Chapter 1 - Princess of the Night
Chapter 1
I had no idea what to expect, but it was very different to Nightmare Night, that's for sure. I will always remember this Hearth's Warming Eve though, it was my first ever since we didn't have that tradition before I was trapped in the moon. I can't say that I didn't enjoy it, but ponies must have thought of me as very weird because of what they saw, I was being completely mad.
"We are here! We are Nightmare Moon!" I boom, transformed into the appearance of my former evil self. Everypony around runs away terrified, but they don't come back like the little ones did on Nightmare Night, they simply stay away from me.
I heard my sister whispering to me from the side, her face showing a little concern, "Luna, it's Hearth's Warming Eve, a time to give and get given, not a time to scare and be scared like Nightmare Night."
I turn back into my normal form as Princess and stop scaring the villagers. Why did they not like to be scared? On Nightmare Night they seemed to enjoy it, so why not on Hearth's Warming Eve? What is the problem with scaring on Hearth's Warming Eve? I am doing my best to fit in, but it seems that I am not doing so very well. Why does everyone still not accept me for who I am? I am not Nightmare Moon anymore, I am Luna, Princess Luna; but now, it seems, I am not only the Princess of the Night, but the Princess of Solitude as well now.
"Princess Luna!" I can hear my sister calling me, "Come! The play is about to start!"
I walk over to her and sit down on the wooden benches, confused at what she means by "play".
"Play? Art thou saying that there shall be more of the, 'fun'?" I ask, still perplexed by the meaning of her call.
"Well, I guess it will be fun," she replies smoothly, a devious smile yet teasing smile appears for a brief moment.
I look at the circular platform that everypony seems to be watching, and soon the velvet red cloth is drawn to a side, and ponies appear dressed in weird yet wonderful clothing. The so called, 'play' goes on for an hour or so, and ponies seem to laugh at the peculiar things said by the others. As I walk out of the spherical building with my older sibling, I still do not understand the meaning of the strange phrases, but the play was definitely, 'fun'.
"Now my dear sister, it is time for you to rise the Moon and stars," I hear Celestia tell me as I walk through the corridors of the grand palace toward the Balcony.
"Of course, sister," I answer. As I bring the Moon upward with my magic, I remember, when we were young Alicorns, we had to try and lift both Sun and Moon, and even though I tried, I failed to lift the Sun, so my sister to the duty of lifting the Sun, and I, the Moon and Stars. Celestia seems to shine even in the Dark of night, bringing light everywhere she goes, but I will always be in her shadow.
Recount
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"Celestia and Luna, my daughters" I heard my mother say, "Thou shalt try to lift the Sun and Moon, and if thou cannot rise the Sun, thou shall then take the duty of rising the Moon, and Stars."
I hoped I could get to lift the Sun, the day was my favourite time, and even though I was the younger sister, I just knew I could do it! I was to go first. I first approached the Moon. I used my unicorn magic to lift it up, then brought it down smoothly.
"That was easy," I thought to myself, "The Sun shouldn't be that hard since the Moon was such a breeze."
But I wasn't convinced. I then approached the sun, which was much larger and intimidating. Summoning up all of my strength, I surrounded it with my magic, but hard as I tried, it barely left the ground. I dragged myself back to stand beside Celestia, my head hanging down.
She walked over to the Sun, lifted it up, then set it down making it look simple as the Moon was for me. She then proceeded to try and lift the Moon. She brought it up a few feet above the ground, then it wobbled, as if her grip on it was slowly slipping away. Without warning, it fell to the ground and shattered.
My horn started to direct its magic toward it, sucked into the pieces of the moon, and my mane, I felt weak, as if I was loosing all of my powers. My legs suddenly failed me, and I fell to the ground. When I woke up, the moon was fine, but my mane wasn't. It was no longer flowing, like my sisters, but it was like a normal pony's, and my coat colours were no longer violets and whites, they were deep blues and purples. I, was the Princess of the Night.
Out of Recount
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I guess that each of us was better at what we were born for, but I still lay awake in my bed sometimes, thinking of what it would be like if I were to rise the sun. I walk toward my bedroom, Celestia is still in the Dining Hall finishing her gourmet dinner. I simply want some time by myself in my room, where I have some privacy for my thoughts. When I arrive at my door the guards are there as always.
"It is I, Princess Luna, we have permission to enter," I tell them, "Oh, and please don't let anypony in."
Blue magic glows all around and the doors open, then shut once I am inside. White moonlight shines in through the windows but it is still dark. I don't turn the lights on, I don't like to. To me, the stars are enough light. I open the doors and walk outside onto the balcony; I look up at the moon, it stares down at me with wise eyes that have seen everything that has ever happened and everything that ever will. It reminds me of when I was younger, when I had only just become the Princes of the Night, when I knew nothing of the future.
Recount
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I still hadn't gotten used to the fact that that I was blue and purple and my mane wasn't flowing any more. Apparently the Moon needed the magic of the Princess of the Night to heal itself, in the process, it weakened me and left me in my weakened state. But I found that unfair, since, my sister dropped it, why did I have to get weakened? As I walked across the corridors I got to my bedroom, there were guards there, they had to be at least three times my size.
