Luna's First Friend
"Oh but of course they appreciate your precious light above all else!" Luna screamed. "I make the night sky a work of art and all the ponies of Equestria decide to ignore it!"
"Well what do you want me to do about it sister? Outlaw ponies sleeping at night?" Celestia responded with a frown.
"UGH!" Luna shouted as she stormed off. Storming out of the Castle of the Two Sisters, Luna took to the air, enjoying the cool night air and the soft caress of moonlight. Still fuming after the argument, Luna sailed off in no particular direction.
I slave away for all these years, and my sister gets all the attention and love for just putting a brighter orb in the sky? She gets all the love and attention, and nobody even so much as glances my way when she's around.
Shaking her head gently to clear away the thoughts, Luna looked around. She noticed she was near the budding town of Canterlot. After briefly considering her options, she decided to fly over it, and see if anything caught her eye. She could use a distraction.
Buildings, buildings, and more boring buildings that all look the same. Oh hey, it's that park where they erected a statue of my sister and not me. That's not insulting at all.
Luna was about to give up and fly away when something caught her eye. A moving shape. A pony. Out at this hour? Could she be... actually enjoying the nighttime?
Fighting back a smile, Luna landed in the park near the pony. It was an earth pony filly. She had a baby blue coat, and a curly, hot pink mane. She had no cutie mark. As she hopped up on a nearby bench and sat down, Luna noticed something else. The filly had grayed out eyes.
Is this filly blind?
If this filly is blind, and out at this hour, she must be lost.
Luna approached the filly and called out to her. "Little one, are you lost?"
The filly turned her head towards Luna and smiled. She responded in a calm voice.
"I am not ma'am. I'm just out here to enjoy the night. Are you here to enjoy it as well?"
Luna's heart swelled. The filly might be blind, but at least somebody appreciated her art.
"But child, how do you plan on enjoying the night sky as is? I do not mean to pry, but you appear blind." Luna asked with trepidation.
The filly just smiled back at her. "Well that's true I can't see, that hasn't stopped me before. Even before I went blind I used to come out here every night and just... stare at the stars. It's a nice break from the hustle and bustle of life during the day. It also helps calm me down after the bullies get to me."
Luna smiled. It may just be one filly, but the revelation that her night sky meant so much to her warmed her heart.
"Well child, I can agree on that. I hope you do not mind if I sit here with you to watch the stars."
"Of course not!" The child giggled. "My name is Amethyst Rose, but everyone just calls me Rose. What's your name?"
This child seemed happy to just enjoy the night sky with a stranger. It might be awkward if I tell her I'm a princess...
I am... Aurora." Luna finally said. "I hope you do not mind if I just use the... Rose of thine name?" Luna clapped a hoof over her mouth as a bit of old ponish leaked out.
Rose giggled again. "Thine? You sound like some of those ponies in my history lessons. I like you, Aurora." She stuck out her hoof for Luna to shake. Luna strode over to Rose and delicately shook her hoof.
"Wow!" spoke Rose. "You've got big hooves! That's cool! Are you like a big warrior mare or something?"
"Something like that." Luna tittered, and then found peace in watching the stars in silence with the filly.
Every night without fail, Luna would fly over to that same park after raising the moon, and every night without fail, Amethyst Rose would show up. Sometimes they would talk about their own lives, or what Rose had learned in school. Sometimes Luna would point out various constellations and tell Rose stories about them. Rose couldn't see them, but she still listened voraciously, absorbing the stories with a smile. Her favorite constellation ended up being Taurus, the minotaur. Luna told her it was a guardian spirit, watching over little fillies from the heavens. The pair found themselves growing much closer over the next few weeks.
"Amethyst Rose?" Luna started nervously. "I mean not to pry, but you said you were not always blind? What caused this change?"
"Retno... Retino..." Rose scrunched up her face as she struggled to remember the name. "Uh, I don't remember the name, but there was some kind of disease inside my eyes. It started as a lot of shadows and flashes of light inside my eyes, and then developed to the point where my vision just kept blurring until everything went dark. The doctor said they don't have the science to stop it."
"Oh child, I am so sorry to hear that." Luna crooned. "I wish I were able to assist you further. But at least the disease has not taken more from you."
Rose frowned and bit her lip. "Doc says it's spreading. I overheard him talking to mommy and he says it might spread to my brain. And then it's all over."
Luna's blood ran cold. "Surely you jest! There must be something that can be done! Such a sweet, young filly does not deserve this!"
Rose sniffed as her lip trembled. She reached a hoof up to quickly dry her eyes. It was the first time Luna had seen this filly be anything but cheerful or neutral, and seeing her cry absolutely broke her heart.
"I care not what it takes, Rose. I shall go straight to Celestia and find a way to right this wrong!" Luna stomped a hoof in anger.
Rose replied with a sob. "Don't be silly Aurora. The Princesses don't care about lowly ponies like us. And I don't want you to get in trouble for me. You're my best friend out there in this world right now."
"But... surely that can't be so... You have mentioned other ponies as friends before."
Rose let off a shaky laugh. "I'm pretty sure those ponies were made by their parents to spend time with me. It's all pity for the blind little filly, nobody actually likes me for who I am. Nobody except you."
Luna felt her eyes start to mist up. "Well then they are fools! In the brief few days I have made your esteemed presence, I have come to know a pony of many respectable qualities. You will carve out a quite impressive place in this world when you grow up, sight or not!"
