Epic Pony: Friendship is Legend

Part 1: Equestrian Secrets
Chapter 3: A Walk in the Garden

A cool night breeze blew around Celestia and Luna as they strolled through the castle grounds. Soon they reached the palace garden, which was as beautiful as ever, decorated with a diversity of plants and animals. After watching a colorful group of birds fly overhead, Celestia turned to her younger sister and said, “Alright, let’s talk about the dreams we had. What did you see?”

Luna, with a tear-stained face, explained, “Well, I saw you, and we were… we were home. There was this big storm, and… a dark cloud came towards me. As it grew closer, it turned into… well, it turned into… her.” Luna gave a half-sob before continuing. “It just… it scared me so much. After I returned to ruling Equestria alongside you, I was so busy clearing things up and settling down that I didn’t even think about it. But then, when I had that dream, it all came back to me, and I… I was just so scared, because then I remembered.”

“It’s okay,” Celestia reassured, “It is a horrible memory.”

“So what did you see in your dream?” Luna asked.

“Well, I saw you, as you had seen me in yours,” Celestia answered, “Except we were in the ruins of the old castle. The place where you were defeated as Nightmare Moon. I also saw the storm, and the cloud, and her, except she was coming for me.” Celestia decided not to mention that, in her dream, Luna had turned against her, and that it was in fact she that had turned into the black cloud. “So, tell me,” she mentioned, trying to sound as unsuspecting as she could, “Why did you come to Canterlot, again?”

“Like I said, just a family visit,” Luna replied almost immediately. After a brief pause, she added, “Although, I did have this strange feeling before that I should come and see you; kind of like an impulse, or something. Do you think this is more than a coincidence?” she suddenly asked, looking at Celestia with wide eyes. “Do you think maybe we were meant to have these dreams once we were together?”

“I don’t know,” Celestia asserted quietly.

“Do you think it’s a sign?” Luna continued. “Maybe it means something. Maybe it means that… she will return?”

Lowering her head solemnly, Celestia affirmed, “Given the circumstances, I would agree.”

Luna gasped when she heard her sister’s response, and stared straight ahead in thought for a moment as they walked on. “Then that must mean…” she muttered fearfully.

“Luna,” Celestia suddenly uttered, half-stern, half-nervous, “No matter what may happen in the future, I just want you to remember one thing: Everything I’ve done was for you, to protect you, because you are my dearest sister, and I want what’s best for you.”

At that moment, Luna stopped dead in her tracks, and gazed dubiously, almost angrily, at Celestia. “That’s not true,” she argued quietly.

Celestia, surprised by her sister’s remark, turned to face her completely. “Of course it’s true,” she insisted.

“How can you say that?” Luna blurted out. “How can you say that everything you’ve done was for me, when all it’s done is made me feel alienated? What about you overshadowing me as the bigger sister, and as the bigger ruler of Equestria? Did you think that was what was best for me?”

“Now, Luna, stop that!” Celestia commanded. Her voice was beginning to waver from distress.

“A thousand years ago, you said we would rule as equals, but it was a lie!” Luna cried. “Everyone loved the sun and the daytime so much more than the moon and the night!”

“That’s not true, Luna!” Celestia shouted.

“And what about when I was Nightmare Moon?” Luna continued heatedly. “You imprisoned me in the moon for a thousand years! Was that for my protection?”

This time, Luna had said too much. For a moment, Celestia stood rooted to the spot. Her weary eyes quivered, seemingly on the verge of tears. Suddenly feeling sorry for what she said, Luna eased up. When Celestia finally spoke, with her head bowed, her voice was quieted with sorrow.

“Your heart had been corrupted, Luna. You turned against not only me, but everypony else in the kingdom as well. I did what I had to. The only other option was… well, you know what it was, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do that. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I did. No matter how evil you were, you were still my sister. It pained me enough just to do what I did. For a thousand years, I was lonely, and I felt like I would never see you again.”

Seeing Celestia stricken with grief, Luna cautiously trotted over to her. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it,” she sympathized, “It’s just that… she was there.” Celestia looked up at her. “In the moon. With me. She wasn’t really there, but a trace of her power lurked in the darkness of the moon. For a thousand years, while I was half-asleep and half-awake, she tormented me. She gave me nightmares. Sometimes, when I was suffering so badly, I would see…” She sniffled, trembling, and started again, tearing up, “I would see…”

Suddenly, Luna thrusted herself onto Celestia, crying uncontrollably. Celestia extended her wing and wrapped it around her comfortingly. When Luna regained control of herself, she stated, “I would like to stop by the Sculpture Garden before I return to bed.”

