The bear that can't be moved.
Tranquility echoed as the crickets chirped and the stars twinkled like everlasting diamonds. The brilliant moon was the centerpiece in the gorgeous charcoal canvass. She considered herself an artist, not that Celestia wasn’t but she wished that others thought as she did about her duty. Despite the fact that she was thrilled about the astronomers who mapped her gleaming jewels in the sky, they had been a real pain in her flank.
The ponies who wanted to discover the secrets of their profession were not an enormous comfort to her. They were fuming when she moved a star a smidgen over, yelling that their work was now ruined. The stars were hers and she should be allowed to do whatever she wanted with them, at least within reason. A gentle breeze drifted past Princess Luna as her mighty midnight blue wings carried her on the winds.
Many would wonder what business she would have alongside laying down in her bed to assist others with their petrifying nightmares. Few would say she was planning something so she could have Equestria beneath her armored hoof. Oh please, if they had the nerve to tell that to her face, they’d be halfway to the moon curtsy of the Tradional Canterlot Voice. She knew that was impossible but she could fantasize, right?
The truth was that she was heading for the abandoned castle in the Everfree Forest. It was her place of solace in the new age that she was presented with when she came home. Ponykind had transformed in the millennia that she had missed. There were many up-to-date inventions, like electricity, telescopes, etc, and speaking was almost effortless now.
Luna was cheerless that the long beautiful words of old Equestrian was literally lost to time. However she cared enough to learn modern speech, but when nervous, she slipped back into old habits. Besides while she did feel a little taller with the Canterlot Voice, she didn’t understand why she put it that way when she was a few heads higher than the average pony, her throat certainly wasn’t up for it.
She subconsciously put a hoof to her esophagus and reminded herself that she was a bit hoarse. Oh yes, laugh it up, puns weren’t really her thing but she heard staff give reserved chuckles now and then.
Back to matter at hoof, she had just starting visiting the neglected place a few days back; there was nothing to do at Canterlot at the moment. Night Court was as utterly desolate as a desert, the only reason she bothered was to make Celly happy. Her beloved sibling expressed that rest of their subjects would come around eventually.
Yet again her mind wandered back to her destination, it held so many memories within its crumbling walls that she held close to her heart. An image played in her noggin like an old projector that a middle-aged stallion was trying to get going for a movie theater.
Little Luna was jumping around the immense plains that encircled the proud palace. She was trying to catch fireflies; every tiny thing about her charge fascinated her. The bug’s tail ends lit up with a soothing green glow which had helped her in the task of snatching them. They floated around, and an eager filly chased after them with enthusiasm that could rival her old friend Surprise.
Sometimes she would just hold the insect on her hoof and giggle as it flew away to wherever it needed to go. At one point, she believed they were magical and used their lights to light up the way for the lost or alone, so she had tried to get her sister to erect a monument to the heroes. Her proposal was too weak so Luna had been told that the champions already illuminated ponies’ homes, it was a small victory but a victory nonetheless.
She had played for hours with the bugs, collecting them in a jar until she freed them to start over. Her sister was already snuggled up in bed by then but she wished Tia was out here with her. It was fun playing in the day; vigorous rounds of tag, hide and go seek, etc but the night had a definite appeal to her.
The moonlight was soft and made for a lovely romantic dinner if a couple was out. Little Luna would have stuck her tongue out and said that mushy stuff was gross. She would have just went silent if some pony told her that fireflies needed that mushy stuff too unless they wanted to become extinct.
Luna or Woona if you wanted to see her flustered because calling her by the name was a privilege that not many had, would lie down in the tall but smooth grass and examine the dark sky and its wonders until she was lost in the land of dreams.
Back then, she had not a care in the world, as long as there was some pony. She had fun with the young fillies and colts in the early start of the evening till they had to retire to their cabins. Everything felt so right, as long as big sis was standing by her side, nothing could bring her down, funny how ignorant she had been back in those days.
Years quickly passed and soon they were teenagers, it was truly funny alright. Tia had so many crushes and even Luna herself had a few stallions in mind. They had kept a respectable distance from each other as they grew into their roles. Regardless of what you would think, Luna slept like every pony, she enjoyed staying up super late but was not entirely nocturnal. Her thoughts went back to her sister, just where did it all go wrong?
She had been up lately at night, doing whatever it was that she did whether it was trying to live through Night Court or a dispute in the surrounding forest that seemed to get out of control. At first, it felt like just a bit of ignoring from the nobles. They had always liked Celestia more because she usually was understanding, while Luna was a bit stubborn and didn’t want these ponies to go in over their heads.
