I Don't Remember

by nitelight

Chapter 1: Return

Author's Note:

Anthro tag implies that characters are human, but names of people and places are not changed. Magic users (unicorns) are identified with pointed ears, (pegasi) have wings, and cutie marks are tattoos on the upper right arm under the shoulder.
In conclusion, not anything major is changed. I am just not good at writing with ponies.

It was dark. Where was she again? . . . That's right, she was back in Equestria. Her head hurt, had something hit her? . . No, it was the Elements. She remembered now. Nightmare Moon had been struck and she was free. How long had it been since she was here last? A thousand years. That number was stuck in her head. Had it really been that long?

There were voices around her. How many? She couldn't tell. At least a few, all female. There would have to be six though, wouldn't there? Then again, just she and Celestia had wielded the Elements before. Wait. Celestia. Was she here? Opening her eyes was difficult. She really was struck hard, wasn't she?

The rising sun was what caught her attention. Celestia's voice came along with it. She shielded her eyes from it. A millennium of staring at the darkness with only the stars made them sensitive to the luminosity of her sister's sun. However, it was distant, still hard to make out. She was talking to the others in the room most likely.

"..will as well. Princess Luna!" The voice of her sister called out to her. "It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this."

Finally taking that leap, Luna opened her eyes to the sound of her name being called to her. The voice was coming closer, soon the figure of Celestia was hovering over her smaller form. Had she always been this terrifying? But she didn't stay there for long, no, she knelt down, getting on her knees and extending a hand out towards her. While holding the position of authority, she was changing her behavior to look less intimidating. Did she look that scared? Probably. She had to look away. The last thing she remembered was the blast from her sister that sent her to her prison.

"Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister."

A gasp came from the others in the room. Did hearing her sister call her that really surprise them so? But even so, it was hard to look her sister in the eye. Celestia had stood up again, still reaching out her hand.

"Will you accept my friendship?"

That's not what she had been expecting to hear. Anything else; to be yelled at, a hug, not to be given a choice whether or not she wanted to accept her sister's offer to start over. She did. Oh, how much she did. She paused for a moment, thinking over what she had done last time she had seen Celestia.

But she didn't stay away for long, leaping into her sister's arms and pulling her into a crushing hug of her own. She was taller than she remembered, but that didn't matter. All that did now were the tears starting to fall down her cheeks.

"We're so sorry! We missed thee so much, big sister!"

There was a sigh of relief, and her sister untensed, wrapping her arms around Luna's frame. She could feel her tears wetting her hair as they stood in embrace.

"I've missed you too."

The others in the room were forgotten by the lunar princess again. The only thing that mattered was that she was with her elder sister again. That is until Celestia pulled away and cupped Luna's face in her hands, looking into her eyes. Her tears were slowing, eyes glossy and full.

Sadly their moment was cut short by a girl with curly pink hair. The sisters turned to her and the others who stood at the opposite end of the room. She was very audibly crying before cutting herself short with a smile.

"Hey! You know what this calls for? A party!"

The events after that happened in a blur. Or perhaps her head was just still spinning. Staying close to her sister's side, the eight of them wandered outside the castle.

It was sad to see the once stunning piece of architecture she once called her home to be reduced to nothing but old ruins in a forgotten forest. This was her home, she knew that, but she couldn't remember any more than that. Did she have good memories of the place before she and Celestia fought? She had to, she grew up here, right? She didn't remember her childhood being a bad one. Well, it didn't feel like it was, anyway.

Stepping outside, there were castle guards waiting outside, no doubt worried for their princess. There were a few chariots lined up to take them back to the town no doubt, one standing out as meant to hold royalty. The sisters were following behind the six girls that had used the elements. She hadn't gotten a good look at them up until now. They seemed like a very diverse group.

There was the short girl with the pink hair who had spoken up earlier. Laughter no doubt, from what she had seen of her personality. A tall girl, long straight pink hair. Probably kindness from her demeanor. Two more tall girls, one with a hat and a strong build, the other sporting a full rainbow in her hair. They were currently bickering about something Luna couldn't pick out, but it didn't seem hostile, just competitive. Another with styled purple hair complaining about the mud and a needed trip to the spa. And then there was the element of magic, a girl with darker hair and a few lighter highlights. She seemed to be the leader of the group, walking in front with the crown still displayed on her head. That's the only one Luna could fully make out from her view behind.

