. So she left with a promise that she’d be back later.

Then she made her way to Ponyville. To see what she could learn, but that turned out to be a disaster. Her show was going perfectly, all until a certain mare with a Mare with a Rainbow Colored mane. She not only didn’t get that it was a show. For the purpose of entertainment. And she, the Rainbow mare, didn’t have to be there. But got her friends to join in and then things spiraled out of her control. Then two colts whose parents seriously never heard of the word adult supervision. Awoke a raging Ursa Minor, lured it over to her home, and then ended up with the whole town turned against her. She lost not only her filly hood friend, but now her cutecenaera gifts, and when surprisingly large amount of rumors that travel through there, her very job.

Not only was her story about fighting an Ursa Major, a surefire way to cow a croud, ruined. But what happened was blamed all on her, causing her to be laughed out of town. Looking to find new work. With that she scraped, saved, and in times stole to survive as she learned everyone responsible for the decent of her fortune. In three years she lived through Discord, the Changeling Invasion, and with each new threat those Luna Damned mares were behind defeating all of them. It was after the incident with Discord that she learned that they were the ones who freed Luna, and more importantly everything about their lives. With every knew thing she was shown just how far in the Shadow of the mare who truly destroyed her life, Twilight Sparkle, she was.

Just like Luna was drowned in the shadow of Celestia’s shadow, Trixie was drowned in Twilight’s. What’s even worse was that Twilight didn’t even acknowledge Trixie. Nor did they even try to replace the things that they were responsible for destroying. They simply forgot about her while her world fell around her hooves. So she trained, strengthening her connection to the moon, and looked for a way to rip free of Twilight’s shadow. And if she could defeat her could prove that the moon was greater than the sun.

Of course that failed horribly, The Alicorn Amulet, she didn’t know what she was thinking. Both in finding that accursed thing, or when she was under its influence. Why, oh why did she have to gain a distrust for circles? Not shells, ovals, or hemispheres. No, that would be bad enough, but circular objects? The amount of ridicule and insults she dealt with was unending. She couldn’t get a job anywhere with the word of her enslaving a village, doing eccentric things, and being responsible for lowering the Equestria Stock Exchange by 20% for a month with her shutting away the various exports that the Apple and Carrot families were responsible for.

Eventually she found her way to a mountain side by Canterlot, near starving, and spent each day both awake and asleep over looking the cliff. Each night she was reminded on how much she lost, and how much she could never wax back into the gloriousness of her glory days. At least she’d finally be free of the lie she had been forced to live for all these years.

Just as she was about to jump she felt a shiver and woke up. The sun starting to rise above the horizon. Giving a sigh she thought that at least she should send a letter to a few ponies to let them know what she planned on doing once the sunset. She didn’t know why it was important, but at least they deserved to know.

Luna shook herself from the haze of walking through the Dreamscape. She always tried to help her people with their dreams, but she saw something that troubled her deeply just a few moments ago. She had been watching a mare that she learned was named Trixie, and had been seeing her stand at the edge of that same dream cliff for almost a week know. She was getting prepaired to finally help her move onward from what was troubling her when she was slammed with memories from that other mare.

Seeing that there was knowledge of her fight with her sister for so long, and that her old friend Nova Lullamoon had suffered from her families genetic predisposition to Lunarmancy every few generations made her tear up in sorrow. To think of the things that were burried and lost over the centuries due to ponies prejudice. But then just as she was going to ask the Mare started to jump before waking up, throwing Luna out of the Dreamscape of Trixie’s. To think that she was going to loose a decendant of an old friend, and that she feared coming to her, not from her being Nightmare Moon, but out of fear of not being remembered.

In truth the moon while she had a strong connection to it, wasn’t the only pony to have one. Lunarmancy was a special gift in Luna’s eyes, and it was all but stamped out while she was imprisoned on the moon. Her first order of business was to confront her sister, then she was going to find Trixie and stop her from doing something she would regret. With the haze that settled over her while in the Dreamscape shaken out of the way. She cantered over to the Royal Dining Hall to talk to her sister about this injustice.

“Sister! Do thou know of the travesty of justice thee have done against Us!” Luna roared with the full force of the Royal Canterlot Voice when she entered the dining hall.

