300 years.
Luna had been gone for 300 years. For 300 years the ponies of Equestria had lived without the moon. Cadence has been a widow for over two centuries. The Elements of Laughter, Honesty, Kindness, Loyalty...they were gone. 300 years of alicorns being imprisoned for a nonexistent disability.
Lyra left after telling her how she also had survived for 300 years. Who would have thought that alicorn horn could extend a lifetime? Their horns were filed off as a sort of medicine so more “worthy” ponies could live longer and younger.
Yes, she was angry, furious.
Taking wings from alicorns? That was normal and for their own good. Drugging alicorns? That was normal and for their own good. Isolating them? That was normal and for their own good. Imprisoning them? Harvesting organs from them? Experimenting on them? Using them as breeders when the alicorn horn made other ponies sterile? Removing their horns completely in an attempt to make an earth pony a unicorn?
That was normal and for their own good.
Lyra knew this wasn’t true but she kept doing it. She claimed she had to. According to Lyra, she suffered too and was a victim, just like Luna. She had to approve the torture of alicorns to live. So that she wouldn't be inconvenienced. Of course, the unicorn had claimed she did it so that she could rescue princess Luna later. Luna knew that she could never have supposed the Lunar princess would come back. So, while Luna appreciated being rescued, she would only be too glad to kill the sniveling martyrdom complex who called herself Lyra because “Nurse Heartstrings” wasn’t a title she could stand anymore.
Luna stretched her wings as far as they would go. She still wasn’t stable enough to fly. The drugs were almost entirely out of her system. The headaches from the hospital had been from withdrawals. Every day she woke up feeling stronger. But not yet strong enough.
“What are you doing?” A peach earth pony with hair in stripes of varied orange asked. She was probably the one who knew more about sneaking around than anypony else.
“Stretching, Sugar ’n Cream. My wings hurt and stretching helps. What’s wrong?”
“Oh...nothing. Lyra was just wondering.” Luna silently gritted her teeth. Lyra seemed to have an insatiable curiosity for Luna’s location whenever she couldn’t see her.
“So, when is this supposed ‘one-winged pony’ supposed to show up?”
“Lyra says soon.”
“Have you ever seen her?”
“No, not myself...well...”
“Well, what?”
“I...I mean I thought I saw her once...but I was six and six-year-olds always want to see things. You know how it is.” Luna nodded in response and walked along the edge of the pond. Sugar ‘n Cream followed her, uninvited.
“Was that before or after you tried to be a unicorn?” Luna asked, turning to stare directly at the scar on the mare’s forehead. The earth pony backed up half a step.
“Um...How does your horn feel?” she asked in return.
“It’s better.”
“It’s about the length of a normal unicorn’s horn. Can you do magic yet?”
“I have not tested it much.” Luna lied.
“Why don’t you test it now?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Is magic some sort of morbid fascination with you?” Luna exploded, staring her down. Sugar ‘n Cream averted her eyes but Luna could see defiance.
“What I did in the past...I didn’t know.”
“Well forgive me then for not being willing to discuss my horn with you when you were so eager to steal the horn of another alicorn who most likely was put down afterwards...”
“HEY! That is not fair! I didn’t know and when I found out...”
“You didn’t want to know; did you?” Luna asked, condemningly. Sugar ‘n Cream clenched her jaw and glared openly at the alicorn.
“Perhaps I had a reason.”
“You can tell Lyra I’m not running away and she can stop worrying about me.” Luna said, turning back to the lake, "That's all."
The earth pony trotted off, grumbling. Finally. Luna had heard enough from her over the past weeks. Her and the whole pack of rebels seemed to be nothing more than a bunch of squabbling fillies seeking to gain control of Equestria. Each one of them saw themselves as victims, cruelly coerced victims who were forced to treat alicorns as less than ponies. Who were forced to hack an alicorn's wings off if they lost their own or simply wanted an advantage...
Despite this, Luna hung her head. Sugar ‘n Cream couldn’t be blamed too much. She wasn’t old enough to take alicorn horn yet. She had been fed lies her entire life and didn’t think she needed to question anything. Lyra, on the other hand, had no excuse. Lyra had seen Celestia...
