CHAPTER 1:
The Mare In The Moon
They used to say that on a full moon you can go to the peak of the tallest mountain in Equestria and hear the sobbing of a beautiful mare. In the voice behind her tears you could hear the lament of any and all ponies who have ever felt betrayal or regret. You could hear the sorrow of thousands of ponies in her sobbing.
I used to fly to the top of that very peak every night. I used to wait and listen until the sun rose over the horizon, spraying beautiful washes of orange and gold across the rolling hills of Equestria. Every morning I would fly back to my home in the clouds over Canterlot, longing to ease the tears of that guilt ridden mare. I could never hear them though. After all those nights I never heard tell of those crystal jewels in her eyes.
One morning though the sun didn't rise. Something had changed and I felt it in the air. I felt it in the chilly breeze and the malicious shining of that white gem in the sky. I sat and I waited, fighting to keep my heavy lidded eyes open under the moon. For hours I strained to hear what would give me the prize I'd begged for so long.
Then the sun began to rise. Cheering rose from deep in the Everfree forest below and I decided to give up. I thought that maybe it was all just an old ponytail and as I stood to fly home from that frozen peak for the last time, a soft and terrible sound graced my ears. A tear leaked from my own eye as I heard the sorrow of eons. I looked back to the moon just before it fell over the horizon and saw a sight that struck my heart with fear.
I knew well in my time the shape of a mare in the moon. The craters I'd studied so longingly for all my life, the dark splotches that appeared to be a crying princess, had disappeared from the heavenly jewel of the night. As I listened closer I heard a far off scream. As the strangled terror in her voice faded I knew I had a purpose in my life. I would find that mare again… and I would show her joy as she'd never known.
My cloud home was warm and welcoming when I returned that drowsy morning. I could feel the joy of all of Equestria below me as I alighted on the soft white of my doorstep. A soft glow radiated from the molten pools along the path to my door and the sun shone warmly on my golden coat. The air felt heavenly on my face, but although all felt right in the world below me, I only felt dread in my heart.
My talent was a curse and a gift. I had been gifted with the ability to feel the joy of the world around me and yet cursed with the undying need to ease pain whenever I felt it. I'd known the pain of that mare in the moon since I was born and now that she'd ceased to grace me with her visage I felt the worst sorrow of our lives. She was fearful and sad this morning and I had no clue where to find her.
"You look the same as we feel, Passion Breeze… distraught and sorrowful."
I jumped at the sound of a voice in my home. Few other ponies could reach my doorstep because it was so high. My huge wings we're a boon to my sanity; whenever I became too overwhelmed with the hearts of other ponies I would fly higher than any other Pegasus could and rest in my own home as close to the heavens as possible. Only Celestia or another Alicorn could fly this high and she had promised to stay away from the one solace I owned in this world.
"How do you know my name!?" I shouted to the open air. I couldn't see anypony else but I was sure the voice was real. I was also a bit offended that somepony had come to my home without telling me.
"We've known your name since the first night you came to us young one. We've been watching you on that peak for years."
I was shocked as the form of a blue princess faded into view before me. Her coat glistened like the sky and her main blew in the light breeze, though I'm sure it would have flown gracefully in even the stillest air. She stood almost as tall as Celestia and her eyes seemed joyful, though I could feel her desolation as if it were my own.
"You're the mare in the moon!" I gasped.
"Our name is princess Luna. We've longed to meet you in person for years, Passion Breeze." She smiled and turned walking back to the edge of the clouds, the molten pools of my home casting an amber glow on her coat and violet mane. "You can find us in the garden outside the palace tonight… Don't be late."
Suddenly she vanished; just as quickly as she'd come she had gone. I could no longer feel the sorrow in her heart, but instead I felt jubilation at the sight of her.
"Wait!" I shouted, galloping to the edge of the clouds and peering out into the slowly brightening space. "I only just met you, princess… at least let me say goodbye before you leave." I huffed, indignant at her untimely exit. For all my life I'd wanted to meet the mare in the moon. I'd planned out every sentence and she'd caught me so off guard I'd looked like a foolish little foal.
"So much for rest and relaxation." I breathed. I'd planned on getting some sleep this morning but now all I could think of was her face, so full of hidden sadness. What happened to her? I thought as the light wind rustled my fiery mane. I sighed as I turned to enter my quiet home in the sky. "No point dwelling on it." I said, though I knew it wasn't true.
