Chapter 2: Missing Moon Goddess

Twilight Sparkle was woken up much earlier than she would have liked the next day. Spike was standing next to her and he was shaking her to try and get her to wake up. He had a very urgent tone as he urged the alicorn to get out of bed. Yawning a bit at being disturbed at such an early hour, Twilight Sparkle sat up in her bed and she gave the young dragon a rather annoyed look as she spoke to him.

"What's wrong Spike?" she asked.

"Princess Celestia's here!" Spike said urgently. "She says there's an emergency!"

Twilight Sparkle quickly got out of bed and went into the main room of her castle. There she saw The Sun Goddess herself Princess Celestia. The white alicorn goddess stood in the center of the room and she had a very grim and serious expression on her face as she spoke to Twilight Sparkle.

"There has been a terrible crime." Princess Celestia said in a serious tone as she looked the purple alicorn in the eyes. Twilight Sparkle knew that this wouldn't be good news. What could have Princess Celestia in such a bad mood? The purple alicorn was nervous as she spoke to her former teacher.

"What happened?" Twilight Sparkle asked urgently. She tried to prepare herself for anything at all. Her mind was racing as she thought of all of the possibilities.

"Princess Luna has been kidnapped." Princess Celestia replied grimly much to the shock of the purple alicorn. Twilight Sparkle had definitely not been expecting to hear that.

Twilight Sparkle's jaw dropped as she heard this. She might not have been The Element of Honesty like Applejack but she knew that Princess Celestia wasn't lying. The Sun Goddess would never joke about something as serious as her own sister's disappearance. Princess Luna had been kidnapped. This was unbelievable and yet it had happened. The Moon Goddess had been kidnapped. But who would dare to commit such a terrible crime and why were two questions that remained unanswered.

"When did this happen?" Twilight Sparkle whispered in shock.

"Sometime last night." Princess Celestia replied. "Her guards were found unconscious. We don't know where Princess Luna could be. She could be anywhere."

The two of them tried to figure out where Princess Luna could have been taken to when the door to the castle was opened. One of Princess Celestia's royal guards walked in and he was holding a feather in his hoof. His expression was unreadable as he approached The Sun Goddess.

"Your Majesty." he said. "We found this at the scene. It could be a clue."

He handed over the feather, bowed, and departed. Princess Celestia and Twilight Sparkle stared very intently at the feather. It wasn't like the feathers that would be found on a pegasus pony. This feather was from a different creature entirely. But what was it? The duo studied the feather for a while until Princess Celestia's eyes widened a little.

"It's a griffon feather." Princess Celestia said with a rather surprised look on her face.

"Griffon?" Twilight Sparkle asked. "Are you sure?"

"I am positive." Princess Celestia replied. "Twilight you know that relations between Equestria and Grifforia have been very tense for the past few decades don't you?"

"Of course." Twilight Sparkle responded quickly. "Ever since the war fifty years ago Grifforia and Equestria have been enemies with each other."

"Well this feather might explain where Princess Luna is." The Sun Goddess said. "She could be in Grifforia."

"We have to save her." Twilight Sparkle replied firmly. The purple alicorn knew that whatever the griffons in Grifforia had planned to do with Princess Luna would not be good for Equestria.

"That is certain." Princess Celestia agreed. "However our guards could never set hoof inside of Grifforia's territory. The griffons have a grudge against ponies and they would attack any pony on sight. The only ones who can get inside of Grifforia would be griffons."

"Only griffons." Twilight Sparkle muttered. All of a sudden her eyes shot open. "Gilda! Gilda can go to Grifforia. She can save Princess Luna."

"That is a good idea." Princess Celestia said. "We had better find Gilda."

The two alicorns left the castle and looked for Gilda. They found her pretty soon. Gilda and Rainbow Dash were flying at fast paces as they used the training course that Rainbow Dash had set up. Lightning Dust would have joined them but she was helping Applejack with some work. The two fliers were pushing themselves to the limit. They took their dreams of becoming Wonderbolts very seriously and they would give everything they had during their training. Their obstacle course was being put to good use as they dodged around the various hazards in their path.

"Gilda!" Twilight Sparkle called out.

The two fliers stopped their training and then they went to greet the duo.

"How's it going Twi?" Gilda asked in a casual tone.

"Gilda Princess Luna's been captured." Twilight Sparkle said urgently. "We need you to go to Grifforia and save her."

The eyes of the two fliers widened as they heard this announcement. They couldn't believe that Princess Luna had been kidnapped. The Moon Goddess being held captive in Grifforia was definitely a stunning announcement to the two fliers. Gilda shook her head as she replied to the alicorn's request.

"Can't do that Twi." Gilda said. "Griffons hate me."

This drew a very curious glance from the three ponies that were near her. What did Gilda mean by that statement? Why would griffons hate her? They voiced their confusion until Gilda gave them an answer.

"A griffon that's friends with a pony is a traitor." Gilda explained. "When I chose Dash over the griffons they decided that I'm their enemy. If I go into Grifforia they'll attack me just like they'd attack a pony. I can't save Princess Luna."

"But you're our only hope." Twilight Sparkle insisted. "Please Gilda we need your help."

Gilda looked from Twilight Sparkle to Princess Celestia and sighed.

"All right." she said reluctantly. "I'll do it. It won't be easy."

She was about to walk away and plan out her mission when Rainbow Dash spoke up.

"I'm goin' with ya G." Rainbow Dash said in a determined tone.

Gilda stared at Rainbow Dash in shock as she heard this. She quickly shook her head and spoke to her best friend.

"No way Dash." she said. "It's bad enough I'm going. Those griffons will go after ya the second they see ya."

"That's too bad." Rainbow Dash said fiercely. "I'm not letting my best friend do this on her own. I'm going with ya G and that's that. We're gonna save Princess Luna together."

Rainbow Dash stared firmly at Gilda as she nodded.

"All right Dash." Gilda said. "But I warned ya."

The two fliers walked to the edge of town. Their friends joined them and they wished the duo luck on their mission. All of them knew the kind of danger that Rainbow Dash and Gilda would be in. They knew that Grifforia wouldn't take very kindly to them. Gilda put a mask on her face in an attempt to disguise herself. The duo created a false story about how Rainbow Dash had been transformed into a pony and that they were going to have Princess Luna turn her back into a griffon. Hopefully the griffons would buy that tale. Princess Celestia and the eight others watched as Rainbow Dash and Gilda took to the skies on a very daring mission. Hopefully they could bring Princess Luna back and hopefully they wouldn't be harmed during their journey.