//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: Awakening 
// Story: Looking For Luna 
// by CapriciousCapricorn 
//------------------------------//

Unsteadily, I rose to my hooves and found myself in the center of a small meadow. Overhead the darkening sky was filling with large storm clouds. I was scared and lost, the trees around me seemed taller than I recalled. The thick leafy branches blocked out the few precious rays of starlight peeking through the clouds while the thinner spindly branches clawed at the belly of the sky. I hadn’t mastered the art of flying yet, even if I had, my wings were pressed firmly against my quivering sides. I watched helplessly as the last rays of the sun were enveloped by the horizon.

I was trembling from head to hoof nothing but darkness surrounded me. Every bush, rock, and tree was its ally, cloaked in the dark embrace of the night. I stood there for a long time, feeling the warmth of the day being stripped away by the uncaring winds of the night. Around me the trees let loose a mournful howl, as the wind raced through their branches. It felt as if the world around me was growing smaller, the trees and rocks surrounding me as their howling intensified. Carelessly I raced headlong into the darkness, desperately trying to escape the monsters that existed only in my head. I ran, something sharp grazed my flank, convincing me I wasn’t alone in these woods.

“Why can’t I be just like Tia? Tia would know the way out” I darted forward, my eyes squeezed shut, hoping to block out my living nightmare “Why can’t I just use my wings and fly up high to find home?” With my eyes closed I was unable to see the bushes and low hanging branches of the trees, their sharp tips grazing my sides as I managed to run past them. My breath soon grew wild and ragged, but I didn’t stop until I ran head first into a solid oak tree. With a cry filled with pain and fear I lashed out with my forelegs. I backed away while lashing out, stumbling backwards into a patch of black berry bushes. The sharp thorns slid easily through my coat and pierced my flesh. A new score of small cuts adorned my flank, I broke free quickly and ran back into the darkness. Ahead of me a small ray of light peeked between several tree trunks, I raced towards it desperate to be beneath its warm glow. I broke through the tree line and the smile on my lips began to fade. I skidded to a stop as I realized I was back in the clearing I had started in, stopping only a few yards away from where I had started. “I just want to go home and be free from this dark and scary place. Why did I take Chestnut Crunch’s stupid dare? Even if those stupid flowers existed there was no way someone like me would ever find them.”

My limbs grew numb as a sense of defeat washed over me “This is it… I’m never going to make it out of this forest, I’m never going to escape.” A tear rolled down my cheek and it was joined by another until I was sobbing. I curled up and continued to cry as I covered my face with my hooves. I was unaware of what was happening around me while I wept. As if by some magic, the howling wind became a whispering song, weaving a lullaby. As the wind dissipated a bit of warmth returned to the night.When I finally realized that the night had shifted I lifted my head towards the sky and was enraptured by a truly magical sight.

Sitting just overhead, the moon cast a brilliant light across the land like a luminescent pearl. The dark clouds that had once sheathed its beauty now circled it like a crown as they bent to the will of the wind. As its cool light kissed the land the shadows fled and left very few places untouched by its beauty. The clouds continued to part revealing that the moon was not alone, at its side, hundreds of shimmering stars helped illuminate the darkness. Arounds me, what I had thought were weeds seemed to grow and unfurled into shimmering white flowers, the beauty of the moon and her stars reflected in every petal.

I didn’t understand why at the time, but the sight of that beautiful moon with its accompanying cascade of stars filled me with determination. A dream took root in my heart… a dream that even now I could no longer recall. I sat there for a long time, until I was no longer Luna, I was the night, I was the moon and her stars, I was the light in the darkness, I was-
“Luna!”
“Luna!”
“LUNA!!!”


⊰ ★ ⊱ ❈ ⊰ ★ ⊱ ❈ ⊰ ★ ⊱


Slowly I woke up as the desperate cries that had stirred me from my slumber continued to ring in my ears. My head throbbed and my mouth was so dry that my tongue felt like sandpaper. I felt as if I had been dreaming of something important but as I continued to wake up it continued to fade from memory. I cautiously opened my eyes, fearing that I would be blinded by the morning rays of the sun. However, I soon discovered that sunlight would be the least of my concerns.

I found myself in complete darkness and a dank musty scent hung in the air, only adding to my confusion. “Have my efforts been futile after all? Am I in the castle's dungeon?, Is my destiny truly to live and rot away in this darkness for the rest of my life?” I needed to be sure that there truly was no escape from this place. Despite my bodies continued protest, I rose unsteadily to my hooves as I tried to get a sense of the space I was currently being held in. It was in vain as the walls and floor were rough and uneven. After several minutes of stumbling about in the dark I concluded that I wouldn’t be able to get my bearings without a bit of magic.

Reluctantly I called upon my magic and formed an orb of light at the tip of my horn. I didn’t know how much time had passed or if Celestia would be able to sense my magic from this distance. I wasn’t confident that I had the strength to wield my magic based on how much pain I was in. Despite these fears it was clear I would gain nothing by stumbling in the darkness any further. It was taking a great amount of focus to keep the space lit but it was clear that I was in no dungeon, but rather some sort of cave in a place I was not familiar with. As I looked around my eyes were drawn to an object that had been hidden the darkness.

