Sleep. Millions of bodies wrapped snug in their beds, slumbering peacefully through the night. This was all Princess Luna ever saw. Excepting the occasional drunks, who roamed aimlessly about, rambling on about and searching for something they could never find, Equestria was a still land throughout night. This bothered Luna. It poked at her, forming deep cracks in the defensive wall of her logic. Why doesn't anypony live at night? She would ask herself, as if another voice inside her head would have an answer. Before Luna had taken the time to observe a couple of Canterlotians during day, this did not bother her at all.

~

It had been a warm summer day, and Celestia was still at the telescope post, keeping guard of Equestria. Luna, who was usually sleeping at this time, yawned and stretched, laid out across her bed. Not knowing why she had awoken, the purple mare did not think much of it. Walking out of her room, she observed an enormous stained-glass window looming over her, turning her head to the left. Luna spotted a few Canterlot folk out and about. Watched them closely, she saw how full of life they were. One, an Earth pony, had a curly brown mane, and the other, a pegasus, had a spiky blue one. The Earth pony was a mare, and the pegasus a stallion.

The stallion had his chest puffed out and talked endlessly. Attempting to impress her, Luna thought with a giggle. Stopping midway, the princess watched more, seeing the pegasus go on and on, the Earth mare occasionally nodding her head or laughing. This was so unlike her seemingly-dead kingdom called night, when time and space themselves stopped to rest. Everypony was always safely enclosed in their dreams, whether it be psychadelic and colourful or a short vision of pitch black. Equestria was an ocean after a tsunami, calm and collected, during that time. Luna's time.

The younger princess ran a hoof through her mane, using the same one to scratch her chin afterwards. What can I do about it? Who can I tell? ... Wait... Luna knew just the pony. She was kind and considerate, but knew how to handle any situation. Continuing her walk, she turned right and headed for the telescope. The familiar tail of her sister was shimmering in the sunlight, softly sweeping the ground as it swirled about. Luna approached Celestia carefully, speaking gently.

"Hey... Tia?"

Celestia gasped and spun around, wide-eyed.

"Oh! Luna. You startled me. Why are you awake?"

"I don't know. I just sort of woke up." Luna flatly replied.

The sun princess tilted her head, but did not ask.

"Okay then. Well, what do you need?"

Luna shuffled her back hooves, face red as a freshly picked cherry. She was embarrassed about asking, but repeated to herself that an answer was needed.

"Well... I have a question..."

Celestia nodded.

"Okay."

"I was just wondering... why are ponies so much more active during the day than night? Is it not as important?"

Upon hearing Luna's second question, Celestia chuckled. She smiled and put a hoof on her sister's shoulder.

"Luna, my dear, everypony needs the night! It is true they are active during the day and sleep during night, but the rest they get from that sleep is necessary. Without it, they wouldn't be able to do the things they do during day. Do you understand?"

After finishing, Celestia was silent. Luna hesitated, but nodded.

"I understand."

"Good. Now, go back to sleep, for you need it just as well."

Luna hugged her sister and trotted away. What Celestia had said made sense, but it still left Luna wondering. Well, if it is necessary to have sleep, why can't everypony just switch? Like, sleep during the day, and live at night! Just like me! She thought, smiling at that last part. She laid back down on her enormous bed. The princess, after more thinking, became jealous. Jealous that Celestia got to watch such entertaining things, like the moment Luna had looked out the window and saw the ponies on an obvious first date.

Celestia got to watch and judge and infer what ponies were doing, something Luna could only do with scientific things like weather and temperature. It made her angry. Angry, envious, and melancholy. So, Luna began working things out in her head, molding together a plan that would, without her knowing, change the history of Equestria forever.

~

Stars began to show themselves, sprinkled about the darkening sky.  They twinkled with subtle enthusiasm, announcing the beginning of nighttime. The sun was setting, and Celestia's shift of guarding the land was soon to end.  She yawned, looking forward to a good night's sleep. The princess had been unusually tired that day.

A few hours passed and Luna was standing behind her sister, catching her by surprise.

"Oh! Luna! You're usually not prepared so fast..."

Smiling, Luna nodded. She knew she had been quick. But only she knew why.

"Yes. Now, my sister, rest. I will take it from here."

Sighing with relief, Celestia trotted away, allowing Luna to begin her shift. It did not take long for her to hear the soft sound of Celestia's snoring emitting from the castle. She's so cute... Luna thought with a giggle. Now was the time for her plan to take place. Abandoning the telescope, Luna glided down the castle wall, walking several feet away from the castle. She knew Celestia would be furious if she found out what was about to take place. Stepping a few more feet up, just to be sure, Luna cleared her throat, preparing the Royal Canterlot Voice.

Deeply inhaling, Luna began her commands.

"CITIZENS OF CANTERLOT, HEED YOUR YOUNGER PRINCESS, AND CONTINUE GOING ABOUT YOUR DAILY BUSINESS!"

