Of the Sun and Moon

High in the night sky, the moon cast its silver glow upon the world below. Arrayed with the numerous twinkling stars, it sat as a beautiful watcher and gentle light for all who would be below. On a small balcony of the stone castle below, Princess Luna stared up at her charge and the stars that surrounded it. Above, the moon was constantly surrounded by other dots of light. It had its place below the horizon where it would retire for the day before being rejoined by those white dots for another night. Yet Luna sat upon the balcony alone.

She stared out at the distant towns and cities of ponies and watched as all but a few lights winked out of existence as the inhabitants settled in for the night. Soon, the land was dark, lit only by the light of the moon and stars. All around was quiet and still Luna stood alone on the balcony, again. Once again, she would spend another lonely night watching over the many ponies of the land she and her sister were charged with.

She gave a sigh as she hung her head before spreading her wings and taking flight. Perhaps a patrol of the night would help clear her head and ease her mind. She stopped for but a moment and looked back at the castle wondering if Celestia would spend a night with her. Her sister had spent a few nights watching the land with her before during their early reign but the lack of sleep had taken a heavy toll on the elder sister. But would just one night hurt?

Putting the thought out of her mind, Luna resumed her patrol. She peered down at the many habitations of pony and animal alike. Each was quiet as the inhabitants slept save for the nocturnal creatures. She descended to listen to the song of the owls and crickets echo through the night. She watched as a few small creatures scurried through the grass into hiding spaces. While she did enjoy listening to the sounds of the night and watch the night animals it did little to ease the loneliness she felt.

After some time of wandering Luna found herself in a small village. The homes were dark and all was quiet save for the soft sounds of the night. The bare streets and darkened homes gave the village an air of abandonment. Luna had watched during the waning hours of her watch before as the towns came to life during the day. The doors opening and ponies filling the streets or rushing to their farms. But at night, it often gave the appearance that all had vanished.

The thoughts of loneliness filled the princess with dread and she quickly took to the sky once more to flee the lifeless village. While the routine of watching the land had become monotonous, the true toll was the loneliness. The endless hours of silence and stillness that gave the whole land a sense of being dead rather than being asleep. Not even the occasional monsters provided the needed distraction of the weight of the night. If only there was even one pony awake at night to fill the void.

After some time of flying, a small shadow in the moonlight caught Luna’s eye. She peered down to see a shape similar to that of a pony wandering the road alone. Two thoughts raced through her mind at the sighting. An enemy spy from another land? Perhaps a changeling. Or was it maybe the company she desired?

She dove and landed before the wanderer to find a dull green stallion with an orange mane who jumped with fear at the sudden appearance of the princess. Luna pondered for just a second to discern his identity to see a lost citizen of the land.

“Citizen!” she exclaimed, using her practiced royal voice. “Art thou lost? Doth thou require aid to traverse the land tonight?”

The stallion stayed silent as he simply stared at Luna as though he had awoken to a nightmare. His body quivered a shook and his legs began to buckle underneath. Luna lowered her tone in an attempt to ease his fear.

“I see the night has left thou frightened. Fear not! Thy princess shall escort you-”

“Get away from me!”

Luna stood in shock at the response. Normally, upon even seeing either princess a pony would bow or give some sort of courtesy to the royalty. But to have one not only interrupt but demand that she leave, Luna could hardly understand.

“But…Your princess is here to aid you-”

“GO AWAY!!! LEAVE ME ALONE YOU MONSTER!!!”

Luna froze at the final word. Here noble demeanor and air of power she held fell and shattered. Not only had this pony disrespected her position, he had wounded her own heart. No pony had ever spoken to her in this manner, not even Celestia in jest.

“B-But…Mon…You cannot-”

The stallion said nothing more but turned and ran at top speed, leaving Luna to ponder about what had just happened. No answer came. She simply watched the stallion run until he was out of sight. The mighty and proud princess of the night dissolved into a small scared filly. She understood being frightened by things she did not understand, but to be the thing that scared others…

Could she really be seen as a monster? Why? Was it their position as princesses? The sisters did not rule with might or fear to appear as tyrants. Was it their appearance? Surely being slightly taller than the average pony or having both horn and wings could not make them that frightening. Was it the night and the shadows? As a filly, she had been frightened of the dark and seen things appear more terrifying in the dark than they did in the light. Perhaps the pony had simply been afraid of what the night concealed. But what if it was one of the other options, or something more?

Luna steeled herself and took to the sky. She needed to return to the castle and speak with Celestia. She would have the answer, she always did. Luna soared across the night sky hardly noticing how fast she was flying. A mix of anger, sorrow, and confusion drove her to seek her sister’s council at any cost. She watched as the sky began to slowly bleed orange as Celestia was already raising the sun.

Seconds later, Luna landed on the balcony with a slight thud before skidding to a halt. She turned to her sister gasping for breath as she tried to speak.

“Sis..ter…must…speak…now.”

“Luna calm down. Slow down and catch your breath. What’s wrong?”

Luna took several deep breaths to calm herself, taking note of her sister’s worried expression.

“The kingdom is fine, I simply wish to speak with you. Forgive me for appearing so urgent.”

Celestia waited patiently as Luna tried to ease her racing heart. Yet the more she relaxed, the more she recalled every detail of the night’s encounter. The terror filled eyes fearful face was burned in her mind. That word he had said echoed in her ears. Her body began to tremble as that moment repeated itself. Luna took a final deep breath and pulled the veil of calm over her wounded demeanor.

“Sister. Have you ever been called a monster?”

Luna winced slightly at the question and the word that still echoed in her ears. She kept her mask of control as she moved to lower the moon.

“Of course not Luna. Why would you ask that? No pony has desired harm of me. There is nothing-”

“I do not worry for you sister!”

Luna cringed at her own tone and kept her face turned. She could practically feel Celestia cringe as well. She wiped a small tear from her eye before apologizing.

“Forgive me. It is not you who I am worried for. It is me. Last night, a stallion was wandering the night and I offered to aid him. But he demanded I leave and…and…he called me a monster.” She squeezed her eyes shut to hold back the tears but she betrayed her emotions with a loud sniff. She quickly turned to Celestia. “Why did he call me a monster?! I am supposed to be the guardian of the night! I am supposed to protect them from the monsters! If you have not heard such things then what makes me the monster?! Tell me sister! TELL ME!!!”

Luna flung herself onto Celestia, wrapping her forelegs around her sister and weeping loudly into her soft pink mane. Her heart felt torn and her emotions felt like a storm within her. Anger, sadness, regret, fear. How was she supposed to feel?

Celestia wrapped a hoof around her distraught sister. “Luna do not worry. He was probably scared of the night and let his fear get the best of him. There is nothing to worry about. Go rest now. All will be better tonight.”

Luna felt Celestia’s hoof retreat as her sister prompted her to retire for the day. Yet the hole in Luna’s heart remained. Certainly the stallion could have simply been afraid of the night’s shadows and allowed his imagination to get the best of him, as Luna had as a filly. But it was Celetia’s comfort that felt hollow. As though she viewed the whole incident as a simple misunderstanding. Was it? Did she really get so upset over something so simple? She got her confirmation at their ritual parting.

“I love you Celestia,” said Luna, waiting to see that loving and comforting smile.

“I love you too.”

Celestia never looked back.