Unwanted

Dying Hopes.

The solar princess sat in Canterlot's royal garden. She extended her neck, lightly touching the luscious red rose in front of her with her muzzle. She inhaled deeply, smelling the flower's aroma, letting out a happy sigh. “I can see why Luna likes to come here.” she whispered as a smile grew on her face.

Her father had finally agreed to give her a day off from her intensive studies. Most of Celestia's life was spent either by joining her parents during royal events, being swayed around like some sort of prize trophy or hidden within the palace's libraries, studying her magic. She could never afford to spent time with her little sister, to her great dismay.

Not knowing where Luna had ran off to, Celestia retreated to the royal garden. She could remember her sister calling the garden a place of tranquility. Truer words were never spoken. It had a certain sense of peacefulness about it. The way the beautiful flowers softly rustled in the wind. The princess could still take pleasure in the little things in life, things that others might not even notice. The peace would not last long though, for today was the day that the sun went black.

Celestia got startled by the sudden cries of the birds that lived in the gardens, it sounded like they were in distress. The quick, frantic chirping could be heard throughout the place. She wasn't sure what was going on at the time but all of that would soon change.

Several critters left their underground homes, running through the tall grass in a state of fear. Animals always had a way of feeling certain things coming before they happened. Earthquakes, downpours, and so on. “But what are they afraid of now..” She though to herself.

A cold feeling swept over her, a heavy feeling. Something wasn't right. She instinctively turned her gaze upward towards her beloved sun. An intimidating sight presented itself, the moon stood high in the sky, slightly touching the image of the sun. aggressive shivers shot down her spine as the moon started to slowly cover the sun.

A wave of darkness shot over her Canterlot, enveloping the city in its shadow. Celestia looked at the grass beneath her hooves. She saw the line that divided light and darkness flow over her. She collapsed, her haunches landing in the grass. She felt.. disconnected. She felt weak. As if a part of her was suddenly missing.

She looked around, observing her surroundings. It was like she had arrived in a completely new world, like she wasn't even in Canterlot any more. It was dark, darker than she could ever imagine. She looked up at the sky. It was cloudy, but instead of the usual fluffy white wanderers the sky was filled with dark, gloomy clouds, looming above her.

A silver ring of dim light encircled the moon. As if the sunlight tried to escape from its captor, but its struggles were in vain. “Where's Luna!?” was the first thing that popped into her mind. She tried to run towards the palace but she was exhausted. The eclipse had drained her of her power. She wanted to feel the warm glow of her sun, she longed for it.

The alicorn stumbled through the massive garden. She could barely make out her path through the thick darkness. Celestia collapsed to the ground, her face landing in the grass. She stumbled to get up. Suddenly, she could see two vague forms approach her.

They appeared to be members of the royal guard. Their normally shining golden armour looked dull and gray in the shadow of the eclipse. “Princess Celestia! You have to come inside now!” the larger guard said sternly as he beckoned towards the palace gate.

“Where's my sister!? Is she safe?” she pleaded, still stumbling on her hooves from fatigue.

"There is no time princess, into the palace now." Celestia nodded timidly. She just had to get away from all of the confusion.

The door slammed shut behind her and instantly an overwhelming silence filled the room. The questions clouded her mind. What's going on? Where is Luna? Why would she block the sun? Nothing made sense as she stared at the ground.

Suddenly, Celestia could her the muffled voices of the guards on the other side of her door. She sneaked closer, putting her ear to the wood. The alicorn desperately tried to make out the words. “Yes ... princess … been taken away ... an unknown assailant. All guards … report to Light's Square.” Celestia's eyes opened wide. Her sister had been taken? By who? And why?

She continued to listen intently to the conversation until the sound of hoof steps faded away. Celestia gave the door a slight nudge causing it to swing open. She carefully sneaked through the now darkened halls of the palace. This wasn't the world she was used to. Nothing looked like it was supposed to. The night was so strange to her, so foreign.

