A swarm of fireflies danced and fluttered above the trees of the alley, more and more of their lights coming to life. As the fireflies’ lanterns flourished, the last illuminated windows of surrounding Canterlot blinked out.

“No! Let me go!”

A gentle evening breeze swept a few leaves across the deserted road.

“Argh! Come on!”

One of the treetops rustled, scaring the floating lights away.

“Yes! Yes, yes… no. Argh!”

Two blue legs dangled out of the treetop, along with a shimmering, waving tail. A chest with two uselessly flailing wings followed suit.

“I demand you to let go!” Princess Luna bellowed, both her hooves and magic trying to loosen the thin silver line snaking around her neck. It dug deeper with each movement, effectively squeezing the life out of her.

Stars started dancing across her vision. Her eyes bulged out, her burning lungs crying for air.

With one final strain she let her body hang limply, focusing the remains of her strangled willpower.

A faint flash of her horn was all it took. She rematerialized back on the pavement after her teleport. Taking full gulps of the sweet evening air, she let her body lie sprawled on the cobblestones, still warm after the scorching summer day.

Luna swept her head across the ground, wood dust and splinters clinging to her mane and coat from the day’s busy carriages.

She slowly stood up, chasing off the trembling from her legs. Looking back up, she spotted the silver line menacingly swaying in the air, tangled between various branches.

Calling on her magic once more, she levitated the thin strap of fabric to her hoof, eyeing the golden name tag attached to it.

She turned the small name tag over in her magic, the shiny surface glistening in the light of the fancy streetlamps. She never understood why Celestia insisted on all these petty things. A thousand years ago, an Equestrian princess was an Equestrian princess and a griffon ambassador was a griffon ambassador, without any name tags, guest cards and other extra identification.

Oh, how was she looking forward to having a word with Celestia about this. She was certain that upon learning about how she was nearly strangled by one of those new ID tags, her sister’s expression would be priceless. Luna smirked, her smile turning into a hiss as she rubbed the faint line on her neck. However, it probably wouldn’t be enough to make Tia ban those, but it was still worth a try.

She sighed and trotted down the alley to a small plaza, its centre adorned by a statue of a large stallion.

“Be a dear and hold it for me please!” She patted the statue’s broad shoulder, throwing the name tag around its neck, then took off into the air.

She circled above the marble and golden city, then headed south. The evening breeze played with her mane. The crisp night air chilled her coat, her feathers ruffling silently as she flew higher and higher.

She was fully soaking in all the serene and quiet moments the Canterlot South Patrol Route could offer, glad to finally be away from the stuffy conference hall.

Just as the gate clicked shut behind the last griffon delegate, she rushed to her chambers, shaking off her regalia, and took off from her balcony. Truth be told, her wings were a little stiff after a week of only sitting around, resulting in her encounter with the tree, but it was nothing to worry about.

With a squee, she made a few pirouettes in the air, glad to not be dragged down by any duties or her silver horseshoes and jewellery.

Contradictory to this, she was still performing duties. Though not quite the ones that belonged to the position of a princess. Night patrols were a job made for the youngest privates of the Lunar Guard, usually as a punishment, which the highest-ranked officers had pointed out to her in their attempt to discourage her of such a humiliating task. Celestia wasn’t too fond of her night trips either. Yet, Luna couldn't comprehend why the newbie soldiers hated it so much. Sure, she flew along the route only when the weather was good and warm, but still…

Despite the rookies and their bias, she was happy to do it herself. She was escaping into her own land of thoughts or just enjoying the scenery below her. Sometimes checking a few dreams as she flew by the villages and small towns. All were nice bright classics, no nightmares requiring her intervention. If the evening wasn't so beautiful, Luna would have easily joined in some for the ride.

Be it a simple moment of playing with a dog the filly couldn't have, being a famous popstar, funnily humiliating a scary teacher with a tight bun, and… oh, stallions, not again. That was enough for one night.

