My faithful student, Lyra Heartstrings

“Ugh, I don't get how Tia could do this for a thousand years.” said the moon princess as she raised the Sun. She was in her bedroom, and unlike Celestia’s, Luna’s was more darker, one would think the world got black if it wasn’t for all those candles and the open balcony illuminating the room, the walls were black and her bed and pillows were dark blue. Luna didn’t look like a princess at all, she had her hair tangled with itself and her legs, and she wasn’t using any of her royal suit, her hoofs were naked and she didn’t had her Crown or her necklace, she was pretty tired, but that didn't stop her from hearing a knocking in her door, she then went for her royal suit, after that she went to the door, Luna yawned as she opened it, only to find a Pegasus soldier.

“Good morning Your Majesty, I come with a report from the royal search.” said the soldier. He was had a silver coat with a dark gold armor, and his wings were bigger than the wings of any other Pegasus. He looked strong and large.

“Oh, we almost forget about that, come in.” Luna sat in a pillow; she was dizzy, like if she was having a headache. “Want a seat? Where’s Shining Armor?”

“He was injured; right now he’s in the royal clinic, I’m in command of the army now.” He then kneeled in front of Luna “My name is Silver Shield, at your service.” He then sat in the pillow that Luna offered to him. “Are you feeling good Your Majesty?”

“No, it's ok, we are just stressed, and tired, sister should have come two days ago. When did thy soldiers came to thy castle?” Silver Shield knew she wasn’t ok; she looked like if she was going to fall asleep and her eye was ticking, he still answered, indeed. “At night, Princess; you were asleep, so I waited for the morning to talk to you.”

“We weren’t asleep, I didn’t sleep at all!”

Silver Shield, who was staring at a bird in the window, looked back at Luna, startled by her sudden shout. “Well, we thought you were asleep” he said.

“Did thou find them?”

“Sorry your majesty, but we searched thought the entire Griffon Kingdom, the griffon guards helped us, but we didn't find the Princess, Twilight, or her friends.”

“But we send half of thy royal guards!” Luna shouted again.

“We did the better we could, sorry.” Then Silver Shield lowered his head, waiting for her to blown him away for his failure, but instead she was looking away, thinking.

“Maybe I should do it myself...” she said in a low voice, like if she was talking to herself.

“No Princess!” Yelled Silver Shield, which caught the Princess attention, “We need you here, we needed one the princesses to control the crisis, besides, if half of the royal guard couldn't find them, then probably you will not.” Silver Shield covered his mouth with his hoof after realizing he called the Princess inferior that the guards, but she didn’t anything, again.

“But we're so stressed, what other options we have?”

“Wait, aren’t you going to punish me?”

“Excuse us?” Luna looked indignated.

“Is that I failed you with our mission, and I called you, well, inferior to our guards…” He lowered his head again, but this time in shame.

“We’re not going to do so! Besides, Celestia would surely forgive thou.”

“Oh, thanks Your Majesty! Is that I thought you would blow me away or something like that…”

“And what made you believe so?”

“Is that the ponies of the royal guard told me that you were rough and unforgiving.”

“Of course we’re not! We are… well… forget it.”

“Got it.” Silver Shield looked relaxed, like if he has just avoided being thrown into Tartarus.

“As we were saying, what other options we have?”

“Well, there’s one I was thinking about when we were returning to the castle; you remember what saved us from other crises?”

“My sister, but I don’t know where she is”

“And what else?”

“Thy soldiers, but they failed.”

“And what else?” Silver Shield was starting to get annoyed.

“I know! Shining Armor and Cadance love saved us from thy changelings!” Luna was happy, like if she just discovered the reason of life.

“We tried that.”

Luna startled “When?”

“Princess Cadance went with us; she wanted to help her husband.”

“And it didn’t work, right?”

“Right.”

“Well, the only option we have now are thy elements of har... But Twilight and her friends are lost!” Silver Shield stared a Luna like if she just answered the world most obvious question. “But the elements are still in the castle, what we need are new bearers.”

“We see… But who?”

“I heard a rumor about a pony that was always following Twilight Sparkle everywhere, and that she has come to Canterlot to study and be like her.”

“Thou know what her name is?”

“I heard she is named Lyra Heartstrings; also, why you keep using the royal “we”? I thought you...”

“Is that we... I’m very stressed. What if my sister never returns? What if I'm the only ruler of Equestria?! What will the ponies think of me?! What if the say I am a bad ruler?! What if they...” She keep asking questions to herself, like if she was losing her sanity, and nopony was answering her, until Silver Shield finally made it through her talking.

“Princess!”

“Oh yeah, thanks.” She then reencountered herself. “Ahem; Silver Shield!”

“Yes Your Majesty?” he then got up from the pillow and stood firm, with his face recovering its serious expression.

“Let the first half of the royal guard rest here and you go with thy other half to search for my sister again. A second time will not hurt anypony.”

“We lost four guards the first time.” Then Luna stared soulless to Silver Shield, like if she were saying “Shut up”.

“Just go.”

