The Moon's Shadow

Chapter 1

Now all she wanted was solitude, to be left alone for a bit of time while she recovered from the past fourty-eight hours. It was brutal for the light blue mare as she gazed into her mirror, considering after the party in Ponyville she had been harassed by the media virtually non-stop. Many of them were curious as to what happened to her, some were even wondering why she had been gone so long. The worst of it all though, was the fact that they had the gall to ask if she remembered her time as Nightmare Moon. This resulted in her breaking out into tears and galloping off to her room.

The time spent as Nightmare Moon was something she'd rather forget as she gazed into her own mildly bloodshot cyan eyes. Why had she even agreed to the interviews in the first place? She knew her magic hadn't recovered yet, which was apparent by her present appearance. Just a simple glance at her mane was enough to tell her this as it had taken on its true form. Even her body had grown a bit smaller compared to what she remembered, although that could also be attributed to her loss of power.

It agonized her just looking into her own reflection, just letting her eyes glance up and down at her present form. From her light azure mane, down to her very hooves, to the tip of her horn and finally to the very last feather on her wings. Each detail brought her more and more agony, until it reached the point where she forced herself to turn away in tears. She leapt from her spot in front of the mirror, to her bed gracefully.

She grabbed the nearest pillow upon her landing and shoved her face into it. This is where she screamed, louder than most would think possible before tossing it aside. This had been something she did years ago on a regular basis, mostly to vent her frustrations about her sister. She rolled onto her back afterward, gazing up at the ceiling. There she saw something that finally brought her a bit of peace, something that brought comfort to her troubled mind. That one thing while simply painted on the ceiling for decoration, was the stars.

'Wait a second...' she thought, 'When did we have stars painted on the ceiling?' This was something that seemed out of place almost instantly. It was new to her and while it did seem to comfort her emotionally, it brought up a flurry of questions. In response to them, she lifted herself upright, glancing around the room for other things she didn't recall. This was met with an abrupt answer as she finally took note of the paint job in the room. The walls were now painted a very dark shade of blue, possibly her favorite shade. Not only that, but the curtains to the balcony appeared different. This caused her to climb from the bed virtually sneaking up to them. She then lifted the fabric with a single hoof, examining it in the light just coming in through the glass door.

The cobalt blue almost resembled the ethereal mane she once had. It even seemed to shimmer like it when held up against the light. Even stranger was the fabric they had been made out of. It seemed finer than what she remembered, much softer too. The strangest part however came when she leaned in to sniff it. This is what caused her eyes to widen. 'Not a single trace of dust!' she thought, not even picking up the scent of dust. This immediately caused her to shift around the room, dashing from the balcony door to her dresser. She quickly lowered her eyes down to the top level, as if to look for something, before raising her head higher.

'Nothing!' she snapped, 'How is this possible? How can it be this clean?' While it wasn't the first time she was confused since her return, it was by far the worst time so far. At least the previous times, she discovered the answers relatively quickly. This time however was different and while she had some clue as to how her room was cleaned and changed up, she didn't want to jump to conclusions. The next course of action she took was to examine her bed, lifting one of the thick, yet very soft dark blue quilts up to her face. The texture was exquisite, it was soft and warm beyond what she believed possible. Then again, things had changed since she had been banished.

“What is this fabric?” she asked aloud, “And how is it this soft?” Another question popped into her head in seconds after she asked the previous. How had she not noticed it when she was lying on it? This frustrated her and confused her. Quickly letting go of the quilt before turning to the door. The look on her face was very serious, all traces of her tears seemed to vanish in this instant as she made her way out the door. She wanted answers, and she knew exactly where to get them too.

Just as she entered the halls however, a sensation overcame her. This was a feeling she wasn't too familiar with, but she still knew it. At first, it caused her to turn to the guards on either side of her with great curiosity. Almost as if she suspected them of being the cause of the feeling. Yet, as she looked over them, one a unicorn of large stature and muscular build. While the other an Earth Pony, even who was built just like the unicorn. This seemed to draw her attention away from the feeling for just a moment as she couldn't help herself. She gave the two a once over, eyeballing most of the features she could make out around their armor. It almost made her jaw drop as she did.

'Impressive, Tia,' she thought, taking a mental note of their particularly firm torsos. 'We hope all your guards are built like this...'

“Is something bothering you, Princess?” the unicorn asked, snapping her back to her senses. When she snapped back, the feeling had vanished, even though she couldn't help but shift her gaze down both ends of the hall. It took her another second or two before her attention returned to the guard.

“N-no,” she stammered, “We just wish to speak with our sister.”

“Then allow us to--”

“NO!” she shouted, “We don't need another to guide us there! We recall exactly where Tia's room is!” Both of the guards snapped back at her outburst, if they didn't have their backsides against the wall already the two might have to take a step back.

