Chapters When Luna looked up at the night sky for the first time, the sight of the blanket of stars and the glowing moon had filler her with awe and curiosity. They still did, but she understood them better now, if the picture on her flank was any indication. Her night was the time when ponies rested from a taxing day of work and spent times with their families. It was also a time for healing, philosophy, entertainment and love. Luna adored her night, and the ponies were grateful for the respite it brought. The day, however...
Celestia coaxed the sun over the horizon and gently nudged it along its proper course. She was the first one up, as always, and she raised the sun alone, as always, and she watched as another beautiful dawn spread across the sky. Not a single pony saw it, and she snorted softly to herself. No, the ponies would grudgingly haul themselves out of their beds and groan as they prepared for another long day of work. Some would even complain that it was too bright, or came too early. Those were laziest sort of pony. If only she could make them see...
Celestia's musings were cut off as a member of staff approached her, bowed quickly, and cleared her throat.
"Princess. You have been summoned by Princess Luna to attend this morning's breakfast. Apparently she has a few important agenda items that need to be discussed."
"We thank thee, Scarlet Letter. You may return to your duties."
Celestia sighed as the pegasus trotted away. She knew what this breakfast was going to be about.
"Then We said, tis not a beautiful sea mare that is your wife, but a timberwolf! And he vowed never to touch the hard cider again!"
The dining room filled with roaring laughter as Luna told yet another thrilling tale about some stallion she got drunk and played tricks on. Luna, always center of attention. Luna, getting to spend the night drinking and being merry, sleeping with whoever she likes and disobeying every rule she ever put into practice. She followed her own rules and nothing Celestia did could control her. The Alicorn was growing wild, staying up all night and wandering the streets drunk. Celestia would hate it if anything at all happened to her, even if it did mean being overprotective and a little controlling. A little loss of privacy was a small price to pay for the younger sibling if it meant her safety. She was also quite boastful.
"Dear sister! Did thou see the lovely meteor shower I put on last night? It was quite splendid, all the noble thought so." She giggled and turned to the ponies around her. They eagerly nodded in agreement.
"Well I would have if you hadn't shirked your duties again! How many times have I had to take over Night Court? Three times this month? Your habits are becoming unbearable, and its going to affect the country soon. You need a little structure , sister..."
"Tia! How many times have I told you to BUTT OUT of my life and give me some space? I am almost a full grown mare and my ethereal mane is about to grow in. I can look after myself and I certainly don't need you hovering around, dictating everything I do and being a control freak!"
Luna took a deep breath to calm herself and flounced out of the room, which had emptied quite quickly as soon as the shouting had started. Celestia was left alone in the room, fuming. Why couldn't she see that she needed to be kept safe? Why could no-one ever see what she saw, and instead ran around causing problems instead of fixing them? Something needed to be done, and soon, otherwise Equestria would crumble. The ponies needed their Sun princess to give light and life to the land, otherwise they would have starved or frozen eons ago. All of the ponies needed to do their duties without complaint because it was necessary to their survival. They needed to be controlled-
TAKE THEIR WILL MAKE THEM YOURS YOU ARE LIFE ITSELF CONTROL THEIR LIVES TAKE THEIR DESTINIES
Celestia's head shot up and her eyes widened. Where had that voice come from? Why was it saying those things? Fear replaced anger as she hastily left the room, trying to leave the violent and angry thoughts behind her. She had work to do, after all. Stopping a war with the Griffon Empire wasn't going to happen if she let herself get distracted by petty thoughts. There was also managing the countries food supply, because it had to be closely monitored to ensure there was enough left over to get the ponies through the winter. After that would be all the meetings with various nobleponies she had to keep in check, or they'll siphon funds from the Treasury. If only Luna would help out sometimes and shoulder some of the work load, Especially after her big speech about being a big pony. Princess of the Night wasn't just a title- it had responsibilities that went with it. When they had defeated Discord with the Elements of Harmony about a hundred years ago, she had gladly taken up the role the three tribes had given her and had taken all of her Princess of the Night duties seriously. Now the ponies would be lucky if she turned up to a Nightmare Night more than once a decade or so, instead she would be drinking it up with the nobles trying to gain her favor. It was like every pony in the whole of Equestria was a foal, and she were the only adult. None of them just seemed to understand what she had to do in order to keep her country from falling into rubble. She just wanted her sister to share some of the burden. Is that too much to ask?
Celestia shook her head and continued down the hallway. Her stomach grumbled, a reminder she hadn't actually eaten anything at breakfast. Now she had to do everything on an empty stomach. today was going to be one of those days.
-*-*-***-*-*-
As Celestia set the sun there was an almost audible sigh of relief from the staff at the palace as they packed up and got ready to swap with the night staff. Not a single one glanced up at the reds or oranges that painted the clouds or sky, they were much too focused on getting home and resting up. There would be no rest for Celestia- Luna had not organised her annual meeting with the Astrology Division or balanced the palace's expenditures, which meant that the Sun princess had to.
Great.
When Celestia first looked up into the dusk for the first time, and seen all the colors in the clouds and around the mountains, she had been filled with awe and curiosity. If the picture on her flank was any indication, she knew it better than any other pony. It used to make her feel special. Now she just wished that ponies looked forward to her sunrise as much as they looked forward to sunset, and Luna's night. It wasn't fair- she was the older sibling and was therefore stronger and deserved more respect. If they couldn't give her what she deserved, then she would make them see, and force them to understand.
How she loathed the night.
The thoughts swirling around in the back of her head didn't seem so dark right now.
Luna flopped down angrily onto her bed. Her horn lit up and she telepathically slammed the double doors behind her. She wanted to be alone for a while. If her sister let her.
Ugh . Celestia was trying to take over her life! Always telling her when she could go out, when to come back in, what she should eat.... She was a complete control freak! Ever since her parents had left the scene Celestia had slowly become more and more overbearing. It's as if she thought she was a delicate glass ornament, one that would break if the light fell onto it wrongly.
She got up and looked at her reflection. Short, light blue, unwavering hair filled her eyes. Maybe if she tilted her head, just like this, it would start to roll and wave like her sisters... Nope. Celestia said that her hair gained its ethereal form after she had lived close to a thousand years, and after she spent some time understanding her Elements. Well Luna was almost five hundred, and had helped her older sister defeat both Discord and King Sombra. Shouldn't that be enough? Luna was shorter and younger than Celestia. Never quite up to the same tasks, not a regal, not as strong...
She didn't want to think about her sister right now.
Besides, she was always giving her these important jobs, which were awfully dreary, and Celestia always ended up doing them anyway. She keeps saying that she can do them better, so why not let her? Filling in her role as Princess of the Night took up too much of her time, and she needed to get out of the palace once in a while. She just wanted to spend some more time with the nice nobles that listened to what she said and wanted to hang around. Was that too much to ask? In fact, she might do that right now, and be back in time to raise the moon. Celestia would never know she'd been gone.
-*-*-***-*-*-
The ponies exited the bar, laughing so hard they had to lean on each other for support. Luna stumbled along the path, heading back to the palace. She was a bit groggy, but she knew she could make it back. She waved goodbye to the nobleponies and headed through the city. Canterlot was a big city, the biggest in Equestria, and it contained over a thousand ponies from all walks of life. With that many ponies, seeing a princess wandering around tipsy would cause quite a commotion, so she was wearing a cloak to hide her wings. No one would treat you like an equal if you're an Alicorn, so when she hit the bars she went as a normal unicorn.
