A mare with nothing. A mare with loneliness. A mare of darkness and misery. Shadows, night and gloom is all in her kingdom. Luna cannot stop brooding upon her troubled past. Her sister doesn't understand, being loved her whole life. Luna turns to Twilight for help. However, an unexpected Pegasus intervenes. And finally may Luna let go...
I don't own this cover art.
Rated Teen just in case it's more 'Teen' than 'Everyone'.
Her eyes were closed in peaceful bliss. Her breathing was steady and even. Her heart was light. Suddenly, sweat broke out on her brow. Her breathing became irregular her eyelids fluttered, and then scrunched up. Her scream echoed through the castle. "Sister!" she cried desperately, even as she slept. She opened her eyes to see a radiant light, blinding her. And suddenly it was gone. Celestia smiled at her.
"More nightmares, Luna?" she asked, calm as a summer breeze. Luna balefully nodded, sighing with the exhaustion of a farm worker who was new on the job. She shook out her wings and began to straighten the feathers, grasping them in her teeth and tugging. After all her feathers were in place she stood up.
"I'll be fine now, sister," she told Celestia, "you should rest for the dawn." Princess Celestia looked worried. She glanced around fearfully, and then leant towards Luna as if she was telling a secret.
"It wasn't a-a vision, was it, Luna?" she whispered through clenched teeth. The Princess of the Night looked surprised.
"You know I would tell you if I even suspected it!' she softly chided her sister, hurt that her sister would think this. She turned away stubbornly. A cold, metallic touch on her shoulder grasped her attention. She turned to Tia reluctantly. Celestia was smiling. Smiling!
"I have a plan, you see, sister." Celestia's smile widened until she looked maniacal. "Listen..." She leaned in to whisper in Luna's ear. "See, this is what we do." Luna smiled too. This would be fun.
She remembered time on the moon, waiting for revenge. Oh, how clearly she remembered!
She'd paced along it's surface, snarling muttered curses at the land below. She'd drawn violent scenes where Celestia was hated. The darkness had been too great.
But now, even with it gone, she could not look at her reflection without wincing at Nightmare Moon's treacherous eyes, her fangs and bloodthirsty posture. Could she ever let go?
Luna gingerly levitated her luggage into the baggage car of the train. "Twilight Sparkle will be waiting," her sister had said. Well, she trusted her sister and Twi had stopped the nightmare, but she didn't even know the pony! Not properly! Why had she agreed to this ridiculous idea.
"Uh... Princess?" a guard asked. "The-the trains about to leave..." He trailed off, seemingly terrified. Luna cringed. They still saw her as Nightmare Moon. Well, after everything, why shouldn't they?
That didn't make it hurt less.
She leaped into a carriage just as the whistle blew, only to be bombarded with fear from the other ponies. She crept into the baggage car and stayed there, silent tears streaming down her face.
The train juddered to a halt, jolting Luna out of her despair. She clambered to her hooves, got her trunks and stepped out. She immediately shrank back, startled and hating. She slipped through the crowd to a clear spot to set her trunks down. Balloons bobbed towards her, streamers showered around her head. Getting up, she realized what a mess she must look. Catching her reflection in the glass, she saw the salt tracks made by her tears. Her dishevelled mane tumbled in wild heaps around her hooves. I must cut it, she thought vaguely, else it'll get too long. How long until it seems like Tia's? She growled quietly at the brightly coloured ponies surrounding her.
"Err...yer Highness, I'm Applejack..." The bright orange mare called 'Applejack' trailed off uncertainly. Still uncertain of me. I'm not Nightmare Moon! Applejack resumed her sentence after a few minutes. "And err... Well, really it should be ol' Twily here doin' the talkin'." I think she's a farmer. She has a country accent. The lavender mare stepped towards her.
"We would like to welcome you to Ponyville, hem hem, where we will help-"
"A simple 'Hi, Luna!' would have been nice," Luna interrupted quietly. The butterscotch Pegasus at the back flinched and Twilight glanced worriedly at her. Another Pegasus, rainbow this time, protectively crouched in front of her. Those two look very close, she noted. Running a hoof through her mane, she stood up. "May we leave? I don't like it here."
Luna hated the walk to Ponyville. There were stares from every direction and she felt the mistrust radiating off them. A mother drew her foal closer. And worst of all, all the ponies in her escort shot her suspicious glances except the butterscotch Pegasus, who avoided her completely, and Twilight.
