I remember that when we were only about five or six years old, me and Neon use to rush down every morning to the castles music room in excitement. We would play all the different instruments, and attempted to play the ones that were made specifically for gryphons (Mom always had a fondness for them). I don’t remember us playing very well, but I don’t think we really cared all that much back then. It was always just fun to come down here, especially when mom wasn’t busy doing stupid political things.

Despite every instrument in the room I always found myself unnaturally drawn to the Harpsichord. It was beautiful, even if most ponies would think the sounds as strange for something that looked like a piano. Not that I cared, mommy always loved watching me play it. I remember one day she played me a song on it for me, and I was instantly in a trance by the beautiful sound. I don’t know what drove me after that to ask my question after that, but it’s something I never forgot.

“Mommy, why did you name me Luminous? What does it mean?”

Her response always resonated with me “The word luminous means a light glowing in the darkness, which to my symbolizes hope. That’s just what you are my little Luminous, my light in the darkness, my symbols of hope.”

Oh mom, I miss you so much. I know Neon does even more then me. The worst part is, I never saw you while I was there. I never got to say sorry, after what I did.

The Farplane, Luminous knew that this couldn’t be real, she couldn’t be here. She was alive, and this was suppose to be a realm for the dead (at least for those who haven’t been forgotten). This was all nonsense! The only reason she was dreaming about this is because she read about the Farplane the night before. It did make since, and she knew for sure that it would explain why Luna was there. Luna couldn’t really be in front of her, she had been dead for a millennia.

That, however, was where she realized something that sent a shiver up her spine. Even if the place was a dream, Luna could be in front of her. Maybe it possible for Luna to cross into the dreams of ponies even after death. No, Luna has been dead for more than a thousand years. no way she should be able to affect a living pony such as herself. If this was really Luna, and she was able to cross into dreams still, then surely she would have the power to raise the moon too.

“This is a dream isn’t it?” She ask out loud to herself, “No way any I’m in the actual Farplane. Yes, none of this is-” She was stopped as the butterfly from earlier had again floated onto her nose. She held in the fear that she was feeling as she felt it the butterfly land on her. “This… is real!”

Luna simply watched Luminous who was standing in front of her stunned, knowing that no matter what happened this would have been inevitable. She watched in silence as the confused pegasus looked around taking in the situation she was in. Her thoughts were scrambling for a reason, thinking about what she had read the nights prior before a shiver went up her spine. She looked up to Luna who had seem to read her mind.

“As I mentioned you are not dead,” The lunar princess said calmly. “You are simply asleep in your bed, a sleep that I might have caused. I understand you have a lot of questions, and I as well have a lot to explain to you. Allow me to start however by welcoming you to the Farplane, my residence for the past thousand years, and the afterlife to those who ponies loved dearly. Before we start discussing matters, it might be a good idea to go someplace where spirits won’t hear us.”

“Spirits?” Luminous asked looking around, seeing only the beautiful garden and butterflies flying around it. “I don’t see anything that looks like a spirit.”

“You will learn soon enough,” Luna replied. She turned around, her head turning back to Luminous “Please walk with me.”

Luminous, hoping that Luna would be willing to answer everything, followed the princess into the inner part of the garden. She looked around and stood in awe as she saw what was hanging in the sky, two bright circles hung in the sky in front of her. Her eyes immediately shifted to the one on the left side, it was surrounded by a dark blue sky full of glowing lights. The circle itself was only half visible to her, but she could barely see an outline in the shape of a circle, telling her that there was more to this thing. The side that she could see glowed due to the other circles reflection. Luminous thought about what she had a read the nights before, the words moon and sun forming in her head as she did. That must have been what these were; They had died just like Luna and Celestia all those years ago.

