Dear Readers,
When this story was first released, it wasn't suppose to be a multi-chapter story. I intended to stop it before ever reaching this point. Had it not been for the reviewers, it would have stopped right here. Thank you to everyone that took the time to write a review. As you read on, remember that everything beyond this point is all thanks to the reviewers, and when you're wondering whether its worth the time to write a review, allow me to answer for you: yes it is. Although so far all reviews have been very positive—which I'm grateful for—if you have any criticisms, don't hesitate to share them with me. I won't be offended.
Sincerely,
Miponiski
One-Thousand Years to Go
Luna was alone. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't return to Equestria. Celestia had some sort of spell that trapped her on the moon. At first Luna wasn't bothered. Actually, she felt that it was probably a good thing to get a little space from her sister. She was still angry with her, and felt that it would probably be best for both of them to get a little space.
Luna didn't mind being stuck on the moon. It beat being trapped on the sun, but the fact that Celestia was lowering and raising both the moon and sun, infuriated Luna. Her sister always stole all the fame and royalty thus far, and now, the one little thing Luna called her own was taken away from her also. She didn't know what bothered her more: being deprived of the last thing that gave her happiness, or seeing her already over-spoiled, royal sister get her hoofs around one more thing that she didn't deserve.
Despite every effort, Luna had no control over the moon anymore, and was hopelessly stuck on it. She simply didn't have the power to return back to her castle in Canterlot, or anyplace for that matter. Luna was still under the effects of her sister's spell. It didn't just send her to the moon, it imprisoned her and negated any action that attempted to leave the moon, or regain control of it.
Days passed, and each one only reminded her that Celestia was raising the sun and moon while Luna was stuck with quite literally nothing. Now the princess of the night had nothing to call her own. Luna started wondering when her sister would let her come back home. It was only one little fight, she thought. Luna was surprised that it took more than a couple of hours before they put their grudges behind themselves.
As days became weeks, Luna was actually missing the nights of crying by herself in the Everfree Forest. She missed her thinking spot, and she missed Canterlot. Although she didn't want to admit it, she missed her sister.
Luna resumed her usual pastime of using simple magic spells to calm her frustrations and keep herself entertained. With nothing else to do, Luna spent a large amount of time practicing her magic, and as weeks became months, she noticed her powers were significantly stronger.
What Luna longed for the most was company. Spending month after month in a place with nopony in sight made Luna crave an intelligent conversation. Just as she use to fight loneliness in the Everfree Forest, Luna conjured up some illusionary pony friends from the shadows with her magic. She would talk to them in a hopeless effort to pretend she wasn't alone, but they never said anything back, and they weren't enough to keep Luna from going crazy. Though talking to her illusionary friends eased her mind a little bit, after being away from everything for so long she ran out of things to talk about.
After telling her illusionary friends about the fight with her sister, and what Equestria was like, there was nothing left to talk about. Boredom caused her to come up with some interesting topics of conversation: what Equestria will be like in the future, what Celestia is doing right now, and if Celestia is wondering what Luna was doing right now. But every conversation topic ended with Luna asking the same question: "Is she still mad at me, or did my sister forget about me?"
She was usually done talking, once those thoughts entered her mind. That was the point which she would dispel all her illusions, and attempt to fall asleep, while nervous thoughts raced through her head.
Being alone for such a long time made sanity impossible to maintain. She no longer cared about who was right, and who was wrong. Luna was prepared with an apology in case her sister ever let her come back to Equestria. She even rehearsed it. She was willing to take any blame if it brought her back home.
Years began to pass by, and every one of Luna's thoughts were questions. Why hasn't Celestia came back for me yet or at least gave me a chance to apologize? Does she even care that I'm trapped here?
As her 100th anniversary of imprisonment on the moon was less than a day away, Luna began to question the magic her sister used on her. She wondered if it really was anger alone that fueled Celestia with enough strength to trap her with a magic spell that lasted for almost 100 years. It didn't add up. Celestia was powerful, but a spell that lasts continuously for 100 years without showing any sign of fading was just impossible.
Alicorns have powerful magic, but they need rest nonetheless. There's simply no way Celestia could maintain an imprisonment spell for a hundred years nonstop. Why hasn't her magic faded out yet? Does she not sleep? Does she not rest? Luna became curious.
