Not a breath of wind rustled through the Everfree Forest. The trees and bushes were still, as if sleeping, unmoved by Princess Luna as she brushed past them. Everything was silent, and the shimmer of heat haze could clearly be seen in the sky. Slowly, nature had ground to a halt in the face of the burning Sun. Except, that is, for Luna herself, determined to end the day that had lasted through what should have been night.

She continued on through the silent woodlands, wings curled over her back to protect her from the heat. Despite her desperate measures, she began to feel the effects of sleep deprivation. Her last meal at Twilight's library also seemed so far away, and her stomach started to make itself heard. She shook her head, dislodging her pangs of hunger. Any plant she came across could be poisonous, even if she didn't eat it. Celestia had told her of her student's encounter with 'Poison Joke'.

The air around her became more humid, and she realised there had to be a lake nearby. Luna soon found it. But no plant life existed there at all, save for a few huge ferns.

How can there be no plants? Luna wondered. There was a growl in reply. Something loomed above her, mouth open in an evil smile revealing rows of pointed teeth. Scales glistening in the sunlight, it shot its neck forward, ready to eat her.

A lake serpent! Ferns were poisonous to them, but they ate anything else they came across.

Realising Zecora couldn't help her so deep in the forest, the princess did the only thing she could: ran.

The serpent howled at the loss of a good meal, and sank back into the depths of its lake.

***

Breathlessly, Luna galloped away from the serpent, only slowing to look around her. She didn't recognise her surroundings. Ancient trees grew, gnarled branches sprawling to meet each other. They created a canopy that blocked out even the blistering heat of the noonday Sun that hung unmoving in the sky.

There was something foreboding about the whole area.

As the alicorn went deeper into the heart of the forest, it became darker and darker. The trees grew more closely together, twining together into strange, twisted shapes. Above her, the leaves turned black. Shadows somehow moved, gathering around rotted tree stumps. Ponies would never have cut the trees down, but clearly something had.

It was as if a blanket of stillness and mystery had settled over the woods. Luna, normally comfortable with darkness, became wary, looking behind her every few seconds. She felt like she was being followed, but it seemed as if she was the only pony to ever venture this far way from Equestria.

Shadows haunted the trees.

Something screeched, and once again Luna found herself running. The crow that had made its nest in the branches above her turned and flew away, leaving the dark forest and wheeling into the sky.

The princess eventually found herself by a small lake. It was in a clearing, and for the first time Luna was glad of the sunlight. The azure water was calming to her, and she began to look for her flower.

Then she saw it. It was almost hidden, but still showing enough for her to see. It could only be one thing, the thing that she had been searching for...

***

Luna sat on the damp grass. What lay in front of her was indeed a Moonflower. It had a midnight blue stem and leaves, delicately traced with veins of turquoise.

But the flower head was blackened and shrivelled, drooping over the water's edge. The plant was dead.

The alicorn looked at her reflection in the lake. She was nothing like Celestia. Her dark blue mane hung straight, her wings barely reached above her head, and her horn was stumpy. She wasn't a princess. She had let all of Equestria down. Now, the land would slowly die as water supplies slowly dried up and crops failed.

And her sister could do nothing to prevent it.

The night disobeyed Princess Celestia, and did not come for her.

Her acceptance would have changed all that, if only she had been ready. Why couldn't the Moon give her more time to find her magic? It had been her prison for a thousand years, and now it had trapped her again, helpless without magic but unable to claim it.

A random piece of information flitted through her mind.

The Moonflower is believed to only bloom at night time...

A single tear rolled down her cheek, and fell to the ground beside the dead plant.

Princess Luna looked up at the sky. Her horn sparkled with blue magic. Her mane started to wave in the air, becoming translucent and starry. Her coat darkened, and she stood up, taller than she had been before.

The Sun lowered, and slowly the Moon raised into the night.

Next to her, a flower unfurled. Pure white petals opened, and a beam of light shot from it far into the distance.

They illuminated a castle far away, bathed in the light of a million stars.

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