She started ascending the first hill and felt her joints creak. Woah, she must have been sitting there in the bar for longer than she thought. It was starting to get dark, she really needed to get home soon to raise the moon.
Wait. This wasn't the way back. Luna turned around and saw that she was not where she thought she was. The road had diverged into three, and she couldn't tell which one she came from. They all looked exactly the same! She was lost.
It was starting to get close to full night, with the last of the sunset fading away, and the few ponies that had been out and about were gone into their homes to rest. If she was lucky, she could just fly up and see the palace somewhere in the distance. First she'd raise the moon and then she could head on home, and hopefully her sister would not be there waiting for her, watching her with a disapproving eye. Luna lit her horn and tapped into the magical Flow. Unicorns channeled magic from the Flow of All Things, the horn was just their way of sensing it. A unicorns magical ability was based on how wide they could open a channel. Luna's channel was as wide as a lake, and she had no problem guiding the moon out from under the horizon. Luna turned and prepared to open her wings to flyaway but stopped when she saw the three ponies watching her.
It was no problem, she would simply find a quiet alley somewhere away from the tipsy looking stallions...
"Woah woah woah, where'd you think you're going, little unicorn? Too young to do a teleport spell home? We saw some o' that magic there before but it mustn't have worked, or you wouldn't still be here. Does a nice lady like yourself need help getting home?"
The two earth ponies and the unicorn started to walk closer to her, stepping confidently, spreading out to cut off potential escape routes. They looked to be shady, dishonest ponies and Luna had no intentions of going anywhere with them. She turned quickly and headed off down a side street.
"Oh come now little pony! Maybe your parents will give us a nice reward for finding you! We'll take you back somewhere safe. Don't try any funny magic or some little pony might have to get hurt."
The stallion's breath smelled heavily like alcohol, and his friends guffawed at his slurred words. They stepped closer, and Luna realized that the alley she'd gone into ended with the rocky sloped of the mountain. Houses cluttered the sides and their awnings blocked out the sky above. She couldn't fly away and the three ponies were drawing closer. One was a unicorn and he pulled out a knife with dark green magic. Luna started to panic.
"Just stay still little pony, and you can go home as soon as we're done with you..."
Luna screamed and the whole world went to hell.
She ducked under the knife on the first swing, but missed it on the return. Dark blood spurted out from her shoulder. She bucked the fast approaching earth pony into the ground. She heard a crunch and he cried out. The second earth pony ran into her and she fell to the ground. He put all his weight onto her form, and she cried out as he started to stomp on her.
"You..."
"Will..."
"Be..."
"Quiet!"
Each word was punctuated with a stomp, and Luna felt her ribs crack and one of her wings dislocate. Her vision swam with red, and she coughed blood onto her attackers face. She managed to bite down onto his mane after the next blow. He cried out as she pulled, and didn't let go. After a few seconds there was a terrible ripping sound, and the splatter of chunks of flesh, as Luna tore off the earth pony's hair and a chunk of his scalp. His cry turned into a scream and he fell off her, blood coursing down his neck. Luna stumbled up just as the unicorn reached to slash her again with his knife. Luna lit her horn and struggled to take the knife out of the green glow. She was injured and weak, and he was determined and angry. He quickly opened his channel wider to the Flow, and cut a shallow line across her cheek. He grinned like a maniac and she backed up, cringing. The unicorn and the first earth pony closed in on her, reeking of blood and sweat, and the earth pony grabbed her horn in his mouth and pulled her to the ground. Luna screamed again and fought weakly against his hold, trying desperately to escape what she knew was coming next. The unicorn licked his lips and-
-Was sent flying backwards by a blast of magical light. A figure made of fire descended and the earth pony was caught up in a golden glow. He screamed as the figure snapped his neck. The groaning earth pony on the ground tried to stand up but was obliterated by another beam of fire. The unicorn dragged his broken body away from the terrible figure, and galloped away as fast as he could.
The figure gently let go of the flames and reached out towards the young Alicorn. Celestia picked up her sister gently, trying not damage her further. Luna whimpered and tried to look at her sister before the darkness filled her eyes. She managed to make out a look of kindness.
"Oh Luna... No pony is ever going to hurt you again, I promise."
Luna fell asleep in her sister's arms as she spread her wings and tore a path of light through the dark skies of Canterlot.
-*-*-***-*-*-
She woke up with a gasp, and cringed at the feeling of something sharp digging into something soft inside. She looked around and saw she was in the palace infirmary. Bandages were wrapped around her whole torso but they looked white, so the bleeding had stopped at least. The art of healing had not changed much since the first ponies had gotten injured or sick, so any injury could be fatal. Luna was lucky she was an Alicorn and could heal much faster than the standard pony. Didn't mean it wasn't going to hurt though.
A few minutes later Celestia herself walked through the door, and she brought with her a look of extreme anger.
"Luna."
Luna burst into tears.
"I'm so sorry sister! I didn't mean for anything to happen! It was a mistake! I-"
"Thou hast made a terrible mistake indeed. For this I am stripping you of all your titles, all your lands and your family name. You will spend this time in the dungeon after you have sufficiently healed. There you shall stay for one week until you have learned your lesson. A pony as young as you should not sneak out of the palace, go drinking and then wander around the city. My word is law."
Luna could only stare at her sister in shock. Imprisonment? For sneaking out of the palace? What had happened to her sister?
"Sister! Hast thou no kindness?"
Celestia walked out of the room and did not look back.
-*-*-***-*-*-
Deep within the bowels of the crystal caverns, in a room sealed by the strongest of magics, stood six gemstones, each gleaming of a different color. One started to shake, and dark seams spread out across its surface. Dark crystal growths stood out on its gleaming surface, and then the room was still once more.
-*-*-***-*-*-
Far above in the highest tower of Canterlot palace, Celestia felt the touch of an ancient magic leave her. Consumed with anger, she paid it no mind. She could not get distracted. She had a country to run.
Celestia stood on top of her observatory and wondered why . No pony ever wanted to see her sun because they were lazy and didn't want to work. They had no idea what she had to sacrifice to give them the life giving warmth they so obviously took for granted.
It was a wonder she even bothered at all. Maybe tomorrow she wouldn't raise the sun, just to see what happened.
And that's exactly what she did. The sun started to rise like it always did, but instead of guiding it she pushed it back under the horizon, letting only a red glow wash over the landscape. This gave just enough light to see by, but a far cry from what was necessary to heat up the ground, or enough for the plants to live on. As the morning hours progressed, ponies became more and more worried as the air continued to cool down, leaving much of the land covered in frost even though it was halfway through spring. Her guards begged and pleaded with her, to please raise the sun, please, because their families would freeze if she didn't, having used up their reserves of wood and coal for the winter. She shook her head and sent them away. By the evening it was so cold that no pony went outside and instead huddled close to fires they had made out of their furniture. The night was the coldest one on record, and it only got colder still when morning should have come around.
The force of keeping the sun just below the horizon had a constant pressure on Celestia's mind, and it left her feeling bothered and aggressive all day. She snapped at ponies for no reason, and fired a number of the kitchen staff. She even locked up a few of the more vocal nobles who complained to her about the cold.
Scarlet Letter, Celestia's adviser, eventually worked up the courage to go against Celestia's decision to lock Luna in the dungeon. Luna immediately stormed out and demanded to speak to her sister. Guards took her to her sister's room.
