Moonlight

by Ocean Heart

A First Date

Luna slept in for a while, the princess felt the heaviness of her words weighing on her mind painfully...each passing moment was a war between what she was standing for and how her sister felt about the change. Princess Luna knew Celestia was selfish as a child, and it did bear its own marks even now as an adult, but it was still hard to think that it came to such a bitter argument to end the divide...yet start a new one. With a heavy sigh, Luna sunk deeper into the sheets; feeling the all too familiar lump of bitter emotions and regret in her throat, as her eyes watered against the soft feather pillows...

I...I need to escape...

Luna rolled to her side and pulled the covers over her head to block what little light entered the room. Silencing her thoughts as best she could so that the sweet embrace of sleep could comfort her until the sun fell to the horizon. The one thought that refused to be silenced was every worry and anxiety she had about the strange Acrylic Evenfall. Much to her disappointment, no other pony came forward like he has, even worse that it seemed that this Nightmare Moon title was sticking. If the ponies of Equestria see fit to mock their princess...who only wants to save them from nightmares...then the suffering few can save themselves.

Acrylic Evenfall picked up the metal work and admired the effort he put into shaping it properly, a coat of paint already drying on it. The sketch of his design still holding up if not a little soot stained and burnt on the edges; he looked up at it to check if his original design was the same as what it was physically...thankfully it was. The soft rounded edges looked elegant and the stencil of the crescent moon waiting to be painted. It even made him smile softly as he put the very fine and very expensive, luminescent white paint into the moon.

"Uncle?" The boy twin piped surprisingly...Ancient Tome was standing behind Acrylic and watching him work for some time now, but not really talking or asking questions...

"Yes? What is it lad?" Acrylic said without taking his attention off the careful painting.

Tome started fidgeting around the furnace, using his magic to shift the still hot coals around and send flurries of embers into the pipe and up...

"Well...what did the princess say to thou?" Tome said innocently, as if dancing around a subject...

Acrylic furrowed his brow in thought and put the brush down, turning around in the chair to gauge the colts expressions..

"What doth thou mean?" Acrylic asked.

Tome turned around to face him properly and had an odd determination in his silver colored eyes.

"I need...advice...Thou knows I have a fondness for writing, but my father said...that writing is dangerous.." Tome said with a confused look, head cocked and ear titled down curiously.

Acrylic was a little surprised at his brothers frankness with such a young child, but in truth; any form of art can be dangerous...writing is the most harrowing though. With the right words, countries can topple and tyrants can fall...ideas are spread and even twisted if in the wrong hooves. Acrylic did not expect a child to understand, but Tome was a surprisingly mature colt under the initial goofy tendencies one would expect.

"The reason it is dangerous, is because of the freedom it holds. Imagine that you can turn ponies ideas into movements, fiction becomes fact and the most terrifying part...is that nothing can stop or limit you. There is nothing on this world or any other that can hinder you, because you work...in ideas and theories."

The colt sat down and looked dumbfounded...Acrylic had his own way with words, even so though, everything he said was true. This was one of those moments where Tome questioned his talents and abilities; which means that Acrylic was all the more proud to help bestow confidence and pride in taking on such a talent. As a child he didn't have a hope of understanding what Acrylic meant, later in life though he can look back and have a deeper appreciation of the words imparted here and now...

"That makes very little sense..." Tome said frankly.

Acrylic smiled and rubbed the colts head, a goofy grin coming back to the young ones face...

"You have more power with a pen than any princess can hope to achieve."

Ancient Tome got a more determined gleam in his shining eyes and ran off, his sister chasing him past the doorway; no doubt she was listening in from the start and perhaps it would spark a little more fuel to the sibling rivalry. In a way it was refreshing to see a new mind take to such an old art, to even bring new life to it when he reaches a more time weathered age. Acrylic turned around and took up the brush again, dipping a new bit of the luminous paint on it and resuming his work...though he had been working for so long that he didn't realize that he had worked though the night and well into the afternoon. After spending a few extra moments on the moon, Wintered Tail found his brother sitting in the chair with his head on the desk, a pool of drool forming around his jaw.

