Luna's Secret (A DWU Short Story)

Chapter Four

It was several years after that event that Alex returned again for another visit.

I understand why now, of course, the reason for this. I understood it at the time too, but to a lesser extent.

During that meeting of our eyes in that singular moment, Alex saw something: a broken heart. I knew this for sure, because he was saddened by it, and filled with care and concern for me.

At the time, I came to that true conclusion, but I had also come to other false conclusions...

1) He had seen the evil of Nightmare Moon, and was never coming back. This was not only a worse case scenario to me, but also the most likely. I feared that after seeing Her in me, he deemed me as an evil creature, perhaps even detestable, and chose not to return for the sake of his own safety.

2) He'd been put off by the sudden shocks of emotional pangs. Such a long period of solitude hadn't done much for my emotional instability. I couldn't figure out why he would abandon me because of this, other than returning to the first option. Nevertheless, this was still a likely possibility to me.

3) He left because he thought I loved him.

After arriving at these three conclusions and reflecting on them, as well as how I acted, I decided that it was time to try and balance my mentality. This was my way of doing so:

Everyday, I would make an effort to find three positive things about somepony close to me, usually my sister.

For the first few weeks, I stayed committed to this, but my 'good' thoughts were very trivial. I focused on her looks, her power, and her abilities, to name a few.

It took a really long time for me to dig deep and find truly good things.

I made a list in the ground, using a rock to write in the moon dust. Through the years, these are some of the things I wrote:

Celestia is elegant: Her physical beauty is unique and hardly comparable. (Later added): Her elegance is also present in her demeanor, her dealings with other ponies, and in elements of her personality.

Celestia is benevolent: She extends kindness to all around her, especially her subjects; which is more than what can be said for the cruel tyrants that ruled as her predecessors.

Celestia is self-sacrificing: Her actions always reflect her desire to accomplish what is the most satisfactory outcome for all her subjects, even at her own personal cost...

"This is new."

Alex's comment shook me out of my deep reflection. My scream pierced the air, and I had traveled almost half a hoofball field before I realized who had startled me.

I proceeded to turn my writing stone into an airborne projectile, aimed straight at Alex. He quickly ducked to dodge it. It ZINGED! over his head. He raised his head again with a chuckle.

"Well, I've missed you too, Princess." He chuckled.

I bit back my urge to smile, but it escaped me anyways. I giggled for the first time in centuries. Alex grinned genuinely as he walked to me.

"Greetings, Luna. It's been some time, hasn't it?" He asked.

I nodded, "It has, but truly I say to you, I am delighted to see you again."

"Likewise. You look older now. Taller. And your magic's coming back too."

He was right. Since my banishment, my magic had slowly begun returning to me. My mane formed a flowing magical texture, like my sister's. I'd gotten taller, leaner, fitter. And yet, my body still had fitted into a curious curvy form, probably due to the more than adequate food from Alex's cooler, which I ate from daily.

I opened my mouth, "And you look...exactly the same." I observed.

I was looking for some new feature to compliment him on, but the truth was he looked no different from the first time I'd met him. Alex, however, casually disregarded this with no acknowledgement of the fact.

"Looks like you've been keeping busy." Alex changed the subject, glancing at my inscriptions in the ground. He made his way to them, but then glanced at me again.

"May I?" He asked politely.

I hesitated, thinking of all the possible negative things that Alex could get from it. I almost declined, my insecurity getting the upper hand on me. However, I decided to take the risk. I nodded my head. 

Alex nodded in return, and read the things I had written down.

"Seems like you've been thinking about your sister a lot?" Alex premised.

I nodded, "I felt like... I'd been giving too much hatred to my sister." I said, swallowing my pride hard.

Alex's eyebrows furrowed, "Why is the writing so shaky? If you're using your magic, and it's returning, it shouldn't look like you struggled so much." Alex said.

He was right again. My writing was quite jagged, wobbly, and inconsistent. My normal writing was always carefully elegant, not like this.

"I..."

My answer broke off before I could say it. The level of shame I was feeling was overwhelming for me, but I refused to cry in front of him a second time.

He motioned me to sit down, and I did. He sat across from me, closer than he had for our picnic.

"Maybe it's time you told me why you're here." He suggested.

I nodded slowly. He was right. I needed to share what I was feeling. I couldn't keep them to myself. I opened myself to speak...

He turned, "Shoot. Actually, something's come up. I need to go."

"What?" I asked weakly

He quickly stood, "I'm truly sorry, Luna. I need to go. I'll be back soon as I can, I promise."

Before I could even register what was happening, he was gone again...