Chapter Text
Darkness, far as the eye could see. Deep within a void, torn and worn by the hands of time itself. In the center of it all, sat a lonely pony, caught in the grasp of an impure heart, made to bear the punishment of her sins, to face the consequences of her deeds. She sits there, alone in the cold dark void, in the heart of the moon itself.
Isolation, that's what it was. To be isolated for a thousand years, far from the land she called home. Her tears fell, dissolving into starlight, making the moon shimmer beautifully each night, a sight to be appreciated by all but the one who was stuck within it, unable to see the beauty of what she loved the most.
Luna would be a liar if she said she wasn't scared, that her cold heart didn't tremble throughout the many years of silence, a silence that has began to consume her whole. Within that silence, seeds of resentment grew, more and more with each passing day. Celestia―a traitor to her own blood- a liar born of the sun, the sugar and warmth of the world they lived in, leaving not even the scraps of love for Luna to have. The scene constantly looped in her mind, the memory of being sent away thrown out by someone she trusted, someone she loved, being cruelly abandoned and banished to a barren wasteland where nothing grew, and no one lived. Frustration built in her heart, her hooves grown tired from walking around a seemingly endless void. No light, no pony, no life.
It had come to the point, Luna had lost count of the days—the years she spent here—growing insane by the passing day, unable to think of anything but the warm wind of home, or the smiles of faces she coul no longer remember, her anger which had once burned with a fervent rage that not even Celestia's sun could compare to, now grew dim, leaving behind an aching heart, and a desire to go home.
Lonely, isolated for so long, she grew tired, the sting of anger long gone cold and numb in feeling as she sat there—there in the prison of her own making.
One,
Two,
Another tear fell.
Her tears, cold as they ran down her face. With each tear that fell, that dissolved in the moon, came a soft shimmer of light which could only be viewed from the world before. And once more, Luna could only hope—pray that perhaps Celestia could hear her from afar and come to save her.
Although her wishes were borderline impossible, one wish she craved with all her cold heart could. A friend, a companion, a voice to speak with that wasn't her own.
And for once, her wish had come true.
---
Princess Luna flinched as she heard it, perhaps from all these years of loneliness she'd begun to halucinate on top of it all. . . But the familiar sound of tears were unmistakable. Broken breaths, and sorrowful cries, the feeling of shattered hope clung to the air as a prayer came through.
"Must I be hated? Must I be scorned? What have I done wrong? All alone, even mother couldn't stay. Am I that weak of a child? Why does my Shizun hate me so much? Am I at fault? Even my peers look down on me. . . Ning-Shijie is so nice, but she's completely clueless, no matter what she does, it only makes things worse, and I always get the shorter end of the stick. A friend, why can't I find one? If a God out there truly exists, then why can't you answer me?!"
Anger, pain, confusion, all things Luna had been all too familiar with. . . All simmering within one distant prayer. And with this voice, this small sliver of hope, Luna called out. . .
"Child, why do you cry?"
a voice asked, sending him jolting. He turned around, yet nobody stood behind him.
"H-hello. . ?" He called, hoping for another answer.
"Hello." The voice greeted in response, confirming that another was there with him.
"?!" He looked around frantically, yet no one was there. He tried looking for any sign, any indication of another person with him, except there was nothing, nothing but the voice. "Where are you?" He asked, backing up, his freezing up as his body went tense, unconsciously following a defence stance he'd studied in his cultivation manual.
"Look up, youngling." the voice said, it's voice hoarse and echoey. Still, he turned his head up, yet all there was—was the dark night sky, dotted in stars, the cool moon hung high above, casting a cold glow across the world.
"There's nothing there. . ?" He gulped as he tried to look again, left to right, to center and repeat, he still couldn't find them.
With a chuckle, the voice replied. "Haha. . . Young one, try again." It said in an almost exasperatedly amused tone of voice. So, he turned his head once more and stared up at the sky. As he looked, a closer glance at the moon, and he saw it, the shape of a mare seemingly carved into it's surface.
