Chapter 1- Stargazing

Passed the arctic gales of the northern wastes and not far from reach of the uncharted and winding pathways of the Everfree forest, under the blanket of the moons sky, the village of Ponyville lay in darkness. Night had come to Equestria and the moon could once again claim its throne, high above the mountains. And with the sun disappearing behind the horizon, all manner of ponies could get some well deserved rest.  

All of them, except for one however.

Not far from the quaint village of Ponyville, forming from the rocky mountain side, perched the great towers of Canterlot. The towers lorded high along side the mountains over the many great cities of Equestria, reflecting light down upon its subjects whilst proudly boasting a divine aura from out of the stony surface. Roosted up high in the one of the thick archways of the windows, a sapphire maned princess settled for a long night of star gazing.

Luna, princess of the night, whose responsibility was to raise the moon, lay back against the curved archway and stared sleepily up towards the moon.  The moon ever so slowly crossed the sky and without thought, Luna's gaze fixed upon the white giant providing an unlit path for it to walk. A smile crept across her face as she greeted this new night with not so sudden realisation.

"Almost an entire year." she whispered softly to herself between her open lips. "It's been almost an entire year has passed since I was imprisoned within you." her cheeks turned a soft red with embarrassment as she tried to contain a much broader smile.

As she drifted into thought, her slowly dying gaze up the moon was renewed as she turned onto her side and let the soft white light of the stone tower cradle her. For a short while she left her mind to absorb what she had said, and what it truly meant for her.  Nothing.  Her eyes slowly drifted down away from the moon as she struggled to continue with this train of thought, her smile fading.  

"An entire year has passed without you and yet..." she let this realisation sit in her mind a little while longer as if to clarify her feelings.  "And yet, nothing has changed." Now, with forced smile, Luna lowered her head to let out a weak trembling sigh. Forcing her eyes shut, she faced her head towards the floor, hoping her tears would not be seen by her companion. Wiping away her tears, she pulled herself upright with her head held up towards the sky. Luna looked directly into the moon, focused her gaze and calmed herself before finally speaking up.  

"Your still my only friend, you know that?" she chuckled slightly while wiping away the last of her tears. "You probably think I'm a fool." Smiling, she cast her gaze down towards Canterlot. Luna let herself alone with her thoughts for a while, going over in her head the finer details of her social standing. Then finally, with confidence, began opening herself up to the moon.  

"I wish I had more friends, friends like you. Friends I could talk to and play with." Her smile spread wider across her face and remained there as she conversed with her friend. "How I wish I could play with you again." Luna closed her eyes and began swaying her head side to side to an inaudible rhythm. "Oh, I remember how we danced." Slowing her pace, she began giggle, her minds eye focus on past memories. Luna raised her head to the skies to reveal her blushing cheeks once more. "If only we could live through those moments with you once more."

Luna's gaze had fallen once again to the darkened town of Canterlot, then shortly after, to Ponyville. "Maybe it's too late for me to make new friends," she suggested "but it would be wonderful if we could have those feeling again."

The princess sat for a while talking about the fun she could have, had she some real earth pony friends.  Swaying her tail from side to side in amusement, she talked almost till morning when the moon had almost completed its journey across the sky. The sun had yet to rise, yet on the horizon a warm fuzzy glow could be seen creeping over the land. She had bragged to the moon of the great adventures she and her friends would go on, and as the moon slowly faded behind the morning mist, suddenly her face simply lit up.

"An entire year..." thinking aloud once more. "But that means..." Luna turned to face her room,  and before she had a chance to look for a safe spot to leap down to, she had crashed to the ground completely missing the stool she had put out to reach the windowsill. Quickly, and without acknowledging any pain she may have felt from the fall, she picked herself up and galloped towards the other side of her room where a calendar was hanging low from the wall.

Luna knocked the calendar from the wall and hastily flicked the pages over with her nose until she reached the correct month, and once again her face lit up with excitement.  Grabbing the calender with her teeth, she scrambled back to her feet, and made her way back up onto the windowsill. She walked forward towards the center of the arch and tossed the calendar, spinning it to face her companion.

"Nothing has changed," she admitted with a pout, "but perhaps they just might." Her face beaming with joy as her tail swayed from side to side, Luna quickly glanced back at the moon as if it had spoken, to which she gave a reply. "Sooner than you'd think."   Next Chapter: Drifting Dawn Estimated time remaining: 20 Minutes