The Mare in the Moon began another night’s journey across the void. She was almost a full moon again, for which she was thankful. Feeling the sun on her face was the only real pleasure she had been able to find, all these years in captivity.
Despite her prison, she had not been idle. Every day, while the sun held reign, she would speak with the hidden stars. Every night, as they shone anew, they would move, almost imperceptibly, closer to the mighty arc she paced out against the sky. They would aid her escape, she knew, and soon. One more night. One night to wait, and rise... and she would finally be free.
She would have a battle on her hooves. While she had the charge of the night gallery, her sister was no foal, and kept close eye on her work. She would be expected. She would have to be prepared.
But how? Her prison kept her fast, locked away in a realm that was the moon, and yet not. Still, she was patient, and even a thousand years could be borne if one kept her mind active.
Those ponies had given their lives, pouring themselves selflessly into the magic of her incarceration. That point she had dwelled upon, all these centuries. She knew only three things about it.
First, each pony was intrinsically involved. Each was a specific part of the spell, and could not be replaced by another. The magic that flowed through each pony was linked to it, part of their life. This was new. When she had battled Discord, alongside her sister, the Elements were tools, focus-points for their magic. Now, it seemed they were something more: A living force, perhaps?
This, she reasoned, could be hindered simply by dividing any force against her. She was the Mistress of the Night, after all, and dreams were her playthings. It would be a small thing to turn the desires of those who opposed her into a wedge, and drive apart any approaching threat.
Second, not one of them survived. Once she had regained her bearings that night, she watched her sister, now alone, lying exhausted in the blasted ruins of their old palace. All that remained on that scorched, stony plain were the Elements themselves, now in the form of crystalline spheres. Her sister had gathered these, and placed them in the only building that still had a roof, the old observatory.
There was a slight concern here. The land had regrown since then, wild and dark, unlike the other forests of Equestria. She did not know if the crystals remained within the ruins. Still, she would find them, and prevent whatever power they held from being used against her.
Finally, her sister controlled the spell. The ponies gave her the power, but she wove it, enhanced it, and tempered it with her own might.
She acknowledged this might not be necessary. It had been a new spell, and perhaps her sister was being cautious. Celestia preferred to plan out contingencies. But it gave her an idea to further dampen any resistance... and treat her sister to a little fair play. She began to laugh.
Oh, yes. It would be a glorious Summer Sun Celebration, indeed.