A low rumble shook the earth, knocking Luna off her feet as she lost concentration.

"Sister? Did you drop the moon again?" Celestia called from a balcony a few towers away, writing her letters on scrolls of parchment.

"Yes," Luna grumbled. "Maintaining focus is hard. You try lifting one of these!"

"I raise the sun, dear sister," Celestia retorted, stabbing her quill in her ink bottle too hard.

You always overshadow me. The moon once again attempting its shaky descent.

"Use your core! It helps!" Celestia suggested.

Luna grunted, lifting the moon almost halfway into the sky-

Crash! Blinding pain seared the back of her head. Rainbows wove in and out of her vision while she rode a rollercoaster of dizziness.

"Luna! Luna! Are you ok?" Celestia fluttered over from her balcony, unfurling magnificent white wings, looking less like a worried sister and more like the goddess everyone thought her to be.

"Yes...no...." Luna trailed off. A few families had come out of their houses to see what had happened. In the sea of her blurry vision, she spotted a few trees that had fallen over, barring the sidewalks.

"Let me help!" Celestia flew over, using her telekinesis to lift the trees back up and performing a rerooting spell.

"Thank you, Princess!" The citizens cried out.

Clenching her jaw to stop her smart mouth from releasing some sarcastic, snarky remark, she tried not to let the praise get to her.

Celestia always got the attention. For years Luna had grinned and dealt with it, been a pushover and a doormat. But she was done. It was time she took what was meant to be hers.

Brushing the dirt off her gown, she rose. She brushed her hair out of her face and squared her shoulders back. To channel her core energy through her fingertips and into raising the moon, she started chanting.

"Ascend to the heavens!" She announced to motivate herself. "Find your place up above!"

The white orb stuttered a few times on its way up, jittering as if it was nervous, but found a rather nice resting position in the sky.

"I did it!" She shrieked, sweat creating a sticky film on her forehead, which her loose curls clung to eagerly. "I raised the moon!"

Everyone else was cheering for her. "All hail our Princess of the Night! All hail Princess Luna!" She inhaled deeply, was this what glory felt like? How sweet it was to be the center of everyone's universe!

Then she opened her eyes, and saw the almost vacant streets down below.

"I can't believe it's dark outside," A child whined.

"Ugh, the night sucks. Now we can't play anymore," another child complained.

Luna bit back the tears she was hiding. I'd like to see you try and raise the moon. I could slit your throat right now and have you begging on your knees for mercy.

The whispers in her head were tormenting, but so true. She was tempted to stand up to them and teach them a lesson. But what would it do? Nothing really. She would just end up turning more people against her.

"You know what?" Luna screamed to the sky, hoping someone would hear her out. "No one appreciates my work. You know, I have this friend who thinks everything here has a purpose. My moon serves no purpose, so therefore it can go. Ciao, adios, goodbye!" Luna strutted off the balcony, brutally slamming the moon down behind her.

*************************

The throne was a masterpiece, ornately carved and embellished with blue jewels. A symbolism of hierarchy, she should've been satisfied. Many would kill to be in her place, as power and control and luxury were ever-present. But her and Celestia's reign was a delicate one: a tightrope walker balancing on a well-worn wire above a sea of lethal spikes. One wrong move and she'd be dead.

She sighed, rubbing her temples. Whenever she walked around Canterlot, she could feel the unease, the resentment radiating off the citizens. Young and old, rich or poor, there was a scent of restlessness she couldn't quite place.

And, to be honest, it terrified her. For a resentful population was a dangerous one. One that would easily rebel. Storm the castle. Execute her and her sister.

Every morning, she'd have to shield her eyes from The Black Bags. One day the starving leaned against crumbling buildings, good as walking corpses. The next morning, they were gone, while the soldiers hauled the ink colored bags away, never to be seen again.

When she tried to bring up their starvation and unemployment problem with the Council, they just waved her off. For they were the richest of the rich who built their nightclubs and spas and fancy stores, sapping the poor's money like leeches. They were all old, rich men who didn't take her seriously. Either because she was seventeen, or because she was a girl.

Being the faces and future leaders of the kingdom, the blame was put on them. It was their responsibility, wasn't it? And the Council was doing its best, wasn't it?

Not to mention the Dusks. They still couldn't risk attack without severely jeopardizing their military, or provoking the Dusks to kill them all. She and Tia had been doing their best to convince the Council not to send their military in, but the Council had a mind of its own.

"Luna?" Sombra's voice echoed through the throne room.

"Sombra!" She gasped, hopping off the throne and running to greet him.

Thankfully, his leg had healed. He still had a faint scar on his cheek from his brawl with Specter, but otherwise he seemed to be in good condition.

Had it really been over a month since they'd last met? Both of their schedules were filling up, not to mention their hospital stays. The manager's son was taking over, and the Nightclub was being rebuilt.

"I've missed you," he admitted, red tingeing his cheeks. 

"Me too. Can you believe it's been 5 weeks?" Luna exclaimed. "My birthday's in 10 days!"

"Congrats! No, I can't. Time flies when you're unconscious in the hospital," Sombra joked. His brow furrowed. "Wait. Why's the moon not up yet? It's already 7!"

Luna looked askance, biting her lip as she remembered what had happened earlier that day. "Everything serves a purpose, correct?"

"Yes," Sombra answered, not sure where she was going with it.

"Well, my moon serves no purpose. I work so hard to raise it, what do I get? Ungrateful brats complaining about the night. No applause. Not one compliment. So why should I bother, if no one will care?"