Twilight wasn't much consolation, though. She gave Luna encouraging looks every so often, but otherwise she looked straight ahead. Luna crept quietly up to her and gently encouraged conversation.
"Hey, Twilight," she said, "what will we be doing? In Ponyville, y'know? Like, is there a schedule?"
"No."
"Oh." They plodded on in silence. "What will we be doing, then?" Twilight seemed to relax a little. Luna sighed softly. She was getting nowhere.
"The whole point is for you to make friends, actually," Twilight's voice came unexpectedly. "We take you out, like a normal pony, and we introduce you to normal ponies." Luna smiled ruefully.
"It hasn't exactly worked so far though, has it, Twilight Sparkle? I mean, your friends-" She gestured madly at the air behind them. "-haven't exactly welcomed me, have they?"
"No, not really, and please, call me Twi," replied Twilight. Luna felt her chest flutter. Twi! Not Twilight. Twi! Wasn't that a step forward in friendship?
Dearest (and only) sister, I haven't found Ponyville quite as great as expected. It's... well, it's hard to explain, but nopony trusts me. It's quite depressing. I wish you could be here too. Then I'd have someone I could count on.
Much love, Princess Luna Castellar Regalia (or just Luna).
Luna woke in her alcove in Twilight's library to vigorous shaking. Twilight's muzzle loomed embarrassingly close to her own. Blushing, Luna scrambled out of bed.
"Up! Today's schedule: Get you washed, groomed and eat breakfast, go to Rarity's for ribbons, go to Fluttershy's just because, introduce you to some of our other friends (not all of Pinkie's, though), go to Fluttershy's for lunch, find somepony we met that you liked, and if there are none, we search again, and finally dinner and slumber party at Fluttershy's!" cried Twilight, out of breath. Twi was obviously excited. She was pink, and gave little bounces on the tips of her hooves every so often. "Well? Come on!" She galloped off at high speed. Luna had no choice but to follow. While Twi scrubbed her, Spike sorted through the tangled masses of mane and tail, shampooing and conditioning every square centimetre until she sparkled like a diamond and had smooth, slightly wavy hair.
Twilight and Spike fixed pancakes with maple syrup and ice cream, a delicious treat never served at the castle. Though she thought she'd smelled it somewhere before. On Celly, maybe. Lastly, Spike dashed into Twi's room and brought out an expensive-looking perfume smelling of a fresh, crisp night. Did they get it specially for ME? Luna wondered. But before she could get a glimpse of the bottle, Twilight was marching her out the door.
"Bye Twi! Bye Princess!" called Spike. He didn't sound the least bit hesitant. Luna smiled. Two who didn't fear her, besides Celly.
Rarity whirled around Luna, comparing fabrics and colours. Eventually, she decided on a navy blue silk ribbon dotted with sparkling diamonds.
"It's brilliant!" Luna gushed. Rarity looked triumphant and pleased.
"I'm glad you like it," she replied warmly, with not a trace of fear or hesitation.Three now! "Where are you off to next?" Luna didn't have a clue, so she shrugged. Thankfully, Twilight consulted her list.
"Fluttershy's," she said curtly. Whatever had happened? Rarity looked nonchalant.
"Why? Organizing an...event?" she asked. "Because Luna deserves to-"
"No reason," Twilight replied. "Just because." Luna wanted to know what had happened to Twi. Why was she so stiff and curt?
As they walked to Fluttershy's, Luna noted with interest a Pegasus stallion. He had dark grey fur with black wingtips, velvety purple mane and tail and an interesting cutie mark. It was a moon, similar to hers, with black wings sprouting from it.
"Who's that?" she whispered to Twilight. Twilight glanced in the stallion's direction and quickly averted her eyes.
"He's new, but boy, is he weird," she answered. "He thinks any mare or filly who looks at another for too long is gay, and any mares who look at his cutie mark are...interested." She made vague gestures. "Only if he sees them, though. Every mare at least avoids him. The colts think he's cool. Same with the stallions. It's awful." Luna blushed at this, and saw the stallion wink at her. Her chest almost burst. He was, in his own way, quite handsome. She turned back to Twi.
"Was any mare ever actually interested?"
