The Struggle of Love and Darkness

by EvelynMonroe

A Time of Reflection

As the night grew old, the day grew young. That time had arrived, as the calming sun peeked it's head over the horizon, painting it's beautiful array of colors into the morning sky. Luna sensed her sister's magic, it was gentle and caring. She could feel the sun lightly pressing against the moon, tenderly guiding it back under the horizon. She missed her sister's presence greatly. Those heart-warming memories she shared along side her, how she cherished them. Deep in Luna's heart she knew that her sister loved her and would not hesitate to die for her, but something was wrong.. something dark still resided within herself.

Her dreams continued to be plagued by nightmares. They grew to be so wild that sometimes she would awake, with tears in her eyes feeling completely broken. She could not help but wonder to herself, is this normal? She knows that every pony makes mistakes, but something wasn't right.. and she could sense it. One moment she would feel remorse, compassion, and love.. then the next her heart would harden and grow cold as negative thoughts would fill her mind, quickly becoming justified. It scared her because she did not want to hurt the ones she holds so dear to her heart, yet those dark thoughts continued to cross her mind more often than she would like.

Fear instilled deep inside her, knowing that she could lose control at any moment. She knows that she has to talk to some pony about this, and who better than her loving sister who has been along side her her entire life, but she couldn't.. she was scared.. too scared to see her sister's reaction. What if she wasn't fully cleansed? What if the nightmare still controlled a small part of herself? Deep down she knew her sister would understand, but she could not help but wonder, what if she didn't? The thought of another banishment sent shivers down her spine.

"No! she would never do that to me.. not again.." she said to herself, as she tucked the moon under the horizon, resting it's head soundlessly below for another day.

The sun was now in full view, shining its brilliance all throughout Equestria. It's magnificent rays slowly warming the cool air that resided below from the night before. Life began to wake to a new day as the birds began singing their cheerful morning songs for all the citizens of Equestria to hear.

However, fatigue began to catch up to her as she had not slept for a few days. In fact, she had been away from her new home in Canterlot for quite awhile now.

"She must be worried sick.." she said to herself as she stood atop of the hillside overlooking Canterlot and Ponyville, taking in the beautiful view of the sun one last time. Spreading her wings to their full extent, she embraced the warmth. It felt nice, it was a lot different than her moon, so warm, so revitalizing. Her body began to feel renewed.. but her spirit still broken.

She closed her eyes, completely relaxing her mind as the warm breeze caressed her body. Way up on the hillside where she stood, lied a breathtaking view that only a few knew about. The drop off was astoundingly steep, with nothing to catch you below but the gentle white clouds floating aimlessly below. She walked slowly but steadily to the very edge of the cliff side and stopped. Her mind and body completely relaxed as she calmly closed her eyes once again. She thought back, way back, to the time when she was a filly.

"I.. I cannot Celestia, I am too scared" she said to her older sister, as they stood atop the cliff overlooking the same colossal view.

Her younger sister was clearly afraid, but Celestia knew there was nothing to worry.. she was there for her. She gently wrapped her neck around Luna in a loving embrace.

"There is nothing to fear little sister. I am here for you, watching you every step of the way" she replied in a comforting tone. Whenever Celestia spoke words of comfort to her little sister, all her fears would begin to wash away. Something about it she could not quite understand, but only the words from her older sister could still her troubled mind, and no pony else.

Luna took one last look below, the sheer height of the drop would make any pony shake in fear, but since her older sister was there, she was not afraid. She took a deep breath, slowly inhaling and exhaling, taking a final moment to compose herself before her first flight attempt. Hesitating, she took one last look at her older sister.

"Will you catch me if I fall?" she asked, still a bit uneasy. Celestia smiled, draping her wing over her younger sister.

"I will" she reassured her. "Now and til the end of time"...

Luna snapped back to reality. A long moment of silence passed as she soaked in that memory.

"Will you catch me if I fall.." she silently said to herself, the memory residing so vividly in her mind.

A tear began to form in her eye as she fell forward, eyes shut and wings closed, plummeting quickly toward the ground below. Seconds began to feel like minutes as her free-fall began to pick up speed, her body slicing through the wind around her. Her heart began to pump quickly in her chest and her mind began to race a mile a minute. Suddenly she was reminded of that same memory long ago as a wave of calmness washed over her body, putting her in a state of trance.

"I.. I am doing it sister!.. I am flying!" Luna excitedly said to her sister over her shoulder, as she clumsily flapped her young wings, struggling to maintain altitude.

Celestia could not help but chuckle at the sight of her younger sister, bouncing around clumsily in the air as she tried her best to remain in close proximity.

"You are doing so well for your first time little sister! I am so proud of you!.."

Pride suddenly washed over Luna as her sister's loving words warmed her heart.

Luna finally opened her eyes, awakening to a strong sensation in her heart, but all that suddenly changed in the blink of an eye. She lost track of time and was now too close to the ground to pull up, and she knew it. Adrenalin continued to pump through her body as she grew to near seconds from impact. Her thoughts raced through her head as time began to slow down significantly, milliseconds feeling like seconds. Suddenly she felt it.. that feeling of when your about to die. Memories quickly flashed before her eyes, they were memories from long ago, memories she forgot she even had. It was a very weird sensation, something she had never quite experienced before. Quickly out of instinct she casted a teleport spell, and it was just in time. She vanished into the sky above as the force of the wind following her body impacted the ground below, sending the dirt from the dry ground flying in all directions.

Now, back at a healthy altitude, she began to spread her wings apart forcing the wind to push against them in an attempt to slow her descent. The sheer weight of the wind grew to be extremely harsh on her wings, sending jolts of pain throughout her body as she strained to keep them open. She maintained with all her might as she slowly but steadily recovered her falling speed. The adrenalin that surged through her body quickly faded as she slowly began calming herself from the traumatic experience.

"That was close.. a little too close for comfort" she said, as she redirected her flight path.

"Those memories.. Those memories I had when my life flashed before my eyes.. could those be true?" she questioned herself, clearly troubled by what she saw.

She thought about it for a long hard moment.

"I guess I will find out in due time.. as for now, I must focus on my sister. Knowing her, she is probably worried sick by now." she softly added, as she approached the mighty and glorious city of Canterlot.

End of Chapter 2

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