Several miles past Equestria’s northern border Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, known as Cadance to anypony who would listen, was preparing herself for the next day's negotiations. It was fairly standard, renewing and re-bargaining the usual trade agreements, proposing the odd amendment whilst trying very hard not to notice Chyrysalis' knowing glances.
In short it was nothing a well trained Canterlot diplomat couldn't have accomplished in the same amount of time and with half as less hassle. She knew her Aunt meant well but every time she visited changelings of every age shape and size would swarm to her like incredibly affectionate bees to honey. In fact she was fairly certain she'd seen one particular changeling commute all the way from Canterlot for the occasion. The put upon looking unicorn hanging from her side had been a dead giveaway.
Not today though.
Usually she could handle the attention. She was a social pony after all and changelings, albeit rather hive minded at times, were a generous and at times entertaining race. But with the dark cloud that had seemed to hang over Canterlot castle lately she just couldn't seem to relax.
Which was why, well after sundown she was still poring over her Aunt's old diplomatic letters for inspiration. It was fast becoming a chore. Not much had changed in the past 500 years and she had used up the most interesting records, the founding of the Northern Hive, on the chariot ride over. Add to that the growing urge to tear her own mane out at the constant reminders of her greatest matchmaking failure to date and Cadance was becoming positively stir crazy.
As if in answer to her boredom an awkward cough signalled the return of her guard and unofficial coltfriend, Royal Guard Captain Shining Armour. As he closed the door Cadance caught a brief glance to the corridor beyond. There was nopony there.
"Strange" she thought. Usually there would at least be a particularly brave or rebellious nymph trying to get a look at "their" Princess. A strange feeling of tension made her prick her ears. Silence.
She turned back to her reading, sinking back down into the luxurious bed, endeavouring to at least be comfortable, even if not entertained.
Shining Armour began to pace like a caged bugbear.
There was something bothering him. Mentally weighing up the pros and cons she finally decided to cut to the chase and ask him when frantic knocking on the heavy wooden door stopped her dead in her tracks.
Shining Armour had barely touched the door handle before a changeling burst through the door, chest still heaving from the sprint. He was wearing the heavy armour of Chrysalis' personal honour guard, but the famed composure was missing, replaced instead by eyes blown wide with fear and black chitin wet with fear.
That feeling was back. She recognised it more now. It was something beyond dread, tied into the very core of her being, held just too high above her reach for her to grasp.
“Queen Chrysalis requests your presence immediately. On the surface”
“So these elements…do you think they’re dangerous?”
“I don’t know." Twilight sighed. "Princess Luna certainly seemed to think so." Then again her mentor had never been immune to emotional bias, Twilight hadn't needed the last 24 hours to know that. "Maybe this is just another Nightmare Night." she muttered angrily.
"What does the Princess have against Nightmare Night?" Rarity asked curiously.
Twilight grimaced. "I shouldn't have mentioned that. I promised not to tell."
Rainbow rolled her eyes.
“It’s the end of the world Sparky. I think the Princess’s secrets have flown way out the window by now.”
Applejack nodded in agreement. “Can’t shut the barn door once the animals have bolted.” she said sagely.
“You’re an apple farmer.” Rainbow Dash said bluntly.
"So what? I doubt you even know what a barn looks like."
Seeing a fight about to break out Fluttershy interceded, putting a hoof between them. “What do you think we should do Twilight?” she asked quietly.
“As far as I can tell Swift Spear and Princess Luna agreed on one thing, the first time they used the elements against Discord they worked fine. And honestly I can't think of anything else we could try, except maybe trying to make it to Queen Chrysalis and Princess Cadance in the North.”
Applejack glanced up at the sky. The Sun was shining a baleful red, bigger now that before even to the naked eye.
“I don’t think we have time for that.”
“Princess Cadance, I really must protest.”
“My orders were clear Shining Armour. Stay below in the room.”
“I can’t do that.”
Cadance’s eyes narrowed. “And just why would that be Captain?”
“Because I was…” He trailed off, eyes shifting in a desperate attempt to avoid Cadance’s gaze. He closed his eyes, a deep breath, and he he met her gaze. “Because I couldn’t in good conscience allow you to travel into possible danger alone.”
“I’m right in the middle of an ally Queendom Shining, what could possibly happen to me?”
He tilted his head meaningfully at the changeling guard, whose eyes still held a maddened glint.
Reluctantly Cadance acquiesced, signalling Shining to follow as the changeling began to lead them along the winding maze of corridors that lead to the surface entrance of the hive.
This day, Infernia thought, was turning out to be rather less perfect that she had imagined. Not only had Lulu not immediately run to her, but she was now shutting her out of her own Moon!
Her mane crackled in rage, turning the flames from orange to a bright blue that darkened to black at its edges. Her eyes darkened, turning to a blood red as they narrowed in anger at the figure on the surface.
