Chapter 4: Armed Intervention
Luna sat in her bed, huddled in her blankets. The room had become intensely cold now, with the window shattered, and snow was blasting around the interior
Luna watched her own breath as it spread out before her. She buried her head in her hooves again, so as not to see it anymore.
"You really are a stick in the mud."
Luna looked up. Nightmare Moon stood before her. Luna glared at her.
"You've ruined any semblance of a life that I have left." She growled.
Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes. "Oh don't be so melodramatic."
Luna picked up her alarm clock from her bedside table and hurled it at the night demon. It, of course, passed right through her, and shattered at the other end of the room.
"Luna, she'll never trust you. I understand you are having trouble letting go..."
Luna stood up. "There was a time when she loved me."
"And that time has long since passed." Nightmare finished. "She'll never love you again. Especially now. You're only choice is to burn this bridge once and for all. Now I'm not saying it's all your fault..."
"TIS YOUR FAULT!" Luna shouted, hurling the whole bedside table at her. Her face was contorted in rage. "All I wanted was a return to normalcy! And you had to ruin everything!"
Nightmare Moon sighed, slightly annoyed with the angry alicorn. "Look Luna. I understand you're upset now. But did you really want to spend the next millennia being Celestia's royal puppet? To give up all which made you who you are, just so that you could stay on Tia's good side?"
Luna looked up at her with her tear streaked face. "You are a monster."
Nightmare Moon brought herself eye level with Luna. "A monster you created. A monster you embodied. You should be thanking me for giving you a life."
Luna turned away. "And now my sister must think me insane."
Nightmare Moon closed her eyes and furrowed her brow. "She will come soon. With a small army. Her best soldiers. They will come to arrest you."
Luna shook her head. "You lie. She would never..." She trailed off. She had tried to kill her sister. In a horribly painful manner. And the more she thought about the event, the more she realized that this was the final nail in her little royal coffin.
"Very well. I...I will run."
"No. You will fight. We will fight. They bring a small army. Five soldiers and our sister. You can handle the five soldiers. Leave your sister to me."
Luna shook her head. "No. I must run. I shall not have any more blood on my hooves. Equestria has suffered enough because of me."
"I suggest you make up your mind quickly. They approach."
Celestia led the small army through the halls. They arrived at Luna's door.
"What are we looking at here?" One of the more experienced soldiers asked.
Porthos was at the front. "We're not sure. It depends. If she's regressed, we could be dealing with a full blown Nightmare Moon. However, Princess Luna is not one to be trifled with either. I recommend a full blown assault..."
"Wait here." Celestia commanded. "I'm going in alone. Wait for my signal."
There was a knock at the door. Luna backed away.
"You know why they're here. They wish to capture you. Humiliate you. Turn you over to the courts. Kill them Luna."
Luna shook her head. "Shut up."
"You are stronger than this Luna..."
"SHUT UP!" She shouted.
Celestia heard this. She felt a bit of panic. Luna was clearly wrestling with her mind. Now was the best time to enter. When she was disoriented.
She powered up her horn. Then she bucked the door open.
Luna was standing there. Her horn was charged and ready.
"Don't step any closer sister." She commanded.
Celestia looked at her in shock. She had been expecting a show of resistance. But in the back of her mind, she had still wished Luna would have given her a reason to call the arrest off.
"Luna. You have to come with me now..."
Luna shook her head. "No sister. I do not wish to go to the dungeon. And I do not wish to stand trial."
Celestia shook her head. "Luna, we're past that...this is for your own mental safety. I need you to come with me."
Luna shook her head again. "No. No I shall not come with you. I'm...I'm dangerous." She waved her still glowing horn in her direction.
"Luna, I know that you're trying. I know you wish to fix this. But we have to work together to fix it..."
"No. This can't be fixed Tia. It's just as you suspect. She could take over at any time. I'm a danger to Equestria. I have to leave."
"No, you have to come with me. Luna, if there's ever a time to trust me, it's right now. Please."
Luna hesitated. Her horn flickered. She slowly began moving towards her sister. Celestia stretched her hoof. "You don't need to fear me." Her horn powered down.
Luna could feel Nightmare Moon inside of her. Trying to take over. Then she heard her voice.
"She's lying to you."
Luna backed away. "No. No I cannot be fixed Tia. I have to get as far away from Equestria as possible."
Celestia shook her head. "You won't be able to. There are guards behind me. Armed guards. And they will take you down if you try to run."
Luna shook from fear. The voice inside her spoke again.
"She's bluffing. Kill her."
Luna shook her head. "Please, just let me go."
"I can't." Celestia replied. "The whole palace knows about you Luna. You try to escape, and you won't make it out of the city."
She took a step forward. Luna reached out and grabbed Celestia by the neck. She held the great alicorn in front of her as the guards stormed in.
"Let her go!" Porthos commanded. Luna jabbed her horn against the side of Celestia's head.
"Back away. All of you. BACK AWAY!"