"At the beginning, yeah," replied Twilight. "Cheerilee and Rarity. I know, Rarity is more the type for those like Blueblood and Fancy Pants, but she did. Didn't last long. She asked him out and he agreed, but then he spent the whole time staring at the moon. This was before you, erm, came back." Luna felt astonished. Could it be-that he was waiting-for her? "Rarity never spent a second in the same street as him after that." Luna spotted him waltzing in their direction.
"What's his name?"
"...Midnight Moonbeam..." Midnight Moonbeam was getting closer and closer. Luna fought down a blush and the urge to smile at him. "Uh oh," said Twilight. "Moonie's coming. I think he has a crush on you...or me." She sounded disgusted. "Run!"
And so they ran, Luna unhappily, Twilight frantically .
They arrived at Fluttershy's pink and puffing. Twilight glanced behind to make sure he hadn't followed us. Luna, however, felt slightly disappointed, though she was only slightly sure of a reason why. They trudged the last little way to Fluttershy's Cottage where Twi rapped smartly on the door. Luna sighed and glanced at the little pond outside Fluttershy's house. Snakelike eyes stared back at her. She screamed, dreading transformation.
"Luna?" Twi asked, fearful and alarmed. Luna shuddered, cursing her guilt.
"J-j-just a re-re-reflection," she stammered. She quickly snuck a glance at her wings while Twilight wasn't looking. They weren't batlike, or even black. Just a plain, midnight blue. The feathers were bedraggled after their run. A rustle from the cottage grasped her attention. Evergreen patterned curtains were pushed aside ever so slightly. Then the door burst open.
"Twilight!" cried Fluttershy. "You're here!" She embraced Twi, who hugged her in return. Then Fluttershy stopped. "Oh," she whispered. "Hi Luna. Nice to-to-to s-s-see you." She turned to Twilight and fixed her with a stern glare. "We need to talk," she muttered, slightly fiercely, a strange thing for Fluttershy from what Twi had told her.. Twi was ushered inside. Pressing her ear against the curtained window, Luna could hear their conversation.
"You didn't tell me you were bringing her!"
"This is supposed to be a way for her to make some friends!"
"Yes, but if you'd told me..."
"... I'm sorry, 'Shy. But-"
"I could have prepared a cake."
"You're so funny." There were giggles. "Listen,how 'bout tonight we go out, just you and me. While everyone's asleep." Silence filled the air, both outside and within the little cottage. The conversation continued no further.
Dust and soil settled on Luna's nose. No breeze was blowing. She turned to see Moonie meandering up the path. She burst inside, crying, "Moonie's here!" No more words needed to be said. They ran out the side door and away, far far away from the gaze of Midnight Moonbeam.
They arrived at Sugar Cube Corner out of breath and panting like rabid dogs. Luna wished desperately that she hadn't told them. She had actually wanted to talk to 'Moonie'. But if she hadn't, Twi and Fluttershy would have seen her talking to the Pegasus they so clearly hated. Luna wished friendship was as easy as everypony made out. She didn't want to disappoint any of her new friends, but it was difficult when you thought you were in love with a pony they avoided like the devil. Twilight led them inside, where two brightly coloured ponies were racing around.
"Oh, hi, Twilight, dear!" cried the blue Earth Pony. She quickly grasped a pan in her teeth and ran over to the oven. "Bagels, dear!" she trilled at the yellow Earth Pony who came racing through the door.
"Hi, Mrs Cake, Mr Cake."
"They're coming, they're coming!" he cried, setting down his load of sugar, icing mixture, apples, sprinkles and other cake-making ingredients. "Hi Twilight. You've come at a rather bad time. We have too many orders." Luna remembered how on the moon she'd conjured ingredients for cakes and made them.
"I could help," she offered in her serene, gentle voice. Mr Cake stared in disbelief.
"Holy smokes," he whispered, "an alicorn." Mrs Cake bustled out.
"Well?" she demanded. "Get her an apron! The lady must be given the ingredients for-" She consulted a list. "- honeycomb-sprinkle madness!" She caught Twi's glance and whispered, "Pinkie's idea." Twi snorted in laughter. Luna adjusted the the apron around her slender waist and set to work.
