I know this place well, as I have been here before. A long, long time ago... It was my prison once, for a time span that felt close to an eternity. It’s just as I remember it, the darkness stretches endless in all directions, but not forever. I can see a light in the distance, as I make my way towards it I make out the figure of a pony, someone I know. My sister.
Before I can reach her, I hear her words. They hit me like a blast of a cannon, “I can hear them Luna, they are all here.” The words came with a tone of pure, immortal solace. “They are frightened, they cry out to me… Their voices are faint, so distant from me.” I put a hoof to my mouth in shock as she carries on, “My sisters… My Twilight! This is entirely my fault Luna! How could I have been so foolish, how could I even think of using the elements in such a way?!”
I wrap my arms around my dear sister, pulling her into a hug, “We will find a way to free them sister, but there is nothing we can do for them now, not here. We must not remain here any longer.” I hold back a whimper as she pulls away from me, looking at the small specs of light in the distance.
“No. By themselves they will soon perish, already I can feel them fading into the darkness… I must remain here to light their way, to keep them with us for as long as possible.” She couldn’t be serious, this could mean an eternity for her here, alone… I know how it feels to be truly alone, it is not good.
I grasp onto her and hold as tightly as I can, “Sister no! You cannot! What if you are wrong? What of those waiting for you out there? They all need you… And so do I.” I can feel a tear beginning to descend upon my cheek, my sister wipes it off and smiles at me.
All I can do is frown; I cannot muster the courage to speak to her. I know exactly what she plans to do, “It is the only way Luna. I will not abandon them; they will have you to look after them. They will be safe.” They have always looked to her to guide them, what if I cannot lead them by myself? She seems to know my thoughts before I can finish thinking them, “I know you can little sister, you must. I will return to you, I will make things right. I promise.” Her horn begins to flash and the world around us is enveloped in a golden light, the last word I hear from my sister are: “I will wait for you, my sister.” A single second later the whole are seems to be dark again, her magic gone. I remove my hooves from my eyes and look around this desolate field, the trees have no leaves and snow blankets all the land I can see. It’s night… So quiet from before, the cannons have stopped firing. I can no longer here the sound of clashing metal, no battle cries, or screams of terror. It’s silent. I stare at the night sky, the stars twinkling in the distance, I let out a slow breath, the winter air turning it smoking, I’m alone once again.
In the distance I can hear a shout, a familiar voice, “Princess!” I look up and see the grey Pegasus mare flying towards me, her blond mane grown out more since the last I’ve seen it. “Princess Luna! Are you hurt?”
I take a moment to regain my composure, denying myself the right to hug this mare, “We are fine Derpy, we are fine. What of the rest of our guards? Where is your company?” I hear two more voices behind us shouting Princess Luna, I turn to them with a weak smile, making out a dark grey bat-pony Pegasus and a lighter grey unicorn. It is nice to see friendly faces, ones I know, Midnight Blossom and Moonlight Trail, they are my personal guards.
I glance back to Derpy, who tells me that she has been trying to round everyone up, but that they are scattered all over, Midnight Blossom comes to a halt a few feet from me, “Princess, what just happened? Where is Princess Celestia?”
I look at the three of them in front of me, so desperate for answers that I cannot give them, it weakens me to see this. “We will explain everything later, for now we must regroup. Ponyville is the closest town to us, tell others to make their way there. Bring the wounded as well, the locals will do their best to aid us.” In unison I am told that they will get on that right away. I watch my guards disappear into the night and snow.
Derpy has not left me yet, we walk together. She looks up to me, “Princess… I don’t understand. What happened to Celestia? Where are Twilight and the others? What about the Elements-“
I hear her stifle a cry of pain as she collapses into the snow, “Derpy!” A small pool of blood is building around her right wing, trickling out into the snow. Turning it red, just as the snow on the battlefield had turned. “You are bleeding! How long have you been like this? Hold still” My horn begins to glow as I prepare a healing spell.
She looks up at me slowly, a look of pain in her eyes, “A volley grazed me on the battlefield, I didn’t think it was deep, Princess.” Her head falls back down to the snow as I heal her, I do not know how long she has been injured, but she must be exhausted.
“We are all alone now, Derpy. Sister is no longer here to guide us, without her or the Elements, the future is dark, uncertain.” I can see a tear flow down her muzzle, “But we must not let her own, together we must fight. We will fight for our future, for Equestria.” I help Derpy up, supporting her weight as we walk into the dreary, uncertain Equestria, one of war and blood.
“I’ll never leave you Princess, wherever you go… I will follow.” Derpy spoke with such tiredness in her voice, it was obvious of her strain to keep conscious. Gently I place a hoof over her muzzle, picking her up and taking on her full weight, carrying her across the snow filled fields, over the remains of our fallen brothers and sisters. Pony and Gryphon alike, too many had died this day.
I say one last thing to this mare, before she finally loses grip of reality and slides off into a deep sleep, “Conserve your energy, young Derpy… The battle is not yet over.”
The Sun rose on its own for the first time in thousands of years, as if to mark the dawn of a new era. It bathed the fields with its warm glow, where the bodies of our own and of our enemies lay scattered across snow, bloodied and beaten. The husks of the mighty warships still smoldering… Such was the power of the Elements of Harmony… Such was the price our sisters paid.
