“Luna! Stop this! Please! This is not the way!” Celestia screamed. I turned around, my eyes turquoise with dragon irises. I was wearing dark blue armor with a moon on it, my hair was long and had stars in it on a deep blue background, and I was as tall as Celestia. My fur was black as night. “This is not the way?” I questioned. “You are very wrong there, Celestia. I tried to gain attention, to be loved. I now realize that I can be ruler of the night, and take away your precious sunlight. That is why, my dear Celestia, that is why I raised my moon over your pathetic little sun,” I spat.
Celestia shook her head. “Luna, I know you were hurt. I’m sorry I hurt you, and I’m sorry you feel unloved.” I glared at her. “I am not Luna. I am Nightmare Night, mother of the night, and you will be the first to feel my wrath!” My horn lit up with blue, and I blasted Celestia with a spell that caused her to fly out out of the castle, onto sharp rocks below our cliff.
I woke up with a gasp, my heart beating so hard I thought it would come out of my chest. After I had calmed down, I realized I was no longer in my bed. In fact, I wasn’t even in the castle. I was in the Everfree forest, close to the castle at least. “How in Equestria did I get here?” I wondered aloud.
Because you flew here in your sleep. I helped with that. I jumped. It was the same voice I had heard before I went to sleep. “W-who are you?” I asked. You don’t need to know that yet. I’ll tell you when you’re ready. I’m...a friend. I frowned and stood up. “Where are you?” The voice laughed, and kindly replied. I’m in your head.
“I’m confused. You don’t sound like me at all. Where did you come from?”
The mare chuckled. I came from you. And if you wish to speak to me without seeming crazy, I suggest you talk to me in your head.
I sighed and looked up at the night sky.
I knew it wasn’t even close to moonset, so I flew back into the castle, into my room, and flopped onto my bed, trying to sleep.
After about an hour of trying, I gave up. I knew it wasn’t going to happen, so I flew out the window to watch the ground below, making sure everypony was safe. I looked at the stars I had arranged and felt instant anger, remembering the colt that had praised Celestia instead of me. I rearranged the stars to their normal position, fighting the urge to scream in frustration.
I saw something glinting purple on the ground. Curious, I dived towards it, then landed gently. After close examination, I realized it was a mirror. I looked into it, surprised to see the mare from my dream. “Luna, I have so much to tell you. So, so much.”
I realized that the voice was behind me, and shivers went up my spine.
“W-who are you?” I demanded, turning around. “What do you want from me?” I saw her, just like she looked in my dream. She smiled, revealing sharp, dangerous teeth. “Luna, I am Nightmare Moon. I want nothing from you but friendship,” she said softly. “I can help you be noticed. I can help you be just as good as Celestia, better than her even,” she continued, walking towards me, then stopped and leaned close to me. “I can give you power...just be my friend.”
I knew this was wrong. This pony might have bad intentions, but she wanted to be my friend. Nopony had been my friend before. What would Celestia say? I thought. Actually, it didn’t matter. I wanted to be friends with this pony. I wanted so badly to have something special.
“I accept your friendship, Nightmare. I accept it,” I said. Nightmare smiled. “Then, let us walk together before you lower the moon.” I nodded, and began to walk with her, talking about how annoying Celestia was, and she listened, even relating to me, saying she felt lonely too, saying that people had abandoned her.
She understood me, and I understood her. I felt so happy.
----------
After I had lowered the moon and Celestia had raised the sun, I told Nightmare I would meet with her in my free time. She also promised she would communicate in my head when I needed advice.
We reluctantly parted, and I flew up to the castle. I was humming and trotting down the hall, admiring the paintings of me and her as fillies, when I ran into Celestia, who was carrying lots of scrolls behind her, all of them bathed in her sparkling gold magic. She saw me and walked briskly to me. “Luna! Thank goodness. I need some help with these scrolls, they’re all letters. Can you read one half and sign the laws that you think should be placed?”
“Sorry Tia, I got some stuff to do,” I said, walking away from her and the scrolls as fast as I could. The truth was, I hate signing papers. It’s so boring. I’d rather be exploring or practicing my flying, anything that isn’t signing or reading those dreaded scrolls. I walked into my room and closed the door. Then, making sure there was no noise in the hall, I called out softly, “Nightmare?”
I was surprised by how fast she appeared, with her black coat, turquoise eyes, and night sky hair. “Hello Luna,” she greeted. “Nice room you have.”
“Thank you Nightmare. We can sit on my bed if you’d like.” I sat down, and after a few moments, she did the same. “So, I ran into Celestia just now and…”