Lights everywhere flickered on, alighting the whole city, making it look as if it were day. A young mare poked her head out of a nearby cottage, groaning.

"What's this all about? I just laid down!"

Her pink mane was messy and strands gone astray poked out here and there, the curl of it slowly fading with an ungraceful flop. Pastel pink highlights were shot through her mane, barely showing against its darker pink background. Her orange face was wrinkled with anger, and despite the drowsy bags under them, her eyes were blazing.

"I WOULD LIKE YOU TO CONSIDER LIVING YOUR LIVES AT NIGHT, INSTEAD OF DAY!"

The Canterlotian rolled her pomegranite eyes and slammed the door shut, the lights in her home abruptly ceasing. Slowly, like sand slipping out of an hourglass, the artificial sunlight of the house lamps shut off. Luna almost cried.

"CITIZENS, PLEASE!"

Silence.

"PLEASE... please..."

The Royal Canterlot Voice faded with the lights, grabbinging hold Luna's hope along the way. Heartbroken, she sulked back up to the telescope, thankful Celestia didn't hear. She tried keeping watch, but it was no use. Her vision was blurry due to tears welling in her eyes. They fell slowly at first, the drip-dropping of leftover water falling from a faucet, but the faucet was turned on, and Luna didn't fight it. A waterfall of tears came from her eyes, gurgle-like noises and sniffing emitting from Luna herself. A small pool of the princess’ salty tears formed at her feet, and the moonlight reflected every ripple made by the new ones that fell.

Why? She thought, the word popping like a bag of microwaveable popcorn overflowing with kernels inside her head, no matter how much she tried to stop it. Why why why why why? Why doesn’t anypony listen to me? Why can't I have at least a chance to see what it's like to watch something amazing, instead of the stupid doomsday aftermath I was cursed with...? Luna's face became wrinkled with anger. She was squealing and subtly thrashing her face around like that of a small foal being refused a piece of candy. She kept thinking and thinking, nothing to interrupt her everlasting train of thought. The night was not nearly as bustling as daytime, after all.

~

Nasty plans attacked Luna no matter where she went. They forced themselves into her head and attempted to woo her every waking moment she had. They wanted to persuade her to use them, to break the barrier she had built up to block them out. She was strong, however, and rejected all of them. Well, all but one...

There was one in particular that caught her attention. It just came to her one night, after again seeing nothing but sleeping cities. If I can't convince everypony to oblige... maybe I'll force them! The idea seemed brilliant. An idea magnificent and flw-free that it could not possibly fail. Of course that was the way it seemed. Luna was always a bit impulsive with her actions, never thinking what would happen in the long-run. And this was no exception.

I cannot do this tonight, though, for everypony is already asleep... Luna planned and diagramed everything out in her head, making sure it would go perfectly. So... tomorrow night, I will make sure Celestia is asleep before this is done. After I check, I will wait a few minutes, just to make certain. I know once she's sleeping, there's no waking her anytime soon. Then, I will go through the process slowly and as quiet as possible, but once it's done, announce it for all of Equestria to hear! After all, there won't be any morning to wait for after I'm through!

Luna snickered and peered out the telescope, a predator eyeing its defenseless prey. Through narrowed eyes she observed the wasteland that was Canterlot. The seemingly-deserted city that would, soon, be filled with unnaturally active ponies.

~

The setting sun swallowed the land in an orange colour, letting Celestia know her shift was almost over. The Canterlotian ponies were out and about, some retreating to their homes early. Once or twice a pony caught Celestia's eye, but only for a few moments. She knew the purpose of the telescope was not for her enjoyment, but for making sure no crime occurred. That nothing in the balance of Equestrian life was interrupted. After a few more hours of watching, it was just after dusk, and Luna happily trotted up, a bounce in her steps.

Celestia dipped her head and hurried into the castle, eager to lay down. Luna gave a shady smile, congratulating herself. This was what she had hoped for. Sauntering to the telescope, Luna looked around. The ponies of Canterlot were beginning to go home, most likely for dinner and bed. Yes, She thought. Exactly as planned. As soon as everypony was inside and all the lights of town flickered off, Luna's plan began to take action.

First, she sat atop the cobblestone wall that surrounded the telescope‘s ledge, the fact she needed to be directly in front of the moon in mind. Afterwards, she opened up her right wing, pulling out an elaborate costume that had been safely tucked underneath it. She slipped it on, managing to create what appeared to be a completely different mare. One that certainly is more royal, Luna though and smiled. She had made this beautiful array of fabricated facade herself, allowing herself the easy-way-out of ordering the cyan shoes. It was a full-body suit of entirely black, with an elaborate necklace made of the same metak used for the shoes. Both curled and twisted at their edges, creating an alluring pattern among Luna's neck and hooves. She wore a helmet that had the same feature, and it extended down to the top part of her neck. The purple Alicorn had yet to come up with a name fit for such a regal looking character. I'll come up with something later. She thought.

