“Come, sit down next to me, Steep Steel,” Celestia instructed her guard currently on duty one day out of the blue.
Steep Steel looked around, baffled. “M-me, Princess?”
Celestia smiled. “Well, perhaps I was talking about your twin brother that is also named Steep Steel.”
The guard pony shifted his head to the side. “With all due respect, Princess, I don’t have a twin brother by that name.”
Celestia opened her mouth, but no words came out. Instead, she just stared at her guard in a state of slight stupefaction. After a few moments of this odd staring match, Celestia spoke again. “Steel, sit down beside me.”
The guard pony complied, and walked up to the side of Celestia throne, taking a seat next to her. Celestia stretched out her large white wings, then asked her guard “Would you like some tea?”
“Um, I guess?” Celestia levitated a teapot and two cups from behind her throne, and poured two steaming cups.
“It’s Pennyroyal.” The princess put the cup in the other guards hooves. The unicorn looked over at his Princess with an odd expression on his face, and cautiously took the tea in his own magical aura, and lifted it to his lips.
“Oh wait, that’s poisonous to you mortal creatures, isn’t it?” The guard quickly spit out the bit of tea that he had sitting in his mouth, and set the tea down away from himself.
“Steel, do you think that with proper care and love, you can come to hate your family?”
It was the poor guard pony’s turn to blink unintelligently at the comment of the Princess. “Well, I’m not... what are you getting at here?”
Celestia sighed. “It’s a rather complex situation, Steel. It’s not something that I tread lightly on, or talk often with other ponies about.”
“Then...” Steel paused for a moment, considering how best to approach this. “Why are you talking to me? I mean no disrespect to your choices, your majesty, but I’m just a simple unicorn, tasked with guarding you for certain hours of the afternoon and evening. Why... why invest your time in me?”
The Princess smiled a warm smile down at the guard. “Well, isn’t it obvious? I enjoy and love all of my subjects very much, but those who spend more time with me, I get to know a bit better.”
Steep Steel still sat in a state of sketchiness on the subject. “Again, with the highest respects intended Princess, we don’t really... talk. In fact, this is the longest we’ve even engaged in a conversation, indeed, the first time we’ve HAD a conversation... I’m in the dark to see how you would be able to know me better than somepony living a thousand miles away.”
Celestia’s wings rustled softly, her smile unwavering. “Steel, I have been around for a very long time. When you spend so much time doing so many things, with so many different ponies and creatures, you begin to notice patterns. With you, even with as little conversing as we’ve done, I can still tell so much about you. From the way you inflict your voice, your body language, your mannerism...” Celestia stopped to giggle. “And I can’t say I haven’t overheard some of the conversations you’ve had with the other guards. I thank you very much for the compliments on my mane, I do my best to keep in nice.”
Steel blushed, having hoped that Celestia would have never heard that. “So, Princess...” he said shakily, trying to shift the subject as speedily as he could, “Since you’ve been around and ruling our kingdom for so long, could you... tell me a bit about your travels elsewhere? I’ve always been curious about the lands beyond Canterlot.”
“Trying to change the subject so hastily?” Celestia inquired. The guard pony blushed, and Celestia’s smile widened. “Well, I’ll have to ask you to be a bit more specific on that request, my little pony. I’ve been to many places, and have seen many wondrous (and occasionally terrible) things.”
The Princess’s prattle partner shrugged. “Well... I guess, is there anywhere close to here where a guard’s salary could talk me to visit on vacation?”
The room seemed to lighten up, even though the sun was setting and twilight was nearly upon the kingdom. “Ah, there are many amazing places even just in the vicinity of Canterlot. But I would be lying if I didn’t say the most enthralling and memorable experiences that I recall within a close range to the palace weren’t from anywhere seemingly extraordinary. Yes, a place definitely worth visiting is the small town of Ponyville.”
“Ponyville?” Steep Steel asked.
“It’s just at the foot of the mountain, across a woods. Near the Everfree Forest, if you’re looking for a bit of adventure; normally, I advise my subjects from going there, but you’re a strong guard pony. I wouldn’t feel safe if I wasn’t sure the guard wasn’t some of the best trained individuals around.”
“Well, that’s very kind Princess,” Steel said with a small swell of pride.
“Of course, I am also proud of the fact that you are almost never needed. My guards are many things, but they are not killers. You are not a killer, Steel.”
Steel nodded, donning a more serious demeanor. “I would hope not.”
Celestia sighed. “You’re very good at sidetracking ponies, Steel. Very, very good indeed. I must now lay upon you my feelings towards my sister.”