The princess made her way to Luna's private quarters. An unnerving feeling swept over her. She had never spent a lot of time in her sister's room. She felt like a stranger, as if she had entered a stranger's home, one where she wasn't welcome.

She began scanning the room for any sign of her missing sister. As she rummaged through Luna's belongings she realized how little she knew of her sister, her own sister. She had no idea who her sibling really was. It gave her a sense of guilt, of regret.

Her eyes fell upon a small purple book that was tucked away underneath the blue satin pillow that laid atop Luna's bed. She tilted h er head in confusion as she took the object in her hooves. “My little Luna” the cover read.

As soon as she opened the small book a note fell out of it. She clumsily picked the piece of paper from the floor and opened it. The ink was faded and vague but still readable.

Lily looked up at the sky with amazement. The streets of Canterlot were dark and shadowed. The dim light that shone through the windows of Canterlot's houses was the only thing that illuminated the city. She looked up at Luna. The normally timid mare seemed to tower above her in stature. Lily had never seen so much sheer determination in a pony's eyes. Never before had Luna looked so.. Intimidating.

The startled guards regained their composure. Sure, they were afraid, but theirs was not to question, only to act. They blindly charged towards the couple. As blinded by rage and survival as she was, Luna knew that she could not keep the guards off forever. They had to get away.

Luna swayed her horn through the air, a black glow following it. She arched her head before she quickly brought it down, pointing her horn towards their assailants. The eyes of the guards turned to a pure black as their vision became blinded. They stumbled around, some falling to the ground, others colliding with each other.

This was their change. Luna nudged Lily who nodded in return. They quickly rushed past the blinded guards.they debated where to go at first. It was to dangerous to head for the main gate, it was too heavily guarded. But Lily had an idea. She beckoned Luna to follow as she turned to The Commons.

With a quick buck the door to the restaurant swung open. Dusty turned his head to the couple in anger. "My door!? What did you do that for?" he groaned. Lily quickly explained the situation to her long time friend and guardian. He nodded in return, a sense of determination in his eyes. Lily had never seen him act so serious before.

The two ran up the stairs, making their way towards the balcony. Luna looked over the darkened lands spread out before her and she realised that her actions had not only affected the city but the entire land of Equestria. There was no turning back now.
She bent her knees and spread her wings as wide as possible as she looked at Lily, beckoning her to get on top of her.

"Are you sure about that?" Lily said in a confused tone.

"No time! Get on!" Luna pleaded. Without hesitation the earth pony climbed atop the alicorn's back. She knew how bad of a flyer Luna was. The image of a little filly desperately flapping her wings to get trough the open window in her roof flashed through Lily's head as she wrapped her arms around Luna's neck.

In a matter of seconds Luna charged towards the end of the balcony and jumped over the edge, her wings snapped open aggressively. A liberating sensation shot through the two of them as the wind rushed past their heads. Luna glided over the massive lake, trying not to fall under the weight of the other pony resting on her back.

Luna landed into the tall grass with a loud thud, Lily rolling off her back. The earth pony felt the long grass rustle past her body as she violently rolled over the ground. Luna stumbled back on her legs and looked over at her love with a look of worry. "Are you ok?" she asked in a concerned tone as she helped Lily up on her hooves.

Luna lowered herself into the grass. The world finally started to slow down, the fog in her mind disappeared. She let out a heavy sigh as Lily sat down next to her. They sat silently sat next to each other for a couple of minutes, not one word was spoken. But reality was catching up with them. There was no escaping the simple truth.

Lily looked up at Luna with tears in her eyes. "This is all my fault.." she sobbed as she lowered her gaze to the ground below, her tears dripping down into the grass. "If I hadn't.. If I didn't" She got silenced by Luna, forcing her muzzle onto hers. Tears started to escape from Luna's eyes as well. The moment was perfect. In a way, the darkened version of Equestria felt so safe to Lily. It was as if Luna's wing was shrouding her at all times. No one could see them, no one could judge them. Their perfect world.

