My Little Star
My Little Star
By iDash
The room was dark, despite the moonlight that washed in through the open window. Dark tile covered the floor. Deep purple silk was draped over the windows and the corners of the old oak wood bed posts. A cracked mirror sat atop the obsidian dresser against the far wall. The walls, intricate designs etched into their stone, rose high up and formed a dome at their peak. Expertly painted on the ceiling was the crest of a white crescent moon, juxtaposed against the black background of the night sky.
Despite the centuries the room had gone without use, no dust was gathered on the old surfaces. A spell had been cast upon the room to keep it clean until its owner's return.
The door to the chambers slid open with the slightest creek. As it opened, two pony-like figures could be seen in the doorway, one only slightly smaller than the other. The smaller was a dark blue, almost blending in with the shadows. Its mane was short and a lighter shade. The larger one was pure white and seemed to glow in the dark room. It mane moved of its own accord, as if blowing in a nonexistent wind while its colors swirled around.
Together, Luna and Celestia walked into the room. Luna looked around, her young but weary eyes searching the room. It was all just as she had left it. She gave a slight frown and turned back to Celestia.
Celestia smiled simply at her sister and followed her to the center of the room. "I'm so glad to have you back with me, Luna," she said warmly.
Luna, however, sighed and her head sank just a bit. She'd lost count of how many times that night that her dear sister had said those words, and all of the apologies, tears, and I 'I miss you's that came with them. Nevertheless, she looked up and forced herself to give a soft smile in return. "And I as well, sister."
Celestia's brow furrowed at Luna's expression, but she quickly shrugged it off. Now wasn't the time to worry. "Well, in any case, we can all be safe, now that that monster Nightmare Moon is gone." Luna gave a visible flinch when she said this. Celestia saw this and leaned to give her sister an affectionate nuzzle. "It's okay, Luna," She said. "It wasn't your fault. It's over now."
Luna bowed her head down, letting her short, blue mane cover part of her face. "I know," she said simply and quietly while hiding her expression from the alabaster alicorn.
The Goddess of the sun smiled and said, "Well then, I will let you get some sleep. You're probably exhausted. If there is anything you need, do not hesitate to ask." With one last quick nuzzle, Celestia turned and trotted out if the room. Sh turned when she reached the door and looked back at the young alicorn. "Good night, I love you, Luna."
Luna paused for a moment before she finally said, in her silent, almost quivering, voice, "I love you, too, sister."
And with that, Celestia left the room, closing the door softly behind her. When she was sure she was alone, Luna finally let her head hang down and the tear that she had been holding roll down her cheek and fall to the ground. She sauntered over towards the bed and sat down on the soft sheets, the foundation of the bed creaking from years of non-use. She sat in silence as Celestia's words echoed in her mind.
'That monster Nightmare Moon is gone.' Another tear escaped her grasp as she struggled to hold it in. Luna shifted to the center of the bed and lay down with her head between her hooves. In the still silence, the alicorn of the night muttered two words to herself as she breathed a woeful sigh into the quiet air.
"She's gone."
***
Luna gazed with wide, sorrowful eyes at the sight before her, feelings of despair and remorse overcoming her as she did. Up there, way up high in an almost perpetual night sky, hung a single glowing orb. Its effervescent hues of green and blue and yellow blended with scattered patches of faded white and gray in a grand display of god-like design. The orb was massive, and possessed an enrapturing silent beauty, and as the princess of the night gazed upon the world of Equus, she could think of naught but the painful regret that clung to her heart.
Slowly, in agonizing sorrow, she sank down to her knees onto the hard white ground of the moon beneath her. With tears filling her eyes, she looked down to gaze upon her own minuscule form, having been reduced to that of a filly. Her hooves, as she examined them, had shrunken, as did the rest of her body.