"Celestia! What is the meaning of this? Have you lost your mind?!"
"Nay, sister. I just thought it was about time to see how much my subjects appreciated my day."
"What you are doing is killing the land and all the plants. Have you not proved your point?"
"No. They still don't understand."
"Sister.... You have responsibilities. You owe these ponies to give them light and in t\return they made you royalty. They-"
"Who art thou to speak of responsibilities? You, who shirks every opportunity to do some actual work, and instead makes her older sister carry the burden alone. You have grown lazy and insolent. I do not regret locking you up in that dungeon! It was something I should have done long ago! There is no justice in this world!"
The shouting quickly stopped as Celestia realized what she had said. After a slightly too long pause, Luna spoke softly.
"I know you do not mean what you say. Something is different about you. You lack something you held within your heart. I do not know what it is, but you must stop this selfish behavior. Ponies are going to die if you do not raise the sun. Crops will not grow. The ponies will turn on one another and then soon turn on us. You have to give up these selfish ways before more damage is done."
"Selfish? I don't care if I'm being selfish. This is what they deserve after how they treated my day! This is their comeuppance! I deserve to decide whether or not I raise the sun! it's MY sun, and I shall do with it what I WISH!"
The room grew silent again, save for Celestia's frantic breathing. Luna had shied away from her sister, in fear that she might hit the younger sibling. Celestia lowered her outstretched hoof as she realized what she might have done.
"You promised."
"Oh you sound just like a little filly. As if you actually thought I was going to-"
"You're not my sister."
Luna walked out of the room with as much calm as she could muster, and gently the door closed behind her. She didn't see Celestia drop her head down to the floor. She didn't hear her mutter under her breath, what am I doing wrong? Why can no one SEE? . She certainly didn't feel the tear slide down Celestia's cheek. She also didn't see the gemstone far under Canterlot lose its shine and turn grey, or sprout little dark crystals.
But she did feel the sun's rays after the longest night in Equestria's history.
Luna had not laid eyes on her not-sister in almost a month. After they had made a public appearance to the Canterlotians about the disappearance of the sun (Celestia had fallen ill, but now she was fully recovered.) the princesses had refused to talk to one another and pretended that nothing had ever happened in Celestia's chambers. Celestia's words had left an impact on Luna, but the young Alicorn would never admit it. She took her responsibilities more seriously, staying up late some nights to finish work and making public appearances. She shied away from the nobles who she'd usually drink with and instead went down to the library to read away afternoons. After the attack, Luna had been left skittish, and vowed to become more responsible and be ready if such a thing ever happened again. She learned all that was known about combat magic, and sparred with the palace guard. Luna's anger at Celestia fueled her desire to become something greater than what she was before.
Celestia had not been idle either.
Bitter and angry, Celestia had thrown herself into gaining more control over the ponies around her. She increased her guard tenfold to intimidate any pony she came across. Discussions and debates turned into Celestia making all decisions as the nobleponies cowered before her power and anger. A pony that went against Celestia's demands would find themselves banished to the Everfree Forest, never to be seen again. Monstrous projects were initiated under Celestia's new way of government, terrible war machines designed and deployed around the country's boarder. Military was deployed at main access roads into Equestria and dictated the flow of trade and immigrants. Weather was tightly controlled and rain only fell in tightly controlled locations. Food was seized and brought into large collection areas for it to be distributed evenly. Riots broke out in cities as ponies grew angry about the forced extra labor. They had enough hardship trying to live as it was. A tight grip on the country's economy would choke Equestria and bring it to its knees.
Celestia paced in the throne room and muttered to herself, feeding the dark thoughts that lurched around in not quite the corner of her mind.
"I don't need Luna I can do this all myself-" YOU ARE A GOD YOU CRUSH THOSE WHO OPPOSE YOU LUNA IS A COWARD "And the ponies now see what I can do if they don't respect me and give me what-" DEMAND SATISFACTION CONTROL THEM THEIR LIVES ARE YOURS "I deserve."
Her mutterings were cut off as Luna stormed into the room. She could take it no more. This terrible silence and lack of boundaries was killing Equestria and shaping it to some mad ponies' whims. Celestia had gone too far. She was not a princess any more. She was a tyrant.
"Explain to me, little sister, how now the ponies produce twice as much grain as they did last year?"
'You whip them until they collapse from blood loss or exhaustion."
"And don't they work so much faster now? Gone is their laziness, their complaining, their idiocy. All it took was a firm hand to push them in the right direction."
"And you think this is the right way to go about such things? You overstep your bounds! You raise the sun! Your special talent is raising the sun! Nothing more!"
"Well well- the little foal has grown up in the past month. Its time you grew up some more. The world isn't perfect, Luna! Ponies hurt other ponies! But I guess you already knew that, didn't you?" Celestia chuckled and laughed in a way Luna had never seen her do so before. It was sinister and dark. Luna flinched away from the words, still very sour about what had happened. Celestia continued.
"Eventually a pony has to take charge, and that pony is the strongest and most respected. I am a God, little Luna, and I control life itself. You control the moon, a reflection of the sun, nothing more,"
"The moon was once the earth and is therefore more grounded. It is only through a reflection that one can see their true self. I don't know what you have done done with my sister but I demand you give her back! You are a monster! Traitor! Deceiver!"
"LIES!"
Celestia struck her sister with the back of her hoof. Luna stared at her in shock, mouth agape, and began to back away. Celestia had broken her promise. Celestia began to draw on the essence of the sun. She was too far gone to stop now. Everything was telling her to go on, to take the next step, to show the world exactly how powerful she was.
So she did.
"Begone, Luna! I have banished thee from Canterlot, and all of Equestria! Thou shalt never return!"
Energy that was so bright and yet so dark surrounded the Princess of the Sun, and she began to cackle and shake. Luna bolted from the room, tore down the steps and left the palace, just as lightning started to arc outside the throne room. Celestia continued to laugh and laugh as the guards came running in to see what the commotion was about. She threw them to the walls. The energy coated her body and transformed her with the brightest of light, so bright that ponies resting in their homes were concerned and flocked to the streets. The light faded and Celestia was no more.
There was only Phaedra.
The twelve foot high God stood in the wreckage of the throne room. Her mane flickered in solar winds detectable only by her. A touch would burn the skin, as it was made of the plasma of the sun. She wore the sun's armor that protected it from space. A helmet adorned her head and horn, and it was made of the strongest of materials. Her wings grew sharp and jagged, her eyes piercing. Phaedra was the exact image of a vengeful God.
"HEAR ME, PEASANTS! THE WEAK CELESTIA IS NO MORE! THERE IS ONLY PHAEDRA!"
The ponies on the streets started to panic, running this way and that, as their new God showed them her power, burning and blinding any pony that she could find. Luna darted around the screaming crowds, trying to find a way out of the city. The dusk sky turned fiery as large sections of the city caught fire.
"TODAY SHALL BE THE START OF A NEW BEGINNING!"
Luna pulled a burning mare out of her way-
"THERE WILL BE ORDER!"
Jumped over some fallen barrels, ponies, it didn't matter anymore-
"JUSTICE!"
Skirt around a group of royal guards beating back a group of attacking ponies-
"AND CONTROL!"
Pushed through the body of a crowed and found the cliff edge-
And fell.
Author's Note
Phaedra means Overlord in Latin.
