This Fading Night

Luna was not sure what to think when she heard Discord's response. She felt like maybe she should be throwing a fit, saying he was lying, or that she was going to strangle her sister. Instead, all Luna could feel was...well, nothing actually. Luna didn't feel a thing. No shock, no anger, no hatred, it was like her emotions had just evaporated into thin air.

This realization and her reaction had Luna double-guessing herself. Had she always known Celestia had done this? That made zero sense whatsoever. How could she have known? By this point in the journal's time, she had started to crawl into her shell, and rarely spoke to her guards, the castle staff, and especially her sister. There was no way she could have known before turning into Nightmare Moon, or after the transformation had happened. So that still left the puzzle of why Luna felt so calm.

"Oh," was all she could manage to muster as she started freaking out inside a little bit. This was not normal. This news should have had her in a tizzy, but it was like Discord had merely told her that there was going to be a rainstorm later. Luna's reaction seemed to also surprise Discord, who slowly unwound himself, having become tense the instant the words left his mouth. Then he watched as Luna turned her focus back to the book and began to read the next page.

Log 7, Date Moon Cycle 12, 17th Day, 214 A.D. (After Discord)

Phew colt is there a lot to catch up on. These past two weeks have been some of the most hectic of my life. After my failure in Everfree City, I had come back home and decided to have a long talk with my landstallion. I told him of my intentions to travel around Equestria, and asked that he keep the very few possessions I have that I couldn't bring with me in a storage locker downtown I knew he had. In exchange, the apartment would go back on the market, and I would pay him fifteen bits a month for the storage unit. I know I can at least do that. And now that I have that out of the way, I have officially bought my ticket to my first destination.

Baltimare. It is one of the oldest and biggest cities in the entirety of Equestria, and I figure that with all those ponies, at least some of them must share my loyalty to Luna. It's just another thing that wouldn't make sense otherwise. I am actually currently on the train right now, and am minutes away from my destination.

I don't exactly know how I'm going to try and root out any other ponies loyal to Luna, but that isn't going to stop me from trying. Perhaps my best bet would be to try and find ponies with the same night-themed cutie mark as mine. A star, the rising moon, Tartarus, even something like the setting sun could all point to a pony who studies the night as I do. My hopes are pretty high right now, and I pray that they don't get shot down.

Even if I fail at yielding any results in Baltimare, I've got just enough money for a train ticket to Manehattan. If I can't find anything there, I'll go to the newly-established Vanhoover, and start working my way down the west coast from there. If all else fails, I'll try my luck at some of the smaller towns down south, like Appleloosa and Dodge Junction. I'm determined to find any other ponies who have the same loyalties as me, no matter how long or exhausting the journey. I owe Luna that much for everything she's done. Without her and her beautiful night sky, I'd likely still be a blank flank trying to figure out what I'm meant to do. After all, I refuse to believe my talent could have been anything other than being an astronomer. I feel deep down in my gut that it is the only thing I was meant to do in life, and I doubt I'd feel any different if I didn't have my cutie mark.

Oh, seems the train is stopping. Guess that's my cue. I'll probably take all day and tomorrow settling in and doing a quick search through the busier spots in Baltimare, so it'll most likely take a couple days for the next entry. Oh well. Until then...

Signing Out,

Crescent Eclipse

"So this must be when it all started."

Luna looked up at the sound of Discord's whisper, not sure if she'd been hearing things. The draconequus once more sported a look of deep thought, his claw hand holding his chin while he stroked his beard, seeming to be lost within the clouds of his mind.

Tilting her head a little to the right, Luna contemplated trying to break him from this second trance, but before she could decide, Discord looked up, seeming have just realized he'd spoken aloud. "Oh! Forgive me, my mouth sometimes runs away from me," he apologized, while his mouth literally leaped off his face and landed on the ground, scurrying behind a bookcase. Scowling, or at least Luna assumed he was by the way his eyebrows were furrowed, the Lord of Chaos snapped his fingers, and his lips reappeared on his face with a small flash of light.

