The two sisters flew fast and hard, wings beating through the air. It was hard tiring work as their bones were not made for extended flight like those of a Pegasus, but they flew on, covering as much ground as possible.
Celestia looked back over her shoulder to see the Luna was falling behind, her wings struggling to work. She knew that her sister wouldn’t last much longer and that they had to land, and soon. She chewed at her lip and thought about how to go about getting her sister to agree to stopping. Luna was a stubborn, proud mare, she would not take kindly to her older sister pointing out her weaknesses. If anything that approach would only serve to anger the lunar princess and cause her to fly harder, and that wouldn’t do.
Thinking of a plan, Celestia slowed her wings and fell back subtly, dropping lower in the sky. This caught Luna’s attention and she looked back to her sister. “Tia? Are you okay?” she asked, trying not to gasp for breath.
The sun princess nodded once before shaking her head “No, I grow tired, dear sister.” She looked to the sun “And I don’t think I would be able to lower it and fly at the same time” this much was true. Raising the sun midflight was one thing but setting it while flying was something that, even after years of ruling the sun, Celestia had not been able to master.
Luna frowned as she stared at her sister “You are a terrible liar, Tia.” She stated matter-of-factly before sighing. “But I must agree, landing would be for the best” she turned her gaze to the ground and searched for a resting spot. Her eyes came to rest on an old oak tree at the edge of the field they had been flying over and banked down towards it, her sister close behind her.
The pair landed and walked the rest of the way to the tree, sudden weariness making their legs feel like lead. Once under the tree, the two sisters raised their horns, simultaneously casting the magic that they used to move the great orbs in the sky. The sun set and the moon rose, bringing the stars with it, in what was almost an elegant dance.
Luna released the magic that had kept strength in her injured wing and allowed it to droop back to her side and shuffled to join her sister amongst the trees roots. Celestia had already made herself quite comfortable in a crook and smiled at Luna as she approached.
The older mare lifted her wing in a silent invitation for the younger to snuggle close. Luna was quick to lay down and press herself against her sister side. Enough through her armour, Celestia gave off a pleasant warmth that was comparable to that of the midday sun.
Celestia draped her wing over her sister and held her close “Sleep well little sister” she whispers as the two fell into a deep sleep.
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It was a rarity for Luna to be the first to awaken out of the two sisters, but one the second morning of their journey North she was. With a great deal of effort she managed to dislodge herself from the protective embrace of her sister’s wings and stumbled to her feet. Her breath puffed out in a cloud before her and she blinked in surprise. She didn’t remember it being this cold when they had laid down to rest. It was strange, yes, but a good sign. They must have been further North than they had thought.
She winced as she stretched out her wings and shook the stiffness from her body. The hard flying from the previous day had been painful, but it had done wonders for her injured wing. She flapped her wings slowly and smiled when the movement only hurt a little. Now they could fly faster! They could finish what needed to be done and be home faster.
Turning her gaze up, Luna studied the sky intently. She made not of every twinkle of a star, every subtle cloud movement, and most importantly the location of the moon. It was slowly making its way to the horizon, but it was not close enough to need Luna to give it its final nudge. And that meant that there was still time for her dear sister to sleep, if only for a little long, before she had to raise the sun.
The plates of her armour made whimpering clinks as she ventured away from the cluster of bushes that had concealed them for the night. They were in a vast expanse of tundra and had been lucky enough to find any shelter at all and they both knew it. Things would get harder from here on out.
“What are going to do?” she asked herself quietly as she sat down in the frost. “When we get there, what can we do to this Daemon that was able to slay our parents?” the young princess voiced her fears to the night sky “They were far more powerful than us, and still” she shook “it took them from us”
Anger bubbled up inside of her “revenge” she muttered “A life for a life” she all but snarled, unaware that her sister had already awoken and had come in search of her, until she heard her voice.
