A Night's birthday

by Lucy the Cyclone Light

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, Sad, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 2208

Luna is celebrating her 2000th birthday, and recalls some memories. from being on the Moon, to her liberation, Tentapus and Nightmares...

Alone in her tower, on her balcony, watching the night on her big 2nd K, Luna's overthinking her life. It's been two years since she came back to Equestria... Two difficult years.
Luna plays out the past millenia and two years in an hour. Such little time can reveal a lot. Especially if half of her life belongs to the cold Earth's satellite.

Published 2015-10-24 17:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2015-10-24 17:40:01 UTC

One for all

Author's Note

This is at least what I would do if I was on the Moon for a millennium.
P.S. The thing about Nightmare seeing Twilight before... Go to this link, skip to 2:29, and look at the hour glass. Mwhahahaha.....
[youtube=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_ws7PmN6Mqo]
P.P.S. You can clearly see the pattern of the Celestia's mane when Twilight activates the Elements.
That's about it.

One for all

I closed the balcony door and sat on the small chair next to the glass table. A small, cute cupcake was letting go the last tapes of the transparent warm steam. Baking for oneself isn't as hard as it sounds.

The cake wasn't an artpiece. Plain chocolate chip, Twilight's friend Pinkie Pie gave me the recipe a few days ago. Stuck in the top, was a toothpick duct-taped to a small piece of white cartboard. A number "2000" was written on it.

There is a reason why I didn't want this birthday to be celebrated. First thing, in the morning, at the royal breakfast, I sneakly asked Celestia if she remembers anything that should be done today. She simply said no and continued to eat. My sister again mixed my birthday with the Winter Solstice. I know it's slightly egocentric, but I honestly hoped she would remember. And I didn't feel like telling her eather. As foalish as it sounds, I went into my room and sobbed. I sobbed because many things swirled in my head, as they do now.

It's around an hour to midnight. An hour left from this day's end. I would also need to sing "Happy brthday", to somepony else, if I was around 1100 years in the past.

We all know the curse of The Elements Of Harmony. It depends on how strong is the bond between the ponies who use them. with a minimum of one millenium.

I looked at the Moon, the thing I once cherished so much I sacrificed half of my life for it. Now? I never admitted it, but I am a bit thankful nopony cares for my efforts. They only brought me pain in the past, and the caring did no less.

I remember my times on the Moon. I was sometimes so full of despair there, I would simply scream into the black, void sky, knowing nopony exept the surroundind mist known as Nightmare will ever hear me. I cursed Celestia and all of Equestria, I cursed both light and darkness, day and night. I could scream for hours, until my throat ached so much I could no longer speak. I'd cry, rivers of tears falling from my eyes, and then I'd fall from tiredness. I would fall asleep.

At first, I began to count days. Until around the three thoundred and thirtheeth year. I knew I was only at the third of my punishment, which made me go crazy.

""Not even a half?! , I remember myself yelling , "How could you do this to me?! How could I do this to myself?"

At that point, I broke at least a dozen of boulders on the Moon with my bare hooves. They healed eventually. I simply didn't know what to do.

More often, I spoke out loud all of my memories, so I wouldn't forget them. Maybe I am a basket case after all. But, when you spend a few centuries there, you'll start to do the same. I spoke about the Crystal Empire and its once vast fields, I spoke about the wonderful ponies I met, about my family... I'd tell all those stories to the empty Universe. And the far stars. I wonder if they heard me.

You could never imagine how cold was there. I stood on the weak sunshine for months without getting any feel of warmth. The only times when I went to the freezing shadows were the times I yearned to see the stars, their deaths, and the birth of the new ones. When I wake up in the early winter mornings, in my bed, I still sometimes find my wings folded around my chest and front hooves. An old habit I'll probably never get rid of.

After around six houndred years, I woke up on the Moon, looking at the far planet I almost forgot the name of. I began to hallucinate, to see the flowers where we're actually pebbles, rivers and lakes in the craters and cracks, mountains and the sky in the clouds of dust I rose in my lonely gallops. I'd wake up rethinking my beliefs. Was I ever a princess? Did I ever rule Equestria? Did I ever have parents? A sister? Or were those just figments of my mind? Did I ever defeat Tyrek, Sombra, Discord? Was I always here, on the Moon, searching for a way out and then gave up, to start imagining a life? Were all of those memories mere dreams?

I never got a proof of the opposite until I was set free.

I was shaking of joy when the movements of the stars got caught in my tired eyes. I was laughing hysterically, knowing there is something else besides this dread, that there is someplace warm! I imagined galloping to my sister, apologizing for everything I did. She would enfold me with her soft, white, warm wings, she would speak to me some comforting words, and then, as my and her mane would retrieve their original colours, she would sing to me the song about the Sand-Mare. The song about the dream-walking filly, which I still remember my mother sang to me, the first night after I discovered my talent. I almost could hear her voice echoing in the void as the pure light blinded me.

You probably already apprehend my agony when Nightmare descended down to consume me once more.

My first reaction was disbelief. We were separated for all these ten centuries! It couldn't be!

The cruel purplish mist felt my terror and an evil grin formed in the dark mass of magic. It was litterally feeding on my fright, defying the stars' goodness even more. Just as it touched me, gripping my front hooves, the light's ray began to withdraw. For a moment, I thought it was too late for my past to play out again, but in a trice the dark mist caught my pale mane, instantly turning it into the translucent map of the gallaxies. I felt the feathers from my wings being torn away, leaving the prolonged skin and bones. My mind blackened, filling with hatered and a powerful wish for vengeance. It was happening all over again.