“But, we're under orders Princess Luna!” both replied simultaneously, “Princess Celestia doesn't want anything happening to you! We are to escort you around the castle until you recover your strength!” A faint glow returned to Luna's eyes in this instant, a pang of anger shot through her mind in this particular instant. She felt insulted, insulted by her own sister no less. This was evident by the look on her face.

“I said...we are fine!” she hissed, “We are capable of taking care of our self!”

“But, Princess Celestia--” This was her breaking point, just the mere mention of her sister's name seemed to agitate an old wound.

“I am a princess as well! And I order you to remain here!” she snapped, dropping her previous manner of speech for just a brief instance. Before taking a deep breath, her anger vanished almost as quickly as it had come. “We are sure we can handle a short trip down the hall, unless of course Tia moved her room in the past thousand years. Did she?”

Both had grown visibly nervous from Luna's previous outburst. Neither had expected it in the least, so, they had decided to just remain quiet. Instead the two simply shook their heads, just hoping that they didn't upset her any further.

Luna smiled to this, before trotting off casually. She seemed almost happy that they were compliant with her orders. Even if they were just her sister's guard. That thought triggered a chain reaction in her own mind, where she began to recall what her court had been like. Recalling the ponies that served her well, it also made her wonder about many other things, particularly, what had changed in the past millennium. This was among the questions racing through her mind that she had to ask her dear sister. While it was early, she needed to restore her court to what it had been. She wasn't about to give it up at all, in fact, she was even more determined to make her night as great as it could possibly be.

She continued down the hall, lost in her own thoughts. That was, until the feeling from before had returned. This snapped her back to reality the instant she felt the familiar sensation up her spine. She even froze in place, slowly tilting her head down the opposite end of the hall. It was in this instant that she knew what the feeling was exactly. Somepony was following her. She felt it in every fiber of her being, particularly because she could feel the presence.

Yet, even as she glanced behind her, she saw nothing. At the other end of the hall, she saw nothing. Not a single trace of another pony, even though she had been so sure she felt it. It was bizarre, even for her. The feeling worried her, especially considering the order she had given the guards. It was too late though to resend the order as she had already made it clear that she didn't want their help. Even now as she was regretting it, that decision remained firm. After all with or without magic, she was certain she could defend herself.

As Luna turned the corner, the feeling once again vanished. It was a good thing too as the door to her sister's room came into view. She knew it was her sister's as she saw guards on either side of it. Not only that though, but there was also the fact that she saw her sister's cutie mark painted on the door. The guards paid little mind as she approached, giving the door a good few knocks with her hoof.

“Come in,” came her sister's voice, but there was something off about it. Something about the tone seemed different, it seemed to lack the typical serenity she recalled. It was strange actually, almost enough so to make her hesitant in actually opening the door. However, she did as such anyhow and the sight she was greeted with was one she wished she hadn't come upon.

It was the last thing Luna had ever expected to see. Just as she stepped in, she was forced to close the door to prevent either of the guards from seeing the heart-breaking sight of her sister in tears.

“Tia...?” Luna asked, “Why are you crying?” The mare's face said it all. Not only had she removed her regalia, but her eyes had grown rather bloodshot and puffy compared to what they had been. Not only that, but even her ethereal mane had grown a bit unkempt, which was unusual considering it was composed mostly of magic.

“M-many reasons,” Celestia sniffed, sitting up on her hooves. “But....mostly because of what...I couldn't do for you.”

To say the least, Luna was astonished to have heard such a thing. Years ago, she thought her sister really didn't care about her or her night for that matter. As she sat in place though, she began to realize that it was in fact the opposite. It was that time where she was actually glad to be wrong about something. A smile began to spread across her face as the realization dawned on her. It was then she began to realize exactly what her dear sister had gone through over these past thousand years. That it wasn't just one of them that had suffered, but both.

“Tia, you don't need to cry anymore,” Luna muttered as tears began to form in her eyes. “It is because of you that we stand here now. Because of your student.” Celestia stood up, taking a step toward her sister.

“But, Lulu...!”

“No, I don't want to hear it!” Luna snapped, stomping her hoof. “It was your student that saved me! Even if you won't admit it, you still saved me!” She lowered herself a bit, taking a step back from her sister.

“I...could've helped you a thousand years ago...but I didn't...and in the end, I couldn't help you directly! It was Twilight who ended up saving you!” Celestia argued, tears began to stream down her cheeks in this instant. It showed just how much she truly cared to Luna, which in turn made her approach her sister.

“Tia...I don't blame you...” Luna whispered as she gazed up at her sister, “I was jealous, that much is true. However, it wasn't your fault that I became...Nightmare Moon.” she explained, “It...was something else.” This grabbed Celestia's attention in a matter of seconds, her head tilted in curiosity as she listened to Luna. It was something she hadn't heard before, nor had she even thought of. Was Nightmare Moon a separate entity completely, an entirely different pony? Was Nightmare Moon a pony at all? These were all questions that ran through her head the more she thought about it.

