Moon Rising

by kibamudkip2

Chapter Seventeen: Shadow Mist

Luna stumbled from her bed and hurried to the door. She could sense her sister on the other side of the door. She could feel her knew found magic coursing through her veins, she felt for powerful than ever before and wanted nothing more than to share this joy she felt with her sister. She winced momentarily and leaned against the door, she had stressed her wound and new magic or not her body was still weak and recovering slowly.

She smiled when she heard the door begin to unlock, but something was wrong. She could hear hooves galloping towards her room.

“Your majesty!” panted a deep voice.

Luna scowled, she had grown to hate that term.

“Yes, what is it?” came Celestia’s kind voice.

The guard gasped in air “There is a mare here to see you, your majesty” he said with urgency “She claims to be from the north” he paused “From the city where the King and Queen-“

Luna heard a flutter of feathers and guessed that the sun goddess had silenced him with a wave of her wings. “From the North?” she asked in a hushed voice.

Was she trying to hide their conversation from Luna’s ears?

“Yes, she says she knows what happened. That the situation has become dire”

“Take me to her” she commanded with a tone to her voice that Luna had never before heard her use. It sounded like a fixture of suppressed anger and fear overlaid with the regality that she held.
It made Luna feel small and distant. She was about to try and open the door to follow them when the lock clicked back into place and the pair galloped down the hall.

Luna staggered back. She was in a state of shock. Why was Celestia not involving her in this matter? They were her parents to. Was it not her right to know what had happened? Didn’t she deserve that much?
The guard had said something about a dire situation? What in Tartarus was going on out there?
She had to know, she had to find what was going on. But even with her knew power she knew she couldn’t break the lock spell without first knowing what it was.

Looking around in desperation her eyes fell on the tome her father had given her so many years ago. It had been ages since she had given it a second thought, but there it was, gathering dust on her shelf, practically calling her name. Her hooves seemed to move on their own, daring her closer and closer to the shelf. She had read everything she could in the book, but she had given up on it when she could not read through the haze that filled her mind when her eyes caught certain pages. She had never been able to read them before, why should now be any different? But something inside of her kept calling to the book, and the book called back. Maybe she could read them now?

She pulled the book down and set it on the floor before her. She lay down next to it and began to flip through its pages with urgency.

She grumbled loudly “I need a spell to get me out of this room!” she snapped at the book. When it didn’t respond she flung it away.

It hit the wall with a dull thump and fell to the floor, pages flipping down. When she didn’t hear the cover close she turned her attention back to the book. Whatever anger had been bubbling away inside her melted away when she saw that the book was open to a page she had never seen before. Slowly, she approached the book and tilted head to see the image on the page. It depicted a pony turning into a mist. She blinked as she read the title “Shadow Mist” she whispered. A chill ran through her spine. This was dark magic. She shuddered as she read on, though whether it was from fear or joy she would never know. She could do it. She knew she could.

She slammed the book shut lest anypony see the pages she had uncovered in her father’s tome of magic.

The lunar princess hobbled back to the door and looked at the key hole, she could smell the fresh air that came through it into her stagnant room. Air could pass through it, why not a mist? She braced her hooves on the floor and, pushing her fears from her mind, fired up her horn. She imagined herself being engulfed by her ethereal mane, and then that she was melting into a mist.

She felt cold, like nothing was right anymore. This was wrong, and Luna could feel in in her soul. It had worked, but she found herself wishing it hadn’t, she felt as if you had opened a window to her soul and the cold and dark to flooding in. She floated up and slowly began to feed her body of mist through the key hole.

Once she was free she rose to the ceiling and tried to let out a cry of joy, but no sound came. Mist makes no sound. She had to remind herself to quell that fear that suddenly rose within her. She moved swiftly through the castle, heading towards the throne room.

It didn’t take her long to reach her destination. Her misty form slipped under the door and moved from shadow to shadow as she got closer and closer to Celestia who was sitting on her throne, a hoof held to the side of her head in frustration. The pony from the north was nowhere to be seen, but all of the royal advisors had been gathered to meet with the ruling princess.

“Your majesty” one of them, an old pale purple earth pony stallion with grey blue wig of a mane and a quill on his flank, began

“Should you not take more time to think about this?” he questioned.

“There is no time to think about this, we have wasted enough time with Starswirl explaining to me that there was a secondary minor kingdom in my own that I had been kept in the dark about” she snapped as she glared over to the bearded unicorn in question “And now hearing that these citizen are in grave danger.” She paused to take a deep breath “No, I must act immediately”

“But, your majesty” a dusty brown stallion with lance for a cutiemark spoke this time whom Luna recognized as Falling Stars father

“At least consider taking a detachment of knights with you!” he insisted.

“I will do no such thing!” the princess was on her hooves now “The last time your knights accompanied a Ruler to the north nopony returned save a stallion whose mind was so shattered by the ordeal that he almost slaughtered my baby sister!” Celestia’s booming voice filled the room and echoed. She took a shuddering breath and her voice softened when her next words came “I refuse to risk the lives of my ponies again”

“But how will we know if anything were to happen to you, what would we do? Who would lead us then?” came the timid voice of a small blue mare.

The sun princess smiled kindly towards her “If any horrors befall me, Philomena will return here posthaste with the news, and Luna would succeed me on the throne.

The gathered ponies burst into heated debated and arguments over this last detail. It was only when Starswirl stepped forward and banged the tip of his staff on the stone tiles did they fall silent. He nodded and turned to the princess “And what of Luna, your majesty” she began “What are we to tell her? Surely she will notice your absence, and what of the sun?”

