They were still there. It was an hour since they showed up, and they showed no sign of leaving anytime soon. They were really starting to annoy Princess Luna. They thought of themselves so tough with those torches and swords, and all of that yelling and their large numbers. Yet nobles were all the same, Luna was sure of it. Always threatening to do some big form of rebellion with their fancy words and raised chins. Though behind the facade were cowardly creatures that in reality wouldn’t dare raise a hoof to the Royal Family. They were like this 1000 years ago, and there was no sign they had changed at all. It was oddly comforting actually. At least it was something she was familiar with.
Luna gazed at the crowd of nobles through her bedroom window, bored. As if this was supposed to intimidate her. Pathetic. All it did was anger her, especially with those inane shouts that could barely be heard through her window, yet carried just as much weight as a thousand protests.
“We won’t stand for Nightmare Moon! We won’t stand for Nightmare Moon!”
Luna began to tap her hoof against the windowsill. Her patience was actually starting to wear thin. It took all her effort to not pull up her window, fly out into the crowd, and teach them not to treat their new princess with such disrespect. It wouldn’t sit well with Tia though. And she was a different pony now. Attacking civilians was under her now..
The Nobles just didn’t care, or were maybe too stupid to understand.
A knock on the door broke Luna’s gaze and she knew instantly who it was behind her bedchambers door.
“Come in,” she said before turning her concentration back on the nobles, her taps on the windowsill now sporadic and barely audible.
The door made a small creaking sound as it opened, and the visitor made her way inside the dark blue bedchambers.
“Hello Luna, how is your night treating you?” Celestia asked pleasantly.
Luna exhaled sharply. “Terrible. With all of these childish nobles running around like uncaged dogs, I’m starting to wonder why I even give them the night in the first place.”
“Luna, please. You only returned a week ago,” Celestia said, some of her pleasantness gone. “They weren’t even sure if you were real before you decided to lock Equestria in eternal night.”
“Nightmare and I are one no longer.”
“Yet they only have your word to show for it. They’re scared, Luna. They always get like this when something new and problematic shows up, espically in their own city.”
“Oh, so that’s what I am now? Problematic?”
“...That’s not what I meant.” Luna could hear the pain in her sister’s voice, and her anger immediately faded away, replaced with guilt.
Luna turned her head to apologize, and even with the only lighting being the dim moonlight, Luna could see how tired Celestia was. Her mane barely sparkled, her coat was unbrushed, and her eyes were bloodshot. Luna realized how much this whole thing was affecting Celestia as well, and she only felt more guilty.
“Tia, wait! I-”
Celestia hung her head low. “I get it, Luna. I’m sorry. I should have realized your return hasn’t been easy on you. I should go.” Celestia turned to leave.
“Tia, wait!” Luna called out, and Celestia stopped for just a moment. This was her chance. “Tia, I’m so sorry. Ever since I came back, everything’s been so difficult. This wasn’t at all what I imagined.”
Celestia raised a brow at her sister. “And what, pray tell, did you imagine it would be like?”
Luna sighed and looked back out her window, but the protesting nobles no longer made her angry. They just made her sad. “I thought they would love me, and welcome their new princess. Instead, they march down these Canterlot streets, spitting out my name as if it were venom. I am no longer one to be feared, and yet they still choose to fear me. How can I earn their trust if they already threaten to storm the castle just a week after my return?”
“Luna, just give it time. They’ll soon realize you are no longer Nightmare Moon, and I’m sure if you make some more public appearances, their opinion of you will surely become more favorable.”
A hint of a smile appeared on Luna’s face. “Even after 1000 years these nobles never change, do they?”
Luna heard a soft chuckle behind her. ”That they most certainly do not. And it wouldn’t hurt to lose the formal speech and Royal Canterlot Voice when speaking publicly. Talk to them like we’re talking right now.”
“I was not aware that was no longer the normal custom.”
Another chuckle. “Oh it’s changed Luna, and you’ll get used to it eventually.” Celestia’s voice then changed to a more serious tone. “The Royal Guard are working on dispersing the nobles. They should be gone in an hour’s time.”
“Tis good news.”
“Well, I’ll be taking my leave now, dear sister. I just wanted to make sure you were doing alright.”
“I’ll get better.”
“I love you sister. Goodnight.”
“Sweet dreams.” Luna didn’t turn her head from the window to watch her sister go. Instead, she brought her attention to the moon. It brought her memories of her banishment, but not the bad ones. Instead, she thought of the quiet ones. The Nightmare was stuck in the moon, and it didn’t even talk to her all that much. It was a place of quiet, a place to think. She could finally relax there.