But they knew that it wouldn't last forever. Luna broke the kiss, hugging the earth pony tightly. "We have to get away from here. Far away." she whispered into Lily's ear.

"But.. Where will we go? What will we do!?" Lily pleaded.

"I don't know.. But I won't allow them to take you away. I promise." Lily was still looking down into the grass with watered eyes. Luna put a hoof to her chin and forced Lily's eyes to look into hers. "Look at me! I promise." Luna was doing everything in her might to stop the mare from crying.

Lily nodded, hugging Luna tightly. They raised themselves from the grass. For a moment they just stood there looking back at the massive palace that towered above every other structure in Canterlot. The reinforced walls of the city surrounded it. "It's funny.." Luna whispered. "When I was a little filly, Canterlot's walls and towers.. they made me feel so.. Safe."

Suddenly her eyes opened wide in realization. How could she have forgotten. "Lily! My book! I have to get my book!" she yelled. "I left it under my pillow! How could I have been so stupid?" She wasn't going to leave Canterlot without the only reminder that she had of her mother.

"Are you ready for this?" Luna asked. Lily stood next to her, arms wrapped around the alicorn. She nodded in response. Lily buried her muzzle into Luna's neck as she prepared for the spell. "All right.. Hold on!" Luna yelled as the tip of her horn started to glow violently, sparks of magic surrounding the two of them.

A purple glow filled Lily's vision. She closed her eyes for a mere second as she felt the spark rush through her body. Suddenly, the sound of the raging winds was replaced by a powerful silence. She opened her eyes to a change of scenery. They were standing in Luna's room.

The princess walked over to her bed. Her face turned pale as she noticed that someone had gone through her belongings. Her shelves and closets stood wide open and the covers of her bed were roughed up. "No.." she thought. "How.." Lily noticed the sudden change in Luna's behaviour.

"What's wrong?" She asked hastily as she trotted over to Luna's side. Luna quickly turned her head to the earth pony, tears flying through the air.

"It's gone! Someone took it!" she cried. "Why would someone take it!?"

Lily looked through the large bay window to see several guards with flash lights attached to their armour patrol the darkened streets of Canterlot. "I don't know Luna, but we have to leave now!" she pleaded. "What if they find us?"

Luna looked back at Lily. She didn't want to go but the earth pony was right. She sighed as she walked over to Lily, allowing her marefriend to wrap her arms around her neck. Luna rested her head upon Lily's shoulder as her horn started to glow. Tears started to roll down her cheek, knowing that she would never see her mother's book again.

Suddenly, her horn lost its glow. Lily stepped back, looking Luna in the eyes. "What's wrong? Why isn't it working?" she asked.

Luna's eyes shot open in realization. "No no no! Why didn't I think of that!?" Luna raged.

"What!? What's going on?" Lily pleaded. Luna stopped for a moment, collecting her thoughts.

"It's a fail-safe mechanism." Lily said in a worried tone. "When disaster strikes a magical barrier forms around the palace, preventing the use of magic within its borders." She sighed as she looked at the entrance of her room. "I'm afraid we'll have to walk."

The two mares rushed through the halls of the palace. Luckily, all of the palace guards were out in the city, looking for Luna. The sound of their hooves hitting the white marble floor filled the air. Never before did the hallways of the palace seem so large and intimidating to them.

The ending came in sight. The throne room neared closer, and with it the palace entrance. They charged through the large doorway that lead to their destination. They entered the massive gilded throne room. It was the largest room in the palace. Banners with alicorns depicted upon them hung from the ceiling. Two golden thrones stood at the end of the room. The stained glass windows of the room depicted the greatest moments in Equestrian history. They ran towards the door. Luna reached for the handle.

"Luna wait!"

