Snapshots of a day in Equestria. The love of two Goddesses revealed; the early morning banter of a market is observed. Luna shares the experience of the moon. Each chapter will be a short story focusing on different areas of writing.
Snapshots of a Day in Equestria. Soft settings where goddesses sit and stare at midnight skies and warm sunrises. Bustling days in the midst of marketplaces, where ponies of all stripes mingle before going on with their daily routines- a gray mare observes the bustle. A certain Princess of the Night tells a bedtime story to three little fillies of her time on the moon. A letter from a desperate soul to a beacon of kindness.
This story will be made up of a series of "snapshot images", that being short-fics spanning about 700 words- give or take a few. Just sit back, relax and enjoy the insight on the lives of our favorite ponies!
Thanks to Syn3rgy for all the help with... well, just about everything!
You might imagine that standing on top of the tallest mountain in the country, on a perfectly cloudless day, would give one quite an amazing view of the land below them. In this place, one could look down anywhere and see life in action. You might imagine that this one spot would be a very effective place to be for one who cares; who watches over their subjects with a loving grace that can match no other. You might imagine that this is the place where Princess Celestia herself takes one last look over her peaceful land before she sets the sun to rest, and passes the mantle to her sister for the night cycle.
As Celestia stood there on top of the world and absorbed the colors of the setting sun, she began to glow, radiating the brilliant colors of warm sunlight. Her mane, giving off the sun's intense glow as well, blew in the non-existent breeze of the pure magic that flowed through her immortal veins. She slowly lowered the sun below the horizon, the glow strengthening as the light disappeared and as the ponies everywhere retired for the night. She then laid down-there on the mountain-preferring to remain vigilant even though it was now her time to rest. Celestia watched the moon as it peeked out from its hiding spot, beginning to show itself to the nighttime world. Celestia smiled, happy to have her sister back where she belonged, right next to her, as much a ruler of Equestria as she was.
The Princess of the Sun was a glorious sight to behold, even in the dark of her sister's night. Her pearlescent body collected the last of her sun's amber glow from the cool blue night, and the orange haze gave way to darkness's embrace. She gazed at the moon as it made its slow ascent to the crown of the sky, keeping vigil over the night. The Princess's sister slowly approached her from behind, not wanting to intrude, but clearly wanting company. Celestia wordlessly scooted over to make room for her little sister, and Luna gladly occupied the proffered space. While she laid next to her sister, Luna made quick work of assembling the night sky, star by star. After a time, the sky so filled with sparks of light that it was hard not to look up in awe.
The sisters reveled in each other's loving embrace, glad for the ability to simply be there with one another- no royal obligations or feudal arguments in the way of their company. No words were spoken, nor were they needed, the scene was perfect enough; both princesses were absolutely content with their world just the way it was. And it was indeed a beautiful sight-the sisters surveying the land before them-both brilliant in their own right. One was as blue as the night, glowing with the soft kiss of the light reflecting from the moon; the other, a pearly white of pure sunlight exuding a loving warmth.
The night slowly unfolded, and eventually, Luna found herself to be keeping it alone, as Celestia had slipped into the enticing world of dreams as she laid there with her sister. After all, a Goddess needs her sleep just as much as anypony else. Luna fulfilled the remainder of her duties alone, basking in the warmth of Celestia's sun-filled body.
The night began to make way for a new day, and Luna gently awoke Celestia, letting her know that it was once again time for her duties to take the forefront- their Sister Time was over. Celestia stood and started for the path home, where she would raise the sun for all the ponies to see. Luna quickly joined her at her side, and they spent the last few minutes of solitude walking in companionable silence. It was the start of a new day.
You might imagine this, or you might say that it was a figment of some other imagination, but you will undoubtedly agree that this this is what you want-this sense of peace within and without-perfectly synchronized with the world. You might imagine this is what perfect love looks like.
Just waking up to a new day, one could hear the sounds of hooves on cobblestone as the merchants and vendors opened their stalls for a busy morning at the market. Ponies could be heard shouting to each other in greeting, busily displaying their wares for passersby to see. The square quickly filled with the life giving rays of Celestia’s sun, beckoning to the citizens of Ponyville.