Oh, what she would give for another chance at pure relaxation! Ever since the Elements defeated her Nightmare, she was greeted with nothing but stress. Stressful event after stressful event after stressful event. It didn’t take long for those cowards to come out to the front gate and start screaming nonsense. Under her night.
Oh look, the guards were there, standing in front of the sea of the burning orange embers. Finally, the shouting ceased, but for how long Luna did not know. Nobles were stubborn fools, and they wouldn’t be quieted so easily. This was their first protest, but it certainly wouldn’t be their last.
Did she really deserve this? Yes, of course, at least some of it. Luna could accept that. After all, she was still the one who chose to let the Nightmare take control of her. Though couldn’t everypony just forgive her, and this could all go away?
This was frustrating Luna. She needed to think about everything. She needed a breather. She looked back up at the moon, and her lips curled into a smile as an idea slowly started to form.
Luna had to thank Celestia for the Canterlot Gardens someday. Luna always loved gardens, how calming and relaxing they were. But she never got a garden in her previous rule. The Everfree Forest never supported traditional vegetation and flowers, and not even magic soil could make them grow.
The gardens in Canterlot were incredible. It was absolutely huge, and it was always a beautiful sight, day or night. Luna had to admire the craftsmanship of the statues. Clover the Clever, Starswirl the Bearded, and Tia herself all looked incredibly realistic, as if their bodies were in the statues and simply covered with stone. Of course, the statue of Discord truly was realistic, but Luna didn’t really feel threatened by its presence. He was in stone, and the elements have finally found their bearers. He was no longer a threat to Equestria.
Celestia certainly loved her flowers. Petunias, Marigolds, Zinnias, all of the different colors that made a trek through the flowers a colorful experience. But they were Celestia’s flowers, and as beautiful as they were, the night was never the best light for them.
“We won’t stand for Nightmare Moon! We won’t stand for Nightmare Moon!”
Luna scowled as the words began to spread throughout the garden. All the guards did was manage to rile up the nobles even more. It was only a matter of time before the cowards ran out of steam, and Luna could not wait until they did. She walked deeper into the Royal Gardens, not only eager to get rid of the sound of the nobles but to see her beauties.
The forbidden area was located at the end of the right side of Canterlot Castle. Luna wondered why anypony would bother to reach the end of the gardens just to go near a bed of flowers. She also wondered why it was forbidden in the first place, as there was no extra security here. It was like the word forbidden was supposed to be enough.
On the right of the main path laid a circle bed of white flowers, a wooden sign put in the front.
‘Poisonous Moonflowers. Do not go near.’ Luna smiled as she walked off the cobblestone path and towards the white flowerbed. She walked past the pointless sign and waded through the sea of white. They were hers, and they would not harm her.
The noble’s chants were lost to her ears as she looked at the blooming flowers, and she was calm. There was a sense of privacy with these flowers, as most would not go near due to their poisonous nature. But these flowers only brought Luna into a sense of bliss, utter tranquility with the flowers that only bloomed at night. They were her flowers, and hers alone. Celestia knew that, and this was why Luna loved her so.
Luna looked up at her glowing moon, nodded, and planted her bare hooves firmly on the ground. There was no reason to stall any longer. She would have plenty of time to relax after.
She stretched out her long, dark blue wings and flapped them one time. Two times. Three times. Before the fourth flap, a thought occurred to the alicorn that what she was about to do was insanely stupid. She couldn’t reach the moon from Equestria, it was surely impossible! Not even the strongest pegasus could reach half the distance between the two destinations.
But Luna was a princess, and the moon was hers. Even though Celestia raised it for 1,000 years, it always remained hers. She wanted to at least try to fly to the moon, to make herself believe she could make it. To get away from this foreign place, and go somewhere familiar. No one could call her evil up there
On the fourth flap, Luna took a deep breath, and rocketed into the sky, disappearing into the layer of clouds in an instant. Luna did not hear the resulting sound clap, nor the panicked shrieks of the nobles as their torches were suddenly extinguished. She could not even see above her, as her teary eyes made it impossible for her to see anything clearly. It did not matter though. All she needed to do was fly straight, and she trusted her body to keep her direction.
After what could have been any amount of time, Luna gradually slowed down. She shifted herself from her vertical position into a horizontal position, leaving her hovering in the air and many innumerable miles above Equestria. Luna took this time to wipe her tears away from her eyes, then blinking just to clear her vision a bit more. Below her was a great, gray cloudy mass, and above her were only more clouds. The clouds above her were thin, wispy things though, and Luna smiled. That meant progress.
