2.5.

A few days later Luna had equipped a plow to sow new seeds into the grounds to replace the burnt, dead crops. She moved with great haste and efficacy. The owners of the farm were impressed by her efforts.

“It may not be our place, but I am surprised your majesty,” commented the pony planting the new seeds, “I wouldn’t expect royalty to know the trade of us common ponies.”

“My kingdom would be nothing without farmers such as thyself, know that you are the most indispensable stone in my castle,” Luna encouraged.

Wiping the sweat from her forehead she spoke again.

“Given the rain, the ashes from the old burnt crop and the new sunlight, you will soon have more food than you can eat,” Luna explained, “Which is why I am going to decree that all food thou producest be handled by my expert treasurer. Trottingham will flourish under his watchful eye.”

Over the next few weeks, Luna oversaw and personally assisted in the repair of Trottingham. The villagers did their best to shower her with gifts and praise, which she kindly refused for their sake. Because of this, she was given the surname Princess Luna the Bringer of Light. She returned to Canterlot where she was well received.

The reagent prince hosted a great homecoming for the princess. Banners of the moon and the new sun lined hung from the great walls the flanked the approach to the main castle doors. She heard the cheers of her subjects as her carriage approached the grand approach. Stepping out into the sunlight, the crowd’s energy skyrocketed. Confetti and streamers rained down on her. She had returned light to the world and despite the initial shock, the populace had shifted well.

She opened the main doors to be met by her nobles all congratulating her on her triumph. However she had an unsuspected guest waiting for her as well, a tall pony with an auburn mane and white coat.  She walked powerfully and with grace towards Luna through the crowd. Many stepped out of her way as not to come between the two.

“Luna, so good to see thou again,” Rosetta said angrily.

“Rosetta, what business do you bring to my humble city?” Luna replied, suddenly weary of her tone.

“Well I have noticed that the day has returned to our eternal night and I may be the only resident of Concordia who has seen the day before. We are not prepared to live in such a way. I petition with the full force of Concordia that thou abstain from raising the sun,” she demanded, “If thou doest  this, I may perhaps forget to ask why it is we are speaking during daytime in the first place.”

Silence fell across the room. The nobles looked from princess to princess anxiously awaiting a response. The ruler of Concordia came to meet their princess during her homecoming to demand that her deed be reversed and threatened war on top of it. Luna did not falter or look to her subjects for reassurance. She was truly appalled by the act and stood her ground. After a moment of silent resolve, Luna broke the silence.

“I do not answer to thee, nor Concordia. This is the way of the world and I shall uphold it,” Luna defied confidently. A cheer broke out in supporting Luna.

“Very well, pray that the arms of Concordia do not find a way to wrest it from thine hooves,” Rosetta threatened, turning around and walking away.

“Art thou threatening me and my kingdom?” Luna shouted, fury filling her.

“No, I threaten only thou and shall taketh only from thou,” Rosetta taunted, still walking away.

“I see a pony frightened by a fight. Why does the just ruler of Concordia walk away from her foe only to return behind an army, turn and face me cur,” Luna challenged, returning the taunt.

“Dost thou insulteth me? Thou have brought war to thine country,” Rosetta scorned, turning around with seething anger.

“Thou art pathetic and wishes to hide behind thine subjects to exercise your will. I would never sacrifice thine ponies so brashly,” Luna provoked, a smug smile crossed her face, envenoming Rosetta’s will.

Rosetta radiated anger. She had seen the suffering of her people at the hands of the daylight caused by Luna and now she was being called unjust because she wished to defend them and she had an army ready to fight her cause. It mattered not though, she would take Luna’s power now.

“ENOUGH TALK!” Rosetta ordered, horn ablaze and the nobles backing off from around her. She spoke to the nobles, “Any of you whelps interfere and you will wish death.”

“Thou can trust my ponies unlike your own,” Luna continued to taunt lighting her horn up.

Rosetta had had enough. She took to the sky and fired an energy beam at Luna. Luna returned the beam with one of her own. They locked and began to struggle against each other. Focusing intensely, Rosetta’s beam began to move towards Luna. Noticing that she was losing, Luna let the beam hit her and braced herself.

As it hit her, weakness coursed through her body. Taking a moment to recover, Rosetta dived her and was already on top of her. A ball of light was building on Rosetta’s horn as she willed the spell and was getting ready to burst. Luna was barely able to respond before the explosion blew her back against the far wall of her throne.

“Thou art weak Moon Princess,” Concordia scorned with malefic smile, “I will make thou suffer for thine insolence.”

Luna winced as she fell to the ground and struggled to get back up. Concordia had mercilessly rushed her. She stood there and fired beam after beam into the shattered Princess. She screamed out in pain with each bolt. Luna could feel herself slipping further and further into the light. Luna passed out.

When Luna awoke she had been hung upside down in chains and been put on in front of the castles doors for all to see. Rosetta stood to the side of her.

“Dost thou see what I see my little ponies?” Rosetta announced, “I see a broken princess who was willing to sacrifice all of thee in order to save herself. I had come here to negotiate an agreement over the new daylight as it has hurt my people greatly and she challenged us with war. Her wrath and malice were insatiable so I quelled her. Thou are all good and righteous ponies and I encourage Thou to stand up against Luna and make her answer for her actions.

