Chapters Luna awoke three days later very confused and as she climbed out of bed she let out a squeal of surprise as instead of flooring her hoof met air as she floated away from her bed. Then she remembered where she was. She assumed she had slept so long because without the sun going down there was no way for her body to tell how long she had been asleep.
"Good morning, Your Highness. Hope you got a nice beauty sleep," Nightmare Moon cooed to Luna who rolled her eyes in response. "Hope you slept well... maybe dreamed up a way to get us out of here? After all it is your fault we're trapped here remember?"
Luna turned her back on the black mare as she flew over to get an apple. "It's not my fault you had to get us banished," she finally replied.
"Oh so now you're blaming me!?!' cried nightmare moon. "Why did you cast that spell? You know the one that made me? I was fine being trapped in your pathetic little mind with your deepest fears... like how you're afraid something will happen to Celestia... like what happened to your parents.. remember lulu? they-"
She didn't finish because her mouth was forced shut by Luna's magic as she floated in her room. Tears flowing freely down her face as she remembered what happened so long ago. The room which was lit from an unknown source, went dark. nightmare moon shot a bolt of lightning at Luna which bounced off the glass wall and shot back at her. It hit her square in the flank causing her to create a storm cloud on Luna's side of the room in her panic. Soon Luna was drenched and angry. She unchained all of Nightmare Moon's furniture and switched gravity back on for her. She crashed to the curved floor of her room where the chains that once held her furniture strapped her to the floor. She added lightning to her rain clouds, and Luna felt a shock go through her body as a bolt hit her tail. She flung a fireball at Nightmare Moon who deflected it and launched it back at the glass wall. Just as it hit the glass wall from one side, a lightning bolt hit it from the other and the glass shattered throwing both mares against opposite walls where they slid to the floor as gravity returned to the whole room.
Luna awoke in a pile of glass shards. It was now raining all along the inside of the moon but the lightning had died down. Nightmare Moon was struggling to get up. The chains had released her, but they were still crisscrossed along her back. She took a step forward and collapsed, her front right leg buckling under her weight. Her blue helmet was across the room covered in burn marks from lightning and Luna's fireball. The rest of her armor was covered in scratches and small dents.
Luna stood up slowly feeling pain in her left flank which she noticed had a deep gash in it from a rather large piece of glass. Blood was running down her leg, and her moon cutie mark was stained red. The glass slightly reflected her appearance. Luna's mane was tangled and wet and there were scratches all along her face and neck. Bits of glass stuck out of her shoulders and as she moved away from the pile of glass a small trail of blood followed. She was limping slightly from the gash to her side.
Luna watched as Nightmare Moon slowly got up and moved the chains off her body. The black mare limped slowly towards Luna a slight gleam of anger in her eyes. Her wings slowly unfolded from her sides as if it was painful for her to do so. Luna did the same a bit quicker and winced as a sharp pain ran down her right wing.
Nightmare Moon flew at Luna who couldn't run due to her leg. she leaped into the air trying to fly to the other side of the room, but Nightmare Moon was too quick. By turning sharply, she was able to close her mouth around some of the feathers in Luna's wing, and as she flew away the feathers were ripped from her wing. Luna let out a cry of pain as she fell and landed on her back left leg which collapsed under her weight. It was too painful for her to get up, so she lay there as Nightmare Moon walked slowly towards her an evil smile on her face a huge shard of glass in her magical grasp.
"I should have killed you a long time ago, Princess. When I first had the chance. I had you trapped under me. I could have snapped your neck right there, but I didn't. I should've. I wouldn't be here if I had! I could have killed you and taken your magic making myself stronger than Celestia!! But I didn't. Why? I don't know... but I can kill you now. Nobody is here to help you...." By now Nightmare Moon's eyes reflected the madness that had overtaken her. She raised the glass above her head, "Say goodbye, Princess!"
The glass shot through the air towards Luna who closed her eyes and braced herself. She hoped it would be a painless death, but it never came.
"How dare you!?!" cried Nightmare Moon.
Luna opened her eyes. A black figure was standing above her and as she watched, he pushed Nightmare Moon across the room, used the chains that were still on the floor to pin her to the wall, and then he began splitting up the furniture like it had been when Luna first arrived here. Then she felt gravity disappear as she floated into the air. The slivers of glass in her shoulders came out as the see-through wall began to rebuild itself. The cracks mended themselves and she could tell her spells were put back in place because a piece of paper dropped back onto the desk as it was about to float away. Nightmare Moon was unchained and her furniture returned to its positions against the walls, chains in place once again. She was placed upon her bed from where she stared at the newcomer in shock and confusion. Then the stallion turned to Luna.
He was jet black with a galaxy cutie mark. His mane which was like Nightmare Moon's except instead of just stars it held constellations, galaxies, and planets. The front was brushed back and his mane came down past his shoulders as though it hadn't been cut in a while. The ends flowed slightly like Celestia's or Nightmare Moon's. Then Luna looked into his eyes, and she let out a small gasp. They were ice blue, and it was as though there were actual stars in his eyes. Luna felt as though they were piercing through her learning all of her secrets. It made her blood run cold, but at the same time she had butterflies in her stomach. She had never seen a stallion that looked like him before.
"Who are you?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
His voice was smooth when it flowed across Luna's ears,and it had a slight accent that sounded older than Equestria itself as he replied, "I am Night."
The next hour or so was spent tending to Luna's wounds. She talked to Night who explained that he was keeper of the night. He traveled all around the universe checking up on stars and galaxies, keeping track of new stars that were born out of dust, and old stars which died of age and expanded until they exploded disappearing forever. He explained how the moon was one of over 3000 homes he had set up in the universe for when he needed a night or two to himself.