It had just been a hint rough for her and her chambers were an excellent place to calm down. This had given her time to plan maybe some meteor showers. Yet, as she stayed in her bedroom and worked away, the ending result was not what she had expected. No pony came to watch it and she told Tia about this but her sister had brushed her off because she was hectic with royal duties.
Luna had been so miserable that she locked herself away in her tower; now those mundane fairytales could talk about having a real princess in the tower, although she was sure no Prince Charming was coming to sweep her off her feet. The situation deteriorated from there, and of course her sister was too active with the nobles to bother with her.
In that moment, she had felt like a fool for even trying to play this horrible game of politics. Her subjects obviously loved her counterpart more than her and why had she bothered to put work in the blank sheet of sky that her sibling left her with? Why was she wasting her time like a child when it was clear that she didn’t matter to them?!
The sovereign of the moon was quickly ripped from her thoughts as she slammed into a tree. Luna groaned and staggered up and onto her hooves. She quickly checked for any damage of her skull and dusted herself off. The ruins of a once great castle lay before her. Well here she was, so the ruler sat on her haunches and gazed upon the wreck that was once her home.
She imagined the great stone walls and supports, the pale marble floors, guards standing at ready wearing heavy old-fashioned golden armor with weapons at their sides, the glorious enchanted tapestries and the grand library which recorded every last drop of history. The maids bustling around as they cleaned rooms for foreign dignitaries to rest in, she truly considered it real to her. The good memories were still there so all was not lost.
Two alicorns sat at a long table as they discussed the day ahead of them, the smaller one chewing her oats while trying to talk, the latter was sipping her juice as she listened. It was pleasant and the younger one made her sister squirt her orange juice out of her nose as she joked with her. A ghost of a smile was plastered onto Luna’s face as the image was still quite amusing. That shadow grin hastily went overboard as the dark mare recalled that she didn’t really do many pranks anymore.
Luna was mostly serious now, even if it was with her dearest sister, if it had something to do with the kingdom then it was her duty, however no pony would believe the princess of the night had nightmares. Yes, she did get them and honestly, it was nothing she couldn’t handle.
Her sister didn’t need to get involved with her problems; it wasn’t her responsibility to fix them. In the back of her mind, she was afraid of relapse, like the next time she wasn’t going to be waiting, she was staying on her moon. She filed away her fear as though it was a mere folder that needed to be organized in a bin.
Luna could take care of herself, but it felt lonely in that fancy new building. Celestia was busy with upper class and such as usual, but if you were to question the princess of the night, Luna would tell you that most of them were a bunch of spoiled brats and that times certainly hadn’t changed much where they were concerned.
Like Blueblood, he was well the prince, because Faust forbid, king could never be used in front of his name, of the rotten well-off who threw their money around like they were playing a board game. That stallion was far back in the royal bloodline but by Celestia’s blazing sun, he had his head stuck halfway up his plot. Plus by what she heard, he was treading on thin ice.
Apparently he had a large sum of debts piling up; oh she couldn’t wait for Tia to punish him! That bumbling nincompoop certainly had it coming by what she’d seen and heard about his behavior. He could scrub the latrines with his tail, because to put it bluntly he had enough mane care products to make them shine like brand new.
Her mind lost the thread, thinking back to recently, Nightmare Night to be frank. It was nice of dear Fluttershy to teach her how to speak quietly, maybe next year she could show her some of the creatures of the night. That pegasus surely cared for her animals by all the little huts she had spotted around her quaint cottage.
Applejack had been quite chipper, although she was sure that the apple cider was a bit too strong. Yet, that farmer sure had a lot of devotion and was firmly close with her family by the way she kept a vigilant/protective eye on her little sister from afar.
That mare, what was her name? Pinkie Pie? Yes she would probably run away screaming again but Luna thankfully knew it was all in good fun. Then there was Rainbow Dash, man that pony could fly. However, Luna could be a prankster since this festival was meant for tricks, but even if she was grown, it didn’t mean one measly lightning cloud couldn’t be RD’s friend that night, that made her giggle like a little filly in a candy shop. Speaking of candy, she had indulged a few pieces but was warned by some mare passing out toothbrushes and sugar free sweets that while they tasted good they could cause terrible cavities. Pinkie Pie avoided that house and whispered something under her breath about a cupcake assault that Luna was too slow to catch.
