Chapters Her Head Hung Low in Shame
Luna walked through the castle's halls, just like every morning. The early sun rays washed on the marble floors, filtering through the windows that could give you a pleasant view towards the Royal Canterlot Gardens. It was a peaceful, beautiful and serene atmosphere. She loved it.
Nothing compared to her night though.
She mindlessly giggled to herself, and knew that if anypony passed by and saw her, they would think she had gone insane and Nightmare Moon was coming back. Of course, she could scare them off... though it wouldn't help with her current reputation.
Luna didn't really think that her night was better than the day. She was only fooling around with these thoughts of course, 'Tia and her loved to laugh around with this, they felt like little fillies again. Luna thought it was more like a tie between her moon, and her sister's sun.
She opened the doors leading to the dining room, where, as usual, she saw her sister already there waiting for her with her rather simple breakfast laid in the table in front of her.
Celestia. The regal regent of the sun. The epitome of beauty and grace. Incarnation of elegance and power. As Luna closed the doors behind her, she watched how the same sun rays that gave peace to the hallways, did an even greater job with her sister. Her alabaster coat seemed almost to reflect this light, making it seem as if she were glowing . It also gave a relaxing effect to her gentle magenta eyes, and the serene smile she carried as the indigo princess approached her seat right next to her adored sister just amplified this calm, fresh morning atmosphere of hers.
"Good morning, my gorgeous Lulu." She greeted her sister in a sing song voice. To Luna... her sister was acting a little strange; she was always cheery around Luna in the mornings, but not this cheery. Was Twilight visiting again?
"Good... morning, sister." Answered Luna, taking her seat, with a very slight questioning look. She also wondered what was up with the extra adjective today. Gorgeous?
"How was your sleep? Pleasant, I hope." Celestia casually asked, just like every morning, as one of her most trusted cooks gave Luna her breakfast.
"It was... fine, sister. Nothing special, really." Luna also answered out of habit, eying her meal instead of bothering to make eye contact with her sister... who was staring at her. Something was off, she knew it. "How about yours?"
"Well..." Luckily for Luna, Celestia's eyes went to her breakfast. However, this uneasiness didn't wear off. Her sister had a weird smile in her face and she seemed somewhat hesitant to answer "Nothing new either, I'm afraid."
The breakfast continued in silence, though Luna's head was the opposite. She couldn't stop thinking; something definitely felt different about her sister. Anypony wouldn't have noticed, but she knew her dear sister well enough to read her. And it's not like she had anything else to do asides form memorizing little details; insignificant parts of their daily and somewhat boring routine. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy her sister's company; ever since her return they've tried to do their best at communicating and having a good time, but routine was routine, as much as it was pleasant to be around Celestia.
Then she remembered. Part of the reason the whole Nightmare Moon thing happened was because of miscommunication, so... What if she simply asked what was wrong?
"'Tia?" she refused to part her eyes from her meal. For some reason, she felt awkward and uncomfortable.
"Yes, my Lulu?" Luna noticed how sweetly Celestia spoke to her, specially when she said her name...
"Is... something the matter?" when she dared to lift her gaze, she met the same gentle smile, but it only make her feel at more unease. She quickly turned back to her plate "I can't help but notice..."
Celestia gave no answer, she simply walked up to her sister, kissed her forehead, and left to court.
This was agonizing.
Luna regretted being so fast at both writing and reading; she had already finished the little work she had. Her overprotective sister always took a bigger part of the work, even without Luna knowing. Now there were still hours left until she had to raise her moon and her court session began, and she had nothing to do. Nothing. Nothing to keep her busy and far far away from those thoughts, that uneasiness that kept haunting her...
It was no use. Luna had to finish this once and for all.
She flew out of her balcony and went towards the court room. She looked through the window and saw... A stallion proposing to her sister. Maybe Luna was hearing voices, but a little something seemed to be whispering in her ear 'touché'. That voice was lucky; sound cannot be slapped.
But her sister would obviously turn him down. Yes, definitely. Just by looking at him one could tell he was pathetic and weak, trying to get money and power out of her sister. Celestia was much smarter than that. She probably could see right through this bastard's facade. She wouldn't allow it, right? Right?
Or maybe she would.
If Luna wasn't wrong, Celestia had given this piece of nothing a chance to court her. He would obviously fail disastrously, and he would be gone forever before he could lay a single hoof on her sister's beautiful alabaster coat. Still, it made Luna's stomach turn just by thinking this excuse of a stallion would be taking her sister around to 'romantic' places, and trying miserably to complement her infinite beauty, which actually cannot be expressed in words.
Oh, Celestia was going to hear her.
The angry princess flew away to her chambers; she needed solitude and her comfy bed as well. She toyed with the idea of forcing this stallion to bow down before her and her sister and admit how lucky he was. Both because her sister had given him a chance and because she had decided to go back to her room like a proper, civilized pony instead of blowing his ear drums with her Royal Canterlot Voice.
Once in her chambers, she closed the windows and curtains. The darkness was perfect. Then, she took off her regalia and slumped down on her bed.
Actually, the darkness, the softness of her bed, and the silence cleared up her mind enough to almost make her realize something important... Until somepony had the nerve to knock on her door.
Luna groaned and decided to ignore whoever was bothering her; they'd probably tell if it was something that required her urgent attention. Now, back to that important thing...
"Perhaps I almost forgot to raise the moon...?" She giggled "No, that is still a couple of hours away... And I would never forget something of such importance." The knock again. Luna was starting to feel nervous and uncomfortable.
"Lulu~!" Celestia! How dare she call her like that after what she did?! "It's me! Celestia!"
Oh, 'Lulu' was going to get her revenge... the evil smirk she had was enough to express this.
"Come in, dearest sister!" she imitated Celestia's sing song voice. Said alabaster princess entered, and as soon as the doors were closed, she was greeted by a tackle from her indigo sister.