By midday, Luna had baked five hundred and sixty-nine honeycomb-sprinkle madnesses. She was allowed to take one("For we have far too many orders to spare more," Mrs Cake had told her secretly,) and decided they'd take it to 'Shy's for the slumber party. As they arrived at Fluttershy's cottage for lunch, Luna noted that there was a set of tracks leading to the cottage and away. She suspected they were Midnight Moonbeam's. She also saw the other ponies who'd escorted her to Ponyville from that dreadful station. The rainbow Pegasus, Rarity, the Earth Pony who she suspected was a farmer and Pinkie Pie.
"Hey hey hey, Twi! How are ya', Fluttershy? Had any parties lately, Luna?" cried Pinkie. Luna smiled again. One more unafraid of me! Yes. The rainbow Pegasus looked slightly hostile, but for once not to her. It was directed towards Twi. Luna wondered if it could possibly be that the Pegasus had wanted to take her around. Then, rembering the events at the station yesterday, she thought it was as unlikely as Celly being murdered.
A duck floated past on the little pond, and smiling at it, Luna noticed with growing horror her snake eyes, the narrow pupils dilating and her fangs. She screamed and stumbled back, only to trip and feel legs support her. She then looked up into the eyes of Moonie.
Luna caught her breath. She couldn't stop staring into his eyes. They were a brilliant lily pad green, and they seemed as though they were staring into the depths of her soul. She almost suffocated, she held her breath that long. And he...he seemed to understand her. Shaking her head ever so slightly, she reprimanded herself. Don't be ridiculous. Yet she couldn't break her gaze away from his. Around her she faintly heard noises.
"Luna? Luna!" a fiercely scared voice cried. "Luna! No! Luna!" The voice broke into wails. "Luna, please! Just listen! I need to talk to you! It's me, Twi!" Luna broke her gaze away to Twi, who was desperately, furiously, rubbing her eyes. A wave of guilt washed over her. She'd just hurt her closest friend's feelings. She struggled a little, though as she did she looked up at him. I'm sorry, she tried to say. But I need to go to her. Midnight Moonbeam seemed to know what she was trying to tell him, because he gently released her, stepping back into the bushes, forever concealed in the leaves. Luna got up and went to Twi.
"Twi?" she whispered softly, so no pony could hear. "Twi, I-I-I'm sorry." Twi looked up, tears running through tracks in her cheeks.
"I thought-you went-your eyes-"
"Enough," Luna interrupted, gently but firmly. "We will talk later. For now," she spoke louder, addressing everypony,"we will have lunch." A murmur of agreement followed her words, and Fluttershy led the procession inside. Luna felt terrible. Her friend, her first real friend had been injured because of her. And not physically. Physically was bad, but the way she'd hurt Twi was worse by a long shot. Worse than exile to the moon. And Luna knew just how Twi felt, if not a less severe pain. Finally, she turned to the door and entered the cottage.
Lunch was a painful experience. Luna kept silent the whole time, the others trying to make small talk. It was awkward, and Luna was glad when the ponies departed. When they'd left, Fluttershy closed the door. Luna took a deep breath and began.
"Look, I'd better start with...I'm sorry, Twi. I didn't mean to hurt you like that and I should have told you right from the start," she said. "But please, just hear me out:
"There's a reason Celly-or Princess Celestia-asked you to look after me here and show me around. I've been almost torturing myself with the fact that I was Nightmare Moon and I don't deserve to be here. No pony 'cept Celly could look me in the eye without a trace of fear or mistrust. Blueblood least of all. Actually, he made it worse by loudly whispering to the closest non-alicorn around about me. Celly warned him-oh, she did-but he kept doing it. Until you guys, only Celly knew me for who I was-not as a freak, not as a mass murderer, not as her almost-destruction, but just Luna.
"So that's why I growled a bit at the station. I didn't want everyone staring, glaring, and the banner and streamers made it worse. I'm sorry for ruining it, and I'm especially sorry I scared you, 'Shy."
"'S okay," she said in reply. "It was stupid anyway. You weren't even very loud or mean." Luna continued.
"I was really happy when you told me to call you Twi. It seemed like a huge step in friendship. And I was really grateful to Spike too. He wasn't like the others either. And Rarity seemed warm enough. And then we passed him.
"When I saw Moonie, I admit the first thing that really got me was his cutie mark. So similar to my own! Then, before you actually told me about him, I kinda thought he was...well, handsome. But then you told me about him and I thought he was terrible So, I wasn't quite sure how I felt. I didn't tell you because...because..."
