Hi there!
Sorry for the delay. I have no excuses.
Finally, last chapter before Nightmare Moon. I hope it was worth the wait and it didn't go either too fast or too slow.
The idea of Luna's colony is taken from Come Little Children. Look at it if you haven't already, it's just amazing~
Three chapters left after this.
Enjoy!
XxxX
…The destruction of one who had needed her most…
Things just went downhill from there.
Luna was in a constant foul mood, one not even Staria managed to break. She took refuge in her ponies' dreams –and each time one of them dreamt about Celestia, she went to sleep afterwards with an even worse mood than before, a dark cloud of rage blinding her and scaring everyone away. And the more they were scared of her, the more they turned to Celestia, the more Luna got angry. It was a vicious circle she couldn't seem to get out of, and it did not help that Celestia acted completely oblivious, being trapped in her perfect little world.
However, what they both did not understand, was that Celestia didn't exactly do it on purpose, either. Was it her fault that she ruled the day, time were the ponies were awake, while they ruled the night? Was it her fault that many feared the dark, and preferred to bask in the glorious light of the sun? Was it her fault her duties and powers were much more obvious than her sisters'?
No, it was not. But neither Celestia nor Luna made any effort to understand each other, the elder being convinced Luna was just being childish, and the younger believing Celestia did not want to understand.
Perhaps, had they talked, things would have been different.
But as it stood, the only one who could have acted as an intermediary between the two, was completely lost in her own thoughts, trapped in her loneliness. Staria was fading away, fading away like the night before dawn; she no longer knew what usefulness she had. Their ponies knew Celestia, of course; just as they knew another princess ruled the night. But, the Stars? No one cared to know. How many times had they met with ambassadors, only to catch them asking who was that third alicorn? They did not know her, because she appeared during the day even less than Luna. And because of their growing duties, they'd grown apart from each other, slowly, inevitably. They did not talk anymore, they feigned to be blind to the problem. Even Luna and she did not speak during the night, too focused on the dreams and stars and everything. They were strangers sharing the same blood if nothing else, now. They were too young to rule; the years had not given them the wisdom they should have, and neither had the wars they'd fought together, be it Sombra, Chrysalis, or Discord. Each blow dealt to them had been handled, each foe defeated; but they did not learn anything from these violent lessons. They grew isolated, the presence of the other two became a fading concern in their minds, forgetting they were in this together: Luna raged, Celestia beamed, and Staria cried in the dead silence of her empty room.
Nothing felt right anymore.
Celestia engrossed herself in her duties, trying her hardest to ensure her ponies' happiness after the tiring war against Discord. The chaos he'd created had destroyed most of their crops and land, ensuring a time of suffering and despair if they did not do anything. But not all of them had the same ideas as to how they should proceed to escape a time of fear and hunger.
"No, Luna."
"Sister…!"
"We must not divide the kingdom. We barely have enough resources for one colony already, what would we do with a second one?"
"That's exactly the point! We'll find another, more fertile land-"
"I said no, Luna. This is final. We must all stay together until the danger has passed."
"…and once it has, there will be no reason to start a new colony, will there, Sister?"
"…Don't you have some duties, Luna?"
That night, Luna stole away the orphaned children left in Discord's wake, and took them away to a new land. They formed a smaller colony of ponies who loved the night more than the day, and Luna went to them every night, ensuring their survival and well-being. It worked out quite better than she'd expected –and she learned exactly how it felt to be deeply revered and adored by her ponies. Suddenly ponies were waiting for her return, waiting for the night and her quiet beauty, worshipping the ground she walked on. It made her feel important. It made her feel powerful.
And it made Celestia's selfishness so much worse.
This was the beginning of the end.
And Staria stopped believing she could do anything to prevent it.
…
"…Why…?"
Night had fallen, once more. The softly fading light gently lulled the ponies into a restful, blind sleep.
There was no one to admire her night.
"…Why…!?"
A filly's dream, Celestia.
A young colt's fantasy, Celestia.
A grown mare's model, Celestia.
Sun, sun, sun.
Never Moon.
"WHY!?"
They did not know. They did not care. They did not want to know.
What was the point?
I wish the night would never fall, so I could play forever!
Why is the night so dark? It's scary.
The night is so mean. It makes good things look bad!
Please let the sun shine a bit longer tomorrow. I don't want to celebrate in the dark.
Princess Celestia is so pretty. I want to be just like her when I grow up!
Why must there be a night? The day is so much more beautiful and useful.
We are so lucky to have Princess Celestia. She is the best we could hope for.
Alone in her dark room, Luna struggled and raged. She had the evidence of her ponies' disdain, right in front of her. It could not be denied.
"…why…"
The young mare cried herself to sleep, listening to the ponies' wishes for the sun.
Never for the night.
Never for the Moon.
Never for her.
Something broke inside of her that night.
…..
The voice started to haunt Luna soon afterwards.
A voice of malice and violence, a voice that spoke of power and reverence and being a true goddess. A voice that promised adoration and worshipfulness, a voice that promised Luna the life she had always dreamed of; a life where their ponies would adore the night instead of the day, where they would recognize the night was more beautiful, worthier than the day, that her Light wasn't the lesser one.
Each night the voice came, slowly unravelling Luna's already weakened defences, slowly breaking down her resistance, much like the ocean against a mighty cliff. Every night Luna would brush these whispers aside, refusing to stoop so low, to bring harm to her sister; but her growing resentment and bitterness, and the voice's persistence made it harder and harder to resist. The voice was always there, night by night, hour after hour, in her sleep and in her dreams. It opened her scars, stung her wounds, made her blind to all but her pain and endless agony. The voice was everything.
The voice was always here.
The voice of a Nightmare.
Until it became hers.