“As you say Princess.” He then retired from the bedroom, and Luna went to her balcony, and flew away decided to find that so-called Lyra.

“She really needs someone to talk to.” Though Silver Shield when he was walking through the castle hallways.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“When are you going to return to Ponyville?” Said Bon Bon, as she tried to talk to Lyra, who was concentrated in a book.

“Maybe someday Bon Bon, but now I'm getting into books” said Lyra “I'm going to rent a house so I can stay in Cartelot for two months, when I have returned to Ponyville I will be as intelligent as Twilight!” And she was determined to do so, right now she was in the Canterlot Library, in the magic section, reading a spells book, in the table there was an Apple, which Lyra successfully transformed in a carrot using a spell from the book.

“But Carrot Top misses you! I miss you!” Bon Bon shouted a Lyra, retaking her attention from the book.

“You? I barely talk to you since...”

“Don't recall that!” Shouted Bon Bon, “Now I just want to be your friend, please don't stay in Canterlot!” Bon Bon kneeled in front of Lyra, begging to her, but she just got a serious glare from her.

“I'm going to stay here you like it or not!” with that said, Lyra stared angrily at Bon Bon, waiting for her to get out of the library.

“Well I…! I… I don’t need you! And I don’t want to see you again! And I hope you stay in Cartelot forever!” after that, Bon Bon went running of out the library, with tears in her face.

“What a drama queen.” Lyra stared back at the book, as she read a spell for growing hair, silence reined in the library for some minutes, until suddenly she heard some shouts from the other side of the library.

“Please! Please don’t eat me! I have a husband and a little filly! Please don’t eat me Nightmare Moon!” Lyra had a chill through her spine after hearing those last words, what was Nightmare Moon doing in here? Then the voice changed to a louder one.

“Thou shall tell us where this Lyra is, young mare, now!”

“Sh-she’s in th-the magic section! Ple-please don’t eat me!” Then Lyra heard hoofs hitting the floor as somepony walked, and the hoofsteps grew louder and louder.

“Thou must be Lyra.” As Lyra looked behind her to see where the voice came from, she found herself in front of the Princess of the night.

“Oh my Celestia IS NIGHTMARE MOON!” and Lyra ran away out of the library in panic towards the Moon Princess; but Luna was following her behind, also running.

“Stop running young mare!”

“NEVER!” And Lyra ran out of the library; with the Princess following her close behind. Luna opened her wings, and she flew above Lyra, with the citizens of Canterlot gasping after realizing there was a Moon Princess pursuing a young mare through the streets.

“Oh my Celestia! What we should do?!” yelled one of the citizens to the others, whose responded by hiding in their houses. When Lyra looked back, she wasn’t being pursued only by Luna now, but Luna’s dark coated guards, Pegasus and Unicorns alike (and some Earth guards), were pursuing her too.

“STOP RIGHT THERE LYRA HEARTSTRINGS!” Shouted Luna, like if she were using the Royal Canterlot voice.

“Never!” Lyra was still running, but she was getting tired. She went through a path that leads outside of the city to some dangerous cliffs of the royal mountains.

“Unicorns and Earth guards stay in here, Pegasus guards follow us now!” Shouted Luna to hers guards as they reached the cliffs. The cliffs were very rough, but Lyra was still running, until she lowered her pace, but when she looked back again she saw Luna and the Pegasus guards flying towards her. Lyra keep running, until she reached a part of the road that was very inclined, and she barely could maintain her balance in that rough way full of pointed rocks. Tired of the chase, Luna shouted once more so Lyra would stop.

“LYRA HEARTSTRINGS STOP RIGHT N- what’s that?” Luna stopped her shouting after hearing a powerful noise coming from the mountain, after realizing was she just made Luna told her guards to stand back as she rescued Lyra. When Lyra heard the noise, she lost her balance and fell down through the cliff below, Luna followed the falling mare, as an avalanche of boulders, provoked by her shouting, threatened to crush them.

As Lyra rolled down the cliff, she reached a precipice, where she fell to her apparent death, if she survived that (And that wasn’t likely considering that she was falling off the royal mountain, the tallest mountain in Equestria), then the following boulders would crush her to death, and probably some buzzards or something like that would eat her later. But she then hit something, but she didn’t feel pain, and she heard the wind flowing through her hair. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in the air, flying through the Equestrian skies; she then realized she was being carried in the back of the Princess of the Night.

“Nightmare Moon?”

“Not today”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-“So you are not going to eat me?” Said Lyra as she was lifted down to the ground by the Moon Princess’ magic, they were now in Canterlot, nearby the city in a grass field. Luna sat alongside Lyra, and took some minutes to look at the sky, until Lyra spoke again “You didn’t answer me”

“Of course not young mare, we… I would never do that, what made thou thought so?”

“If that in Nightmare Night, you…”

“I was just joking little mare.” Luna cut Lyra before she could finish “That was what I was supposed to do, just pranks.”

“But I thought you finally accepted that you could not escape from your past and understood that you could not deny what you really are: a Princess of the Night that would always be feared. That was what I understood from that night.”