Luna realized several things at once.
The first was that she wasn't dead, but that was an obvious one. She could see some glorious stars around the edges of her vision and they looked marvelous.
The second thing was that whatever evil had consumed her sister had completely taken over and turned her into a murderous, psychopathic deity. It was something she didn't have the capacity, and didn't want to, think about right now.
The third thing was that if she wanted to continue thinking the first thing, she'd have to come up for air because they weren't stars she was seeing but bubbles, and a very painful band of fire was gripping her chest. Alicorns were not invincible, but they could survive a hundred foot drop off a cliff into a pool of water.
As she had just learned.
She broke the surface of the water with a large gasp for air, and quickly flew towards the shore. Canterlot was quite high off the ground and was therefore subject to high winds, making it impossible for her to fly back up there in her current condition. On the plus side, it blocked out all of the noise and the only way she could tell Canterlot was there at all was a faint red glow.
Luna was shivering, her hair ran in thick strands across her face, and it felt like she had just been repeatedly smacked in the face for fifteen minutes. She sat down heavily on the shoreline and took deep, definitely not panicking breaths. She was cold, hungry, possibly injured, and really felt like falling asleep. She wasn't a grown up pony yet, despite what she had been telling everyone. It was all too hard. Ponies were probably expecting her to take back the city, fight Phaedra to the death and reclaim the throne. She couldn't do any of those thing! Her talent was raising the moon, that was it! There was nothing really special about her, apart from the fact that if you wanted to defeat her all you'd have to do was sit on her. A large majority of ponies had never really seen the Princess of the Night before, and probably assumed she was just like Celestia.
Head down, defeated, Luna turned away from the small red glimmer and headed away from the only home she had ever known. The sun, which had only just set about an hour ago, started to rise again.
It was going to be a different kind of day.
Luna danced among the stars with Celestia, just like they did hundreds of years ago when they looked mostly the same. Celestia looked more care free laughing and jumping among the stars than Luna had seen her in a long time. Celestia faded away from view, and was replaced with three gemstones of which Luna was very familiar.
"My elements..."
The three gemstones shone brightly at the words, as a sort of confirmation. Luna felt a presence in her mind.
"It is we. I am Honesty..."
"Laughter..."
"And Magic..."
Wish each announcement Luna felt different kinds of raw energy flow across the dreamscape. One felt like the most joyous experience in existence. Another felt so real and raw Luna thought she could see forever. The last kind coated the other two and yet remained mostly in the background. It filled her with understanding and passion. There were also glimmers of other Flows, different streams that made Luna want to share the whole world, help every single creature and die for the noblest of causes. They were all tied to each other in a large mesmerizing knot of Magic. Luna could not help but feel dwarfed by the experience. The six Flows spoke as one.
"You have more strength than you will ever believe. We are the Essence of Harmony, the Ones Who were There, and the Predecessors of Time. Remember what you represent, and why you were Chosen to bear some of Us. Your life is not without difficulty and heart is not yet set, but in Time all things are Known. We will always be here to Guide you."
With those powerful words Luna was lifted into the Flows and cast high above the clouds of the dreamscape, up out of the world, and circled the globe of the Earth. She was washed and cleansed with the pure energy of all the Elements, and she narrowed her eyes. There was no room in her new form for selfishness and she felt she could take down all evil and Disharmony. She rapidly shot downwards towards the unforgiving landscape.
She managed a grin.
Luna's head shot up from where it had been resting on her foreleg, which she then shook to get the blood flowing again. Resolved, she stood up with a determined look on her face, face appearing out of the undergrowth. Right into the view of the Celestial Guard patrol. All of her resolve left her and her injuries came rushing back to meet her. She sagged. Phaedra had probably sent them after her to be captured and imprisoned, or worse executed. It helped if she thought Phaedra and Celestia were different ponies. She couldn't fight off an entire patrol. She waited for them to grab her, eyes tightly shut-
And no attack came.
Luna opened her eyes and looked at the Celestial Guard a bit more closely. They were the traditional white and brown unicorns and pegasus, and wore the same armor. What made her mouth open in shock was their eyes. They emitted a light so strong that to look directly into them would risk blindness. She was also quite certain that they were blind, otherwise she would be bound up in a cart headed straight to the palace in Canterlot.
Canterlot...
That was where she was headed next. While feeling she was not up to the task, Luna had a duty to fulfill to the Canterlotians and all Equestirans, to keep them safe and protect them. Phaedra was probably doing horrible things to them, killing their families and forcing the survivors to work on more of her horrible projects. If she was willing to transform her royal guard into blind drones then what limits did she have? There was also something there that she needed. Something locked away in the deepest crystal caves...
Luna quietly melded into the brush and scampered away from the guards. She had a country to save.
Despite living there most of her life, Luna never really bothered to try to understand how Canterlot went about its daily business, it seemed like more of of a big sister thing. She knew that a reasonable percentage of all the unicorns lived there, and that it was one of the biggest cities in all of Equestria. Beyond that, she had no knowledge of any of the intricate workings of city life. There was a time where she had once been part of a big city, hundreds of years ago before she came to power, but the memories of that place are lost to time.
Luna slumped down onto the side of the path she had been following. For hours she had followed its twists and turns in hope that it led back up to the city, but it stubbornly followed a little stream that meandered around the base of Canterlot Mountain. It was still mid morning after all those hours of trotting around in the brush, slipping on wet rocks and getting her mane caught in tree branches. It was as if the very land was trying to slow her down, stop her from reaching Canterlot and saving her subjects.
A long time ago, Luna and her older sister had found all the elements of Harmony, including the elusive Element of Magic, before they had challenged Discord. They had spent weeks travelling around the ruined countryside, helping the ponies, gathering small woodland meals, and even travelling to the center of the enslaved Crystal Empire to see if the Crystal Heart was an element. After a few years of ruling, Luna and her sister had then banished the evil King to the heart of the frozen Wastes. This was a long time ago, before they were both Alicorns, and Luna barely remembered it. She did not remember trekking around in the forests for weeks, and was not used to it after spending so many decades in the palace. It was a shame really, it was then that she and Celestia had cemented their friendship for the first time. If she ever saw Celestia again, she'd have a long talk to her about what happened. Luna, while several hundred years old, was still a child in Alicorn years and Celestia did not tell her all the details about how they'd overthrown Discord and Sombra. Luna got up and continued walking.
Finally, finally, the path widened and the main road into Canterlot came into view. It had been the first road in Equestria to have cobblestone and clacked when Luna trotted over them. For a main road, it was extremely quiet with no other pony about. It made Luna think of an abandoned city left alone for a thousand years and she was the first visitor in all that time. Growing up in the city meant Luna was used to all the hustle and bustle and the silence, apart from her noisy hooves, unnerved her. Where had all the ponies gone? Shouldn't this road be bursting with activity, full of ponies and creatures from distant lands trying to make it big in the famous Canterlot? The sound of hooves on cobblestone unnerved Luna to the point where it became painful to listen to and she quickly stepped off the road.
Not a few moments later a lone guard tore around a bend in the road and skidded to a halt right next to where Luna had stepped off the road.
"Show yourself! No ponies past the toll gate a few miles back! State your name and tribe and you will be unharmed."
Luna stood stock still, a few inches from the guards side. He was blind, and his eyes shone brightly. His ears twitched, and Luna left like she had been turned to stone will how still she was. The guard eventually muttered under his breath, twitched his ear and started to walk away.