The clouds of my home had been magically condensed by Celestia herself to keep out the thoughts of ponies below. My talent worked like an electrical signal in the air. That is to say the denser the objects between me and another pony the less I felt of their uncontrollable emotions. Distance played no part in my talent but these clouds were so thick any earth pony could jump on them and not fall through.
Another gift from the princess was the glowing red pools that rested in the dark clouds here and there. They were made of some strange liquid that only Celestia herself knew how to find. Whatever it was radiated heat to keep my floating home warm so close to the stars. It also spread a feeling of peace into the air, which was a rare commodity for somepony like me.
As I entered the large cloud house I felt a familiar but long missed sensation wash over me. Years ago my twin sister lived with me here before moving in with her adoptive aunt. Her talent played a perfect opposite to mine; instead of taking in the emotions of others, she spread to those around her the only emotion she'd ever known… Love.
I walked my way to the east tower of my home with an easy bounce in my step. The beautiful mare I sensed in my sanctuary had the tendency to return me to a youthful vigor I'd lost some time ago. The tall tower in the east wing rose higher than any other point in Equestria. A long trail of that same glowing liquid flowed down beside the spiraling stares from a pool in the room at the top. The pool itself never ran out and was somehow rejuvenated in the light of the sun.
The door at the top was gilded in gold and depicted a Giant crystalline heart. It matched Cadence's cutie mark, which I'd never quite understood as long as I'd known her. A crystal heart? Is there some kind of Crystal Empire that's been locked away for a thousand years? Is my sister some sort of long lost princess?
I caught myself day dreaming as I stopped to knock at Cadance's door. She had a tendency to make me carefree and giddy… It was unbecoming. At first there was no response at the door, but then a tall alicorn mare appeared in front of me as the golden doors swung open. I may be a simple Pegasus but Cadence was a full grown alicorn and had been adopted as Celestia's niece. I don't know how Cadence got her majestic horn but what she had on me in magic, I more than made up for in the size of my massive, flame colored wings.
"Passion!" Chime Cadence, her voice like fanfare at a royal wedding. "It's been so long! Aunt Celestia finally let me out of the palace after my training. It's so nice to be home again." I knew I had felt something different when Cadence opened the door. Celestia's training had obviously made my sister's magic infinitely more potent, and even now I could feel the waves of peace and beauty washing across me like an ocean breeze. If I didn't control my own powers I might go insane from the flood of her emotions.
"I'm glad your back, sister." I grunted, straining to block her magic from my mind.
My head felt as though it were rested on a bed of nails, constantly trying to stab their way into my brain. Cadence gasped as I fell to the floor, gripping my skull from the sudden spike of power radiating off the pink mare. Obviously between Celestia's fabled training in magic and my own growth in the understanding of ponies' emotions, Cadence's powers had become painfully strong since I'd last seen her.
"Oh, my Celestia!" She gasped, a light blue glow emitting from her horn and covering her body. Just as the terrible pain in my skull had come it left me. "I-I didn't realize… It must be so hard for you…"
A tear trickled down Cadence's face and instantly I felt her pity for me. Pity was the one emotion I couldn't bear to feel. Anyone around me remained happy because I was gifted with the ability to steal their pain. Anyone who looked on me with pity did me a disservice by not appreciating my sacrifice. Before thinking about it I reached out wiped the tear from her eye, grimacing as I did so.
"I-I'm sorry, Passion…" Cadence whispered, some of the blue glow disappearing and washing me in her love again. "I shouldn't have felt that way. I'm glad to have a brother like you, Breezy."
The nickname made me smile. As a foal my wings were far larger than they should have been and I had to be tied down to sleep so that I wouldn't have a nightmare and fly off. Instead of flying away, I would cry and soon I'd be blowing a gale through my bedroom. It became an endearing name, because only Cadence and our parents knew why it had been given to me.
"Thanks, Cady." I smiled. "I've missed you." I paused for a moment as I considered my next words carefully. "What happened with the Sun yesterday?" I'd planned to ask her outright about the strange princess outside, but now I decided to let her tell me and pretend not to know. Obviously, Luna had been a subject of some sort of controversy in Equestria at some point. She'd been banished to the moon, erased from history, and her heart tortured day and night judging by her train wreck of an emotional state. Maybe my sister knew why…
"Nightmare Moon…"
"Who?" I asked, strolling to the giant bay window by the magical pool at the edge of the room. I wanted to play as if my interest in the story was mild, but the name piqued my interest a bit. Surely the beautiful princess wasn't that same ungodly creature.