“What do you mean, Lulu?” she finally asked after a moment of silence.

“What I mean, Tia...Nightmare Moon was an entirely separate entity,” Luna explained further, “It, is as it was put, a nightmare. While I was possessed...I felt like I was trapped in a nightmare, for a thousand years. The entire time, I had hoped that it was just a terrible dream, but when I awoke in our old castle...I knew it wasn't.” The more Luna explained, the less sense the whole situation made. It eventually reached the point where Celestia finally gave up in trying to understand it.

“I'm so sorry you had to go through all that...” Celestia whispered, only to be met with the very tight embrace of her little sister. To say the least, hadn't expected it. Not only that, but Luna was still as strong as ever, nearly crushing her in what she could only call a bear hug. “Ow-Ow-Ow! Lulu, watch it!”

“Not until you stop crying!” Luna argued, with a very soft snicker. This tipped Celestia off to her sister's intentions right away, before she finally gave in. Slowly wrapping her own hooves around the smaller alicorn.

“I missed you so much, Lulu,” Celestia finally said, feeling the tight grip beginning to loosen.

“And I, you, Tia,” Luna whispered, nuzzling into her sister's warm body. The embrace seemed to last for what felt like hours to the two alicorns. Yet, it had only been a few minutes. It was in that time that everything that had happened seemed to vanish from their minds and hearts. As they slid out of the embrace, both of them smiled at one another.

“So, did you enjoy the gifts I left outside your door yet?” Celestia asked, with a rather lecherous grin on her face. Luna immediately knew what it meant, glancing at her sister with disdain. She almost seemed offended by the question as she knew immediately what it meant.

“They are but colts!” Luna snapped, “I need a stallion, Tia! You know that!”

“But...I thought they...!”

“Yes, they may look good, but that's all they have going for them,” the night princess argued, “I'd choose a mare over them!”

“Well then...perhaps I can arrange that,” Celestia giggled, “Any mare you have in mind?”

“There's only one I can think of right now,” she replied, turning away from her sister.

“Who?” Celestia asked, tilting her head slightly with curiosity. There was a long pause after this, as Luna contemplated even telling her sister of it. “Lulu?”

“Your student,” Luna said, avoiding her sister's gaze. “Twilight Sparkle, I believe her name is?” The elder alicorn didn't seem too surprised by this in the least. In fact, she actually began to laugh at the prospect. While she did know Luna was serious about the matter, she still found it a tiny bit funny.

“You have a thing for all of my students, don't you?” she laughed, this only caused Luna's embarrassment to grow, as apparent by the faint red hue on her cheeks.

“What can I say? She has a flank that doesn't quit, least from what I saw,” Luna replied, almost jokingly.

“I think she's more interested in books than other ponies though,” Celestia mentioned, “Mostly because she's never shown an interest in any stallions or other mares.” Miles away, in Golden Oaks Library, Twilight let out a very loud and powerful sneeze as she was reading over one of her favorite books.

“So, you're saying not to go after her?”

“I didn't say that, Lulu,” Celestia commented, “I'm simply saying, if you do, I wish you luck.”

“If that's the case...I'd rather not do that to your student then, Tia,” she remarked, “There are other stallions and mares out there. Plus, if she picked up anything from you, its your prude nature.” Celestia's reaction on the other hand said something else. It was something Luna took immediate notice of and it spoke volumes as to what happened over the past thousand years.

“Well...actually...”

“You mean...!” Luna nearly shouted in her astonishment, “You're not a virgin anymore?! When did this happen?”

“A-about two hundred years after your banishment,”

“Do you regret it?” Luna asked, Celestia slowly nodded her head in response.

“It was on the anniversary of when I banished you...” she replied, “Thankfully though, my most recent lover helped make up for that.” The look of remorse seemed to vanish on Celestia's face in a moment as she mentioned her most recent lover. In fact, at the mere thought of him her entire face seemed to light up. This was something Luna took notice of easily. It actually made her smile.

“Now, what was he like?” she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

“Putting it simply...he's an alicorn,” Celestia pointed out, “And quite the charmer at that.”

“A-an alicorn stallion?!” Luna repeated, her eyes growing wide at the mere thought of this. “Really?! The last alicorn stallion I remember, is Quercus! And he died in the war with Discord!”

“That's what I thought too, but...when I saw him,” she began, “I jumped at the chance. However, he vanished about two months ago...” This conversation continued on for several hours, stretching long past sunset. Even after Celestia lowered the sun and aided Luna in bringing forth the night, the conversation continued. Until the two eventually fell asleep together. Not wanting to leave the each others side that evening. Little did the two realize as they continued to talk and reconnect. From the garden a figure watched them.

“Just stay safe, Princess...”