"Luna?" Celestia asked oblivious of what her sister knew; she seemed genuinely confused as she laid down under Luna's angry stare.
"What is it that you need, dearest sister?"
"Oh." Celestia smiled nonchalantly, not caring about Luna's sudden aggressive demeanor "I just wanted to tell you some news." Luna couldn't stand this. She left her sister on the ground and walked back to her bed.
"About your new suitor?" the tackled princess stood up and walked just a few steps closer to the bed, wanting to keep distance she thought Luna needed.
"So you already knew..." Celestia trailed off with a slight grin. She knew Luna well enough to deduce she had been spying on her rather particular court session. "Well, as you already saw, a noble colt with a particularly big sunflower bouquet showed up and asked my hoof in marriage..."
"And you allowed him to woo you, right?" an annoyed Luna finished up for her sister, not wanting to hear the words from her mouth. It was just unbearable... for some reason. "Well, I wish him the best luck." He would need it.
She did not notice Celestia approaching until she felt something shifting on the bed, and a wing wrapping around her. Luna was about to protest and push her out of the bed until she said something that made her think... deeply.
"Are you... jealous, Luna?" no, her voice wasn't playful or nonchalant. It wasn't covered with honey or the sweet scent of roses. It was just... sincere and serious; straight to the point. And it made Luna think deeply.
...No, it couldn't be that.
"It's just... I mean, we spent such little time together, sister!" Luna finally answered with a shaky voice; her expression did not show anger, but sadness. Celestia only listened patiently "There is court, your duties, my duties... and now, a suitor! 'Tia, you were taken away from me a thousand years ago...
"And I don't want you to be taken away from me again ..." She looked up at Celestia with teary eyes, and the feathery embrace only tightened in support.
Yes, this was probably it. She didn't want her sister to be completely separated from her by some random noble! He didn't even know she actually didn't like sunflowers!.. As ironic as it may be. They weren't the tastiest flowers out there.
"...Oh, Luna." Celestia cooed in her sister's ear "I'm sorry... Do you want me to leave?" Somehow, Luna felt as if she wanted to say more than this, but was holding back for some reason.
"No!" Luna immediately hugged her sister so she couldn't go away "Stay... If you are going to spend time with him in the next days, weeks or who knows... then at least I would love to have these few hours with you before your precious time is completely consumed."
The sisters spent the next hour cuddling, basking in each others warmth as they spoke about trivial things, or revived old childhood memories. Luna wasn't completely at ease though. Earlier, she felt like something was about to click into place until 'Tia came in. She couldn't shake off the feeling that this something had to do with everything, even her sister's behavior and sudden suitor.
Of course, Celestia has had various suitors other before, just not as many as anypony would think. There was this issue with time and there not being enough kindhearted and brave ponies. Luna estimated her sister had had approximately 4 or 5 suitors in her whole life, which is actually very long... There had been many, many more ponies, both stallions and mares, confessing to the sun goddess, but 'Tia could sense immediately their true intentions.
Because of this and many more reasons, Luna encouraged her sister forward in these relationships. Some became success, more became failure, but she always stood by her sister's side. Supporting her in any way she could, even if all she had to do was smile . Even if they actually spent less time together, even if all Celestia could talk about was this stallion/mare. Luna had always been there no matter what... except for the time Nightmare Moon took control of her.
Luna could only wonder why couldn't she just encourage her sister forward in this, just like she had always done. Probably it's because of the Nightmare Moon incident that she realized how much this lack of communication and time to spend together could affect them...
But she also wondered how could she pay attention to her details now . They had been together for a long time and it's now that she notices how beautiful, how majestic, yet how simple her sister can be. Celestia was her sister. There were sides of the beautiful princess nopony but her could witness. Moments she could enjoy with her, alone, with laughter filling the place... and only Luna could have them. She felt she didn't want to give these moments to anypony else. She felt they had to be hers and hers alone, not belong to some noble that was going to slowly fade away from existence eventually. She had the curse of immortality, just like her sister, and she was going to remain by her side for as much as they could endure before this curse took their sanity away.
But the point was that Luna was being unfairly selfish and childish. And this angered her; she was a grown mare now, not just some kid wanting the attention all to herself, not anymore.
"'Tia?" Celestia turned to look at her "I am... forgive me for being so childish."
"It's okay, Lulu..." she tried to hug Luna, but she stopped her to look at her in the eye. There was still a question left unanswered...
"B-but, why?" Celestia kept staring at her, urging her to explain her question "Why now? You have turned down many nobles; this one is no different from them! I can see it, sister! He wants something , and that something is not only you!" it annoyed Luna how could her sister only do nothing more than smile at her. Maybe the noble wasn't the only one looking for something else... but her sister as well. Luna sat up on the bed, but her sister remained laying on the same spot "I-I do not get this, Celestia! You have also been manifesting a strange behavior! Do you not trust me anymore?!"
Celestia gave no answer, she simply stood up from the bed, walked up to her sister, kissed her forehead, and left to her chambers.
"Celestia..." Luna sat there, staring at the doors that had been recently closed by the mare in question. The spot where her lips had been pressed to felt... cold. "You are... so selfish!" Tears streamed down through poor Luna's cheeks; she was just so confused. Why couldn't her sister just give her an answer and clear up all of this?
Something told Luna that everypony had more intentions in their hearts than what it seemed. Even herself. Luna also wanted something else, but she didn't know what ... Or better said, she denied this.
She denied it, because it was... wrong. Yet she wanted to admit it, because it felt... right.
She denied it, because nothing was going to come from it. Yet she wanted to admit it, because she felt... hope.
This cold spot in her forehead... it made color rise into Luna's dark cheeks. Not only her forehead felt cold, but her entire body did also. There was some warmth missing, and she wanted it back. She wanted it to be only hers...