Her sister’s brow furrowed in concentration as, unbenownst to her, her tongue slipped out from behind her teeth to stick out to the side at the same strange angle it always had.
The red faded from her eyes. Magenta irises fixed on the figure below her, drinking in the sight like a pony who hadn’t tasted water in a thousand years.
“Lulu’s moon” she corrected herself. “It’s Luna’s moon.” All of this was for Luna. It had to be.
But, she supposed, since Lulu really belonged to her anyway, her precious rock did too. She could almost have danced for joy Everypony was happy. Everypony that mattered that was.
The barrier rippled, pearlescent energy ran across it zapping Infernia and forcing her to leap away from it.
A harsh, barking laugh escaped her lips. Clearly her sister’s charge did not like her. Not that it ever had really.
She supposed, if she were sticking to the Elements of Old, that it definitely hadn’t helped that she had barely bothered to learn its name, let alone remember it. Luna had gone on and on about it in the early days, but once THEY took up all her time and energy her mind had no room left for her sister and her names.
A soft smile grew unnoticed on her face. Luna did always like giving things names. She supposed her baby sister still remembered all the names of the small army of stuffed toys they’d had to leave behind. She remembered Lulu rhyming off some strange naming convention to help her remember them all. "What had it been again, names beginning with I. Or was it C?"
She was getting off track. Toys long rotted away served no use to her now. What she needed was Luna’s name for her Moon.
"Celia, Celly, Serene…"
She smiled, white fangs glinting in the moonlight.
That was it.
"Selene."
Honestly she didn’t know why she hadn’t bothered learning it in the first place. Names had power after all.
As they passed through the upper levels the hive remained ominously silent. It left Cadance nervous. Even in the middle of the night someling would be passing through for some duty or other. But there was nothing.
Every time she could remember, since Luna had brought her the first time as a small nervous newly ascended adolescent alicorn, changelings had flocked to her. It was inescapable really. She was the Princess of Love, an oasis in the desert filled with the purest water known to ponykind. Even with the agreements and relationships Luna had fashioned over the last eight hundred years changelings were still a hungry race. So why weren’t they here?
“This is as far as I take you.” Said the guard lowly. “I don’t want to see that THING again.”
Recognising the short path to the surface Cadance nodded in acquiescence. The guard skittered off back down into the darkness of the lower levels.
Even before she stepped outside she could tell what was wrong. The heavy heat of the sun reached down the opening and through the tunnels. By the time Cadance had climbed the last few steps she was sweating.
“Good of you to join us Cadenza. I don’t suppose your Aunt mentioned anything about this to you did she?”
Shaking her head Cadance’s mind went over the possibilities. Aunt Luna was sick or had forgotten. Foolish. In the thousand years it had been recorded, even in self-imposed exile her Aunt had never failed to raise the Sun or Moon. Not once.
Something worse then. Something or somepony had stopped her from performing them. Imprisoned her perhaps. Or worse.
A horrible thought crossed her mind. All the extra lessons, the training, the attunement to the Celestial bodies. Luna had been preparing her. But for what?
Aunt Luna wouldn’t just disappear without telling her. Wouldn’t send her away just as she was about to disappear. This wasn’t some horrible twist on the fate of being an alicorn. "Was it?"
There was one way to find out. She reached up for the Sun, trying to sense her Aunt’s magic. Something threw her away. Angry. Hot. Burning.
Her Aunt lived. She knew that much. But there was something else. Something dark. Something twisted.
A tap on her shoulder made her look up. Hanging beneath the Sun, like a ball on a dangling piece of string slowly being reeled in, was the Moon.
For a moment her eyes widened in hope. Then the dark craters on its surface came into focus.
She didn’t have to reach up to feel who it was.
Behind her she could hear the harsh choking sounds of Chrysalis trying very hard not to throw up.
“Dear Luna!” Shining Armour whispered.
“I don’t think that works when she’s the one in need of saving.” Chrysalis muttered bitterly.
“Not helping!” Cadance snapped at the Queen.
Chrysalis didn’t respond. Instead she whispered something under her breath, too quiet even for Cadance to hear. It sounded like praying.
But the heavens payed no mind. Closer and closer the Moon came, until it crossed paths with the Sun itself passing in front to block the harsh light of the Sun. Slowly it finished its final ascent, until finally the world was once more cast into darkness, leaving only a thin band of golden light to reach around the Moon.
Cadance let out a breath she hadn’t known she was holding. She shouldn’t have doubted her. Auntie Luna knew what she was doing. All Cadance had to do was keep everypony calm and figure out how to get her out of there and safe back on the throne.
A bright white light shot out from the Moon. When Cadance could finally see again, not even the comforting shadow of the Moon could protect her from the truth. The figure on its surface was gone.