Where was her sister? Was it possible the sun rose without her? COuld she still be alive and did she know Luna was back? Or had she been a victim of a hospital too?
The pony with one wing had to be dead if it was Rainbow Dash. She was only a story circulated now to keep ponies scared. Rainbow Dash was loyalty and she would have died centuries ago. Luna smiled to think that she wouldn't have gotten an alicorn's wings even though she loved to fly. Luna hoped...that even if she was gone she had died loyal. As for the other Elements of Harmony...they were useless unless Luna found her sister. But...could they really wield them again?
Luna knelt next to the lake’s edge and dipped her front hooves into the rippling water. Her contact with the dark undulations sent out some smaller ripples which were soon evened out by the stronger current of the body of water rushing into the river to flow off a cliff. Things were so different now.
Why were these rebels even taking her? They could have taken Cadence long ago. Was Luna perhaps a fresher catch to them? What was their approach anyway to this rebellion? Why had Nurse Redheart died? None of it made any sense. She had so little information and the information she did have just bothered her.
Luna jumped when a burst of green appeared between her forelegs for a second. A scroll dropped there. Luna magically unsealed the dark wax and read the letter under the light of her aura.
Dear Princess Luna,
I’m coming to get you. Destroy this note after you get it. I’ll be there soon.
The signature was an arch of four slits above one slit. Luna tried to examine the seal but the wax had crumbled too much to restore it. Wonderful...a vague note that wasn’t supposed to be seen. Luna took the note to the top of the waterfall and dropped it into the rush of water. This had better be worth it.
Luna turned to find Sugar ‘n Cream standing directly behind her, doing nothing to conceal the panic in her eyes.
“TRAITOR!” she hollered, running back towards the woods and the tunnel. She was sounding an alarm. An alarm for everypony in the rebellion to come and get her. She had to have enough magic to get across... She concentrated, closed her eyes and backed up to take a running leap. The river had grown by at least a yard since she had last seen it. Could she jump it and transport the rest of the way? She had to try. The rebels would kill her if they thought she would give away their position. She leapt into the air and focused on a spot of ground on the other side. Her magic held...then gave out like a snapped limb.
The edge of the bank hit directly above her barrell. The current was so much stronger here than she thought. She should have moved downstream before jumping. The slippery grass revealed mud as she clawed with her hooves to pull herself up. The current was dragging her away and she couldn’t reach the bottom to push herself out. Her wings were wet and starting to push her, hoof by hoof, towards the waterfall’s edge. She dug her back hooves into the side of the riverbed and pushed herself up a little, but was now a couple of hooves from going over. The drumming of rebel hooves approached. The waterfall on her right, the rebels behind. Her hooves were slipping...
A claw grabbed her mane when she turned to look towards where the waterfall disappeared while another claw grabbed her upper foreleg and pulled her out of the water onto the opposite side. She couldn’t clearly see the form that was her height but saw a flash of a fanged face as a teal aura shot between them. Lyra had just fired at her or the other figure but Luna didn’t want to stay to find out which of them was the intended target. She leapt away from the river’s bank and the cliff edge. Her lungs burned and her leg muscles protested as she followed the shape into the darkening night. The rebels who were unicorns could be heard transporting across the river and thundering after them. Luna’s hooves beat the grass beneath her. The figure spun around so suddenly Luna almost ran it over.
“Keep running!” a male voice urged, “I’ll stop them. Keep going straight and I’ll catch up!” Luna nodded and took off, the wind of her retreat catching her short mane and tossing it behind her. A forest ahead was illuminated by a humongous green flash behind her. She stopped inside the edge of the woods, her head pounding due to its lack of oxygen. She took heaving breaths and looked to see ponies running around, trying to get the green fire out of their clothes, manes and tails. The fire illuminated a dragon leaping towards where Luna was on all fours. Could she really trust him? Well, he had attacked the rebels...
When the dragon passed, calling for her to follow, she did. Hopefully she could still get out if things got worse.