"You can tell us," encouraged Twi. Her voice was still cracking but she managed a smile. Luna hesitated.
"...I didn't want to disappoint you." Twi didn't look like this was the answer she'd been expecting. Did she think I just wanted my own secret? "Anyway, I really wanted to talk to him when I told you he was coming but, well, I thought that would be disloyal. And so I just hid it.
"It's not that I don't like you guys. I just...didn't want to lose the only friends I've had in a...long time." Luna began to sob quietly. Twilight looked stunned.
"But surely Princess Celestia-"
"She's my sister," Luna cut her off. "And she's really busy a lot. And she still doesn't completely trust me. So there. You may ask any questions you like." There was silence. Finally, Fluttershy spoke.
"At the pond, when you screamed...why?" she asked. Luna drew in her breath. This had been coming all along.
"I-I saw her," she answered. "Nightmare Moon. It wasn't the first time. It always happens. Whenever...you know, I saw my reflection." She swallowed. "It still does."
"Oh. Luna," said Twi. "You could have told somepony."
"I couldn't," Luna said, forcing herself to continue. "It's my way of making sure it doesn't happen again." Torture is the only way for me. Twi seemed to ponder her next question.
"What's your full name?" Luna snorted.
"You could ask me anything, and you ask me that?" she giggled. "Most people would want to know what it was like...being her. But it's Luna Castellar Regaila." Twi sniggered, seemingly unable to contain it. Luna fell serious.
"But now you owe me an explanation, Twi. Of why you were sobbing. And why you like to come here so much." 'Shy sucked in a breath. Twi stopped sniggering.
"Very well," she sighed. "But don't get lost, you hear me? DON'T. GET. LOST. This is confusing, so PAY ATTENTION." Luna snapped to attention. She would hear her friend, so she knew what she was apologising. Twi took a deep breath and began.
"When he-Moonie-caught you, you were staring at him. And your eyes...went all blank. Like there was nothing except him. And when I called your name, you kept staring with those blank, blank eyes. And it reminded me...of...of..." Twi's breath caught in her throat. "Of my parents. When they-they were-they-" She broke down in tears. Luna felt guilty that she'd forced Twi to talk about her parents when it upset her so much.
"Go on," 'Shy encouraged. Twi gulped and took a few deep breaths.
"I barely knew my parents. We lived at my aunt and uncle's place because they were away so much. You knew my parents," she added to Luna, "because they were murdered on the night she returned." Luna felt a hollow ache inside her. She'd killed Twi's parents. "Their eyes went all blank as you stood over them," Twi continued, "and it frightened me so much. And that day...I hated you."
"And you were well within your rights," Luna said. Twi blinked. Luna mentally scanned her memory for Twi, and she finally found it. She'd been in the Canterlot Palace and she had tried to convince Duke Dusk and Duchess Dawn to support her. When they hadn't, she'd killed them. And that isn't mentioning all of the others I killed the day I returned.
"They were the Duke and Duchess," said Luna to Twi, who jumped, "and I-I killed them without knowing they were my future best friend's parents. I hate myself." She got up and walked over to the mirror.
"Luna," warned Twi, but Luna kept walking.
"I must punish myself," she said, "and you can't stop me." She looked in the mirror and saw her. She flinched away. "It is done." She didn't tell them she'd almost broken down, that she was seething on the inside. she settled down on the couch. "Continue," she said simply to Twi. She looked confused.
"I've finished, Luna," Twi said. Luna shook her head.
"You haven't told me about you and 'Shy." Twi made an 'o' shape with her mouth. Fluttershy pursed her lips and sucked in her breath. Twi looked as though she'd be sick.
"Okay, but only because you opened up to us," Twi relented. "'Shy and I discovered not long after we met each other that we had...a lot of differences, but similar priorities; friendship and happiness.
"And of course, what could that lead to except... well, long story short, 'Shy and I fell in love so now blah blah blah, boring details that won't interest you. And I want to ask for one more explanation." Luna sighed; this had been coming all along. "Flutters," said Twi. Yes! Not me, thought Luna. *Gulp* went 'Shy. "What-well, more why has Rainbow been so hostile towards me lately? I deserve to know if you have any clue at all." Now it was 'Shy's turn to sigh.
