Tonight

To say the least, Luna was satisfied by that fact. A static night? One where the stars and constellations were orderly in appearance? Where the moon very rarely altered in anything other than how much of it shone? It was aggravating to see what had become of her work under Celestia's administration. The night sky was meant to be a canvas, her canvas, for which art was worked upon. She painted the sky's color, and made pictures with the stars, occasionally adding an extra splash with a special event like a falling star. She decided whether the moon was a centerpiece or merely a complimentary one. This was her work, her passion, and she'd be damned if another generation was going to grow up without the beauty of the true night. So concentrated was the Princess on her work that she did not notice a visitor in her room.

"I missed what you used to do with the night."

Luna jumped, and turned to face the intruder, her horn glowing with her rising fury, but stopped when she saw who had dared trespass in her private quarters. "Oh, 'tis only thou." She grouched.

"Only me?"

Luna huffed at her guest's amused tone, and sat back down upon the balcony outside her room. She attempted to resume her work, but she was interrupted again.

"I meant it you know."

"I know." The alicorn responded, abandoning the royal "we" for her guest.

"You seem a bit agitated."

"'Tis only my usual agitation." Luna replied.

"You know plenty ponies enjoy the night now, right? They party all time, stay up late, and many study it."

"'Tis not my night they enjoy. They hath grown under my sister's rule, and her dull attempt to copy my domain. In truth they care not for it. Those who party pay little heed to it, and many of those who do not as well. The astronomers and astrologers," Luna hissed, "hath even dared to question me about my movements of the stars. As if they have any right to tell me what I can and can not make."

"Don't they? They grew up with Celestia's admittedly bland night sky. For generations they've seen it. They use the changes that do occur to tell time, navigate, or even attempt to predict future events. They're dependent upon it."

"The night is mine, and I shall do with it as I please. As I did before. I will not abandon my glory because they are accustomed to Celestia's cheap imitation." The Princess denied.

"But you're their ruler. You serve them first, and yourself second."

Silence settled for a few moments before Luna rebutted, "They hath never served me. So why should I not serve myself?"

"Oh? So you're of the opinion that because you're in a higher position you should be rewarded for it? That others should bow down simply because you rule them rather than because you have proven you're fit to rule? My, how very modern of you. I'm sure your nephew would be proud."

Luna glared at her guest for the implication, but held her tongue. She resumed her work instead. Her horn glowed brilliantly as she shaped the night, and the moon slowly turned a foreboding red.

"You're only so angry because it's true. You're acting like a spoiled child, and not a sovereign worthy of respect."

The words bit hard, and the dark alicorn could no longer hold back a response, "I have poured my heart and soul into this for millennia! Now thou, and so many others, tellest me I can not do as I have done all my life! Have I not suffered enough?! Did I go through a thousand years' half-dreaming sleep only to return to a world that still refuseth to acknowledge me for all I have done for it?! It is not as if I have given nothing, and demanded they worship me on principle!"

"I didn't say you had. Merely that you're behaving like a foal."

Luna took a deep breath to steady herself. It was inappropriate of her to have allowed herself to lose composure in front of a guest. "So what is thine point? That I should give up what I love to let what Celestia set in place stay? That I should allow her to outshine me again?" She asked in a more controlled voice.

"It doesn't have to be either or. You could just as easily leave certain stars, like Polaris, alone. The rest would be fine to alter to your whim."

The princess gave a single tired laugh. "What good would that do? A few minor monotonies for navigation and study. Dost thou really believe my subjects would be satisfied with so little? The ones who study the stars would not. They hath seen those I would leave at thine suggestion for so long even they are tired of them. They learnt all they want from those. While the other fools who seek the future in the heavens would gain nothing from it. Thine suggestion is poor. It is either or." She argued. "And I will not let my sister's work to replace my own. The night hath always been mine, and it shall always be mine."

"As often as you keep bringing her up it sounds like you still hate her."

Luna started at the calm accusation. "What? No! I do not hate her! I have never--"

The alicorn's words died on her lips at the stare she received from her guest. She sighed before correcting herself, "I did hate her. I know, but...She is my sister. I understand why she did what was done, and I have forgiven her......Yet I find it ironically convenient that ponies learnt to enjoy the night when it was under her control."

"You're still jealous."

