A Small Prologue
Luna sat in her room and watched the creatures of the Everfree roam at the edges of the forest. It was daytime, so nothing ever came out of there unless it was a lucky woodland animal of some sort. Luna stretched her wings and gave a loud yawn. This was usually the time she would go to bed, since she ran the night and had become accustomed to being awake at that time. Though, she didn't feel like sleeping today. She felt like she ought to be doing something more entertaining than spending time in her dreams.
Dreams were the only place where she could be truly happy, since that was when she could spend time with ponies. Not real ponies, but ones that she conjured up as she slept. Luna never got to spend time with her subjects, since they always spend time in the daylight instead of the darkness. Luna had always hoped for someone, even a foal, to stay awake during the night so she could visit them, but no pony ever did. 'It's all because my sister's sun lights up the world. They can never understand the beauty of the night.' Luna thought to herself bitterly.
Finally she closed her eyes and began to sleep, waiting for her dreams to begin. Soon, stars began to litter her dreamscape, and soft grass grew on the ground. Homes appeared around the area, and ponies of all ages started to creep out of them. The moon rose and shone brightly in the sky, giving just enough light to see. Luna smiled as three little fillies ran up to her, all of them happy as could be. One of them gave her a big hug. Luna hugged the child back. her smile growing bigger.
"Hello, little one."
"Can you tell us a story princess?"
Suddenly Luna's smile dropped. She had grown used to all the different questions that she was asked by her dream subjects, but she had never told them a story. A pang of sadness hit her, since she wanted to tell real fillies stories, not fake ones. She looked at the children before her, seeing their eyes shining from the moonlight. They all looked real, but their eyes lacked that spark of life that came in real ponies.
"I can't tonight, sorry. I must go."
All the fillies grabbed her legs, and one had even jumped on her back.
"Please, don't go!" They pleaded.
Luna shook her head and threw them away. Then, she woke up. It was still daylight out, so perhaps she could go out and meet some real ponies for once, instead of dreaming them up. As she started out her door, she saw some of the guards walking towards her. They weren't her night guards, but her sister's day guards. There were three of them, to unicorns and one pegasus. Luna ignored them and started down a long, winding hallway. As she reached the top of a staircase, she heard hoof steps behind her.
"Hello?" She asked, hoping she wasn't being followed.
No answer came, so she started to trot down the stairs, wanting more than ever to get out of the castle. After a few moments, the staircase ended and opened up to the castle lobby. The doors were closed and the room was dark. The only light came from the glow of a horn, which was attached to Luna's sister, Celestia. Luna used her own alicorn magic to light the candles of the chandelier, which suspended from the high ceiling above. Celestia had a small frown on her face.
"What are you doing awake, dear sister?"
"I'm going to take a walk in Ponyville and socialize with our subjects."
Celestia's small frown became a scowl, "I'm afraid that can't be done."
Luna was confused. 'Perhaps Discord has escaped, or Tirek is on the loose. Maybe, just maybe, the Everfree Forest creatures are running free. Though, then why is she scowling like that?' Luna's eyes grew wide at even the thought of anything bad being on the loose. She had hoped that she could go out in peace, but perhaps Celestia needed her aid.
"Why ever not? Is something bad going on? Do you need my help? Must we use the elements again?"
"To answer your last three questions, no. For the first one, I just can't let you leave."
"What! Why?"
"If I let you meet the subjects, they may start to feel like we are normal ponies, and not of utmost importance. They may start to treat us like any other pony, and not treat us like the royal leaders that we are."
Luna gave a loud laugh, "You talk nonsense sister," She said between giggles, "they will always see us as rulers."
Celestia didn't even crack a smile, "Guards! Lock up the doors!"
Luna stopped laughing and watched as the guards locked the doors of the castle. Then one of the guards trotted up to her and walked her back to her room. She just blindly followed, too astonished to even speak. Her own sister had forbade her to leave the castle. She, of all ponies, wouldn't let her even have a walk outside. Rage started to cloud her vision. Her horn started to glow with a violet aura, and her eyes became pure white. Luna sent a magical beam at the guard, and heard a loud scream.
Suddenly, her eyes became their normal color, and she looked in horror at what she had done. The guard before her was beyond recognition. His helmet was in fragments, buried deep into his exposed, bleeding skin. One of his eyes was popped out, and blood poured out of the socket. His legs were twisted at strange angles, and where his midsection was nothing but bone and torn flesh. Luna gave a small shriek, and her vision and hearing began to blur.
She could only faintly hear the guards rushing around her, some asking if she was alright, others starting to clean up the body of the dead guard. Luna briefly saw her sister before she became unconscious.