Suddenly a burst of music came through the closed windows of a nearby home, capturing the accidental audience unawares with the soothing tones of a lyre being played in the market. Opening the door to better listen, the actual result was quite unexpected. On top of the music coming with renewed vigour, in came the immediate barrage of smells wafting from the fresh crops as well as countless pies, tarts, and pastries- filling the air with a glorious mix of aromas. Such an array of smells would alone be enough to entice a pony to come outside, but more was added to the incentive.
Upon walking outside, a great variety of ponies could be seen bearing their colorful coats and unique cutie marks. The vendors of food arranged it in a spectrum, making the fruits and vegetables seem more appealing to the wandering eye. Some ponies had traveled the lengths of the world, and now stopped to share their finds- bringing back many foreign oddities. Some which could be seen were exquisite tapestries, depicting the artist's homeland with jaw-dropping beauty; yet more were small statues and idols that captured heroes in their moments of glory, or villains in their failures.
Curiosity seized the grey mare, filling her with the delights of discovery as she cantered past the stalls. She stopped here and there to feel the soft warmth of a Zebrican blanket, or to admire the sheen of a midnight blue gemstone. The mare was stopped many times on the street with friendly greetings of “Hey Derpy!” and warm smiles as she waved back. Feeling a pleasant breeze drift through the market the mare ruffled her feathers and took comfort in nature’s soft embrace.
Derpy took to the air, the breeze being too enticing to pass up. She found a cloud that sported a nice overhead view of Ponyville; the Town Hall to her right and the library to her left. From her new perch the mare tried to pick out her friends in the crowd; first off, to see if they were actually there, and second, because she was wondering if they wanted to go to lunch with her. She finally picked out a stallion with a light green mane walking along next to a light blue mare and flew down to ask them her question.
A new place, a new point of view; Ditzy Doo was still enthralled with the daily routines of the ponies of Ponyville. She loved to watch busy scenes-ironically, they soothed her-they let her know that the circle of life was still spinning. She was brought back from the bliss of reminiscence by the waitress’s polite interruption, followed by a giggle from her friends, who had already placed their orders and were waiting for her. “I’ll have a blueberry muffin, please,” she said, smiling up at the waitress as her request was written down. As they waited on, ate and finished their lunch, the three friends talked and laughed and altogether had a good time. But all good things must come and go, and now it was time for Derpy to fulfill her duties as Ponyville’s mailmare. She took one last memory of the cafe, not wanting to forget this wonderful day; she took in the sound of her friends as they continued to laugh about Celestia-knows-what; the multitude of smells drifting around the cafe, ranging from her blueberry muffin, to her best friend's hayfries; the sight of all the wonderful ponies gathered at the cantina; the feel of the ground as she headed for the open air.
Saying a farewell to her friends the mailmare took off into the noonday sun, anticipating a productive afternoon. She passed back over the market on her way to the post office- the wind gently pushing her along. She smiled once more- this was just the beginning of a good day, and she could feel it.
Solar Wind ruffled her undeveloped wings as her Aunt Luna tucked her into bed. Giving her biggest smile yet, she pleaded with the Princess of the Moon:
"Please may hear a story before I go to sleep, Aunt Luna?"
Giggling, Luna thought about the filly's request. teasing her with exaggerated motions.
"I can do much better than that, little one. Did you have anything specific in mind?" She finally replied.
Upon hearing the return question, Solar Wind blushed and hid behind the covers.
"Um... I was kinda hoping... that you could..." drifting off at the end of the sentence as she lost what confidence she had.
Smiling, Luna gave the filly a soft poke right on the forehead.
"You're going to have to speak up dear, I didn't quite catch that." As she watched her niece struggling to build up confidence to ask her question, Luna again smiled reassuringly at her.
After having built up enough confidence, the little pegasus asked her question once more:
"I was wondering if... if you could tell me a story about when you were on the moon, Aunt Lulu."