". . . In the moon?" He questioned curiously, the voice making a noise of acknowledgement, only confirming his wild guess. Absurd, he thought to himself, but he didn't dare voice it out loud. Finally, stepping out from under the shade of that branch, he bathed in the bright glow of the moon, taking a seat on the grass. "Well. . . It doesn't matter why I cry. I just need to get better, then one day, I can stand on my own!" He said, trying to end the question with a swift answer.
"Child, do not be silly. While we do not understand your tears. . . . We still wish to hear what has caused you so much pain. What you say cannot be, how can it not matter? If you cried, how can you say it does not matter? We admire your resolve young one, and your plainly. . . Unrealistic optimism. But we advise thee to think more about it. Although, we will not push if you do not wish to say." it said with an almost worried sigh.
And so, he laughed. "Hah! For a stranger, you talk weird. What, has my loneliness manifested to hallucinations of voices in my head?" He said, not believing the sight before him.
The voice silenced for a moment. "Tch. . . I knew it." He said as he turned his head away, a small sliver of disappointment pricking at the fact that he couldn't chat any longer.
"Look down," The voice demanded, so raising a brow, he moved forward, his eyes shifting down to look at the waters reflection. There, rather than his own face, was the appearance of a winged horse with a curved horn and long flowing hair which glimmered like the night sky. "Can you see me?" It asked, it's reflection tilting despite him not having moved an inch.
Wat the hell was this?!
He'd seen horses, but whatever this-- odd winged and horned beast was, he couldn't quite tell. "W-what are you?!" he asked, almost in a bit of a panic.
"Does this form not appeal you?" It asked, worried she had scared off the only company she had left that weren't the pebbles on the moon. With a soft tap of it's armoured hoof, the water ripples, reflecting the bright moon above, the reflection blurs under the soft movement of the pond, and when it stills once more, he only sees himself.
He jolts, scampering closer as he placed his hands on the edge, nails digging into the dirt ground as he looked at the reflection of himself. "Where?!-"
"I'm still here. Seeing as my appearance displeased you, I figured it would be easier to rework a new one."
". . . What are you?" He asked, shakily exhaling as he turned his head up to gaze at the full moon high above.
"An alicorn."
"A what. . . ?"
"An alicorn."
"What's that? No-- Who even are you? What's your name?"
"Silly boy, you dare not know my name!"
"I-I'm sorry!"
"You. . . ! Ugh, forget it. I am. . ."
Nightmare Moon?
Princess of the Night?
Luna?
Those names had long since blurred in her mind. A princess of Equestria reduced to this, imprisoned on the moon. Despite her desire of power, she wasn't audacious enough to be able to claim her name and title after what she had done. It had taken so long to bite back against the evil which grew inside her, to finally regain consciousness not as a nightmare, but as herself.
She did not wish to be called by the name of evil, of sin which she had committed and thus paid the price for.
But she also couldn't bear the thought of carrying her name either, a name which had been preciously chosen and bestowed upon her with the hopes of a kind and noble upbringing.
She couldn't exactly call herself a princess either, not after she attempted to dethrone her sister and claim the kingdom for herself. She was unfit of the title, of her name, of her position. How could she dare claim any of those names as her own?
"I do not have a name. . . Call me whatever." She said with a low breath.
"Then. . . Yue?" He asked silently, as if testing the waters for the name.
"Do as you please."
With that final note, there was only silence left, the night finally less suffocating than it once was. His gaze bore into the pond intensly, eyes glowing with curious wonder as he stared at the mirror image of the moon in the water.
With baited breath, he spoke up hesitantly. "My name is. . . Binghe. Luo Binghe." He said, glancing up as he knelt down, patiently placing his hands on his knees as he waited for a response.
". . . It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Luo Binghe. We are named Yue."
And so for the first time in a long time,
Two lonely souls wound up with fates intertwined.
Friend or foe? Only time will tell.
All they knew was that the once cold night suddenly felt warm.
A new, and unlikely friendship blooming from this strange encounter.