The moon hung among the stars as it cast its gentle glow over all of Equestria; its soft light flowed into Celestia's private chambers illuminating her bedroom; her fireplace long since dead.
The white marble room was sparsely decorated with historical stained glass windows, portraits old and new, and beautiful lifelike statues of Princess Celestia.
An oversized canopy bed hugged the wall opposite of the entrance. To the left of the bed was the glass doors leading to the balcony and to the right was an elegant, overused and cluttered desk. It was covered with a mess of parchment, quills, inkwells, and other depictions of the Princess’ hard work.
Princess Luna sat in the center of the room, eyes glued to the marble floor. Her mouth formed a thin line and her eyebrows furrowed together in concentration. A feeling of dread was manifesting in the pit of her stomach, making her feel nauseous.
Her temples throbbed as she threw her thought process into overdrive, hoping to stumble upon another solution. The most obvious choice was they continued to rule their diarchy. Other than that, she couldn't think of a solution that wouldn't end up in a power struggle for the nobility.
When Celestia had first presented her plan with Luna, she felt like her brain would melt and gush from her ears. Then it hit the mare that her sister was playing something ponies nowadays called a 'joke,' and broke out laughing while telling her 'how good she got her' between giggling fits.
Sadly, she hadn't been joking.
I wonder if I have some sort of veto power in this decision. Luna thought hopelessly. Has my dear sister finally fallen from sanity, and ready to enter an asylum?
Luna’s sister was currently seated at the desk in the corner of the room. Her usually white coat glistened in the starlight, making her appear silver and almost ghostly. Her mane and tail radiated light like they were a filly's glow-in-the-dark Ursa Minor doll.
She was hunkered over her desk with a quill in her magic's grasp. The letter she was working on was top priority, and nopony was going to convince her otherwise.
It had to be sweet, and to the point, yet not give a forbidding feeling that Twilight should be concerned. Of course considering what the she was about to assign her, her student had the right to be very worried. Celestia giggled a bit as she imagined her student running around frantically; reaching one far fetched conclusion after another.
Luna's head was bobbing up and down as she fought the onslaught of sleep, but found herself quickly losing ground. Her irritation was rising. She really didn't understand her sister's concerns with perfection; surely Twilight could receive a request for a casual visit without trying to read between the lines,?
Luna managed to rid enough of her fatigue to glance at her sister's work space. Her eyes were greeted with the sight of her sibling just finishing placing the royal seal on the precious piece of parchment. Celestia glanced over the letter to her Luna, smiling gently.
"Enjoy your nap?"
Luna opened her mouth to reply, but a yawn ran past her lips before she could even think of a response. Celestia's smile grew warmer as she giggled at her sister's answer.
"I guess so." She mused as she walked over and joined Luna.
Luna's eyes drifted to the letter as her sister levitated the object closer to them. Silence reigned over the room, both princesses staring at the parchment in Celestia's grasp.
"Sister," Luna whispered, her voice shaking, "Are you sure you wish to go through with this?”
"Dear sister,”Celestia spoke as she looked out the balcony window, the moon gazing back at them. She draped a wing over Luna’s shoulder, bringing comfort to the younger Princess. “We may appear to still be in our prime. However, our minds are not. The world around us is constantly changing. Remember what life was like when you first returned? You had to fight to catch up with today’s society.”
Celestia's smile faded at the bittersweet memories of her sister's attempts to reconnect with their kingdom and its subjects. While at times it was almost comical how socially awkward she was, she did not enjoy seeing her little sister struggle.
"For so long we managed to keep up with our little ponies, but I fear that we are not far from a time that our rule will falter and we will fail our subjects.
"Twilight on the other hoof knows this new day and age, and still has room to grow with Equestria." Her tone had grown somber, but she shook her head sending ripples through her enchanted mane. "We have an opportunity at our hooves, dear sister. I suggest we take it now while we have the chance."
"That’s not what I'm concerned about..Where does Discord come into the picture?" Luna inquired her sister. She could understand why Twilight was a perfect candidate for the throne, but that still didn't explain why the draconequus had to be released.
Her sister simply smiled at her and used her magic to pull a yellow candle from her desk's messy surface. The candle was dropped at their hooves and another spark of golden magic lit the candle's wick with emerald flames.
"Tell me Luna. How many beings on Equestrian land hold immortality in their hooves.. or claws, in Discord's case?" Celestia’s question bewildered Luna. Her eyebrow raised as she skeptically eyed her sister.