Luna told him of her experiences with Nightmare Moon and how she was sent to the moon. Night listened to her story as he wrapped her leg. The gash had been deep and landing on the leg hadn't helped. It was still steadily bleeding, red liquid oozing out and down her leg onto the sheets of her bed. To add to it Luna had sprained her ankle when alling and broken her leg a few inches below her hip. She winced as Night cleaned out the cut in her leg for the third time.
From her hoof to her hip her leg was wrapped with a splint against her leg, but it would have to be redone because of the blood that now stained the wrappings. Luna's wing had been wrapped against her side to keep it still while her joints mended themselves and the feathers grew back. The cuts on her shoulders and face had stopped bleeding and only one bandage was across her muzzle where the deepest of these cuts had been.
Nightmare Moon was left to bandage herself which she hadn't done yet as she refused to except anything from Night. Though Luna could see the jealousy in her eyes as she watched him tend to her leg. Eventually Luna's flank stopped bleeding and her leg was re-wrapped.
"I guess I'm lucky you happened to stop by here today," Luna said after Night had laid down next to her.
"Yeah," he replied, "of course I think I'm the lucky one... After all I got to meet you today." He gave Luna a small smile causing her to blush.
Luna had never thought it would be so easy to fall for a stallion before, but even as he spread his wings and said, "I should go. Let you rest." She knew she wanted him to stay.
"You could stay you know," Luna said. "Maybe duplicate the bed or something..." she added trying not to sound too pushy.
"If you're sure...' Night replied. "I wouldn't want to intrude."
"Oh, it's fine. After all, this is your home," Luna stated.
"Alright," Night smiled as he duplicated Luna's bed and laid down. "Goodnight, Luna," he whispered.
"Goodnight, Night," she yawned in reply as she curled up on her bed noticing Nightmare Moon glaring at her from across the room.
Nightmare Moon stared down at Luna who was curled on the floor in front of her. Luna was trapped. Her leg and wing were both injured and now Nightmare Moon had her chance. She raised the piece of glass above her head and was about to bring it down upon the young mare’s neck when a black figure flew through the wall as though it was not there. He landed between Nightmare Moon and Luna blocking the glass from impaling Luna's body. "How dare you!?!?" Nightmare Moon screamed as she was pushed across the room by the stallion's magic. He then replaced all of the furniture and repaired the glass wall.
Nightmare Moon couldn’t believe what she was seeing. A black alicorn stallion just flew in and saved Luna even though he probably didn’t even know who she was. How did he even get here? She watched as the stallion, who introduced himself to Luna as Night, helped the princess up and began to bandage her leg as he magically pulled supplies out of the air. Bandages appeared next to Nightmare Moon and dropped onto her bed.
"There you go. Now you can bandage yourself up." Night called through the newly repaired wall.
Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes and laid down ignoring them as night continued to talk to Luna as he wrapped her leg and wing.
Nightmare Moon was not happy. She should have murdered Luna when she had the chance. Then she would have Night for herself. She could have killed her and as he appeared made up a sob story of how they had gotten into a fight and the glass wall had shattered in their rage. Maybe the slice of glass had impaled Luna by accident. Nightmare Moon was sure she could make herself cry if she had had to. Then Night would have bandaged her up. He would be curled around her as she cried herself to sleep. Devastated by the loss of her dear friend Lulu... and oh what would Celestia think when she found out! Nightmare Moon hated Luna, but now Luna had Night which made her hate Luna even more.
Unless... she could get Night away from Luna and tell him that Luna is really the evil one. That she’s a spirit who feeds off of the power of the moon. Luna was haunting her and was corrupting her mind. That’s why everypony hated her. Nightmare Moon took them both to the moon to get rid of Luna once and for all, and she was almost done when Night showed up. He had to help her get rid of Luna. She’s just pretending to like you, Night. That’s how she’s going to use you to take over Equestria... and eventually the universe. Nightmare Moon’s plan was perfect. Sitting up in bed again she looked over at Luna’s sleeping figure. Then she looked at Night and their eyes met. His ice blue eyes staring into her ice blue eyes. Nightmare moon had butterflies in her stomach as she sat up and lightly called out, “Night, we need to talk... please.”
Night flew past the Milky Way and entered into the galaxy just beyond it. He flew towards Equestria's moon, but as he approached he could feel the presence of something in one of his many homes. He sat atop the moon and flipped his tail in front of him as though it were a map. Which, it was.
As he looked down, his tail showed him other galaxies, but with a flick of his tail the scene changed to the moon he was sitting on. Another flick showed him the inside of the moon where he saw two mares, and it looked as though they were fighting. As Night watched the larger of the two mares raised a broken piece of glass above her head and slowly moved towards the other, a light blue mare whose leg and wing were injured. He realized what was going on and quickly flew through the wall of the moon where he landed right between the two mares. He pushed the black mare across the room splitting up the furniture in the room as well. Then he took the shards of glass scattered across the floor and made a wall between the two halves of the moon.
He turned to the blue mare as she asked, "Who are you."
"I am Night." he replied before helping her up and putting her on her bed.
"I’m Luna," the mare said as he began to conjure up supplies to mend her leg, and he gave the other mare, Nightmare Moon as Luna called her, some bandages as well.
Luna told him her story, and he told her some of his. When he had finished with her leg, he left Luna to sleep and curled up on the bed he had made for himself.
He looked over at Luna who was sound asleep on her stomach with her left leg sticking out to the side in her attempt to not injure it anymore. Night smiled. Luna really was gorgeous and it wasn’t very often that he met other ponies in space, especially not ones this beautiful. He had to admit Nightmare Moon wasn’t bad herself but there was something about her (besides the fact that he flew in on her trying to murder Luna) that told him to be wary of her.
Before he decided to go to sleep himself he looked over at Nightmare Moon and their eyes met for a few seconds before he heard her call out, "Night we need to talk… please."
