One Year Later
Princess Celestia walked slowly and quietly into her private chambers late one night. She moved purposefully to the one window in the room. Moonlight was showing through, casting a faint white glow about the room. The fireplace was unlit, and there was no wind tonight to stir the tapestries that contained Historic events in Equestrian history.
As soon as it came into sight, Celestia's eyes were focused on the moon. She stood in front of the window, staring up at the glowing orb. Her head lowered and her eyes closed as her horn begins to gleam brightly. She was concentrating hard, and her eyes squeezed tighter as she tried to focus.
Celestia found herself on a gray and barren world. Did the spell work correctly? Did I transport my full self instead? Celestia wondered to herself. She looked down, noticing that she was transparent. However, she quickly became a bit more solid, gaining her white coat and looking every bit like her real counterpart.
She looked around, but there was no sign of anypony. Celestia sighed in defeat. Perhaps the spell did not work correctly, or perhaps... Celestia gulped, forcing her thoughts away from worse punishments that could have happened to her sister. After all, how much did Celestia really know about the Elements of Harmony?
Celestia's ears perked up suddenly. She'd heard a voice.
“Celestia?”
There was Luna, standing a ways off in front of Celestia. Luna galloped forward as Celestia's mouth opened in disbelief. There was Luna. Not Nightmare Moon, but Luna. The real, actual Luna: her sister.
Luna stopped short of Celestia, not moving forward for an embrace or any sort of touch. Celestia's ears pinned back. She knew that Luna must resent her. However, her sister's face held a wide but worried looking smile across it. Luna's hooves even sort of looked like they were stuck to the ground.
“Celestia? T—Tia? What are you doing here?” Luna asked, shocked and a bit confused.
“Oh Luna! I'm so glad that you're alright, and that—that—“ Celestia bit her lip. There was no need to bring up Nightmare Moon. That was in the past now, and Luna was here and Nightmare Moon was gone. “It's a spell, Luna. I'm only here in my mind.”
“O—Oh.” Luna responded, as her ears drooped and her smile faded.
Celestia paused. Something was the matter. Although, that was to be expected. After all, she had banished her own sister to an empty land for an indefinite amount of time.
Luna's head suddenly whipped up, and there were tears in her eyes, ready to spill over.
“Please Tia, let me come home!” Luna pleaded. Then she began to cry.
Celestia took a step back, reminded of the nickname that Luna used to call her when they were just fillies. Her heart ached, reminded of their innocent and carefree days. It pained her to see Luna suffering like this. But no more.
“Luna. Luna of course I will! The Nightmare is gone now, and you won't have to be alone. I'm here, Luna. You don't—“ Celestia was cut off by the sound of laughter. It was a low and quiet laugh, dripping with contempt. Celestia quickly glanced around for the sound, as it quickly built up to a loud and booming cackle.
But when she looked back at Luna, the ghostly figure of Nightmare Moon was standing over her sister, literally. Her dark form grew more solid as she spoke, while Luna completely faded away. “Luna belongs to me now, Tia.” Nightmare Moon sneered at the childish nickname. “Her body, her mind, her memories—they're all tied to me now, and all under my control. You can't have her, and you'll never see her again.”
Nightmare Moon had been edging toward Celestia as the white Alicorn slowly moved backward. She wasn't quite sure who exactly she was dealing with. She had very little power here, and wasn't sure just how much power Nightmare Moon had truly retained upon her banishment.
Suddenly, Nightmare Moon convulsed, and her head lowered and her eyes squinted shut. She stood like that for only a few seconds before her eyes opened again, glancing up at Celestia. And as Celestia looked up at Nightmare Moon again, she saw not the fearsome eyes of her adversary, but the eyes of her sister: Luna. Those sweet, beautiful, turquoise eyes were sad and pleading.
“Tia...” The word was just a forced whisper.
But Nightmare Moon convulsed a second time, her eyes squinting shut again as she regained control. The transformation was quicker this time, as Nightmare Moon was the stronger and more powerful. Once her eyes opened again, they were those of the evil Alicorn.
“If you ever wish to defeat me, you'll have to destroy her too.” Nightmare Moon knew that she had the upper hoof. She was tainting the oh-so-powerful sun princess, knowing that there was nothing she could do. She could see the pain on Celestia face, and she smiled with pleasure.
Nightmare Moon began to laugh again, the same as before. It started out low, but built up much quicker and louder this time. Clouds and lightning surrounded her from seemingly nowhere, and Celestia stepped back.
Celestia found herself back in her room, still staring up at the moon. She crumpled to the floor, her eyes still locked on the white orb.
“LUNA!” she cried out in agony, long and loud and clear.
A sob escaped her as tears began to roll down her face. It was that moment in life when one believes that everything is going to be alright, and turn out okay. And then they get the news that the exact opposite has happened totally unexpectedly. The moment when the good news that was sure to come, absolutely sure... came as bad news.
A patrolling guard heard Celestia's cry. He slowly opened the door, and Celestia heard it squeak.
“Princess? Are you alright?” The guard inquired.
“Leave me.” Celestia whispered, although it was too low for the guard to hear.
“Princess?” The guard prodded again, taking a few steps closer. Celestia heard his hoofsteps on the stone floor.
Suddenly, her head whipped around to face him. Her face was still wet with tears, and the emotions of pain, sorrow, and horror were clearly written over her features.
“I SAID LEAVE ME!” she yelled at the guard, nearly choking on her words.
The guard was startled, and his eyes went instantly wide, and fear took over his concerned expression. He backed up a couple of steps before turning and fleeing for his life.
Celestia hung her head and turned back to the window. That was no way for a princess to act. It was awful and mean—she'd have to remember to apologize. It wasn't his fault. It was hers.
Celestia sniffled as a shudder ran through her. She looked up at the moon for a last time that night.
“Happy Birthday, Luna.”