It’s smooth crystalline trunk and branches stretched towards the ceiling. As if responding to my magic it seemed to hum with life. It had been forever since I had seen the tree of harmony, it was as beautiful as I had recalled. I walked forward laying my hoof against the symbol of the moon on its trunk. The once brilliant light that had radiated from it was gone, a grim reminder that both its light and my destiny were no more. The symbol of the sun resting higher on its trunk still pulsed with light. Regardless of my feelings towards the tree its presence was problematic. If I was in the cavernous chamber built for the tree then I wasn’t very far from where I had fled from my sister. Depending on how much time had passed I could still be in danger.

I paused for several moments, my eyes fixed on the moon, I was tempted to rest beneath the gentle light of the tree and recall some of my fonder memories. However, like the faded moon symbol, these sentiments were best left in the past and perhaps even forgotten. Once upon a time I would have caved to my temptation and lingered longer than I should have but I was no longer the same pony. Tears pooled briefly beneath my eyes but I ignored them as I scanned the cave for a path that should have existed.

As I scanned the space my eyes were drawn to a pile of rubble. It was in the direction of where the entrance should have been. I trotted closer to get a better look, the rocks had fallen some time ago but appeared to be unstable and packed loosely together. I considered my options, which were limited to, blasting away the rubble or levitating it aside. Neither option was particularly appealing, if I blasted them I could draw unwanted attention and I couldn’t guarantee that I had the strength to slowly move the pile aside. I rested my hoof against a rock, assessing the piles strength. After determining it was possible to knock the pile over, I gave it a light kick. It was one of many mistakes that I would soon be making.

When assessing the strength of the pile I forgot to consider the size of the rocks in the pile. The loose rubble wobbled and groaned as a small boulder towards the top was dislodged and fell towards me. I stumbled backwards and tripped, unable to dodge the massive chunk of rock I let loose a magical blast. I knew, even as I cast the spell, that I didn’t have the strength for it. I watched with horror as the spell failed, causing a small distortion before imploding and throwing me backwards. I heard the sound of my body slamming into something rather hard, most likely the tree of harmony, and then the world went dark.


⊰ ★ ⊱ ❈ ⊰ ★ ⊱ ❈ ⊰ ★ ⊱


I awoke sometime later if my body had grievances before then it was outright rebelling now. My head was spinning and I felt as if I hadn’t slept in days, it was several minutes before I even had the strength to lift my head. I recalled that my spell had failed, had I not panicked I could have likely jumped aside to avoid the blast. There was no use lamenting spilled oats, it seemed as if the spell had managed to blast aside a great deal of the rubble. I climbed unsteadily to my hooves and made my way towards the exit.

As I stepped forward I found myself beneath a canopy of the stars, a gentle breeze caressed my cheeks and I was filled with an indescribable feeling. A numbness settled over my body I was vaguely aware that my current appearance would be unsuitable. There were only two Alicorns in all of Equestria and the sudden appearance, or rather return, of one would undoubtedly draw attention. As numbness continued to settle I cast a transformation spell. I knew the words I was speaking but struggled to hear myself. I started moving forward, climbing an ancient set of stairs that led to the mass of land above the tree of harmony. As I climbed the stairs the numbness continued to spread, slowly claiming my forelegs. When I reached the top of the stairs I was just beyond the bridge leading to my former castle and my legs began to shake.

I sat down before my legs gave out entirely, but the shaking didn’t stop instead it continued upward so that my entire body was shaking. Tears began welling in my eyes, I didn’t understand why the tears wouldn’t stop. It wasn’t until I gazed upon my ruined home, truly beheld the castle, that I understood. I was… grieving. My home was gone, my role in Equestria was gone, everything I had once used to define myself… the pony I used to be? She too was gone. The beautiful castle, whose spires once stretched towards the moon and overlooked the rising sun, was in ruins. Gone were its tranquil gardens and majestic architecture. The tree of harmony had once been protected by an elegant stone entrance, flanked by stone griffin sentries, but like the castle, very little remained. This world was likely very different from the one I had left and I didn’t even know where to begin, how to start over. As I wept like a foal I was unaware of the hoof steps approaching me.

“Who dares to cry instead of applaud in the presence of THE GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE?” a rather high pitched voice bellowed behind me. I practically fell on my face as I leaped to my hooves, momentarily forgetting that they were numb. I barely had enough time to look back and see a cloaked figure moving towards me. A large brimmed, purple, star-coated pointed hat upon their head. The pony raised their cornflower-blue head revealing a slender rounded horn. It was quite clear that they was some sort of wizard. Celestia must have sent them, why else would a wizard be wandering around this place at this time of night?

I had been far too careless.
Celestia had found me, would I be slain or simply taken captive?
It didn’t matter, it was all over.

“Uhh, are you alright?” the unicorn asked with a perplexed expression. They leaned back uncertainly as a peculiar expression forming on their face as they waited for my response. It was a response they wouldn’t receive because for the third time that evening I passed out. The last thing I recalled was the wizards surprised and extremely confused face as they leaped backwards.