After about fifteen minutes Luna brought Luminous to a small wooden outlook which jutted out over a cliff. A table with a clean glass top and two old-fashion, white lawn chairs were placed on either side of it. Luna gave Luminous a moment to look around, as the pegasus peered over the edge to see what must have been an endless abyss below them. Looking straight out she saw an ever expanding forest in the distance with bright green trees and a single waterfall going over the cliff face. She looked back behind her to see a harpsichord, an old fashioned instrument that made a twang sound that reminded her of one of those griffons guitars she use to hear from the castle balcony. Seeing it reminded her of the times she and her sister use to play a Harpsichord in the castles music room. This one seemed older than the one she had, as it was covered in dust and the wood seemed to start rotting, but was still intact from the looks of it.

“I’ve been watching your family for many years,” Luna said in a relax manner. “I wanted to make you feel comfortable when the time came for you to come here. Your sister, she’s a great ruler, or at least once was.”

“You’ve been watching us?” Luminous asked turning back to Luna. The princess sate in one of the lawn chairs, motioning for Luminous to do the same. Luminous took the princesses offer, taking a seat as she continued “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, you probably are able to watch our world in some way here, but I think it’s time you explained to me something. Why did you call me your descendant when we met?”

“Your family is royalty for a reason,” Luna replied hiding the nervousness she was feeling, “I wasn’t born an alicorn, and the same is with Celestia. Once we were normal ponies just like you and the other citizens of the three kingdoms. One of your ancestors is a cousin of mine, thus you and your sister have a connection to our family. I have been watching your ancestors family since I passed, and knew that when the time came one of them would have to take my power.”

“I don’t understand?” Luminous asked confused, not believing Luna one bit. “Why wait so long to pass on your power? And why specifically me?”

“I know it seems inconvenient,” Luna replied. “If I could give some other pony the ability to the ability to wield the moon I would, but it’s not that simple,” She put a hoof on her chest and looked down at it with a frown, “My soul is connected to the moon, even after death, therefore there is no way to hand that power off to anyone. Even if my soul is destroyed, the moon will disappear with me entirely,” She lowered her hoof from her chest and looked back to Luminous who seemed to understand. “I also don’t have the same power I had when I was alive, and knew that giving it to simply anypony wouldn’t be right. If I give it to a stranger how could I be sure they would use it for good? When I saw your devotion to the moon I knew you were the one, but wanted to wait to see what kind of pony you are, and for the right moment to give it to you,”

“And that time is now?” Luminous tilted her head at the princess.

“In truth I would have wanted to wait a little longer, but the situation has grown too desperate to wait,” Luna explain, looking at the ground in disappointment. “Something threatens Equestria, not just your kingdom but the others as well. I would hate to disappoint you but I have no idea as to the cause of the war so long ago,” This made Luminous even more confused as she tilted her head more. “Celestia attacked me without reason - without warning - and I had to sacrifice my life in order to stop her. I believe she is somewhere in this garden, but I have no clue as to where,” A tear rolled down her face as she looked back to Luminous. “That’s why I wish to ask you a desperate question. I believe the cause of the war lies in someplace other then the archive, and I know just like you do that this Swift Spell pony is up to something. He’s correct however, we need to learn the past to make sure whatever he is planning is stopped,” Luna took a breath as she finished her explanation. “So, will you take my power and use it to uncover why the past is so important?”

Luminous stopped herself almost answering yes before she stopped herself. She wanted to help Luna, but she knew that in doing so she would have to leave her sister, as well as leave her post as the captain of the royal guard. She would be leaving everything in the kingdom in the hooves of a villain. She didn’t feel safe leaving Equestria in the hooves of a pony like Swift Spell. Not only that, but it was a betrayal to her own sister and country. They wouldn’t forgive such an action like that even if she told them why she had done such a thing. However, she also wanted to stop Swift Spell, and staying at the castle wouldn’t do that. She wanted to know what the cause of the war was, and what it had to do with Swift Spell’s plan.

“Could you... give me a minute?” Luminous finally asked in a hesitant manner, getting up. “I need to think about this before I give my answer.”

Luna nodded and watched as Luminous made her was into the garden. The princess felt terrible about forcing the decision onto Luminous, but she knew that one way or another she had to convince the pegasus to help her. She got up and walked over to the edge of the outlook, looking up at the moon and sun above her. This was more to her then just stopping something a pony had planned. It was about learning the truth, the truth she so desperately wanted to know.

