Heir of the Nightmare

Flashback II: A Star is Born

Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters

Five Months Before the Banishment of Nightmare Moon

Luna

It was silent.

It was always silent.

Luna had to force an expression of neutrality on her face, even though there was no reason to keep it.

She was sitting on her jaded blue throne, looking regal and reposed as she kept her vigil over the night. Luna shared this throne room with her sister, Celestia, to portray their equality in both power and authority, but even a blind-pony could see that this was not the case.

Every night, year after year, Luna held her Court of the Moon so that their ponies could address Luna on issues that they thought warranted the attention of the Equestrian Crown. In the first years of the Royal Sister's Reign, she had had many petitioners and visitors, some from the far corners of the world that had come to pay homage to the alicorns that had restored harmony and now controlled the celestial mechanisms of their world.

But, those ponies that would come to seek her guidance had slowly dwindled, until nopony came to visit her anymore.

But not so with Celestia.

It had started innocently at first. Under the tyranny of Discord, ponies worked during the day and night since they both rose and fell randomly and there was no sense of time.

But since the restoration, ponies had begun to focus more during the time of day and not night.

Luna understood that, in the beginning. With earth ponies working their crops they had to work by daylight in order to harvest fresh and tradable produce to sustain themselves. Traders and merchants also needed to work by day because that was when ponies were mostly awake, it being easier to sleep at night due to the bright light of the sun awakening them.

That did not mean Luna did not try to garner her ponies respect and admiration. The lunar princess had done many things to remedy the situation, with many successes at first.

Luna had delved into the realms of dream magic, something that always was affiliated with the night and therefore within Luna's range of expertise. The guardian of dreams she became, sifting through her ponies slumbers and chasing away the nightmares. Many had praised her protection over their dreams, thankful for the peace she was bringing to their daily rest.

Luna had also found a colony of lunar pegasi during some of her travels, a reclusive branch of pegasi that typically dwelled only in the night. They were of small number, having been thought at first to be cursed or dark creatures and so were hunted and killed. But Luna changed that when she made them her personal guard, the Night Watch. She had put forth education initiatives to teach ponies that her guards were not monsters, and this had also concluded with success. All of Equestria realized their folly and accepted the lunar pegasi into their ranks. To reward Luna's efforts on their behalf, the clans of the lunar pegasi swore eternal allegiance to her.

Luna trained her Night Watch to be fearsome warriors, great knights of the realm. Under her banner, they searched the country under the moonlight for fearsome beasts left over from Discord's rule and dangerous criminals that harmed her ponies. The Night Watch proved to be effective and became a respected and beloved part of Equestria, ponies adoring their feats of bravery and humble self-sacrifice.

To rebuild her ponies love and fascination for the night, there were several new programs and studies she initiated among her mages and the nobles of the Lunar Court to put into action. The Winter Solstice, Harvest Moon Festival, and Feast of Starlight were the most major holidays and social functions that Luna introduced to her ponies in order to familiarize them with the benefits of the night. These all became very popular and ponies attended her festivals, bringing her great joy and a new peace of mind.