"Must have been my imagination..."
Once he had moved on Luna breathed a slight sigh of relief, that was unfortunately picked up by the guard. He turned around and fired a bolt of light at her direction. Luna's eyes widened in terror and she ducked, narrowly avoiding the painfully hot light that would have hit her if she wasn't as small as she was. Luna's short training started to kick in. During one of the exercises Luna was blindfolded and enemies were sent at her. She managed to fight most of them off until one circled around and attacked her from behind. She would employ a slightly different tactic.
The guard shot off another beam of magic in the same direction, with the same result. He lowered his center of gravity and spread his legs in a defensive position. His ears shot up and took in every little sound. A pebble skittered across the ground to his left, striking several of the cobblestones, a common thing to do by a pony not looking where they were going. He turned to fire again and completely missed the pony that dived onto his back from above. Luna knocked him to the ground and held his horn in her teeth. The horn of a unicorn was very sensitive and biting one was one of the rudest things a pony could do to a unicorn. Luna firmly held a hoof to the guards throat and maintained a good grip on his horn. She shifted slightly, getting a better hold, and he bucked her in the stomach. The awful sound of bone against bone tore through the air as Luna's teeth scraped against the horn, leaving shallow gouges. Luna fell on her back and the guard approached her, horn lit. The guard focused, blinking blood out of the gaping holes where his eyes were meant to be, and opened himself fully to his Flow. Before he could fire, a bolt of shadow magic knocked him off his feet and his horn smacked painfully into the cobblestone below. His horn, weakened by Luna's teeth and vulnerable by the strain placed on it to fully open to the Flow, snapped when it came into contact with the cobblestone. He screamed.
"It's her! It's her!"
Luna stumbled to her feet, winded by the impact, and watched as the guard stood and sent up a bolt of red light into the air through his eyes. Blood poured out of his eye holes and ears, streaking into his coat and armor. Luna panicked. He was going to get her killed. She levitated the severed horn up in the air and using her shadow magic as a form of propulsion, sent it through his neck. Dark blood coursed out and stained the cobblestone, but the ghastly red light faded from his eye holes. With all the light previously emanating from them gone, Luna could see right inside the dead guards eye sockets and gazed at the flesh underneath. It was full of pus and bleeding. She focused on it, on the repulsive feeling she felt in her stomach, because it made real what she had just done.
She had killed a pony. Some pony had died because of her direct actions.
The sound of approaching hoofbeats scared her out of her shock. It was another thing she'd just have to deal with later. Luna could take on guards one at a time, however tainted they may be, but not a whole patrol. She needed to get out of there. Swallowing heavily, she tore away from the road and galloped up the side of the mountain. With the patrols aware of the Princess of the Night, she'd have to be extra careful to avoid detection. Luna slowed to a trot. She needed to avoid becoming injured in a desperate dash and the sound would likely draw attention. Luna weaved through the trees and slowly but surely approached the home that had once seemed very friendly but now felt as distant and strange as a foreign country. Canterlot.
By mid afternoon Luna was starting to feel drowsy and exhausted. With no night to rest in and little food and water throughout the day, the strain of the climb as taking its toll on the little Alicorn. Fierce winds whipped around the side of the mountain she was climbing- Canterlot was mostly away from the winds fury but of Luna climbed that side there was every chance she would be spotted. At long last the familiar walls of Canterlot came into view and Luna heaved a silent sigh of relief. She was almost done and soon this horrible nightmare would be over. She just needed to figure out how to get in.
After about twenty minutes of silently watching the walls of the city, Luna spotted her opportunity. The guards were starting to change shifts and it looked like something very interesting was happening just inside the walls, as the guards had their heads turned to listen to the commotion. It was not audible at Luna's distance, but she could feel the excitement and terror running down the walls. With the guards' backs turned, Luna transformed herself into a dark shadow, one that was common and just the same as the slightly lengthening shadows of the trees. The sun was just beginning its decent, and the temperature was still at its peak. Luna gracefully floated around the rocks and natural bumps of the mountain, and flowed over the wall. Her horn was beginning to ache but she opened herself a little more to the Flow to make up for the gap in her focus. What she saw over the wall in the courtyard shattered her concentration, causing her to flicker from ethereal shadow to pony in and out for a few seconds before she could regain control.
Scarlet Letter and a few other members of the castle staff were standing on a platform with ropes around their necks. They were going to be executed.
Luna could only watch helplessly as the blind member of the guard pulled the lever that allowed the ponies to fall through the floor. They fell in time, and with the screams of the crowd their necks broke and they were killed instantly, lifeless bodies floating ever so closely to the ground below. That was not the end however. Bright white light shot out from behind a tower the the God stepped into view. Phaedra stood in all her awful glory, a beacon of blinding light and misery. Her armor gleamed and her mane caught the wind and spiraled over the top of her head.
"Ponies, friends. Today a great evil had been conquered, and stability can return to Canterlot. These traitors to the crown were in league with the dreaded Luna, and sought to destroy Canterlot. I will destroy them, and LET THAT BE A WARNING TO ANY MORE TRAITORS. WE HAVE SPOKEN"
Phaedra lit her horn and the entire crowd unconsciously leaned towards her, such was the pull of her power and the current of the Flow. Lightning flew from her horn, vaporizing the bodies of the executed, but also arcing and hitting several members of the crowd. panic ensued, and soon most of the ponies were screaming and running back to their homes. Luna struggled to contain the bile that was rising in her throat, and turned away from the terrible scene. The smell of burnt flesh wafted over to her, and the smoke from the smoldering city made her eyes water. It was only yesterday that Luna had been in Canterlot last, but during her absence it had changed so dramatically it may as well be a completely different city in a different lifetime. So much had changed. Luna had to kill or be killed, and witnessed the death of three innocent ponies, because of the paranoia and controlling nature of a single pony. Luna set her face into stone and prepared for the decent into the misery of the city.
Most of the fires had been put out, and it seemed that the entire city was in lockdown. Guards were located on every corner, eyes shining so very brightly. Luna wondered how they could go anywhere at all, being blind. She guessed that they belonged to some sort of hive mind controlled by Phaedra. She missed Celestia dearly, and eagerly awaited the time she could see her again. She would not cry . She was strong.
The black smear floated through the back alleys and slums of the city, circling around to avoid ponies and guards alike. Most of the ponies seemed to be heading into the heart of the city, which Luna knew she would definitely avoid. Whatever they were doing there, she didn't want to know. With such a large crowd of people and so many guards, a moving patch of shadow was going to attract attention. So close to her goal, she could not afford any distractions. Her horn throbbed with the effort of staying open so long to the Flow, and Luna felt pressure build up in her ears, and then a wet noise, accompanied by streams of liquid trickling down her neck, staining her mane. She needed to end this spell soon, or it would kill her.
Finally the concealed entrance came into view right up next to the walls of the palace. Luna let down her shadow once she felt she was safe. There was an enchantment obscuring the passage from outside eyes but Luna had helped create it with her sister all those years ago, and could remember how to slip past it. She just needed some time...
Time that she would not get, as the sound of a hundred hoofbeats echoed around the dark alley. Guards were probably doing a patrol. She needed to get this open, and swiftly. The shadows would aid in her escape of the guards, give her a few precious seconds. She couldn't transform into a shadow, she didn't have the focus or the time. She lit her horn and began weaving a counter spell, the Flow strong around her horn. Finally, it was complete and she slipped away into the dank cave and through the tunnels as the guards rounded the corner of their patrol. Luna was on the last leg of her journey.