Rose let out a deep sigh and smiled. "Aurora, I've had a long time to come to terms with it, and while it still hurts, I know I'm not going to get the chance to grow up. But that's okay. Because after... it all ends, I'm gonna find the brightest star in the night sky, and make it my own. I'll shine light down on all the ponies, and especially you, Aurora. I want you to accomplish great things. I know you can accomplish great things." Rose jumped off her bench, and gave Luna the same bright smile she gave her every night.
"And maybe when it's your time, and you're sailing across the beautiful blanket of stars, I'll find you again."
Luna couldn't hold back as the tears started making their way down her cheeks.
"Yes, Rose. I think I'd like that."
On the next night, Luna flew over the park several times, unable to spot the telltale baby blue coat of her friend. As she landed somberly, fearing the worst, she noticed a scroll sitting on the bench Amethyst Rose always sat on. Holding her breath, Luna levitated the scroll over to her and carefully unrolled it, reading the note inside.
Dear Aurora:
I know you're upset that we didn't meet tonight. I'm truly sorry.
After the way you reacted to disease spreading, I didn't want to upset you too much.
I had surgery today. In fact, my mommy is writing this I'm about to go get prepped for it.
They said it was cancer. The big word the doctor used was "retinoblastoma". That word means nothing to me, but I know you're a smart pony and it probably means something to you.
If the surgery is successful, you should see me out here again within a few days. I'm gonna try and make it tomorrow, but I think the doctor is going to make me rest at home.
However, if you don't see me by the time a week ends, then I'm sorry. I don't want you to be sad, but I know that might be too much to ask.
I hope these aren't our final goodbyes, and that I'll get to see you (hehe, little joke) again. I just want to tell you again that I consider you my best friend in the world. And if I don't make it through this, I hope we can meet again in the beautiful starry skies.
Yours always,
Amethyst Rose.
Luna sat down hard. She didn't even try to fight back the tears currently streaming down her face.
Amethyst Rose... dead? It couldn't be.
Luna promised herself that she would be early for the next week, not miss any chance of seeing the filly again. She could raise the moon from Canterlot, after all. And if... If Rose didn't make it...
I swear to you Amethyst Rose, I shall find the biggest and brightest star in the sky and name it after you.
True to her promise, Luna arrived early the next day. When the time came to raise the moon, the filly was nowhere in sight. Luna ended up flying around for the better part of an hour, fighting panic as she found no results. After two hours of searching, Luna returned to the Castle of the Two Sisters. For the rest of the night she was inconsolable, refusing all food and attention.
"No results tonight means nothing!" Luna spoke to nobody in particular, frantically pacing about in her room. "She said in the letter she might just be recovering!"
But one night turned into two. And two turned into four. And eventually Luna was at the park on the seventh day after reading the letter, pacing around and on the verge of hysterics.
She waited.
And waited.
And waited some more.
Eventually, over two hours later, Luna realized the horrible truth.
Amethyst Rose hadn't survived.
If she had and was still recovering, surely she'd leave a message. Or ask somebody to meet her friend Aurora to reassure her she was alive.
But she was not.
Fueled by a sudden rage, Luna picked up a nearby bench and chucked it. Screaming with rage and sorrow, she fired a magical beam at the statue of Celestia, turning it to rubble.
This isn't fair! To have such a sweet and innocent filly taken by disease, and leave me all alone in this world again! That filly was the only pony I even had. The only one I cared about!
With a scream of rage, tears flooding her vision, Luna took off to the Castle of the Two Sisters.
Celestia marched before Luna, a stern expression on her face.
"Not... another step!" Luna demanded. Celestia stopped moving, staring emotionlessly at her sister. Celestia almost seemed... bored. Well that would change. Luna had been planning this since she returned to the castle the night before. She was going to show Celestia and the rest of this cruel world what would happen when they messed with her.
"Did you really expect me to sit idly by while they all basked in your precious light?" She continued, growing more and more furious with the stony look on her sister's face. She felt the build up of dark magic course through her veins. She felt fit to burst, but still stared at the same stony, unreadable face Celestia was giving her.
That look that conveyed no emotion. Because of course, why would her sister need emotion? She could just show up and ponies would go wild. She could go crazy and still be beloved by all of Equestria. She didn't have to worry about her one and only anchor being torn from this world. She didn't even have to show emotion.
WHY.
WON'T.
SHE.
SHOW.
ANYTHING?!
The hot anger boiled under Luna's skin. Tonight Celestia would pay. Pay for all the lonely nights Luna had trapped herself away, crying into her pillow wondering why she had no love. For all the nights Luna put hours into making masterpieces in the sky and nobody cared. Pay for every time she casted her own sister in her shadow without even seeming to notice or care.
Celestia would pay for what happened to Amethyst Rose.
"There can only be one princess in Equestria! And that princess... will be me!" Luna screamed, slamming her forehooves down and hearing a resounding crack. With a growl, she released the dark energy she had been building, and surrounded herself with a sphere of magic as she felt her body began to shift and change. As the moon rose to blot out the sun her body lengthened, her coat darkened, and the blinding rage had calmed into some sort of sense of... accomplishment and power. Nothing could stand in her way now.
Finally Celestia spoke, "Luna, I will not fight you! You must lower the moon! It is your duty!"
But it didn't matter. Celestia's words were but meaningless noise to her now. Now it was time to show Celestia all the pain and suffering she had gone through. Baring her fangs, Luna stared deep into her sister's eyes, and let the dark magic take control.
"Luna? I am... Nightmare Moon! I have but one royal duty now: to destroy you!"