Between Sisters

by JapaneseTeeth

Chapter 1

To my dearest sister Luna,

There's so much that I wanted to say to you. I know you probably don't want to listen to me, but I have to ask that you hear me out. Maybe it will help you understand that despite what happened, I still love you and hope that you'll return one day. Nothing that you have done has changed that, and nothing you could do will change that. If you thought that I didn't need you, or didn't want you with me, you could not be more wrong. You've always meant more to me that you ever knew.

I suppose that I should have told you this years ago. I feel like a fool for never mentioning it before. Maybe if I hadn't hidden it, I could have saved you. Maybe you wouldn't have tried to take the whole sky for yourself. But what is done is done, and there's nothing left for me to do but tell you now. At least, I believe there's still hope for you.

You probably won't believe me when I say this, but I used to be afraid of the dark. You wouldn't have remembered it anyway. It was before you were born, when I was the only princess of Equestria. I loved the sun, and everything about it. The way it warmed the earth, how it made the plants grow, how the raindrops shattered its light into every color; it was like the sun was my best friend.

But the night terrified me. I hated the darkness. It covered everything. It felt like the entire world was hiding from me. It was like I was completely cut off from everything that I loved so much; as if I was always alone. The world was empty, except for the unknown horrors that hid in the darkness. Every night all I could do was curl up in bed and wait for the sun to rise.

I remember that I was scared when you were born. It was the middle of the night, when everything was darkest. Our parents had told me that you were going to govern the night as I did with the day. I had never been so terrified. The idea that everything I hated; the darkness, the unknown, the isolation... that you, my sister, would embody all of it... I was afraid of you. I didn't even want to go see you after you were born. It was stupid, but I didn't think I could do it.

Mother had to practically push me through the door into your room. The room was dark, of course. I'm still not sure how I managed to make my way from the door to the cradle where you were curled up. All I wanted to do was take a quick glimpse and return to the light. But it changed when I first met you.

I don't know what I had expected, but it wasn't what you turned out to be. I could feel myself shaking as I reached out to pat you on the head. I could hardly even see you; the room was so dark, and you practically blended in with the blankets. But then you opened your eyes and looked right into mine.

I'm still not sure, but I could swear that I saw a flicker of magic around your horn, and a silver moonbeam shone in through the window. From that moment on, I couldn't be afraid of the night. It was the first time in my life that I realized that it could be beautiful. I wasn't alone in the night any more. Even in the darkest, starless nights, I knew that you were there, behind it all.

That's why it was so terrible when you became Nightmare Moon. It was as if everything that I had been afraid you would be had come true. But still, I couldn't be afraid of you. I knew that under the armor was that quiet little pony who had always followed me around, asking questions about everything.

I wish that I could say that I don't understand why you did what you did, but that would be a lie. I remember the long hours that you spent on your sky; making sure every star was in its place, arranging how the comets would fall, drawing your pictures on the moon... You were so proud when you showed it to me for the first time.

It took my breath away. When I saw what you had created, I couldn't believe that I had ever been afraid. It was something that not even I could have ever done. Nopony would ever stare at the sun. I didn't have anything to hang in my sky. It was my duty to illuminate the beauty of the world rather than create my own.

I watched your face fall as you saw everypony go back to their homes as I brought the sun down. I could hear you sigh as you raised the moon into a sky that nopony bothered to look at. I know that nopony ever loved the stars as much as you, and I can't imagine how much it must have hurt when you realized that not every pony felt the same. When you realized that some of them were even afraid of the night, I noticed a change.

I think that was when it started. I could see your disappointment and sadness turning into anger. I could feel it, especially when you saw how the other ponies treated me. You were jealous of how much they loved the sun, and you wanted them to feel the same way about the night. The fact that they feared it must have been eating away at the back of your mind.

I only wish it could have happened differently. Maybe if you had known just how much you'd helped me... I should have told you how beautiful the night sky was to me; how because of you I would never be afraid of the dark again. I don't know why I never did. Maybe it was my pride. Maybe I was just jealous of the fact that you had something that I could never hope to touch. Whatever it was, I can't believe that it took me until now to realize how stupid it was.

I never wanted to send you away. I never wanted to take the sky away from you. Even if I wanted to, I couldn't. The night was made for you, and nopony else. That's why even though I sent you away, I made you a part of the sky that you loved so much. One day, I know you'll understand why I did what I did, and when you do, the night will be yours again. It could never belong to me. I am only holding onto it for you until you return, and I can't wait until you do.

It seems like at the end of every day, the night is a little darker without you.

Your loving sister,

Celestia

Celestia stared at the words on the scroll for a moment before rolling it up. She sighed as she turned to the window, where the last rays of the sunset were streaming into the room. Her horn glowed a pale gold as she pointed it at the sun, slowly lowering it beyond the horizon. The gold glow in the sky vanished, replaced with an ethereal blue as the the moon began to rise into the sky. She called out into the hallway.

"Achaicus, I have a message I need you to send." Celestia tried to keep her voice level as she lifted the scroll off of the desk. "It's very important."