I nervously asked, "U-umm, I'm Luna, can I please go into my room?"
They opened the enormous doors and let me into my room. Finally, some piece and quiet where I could think without being asked "Shall I do this your royal highness?", "Shall I do that your royal highness?" I was getting a bit annoyed by it. Slowly I walked out onto the balcony I now had, I was still afraid of heights. The Sun was setting, what a beautiful sight.
"Wait, if the sun is setting, I need to rise the moon!" I shouted to myself and facehoofed.
I burst out through the doors hoping I wasn't late to meet my sister and Diana. My mothers emerald green eyes pierced through me, just her glare told me everything.
"You're late, why can't you be more like your sister, Celestia?" she told me.
I couldn't blame my sister though, she was always there for me when I needed her. With a mighty leap and sparks of magic, the sky was lit with the great Moon and stars, the moon seemed to look down us though, her eyes filled with all of the knowledge in the world. No, she was looking down on me, the Princess of the Night.
Out of Recount
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Turning around swiftly to answer it, I hear a knock on the great silver doors.
"Thou hath permission to enter," I say. Two of Celestia's Royal guards strut in, one fair haired Pegasus, and an orange coloured unicorn.
The unicorn speaks up, keeping his posture grand, "Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia, requests your presence at he quarters."
I think about it for a moment, then answer, "We art grateful for the knowledge thou hath just enlightened us with, thou art dismissed."
They both walk out silently closing the doors behind them. I look out over Canterlot on the balcony for a while, the moonlight lurking around on the rooftops, then I walk out of the doors into the corridor. I see the Gilded doors, with the finest patterns carved in the gold, and open it slightly.
"We heard thou requested our presence here?" I silently await her swift confirmation. "Yes, sister, I did ask for you."
She sits on her sofa, beckoning for me to come over. Like a wing over air, I walk over and down beside her, curling my tail in toward my fore legs. She spreads her wings, and wraps them around me, her warmth could make even the most terrified of the dark sleep. My eyelids turn heavy, but I refuse to give in, the night is my day, and like an owl, I stay awake when the moon is up; I, will never sleep under the stars, for I, am the Princess of the Night.
Recount
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That night I lay under the stars, I still wished that I could raise the Sun which everypony loved, bring the glory of day to the world, but I had already realised, I belonged to the night, just as it relied on me to harness the Moon, and let everypony watch the beautiful night. I used to be afraid of the dark, but this night, I seemed to have lost my fears, simply entranced by the night, the cool white rays reflecting on the castle walls. I hated silence though, but tonight I could hear the citaras singing, and the soft hum of the background cricket orchestra as they brought in the background harmony.
The garden was full of noises, and I knew I wasn't alone that night. But I realised, in the moonlight, there was now another source of light, it was beside me, on me, actually. It was my mane! After three years, my mane was finally flowing again, but was my tail? I turned my head around to see, but not only did I find my tail flowing with the night, but I had my cutie mark! A purely silver moon, shining on a splash of night. I pranced around in the spotlight that shone above me, every single thing that was happening to me now felt like it was impossible, no, a miracle!
I ran into the castle shouting, "Mother, mother! I've finally got my cutie mark!"
My voice expelling glee to the world. In the dancing light of the castle, I also noticed, my coat had gone a darker shade of blue, a deep endless blue that a pony could look into and never find an end.
I bumped into a tall slender figure, she gave me an unreadable expression, it wasn't that it didn't have emotion, it had every single face put into one so that nopony knew which one she meant. Her eyes examined me but her head stayed still, she drew me in with the comfort of her wing.
"Thou hath a cutie mark on thy coat, and thou mane art flowing once more," she said to me, and she nuzzled me softly on the cheek.
"Thou should not be scared of shadows," she told me, "Thou art, after all, the Princess of the Night."
Out of Recount
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My sister sends me back to my room, and I return to the mistier and lighter atmosphere of my room, it is very different from the bold colors to be found in hers. It is one of those nights where I lay awake in bed, I don't really need it since I only sleep once in a Blue Moon, and that only happens when the tail of a Blue Fire Ursa catches onto the dark side of the moon, causing it to lightly set itself on fire which covers it with sapphire blue in a matter of seconds, making a Blue Moon. I won't go into details.
Even though I have never been to the Moon, I have felt it. Smooth magic flows through it, which is what causes the light glow, of course, much more flows through the Sun, but the one time I tried to pick up the Sun, its force was too much for me, and I just couldn't levitate it. I simply do not know how Celestia manages to harness such large quantities of magic, and channel them so easily to her will, taming the great beast it can be into an animal whose ears will listen to her every word.
This night, I lay awake thinking about this Hearth's Warming Eve. I enjoyed the 'play' and the food, but what about those other ponies I scared? Would they want me to return after what I did, why would they want back the Princess of the Night?
