The thousandth year. The longest day. I watch as my moon rises, revealing the land of Equestria from my vantage on its shining surface. I wait as my moon follows its destined path along the sky. What a waiting game this is! But it's almost over at long last. I feel the stars tug at me, and I leap off the moon's surface, flying upwards to the planet above. Then falling to the land below.
I continue to fall straight to a quaint little village which happens to be hosting the Summer Sun Celebration this year. It's also exactly where our last battle was, where I was banished to the moon before I could finish off my sister. I save myself by turning into starry mist and fly into the town hall, reforming where the Princess of the Sun should be. The crowd below the balcony gasps. I grin.
The grin disappears as a unicorn in full evil armor leaps up onto the balcony, bucking one guard off and blowing up the other with a blue fireball. He spins to face the crowd, using a deep and twisted voice to speak. “ ‘On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in Nightmare Moon’s escape and she will bring nighttime eternal!’ The prophecy has come to pass! You have all witnessed! Now, begone!” They flee for any of numerous reasons, and he spins to face me.
“Are you trying to upstage me?!” I demand, glaring daggers into him.
“I am running the show,” he answers. What? I raise my eyebrows but am cut off. “I spoke those words with Celestia as my witness, creating the prophecy itself. Since then, I have learned much. Yesterday, I ensured nopony can get in our way.”
“You couldn’t have cre-”
“I am 1,024-years-old. My meddlings have granted me unusually long life. Now, come; I have the feeling that Twilight, Element of Magic, will ruin my traps. I must ensure that they don’t do anything stupid when they see that the Elements are useless to them.” With that, he brushes past me. I hesitate before following him out onto the exterior balcony, unsure of this stallion.
I watch as his blue eyes glow brighter until they are fireballs trailing up-and-away from the eyeholes. Soon, his horn glows that same blue before his entire form is surrounded by a separate glow. “You seriously aren’t thinking of trying to levitate yourself all the way there, are you?” I ask incredulously. His horn sparks before a second glow wraps around the first; an overglow. He slowly lifts into the air.
“Not even the most powerful of wizards could levitate themselves for long!” I yell at him despite that he hasn’t gone very far at all. He ignores me and I grow impatient, lifting off with “This is taking too long!” I leave him behind quickly and roll my eyes as I continue to fly from the town hall and that stallion.
That’s when I hear a boom and see a blur pass by me. “-at was th-?!” is all I catch as the stallion, enveloped in a blue fireball, flies past. This irks me greatly, but I push it back as I easily catch up and keep pace with him. Silence, other than his fireball, my flapping and the wind rushing by, follows for a while before I ask a question that’s been nagging at me.
“Why are you doing this?” I start. “Why are you helping me?”
“I am helping you because you contain something very important.”
“What do you mean?” I raise an eyebrow.
“You’ll have to figure that out for yourself.” ...What?! There’s nothing important in me! Unless he means my powers. No, Sister can take over- Wait, he’s been committing crimes; he’s no good guy! So, he wants my powers! Why doesn’t he just take them? Why worry about useless things like the Bearers and the Elements? It doesn’t add up...
“You are rather considerate for one doing evil,” I voice accidentally.
“That’s because my purpose is good.” I narrow my eyes as his ears bend backwards.
“The actions define the pony,” I challenge.
“Along with the purpose,” he spits back.”
“That wasn’t true for me,” I spit back-back.
“Except that you are here no.” I open my mouth only to close it when I realize exactly what he said. Wait... he brought me back... because he knew what I felt...? But... how? How could anypony know that which I have never spoken...? I continue to mull over this mystery to no avail as we continue our flight.
* * *
He leads the way through an absent window of the castle, dropping his magic and landing with a thunk, leaving little craters behind. I follow with more grace and the soft clops of my hooves. He glances around while I turn to my old the throne, still resting off center while Sister’s is long gone. He moves next to the giant pedestal for the Elements, which was originally in another part of the castle, while I sit on my throne.
Memories flow in and out of my mind’s eye, remembering me and Sister’s rule as adolescents, our victories over evil, the mistakes, the lack of love, the jealousy, the anger, the hate, the war, the banishment...
