Unappreciated
Written by KingSombraTheTyrantRuler
Princess Luna sat upon her balcony, a wistful expression on her face as she gazed at the stars she had created. Her night sky was a beautiful canvas of colours- blue, purple and black, and the stars, ever so beautiful, shone out from their allotted locations. She had arranged them to form patterns, otherwise known as galaxies, as she did every night. The milky way galaxy, the Orion... But did it matter, in the end? No one ever looked at her stars.
The Princess fought the urge to let out a bitter chuckle. Why should they, after all? They were far too busy being enraptured by her sister's sun, something she would never be able to comprehend. The sun was hot and the sky surrounding it never had any patterns, save for when it set, for then the sky would become a multitude of colours stretching across the horizon, but for the majority of the sun's time in the sky, it would only be one colour.
So why did the ponies of Equestria enjoy the day more than the night?
Was she not good enough? Were her designs not beautiful enough? That surely couldn't be the case, for her sister made no designs at all...
Luna sighs once more, and stands up, preparing to take off. Her majestic wings spread open, and she ascends higher and higher into the skies with each passing second. She has no destination in mind, all she wants to do right now is just fly and feel free.
So she flies, turning this way and that, enjoying the cool breeze ruffling her feathers and fur, as well as the feeling of complete freedom, but then she glances below at the streets of Canterlot. It is completely dark, not a single pony has their house light on. All of them must be sleeping...
This dampens the spirits of the Lunar Monarch once more, and she averts her gaze, keeping it on the sky instead. She wishes that she would be able to talk to somepony, anypony, about her feelings, but if her own sister didn't listen to a word she said, who would she talk to?
Every time she addressed the matter to Celestia, pleading for the creation of some sort of winter festival which would be akin to that of the summer sun solstice, so that ponies would be able to appreciate her moon and the night sky for once, Celestia would always deny her request, and say that she was too busy. But what was so wrong with granting such a simple request? It was harmless; the only thing Luna wanted out of it was for anypony to appreciate what she did.
Am I so wrong to wish that they would see things, like I do? And am I so wrong to wish that they would love me too?
She tries to ignore her feelings, to keep them bottled inside, because letting them out always ended up hurting her and making her feel sad. But she can't. She can't ignore her feelings anymore, she can't repress it any longer.
The Princess of The Night lands in a park and walks for a while, pawing at the grass sadly. Her heart feels heavy in her chest, and she can feel tears coming on. But she won't let them fall. She can't.
Every thing I do is overlooked by the ponies here. Have they not considered what would happen if I were to not lower the moon? Or if I were to not raise it?
The voice whispers as usual, "Why don't you show them, Luna? Come on, if you show them..."
As usual, she rejects it's offer without a single thought or moment of hesitation. "No, I cannot do that. I will never succumb to your evil plans, night mist, so begone!"
"Are you sure about that, Luna? One day, you will give in. One day..."
"The last thing I need is to turn into some evil monster. I shall never listen to your promises, for the ponies of Equestria will surely shun me. I will be patient. I will wait. And I will show you."
"If you say so, Luna. But I'll be waiting...I know you'll come."
Princess Luna had this battle every single day, she fought the urge to give in to what the Night Mist wanted with each passing night that she was forgotten by her subjects. She always told herself to be strong, to be patient, that eventually, somepony would appreciate what she did.
But one day, she just couldn't take it any longer. She felt so sad, so hopeless, so miserable... She just couldn't hold on. She was tired of waiting. It was obvious that she was pathetic, and that nopony would ever like her or appreciate what she did unless she forced them all to see the beauty of the night.
That night, she was just about to set off on yet another nightly flight, when she received a knock at the door. Upon opening it, she saw none other than her sister. "Celestia?" she asked, confused. "What art thou doing here?"
The Solar Monarch's ears were pinned back, and she had a look of deep sadness on her face. "Luna, I'm here to apologize. Every time you've come to me to talk, I've barely listened and always told you I was busy. Yes, I may have been stressed out from all the work, but that's no excuse to treat you so poorly."
Luna stepped aside to let her sister in, and they both sat on the beanbags near the younger mare's bed. "I see," was all she could say, for what else was there to say?
"I'm really sorry. Will you forgive me?"
"I..." Luna hesitated a little, but then mulled over it. Her sister was often quite busy as all the ponies would flock to her for help, and as jealous as that made her, Luna knew it was out of both of their control. Celestia didn't choose for this to happen. "Alright. We...forgive thou."
Celestia smiles, and hugs her sister, who initially stiffens at the unexpected contact, but soon melts into the hug, tears streaming down her cheeks. "It hurts so much," she whispers. "I feel so alone, all the time..."
Princess Celestia tightens her hug, and nuzzles her sister comfortingly. "Let's both go to the garden," she offers, and Luna follows her. The Lunar Princess hadn't been to the garden in quite a while, and so she wondered how her lavender plants were doing. Hopefully they wouldn't have died...
Just as they reach the garden, Celestia blindfolds Luna's eyes. The latter panics, but her sister reassures her, "It'll just be a few seconds. You can trust me," and so they venture forth to the royal gardens.
Celestia removes the blindfold from her sister's eyes, and the younger mare takes a second to adjust to the light before realizing what she was seeing. She rubs her eyes, even pinching her hoof, for this couldn't be real, but yet, it was.
Tears stream from her eyes once more, but this time they are happy ones, and she hugs her sister with the tightest hug she can. "Thank you so much," she whispers, her voice quivering a little from her joy.
"Happy birthday Lulu," says Celestia, smiling warmly, tears also forming in her own eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you sooner."
For there, in the royal gardens was a sight never encountered before. It was decorated with banners of the night, and string lights were wrapped around any available surface. Ponies from all of Equestria were gathered here, and in the air, words formed from magic read, The Winter Moon Spectacle. Many types of desserts were arranged on a long table in the middle of the garden, which also held a variety of drinks, and for once, Luna could see ponies pointing at her night sky and praising it.
After that day, Luna was able to make out a few houses here and there which would keep their light on at night. While it was only a few, she was still happy, because she was finally being appreciated.
For once, the Princess of the Night smiled as she stood on her balcony. I told you, did I not, night mist? I would never succumb to your tricks...
Author's Note
I hope my writing skills aren't rusty... If you enjoyed this, don't forget to vote/like, comment, favourite and share!