Why...?
"B-because, I... I'm in love with her... Celestia... my sister."
And with her head hung low in shame, her horn flared up and the night came forth.
Author's Note
I just had this idea.
I don't know how to feel about it.
Luna armed herself of courage, wits and tenacity. Last night, a little spark had illuminated her vision through shame... And the conclusion she had arrived to was:
Who cares?
Who cared if she was her sister or not? It's not like she was going to shout it out in public or anything. She didn't owe them anything anyway. Those ignorant little... Okay, no.
Yes, probably nothing would happen between them even if Luna tried . Celestia would, of course, have in mind that they were sisters and the only love they shared was that; a sisterly love, and it had to remain that way. Then she would marry the noble and...
No. Luna was going to make her way out of this with her pride and dignity intact. If somepony was going to give up in this war it was going to be him, not her. With or without Celestia, that noble wasn't going to get away with it!
And a crucial question of our troubled princess now was... What was the noble going to get away with, anyway? That was what Luna wanted to discover. If there was something else going on here, but where to start?
Just like every morning, Luna walked towards the dinning room to have breakfast with her sister before she had to go to court. She was well aware that probably Celestia wouldn't be sitting there, waiting for her with that fresh gentleness she loved just like always, only to be with that stallion. The princess of dreams didn't want to be pessimistic, but she also wanted to be ready to face a couple of nightmares and endure the hard blows that would be directed towards her heart from now on.
No, she wasn't weak. The mighty Princess of the Night would stand tall and proud no matter the challenge.
With renewed courage and straight posture, she kept walking until she found the doors she was already expecting to see. She opened them... and found her sister beaming at her, bright as the sun itself. Luna smiled; she loved its shine.
Wait... Am I... blushing?
It was frustrating and annoying. Her body was always going to remind her that that was actually the mare she had fallen for. Disgusted, she changed her smile for a neutral mask and walked calmly towards her seat in the table.
"Lulu!" Celestia sweetly pulled her into an unexpected embrace with her wing. This reminded her of their fight the previous night. Though she wouldn't call it a 'fight' exactly, she was the only one exploding and seeking answers after all. It was better to leave this behind, however. Both of them seemed to be making an effort to make as if nothing had happened in the first place.
"'Tia..." Luna hugged back, burying her muzzle deep into her beloved sister's white coat. She briefly opened her eyes and found that the cooks were keeping their distance and witnessing with a smile the lovely exchange. Her smile grew wider, but she didn't know why she felt the need to cry.
"Lulu... How was your night?"
"I had a peaceful slumber." As much as she didn't want to, Luna decided to break the hug; she had to admit she was hungry. "How about you?"
"It was... fine, I suppose." Celestia's words were having more weight than usual this morning. Probably Luna would go insane before discovering their actual meaning. The cooks took the liberty of placing the meals on their respective places on the table seeing the atmosphere had been dissipated "Now that I think about it, I still haven't told you much about... him. " Celestia's grin only turned Luna's stomach, but this was what she needed; information.
"Proceed, then." Luna said, playing with her food. "I do wish to know who will be courting my sister."
"Well... his name is Gallant Palas." Celestia began saying. "He is not actually a noble, however."
"Hm?" Luna quirked an eyebrow at this.
"While his family is quite wealthy, he studied at my school."
"I see." The indigo alicorn mirrored her sister, taking bites from her breakfast.
"Brilliant stallion, I must say." Yes, but the Mighty Princess of the Night created the millions of stars and hundreds of constellations in the sky, knows the history and geography of Equestria better than anypony, and has been the mischievous creator of many of the ponies' legends and horror stories. "However... he can be quite dense and he is slightly lacking in creativity." Well, Luna isn't.
And she already saw failure in this nonsense.
"Are you perhaps referring to the bouquet of sunflowers?"
"Maaaaybe." Celestia's upbeat demeanor was worrying her sister... "Would you like to hold court for me today, Lulu?"
Luna's eyebrows raised.
It is now you decide to give me a fraction of your duties? Because of that... excuse of a stallion?
"I am very sorry, sister." And so the Princess of the Night left behind the Princess of the Day with a bewildered look on her regal features as she exited the room with a victorious sway in her hips.
If somepony had to spend time with this stallion, it was Luna herself. With graceful steps she made her way to the castle entrance; she knew her sister well enough to know where she was supposed to meet the stallion for the date she had just ruined. When the hour court usually began arrived, the night princess already expected the oh-so-spoken suitor to arrive.
Luna waited.
And waited.
And waited. It didn't matter that the guards were eying her weirdly. Princess Luna waited patiently, with the cool of the night in her eyes.
Eventually, even she had to realize this was absurd. Luna sighed, feeling defeated and retired to her chambers. She only had one choice; wait. Court would be over soon and then she could talk to 'Tia... if she wasn't mad at her for refusing her earlier request. Luna felt her insides turn by the mere thought of being wrong and judging her sister in such a way.
She was allowing jealousy to pollute her heart and obscure her vision.
The princess made a mental note not to act so boldly upon simple hypotheses.
A few minutes passed. Luna knew night court would start soon, but she still had this small flicker of hope in her heart that her sister would soon be knocking on her door. When the expected sound didn't arrive, she decided to look for her sister herself.
"Please, forgive me, princess." Luna remained hidden when she heard a stallion's voice nearby. A curious teal eye peeked around the corner and met a golden coated, red maned stallion standing in front of her sister's chambers. The door opened, revealing Celestia herself.
"I am afraid I must apologize myself, Gallant." Luna silently gasped. So that was the stallion?
Horseapples. He wasn't bad looking. But what in Equestria could match the infinite cool regal beauty of the Princess of the Night herself?