Author's Note
Wanted to tell some of what just happened from Nightmare Moon and Night's POVs. Also thank you to those who have Favorited my story. I know my writing and how I split up my story still needs some work (I'm trying to make the chapters a bit longer), and your support in my writing means a lot to me. To anyone who doesn't like the story: I am not forcing you to read this. It's your own choice.
Night got up from his place on the bed before flying across the room and through the glass wall to see what Nightmare Moon wanted to talk to him about. He landed on her desk which was chained against the wall near her bed as he folded his wings against his sides and sat down.
"What do you want, Nightmare Moon?" Night asked as he stared straight at her, his eyes never leaving hers.
"Now, now, watch the tone there, Night. I simply would like to talk to you since Luna got her chance to talk with you earlier," Nightmare Moon replied while batting her lashes.
"Cut the cuteness. I can already tell you hate me. Tell me what you have to say, or I'm leaving."
"Fine. I couldn't tell you this while Luna was awake because she might've killed us both," she said, her voice sounding slightly panicked.
"What are you talking about? I saw you try to kill her, Nightmare Moon! You can't just turn around and say that Luna's going to murder us both!"
"Oh, she would. Did you even bother to consider that she could be lying to you, Night? No, of course you didn't. Just because I was trying to kill her doesn't mean I'm the bad guy here! Judging by the fact that I haven't met you before today, I'm going to assume that you travel a lot. That also means that you probably couldn't know if she was telling the truth, so I'll do you a solid and tell you: she's not.
"I'm Princess Nightmare Moon, although most ponies simply call me Princess Night, hmm ironic huh? Night, Princess Night... ha! Where was I? Oh, yes. Luna was supposed to be a spirit who I made to be my assistant. Raising the moon and checking on everypony's dreams is a difficult job you know! She would be there so I could check dreams while she watched the moon to make sure it was safe.
"Luna began to change though. It began with her simply helping to raise the moon, so I would have more energy when checking dreams. Eventually, she began raising it herself. Celestia, my sister, became concerned that my assistant was doing the most important part of my job, but I saw nothing wrong with it. Alas, I wish I had seen Luna's change in mood. She began to treat me like her assistant, and she was a cruel boss.
"I did finally confront her, but it was too late. Somehow, she had drawn some of the moon's power, and when I tried to stop her, she brought us here. The moon was only meant to be my prison, but her spell was too strong because it trapped both of us for a thousand years," she nodded toward the clock on the wall behind Night, "I believe she is going to use you to escape, so she can take over Equestria once and for all!" Nightmare Moon had tears in her eyes now, "Night, you have to believe me!" she cried tears beginning to spill from her eyes. "Don't listen to Luna. We must destroy her and save my home. I will spend a thousand years here alone as long as I know that my subjects are safe!"
Night moved to beside the now weeping Nightmare Moon to comfort her. He wrapped his tail around her waist and folded his wing over her side. "It's okay. I'll figure something out, I promise," he whispered to her.
“Thank you," Nightmare Moon quietly replied.
"Of course," he mumbled. They laid in silence for a few minutes before Night realized Nightmare Moon was asleep.
Night looked at Luna who was still asleep on her bed. He didn't understand how she could be the evil pony here. Luna had been so nice to him, and she had sounded so sincere when telling him what happened with Nightmare Moon. He narrowed his eyes as he looked from one mare to another.
The stories were both so different, yet still very similar. Night had to figure out which one was true though. Either Nightmare Moon was made from a spell gone wrong, or Luna was a spirit made to help Nightmare Moon in her royal duties. They both seemed to be telling the truth, and simply looking at them gave no explanation of who was the real princess. Luna wore a crown, but Nightmare Moon was much taller than Luna which gave her a more royal appearance.
By this time, Night's head was spinning. He had no idea who was lying and who wasn't. With one last glance at Luna and Nightmare Moon, he fell asleep.
Luna opened her eyes slowly only to find herself lying in her bed which was floating around the room upside down. At least she knew that her spells worked and that she wouldn't wake up on the other side of the room. Her horn glowed as she magically flipped the bed over, so she could see the room right-side-up. Then she noticed Night's bed was floating above her, and it was empty.
Luna sighed. He was gone. She knew she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up thinking he would stay. He seemed like the type of pony to be constantly busy anyways. Then she saw him. He was curled up next to Nightmare Moon as though the two of them had been together for years.
Why would Night do something like that? He had seen Nightmare Moon try to murder Luna less than twenty-four hours ago. She noticed that Night began to shift in his sleep as though he were about to wake up. Luna turned away from them and began to change the bandages on her leg.
Out of the corner of her eye, Luna saw Night stand up to stretch. He opened his wings to their full length before folding them against his sides again, and then he stretched each leg in turn while yawning. Nightmare Moon rolled onto her back and looked up at him with a smile.
"Morning," Night called across the room.
"Morning. Hope you two had fun last night," Luna replied coldly.
"Luna, what are you talking about?" Nightmare Moon questioned.
"Oh, well, it's kind of strange when you fall asleep with another pony sleeping in the same room as you, and when you wake up that pony is sleeping in the same bed as the pony that just tried to murder you."
Nightmare Moon gasped. "I only tried to kill you because you began to take over my home!"
"What!?" Luna yelled. "I tried to take over your home? You were never meant to exist." Luna stood up on her bed, and Nightmare Moon repeated her action.
"I only created you, so you would be my assistant! Then you tried to take over Equestria! I should have listened to Celestia when she told me to destroy you!"
"What are you talking about, Nightmare Moon?" Luna looked at Night whom had moved and was now hovering a few feet away from Nightmare Moon. "Night, you don't seriously believe her do you?"
"I...I don't know. Both of your stories are so convincing."
"She tried to kill me!"
"Only because you tried to kill me first!"
