Princess Luna,
Or maybe I should call you Nightmare Moon now?
Sorry. That might be harsh. Mayhap it’s what you deserve.
Anyway. I’m writing… for multiple purposes. First, I have questions. Yes, questions, that I truly need answers to. Second, I need to know you’re okay. And third… I’d like to apologize.
But first. Questions. Luna – Nightmare Moon – what happened? Why did you turn into a pony filled with evil and hate? Was it something I did, or something I didn’t do? Why couldn’t you have told me? Why didn’t you tell me? How long were you feeling that way? Could you have controlled it? Did I hurt you? Is there anything I could have done; is there anything I can do now? Who is Nightmare Moon? Is it you? Why didn’t you tell me?!
Please, if you get this, I need answers. Please, Luna.
Secondly… are you well? Is there enough food for you? Water? Is there anything you need? And, if the answer is to be free again, I’m sorry, but… I don’t think I can do that. It hurts badly to say this, but you are a danger. Perhaps you know that, perhaps you don’t. Perhaps you are still so consumed by anger toward me, toward the citizens of Equestria, that you’ll burn this letter to bits. I understand – or at least, I’m trying. Just… let me know if you need anything, alright?
Lastly, I must apologize. Now, what I did – banishing you to the moon – was, I fear, the correct choice. You weren’t the Princess Luna I know. As much as it hurts, and it does so, it had to be done. For Equestria. So, I cannot apologize for that. But I can apologize for… not noticing. You were always the best at hide-and-seek, do you remember? I could never find you back then… and I suppose I couldn’t find you since. I’m sorry I didn’t notice. I’m sorry you felt so alone, so hated, that… you turned into a monster of a mare. I’m sorry I didn’t do anything; didn’t talk to you; didn’t pick up on a thing. I hope one day you can forgive me.
If you get this, please don’t burn it. Please don’t cast it into the shadows. Mind, I have no idea if you’ll even get it, but if you do… please answer? I miss you. The real you, that is.
Take care,
Your sister, co-ruler, and forever friend,
Princess Celestia (Tia?)
Princess Celestia,
We got your letter, oh, We got it alright. Per your request, We did not ‘cast it into the shadows,’ and We did not ‘burn it.’ Do you not recall, you took Our magic! We are unable to do anything, that is, except send you letters. ‘Tis funny, is it not? You leave just enough magic for Us to write you a letter. You always have been the selfish one.
Your questions are petty and fake. You do not care about Us. You do not understand Us. And you are not trying.
Nevertheless, We are bored, and shall answer them to the best of Our ability. What happened? Oh, but We are certain you are smart enough to figure that out on your own, are you not? We are not a pony filled with evil and hate. We are a pony filled with night. There is quite the difference. You should understand by now, but perhaps you just aren’t capable. ‘Twas something you didn’t do, and something you did alike. We shall leave you to figure that out, seeing as you’re so intelligent. We couldn’t have told you, for reasons you already know. You’re too much of a coward to admit them. Alas, you wouldn’t have understood. You would have brushed Us off just like the time before, and before, and before. We have been ‘feeling this way’ for… a millennia. But We had enough control, to answer your next question, to keep Our better half at bay. Indeed. You hurt Us. Not with the Elements, if that was what you were asking. There is nothing you can do now. Perhaps you could leave Us alone. Nightmare Moon is Princess Luna. Princess Luna is nonexistent. Figure it out. And quit asking if We could have told you. We couldn’t have. And you know it.
‘Tis time for Us to ask some questions of Our own. Do you really believe you can rule the whole of Equestria without Us? Do you believe you can keep up with day and night, sun and moon, without Us? We sure hope you do, because We don’t. And no, We won’t apologize for speaking Our mind. That is what you wanted, is it not? Do you miss Us? Do you think you can’t, shan’t, live without Us? Please don’t. In due time, you’ll realize what We realized long ago: Sisters aren’t necessary for survival.
We cannot accept your apology (apologies). You try going through what We experienced. You try being ignored, decade, after decade, after decade. You try being banished to your symbol, by your own sister. And then We will see what you say. Then We will see if you finally understand. Then We will see what kind of pony you are.
Remember. We shall come again, We shall rise again. Whether you like it or not. We will come for you.
Your biological sister, ruler, and ex-friend,
Nightmare Moon
(P.S. At the beginning of your sob-fest of a letter? We were not offended. Do you know why? Because We cannot be hurt any more by you.)
Princess Luna Nightmare Moon,
I… am unsure what to say…
I wasn’t trying to be selfish. It was the Elements, you see? I did not – and do not – know how to prevent them from taking your magic. I… just know They were the only option to keep you – and the rest of Equestria – safe. I hope one day, you’ll understand that. I had to do what I did to keep you safe. I shan’t think of what might have happened, had the Elements not come through.
And you are wrong. I do care about you. I do want you to be happy. I truly do want to understand. It is unfair that you immediately assume I am out to hurt you, that I am dead-set against listening. I am not, and I believe the real Princess Luna would know that.
If she’s in there somewhere, tell her I miss her, alright?
I wish you wouldn’t speak so harshly with me. I want to make it up to you; I want to apologize. However… you must admit… you got yourself into this mess. It wasn’t entirely my fault – and yes, I do take my share of the blame. But really, you turned into Nightmare Moon. You did that to yourself. You chose to give up, and stop fighting. You gave up control. You can’t see what your actions did – and are doing – to the ponies of Equestria, and… to me. Do you not think it is hard, to have to banish your own sister, and know it will be one thousand years until seeing each other again? Do you not think part of me wants to take it back, backpedal to when this all started, and redo it? Listen, the second time?
