Chapter 1
It was night time in Equestria. Princess Luna was on duty, sitting at her place on the throne. Both her and her sister, Celestia, shared the same throne; however, when the sun set and the moon took the sky, the rooms bright colors changed to match the darkness. The pink carpet and tapestries turned dark blue, and the stain glass windows featuring stylized images of the sun turned to show those of the moon instead. All of this was done by a spell that Celestia herself made to help comfort her sister while she sat at the throne. Luna had dismissed the guards that would normally be stationed around her for some time to herself. She looked up at her moon and all of the stars shinning brightly above the land, a soft smile upon her face as she appreciated the beautiful sky she created.
Suddenly, the giant double doors sealing the room started to creak open, and Luna turned in shock. Had someone really come for her court? She wondered what kind of pony would need her help, or what they would need her help with. All of these thoughts stopped tho when she saw her big sister walk in, a smile on her face as her hair flowed through the air. Without the bright sun beating down on her, Celestia looked far less domineering, yet her power was still felt as she walked in. Luna smiled back, happy to see that her sister was still awake so late in the night
"Sister! To what do I owe this honor?"
Celestia gave a bow and giggled softly "I was wondering if her majesty had time to talk with her sibling?"
Luna chuckled as she got up and started walking towards the alicorn "Why sister, would you have me take time away from all of the loving ponies that come and visit me with there quarrels just to have a little chat?"
Celestia smiled warmly as Luna approached her, and she leaned forward to give her a little cheek nuzzle "Come on Luna, please?" She asked in a voice that sounded as if it could have come from a little filly.
The dark alicorn giggled more and wrapped her hooves around her sisters neck in embrace "Of course, Tia~ I always have time for you!"
Celestia wrapped one of her forelegs around her shoulders, holding her close in embrace. It was nice to see her sister so cheerful. She had been doing a lot better in the past few months since trip to Ponyville to celebrate Nightmare Night.
"And I you, sister. Now, how does a moonlight picnic sound to you?" She asked with a grin "I noticed the stars are sparkling brightly tonight. Only you can make the sky so beautiful, sister."
Luna gave a nuzzle before breaking the embrace and giving an excited bounce "Thank you, Tia! I had a clear mind tonight, so I put extra effort into making the night sky shine. I would love to have a picnic with you under the stars. "
"I'm glad to hear that." She smiled "And you're welcome. Come now then, lets get some food and we can sit out in the garden."
-
They entered the royal gardens together, Celestia holding a basket in her maw, while Luna followed with peppy trot. They reached a clearing near a small pond, and Celestia used her magic pull a large blanket out of the basket, and spread it out by the water. After setting the basket down, both she and Luna sat down on the blanket, and they each pulled a cupcake out with their magic, taking a bite and enjoying the apple tasting treat
"Mmm.. I wish we had cupcakes back when I was a filly." Luna commented and finished it off with one bite
Celestia giggled and finished hers as well "They are a fantastic invention, aren't they?"
Luna nodded and licked her lips as she started eating another. She loved being with her sister, as she was the one pony she felt comfortable enough to show her true self too. "Now tell me sister, is there something you wished to speak to me about?"
"Like I said before, I just want to spend time with you. However, I had been meaning to ask you if you are still in correspondence with my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle?"
Ever since Luna visited Ponyville, she had become somewhat of a pen-pal with Twilight. Twilight would include her reports she sent to Celestia, along with notes about what she was currently researching. She was also helping her learn the modern way of speaking, and Luna was quite pleased with her own progress.
"Yes, she sent me a letter yesterday telling me about her attempts to create a spell that would automatically alphabetize all of her books."
"That's my Twilight." Celestia smirked and took a sip from a bottle of apple cider, "Was she successful?"
Luna couldn't help but let out a small snicker as she recounted the letter, "She gave up quickly after she accidentally made the books come to life and they started fighting each other over with one went where on the shelf." She explained, making them both break out into a fit of laughter.
