Dark Side of the Moon

by SapphireSkyes

Chapter 2: Luna

Luna glided out of the ballroom in a flurry of blue silk and no one stopped her. That was one of the advantages of being a princess: she could do whatever she wanted. For now, at least.

But did they outweigh the disadvantages?

Luna wanted to be on the front lines protecting her kingdom and fighting for justice. She wanted adventure. The adrenaline flowing through her veins like blood.

Instead, her life was reduced to attending luncheons with snobby old ladies, posing for pictures and being Celestia's shadow.

Luna pushed away the thought. She was going to explore the city. She needed to see the kingdom she was going to rule with her own eyes, not just what was handed to her in elaborate reports. She unfurled her blue-feathered wings, flying above the city. Crystal blocks glimmered under the moonlight, stars twinkled up above.

But the air around her seemed wavy and slightly foggy, and as she squinted closer, she saw through the illusion cast by Amore.

Was that....a slum? A slum in the midst of the Crystal Empire? Not one, but hundreds.

The truth hit her like a truck. The glittering buildings were mere illusions to hide the truth: an Empire impoverished and barely surviving.

Luna wanted to know more. She found a slum and landed on the roof softly.

Soon, she heard voices coming from the roof of a neighboring slum, where two figures sat, chatting and laughing.

"Celestia, insanely hot goddess of the sun and amazing charmer, will you-" A deep voice started.

"Jet, Celestia won't take you seriously if you talk to her that way," A husky voice replied.

"Fine! If you're so great, you propose to your beloved," Jet snorted sarcastically.

"Luna, I love you. You are beautiful and intelligent and....when I first set eyes on you, I knew we were meant to be together. So, will you marry me?" The other voice said.

"Yes Sombra! That's what I call a genius!" Jet whooped.

Luna looked over, stifling her laughter. A boy, proposing to her? And even though they were playing around, it sounded so genuine!

Suddenly, crashes and clangs resounded from that slum. Two more figures jumped onto their roof.

"Look who we have here," a nasally voice sneered.

"Get a life, Bijou," Jet growled.

"Oh oh oh! There's food!" A boy squeaked, and Luna heard someone rummaging through a bag.

"Hand it over, or else-" Bijou threatened them.

Clang! A few loud thumps came from the slum, along with a string of curses. The rough outlines of four figures started running along the roof, throwing punches at each other.

A bright flash of red magic suddenly lit up the sky like a firework. Three voices shouted in surprise as one of the figures rained hammer fists down on a scrawny frame of a teenager.

Screeeeech! The sound was ear piercing and made Luna jump. The tin roof of the slum started sagging under the boys' weight, until the whole thing went crashing down.

"Sh*t!" Someone yelled.

Not thinking, Luna flew over to see what was happening. The same red blast of magic threw her back along with three others, and the slum itself exploded, shards of metal and plywood flying in all directions.

One of the bodies landed on top of her, knocking the wind out of Luna. She tried to steady her breathing as the person grabbed her neck.

A boy with a buzz cut and sky blue eyes stared back at her, curling his lips into a sneer. "What do we have here?" It was Bijou.

"Mine." He snatched her jeweled bracelet off her wrist greedily, which looked out of place in his dirt and blood-crusted hand.

A small crowd had gathered, forming a circle around them.

"Well what's a rich girl doing out here alone in the slums?" He drew a bloodstained knife, running it along her throat. "This is no place for a lady like-"

Luna grabbed the knife, twisted it out of his hand, swept him onto his back and pointed the knife at his heart. "What were you saying about this being no place for a lady like me?"

"Ohhhh," the crowd murmured, all wide-eyed and intrigued.

Suddenly, four boys ran towards her, all holding pathetic excuses for weapons. She simply threw them back with a flash of blue telekinesis, slamming them to the ground.

Out of the corner of her eye, a boy with glossy black hair and red eyes was dueling another scrawny boy with long, greasy hair tied into a loose ponytail.

The red-eyed boy didn't have a weapon, but he was a wild card: doing the unexpected and making use of the things around him.

His opponent held a bloodstained knife, slashing at him, but carelessly and in blind rage.

It looked like the knife-wielding boy was finally gaining the upper hand, but then the red-eyed boy unleashed a huge burst of magic, which brought him to his knees, coughing up blood. The crowd around them gasped. Another group of boys all wearing green bandanas shoved their way through the crowd.

"All right, Sombra. Now you pay." The leader, who was seven feet and hulking made his way to them.

"How did you get yourself a rich, beautiful lady like this?" The leader grabbed Luna's waist and pulled her towards him.

