Luna examined the forest she was in. She had never seen this place before. The trees seemed old, but she didn’t feel the magic that was usually placed to protect nature. How long had she been on the moon?
She looked at her reflection in a nearby pond. Almost all of her armor had been destroyed, except a chestpiece, her helmet and her shoes. The armor was useless now. Using her magic, she removed the cold pieces of metal.
“Andromeda, are you there?” Luna called out.

I am here, Luna.
The spirit answered.

“Andromeda, where are we?” Luna asked.

It seems this is Ponyville
Andromeda said.

“But we destroyed Ponyville. Shouldn’t there be ruins? All I can see are trees,” Luna asked. She looked around. There were no signs that there had ever been a town here. The forest around her seemed to stretch out infinetly. «Andromeda, teleport us to the republic headquarters,» Luna commanded.

I’d love to, but I’m not strong enough yet.

"Well we can’t stay here. Perhaps if we walk in one direction we will find civilization."

Luna walked carefully forward. The forest around her seemed harmless enough, but she constantly felt like she was being watched. The trees around her blocked any view of the sky. She couldn’t tell if it was day or night, and she had no way of knowing how much time she had spent in the woods.

Eventually she reached a clearing. Luna looked upwards. Judging by the position of the stars, it was the middle of winter.

"That can’t be right. From what I can tell, it’s summer."
What had happened to the stars?

She flew over the river. After a bit of walking, she found a path. It was old, and weeds were growing in the cracks. It was clear that it hadn’t been used for a long time. Still, it was better than nothing.

"Well, where there’s a path, there’s civilization! I wonder where it leads."
Luna started running enthusiastically along the path. As she ran, her surroundings started to look familiar.

The path stopped at an old bridge. In the horizon he saw ruins of a way too familiar castle.
"Could it be..." she asked herself before she spread her wings and flew towards the ruins as fast as she could.

She stopped at the front. "It is!" it was King Solaris’ castle. She had never thought she would see it in this state. She started laughing.

"That must mean we won after all! Ha ha ha! That old fool is finally gone! Equestria is finally free!"
Luna couldn’t stop herself. It had always seemed so ridiculous that Solaris could actually be defeated. But here she was. She felt herself crying. The war wasn’t in vain after all.

She charged into the castle and went straight for the throne room. The two thones still stood there, as a ghost of a dark time finally over.

"You thought you could defeat us!" she charged her horn and destroyed the first throne.

"You thought your reign would last forever!"
She destroyed the other throne.

"But look at how that turned out! Your castle is destroyed! Your forces are beaten! We defeated you! Ah ha ha ha ha!"

Her magic spread out across the room, creating a chaotic whirlind of destruction. Tapestries were torn apart, pillars crumbled, once beatiful furniture were crushed.

Luna’s rampage calmed down after the walls caved in and crumbled. The roof was about to crush what was left of the room, but Luna destroyed it with her magic. There would be nothing left of the castle once she was done with it.

***

Once Twilight was downstairs, she was immediately faced with Pinkie.

"There you are, silly! I was starting to get worried about you!" the pink mare said.

"Yeah, sorry about that, I’m not really used to parties this big," Twilight apologized. "Why don’t you tell me about yourself?" Twilight asked. Pinkie may have appeared hyperactive and annoying at firt, but she had been kind enough to throw a party for her, so Twilight felt she owed the mare kindness in return.

"Sure! I am New Ponyville’s party pony." Pinkie said.

"What’s a party pony?" Twilight had heard of party ponies before, but she just assumed it meant ponies who attended parties often. But Pinkie had said it like it was an actual profession.

"Well, I’m not officially a party pony yet, since I haven’t finished my apprenticeship at Sugarcube corner yet, but a party pony is a pony who schedules and arranges parties.
As a party pony, I’m responsible for choosing decorations, snacks, safety and general mood for the party. I’m also responsibe for having the party last as long as possible.
Though I totally flopped this one," Pinkie explained.

"Wait what? How did this party fail? I mean, everypony is having a great time here!" Twilight protested.

"Yeah, but you're not having a great time, are you?" Pinkie asked.

"Not really," Twilight admitted.

"Excactly. If you’re not happy, then this party is a flop. Buuuuut, if you tell me what kind of parties you enjoy, I promise I'll make the next one way better!" Pinkie offered.

"Oh, that's really nice of you, but I won't be staying here in New Ponyville. I'm returning to Canterlot after the celebration. Though I appreciate the offer, I really do."

"Oh," Pinkie said, dejected. "But you'll visit, right?"

"Uuh, sure?" Twilight said.

Pinkie's face immediately lit up. "Yay! You can visit Sugarcube corner, and I'll introduce you to-" Pinkie suddenly stopped.
The entire room was quiet. Nopony said a word, but everypony knew one thing. Something was wrong. It felt as if the night had become ten degrees colder.

Y’all feel that?" Applejack asked after an entire minute of silence. Everypony gave a silent nod. Suddenly, everypony were on the ground, startled by the sudden explosion of magic.