"Brother...I should just leave you, Celestia knows the moment thee wakes up, it would be back to work."

Tail sighs and walks quietly over to his brother, picking up the unconscious, rather than sleeping stallion.

"Thou are lucky that you grew to be such a light weight..." Tail said with a chuckle.

Wintered steped up the small amount of stairs and walked calmly into the living room, deciding it would be better to just let his brother sleep on the couch rather than carry him all they way up to his room. With a flop, Acrylic landed on the soft sofa and let out a soft snore; Tail just shook his head and laughed again. Tail sat down in front of the couch and slowly the normal cheerful smile faded to a worry....his brother was smitten with a pony of nightmares...it reeked of just an idea of loneliness, Acrylic had been away for so long with nopony to talk to; now he thinks that the first mare he see's is the love of his life....

"Why did it have to be Nightmare Moon...of all the mare's in equestria..."

Acrylic opened his eyes, gasping sharply when he realized the air was different. The light in his eyes took time to adjust to, yet when his vision cleared...he was in a ivory and rose garden, butterflys float though the air and birds sing happily on the bushes. Acrylic took a look around and noticed details shifting constantly...the green of the leaves brightening and veins and edges becoming defined while the roses bloomed and let forth their sweet scent into the crisp spring air. Things changed so vividly that Acrylic let his jaw drop when he looked up...the moon hung high in the sky and beamed down brighter than any sun he had ever witnessed; it was such a strange sight...he was simply at a loss for words.

"I knew only an artist could finish my creation..."

Acrylic felt his heart skip...

"Princess..." Acrylic said as he looked back down.

Luna...but by the All Mother...

The princess of the night was dressed in a pure white gown, an airy dress that floated in the light wind. No...it wasn't white...it was a light blue, a sweet shade of blue that accented her natural color perfectly somehow. Acrylic though was more shocked at the fact that her mane was tied up and styled to resemble the luxurious look of royalty of the Crystal Empire, a singular small gem trailing on the side...deep emerald.

"Well..do not stare..." Luna said...eyes finding the ground, her idea of what would happen is already getting de-railed.

Acrylic shook his head and looked at himself, still covered in soot and paint...

"Princess....?" He asked quickly. "Is this...a date?"

Luna felt her face burn crimson, luckily able to control most of it..most...

"Ah...then I am dreaming?"

Luna nodded slightly.

Acrylic took a deep breath to regain his composure, out of touch with social standards and even society itself could never take away his years living with a fancy and upstate family. Within moments the soot was gone and his mane was fixed...sort of...just being a little spiky rather than unkempt, no matter what though, it was never his style to wear a fancy suite or other nonsense; instead he imagined up a black collared button up, sleeves rolled down so he could look decent and still be comfortable. Luna looked up and took a moment..letting out a small laugh.

"Endless possibilities, and thou choose a shirt that could cost three bits..."

Acrylic looked at himself a little and reddened a little...

"No, tis...fitting...Hard to see thou having a good time in a stuffy suite." Luna said, now it was official...they were dressed to impress and eyes locking. Acrylic...seeing nothing but a gorgeous soul full of loneliness due to a shy nature...Luna...for the first time, a pony seeks her affection; not just that, he was truly kind natured and even a little silly...

Luna snapped out of thought, while it did feel strangely fun to have this back and forth, she needed to ask the important question...

"Acrylic...what does thou see in a...in somepony like me...because I can see how thee see's into me."

Acrylic tilted his head a little in confusion...he already knew..from that night that seemed so long ago he knew. The wide, luster filled eyes and stunning dress was just a fraction compared to what he could hear in just her voice, a feeling of complete difference from everypony she knew, always hiding her true emotions; never letting anypony inside unless she knew...deep down...that they were special...

"I see somepony, a reflection of myself and my life...I've been alone...for so long, looking back it seems i've been running from something. Looking at thee...I see something I can run to; a reason to talk and play, to laugh and cheer with so much joy! ...A reason live life as it was meant to be...with somepony you love..."

Comments

[Mr Evergreen]

the plot thickens