She looked ahead and smiled even wider as she saw the moon in the distance. It didn’t look any closer, but Luna was sure she made considerable travel distance. This only meant everything was going according to plan. If she began to fly at a slight diagonal angle to the moon, she'd reach it easily. No problem at all. Now she could just take her time, and she’d get to the moon. Her moon.
Luna began to fly towards the moon at a moderate speed, trying to relax her aching wings a bit. As she flew higher, the sky only grew darker and darker, until even the moonlight barley provided enough light.
Luna never took her eyes off her moon. She kept pushing herself higher and higher, growing oblivious to the aching in her wings. From what seemed like hours she pushed on, desperate to reach her destination.
Why wasn’t it getting bigger? Luna weezed as she tried to push herself to fly faster. She was having trouble breathing, and her wings were only getting worse. They had to get her to the moon. They just had to.
Luna didn’t know how much longer she could take it. Everything hurt: her wings, her chest, even her head. She just wanted to sit down and relax. Take a nap.
Just reach the moon Luna. Just reach the moon.
Luna flapped her wings, and winced at the pain.
Fight through it. You’ll get there soon. You’ll get there soon.
Her chest hurt.
Why did she have a headache?
Why does the moon stay far away? Am I not close?
Lunas hind legs started dangling in the air.
No… no please. The moon… my moon.
Luna fell. She still hurt.
My moon…
Luna fell through the air, unconscious. Her hooves hung limply as she fell through the thin layers of clouds. Her wings held no weight. She fell out of the darkness and gradually into the light. The wind crushed her chest and her back.
Luna slept.
Luna was falling. Falling away. Away from the moon.
The moon. Away.
Gone.
Luna picked up incredible speed as she fell. She began to fall through the main layer of clouds, her body now in a large area of hazy white.
Luna woke up.
She didn’t understand where she was or what was happening. She couldn’t move anything and she didn’t remember what she was doing before. Was she falling?
Where was Tia?
Luna was starting to break through the bottom of the clouds, her view getting clearer and clearer. As her senses started coming to her, her mind began to panic. She tried to cry out, but her mouth wouldn’t move. She tried to reach out to something, but her hoof wouldn’t budge.
Luna was falling.
Luna closed her eyes. Was this it? It was, wasn’t it. Luna remembered the moon, and her flying. How could she be so stupid? She was never close, and she never would be. The moon was no longer her home, why couldn’t she realize that? Now she would never see Tia again. No more pranks, no more slumber parties. Not even any more conversations. She’d miss those the most. There was so much to learn, so much to do, and she wasted it. Tia waited for Luna to return for her to do this? When was the last time Luna told Tia she loved her? The night of her return? Maybe not even then.
What about the gardens? Would she never see their beauty again? Tia made the flower bed just for her, and yet it was all for naught. Curse those damn moon flowers! She didn’t deserve them! She deserved nothing!
She broke through the clouds. Luna was falling. It was getting brighter.
Wait… no. Those were her flowers… those were hers. Tia planted them just for her. They were hers. She had her own bedroom too. It was still her moon. She had her own guards, possibly her own followers. She had something here. She’d never lost anything here. It was just waiting for her.
Her moonflowers.
Luna fell.
Don’t lose it.
Luna fell. It was bright.
Moonflowers.
Luna stopped falling.
My flowers.
Luna disappeared from the sky.
Luna lay in the bed of white flowers with her hooves outstretched and wings unfurled. She felt numb, and she couldn’t move anything, but that was fine. She was alive, and that was the most important thing.
And she was smiling.
Even with her dulled hearing, Luna could hear hooves stomping, quickly approaching her. It was probably Celestia and some guards. Oh, what a scare she must have pulled on Tia! This wasn’t exactly her idea of a prank, but it would do nicely. How long had it been since she left? Hopefully not too long.
She couldn’t hear the nobles anymore. Maybe they finally left everypony alone. Maybe that was just too much to ask of them. Luna attempted to chuckle, but it only came off as a strained gasp. Even her smile started to hurt, and Luna dropped it. Luna chose to lay with her flowers quietly, and if she could smell their scent, she would have maybe smiled again in spite of herself.
The hoofsteps were getting closer now. Any minute and they would be upon her. She couldn’t wait. Her eyes drifted towards her moon, its light hitting her body with dim, white rays of moonlight. That’s the third time Luna wanted to smile. The moon was so pretty down here, espically without a shadow on it. Did the ponies down here like it too? Maybe even some of the nobles?
Luna blinked once. Twice. Three times.
“Luna!”
Luna slept.