After calming down a bit, and wiping a tear from her eye, Luna turned back to her sister. "What about you, Tia? Anything interesting going on?"
Celestia rolled her eyes, something few ponies ever witnessed "Not unless you consider mundane issues like whether or not there should be a law about how quickly the grass grows interesting."
Luna simply laughed more and moved next to her sister "Oh Tia, why did I ever become jealous of your job?" she giggled more
Celestia stretched out one of her wings, placing it around her sister and pulling her close, then rubbing a hoof into her mane and messing up her hair, "Because, you are a silly little filly!" she teased with a sly smile
"I am not!" Luna chuckled and squirmed under her sister. "Stop it Tia! You're messing up my mane!"
Celestia smiled wide and leaned down, touching her horn against her sisters, sending shivers down her spine as sparks flew from where they touched. Luna shuddered a bit and giggled as her sister pulled away, and she gave her another nuzzle "I love you big sister.."
"I love you too, my silly filly." she kept smirking as nuzzled her more with a big grin
-
After they were done eating, the the two alicorns cleaned everything up and headed back into the palace
"What now, Tia? Do you think you can stay up a bit longer?" Luna asked excitedly
"Well, I suppose if your really want me too." She teased, "But what shall we do?"
"Hmm.." Luna thought for a moment, before poking her sister in the shoulder and jumping in front of her, "Tag! You're it!" She called out as she ran off giggling
Celestia stood there and blinked a few times "You're kidding, right?" She asked in shock, not even being able to remember the last time someone tried to play with her. She watched the giggling princess of the night bound a corner, and with a smirk she took off after her "Oh you'll regret challenging me, Luna!"
The dark mare turned her head around and stuck her tongue out at Celestia, who had almost caught up to her "We'll see about that!" She said as she flapped her wings hard, giving her a quick boost ahead as she was about to get tagged.
"Oh, so that's how it is!" Celestia quickly opened her own wings and took off in flight down the corridor. Luna saw her sister gaining, and quickly turned the corner, only to be met with a dead end. She skidded to a stop on a balcony over looking Canterlot, and was about to take flight, when all of the sudden a great weight fell on top of her and forced her to the ground, holding her tight
"Gotcha, sister~" Celestia beamed as she ruffled her sisters mane again
"Ahhh let go!" She chuckled and tried to get free. But Celestia simply lowered her hoof and nuzzled her cheek
"Now now, why would I do something like that?" so giggled, and Luna kept chuckling. They both felt happier than they had since Luna's return, and after tonight, Luna was sure that there would be many more nights like this. Nothing could go wrong now. "Still such a filly~" Celestia teased and gave her a squeeze
"Well, I haven't aged in the thousand years I was banished. So I guess technically I am." she rolled her eyes and smirked, "I'm just glad you still have time and energy to play with me." She smiled and leaned into her sister
"I'll always have time to play with you, sister. However, it appears as tho night is at an end." She pointed a hoof to the moon, which had reached the horizon. "Would you mind lowering the moon so I may bring on the morning?"
Luna nodded, noticing that they had spent the entire night together having fun. She raised her head a bit, closing her eyes as her horn shimmered with a dark blue aura as her moon slowly started to creep down below the horizon. "There you go sister, now its your turn."
Celestia smiled and closed her eyes as well, about to raise the sun when all of the sudden a painfully loud crack was heard. Both sisters jumped to their feet, and turned around, looking for the cause of it
"Sister, what was that?" Luna asked, when another crack was heard, so loud it was painful to the alicorns ears. The ground started shaking and another crack was heard, still louder yet. The two sisters took flight, headed towards to throne room to signal the alarms. Another crack was heard as they landed. Celestia pulled a rope near the throne, making bells ring throughout the castle, waking up anypony able to sleep through the horrible noise. Soon after, an old looking earth pony ran in shortly and bowed before the princesses. He was clad in bright gold armor, and had many pins on his chest to signify that he was a high ranking officer.