Nightmare Moon sealed my sister into the crystal inside her crown. The rhomb was actually a shard of The Element of Magic. On purpose, she let me see the whole scene. A maniacal laugh was echoing inside my mind as she jubilated her victory. I don't remember what happened after, before my soul sensed the close presence of The Elements. The worst possible scenario was happening. I could get glimpses of the outside world here and there, so I knew Nightmare Moon was going to destroy The Elements. Somehow she sent a piece of herself on Earth to remain, to the same pony, Twilight, who later freed me. Since my and her mind were one, I knew about the prophecy.

"Freed by the stars... To bring eternal night... And for the Night Princess to be sealed in the Moon again", I whispered to myself.

When I felt Nightmare Moon's fear, I knew what was about to happen. I was going to be sent to the Moon, and go to the ritual of madness once more. I was rampant because of my powerlessness, but couldn't defend myself from the most ancient and mighty spell. Yet, it was better than eternaly being trapped in my own body, watching my mistake's poisonous fruit spread her tyranny across Equestria.

When I found myself on the stone floor partially covered with ivy, I was completely deaf and blind. Way too shocked to react. I was instinctively waiting for the pain in my back as the light ray would crash me into the cold grey dust, leaving me to wait for at least another couple of millenia. There were six ponies who used The Elements, so I knew it was going to be a lot worse this time.

I was curling and shaking on the floor, until my sister's voice broke the silence.

"...And I hope so did another." It was slightly older and sounded more experienced and mature now.

My first thought was that I died. Maybe death would be more merciful than this.

I was waiting for the punishment as Celestia approached me. I bowed my head between my front hooves, not brave enough to even say a word. "Will you except my friendship?" was far more than I deserved. I immediately leaped into her comforting embrace, feeling her tears soak my still not restored mane, while hers was a full rainbow. I apologized, and it was almost the same as I imagined it on the Moon, except for the fact I didn't hear the melody of my favorite song. I didn't care... I was home. I realized how much it changed later, but I was still home...

In the beggining, everything was going incredibly good. Ponies liked me, and in PonyVille (a young town inhabited just around sixty years ago) they even made me rose necklaces! My first moonrise after a thousand years was wonderful. It was almost like my and my sister's coronation all over again. I was dressed in silk and cashmere as my prison rose behind me, the ponies rejoyiced and cheered...It seemed like paradise. For a moment I forgot every single reason why I was once bitter and became Nighmare Moon. I felt stupid because I haven't seen how much ponies actually cherished me in the past, and I erased all the shunnings from my memory. How, just how could I be so naive?

The heaven lasted for maybe a week or two before they showed how do they really feel. They ran away as soon as my mane and skin darkened like they were once. Astronomists moaned about the constellations. Celestia could never move even a star, but for me, the sky was my canvas. They didn't appreciate auroras I'd sometimes create every Sunday's midnight, to celebrate the reunion of the two princesses, although the spell would take me hours to finish. At celebrations, if I was ever invited, Celestia would be treated far better than me. I had no problems pouring my own tea and taking the food from the saucers, but seing her getting treated that, while I was left behind, was too much. I began to grow bitter and rageous again, and more of it, sorrowful. I became afraid for the Nighmare to take over again, so I twisted to dark one part of the Dream Relm, to create a small dream parasite. I called it Tentapus, and from then on, I'd always have nighmares, dreaming of whether being lost on the Moon, or being banished over and over again. That's why I often stood awake, but it strangely comforted me. Around nine moons ago, I almost released the Tentapus into the real world. Twilight and her friends helped me, again, and I overcame my guilt and fear. Maybe not quite the latter.

In one of the nightmares Tentapus caused me shortly before it found a way out, a strange thing happened.

I was about to be banished by Celestia. She wasn't crying. She was yelling at me, telling me that I'm weak, stupid loser who will never be of any significance or do anything well for the world. The nightmares were never lucid, except that one...

When I turned into Nightmare Moon, I felt being trapped all over again. The Solar Eclipse dimly gleamed behind me as I lost control. I was afraid of the worst, until I heard the usually harsh and cruel voice of Nighmare Moon pleeding.

''Please, Luna'', she cried, I felt the tears falling from her eyes. She crouched her head and layed on the marble floor. Celsetia kept yelling as rays of light emerged from the crystals and connected them.

''Luna! Please! Where in Equestria are you?! I know you're here...inside'', she looked at her chest, around which was a heavy blueish metal armour. She closed her eyes tightly as her voice and body shook from the sudden cold. She was whispering.
''I can't take this anymore. Please...stop...'' she didn't even twitch when the light burned her skin as the nighmare ended. That made my motivation to keep the nighmares even stronger.
I sometimes still think about it. Was it the voice of the greal Nighmare Moon? Or was it just Tentapus?

And now, ten moons later, I hear the Canterlot's belfry ding for midnight. It is confirmed, I am officially two thousand and one second years old. I stare dully into the sky I decorated, as the cupcake I made for myself cools.

I remember my times on the Moon. I was sometimes so desperate there, I would do no different than now. and sometimes...

Sometimes I would just scream in the void, black sky...