Twilight’s head ached, the powerful magic overpowering her horn. Her sensitivity for magic was her greatest strenght, but also a great weakness. Powerful magic often had this effect on her. With great effort, she cut off her connection with the spell.

«Cadence, do you know what’s going on?» Twilight asked.

«I haven’t felt a magical disturbance on this scale before. The only similar energy I have felt is from my mom, but it’s not her.»

«What if it’s Nightmare moon? Oh no, the prophecy said she would start an era of darkness! Oh, what do I do, what do I do?» Twilight panicked.

«Twilight, calm down, I’m sure it will be alright.
You’re my mom’s number one student, and you know what she’s capable of. She has defeated Nightmare moon before, and she will do it again. I’m sure of it,» Cadence said in an attempt to calm down the purple unicorn.

«But what if she can’t? Queen Celestia needed the elements of harmony last time, and nopony knows where they are, or what they are,» Twilight argued.

«What are you two talking about?» a voice said from above. Twilight looked up. It was Rainbow Dash.

«Oh, um, nothing,» Twilight said. The pegasus was drawing attention. she didn’t want anypony to know about her theory until she was certain.

«You sure? ‘Cause it didn’t sound like nothing. Something about a nightmare or ‘elements’. Elements of what?» Rainbow asked. Ponies were starting to stare.

«Why do you want to know?» Twilight said defensively.

«If you know something, we all have the right to know. Am I right, everypony?» Rainbow shouted the last part for all to hear. The ponies in the library started to loudly agree.

«Tell us!»

«What’s going on?»

«Are you a spy or something?»

«Is the queen involved in this?»

«TWITCHY TAIL!» Pinkie yelled. Everypony froze. Then paniced. Everypony desperately ran for cover, knocking over bookshelves, hiding under tables, squashing pastries.

Twilight and Cadence were in the middle of the chaos, and they would have been trampled if it weren’t for Rarity.
Rarity dragged them to the other end of the room with her magic, where she had made a hiding place behind a desk. Twilight and Cadence gratefully hid under the table with her.

«Thank you so much Rarity. I owe you one,» Twilight said.

«Oh, think nothing of it,» Rarity said.

«Rarity, what’s going on?» Cadence asked, the chaos still going on in the backround.

«Pinkie Pie has an unique ability to predict the near future. Twitchy tail means something will fall from the sky,» Rarity explained as if it was a completely normal thing to say.

«Predict the future? How is that even possi-»

CRASHHHH!

Before Twilight could finish her question, something fell trough the roof and landed in the middle of the room. Nopony moved.
Gathering her confidence, Twilight crawled from under the desk and approached the thing. Getting closer, she realized it wasn’t a something, but a somepony.

Rising from the rubble, a black alicorn stretched her wings.

***

Celestia felt Luna before she saw her. The familiar energy pattern of her sister had almost escaped her memory. It was weaker than when she confronted her a thousand years ago, but was growing stronger. Tracking her sister’s energy, it lead her to the old castle of Solaris.

Suddenly, Luna’s magic exploded. The old castle trembled under Luna’s magic, falling apart piece by piece. Celestia watched as what was left of the east tower crumbled and fell into the depths of the ravine.
Celestia ran as fast as she could, getting closer to the source of the destryctive forces that tore the old castle apart. She saw her sister, cackling madly, clearly relishing in the castle’s destruction.

«Luna, STOP THIS NOW!» Celestia yelled.

«What?» Luna, caught off guard, dropped her spell. She slowly turned around, facing her sister. «Celestia? But how? If the republic defeated Solaris, surely they would have disposed of his army.» Luna had a look of confusion, not sure what to believe.

«You thought me dead? No, dear Luna, I can reassure you, I am very much alive. The Midnight republic didn’t defeat Solaris, I did, and I took his throne,» Celestia said, spreading her wings while moving closer to Luna.

«You, you have ascended? But the only others that know about the spell I used is President Winter Wind, general Stronghoof and the Midnight council.»

«i found your spell after the war. How I found it isn’t important. Needless to say, it worked. That was a thousand years ago. Nopony knows Solaris or the republic even exsisted.» Celestia explained.

«A thousand years? No, you have to be lying! This is just a trick, right? We defeated you, that must be it. I can’t have been gone a thousand years. That would mean, no...» Luna wanted it to be a lie. Her belief that it was a lie was all that was keeping her from falling apart. It was the only thing that allowed her to stand upright.

«It’s true, sister. The Midnight republic fell swiftly without their greatest weapon. Luna, I’m so sorry, I never meant to send you away, you have to believe me.
I thought the elements would purify you. I never thought they would banish you. I had no choice but to use them. You were too powerful. I had to follow orders. Please forgive me, sister.» Celestia pleaded.

«What happened of them?» Luna asked coldly.

«What?» Celestia stepped back.

«WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CHILDREN?» Luna snapped.

«They passed away 80 years later. I made sure they were safe where you had placed them. They had long and fullfilling lives, and many wonderful descendants. I lost track after five generations. Their family had spread all over equestria and beyond,» Celestia answered.

«Did you ever tell them about me? About their father?» Luna asked, tears forming in her eyes.