"I will not be able to accompany you tonight." Luna retreated to squeal and rub her hooves in mischievous delight. "There are things I must do. I hope you understand." Luna carefully peeked again; she didn't want to miss his disgustingly handsome face forming a delicious expression of disapointment.
"Y-yes, princess. Shall I see you tomorrow then?"
"Tomorrow sounds..." Celestia paused briefly, which confused Luna. Magenta eyes turned to the side, meeting the curious teal eye of a certain indigo spy. "Fantastic."
Luna quickly retreated. She couldn't make out their words anymore due to the loud thump of her rapidly beating heart.
Court didn't sound so bad right then.
With a flash of her horn, she was gone.
Author's Note
I just proved I love you enough to write this on my phone
Luna was not amused.
That was emphasized enough by the force in her steps. The sound of her hooves hitting the polished floors echoed through the Canterlot Castle halls. Once again, it was another fresh morning in which the angered princess headed for breakfast.
Last night had been... Luna didn't even want to think about it. It felt like being lied to her face, which it probably was. This green coated, violet maned stallion from the farm asked for an opportunity to court her. His name was... Gentle Pansy, or so Luna remembered.
The Princess of the Night didn't yell. She didn't insult either. Yet, she was firm about her negative answer, like a mature princess should.
Oh, of course she had reasons. Very good reasons. Her gut didn't lie. Aside's from how forced his behavior felt to the observant alicorn, she could feel magic emanating from him. Luna suspected this was an illusion. No, it was undeniable. There were too many small details that caught her attention about this stallion...
If the lovestruck princess didn't have a certain someone waiting for her then she would have skipped breakfast to make a bit of research. She didn't, and she wished she had. Probably it would had hurt less than seeing that empty sunbathed chair at the dinning table.
"W-where is she?" Luna asked her servants, her gaze plastered on the piece of furniture that was usually occupied by a white royal rump. When an answer never arrived, she raised her volume. "Where is Celestia?!"
"W-we d-don't know where th-the princess is, Your Majesty." The nervous cooks were about to melt under Luna's furious gaze, mentally pleading for their lives. Fortunately for them, she sighed and closed her eyes. She wasn't going to waste her energy yelling at these ponies whose names she didn't even remember when she could use it to regain her composure and not break emotionally.
"...Do not bother serving me any food." She began making her way out. "And what happened here shall not leave this room, understood?" She shot a stern glance back at the terrified servants, who nodded firmly and vigorously in response. "Have a good day."
The poor ponies released the breath they were holding when the Night Princess finally stormed off.
Luna wasn't going to waste her energies weeping like a lost foal. She reminded herself her intentions were not to court Celestia, but to protect her. Only an hour or so later, the princess waited in her study for certain documents she requested to arrive. Finally, a knock on the door signaled the arrival of the papers.
She opened the file and checked the documents. Gallant Palas had been a remarkable student in Celestia's academy. 'Tia sure likes to hang around with foals... At least she wasn't the one ogling her sister around. Not that Luna would have minded, anyway.
The stallion had excelled at most subjects, maybe even rivaling Twilight Sparkle herself. Clearly, from what Luna knew, these grades were most likely from memorizing book pages, instead of actually learning , like the famous lavender heroine did. Twilight Sparkle was worth admiration, unlike this... thing.
But most importantly, his could have still captured some knowledge, enough to work up an illusion spell...
This was just a hypothesis with no evidence to back it up whatsoever. Luna still had to make a quick stop in Ponyville.
"Oh! Princess Luna!" A cheery Twilight Sparkle opened the door to the library. The friendly warmth emanating from her quickly alleviated the troubled princess. Any status barrier mattered no longer to the Element of Magic ever since Nightmare Night."Come in!"
"Thank you." Luna entered the library and quickly caught the sight of a mountain of books laid across the floor, and a certain dragon struggling to put them in place. "Did I come in a bad time?"
"No, of course not!" Twilight said and with a flicker of magic, all the books were put in place. Luna stared at the now clean place with wide eyes; this mare was sure wondrous. "Done."
"Why can't you just do tha- Oh, hello, princess!"
"Spike, can you get us some tea?" The obedient dragon nodded and went to the kitchen. This gave Luna the privacy she needed.
"Twilight Sparkle, I needed to ask about something of importance." As soon as she finished her statement, she began questioning if this was actually important as she stated. She didn't know the stallion's motives and the actions she suspected he was doing were very severe.
"Of course, what's wrong?" Twilight's smile quickly morphed into a worried look. Luna feared she might explode and begin talking about very imaginative and catastrophic scenarios that might fit the description of "something of importance" according to her logical mindset.
"I do wish to talk about this in private, but I want to ask. Have you ever met a stallion by the name of Gallant Palas?" The slight twitch of Twilight's ears was enough of an answer for Luna.
"Y-yes. Yes I did." Luna felt some venom in her voice. "He was responsible for... quite a few troubles in my childhood. He was always yelling around some nonsense about meeting his ancestor Starswirl the Bearded." She rolled her eyes at the absurdity of his childish claims. "I mean, did Starswirl even have children? And meeting him would require a very powerful time spell, perhaps similar to the one I found in the archives. I'm sure something like that wouldn't be left out in the open."
And it wasn't. It was deeply locked inside Canterlot Castle. Only Celestia and Luna were able to...
"...Twilight Sparkle, you are a genius." Twilight's furious rants had lighted up something in Luna's head. And Twilight being a genius wasn't just a saying anyway.
"Uhm, Prin-Luna," She had a slight pink coloring on her cheeks "I've been told that a lot of times, but I'm not sure why you are telling me that now."
"S-sorry for the wait!" Spike came from the kitchen, holding two cups of tea. "Owlowiscious wasn't making it easy." Both mares took their cups with their magic. "So, Twilight, now that we're finished..."
"You can go, Spike." Luna wasn't sure if she was doing this for him, or because of the privacy Luna had asked for. After the dragon left the library happily, the princess looked at the lavender mare's eyes and felt the need to bare her soul at her friend .