Luna and Nightmare Moon glared at each other. Both of their horns began to glow as they prepared to destroy each other.
"Wait!" Night yelled. "There must be somepony who can tell the truth."
"Now you're just being ridiculous, Nightmare Moon," Luna rolled her eyes. "We both know I'm the one telling the truth."
"Oh, is that so Luna."
"Would you two stop?!" Night called out looking from one mare to the other. "I will go to Equestria, and ask Celestia myself. You just need to tell me where to go."
"Canterlot," the two mares replied in unison before glaring at each other.
"Alright. I'll go ask Celestia, and you both better be alive when I return, Night finished with a stern look at the two ponies before him. Then he flew off through the wall of the moon on his way to Canterlot.
Author's Note
So... The paragraphs are spaced differently in this one in case you were wondering what was different. That's simply because when I copied and pasted it out of the email that's how it looked and it would take a while to change it all...
Night flew out of the moon happy to be away from the two arguing mares. He had also never seen Equestria up close before. Sure he had flown past the planet, but he had never landed there. He knew that other ponies lived there. Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns lived together and followed two alicorn rulers: Celestia and her sister. Who was her sister though? Was it Luna or Nightmare Moon?
He flew through a small cluster of stars enjoying the colors that swirled around him and the heat that warmed him from nose to tail. There was no wind in space which made flying through the universe even more enjoyable. The forward motion of flying caused his mane to be pushed back from his face. Night landed on a meteor that was headed for the planet.
He stood on top of it as it hurtled through the atmosphere. The heat would've killed a normal pony, but Night had been born to travel through space. It was the reason why he could breathe in space, it was why he couldn't be pulled into a black hole, and it was the reason he could fly through stars and atmospheres without burning to a crisp. It was nighttime in Equestria which surprised him since they had just woken up on the moon.
The rock burned up below him, but Night was prepared. He spread his wings and rushed toward the ground in a nose dive. He was headed toward a small town which he guessed was not Canterlot. One glance at the mountain behind it, though, and he knew exactly where to go.
He straightened out just before hitting the ground. His speed never wavered as he flew parallel to the ground and left a quickly fading trail of stars and mist behind him. Night smiled as he flew. He had forgotten what it was like to have the wind in his mane, and he did a few flips and spins before following the slope of the mountain that Canterlot was built on. He flew up passing the city before turning and changing direction to head towards the castle.
He landed right in front of the main doors, but before he could walk in, four guards surrounded him. They were all unicorns that had teleported to him from the balcony above.
"Who are you?" one guard, who seemed to be their leader, demanded. "How did you get here? It's the middle of the night."
"I flew," Night stated, "how else would I get here?"
"Sir, he's an alicorn," another stated shocked.
"Well, yeah," Night stated before sitting on the grass. "Name's Night by the way, so when do I get to see Celestia?" He finished with a mischievous smile which only made the guards narrow their eyes.
"Oh, you came to see the Princess?" the leader of the four asked.
"Yeah, I was sent by her sister," Night said, "so I would appreciate it if you would take me to Celestia."
The guards looked shocked, but they quickly opened the doors and lead him to the throne room. Night looked at the stained glass windows as the guards went to alert Celestia, whom had been sleeping. It wasn't long before the doors opened, and a plain white mare as tall as he walked in. Her mane flowed freely around her like Nightmare Moon's, a sun cutie mark was on her flank. She was just about to place her crown upon her head when her eyes met Night's, and her crown fell to the floor as her eyes widened.
"An alicorn?! Who are you and how did you get here?" she questioned.
"Y-Your sister sent me here," he said confused by Celestia's surprise.
"My sister was banished to the moon! How dare you, an outsider whom I have never met before, walk into my castle in the middle of the night and lie saying my sister sent you." She walked towards him her eyes narrowed as she sized him up. "If you truly know my sister prove it."
"That's just it though, I don't know which mare is your sister," he replied hoping she would believe him.
Celestia walked around him in a circle as she looked at him fully. "What do you mean 'which mare'?" she said as she completed her circle and headed towards her throne.
"Well, it's a long story, Princess."
Celestia sighed. "Best get on with it then," she said as she sat in her chair.
Night explained how he had been flying past the moon when he found Nightmare Moon trying to kill Luna, and how he had saved her before both mares told very convincing stories of how they got there in the first place. When he finished he looked at Celestia who seemed to be considering the story.
"So which is my sister?" she questioned her eyes shining with interest and what seemed to be a bit of amusement.
"How would I know? She's your sister," Night answered.
Celestia chuckled before answering, "Princess Luna is my sister, Night." She pulled a letter from between the cushions of her throne before she sent the letter towards him where he took it in his magical grasp and read it. On the letter was the truth: Luna's version of the story.
When he finished reading the letter, he handed it back to her. "So... I guess that's it then. Sorry to wake you. I'll just be on my way then," Night said standing up from his position on the floor.
"Not so fast, Night."
"Something I can help you with?" he asked before glancing out of the window. It was nearly morning, and night and day didn't mix too well.
"Yes, actually, how come I've never met you before today?" she asked narrowing her eyes at him.
"I travel a lot."
"Where do you travel? Obviously not Equestria because I believe I would have been informed of the presence of another alicorn."
"Princess, I really must be going. Luna might be having trouble getting along with Nightmare Moon," he replied while still trying to back towards the door.
"Princess Luna is a very capable mare, Night. I believe she can handle herself for another thirty minutes while you tell me who you are," she said while slowly moving towards him.
Night sighed. "I guess I must tell you, but can we maybe do it somewhere darker? Maybe without the sunlight?"
"Anything you can say in the dark you can say here, and the sun is not even up."