Luna's tiny wings clung to her side to shield her from the nipping cold. Her mane, no longer ethereal in its form, hung limply over her face, covering one of her eyes in a pale blue shroud. Her horn had shortened dramatically and was now dull at the tip and almost completely hidden under her mane. The only thing that remained of her previous self was the black crown that hung loosely atop her head.
Glancing up at the crown for but a moment, Luna lowered her head back down. She curled up, burying her head in her hooves and bracing herself for the tears to come. She squeezed her eyes shut and blinked out the tears one by one as she began to weep.
From the luminous darkness and pressing silence of the moon, a soft voice spoke from behind the filly Luna.
“Luna,” the voice said in a gentle, feminine tone. It spoke again, its voice coming out cracked this time. “L-Luna, I... I’m sorry.”
Wiping her eyes with a hoof, Luna lifted her head and turned to look at the mare behind. This mare stood tall, or she would’ve, had her shoulders not been bent in a depressed slouch. Her long, black wings rested at her sides and a long pointed horn jutted from her head and pointed to the stars in the distance. This mare’s emerald green eyes were brimming at the edges with tears, her mouth curled in a sad frown and her ears folded against her head. This mare’s pitch black coat shone in the dark light, her crescent moon cutie mark the same color as the ground on which she stood. This mare’s dark blue mane shone with stars and billowed in an ethereal wind.
This mare was Nightmare Moon.
Sniffling, Luna stared at what was once her alter ego. This, she thought, was what Celestia had done to her, to them. Nightmare Moon wasn’t Luna. She wasn’t an alter ego or a curse. She was her own being. Nightmare was darkness with consciousness, the same darkness that had grown inside Luna for the longest time. For years as the darkness grew, the two shared the same body, the same thoughts. But gradually, their minds began to separate and Nightmare Moon came into being.
However, Nightmare was more than darkness. She was more than a monster, more than Luna’s pent up anger. For she loved Luna, and cherished her, like a mother did her daughter.
For years, Nightmare watched Luna through the mare’s own eyes. She watched as Luna experienced joy and life, but even more than that, grief and sorrow. She watched her live through the pain of loneliness. And as she watched the world’s cruel treatment of the princess, she grew angry furious with the world, and while the anger grew and festered within her, so too did a new feeling, the urge to protect the outcast Luna.
So she decided, she would protect Luna, rid her of all her pain and sorrow and take revenge on the world that betrayed her. And then, when all had felt her wrath and experienced the same pain Luna had, she would build for the princess a Kingdom, a beautiful castle that towered into the sky, a castle fit for a princess like her. Then she would turn Equestria into a land of perpetual night, and blanket it under the untainted beauty of Luna’s starlit skies.
But most importantly, Nightmare would make Luna happy, so that the mare would never suffer again. So she waited. Over time, she planned and conserved her strength, using the power of the very darkness from which she was created. Gradually Luna’s grief was replaced by the Nightmare’s rage, and when the time was right, she struck. She attacked Celestia and the Kingdom of the sun with all her might and all her anger. She would not see Luna suffer again.
But alas, she failed. Celestia fought and prevailed with the power of the Elements of Harmony. With not an ounce of power left, she was struck down and exiled to the moon. However, as she was cast out, the mysterious power of the Elements of Harmony, she and Luna separated completely, each manifesting her own body. Rather than Luna being restored to her normal self, a majority of the power went to Nightmare, thus giving her her current body, and Luna that of a filly.
Nightmare had failed, and she looked now at the results of her failure. What she sought to protect, she could only bring harm. With what seemed to be great effort, Nightmare took a hesitant step forward, and then another, and another. She made her way towards Luna, each step across the dusty ground shattering the everlasting silence. She reached Luna and stopped, and for a moment, they looked at each other, into the other’s eyes as they saw their reflections glittering within the watery orbs of the only other pony in this world of fluorescent darkness and eternal silence.
Nightmare knelt down in front of Luna. She looked into her eyes for another moment, but turned her gaze to the ground as she couldn’t bare to see the princess’ expression. She took a breath before she spoke again.