This was a tough decision, but Luna felt exhausted and it had only been three days of romantic incestuous nonsense weighing heavily on her recovering heart. She had never ached so much for an ear to listen to her pain.
"Luna." Twilight's gentle tone woke Luna from her mental trip. Hearing her name being spoken from someone other than her sister was strangely comforting. "Did he do something?" Luna sighed and glanced outside the window.
She approached the bookshelves and gazed at the variety of material being held by them. The Castle's library could have every book here, but Luna made a mental note to come back here when that stallion was gone to make sure... if the library's owner wasn't disgusted from what she was going to confess.
"Listen." Began Luna, unable to make eye contact. "Do not mention a single word of what you are about to hear to absolutely anyone else. Whatever happens here shall stay here and not a single syllable will be heard, not even by the other Elements until I, Princess Luna, say otherwise." Luna glanced at the lavender mare behind here and realized that perhaps she had been a bit too formal. Releasing a sigh, she went back to staring at the books. "Just keep this a secret from everyone."
"Y-yes, Luna. Of course." The princess turned around to face the mare, who stared back blankly.
Luna sighed and fell on her haunches. This meant a lot to the princess; she was giving in.
"I... understand if this... is hard to hear, or to assimilate..." Air refused to enter her lungs. Words became harder and harder to form with each passing second. "I... My sister..." Luna could feel Twilight's stare on her. It was like a magnifying glass for the feelings of disgust and self hatred she had been trying to push away. She felt like the worst pony ever to exist, which she probably was. Luna was disgusting and horrible enough to fall in love with her own sister and act upon her jealousy. "Unfortunately... I... fell for... Celestia." She couldn't say it. She couldn't even articulate the word "love" properly. The only thing left to do was hope that it got the point across. With her next sigh, came tears that traveled through her muzzle to finally hit the wooden floor.
The feeling of a hoof wrapping around her shoulders finally made her collapse.
Author's Note
Two chapters in a single day... The difference is that I wrote this one using my computer in safe mode. Limiting, but it works.
I think this fic will be over in two more chapters or so.
A cream coated, chocolate maned unicorn mare happily trotted to her workplace; the Royal Canterlot Kitchen. In this holy place the most delicious pastries and most exquisite dinners would be concocted to match the actually-not-so-demanding palate of the Royal Sisters. Of course, it would not be as demanding as expected if you knew your princess's preferences by heart.
Unfortunately for the deliciously colored cook she only had three weeks working in this marvelous castle. It was a privilege to had been accepted as a young adult; when it came to cooking, she was as fast as that rainbow young flier champion in learning recipes and mastering them. However, when it came to other ponies she was as dense as said rainbow flier's ego. Because of this, she probably would take longer to pick up the sisters' tastes.
No, the other cooks wouldn't really tell her. Only her mentor would have mercy on her.
But she was loyal and faithful to the sacred family code; "stay happy and things will turn shiny."
Then again, not everything that shines is gold...
Before she doubted herself any further, she quickened her pace and entered her workplace. Contrary to what one would believe, things were quite peaceful and only a handful of ponies were there. It was only breakfast anyway, and Princess Luna was not going to be present.... for the third time in a row.
"Good morning!" The bright mare said, making almost everyone in the room flinch at her voice. There was something quite unique about it... When they knew it was only their fellow cook, they went back to work. Some cleaning and some preparing today's breakfast.
"Hey! Happy Waffle!" Her mentor, Gran Jubilo, was the first to greet her. He had indigo curly mane, a goatee and light yellow coat. His eyes gave away his years and experience. "You are early today as well."
"Of course! Bright and early like the sun!" Waffle smiled brightly and the whole kitchen seemed to be suddenly bathed by sun rays instead of the artificial light while simultaneously being converted into some sort of sweet paradise with cake and frosting. It was almost painful to those not-morning-ponies. "Is there anything for me to do?"
"My lady, you would be a brilliant cook if you only remembered our Sun Princess dislikes sunflowers." Jubilo went back to supervising the only two busy cooks as Waffle followed suit. "You will be doing as always this morning, however it is wise to tell you with anticipation that we will need your help later on."
"Why is that?" Being relatively new, the cream mare was occasionally in charge of serving the food to the princesses. At first it was nerve wracking. Was she supposed to bow? Smile? Or be completely poker-faced? She was not good at the latter.
Lately however, she was thankful for being a rookie this one time in her life. She had taken peeks into the most heartwarming moments of the princesses' life. Seeing them hugging as nothing but ponies and siblings was truly something she was always going to remember. Maybe even brag about. Right now, there was definitely something going on.
"Princess Celestia requested a special dinner for today. We will need all the help we can get." Jubilo stared into Waffle's ruby eyes with a frown that quickly became a smile. "Miss Happy Waffle, your eyes are a literal cherry on top."
"Way to change the subject..." Waffle said to hide her embarrassment, a blush spread across her muzzle. She was used to her eyes receiving praise, but she never figured out how to answer these complements. "S-so..." She leaned into her mentor's ear. "Did she give a motive?" A rich laughter came in response.
"Why, ma'am. The amount of beauty in your eyes is only matched by your curiosity!" Gran Jubilo let go a rich laughter. "No, Waffle, she didn't. Who knows? It might be very rare, but perhaps... perhaps, you might get your answer sooner or later."
Suddenly, almost as if on cue, a Night guard emerged from the shadows, earning a yelp from the present ponies.
"Greetings." Said the bat winged stallion. "Mistress Luna requests Miss Happy Pancake's presence." The mare in question nervously cleared her throat and briefly glanced at her mentor. It became a glare when she noticed he was also trying not to laugh.
"H-Happy Waffle, sir. That would be me." She stepped forward to emphasize her statement.