He took a deep breath before standing straight up and locking eyes with Celestia. "I am Night. I am the Keeper of the Night. I was born millennium ago from stardust itself. My sister is Day. She lives on, Die, her own planet of eternal day where she watches over the universe as Keeper of the Day. My own planet, Noctis, is the planet of eternal night, and the two planets revolve around each other in an eternal orbit around the center of the universe."
"How did you get here though?"
"I rarely ever saw my sister. Night and day do not mix. We usually only saw each other at the Council of Rerum, or Council of the Universe. The council meets once a year to discuss the universe. It's lead by the oldest pony in existence, Universe. He was the first pony to be made, and he leads with his wife, Galaxy."
Celestia was looking at him like he had gone mad. "I know it sounds strange, but when the world was created, ponies had much simpler names."
"I'll say," she replied. "Continue."
"Okay, so... The council met yearly to discuss the universe which is constantly expanding. Universe and Galaxy informed the members of the council about new galaxies, planets, stars, supernovas, black holes, the list goes on. Day and I were only two of the members, but the others are irrelevant. They were mainly keepers of planets and stars.
"Anyway, I was getting very lonely on Noctis because, you see, apparently ponies prefer to be in daylight where they can see. At the next council, which was the fiftieth meeting of the council, so fifty years after the universe was created, I revealed my plan to travel the universe. They thought it would be dangerous for the Keeper of the Night, but I pointed out that space was in an eternal night itself. They agreed to let me go as long as I showed up for the council meetings every year, and because they knew I would probably get lost, they gave me this." He flicked his tail. "It's a map. One flick of my tail and it will show me whatever i want to see. I've never been lost, and I've been traveling ever since."
Celestia stared at him like he was from another planet, which he was. Then, a guard came in, concern on his face until he saw her. "Princess, it's getting late, you need to raise the sun," he said.
"Oh, I didn't realize what time it was," she said before walking to one of the windows in the room and opening it. She looked back at Night before she began raising the sun, "When you said day and night don't mix-"
"My sister and I just don't get along all the time, so it became a bit of a joke as to why day and night never fall at the same time. It shouldn't be a problem."
Celestia nodded before turning back to the window. Her horn glowed as the moon began to move west, and a yellow light glowed from the east. Soon the sun broke the horizon and the moon slowly disappeared behind a mountain range. Night felt tired suddenly. He looked down as the sun's light shone in his eyes. He waited a few moments before looking out of the window to find day welcoming him. Then he blacked out.
Author's Note
It's been a while since I updated this, huh? Sorry for the wait, guys, it's been written, I just haven't had time to get on and publish it.
Nightmare Moon watched as Night flew out of the moon. She had to think of something to say when he came back. There was no way Celestia would lie about this, and Luna couldn't win this argument.
She looked over and her eyes met Luna's.
"I can't believe you." Luna said.
"What do you mean, Luna?"
"You told Night that you were Celestia's sister, and then framed me as the bad pony here!"
"Luna, don't deny it. We both know that this isn't a fight to see who gets to return to Equestria in a thousand years. This is a fight to see who will be returning to Equestria in a thousand years with Night as their special somepony." Nightmare Moon smiled. "So... Will it be you... or me?"
Luna's mouth was hanging open, but she replied, "Night has nothing to do with this. In the end, it will be a fight between us. The fight won't be for Night's affection, it will be for Equestria's second throne. The fight will decide who gets to rule alongside Celestia. Maybe the winner will get Night as well, but right now that isn't the problem."
Nightmare Moon looked at Luna. Her leg was still wrapped along with her wing, and she had cuts and scrapes all along her shoulders and cheeks. This would be an easy fight, especially if she could find a way to keep Luna injured. Another fight every few months with just enough damage to make it an easy victory for herself when the time came.
"Alright, Luna, if you insist that you haven't fought for Night's attention at all since he arrived. I guess until the time comes, we will have to try not to kill each other."
"I guess so."
Luna sat down on her bed and curled up with her back to Nightmare Moon. It didn't take long for Nightmare Moon to do the same, but she didn't sleep. Instead, she came up with a plan to win Night for herself.
Night slowly woke up to find a pair of lavender eyes looking at him intently.
"Where am I?" he asked.
"You're still in the castle. We moved you into the darkest room we could find," Celestia replied.
"What time is it?" he asked.
"It's nearly sunset. I was just about to raise the moon when-"
"Go ahead. I'll be here," Night said looking up at Celestia from where he lay.
She nodded before walking to the door. "Will you be leaving tonight?"
"Princess!"
"I know. I'm coming just hold on." She looked at Night.
He sat up slowly still weak from the day. "I think it would be wisest."
Celestia nodded before turning and walking out of the room.
Night stood up and walked to the window. He pulled the curtains back and flinched from the bit of sunlight that met his eyes. It wasn't long before the moon began to rise. Night felt himself growing stronger in the moonlight. He pushed open the window and breathed in the night air. The moonlight streamed through the window and landed on his face. Night spread his wings and shook out his mane. He could almost feel the starlight reaching his bones, loosening his joints, and getting rids of the knots in his back. He hadn't realized how much the daytime had drained him. He wasn't sure how long he stayed like that.
"Enjoying yourself?" He turned around startled by Celestia's sudden appearance.
She smiled before asking, "Do you think you're strong enough to get back to the moon?"
"I suppose," he replied before stretching his legs. "What should I tell Luna and Nightmare Moon? Nightmare Moon will think I'm lying or that you're a fake."
"I'm not sure, but right now, Night, you are the only one who can get a message to Luna for me. You're the only one who can protect her as well. I know you have your council meetings each year, but I have a favor to ask of you. Well, two favors actually. First, I want you to give this to Luna." Her horn glowed as she picked up a letter off of the bedside table and handed it to Night. "Second, would it be too much trouble for you to protect Luna? I know Nightmare Moon will stop at nothing to win this fight. If she could overthrow Luna... well... I'm not sure even I would stand a chance," Celestia finished with a sigh.