Luminous had found a small patch of flowers to sit down in as she thought about what was going on. The princess wouldn’t lie to her, but she wasn’t sure she wanted everything to be true. Yes, she might be helping Luna, but the idea of leaving her kingdom didn’t sit well with her. If she betrayed her sister she would betray the country she had grown up in, the one she had vowed to protect. It was against what she believe her cutie mark to mean, that alone should have been enough to make up her mind. She shouldn’t be able to think against protecting her home

Yet there she was, sitting in a field of flowers wondering if she should help Luna out. The thought scared her, and for a few seconds had believed she got her cutie marks meaning wrong. She had grown up with the idea that she was suppose to protect ponies, to help others when she is needed and to never turn back on someone. The very idea that she had gotten the meaning of her cutie mark wrong was making her shiver even in the unnatural warmth of the sun. She tried to think about why she could be thinking this way, and the possible that came to her mind shocked her.

Perhaps she wasn’t really helping her country by staying with her sister; maybe she was only saving herself. She had never thought about the idea herself, but it could be true. She couldn’t believe she had gotten the meaning of her cutie mark wrong, the thought was to extreme to be true. It hadn’t come to her mind, however, that saving herself was not saving others. If she did nothing, it was possible that things would take a turn for the worse. If she helped Luna, though, then maybe she could help many other ponies who need her aid. She knew it felt like a betrayal to her sister, but she had to remember that it was Swift Spell controlling Neon’s actions, and that his actions could be seen as threatening to the other kingdoms.

She looked up from the flowers around her just in time to see a butterfly land on her. It felt silly thinking the way she was, but Luminous felt like this was the same exact butterfly as before. In fact, she believed the butterfly had been following her around the entire time in the Farplane. She felt a strange connection to the butterfly, one that she couldn’t fully explain, but simply stayed still as it nestled into her mane. She suppressed a giggle at the insect’s strange action, she had never seen a butterfly before, and started wondering if this kind of behavior was normal.

“Funny little thing you are,” She said, expecting the butterfly to fly away at the sound of her voice. Luminous was surprised as it simply rested on her head. “You want me to help Luna to don’t you?” She felt a little funny thinking that the butterfly actually cared, but something made her believe that this was true. “There’s so much I’m unsure about. Where would I go? What would Swift Spell do after I leave? There’s so many things that concern me I don’t know if it’s better to go or stay.”

Luminous looked up at the sky, wondering if the sun and moon had always shared the sky together. Looking at it, she soon came to realized why Luna was asking her this, other then the reason she already knew of course. This was Luna’s own sister who brought the war upon them; The sister who had loved her so much even after she left Equestria. If there was anyone who knew the answers to the questions she had, it would be Luna. With this in mind she stood back up, the butterfly flapping its small wings to keep itself from falling out of Luminous’ mane, and made her way back to the outlook. Her decision was made, even though it was hard to believe.

Luna turned around to see Luminous had returned, a smile forming as she saw the butterfly on the pony's head. “Have you made up your mind my descendant?” She asked Luminous as the two once again took seats at the small glass table.

“Not yet,” Luminous responded. “But I think it would be easier to make up my mind if you answered some questions for me, is that okay?” Princess Luna nodded, understand the pegasus’ uncertainty. “Well, I think the most pressing matter on my mind would be that I don’t know where I would have to go. If the answer isn’t in the archives then I would have no idea where to start looking. Do you have any ideas?”

“Not anyplace I know for certain,” Princess Luna responded, putting a hoof up to her muzzle in thought. “But it’s possible that somepony in the kingdom I made would know. They’ve been keeping records since I created it, so it’s possible some of those record might contain something about the war’s cause. I’m sorry, I don’t remember much about the events a thousand years ago, and some of what I do is blurry.”