Nightmare Moon, you should know… I do wish I could go back and redo it. I do wish you understood how hard it was to banish you – no, not Nightmare Moon, Princess Luna, my sister?
You know, this does make me angry. You can blame it on the shock of the moment, the shock of what I did… but I think it is more than that. You left me to rule alone – yes, you did. Even though I banished you, it was your fault. As you… so kindly mentioned, I may not be able to rule such a land for so long… alone. I am so angry at you. How could you? How could you do this to me, to us, to Equestria? Weren’t you a touch ‘selfish’ as well, by not thinking about how your actions would influence everypony else? And… what would you have done, if I hadn’t brought out the Elements? Would you have legitimately killed me to get what you wanted?
That isn’t the pony I know. Nightmare Moon, nor Princess Luna, nor the Luna I grew up with.
You aren’t the victim here. You aren’t the only pony this affected. Stop saying you are.
Apologies if this comes across as rude. I merely want to get my point across. Even if it is harsh.
Your sister, co-ruler, and your forever friend,
Princess Celestia
Princess Celestia,
You blame you incapability on the Elements? Perhaps you shouldn’t be playing around with them, then. You know what? You should stop making excuses and finally own up to what are clearly your own mistakes.
And you’re still such a foal. Princess Luna does not exist anymore, can you not get that into your mind? She does not exist anymore. There is only a greater, stronger pony: Nightmare Moon!
We think it is you who are wrong. We do believe you wanted the best for Us – up to a certain point. One day, one night, whatever… you started turning away. Maybe We started turning away. Perhaps Princess Luna made Her own mistakes, but you rightfully deserve your share of it. Perhaps now, you are a better pony. Perhaps now, you are capable of using your heart just a touch more, to understand.
Princess Luna might miss you as well. Nightmare Moon doesn’t.
Oh, and you’ve already apologized. We just didn’t accept it.
We did not choose to give up, and ‘stop fighting.’ We cannot believe you don’t see that. We merely gave in, and started fighting. We started fighting for Us, and for the night We represent.
Do not act as though you are the only angry one. You banished Us to the moon, for who-knows-long. We do not get to see Our night, and We do not even get to see the ponies We loved and ruled. Do not act as though that isn’t hard. We have ruled just as long as you – so you try being banished miles of miles away, by your own sister. A sister that was supposed to be there, ready to hold a hoof and wipe away tears. But then, what does that lovely sister do? Leaves. Walks away. Banishes, just so she wouldn’t have to look at and worry about what you were going to do next.
Princess Luna would not have killed you, just to be in power. She would have talked it out, and fought for your attention if… if it killed her. But. Now it’s your turn to ‘understand.’ Princess Luna was not present the night you banished Us. She had been fading, for quite some time. Slowly being replaced by Nightmare Moon. Slowly, the dream was being replaced by a nightmare. You cannot blame her for Our actions. She had nothing to do with it. It was her other half, her… better half, speaking, that night. Understand, sister. For once.
We are not saying We are the victim. We are not saying We are the only pony affected. In fact, it may very well just be you saying it.
And again, you need not apologize. You cannot hurt Us anymore. You have already done so enough, that the shell has hardened. Nothing and nopony can get inside Us anymore.
Your biological sister and ruler,
Nightmare Moon
Dear Nightmare Moon (and maybe Princess Luna),
I wouldn’t have had to ‘play around’ with the Elements if you hadn’t forced me to. They were the only way to keep everypony, and yourself, safe – as I’ve mentioned. Deep down, you may already know that. If not now, perhaps in the future. I may have banished you, but it was for your own good… I believe.
I’ll not give up, Nightmare Moon. Princess Luna will prevail. She’ll come out again, and say ‘We’ instead of ‘I,’ and use her Royal Canterlot Voice even when it isn’t necessary, and raise the moon at… oh, I don’t know… at six? No matter what you say. She will be back. Princess Luna will be back.
So, here we are, at an impasse. We each believe the other is wrong, and we each believe we are in the wrong. Your point is starting to become clearer. I am so, so sorry I wasn’t there for you, when you clearly needed it. I’m sincerely sorry nopony was able to give you what you needed. For what little it is worth, I’ll try harder. I know you won’t believe me, and I’m starting to see why. I do hope that… eventually, you’ll be able to trust me again.
I can see why you are angry. I can see I wasn’t being the pony you needed, and… if it were me, I’d probably be angry too. I hope… I hope you are able to see my side as well. I truly wish I could go back, go back in time and make everything right again (but, that may not be the best idea. Do you remember when we started experimenting with time spells? Oh… I will never forget Starswirl’s face when he found us…).
Do you know any way I can get Luna back? The real Luna? The Luna I grew up with? I’d… do a lot. I want my sister back. I need my sister back.
Must go now. Can we talk write later? I miss you.
Yours for eternity and for forever,
Princess Celestia (Tia?)
Celestia,
For your information, moonrise depends on the season. Honestly, Sister, you should know this. We shan’t go into it now, but look it up. You can’t keep slacking as far as the moon goes. Winging it will backfire on you one day. Trust Us.
You are still so young. You are still so forgiving, and so kind, no matter what anypony does to you. Once upon a time, We may have admired it, and tried to strive for it. Now, not so much. We are the night, and you are the day. We are the moon, and you are the sun. We are the darkness, and you are the light. We cannot be the same. If We are being honest, that may be what inspired Nightmare Moon. Mayhap you already made that connection. But We were jealous long before Our mane started growing, Our teeth started to sharpen, and Our coat turned black as Our night. The ponies always got to thrive in your daylight. They recognized you as ruler, as leader. What would you like to bet, that this time in precisely one thousand years, ponies shan’t remember Us as much more than an old filly’s tale? We shall see, won’t we.
We will be awaiting your next letter.
~Nightmare Moon
