The desert sun was hot on Luna's blue wings. The Savior of Akkad, the Wandering Warrior, the sister of Celestia the Archmage—that last title rankled just a bit—squinted at the bright light as she flew. She was never fond of daylight at the best of times, and just now she had a bit of a headache. The previous night had been a great deal of fun, but one must pay the price for such revels.
One must also pay the price for drunken boasts, thought Luna with a grin as she flew. She was looking forward to winning this particular bet. It might be an actual challenge, and how often did that happen?
Her eyes scanned the stark, barren landscape beneath her, seeking the landmarks she'd been told of. A particular stone formation passed beneath her wings, and she adjusted her course slightly. A long ridge was marked off of her mental checklist next, and once more she took her bearings and turned, seeking the next and most obvious landmark.
She spotted the river by the trees along its banks. They made a strip of vibrant green across the bleak reds and oranges of the desert landscape. This was a world of stone and sky; the trees were alien beings here. Luna was as well. Celestia might have been at home in this land where clouds seldom covered the sun, but Luna found it a strange and uncomfortable place.
Still, she could appreciate the grim beauty of the desert as she wheeled to follow the course of the river. It ran in a broad valley here, but as she flew upstream the banks drew in, and soon she was flying along a canyon whose towering stone walls rose steeply on either side of her. They closed in closer with each mile she flew, and by the time the sun was no longer overhead, they canyon was so narrow that flying down it without clipping a wing against the walls was a challenge. Landing and proceeding on foot was not an option, though; the canyon was so narrow now that the river filled the bottom entirely. It might be called a mere stream in other lands, and it flowed no more than hock deep over much of the canyon, but there were pools of intense blue where the bottom was difficult to guess at despite the clarity of the water, and waterfalls by the dozen. It was not a land easily navigated on hoof, so Luna kept to the air.
After a time Luna reached a place where the stream burst from the ground, rushing in a swirling torrent into a churning cauldron of a pool. Beyond that the canyon floor was dry and sandy for several yards. She landed on the cool sand, nearly untouched by the sun save at high noon, and continued. The canyon narrowed further, until she couldn't even see the sky above. Finally she reached a point where the black mouth of a cavern gaped before her. It was three or four times her height and far wider than the span of her wings; the canyon widened here to make room for it, it seemed. Despite the hot, midday sun filtering indirectly down to the canyon floor, the cavern was pitch black; no trace of light entered it.
She had arrived at her destination: the gates of Tartarus. There was no literal gate, yet the border between the sunlit world of life and the land beneath was clear all the same; it lay in a sharp line of shadow on the sandy canyon floor. Beyond that line Luna could see nothing, even though her eyes could effortlessly pierce any ordinary shadow.
The alicorn approached slowly, feeling her heart beat a little bit faster. She reached out a hoof and put it inside the shadow. It vanished utterly, as if she had stuck it into a pool of ink. The other side felt no different against her coat, and her limb, when she pulled it back, was unmarked.
"Curious."
With a shrug Luna stepped within the shadowed cavern.
She had expected pitch blackness, but from inside the cave everything was gently lit with the faintest ghost of eerie green phosphorescence. It clung to the edges of each stalactite and stalagmite, and ran in tiny, shimmering flames up the walls of the cavern. The sunlight behind her, on the other hoof, was dim, the canyon outside the cave a faint, faded gray. It seemed wan and unexciting compared to the bizarre beauty of the ghostly realm around her. She took a few steps forward, then remembered her bet. She grinned and opened her mouth.
With a little skip she started to sing as she walked. "Alas, my love, ye do me wrong, to cast me off discourteously..." It was the latest ditty being passed about, rather than some great ballad, but it suited her frivolous mood well enough. And the minor key suited this thoroughly alien place, she thought. Luna threaded her way deeper into the cavern as she sang, her voice ringing off the ghostly, glowing walls. Proud Hoof was going to have to eat his words. Here she was, not only walking the halls of Tartarus, but singing as she went, as she had boasted she could.
When she reached the final chorus she turned around and skipped back the way she'd come, the final words ringing against the barren stone walls of the cavern. With the song finished, the only sound was that of her hooves. The whole place was definitely quite eerie. It was no wonder ponies feared it.
Luna had nearly reached the exit when she heard a voice from the gloom. "Art thou so eager to leave?"
She halted with one hoof raised and scanned the darkness. A pale shape stepped from the gloom between her and the exit. The glow that lined every bit of the cavern did not cling to him. Still, his coat was so light that it reflected what little light there was easily, so she could see that he was an earth pony stallion. She wasn't sure of his color; he might have been a pale sickly green, but perhaps that was merely the cavern's glow tinting his coat. His mane and tail were dark, and his eyes were a light, golden color; intense, solid and bright in a world of darkness and ethereal lights. Her gaze was caught by those eyes.