Tears began to well up in Luna’s eyes as she struggled to grasp how she had just lost everything. In a moment she had been the most beloved pony in Canterlot and now Rosetta was tarnishing everything she had and was powerless to stop her. The nobles all shifted uneasily, unwilling to speak up against her. Luna looked to them desperately, hoping that maybe just one would stand up, but they all avoided her gaze.

“Tis a lie! Believe none of this snake’s venom,” boomed a familiar voice.

Luna saw Midnight Sky and Starswirl the Bearded at the distant, other side of the approach.

“Oh, what is this? The lackeys of Luna now come to her defense, how predictable. Thou defend her despite her evil?” Rosetta said, keeping cool.

“Thou art the most evil and vile creature here,” Midnight replied angrily.

Midnight’s reaction was utterly dwarfed by his companion. Starswirl the Bearded’s eyes went wide and he began to float. Eyes shining with power and electricity sparking around and look of anger and wrath came over his face.

“FOOL… DO NOT TAKE STARSWIRL THE BEARDED FOR A MERE LACKY,” his voiced boomed, amplified by magic across the sky, “ROSETTA OF CONCORDIA. THOU. ART. NOT. PREPARED.”

Before she could even respond, Starswirl had teleported beneath Rosetta. Surrounding himself in a field of magic. He detonated it and sent her skyward. Rosetta had recovered and stabilized herself in mid-air as Starswirl made his next move. He pulled three energy balls from the ground and accelerated them at Rosetta. She skillfully dodged all three of them.

Starswirl swung his horn upward and down dramatically. The space around Rosetta tore and from it spewed a wind of fire that spun around her. Rosetta cried out in pain as the fires burned her. Starswirl had not even started to fight yet.

Starswirl tore more space around her, revealing a dimension of pure magic. Energy spears shot from each hole at Rosetta who narrowly began to dodge them and soared away from them. Starswirl predicted her movements and spawned an invisible wall in front of her. She ran into it and Starswirl conjured up five more walls around her, putting her in an invisible box.

Midnight was already charging towards the Rosetta and brandished a blade made of pure magic. He launched himself at her and came down on her hard with it, shattered Starswirl’s box. He was going for the final blow. She had seen it coming and caught it with her horn and, bringing her back hooves around, hit Midnight Square in the jaw, knocking him out and causing him to fall from the sky.

Luna watched in horror as her friend hit the ground, bouncing and sliding a little. She struggled to loose herself from her bindings.

Starswirl enclosed a sphere around her, electric bolts shocking her from all angles. She screamed a bit before focusing on breaking the spell. Only wincing from each bolt, she redirected the energy outward and tore Starswirl’s mind. He was able to continue throwing spells at her, but it was a losing battle and he was getting weaker.

The crowd had actually begun to jeer at Luna and cheer for Rosetta much to her amusement, which crushed Luna’s heart and spirit. Luna struggled harder but it was no use, she couldn’t break free. Luna began to cry only a bit. Closing her eyes, she heard Celestia’s voice.

“As your enemies fall, rise to power.”

She looked down at the ground above her head where her tears had fallen and there she saw the Rising Star. Only moments before the space had been empty, but now it lay their peacefully, glistening in the day’s light. Knowing that the star was her only chance, she mustered her remaining strength and ran her moon raising magic through it.

The s felt the magic course back through her, filling her and revitalizing her. As it continued to surge, she began to feel like it was too much strength. She began to lose control and lost touch with reality as she dove into a magic fueled frenzy. It filled her so, that she felt like she was going to explode. Random bursts of magic were shot off in different directions. Each discharge gave her momentary relief before it was replaced with more wild magic, writhing and tearing at her. It accelerated its flow into her and soon she had broken her bonds and floated in mid-air, shaking violently as she attempted to control this inconceivable power.

She could think of nothing but discharging magic as much as she could as got closer and closer to exploding. She racked her mind for an idea, for some way to control it. At the last point of tolerance she remembered Celestia’s words from only moments before.

She directed all of it at Rosetta and let go. Instead of tearing her a new existence, Luna came back into reality with a greater understanding of magic and the world. She controlled the magic she felt before with ease, looking up at Rosetta with clarity and simplicity.

The sky’s darkened as the sun rapidly went down. The moon rose above Luna and empowered her. Rosetta witnessed Luna’s transformation and was now nervous. She shot bolts at Luna as she slowly flew up to her, deflecting harmlessly off of her. Luna came up eye to eye with Rosetta, who had stopped firing bolts and now had a look to terror on her face.

“The sun shall stay,” Luna said calmly, thinking of her sister, “I rule Equestria and I do not share power.”

Rosetta looked at her like a dear in headlights and in a massive spark, teleported the hundreds of miles to Concordia. Luna abandoned the power and looked down upon the crowd. Midnight Sky had barely come to and was struggling to even speak.

“Huzzah! Princess Luna has vanquished the tyrant…!” he coughed out.

One by one the nobles began confessing the lies of Rosetta.

The Rising Star shone in Luna’s hooves as her kingdom cheered for her. She had risen to power.

Next Chapter: 2.6 Estimated time remaining: 41 Minutes