The princess was still trying to banish that particular dream from her mind when the Whitetail came nearer. Staring at the ground for a minute, she spotted a few hills at the edge of the Whitetail, all dotted by telescopes waiting to aid ponies in their astronomical hobbies or work. She eyed them quietly for a few moments until an insistent thought passed her mind. She smirked and started to descend, her fluffy wings silently fluttering in the wind.

"Um, Professor Notes?"

"Is something wrong, Miss Dancer?" said a unicorn stallion, as he came closer to a yellowish ivory mare standing next to the eyepiece of a big telescope. The beads of the late evening dew slid from the grass, effectively wetting his hooves. He shivered lightly, tucking deeper into the confines of his worn sweater.

"Could you please take a look?" The mare motioned to the eyepiece. “I can’t tell which constellation that is. It looks like something between Centaurus and Delphinus, but the stars are acting funny.”

He gave her a quizzical look and rolled his eyes, but without a word approached the apparatus. Those constellations couldn’t be more different than the day was from night, every little foal knew that.

Sure, despite all the recommendation posters that littered the bulletin boards at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, the ‘elite’ project of Summer Astronomy Traineeship in Hoofington was a lot of things, but Professor Notes surely wouldn’t call it elite. That much he could tell after supervising dozens of students here for countless years.

Even Miss Moon Dancer, the ‘elite’ student that applied there this year with all her good grades and various citations, apparently had trouble determining the most basic of constellations. He hoped that she at least knew what the difference between astronomy and astrology was. Shaking his head, he clicked his tongue a few times and finally enclosed his eye to the eyepiece.

Almost immediately, he pulled back and blinked a few times. He rubbed his eyes and then leaned back in. His hooves shuffled with the various adjustment knobs and diaphragms as he pressed his eyes on the small metallic ring of the eyepiece. He was met by the same sight as before.

Stars waved and blinked out of existence, only to appear the next second in a completely different place. He proceeded to untie his tie and scrub the lens of the eyepiece with it. “By Starswirl’s beard, what’s going on?” he stammered, leaning against the base of the telescope.

"I don't know, that's why I was asking you," came a flat answer from Moon Dancer, the mare polishing her glasses as she spoke.

"That's—that's impossible!" The professor nervously looked to the sky. "In Princess Luna's name, I don’t even need a telescope to see that. The whole sky has gone crazy!” Twisting his head, he watched the stars swirl and waltz about. “I think… I’m feeling… dizzy.” Professor Notes slumped to the ground his eyes rolling.

“So, do I take it the lesson is over?” Moon Dancer bent down, poking him with her hoof. “If ‘yes’ then excuse me, I have the thirteenth tome of Hayscartes’ Treatise on Ponies waiting back at my room.” She looked back up to the skies, now adorned by the normal constellations.

"I think you should remind him, at some point, about how and by whom the night sky was crafted." A dark figure rose from the bushes behind Moon Dancer, a row of shiny white teeth revealed in its smug grin. “Said crafter is still able to play around with her stars as she pleases. Before you go, please, at least provide him with some blanket. Good night.” The figure waved the awestruck mare goodbye and took off to the skies again.

Halfway through the Whitetail Woods, the princess still couldn't catch her breath from her outburst of laughter. That professor's panic was priceless.

"Maybe I should ask Tia to arrange a meeting with the teachers of her school, I would like to find that one and have a talk with him about constellations and their history…" She giggled again.

"Okay Luna, concentrate, you nearly hit a tree," she scolded herself, shaking her head to sort out her thoughts. The already slightly red and yellow leaves created a colorful haze as she zoomed by. The raw smell of wood and forest soil swirled around her.

Leaving Whitetail behind her, the princess began to veer slightly. The silhouettes of vast apple orchards and the typical round town hall of a local village materialized before her.

She swooped down between the apple trees, flaps of her wings emitting swarms of colorful bats from the treetops. For a moment she reveled in the rainbowish mob of small bodies surrounding her, until it started dissipating on its own. Gently shaking off the remaining fruit bats that joined for a ride on her back, Luna turned to the river, snaking through the country from Canterlot.

Dashing just above the water surface, she tried touching it with her feathers. One slight bath later, she ascended back to the sky.