"Who... Who art thou?"
"I am Lord Arawn. And what is thy name, fair singer?"
"Luna." She looked at him suspiciously. He looked like a pony, but he might be something else entirely. She knew better than to trust anything she saw here. Yet his eyes were so bright, she kept looking back at them. They were beautiful.
"Luna. A fair name for a fair songstress. I hear music so seldom. Wouldst thou consider singing again? I am sure thou hast good reason to depart, yet I am lonely here, and thy song hath cheered me greatly."
Luna blinked. She probably should leave. The stallion wasn't to be trusted. Yet... She blinked again, feeling faintly disoriented, but once more those golden eyes caught her gaze. What had she been doing? Oh yes, she had been about to sing for Lord Arawn.
She lifted her voice, still gazing into his eyes, and sang an ancient tune. "Sumer is icumen in, lhude sing cuccu. Groweth sed and bloweth med and springth the wde nu..." Arawn stood and listened, a wistful expression on his face, as she sang.
When she finished, he said, "I have not heard that song since my youth. Thou singest it well, fair Luna."
Luna gave a small bow. "I am no bard, but I enjoy a good song."
"Bard or no, I would reward thee for thy performance. Come with me." He walked past her and looked back, gesturing with one hoof for her to follow him deeper into the cavern. Luna hesitated for a moment. There was something she was forgetting, some reason why she should leave. Then she met those golden eyes with hers and everything became clear. She had merely forgotten for a moment that she was here to serve her lord. How had the thought of leaving ever passed through her mind?
She followed him along the ghostly tunnel as it twisted its way underground. It sloped downward steadily, leading the pair deeper and deeper. There were many forks and branchings, some large and some small, but Arawn effortlessly chose his course among them. After a time they emerged into a much larger cavern, so immense that Luna could not see the far side. Immediately ahead of them lay a body of water. Whether it was a long, narrow lake or a sluggish river Luna could not say, but that was not what drew her attention. That was caught by the glowing light which the gently rippling water reflected in shattered shards.
After so long in the dark, the light was almost blinding, yet Luna found herself staring at it. It was such an ordinary light. It was a simple lantern, affixed to the prow of a small boat that floated on the shore. Arawn walked down the stony strand to the boat. By the lantern’s glow she could see that his coat was the color of bone, while his mane and tail were jet black. A shining droplet of some ruby liquid—wine perhaps—was his cutie mark.
A robed figure on the boat greeted him with a silent nod. Luna nodded as well, and followed Arawn aboard the small craft. It was just large enough for the three of them.
They sat in silence as the robed pony poled them across. There was no sound save for the faint lapping of the water against the boat's side and the tiny splashes made by the pole.
On the far side they disembarked, still without a word. The thought crossed Luna's mind that this was all very strange, but she couldn't find it in herself to question it too much. Things were as they were here in Lord Arawn's realm, and since it was his, whatever was here must be right and good.
The cavern sloped up from the water to a kind of a hill, and a house—or rather a palace—sat atop it. It was dark, the windows empty holes of black against the lesser black of its stone walls, but at Arawn’s approach lights kindled beside the door, and when he opened it more lit themselves within.
That was strange too—to see magic in the home of an earth pony—but once more Luna didn't question it much. She simply continued to follow Arawn as he led the way deeper into the grand edifice. Eventually they arrived at a lushly furnished parlor, where a fire sprang to life in the fireplace as they entered. Arawn seated himself before the fire and patted a spot on the deep-piled rug beside him. "Join me, and tell me somewhat of thyself. I must admit to a great curiosity. I have ne'er known a pony that was unicorn and pegasus both."
Luna nodded at sat beside him. He was just a little taller than she and somehow it was natural for her to lean against his shoulder. "I am neither pegasus nor unicorn. I am an alicorn."
"An alicorn?"
"Aye. We were an ancient race. There are but two of us remaining in this world; my sister and myself."
"That is most tragic. I am sorry for thy loss."
"It was many centuries past, so I do not much mourn them nowadays."
Arawn blinked at her. "Centuries? How old art thou, then?"
"I cannot tell. We did not count time in my younger years. Twelve centuries, at the least."
"That is... remarkable. Thou art immortal?"
"As best I can tell, aye."
"Tell me more. Whence cometh such creatures as alicorns?"
"Our race began in far Jannah."
"Jannah? I do not know it."
"It hath had many names across the years. I believe ponies in this day speak of it as Saddlantis."
Arawn pulled away from her slightly as he stared at her in shock. "Saddlantis? Thou... thou wert a sorcerer of Saddlantis? Thou hadst that immense power?"
