Chapter 1
Her sister’s door had just shut for the night; a sound that echoed across the barren, cold floors of the castle. The few guards left awake roamed the grounds outside in patterns. It was at this time that Luna felt the most comfortable leaving her room. After all these years, being a loner was still what she did best. The sun had just set and it was time for the moon to awaken.
Outside of her room, the castle felt different. It was mainly shades of bright colors and expanses of white. The contrast between her room and the rest of the castle was overwhelming. It took much of her strength to leave her chambers and face what her sister had made of the world...her world. Luna prepared herself before stepping out into the bright hallway and continued onto the staircase. She preferred to walk up the stairs to ease herself out of her inner shell and into the open. The narrow staircase was like a tunnel she could see the light out of.
At the top stair, the princess stood for a moment before using a casual spell to access the door. With the doorway clear, the crisp night air hit her full force. The feeling was reassuring and welcome. Luna walked out onto the balcony ready to get over with her responsibilities and rush back to her room. In the distance she could see Ponyville settled between hills and across the wide landscape. Outside of the castle walls, the glowing of candles through bedroom windows were the only sources of light. The world was hushed, ponies were resting, and the calm night had taken over.
Luna lifted herself into the air, her mane filled with the galaxies and stars of outer space spilled and tumbled around her, moving without the need of wind. As the princess rose from the balcony five feet...ten feet... twenty feet, she began to raise her arms. With the beginning of the ritual, Luna shut her eyes and could feel her body become one with the sky and the planets that surrounded Earth. She focused her soul on the moon and forced it to follow her will. Moving her arms into the sky, the moon perched over the horizon and began to climb the stars. Luna could feel her soul break through the atmosphere and mingle with the celestial body that is the moon. She couldn’t suppress the smile that graced her lips as her soul was set free.
Braving the world that had shunned her, thrown her away, and welcomed her back just to prevent another disaster was worth it for this one moment each night. Raising the moon into the somber, grim night was the reason for her creation and the pleasure and joy it made her feel was astounding. Without warning, the ritual was over and her soul plummeted back to Earth. It settled back inside of her and Luna let go of the freedom she had felt. The bright orb in the sky watched her as she trailed back through the doorway and down the stairs.
Luna was about to pass her sister’s room when she hesitated. There was no reason she couldn’t look inside. It was just a room after all. Magical rays danced across the handle of the door and the large entryway opened slowly. She could see her sister’s resting face as she slept atop a large bed filled with pillows and heavy blankets. Depression seeped through her. There was the pony she was bonded to for life, but with a bond that had cracked and almost shattered. Even though it had clearly been a two way street, all of the guilt was always shifted onto her. The moon princess had cried out to her sister for help numerous times, made her sadness evident, created countless attempts to feel included and wanted, but her sister never gave her the love she had deserved.
When Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends took away the dark powers that had consumed her, Celestia showed some affection for her sister but overall, it was still Luna who was considered at fault.
Luna bit down on her teeth to keep the tears in. It had been a year since her “reformation” yet the present was no different from the past. She felt no love. She felt no care from those around her. There was nothing. No matter how tightly Luna shut her eyes, the tears still trickled down her face.
Luna cried.
At the sound of her sister rustling in bed, Luna quietly closed the door and galloped down the hall to her bedroom. The equine flung herself to the floor and sobbed into her hooves, sparing only a second to cast a spell to soundproof her room. She couldn’t let her cries be heard. There was a fear of banishment still scarred in her mind, no doubt any possibilities of dark magic would send her away. Rather than comfort and love, her sadness was treated with fear and threats. The princess couldn’t bear the weight of her sadness anymore and instead threw it away once again for the last time.
Luna shed all of the emotions from her mind. Her body began to fade into a darker hue and her mane spiraled out of control, turning into a mess of galaxies and star systems colliding in on each other. She could feel her body grow taller, her teeth sharper, her horn longer. She stretched the wings on her back and walked over to the dresser on the other side of the room. Once opened, the shine of metal armor could be seen glistening. Luna slid the familiar helmet onto her head. Anyone’s immediate impression of her armor would be that she was decorated for war. Without her old emotions and desire for love, there was nothing holding her back. There was no such thing as happiness for her and she liked it that way. A single tear found its way down her cheek as she grinned and blasted through the wall with a spell.
“I am no longer your princess, Equestria.”
Jet black wings carried Luna’s crushed soul into the sky. She would not let herself be punished for her sadness or suffer any longer. Her horn ripped an opening into the dream dimension and Luna, now Nightmare Moon, stepped hoof into a lonely world that was no lonelier than the one she was departing. She knew that bringing her physical body into the world of dreams instead of using magic would cause her to convert into a dream body and no longer have a physical presence in the real world. She was giving up the life she once had to live in a realm where no one could hurt her, no one could even touch her unless she wished it and that was what she wanted. There were no regrets as Princess Luna could no longer feel.
The rip between the two realms closed leisurely, taking its time. It was almost laughable how the hole seemed to be asking her if she was really making the right decision. Though tears fell as she smiled and watched the exit close, Luna made no attempt to escape back into the world she had lived in for over a thousand years. There were no emotions to be felt in this moment and finally, the hole between the two realms had sealed itself. Luna was gone.
She was free.