“I-I have failed you, Luna,” Nightmare said. “Forgive me, I wasn’t strong enough to protect you.” The mare choked on the last word. She opened her mouth again, but no sound came out. There was a soft thud on the ground, and she looked down just in time to see another tear fall from her cheek to splash onto the alabaster dirt floor. Yet another tear followed that one, and soon came a rhythmic pitter patter of the droplets upon the ground. She tried desperately to blink them away. She couldn’t allow her charge to see her cry.
"A-and it's my f-fault that you are stranded here now, banished to the moon b-because of my own foolishness." Nightmare choked on the sobs that racked her body and caused burning tears to flow from her eyes. "I-I'm so sorry, Luna. I just-"
She couldn't continue as the words stuck in her throat and she fell silent. The mare was caught in a raging torrent of emotions. The blood boiled in her veins as hot as the ice in the pit of her stomach was cold. The evident self loathing shown as clear as the despair. She opened her mouth once more in an attempt to speak, but she was cut off this time as she felt a soft touch slowly work its way around her neck.
She then looked up in time to see Luna gently wrap her arms around her neck and pull her into an embrace. Nightmare was speechless once again, though for a different reason this time. She looked down at the filly, at her pale blue mane that rested against her in the embrace. Nightmare's mind was blank with confusion. Had she not just failed to serve her princess in her greatest time of need? Had she not been the sole cause of her recent exile, and had she not just admitted before the filly the truth of her failure?
With a trembling voice, she spoke a single word, "Why?" to which the filly Luna did not immediately respond. A moment of silence passed between the two until Luna, still holding her gentle embrace, said softly, "I forgive you."
A jolt of pain coursed through Nightmare's heart. Of all the words she had wanted to hear, even though she had, not a moment ago, asked for forgiveness, it was not those words. She did not deserve to hear them, she who had caused her charge so much pain. Luna should yet be angry, furious, and unforgiving. But she was not, and instead remained benevolent and kind, even in the midst of her despairing exile.
Nightmare knew not what to say, while Luna may have said much more. She might say that it was not the mare's fault, that the Nightmare's intentions were good and that at heart, she knew the mare desired only her happiness. She might say that the fate of exile was better still than the bitter feeling of loneliness she felt in the very presence of those that rejected her.
However, all she need say were two words that spurred Nightmare's tears, which, in turn, incited her own. "It's okay."
***
"You little foal! Thinking you could defeat me? Now you will never see your princess, or your sun. The night will last forever!"
...
"You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the... the spark that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the sixth element: the Element of Magic!
"Nooo! Noooo!"
...
Luna shuddered at the thought of the recent memory. She stood from the bed and, shaking her head, sauntered over to the open window where the moonlight flooded in and lit up the room. She looked straight ahead, gazing at the first night sky she had seen on Equus in a millennia. However, the beauty was lost on her as she recalled the thousand years of night she had watched go by from the moon. The mare finished scanning the sea of stars and turned her gaze up to her effervescent prison.
Luna’s wayward mind wandered back to the events of earlier that same night, when the elements destroyed the one that had stayed by her side during a thousand years of solitude. However, the elements had not destroyed Nightmare Moon herself; rather, they destroyed what was left of the mare.
To survive on the moon for so long, especially for an alicorn filly, was impossible. Up there, on that silent, alabaster orb, Luna should have died, faded away along with the centuries that passed by. But there was one thing that kept her alive, one mare that forfeited her own life energy to save the filly. For a thousand years, Luna watched the life drain from her only friend until nothing more remained, and she was left alone to suffer through the rest of her imprisonment.
The Nightmare Moon that had, that night, been torn apart in a whirlwind of color- the nightmare that the elements had destroyed- was only a shadow, a mere echo, of the original Nightmare Moon. What they had seen was Nightmare Moon's last ounce of will to protect her Luna.
