My Little Pony Different Direction

by wildnature03

Rating: teen
Tags: Applejack, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Adventure, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Alternate Universe
Length: 1483

An What-If - When Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon, what if she had won and banished Celestia instead?

It's been 1000 years since Princess Luna overruled her sister Princess Celestia in the grand battle after becoming Nightmare Moon and banished her to Erebus, the deepest part of Tartarus known to all of Equestria. Now nearly all have forgotten her lost sister due to her heavy hand in making sure that the Night is worshipped and loved, though she still raises the Sun on the daily to keep the world from dying out.

Yet the power of the Sun is beginning to wane, and Princess Luna decides to send her current student, a bat unicorn named Twilight Sparkle to seek out why the Sun is dying. It just might end up being her downfall.

Published 2023-09-21 03:10:01 UTC
Last updated 2023-09-21 03:10:01 UTC

Chapter 1

Part 1

‘Sister, this is not you!! Please! Listen to me!’
‘No longer will I be under your shadow, dear Cellie. It has been so long since anyone, anything has truly seen what the night can bring and tonight, everything will change!’
‘Luna! Please, I beg of you! Do not make me do this!’
‘Do not make me do this!’
‘Do this!’

The voice echoed in Princess Luna’s mind as the memory drifted in and out as she cautiously lowered the moon for the night. Morning was coming as she felt the sun’s energy being to course though her veins.

She hefted up the rays lightly and just as gingerly as she lifted the moon, she lifted the sun into the lower skies to begin its trek across the Heavens to end on the other side.

Yet, as she felt the energy of the Sun run through her lean frame, something felt rather… off. It had been bothering her the last couple of weeks. It might have been longer than that but just only noticeable just recently, Princess Luna mused to herself.

“Wonderful job, your Majesty,” a guard gushed to her, head lowered in reverence as he bowed deeply to his Princess. “Your breakfast is prepared and set at the usual table. Your student has been summoned as you asked as well.”

“Oh, right,” Princess Luna said with a smile though she didn’t give much thought to her student, still too preoccupied about how she was feeling about the sun. “Tell me, does the sun seem… darker to you?”

“I...” The guard faltered in his dark, metal garb, the symbol of Luna embalmed upon it. He felt that there might be a trick question somewhere in there and fear began to curl around him.

Princess Luna felt a growl grow in her belly, feeling that fear and getting angry quickly. “It’s a question, boy! Answer it!”

“Yes!” He whimpered, draped to the ground. Tears pooled in his icy blue eyes.

“Leave me,” Princess Luna said coldly, embarrassed for him and irritated by his behavior.

The guard fled with both relief and lingering fear.

Princess Luna found herself at the breakfast table where her current student, a young bat-like unicorn, Twilight Sparkle, was awaiting her Princess and mentor patiently.

“Twilight, good morning.”

Twilight Sparkle stood up swiftly and gave a warm smile. “Princess Luna, good morning. I hope you had a good night. I put what you liked on your plate already, I hope it is to your liking.”

Princess Luna glanced down and smiled as she found her plate to her favor. “Very good, very good.”

She sat down primly, and Twilight followed suit who began to serve herself.

“Tell me, Twilight. Does the sun seem darker to you?” Princess Luna asked as she buttered her toast.

“The sun?” Twilight Sparkle asked in confusion as she finished pouring her tea. “Well, I have noticed that the weather doesn’t seem quite right, like it’s not as warm as it should be. I sent a message to the weather ponies about that though and was going to investigate it today.”

“Hmmm…” Princess Luna took a delicate bite, thinking about it. “Well, I will look into myself first. You keep to your studies.”

“As you wish, Princess Luna,” Twilight Sparkle began to eat her pancakes.

Princess Luna watched her eat enthusiastically and for a moment, saw her older sister reflected with the same joyful gaze. Her head shook as anger bubbled in her chest.

Twilight Sparkle jumped as the fork hit the table hard enough to nearly spill the cups. “Princess, Princess Luna?”

“It’s nothing.”

Twilight Sparkle had been with the royal leader long enough to not ask again. She resumed eating at a much less enthused pace, glancing up at Princess Luna with some worry.