Luna froze for the smallest fraction of a second, and recovered before the filly in front of her could even notice.
"I can tell you, but I must forewarn you. This was a very dark time for me; the moon put me through many challenges, and brought much change to me. It was a hard time, but without it, I would not be here now. One last question before we begin, are you sure?"
At this, Solar Wind nodded, eyes wide as she was actually going to hear about Luna's legendary imprisonment on the moon. Luna chortled at the sight of the filly's face.
"Let us begin, little one." And she slowly leaned her head forward sending a stream of magic through her horn and touching it to the little pegasus' head, sending them both into the realm of dreams and memories.
Darkness. That's all it was, darkness. Slowly, the filly realized her eyes were closed. Cautiously, she opened them and that was the moment she lost her breath.
"It's so pretty!" Upon turning to her aunt, she saw the sad look in Luna's eyes.
The alicorn quickly hid her sadness, and motioned for the pegasus to follow her.
"Come little one, we shall begin our story just over here." Pausing for a moment as the filly scrambled to catch up with her.
Solar Wind spotted what looked like Nightmare Moon sitting on a hill just a stone's throw away, staring balefully at Equus. 'On this day in a thousand years, Celestia. I will return and invoke eternal night!'
Slightly shocked by the dark alicorn's sudden outburst, Solar Wind jumped behind her Luna, peering curiously at her aunt's evil incarnation.
Luna took a deep breath. "I will begin with a short description on how I got here. Celestia and I took over the leadership of Equestria after the three pony tribes had founded it under the basis of harmony. But while the ponies laughed and played during the day, they slept through and neglected my night. This greatly saddened me, and I grew jealous. I soon plotted to make nighttime eternal. Hence leading to the fight between my sister and I; ending with my ultimate banishment to the moon."
Solar Wind listened intently, watching as Nightmare Moon just sat there unmoving.
"Is this your first day on the moon?"
"Very observant, little one." Luna praised her niece's cognizance.
The filly jumped as the scene suddenly changed. Now, Nightmare Moon was seemingly arguing with herself, stomping around and screaming into nothingness. After a time, she just stopped and burst into tears- her image momentarily flickering to that of a young Luna.
"The moon is a kind spirit, it is full of mercy and compassion, and watches over everything with a love that can be matched by no other. This caused conflicts within myself; having these qualities within me just from my connection to the moon, and also the hatred and jealousy of Nightmare Moon- it was unhealthy for my psyche." Luna narrated the scene before them.
She fell silent after a while, crying her own tears as she watched Nightmare Moon. Time sped up, and the little pegasus watched as Nightmare Moon struggled: argued; cried; screamed; and simply sat in silence. As more time passed on, she slowly started appearing as Luna more often than the dark alicorn.
"It slowly changed me, calmed. The moon is like my soul mate, we share an intimate bond with one another, she loves and cares for me. as I do for her. As you can see I slowly learned to control myself, and one day I lost Nightmare Moon altogether; I didn't know where she went, she was just gone."
As time continued to pass at an accelerated pace the little filly and the alicorn princess sat next to each other and watched. Luna pointed to Equus, upon which the pegasus noticed the weather patterns creating a picture.
"Is Aunt Celestia doing that?!" she exclaimed.
Bewildered, Nightmare Moon watched as a picture was slowly painted on the surface of her world. It created a mural of Celestia reaching out to her sister, telling her that she was still loved, still missed.
Solar Wind noticed that there was always a patch of night sky which was darker than the rest, and she pointed it out to Luna, "Very good, my niece. I didn't realize this at first, but Nightmare Moon ha actually been physically expelled from my body due to the power of the moon. It was on the last day of my exile that she showed herself again-attacking me-and forced herself back into my body ready to once again enact her plan. I tried fighting her, but she was too strong. And the rest, my dear, is history."
Upon the end of that sentence everything seemed to shrink into nothing; and then, darkness. The next time Solar Wind opened her eyes, it was early morning, and Luna was nowhere to be found.