Luna choked back tears that dared to escape her eyes and roll down the already tear matted fur on her cheeks. She turned away from the window, unable to face the moon and the memories it held.
It was then, as she turned away and looked upon the room through tear-filled eyes, that something peculiar caught her sight. A strange light shone amidst the darkness, glistening as it reflected the silvery moonlight. Luna was quick to spot the source: an object in a drawer of the obsidian dresser. The drawer was open just enough to let the light in.
Slowly, Luna made her way to the dresser, her eyes not leaving the curious object the resided within. She stooped in front of the drawer and, with her magic, surrounded its handle in a pale purple aura and pulled it open, revealing the contents inside. When she saw it though, the source of the reflection, she caught her breath.
There, in the center of the drawer, perfectly clean amidst the dust around it, lying atop a dusty white envelope, was a star. The eight pointed crystalline object was, in fact, a star, plucked straight from the shimmering night sky. This was an ability only Luna possessed: to create, erase, or manifest the stars. So she wondered, who could've done this, if not herself?
Luna looked more carefully at the star and noticed that she recognized it. In fact, it was her favorite star: the star Dedre. Every night, when she lifted her night sky, she would search for that star and admire its beautiful light. Every time, she would recall the story of its constellation, a tale which had been had been told to her in her childhood.
Luna turned her attention away from the pleasant memories and looked down at the old envelope that still rested in the drawer. It was covered in dust and its corners were yellowed, a sign of its age. It was closed with a red wax seal that bore the symbol of an alicorn's wings and horn: the former royal crest. She again encased it in her pale purple magic and turned it over, only to see her name scrawled across its surface in elegant script. Luna paused, wondering with slight apprehension as to the contents of the letter and who its writer might be.
Curiosity once again overtaking her, Luna carefully broke the wax seal on the envelope and took out the letter within. She unfolded the paper. The same graceful hoof-writing filled the entire page. The paper itself was yellowed at the edges, just like the envelope, worn down from age and years past. She took the letter with her in her magic and walked over to the moonlit window, letting the soft white light shine on the letter. Then, with a soft breath, she began to read.
A few minutes later, Luna froze, staring at the letter as if it couldn't be real. Her eyes darted back to the top and she began to read it again, going slowly like she were analyzing every word. When she was finished, she reread it again and again, her already reddened eyes filling up with more and more tears every time until they began to spill over and onto the page. The words began to blur as they were assaulted by the droplets and became unreadable. But it didn't matter anyhow. Luna was finished reading, every word still in her mind.
The alicorn bit down on her lip and shook her head, trying to force the tears to stop. With trembling legs, Luna slowly walked back to the obsidian dresser where the star lay. She dropped the letter and let it gently fall to the ground. She reached the star and picked it up with a shaky hoof and put it up to her chest, holding it against her heart. One last stray tear fell off of her cheek and onto the star and even through her watery eyes, Luna could've sworn that it glowed just a little brighter.
Luna drew in a soft breath, and, despite herself, slowly curled the corners of her lips into a shaky smile, and whispered to the glowing star.
"I love you, too."
Luna,
I don't know how much longer I have, but these will be my last words to you. Today is the final battle, and today, I will face Celestia for the last time. Today will mark the end of the reign of the sun and the beginning of the eternal night. Today, I shall set you free, Luna.
I don’t know what else there is to say, though there is so much that I feel I should. I suppose I should start by saying that I’m sorry. I’m sorry that things had to become as they are now. I know that you did not want this war. You never wanted to fight against your sister like this. No, you are far too kind for that. And I can feel inside that it is hurting you, it’s hurting you so much. I can feel you crying every time your sister and I fight, every time she looks at us with those eyes filled with rage, disappointment, and sorrow.