"The Mare in the Moon." Cadence breathed, dread filling her heart as she said the name. "A wicked mare who wanted to rule Equestria in eternal darkness. Celestia banished her to the moon, but now she's returned after a thousand years. Celestia's star student, Twilight… you've heard of her right?"
"You may have mentioned her on a past visit." I sighed, staring down nonchalantly at the white city far below us.
"She and five of her friends managed to find the Elements of Harmony. It turns out their actually legendary magic jewels."
I scoffed at yet another old legend. "Tell me why I haven't ever heard any of these odd legends you keep talking about, sis."
Cadence giggled at my mock ignorance. "You don't come down from here much, Passion."
"For good reason." I mumbled. I knew my gloomy disposition might seem rude to my sister, but I was troubled at the moment. While Cadence's retelling was dreary enough, as she continued to explain the finer details of the elements and of this Nightmare Moon character, I felt a wave of agony flare up from the palace down in Canterlot. I also couldn't seem to shake the fear in my own heart. The fear of what Cadence was about to say.
"…So you see." Cadence rambled. "Nightmare Moon is actually Princess Luna; Celestia's sister and ruler of the night."
As cadence finished her story I felt a sharp pain thrust itself into my temple. It was the same feeling I'd felt from Luna earlier, except that now it felt as though the emotions had become a white-hot poker driving into my brain. Cadence's intense power had barely compared to this. As the pain drove me to the floor I began to shriek in agony.
"Passion Breeze!" Cadence shouted, her horn flashing bright blue and washing me in an easy feeling. Though the pain was still piercing into my head, I was able to think through it with Cadence's help. "What happened?"
"The princess…" I growled, struggling back up to my hooves. "Something's wrong."
"Aunt Celestia?"
"No!" I shouted as I felt the dark princess' crushing pain course through me again. "Something's wrong with Luna!"
I didn't really know what drove me to want to sacrifice everything for a mare I barely knew, but without thinking, my instincts drove me over the ledge and towards Canterlot. Luna couldn't be that same monster from Cadence's story; Nightmare Moon was a monster who felt no remorse or sorrow… Only hate and joy at others' pain.
I fell like a bullet towards the ground as Luna's pain drew me in. I barely heard Cadence's screams as the wind ripped through my mane. The small pond in the castle gardens drove towards me as my sister's spell wore off and I began to black out. As I felt the water pound into me like a stampede of stallions I realized that I'd made a serious mistake.
In all my years since I'd learned of my talent, I'd only ever felt solid ground beneath my hooves once. I remembered the day like a fresh wound and the last thing I remembered as my senses left me was that sacred rule I lived by. Both Earth and daylight held a dark place in my memories. Daylight meant the waking thoughts of ponies across Equestria and being on the ground erased all barriers between us.
I'll answer any questions you all have through PMs and I may put some of those answers here if they're relevant to the story and not me in general. I stopped using my other FanFic account because some people made some rude comments about my writing and nobody wanted to review so I kind of lost interest for a while. No I won't tell you what the account was and no I won't repost any of those stories here. I will, however promise to bring you quality writing and to keep this account alive, granted I have anything to show for it. I love hearing feedback or at least some sort of acknowledgement that my writing is up to par with your standards. I enjoy writing but when I'm the only one enjoying it I don't see how it's worth it to post here. On the flip side I tend to be a bit more enthusiastic and write more when I get some sort of feedback, even when it's negative. I don't want to say I rely on my readers to get anything done but it does help when they acknowledge my work in some way, shape or form. Well, enough of me ranting. Chapter 2 is already written but I still need it proofread by the guy who proofreads all my work. I'll post it tomorrow.
PLEASE REVIEW! EVEN IF IT'S JUST TO SAY GOOD CHAPTER! It doesn't matter if it reads well to ME. I posted it for YOU.
Sorry if I'm coming off as rude right now. I just wanted to get all this out of the way. Also, I especially appreciate reviews from other authors...
ENJOY! :)