"Your majesties, what is going on? Are we under attack?" He asked in shock, having never heard the emergency bells go off before
"I do not know, but I am certain that something-" Celestia was suddenly cut off as the loudest crack yet was heard, causing everypony to flop their ears back. Immediately after the crack was a loud explosion, shaking the whole castle violently, so much so that the throne and all the other seats and fixtures in the room fell over. The officer was barely able to keep his footing as the ground under him began to crack.
"Silver Leaf, go now and start an evacuation! I want everyone in the castle sent down to Canterlot for safety!" She ordered over the loud rumbling, and the guard took heed to her, running out of the room as quickly as he could. The sisters flew up and landed on a balcony to see if they could spot where all this noise was coming from. They were shocked as they looked up and saw that the mountain the castle rested upon had burst open, lava pouring out of the top. Before anything could be said, another crack and a loud explosion as the entire side of the mountain blew open, sending large chunks of rock and lava hurtling at the castle. Moving quickly into action, the sisters tried to delay the impact, Celestia holding the lava in place and Luna stopping the rocks mid air. But it was to no avail, as another crack ripped the mountain apart further, almost all the way down to the castle. Rocks pelted the walls, knocking holes in the ancient architecture, and knocking over a guard tower.
A large mass of lava was coming quick towards the castle and both Celestia and Luna dropped what they were holding to focus their magic on stopping the flow. Horns could be heard resonating through the walls, signifying that the castle had begone its evacuation. With a sigh of relief, Celestia focused harder on holding back the wall of lava. It was building up quickly. A wall at least 20 feet tall had been formed where their barrier was. The solar princess was starting to think about what possibly could have caused this, when another crack, followed by a large beam of light breaking though the ground right in the center of the castle caused the foundations to crumble, and the walls and towers of the entire castle started to crack and falter. Celestia quickly let go of the lava and cast a teleportation spell on everypony remaining in the castle, sending them to a safe place. Luna noticed the ceiling above them about to fall, and quickly cast a shield around both of them just in time to stop the impact of the falling ruble.
With the new explosion, and the release of the wall of lava, the castle was quickly decimated and swept away, being pushed down the mountain towards Canterlot. Not knowing what to do, both the princess' took flight, flying high above the destroyed castle as it was engulfed in the lava. Celestia used her magic to set off the warning alarms in the city below, but she was sure the guards were already evacuating everypony. They looked at each other and nodded, about to try to hold back the lava again when a final violent explosion hit, destroying the entire top of the mountain. Luna and Celestia screamed as the shockwave and resulting bits of rock and lava knocked them out of the air, their hurtling bodies thrown towards Canterlot. Unable to stop their decent, both sisters crashed into the city, landing on a small bakery and tearing down the entire building. A few guards that were near saw them fall and came to their aid.
"Your majesties! Are you alright? We were all worried." He offered a hoof and the battered Luna took it, getting onto her feet and then helping her sister up. They were both bruised, but seemingly unaffected.
"How is the evacuation going? How many people are still here?" Celestia asked, ignoring his questions
"Most of the town is still here, we simply haven't had enough-" he was cut off as Celestia cast another teleportation spell, her horn glowing bright white as she sent everypony to Ponyville, the safest place she could think of. The spell was taxing however, and she wobbled under the strain, but Luna leaned into her to hold her up
"Sister, you should save your energy.. there would have been enough time to get out. And we still need to figure out what is happening." As if on cue, another beam of white light was seen erupting though the epicenter, sending waves of lava and rock flowing in all directions as a hole was created around the light, and something could be seen rising out of it. The sisters were in shock as a giant structure seemingly made out of obsidian and diamond raised from the destroyed mountain top, pushing the lava further down and into the city, buildings at the edge starting to burn. Celestia quickly took off towards the structure, flying faster than Luna thought was possible "S-sister! What are you doing?!" She called out and took flight after here
Having landed on the edge of the structure, wincing as the immense heat made it feel like her hooves were on fire, and she quickly flapped her wings to lift back up. The princess looked down at her throbbing hooves to make sure that they hadn't been too badly damaged. After she confirmed that she was fine, she saw Luna coming close and started to warn her about landing, but before she could speak, a tower in the center of the structure cracked open, spewing lava everywhere. To there shock, they noticed something appear to walk out of the lava. Even more shocking was that it appeared to have the shape of a pony...