Celestia's expression was almost emotionless, the smile she wore was one she used with politicians and the like, making Luna question if she was just playing her for a fool.
"Four, as of now," replied Luna evenly, "unless we have another 'niece' that I am unaware of." She added as she recalled their awkward conversation over Cadance.
"No, no we do not." Mused her sister. "And you are correct. But with the two of us going into a retirement of sorts, and Cadance ruling the Crystal Empire, that leaves only one immortal left to rule beside Twilight."
Luna felt her eye twitch. "Surely you jest, sister?"
"I’m afraid not.” Celestia replied hesitantly.
Luna eyed her doubtfully. Celestia kept the same neutral smile, making her even more suspicious. There had to be more reason behind her sister’s sudden decision. Though she could understand her sister’s concerns, freeing Discord didn’t seem necessary.
Perhaps her sister was hiding something more from her? But why wouldn’t she tell her? Celestia was usually very open with her, even after her return from the moon.
"So you plan on freeing Discord, leaving it to Twilight reform him, then letting the two take our places on the throne?" Luna asked dryly.
The mental asylum was sounding very tempting at this point...
The white alicorn hummed to herself for a second before nodding. "That's pretty much my plan in a nutshell." She agreed with a nod of her head.
Luna was certain that if she wasn’t immortal that she’d be bleeding from her nose due to an aneurism.
"Why does Twilight need Discord, or anypony for that matter, to rule by her side?" She asked flatly. The mare seemed to be logical, kind, and trustworthy; fully capable of ruling by herself!
"To make up for her only weakness.” Celestia replied, "She is emotionally unstable. Always second guessing herself. Quick to crack under extreme pressure." Celestia frowned, "These faults should fade with time, however, she will need somepony to support her in her moments of crisis. I think Discord can be that somepony."
Luna knew there was some truth to that statement; from the stories Celestia had told of her student's mental state at times.. But Discord of all beings was supposed to stop these situations? He would most likely egg her on, if not join in himself!
"The Spirit of Chaos."
"Yes."
"The polar opposite of everything we believe in?"
"Yep."
"The being who made you think you were a cat once?"
"Don't remind me."
"And you plan on freeing him."
"Pretty much."
Luna sighed, her sister was stubborn as a mule at times, and she knew there was no convincing her to keep her rump on her throne. The thought her sister was holding something back tickled the back of her mind. But what?..
Celestia sighed as well, frowning as she spoke, “Luna, while my student may crack under pressure she also exceeds herself as well." Celestia's expression become that of a confident one as pride seeped into her voice, "Time and time again when no solution is possible she does the impossible.”
Luna glared at her for a second more before huffing in defeat.
Curse you , 'Tia..
"Just send that letter before I come to my senses." She groaned. She knew she would regret these words, but for now she just needed sleep.
Celestia on the other hoof was glad to have her sister's blessing, even if it was only halfhearted. Her golden magic lowered the letter to the candle's flame, letting the fire crawl and flicker across the parchment. The magic flame intertwined with the remains of the burning letter sending an enchanted stream of dust smoke out into the night sky, off to find a certain purple dragon.
"Now that that's over, I need to go get some rest." yawned Luna. She was so tired she could fall asleep where she sat, but the walk to her bed was a much better price to pay then waking up sore. She stood up and cracked her neck in several places, each followed by a relieved sigh.
She turned to leave the room, happy to finally be able to get some rest.
"I think not, dear Lulu." Called Celestia from behind her.
"What? Why?" She turned her head to her sister, who was grinning quite wickedly.
"Well, for starters, we're five minutes late to raise the sun."
Luna could feel her pupils shrink into pinpricks. "Noo..." She whimpered in disbelief.
"Yesss!" Sing-sang Celestia while mimicking her sister's tone. "But fear not dear sister! I realize you are running court for me today while I visit Twilight, so after we raise the sun I'll let you in on this little secret of mine."
Celestia stood up and stretched her legs before standing beside her sister. "It's called 'coffee'. You'll love it!"
“Sleeeeeep,” Luna whined longingly.
“We can sleep when we’re dead.” Celestia teased as she got up and made her way to the balcony.
“We’re immortal!” Luna yelled at her sister.
Celestia looked back at her sister with a crazy look in her eye.
“Then we’ll never sleep.”