The rest was easy. Her head tilted up, and Luna began reciting a powerful spell that was extremely advanced, even for a princess. Her horn began glowing a soft blue colour, quickly transforming into a striking aquamarine, sparks flying everywhere. Her voice became a bit louder as the spell went on, but not loud enough to be shouting. Soon her horn was releasing streaks of an indigo-ish colour, orbs and bolts of magic shooting astray.

When the spell was finished, she squinted her eyes shut, and used every bit of magic in her power to finish it off. The glowing of her horn burst, and the whole world flashed white. It faded after a second, and Luna opened her eyes. She was breathing heavily, almost collapsing off the wall. Carefully stepping down, she returned to her post, where nothing had changed.

Now all Luna had to do was wait and see.

~

It was morning. It was time for sunrise. It was time, but no sun rose. The moon stood firm, refusing to budge. Hearing its familiar ring echo, Luna glanced at the giant wooden clock inside the castle, barely making out the time over its backdrop of impossible swirling designs. She cried out, an overflowing teapot of joy. Now I can finally see...  feel, rather, what it's like to watch real ponies doing real things! Not things influenced by a lack of something or too much alcohol... this is great! Luna praised, completely oblivious to what was going on. Laughing and playfully hopping around, she kept shouting, "THE NIGHT WILL REIGN FOREVER! LONG LIVE THE NIGHT!" ever so joyfully. While she was prancing about outside, however, Celestia was awakening, and slowly but surely realizing what Luna had done.

When Celestia was fully awake, she thought nothing of the darkness. It's simply because my lamp's not on. She thought, her hoof scrambling around in the darkness, searching for the switch. It was found, and she clicked it on, then remembering she had a window. Her head turned, and she would never forget what she saw for as long as her life lasted. She saw darkness. The moon. The stars. Every element to make up... the night.

Immediately Celestia assumed she was half asleep. It couldn't be night. She had a clock right smack in the middle of her room as proof. It was morning. So, she rubbed her eyes. But, alas, when she looked again, it was still as dark as ever. Rubbing more vigorously, she fearfully glanced back. Nothing changed. It was then Celestia became extremely worried. What in Equestria could have happened? She asked herself over and over, puffs of white smoke fading from her mouth in the cold night as she rushed outside to see what was going on.

And then she saw Luna. She saw Luna dancing and yelling, utter happiness shining through.

"My sister... what is going on?"

Luna froze in her tracks, voice cracking down to nothing. She slowly looked over at Celestia, whose opinions on what she had done were obviously very different.

"Celestia... you're... here..."

"Yes?"

"W-well... I decided... if I couldn't have daytime.. I'd just make some adjustments to night! I only mean well in doing this, you know. I want to know what it feels like to see something real! Something alive and moving and functioning..."

Celestia remained calm, but the look in her eyes showed complete disapproval.

"Luna... change it back... now."

There was a commanding tone in her voice that sent a chill slithering down Luna's back. But the countless days and night of research and planning came back to mind. It was then that the screams came. Shrill shrieks coming from Canterlot, coming from the ponies who were realizing what had happened. Celestia ignored the growing ruckus and focused on her sister.

"Luna."

Turning her back, Luna stamped a hoof.

"No."

Celestia's jaw dropped, her eyes wide. Did she just say... no? This made her more angry than ever. She returned to her strong, intimidating stance from before and stared directly at Luna.

"What?"

"You heard me. No. I want to know. I put countless amounts of energy into this, and I'm not letting it go to waste."

It hit Celestia like the nasty plans had Luna. She realized what she needed to do. Walking slowly behind Luna, she spoke quietly.

"Luna... you said you meant well with this... and I want you to know I mean well with what I'm about to do. It is only necessary for the health and safekeeping of our citizens."

Luna glanced curiously behind her, eyes wide.

"Please... forgive me... but the night must not reign forever."

It all happened it a flurry of flashing white and blue and purple, and Luna screamed, but it soon faded to nothing. Lightning bolts and sparkles had flashed violently from Celestia's horn, an ancient spell being preformed. It seemed Celestia had taken the stars directly from the sky, and shot them astraight at Luna, along with a few comets. But it was quick. And that was the end of Princess Luna. It was the end of Princess Luna being in Equestria, anyway, and the beginning of her one thousand year stay on the moon.

~

Celestia, still angry and confused, finished her spell, the violent thrashing of multi-coloured light ceasing. She honestly did not know what to think about this, or the fact that it was her own sister that threatened the safekeeping of Equestria. Not only that... but me too... Celestia thought. After a moment of looking up at Luna's destination, Celestia decided what she would call this event. No name seemed more suiting to this dastardly deed and its clever marionette than Nightmare Moon...