"Get off of her!" Sombra yelled and once again, shot a blast of magic at the leader before she could defend herself. Red beams of magic twisted around the leader's neck, choking him.

The group of boys in green bandanas reacted immediately, charging for Sombra. I owe him a favor, Luna thought. She threw out her arms, performing a stun spell that sent the 20 of them crashing to the ground.

The crowd stared at her and Sombra one more time, fear reflected in their eyes ,then ran off to their respective slums.

Luna turned towards Sombra, who was bloodstained and bruised.

"Your majesty." He bowed, avoiding eye contact with her.

"You know me?" Surprisingly, no one in this slum-city seemed to recognize her, even though she was the crown princess.

"I would recognize the Princess of the Night anywhere," Sombra replied, half-smiling and flicking his glossy bangs out of his eyes.

"Not many people do," Luna muttered to herself.

"Jet!" Sombra shouted and looked around frantically, scanning the area for his brother.

"I'm over here," Jet cried weakly. His leg was twisted at an odd angle and a gash on his face was a stream of red blood. "Bijou and Onyx really got me this time!"

"We need to get him to the nearest hospital," Luna said as she ripped off part of her petticoat to staunch the blood flow.

"Hospitals are too expensive," Sombra growled, checking Jet's leg.

"A clinic, maybe?" Luna suggested.

"The black market," Jet wheezed through the pain.

Luna couldn't stand someone so hurt being denied basic healthcare. "Just follow me into the hospital." This was one of the times being a princess came in handy.

Luna and Sombra supported Jet as they walked him to the nearest hospital. They stopped before a small white building with the words "Crystal Empire district 3 General Hospital" painted on it.

"Hello, may I help you?" A lady at the front desk asked them.

Luna cleared her throat and wiped the blood and dirt off her face.

"Oh! Your majes-" The lady started kneeling.

"Stop! Do you see a boy is hurt? Quickly, get someone!" Luna urged.

A few nurses came to get Jet and brought him into a room. Luna stayed in the waiting room while Sombra went with Jet. Twenty minutes later, Sombra emerged bandaged. "Jet's spending the night in the hospital. He told me to go and...uh..."

"Spend the night with me?" Luna finished for him. "Be my guest."

********

"So, tell me about yourself," Luna said. They both lay under the stars on the roof of a slum, the cool metal a stark contrast to the humid evening.

"Well, I'm seventeen, my brother Jet is nineteen. I live at the orphanage. I like reading and magic, but...." Sombra trailed off. He wasn't used to opening up to anyone but Jet.

"Oh, you're an orphan?"

Sombra really wanted to tell the princess about his life, but he was afraid he might be ridiculed if he revealed too much about himself. Then again, she seemed so open, so understanding, so much like him.

"Yes. My mother was killed by a gang for not being able to pay off her debts, and my dad died from a drug overdose. I wasn't close to them, though," Sombra answered hesitantly.

"I'm an orphan too. My parents were killed in the Great War," Luna told him. "I miss them terribly."

For a while, they lay there in silence. Then they started chatting, simply chatting about older siblings and school and books and magic.

"I saw you fighting. You were really good! And with no real training?" Luna marveled.

"Thank you. I've always wanted to be an amazing magician. But I can't. When I was younger, I got beat up by Bijou and he really damaged my left hand. The surgery would've cost thousands, but we didn't have enough, so the magic I can do is limited," Sombra sighed.

"Maybe when I turn 18, I can help make healthcare free here," Luna tried to cheer him up.

"There's a lot you don't know about the slums, Luna. I'm already a target. The names they call me at school and the things they do are child's play. Here, it's a game of survival. And no one plays fair in games of survival."

They lay there for a bit, not talking, just watching the sky bleed pink and orange and yellow.

"You're right. No one plays fair," Luna whispered. Then, snapped up. "Oh! I should go now. It was great meeting you."

"It was great meeting you too," Sombra bid his goodbyes to her.

Sombra watched Luna fly off and fade away with the night. Then, exhausted from the lack of sleep and that night's events, he drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

By the time he awoke, the sun hung high in the sky and Luna was no longer by his side: the princess of the night was nothing more than a memory.

Comments

[SapphireSkyes]

10491634
Ha ha YES! It's strange that in the MLP show she's so underrated, while in real life, we all LOVE her.

[Skyblazer9]

10493420
Yeah, she should have been given more attention and appearances like the main 6 and Celestia were given.

[Skyblazer9]

Great chapter, I liked the interaction of Luna and Sombra's first meeting. Keep up the good work.

[SapphireSkyes]

10493731
Thank you!! Wow, I'm so happy that you came across my book. It means a lot to me!

[Skyblazer9]

10494194
You're very welcome!