The letter was still hovering next to Night. There was silence in the room before he replied, "I will. I'll protect Luna. Even if you hadn't asked, I would have stayed. There's just something about her... Anyways, I should go. The sooner I get back, the sooner I can protect her."
He nodded to Celestia before walking towards the window. Night spread his wings, but before he took off he turned to Celestia, "Thank you for your help."
She smiled at him before he flew out of the window towards the moon. A night breeze ruffled the feathers on his wings. He smiled, apparently night and day didn't mix. That explained a lot about why at every council meeting he got into some argument with his sister. Whether it was where a planet should be placed or what the snacks should be.
As he left Equestria's atmosphere, he laughed wondering what Luna would think of all of this, and what would Nightmare Moon do when she learned he was on Luna's side. Before he knew it, he was flying through the wall of the moon.
Author's Note
I should update more often. Sorry for the shorter chapter, I wrote this a few weeks ago and I figured I should post it soon since I keep procrastinating.
Nightmare Moon lay on her bed mindlessly levitating a feather around her head. It had been over a day since Night had left, and she was beginning to wonder if Celestia had put him in prison for trespassing. Part of her hoped that had happened; it would make conquering Equestria easier. If he was still alive then Nightmare Moon could make him be her special somepony. Even if he died it wouldn't be that bad. Nightmare Moon could take his place as Queen of the Night.
A few minutes later she called across the moon to Luna. "Night has been gone a long time. You don't think Celestia would have him sentenced to death for trespassing or lying do you, Luna?"
Nightmare Moon noticed Luna's ear twitch in annoyance before she replied, "No. Celestia may or may not believe him, but she wouldn't have him killed."
"Think what you like, but if he doesn't return-"
Nightmare Moon was cut off by Night who flew into the moon just above her bed.
"You're back!" Luna exclaimed sitting up in her bed.
"You're alive?" Nightmare Moon cried from her bed.
"Yes, and yes I lived," he said rolling his eyes. "I also know who was telling the truth, and it was Luna," he finished with a smile towards Luna and a glare for Nightmare Moon.
"Celestia's mind has been corrupted!"
"Nightmare Moon, just give it up. Luna is telling the truth."
"I will not lose this fight," Nightmare Moon said as she began to hover above her bed and her horn started to glow. She started right into Night's eyes as she blasted him against the glass wall.
Night didn't have time to react. The magic hit him right in the chest and slammed him into the glass wall. He heard Luna scream as cracks appeared in the glass behind him.
"If this is what has to happen, so be it, Nightmare Moon."
He flew across the room and slammed into her. He pushed them both through the wall of the moon and into space. Nightmare Moon struggled against him but eventually pushed him away before moving a nearby asteroid and throwing it at him. He dodged it easily, and pulled the nearby stars into a circle enclosing them. They shot spells at each other for a few minutes. Nightmare moon tried to suffocate Night, but nothing would work. Night weaved through spell after spell that was sent towards him. Everything from lightning bolts to spells to make things orange were thrown at him. He deflected less harmful spells back at her and redirected the others into space. He pulled dust and gas from around them to keep himself hidden.
"You may think you can win this with your space magic, but you haven't even seen the beginning of my abilities, Night!" Her eyes had a wild gleam to them and her mane fell by her shoulders as though it had forgotten it was supposed to be flowing. Then she disappeared.
Night looked around, but Nightmare Moon had vanished using what was probably the only spell she hadn't tried to hit him with yet: an invisibility spell. He could hear her laughter echo around him, but he didn't know where she was. One of the stars from their little arena hit him from behind pushing him further away from the moon. He shot a bolt of magic where he thought she was, but it flew off into space.
"I'm unimpressed, Night, I thought you would be better at fighting in space. Some Ruler of the Night you are, can't even defeat a pony that shouldn't exist in the first place," she whispered. Her voice was right next to his ear.
He shot lightning at the spot, but it only flew off and destroyed an asteroid a few feet away.
"Anyways, thanks for letting me out of the moon. I'll be off to conquer Equestria now!" she finished as she flung the pieces of the asteroid at him.
The rocks cut his cheeks and shoulders, and the dust obscured his vision. When he could see again, he saw the remaining stars flying towards him as Nightmare Moon reappeared and flew off towards Equestria.
"Never!" Night yelled after her.
He waited for the stars to get closer before he focused all his anger on them. As they exploded he flew through their remains. Nightmare Moon was already too far ahead for him to hit her with a spell, so instead, he conjured up a pair of aviator goggles and sped towards Nightmare Moon. He hasn't flown this fast in a long time, but it wasn't long before he was soaring through space like a pro. She blew up asteroids as she flew, and the dust particles stung as he flew through them. He noticed a comet to his left and turned toward it.
He landed on the comet and turned it towards Nightmare Moon. The comet was faster than her and it wasn't long before Night was next to her.
"Give up!" he called.
She flew upside down and smiled at him. "Never," she said with a smirk.
Night directed the comet above her. They were getting closer to Equestria now. He lowered the comet and pulled her into the tail. The tail's ice froze around her, trapping her mid-flight. Then, with the last of his energy, he opened a black hole in front of them and as they tumbled through, it closed behind them. Night fell onto the floor of Luna's side of the moon. He saw Nightmare Moon land on her bed. She started to get up, but before she could stand she fell back onto the bed limply. Luna appeared next to Night and helped him to his feet.
"Is she-"
"No. I just knocked her out. I think it's obvious she lost that fight."
Luna nodded as Night started to move towards the second bed which was on sitting on the floor. His head ached from creating the black hole, and he made it about three steps with Luna's help before collapsing to the floor. He felt Luna move him onto the bed before she began cleaning the cuts on his face.
"The two of us need to stop getting injured," she said quietly.