"Well, and-and-and Twi, I-I didn't f-f-find out u-u-until r-r-r-recently, but apparently," said Fluttershy weakly, "Rainbow has a crush on m-m-m-me and sh-sh-she s-s-s-sees you as a-a rival." Twi was silent. And then...
"She is so dead," raged Twi as they marched to her hot air balloon. 'Shy tried to soothe her.
"Twi, she didn't-she couldn't possibly have known about us." Fluttershy tried to console Twilight but she was rambling on about a list of ways she'd like to kill Rainbow Dash. Luna spotted Moonie, who waved at her. She blushed, and motioned at her friends to let him know she needed to follow them. He nodded sadly and gestured at his cutie mark, and then he pointed at the sky. He mouthed 'Okay?' at her. Luna couldn't understand what he meant, but she smiled and nodded just the same. She wasn't going to miss out on an opportunity to see him. She dashed after her two new friends and hoped desperately that he hadn't been asking her if she had a boyfriend.
Luna had scouted ahead to Rainbow's house, as Twi couldn't fly and 'Shy wasn't very good. She also put a spell on Twi that enabled her to walk on the clouds. When they finally reached Dash's front door, Luna saw flowers strewn on the clouds around them. She wasn't used to walking on clouds-she never really had to-but she was certain that there shouldn't be flowers here. Twi walked in without knocking, and Luna hastened after her. Already she could feel fear oozing from Flutters behind her. She slowed and put her leg around 'Shy, who smiled gratefully. They emerged into a dull blue room, with a dazzling rainbow sitting on the bed.
Rainbow Dash.
"Oh, so it's 'Twily' and her loonie follower, who was once a murderer?" said Rainbow. That stung Luna. She'd changed, and Rainbow Dash knew it.
"She's changed, Dash, and we have a little something to discuss," snarled Twilight, stepping forward. 'Shy, on the other hand, rolled back and fainted. Luna instinctively stepped back to get cold water, then remembered it wasn't her house. She breathed hard and stepped forward again.
"What, Twi? Oh, and by the way, I think Moonie the Loonie is the perfect match for that old bat there, so why don't you organize time for them to go out?" sniped Rainbow.
"That old bat, as you so unkindly dubbed her, is a princess, so watch your mouth, Dash," seethed Twi. "And stay away from 'Shy." Rainbow rolled her eyes.
"She's vacant, or hadn't you noticed, egghead?" She curled her lip. "'Sides, Flutters can make her own decision." Twi drew herself up taller, as if to prepare for a fight.
"She already has," came a soft, mild voice. Fluttershy was up. "And she's chosen Twi." Rainbow was flabbergasted. "Now leave my marefriend alone, Rainbow Dash." 'Shy's voice was as cold as Yakyakistan.
"Sorry, 'Shy," mumbled Dash. She traced a tuft of cloud guiltily. Fluttershy's icy exterior remained.
"You can apologise to them both properly at the slumber party," she said in her horrible, frosty way, "in front of us all." And with that she turned on her heel and left the cloudy, soft building.
Luna sighed as she stepped outside Fluttershy's Cottage to raise the moon. She concentrated deeply on the moon as she raised it high into the sky, where it would begin its course. She was going to head inside when a whisper distracted her.
"Luna, princess of my heart, come!" Glancing around wildly, Luna thought she saw a shadow. She looked down the hill and saw lily pad green eyes gazing up at her. Backtracking, she called to Twi and 'Shy.
"I'm goin' out to enjoy the night-time breeze!' she told Twilight and Flutters. She darted out into the garden and flew down to to meet Moonie.
"Sorry I couldn't make cakes earlier-I mean, meet your gummy-oh, this is no use," wailed Luna as she tried to talk to him. Moonie smiled emphatically. Luna suddenly thought of something.
"Forgive me for my despicable... um, whatever it is, but may I ask you this: why me?" Luna asked, desperate to know. Moonie looked up at the moon. He seemed to ponder for a long time.
"I assume you've heard the Rarity story?" he questioned. His voice was light and not as deep as many stallions'. It was midway between the average mare and the average stallion's voice. It surprised Luna, admittedly. She nodded, in answer to his question. "I was staring out at the moon, the whole time," he continued. "I was...waiting for your return." Luna's chest fluttered.
"Why me?" she asked. "And how did you know I would return?" Moonie looked slightly embarrassed.