Luna stopped in her tracks. "No.." she knew that voice, she knew that voice all to well. She turned around. And there she stood. Her sister Celestia. The white alicorn wore the most intense look of worry on her face that Luna had ever seen. She sighed. "Stay out of this Tia." she said sternly. "We're leaving and you can't stop us!" she yelled.

"I don't understand! Who is we!?" Her sister pleaded as she looked over at Lily. "Who is this?"

Lily was about to speak when she got cut off by Luna. "The less you know the better. Go away Tia." She said with a hint of anger in her voice. Luna was about to open the door when she felt a force throw her away from it. She hit the floor with a loud thud. A feeling of pain appeared in her shoulder as she got back up on her hooves.

Celestia now stood between her and the door. "I'm sorry Luna.. But I can't let you leave!" she cried.

"I'm warning you Celestia.." she growled. "Get out of the way." Luna noticed that Celestia was wearing a saddlebag around her waist. A little purple book could be seen inside. "Where did you get that! Give it back!" Luna yelled.

"Luna.. I know what happened but it's no reason to leave. Mother loves you very much." That was it. That was the last straw. Luna's anger boiled inside of her. How dared she mention her mother. How dared she. A look of rage appeared on Luna's face.
Her horn and eyes started to glow with a black aura.

"Are you really that blind!? Are you really that naive!?" She growled. "Must be nice, living in that perfect little world of yours. Mother hates me. Father hates me. You are just too busy playing their perfect little princess to notice!" She yelled as she picked Celestia up with her magic and slammed her into the door.

Celestia let out a cry of pain as her back hit the wood. She feel to the ground. Her hoofs scraped across the golden floor as she got back up on her legs. "This isn't you Luna.. I don't know what they did to you, but I will help you out of this." She whispered.

"Shut up!" Luna yelled angrily as she slammed the princess into the door once again. This time it broke open causing the white alicorn to fly through the darkened streets of Canterlot. A heavy storm had formed outside and rain was now streaming down upon the city. Luna and Lily charged outside.

Celestia stumbled on the wet, cobblestone floor as she got back up. "You leave me no choice Luna.." She said sadly. Celestia closed her eyes as she got up on her hind legs. A massive bolt of bright light shot out of her horn, Illuminating the shadows of Canterlot as it spiralled towards the couple.

Luna jumped in front of Lily and a cloud of black smoke shot out of her horn, absorbing Celestia's magic. Her sister's eyes opened wide in surprise. She had never seen that kind of magic before. She didn't even know it existed. "Get out of our way Celestia! I won't hesitate to hurt you if you get in my way!" She screamed, trying to make herself audible over the raging thunderstorm.

How could her sister, her little sister, be so much more powerful than her. The two mares started to charge past her. "I won't let you!" she yelled as a wave of force shot out of her horn, pushing the two back into the palace walls. Luna was now boiling with rage. She focused all of her power into her horn. Black sparks started to pulse from it as she got up on her hind legs.

Suddenly, a prison of shining light appeared around her as her horn lost it's glow. She opened her eyes to see her mother, towering above her with a furious look on her face. She grabbed the mare in her arms.

Luna violently struggled in her mother's grasp. "Let me go! Let me go right now!" she screamed. Lily started to step back with a terrified look on her face. The thunderstorm still raged around them, the sky still dark from Luna's eclipse. Luna violently kicked her legs in all directions as she squirmed in the alicorn's arms.

The queen turned her gaze to the frightened white mare that stood a few feet away. "Take the servant girl!" She yelled sternly at her guards. "Remove her and her parents from this city, from this land!" Suddenly, several guards grabbed Lily tightly.

"Luna!? Help me!" Lily cried as she tried to squirm out of the guard's hold. She extended her arm to Luna. The princess did the same, she extended her arm as far as she could. She could feel the pain in her shoulder as their hooves nearly touched, the thunderstorm still raging in their ears. Their hooves were shaking, merely inches away from each other before they got pulled away.

"No! Lily!"