“LUNA WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!” Tia shouted at me while I glared in pure rage at the gold slag and ash pile that used to be the Yak king. The other diplomats stared at me with stunned horror from the doorway. I turn to them all of my fury on full display. I could feel tears pouring from my eyes and when I spoke my voice rumbled and shook the mountain.

“DOES ANYPONY ELSE WANT TO COMPLAIN!!!!” I roared at them the force of my voice threw them 40 meters back bouncing off the hallway walls. They all quickly vacated the castle fearing for their lives and wisely so. My rage quickly turned into grief as I fell to my floor and I wept openly, my hooves over my eyes. I could feel Tia’s eye’s on me and it wasn’t hard to tell she was conflicted. I too was conflicted; yes I have had to kill before. Sombra’s soldiers and Discord’s foul abominations had been in self defense or for some greater good. I didn’t know how to feel about this though. He had struck an innocent mare and an infant, AN INFANT! Yet I struck him down with no forethought what so ever. I felt justified but I also understood that it would lead to long term problems for Equestria. I was so caught up in my emotions I didn’t even feel my sister’s wing on me or hear Tender drag herself across the floor.

“PRINCESSES! SHE’S BREATHING!” Tender shouted at my sister and I. We whipped our heads around to see that Tender had cleared away the shattered vase and dirt. We both quickly got over to them and yes indeed little Inanna was still breathing albeit weakly. I didn’t even think before I teleported myself, Tender, and Inanna to the medical wing.

“HEALER WE NEED A HEALER!” I shouted not loud enough to shake the earth this time. Tender looked slightly queasy from the teleport. Under different circumstances I would have been assumed. In no time the healers surrounded us and I instructed them to look after Tender and Inanna. They were taken to different beds to be cared for but when they washed away the dirt from Inanna all but one of the healers assigned to Tender moved to Inanna. I had stayed close and when I seen that she was bleeding from such a horrible head wound my heart sank again all hope I might have had disappeared. I didn’t need to be healer to understand that her chances of survival were very slim. I sat close but out of the way my face firm even as my tears rolled down my cheeks. I wasn’t sure how long I had sat there and just watched as the healers pooled all their magic to try and save her. At some point however Tender had limped over to me and nuzzled into my side crying softly. When I looked down she had bandages around her barrel from a few ribs that yak had broke. This was the first time I had seen her without the maid’s uniform on and thus the first time I seen her cutie mark. It was a small pink heart in a cradle and my heart ached even more as I saw the tears in her eyes. It was apparent and understandable that Tender had viewed Inanna as her daughter as well. I warped my wing around her smaller form and nuzzled affectionately our tears flowing even more. I didn’t know it at the time but Tia had watched us crying gently as well. After an hour the healers had used up all their magic. They told us they had done everything they could and it was in the hooves of density now.

We moved closer to Inanna and were left alone. We looked down on her tiny broken body, bandages around her skull. Were it not for the ever-so-slight raising and falling of her chest one would have thought she was dead. Hours had pasted and at some point I had either raised the moon without realizing it or Celestia had done it for me I wasn’t sure which. All the while Inanna’s breathing got weaker and weaker till I was forced to make a decision.

“Tender hold onto me.” I said and very carefully picked up Inanna and cradled her in my hooves. I charged my magic and teleported us to the one place that might be able to save her. The scared crystal tree stood before us, tall and radiant as ever bearing my sister’s and my own cutie marks with a large six pointed star above them. I slowly walked to the Tree of Harmony with Inanna carefully cradled in one foreleg. Tender followed closely behind staring at the tree in wonder. I carefully tucked my legs under me and lay down at the base of the tree. I placed Inanna up against the crystalline surface and touched my horn to the tree on my cutie mark. I closed my eyes and poured my magic into the tree with one simple request.

“Please save my…our daughter.” I pleaded with the tree and place my wing around Tender who had copied my action and request. While I couldn’t see what happened, I could feel it. A small part of my very life force was pulled from me and was given to Inanna. It only seemed like mere moments but it had in fact been many hours. The sun had begun to rise when I opened my eyes again. Little Inanna was breathing at a steady but strong rhythm. Tender was sleeping soundly next to me using the tree as something of pillow. It was strange she and Inanna both seemed bigger that before. I nuzzled our daughter and called her name softly. That’s when I noticed then they were not larger instead, I had instead shrunk the life force I had given up being the cause but I didn’t care.

Inanna opened her eyes slowly and started to cry waking Tender. The small unicorn’s head jerked up looking around then spotting Vis a smile burst onto her face as she wept with joy. The both of us cried as we nuzzled our child and slowly all three of us stopped crying. When we pulled back Inanna was looking back at us smiling and lightly cooing. She had changed her eyes were now teal like my own then gradually turned the same blue as Tender near the edges. We looked to each other seemingly sharing the same thought smiling and blushing very slightly as we giggled.

“W-what happens now your majesty?” Tender asked the joy we briefly had fading into a grim understand of the situation.

“I…do not know…” Placing Vis on my back I slowly rose back to my hooves groaning from the stiffness I felt in my legs. “I…will send a message to Tia and find out what is going on at the castle. Oh…Tender please just call me Luna from now on.” I leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, her blushing face made me laugh.

We left the relative safety around the crystal tree and looked for some place to wait. A cave was found a few hours later and after cutting up a tree with my magic we had a small campfire going. I used my magic to carve out a number of planks so I could write out my message. I detailed our status and sent the planks via magic fire, with nothing to do but wait I curled up with Tender and Vis. An hour later I got a response from her. My actions had cause an uproar the yanks and griffons had closed their borders and were preparing for war. The zebras had thankfully taken a position of neutrality then there was the nobles calling out for action to be taken against me. I expected as much since I had time to consider everything that had happened. I came to the conclusion that indeed something had to be done. My suggestion was a self imposed exile and state that I had been banished. A bit of a deception to be sure, however I didn’t see any other solution. Celestia reluctantly agreed and would secretly send me supplies while still seeking impute on affairs of state. Should Equestria go to war I would return to offer aid rearguard-less. She also offered Tender a place back at the palace should she desired, it was respectfully declined something that made Celestia and me smile.

By the time the agreement had been reached the three of us had become rather hungry, little Vis more so. We carefully began to explore the forest when a loud roar stopped us in our tracks. The roar was quickly followed by shouting, Tender and I looked to each other wondering who besides us would be here. I tossed Tender on my back with Inanna and took to the air heading in the direction of the shouting. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing when we got there. My moon ponies my beloved nocturnas had corralled a manticore and were having trouble landing the killing blow. I swooped down and with a single precise blot of magic slain the creature. The nocturnas looked to me as I landed, each of them immediately dropped to one knee bowing.

“My ponies is this where you have been hiding?” I spoke loud enough to be heard by the group. They didn’t respond to me and appeared to be shaking. “My little ponies, why do you tremble before me?” I asked softly and I approached.

The unicorn before me chanced looking up at me before speaking. “W-we are unworthy to be in your presence your majesty….we fled in shame and weakness because of Sombra.”

“Please none of that my ponies, raise.” I gave a sad smile and spoke gently looking to the group. They did raise slowly but kept their heads bowed in shame. “My ponies I am in need of your help…I ask that you would allow me and family to live among you.” I was met with shocked faces and murmurs of disbelief, then they quickly huddled together to discuss the matter. A unicorn from the group addressed me once more.

“Princess Luna welcome to the Everfree Forest.”

Author's Note

Surprise! I'M ALIVE!

I'm really sorry about the long wait but I've been feeling VERY lazy the last few months, please forgive me.