Luminous got worried as she heard that last part, making her wonder if even the Princess knew it was possible to find the cause of the war. If Luna didn’t know, how did she expect her people to know what caused the war. Even then, she didn’t say no to Luna as this new information came to light. Knowing where to look might be one thing, but it was possible others might be able to help her find the truth. There might be others who would be able to help her learn the truth, or possibly accompany her in the right circumstance. She didn’t say anything though, believing that Luna wouldn’t know considering her situation.

“I understand your concern,” Luna said in a reassuring manner. “I would be in the same if this role was reversed. Just remember that no matter what happens, you won’t go through this journey alone. Many other ponies may share similar ambitions, and you will make friends that will never turn their backs on you. If you want to learn the truth, it is those ponies you will have to rely on, and not just your own,”

“Who can I trust though?” Luminous asked worryingly. “Everypony I know is under Swift Spells influence, even Thundershield,” Luminous’ ears flattened as she thought about her second in command, who had been one of her oldest friends “He said it himself, and I can’t do anything to face him with the power he has. I don’t know anypony I can trust in the castle, not Thundershield, not Moondancer, not even my own sister. I have no one.”

“This isn’t true,” Luna said in response. “Sure, everypony in the castle may be under the spells influence, but you know somepony outside of the castle. You met them today, don’t you remember?”

Luminous thought about this as the butterfly fluttered off her head and onto Luna’s ear, the princess looking up at it. Luminous couldn’t think of who the princess was talking about at first, everypony she knew well was under Swift Spell’s influence. In fact, the only pony that she could think of at first was Swift Spell himself, but knew that couldn’t be right. Why would he help her defeat himself? Her mind shifted to her time with her troops during lunch that day, and it finally hit her. She realized exactly who Luna was talking about. The stammering stallion from the academy!

“Soarin!” Luminous yelled unexpectedly, causing Luna to look in shock as she did. The butterfly fluttered in the air a bit before landing back on Luna’s ear. “Of course, he may have some enthusiasm problems, considering that he can’t talk without stumbling over his own words. Still he is the only pony I know who isn’t in the castle, which means that the he isn’t affected by the hypnosis spell!” Luminous calmed down as her realization was replaced by a question. “But how do you think he can help me? I don’t think has a connection to you as well.”

“The question isn’t how he can help but who he can become,” Luna said in a philosophical tone. “Even if he doesn’t know anything, I can tell he has the ability to become a great friend and ally. As you mentioned, he needs to work on his self-esteem, but he can do that alone. He isn’t getting help from the academy, as it really isn’t there job to help apparently, but you could help him become somepony great. Having friends is the first step to finding the truth, and you have somepony who you can trust. However,” Luna got up and walked to Luminous’ side. “You’ve already managed to make a friend without knowing it, and she wishes to help you on your quest.”

The butterfly floated from Luna’s ear to Luminous muzzle, landing on it as it had many times before. Only a second later it fluttered off and landed on the floor and faced Luna, causing the princess to smile. She never imagined she would be doing this, as she believed that doing what she was about to was against the rules of reality. She wasn’t going to deny the request of the butterfly however, and figured it was time Luminous learned what happened to souls who past away and came here. Knowing the butterfly was ready, she closed her eyes and focus on the butterfly. As she did, her horn started to glow and created three small orbs of light that circled down to the butterfly and started circling it.

Luminous watched with curiosity, having absolutely no clue as to what was going on as the three identical dark blue orbs suddenly absorbed the butterfly. She felt scared at first, believing that the butterfly had been killed. Then she realized the orbs were combining together and growing bigger. If it was suppose to kill the butterfly, she figured that the orbs would have gotten smaller instead, but this seemed as if it was doing something completely different. As the orb grew to about the base of Luminous’ neck, it suddenly shaping itself into a form of something different then the butterfly.

