Friends and Acquaintances
I was surrounded by darkness and cold, just like I liked. The shimmering beauty of the stars soon caught my eye. They were shining brightly, surrounded by the beautiful dark. It was always night here, and even though nopony was here with whom I could speak and who could understand my feelings, I felt good. I was 'banished' to the moon, but it was a place of endless night - the one thing I really yearned for. Maybe this wasn’t such a bad prison after all. Maybe Celestia... No, I hate her!
Or do I?
She is my sister...
Yes, but it was she who banished me here.
I sighed. The cold black air filled my lungs. It was peaceful and calm. I stood up. My knees were weak. I tried to take off my helmet with magic. Alas! It didn’t work! I had no magic!
“I will simply have to use my hooves,” I said. I tried so hard, but the helmet wouldn’t come off. It was difficult without magic.
How do earth ponies do it? Doesn’t that drive them crazy?, I thought.
Curse it! Curse Celestia!
I felt so depressed. Relaxation – that is what I needed. Moon is a perfect place to relax and I have thousand years to do so. Relaxation...
Is that... giggling? The sound was coming from afar and my heart pounded faster as the sound came closer... and closer...
It was giggling! But whose? Was there somepony else on the moon?
Giggling stopped, yet I heard another sound – a slow gallop. The sound was coming closer, but then it suddenly – stopped! I gasped as I realized where the source of the sound was. Behind me!
It all happened in a mere moment. I turned my head and tried to cast a spell, but I had no magic. BOOM! I felt like my head exploded! How could I have been so foolish?
The source of the sound was a little colt. The very first thing I noticed about him was his beautiful silver mane. It wasn’t very long or well groomed, but it looked perfect on his head. He had light blue coat which was shiny like all the stars around us. His eyes were just like my night calm, dark and beautiful. Yet, they were not cold, but warm and welcoming. I gazed into his eyes and he gazed into mine.
“Why are you here?” the little colt asked.
“Why do you care?” I asked him back.
“Because you are my friend,” he said.
I was indeed surprised. Did he call me a 'friend'?
“There are no friends!” I exclaimed.
Little colt’s eyes began to fill with tears. Like the rest of him, his tears sparkled in the dark like stars.
“There are no friends?” he gasped, “All this time I was waiting for a friend just to find out there aren’t any?”
The little colt wept and cried. I couldn’t hold it any longer. It was rude of me, but I walked away. I could not stand crying. The little colt threw himself on the ground and continued to spill his hot tears.
Celestia lowered the moon to raise her sun. She didn’t care about the moon as much as I did. She lowered it clumsily and fast. I did it with grace. It seemed like the little colt noticed that too. He was soon by my side.
“What happened? The moon was never lowered like that. It was always done with grace,” said the little colt, very much surprised.
I was surprised too, for he noticed my wonderful power. I believe he was the only one who truly appreciated the grace of my night.
But I could not leave his question unanswered. It was time to tell him the truth. I could not come up with a lie so I tried to tell him as little as possible.
“It was I who raised and lowered the moon before. I was banished here because...”
I knew what the truth was and why my sister banished me to the moon, but I just couldn’t let him know.
“...because my sister could not stand my power and my astonishing night. That is why she banished me here. It was she who lowered the moon now and she shall do so for the next thousand years. But I shall be back and the moon shall never be lowered again!”
“It is a shame,” the little colt sighed, “the lowering of the moon was like a lullaby for me. I can swear that I even heard a gentle song few times.”
I could not believe my ears! The little colt heard the lullaby I sang sometimes.
“It was a song of the children of the night...” I said softly.
In the little colt’s eyes I saw clear beauty of the night. He blinked and for a moment my night disappeared but when it came back I was truly happy to see it for I knew that he was a true child of the night. He shall be mine, my dearest child of the night.
“You know, little one,” I said as I felt my heart getting warmer and warmer, “we do not have to be friends, but we can be acquaintances.”
“I don’t like that word,” said the little one, “but it is better for us to be acquaintances, than to be nothing at all. And you can just call me Gealach. If you have a name, I’d be more than happy to know it...”
“I am... I am Luna,” I decided to say.
Gealach just nodded and dashed away. I watched him go until he was nothing more than a dot.
Oh, how wonderful it was on the moon. It was my kind of a place. It was in my blood and my soul. That is what my heart truly desired, the wonders of the night.
With these thoughts I curled on the cold, silver ground of the moon and very soon, I fell asleep. I needed some rest too.