The Unwanted One

Luna woke up from a nasty feeling of swelled wings. Opening eyes, the Princess of the Night surprisingly and perplexedly found herself lying on stone floor. She tried to unfold the swelled limbs, but unexpectedly, something prevented it… Alicorn looked at her body and froze in bewilderment and fleeting fear: wings were pressed to body with a wide metal hoop, that doesn’t allow them to be unfolded. “What… What is going on?” Luna dropped in a voice woolly from sleep, looking around. What she saw, immediately destroyed any remains of dream: half-light was running rampart around, barely being driven off by a couple of torch aside, she was lying on dirty stone floor, and thick ribs of a prison cell were above her. Haunted by perplexity and bad feelings, Princess tried to light up a firefly to get a better look of surroundings, but nothing happened. Her magic doesn’t react. Now it’s a real fear for her. Luna leaped to feet — and almost fell: the fore pair was chained together by a short chain. With ever growing dread, alicorn sat on haunches and felt for a collar on the neck with her chained fore legs, and then — for a massive ring on the horn — suppressor of magic. “What is it… Why?…” Princess swallowed fitfully. In the almost palpable silence that hung around her, Luna could hear her heart beating loudly and frequently somewhere in her temples. “Is anypony here?” She called, more out of desire to dispel this pressing silence. The voice echoed under the stone. For a moment prisoner thought, that no one and nothing is here, she’s been locked and left here… The coming panic was driven off by a pale blue reflection of someone’s magic, that was playing on dark walls, and a rhythmic sound of steps. Princess sighed with relief. A hope emerged, that whoever came here, would explain the completely odd and frightening situation. However, when after a few endless seconds, an unknown pony emerged from a corner, Luna’s heart skipped a bit: from the half-light, a pair of blue glowing eyes with tight vertical pupil looked at her fixedly. “Nightmare Moon…” The Princess of the Night panted in a barely audible and shocked voice. Black alicorn, without her usual armor, was almost invisible in the darkness, creating a gloom feeling of soaring in the air eyes and horn, on which a small magic firefly was glowing palely, barely driving away the thick darkness around its owner. “You have woken up, traitor?” She asked chilly, coming closer to the cell. Luna looked at the floor dismally. After what she had done with Nightmare on the Moon, it was silly to think for a better attitude. Biting words of Nightmare spoke inside with filthy and bitter realization, that the black mare really has reason to call her, Princess Luna, in that manner. “Hello, Nightmare.” Lifting head, the prisoner greeted quietly. No matter how somber and nervous the situation is, but she always gave a chance to finally talk to the one who was born from the dark side of Luna herself and… Beg for mercy for the horrible mistake. “You’re here to talk with me?” “There was no point in talking with you even before, and now, after what happened… No.” The owner of snake eyes shook head. “To execute you.” She ended serenely. “T-to execute?!” The Princess of the Night exclaimed out, springing and backing away from the bars in one move. A shiver ran through her body. All thoughts about talking were forgotten in a moment. It just doesn’t make sense… However, what is to be expected from Nightmare Moon then? But… How did she kidnap her, Luna, from Canterlot? “Or you would say “for nothing”?” She cocked her head to the side. “After what you have done… I’ll make sure that your death is as miserable as your useless life!” “Sister won’t leave me in trouble, monster!” Luna pursed mouth firmly. “She will come to me, and you will be sent back to the Moon for daring to imprison me!” The Princess of the Night eyed her enemy from head to foot with a heavy stare. Tia shouldn’t have trusted this monster! It seems, she was only pretending, awaiting for the best moment to strike. And, when it came, decided to start with vengeance. “No one will relieve you, pathetic traitor!” She narrowed her eyes dangerously. “Celestia knows perfectly well, that you’re here and will die soon. And she will do nothing to help you.” Depressing the voice, Nightmare Moon almost whispered and smiled evilly. “You’re lying!” Luna yelled. But a chill ran inside of her for a moment from the glimpse thought, that her kidnapper can also be honest. “Tia will never do that!” Black alicorn merely chuckled in answer, casting a gaze at the Princess of the Night, that meant satisfaction and slight disgust. Luna, in her turn, smiled, hearing the coming silent steps and seeing golden light of her sister’s magic behind the Nightmare’s back, playing on the stone walls: its warm sunny shade could be distinguished by Luna from a thousand. Black alicorn, following the prisoner’s gaze, turned around, and after a few seconds, Princess Celestia came inside, lightening her way with magic light. “Sister, you’re here!” Luna exclaimed with an unbelievable relief. “Your Majesty.” Nightmare emphasized a bow calmly. “Nightmare Moon.” The Princess of the Sun answered with a nod, not paying attention to her little sister at all. Something is really wrong. Captured alicorn shivered, thinking again about her dark reflection’s words — it could be truth. “Everything is ready. Execution is tomorrow, at the dawn, if you don’t want to do it in other time.” Black