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Lunar Eclipse

By Landmine

        "I didn't mean to, Tia!" I cried out. "I never meant to hurt anypony."

I sat in the grey dust that made up the moon, tears running down my face. I would be trapped here for decades to come, alone and forgotten. I guess being forgotten would be for the better; everypony already thinks I'm a monster. I don't want to be forever remembered as Nightmare Moon or someone, I want to be remembered like Celestia: the bringer of the sun and happiness.

It is all my fault. Why didn't I study the spell longer? Why couldn't I simply have taken a second look at the details? That one spell has cost me everything. One stupid spell!

-----------------------------

Ever since Celestia and I had earned our cutie marks, we had been raising the sun and moon respectively. Every morning Celestia would bring out the sun to wake everypony up, and at night I would bring out the moon which would make everypony go indoors and sleep. The daytime was like happiness: everypony was up and about doing this and that. There was nothing bad about the day, it brought fun and purpose.

Night, however, was not the same. Every evening the ponies would retreat to their houses - to the light inside - to avoid the darkness outside. When night came, it was as if life was sucked out of the world; no work would be done, no gatherings or meetings. Just silent sleeping. There also existed many horrible pony's tales that revolve around the night in all its "horror". The most well known is the tale about Nightmare Moon: a mare who lives in the moon and had been known to cause chaos only at night (or who will give disobedient fillies nightmares).

However, the one positive about night is that the moon is capable of enhancing magic. This is why I enjoy magic almost as much as the night. During the hours the moon is high in the sky, there are a few ponies who stay up and create spells and conduct advanced magic. A unircorn is capable of casting powerful spells at night, spells that are impossible to conduct during the day. I constantly find myself studying spells and magical recipes to try all night. I've gone through thousands of pages and scrolls in the Royal Archives.

The sad part was that most of Equestria was oblivious to the magic-enhancing powers of my moon. They either didn't know or didn't care; it is only unicorns who are affected. While Celestia gets uncountable thanks for raising the sun and bringing happiness to Equestria, I get a handful of comments about the night. At first it didn't bother me; I knew everypony enjoyed the night, they just never said so. But then Tia started getting letters saying how much they preferred the day over the "scary/lonely/useless night". My jealousy started to grow.

Now, I loved Equestria and everything that it held (and I still do). I was one of the royal sisters (if not anymore), one who leads the people. I wouldn't have caused Equestrians harm because I felt jealous. I wouldn't even consider such a thought. I figured there was some way to make night more appealing; some way to make the darkness less feared and avoided. The Princess of the Night should be able to if nopony else can. So I started my search in the Royal Archives. I mentioned nothing to my sister. She has always been so rigid, so political that she would often jump to conclusions without asking questions. I knew she would think anything I did would be out of "wrong judgement", as she called it.

My search extended over a week. I had to find a spell, any spell - a lead if anything - to make my night more appreciated. I was so focused that I was sure some of the nights looked rushed; the stars probably weren't as organized, assuming they were even out. Even after all my searches, I found nothing. Not a single thing that would help; not even to point me in the right direction. I had hardly come across a spell dealing with the night at all, and that didn't help my cause at all.

I figured I should soon give up my search by that point. After all the books I went through, if I hadn't found it, it probably didn't exist. I began returning the books that I had borrowed for the night when I accidentally bumped another book off the shelf. It was an older book written by Professor Grizwald - a long-gone old friend - titled "The All-Inclusive Book of Advanced Nighttime Techniques". I was ecstatic! It was the first book I had found of its kind. I flipped through the thousands of pages of techniques, unique spells and helpful hints; every single one seemed more promising than the last. And then I found it; exactly the spell I was looking for - a spell entitled "Ethereal Night". Just to confirm my suspicion, I read what I needed to know: the spell would take a couple days to finish casting and that it would make the night more enjoyed and lovd. Of course the spell didn't have that latter effect, but I knew how to tweak it so that it could.

I returned to my room with the book at noon. I prepared for the spell which I would begin to cast at midnight. It was going to be a very special night for me. I even wore my old royal attire; a helmet, neck-piece and pair of boots that had descended from my great-grandfather who fought and died in the war at the time. The helmet and neck-piece were both a deep blue - a vague difference between it and my blue self. The warrior boots, on the other hoof, were colored a light-blue color to stand out. The neck piece, in particular, held a light-blue, crescent moon gem which greatly increased my magical abilities. I had kept these for use in more royal or important events - such as this - while Celestia got rid of hers for more up-to-date attire.

I rose the moon as usual that night; I didn't want anyone thinking that something was up and end up interrupting me. I spent the time in between raising the moon and midnight studying how to perform the spell; I didn't want to take any risk of miscasting the spell and causing harm to Equestria or any of its residents in any way. I got anxious as time passed, probably to an unhealthy degree, but within a few days, everypony would love the night just as much as they love the day! How could I not be excited? I would finally shine in Equestria like the bright moon in the black sky!

Midnight rolled around after what seemed like an eternity of waiting. I had brought my book - and even the Elements of Harmony in case of emergency (sneaking them out of the castle was not easy, especially when your sister is trying to discuss the upcoming Summer Sun Celebration with you) - to the top of the mountain that supported Canterlot; the location I would cast the spell. Celestia and I had created the Elements of Harmony shortly after we received our cutie marks as part of our "preparations". Our parents said they would guard us and purify any evil presence that threatened Equestria. They had never been used, but we both knew exactly what they did and how they worked. Each of the six gemstones held its own form of powerful magic; the sixth only existing in the presence of the other five. When all six Elements of Harmony are used, they purify any creature of any form of evil and they can disrupt any kind of magic.