The unicorn wasn’t quite sure about this, but didn’t object, so the Princess went right along with it. “I’ve voiced this to my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, but I need to talk to somepony else... I’m sorry that I am pushing my own problems on you.”
“No, it’s fine Princess,” Steel said with wide eyes. “I think that I’d be honored to listen.”
Celestia heaved a sigh, this one heavier than the last. “I always regretted sending my sister to the moon all those ages ago, because I was sure I could have found another way...”
Steel knew it was too late to back out now, but he was beginning to regret telling Princess Celestia he wanted to listen to her woes. The banishment of Princess Luna was never talked about; merely that her return was a cause for celebration.
“But I can’t change that past, yet it still nags at me...” Celestia’s eyes shone with tears.
Steel decided that he needed to tread very lightly here. “Your decision with your sister, Princess?”
Celestia’s looked at him with an odd sort of expression, sorrow obviously evident, yet she still smiled. It was a sad, small smile, but a smile none the less.
“You’d think that yes, but really, it’s my motives for her banishment. Can you keep a secret, Steel?”
Steel swallowed hard. This wasn’t what he signed up for when he joined the guard! Celestia went on right ahead, however.
“Yes, of course you can, who can I trust if not my own guard? Yes, Steel. You’ve heard the tale of the mare in the moon?”
“Must be one I missed,” Steel said in the most neutral way he could muster.
“But of course, it’s an older tale that eventually lost interest, you most likely wouldn’t have heard it. My own student only found out by researching old tomes. You must forgive me, time gets a bit hard to discern for me occasionally,” Celestia said, sounding more like an old granny mare every word. “But the tale goes like this: My sister became jealous of the ponies enjoying the day over the night, and she became Nightmare Moon.”
“She I know of,” Steep Steel interjected. “She’s the cause for Nightmare Night! Every foal knows of that.”
Celestia nodded. “Yes, that holiday was initially put into place in case she found a way to come back early. A sort of preparations of defense. When it first started out, it was more about stealth training and rations preserving. Over the course of many years when it became evident that my sister wasn’t due to return until he designated time, it evolved into the peaceful holiday of costumes and candy that you know of now.
“But as I was saying with The Tale of The Mare in the Moon: My sister was banished after becoming Nightmare Moon; to the moon she loved so much. It was destined that after one thousand years, the stars would aid her in an escape, where should would be allowed to manifest in Equestria once more. The prophecy came true, as you can tell, Princess Luna is back in Equestria with the rest of us. If it is okay with you, I would like to impart a summarized version of the real history with you.”
Steel looked up at the princess. “Why me? I know I keep asking, and you keep answering, but why me? Why not your student, or somepony else much more equipped and trustworthy and deserving than me?”
“Steel, you are a good pony, but sometimes you get silly ideas into your head. I of course have already told my faithful student the real history, albeit in much more depth then I am about to tell you. As to why you, it should be obvious seeing as I have already chosen to strike up a lasting conversation with you; I have already confided in you my complete trust; and everypony is deserving of the truth, it’s just a matter of when they receive it. And it’s your time to receive.”
Steel opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Instead of speaking more stalling words, he had made up his mind to stick this out. Was he ready for the truth? He thought so. Besides, how terrible could it be?
Celestia took a deep breath, then began to speak in a very pained voice. “When I was young, and when Equestria was young, I always envied my sister. They thought that we would get along, the legendary duo that had defeated Discord and uncovered the Elements of Harmony, but no; I envied how she got the attention above me, I envied how she obtained her cutie mark first, I envied how she was able to train under the seemingly more powerful magicians of our time, and I envied how she was able to journey the dreamstate. I think, however, my most envied thing about her was the night.
“Even as a mare of the day, and as the one who was destined to rise the sun each and every morning, I enjoyed the night. After Luna was born, I began to despise it. I looked at each of her amazing stars, and at the beautiful moon that all could admire. All that my one object that I controlled did was supply light and warmth. Of course, it allowed life to exist and continue to exist here in Equestria, but at the time I was blinded. No one stopped to admire the sun the way they gazed into the stars or studied the moon; I was jealous, to say the least.
“I couldn’t raise the sun for quite some time. Luna was already creating star patters, and had mastered raising the moon ages ago. While my family and many other nobles tried to console me with the fact that the sun was much more powerful and harder to raise than the moon, I still was green with envy. I burned with a desire to be better than my sister, who, younger than me, seemingly had accomplished so much more than I could ever dream of accomplishing.