The princess chuckled bitterly as she gifted the clouds with a sickly yellow tone in the light of her moon, "How can I not be? Equestria blossomed and prospered under her solitary rule. Our little ponies became hers alone, and without me behind her the entire country endured several centuries of peace with but a few threats from the outside. That is not all either. She hath gained in her time alone an apprentice who nothing short of worships her."

"Twilight Sparkle has been very respectful and friendly to you, I thought."

"She hath, and I am grateful to her for it. I hear she would even calleth me friend. Yet it is hard to see her interact with Tia when I have never had anyone even half so dedicated to me." Luna explained, but shook her head shortly. "Let us not bring my sister's pupil into this. I dislike thinking ill of her."

"I suppose you would given the great service she's done for you."

Luna snorted, "Great service? I appreciate her aid on Nightmare Night, but other than that she has done equal harm to me as good."

"I take it the elements are painful then?"

"Not exactly." The alicorn answered, peeling back some of the clouds to give her stars more room. "They ripped my power from me. Though there wast little taxing about that other than exhaustion. Not pleasant in itself, but...the real trouble was in their main focus."

"What do you mean?"

"The elements...they..." Luna sighed in agitation, as she searched for the proper way to phrase her words. "They...altered my mind. My memories were not tampered with. Which was disorientating given what they actually did."

"What did they do?"

"My personality...No...My views, opinions, were pushed backward. To a time before I grew bitter. 'Twould only have been a temporary fix in the end had I not reason to not rebel again." The alicorn explained as best she could.

"So there is something that makes you happy now."

Luna couldn't suppress a smirk at her guest's pleased tone. "Yes. Much as I dislike that my night is not properly recognized there is something else that...I appreciate more, and that is that my subjects liketh me. They doth care for me. There are quite a few among the 'elite' of Equestria and those in nobility who disliked me returning to power, but for the most part I have been welcomed by the ponies I now rule over again. They had a parade for me when I returned, and many who were afraid of me or worried about my presence hath come to accepteth me." She explained before chuckling, as she added, "I even have a holiday now that is quite popular. Granted, the ideas behind it offended me at first,...but I know well enough now that 'tis harmless fun."

"I'm surprised to hear you say that. I wouldn't have thought you would be able to accept your past easily let alone happily."

Luna quirked a brow at her guest's comment, but did not pause in her arrangement of the stars. She had decided against specific constellations tonight. She didn't need much visual aid to shape them into what she wanted. "Why should I not? I do not regret my actions if that is what thou thought. Perhaps they were brash and foolish, and never had a chance of success. Yet I was not in a situation I could win. Had I not rebelled I would have lived in nothing but torture for centuries, and perhaps, in time, if I were still here ponies would have come to accept and appreciate my night and I. I did not know this at the time though, and so I acted as best I could see fit. The way I see it, I stood up for myself. I will never regret this, or desire to take it back. I can regret my specific plans. I can regret having fought with my sister, but I can not regret taking the mantle of Nightmare Moon." She explained.

"I can't say that's a particularly wise decision."

"Perhaps not, but wisdom has never been my forte." Luna retorted with a smirk.

"So, what is it exactly that you're so upset about? You don't regret your actions. You have your subject's attention and many of their admiration. You have your course and your logic set. Why should you be upset if your night isn't loved like you feel it should be?"

Luna hesitated, and ceased her work on the night sky once more. Her guest had a point. She had no regrets, and many of the ponies of Equestria did indeed love or respect her. She would not relent in gaining the same appreciation for her work either. Why should she care if there was opposition? There was always opposition for someone trying to bring progress or be a success. If she kept at it she would receive what she was looking for eventually. It was only a matter of time.

By the time the Princess had a chance to respond she noticed her guest was gone. She smiled in silent thanks to the old acquaintance, and turned to look back up at the night she had created. The yellow-orange tinted clouds danced on the edges of one's vision. Leaving a massive hole in the sky to be filled with the glory of Luna's celestial objects. The newly waxing moon took centerstage, and its color had dimmed to a dull orange that seemed oddly appropriate for this Nightmare Night. While running around three sides of it was what appeared to be a river of stars, and the sky itself was a mixture of dark blues and pitch blacks. It was truly a wonderful night, and, in that, all of her nights were the same.