‘Miss!’ I called.
The other pony recoiled in defence.
‘It is alright,’ I assured her, ‘I mean you no harm. It is I, Princess Luna…’
‘P-Princess Luna?’
I nodded calmly. ‘I realise I have been away for far too long. For this I apologise most sincerely… for everything you may have lost…’
The other pony did not reply but instead stared at me intently. She seemed to recognise me… and I her…
‘It’s been a long time,’ I said slowly.
‘I know…’
‘You were the unicorn who smiled at me at my coronation ball!’ I said, almost accusingly.
The unicorn smiled. ‘You are correct.’
‘The one kind face amongst a sea of criticism…’
‘I watched you for a long time; you were different than the others. I recognised something in you that others did not… But what happened?’
My head dropped in shame. What had happened? That was a very good question. Somehow I had lost sight of all that was important.
‘What of your friend Storm Sweeper?’ The unicorn asked.
‘He… he’s dead,’ I replied, ice crawling through my veins again, threatening to freeze my throbbing heart.
The unicorn nodded understandingly. ‘I’m sorry. Many wonderful ponies have been lost to this terrible war.’
‘I know,’ I replied. ‘I had no idea… and I should have…’
‘Don’t be so hard on yourself, Princess, this war has been threatening us before you were even born. You are young.’
I shook my head. ‘Not anymore. I must do what is right.’
The unicorn noticed my battered wings. ‘Princess, you are injured…’
‘It does not matter,’ I replied quickly.
‘Do you know where you are going?’
‘Not really. But I must do something!’
‘Then I shall come with you.’
‘No!’ I insisted. ‘I do not even know where I am going! I do not wish to have any more ponies harmed at my expense.’
The unicorn shook her head lightly. ‘Princess, I would usually respect the wishes of a Princess, such as yourself, but in this case I must insist. I have always had faith in you, ever since I first saw you! I will not allow you to go alone when you have been away for so long. It is my duty to protect this kingdom by accompanying you as it is yours!’
I was taken aback by the insistence of this pony. No pony had ever stood up to me this way before… but she was right. I no longer knew my way around this kingdom. It had been too long.
‘Very well,’ I agreed.
The unicorn smiled. ‘My name is Crystal Rose.’
‘You’re not like the other unicorns,’ I blurted unthinkingly. ‘Oh…I apologise… That was most rude of me to'-
‘No, you are quite right,’ Crystal replied. ‘Most unicorns nowadays allow vanity to rule their lives. It has led to their demise in most cases, I am saddened to say.’
‘Is there any hope?’
I likely seemed quite pitiful at this point as Crystal Rose turned away for a moment to compose herself.
‘It is the bloodiest war this land has ever known,’ she said.
‘Even before my mother and father?’
‘I am not completely sure, but it is certainly worse than any of us could have anticipated.’
‘What about Starswirl the Bearded?’ I questioned. ‘Did he not prophesise this?’
She nodded grimly. ‘It has been prophesised all along, Princess. Your mother and father’s reign, we hoped, would prevent it… But alas, it was not to be.’
Anger welled up inside of me. ‘If I had only been here!’
Crystal Rose placed a hoof on mine. ‘You are here now and you must inform us of what you know about Cloudsdale.’
‘You plan to attack?’
‘Please believe me when I say that I would not fight should I have the choice… But I see no other way.’
‘There is always a way!’ I exclaimed.
Crystal nodded calmly.
‘I… I am sorry… It is just so much to take in…’
Suddenly from out of the sky burst a blue pegasus.
Crystal grabbed my hoof and bolted into the blackened trees. No sooner had our bodies hit the dry soil the ground we had once stood upon was engulfed in flames, furious and unstoppable.
I lay on the ground gasping for air, horrified by what I just experienced.
‘You see why we must fight,’ Crystal finally spoke.
I nodded and slowly got to my hooves feeling defeated. Night was almost upon us and I was losing hope.
‘Princess…’ Crystal began. I pulled away. This was almost too much to bear. We were losing everything and there was no way of stopping it!
‘Please,’ I murmured, ‘find some form of shelter, I shall be back soon.’