The soldiers stayed in position, ready to take her down the moment a window of opportunity presented itself.
Luna's breathing increased along with her panic level. "Please. Back away! I'll kill her!"
Porthos's expression hardened. Shining Armor's horn powered up.
"If she dies, you die."
Luna took a moment to look back at all the ways she could have kept this situation from coming to this. Her sister was looking back at her, her stern expression barely masking her fear.
"Luna, please. You are better than this." She said.
Luna looked down at her, the fear and despair threatening to burst to the surface. She looked at the guards. Their expression showed nothing. They were ready to kill her the second they got the chance.
"Back away! Your Princess of the Night commands it!"
Porthos shook his head. "You're not a princess. You are an imminent threat. Stand down."
Luna closed her eyes. She brought herself next to Celestia's ear.
"Thank you."
Celestia's frowned. "For what?"
Luna sniffled a little, tears coming to her eyes. "For giving me a second chance. I'm so sorry I failed you."
With that, she hurled the sun princess at the guards.
"Time to fly little pony." Nightmare's voice warned.
Porthos's wings flitted out.
Luna had already extended hers. She kicked hard with her back legs, and blasted off through the window.
One of the guards tended to Celestia. Porthos led the other four after Luna.
"Porthos!" A weak voice called out.
He turned. "Yes my princess?"
Celestia looked winded. But she managed to stand.
"Bring her back alive."
Now one thing has to be made straight. Luna was no Rainbow Dash. She was large, somewhat lumbering, and her wings were far too heavy to give her a natural edge. But, being an alicorn, she had a slight speed advantage over the average pegasus.
And so, the royal guards, led by Porthos charged after her, but found themselves unable to keep up.
Porthos in particular, cursed his natural form. He wished that now, out of any time, he could have a horn. Just to knock the fleeing night princess from the sky. But he didn't. He had only wings. So he put his head down, and forced as much wingpower as he could from those old stubs he called wings. The night princess looked back at him, and his squadron. He could see the fear in her eyes. And he felt some sympathy for the princess. But it was not his job to sympathize. It was his job to bring her to justice as safely as possible.
Luna ducked around Canterlot's tall buildings, cutting down towards the Everfree Forest.
The other guards were falling behind. Soon, with more than a little fear, Porthos realized that it was only he and the moon goddess. He quickly formulated a plan. He dove down, lower to the ground.
Luna looked back. The guards were gone. She breathed a sigh of relief. It had been easier than she would have thought to escape the city. She saw the skyline of Canterlot fade into the snowy skies behind her.
Her wings were beginning to ache from the cold. She began descending, before coming to a stop on a low valley.
She panted heavily. It had been a long time since she'd received a workout like that one.
And she looked up at her horn. The same horn she had threatened her own sister with. She felt so sick now. So full of self loathing.
She couldn't believe it. Two months ago, everything seemed right in the world. She had been released from her sister's seemingly never ending sentence on the moon. She had supposedly been forgiven. She had even gathered a warm reception from the ponies of the local town, Ponyville. And in those two months since, everything had fallen apart.
It had all started with her visit to Manehattan. She had arrived, expecting the same warm reception. Instead, she received empty streets. Ponies packed into homes, desperately trying to avoid her. Even those who remained on the streets after nightfall, looked to her as though she was going to tear them to pieces.
It was like a night on the set of a particularly bad horror movie. Ponies run down the street screaming for help. Signs with an image of her cutie mark, crossed out. It was from that day that her depression set in. And from then on, Celestia had seemed to grow more and more suspicious of her.
And now here she was. She wondered if perhaps remaining on the moon would have been a better alternative.
"Do not move!" A voice shouted.
Luna turned around. Porthos. The old soldier looked quite winded as he stood before her, eyeing her angrily.
"I have orders, to bring you back to the palace immediately." He managed, realizing only now that he did not have a weapon.
Luna looked down at him.
"Begone captain. My fight is not with you."
She turned to leave. Porthos gritted his teeth. Then he grabbed onto the alicorn.
"You're coming with me Nightma...."
Luna turned and punched the pegasus hard. He was sent reeling back. But he was battle hardened. He was back on his hooves in seconds.
"You are under arrest madam. Please come quietly."
The alicorn turned and lifted the pegasus up. She was only slightly larger, but, being an alicorn, she was much stronger. She pinned him to the ground and put her hoof against his throat.
Porthos closed his eyes. He waited for death to strike.
Luna's angry gaze softened. "Why do you all look at me this way? I do not wish to hurt you. I wish...only to be left alone."
The pegasus opened his eyes. "Celestia ordered me to..."
"I could break you peasant." Luna snarled. Her expression softened. "But I choose not to. Remember that when you tell your children of the horrible, evil monster Princess Luna."
She released the panting soldier from her grip. Then she spread her wings and took off.
Porthos got up slowly. He felt his throat. No serious injury. He watched the night princess depart. Then he hesitantly turned and flew back towards Canterlot.