Nodding in satisfaction, Discord turned his focus back to Luna, a coy smile on his face. "Do go on. Things are about to start getting good, and I do love an exciting story."

Luna, eyes slightly narrowed, flipped the journal to the next page and began reading.

Log 8, Date Moon Cycle 12, 20th Day, 214 A.D. (After Discord)

Ok! Colt, things sure have gotten interesting in my life lately. I can't believe it's only been a month since this all started. And now, things only keep getting more and more interesting by the second.

So, to recap on the events of the past few days, I spent the majority of them looking for Luna Loyalists, as I've taken to calling them and myself, and so far, I've had some very intriguing results. I have met a couple of ponies who seem to at least pay attention to Luna. They don't really have any talents related to nighttime, and they seem to hold Celestia at the same level as Luna, but hey, it's a start. I've asked them both if they know of any ponies who feel both Princesses are equal like them, or even know of anyponies who prefer Luna to Celestia like I do. Rose Mist, the first pony whom I met, said she didn't, but Bugle, the second pony, has pointed me in the direction of a popular pub. A lot of ponies go there during the night, and he says if I'm going to find any Luna Loyalists in Baltimare, they'll be there. I'm going to head out tonight, and bring my journal with me, so that I can cut out the middle stallion and just write my findings there instead of waiting till tomorrow. Plus, it might help to get the name of any ponies I meet who are potential Luna Loyalists. I could jot them down and remember them much easier tomorrow, which is something I might need if I end up having to partake of any cider or wine. It's not that I wouldn't mind a drink or two, I just would prefer to not have my mind get clouded, but knowing pub ponies, a couple may try and buy me drinks. Won't be the first time.

Anyway, the moon is starting to rise, and I think it's about time to take off. I won't bother signing out just yet, since I'm likely going to be writing in here again soon, so I'll just put a dash through the middle and continue this entry later.

I'm at the pub now, and it is just as lively as I expected. There are stallions playing pool, ponies discussing recent sport games, and a ton of yelling and merriment. Right now, I'm seated in a corner near a small window, waiting for my order of hay fries to arrive, and also scoping out the ponies. None of them seem to have cutie marks pointing towards a talent involving night, but I'm not quite ready to give up yet. There's a couple of ponies who have still peaked my interest, even without night-based marks, and I intend to talk to them after finishing my fries and they have a couple more ciders in their bellies. Drunk ponies are far more easy to talk to, and I should be able to get answers out of them quicker when their brains are fogged over by alcohol.

Hahaha, I'm never doing that again. One of the stallions I thought might share my loyalty is very...well, let's just say he doesn't understand personal space. And one of the others, he almost upchucked on me. I guess I gave them the chance to get too much cider in their system. At least two of the six I spotted have yielded promising results. One mare, Sugar Bits, couldn't stop babbling on about how Celestia was overrated when I brought up the subject of the Princesses. I think I even remember her saying a quick comment about how Luna is far better before she went off another tirade about Celestia and wandered away. The second possible Loyalist, Rock Fall, outright told me that he didn't like the way Celestia always seemed to glorify herself above everypony, even her sister. I have yet to bring up the idea of going to see Luna, or even why I would want their help, but I know Sugar Bits works at a bakery not too far from my motel, and that Rock Fall will be staying in the north side of town finishing his iron delivery till this weekend. They've both given me the go-ahead to drop by if I want to chill and talk, though I'm not too sure if Sugar Bits will remember this even happened by tomorrow morning. She was pretty drunk. Rock Fall, on the other hoof, seems to have been far more sober and sincere. I guess I'll just have to see how it goes the next few days.

Well, with this whole fiasco out of the way, it's about time for me to head back to the hotel. I'm pretty sure it's almost dawn, and I will admit that a couple of the ponies I talked to bought me drinks. Best to go sleep it off for now. I think when I wake up tomorrow, I'll go see Sugar Bits at the bakery. A doughnut sounds like it would make for a great breakfast, and I'm more than sure they'll sell them there.