The great alicorn closed her eyes “Luna is not to know of this, she is to be kept into her room until either Philomena or myself return. And as for the sun, I leave that to the council of mages. It will be controlled as it was in the days of old, by a collective of powerful unicorns” her decree left the room in a hush and she slowly walked past them “General, I require my armor and a traveling cloak. I leave with the midday sun”

Luna stayed in the shadows until the room was clear. Her sister was leaving to face the daemon that had killed her parents, alone, and she had no intention of telling her? No, this was not going to happen! Not this way, not is she could help it. She lifted off the ground and hurried off to the door where Falling star had been staying.

When she reached his door she allowed her mist form to leave the shadows and lay on the ground. For the first time since with became the mist a terrifying thought struck her? No! She pushed the though away. Of course she could. She knew she could. “Just form your body again” she told herself silently. Slowly she could feel herself solidify and sighed in relief.

“Star?” she called “Star open up!”

She heard the clop of hoofsteps and the door opened “Luna?”

Luna frowned at the sight of her dear friend. Sure he was able to walk again but he still looked like he had been to Tartarus and back. She suddenly felt bad for coming to ask for his help, he was only in this state because of her.

“Luna what’s wrong?” he asked, his voice full of concern.

He had always been to kind to her “Tia is leaving for the North” she stated but pressed on when she saw the look of horror on his face “”I need your help retrieving my armor. Im going with her” she stated.

Her friend furrowed his brow “Does Celestia know this?”

Luna shook her head “She wasn’t even going to tell me she was going. She was just going to take off and leave me here in the dark”

Falling Star sighed “And how did you find out?”

“I snuck out of my room and into the throne room and listened in” she replied maybe a little too proudly.

“I can’t talk you out of this can I?”

“Not in a thousand years”

He sighed “Well I did swear my life to you, I suppose I don’t have much of a choice” he smiled “How long do we have?”

“Till midday. That’s when she’s leaving”

“Then I suppose we had better hurry”
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Celestia stood in the center of the training yard. Her shimmering gold armor glittered from beneath the snow white cloak she wore, her phoenix Philomena was perched on a post to her side, ready to fly with her master. She sorted through everything in her mind and stuffed away her sorrow oh abandoning her sister so that she could stand tall. It was almost time. She took a steadying breath and stretched out her porcelain wing, ready to take flight when a gasp broke through the assembled knights and advisors.

“Princess Luna” came the hushed whisper.

Celestia turned slowly as her eyes fell on her little sister.

Luna wore her own armor of silver and a cloak of black fluttered out behind her as she walked towards her sister with a confidence that she had never seen before.

“What are you doing here Luna?” she demanded as she remembered who was in charge “You should be in your room resting.”

“I’m going with you” came her firm reply.

“Going with me? How did” her eyes narrowed “And where is it that I’m going?”

“You’re going North are you not? To avenge mother and father? To bring peace to the land again?” Luna asked.

“How did you know that?”

“I snuck out and overheard everything, Tia. I’m going with you”

“Snuck out, how did you manage that?” she asked before changing her mind “Never mind, we can deal with that when I return. Go back to your room Luna, you are not coming with me”

This only poked at the anger that had been growing in the younger princess “What right have you to refuse this to me?” she snapped

“Why can I not go with you to avenge them!?”

“I am the ruler of Equestira and my word is law! It is by that right that I refuse you!” she was losing her temper.

“They were my parents to, Celestia! Bust as you are surely you haven’t forgotten that fact!” the dark blue princess shouted “You may have the right to refuse me as my ruler” she spat the words “But I have every right to avenge my parents!”

Celestia’s anger dried up at this statement. Her eyes softened as she looked over her sister. She looked so small in her armor, yet so strong. She had to find another way to convince her to stay “What about your wing, it isn’t healed yet. I must fly, and you cannot in your condition.”

Luna smirked at this, as if the mere thought that a wounded wing would stop her was amusing. She allowed her magic to flood into her wing, causing it to glow and she flapped it “I’m stronger then I look, Tia. Please”
The ruling princess let out an exasperated sigh “Very well dear sister. You may come” she paused and pointed a hoof towards the door way “But your guardian cannot.”

Luna turned to see Falling Star slowly hobbling towards them and she rushed to his side “Star, I said I had to do this on my own”

“But what kind of guardian would I be if I allowed you to get hurt again, or worse? I swore I wouldn’t let that happen”

Luna bit her lip, so kind “I can’t depend on you forever” her eyes grew oddly cold. She had been grateful to him for offering to give his life to her service, but she knew he couldn’t, seeing his so frail reminded her of that. It pained her but she had to crush him “I am an immortal Alicorn, Star” her voice was a harsh whisper in his ear “And you are but a mortal, it is impossible for you to always be there. So don’t force yourself to. Move on” she kept the coldness in her eyes to hide her going sorrow “If it were possible for you to live forever, to always be by my side, believe me it would make me the happiest mare. But you can’t, so I have to learn to do things for myself. Thank you” she finished and turned away, unable to bare the hurt that was plain in his expression. She hurried to her sister’s side and spread her wings.

Celestia’s voice echoed through the training yard “We will return in one week’s time. Until our return I leave my kingdom in Starswirl’s capable hooves” she told them all before the two sisters galloped off into the sky.

The gather ponies stood and watched them until they out of sight “May the Spirit of Equestria guide you” Starswirl mumbled. What ever happened next he knew, nothing would ever be the same.

Author's Note:

Finally, starting to get into the meat of the story.