Luna frowned faintly. Something about his reaction troubled her. There was a reason she didn't speak of her past much, nor of the scope of her current power. But as she gazed at him, struggling to think of why his interest in her power seemed worrying, those golden eyes caught hers once more and the thought slipped from her. "...Aye? I had a part of it. The true power came only when we all were united as one."
"Ah. And then, as the bard doth tell, the island sank and the power was lost?"
"Indeed. I no longer bear any trace of that power."
"What power do you bear, then?"
"I bear the moon, as my sister beareth the sun."
Arawn inhaled sharply. "Thou... thou speakest true? Thou hast the power of the moon?"
"Aye. I raise it each night, and lower it each morn to make way for my sister."
Arawn was silent for a long time. Luna was content to lean against him once more and simply enjoy her lord's closeness. All was as it should be.
At length Arawn said, "The moon shall not set for some time yet. Canst thou show me, when the time comes?"
"Of course."
"Then tell me more of thyself, and of thy sister, as we wait. I would know thy history in full."
"As my lord doth wish." Luna began, talking of their flight from Saddlantis, and the many years spent wandering thereafter. She spoke of their adventures in lands far from those trod by equine hoof, and of their doings among ponies. She came at length to the present, and the events of the past year or so. "Celestia wouldst have us settle, cease our wanderings, and attach ourselves to this newly-founded land. She herself hath already done so; she styleth herself the archmage of Everfree. I find I am... reluctant. Wandering suits me. Adventure, the contest of arms, the chance to be ever-proving myself. She doth not relish combat, and seemeth to enjoy nothing more than proving herself the cleverer statesmare. I cannot abide these games. So now... I contemplate leaving my sister, for the first time in all these centuries."
"Is that what drew thee hence, a desire to prove thyself?"
"Ah..." Luna found herself suddenly flushing slightly. "In part. But largely 'twas a drunken boast, that I could sing up and down the halls of hell and return unscathed."
Arawn chuckled. "Well, I am glad of thy boast, else I should never have met thee."
"Aye." Luna somehow didn't think of the strangeness of having just met her lord which she had always served.
"Sunset draweth near," he said.
"It doth." Luna rose to her hooves. She was far beneath the earth, but that didn't matter in the slightest. The moon was as clear to her as if she stood beneath the open sky. Their bond was not so easily diluted as that. She gathered her will and her magic.
Arawn watched her intently as she did so. He lacked her connection to the moon, and he was no unicorn, yet he seemed able to sense something of what she did. His eyes overlaid the image of the moon in Luna's mind as she slipped it gracefully above the horizon.
"Amazing," he breathed when she was done. "Such power."
"It is merely my nature," said Luna softly, feeling once again strangely uncomfortable, though she could not think why.
"Luna, thou art a mare of exceeding beauty and astonishing ability. I think thou art worthy to become my consort. Wouldst thou rule at my side?"
Rule? Luna blinked at him. She didn't want to rule. If she were to rule it would be by Celestia's side, not his. Yet he was her lord. She belonged with him. If he said she was to be his consort, he must be right. He wouldn't choose wrongly. "I... I don't know..."
"Thou and thou alone art worthy of me. With thou at my side I shall rule more than merely this bleak, black pit. Come, let me show thee the glories that await. Wilt thou be my queen?"
Luna still hesitated. Deep within her something was fighting mightily, struggling against his every word. This was wrong. This was not how things should be. She was not his, she was her own! But that voice was smothered in the honey-gold of his gaze, by the honey-sweetness of his voice. "Yes," she said, feeling dazed and dizzy.
"Ah Luna..." Arawn bent his head gently and nuzzled at the base of her neck. "If only thou couldst know what doth lie in store for thee..." Luna shivered. Something about the touch was as predatory as it was erotic. Her heart began to pound. Luna could hardly tell if it was excitement or terror that made it beat so fast.
Softly yet insistently he nipped at her, and she gave an intense shudder as she felt his teeth and realized that they were sharp. Deep inside the little part of her that was still free knew that she'd been right; he was no pony and not to be trusted. But that part was not in control. The rest of her moaned softly at the feel of his fangs. The pricking touch was terrifying, yet exhilarating at the same time.
He nipped her again, a little harder, and she shuddered, letting out a tiny whimper, half pain and half something else entirely. Suddenly, swiftly, he bit down, his fangs digging into her hide, piercing her skin, reaching eagerly to the rushing blood beneath. She cried out at the pain, then let out a soft moan as it faded and was replaced by a strange, drifting pleasure. It felt like she was floating in a tropical sea, a gentle warmth that soaked into her, ran through her very veins, carrying a soothing pleasure with it. She sighed deeply and gave herself over to it utterly.