“Very well,” Celestia calmly replied, and the two of them continued walking. The garden was now much quieter, since the animals had sensed the tension of the moment and hidden away. After walking along the flower-lined path for some time, the sisters passed through a beautifully decorated archway, leaving the plant-filled garden behind. Now they were on a trail secluded by walls of hedges on each side. The ground was not adorned with eccentric flora, just plain grass. Billowing flags visible above the hedges indicated that the garden maze was nearby.

Walking on, the two sisters passed by different statues of ponies and other creatures in dramatic poses. “It’s strange,” Luna remarked as they continued, “I’m getting a weird vibe from these statues. Like they know something’s going to happen. Like…” She trailed off, peering at the statues as they passed them by. Just then, they came across a very familiar one: Discord, reared up in a defensive pose with a frightened expression. Luna suddenly shivered. “Especially from him,” she added timidly.

Eventually, they reached a dead end, where a stone slab rose out of the ground, surrounded by flowers. Engraved on the stone were various intriguing designs, resembling stars or other things. Luna approached the platform, then kneeled on the ground in front of it, while Celestia bowed her head. A moment of utter silence followed, after which Luna rose, turned around, and walked back to Celestia. Together, they returned to the castle.

Meanwhile, in the Canterlot Library, Twilight and Rarity were in the midst of a frantic search. Twilight had received the letter from her friends just before the banquet, and when she read it, she was instantly anxious to look into what they had written about. After dinner, she had excused herself and Rarity to the library, saying that she had some “late-night studying” to catch up on. Now, the two of them were poring vigorously over book after book.

“Funny, one would think that they’d find something on the matter in Creatures of the Equestrian Waters,” Rarity pouted, disappointedly shutting a book with a fancy turquoise-colored cover and tossing it over her shoulder using her unicorn magic. “Anything on your side, Twilight, dear?”

“Not yet,” Twilight stated plainly, perusing an old-fashioned brownish book. “It’s not in Ancient Equestrian History, either,” she finally reported glumly, setting it down and picking up a book entitled What I Saw in the Deep Blue: A Marine Report by Prof. Ocean View.

“It’s too bad Spike couldn’t come and help us,” Rarity thought aloud, “He’s such a darling when it comes to finding things.”

“Well, you know he needs his rest,” Twilight pointed out, flipping pages, “I’d love to have him help us out, but it’s better to do this at night. That way, we won’t run the risk of being found out. I don’t want to cause any commotion with this ‘fish pony’ business.”

“Speaking of which,” Rarity remarked, looking through Mysteries and Marvels of the Deep, “And I know I probably should have asked this sooner, but… do you really think they saw what they said they saw?”

“I know that they wouldn’t lie about something so serious,” Twilight answered confidently, “And I know that they don’t just see things that aren’t there. However, I can only hope that whoever this pony was wasn’t just playing some kind of trick.”

“It might’ve been those ponies that hang out in front of Sugarcube Corner,” Rarity mumbled disapprovingly, “I wouldn’t put it past them to stoop to something so low.”

The both of them nearly jumped at the sound of knocking coming from the library door. Worried, they looked at each other, and then at the piles of books they had made.

“Okay, put the books over there,” Twilight quickly ordered, pointing to the second floor, “I’ll go and see who it is.”

As Rarity levitated the books up the stairs, Twilight nervously cantered over to the door. When she opened it and found Celestia and Luna standing outside, she didn’t know whether to sigh of relief or panic.

“Princess Celestia!” she exclaimed. “And Luna! How nice to see you two!”

“Good evening, Twilight Sparkle,” Celestia calmly addressed, “I saw that the lights were on in here, and I thought I’d check on my faithful student. How is your ‘late-night studying’ coming along?”

“Oh, it’s, uh, going great,” Twilight uttered, “I’ve gotten a lot of studying done, and I mean a lot. And Rarity’s been helping me out, right, Rarity?”

“Why, yes!” Rarity declared from the top of the stairs, faking a smile.

“I didn’t know your friend Rarity was equally studious,” Celestia noted curiously.

“Well, she is, I mean, she isn’t, I mean,” Twilight stammered, “Well, you see, the thing is, it’s about… fashion. Yes, fashion. I wanted to look into clothing styles for a change, and, since Rarity’s such a fashionista, she decided to help me out.”

Celestia gave her a mystified look, and Twilight hoped for a way to change the subject. Luckily for her, she noticed the tear stains on Luna’s face. “Why, Luna! What happened? Is everything alright?”

“Hm? Oh, yes, everything’s fine,” Luna reacted, wiping her face. “Just had a… erm… sentimental moment. Nothing to worry about.”

“Well, we must be off,” Celestia added, giving Twilight a kind look, “Don’t stay up too late, now.”

“Oh, not at all, princess,” Twilight immediately responded, and waved as Celestia and Luna trotted off. When they were far enough away, she closed the door, and she and Rarity looked at each other and sighed.

“I’ll have you know,” Rarity suddenly stated, looking displeased, “This is taking up my precious beauty-sleep time.”