"Follow me." He walked ahead towards the doors. Before Waffle followed suit, she looked worriedly at her companions. Her mentor smiled knowingly at her, the two cooks were looking confusedly at each other and the other two maids smiled at her as if saying "good luck."
Her gaze lingered on her mentor however, and as she turned around and left the kitchen, she realized something...
Was this all because Happy Waffle's voice had always sounded almost identical to Princess Luna's?
How could this be happening to her? Was it even a bad thing? For all the things she now knew, the princess could have her head if something slipped from her mouth. If the secret leaked, she would be one of the main suspects, and maybe even the main focus of attention. But at least she had her answers, just like Jubilo had told her... but...
Did the Night Princess really trust her this much to lay such heavy secret and task upon her weak unicorn shoulders? Was it all only because of her inborn voice? Happy Waffle began thinking it was the latter; the "Last Minute Princess Luna Lessons" had been quite hard to pick up on and she swore at times Princess Luna would lose her temper and send her to the moon. With the illusion princess costume perhaps, for old times sake.
There was something Happy Waffle was sure about and that was that those had been the most confusing and awkward nine hours of her entire life.
Her cream coat had been dyed indigo blue, her chocolate mane matched the Moon Ruler's ethereal colors, and when she looked at her reflection in the mirror she would find teal eyes staring back at her instead of her own ruby orbs. She would look like an idiotic filly trying to make a fool of herself if Princess Luna hadn't cast those powerful illusion spells. Happy Waffle had become the identical clone of the Co-ruler of Equestria and all because of her voice.
And now she knew the whole story also because of her voice. A reporter would kill to know what she did. It was simple, really. Princess Celestia had a suspicious suitor, Princess Luna had picked up on his behavior. She wanted to protect her sister no matter what and she had a plan. Happy Waffle was one of her most important pieces in this game of chess.
Also, that there was a slim possibility that Princess Luna's forbidden feelings would rescue Equestria from ultimate chaos.
Oh, and the most important thing, Princess Luna had a crush on her sister, Princess Celest-OMCdidPrincessLunajustofferWafflehercrown?!
"I, Princess Luna, Mistress of the Night, Co-ruler of Equestria, hereby decree you shall carry the weight of my crown for the next... three hours." The dark crown, being held by the powerful alicorn's magical grip, slowly descended upon Happy- Princess Luna's head. "I shall be known as Dusty Scroll in the mean time and I..." Dusty wrapped a coat around herself. "would be immensely grateful if you manage to buy me and Twilight more time."
All of this was overwhelming. It was... impossible to explain for Happy Waffle. She was only a cook trainee, not a Twilight Sparkle! The authentic royal crown was supported by her head that was now at the real Luna's own height, everything felt natural, even the wings and long legs. She was starting to get vertigo from the sudden new height.
She was now expected to mirror the Princess' behavior for three hours straight... in a date no less.
"U-um... P-prin-"
"Do not fret." Dusty Scroll placed a comforting hoof on Luna's shoulder accompanied by a warm smile. "I am truly grateful for agreeing to this and being understanding. This all must be hard to assimilate, but all of you agreed to something vital before coming to work here. I know you are a pony I can trust and I hope you trust me as well." Princess Luna firmly nodded. "However, you can always back away if you are not feeling comfortable."
"Uhm, N-no! I-I mean..." Princess Luna cleared her throat and corrected her posture. "Forgive me if I withhold my enthusiasm." Dusty giggled gracefully.
"The staff know who you are and will help you with the best of their abilities." A knock at the door made Luna's internal organs go into a frenzy only matched by the one that usually took place in the kitchen when the Grand Galloping Gala was around. It was calmed down considerably when Dusty gave her another one of her regal smiles. "My guards will be always there in case that... stallion attempts to do something questionable." Dusty Scroll began to retreat into the dark corners of Princess Luna's chambers. "I wish you the best of luck. Remember, you have the choice to end the meeting earlier if you deem it necessary. And remember what we rehearsed. Also, I am very sorry for discharging my anger on you two days ago."
"I-it doesn't matter, but, wait!" Luna spoke up before Dusty disappeared. "Good luck to you too... with everything. Including your sister. I'm glad to help."
Dusty smiled warmly again, but there was something in her eyes that caught Luna off guard... Before she could analyze it further, Dusty merged into the shadows.
The knock came again, making poor Luna's nerves go haywire for the umpteenth time.
Princess for three hours... Luna wondered if she was allowed to boss everyone around.
Easy, Waffle. Stay happy and everything will go shiny.
"We have arrived." Princess Luna, now known as Dusty Scroll, told her companion Twilight Sparkle as they entered a deeper, darker section of the Canterlot Archives. It had taken less time than expected, so Luna was going to make sure Happy Waffle got out of that torture as soon as possible.
"Luna?" Twilight shyly looked at her.
"Yes?"
"Can I... take a look?" The studious mare did her best to put the puppy look Spike always used with her. Luna let go of a heavy sigh.
"Be quick. And do not take anything with you or fondle around with the dangerous sections." Luna rolled her eyes, lit her horn and walked ahead. She had to find that time spell... Twilight did the same, but made sure to stay close to Luna regardless. Who knew how distracted she could get inside this marvelous secret library section.
"So, the time spell that we're looking for is stronger than the one I found?" Asked Twilight as she surveyed the other bookshelves.
"Of course! We would not dare to keep such a dangerous weapon at public reach."
"But... There is something that has been bugging me, Luna." Twilight left the bookshelves behind to walk at Luna's side. Research could wait, this was much more important. "If Equestria is perfectly normal and prosperous right now... does that mean Gallant never got to make the time travel? I mean, having contact with Starswirl the Bearded himself could have a lot of consequences..."