Celestia’s eyes temporarily widened before slipping into her calm, serene mask that she wore when dealing with her subjects. Keeping her thoughts close to her chest, “What are you talking about Lulu?”

“I’m talking about allowing Lunarmancers to be all but completely stomped out, and any Lunarmancers around have to keep that knowledge secret. Do you know that one our precious little ponies is planning on taking their life shortly because of thoroughly they are prosecuted? Along with the general misfortune of her family? My Moon, who chooses who it wishes to bless and when, is as important as the sun. But you don’t see the few who are blessed by the sun’s magic being prosecuted to obscurity. Why did you allow it to happen?”

“Sister you know as much as I do that I can’t be everywhere -” Celestia began before being interupted by Luna in full Royal Canterlot Rant mode. The progress she made in learning modern language slipping as her emotions ran high.

“Don’t give us that sister! We are Alicorn’s just as thou art! There is a difference between not being able to be everywhere, and allowing things to slide out of control through negligence! And Do not even dare giving the ‘it was hard after you were gone’ argument! I want to know why, and honestly this time, why you allowed things to slip this far out of control!?” Luna roared as the windows rattled, a storm cloud was violently forming above her shooting random bolts around the room. The Guards looking at each other wondering what to do since their training never covered two Living Deities getting in an argument with one another.

“Very well, Guards go outside and make sure we are not disturbed,” With that she waited as they hustled out and when they were out continued, “The truth is during the first two centuries I didn’t give a damn what happened to Equestria. Other than stamping out your name throughout the historical records the populace could see, and eradicating a lot of the more dangerous cults and their writings. I didn’t have the time to look after all the Lunar based magic users or followers. Especially with how most of the ponies felt a connection with evil and them.

By the time I was done making sure that noone would know you were Nightmare Moon, and that things were ready for your return. The full weight of my depression caught up to me and within two centuries. All of those who used to follow your magics, or subsequently would be be using them were either seen as taboo by the world, or were taught to hide themselves. If any of them were to come to me I would have tried to fix things, but I had every reason to think that those magics and types of knowledge was gone from the world,” Taking a deep breath Celestia struggled to keep her mask of serenity with old wounds being reopened,

“But that is in the past. I am a pony after all and you of all ponies know that both of us are prone to mistakes. I’m sorry, but let us focus instead of the past, helping this pony that you said was going to end her life. Who is she by the way? It will help tremendously.”

The storm simmered down around Luna, although she was still glaring daggers at her sister, “I can’t forgive you not yet. If it was just about me, and tales about Nightmare Moon. Even if it was about, Children of the Night, the NRRH, or other Nightmare Moon Cults. I would forgive you. But your negligence while looking over my celestial territory. That I can not forgive yet, not with how much you have either intentionally or unintentionally stole from the world, and kept from all ponies of my night and it’s powers. As for the mare, her name is Trixie Lullamoon.”

“Trixie? I heard of her. Wasn’t she the one who almost destroyed Ponyville twice?” Celestia said deciding to focus on the task at hand, rather than the stabbing sorrow building in her chest.

“No. It was a group of colts who were responsible, and the ponies of Ponyville who spread the lie of it being her fault. As for the other time, you know as well as I that you filling the populace with half truths, misinformation, and outright lies in things you find dangerous or unwanted only leads to ruin. It has failed you time and time again, and you still cling to that policy. Would it have been so bad to let others know of Discord, or Sombra, or even Changelings? Not to mention other problems and our current problem?

You should know better than anypony that the Alicorn Amulet doesn’t just corrupt others as much as it controls them. If I remember correctly you forgave her for her transgressions under it’s influence.” Luna replied frostily.

Giving a small nod, “ Well we sure do have a lot to talk about later, maybe some changes to go over. But let us get Trixie before anything happens. If she is a Lunarmancer, than she is a very special magic users and it would be a tragedy to allow such a rarity to slip through our hooves. I’ll look through Canterlot, and you take where you think she’d be. I know your types usually feel a connection with one another.”