"Yes... YES! Finally! Free from my prison!" The being shouted and kicked up its forehooves, flinging lava off and opening its wings to shake off more. It stood there laughing as the lava fell off, revealing a black, ash covered coat of fur, and its mane appeared to be made of pure fire. In the middle of head was.. a horn. This was an alicorn!
Suddenly Celestia's eyes shot wide open as she came to a realization. She knew who this was, tho she thought it was just an old story taught to the children of royalty. She had never thought that she could possibly exist..
Before anything could be said or done, the alicorn looked over and saw the two of them "Who are you? The rulers of this land?!" She demanded
Celestia still in shock, Luna flew forward, "Yes! I am princess Luna, and this is my sister, princess Celestia. Who are you and why have you destroyed our castle and this mountain?!" She demanded in return
The black alicorn laughed and gave them an evil look with her fire red eyes "It has been a long time, but I surely assumed somepony would remember me. I am Edana! The queen of fire and all of this planet!" She called out and stomped on the ground, shooting and energy beam at the two, which they barely dodged.
Not knowing what else to do, Luna shot a beam of energy back at Edana, who laughed and repelled it back, the spell hitting her in the chest and knocking her down onto the hot rock. Celestia gasped as she saw her sister knocked down and rushed to her side, but Luna gave her a sign that she was all right.
With a moment of hesitation, Celestia turned towards the black mare "Edana.. I know who you are. I was told the stories as a filly. But there is no need to attack us! We do not want to imprison you again!" She tried to reason with her, but the alicorn simply shot a beam of energy at the princess, narrowly dodging it again
"I do not care of your intentions! I've returned and I will restore my place as ruler of the world and burn down ALL THAT OPPOSE ME!" She called out in a thunderous voice, as she stomped her hooves again. This time however, the effects were felt elsewhere as the sides of the mountain ruptured, sending lava quickly down the sides, headed towards the forests below. Celestia gathered up all of her strength and cast a powerful beam of energy at her, but Edana merely leaned her head down and caught it with her horn, absorbing all the magic
"Hah! Is that the best you've got? You will regret the day that you attacked me!" She began to charge up the spell Celestia had cast at her, adding her own magic to its intensity. Celestia braced herself for it, but the black mare grinned, and turned to Luna, firing the beam at the downed princess
"Wha- LUNA!" She screamed and flew in front of her sister, the blast hitting Celestia in the chest and causing a massive explosion of power, sending her flying off the side of the platform and down the mountain towards the lava below.
"Sister!" Luna called finally finding the strength to stand up. She cast another attack at Edana, who simply dodged it as the princess of the night jumped off the ledge, going after her sister. She closed her wings and aimed straight down, trying to catch the tumbling alicorn below her. Luna could see blood on her sisters white fur and tears formed in her eyes as she raced for her.
Behind her, she heard Edana call out in an amplified voice "Citizens of Equestria! Your queen has returned to rule again! Everyone who wants to join my regime will gather at the base of this mountain! All who won't will be burned alive!" She finished her speech by making another eruption out of the mountain side. Luckily this was no where near Luna, as she tried as hard as she could to catch her sister, as they were nearing the lava pooling at the mountainbase
"Please sister wake up!" She called, and gave a flap of her wings, thrusting her down harder. She reached out with a hoof and barely caught her hind leg. She grabbed it and pulled her in, hugging her sister as they teleported away less than a second before hitting the lava