“Our mother, the former Queen of Equestria, had more pressing matters to attend to in her life than the squabbles of her two daughters. She had to deal with encroaching kingdoms, settling rebellions, housing the Shadow Nobles of the Crystal Empire, and otherworldly threats. One day, in the hight of her stress, she simply wasn’t there anymore. Naturally, this threw many of us into disarray, but with some help from the Shadow Nobels, and some very quick thinking on the part of the council at the time, the country was stabilized and I was put into temporary power as the new leader of Equestria. I was so certain that Luna would be chosen over me that it was a major success to be the leader over my sister. I fear that I let it go to my head...
“I still could not raise the sun. I had not yet mastered that, and Luna was already going into the highly dangerous art of dream walking. Still dealing with the mixed conflict of sorrow from my mother’s disappearance, and from the cockiness of being the new ruler of Equestria, I blundered quite often, each time Equestria was saved from certain destruction by a hasty intervention from the Shadow Nobles. It wasn’t long before I stepped down to work on my duty as the sun raiser, and appointed the Shadow Nobles as the country leaders.
“This went smoothly for a while. I made good progress on my sun raising, and was soon able to do it with minimal help from my tutors and court magicians. My first true test came on the day of the Summer Sun Celebration. I was able to get the sun up into the sky all by myself for the first time. I had finally triumphed in power over Luna.
“However, all was not well. Luna’s dream walking lessons had been going... poorly. Inspired by my act of force and determination by throwing myself headlong into raising the sun at the Summer Sun Celebration, she tackled the dream walking without proper thought. The next time she emerged from the dream state, she was... changed.
“At first, none of us noticed this. We were all too busy dealing with the Shadow Nobles, who had attempted to lead war with the occupied Crystal Empire in an attempt to win their land back. This was foolish, for our troops were not equipped to fight what lay in there, and neighboring kingdoms saw our mobilizing troops as a sign that war was near. In addition to several... personal problems with a few of the Shadow Nobles, they had ended up causing more problems in power than they were solving. In a desperate struggle for power, I barely managed to take control of the kingdom again, and keep us from going to war with several of our neighbors. I was named permanent replacement of my mother, as it was obvious she wasn’t coming back. I was now leader of Equestria.
“This did not sit well with Princess Luna. During this whole ordeal, she had been basically told to ‘sit back and let the older ponies handle this.’ Combined with me being crowned leader, and this was the perfect recipe for deadly jealousy. The final straw was what had happened to her in the dreamstate.
“She had a very dark power in her, something she had picked up from the dreamstate. Combined with her jealousy of my permanent position in power, she snapped. As it turned out, and as you could probably guess, I wasn’t the only one who envied their sister. She saw me as always having been neglectful to her, as always ending up with a more powerful position than her, and as my day being able to be enjoyed by all while the subjects of the kingdom slept during her night. The darkness inside her transformed her into Nightmare Moon.
“I could have chosen to do so many other things then. I could have attempted to solve her problems, to fight whatever held her, and to avoid the mess I made. But her words had hit close to home, and I suspect I would have never done what happened next if what she had said to me wasn’t completely true. Alas, I did not think of such simple solutions, and instead let my rage, envy, and contempt take over: using an ancient spell that I had uncovered in my studies, I utilized as much magic as I possibly could and banished her to the moon.”
The sound of silence hung heavy in the air as Celestia finished her recount of the Equestrian history. Steel sat there, in complete shock and awe, not sure on even how to approach this.
The two did not speak for a long time, instead letting the silence sort things out. Steel thought hard about the information he now had to process, the shameful secret of Equestria’s history that had never been taught to the public.
Questions buzzed around his head like flies. How did you defeat Discord so young? How does your sister view all of this? If you think everypony deserves to know the truth, why have you kept this secret from the public for so long? He decided the second question would be most appropriate, so he asked it.
Celestia nodded somberly. “No doubt you would inquire about it. Any curious pony would. And seeign as I have already told you so much, I do not think it would hurt to tell you a bit more. Keep in mind, I must be very vague as not to violate my sister’s wishes, and her privacy, but I think I can impart just enough of her views as to give you a bit better of an understanding.
“When my sister was Nightmare Moon, she said it was the most terrifying experience of her entire life. Compete and utter lack of self control, letting your emotions feed a horrible monster that had wormed its way into your mind... a terrible experience enough to drive anypony mad. She held it together though, trapped inside her mind, so that when the Elements of Harmony drove the evil out of her, she was still sane. What surprised me most, when I came to console her, was that she was entirely sorry to me.
