The night carried on silently, a big ball of white centered in the purple sky. Stars stretched for millions of miles in the atmosphere, like an aurora of sprinkles.
On a balcony was a young, alicorn mare. She looked into the darkness surrounding her, basking in it without any joy. Her eyes were closed, as if she were stuck in the deepest symphony, full of laughter and music.
She opened her eyes, gazing with a sad feeling taking over her chest. "I'm the Princess of the Night," she murmured, sighing softly. "All alone with not much light..."
She continued to rhyme with passion, a beat forming as she let her voice smoothen. Her lyrical performance was echoing throughout the closed atmosphere, like a lullaby to fillies and foals, stallions and mares...
Knowing she was not befriended by any company, the night-ruler finished up her solo song. "..And I bring so much fright..."
She choked up on the last words, feeling emotionally drowned. Her light blue eyes began to fill, a lump forming into her throat.
"No..! I won't cry.."
But no matter how hard she protested, or pleaded, every night she would cry and sob. Every night a puddle of sadness would be at her hooves. Every night she would wake her sister, Princess Celestia. Every night turned into another bright morning, with a beautiful sun and other ponies loving the daytime.
It was...unfair.
Yes, the younger sister knew very well that she wasn't even allowed to THINK if her life was unfair. But she spent all her nights crying with strong feelings...
"Enough of that, Luna."
She was shocked to hear herself give an order to her own thoughts. But still, the water splashed down from her eyes like rain that would never end. Except instead of sobbing loudly, she let low, cautious whimpers file out of her muzzle.
It wasn't enough to wake up the Princess of the Sun.
That's good, she thought, settling on her haunches heavily.
After she was done letting her emotions drip onto the stone balcony, she caught a moving image in the corner of her eye. She turned fully to see Twilight Sparkle, the purple unicorn, and student of her sister. "Twilight?" she called hoarsely.
"Oh, Luna!" she gasped, realizing she was caught. "Uh..Whoa."
She had noticed the stream of tears dripping off of the overhang. Using teleportation, she transported to the confined space that hung from the roof. "Erp!"
"Twilight, don't..You'll get your hooves wet.."
"Were you crying?" the unicorn demanded gently, full of concern.
Luna opened her mouth to refuse, but closed it. What good would that do if she denied the young mare's suspicions?
She nodded silently, allowing a sigh of depression escape from her mouth.
"Dear Celestia, why on Equestria would you cry at this time?" Curiosity got the better of the student.
"I wish I could tell you, and I wish I could tell everypony. But...I just can't."
"C'mon, tell me." The unicorn wasn't about to back down-she even risked prodding the alicorn Princess.
"Alright," she said, repeating the sigh. She swatted away the poking hoof and explained her reasons to a now sympathetic-looking Twilight.
"And now that you know, you'll let everypony know," Luna choked, finally coming up with a solution for her problem.
"Luna, what are you doing?!"
She had trotted to the edge of the overhang and was standing gracefully on the bar handle. "Tell my sister that I love her, and tell your friends they were the best supporters for you and Tia."
"Don't you dare commit suicide!" Twilight protested, trotting towards Luna.
"Goodbye." She let tears escape from her blue eyes as she crossed her hooves across her chest tentatively. She turned on a single spin before letting the dizziness let her fall...
Twilight screamed with fear as she teleported after her in midair. "LUNA!!!!""
The Princess of the Night hit the uneven path of Canterlot with a ugly thud. The ground shook and the sky reversed. Celestia fled outside, flying towards her dying sister.
"Luna! Oh no, no..."
The purple unicorn was on the verge of crying to see the dying alicorn. "Celestia, she said she loved you before she fell..."
As if she had just noticed her, the Sun ruler whipped around to face her pupil. "Why did she fall off?"
And so Twilight repeated her reasons. After she finished, the ground began to even, and flowers surrounded Luna. "Celestia, what's happening?"
"After an immortal dies, nature and peace fills the land." Her eyes shadowed, as if caught in a flurry of memories. "But I never realized that she felt so unfair...I am so sorry, my young sister. Wherever you are among the sprinkled stars, know that I love you back, and I will forever miss you."
***
Luna was floating in stars and nothingness. There was no moon, no sun, but a black sky and sprinkles of stars. She could hear loud sounds of grief surrounding her, all drowning out her own voice.
A familiar voice stood out among the rest-it was Celestia's. She nearly cried once again as she heard her speak the words she wanted to hear her say, "I am so sorry, my young sister. Wherever you are among the sprinkled stars, know that I love you back, and I will forever miss you."
"Oh sister, I love you too," she whispered. For once, the buzz quieted into a long hum of high-pitched notes. The atmosphere around her opened up to see Celestia and Twilight gathered around her own, lifeless body. Flowers were blooming around it and the peaceful morning sun rose out of the sky like a triumphant winner.
And for once, she actually enjoyed the golden rays that stretched amongst the sky. The grass looked greener as her carcass sank into the evened ground. Canterlot ponies began to surround the peaceful looking bouquet, bombarding Twilight with questions.
A flurry of memories took place of the vision. Like two nights before, when she had joined the Ponyville festivities of Nightmare Night, all in honor of her. She was grateful for the life she once had, and now, she finally had her own little blossom of peace.
Author's Note
When I saw the picture of Luna falling, my idea for the story burst in my head. I hope you enjoy my first fic, and negative comments will be accepted.
