mylittlejamjar | 1st Nightfall

[Unlike other posts which appear automatically on your scrolls, this one is quite patient, seeming to wait for ponies to actually read it. When the scrolls are opened, though, the following message shows up in regal, well-calligraphied print:]

My fellow Equestrians!

Greetings to you all. I find the name 'newponies' to be slightly unpleasant, so I shall call you simply as you are: new citizens of Equestria. My name is Princess Luna, sister to Celestia and ruler of the night. Believe me when I say that I do indeed know your plight of finding yourself in a strange new world, a place where you do not know where you may fit in without finding trouble. However, my sister has told me that, more than anything, I will be of aid to many of you where she could not. I have had to rapidly adjust to modern society in Equestria, so while my troubles may not be identical to your own, I can certainly relate to your woes. If thou wouldst have any questions you wished to extend to the Canterlot court, then I shall do my best to answer them.

We trust that things are well in Ponyville, or wherever you may lay thy head at night?

[Luna has left the 'post' open for replies of all sorts, though she will generally be replying in writing.]

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Relax. If anypony knows what it is like to not be in control of who you truly are...

...it is myself.

You can rest easy around me, Pollo.

[He blinks in surprise - having absolutely no idea what she's referring to - and then looks to the ground and takes a second to compose himself. Adrenaline. That's what that is, isn't it? He doesn't much like that one.]

That may be so. But they made a mistake releasing me. Both times.

...I wish to tell you a story, Pollo. I... need to switch to writing, as I am not sure I can... openly speak about it. Is that acceptable?

[Well color him curious]

Of course.

[It takes her a bit to write it all out, and that perfect quillwork from before is slightly smudged and shaky. Nonetheless...]

Once, long ago, before your ordeals... two sisters ruled over this land. Together, they protected its citizens from the dangers that threatened them all around - Windigoes from the frozen north, war-hungry gryphons from the east, greedy dragons from the south, even the spirit of chaos himself. But one day, shortly after sealing away a vile force of darkness enslaving the northern Crystal Empire... some of that darkness remained, deep within the younger sister's heart.

She started to grow resentful. Her older sister garnered all the attention, recieved all the love from their subjects, while she was equally as capable. The older sister ruled over the day, when ponies could play and work and be together... and the younger was left with the night, when ponies slept and dreamt dreams that could never be truly touched. The younger sister grew jealous, and sought to overthrow the peaceful world they had created together.

That darkness inside her heart changed her into a creature of nightmares who attacked the older sister. The creature sought to take the kingdom away from the sisters and turn it into a land of eternal night. The two sisters fought a bitter, violent war over the throne... one that is still remembered to this day. At the end, the older sister triumphed over the creature that was once family, and sealed her away within the moon itself for a thousand years.

A thousand years of imprisonment was not enough alone to free the younger sister's heart, however... when the stars aligned and she escaped her prison, she once again tried to take over Equestria. However, the older sister had gathered others... ponies who could use the Elements of Harmony, the strongest magic in all the land. With that magic, those ponies purged the darkness from the younger sister's heart, and reunited the sisters after so long.

That sister still occasionally thought the way you did... the ponies of Equestria feared her, and remembered her not as a kind ruler, but as a monstrous creature that would slaughter their young and steal away their sun... but over time she realized that it was not who she truly was. While she and the creature shared a body, and she even found herself wanting to fall back into that darkness... little by little, as more people accepted her for who she truly was, she found that she could drive off that dark voice inside of her. Could she become that creature again? She truly believed so, but those all around her were confident that she could stay strong and remain the pony they looked to in order to lead their country.

...do you see where this tale is headed...?

[He waits patiently, practicing waving his own quill about in the meantime. After she's finished, it takes him a while to respond in kind. His hornwriting is neat enough; the delay was clearly not due to magical difficulties. Text does make it much easier to organize one's thoughts.]

I do.

But I fear I am not as strong as you. If anything, his is the original personality, and mine. [There's a small smudge of ink where he rested the quill for a moment.] Mine is the result of foreign code. I'm basically a failed patch...in our homeworld, I would be viewed as a symptom of a disease.

I feel well now. But I cannot tell you what might happen - simply that if another direct conflict occurs, I will most likely lose. Machines of our level know how to purge ourselves of viruses.

You did not sound like a machine when I heard you. Not like before, I mean.

More importantly, in this world there are ways that I - and others - can stop you without harming you, if necessary.

I still think of myself as one. It is what I am, or was, and despite what I have learned of my past, I still do not think it is a bad thing to be. Perhaps in time I'll come to feel more like a unicorn, but I admit I am still somewhat jealous of the other robot here.

If you're sure. Honestly, I don't want to be detained. I've enjoyed this time. But my own happiness should not be prioritized over the safety of others. What are these ways?

...If I told you of them, do you not think that he would use that knowledge to try to avoid such methods?

...fair point.

But if you're satisfied that they're enough, I suppose I can be as well. I really do feel better now.

The portions I was not present for, Donatello can explain to me in greater detail. As it stands, however, the fact remains that while I was not at full power in that city, I most certainly am, here, in addition to being bolstered by the additional power of my sister.

Thus, you needn't fear any relapse. Live life as yourself, do thy best to become thy own pony. ...Or perhaps robot. Whatever you desire to call yourself.

...thank you.

The honor is my own.

1st Nightfall | Written

My fellow Equestrians!

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