Art of a Sun's Love Volume 1

The next morning, March 25, Artemus and Harmony woke up.

"I do hope Luna's doing better today," said Harmony, "that incident with that Clerk boy left her very upset."

"It'll probably be a few days before she settles down again," said Artemus.

The parents walked towards the door to Luna's room and knocked.

"Luna, sweetie?" called Harmony, "It's time for breakfast." But there was no response.

"You alright, kiddo?" asked Artemus.

Still nothing.

Harmony and Artemus looked at one another with worry; perhaps in the night, Luna had...? No. That was something not worth thinking about. Okay, so Luna had displayed some level of depression from time to time, but if something was wrong, she'd always tell them or Celestia.

"Maybe she snuck off to talk to her sister," suggested Harmony.

"Yeah, that does make sense," said Artemus, "but then, it would've been nice if she'd have told us..."

Harmony went to the phone and telephoned for Celestia.

Around that time, Celestia had gotten out of the shower and she wore a towel to cover her body, another on her head.

"Nothing like a fresh shower to start they day," she said. Just then, she heard the telephone ring.

"Oh, who could that be?" she groaned, "I can't just walk out naked except for my towels!"

"I'll get it," came Sombra's voice. He walked to the phone and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Who is it?" asked Celestia.

"It's your mom and dad," explained Sombra.

"They're yours too; you're practically family," Celestia giggled. She took the cellphone. "Hello?"

"Is Luna there with you?" Harmony's voice asked from the phone.

Celestia looked puzzled. "What do you mean, is Luna there with me?"

"She doesn't seem to be coming out of her room and we don't think she's there," said Harmony's voice, "so we wondered if she had snuck off to see you."

"If she had, I'd have heard a knock on the door late at night," said Celestia, "but I didn't."

"So... you haven't seen her either?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Oh, where could she be?"

Harmony hung up the phone in concern.

"Celestia and Sombra haven't seen her either," she said to her husband.

"We should take this up with the police," said Artemus, "what if she was kidnapped?"

"Oh, don't even go there, dear!" Harmony scolded. She had opened the bedroom door to find a folded piece of paper on Luna's bed saying "Mom and Dad". Harmony picked up the piece of paper, unfolded it, and was surprised to see it was a letter. It read:

"Dear Mom and Dad,

If you are reading this letter, then you may have guessed that I am gone. I have not killed myself, so there's one thing not to fear. I have just become so tired of all these bad things happening in my life. So I have run away. I do not know where I'll end up and I do not know when I will come back home. But I still promise to finish school, so there's another good thing. Take care.

Love, Luna."

Harmony did not know what to say. At least she knew her youngest daughter was alive, but she wasn't so sure if Luna, for her age, could take care of herself. One thing she noticed was that she'd not mentioned Celestia or Sombra in it at all. If she loved them both, then why would she have left them out?

Meanwhile, Luna had been spending the night trying to find herself a place to stay for a while. That was easier said than done, as she felt that, despite coming from a wealthy family, no one would take a sixteen year old seriously.

"What's a girl gotta do to find a place to live?" asked Luna, "It's not as if I'll end up in a homeless shelter."

At that moment, the door to a nearby coffee shop opened, and out of it walked one of her classmates Moonlight Raven. Moonlight was a senior at the age of seventeen with brilliant amber eyes and dark blue hair. She had pale skin and dark blue eye shadow, and underneath her jacket wore a sleeveless dark blue shirt with a black skirt and shoes.

"Excuse me," said Luna.

Moonlight turned to the younger girl. "Yes, Luna?" she asked in a flat tone.

"I need a place to stay for a while," said Luna, and she explained what all happened.

"Sure," said Moonlight, "I guess you could stay at my place for a while."

"Oh, thank you, Moonlight," said Luna, hugging her. Once she let go, Luna followed Moonlight to her place.

"Home sweet home," said Moonlight, opening the door.

"Hey, little sister!" another girl called out. She was older than Moonlight with pale blonde hair, lime green eyes, and she wore a pink T-shirt with an exploding star on it and white pants.

"Who's that?" asked Luna.

"That's my older sister Sunshine Smiles," said Moonlight.

"So, you have one too?" asked Luna.

"Yeah," said Moonlight, "we get along despite our differences."

"Sure wish the same could be said with me and Celestia," muttered Luna. Perhaps it was lucky for her that neither girl heard her.

"It's nice to see you, Luna," smiled Sunshine.

"How do you know of me?"

"I met Celestia one time and she mentioned you," said Sunshine, "what brings you here anyway, Luna?"

"Lots of things happened to me..." And she explained everything.

"Oh, you poor thing!" said Sunshine sympathetically, "You're welcome to stay here as long as you want."

"Thanks, Sunshine." Luna gave a small smile.

"I'd better call your parents to let them know where you are," said Sunshine.

"Oh! No, I, er, t-that won't be necessary," said Luna, sounding a bit nervous.