Celestia lay in bed, wondering how the rest of her life would be without a sister to support her side, or even bring back the night. She was sure that Luna was watching over Equestria with her same regal care.
The white alicorn sighed, shutting her eyes for a moment. She hadn't meant to fall asleep-after all, she had her royal duty to conduct-but she did anyway, waking up to a world of white.
"Where am I?" she whispered, trying to move her flowing mane in order to gain more vision.
"Tia?" a voice called throughout the thin air.
The voice and tone sounded vastly familiar-she whipped around to see Luna, her sister. She looked young again, without her starry, flowing mane. It was the same style she had after she was unlocked from the horrifying powers of Nightmare Moon, when Twilight and her fellow friends helped.
"Oh, young sister!" she cried happily, trotting towards her. But instead of a warm embrace, the Night ruler backed away, looking downwards.
"Sister?" Celestia repeated, slowing her pace to a halt. "Is something wrong?"
"Of course there is," Luna whispered hoarsely, sounding like there was a lump stuck in her throat.
"But, besides your death, I mean," the Princess of the Sun sputtered, bewildered by the sudden emotional discharge.
"I, I...I know Twilight told you why I fell off that balcony overhang," Luna sighed, settling on her haunches and making straight eye contact with her elder sister. "But I didn't tell her all my exact reasons."
"Oh?" The white alicorn sat in front of her, intrigued and curious to hear her sisters thoughts about her own role in royal hierarchy.
"I had that same jealous feeling that I got those thousand years ago," she confessed, shaking her head. "When ponies basked happily in your light, and slept through my night..."
"But, sister, that was so long before. Why are you letting the past get ahold of you?"
"Because.." Luna choked on the lump that was stuck in her throat before speaking up again. "Because I was thankful that I had a life of love and warmth. I just wanted one more touch to make my life perfect."
She began to sob once more. "I'm so selfish and greedy. I can't believe I thought that, and that's why I wanted to be taken off of Equestria."
"Luna." Celestia stood up, trying to shake the feeling that her sister wanted a better life. She felt guilty that she didn't provide her with enough encouragement that her night was beautiful, and everypony was glad that there was a time of a full day where they could rest and have cheerful dreams.
"I understand that you felt like you needed a more perfectly balanced life," she began carefully, trying to choose the right words. "But you know you can always come to me. I'm your older sister-I think I feel responsible for your death, having not providing the encouraging words for you. Please, forgive me."
"Tia, it is not your fault at all," Luna protested, frustrated. "It's mine. I'm such a filthy, greedy selfish mare that's completely insecure and can't even control her own emotions. Therefore it is my fault, and never will be yours no matter how many times you say!"
She stamped her hoof and the white atmosphere shook for a moment, bouncing up and down like ball. The solid feel of the ground cracked, opening into a black gorge in between the sisters. The plates of the dreamland shifted, and the two alicorns were separated.
"Luna..." Feelings of hurt swept up Celestia.
Luna, on the other hoof, looked fierce with a glint of red mist floating in her blue eyes. "You'll accept my decision. It was my fault that I died. Who's the one who came up with the idea? Me! Who's the one who committed suicide? ME!"
"I understand," the white Equestrian ruler interrupted before her younger sibling could come up with another exclamation. "You don't have to get so furious and angry about it. Dear me.."
The mist in Luna's eyes faded as she realized she had gone too far. She backed away again, as if she had just noticed the deep pit she created. "It is time for you to go," she whispered, letting her slender horn light up. The dreamland died away into nothingness and Celestia woke up, gasping for breath. She could hear a crowd outside.
"Twilight Sparkle! What else happened?"
Although moments of tension had passed by, the Princess of the Sun couldn't help but suppress a smile of amusement. The Canterlot ponies were still clearly wondering about Luna's unfortunate fate.
She got out of her bed, quickly combing her mane. She opened the doors to the overhang where the Princess of the Night had cried before. The ponies all stopped attacking Twilight and looked up at Equestrian's ruler.
The same questions were thrown back at her. "Why did she die? Your faithful student isn't telling us why!"
She could understand her pupil's refusal. The purple unicorn was obviously trying her best to stay loyal to a dead Luna, and not give out any secrets even if they weren't the actual ones.
"Please, enough of this havoc," she ordered, quieting the crowd. "Go back to your work, go back to your homes. You'll all know soon enough, but now is not the time to share the last moments of Princess Luna."
But even though Celestia said this, she felt herself that she wanted to share her knowledge with others. Her sibling had never mentioned whether she could tell, anyway.
Twilight gasped with relief. "Thank Celestia! Literally," she added with a smile, trying to add a cheerful tone.
"Your quite welcome, Twilight. But now, you must resume to your studies. Do tell..Why were you here in the first place?"
The unicorn shut her muzzle. "Er, I'm your student, aren't I? I'm just trying to get here early, ya know..."
Celestia's fellow pupil was clearly not being direct with her mentor, but now was not the time to dig into any suspicions. "Alright, Miss Sparkle." She dismissed her with a single stretch of her right wing.
As her student left, the Sun brightened and blinded her vision. A series of mixed flashbacks all played in one second.
The flashbacks were all Luna-based. Celestia couldn't tell if it was a sign, but it ended just as quickly as it came. And for some reason, it brought a smile to her face.
