“Princess Luna!” yells Daylight as she rushes into my chambers.
“Yes, my dear student?” I demurely inquire. The day is going to be busy enough without my student adding to it, but I wouldn’t turn her away, either. I love my student like my own child. Her parents wanted nothing to do with her, so I took her under my wing, so to speak.
“Oh. You’re busy. I’m sorry. I can come back later.” She begins to back out of the room.
“Wait! I’ll only be busier later, so let’s get this over with, shall we? I’m never too busy for my dearest student.”
“Okay,” she says quietly. I feel like she is far too shy, but I wouldn’t change my student for the world.
“Go on.”
“Well, I was doing research on Twilight Sparkle’s papers on the magic of friendship for a report for school, when I stumbled upon this.” The yellow unicorn levitates a book out of her bag. I recognize the cover and know where Daylight is going with this conversation.
“Yes?” I pry. The sunlight slants into the window, landing on the unicorn’s face, making her nervousness clear as day.
“According to this book, the Princess of the Sun will be returning within days!” she exclaims. “On the longest day of the thousandth year, the Sun Mare will appear!”
I sigh. “I’m proud of you, Daylight, for not just writing that off as an old mare’s tale.” She beams. I pause and sigh again. “Let me tell you a story. A story that needs to be heard.”
“But I thought you were busy.”
“Some things are more important,” I say. I gesture for her to sit across from me on a pillow. She settles in, preparing for a long stay.”
I begin.
“Once upon a time, there were two sisters.”
“Yes. You and the Sun Princess,” she says.
“And are you going to let me tell the story or not?” I tease.
“Sorry.”
I continue. “The two sisters ruled Equestria in peace and harmony for hundreds of years. The elder sister rose the sun every day, while the younger rose the moon each night. But one day, the younger sister became jealous of the older sister’s day, which the ponies frolicked and played in, while they slept through her night. The eldest sister tried to reason with her, but she could not be pacified. And so, she became Nightmare Moon and vowed to bring eternal night.”
“Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the power of the Elements of Harmony and banished Nightmare Moon to the moon. She single handedly took control of both the sun and moon in order to bring peace and harmony to Equestria for a thousand years. After a thousand years of banishment, the younger sister returned and was saved by a group of friends wielding the Elements of Harmony. Only this time, the Elements didn’t banish her to the moon; the Elements purified her of the hate and anger and returned her to simply the Princess of the Moon. That princess was me. I was Nightmare Moon.”
“You were Nightmare Moon?” Daylight asks in awe.
“Yes. But once I was purified, my sister and I loved each other more than ever and once again brought harmony to the land.
“The Princess of the Sun had a faithful student and dear friend who aided her in almost anything she was asked to do. That student was Twilight Sparkle. Twilight was the one who gathered the Elements of Harmony and harnessed them with her friends on several occasions.” I pause again for a moment before continuing. “The princess’s student lived for far longer than the average pony, but eventually, even she had to pass on. Grief stricken, the Princess of the Sun became very depressed isolated. I had no idea what was happening at first, or else I would have tried to prevent what followed from the start. I thought she was simply grieving, as all ponies do at the loss of a friend or family member that they hold dear. But soon enough, the Sun Princess made a vow to destroy death itself.”
“Why is that a bad thing, anyway?” Daylight inquires, her orange hair flopping over her eyes as she tilts her head.
“If ponies don’t die, the world would become over populated and ponies would starve and not die, and ponies would have to suffer from injuries and old age forever. I hope that you understand that.” She nods. “In any case, The Sun Princess set off on her journey. I pursued, not yet knowing her final goal. I implored of her what she was doing and she told me without hesitation. I told her that she could not destroy death, that it would bring chaos to the world, but she would not hear it. I tried to stop her on my own, but I failed…” I pause here and recall the sad times that had passed.
I continue. “Desperate, I gathered some dear friends and asked for their help. I knew that I would have to use my last resort: the Elements of Harmony. I had to convince my friends that it was what had to happen, but eventually, they came to understand.
“When I caught up with my sister, I saw that she was no longer her kind, forgiving self, but had transformed into a monster, as I had become Nightmare Moon. We called the monster the Sun Mare, for she was no longer my sister. I once again told her that she could not destroy death, and she responded violently. I managed to weaken her enough for my friends and I to wield the Elements of Harmony and use them on her. When we were finished, we found that my sister had been banished to the sun.
“The ponies grieved for their lost princess, and many claimed that I was making up a story to explain the disappearance of the Sun Princess. Eventually, however, they came to realize that what I had done was right. And so, for a thousand years, I have risen the sun and the moon single handedly and brought peace to Equestria. And that is the truth about the Sun Mare. We learned that it is the nature of the Elements to create a thousand year seal. And now, it has been a thousand years and my sister shall return. I do not know whether she will be as I was and still have traces of her monstrosity that will need to be removed. However, I trust that you and your friends can become the new Element bearers and help me if needed.”
“Princess, you’d really offer such an important job to me?” Daylight asks.
“Of course, my dear student. I trust anypony else with such a task.”
“Thank you, Princess.”
“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Luna?”
“Just a few more.” She giggles.
A few days later…
I watched as my dear student and her friends used the Elements to free my sister, for she temporarily imprisoned me to the moon. Suddenly, I am being brought back to Equestria. I am now brought face to face with my dear sister, reduced to a pink mane and tail rather than her usual rainbow-esque locks. That would have to wait for the return of her magic. “I’m so sorry!” we say in unison. We meet eyes. Hers are finally back to their normal, peaceful selves.
“It’s alright, Celestia.” I say, bringing her into an embrace. “Everything is going to be okay.”