Trixie had wound throughout Canterlot, with jeers and insults thrown her way. With the occasional wheel thrown at her, or other round object. Just another one of many reasons she hated coming into cities. The bruises and injuries she ran into as ponies made it known that she was equus non grata in Equestria. It was short of a banishment, and in Trixie’s eyes was something that would no longer matter in a little while. She had resorted to something despicable for her bits, but the act of cut pursing with magic was a slight crime needed to pay for dragon mail. Them and Griffons weren’t bound by pony civilizations thoughts and world views. If you could pay them they would deliver your mail.

With her letters written, she had the Dragon’s have it on hold until when the sun fell. By then she had determined that it was all going to end. She was walking out of the post office, and being pelted by various objects when somepony fell from the sky and wrapped a protective white wing around her, “What do you ponies think you are doing!? Assaulting a pony is against the law. And Guards, why aren’t you doing your duty?”

Trixie looked up and saw the pony she had only seen at a distance. Princess Celestia stood over her, the disappointment in the ponies around her thick on her features. And Trixie thought she could see a sense of pain behind those eyes, but that was impossible. The Princess in Trixie’s eyes was beyond such mortal failings. But she couldn’t let Princess Celestia, or and she shuddered at the thought, Princess Luna, do her any kindness. She didn’t deserve it, “Don’t worry about it Princess. I’m used to it by now. After all you don’t get possessed by an evil artifact, enslave an entire village that turns out to produce 80% of the worlds apples and carrots, cripple the ESE, and send all of Equestria into a financial slump without a little bit of problems afterward. After all things will be better by tomorrow.”

Princess Celestia looked at her with a slight frown, “How will it be better tomorrow my little pony? And nopony should be assaulted by another. It’s the law.”

“Let’s just call it a hunch. And if it was the law, than I should have been imprisoned a hundred times over.” Trixie said, she couldn’t bring herself to look at Princess Celestia. Especially not when her sister was going to be getting a letter tonight that she probably was never going to see coming. Although she could feel that emotional ache deep in her chest deepen as the crowd cheered their agreement.

“That is enough!” Celestia let loose the Royal Canterlot Voice, for the first time in over two hundred and fifty years, “I am disappointed in all of you! This mare is obviously injured, and starving. Has been from the looks of things received this treatment for months. And you not only break the law in front of the Guards! Who by the way I want all of you in this city to report once you are relieved of duty to your supervisors then to myself! But you all have the audacity to have a mob violence in my city! You are all under arrest for assault and battery, disturbing the peace, and whatever else I can think to throw at you! And if any of you try to skip out on your punishment I will personally send you to the sun!”

The buildings had cracked, the windows shattered, and the ponies who saw Princess Celestia as incapable of anger had flooded the streets in a wide variety of bodily fluids as they all paled significantly at the sight of a highly peeved Princess. Even Trixie who was being saved by the Princess was shaken. Princess Celestia turned to Trixie her visage visibly softening, “Don’t worry, you are coming with me. I know a certain pony who was worried about you and wants to see you today.”

Comments

[Chapter 13]

.......so awesome

[Tome]

Quite a lot of grammar errors, but great story nonetheless!

[00RaiserGundam]

I agree with Tome. What he/she said.

[amiamera]

I'm trying to figure out why I don't like this first chapter. The story concept is interesting but it feels too...telly? I think that's probably the issue but I'll give it a few chapters to see if I can figure out what's off. I like the concept and the backstory but for some reason the story is not pulling me in.

[Life Beat]

getting sent to the sun redifines the saying "i'm on fire!"

[Wahtiff]

"The truth is during the first two centuries I didn’t give a damn what happened to Equestria. Other than stamping out your name throughout the historical records the populace could see, and eradicating a lot of the more dangerous cults and their writings. I didn’t have the time to look after all the Lunar based magic users or followers. Especially with how most of the ponies felt a connection with evil and them."

Why does this sound a lot like the Celestia in my own headcanon. I know she did it to prevent ponies from figuring out who Nightmare Moon really was, which in itself is different, but that fact that she says she actually didn't give a damn about Equestria at first...that's so much like my headcanon.

[The Real McCoy]

Ponyville! That one word that evoked, dread, hate, and sorrow.

And in this one reader, SHEER, UNADULTERATED FURY WITH A SIDE OF CONTEMPT. For the exact same reasons that they evoked the feelings that they did in Trixie.

[hmaf43]

No dead horse. I am sad.