"… And so the Princess banished Nightmare Moon to the surface of the moon, where she could watch from on high and repent her evil. We live in hope that Princess Luna will conquer the darkness inside her to become the rightful ruler of the night once more, little ponies."
The fillies gathered around the campfire snuggled into their sleeping bags a little deeper. The full moon shone down upon their small camp below the giant oak tree that formed the base of Evergreen's home, stars sparkling alongside. One little pink filly raised her hoof.
"Miss Evergreen? What would happen if Luna never returned?" The green-and-black mare gave a small smile.
"That will not happen, Sweetshine. She will defeat the darkness of Nightmare Moon, for she can see from her exile that we love her and wish her to return. That hope will aid her in beating back the darkness of her heart, and it is why I choose to hold this vigil each year." She looked up towards the moon. "We lend her our strength, as we do for all that we love to help them rise when they fall."
A dark blue filly tilted her head, deep in thought.
"My mother likes me to sing to her when she's sad. Do you think if we sung to the Princess, she'd hear it and be happier?" Evergreen smiled at the little filly; she had a kind heart indeed.
"I think that's a wonderful idea, Nocturne. What would you like to sing?" The shy filly hid her face behind her mane.
"Well, there's this one tune I've had in my head for a while…" After a moment of thought she tilted her head back to the moon and began to sing in her clear, pure voice.
"Moonlight and Starlight please guide us at night,
Guard us from nightmares and terrors and fright,
Shine on our heads as we drift in the dark
And light up our path as you gentle our hearts.
We speak to the moon, we tell her our dreams,
We trust her to watch us and dance in her beams.
Come back dear princess, you're here in our hearts;
We miss you, we love you, our Lady of Stars.
Luna, our guardian from all that is dark;
Accept our apologies, straight from the heart.
Take our strength in this fight as your sword and your shield,
We are behind you, and we shall not yield!
Fight back the darkness so you can return;
Come back to your loved ones and help them learn
That quiet and calm can shine just as bright
As those that are blinding with all of their light."
Silence, broken only by the crickets, covered the group as the last line faded into darkness. Evergreen smiled through the tears; music always touched her heart in the most profound ways.
"That was beautiful, Nocturne. Would you teach it to us, so we can all sing to the Princess?"
Soon the calm, quiet night was lit by the voices of five fillies and one mare, cool breezes carrying the song skyward as if willing it to reach the Moon.
Imprisoned by magic tugging at her every limb and her very soul, Princess Luna curled in on herself in a vain effort to hide from the darkness.
"Little fool… You cannot hide from me. I am part of you, I am always with you. Together we shall destroy the day." The sibilant voice hissed in her mind, inescapable and overpowering. Her wings trembled with the effort of resisting, it would be so easy to simply give in…
"…Come back dear princess, you're here in our hearts;
We miss you, we love you, our Lady of Stars."
Luna's ears pricked up as the simple melody washed through her mind. It sounded like… somepony singing?
Somehow, the pure magical intent behind the song had reached her heart, even so far away on the Moon. She grasped the pure hope and love in the melody like a lifeline, using it to desperately forge a tiny barrier between herself and the consciousness of Nightmare Moon. The other being hissed.
"What is this? You know you cannot leave me, or I you…" Buoyed by the music and the magic, Luna gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. The fragile wall wouldn't hold forever, and when it broke she wouldn't have the strength to rebuild it. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself and let the barrier fall.
"No, I cannot hide from you… But I can fight you!"
She lashed out against Nightmare Moon with all of her limited power, backed by the magic of the music.
She might be weaker, but she would not lose… Not when ponies were waiting for her return.
The determination burned in her heart as her people's song rang in her ears.
Author's Notes:
This piece was inspired by the fan-created song "Lullaby for a Princess"; you can find it on YouTube, as well as the accompanying piece "Luna's Reply". I have no words for how beautiful it is. I'm always amazed at how many incredibly talented artists are members of the Herd, and I'm humbled to be even a small little corner of the Brony picture.
The poem and Nocturne's song both belong to me, everything else belongs to the creators of MLP. I am not a musician and have no idea how the song would sound, but the lyrics at least are mine! =p
In case you're interested, this is running through my head as a possible origin of Nightmare Night; I haven't watched Luna Eclipsed for a long time, so I don't remember if there's a canon story, though, so... meh. I can see the holiday starting as a vigil to support Luna, but over time some silly fillies and colts started forgetting what it was all about, made it a time to tell spooky stories around a campfire instead of repeating the Luna legend, and it escalated to the modern Nightmare Night... All of which lent power to Nightmare Moon instead of Luna, leading to NM overpowering the princess and starting the events of the Season 1 premier. I imagine this story to be taking place... maybe 50 years or so after Luna was banished? Long enough for the horror to have abated and for legend to really take over.
I hope you enjoyed this little piece! Review if you feel like it.
-SS