With the moon high in the night sky, I began the first spell. The spell required me to cast advanced spells at midnight, sunrise, midday, and sunset; repeating the cycle until casting is complete. I would have to maintain casting average spells in the time between those. The whole thing would indefinitely be physically and mentally demanding (it taking days of dedicated magic work), which is why it has never been done before. If at any time I felt something would go wrong, I told myself that I would cast a cancel spell to stop the whole thing, or use the Elements of Harmony as a last resort.

---

I strained myself in casting the next spell. The sun would rise shortly, and I had to cast the next advanced spell before-hand. I closed my eyes, trying to find the energy that I needed.

"I have to finish this spell; it will make all of Equestria happier! It will make me happier!" I cried to the sky, my eyes still tightly shut.

The energy came to me, and I completed casting the spell. My energy seemed to have gone with it, but I was intent on continuing to cast the following spell until I passed. I didn't try to open my eyes; I didn't have the energy to waste. Besides, the only thing I would be missing is the sunrise; I've seen it many times before. I guessed the sun was just starting to slip over the mountains: the bright orb taking its place in the morning sky. I quickly brought my focus back to the spells.

Suddenly, I felt a small thud through the ground. Nothing big; probably nothing at all.

"It's nothing Luna. It's just your mind playing tricks on you." I said to myself.

"Well I hope this is my mind playing tricks on me." I heard an all to familiar voice say. It sounded very... disappointed. It quickly dawned on me who it was.

"Sister!" I forced my eyes open, hoping for an illusion or something. It wasn't.

"Are you responsible for this, Luna?" Celestia said in her strict and to-the-point tone; a tone she hasn't used when talking to me... ever.

"I am casting a rather simple spell, Tia. Nothing to be concerned about." I said nervously. I was on the edge of losing control of the spell. I needed my sister gone so I could concentrate.

"Nothing of my concern? I am really disappointed in you, Princess Luna." She only ever called me "Princess" when she was very serious, and it soon dawned on me that something was wrong.

The usual morning sky, usually complete with a multitude of warm colors and a shining sun, was as dark as night. The stars were sitting in the sky as they do only at night and the moon was still at its midnight height.

"I never expected this from anypony; especially not my own sister." I was crushed when she said that, my focus on the spell dropped to a minimum.

"It's not what it looks like, Tia! I promise!" I cried. I was probably a wreak; tired from casting the spells, my limbs weak from emotional and physical pain, my eyes on the verge of tearing up. I was to distracted to notice when Celestia telepathically grabbed the spell book.

"You're casting the 'Eternal Night' spell, Princess Luna. It is exactly what it looks like: your trying to cause eternal night. We are meant to rule together, sister. We are equal; none more powerful than the other."

"What!? No! I'm casting the 'Ethereal Nigh-" I was cut off when Celestia held up the spell book to my face. "Eternal Night" replaced the words I had once read as "Ethereal Night". In shock, I skimmed the spell once more. To my slightest relief, the rest of the spell was the same as I understood it except I noticed a few bits I had skipped over before, like the whole "causes temporary night" part. "But I'm not go-"

"Be quiet, Luna. You're trying to cover the land in darkness and devastate the lives of all who live here in Equestria. For that I am very, very displeased. You know there is only one thing I can do." She telepathically grabbed the Elements of Harmony.

I snapped. Tears poured from my eyes; my muscles melted as I fell to the ground; the spell slowly breaking free of my weakening control. I started pleading out to her not to do it, but she wouldn't listen.

"I'm sorry, Luna. But I cannot allow you to be like this."

Princess Celestia, my own sister, then used the Elements on me. I cried out; loosing all my focus to the beam of rainbows that was quickly advancing on me. We never knew what the Elements' spell felt like, nor what it looked like, but I was wholly against being the first to find out.

Everything that happened in the following seconds felt like they were in slow motion. Princess Celestia bagged the spell book as she watched the rainbow beam of magic with a saddened face. The spell - which I had just lost control of - scattered throughout the air in violet strands. These strands bounced around aimlessly in the air. The rainbow beam collided with a collection of violet strands right before hitting me.

The collision created an explosion to which I tightly closed my eyes. It felt like I was going to be blown off the mountain. I felt the air rush past me, first away from the explosion, but then the air switched directions and rushed toward the explosion. It happened so fast that when I opened my eyes, I was looking at grey dust and a distant Equestria.

I quickly gathered myself to explain what happened. I knew my spell wouldn't dissipate when I stopped casting the spell; it was more advanced than any other spell. When the Elements' magic collided with the uncontrolled magic, a new spell must have been created and sent me to the moon. I knew this because I love to study magic.

Princess Celestia, on the other hand, would no doubt report it differently. Knowing her for as long as I have, she would say that I was a monster; a princess who went rouge and tried to create eternal night (she never did read the spell, just the title; but she'd burn the spell soon to prevent a repeat, so I would have no argument). When news would break out to the public, I would be named a monster like Nightmare Moon. Celestia would say something like that she had banished me.

Fresh tears fell from my eyes at the thought. I hated the thought of being named a monster; being named "Nightmare Moon".

"I didn't mean to, Tia!" I cried out. "I never meant to hurt anypony.

"I only wanted to be loved."