As she floated, she saw a vision, or perhaps a dream. She stood atop the battlements of the Everfree Castle, where she had walked often with her sister, but when she turned it was Arawn who stood at her side rather than Celestia. Below them a crowd gathered, ponies of all three tribes cheering and shouting their names.
Then they were sitting on a pair of immense, ornate thrones. Celestia was there this time, chained and prostrate at Luna's feet. Before them a crowd was once again gathered, singing praises to Arawn and Luna, but this time the crowd contained all manner of beings, from breezies to dragons. The throne room was vast, but it was filled to bursting with their worshipers. Luna basked in their hymn of adoration, and in the regard of her lord at her side, but somewhere deep, deep inside she was screaming.
At length, when she came back to herself—or to something like herself—she found she was lying on a couch near the fire. Arawn stood beside her, a pale form looming over her in the flickering light. The flames seemed to catch his eyes and turn them blood red for a moment, and Luna shuddered. "My Lord?" her voice sounded oddly thin and weak. She tried to rise, but he gently pushed her back down.
"Lay and rest, my fair one. Thou hast been through thy first trial, and thou art weak. When thy second trial hath passed thou wilt be strong again, but for now thou shouldst not exert thyself."
"I don't understand."
"All shall be clear soon, my fair one. Be not afraid."
His voice sent her confusion and fear to huddle in the tiny space where her true self still clung desperately. Her breathing slowed and she lay still, calm, unafraid. She watched her lord as he walked to a nearby table and picked up a dagger that lay there in his teeth. He carried it over to her and sat beside her. With a swift twist of his head he drew the blade along his own foreleg, just above the fetlock. Blood welled up in the wound, nearly black in the firelight.
"There. Drink, my Luna. Drink and be mine for all eternity."
He pressed the wound to her lips, and Luna drank.
The blood was just blood at first, faintly salty and metallic. Then, as she swallowed the first few drops, it became fire, racing down her throat and out through her entire being. She cried out as it burned through her. She felt her heart leap massively, a painful thudding in her chest, then stutter. Her breath left her, and for a long, terrible moment she felt blackness closing in over her.
Then moonlight—a silver flame, a glowing power, the cold of endless space itself—welled up within her. She breathed in once more, then let that breath out in a cry of agony as two fires warred in her veins.
Her body was trying to change. She felt it, felt her wings twist to new shapes, felt her teeth sharpen, pricking against her lower lip, felt her very blood try to become something else. The moonlight fought it, and that deeper power was winning, but it was excruciating.
Arawn stepped back from her, his golden eyes wide in shock. He had not expected this. Luna fought her way to her feet. Pain still wracked her, but she no longer felt weak. Her heart jumped in her chest again, beating to the moon's will--to her will--and she bared her newly grown fangs at Arawn. Her eyes met his, but his compulsion was a faint voice now, hardly audible over the pain and rage that filled her. "What hast thou done?" she snarled at him.
"I have offered thee power and glory for all eternity."
"I have power already, thou fool, and eternity also."
"And glory? I know thy dream, Luna. Thy sister at thy feet, all the world praising thee. I can make that dream reality. Only accept my gift, and be thou my consort."
"Never!" Luna's horn lit and a blade of pure magic shimmered into being before her. She was so enraged she almost attacked Arawn with her own hooves and teeth, and only a thin shred of rationality remained to tell her that his inequine nature would no doubt render such attacks useless. "I would never betray Celestia thus. Not if all the world's glory and riches were to be mine. If I am to rule, it shall only ever be at her side."
Arawn laughed. "Never is a long time, as thou shouldst know."
Hissing through her fangs, Luna lunged forward, sending her magical blade ahead of her as she did. Arawn could do nothing to stop it; his power over her was broken. The infinitely sharp blade cut cleanly through his neck, even as he continued to laugh.
He fell, head and body parted completely, dark blood gushing forth freely. Luna felt the last of his compulsion fade from her mind, yet the war within her body continued. She trembled, pain wracking her as the battle played itself out. The moon's influence and her immortal alicorn nature seemed to be winning.
Slowly, slowly the pain faded. When at last it was gone she allowed herself to slump tiredly, sitting on the plush carpet. The fire was dying, only a thin tongue of flame remaining amid glowing embers. By that flickering light Luna examined her wings, and found that they were normal. Her heart yet beat as it had, her breath still came as it had. Yet when she ran her tongue over her teeth, she found sharp fangs there. This day's events had not left her unmarked. As she set out to make her way back to the world above she cursed her blithe disregard for danger. Would that she had never made such a foolish boast. Would that she had never come to this place.
And even much, much later when she flew towards Everfree with the moonlight shining silver on her wings, the sound of Arawn's laughter still echoed in her mind.
"Never is a long time..."