Dark Side of the Moon

by SapphireSkyes

Chapter 4:Luna

Luna leaned against the shelves of the Magic section of the Canterlot library, all filled with ancient scrolls only she and her sister were allowed to read.

Her mind flashed back to Sombra, the boy she had met a month ago. He would love this place.

Her forehead was beaded with sweat, her chest hurt with every breath, and hammers seemed to pound into her skull.

"Lulu!" Celestia burst into the library.

"Tia?" Luna gasped and scrambled to a standing position, but her legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground.

"What happened?" Celestia asked her, squeezing her hand.

"Magic...practice..." Luna barely managed to wheeze out.

"You've got to stop pushing yourself like this! You're lucky I was only a few rooms away. You could've ended up getting hurt, or-"

Killed. Celestia paused. No one wanted to mention that.

For there was a secret no one knew. No one but them and their deceased parents Aurora and Nox.

They had an older brother named Astral. He had deep, ebony skin studded with shimmering white stars. His voice was rich and mesmerizing. He had always loved the art of magic. He'd stay up till dawn practicing relentlessly, pushing himself to the limits...until there were no more limits to push through.

"You think I've forgotten about Astral?" Luna narrowed her eyes.

"No! Then why do you keep doing this to yourself?" Celestia demanded.

"Why? WHY?! After the Great War, our parents were dead and our kingdom was torn to shreds. We're young, vulnerable princesses who totally do not know what we're doing. The vampires still have a grudge against us, and if any kingdom were to be attacked, it would be ours. And you know we'd be dead if anyone tried that. Look at our kingdom! We've barely gotten off the ground, there's huge inequality and.." Luna trailed off, bursting into tears.

"Lulu..."

"And now I'm crying! Princesses don't cry!" Luna wiped away her tears frantically.

"Luna. Listen to me." Celestia grasped Luna's hand tightly. "It is always ok to cry."

"Maybe for you!" Luna fired. "Poor, sweet little Tia, she's trying so hard to be a good ruler. What a nice girl! We need to help our princess!" Luna mocked, her eyes dripping with envy. "It's fine when you cry. When I cry, I'm just your weakling shadow."

"Look. I'm sorry about what's been happening lately. I'm really doing my best," Celestia apologized.

"What if I told you your best wasn't good enough?" Luna spat.

Celestia paused for a second. What had happened to her sister?

"That's how I feel everyday. You don't understand how lucky you are. Everyone is so damn in love with you!"

"It's not my fault!" Celestia raised her voice. "It's not my fault I'm overshadowing you!"

"Princesses!" Their assistant, Andrian, knocked hysterically on the door.

"Yes?" Celestia asked, composing herself.

With matted hair, bloodshot eyes and the face of someone double his age, he looked nothing like his usual self.

"Urgent news! Refugees have been coming into Canterlot!" Andrian announced.

"Why? What happened?" Luna demanded.

"Vampires. Specter and Napoleon Dusk of the Tenebrisian empire have attacked and seized the Crystal Empire," Andrian explained.

"And Amore?" Celestia worried.

Luna rolled her eyes, forgetting she was a princess. "Amore's a bitch."

They all gaped at her. Andrian's jaw dropped.

One of his lackeys stifled a snicker. "Luna makes a good point. She really is."

"Amore....was last seen as a hostage," Andrian admitted, ignoring their comments.

"The citizens? Are they ok?" Luna changed the subject.

"We...we don't know! We only just found out through the refugees. Maybe it would help if you go talk to them," Andrian suggested.

They both nodded and exited the library, running down the stairs, nearly spraining their ankles as they did so.

Luna gave up running. She gracefully hopped onto the banister and slid down the everlasting spiral, her unpinned blue curls flowing behind her like a shimmering waterfall. She reached the ground floor in record time, stepping down and waiting for the others.

She burst through the palace doors, stunned at what she saw. Clusters of refugees stood outside the palace. Some had faces smudged with grime and what looked like blood, while others’ cheeks were hollow like they’d been on a long journey and food deprived. She scanned the crowd, a few images sticking in her mind: a woman with blue-purple bruising around her eyes, holding three skinny kids. An old man clutching a little girl about 10. Two twins, both long and lanky, with cuts scarring their copper skin.

“Princess?” A familiar voice called her name. It was that husky, mesmerizing sound that seemed to whisper to her in her dreams, and follow her in the halls.

Luna turned around, startled by the noise. “Sombra?” She gasped. It was definitely him. Those distinctive red eyes still shone bright through a mask of dirt, grease and worry. The boy next to him, who looked 20, blushed when Celestia looked his way.

“Luna! It’s you!” Sombra’s eyes lit up for a second, before retreating to a home of misery.

“What happened?” She asked him. “Guards! Take all the refugees into the palace. Treat their wounds and provide them with food and shelter.” Her voice rang out sharply, a stark contrast to Celestia’s warm, soothing tone.

“Well, the vampires threw what felt like a smoke bomb at us to get our attention. They then got our attention, talked about how they wouldn’t hurt us if we cooperated. They were holding Amore and the children of rich officials hostage, a very smart tactic,” Sombra filled her in.

“Very smart indeed. Do you know what happened to them?” Luna asked as she led him back into the palace.

“Well, some idiot guard decided to question Napoleon’s authority, so then they shot a young girl,” Sombra admitted.

“Oh.” Luna winced at the thought. “How did you get out?”

“After that, Jet and I decided we really needed to leave. We went back into our house quickly and gathered our most important objects. Of course, some other idiot had to screw things up, so they threw another bomb and killed a few more kids, which was a perfect distraction. We managed to escape and go south to a few villages, rode the train through a few stops and came here,” Sombra finished.

“Wow. So, Amore’s not dead?” Luna verified.

“I don’t know. All that happened a week and a half ago. The Dusk family has managed to keep it very secret. Not many people have gotten out.”

“Well, I guess you’ll just have to stay here then while we decide what to do,” Luna said, secretly excited by the idea. He was currently the closest thing she had to a friend right now.

“I guess so. It’s a good thing material objects don’t matter much to us,” Jet added. “Not that we’ve really had any that would!”

Sombra laughed at that, and Luna joined in as well. Was this what it was like to have friends?

“At least you guys must’ve had organized houses. Here? It’s ten whole rooms full of chairs!”

“What, did your parents own a museum or something?” Jet nudged her lightly.

“Jet, she’s a princess. Her house, I mean castle, basically is a museum!” Sombra exclaimed.

“Actually, half the rooms are off limits and used for hide and seek, while the other half are full of greedy servants who want to sneak into my dresses when I’m not there,” Luna admitted.

This made them all laugh even harder, a welcome relief to the difficult situation.

"Luna!" Celestia called. "Bye," she greeted Sombra and Jet briefly, then turned back to her sister.

"You're needed immediately," Celestia demanded, her face sickly and pale.

Luna's little pocket of happiness immediately disappeared again: her bubble of friendship and acceptance now popped, setting her down in the world of politics.

"Why?" Luna asked, mouthing apologies to Sombra and Jet, who were being escorted to their rooms.

"Would death threats from the Dusk Family be the easiest way of putting it?"

Comments

[GrandAdmiral MitthRawN]

Yeah exciting! a little longer chapters and it would be perfect!

[SapphireSkyes]

10505493
Thank you!