There was a loud bang as the orbs suddenly exploded in light, causing both Luna and Luminous to cover their eyes due to how bright it was. After a few second the light died down, and Luminous was shocked to see the creature in front of her was not a butterfly at all. Instead she saw the figure of a young dragon in front of her, female from the looks of it. The dragoness stood on two legs, something that the pegasus had never seen before. Just like the figure in had appeared in the orb before it exploded, the dragon came up to Luminous’ neck in height, a pair of small spikes raising her height just above it. She had a much thinner body than most dragons Luminous had seen in books, but then again she had never seen a dragon that stood on two legs. The dragon's scales came in multiple different colors that changed across her body. Most of her was covered with glimmering teal colored scales with a red scales on her stomach and chest area. Her eye’s weren’t as feral as that in foal stories; there was a strange softness to them even with the eyes being reptilian. Her claws weren’t very long, and she didn’t seem to have wings, which either meant it was a DNA thing or that she just hadn’t grown them yet.

The dragoness quickly stretched out a bit before looking to Luminous. She gave the pegasus a gentle smile, or at least as gentle as she could considering how sharp her teeth were. “Hello,” The dragoness said in a gruff voice, which took Luminous off guard considering her age. “Sorry about scaring you. The only pony who can unusually see our true selves is Luna. Everyone else we learned just see’s us as butterflies,” She held out a claw to Luminous, who flinched backwards still unsure about a dragon being in front of her. “Names Topaz, the assistant of Princess Luna before and during the war.”

She felt a little more comfortable now that she knew Topaz was an acquaintance of Princess Luna. With that in mind, she slowly held her hoof out to Topaz’s claw. As the hoof finally placed itself in the dragoness' claw she shook it gentle so her claws didn't hurt Luminous. “I don’t think I need to be introduced to you then, but it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Luminous greeted, getting more comfortable with the dragoness. As Topaz removed her claw from around Luminous’ hoof the pegasus felt confused about. “So, why exactly did you look like a butterfly before? And why can I see you know?”

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Luna answered for the Topaz, allowing Luminous some time to glance around Topaz and get a better grip of what she looked like. “Topaz saved my life during the war, sacrificing herself to save me from an attack by Celestia. I don’t know the reason for why the dead show up as butterflies, but I do know that the living soul can’t see spirits. That’s why they appear in a different form, or at least that’s why I believe they do. As for why you can see her now, it’s something that I have granted Topaz under special conditions. She wishes to help you, as well as I, in learning the truth about the war. For that reason, I have broken an ancient law and brought her back to life so she can help you. She knows what my magic can do, and has great insight when it comes to decision making.”

“I basically promised to Luna that I wouldn’t speak about being her assistant, or having any relation to her in order to keep balance of order,” Topaz continued off of what Luna said, rubbing the back of her head with her claw. “Or what balance is left at least. We are already destroying part of the natural order by bringing me back to life and there’s more than one way to attract the attention of our enemies,” She backed off a little bit as Luminous scanned the side of her head, looking at the small horn at the tip of Topaz’s snout. “Um… you're kinda invading my personal space here.”

“Oh! Sorry,” Luminous apologized quickly, her ears folding against the side of her as her cheeks went red in embarrassment. “I’m just not use to seeing a dragon before, or at least one like you. Most dragons I know are the ones in foal tales,” She felt even more embarrassment as she said that, bowing in apology. “Sorry, that was rude of me to say.”

“It's fine, I understand why you would think that,” Topaz replied, completely unoffended by Luminous’ remark. “We tend to get that kind of reputation among ponies. Not as bad a reputation as certain other species but still not very great considering our looks and that fact we’re carnivores.”

Luminous was glad that things hadn’t turned sour considering what she said. That wouldn’t have been the first time saying something like that would have gotten her into a mess. Still, it didn’t help but make her realize the situation Luna had forced her into. Giving Topaz a second chance at life, telling her about Soarin, Luminous realized that she had locked herself into helping Luna. If she said no, what would happen to Topaz? and how would Luna feel knowing that the Princess when through the trouble of bringing her here in the first place? She couldn’t turn away from this now, she felt like she had no choice but to help.

She sighed heavily as she turned to Luna, who was waiting with great patience for her to respond. “Alright Luna, I’ll help you,” Luminous said, her mind heavy with the thought of leaving her sister to Swift Spell. “There are still things I want answered before I leave though. Could you answer them quickly?”