«No. And I made sure they never found out. It was your last request before we... separated.» Celestia lowered her head in shame.
Luna’s legs gave in. she started sobbing loudly on the floor, her vision blurred by her own tears. She could faintly hear Andromeda’s words of comfort, but was too filled with grief to care.

Celestia tried to move forward, but was stopped by her companion.

She is still your enemy, Celly.

«She’s my sister. She needs me to be with her right now,» Celestia whispered.

And then what? What happens next? She won’t rule alongside you or recognize your authority. No matter what happens, she will cause chaos and panic.

«why are you telling me what I already know?»

It’s my job to protect you, Celly. She’s a threath that needs to be nipped in the bud, no matter how close you used to be. Do you really think she will forgive you after what you did? You separated her from her family, her friends, her time. You have to get rid of her.

«I have to try, Solar.» she whispered as she walked to her sister. She tried to wipe Luna’s tears with her hoof, but Luna screamed «DON’T TOUCH ME!» giving Celestia a look of hate and despair.

«I’m sorry Luna. If I could go back and change everything, I would. But I can’t. After all these years, I just want my sister back. Please, Luna. We can be sisters again.» Celestia pleaded, her eyes forming tears, blurring her vision.

«And how will you explain this to your subjects? Suddenly, their queen has a sister that she has told nopony about, and appearantly she sealed her in the moon for a thousand years!» Luna said.

«Luna..»

«Please, how long have you known me? I joined the Midnight republic because I despised the monarchy, not because I wanted the crown.
The Republic may have been defeated, but I will continue to fight for it’s cause. I have nothing left to lose anymore. You stole away everything I cared about.» Luna stood up, opening her wings and chargin her horn. «and I will fight you to honor those I failed.»

Celestia took a deep breath before standing in the same fighting position as her sister. «Then I have no choice other than to destroy you. My duty is to protect my subjects, no matter the cost.»

***

Luna was falling. She hadn’t expected her sister to be so powerful. A fireball had burned away the feathers on her left wing, and she was getting closer to the ground. Andromeda was making the feathers grow back as fast as she could, but it wasn’t fast enough. She fell straight through a treehouse, making a crater as she landed.

She had broken two ribs and there was a crack in one of her hooves. In hindsight, she probably should have kept her armor. Andromeda started healing her, But Luna didn’t wait for her to finish. She rose, adjusting her eyes to the light. She was surrounded by frightened ponies. She looked at the sky to see her sister preparing another fireball.

Without thinking, Luna made a barrier spell, shielding the library from the fireball of destruction. As the ball hit the shield, ponies were panicking. Luna made an exit in the barrier. «Run! All of you! Quickly!» she yelled at the frightened crowd. Most of them ran outside, hesitating only for a second. There were some ponies who didn’t run. A purple unicorn and a pink alicorn.

«Don’t think you can get away, Nightmare Moon! We will do anything to help queen Celestia defeat you!» the unicorn said.

«Twilight is right. We won’t let you bring eternal night.» the alicorn flared her wings, ready to fight.

«What in the name of Faust are you saying?» Luna asked. What was this nonsense about eternal night?

«Oh, don’t play stupid, Nightmare Moon! You know what we’re talking about!» The unicorn tried to blast her, but Luna dodged the attack.

But dodging the blast was enough to drop the spell as another fireball came for the library. Luna quickly teleported the three of them just as the fireball hit. They appeared right outside of the library.

***

Twilight gasped as she saw the library catch fire. «Spike is in there!» she was about to run inside the burning library when she heard her dragon friend’s voice.

«I’m okay Twilight!» Spike climbed out from the flames. «I have fireproof scales.»
Twilight ran to Spike and gave him a tight hug.
«Twi..can’t.. breathe!»

«Oh, sorry Spike. I’m just so relieved you’re okay,» Twilight said, wiping away a tear.

«Hey Twilight, do you know who hit me with that fireball?» Spike asked.

«It’s... mom!» Cadence said, shocked.

Celestia descended landing between her daughter and her sister.

«Are you CRAZY? There were other ponies in there, Celestia! You could have killed them!» Nightmare Moon yelled.

«I- I didn’t realize. I thought the library would be empty by now.» Celestia stuttered.

«Likely story!» Nightmare Moon yelled as she blasted Celestia with her magic. Before Celestia could recover, Nightmare moon became mist and fled.

«Mom!»
«Celestia!»

Cadence and Twilight ran to Celestia, helping her stand up. «I’m alright. It’s L-Nightmare Moon you should worry about,» Celestia said.

«What do we do now, your majesty?» Twilight asked.

«Nightmare moon has fled, likely to regain her power. I can keep her from making eternal night, but it’s only a matter of time before she attacks. We need to be prepared,» Celestia said. «We need the elements of harmony.»

Author's Note

I’m really sorry for this taking so long, but I have been distracted by Tumblr and Pinterest, not to mentions school and family things. Please forgive me.

I’m also really sorry if my writing is rubbish. English isn’t my first language, but I think I’m improving.
I use celsius instead of fahrenheit, just to be clear.