The Crystal Caves.
There were several ways Phaedra knew her brat of a sister was still alive and kicking. For one, no matter how hard she tried, the moon and the stars would not move when she commanded them. Only when their guardian Alicorn is too weak or dead will they be malleable enough for another to control them. Also, none of her loyal guards had brought Luna's sorry flank to cower before the might of the Sun Goddess, so she was still on the loose. It was rather infuriating. Phaedra controlled everything else; all the ponies, all the guards, and all of Equestira bowed down in awe of her brilliance and might. Luna was a nightmare in haven. This one pesky pony was ruining her perfect world. Then Phaedra was going to ruin her world.
Luna's power came from the moon and stars, as hers did from the Sun. There was no way to break that link, unless...
Phaedra let a wicked sneer ripple across her face.
The caves were not exactly dark, as stray rays of light continually flickered around the tunnels, but it was confusing and the leading cause as to why so many ponies had died was because they all become disorientated and lost. Luna lived for the night and darkness so it did not bother her as much as it would ordinary ponies. But then again, she was not an ordinary pony.
A clatter of hoofsteps reverberated around the tunnel and Luna spun around, eyes turning fierce. A shadowy figure stood at the corner she had just turned from, one hoof raised in the air. The impression of wings were outstretched. Metal armor glinted in the faint light. Luna growled. The guards had found her. She prepared to fight.
A bright light blue eye opened and turned to look at Luna. It was opened wide in surprise but relaxed once it recognized Luna. Luna released the offensive pose she was holding, but stayed on her guard. Just because the mysterious pony was not a royal palace guard did not mean they were not a threat to her. The shadowy figure stepped forward into better light and Luna saw a grey pegasus release a held breath.
"Phew. I thought that you might be some pony on Phaedra's side, but with those wings and that horn, you must be Luna. Huh. I always thought you would be taller, and more like Celestia."
"You're not with Phaedra? You're dressed like a royal guard. Aye, I be Luna. Who are you?"
"My name is Ulysses. Yeah, I was with the guard until everything went to Tartarus yesterday, but I managed to get away before things turned crazy. I don't think I was meant to be a guard, always running away at the first sign of trouble." He gave a little chuckle before going on. "Phaedra, whoever that is, started attacking all the guards and killing folk who were out on the street. Before long the guards all had weird glowing eyes and were helping burn down the city. I hid in a tree until everything died down, and by then there were guards on every corner, either keeping folk in their homes or forcing them out and making then work on some project in the city center. It was mighty creepy. And then the sun didn't go down for a while, and it just kept on getting hotter and hotter. When it finally did there was no moon and no stars and the folks were all worried that you were dead. Speaking of mighty Alicorns, do you know where the Princess is? Princess Celestia? Some ponies hiding with me think she's ok because the sun was up and all-"
"She's gone."
Luna turned away from Ulysses, not wanting to think about the terrible events that led up to her sister's demise. Guilt that had been suppressed and ignored flowed through her like a river, and it was all she could do not to cry in front the pegasus. She had to be strong. She had to be tough. For ponies all across Equestria she had be strong enough to complete her challenge. She sniffed and turned back to Ulysses.
"So you saw me come down here and followed me to make sure I wasn't one of Phaedra's supporters. That took bravery, Ulysses. Would you like to accompany me? I'm going to make sure Phaedra never hurts any pony again."
"For Celestia's sake, I'll follow you to the edge of the mortal plane. Also, I don't know they way out of these caves."
The two started to walk again, side by side this time, deeper into the caves, and were soon swallowed by darkness.
"Tell me about yourself"
The pair had been trotting down through the sharp crystals for almost an hour now, and the talk of the tragedy that had unfolded grew less and less as the decent grew steeper and sharper. They were quite deep into the caves now, far past where the mining tracks had ended and Luna had to light her horn up to see where they were going. She didn't really know the way- it had been a long time since she was down last, so she was working mostly on instinct. Strange whispering sounds flowed around the two ponies and Luna was filled with dread. It was probably the spirits of the dead ponies reaching out into the mortal world, and it scared the living daylights out of her. She wanted Ulysses to talk about something, anything, to keep her mind distracted. Luckily, he was happy to oblige.
"I've lived in Canterlot all my life, but my folks came from the old city near the Everfree forest before it was abandoned. I'm not the most athletic individual, which suites me fine, because my special talent is retelling the stories of old. I was thinking about turning it into a career, making it into a subject at that new Academy, but they weren't too interested. I became a soldier in the meantime until I could work out what I wanted to do."
"What kind of stories do you tell?"
"I like to tell the very old ones about the past. I managed to get a book from the ancient Zebraca Lands translated and once I told the tale about the first Alicorns- well I got my very own cutie mark!" He turned to her and she looked closely at the tattoo. It depicted an hourglass on the page of a book. She'd never seen one like it before.
"What story was that?"
"Would you like to hear it?"
"Very much so."
Ulysses started to speak in almost a sing song voice as he recounted the tale he had learnt off by heart. The ponies hooves started to match up as Luna drew closer to hear the story better. Luna had a vague understanding of the first Alicorns and the creatures of Before,but it had all happened so very long ago, before even Celestia was around. She wondered how old Celestia was.
It was probably too late to ask.
"In the beginning, our Faust created the first Astral Beings- the Four who stood Before. They were Good, Evil, Harmony and Chaos, or Disharmony. These beings existed outside our mortal plane and inhabited the Astral plane. They took the forms of a Star Whale, Capricorn, Spirit and Dragonesque. Together they crafted the mortal plane. Good and Evil spread across it first, and worked together to create the first three Alicorns: Time, Space and Self. Faust admired the work of Good and Evil and set out to create some creatures of her own. She made the earth as we know it so they would have a place to live and flourish. She made the unicorn first, but it was too lumpy. She then made a pegasus, but it would never stand up properly. Then she made the earth pony, which looked proper, and that earth pony was the first real pony on earth. Later she made better unicorns and pegasus. Faust made the first Alicorns protectors of the earth, and granted the ponies (and later other creatures) notions of time, space, and self.
"Evil then took Time and turned it against the ponies, making them mortal and die. Good took Space and helped the ponies craft simple tools and explore the land around them. Faust took Self and created innumerable new creatures and mysterious magical places for the ponies to discover and make their lives easier.
"I suppose that these caves would be one of them, eh, Luna?"
Luna's head snapped up and she smiled and nodded. She had been so focused on the story that she responded almost mechanically to Ulysses. She leapt over a chasm and spread her wings, gliding over the expanse, Ulysses following close behind. Ulysses grinned at her, eyes wide, mane blowing behind him, alight from within with the power of the story he was telling. Soon they were immersed again in the legend.
"Faust was upset with what Evil had done, and she turned him into a prison on the Astral plane, so he cannot directly interfere with the lives of mortals. I think the prison is called Tartarus. For a time everything was good in the world.
"But then Disharmony came into the mortal plane and caused chaos among all creatures. It was only when Harmony followed him down many years later did a solution come to be, for Good could not fight him as Disharmony was not Evil. The First Alicorns had ascended to the Astral plane by this time, weary of the mortal world, and the newer Alicorns were not powerful enough to stand against his tricks. Not much is remembered of this time, and Alicorns fell to his trickery. the Alicorn of Justice was locked inside the Evil prison and the Alicorn of Chance and Fortune was trapped in a crystal. The Alicorn of Hope was turned to stone and it seemed like all was lost until Harmony, seeing the destruction of the world, split herself into six parts, the six Elements of Harmony, that balance could be brought back to the world.