"I am not sure, Twilight. Time shall tell if this is how the events were supposed to unfold." They stopped in front of one of the bookshelves. It was almost empty and had plenty of spider webs in it. The only things occupying it were very old looking scrolls. Luna carefully levitated them into Twilight's saddlebags.
"The spell must be very complicated..." Twilight muttered. "But why are you giving them to me?"
"Patience, Twilight. I will explain everything once all of this is over." Luna took a pile of scrolls out of her own saddlebags and positioned them right where the original scrolls were. "Now, we must get ready. Are you prepared?"
Twilight nodded, determination shinning in her eyes. Both mares closed their eyes and began focusing the magic on their horns.
This had been a long afternoon for poor Happy Waffle. This Gentle Pansy made her feel very nervous, perhaps it was because she knew he could be a very dangerous pony, that is if Princess Luna was right. There was something else making her insides stick themselves into a blender; the time to raise the moon was nearing. She had prayed to Celestia, Luna herself and any other deity in existence that she could leave, escape this date before this time came...
But they had other plans.
"I am very glad you reconsidered my offer, Princess." Said the green coated stallion as they walked through the Canterlot Gardens. "Now I have the honor to witness the sunset alongside you."
"Y-yes, Mr. Pansy." Happy Waffle had never felt more uncomfortable in her entire life and that was a lot. She never thought something could be more awkward than her rich aunts treating her like a baby. Her mind was too busy to formulate anything cheesy; her eyes discretely glanced at a certain balcony where the Princess of the Sun got ready to end the day. "There is something I must do."
"You must bring forth your beautiful night, am I correct?" Waffle nodded. "Can I witness the process?" She nodded again, though more hesitantly.
Happy Waffle stepped forward and took a deep breath. Thousands of negative thoughts raced through her mind and her heart pounded with doubt. Her eyes went to the balcony again. The alabaster princess' horn was beginning to glow.
Why did she chose her out of so many ponies at Celestia's School?! Wasn't there some sort of voice changing spell or something? Those unicorns who actually trained to perform these illusions and spells and act all elegant and snooty could do a much better work. Well, if Luna had no other choice but to chose the new cook, she must have been really desperate or there was really no spell.
Wait, if there was a time traveling spell that could take you to the pre-classical era, why wasn't there a voice changing spell?!
There was no place for these awful thoughts! She had to place her faith in Princess Luna once more. They had rehearsed the whole morning for this and even if it had taken quite a few times to do it properly, she mastered it in the end.
The faux princess closed her eyes, almost as if about to do a test of faith with the real Princess Luna, and lit her horn as the sun slowly descended in the horizon. Her magic didn't focus on the moon however, but in herself and in the illusions surrounding her just as the princess instructer her to do, making her fake wings flap and her hooves levitate from the ground. She had to stay as elegant as the Night Princess herself, she had to be as precise as her as well.
Her hooves touched the ground again and her magic dissipated. When she opened her eyes, she almost fainted. The moon was in its place and the night was there along with its stars, just like always. The timing had been perfect; while Waffle did the whole "choreography", Luna did the work of actually raising the moon and bringing the night forth. How could a cook match the night alicorn's job anyway?
They had planned almost everything in advance, even the tour itself. Luna had chosen a spot in the gardens where her sister's balcony was visible as she raised the sun. Waffle and Pansy had to be there before the time to raise the moon arrived so Waffle could guide herself by looking at Celestia.
"That was gorgeous, Princess!" Waffle was so happy and relieved she could even hug this douche bag. She had to keep her act up though.
"Thank you, Mr. Pansy." Waffle turned to face him, but still kept her distance.
"Please, just Pansy will suffice... Luna." The stallion smiled at her. There was a question circling through Waffles mind... How would Princess Luna actually handle this?
"Excuse me, Mistress Luna." A night guard walked up to her and the sight of him made Waffle the happiest mare alive. She just hoped he had come to say this nonsense was over. "Princess Celestia requests your presence in the dinning room."
What.
"Oh, it is such a shame our meeting has to come to an end." Waffle would throw a party if it weren't because now she had to do the impossible and try to fool the Sun Princess herself. This made the date not sound so bad...
"Indeed." Waffle simply agreed, not daring to meet the stallion's eyes. The night guard dutifully stood next to her. She just wanted to get right out of there. "Well, I must-" However...
Was this Waffle's imagination? Were the illusions messing with her as well? Gentle Pansy suddenly began getting closer... and closer... She nervously glanced at the night guard.
"Back off!" The guard took a protective stance in front of the false princess.
"E-excuse me." And just like that, Gentle Pansy took his leave. Waffle wanted to marry this guard.
"Thank you!" Waffle said out of character. The guard nodded in response.
"I must follow him." The night guard left to obey his orders.
Happy Waffle's time to sigh in relief could not last long. Princess Celestia wanted to meet her, or rather, her sister.
Oh, she was so going to die. Princess Celestia was going to have her head for this! Well, Happy Waffle had served her princesses well. They would probably build a statue in her honor in the gardens as an apology if everything went well, and if not, at least her sacrifice would be remembered by Princess Luna.
In the other hoof, she could be condemned to die in the dungeons, but Princess Luna would pull her out... right? She could actually leave her there for failing her mission. Finding another cook would be easy...
Shaking her head, Waffle dismissed these awful thoughts. The princesses weren't tyrants and she had a rich, influential family. As she began walking inside with her long, illusionary indigo legs, she mentally began telling herself over and over...
Have faith.
Author's Note
I guess there will be one or two more chapters...
"Twilight! We must hurry!" Luna and Twilight had broken into a full gallop in the Canterlot Gardens. A few minutes ago, Luna had to raise the moon and apparently this wasn't a good signal. Suddenly, Twilight remembered why...
The dinner. The faux princess could fool a stallion that barely knew her, but not Princess Celestia. The alicorn that had grown along with the actual princess. Twilight understood that Luna was worried about what could happen if Princess Celestia discovered Happy Waffle. Things would certainly be different for the chef, but not in a good way.