Nearing the edge of Everfree, she noticed the air standing still, becoming muggy and thick, pushing against her chest. Raising her head, she immediately noticed the storm clouds building in her path, overlying the whole horizon.

"Getting struck by lightning is the last thing I want today. Though it probably would not be as bad as getting hit with a full plate of salmon in one of the griffons' peculiar pastimes…" the alicorn groaned, pushing her wings harder.

"I wonder," she furrowed her eyebrows, "how did the storm even get there? It was not in the weather plans for this week. And I have never seen one of those independent storms from Everfree that far from the forest itself."

There was no reason to risk flying straight through the storm. The cloud wall was reaching far above the meadows surrounding the small towns and villages. The only clearer path was above the dreaded forest. Groaning, she turned her wings to the Everfree, ready to dodge any hungry monster coming from below. The stench rising from the bogs to the moist air scrunched her muzzle.

The air around her started to move again, but not in the form of the former warm evening breeze. This time it was a cold wind, pushing her like a rag doll in the air.

Luna gritted her teeth and began flapping her wings with all the strength she could muster. If the rookies had to endure weather like this on their night, it truly was a punishment.

A minute later she found herself in the pouring rain. She was soaking wet even before she managed to summon a waterproof barrier. A few lightning bolts crossed the sky nearby. She quickly turned off her horn, not wanting to draw the electricity to herself. A flood of raindrops hit her again. But Luna didn't care anymore. The only thing that now occupied her mind was a thought of a dry towel, soft bed and hot tea in her chamber, maybe a cucumber sandwich or two.

Suddenly, she heard something. Or at least she thought she did.

"That sounded like—" She perked up her ears, when a lightning bolt came down just behind her. The following thunder nearly deafened her, her vision getting blurry for a moment.

"Ouch." Luna flattened her ears, her head throbbing with pain.

"Prince—"

She definitely heard something this time, it was just obscured by the cacophony of the storm. Much more carefully, she raised her ears once again.

"Princess Luna!"

Even if the cry was muffled by the heavy rain, she was able to define the direction now.

And she could now see the silhouettes of about three royal guards heading to her, glints of their armor easily visible.

"Here!" she exclaimed and propelled herself nearer through the strands of rain.

Luna stopped mid-air, her mind racing across the meteorology reports that littered her balcony. Could it be that she overlooked a storm warning in her haste? Not likely, she was sure that the report for the whole week promised warm cloudless nights. Anyway, the central weather patrol better have a good explanation and excuse for their inaccuracy this time, unlike when they made it snow on Summer Sun Celebration just because ‘someone swapped the labels on clouds’. She let out a sigh, trying to clean all the water blinding her sight with a hoof. Maybe she shouldn’t be too hard on them; after all, it seems they even sent out an escort for her.

She squinted her eyes, scanning the nearing figures. She was now able to recognize the guards more so. There were only three of them. All very muscular stallions, two of them from her Lunar Guard and one Solar.

They were drawing near really fast. So fast that it was impossible for them not to collide with her now.

"Do they really have the wing blades strapped on?" Luna froze in place. "And they really do not seem to be slowing."

Her long-resting warrior instincts springing to life, she turned in her wake, diving straight towards the trees below.

In the last second. One of the golden blades swished just behind her with murderous intent, cutting most of the hair from her tail away.

She folded her wings against her sides, hoping to gain some speed in a free fall. A thrown purple horseshoe hit her in the side. Luna winced and subconsciously spread her wings. Her trajectory aligned with the line of green canopy underneath. Too late.

A few twigs scratched her from below. Tufts of torn leaves fluttered in her wake. She maneuvered between the ragged treetops. She had to shield her eyes from the sharp branches. She flew almost blind with a hoof across her face.

She wavered in the air, her hooves striking the trees below. It toppled her over, sending her headfirst into the dark maze of branches and leaves. Her last attempts at flight changed to fall. She hit a large tree side-first, the bark chafing at her skin. Her body slumped to the ground, landing with a cracking sound on one side, the abrupt impact knocking the air out of her lungs.

"Get her!" snapped one of the guards.

In that moment she was back on her hooves, running as fast as she could. Her left wing hung limply by her side and the pain shooting from its joint made her want to vomit.