The voices of six mares and... a young dragon? Anyways, their voices snap me back to reality. The stallion casts a cloaking shield to hide us from their view. We watch as they celebrate reaching the Elements before the purple one uses her magic to hand out five of the Elements, explaining each to their Bearers. I note that a baby purple dragon is resting on her back as the Element of Magic appears to her and she explains how it works with the spark. Twilight, the stallion had called her. The Elements transform into jewelry for their Bearers, matching their cutie marks, as the stallion nods and drops the shield.
I stand up and bellow, “Those toys can do no good for you!” The Bearers spin to face me and the Elements light up like they did a thousand years ago. No, not again...
“NO!” the stallion voices my silent cry as he teleports himself in front of me, casting his magic forwards. The two magic collide head-on and are equal for a tense moment before the pressure is too much and they explode. The blast tears off the stallion’s armor, sending the pieces flying past me and leaving him bare.
His meddlings, as he had called them, have changed him: black coat, pale blue medium-length hair, curved and ragged horn, large, blue draconic eyes. He growls, “You won’t take her from me again!” Again?
“What are you?!” squeeks the white mare, Rarity, Bearer of Generosity.
“An old pony bent on saving the Princess of the Night!” Saving? He gulps dryly before continuing. “And nopony will stop me!” he yells as he uses yet more magic to teleport us away, leaving behind a set of stunned Bearers.
* * *
We appear in a newer throne room, this one housing Sister’s throne and the windows that were missing in the Everfree, and this one recently managed. But currently empty. Probably the stallion’s doing. Speaking of the stallion...
I walk within his vision and glance at him. “You are really devoted, aren’t you?” I ask him. He nods. “I see...” I examine the throne before asking, “Canterlot?” He nods again. Sister had talked about moving here. Guess she couldn’t stand the ghosts the Everfree gained.
I explore the rest of the room, which is nothing really, before lying down next to the throne. The stallion lays down where he came in at, spacing out. I stare at the throne as i dive into my own thoughts.
I recall how lonely I felt for a thousand years on the frigid moon. No air, no water, no warmth, no pony. I recall how the stallion leapt in upon my return, those words he spoke then and on the flight to the Everfree. I recall how he lept into harm’s way and what he said about himself. I glance over at him and notice how weak he looks now. And then everything connects! He wanted me to puzzle through it so I could see it is true emotions, true love! He loves me like how I’ve desired all this time! He... loves me...!
I stand up to see he’s still spaced off. I walk to the patio behind the throne and gaze at my night sky, letting the moon return to its course across it as my armor shifts to my normal royal attire. I turn away as I recall my loneliness and then wonder how lonely he was, studying forbidden arts for me for a thousand years. I feel a tear streak out of my eye as he steps out onto the patio. I turn to him, noticing the glimmer in his own eyes.
“L... Luna...?” I nod and his eyes sparkle. “You’ve... returned?” I nod again and he smiles.
“You fought for what you love, and you did it without simply giving out the answers.” He shivers before collapsing to his knees, then shifting to lay down comfortably, visibly exhausted. “Rest, for you have not done so in too long.” I can see it’s true. I shift to stand, then lay, next to him, our sides brushing softly. I feel heat rise as I look at him, giving him a smile that he returns before lying his head down. He’s out instantly. I chuckle, laying my head down and slowly following suit.
* * *
I wake to the voice and warmth of Sister. “Sister?” I ask as I turn to the stallion from the past while. “Oh.” I blink and blush as i realize my wing is over him. I pull it back. “Right. I never got your name?”
“Dage,” he answers as his cheeks redden and he looks over my head. I follow his gaze.
“Sister!” I jump to my hooves in surprise, turning a deeper red as i realize she knows all of it. I wrap her in a hug, crying, “I am so sorry!”
“As am I for not being what you needed,” she replies honestly.
“You did what you could,” I admit, my views in a new a new light. I let go of her and watch the sun on its slow rise from dawn. “A new dawn for a new stage in life.” I turn to Dage. “For both of us.” I smile at him, making him red all over again. He pulls an awkward smile that simply elicits an unprincessly, very mare-ish giggle from me. Things look promising.