They finally spotted the disguised chef about to enter the castle, but it was too late.
"This way, Princess Luna." The royal guard said, ready to escort her to Princess Celestia. They turned a corner and disappeared into the castle. Their silhouettes could be seen through the glass.
"Do you have a plan?" Twilight asked.
"Yes, but it will cost me a few bits..."
"What? Why?" Luna took her cape and their saddlebags and with a flash, they disappeared to who knows where.
"Come closer." What in Equestria could she be planning? Even if the unicorn did not have a single clue, she did as instructed and stood side by side with Luna, their sides touching. An indigo horn flared with magic once again, and suddenly...
Happy Waffle could see Princess Celestia standing in the hallway, smiling at her- no, at Princess Luna. They were getting closer and closer to her ultimate demise. She forced a smile; Happy Waffle was not going down without a fight.
"Lulu~!" Her internal organs threw themselves from Cloudsdale and landed inside a blender. It felt nauseous and an incredible urge to throw up invaded the poor mare. Before the servants had to put up with cleaning the mess, she heard a window breaking, then everything became black.
"I am fine." Princess Luna declared as she exited the room she was pushed in by whatever crashed through the window.
"I will go check-"
"My night guards have everything under control." The princess interrupted the royal guard. "You may go, I have private things to discuss with my sister." He saluted obediently and retired.
Luna turned to look at her sister, who had a casual smirk on her face. This was it. The most agitated week Princess Luna had had ever since her return from her banishment would end tonight. And no matter the ending, as long as that stallion's true intentions were finally taken to the light, she would feel satisfied. Suddenly, Luna could not feel all the anxiousness making her limbs tremble, her voice shake, and her thoughts go from the next Nightmare Night to Celestia's lips. So she began walking with graceful steps and a measured smile closer to Princess Celestia.
There was no escaping it. There was another truth to be uncovered, another truth that had to get out of the indigo alicorn's chest. Otherwise it would torture her heart for the rest of her eternal life just like the chill tortured her bones for a thousand years. Luckly, the princess was in a state of calmness and acceptance. It felt surreal, yet so right. More so as she stared into Celestia's magenta eyes...
"Good evening, dearest." Celestia greeted her.
"Good evening... 'Tia." This mare's attitude had gone past the limits of strange...
There were few things keeping Luna from just reading Celestia's mind. One of them was that she thought of this as a pathetic solution. Another one, she liked to play. And this game was coming to a point in which the role's were revealed, and the masters behind the black and white soldiers were revealed.
"Miss Sparkle, Miss... uh... Pancake? are you alright?" This stallion didn't seem to understand when a mare needed her sleep. Waffle's head pounded from the sudden colission, and she wasn't in conditions to have somepony yelling at her.
Stallions.
The unicorn could hear another voice right next to her grunting in discomfort. A female voice... Wait, didn't she hear the name "Sparkle" just a couple of moments ago?
"I... I'm fine... How's Happy Waffle?!" There was no mistaking it. Twilight Sparkle herself was there. Had Waffle gone mad? She had to stand up and greet this legend! "Sh-she's moving! Thank Celestia!" As the disguised cook battled against the buzzing in her head to sit up, a pair of hooves helped her in her seemingly long and painful journey. "Alright. Listen. I will perform a quick scan on you to see if there is anything broken. Please don't do any rough movements. Understood?" Waffle nodded in understanding, though she would have added it some enthusiasm if it weren't because just moving her head caused her an incredible pain. This was the Element of Magic, for Celestia's sake! "Good."
If Happy Waffle was supposed to feel anything, she didn't. She actually expected to feel some sort of electric current all over her. This was the first time a scan was performed on her, ever. By the most talented unicorn ever, on top of that. Waffle simply had to ask her to autograph her chef coat after all of this was over.
"You seem to be fine, just minor bruises." The three ponies in the room sighed in relief. "We... we should get out of here before the princess gets suspicious and-"
"It is an honor to meet you, Miss Sparkle!" A bright-as-the-sun Happy Waffle suddenly stood up and violently shook Twilight's hoof. The idolized mare could not shake off the feeling of familiarity she got from the excited unicorn's actions... "What brings you here?!" Before this conversation would advance any further, the third forgotten stallion in the room, which happened to be a royal guard, cleared his throat.
"I-if I am not mistaken, uh, this is all under, uhm, Princess Luna's dependable control... So, if you ladies excuse me-"
"Yes. It was all intended to happen. Please, excuse the ruckus we caused, but please, pretty please don't let a single word of this to anypony else." Twilight asked with an apologetic smile, and the stallion's gaze traveled the whole room but failed to land on the unicorn's eyes as he made his desicion.
"Y-yes. My lips are sealed, Miss Sparkle." The royal guard saluted and left, muttering something about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Awkward silence ensued temporaly in the room. This was Happy Waffle's worse nightmare. She had made a fool of herself enough times, but in front of this pony... The poor mare sighed in defeat. However, her ears perked up and the reality of her situation came back to her.
"Well-"
"...I am alive." Happy Waffle muttered.
"Pardon?"
"I am alive! Where are we?! Is Princess Luna okay?! What happened?! Why is the illusion off?!" Twilight put a hoof on Waffle's shoulder, looking at her with empathy.
"I really, really wish I could give you a proper explanation. You, of all ponies, deserve it. But... we have to get out of here." The two unicorns looked around the chaos of room they were in. It seemed to be a... bedroom.
Color drained from Waffle's face when she remembered something...
"Princess Celestia requested a special dinner for today. We will need all the help we can get."
Meanwhile, Twilight Sparkle was too busy exploring her surroundings... This room had belonged to...
"Is this... It's... Gallant Palas' old diary!"
Author's Note
No way.
New chapter.