"Why not?" asked Sunshine.

"Because... I already told them I'd be going here," Luna lied.

"Oh," said Sunshine, "I see."

Sunshine was kind enough to fix Luna some breakfast.

"I rather appreciate this," said Luna.

"Thanks," said Sunshine. After breakfast, Sunshine helped Luna take her things to the guest room.

"A bit small, isn't it?" asked Luna.

"I'm afraid so," said Sunshine, "but it should be fine for the time being."

"Well, it's better than living on the streets any day," said Luna.

Later, Luna found the chance to talk with Moonlight. There was something she wanted to tell her...

"Now that I'll be living with you for a while," said Luna, "do you think you could help me fit in with the cool kids?"

"Sure thing," said Moonlight, "just don't expect us to make friendship bracelets and flower crowns after this." She meant this as a joke.

"Uh, yeah, the thing about friendship bracelets and flower crowns?" said Luna, "That wasn't on my agenda."

"Good," said Moonlight, "first tip on being cool is not to show any weakness."

"No weakness," Luna repeated, "what else?"

"Wear clothing that makes you look neat."

"About that - I have my regular clothes," Luna admitted, "do cool kids normally wear black?"

"Sometimes they do," said Moonlight.

"What else do I need to know?" asked Luna.

"Sometimes it helps to give yourself a nickname," said Moonlight, "nicknames can help you feel cooler."

"I rarely feel cool when I have nightmares," Luna mumbled. But before she could continue, she stopped herself.

Nightmare? she thought, They've all usually occurred under a full moon... Moon? Nightmare? She pondered for a bit, and then suddenly, like a bolt of lightning, a name struck her...

"That's it!" she cried, "I shall call myself Nightmare Moon!"

So with that said, Luna began to make her new look... only she didn't know where to start.

"Maybe I should get a new wardrobe first," she said, "do you guys make our own clothing or what?"

"That depends; sometimes we do," said Moonlight, "other times we just buy some at the store."

Moonlight took out a nearby book and showed it to Luna.

"This is a book of many different clothing designs," she said, "perhaps it could give you some inspiration for a new look for you."

"Thank you," said Luna, taking the book. She opened it and looked to see what design suited her most. After a few minutes of skimming through the book, Luna finally found the clothing designs she liked most.

"I like this dark blue shirt with black jacket and skirt," said Luna.

So the two girls went to do some shopping for the right fabric Luna needed for her new outfit.

"I may make some alterations to the clothes," said Luna.

"Like what?" asked Moonlight.

"Wait and see," said Luna.

When they got home, Luna set to work making her new outfit. It took quite a few hours, but at last, it was finished.

"Are you ready to see me now?" Luna asked from behind the room dividers.

"Go right ahead," said Moonlight.

"I can't wait to see," said Sunshine.

"Okay, girls - brace yourselves for my new look!"

Slowly, the room dividers parted to show Luna, looking rather like a different person now. Her new outfit consisted of a dark blue shirt, a black skirt, and a black jacket, as per the book. On the shirt and skirt, however, Luna had also sown on a little moon. She had also given herself some dark blue mascara and lipstick. Moonlight and Sunshine didn't know what to say!

"Um, is it too much?" asked Luna sheepishly.

"Are you kidding? You look amazing!" said Moonlight. That was the first time Luna had ever heard Moonlight sound excited. "Although, perhaps a bit more makeup so that you look more pale."

"Why? To add to the coolness factor?"

"Well, you could say that."

So Luna added some more makeup to her face, and it didn't take long before she looked as pale as a ghost.

"Now you look even better," said Moonlight.

"Kind of looks a bit much," Sunshine muttered quietly.

On Monday morning, March 27, Moonlight and Luna, now under the nickname Nightmare Moon, made their way to school. When the students saw Luna's new look, they at first thought she was a new student.

"Hey, who's the new kid?" asked one, "Isn't she too late to enroll this year?"

"She looks familiar," said another, "oh, I get it! Isn't she the pyromaniac?"

At the mere mention of the accident with the fire, Luna grabbed the student by the throat and forced him to the wall.

"If I were you," she snarled in a calm, yet threatening voice, "I would never mention that accident again. It was NOT. MY. FAULT!"

"I-I'm sorry, L-Luna," the student choked.

"Oh, and another thing," said Luna, "it's not Luna anymore - it's Nightmare Moon! Capisce?"

"C-C-C-Capisce!" gasped the student. Luna let go of him, and he collapsed onto his knees, coughing. He then stood up again and ran off in fear, hoping Luna wouldn't catch him.

The other students quickly looked away from Luna, hoping not to be the receiving end of her wrath. For the first time in months, Luna felt that she would finally get some respect from them, and she did. Whenever she went by other students, they would be kind to her and not say insulting things about her, mostly out of fear of her.

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Eventually, the school bell rang to end the day. Luna went to her locker so she could gather her book bag, and once she did so, she headed off for her new home.