And of course, walking next to her was her sister, Celestia. She hadn't dared to make eye contact since their hug was cut short. After the heat of the moment, she felt more awkward than anything. What would she even talk about? Even if she did have an idea in mind, she didn't trust her voice to be steady. That, and she was using most of her strength to keep pace with the others. She felt almost ready to sleep then and there. But she could keep appearances until they got to their destination.

..Which was where, exactly? It was obvious that the castle she used to live in was no longer in use. That had to mean that Celestia lived in another castle located somewhere else. And a castle meant other people. She hadn't really thought about the general public yet. Now her head was spinning.

A voice calling out her name again startled Luna out of her thoughts. It was her sister, calling her over to sit next to her on the chariot that was waiting for them.

The flight into the nearest town was relatively short, lasting only a few minutes over the Everfree before landing in what Luna assumed was the center of town, if the circular building there meant anything.

The people there were.. different than what she had expected. They seemed happier than one would assume after what had happened only a few hours prior. What she had done as Nightmare- what exactly had she done? She knew the gist of it, eternal night and all that, but specifics were escaping her conscious thought.

Luna bowed her head in response for her behavior once they disembarked. It wasn't a grand or tearful apology but solemn, fit for her stature as royalty, but a frown was visible on her face. The townspeople had bowed their heads back to their monarchs. Though Luna felt it was more for her sister than herself.

Yet again, their response of crowning her head in flowers was the last thing she had thought about in response. Had they seriously forgiven her actions just like that? In her surprise, she turned to look up at her sister, who in return had a much softer smile on her face. She looked almost proud.

Fortunately, the attention did not stay on the princesses for very long. She had noticed that the girls they traveled with had reunited with their families. And now, Celestia was returning to the element of magic, leaving Luna standing there behind with the guard. It almost hurt.

That feeling didn't last long however, when listening in to their conversation. The girl was Celestia's student? That would make her magical abilities make sense, then. Anyone studying under her would no doubt be very powerful and would continue to gain strength if her studies continued.

Most of their conversation hadn't seemed all that interesting to the lunar princess, talking about her new friends. Did she say they just met? Almost hard to believe with how good their chemistry seemed. But Luna finally learned the girl's name: Twilight. She would make a mental note to thank the girl and her friends later once she got her bearings.

Confetti falling signaled the beginning of the party proper. Looking up at it was probably a bad idea with how much the sun was messing with her vision, however. Why was it so bright out? At least it had been somewhat shaded in the forest. And standing there was becoming more and more awkward for Luna. She was just standing there, out of the way, and silent. She felt so out of place. How long was she staying?

Her answer was soon answered with Celestia and her student's conversation ending and her going off to enjoy the festivities together- was that a dragon with them? Her expression was no doubt noticed by her sister, as a lighthearted laugh was heard from her direction. Shooting her a look, she was given a response to her earlier mental complaints.

"We won't be staying long, sister. I know you must be tired, so we'll head back to Canterlot soon."

She gave her sister a small nod in response. Talking still felt wrong. She felt so small next to her sister. Then again, she didn't even remember what she looked like herself. Had her sister actually gotten taller? Had she gotten shorter? Also, Canterlot? That must be the name of the city her castle was located in.

Even though she had been told they would leave 'soon', Luna wasn't expecting her sister to have a quick conversation with her guards before waving her hand to join her again on the chariot. Everything was moving so fast she couldn't quite process it all fully before something else happened. Her head was spinning again.

This time, the flight had been longer. The city in question that they were headed to was located on the side of a mountain. How? Something she'd look into later. But for now, it was just beautiful. She had noticed the buildings of the town they had been at were more advanced than what she remembered, but this city- wait, 'than she remembered?' What did houses look like a thousand years ago? Not like that, obviously. But either way, the city on the mountain was beautiful. As they got closer, she was able to make out different parts of the city. From the market and shopping districts, residential, both of nobility and that of the common people, and eventually, the castle itself sitting at the northernmost point, looking over the lands below. Along with the bright colors of everything, the city even looked clean from the air. The waterfalls falling from the mountain above were also a nice touch.