She bit her lip and continued to gallop further into the forest, ignoring her wing bumping up off the ground.

She didn't dare to look behind her, but the sound of hooves stomping in the dirt signaled that at least two of her pursuers were following her the terrestrial way.

She tried to cast a spell to throw them away, but she couldn't find the concentration or strength.

Her vision was starting to blur from both the rain and pain.

One more stumble after some roots.

One more slide in wet mud.

Change of direction to avoid a ravine.

Again some roots in her path.

A few scratches from a nearby branch. She already lost count of how many times that happened.

A jump over a fallen tree, her legs wobbling from the landing, but she pressed on.

Her mouth tasted as if she'd been chewing on iron. Her throat was burning.

Another slide in the mud saved her from an attack of the Lunar Guard that stayed airborne.

Instead of pony flesh the blades hit the bark of a tree, sinking in at least one third of their length, their owner meeting the tree in tight embrace.

Her horn was caught in a few vines hanging from a low-leveled branch. She galloped further, stretching the branch.

The vines snapped in half, hurling the branch at the nearest chaser.

It bounced off his helmet, but didn't slow him in the slightest.

Luna turned her head and saw the guards still barreling behind her, slowly closing the gap between.

When she turned back, there was no time to dodge the thick branch before her. It smacked her on her cheek and sent her flying headfirst to a nearby rock.

The tip of her horn scratched the stony surface. Her body landed before it.

She lay there, unable to rise to her hooves and move her sore limbs anymore. Blood from her scratches mixed with the mud. She gagged. Because of the smelly mud and stale water she lay in. Because of the chase. Because of the guards.

The two remaining stallions skidded to a stop, panting heavily.

The storm was now just a distant sound in the background, the rain becoming much more bearable.

She could hear her heart beat along with the regressing panting of the guards in a terrifying, yet calming rhythm.

The second Lunar Guard stepped forward, slowly spreading his wing. He tenderly stroked the shiny sharp metal. It glinted in the light of full moon. His Solar partner eyed from behind with a sinister smile.

Luna watched them in horror. She looked up to the moon, her moon, one last time. Then she put her head down to the puddle of dirty water, awaiting the execution. There wasn't a way of pleading or talking herself out of this. She couldn't imagine what had brought the guards to break their oath, but she wouldn’t step down to beg for her life before them. Her magic retreated as the pain washed over her whole body. She tried lifting her hoof to strike, but not a budge.

She heard a flutter of wings beside her and a light thud.

Luna didn’t bother to try and look for the source of the sound. She assumed it was probably the last guard, already freed from the bark of the tree he involuntarily embraced.

"Any last wish, Your Highness?" The guard smirked, running his blade just above her neck.

"Are you so foalish to think I would want something from you?"

"Your choice. Don't worry, Princess, it'll be much more painful for you than me." He chuckled. Fully stretching his wing, he prepared to strike.

"I don't think so," came a flat, surely non-stallion voice from behind her.

The blade was heading in full swing at her throat. Suddenly it changed its course, diverted against the nearest bush. A large shadow dashed by, air wheezing past it. The stallion gave a bloodcurdling shriek as something much bigger dragged him away.

"What?" Luna whispered in confusion as she looked up.

In that moment all of her energy vanished. She collapsed to the ground with a splash. A lightning bolt stroke nearby. A silhouette was emblazoned on the inner side of her eyelids. A silhouette of smaller pony with a dagger in its mouth.

Author's Notes:

An explanation of the AU tag:
The Equestria portrayed here doesn't divert much from the show canon. Most of the plot is set in the time of season 3 events as that was the time when the first draft of this story appeared, but now contains the knowledge of later seasons as well, the only exception being the non-existence of the Tree of Harmony in this story.

Equestrian geography is changed slightly as well—Ponyville, Hoofington and Trottingham are all considered to be near the Everfree forest and/or Whitetail Woods.

My earnest thanks go to PonyPoet21, labba94, SherryCherry99, Boulder and
MV for pre-reading and editing this chapter.

Questions, observations, typos?