Next was Rarity, who she actually didn’t get to meet, something about staying up too late to finish costumes. Twilight had told her that she was lucky, if she caught sight of a princess, she would be in her dress shop for hours. Yes, Miss Sparkle had been there and while she liked Rarity, standing like a mannequin was not exactly her forte.
Twilight Sparkle was certainly special, her sister had chosen a very talented unicorn indeed, she also loved to stargaze, read books, etc. That mare was surprising; she had helped her so much with the socializing and not blowing the citizens off their hooves and into their closets.
It made Luna feel a bit warmer that one pony could love so many things including her night. Ponyville’s residents opened up to her on her holiday because of that pony and she was eternally grateful for them. Canterlot was a tough nut to crack, while there were kind souls, there just weren't enough for Luna to feel comfortable around.
So she hummed a tune, it was an old melody that she had made up, but it meant the world to her. Yet, she would never dare sing it, for fear of some pony hearing. It was private for her and it always seemed to put her at peace when ponykind was driving her loony. In all, she felt the world melt around her as she had gone astray in the beautiful harmony of notes.
Everything shattered like glass as the princess was interrupted by an earsplitting roar. Luna’s eyes snapped open and she swiveled around to face the offender. All she saw was two big blood red orbs that stared back at her, So she ignited her horn up to expose an Ursa Major but in contrast this one was deadly black, a male that was looking at her like a piece of meat.
When she stepped forward, the beast let out guttural growl. She presumed that it had claimed this place; territory was a male’s pride especially in this area where the animals roamed free. Something broke inside her heart, like some pony cut her heartstrings. This swine had claimed her home and was warning her to get away?! She would have this bear’s head on a spike in her bedroom! This was personal now and like bucking Tartarus she would leave.
Luna’s face twisted up like screw and she sternly returned his glare, “You won’t steal my home, this place is MINE!” So they circled each other, looking for weaknesses. Luna dared him to make the first move and he shot the silent accusation right back at her.
The Ursa had its size so if she wasn’t careful she could get her squashed like a bug. Luna had her own advantage, what she lacked in size, she made up for in speed, magic, and strength. Having all three races on her side was a life saver to her.
So they waited out each other till the beast had become inpatient and charged. The princess smirked and moved out of the way but the animal had leaped causing her to lose balance as it unleashed a mini earthquake of sorts, were it not for her wings she would have been ripped to ribbons.
The bear had managed to give her a long gash across her side but she ignored it as red started to flow down her. Luna eyed the animal as he stomped, clearly aggravated that he couldn’t follow her. In one swift motion, her horn lit up and she soared towards him. His ear was nearly sliced off as he batted her away with a paw. The princess slowed her decent and landed gracefully on the ground. The male let out a deafening bellow and ran blindly at her; she tumbled out of his way. The two exchanged blows racking up injuries as they both were sightless with fury.
Soon, both stood breathless as they regained their strength. Luna’s head rose and her eyes shrunk to mere pinpricks as the Ursa furiously darted towards her. She tried in vain to move but just couldn’t get her legs to go and before she knew it the bear was on her. Carelessly it crushed her ribs as it reared back its foot to take her heart.
Her breathing sped up as she struggled against him, charging her horn up, only for a few blue sparks to sputter out just as fast as they came. This couldn’t be the end for her, how could she be so dim-witted to take on one of the most notorious predators in this forest?!
She had so much to live for, she finally had friends again! No more liars trying to gain favors and wealth for association with her. Celestia, her dearest sister would be heartbroken over losing her for good this time, no she couldn’t and wouldn’t let her sister suffer because of her.
For once since her return from exile, she wished her sister could sing her a lullaby like when she was infantile and needed security. Celestia would wrap her velvety wing around her back and shush her weeping or whimpering, if fate couldn’t give her one last song from the only family she had left, and then she cursed it, cursed it to the far regions of space.
Tears streamed down her cheek as her rage was finally depleted, leaving her an emotional train wreck. This could not be her death, she couldn’t leave her ponies behind because of this creature but she felt her coat was nearly soaked with blood. He was not helping the slash in her side, making the wound ooze out what pumped in her veins, and the last thing she saw was the sinister razors he called claws as they descended towards her then darkness encompassed her in its embrace.
Author's Note
Constructive critism is welcome.
Chapter 1 is so short but it will probably become longer soon, might need to redo action scenes..
Bet your probably wondering if I killed Luna, maybe I did.. Or maybe I didn't..
