Princess Luna stood on the balcony just off the throne room, the one which overlooked the land of Equestria. It was nothing short of beautiful. Here and there, orange lights flickered in the darkness, illuminating the streets of far-off towns and cities. The pale light from the sliver of a crescent moon was not near enough to give any sort of nocturnal illumination on its own, and this was how Luna felt the landscape was the most beautiful.
She went for a moment to her sister's quarters. It usually wasn't her habit to check up on Celestia, but in recent nights, the Sun Princess had been sleeping poorly, mumbling in her sleep the name of somepony whom she swore meant nothing to her. As Luna pushed the door open silently, she heard a whimper from her sleeping sister: "Discord, no! Don't leave me!" The old draconequus now served an eternal prison sentence for his crimes. Tortured nightly by the vengeful mare whom he once loved. Repentant of his crimes against the crown, yet not the least remorseful for his actions against an innocent Pegasus from Ponyville named Tux n Tails.
It made Luna very sad to see her dear sister's miserable state. She wished that somehow both Discord and Celestia could be happy, that they could be together once again, but so long as Chaos existed, the two would be perpetual enemies.
"At least you have somepony to dream of," Luna sighed as she righted her sister's disheveled covers. It was no secret that she was a unique creature in that she was a nocturnal pony. That had indeed been the source of her downfall, of her transformation into Nightmare Moon, a form that she had vowed never to assume again except as a part of Nightmare Night for the residents of Ponyville. She had never admitted it to her sister, but she was dreadfully lonely being the only ruler of the night.
Love had never trotted her way as it had for Celestia. As a young princess, she had gone happily to the biggest dance of her life, but once she had gotten there, nopony had asked her to the floor with him. Eventually, Celestia's partner danced with her almost out of obligation, which she knew right away was the case. After that event, she had given up completely on finding love, much the same as Tux n Tails had. But she was good enough friends with him to know that he had himself stumbled upon his true love recently. If he'd been a night-pony like she, she thought, they would probably still both be alone together. After all, misery loves company.
In her depression, she shuffled deep into the interior of the palace, past the dozing night-guards, and down a long flight of stairs to Celestia's wine cellar. She didn't care for wine herself, but she enjoyed a sweet apple-honey mead, of which she had collected several bottles. She chose one at random and poured a glassful of it, replacing it on a separate, mostly empty rack. She sipped the drink and found it to be stronger than some other bottles she'd enjoyed. For her purposes, it was perfect.
She thought better of her decision to leave the bottle behind, and she again plucked it from the rack. She went back up to the throne room and took her place on the cushion which sat on the dais. The drink was both sweet and slightly tart, being mixed with cider pressed from green apples. But it went down smoothly and gave her the little buzz she was looking for. She recalled the opening lines of her favorite song: "Nighttime sharpens, heightens each senation. Darkness stirs and wakes imagination. Silently the senses abandon their defenses." And the beautiful night, along with the slightest dash of alcohol, could do just that.
But that dash of alcohol quickly became a second glass of mead. The second became a third-and-a-half. And the more she drank, the more she found that she hated her station. Perhaps her thinking had been right all those centuries ago. Nopony revelled in her night; those who were awake were in clubs like Horsefeathers and Hufheisen, dancing the night away, being kept awake by artificial means like music, intoxicants, and ultraviolet light. Far inferior to her shining Moon. And even then those ponies didn't often sleep much during the day, either; they'd simply wait for Sunday night and then crash.
"I wish somepony would come my way," she said, holding up the last of the bottle of mead. "Somepony who would love the Night." She downed the contents of the glass, spun around three times, and stamped her foot twice, a traditional ritual performed when making a wish. She had performed it ironically, but she hadn't realized that as her hoof hit the ground for the second time, the time was precisely eleven-eleven. Now, if anypony else had fulfilled all of these conditions, nothing would have happened. But for an alicorn, magical rituals were something much more serious. With alicorns, they tended to work.
***
Far away from Canterlot, in an unnamed land, Midnight Mist looked up at the sliver of a crescent moon. He was an alicorn, alone among his peers. On top of it all, he was nocturnal. He had nopony to share his wakefulness with. At least, not until eleven-eleven. He had raised a glass in toast, spun thrice and stamped twice. It was a ritual he performed nearly every lonesome night, and he expected the usual nothing to happen. Instead, a vision broadsided him. He saw a lonely alicorn mare, the Moon in her eyes, and the very night sky in her mane. She lay on a cushion in some kind of marble-floored room. A throne room, maybe?
The vision faded, and all was quiet once again. "You are the stars of the lonely night," whispered some voice which he did not know. "She is the moon, and a lovely sight."
"I am no suitor for one as she," he scoffed. "Never shall marred her perfection be."
"Mar her perfection?" said the voice. "Nay, I say, nay! For who-pony else shies away from the day?"
"Who-pony else is the stars of the night?" he scoffed again. "Who-pony else shows the twinkling lights? Yes, it is I, but now what about her? This moon-beaming mare, clothed in moon-beaming fur?"
"But cannot you see, o Midnight, my love? It really is she who wish-threw above. She wishes for love, for a starry-eyed beau, to revel with her when the daylight fades low."
"But what should I do?" he asked.
"Do?" The voice grew louder and sparked recognition in his mind. The gossamer form of his sister, Diwyn Mist, materialized next to him and put her dewy wing about his withers. "You will head the call of Destiny. You will fly across the sea, to the land of Equestria, where her princess waits for you."
"And how can you know, Queen of the Rain?"
"Because unlike you, dear brother, I have faith. You cast your wish wantonly, as folly. You mock the magic which gives you life. Said magic has seen fit to give you hope in return for your...insolence."
"Bah," he scoffed. "I need no mare but you."
"I have long fulfilled your need for companionship, for friendship. But you desire more, something which I cannot give."
"I don't follow you."
"How thick you are, indeed," she sighed. "Your physical desires must be apparent enough; else, you would be content with your station. But content is something you are not." She jabbed him in the ribs with her wing. "I've seen you fawning after pretty young mares who catch your eyes, even though not a one of them would suit you."
"Not a one?" He turned away in a huff. "I'll have you know that, would one give me a chance, I would have her entranced."
"But who has answered your silent entreaties?" she reminded. "Only Magic herself, who has given you your answer. Fly out across the sea and meet her."
"I cannot leave you, dear sister."
"Midnight, you must." She placed a cool kiss on his cheek and hugged him briefly with a wing before she once again faded into the air.
As much as he was loath to admit, Diwyn was always right, for she was much wiser than he. She was his dearest friend, and he hated to leave her, but if this princess in his vision were his destined love, then perhaps it would be worth missing her. "Goodbye, dear sister," he said quietly, and he unfurled his wings and caught himself up on the breeze.