‘Are you sure?’
I nodded. ‘I… Today’s been… hard… I need some time alone.’
Cyrstal nodded. ‘Be careful,’ she mouthed just before she disappeared into the trees.
I was at a loss. My sister was right, this was worse than I could ever have anticipated. She would be so angry when she found I was gone… Just another selfish act…
As the land grew ever darker I began to think. I had seen no signs. Perhaps I was indeed too young, but surely somepony knew… Did my parents know? I wondered. If they could not prevent this there was surely nothing I could do. Even Celestia, who had never once turned away from her responsibilities, could not overcome this war.
We may have been sisters but we were so different… Though I remembered a time where we were inseparable…
We sauntered through the long grass; the sun on our backs.
‘Can’t catch me, Luna!’ Celestia giggled.
‘I can!’ I’d called after her.
‘Well hurry up then, slow coach!’
‘I am not slow!’
‘Oh Luna! I’-
Suddenly my sister flew into the air and landed in a heap in the grass.
‘Celest!’ I called anxiously, running as fast as I could to get to her.
‘Ow…’
‘Are you alright?’
Celestia didn’t reply.
‘Poor Celest…’ I’d cooed, mimicking mother.
‘I’m fine!’ Celestia responded. ‘And it’s “Celest-ia!” Not “Celest”…’
‘Celest! That’s what I said!’
‘Cel-est-IA!’
‘Cel-est-eer!”
Celestia chuckled lying back in the grass. ‘Alright, I guess that is close enough!’
I lay with her, satisfied.
‘You know, Luna, we are going to rule together when we’re older… We will make the best team ever!’
I nodded quickly.
‘We will hold balls every week and everypony will be invited!’ Celestia enthused.
‘Even Mr Knut?’
‘Luna! He isn’t fancy enough!’
‘Why?’
‘I don’t know… but ponies always say that only fancy ponies can come to the palace.’
‘But I like Mr Knut,’ I’d insisted.
‘I do also,’ Celestia admitted. ‘Maybe he could come…’
I smiled.
‘No matter what, little sister, we will always be together!’
I wrapped my arms around her. ‘I love you Celest!’
Celestia shook her head and chuckled. ‘I love you too, Luna.’
‘Princess?’ I heard Crystal call to me. ‘It is safer if you shelter with me for the night. Many attacks happen during the night.’
I snapped back to reality and saw the purple maned unicorn staring back at me with a concerned expression.
‘Oh… of course,’ I replied and silently followed her into the blackened trees.
‘Do you see now why we must fight to survive?’ Crystal said gently as we made our way through the darkness with only our horns to guide us.
I nodded. ‘I understand… But if we fight, they will fight and we shall be forever fighting. There has to be another way!’
She turned to me and I thought I saw a flicker of hope in the unicorn’s eyes, but it quickly diminished.
‘I hear what you are saying, Princess’-
‘Please, call me Luna,’ I interrupted.
‘Very well, Luna. I hear what you are saying and it is a valuable point, but we shall not survive if we do not fight.’
I nodded thoughtfully. I understood now. My sister was good at leading and being what one would expect of a princess, but I was good at being different. It was now my time to prove that a different approach would not necessarily be the wrong approach…
‘I see,’ I said. ‘But will you support me if I say that I wish to find another way?’
Crystal was surprised by my response, but she nodded slowly.
‘We shall not fight, we shall avoid,’ I told her. ‘Only temporarily, however! I am not saying that running away is the solution.’
When we reached a small cave Crystal Rose turned to me. I thought I saw a tear in her eye, but before I could question it she pulled me into a tight embrace.
‘You have no idea how long we’ve been waiting for this…’ she murmured in between silent sobs.
I laid my head on her shoulder. ‘I am so sorry. I am only one pony, but I promise, from now on I will only do what is best for this kingdom. I shall do whatever it takes to find peace once again.’
Crystal pulled away and smiled at me. ‘I believe in you, Luna.’
Remembering this still pains me. I’ve learned to forgive the way I’ve been forgiven, but I shall not forget…