"Thank you," he muttered.
"Of course. Now, get some sleep," she whispered before kissing his cheek.
He smiled slightly before drifting off.
Author's Note
You know, some of these chapters seem longer when I first write them, and I would try to make this one longer, but it's late and I'm tired. Forgive me. I'll try to make the next one longer. :/
Night woke up against Luna. His tail was on top of hers and her broken leg was pressed against his flank. Her head rested against his shoulder with her muzzle buried in his starry mane. Nightmare Moon was lying on her bed across the room motionless. Night could still see the slight rise and fall of her side as she breathed in and out, but other than that she didn’t move. Drops of blood floated around her side of the anti-gravity room. A thin trail of red ran down one of her bed’s bedposts. Instead, where it would have dripped off of the bottom if there was gravity, it dripped about an inch or two before floating off across the room. Small drops combined in corners of the room where they bounced off of walls and made larger, pebble sized amounts of blood.
Night sat up slowly, so he wouldn’t wake Luna. Once he was up, he could feel his head start to hurt. Nightmare Moon shifted slightly in her bed as she started to wake up. He sat watching her groan as she tried to sit up. It took her a little while to get up, but once she did, it was easy to see that she had just lost a duel. Her mane hung in tangled strands around her face, a cut curved around the side of her left eye and onto her cheek, small cuts covered her shoulders and legs from flying through asteroid shards, and her side had a long cut on it. She blinked a few times before noticing that Night was looking at her.
“You did this!” she yelled. She stood slowly, wincing as she put pressure on her back right leg. She swayed a bit on her hooves, slightly disoriented from the black hole. Night looked at her with a blank expression, and then, when she opened her mouth to continue screaming, he made the glass wall sound proof. Once she realized what he had done, she shot spell after spell at it, but they only bounced off of the glass or were absorbed into it.
“What’s she going on about now?” Luna asked as she opened one eye and looked up at him.
“Other than the fact that I did this,” he nodded towards Nightmare Moon, “no idea.”
Luna smiled at him, “So what did Celestia say then?”
Night remembered the letter Celestia had entrusted him with to give to Luna, “Oh, I forgot,” he let the letter appear next to them before Luna took it in her magical grasp and opened it, “that was from her.”
Luna looked at Celestia’s sophisticated handwriting and smiled before reading the letter to herself:
‘Luna,
If only I had known about Nightmare Moon before I banished you, I would have tried to help. I wish you had told me, but I know that worse would have happened if you had. Night has told me his story, and I hope you ask to hear it, too. It is quite fascinating.
I do not know when I will be able to speak to you again, if at all. I would have asked Night to act as our personal messenger, but there are… complications with that (you can ask him about these).
I asked Night to look after you for me, I know you are old enough to handle yourself, but sometimes I worry about you. You are my little sister after all, and I know Nightmare Moon is still there with you. He has explained the difficulties you have been having with her, and I hope you can stay strong. Do not let her win these fights, Luna, I fear that she might be planning something else, a stronger attack that could take you out for good. Night’s story will help you understand this fear further.
Until we meet again, stay safe, if anything were to happen to you I would never forgive myself.
Always Your Big Sister,
Celestia’
Luna closed the letter and set it down next to her on the bed. “Tell me your story, Night,” she said curtly, blinking quickly and busying herself with her leg to hide her tears.
He was shocked by her commanding tone, but he quickly started to recite his story to her. He could see her eyes light up as he told her about how he traveled through the stars. Night continued the story all the way through his encounter with Celestia. Eventually, he lay down next to her and wrapped his tail around hers. When he finished, and Luna was resting her head against his shoulder, she said softly, “Tell me more, Night. Tell me more about the councils, and your travels.”
He smiled and rested his head on top of hers as he continued to talk. As Luna’s bed floated around the room, turning upside down and bouncing into walls, he told her of distant planets. Some planets were made entirely out of gas, so you could fly straight through them and planets made of churning fire that could explode at any second. He described what it was like to not just watch a meteor shower, but to be part of one, flying through a planet’s atmosphere, standing on top of a rock that was burning away to nothing under your hooves until there was nothing left, and you had to fly away and find another one to start that process over. Eventually, he showed her the planets on his tail, and told her their names and where they were.
They spent the day like this, lying on Luna’s bed and talking, discussing space, sharing stories. It wasn’t until after dinner that Night began to describe the councils to her, At least a dozen ponies, if not more, seated around a table discussing space. He told her of the ponies there, how some took care of only stars and others watched over entire corners of the universe.
When it started getting late, and Nightmare Moon had already curled up with her back to them, Luna asked the question that had been bothering her since she heard that the Council of Rerum was held once a year, “When is the next meeting?”
Night thought for a moment, flicking the tip of his tail around, changing the scene in his starry tail from a distant planet, to a view of a galaxy, and back again. “Sometime soon, I’m not sure when, exactly, but sometime in the next few months.”
Luna looked over at the black side of Nightmare Moon as she slept, her flank moving slightly as she breathed. When you saw her like this, you couldn’t imagine her being a murderous sociopath out to kill Luna. You could only see her as another mare, trapped in the moon with her rival, forced to compete to get a stallion, only to have him dragged out of reach by Luna’s sister telling him whom to trust. “Do you have to go?” She asked after a moment.
“I know you don’t want me to go, but I need to. It’s my duty and part of my agreement with Universe. If I don’t, I don’t know what will happen,” Night replied, suddenly annoyed by the rules of the universe.
“I wish I could come with you,” Luna said as her eyes clouded over, and she began to daydream. “I could see the stars, but my sister’s spell trapped me here with her,” she continued flicking her ears at Nightmare Moon.
“Well, I don’t know, were you banished to the moon, or were you banished from Equestria for a thousand years? Because I got Nightmare Moon out, maybe I can get you out, too.”
