Chapter 1: Sunset
Floating in darkness. A world where nothing was as it seemed. Trees grew much taller than they should have, even if they had been helped with magic. Strange creatures stalked through the unnaturally quiet forest. Looking up, Luna saw that, although it was clearly night, no stars shone in the sky. Only a sliver of the moon hung motionless, slowly waxing. Luna jumped and turned around as she heard something behind her. She stared into the shadows, but even they were unnatural, existing where none should. They seemed to stalk her, wandering in long, lazy circles around her.
A dark rumble of laughter rolled across the land, seeming to come from everywhere at once.
“Fool,” said a voice so powerful, the air around Luna vibrated. “You thought you could escape me? No, my time is just beginning. As for you...” The voice laughed again, making the trees dance to a crazed tune only they could hear. Luna fell to the ground, squeezing her eyes shut and covering her head.
“You are a weakling who does not deserve her authority,” snarled the voice mockingly. “Don’t worry, you will soon be released of your duties.”
The voice faded away, leaving Luna trembling on the ground.
Luna sat up in bed, gasping and shaking. Her covers were at a crumpled heap at the bottom of her bed, and she had managed to poke a hole in one of her pillows with her horn. Her head snapped towards the door as a knock came from the other side.
“Princess?” came a worried voice that Luna recognized as one of her guards, Storm. “Are you alright?”
“Fine,” she said, her voice shaking. She inhaled deeply. “I’m fine,” she said again, her voice steadier.
“If you say so Princess,” said Storm, sounding unconvinced.
Luna dragged herself out of bed and into the bathroom, where she splashed cold water on her face. Grabbing a towel, she dried her face then looked in the mirror and froze in fright. Staring back at her was Nightmare Moon. Nightmare grinned wickedly, then vanished in a puff of dark purple smoke, leaving Luna to star at her own horrified expression.
“Maybe I need to get more sleep,” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. Checking her reflection one more time, Luna left her chambers, barely noticing as Storm fell into step behind her.
The sun was low in the sky, but Luna guessed she still had a few hours until the moon needed to be risen.
“After all, nopony will be mad about a few extra hours of sunlight...they never are,” she thought glumly, then shook her head angrily. “Stop thinking like that. It was that kind of thinking that got you in trouble last time.”
Not knowing what else to do, Luna began to walk towards the royal gardens. As she walked through the halls, ponies stopped and bowed to her or greeted her with a friendly, “good evening princess.”
She replied in kind, nodding her head or saying a few polite words to them. Her acknowledgement seemed to please them, for they walked away with grins on their faces.
When she finally reached the garden, Luna lay down in the soft grass, sighing as she felt her tension in her drain away as if it had never existed. For some reason, the garden never failed to relax her.
Except for a few other ponies, the garden was empty. She closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. The air was sweet and crisp, and the only sound was the wind gently rustling through the trees.
“Halt!” shouted Storm loudly, startling Luna out of her trance-like state. “The Princess is not accepting visitors right now.”
Annoyed, Luna turned around, trying to find out who had disrupted her moment of peace. Storm was standing between her and a strange cloaked colt, who had a hood concealing his face.
“Oh Storm,” said the colt, chuckling. He threw back his hood, revealing a bright yellow colt with messy, dark red hair. His bright green eyes glimmered with happiness and curiosity, but also layered with subtle layers of sadness. “Always taking your duties so seriously.”
“Thunder Colt!” shouted Storm, a wide grin spreading across his face. Luna also smiled, happy to see Thunder Colt, who was good friends with her and Storm. She also felt a little guilty for not seeing him for so long.
“I haven’t seen you forever!” said Storm, giving Thundercolt a playful punch in the side. “What’s up with that cloak? That thing went out of style a century ago. You of all ponies should know that!”
Thundercolt laughed along with storm. “Well, lets just say I’m not exactly welcome here in Canterlot...” he said cryptically, pulling the hood back over his head, obscuring his face from sight. “So, am I allowed to sit now?”
Still smiling, Storm stepped aside and allowed Thundercolt to sit next to Luna. After a moment’s hesitation, he sat with them and the three of them enjoyed the peace and quiet of the evening.
After a while, Storm turned to Thundercolt and asked, “why are you in Canterlot? As you said, Celestia isn’t exactly thrilled with you being here.”
Thundercolt shrugged. “I needed to get out of Ponyville for a while, so I thought i would visit where i grew up. You know, see how much has changed. Besides, I haven’t seen you for a while, and I missed you guys,” he said, playfully elbowing Luna in the ribs.
Luna smiled a little, but didn’t say anything and continued to stare at the setting sun. Thunder Colt sighed and looked at her. “What happened?” he asked, a frown forming on his lips.
“Nothing,” she said, ignoring his stare.
“Mmhmm,” he said, letting his gaze drift around the garden.
They sat in silence for several seconds, then Luna cautiously asked, “that’s it? You’re not going to question me?”
“Oh I have learned over the years that, unless you want to share, I’m not going to be able to pry any answers from you,” chuckled Thunder Colt. “You won’t tell me until you are ready to tell me. You can be as stubborn as a donkey.”
Luna tore her gaze away from the sun angrily. She glared at Thundercolt then hissed, “you know nothing about me, you old mule.” Then she picked herself up and began to walk away.
Storm tried to follow her, but before he could even pick himself off the ground Luna’s horn glowed and she disappeared in a crackle of electricity.
“That not like her,” said Thunder Colt to Storm. “Something is not right.”
Storm nodded, confused by Luna’s outburst. They both looked at the horizon, where the moon was slowly rising.
Luna sat in the tower in the west wing, feeling the slight strain of magic as she molded the night. She was so deep in thought that she didn’t even notice her sister, Celestia, walk up behind her. She studied Luna for a second, then walked up and stood beside her. Luna noticed her sister, but choose to ignore her, devoting her full attention on the night.
“Your nights are always so beautiful sister,” said Celestia softly. “I never came close to replicating them in your...absence.”
“Well, you sure had enough time to practice, didn’t you dear sister?” Luna snapped, opening her eyes.
Celestia took a step back as she saw Luna’s eyes. Instead of the regular pupil, a long, snakelike slit was staring at her. Then Luna blinked, and her eye went back to normal. Celestia continued to stare at her sister, and noticed that the area around her cutie mark had changed from a dark blue to black.
“Sister?” asked Celestia tentatively. “Are you well?”
Luna sighed and hung her head. “I’m fine Celly...just a bit tired. I’m sorry I snapped at you...i didn’t mean it.”
Celestia smiled and hugged her sister. “Its fine Luna. Do you want me to take over? You can get a few extra hours of sleep then.”
Luna shook her head. “No, I’m fine. You need your sleep just as much as I need mine.”
Celestia bowed her head. “As you wish. Just remember, I’m here if you need me.”
As Celestia walked out of the room, Luna sighed and looked up at the stars, enjoying being alone with her thoughts and at the same time hating it.