I know that it hurts, and every tear breaks my heart just a little more, but I must do this. I must do this for you, Luna. For so long I have watched you suffer, shunned and rejected by the very ponies that you yearned to love. Those years and years of watching you grieve alone in the darkness hurt more than anything. It hurts to watch you and know that I could do nothing to ease your pain. And so I swore to never again let you suffer like that.
But I failed. I failed you, Luna, and I cannot forgive myself for that. I cannot redeem myself, not after hurting you so, but I shall still release you from your cruel fate. After today, it will all be over, and you can be happy once more. Today will be my last day here, on Equus and by your side. I, the one who caused you such pain will be gone, and you’ll not have to worry again.
You know, the stars have never been the same, not since you were gone. No matter how I try, I can never paint the night sky like you did. You would make the stars shine like no other could, and it was absolutely beautiful. I’m looking at them now, upon the balcony, just as you would every night. I remember, every night, you would raise the night sky and stand upon this balcony and gaze at your wonderful creation. You would admire every star, and as their lights reflected and danced in your eyes, you would smile.
It was a genuine smile, and my heart soared whenever I saw it, for I knew that you were truly happy. And so, I want to see you smile, just one last time, or at least know that you are smiling. You probably already know, but this star, the star I pulled from heavens as my last gift for you, is the star Dedre.
It is your favorite star, the same one that you would seek out every night when you raised the moon. The star that shined brightest in the sky and the star that means the most to you. I want you to take it and keep it with you always, so that you will always smile, Luna.
Do you remember the story of Dedre? The tale of the Prince and the Demigod? You would listen to the story every night as a filly and recall it when you gazed at the stars. The story would make you smile just like the star.
I never was able to read you any stories, but this may be my only chance.
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful Goddess named Esther. Esther ruled over the domain of the stars, painting the dark night skies and guiding her little ponies towards their peaceful slumber. The Goddess, as wonderful as she was, gave birth to two even more amazing children- twins- one, Lillith, by the God of the sun, and the other, Soleil, by the King of Equus. The sun God cherished his daughter and took her up into the sky to live amongst the stars with him and Esther. The King, however, selfish and cruel, kept his son from this joy. He grew jealous of Esther and the sun God and kept Soleil on Equus, shrouding him from the light of the sun and the glistening stars. Soleil was forbidden to leave the King's castle and was imprisoned beneath the tower, where he would never again experience the light of day or the grace of night. The King left him, sure that he would have his way, but every night Soleil would look up to the ceiling of his chambers and imagine the starry skies. The colt hoped and prayed that he would someday escape the King's dungeon and see the sky and his sister once more.
Lillith watched this one night, looking down at her brother from the heavens with a heavy heart. Down in his dungeon, Soleil wept and wept, and upon seeing her brother's agony, Lillith as well cried for his cruel fate. Her demigod tears fell one by one, each creating a new star that sparkled in the sky; however, one tear escaped the sky's grasp and fell down to Equus. It found its way through the castle and through the dungeons until it found Soleil. This star was called Dedre. Soleil gazed at the star in awe and basked in its wonderous light. He took Dedre and kept it close to himself, hidden away from those that would rob him of his only light, his only hope. Soleil continued to pray and pray that somepony would take him from his lonely prison, but Lillith could only watch helplessly in silent agony. Esther saw that her daughter was suffering and asked the child what was wrong. Lillith wailed and told her mother of Soleil's torment. Esther looked down and found her lost son, weeping in his dark prison. Unable to leave the colt to his misfortune, Esther went to the sun God and begged for his help in rescuing her son. The benevolent God agreed to help, and together, he and Esther went down to Equus.