“It’s important you leave at around the time of midnight,” Luna told her. “But I should be able to answer some of your questions before then, we still got an hour or two I’d say.”

“Then why are you so concerned about finding the cause of the war?” Luminous asked, the question had been something she wanted to ask from the beginning. “Topaz, you said that we have enemies who are going to be coming after us, and I don’t see what’s so grave of a cause as to give me the powers once held by an alicorn. If I’m protecting something, I want to know what exactly it is before I’m sent on something that could end up as a wild goose chase.”

Topaz looked to Luna, who was hesitating to answer the question. The princess wasn’t prepared to answer such a question, not when it brought back painful memories. She knew it was important, however, to stay truthful if she want Luminous’ to trust her back. Luna held back the tears that wanted to fall, not wanting to show weakness in front of her chosen descendant. She looked up to the moon and sun, Luminous and Topaz following her gaze up as she explained.

“There are many things about the war I would want to forget,” Luna told Luminous. “But some are harder to forget than others. My sister, by the time we fought against each other, she was like an entirely different pony,” Luna stood up slowly as she continued to speak, making her way to the edge of the outlook “I recognized her face and voice, but her actions and words were not those of the Celestia I remembered. She was saying nonsense, which soon turned to violence against me. I was forced to fight her, and that fight in the end lead to our death,” She looked back down to Luminous, who was listening closely. “Things remained silent for the pass millennium, and I never found my sister. She should have appeared along with me in the Farplane, but she never did. However, I fear that has changed,” She turned back to Luminous as she addressed the pegasus. “Tell me Luminous, what do you know about the Farplane?”

“Not very much,” Luminous replied, rubbing the back of her neck with her hoof. “What I do know is that it was created by you a long time ago. The fact that it looks like a garden, or a field of flowers now that I see it, it because you believe it symbolizes peace. It also goes without saying that this is where ponies go when they die, as evidence by the fact you are here standing in front of me,” She pointed to herself as she finished “I also now know that if a living pony were here like myself they would see the spirits as butterflies for a reason you don’t know. Other then that I don’t know anything.”

Luna nodded, despite Luminous considering she didn’t know much she actually knew quite a back “When it was created, the garden stood in the light of the moon as it was the celestial body I had control of,” She explained, point up to the moon. “However, recently there has been a change, one that worries me,” She pointed a hoof at the sun, Luminous and Topaz followed her gaze up, both putting a hoof - or claw in Topaz’s case - in front to block the sun's bright rays. “The sun was controlled by my sister and sadly my killer, Celestia, who as I mentioned was acting erratic when I last saw her. If the sun is here, then Celestia is, and I fear that she might do harm to the souls of this place. She already is doing harm to the real world, as I feel a strange power emanating from the unicorn named Swift Spell.”

“You mean that Swift Spell is working for Celestia?!” Luminous asked extremely confused. “How? That doesn’t make since.”

“We believe Celestia did a similar thing to Swift Spell that we are going to do with you,” Topaz replied. “He has power that a normal unicorn shouldn’t have; No hypnosis spell can be that powerful unless there is some sort of artifact involved. We know that it’s Celestia’s doing, because of the energy being emitted is the same kind Luna saw around Celestia when they fought.”

Luminous’ thought of what Topaz had said, thinking of the magic she had seen Swift Spell cast, mostly recalling to his hypnosis. As she thought of this, she realized the kind of power she would have been dealing, had she chosen to fight Swift Spell. She wasn’t about to judge the knowledge of a princess, especially when said princess knew more about magic than any pegasus or earth pony could. Swift Spell really did have more power than she did, he could do anything he wanted to make her life miserable. It pained her to realize that, and it only made her want Luna’s power more, even though she knew it was unjust.

“Um, Princess Luna?” Topaz looked to the princess, doing the same. “I wanted to talk to you real quickly in private, if that's fine with you?”

