The Statue Gardens of Canterlot were one of its prime attractions. Many statues of famous and well-known ponies dotted the pathways, each bearing plaques that gave the pony’s name and a short bio about what they had contributed to Equestria that earned them a right to have a statue made for them.
Set apart from the rest of the statues were other areas, where lone statues stood. Some areas were gated off, where only Royalty or other high-ranking nobles could enter. A pair of guards were stationed on either side of one gateway that led to the area reserved for ponies that had fallen in wars.
A lone dark-blue-coated Alicorn trotted down one winding pathway silently. Her eyes were downcast, tracing a well-worn path that only her hooves had ever traveled. Finally, she came into a small clearing. In the center stood a lone statue of a small pegasus colt, barely older than a foal.
His wings were flared, his front hooves raised. His body was lean, with slim limbs and even in stone, his mane and tail seemed to have a life of their own, conveying a sense of movement, as if he had been moving forward when sculpted. On his flank was a curious blend of what looked like a cross and a fleur de lis. His expression was a strange one. Most statues had blank looks.
His expression screamed of a great loss, his mouth open in an eternal scream.
Luna’s eyes fell to the plaque that adorned the pedestal and read the name engraved there.
“Oh, Midnight, I am so sorry…” Luna’s voice was quiet as she knelt in front of the statue. “Why didn’t I listen to you? You saw what was happening to me, tried to save me, yet all I did was push you away…” She looked up at the statue. “I am so sorry,” she repeated and buried her face in her hooves.
It was almost night before she roused herself. Ever since she had returned from her exile, she had raised the moon while her older sister raised the sun. She cast one last look at the statue before she turned and slowly left the clearing and its lone occupant.
-
Celestia was flicking through various reports from the nobles when she heard the doors to the throne room open. She lifted her eyes from the barely legible scrawls and frowned at the sight of her sister walking in. She saw an Alicorn on edge, teetering on a wire, ready to either stand tall and move on or fall back into madness. Luna came up to Celestia, slowly climbed the few steps onto the dais and flopped on her smaller throne and stared blankly at the ground.
“You’ve been to see him again?” Celestia asked gently. Luna simply nodded. “How is he?” Celestia continued. Luna let out a harsh laugh.
“As well as he can be, I expect,” she said, her voice strained. “Celestia…sister…was there ever a special somepony in your life?” Luna looked up at Celestia, who saw the plea in her eyes. She wanted to be told a lie, given something to latch onto, to keep her mind off of her own special somepony.
Celestia knew she couldn’t be so kind. “Yes, I have,” she said, rolling up the parchments and tucking them away. “You’ve seen his statue, surely?” she asked, looking down at Luna, who looked perplexed as she tried to recall anything.
“Long beard, wore a ridiculous robe and hat with bells on it? Ring any…uh…bells?” Celestia asked, grimacing at the terrible pun. Luna looked at her and slowly shook her head.
“Starswirl?” she asked skeptically. Celestia let out a self-conscious cough and looked away awkwardly, shuffling her hooves.
“He was a fine piece of flank back in the day.”
“And you laid him to rest like many others,” Luna murmured. Celestia sighed and draped a wing over her, pulling her close.
“It’s just how it is,” she said, nuzzling her gently. “There’s nothing we-“ She was cut off by an ominous rumble and she pricked her ears, looking upwards. “Oh, I forgot about that. We had one heck of a storm scheduled for tonight.”
Luna extricated herself from her sister’s embrace and smiled a little. “I’ll try to get some rest, see you tomorrow.” She turned and left the room. Celestia watched her go and stifled a yawn herself. Yet she still had work to do. One of these days, she decided, she was going to put out a notice for a secretary.
-
Luna woke up the next morning to lower the moon and once again made her way to the statue gardens. She watched as other early-risen ponies wandered around, looking over the statues of some of the founding ponies of Equestria. She made a small detour towards a rather prominent statue of a heavily bearded pony and she stopped to regard it.
“Meh…” she said, casting an eye over Starswirl. “I’ve seen better.”
She moved aside as a group of nobleponies wandered over and made her way towards Midnight’s grove. She wandered the ever-familiar path and found herself once again in front of the small pegasus.
Something about the statue seemed off, however and Luna looked at it closely. To her surprise, she noticed several small cracks over the wings and even as she watched, the stone flaked and broke off. Luna’s eyes widened in horror as the entire statue simply crumbled to dust.
She fanned her wings to clear the air and as the dust settled, she saw a very bizarre sight.
A small black-coated pegasus was standing in place of the statue, a picture-perfect copy of the statue that formally stood there. He was covered in a fine layer of rock powder. He coughed and blinked, his eyes a startling bright clear silver with no pupils. His eyes met Luna’s and he froze.
Luna fell into those eyes, just like she had long before. She stepped forward, hesitant, as if he would disappear if she moved quickly. She saw the muscles in his body tense, as if he was fighting the urge to flee. Luna could understand the feeling; she had had a similar reaction after the Nightmare had been cleansed from her.
“Who are you?” the pegasus asked, his voice hoarse from disuse. Luna couldn’t find her voice; all she could do was stare at the impossible sight in front of her.
“Where am I?” he asked, flicking his wings, shaking the dust from them as he rubbed a hoof over his leg, grimacing as he stretched. Luna shook herself and stepped forward carefully.
“You’re in the gardens of Canterlot,” she replied. She saw something flicker in his eyes. They then widened and he gasped, inhaling a cloud of rock dust, which caused him to burst into a violent coughing fit that sent him toppling from the pedestal.
Luna’s horn flashed to life, a dark blue aura enveloping the colt, and settled him gently on his hooves. He shook himself and blinked a few times.
“Canterlot? How did I get here…the last thing I remember was Nightmare Moon…” his voice trailed off as he looked at Luna. She stood quietly as he gazed at her.
“Impossible…” he said. He took a step back, shaking his head. “You look like her, but…my Luna had…” he blinked in confusion. Luna felt her heart twist when he referred to her as ‘his’ Luna.
“Midnight, it’s me. Your Luna,” she said gently. He shook his head sharply, his eyes smoldering. He snapped his wings out, taking another step back.
“My Luna had light blue hair, a lighter coat and her horn wasn’t as long as yours. You’re not her,” he said. Luna felt her heart drop.
“I found you after the battle with Discord. You were trapped under a wall, crying for your sister,” Luna said gently. “I took you under my wing and nursed you back to health. You told me I was beautiful after you recovered.”
She saw his wings tremble as he stared at her.
“You saw my fall into darkness, you tried to save me, but all I did was push you away. You loved me even after I became Nightmare Moon, you never gave up hope that I could be saved. I watched as the Nightmare cast you aside after you took that blast meant for Celestia.”
Midnight looked down at his hooves as he folded his wings back to his sides. He took a deep shuddering breath. “I was ready to cast my life away if it meant that I could save you,” he said quietly, not lifting his head. His mane covered his face as he sat down on his rump.
Luna looked at him, torn between wanting to embrace the colt and leaving him alone. She knew he was out of his depth here. She hesitated, then grimaced. “Midnight…?” she called softly. She saw his ears flick and he slowly lifted his head. Luna gazed at him with a small smile and stepped forward.
“I know what you’re going through right now,” she said gently. “I went through the same thing after I had the Nightmare purged from me.” She saw a flicker of interest in his eyes and he got to his hooves. “Do you remember Celestia?” Luna asked. Midnight paused, then nodded. Luna glanced towards the Palace. “I think she would want to see you, know that you’re back.”
Midnight nodded and Luna turned, heading down the winding path. Part of her was sad that she would probably never walk it again, yet it was tempered by the fact that her lover had returned.