As the hour of Luna's 100th anniversary of imprisonment was only minutes away, she was struck with an idea—The Elements Of Harmony. Of course, Luna thought. It's the only thing that could explain it. All signs seemed to only confirm Luna's theory.
Luna has only seen the power of the elements unleashed once before, and that was when Discord, a chaos bringing draconicus, was creating havoc in Equestria. Celestia and Luna unleashed The Elements of Harmony together, and they trapped Discord in stone.
The Elements of Harmony contained more magic than anything else in Equestria. They had a limitless power. Thus, strict rules had to be put in place to make sure that they are not used in the wrong way.
Luna knew that Celestia was angry, but the thing she always cared about was the balance of harmony in Equestria. Celestia and Luna were what kept that balance of harmony in order, and yet, Celestia used The Elements Of Harmony to completely banish her sister along with the balance to harmony that her sister represented.
Even though it was over 100 years ago, Luna could remember the day she and her sister agreed that they both must approve before ever using The Elements Of Harmony for anything—to make sure they were not misused. It was the only way to make sure balance was kept. Did Celestia really break her promise? Luna could see no possible alternative.
Luna came to the conclusion: Harmony's equilibrium can't exist with only one sister. It was the two of them that contributed equally that made harmony possible, and by trapping her sister on the moon, Celestia destroyed that balance. She used them without Luna's permission. Celestia abused the elements by using them to destroy harmony.
To Luna, this was no longer a simple disagreement—it was a serious offense. Luna was able to admit to herself that maybe it was wrong to not lower the moon for her sister's sun, but nonetheless, Celestia's misuse of The Elements Of Harmony was far worse than what she did.
The thought of Celestia misusing the elements disgusted Luna. It was completely inappropriate, and immoral. Celestia had many traits that made her an ideal ruler, but Luna would have never done such a thing. Worst of all, Celestia was the respected sister, and with Luna unable to tell the Equestrians the truth, everypony can only assume Celestia was just doing the most honorable thing.
Luna wanted to remove Celestia's authority from Equestria. She strongly believed it was the best course of action, not just for herself, but the ponies of Equestria. She wanted to liberate the ponies from Celestia's corruption, and bring justice. That night Luna vowed that she will one day return to Equestria—somehow-and make things right...
But as centuries passed, Luna's initial vow became skewed. It became less about making things right and more about regaining her self-respect. She dreamed of seeing Celestia defeated. Though she was naturally a compassionate pony, she didn't dwell long on the well-being of Equestria. All she thought about, was to get back at her sister.
She no longer cared about saving Equestria from Celestia's corrupt dictatorship; she just wanted to make Celestia suffer more than what she had. She wanted to see her sister being shunned, instead of worshiped. She wanted to see her sister suffer from losing control of the sun and moon, and for once be seen as the weaker sister. She vowed that Celestia will one day bow down before her.
Luna no longer practiced magic to fight her boredom. She practiced magic to train. She prepared herself to fight her sister—to be stronger than Celestia. And her magic did get stronger. After centuries of practice, Luna became much more powerful. She learned how to shoot powerful bolts of lightning from her horn—with power that Celestia herself couldn't match. Even her simple illusion spells became more advanced. They no longer looked as transparent, they looked like real ponies. Luna was able to conjure a realistic, illusionary, pony army. She no longer summoned them one at a time—like before—but half a dozen, and best of all, they were able to talk.
They spoke mostly in whispers, and at first, Luna thought she was just going insane, but they were speaking. They had glittery blue manes and tails, like Luna's, and they obeyed every one of her commands. They might not be real, but they were the next most real thing on the moon besides Luna herself. Luna named the group of illusionary ponies: 'Shadowbolts,' because they were made with the same empty voids as the shadows themselves.
Luna felt self-pride to see how powerful she became over the centuries, but she still had the same problem as before: she was stuck on the moon. She didn't know how to break the spell from The Elements Of Harmony. She became strong enough to face her sister, but it did no good if she was weaker than the imprisonment spell from the Elements Of Harmony. From what she understood, it was impossible to go back home, until one of the twinkling stars caught her eye.