Luna nodded her head, turning to Luminous who was looking at the wooden floor of the outlook. Luminous was feeling the weight of the decision she was making, and how much she had failed her sister. The thought that this entire time somepony had been working for a pony who had killed her own sister, as well as the Princess of the Night. Her heart was racing, the thought soon become clear that Swift Spell was leading Equestria into something that could potentially destroy them. She couldn’t think of why, and Luna believed it was best to let Luminous meditate on this issue as she and Topaz head out into the field.

After Luna and Topaz were a good distance away from the outlook they had left Luminous to think in, the two stopped. They stood at the edge of a small pond with a water fountain flinging water into the air. The water itself was as clear as crystal, shimmering from the sun's reflection onto it. While it seemed beautiful, it still reminded Luna of her sister, they use to love playing in the water together. The princess and young dragoness sat down next at the end of the pond, Topaz’s feet touching the water, which felt cold against her scales. Topaz held a slight frown, one which Luna easily noticed on her assistant’s face.

“So what is it that worries you my assistant,” Luna said, addressing the matter that they had left for. “You seemed perfectly fine with my decision earlier, but I can’t help but feel like there is something that troubles you. What is that?”

Topaz looked at Luna, before looking down at her reflection in the water. “I don’t mean to question your judgement Princess but,” Topaz looked up at Luna again as he addressed his concern. “I can’t help but feel like what you're doing to Luminous is in someway wrong. You lied to her about having your bloodline and I don’t understand why. You're forcing a decision upon her without any real option out,” She looked to her left as she grabbed her left arm with her right claw, “I understand she has heritage to your kingdom, but I feel like it would be better to give her more of an option.”

Luna let out a sigh, she wasn’t proud of what she was forcing upon Luminous at all. “You know if there was time I would have made a better choice,” she replied. “But we know the damage that is being dealt, and that I don’t have the time to choose somepony else before Celestia causes more harm. Besides,” She looked off into the distance at a forest near the edge of the garden, “I have something to check on here, and if I’m correct then we really don’t have a choice. Somethings happening to spirits here, and I need to know what and why it is happening, but at the same time Swift Spell is putting Equestria in danger and I can’t do anything there,” She looked down at the water, and touched the surface with a hoof causing ripples. “A hero isn’t made by facing somepony they claim is evil, without a reason why should they care. Luminous has a reason to fight, she has a sister who is being controlled and she would do anything to stop them. She has more of a reason then anypony in the Lunar Republic.”

“You know that Celestia and Swift Spell isn’t the concern,” Topaz reminded Luna, as the two had talked about the dangers of naming a descendant. “When others learn Luminous has your magic they will come after her, and I’m scared to think what would happen if he came back. Even as a captain of the royal guard I don’t think that Luminous could take down some of the evils we think may come after her.”

“That’s why she needs friends she can trust,” Luna explained as she pointed at Topaz. “You remember how lonely I was, being overshadowed by my sister. I don’t want to know what I would have resorted to if you never came along. You helped me find a place, you were my first ever friend, and I trust you will be just as good of a friend to Luminous,” A tear fell down Topaz’s face as she heard this rushing over to hug Luna. “I’m trusting you to help Luminous make friends, as well as be one yourself. Please tell me you will do that for her?”

“I will Luna,” Topaz said as she looked into Luna’s eyes. “I promise.”

The two separated after a few seconds, reminiscing on old memories. Luna couldn’t imagine life without Topaz at her side, the dragoness really was her first friend. Before they had met, she felt unloved, as if no one cared for her or the night that she had. Topaz changed that, she helped lift Luna up and showed her that there was a place. The dragoness never left her side, even when she vowed to create a new empire against her own sister’s will. Many ponies would look at that as the reason why the war started, but there was fifteen year gap between the creation of the Lunar empire and the start of the war. The empire’s creation couldn’t possibly be the reason for the war. She needed to know what happened to make Celestia do such an action, and Luminous was the pony she hoped would solve that.