“While on the moon, she had a thousand years with an evil being sharing her mind to pass the time. However, in that time she was able to resolve most of the issue she had going on internally at the time of the banishment. For the first 100 years or so, she continued to feed the nightmare creature with rage and hate for me. She caught on after a while that it fed on such emotions. The monster manipulated her thoughts, so that she would be slow to realize this. After she did, though, she began to work out the frustration and anger in ways so that it wouldn’t continue to feed the monster occupying her mind.
“This took a lot of time, especially so considering the darkness would not go down without a fight. Taking continual blows to her sanity, my brave sister fought an intense battle of the wills during her imprisonment on the moon; I must continue to iterate how amazing it is that she was still sane when the Elements of Harmony purified her.
“Eventually, she had worked out nearly every problem she had with me or anypony else at the time of her banishment. She saw the error in her ways, although her faults were not as great as mine, and she was ready to take responsibility for her irresponsibility. However, just as her imprisonment was up, the darkness took one last attack at her emotions, and stirred up just enough rage and jealousy to keep her as Nightmare Moon, and to set her back into her original mission of casting eternal night across Equestria.
“She was saved though, by the six Elements of Harmony, and I came just moments after the purification to see how well of a mental state she was in. As I mentioned earlier, I was surprised to see her sobbing and begging my forgiveness. I, just like her, had spent the last one thousand years mulling over the events that lead to her banishment, but unlike her, I had not worked it out. I was still believing that I was completely to blame. I have since stopping being so hard on myself, but I will not refute that the situation was almost completely my fault.
“My sister, however, was rehabilitated, and with several spells and several long meals, she was brought up to roughly the size that should be expect of an alicorn her age. We’re still working on her speech, but nopony can blame her. It is quite a culture shock to be gone one thousand years.”
Steel still had loads of questions, and this new information had just stirred up new ones. Biting his tongue, he thought over them all before settling on the oddest one that was currently going through his mind.
“Is there anything that you are particularly proud of that you did when you came to power?”
Celestia smiled, and this he could see was a genuine part in the clouds of sadness. “Ah, yes. Yes, there are many, but one sticks out to me most in particular.”
Steep Steel leaned forward. “What is it?”
Celestia closed her eyes and hummed for a moment. Opening her eyes once more, she spoke to her guard. “Not changing the name of Equestria.”
Steel was dumbfounded, to say the least. “That’s what you’re most proud of? Not changing the name of the kingdom?” Then, remembering who he was talking to, he blushed and began to apologize. “I am so sorry, I meant no disrespect, it’s just that I was not expecting that at all—”
Celestia laughed. “It is quite alright, Steep Steel! I am not insulted in any way! It is rather bizarre of me to state that answer to your question, so your reaction is only to be expected. However, truth is stranger than fiction, and I can assure you that is one of the things I am very proud of for doing— or in this case, not doing— during that rough time in Equestrian history when I rose to power.”
“Well,” Steel said, still blushing furiously, “If you don’t mind me asking, what did you consider changing it to?”
“I want farther than just a consideration, my little pony,” Celestia said with a sort of embarrassed grin. “I had written up the paperwork and nearly had made the change official before I decided against it.”
“Yes, but what was it?” the guard asked in a somewhat impatient tone.
“Eqesruta.”
Steel stared up at Celestia blankly. “Eqesruta?”
Celestia nodded affirmative. “Yes indeed. I was going through that interesting period in every teenaged foal’s life when they want everything to be different. Different isn’t always good, you know. I am just thankful I came to my senses before Eqesruta was stuck with that silly name for the rest of its days.”
Steel was about to ask why Celestia simply couldn’t change the name back when she got tired of the new one, but thought better of it. The Princess herself yawned, stretching out her back and flapping her wings a few times.
“The day is over, and it is getting late. My sister is the one who rules over the night, not I, and I myself must get some much needed rest.” The princess playfully batted the top of Steel’s helmet. “I hope you enjoyed talking with me as much as I did with you. I found the whole experience to be rather... cathartic. You’re a very good listener, and you ask the most marvelous of questions.”
The Princess trotted off to exit the throne room and head to her royal chambers when something occurred to her. She stopped, and turned her head back to look at her guard. “Your shift is over, is it not?”
Steel nodded. “Yes, Princess, yes it is. But I cannot leave until you dismiss me, as you know.”
“Ah yes, how could I forget. Then I shall dismiss you, Steep Still. Until tomorrow.” Steep Steel trotted from the far end of the throne room, and towards the door. As he passed Celestia, she whispered in his ear, “I think the crush you have on me is rather cute.”
Steel blushed the hardest he ever had that evening, and indeed, the hardest he ever had before.