Signing Out,

Crescent Eclipse

Luna was not all that shocked about there being other ponies who had held her higher than her sister back then. Crescent Eclipse herself had already gotten her over any surprise she might hold for that subject. It was like Crescent had said, if there was one pony loyal to Luna, there had to be others. That's how logic worked.

What did surprise Luna was that these ponies seemed to have shared her opinion of her sister back then. While Crescent had said she didn't like Celestia because she, in Crescent's opinion, stole the respect Luna also deserved, the two ponies Eclipse had spoken to both apparently believed her sister glorified herself above everypony else, and was far overrated for it. That was basically how Luna had felt back then as well, except her belief that her sister was overrated came from jealousy. These two had had the same thought, but it did not come from jealousy like Luna, but instead from their solid opinion of what was right and wrong.

The mere fact she hadn't been alone in this lifted a fairly heavy burden off Luna's shoulders. She had thought she was the only one to see it back then, and that she had been being ridiculous, but this journal had proved it all wrong. A small smile of relief couldn't help but make its way across Luna's face as this realization hit. Her whole rebellion hadn't been without a cause, and others agreed with her, at least a thousand years ago.

Glancing up at Discord, who was watching Luna with a small smile of his own, for a moment, Luna silently flipped to the next page and began reading.

Log 9, Date Moon Cycle 12, 21st Day, 214 A.D. (After Discord)

I went and spoke to Sugar Bits during the late morning, just as I had said I would, and the conversation was fairly awkward at first. Sugar Bits said she could only slightly recall talking to me last night, and tried assuring me that whatever she told me last night was not true, that it was the drink talking. At first, I was inclined to believe her, but then I asked if she even remembered what it was she had said. She had quickly told me no, and I reminded her.

After that, things got a little more friendly between us, and the tension had left the space between us. She explained that she actually did still like Luna above Celestia, even if she didn't stay out as much during the night. She went on to tell me that when she was a young filly, she had wanted to meet both Princesses, and got the chance once when they came to her neighborhood to watch a show put together by a famous theater pony named Masks. After pleading with her mother for a ticket, Sugar Bits had gotten to go. While Bits did say she enjoyed the show, which was a play about the attempted liberation and then disappearance of the Crystal Empire, she couldn't stop looking up at the Princess' booth, and grinned every time she saw one of them. However, when the show ended, and the time came for her to meet them, she could only find Princess Celestia. After getting her autograph, Sugar Bits had asked where Luna was. According to her, Celestia completely ignored her question and turned to sign another fan's paper. While Sugar Bits knew it was possible Celestia might not have heard her, she's still almost completely certain to this day that Celestia had, considering how loud of a voice she had back then, and the fact a few adults seemed to notice the same thing too, exchanging a couple glances before one of them, a nearby neighbor of Sugar Bits, lead her away and back home.

After learning this story, I cannot help but start to have my growing suspicions about Celestia. Something isn't adding up here, and I get the feeling that the deeper I go, the darker things are going to become. And now that it's later in the evening, I'm going to see Rock Fall and see if he might have something to add to this mix that might point me towards an answer for Celestia's suspicious behavior.

There's no doubt in my mind now. Something is going on in the Palace of the Two Sisters, and it isn't good. I have just gotten back from my conversation with Rock Fall, and colt, did he have a story to tell me.

After having gotten our pleasantries out of the way, Rock Fall had began talking about when he first got into the mining business. He told me that during his about tenth delivery for the first company he worked for, he was tasked with working alongside Geode, one of the senior delivery ponies in the company, to take a steel delivery to the blacksmith at the Castle of the Two Sisters. Being the young, ambitious pony Rock Fall claimed he was back then, he was very eager to go to the palace and meet the Princesses. Thought making friends with them would get him a hoof up in society. This is where his story turns from normal to downright weird.

Apparently, upon delivery of the shipment, he had volunteered to go inform the Princesses that the steel shipment had arrived. Geode, a pony who didn't much like others, had let him go, and Rock Fall was escorted to the throne room and told to wait while they went to go get Celestia.