"This part is ever so confusing," he warned her, "so please tell me if something doesn't make sense." He began:
"I can't really explain it, but it just felt right that you would return. It made sense. And even as a colt, I was drawn to the night, like a squirrel to nuts, or, indeed, Rarity to a beautiful fabric. When you disappeared, a sense of wrongness fell over the nights. And every day until you raised the moon again, it felt unnatural.
"Before you say anything," he said, noticing Luna mouth opening slightly, "the mares and fillies, and what I said and did, it was to drive them off. I was waiting for you, and you alone. And then the final thing happened to pull the straw. The night you returned, two years ago now, I got my cutie mark. And then I knew exactly what my life was and most of all, whoit was for." He looked into Luna's eyes. She melted, unknowing, into his fathomless, lily pad green eyes.
"It was for you."
The words melted into the breeze, rippling down Luna's ears. Her heart rejoiced. Me! For me! And, forgetting everything except Moonie, she leaned in, and sealed her fate.
Luna was still glued to Moonie when light flooded the garden. She quickly broke away and Moonie faded into the shadows cast by her moon. She could almost feel his warm breath on her nose, see his astonished but pleased eyes, and she inhaled the memory, treasuring it, greedy for another kiss. A shadow loomed in the path of light.
"Luna?" squeaked Fluttershy. "Dinner's ready when you want it." Luna relaxed. If Fluttershy had seen it, she wouldn't tell anypony except Twi, and that was fine by Luna. The last thing she needed was Rainbow's teasing. And tease Rainbow Dash would.
All through dinner, Luna couldn't let her happiness show. Some pony would question her and she wasn't in the mood to lie. But at dessert, when everypony loved her cake, she let the happiness show because it wouldn't be suspicious any longer. At bed, she lay listening to the crickets, grinning and imagining life with Moonie. She licked her lips and, sure that all were asleep, she crept outside.
Waiting out the front was Moonie. Luna smiled at him, hoping he saw in her eyes her love for him.
"We never quite got to finish, did we?" asked Luna. Moonie shook his head. " Alas, now is not the time. The future holds that." Luna smiled mischievously. Shyly, forgetting her desire to hold him close, she stepped hesitantly forward.
"Would... Would you like to go out on a... A d-d-d-date?" she squeaked, barely getting the words out. Moonie looked surprised, but also triumphant.
"Of course, my love." His answer was gentle but meaningful. Luna smiled weakly. She knew Moonie would always be there for her.
"What would you like me to call you? I can't exactly keep calling you Moonie, now can I?" asked Luna. Pondering, Moonie finally stood.
"Just call me Midnight, please," he said. Luna grinned. Whatever was said, whatever he had done, a future with Midnight so under like Fate was kind. And maybe Fate was. Even if Fate wasn't, Luna could live like this. They walked into the Everfree Forest. And, under the moon, they sat, made plans and expressed their love.
Luna awoke in the heart of the Everfree, tired and cranky. Lying next to her was Midnight, chest fluttering up and down. Luna tiptoed away, far away, back to Fluttershy's Cottage. The sun had not risen, so Luna lowered the Moon. Tia will raise the Sun soon, she thought. Time passes so quickly, and everything changes someday. Especially your feelings. She recalled a speech Tia had made long ago, thousands upon thousands of years past:
My subjects, Celly had cried, we stand together, now, here, united. We are like one huge, long, never-ending family. And so it should be for a long, long time.
But all the time, somepony's colours are changing. Not their coat, nor their cutie mark. Not their body, most of the time. That is not true change.
You can knock a building down, and say "That building, it is changed," but it won't be, not unless you manipulate it, change how it sees the world. Then it will be changed.
So my question to you is this; are these our true colours? Are our true colours, your true colours, loyalty to the Thrones of Sun and Moon? Are our true colours this, to be united?
Or are they a bleaker prospect, dark and evil? Consider this, and always remember this day, when we honour the princesses past. We honour their noble feats, to bring us together.
Don't let their work go to waste. Be kind, be united. Thank you.
Luna had dreamed since she was a filly of the day she would make a glorious speech such as that. Celly had been only a filly herself, and Luna had eagerly, yet patiently, awaited her time to shine.
She would have to let go of that dream now.
As a former Nightmare, she would never be trusted. And that was enough to crush her dreams and break her soul.