Her eyes brightened as she looked at him, “You really think you might be able to?”
“Maybe,” he said, smiling at her enthusiasm, “but I couldn’t bring you this time. It wouldn’t be smart to show up to the council with somepony they don’t know.”
Luna sighed, but nodded anyways, she understood, she could only imagine how Celestia might’ve felt when Night showed up saying he knew Luna. “Another time, then? Maybe the council after this one? I mean we have a thousand years, so that’s one thousand councils. You can’t expect me to just stay here the whole time.”
“No, I can’t,” he said with a smile. He lifted his wing above her, “Sleep now, talk more in the morning?” he asked. She leaned against him as he folded his wing over her.
She laid her head down against her legs, and he rested his head against her neck, letting the scent from her mane fill his nostrils. He made sure their tails were still entwined, and Nightmare Moon was still asleep before following the lead of the dark mare and falling asleep with the young princess he had started to love.
Nightmare Moon woke up in a pool of blood, while she lay on bloodstained sheets, and felt a pain along her side. She looked at her side to find the cut that all of the blood was coming from. She sat up slowly wincing from the pain in her side and along her shoulders. She looked up to see Night sitting next to Luna on her bed.
“You did this!” she yelled at him. She watched as he made the glass wall separating them soundproof, but she continued to yell. “Night, don’t you dare! This is your fault! Both of your faults! I could’ve conquered the world! You should be helping me not Luna! She’s weak, and she’s never done anything for you! Listen to me!!! I will destroy both of you!” Nightmare Moon kept yelling at them until her throat was raw and her voice cracked with every syllable.
She sat down on her bed defeated. She mindlessly cleaned the blood off of her sheets and bandaged her wounds before lying down on her bed once more. She needed a plan. Night was going to protect Luna with his life; she was sure of it. She looked over her shoulder to see them cuddling on Luna’s bed as it floated around her part of the room.
Nightmare Moon needed to destroy Luna. If she could get Luna alone, she could destroy her, and then say it was something else, something she couldn’t stop. How to do it… That was the problem, but that didn’t faze Nightmare Moon. Even Night couldn’t stay cooped up in the moon forever. When Night and Luna weren’t looking, Nightmare Moon cast a spell on the glass, so she could hear them talking.
“I have to go to the council meeting once a year,” Night was explaining. “It’s my part of the promise that I made with Universe, so I can travel the stars.”
“Do you have to go to all of them?” Luna asked.
“Yes, I know it could be bad to leave you here with… her, but there’s no other way. I’m sorry, Luna.”
Nightmare Moon smiled into her pillow at the thought of Night having to leave Luna here alone once a year for one thousand years. That was a lot of opportunities for Nightmare Moon to end this once and for all.
“I think Celestia’s right about Nightmare Moon, though. It’s very likely she’s planning something against me. Whether it will happen in the next thousand years or when we get back, I don’t know, but if she gets one opportunity every year…” Luna trailed off with a sigh.
Night nudged her with his shoulder, “Hey, I’m not giving up on you just yet, you can do this. I know you can.”
Nightmare Moon turned her back on them and smiled. Hopefully Night’s next council meeting would be soon because then she could make her move. Luna’s chances were not looking good.
She waited until Night and Luna fell asleep to get up and fly over to the glass wall that kept her away from Luna. The cracks she had made in the glass when she attacked Night were still there, and they didn’t look close to breaking anytime soon. She tried to levitate a piece of paper on Luna’s side of the room.
She could feel the magic of the wall resisting her plead to lift the paper, but after a second she felt a snap in the magical energy, and the paper flew up. She had manipulated the magical field between Luna and her. Nightmare Moon set the paper back down and flew back to her bed.
She sat looking at the sleeping form of Luna and Night. His wing was folded over both of them, but Luna’s broken leg still stuck out from her side. 'Why hasn’t Night healed that with a spell?' she thought. That seems pretty easy for a pony like him.
Nightmare Moon’s eyes lit up suddenly. 'That’s it, and it’s so cliché it might work! If I pretend to be their friend, I can get close to them and when they least expect it: attack.'
She focused on Luna’s leg, imagining the bone healing, the muscles and tendons, pulling together again as though they had never been disturbed. She felt the bone heal up, and as Nightmare Moon let the magical field snap back into its place once more, she felt exhausted. Lifting the paper was one thing but this, this was something entirely different. She smiled at her new plan. This one just might work.
Author's Note
Sorry about the slightly strange formatting on some of the paragraphs...
Luna opened her eyes to find herself trapped inside of a sphere. A glass wall split the humungous room in two, and there was no way to pass through it magically or physically. Each side of the room held a bed, a desk, a refrigerator that automatically restocked itself, and a clock that showed the time in Equestria and also counted down from 1000 years how much longer Luna would be trapped here. The only thing that made the other side of the room different from her own was that Nightmare Moon was floating around causing Luna to notice the lack of gravity for the first time. They were in the moon, trapped here after a spell had gone wrong, creating Nightmare Moon whom had possessed Luna and turned all of Equestria against her. In an attempt to restore balance, Celestia had used the elements against her sending them both to a 1000 year sentence in prison, also known to them as the moon.
Luna cast spells on her furniture. She made sure the inside of the fridge had gravity and that the paper ink and quills in the desk would both stay in the desk and not float off of the surface of the desk. Finally she cast a spell on her bed so she could sleep in it without waking up on the other side of the room. When she was done she admired her work and wrote a letter to her sister explaining everything. As she finished she looked over at Nightmare Moon who had gone for a more boring approach to her room. Everything was chained to the walls and now she lay on her bed, back to Luna, staring at the wall. maybe she was asleep maybe she was awake. Luna couldn't be sure and she wasn't about to find out. She sent the letter before retreating to her own bed and falling asleep.
