Luna's Secret (A DWU Short Story)

Chapter One

It was like this every night...except two.

There were two nights every year where the sun would be closer to the moon than ever before, and there it would stay, for much longer than usual.

The first time this occurred, I gave it little deep thought; I was just happy to bask and relax in the sunlight.

The second time this occurred, however, I realized that it was an eclipse taking place.

200, maybe 300 years had passed since my banishment. I thought back to my wall of tally marks, and how full it was...

It was at that time that I fully realized the gravity of my punishment.

Rewind the clocks back two or three centuries, before all this, I had allowed myself to be overcome by jealousy and rage. I had a deeply rooted sense of insecurity and loneliness.

In those days, I cured my heartaches by getting to know the guards, the workers in the castle library, and even some of the townsponies that visited the castle.

I was never that sociable, but I had found ponies that really seemed to like me. There was even a royal guard, the captain, that my eye had begun to catch a fancy for...

But they were all dead now.

Like there mothers and fathers, as well as mine, they were just dust now.

That night, I wept bitterly in grief as i laid there in the cold darkness, shivering through my freezing tears.

I dreamt of how it would be to return to Equestria: home, that night. I remember it vividly:

I entered the castle, suitcases at my side (what was in them, I don't know). It was cleaner and nicer inside. Nopony was there to welcome me.

As I made my way up the castle floors, anypony I walked past looked upon me with vicious scorn, and anypony I greeted did not speak to me in return.

My heart was already heavy from the lives of those whom I'd missed already having passed me by, but now it was being torn and probed at by all of them with their cold stares, for they remembered my legacy: my failure.

To them, Princess Luna had died long ago. Yes, to all of them, Nightmare Moon was in there presence. That was the name that I still carried, like a crushing weight.

I entered the throne room, where my sister sat. The whole room felt bleak and gray, even though the light of the setting sun was peeking in through the dusty windows. I laid eyes on my sister.

She was taller, a littler older looking, and so tired. Her eyes were sunken and heavy. She swallowed dryly as she made the sun set once again, and the moon to rise once more.

I dropped my bags, and spoke unsurely. My chest began to tremble as my lips moved.

"Hello...sister."

I spoke so hesitantly, because I was so unsure of where to begin. Celestia merely nodded, acknowledging my presence, before sipping on a glass of water.

"Hello." She said coldly.

"I...well... I do not know where to begin."

"Then do not, for I do not wish to hear you speak."

Those were difficult words to swallow, even then.

"I...am truly sorry for all the pain that I caused you," I said, swallowing my pride, "I do not wish to quarrel anymore. I only want peace."

Words cannot describe the look of disgust that I received.

"Peace? Peace was abundant long ago, until you became what you are now. Once I expelled you from the face of this planet, peace returned in full, and has stayed as such ever since, until now, with your return.

"There is more unrest in this land over the issue of the end of your banishment than I have ever seen with anything prior.

"You do not wish for peace anymore than you are sorry for your actions. You only wish for peace of mind now because you have grown tired, much like I have become tired after many years of doing what you never could."

My head sank. Painful stings of truth rang strong in her words, and she spoke in an unkind, loud, and authoritative manner. She was only speaking to a traitor, not her sister.

"Your sorrow is full of vanity, Nightmare, for you know that it was the only way that you would be allowed to return. And while I prefer it wasn't so, I accept your apology out of ex oficio, for the sake of the land you have abandoned, and the well being of its citizens whom you have forgotten.

"Once you have atoned for the things you've done, and every last pony has forgiven you in their hearts, then you can prove yourself remotely worthy to sit at my side."

Tears swelled in my eyes, blurring my vision.

"Yes, Princess Celestia..."

She gestured to her right, where my throne lay on its side. I trotted to it, uprighting it with my hooves. It quickly gave out under its own weight. It hadn't been touched since my departure.

Celestia let out a loud sigh of frustration.

"You may sit at the bottom of the steps." She granted.

I sat down at the base of the steps leading up to her throne. Celestia left the room, leaving me alone there...

I awoke from that dream to find that the day had passed me by, and night was coming again. I did not bother to get up.

My mind filled with imaginative thoughts of how that would've continued if the dream hadn't ended. To me, it wasn't a dream; if I'd tried to convince myself otherwise, I wouldn't have been able to believe it.

More and more hurtful lectures from the subconscious representation of my sister consumed the forefront of my thoughts, and it hurt me. Not because it was my sister, not because it wasn't what I wanted. No...

It was because she was right. Every word rang true.

I could only imagine how many more down on Equestria; ponies who born to those who had witnessed my banishment long ago, and passed that story down to their children... How many of them would agree with my sister's words?

I took another long look down at the planet that was no longer my home. Sadness once again gave way to rage...

I still had a lot to learn.