"Yes, princess." A short, somewhat rotund dragon scurried into the room. "To where would you like me to send it?"

"I've enchanted it with the location myself."

"I see." Achaicus nodded sagely before spitting a plume of fire at the scroll. It consumed the paper in a flash of green before spiraling out the window. "Will that be all, princess?"

"Yes, thank you."

The dragon nodded and backed out of the room with a bow. Celestia turned back to the window in time to see the shimmering flame disappear into the distance as it floated towards the moon. Whether or not it would arrive was anyone's guess. Even if it did, whether or not it would be received was a whole other question.

Celestia's gaze remained fixed on the moon as she slowly trotted out onto her balcony. She glanced down for a moment. The city sprawled out beneath her. The streets seemed to be mostly empty. In the silver moonlight, she could see the last few ponies making their way to their homes. None of them were looking up. Nopony wanted to think about the Mare in the Moon.

She turned her gaze skyward. It had always been a mystery to her. While no other pony could see anything except Nightmare Moon, she had never been able to see anything other than her little sister. Celestia swallowed the lump in her throat as she forced the words out.

"Good night, Luna."

Comments

[Celestias Paladin]

Because first and foremost they are sisters, no matter what some think. Nicely done my friends, and thank you for sharing.

[Bronzedragon]

Believe me if it was not for spellchecker and a very patient daughter-in-law you would think

that I was translating from the original dragon. That out of the way you have a glitch in the next to last

paragraph. “ A lump began to form in her sprawled out beneath her. I think you got distracted and

skipped a few words. Been there done that. Good story keep up the good work.

[ambion]

Very simple, very direct, and I could easily accept this as canon. A pleasent and well written little read.

[BarrenBaron]

HNNNNNNG!
too bad we didn't see Luna's reaction.

[JapaneseTeeth]

578707
Woops, it must have screwed up the formatting when I imported the text. Will fix.

[richfiles]

Message received... in my heart.
My eyes must need a gasket job,
cause they've started leaking again.

[richfiles]

578709 For a second, I thought the rearmost hind leg of your avatar was something else...

[ambion]

580312 Now I will never not be able to see that for a millisecond, thank you But no, its a lion's leg and and ram's leg.

[richfiles]

I'd say this story was beautiful, touching, tragic, and heartwarming, all at once.

580787 I know, that's why I threw that "For a Second" in there. I'm so sorry!
If it's any consolation, I read your story, and am intrigued. Go on...

[Earthwise]

My gosh, man! If I could write well, all my thoughts, feelings, and tears would be merged into this Fan-fic.
It is SO nice to know, that there are some people in this world who disagree with the whole 'transformed into the Wicked Nightmare Moon' crapes.
I can't tell you how angry I've become when people say, "Nightmare moon was a spirit that overpowered Luna and controlled her'
But you, sir, are different. I hadn't even thought of Celestia being afraid of the dark. That was genius, man!
I love how you wrote about Celestia's feelings instead of Luna's, because I believe this was a hell of a lot harder for her. In fact, I think it would actually ruin the moment if you wrote about Luna's reaction.
You sir, have been Favorited.

[CDRW]

I liked this.

[JAG]

Poor Celestia. We all make mistakes, neglect to say things we should, but... she has to remember hers for eternity. Even now that Luna is back, she'll always have that thousand years of regret hanging over her and coloring their relationship. She and Luna have a very sad story, really.

Anyway, I really like the idea of Celestia having been afraid of the dark. It makes sense, given that the night is everything she isn't. And Luna instantly curing it for her was adorable. It probably would be pretty hard to fear the night once you've met the baby that represents it.

I also like the idea of Achaicus. We never have seen how Celestia sends letters, have we? So she potentially might have a dragon assistant. Are you planning to use him in any other fics?

[TheCloudtop]

Wow, this is good. You have a wonderful talent of writing characters with realistic emotions. I could feel Celestia's sadness seeping through the letter. Made me just a little.

[JapaneseTeeth]

Oh wow, people actually looked this one up.
1474763 Yup, Achaicus was basically my headcanon on how she sends letters. I haven't decided whether I'll use him in other fics or not, mainly because I've written another story where it comes up. I certainly think there's a lot that could be done with the idea, but I just haven't had the opportunity to explore it.
1489124 Thanks. I don't write this kind of story very often, so I'm glad to hear that I captured Celestia's feelings well.

[SigmatheAwesome]

That was brilliant. You've captured the (possible but incredibly likely) emotions of Celestia very well. Also, the dragon assistant idea is cool

[Jack-Pony]

Very touching... Also, scarily plausible!

[PonyBro]

Beautiful...
There is much more I could say about this story, but to do so would muddle how I really feel, since I felt many emotions while reading this. So I feel the simple word of beautiful is sufficient.

I bow to you good sir

[Cheer]

First thought at the end.

"Good night moon."

Turns around.

"Good night bed."

And thus her nightly ritual continues.

[SpitFlame]

I'm willing to bet that scroll took 1,000 years to get to the moon, and Luna decided to leave once she got it.