"That's the end of the account. I don't think anyone knows how Disharmony was stopped, but we do know some of what happened next. Most of the Alicorns were freed and they Ascended, which was good, but several bodies stopped moving across the sky like the sun and moon. I think it was quite some time until rivers started flowing again, and oceans churning, forests growing. Details are very sketchy, and I'm quite sure most of it is a guess, but it makes a good story. I'm glad i had the privilege of knowing it."
They slowed down at the lip of a gaping hole. Hot steam blew upwards and whipped their manes around. The bottom could not bee seen and the hole almost felt like it was growing larger, trying to swallow the tiny ponies. Luna had a very vague recollection of the place, a whisper of forgotten fear from a long time past. She swallowed, and nodded. This was the place.
"Shall we go in then, Princess?"
Together they dived into the hole, wings spread wide, and they circled down. Luna's light barely dented the all consuming blackness that surrounded them. She kept it going because it was the only way Ulysses could see her and know where to go, even if the effort left her tired. The hole was so big it felt like it had been open forever, and stretched onward to the edge of the world. The rising steam slowed their descent to a comfortable pace, but it did not quite remove the chill of the hole. It was so huge and so deep that clouds had formed at the ceiling of the cave and created wind currents and storms.
They descended for over an hour, the air getting increasingly hotter and wetter as more and more steam rose up. They had to move their wings closer to their bodies to have less air resistance, or they would be buffeted upwards. It got stiflingly hot, and sweat poured off their faces. Luna narrowed her eyes, determined not to let the conditions affect her. This was the safest place in all of Equestria, where no ordinary pony had gone before.
Hooves gently hit the floor and the two leaned heavily on the other, panting and trying to catch their breath. It had been a long journey to the bottom of the cavernous pit, and Ulysses was proud that he had managed it. Luna leading, they plodded to what Ulysses guessed was the middle of the pit's lowest point, mane still blown upwards by the steady rising steam. A glow appeared and the air grew even hotter, not so much humid any more but boiling. The glow grew until Ulysses saw red molten rock shifting around on one side of a cavern. On the other side sat an arrangement of six stones.
Luna smiled when she saw her goal come into view. The Elements of Harmony were finally right before her, four of them gleaming, two of them tarnished and cracked, but still there. One of them, depicting a lightning bolt, flashed red and then cracked, and dark crystals spread across its surface. Luna's eye's widened in shock at what had happened, and then turned around-
-A blast of light shot at her, and threw her against the rocky wall. Phaedra stepped into the cavern, looking unbothered by the heat and sneered at Luna.
"Look what the dragon dragged in."
Author's Note
Ulysses- You. Less. ee's.
Next chapter is the stunning finale, expect around three thousand words. A reminder that the gore tag is there for more than just show. Looking forward to seeing you there!
"Bow down to your Queen, little ponies!"
Phaedra snarled and crackled with unparalleled power. Her mane and tail wafted towards the ceiling, feeding on the heat around it. She loomed over the two smaller ponies, and they took a few steps back. Luna stared up at her once sister, and all the feelings she had shoved down and pushed away came swarming back into focus.
And she was angry.
"You think you can just waltz in here, and expect me to listen to you? After all you've done? You killed so many innocent ponies, and burned down their homes. You don't deserve that title. You call yourself a queen, but you are nothing more than a spoiled brat! Look at the Elements! Look at your Elements! See how tarnished they are? You did this to them with your cruelty, your selfishness and your disloyalty. Celestia, what have you done?"
Luna's anger faded away with her moment of bravado as Phaedra rose up to her full height. Lightning crackled and shot around the room with booms and crashes. Phaedra called on even more power from the sun, bringing the temperature from unpleasant to boiling.
"Celestia is gone, little Luna! I am all that is left of her. All the parts that were worth keeping. Those Elements are worthless! They held us back! Now I have true power, and you would be a fool to ignore me! I can kill you a flick of my hoof. A tiny fraction of my magic can remove you from existence. You and and your friend are worthless, ants beneath my hooves! I...urgh."
Phaedra grimaced and fell to her knees. Lightning shot over her body, burning her coat and singeing the flesh underneath. There was too much power contained in too small a place. That much power was never meant to be held by a single living pony. Phaedra called out behind her.
"Get in here! Stop them from reaching the Elements of Harmony!"
A grey unicorn with burning bright eyes bolted into the room. He wore a blue gown and hat with bells on it, and they clattered and clanged and he charged. Luna recognized him immediately.
Swirling Star, Grand Mage of the University of Magic. Father of the amniomorphic spell, and other high power attack spells. He was one of the most dangerous ponies of the time.
And he was under Phaedra's complete control.
Swirling Star galloped towards the two smaller ponies, how he knew where they were Luna had no idea, but she took to the air with Ulysses just as he reached them, cutting them off from the Elements. The Grand Mage opened himself up to the flow and shot spell after spell anywhere, everywhere, trying to hit what he could not see. Ulysses dived down and smashed his hoof into Swirling Star's hat, hitting his horn and stopping the spells abruptly. Swirling Star fell to the ground and growled as Ulysses pounced. Luna landed next to Phaedra as she trembled under the weight of the sun's full power.
"Celestia..."
Phaedra gnashed her teeth together and tried to stand. Swirling Star rolled over Ulysses and held him to the ground. His horn lit up but Ulysses grabbed it in his mouth and pulled, throwing the mage off him, and pulled himself up before charging at the unicorn.
"Celestia. Please. We grew up together. We watched generations of peaceful ponies grow and live and die. We haven't fought like this since Discord. Things have gotten bad again- real bad- because we're fighting. We've lost Harmony, sister, and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to restore it."
Phaedra gasped and her pupils turned to pin pricks.
"Luna... I..."
Luna smiled stepped closer. Maybe things didn't have to be terrible after all. Maybe they could fix this-
Luna howled in agony as as something sharp penetrated her neck. A horn- a grey horn, had cut through her flesh as if it were nothing. Luna turned her head and looked at Swirling Star, who stood next to her, covered in her blood. She saw Ulysses form laying very still on the ground. The world seemed to grow darker and she fell to one knee.
No.
Betrayal...
There was no way... She never thought... Her sister...A monster...
But she was. Now there was only one way to restore Harmony.
Luna slowly got to her feet. She felt herself growing weaker by the second, her life's blood draining away through her neck. She breathed deeply and walked past Swirling Star, who was rooted to the spot. Whether Phaedra had lost control or he was fighting against it, she had no idea. She didn't care. She just put one hoof in front of the other until one clattered against the other and she fell. She saw red trickle towards Phaedra, but she was beyond feeling any pain now. There was just a fog and a fuzzy cold feeling in her neck. She saw Phaedra struggle to her feet and start walking towards her. This filled her with fear,but she couldn't remember why. There was just the world getting less and less clear...
Some instinct deep down inside lit up Luna's horn, the instinct for self preservation. One spark, tiny and weak, fluttered out from her horn and floated towards the six gemstones on the ground. It brushed against one before fading out of existence.
Then Luna's world began to shine.
