The Day Will Last Forever

by Desiree407

Prologue: Disconnected

Prologue: Disconnected
The stars on the alicorn’s eternal mane matched the stars in her night, which was nearly the same color as her deep blue coat. She stood watching the moon as it hung in the sky, appreciating her own work as there was no one else to do so. There never had been.
She was on the balcony of the castle she and her sister shared, delaying her duties for a few minutes of peace. Soon, she would visit a nightmare, but right now, she wanted a minute to reflect on a nightmare of her own.
Things hadn’t been the same since she had come back. She could tell that her powers weren’t what they had once been. They had faded after a thousand years of exile. She doubted that she had the strength to do much more than raise the moon each night. And even with that, there was trouble; she found herself unable to do it with as much ease and grace as before.
Of course, she deserved it, but it wasn’t as if that made things any better. She let loose a long sigh.
“Sister,” said a voice that sounded like honey, deep and sweet, “Whatever is wrong?”
Luna gasped and turned around to see Tia looking at her, concerned.
“I didn’t hear you come out here! Why are you still awake? You need your sleep, sister.”
“Sleep is not as important to me as a happy sister. What is the matter?”
Luna sighed again. “It’s just that I’m worried. My powers still aren’t what they were before. I’m beginning to seriously doubt they will ever come back! I’ll never feel what it’s like to effortlessly raise the moon again.”
Her sister looked at her. “I have a theory, Luna.”
Luna blinked. “What is it?”
Tia dug at the floor with her hoof, obviously uncomfortable. “My powers, too, are fading.”
Luna’s wings flared. “WHY DID NOT YOU TELL US THIS EARLIER?”
Tia leaned slightly away from her. “I didn’t want you to be worried, and…”
“DID YOU BELIEVE US INCAPABLE OF HANDLING THE SAME EMOTIONAL BURDEN?” Luna shouted at her, still too upset to stop using the Royal Canterlot Voice.
“Well, when you put it that way… I just didn’t want… you’re right. I’m sorry, Luna.”
“I… It’s alright. It’s more important that you tell me your theory.”
“Thank you. You see, I think that the reasons our powers are fading is because we are no longer connected to the Elements of Harmony.”
“That does make sense…but how can you be certain?”
“Well, do you remember when I banished you?”
“How could I forget it?”
“I—shouldn’t have asked that. But, anyway. I took the Elements and I… well, when I banished you, I was trying to use them alone. That’s something you should never do… it’s abuse to things that were always meant to be used by a group of friends, the magic they create together being the true power. And I think… when I did that… they disowned me, in a way.”
“They can do that?”
“Apparently so, because when I tried to use them again, it didn’t work anymore.”
“Oh Tia…”
“I know. I was so stupid. And now I’ve caused both of us weakness and distress. Can you ever forgive me?”
“Well… It was my fault, really.”
“What do you mean? I don’t understand. It was me who completely misused the Elements, not you.”
“But I was the one who forced you to do it. You had no choice.”
“Luna, how many times must I say this? You did not become Nightmare Moon simply through jealously. The Nightmare Forces took you over.”
“But not without my full consent!”
“You didn’t know what they were going to do!”
“But I was willing to do whatever it took.”
“Luna, you might as well blame the ponies who shunned your night.”
“They were not the ones who allowed themselves to become consumed by jealously. It’s my fault that the Elements are no longer connected to us.”
“Perhaps this is a pointless argument.”
Luna nodded. “But the question is, what are we to do now? We may not even be immortal any longer. We’ve been connected to those elements since… well, let’s see. There were the first thousand years, and then we became rulers, and then another five hundred, and then we defeated Discord and found the Elements, and then… oh, I don’t know how long passed. It feels like time sped up.”
“I know what you mean. The ideas about alicorns are many. Who knows if we were immortal in the first place? But it certainly feels like if we ever were, we are not now.”
“If we’re not immortal… then won’t be able to rule forever, Tia. We’ll need someone to rule after us.”
“You’re right. In fact, I have someone in mind…”
“Who is it?”
“Well, let me see if you can guess.”
“Oh, Tia. Do you remember?”
“Remember the guessing games we played when we were little? Oh, of course I do. They remind of me of times when everything was a little less complicated. When the most important things in your life were things like playing with your sister, finishing your homework, and learning to use wings and magic.”
“Well?”
“Well what?”
“Aren’t you going to give me a clue?”
Tia’s white head shook back and forth with laughter. “Some things, Luna, never change. Yes, I will… let’s see. She’s a unicorn.”
“Alright, the she thing narrows it down to half the population, the unicorn to a sixth, and let’s see, what unicorn mares do you know well? There’s… I think I’ve got it!”
“Oh, then what is it?” her sister’s voice was light with amusement.
“Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle?”
“Exactly! You win. Again.”
“I think she’ll make a wonderful princess.”
“Yes…” muttered Tia. She was looking off into the distance.
“Tia? Tia? Are you listening? Equestria to Tia!”
“I just wish… never mind. I’m glad you agree with me about Twilight. I wasn’t sure… I mean, you’ve got to consider…”
“Tia, tell me what’s wrong.”
“It’s nothing! I just… it doesn’t matter anymore. I just needed a second opinion. I mean, it’s not like… you know what, I’m very sleepy all of a sudden, Luna.”
“Tia—“
She was gone.
Luna stared at the door. “Goodnight, sister. Sleep well.”
She banished her suspicions. Weren’t there scared foals to enter the nightmares of?
Luna took a second longer looking at the door. She knew it led to her bedroom. And if she went to a tower that looked in the opposite direction, she would see Tia’s bedroom, where she had probably just gone.
Luna didn’t hesitate.
At least she wasn’t really shirking her duties. After all, she was entering a dream.
It just wasn’t a nightmare… at least, she hoped it wasn’t a nightmare.
Luna closed her eyes and set off.
She found herself in a different dimension entirely. It was a place where people’s unconscious minds drifted and connected. She walked among the ideas and fantasies, looking in on the extraordinary products of imagination commonly known as dreams.
The closer she was to a person, the clearer their dream was, so it only took her a few seconds to discover what Tia was dreaming.
However, it would take her the rest of her life to truly understand why she was dreaming it.

Author's Note:

As you can see, this is my first story. As you can also see, it's going to play off some pretty interesting themes. Please comment and tell me what you think; I'd like to know how I can improve!