“But it was supposed that I scared people because they liked to be scared in Nightmare Night!”

“I don’t like to be scared; I just liked to use a costume.”

“Well, sorry, my bad.” Then Luna hugged Lyra with one of her wings, and it was wonderful, like a hundred feathers running through her back, letting her relax. That’s how Twilight should have felt when Celestia hugged her. Everything was calm for some minutes, until Lyra spoke again.

“And then why that mare from the library was scared of you?” Luna thought for some minutes, forming an answer for Lyra question.

“I’m not sure, but by her accent I can judge she was from Appleloosa, they still don’t know about my intentions, I was going to tell them about me in two weeks, during the next Nightmare Night.”

“And why you were following me in first place?”

“I came here to make you my student, Lyra Heartstrings.” Lyra thought for a moment, she didn’t know if she was supposed to be happy for this opportunity or scared by the sudden request. She then formulated an answer.

“And what Celestia thinks about this?” Then Luna expression changed from happy to serious, she then looked directly at Lyra, like if she was staring into her soul, and she then looked away.

“She isn’t with me; she’s lost, out of Equestria along with Twilight and her friends, I don’t know where they are.” Then Lyra got up in panic at the unexpected answer.

“How that she’s not in the kingdom?! How is that nopony know about this?!” Shouted Lyra freaked out for the revelation.

“I haven’t told anypony because they would act like you!” Shouted Luna “They would freak out and the peace and balance would be destroyed! Imagine a Equestria with all his ponies freaking out and loosing themselves, going depressed, wild, without control, that is what Discord would like not Celestia!” Lyra rolled into a fur ball in fear at the angry night Princess, however Luna refound herself and calmed down. “Sorry, is that I’m very stressed, Celestia is gone and I, I’m all alone, like those thousand years in the moon, is like reviving it, all those years, all alone, talking to some enchanted floating rocks, all alone… That’s why we need you; we need you so we can use the elements to find Celestia, and Twilight, and her friends; please, Equestria needs you, I need you.” Lyra was astonished, she has never seen a Princess beg to a mere pony like her.

“Alright.” Lyra kneeled in front of Luna “I’ll do what you need Your Majesty.”

“Don’t talk like that.”

“What?” Then Lyra was astonished, again, by Luna’s comment.

“All the guards talk like that, can’t at least one pony talk to me like if I was a friend?!”

“I will be your friend.” Then Lyra hugged Luna. Although startled at first, Luna returned the gesture.

“Aww… that’s adorable” said one of Luna Pegasus guards that was witnessing the scene over one cloud.

“Very well, since now you will be my faithful student, Lyra Heartstrings.”

“And when you’re going to teach me?”

“I don’t know, I never had a student before.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Are you sure you want to search here right now? Is getting late.” Said Luna as she walked through Ponyville along with Lyra. By the hour it was there were only a few ponies through the streets, but those ponies were surprised by the Princess walking in town like a normal pony, without a scary presentation or at least some guards.

“Well, I have two friends here, so that will make our search shorter.” Said Lyra

“I suppose that the earth pony that was talking to you in the library is not your best friend?”

“We're not friends anymore.” Then Lyra looked away, like if she was trying to remember something, but quickly snapped out of it.

“And who is that Carrot Top she was talking about?”

“She is one of my friends, let's go for her.”

“Where she lives?”

“In the carrot farm, just right there.” said Lyra as she pointed at the farm, not the giant and awesome Apple farm, but the moderated and simple Carrot farm. When they were in front of the door, Luna knocked for Carrot Top to open it.

-“Hello, who is… Lyra!” Shouted Carrot Top happily, and she proceeded to hug Lyra “I’m glad you returned!”

“Yes, well, hello.” Said Lyra. Then Carrot Top kneeled in front of Luna.

“Good evening Your Majesty, what is the princess of the night doing in front of my house?”

“Wait, aren’t you scared of her?” said Lyra, confused.

“Of course not, is not Nightmare Night today!” said Carrot Top cheerfully.

“Told you so.” Said Luna, then she looked back to Carrot Top

“We need your help.” said Luna.

“But, what do you want?”

“Lyra will tell you, I must go now”

“But Princess!” Shouted Lyra “You can’t go! You just came here!”

“I have to go, I need to return to thy castle and lower the Sun. Miss Carrot, let Lyra sleep in your farm, and I will return tomorrow in the evening to talk to you.”

“As you say Princess.” Said Carrot Top

“Good bye Lyra Heartstrings.” And then the Princess flew away, leaving the two mares alone in the farm. Then Lyra entered the farm.

“So, how is that the Princess knows your name?” Asked Carrot Top to Lyra.

“I will tell you later, right now I need to sleep, I’m very tired.”

“Very well, follow me” Then Carrot Top lead Lyra to a room with a bed, she fell in the bed and felt asleep, Carrot Top went out of the room and looked through her window. The moon was rising and the stars were beginning to glow, there wasn't any doubt that Luna had created a beautiful night. She then talked to herself.
“Wait a minute, how is that the Princess knows my name too?”