After being left in the throne room, with only an inattentive rookie guard to watch him, Rock Fall had began walking around the room and admiring it. As he had, he heard a door to his right open, and Princess Luna peeked in, a cautious look on her face. After seeing Rock Fall and the guard, who had straightened up at Luna's arrival, were the only ones in there, Luna had stepped inside, and walked over to sit on the throne on the right.

Upon seeing Luna, Rock Fall had, as any loyal pony would, bowed to her. When she said he could stand, he had told her he was here to let her and her sister know the steel shipment had been delivered. Luna had seemingly been confused by this, though Rock Fall never got to know why, for Celestia and the guards had arrived back in the throne room at that moment.

Upon seeing her sister talking with Rock Fall, he said something strange happened. Celestia had gotten this irritated look on her face, though when she had noted Rock Fall had seen this, it changed to a look of, in Rock Fall's opinion, false concern. He went on to tell me that Celestia had told Luna that she should be resting, that the daytime was Celestia's, and she shouldn't have been worrying herself over anything that happened during her time. However, this had sparked a small argument between the two. Luna wanted to know why Celestia had ordered more steel when they hadn't hired any new guards lately, or used any of their current supplies. Celestia had told her it was not her concern, and when this escalated things, Celestia had had the guards escort her sister back to her room, claiming that Luna was merely cranky from lack of sleep.

After Luna had been forced out, Celestia had finally focused on Rock Fall, and asked for his forgiveness, using the same excuse that Luna was just tired.

Rock Fall didn't really believe a word of it, not even then, but hoping to get on Celestia's good side, had said it was alright, before informing her about the shipment. Celestia had thanked him, and Rock Fall had bowed, about to leave, when Celestia stopped him. He said what happened next was the weirdest part of the whole thing.

Apparently, Celestia had asked him not to tell anypony about what he just saw, coming up with some garbage line (his words, not mine) about how Celestia didn't want her and her sister's subjects thinking Luna was some unapproachable grump who would only turn you away.

After promising, he had left, and hasn't told a soul up to this day. I, of course, questioned why he would tell me, and his answer has really got me thinking.

He said I wasn't the only one who noticed something weird was going on during the nighttime. He mostly does night shifts at the mine he currently works at, and has felt the air become colder, and can't help but feel my same sense of dread. He may not be as connected to the night's emotions as I am, but it's nice to at least know others care enough to note things are changing.

He went on to say that he was starting to become anxious as well, and that maybe it was time he told his tale to those who felt as he did. While I will admit I've yet to bring up the idea of going to see Luna to Sugar Bits, I did, rather hesitantly, mention it to him.

To my great surprise, Rock Fall said he'd be willing, though he knew as well as I did that it would not be an easy feat, especially after seeing what he had. I told him that once I'd convinced enough ponies to help, I'd contact him, and we could meet up in Everfree City. Same would go with anypony else I could convince. I'm hoping I'll get the same results with Sugar Bits, but I get the feeling she'd be far less willing. Here's hoping though.

Anyway, I think it's about time to leave Baltimare. I'm pretty sure there's nothing more I can accomplish here. Once I talk to Sugar Bits again, I'll go get that ticket for Manehatten, and see what happens from there.

Signing Out,

Crescent Eclipse

Luna leaned back, her thoughts adrift in the past as she tried to recall the events which Rock Fall had claimed to happen. She remembered many fights with her sister, and it took a minute for her to recall which one Crescent had written about. That's right. It was about Hearth's Warming Eve, and that one gray stallion, Rock Fall, apparently, had been in the throne room. She had been wanting to see what her sister might be up to, maybe surprise her with an offer for tea, an attempt to soothe things between them, but then she'd learned of the steel.

The steel. Even to this day, Luna had no idea what it was meant for. What had Celestia's intentions been? Rock Fall had been right when he mentioned the facts about the guards, and still having a decent amount of steel in storage. So what had Celestia ordered it for?

Luna was beginning to feel overwhelmed by all this new information. All these little mysteries surrounding the months leading up to her becoming Nightmare Moon, all these coincidences, when you put them all together into the same puzzle, it left one very ugly picture.

Celestia had been up to no good back then, and she had a lot to answer for.