As Luna and Topaz returned, they looked to see a reinvigorated Luminous. The pegasus hopped off the chair with confidence as the Luna and Topaz joined her in the outlook. There was a fire burning in Luminous’ blue eyes, one that Luna hadn’t expected. Topaz was also caught off guard by this, but mostly because of how uncertain she was about Luminous being willing to help. Despite this, Luna put a confident smile on her face, knowing that she had won in getting Luminous’ help. She didn’t even have to hear words to know this.

“Midnight must be drawing near in Equestria,” Luna told Luminous, speaking with authority like a princess should. “We may talk again another night, but it’s important that I pass my power on now and bring you back to reality. I allow to tell you that you won’t become an alicorn from this power, but you will gain some physical feature showing your ability to use magic. Nopony in the castle can see you like this, as I fear they may tell Swift Spell and put you in greater danger than you are already in.”

“I understand,” Luminous replied, her voice calm but powerful. “I promise not to disappoint you princess.”

With that Luna nodded her head, grateful that things had gone well even after great uncertainty from the Luminous. Not wasting anymore time, Luna’s horn glowed once again, but instead of the aura staying where it had like earlier, it grew and made it’s way over to Luminous. As the aura touched Luminous’ forehead she got a strange sensation, one that she had never felt before. It felt as if the aura was making it’s way into her own body, which she soon realized it was. Her muscles tensed up a bit at the strange feeling, as a pegasus wasn’t suppose to have unicorn magic, but soon relaxed after a minute or two. As the aura fully seeped its way into Luminous’ body, she couldn’t help but feel amazed at how it felt, or really how she felt now. She felt more powerful than she ever had, even though a quick glance around and a hoof checking her forehead told her that she was still a pegasus.

Luna felt exhausted, huffing and puffing from the amount of energy she had just used, as well as the fact she didn’t have much of it anymore “This power will be a bit… tricky to get use to,” Luna explained through her now exhausted state. “The magic you have is normal unicorn magic, so don’t expect to be able to do anything extremely powerful. Topaz should be able to help you learn once you get out of Canterlot,” Luminous looked to the dragoness, and waved to her as if they had just met. After Topaz was done waving Luminous looked back as Luna continued. “Promise me, Luminous, that you will find the truth. The three kingdoms hang in the balance.”

Luminous nodded in confidence, but her mind thoughts were flowing with fear. The decision had come as a result of what Topaz had told her about Swift Spell. She didn’t know how true it was, as she felt it would have been more obvious if Swift Spell was working for Celestia, but the idea that someone with his power was able to control others scared her. This was her sister Neon he had control over, the sister she had loved since she was little, the sister who had been such a great ruler to Equestria, and the sister who help her when she…. No, she wouldn’t think of that. She shook the thought out of her head as soon as it came, the memory was too painful for her to remember.

“Are you crying Luminous?” Topaz asked, seeing a tear escape Luminous’ right eye.

The pegasus let out a gasp as she saw the tear falling, quickly wiping it away and shaking her head. She turned to the dragoness as her eyes stopped watering. “Sorry,” She apologized. “Just can’t stop thinking about leaving Neon with that stallion. I’ve made up my mind, however, and I don’t plan to go back on a promise,” She looked to Luna, shifting the expression on her face to be one of confidence yet again. “I’ll see you some other night, Princess Luna.”

Luna smiled and nodded as her horn started to glow. Luminous and Topaz felt the vision blur as this happened, unaware that from Luna’s perspective there body was slowly falling away. It was painless of course, as to the two ponies they were only dreaming. It looked like stain glass to her, and she remembered this phenomenon from her final battle with Celestia, as she saw it happen to Celestia as well. She watched it with curiosity until Luminous and Topaz completely disappeared, her mind wondering why it happened. Unable to come to a solid theory or conclusion she left it to the simply result of traveling between the realm of life and death.

“Good luck, Luminous,” Luna calmly cheered, even though the pegasus was no longer in front of her. “And to you, Topaz, I hope you find a place with her as a friend, like you had with me so long ago.”

Author's Note

Please leave a comment, like, and give a follow if you like this and other stories of mine. Also, any feedback would be appreciated, so please let me know if you spot anything that could use fixing in the comment or by PM.