“Luna, we are not killers” Celestias calm voice stomped out the younger princesses anger “We are alicorns, we will not stoop to the level of a daemon”
Luna looked back over her shoulder “Then what, Tia? If not killed then what fate awaits it? What justice shall we wreak?” she asked quietly as she stood “what price will it pay for its crimes?”
Celestia let out a small sigh “I know not, but I do not wish to take a life. Life is not something to be taken by anypony, not even us” she motioned to the sky “Tis time”
The moon had reached the horizon and Luna gentle nudged it down while the white alicorn called up the sun.
“Let us be off. We still have a ways to go yet.” Celestia ordered as she charged back into the sky.
“Yes sister” Luna sounded defeated as she followed close behind.
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Everything was black. Luna was used to the darkness, it haunted her dreams often. But this darkness, was different, hollower. She peered through the blackness looking for something, anything. Nothing, there was nothing. Shaking her head, she moved her wing to her mouth. The blackness came in her dreams, she just had to wake up. She took her feathers between her teeth and yanked them out as roughly as she could, squeaking with pain. When she didn’t wake up she yanked again and again, her feathers littering the ground around her. “Not a dream” she muttered “I’m awake. This isn’t a dream… but then why is it so dark?”
She began to wander through the darkness “Tia!” she called “Celestia where are you!” she was running now, growing more and more frantic with every step she took “Celestia!” she cried as she spotted the flash of white in the distance, moving away from her. She took off after it as fast as she could. “Celestia wait!” the white was vanishing “Don’t leave me!” she practically screamed “I don’t want to be alone!”
Luna slowed to a stop, her breathing heavy from the running. “I don’t want to be alone” she was shaking “Please Tia. Don’t leave me alone in the darkness” she whimpered as she curled up on the ground.
She knew not how long she lay there shivering in the dark alone. Why was she always alone?
“Never alone” she whispered to herself. She stood slowly, her form shimmering, her eyes briefly shifting from those of a pony to those of a beast, a monster of the night “We are never alone. We have nothing to fear. We are united now. Now and forever” She stood stronger now “I can dispel the darkness. I am the light in the night!” She stamped her hooves onto the ground and the darkness vanished in a blast of swirling green smoke, leaving the lunar princess standing on the cliff side that she and her sister had chosen to rest in.
Luna rubbed a hoof over her eyes and looked about. She could see her sister in the distance and began to make her way back to her. She must have been walking in her sleep, and yet she wasn’t dreaming.
She shuffled her hooves through the snow as she made her way back to her sister. She froze when her eyes fell upon the sun god. Green mist was swirling around her, seeping from her eyes with her tears. Luna rushed to her side and began shaking her “Tia! Celestia wake up!” she shook her more franticly.
The larger alicorn was shaking and muttering ‘stop’
“CELESTIA!” Luna yelled before a hoof smashed into the side of her head, sending her tumbling to the ground.
The mist around Celestia faded slowly and she opened her eyes “Luna, you’re alright”
Luna rubbed her face and nodded “Oh yes, Tia. Aside from my headache I’m fine” She grumbled before being pulled into a tight hug.
“I saw them dead, Luna” she whispered “Every pony in our kingdom. Suffocating in eternal darkness. Suffering.” She grit her teeth and stood tall “We have to end this Luna.” She said as she moved swiftly to the edge of the cliff, the sun rising with her hoofsteps.
The most beautiful sight in all of Equestria met the eyes of the two sisters as they stood on the edge of the cliff. Great crystal spires rose from the snow in the valley, they went on for miles. On the horizon was a great wall of red crystals and rising above that a great castle.
“It’s in there, isn’t it Celestia?” Luna asked.
Her sister nodded “The Daemon”
“We made it?”
“Yes dear sister. Somehow we made it.”
“And we are going to deal with it, right sister?”
“Yes Luna, we are going to deal with it. My, our, kingdom shall be safe”
“Right, let’s go”
“Yes, let’s go”
The early morning sun gleamed off of there armor of silver and gold and their gilded capes as they spread their wings wide and took off into sky, sailing towards the crystal walls of the Empire.