While Luna was spending all of her time looking at the city unfolding itself in front of her, she missed the descent they were making towards the castle. The sounds of voices were slowly getting louder: shouting of guards ordering others to make sure everything was in line, regular sounds of the city, and the press fighting each other to get close to the castle and the approaching royal chariot. Oh great, the press. There were flashes of light from the crowd that had gathered. What were they doing? Nonetheless, the act of shielding her eyes from said flashes did not go unnoticed by her sister and the guards as the chariot landed. More yelling. Why were they so loud? Just as she was trying to drown out all of it, there was a tap on her shoulder.

"Luna? Are you alright?"

No. She was overstimulated. Too much was happening too fast. Shaking her head to get rid of that ache, she managed a smile at her kin.

"We're well. 'Tis nothing to worry over. There art just so many people here. 'Tis disconcerting."

A knowing look flashed across her face. She had probably forgotten that Luna hadn't been around anyone in a thousand years. Of course the crowds would be too much for her and would be overwhelming.

"Of course. I understand. Let's get you inside, shall we?"

Celestia was helped out of the chariot by a guard, another coming over to Luna and extending a hand to help her down as well. Good thing too, her legs felt like gelatin and most likely would have given out if she hadn't gripped his hand. That of course earned her a flash of concern from the man, which she promptly ignored in favor of turning towards the entrance to the castle in front of her.

Celestia had come up beside her, extending a wing to wrap around her back loosely. She was escorting her inside while sheltering her from everyone around them. Oh, bless her. It wasn't able to block out everything, but it was enough that she didn't feel as exposed. That ache in her chest dulled, and the doors to the castle were opened by the telekinesis of two guards on either side.

Comments

[Wooden Wheel]

I think the tag you are looking for is 'Anthro' not 'Human'.

'Human' implies that Humans are interacting in some way with Equestria and its inhabitants.

'Anthro' implies that the creatures of Equestria are being presented as humans or humanoids.

---

Beyond that, this first chapter is presented quite well, with a premise that is not widely used and, therefore, quite interesting.

[Comickook]

This looks like a really good start to this AU story. And yeah, I can understand making the characters human with added attachments in the cases of the magic users (unicorns) angels (Pegasi) and Demigods (Alicorns) because you aren't good at writing ponies. The dialogue, characterizations and future chapter set-up are well done and I'm looking forward to more of this.

[fluffytailmofu]

The story was good enough that I read on in spite of them, but there were typos that were frequent enough that I was distracted from the story multiple times. For example, 'the luminosity of her sister's', or the talk of 'crowing' Luna with flowers... I honestly almost clicked out of the story without reading further when I saw the first typo early on, so there might be other readers who have done the same thing. Which is a definite pity, given this story had an interesting premise and is competently written.

[nitelight]

11818646
I really do appreciate the feedback, and I've went back and corrected all of the errors that I've found. Also, just wanted to clarify in the beginning it was talking about Celestia's ownership of the sun, and therefore "sister's" was possessive. Either way, I'm glad you're enjoying the story despite my typos, I'll make sure to be more careful in the future!

[fluffytailmofu]

11818688
The thing is, though, 'her sister's luminosity' would have been correct, and 'the luminosity of her sister' would have been correct, but 'the luminosity of her sister's' isn't correct, I don't think. Let me google some grammar stuff and double-check...

Okay, after spending plenty of time googling, I realized the time I was spending and came back. I didn't find anything discussing this exact issue, so I actually am not as certain about it now, but the examples I saw all had EITHER the possessive apostrophe OR the word 'of'. I didn't see any grammar sites showing an example of them being combined- but I couldn't find any of those sites saying not to do it, either. Here's an example of the sort of thing I found: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-writingskillslab/chapter/possessives/

[Coleopal]

I'm really liking the introduction here. Can't wait to read more of Luna's reminiscence.