They stormed the castle of the King in a blaze of glory. The King grew angry and shouted at the Gods, demanding their exile from his land. The sun God, enraged by the King's cruelty and malice, blinded the foolish King with the light of the sun and left him to suffer in his own darkness. Esther rushed past the King and through the castle and down into the dungeons where her son lay. She found Soleil huddled in a corner, curled up for warmth and the shining star Dedre in his hoof. Without a moment's hesitation, Esther dashed to her son and whisked him up in her hooves. Soleil, surprised at first, sank into his mother's embrace as he wept tears of joy. Esther cradled her son as she too shed tears and promised to never again leave him alone. Together, Esther, Soleil, and the sun God rose up again into the sky, where Soleil was reunited with Lillith. The siblings swore never again to part, forever sealing their promise in the star Dedre. From then on, they lived happily in the stars as the Prince and the Demigod.
I have to go now, Luna. It is dusk and the sun is setting for the last time. The Kingdom of the sun will fall and your beautiful night shall last forever.
These are my last words, but I only truly desired to tell you one thing, and it pains me to know that I cannot tell you while I still live. But this is how it must be, for I shall stop at nothing to see your happiness once more. I wish that after this, I could be there for you, and stay by your side, but it will not happen. And so I write to you my last words, the one thing that I could never tell you, in hopes that you will find them and someday forgive me. Goodbye.
I love you, Luna.
-N.M.
***
“And from then on, they lived happily in the stars as the Prince and the Demigod.”
Luna let out a content yawn and laid her head on her hooves as she lay curled up on the ground in Nightmare Moon’s arms. She blinked, trying to stay awake just a little longer, and gazed up at Equus, which hung silently in the sky.
“I wish things could be like in the story,” she said.
Nightmare looked down at the filly with a brow raised and a slightly amused look. “Like the story?”
Luna nodded. “Mmhm. You would be the beautiful Goddess and I would be Soleil, and you could save me and we’d go back home and we’d all be happy again.”
Nightmare smiled. “Oh? And who would be the sun God?”
Luna gave a small pout of concentration that caused Nightmare to chuckle. “Hmmm... oh! That would be Starswirl.”
The mare raised her brow again and smirked. “That old stallion?”
“Hey!” Luna said, then giggled. “He’s still really nice and funny.” She then laid her head back down with a sigh. “I miss him. I wonder if he still likes me.”
Nightmare looked down at the forlorn filly and decided to change the topic. “What about Lillith?” she asked.
A smile quickly made its way back to Luna’s face as she pondered the question. “That would be Cadance, even though I’m older than her.”
The dark mare hesitated to ask the next question, fearing what the answer might be. “Who would be the King?” she finally said.
Luna paused at this, and scrunched up her nose in thought. A moment of silence passed by, for which the mare worried, until the filly answered. “There doesn’t have to be a King, does there?”
Nightmare was slightly taken aback by the question, but then her face softened. “Not if you don’t want there to be.”
Luna thought about this for another moment, and shook her head. “Maybe Tia, but... but I don’t want her to be the King. And she’s not mean like that. She’s nice. But she just doesn’t know that you’re nice, and that you’re the kind goddess that’s just trying to protect me.” She put her head down again. “Why can’t we all just be happy?” she whispered.
A familiar pain struck Nightmare’s heart as she heard this. She didn’t have an honest answer for the filly. Instead, she leaned down to gently nuzzle the filly’s mane, and whispered, “We can, and we will. Someday. I promise that one day we will all be together and happy again.”
Luna smiled as she closed her eyes. “I believe you,” she said, and curled up against Nightmare Moon in a display that melted the mare’s heart. As she drifted off to sleep, she whispered, “I love you.”
Nightmare was shocked, speechless for a moment. She looked down at the filly in her arms and for the first time in a long time, smiled a soft, genuine smile. Leaning down, she planted a gentle kiss on the filly’s forehead. “I love you, too,” she said.
She laid her head down next to Luna and closed her eyes, finally letting sleep take her. But before she fell completely into slumber, she whispered once more to the filly, even though the mare didn’t know if she was asleep or not.
“Hush now, little filly and close your eyes and go to sleep, for when you awake, all will be okay and you will smile again. And when the stars come out for everypony to see, none of them will shine brighter than you, because you are my little star.”