The fog rushed away and clear understanding flooded in. Her elements filled her and lifted her up above the ground, buoyed up with the promise of restoring Harmony. Time slowed down as to become almost still, and Luna took a second to watch Phaedra's mane ripple upwards so very slowly. A clear voice spoke up from somewhere in the depths of her mind.
Welcome young Star Watcher. We know what you need to do .
"I just want to get my sister back... I need her more than I realised. I would do anything!"
Luna's elements paused for thought. They seemed hesitant.
We... Cannot do that. Your control over Us is not complete, and divided. You also lack control over all of Us. The other Elements have been almost completely corrupted by Phaedra's dark thoughts and actions. We can't stop her.
"But there must be something you can do! You're the Elements of Harmony! You're Honesty, Laughter and Magic. You have to do something. You're the only thing left that can help her."
Luna bowed her head and closed her eyes. She missed Phaedra's horn start to light up and glow. Luna's elements spoke up once more.
There is... One thing We can do. While We lack the power to cleanse Phaedra of her evil, we can keep her safe until the time comes when there is someone capable of controlling Us properly. We can also keep Our other parts safe until that time comes. We do not know how long it will take to find a new Bearer of the Elements, but when We do they will be strong enough to reunite you with Celestia.
Phaedra had finished preparing her spell. A beam of bright white light slowly made its way towards Luna, burning the air around it.
"I'll do it! I'll do anything! I just want to see Celestia again..."
Very well.
Just before the beam of light hit her, Luna opened her eyes and they shone with an intensity unseen by mortal eyes. A rainbow shot out of the six Elements and spread its light across the cavern, circling around the ponies. The rainbow speared the burning light spell and it scattered across the room. Time returned to normal speed with a small pop and Luna felt energized, felt as if this was how she was meant to feel, in Harmony with her body, mind and soul. She smiled, and then turned to Phaedra.
Or what used to be Phaedra.
In the middle of the swirling rainbow sat Celestia, looking more alone and vulnerable than Luna had seen in decades. Celestia stared wide eyed at Luna, looking terrified.
"Luna! Where am I? What are you doing? Are those the Elements of Harmony?"
"Celestia-Celly, this is for your own good. For the good of Equestria. I'm so sorry."
Luna didn't know what to think. Was this really Celestia, or was it a horrible trick by Phaedra? Luna's eyes lost their intensity and she felt all her aches and pains come back. Her eyes grew teary and she bowed her head. How could she do this to her own sister? Her own flesh and blood, who'd stood by her side through the centuries, and held her when she was feeling her worst, or made sweet cakes on her birthday, and stayed with her when she couldn't sleep? What kind of monster does that to her sister ?
Celestia's eyes turned cold. She spat at Luna.
"You are a fool to think this will stop me. You mean to kill me or cleanse me. Well I'm not the one that needs to be cleaned! It's you! You're a monster! A murderer! We're family Luna!"
"...I'm so sorry..."
The swirling rainbow spiraled one last time and then shot skywards, taking Phaedra with it. Luna refused to think of it Celestia. The light from the rainbow faded, leaving only the glow of the magma. The Elements had stopped shining and turned into stone. Luna wearily walked towards where Ulysses was laying. She nudged him with her horn and he stirred. The magic of the Elements had healed him, and it had at least stopped the bleeding from her neck. Ulysses started to stand up but almost fell until a coating of grey magic lifted him up proper and gently put him on his feet. Swirling Star stood off a little to the side, eyes returned to normal and looking guilty. Luna nodded at him and he bowed his head to her.
It was over.
They had won.
Then why wasn't she feeling any relief?
364 days later...
Luna woke up shivering and drenched with sweat. Another nightmare. She didn't have as much control over her night anymore- she'd been devoting too much energy to running a country. In the nightmare, she'd been the one to be consumed by evil, not Celestia. She had brought about everlasting night until Celestia had stopped her.
Celestia....
It had been a year since Luna had seen her last. Luna missed her every day, not just in the way she ran Equestria or raised the sun, but also in being the only pony who ever came close to understanding her. There was now no one like her at all, not in all the known world.
She just wished that Celestia would hurry up and come back. Luna needed her, more than she realized before. Every day felt like a thousand years. Luna shook her head to clear away the blue thoughts. She couldn't have them swarming around her head on a day like today. Today was going to be a day of celebration, not sadness.
The first months had been the hardest. Ponies wailing with grief, wandering around looking confused and scared and wondering why Celestia wasn't there to make everything alright. Luna tried to console them the best she could but she had other things on her mind, such as trying to keep the rest of Equestria from falling into anarchy. It was an impossible task to do by a single pony and Luna was lucky to have Swirling Star by her side. At least now the worst was over, and she could focus on rebuilding. Not only fixing broken homes and rooms in the palace, but the relationship between her subjects and the sun. Today was going to be the first step in fixing that relationship. Luna crawled out of bed and pulled on her ceremonial gown. She walked down the stairs of her tower and through several halls and corridors until she came to the main hall. She waited there until ponies started to trickle in and take their places around the hall. The ceremony was about to begin.
Luna smiled when the procession started and the group slowly made its way towards the very end of the room, where she was standing. The sides were lined with ponies, but not as many as Luna would have liked. There were still many ponies in mourning and cleaning up the last of the destruction. The main hall had finally been cleared of all the scorch marks and holes that had been made almost a year ago. Ponies were calling it the Eternal Day as the fires seemed to last forever, and burn so brightly as to replicate sunlight. Usually these thoughts would turn Luna's stomach but today was day for celebration. Normality had returned to Canterlot and the ponies insisted on a holiday from clearing rubble and burnt houses. Luna had agreed and today was the first annual Summer Sun Celebration. A short ceremony would take place and then Luna would raise the sun in front of every pony.
The procession stopped and one heavily armored pony walked a few more step before bowing towards the single princess. The figure knelt. Luna flipped a few strands of ethereal hair out of her face before she started speaking.
" Today is a day not for mourning and misery, but instead a day for remembrance and triumph..."
Luna was barely listening to what she was saying to the crowd. Her mind was elsewhere, thinking about the events that had transpired a year ago. It was only because of the gathered ponies around her, looking to her for support and guidance, that she did not start crying then and there. She had to be strong- for them. She discreetly looked up at the moon, which was still in the sky despite dawn being so close. Instead of its usually smooth surface it was covered in pits and potholes arranged to look like the face of a pony. An alicorn pony.
"So instead of fighting against the day I propose we instead look for more ways to use it to our advantage. There is still so much to discover..."
Luna had also grown a few hoof spans as well as getting her new hair. Her coat was also a dark blue. Luna had woken up a few mornings after the incident with all these changes, presumably during the night Swirling Star had put the old Elements into their final resting place. Luna had asked him to move them someplace far away, because they were no longer powerful, and mere trinkets to remind her about what had happened. They always brought up painful memories whenever she looked at them. Swirling Star had found them interesting enough however and she'd allowed him to write a book about them.
"Please rise, Prince Ulysses Blueblood, and celebrate the first annual Summer Sun Celebration!"
A great cheer rose up out of crowds and Luna opened her wings and few up towards the ceiling. Her shadow flew over a newly installed stained glass window of two ponies facing a figure of fire. Luna lit her horn and the sun appeared over the horizon. The sun was met with, for the first time, the cheers and applause from the masses.
The sunlight reflected off the stained glass window and for a fraction of a second, the eye in the fiery form was glinting.