Voice cracking, she pursed her lips and stared up at the still sunny sky. "I've just dealt with being my sister's shadow for so long. I've done so many things just to please others. But it's my turn now. My turn to be in the limelight! Maybe by doing this, people will realize what they're missing and appreciate me!"

"Luna. Don't do this." Sombra leveled his voice. "This won't really let them notice you. Not permanently, like they do your sister. To get noticed...."

"What do you know about our relationship?" Luna snapped. "What do you know about being invisible? You've been the center of attention your entire life!"

"Not in a good way! I was tormented for years, Luna. I was the plaything everyone punched and kicked around," Sombra argued.

For a few moments there was only the sound of silence to accompany them as they strode up to the library. It was their shared haven, somewhere that provided them with protection and peace.

"We always want what we can't have," they mused at the same time, sharing a look.

"Let's enjoy this time we have together, ok?" Luna asked, pushing open the doors to the library. The past was in the past, and she didn't want to ruin her night thinking about everything. She could avoid it for another day.

"Of course," Sombra answered, though Luna could see the unease in his eyes.

"Tonight it's just you, me and the library." Pushing open a rusty door, they came upon a delightful sunroom, streams of golden warm light the cause of faded book covers and furniture that had seen better days.

And the books, oh the books. They were everywhere. Perched on shelves, gathered in hasty piles, bookmarked and gently set on tables.

"I thought you might like this place," Luna explained, plopping down on a plush cushion on the ground as her gown billowed around her like a balloon.

Running his hands over the covers of the books, picking up a select few to examine...it was a cool drink to slake his thirst for knowledge. The sunroom had a homely feel, with its well-worn books and inviting cushions.

His heart twisted in pain as he remembered the Crystal Empire library...the books, the glimmering city. The one place he could call his safe haven in a world of danger.

Don't think about it. Be happy. Enjoy this, for Luna.

But something was off. The light was too bright, too plain, too similar to the one of that morning.

"What's wrong?" Luna asked, sensing the slight discontent. Was it the books? The layout? The architecture?

"I...I....want the night to come," Sombra admitted, looking up at the sky.

"But no one else does," Luna muttered.

Sombra, he really was an interesting boy. For he saw beauty in the things others didn't. He treated her like a girl. Not a princess, not a helpless seventeen year old, not with contempt, but simply, like a girl. A girl who enjoyed reading, weaponry, magic. A girl who wanted a true friend.

"But I do," Sombra insisted, his intent gaze still fixed yearningly on the sky. "Why do their opinions matter? What have they ever done to help you? What's so good about them? It's you and me, Luna. It's us against the world."

Luna shook her head and smiled. He was so, so stubborn and self-righteous.

"What do you want?"

And that struck her. Years upon years of her life were built on trying to impress others, get attention and outshine her sister. But for who? For what?

It's time I do something for myself.

"I want the night to come," Luna whispered, shifting her position.

"Then let's make it happen," Sombra encouraged her, taking a seat with a pile of books on a forest green cushion next to her.

10 minutes later, the silver-white moon watched over everyone up above, set against a backdrop of night blue. Tiny diamonds glittered on the dark fabric. Crowned in halos of silver light, two friends chatted over ancient philosophers and magic spells.

"I guess we better call this the moonroom now," Sombra quipped, causing Luna to laugh and brighten the room with joy.

"Yeah. It's only ever used at night anyways," Luna agreed.

Exotic cultures of faraway lands, perilous adventures through austere tundras and sweltering savanas, foreign spells unheard of, conspiracy theories...all were deeply discussed and touched upon.

The old clock's hands turned from 10 to 11 to 12, while the magicians chatted on, experimenting with a few spells and quoting their favorite philosophers.

At some point, both grew rather tired and gathered the cushions in two big piles which they lay upon.

That was, until, Sombra removed one of Luna's cushions.

"What? You have more," he answered, grabbing it but accidentally whacking her in the face with it.

The stunned silence in the room was suspenseful, as Luna gaped at him. What was that? Was it how teenagers had fun? Or a slum game? As they were using cushions, it seemed fairly harmless and fun. And wasn't that what she wanted? To try having fun?

"Is that a challenge?" Luna hastily gathered her cushions protectively, struggling to hold them all. "On guard!"

Holding two cushions in each hand, Sombra staggered to his feet, throwing a cushion at Luna.

She jumped out of the way as it hit a bookshelf, but ended up losing half her cushions.

Laughing as she ran over to him, he dived out of the way, but ended up getting bashed by her bright pink cushion.

30 minutes later, they were sprawled out on the ground, cushions surrounding them, as they burst into random fits of laughter. Red-faced and exhausted, but also satisfied and content.

After gathering the cushions into two makeshift beds, they rested as they looked up at the stars, glittering diamonds in a void of darkness.

"Look at the stars. What constellations do you see?" Luna asked him.

He stiffened. "I...I don't know them. Never had a reason to."

"Each star has a story behind it. My father used to tell them to me. When he was alive, of course," Luna said almost longingly, pointing at a few bright ones.

"Can you tell me some?" Sombra's voice had a faraway sound, probably drifting off into a peaceful slumber.

"See the constellation shaped like a swallow?" Luna pointed, continuing after his nod.

"There is a story beggars and royals tell. The swallow's beak points towards the moon. Keep following it Northeast, until you reach the Wings, jagged cliffs which are the feathers of its wings. So far North, you will be able to see the dark side of the moon. And underneath..."

Sombra's gentle breathing turned into blissful snores.

"And underneath is the Wish Granter's hut. May all of your wishes come true...." 

Hey guys! What did you think of the chapter? Vote if you enjoyed it and tell me in the comments.