Princess Luna merely ate her food in silence, her face having gone blank.

After the meal, she sent her pupil off to read more obscure spells by Starswirl. Most of which were of no importance since she had altered them to mean nothing, but they were busywork and that is what she wanted Twilight Sparkle to do at the moment.

The dark alicorn made her way to a locked tower, seeking to find certain books that only she had access to. Yet none of them had any information that she wanted to know, especially in relation to the sun.

“Damn it,” Princess Luna was getting tired, the ache in her head causing her eyes the throb. The pain was growing as she used her magic to move the leverage of books to the side to find another book to fall at her feet. This one had not yet been read as she plucked it up, shifting through the pages tiredly. “Last one.”

“Prophecies?” Princess Luna turned several pages on to stop at one. Her eyes widened at the sight of Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark, a light-yellow star postured over a silver cloud with a white crescent moon hidden behind it, a thin line of magic dabbling from it falling into the star. The writing was of words she did not understand, a language she had never seen before.

Turning the page made Princess Luna drop the book in shock. Seeing her sister’s cutie mark after so long, even in a book, made memories flash in her mind as she blasted the book. Princess Luna did not know where she zapped it too but once the light cleared, it was gone, a black hole engraved in the wood that was nearly all the way through in its place. “Oh, for the love of the Moon and Sun,” Princess Luna shook, emotions threatening to overcome her.

Blackness ebbed out of her galaxy mane, as her cyan eyes turned hot with power. “Prophecies… about her,” Her voice dropped down to a guttural growl, ebbing into an animalistic hiss as rage filled her senses. “No, I am the ruler, I am the Princess here. I am the Night; I am the Sun!”

She shook herself hard, the darkness fluttering away as she put herself back together shakingly. She inhaled and exhaled hard, trying to count but feeling her bones shake in her limbs. Suddenly, Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark flashed in her mind and rage returned.

Just like that, she teleported out of sight, leaving a flash of green and black starry fog behind.

Twilight Sparkle was quietly reading, though she was confused as the spells she’d been pouring her attention over made absolutely no sense. It took about three in to realize the spells had been reworded so that if performed, it would be done incorrectly and even cast dangerously.

Twilight Sparkle then promptly went back and had started to try to figure out how to rewrite the spells themselves. She attempted the first one only to have it blast fire in her face, singing her bangs as she snorted out smoke.

“Was this what Princess Luna wanted me to catch?” Twilight Sparkle mumbled. “These spells were written by prominent spell casters, aren’t they? Why would they be worded incorrectly like this?”

She had corrected the first two and was pondering the third spell when Princess Luna appeared behind her. The young unicorn had not realized it as Princess Luna’s eyes gleamed into red, rage eliciting from her form as her horn lit up with green magic.

But then Princess Luna froze, seeing her pupil deep in her studies and something stopped her from assaulting her at that moment. As her power fizzled out, Twilight Sparkle felt the fluctuation of power and turned with a smile.

“Princess! Look! I have done as you wanted with the spells! I have solved them!”

Princess Luna looked down at the book, her face blank to Twilight Sparkle.

Then a smile broke out even as her eyes remained empty of emotion.

“Twilight Sparkle, remember our conversation this morning? I have an assignment for you to do for me.”

“It is very important that you do this,” Her smile widened as her eyes darkened. “It might mean the importance of the world that this is dealt with swiftly.”

The sound of soft hoof prints echoed in the study room as the Princess approached a breathless Twilight Sparkle, lowering her head to meet eye-to-eye.

“So, my dear student Twilight Sparkle. Can I rely on you to help me solve this problem?”

Twilight Sparkle’s smile opened and widened as excitement was palpable from her expression alone. “Oh, yes! Princess Luna! I would do anything for you!”

“I am very happy to hear that,” Princess Luna could not look more pleased.

Author's Note

The start of my AU where Princess Luna (in the guise of Nightmare Moon but still calling herself Princess Luna as to not frighten her people) has been ruling Equestria for the last 1000 years after banishing her sister after the near deadly battle.