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A sister Scorned1,099 words
The dream of a dream princess1,638 words
The Dragon1,531 words
A dangerous wish granted.2,484 words
A change of heart830 words
"What I wanted!"1,312 words
The heat2,526 words
The new dawn1,234 words
Escape the flames1,370 words
It's not fair1,434 words
A battle for the throne1,132 words
A hope1,725 words
Epilogue285 words

It's not fair

“Hey, Lulu! Come ‘mere You have to see this!” A high pithed voice hissed urgently. The tiny dark mare looked up from the flowers that she was plucking to see her sister standing near a thick grove which ran along the castle wall. Luna glanced back at their caretakers. Each pony was turned away as they sat on the grass listening to her mom and dad who were speaking. The regal pair towered over the two unicorns with crowns gleaming as they addressed their servants.

Shuffling her tiny legs Luna hurried over to her sister. The small white mare was crouched near the grove with twigs tangled in her soft pink hair. “What is it ‘Tia?” Luna asked.

“Watch,” Celestia whispered. Her small white horn lit up and flickered as she concentrated. Luna ducked and covered her head in case the spell went wrong. Suddenly a groan sounded from the wall and to Luna’s surprise a small section slid aside leaving a pony sized hole beyond the hedges.

“Hey, what are you two doing?” A stern voice called from across they castle lawn. The sisters looked back to see that their caretakers had risen to their feet. Giggling the pair raced into the entrance. The king waived his wing and the two unicorns raced after the mischievous children. Struggling to contain their laughter the sisters led them down the corridor using their horns for light.

“Your majesties, you cannot be down here! Come back this instant!” One of the ponies demanded.

The sisters kept running. Spotting a gap in the wall where stone had crumbled away Celestia nodded to Luna. They focused their spells together and tossed their lights down the passageways. The two orbs flew onward with the sound of clattering hooves carried with them as the sisters dove into the gap. They huddled onto rough stone stifling giggles as their caretakers ran right past them.

Luna could painfully feel the hard stone under her. With her eyes closed she could almost think that she was there in that time so long ago. Slowly Luna opened her eyes. The rubble of the staircase was all around her. Jagged stone dug into her skin. Her head throbbed and her entire body ached. However, It was nothing like the ache in her heart. She sighed deeply and covered her face with a wing. If Daybreaker remembered when they were tiny children in the distant past then her sister was still very much in there even if she was no longer the pony she had known.

What could she do then? It was still her sister, even if she was possessed. How could she fight and harm her sister, especially when she herself was the one at fault? Perhaps it was better to leave her sister alone until she could find some way to save her? At least Celestia could live even if it was as Daybreaker for awhile.

The dragons! It would take a while but she could find one to undo the wish and remove the darkness from her sister. Good dragons may be wary of granting wishes that would alter fate but once they saw the land dying around them they would surely agree.

Luna had just decided on that plan when the faces of all the foals who she had met earlier that night flashed through her mind. Their smiling innocent faces looked up at her with trust and happiness. They could easily be dead by the time her plan worked. It was not just them either, their parents, their village, the next village… every earth pony, Pegasus and unicorn. Many would die while she was searching and not just from the sun. Her sister was manically insane. If she would attack servants for just being in front of her what wouldn’t she do?

Luna squeezed her eyes shut and swallowed even though her throat was dry. Never had she understood duty so well until this moment. Yes, it was not Celestia’s fault and it was not fair but she had to be stopped. The only other choice was for other ponies to die. Luna opened her eyes and slowly looked around wondering what she could possibly do to stop her sister. Daybreaker must have lit up the sconces because Luna could see the soft light shining down into the shattered stairwell. To her right she could see a large dark shadow in the wall. She knew it was the entrance to the Hall Hooves, which she still found a little creepy but after facing her sister she wouldn't mind running into Tartarus.

At least through the Hall of Hooves she could access secret passageways and hidden trap doors. Too bad she couldn’t get to the organ to the outside which controlled most of them but she didn’t need to get outside. All she needed was to get around inside the castle without being noticed. Teleportation would leave detectable magic and the flashes of light would instantly get her sister's attention if she happened to be anywhere nearby. The secret passages were perfect… but not everything.

“Great! I can get around but I can’t fight my sister. She is too powerful. What plan or surprise can I possibly use!” Luna groaned as she stared into the darkness of the hallway. She knew that it would lead her to the halls lined with armor and eventually past a secret passage that would take her back to the to the throne room. Luna shuttered at the memory of confronting her sister in there. Then she sat bolt upright. All during that confrontation there had been something waiting forgotten under her feet. Under the throne room walkway was where she and her sister had hidden the Elements of Harmony long ago. If they could stop Discord then surely they could stop her sister. If she hadn’t thought of them then maybe her sister hadn’t either. She at least had a shot. Maybe they would even harmonize her sister and destroy the dark magic within her. Of course they might also imprison her like discord. Luna cringed at that thought.

Taking a deep breath Luna stood up and carefully picked her way through the rubble. Last thing she needed was to twist an ankle. Reaching the hallway, she started to light up her horn but suddenly thought better of it. Instead she cast a spell that floated around her a moment and then settled on her eyes. For a couple seconds all was dark around her, then the hallway slowly came into focus. She blinked at the pitch-black hallway that was now almost as clear as day. Glancing around at the hooves protruding from the walls Luna trotted slowly down the hall. It seemed to go on forever as she wondered just what pony in their right mind came up with this design.

The trip seemed to stretch on forever but eventually she found herself past the empty suits of armor who stood silently at their posts staring at her with empty black eyes made of darkness. She soon found the right spot and with a little magic from her horn she opened the secret passageway. Cringing at the noise that it made she stood silently until she was sure that Daybreaker would not come thundering in. After a time that was too long and too short she began creeping forward again. Sweat dripped down her face as she walked down the long tunnel placing each hoof carefully in front of the other. Never had this tunnel seemed so long. She so badly wanted to reach the exit and end all of this while at the same time not ever wanting to reach the throne room. All the while she moves so slowly that the walk became an eternity. She thought that she would have an idea of what eternity was. Now she wasn't sure.

After an alicorn’s lifetime had seemed to have passed by Luna saw sunlight gleaming into the tunnel. Slowing even more Luna inched bit by bit with her eyes constantly moving until she was standing in the throne room. Nopony was in sight and her twitching ears did not detect any sound except her own pounding heart. Looking at the scorched ground Luna spotted the exact spot where she and her sister had hidden The Elements of Harmony so long ago. Closing her eyes she began to recall the spell that would open the hidden panel.

“What are you doing here?” Daybreaker hissed in her ear.

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