alicorn reported. “Came to say farewells?” She asked tonelessly after a short pause. “Yes, almost.” Celestia nodded. “I want to look in the traitor’s eyes, who did this.” She nodded in the way she came from meaningfully. “Equestria will not forget this deed for a long time.” “W-what deed? What are you talking about, sister?” Luna looked at the Princess of the Sun hauntingly, barely holding tears after her words. “What deed?! And after all that happened you still have the boldness to pretend that nothing happened, beast?! Don’t dare to call me your sister! I don’t want to know you anymore!” She said through teeth quietly, casting a furious frozen stare at the blue alicorn from under the brows. Junior Princess shivered, like from a punch, and sat on the dirty floor limply — legs refused to stand. No-no-no, it… It’s all false! It’s a mistake! Tia couldn’t… She just… Just made wrong conclusions, yes! Something happened, an evidence pointed at her, Luna, and sister made a wrong conclusion out of it! She just made a mistake! “My only mistake is that I trusted you!” The Princess of the Day said through teeth with the same icy voice: the junior alicorn didn’t notice — she said the last words aloud. “W-what happened, Tia? I really don’t remember, I swear! Tell me! Please!” Luna looked steadily at the white mare, which, as it looked like, gazed apathetically through her. Tears from the prisoner’s eyes were rolling down by themselves. “Really, don’t remember?” Celestia slurred indifferently, neither changing her pose nor face. “Really! I understand nothing and cannot remember anything! Tia, I beg you…” “Hm…” The Princess of the Sun swept a gaze over Luna and turned to the black mare, standing aside and looking at everything wordlessly. “Nightmare, I changed my mind. Go up and call off the preparations for the execution.” “But…” She looked dazedly at the white alicorn. “Go!” Celestia repeated forcefully. “E-e… Yes, Your Highness.” Hesitating a bit, Nightmare Moon answered at last and after shaking head with dissatisfaction, moved to the exit. Luna dashed away her tears with the tied fore legs awkwardly. Whatever happened, it seemed, that her situation was not hopeless after all. “So it turned out that you don’t remember what you have done?” Following Nightmare with a gaze, Tia turned to the Princess of the Night. White alicorn’s voice was still dead and chill. “No, I don’t.” She nodded, looking at her sister with a hope: now there’s a chance to puzzle everything out, to prove Celly, that this is just a huge misunderstanding, a mistake! “Nothing at all?” The Princess of the Day specified with the same dispassionate, a little bit scary voice. “At all.” “What a shame.” Tia dropped with some cracked voice. She turned away from the cell, came closer to one of two burning torches on the wall and fixed eyes into its flame. “It’s nothing, I know how to help you remember.” White alicorn again returned to the dead chill tone. Her horn shined, creating a bubble of magical shield around the torch. Luna looked in awe as the flame slowly died, left without air. “How?” Luna dragged her gaze away from the torch, when it died out completely. Something was scary in this sister’s deed. Celestia kept silent, going to the second, the last burning torch instead and choking it with the same shield in the same softly manner. The only source of light left was the firefly at the end of white mare’s horn. Luna narrowly looked at her, trying to get rid of the screaming feeling of anxiety. “Tia, what are you doing?” The nervous Princess of the Night gave in. Celestia ignored the question, coming to the cell closer. Luna shivered from meeting sister’s eyes with a blank stare. “Tia, tell me, what happened?” The blue mare overcame her fear. “I must know!” “Even on the edge of your own grave you’re trying to wriggle and turn the tables! Insisting, that you, allegedly, remember nothing!” Celestia said surprisingly evilly. Indifference in her eyes gave way to disdain. “But I…” Luna was stunned. “Silence! I’ve had enough of your lies!” Enraged Princess elevated her voice. “For your crime and these pathetic attempts to get away with that, there’s your punishment: I’ll left you here alone, in complete darkness and silence! Maybe if nothing disturbs you anymore, you will remember, what you’ve done.” Princess Celestia ended the sentence with bitter sarcasm. Luna looked at her with open wide eyes and couldn’t say a word because of the fear, that chained her. White mare turned away and slowly moved to the exit. “Tia…” The junior alicorn panted with strained voice. “Goodbye, Luna.” She said with cracked voice, stopping and barely managing to not turn back. “Goodbye forever.” Dealing with herself, Celestia said louder and again moved towards exit with decisive pace. “Tia, wait! I said truth to you!” Luna panicked. “Don’t leave! Please!” The Princess of the Sun turned round the corner, leaving the room in darkness — only reflections of light at the turn allowed to see at least something. “Tia! No! I beg you! Come back!” Luna looked at the light, fading on the corridor’s walls with fear. And shortly after, even these reflections were gone, leaving the dungeon and its prisoner in outer darkness. “SISTER, DON’T LEAVE ME! PLEASE! I BEG YOU!” Luna screamed desperately, straining voice, behind barely audible steps. Tears were pouring down her face, and the heart was getting slowly enveloped by primal fear. A door silently clanked far off, cutting steps’ sound. Luna was left alone. Until her dying day.