For Want of a Nail: The Lunar Paradox

There are few things worse to wake up from than by thrashing around in your sleep. Amongst those is managing to get yourself tied up within your bed sheets, restricting your movements and causing you to panic while your brain is still caught within your dreams. Somehow managing to fall off your bed and onto the hard stone floor beneath would also be high on that list.

But managing to do all three at once? That is a most unpleasant experience.

As her brain slowly settled down from its terrors, Luna quit attempting to struggle out of the cocoon she'd managed to wrap herself in. With a sigh of defeat, she rested her head against the cool granite flooring she now found herself lying against. The chill sent a shiver down her spine, helping pull her even more from her stupor. As her mind began to clear, her horn glowed with a dark blue light. The sheets surrounding her began to shine the same color, as she slowly began unraveling the twists and knots that held her down.

Levitating the mess out from underneath her, Luna finally was able to stand on her own hooves again. She glared at the evil fabric hovering in the air, briefly considering setting it alight to teach it a lesson for destroying a princess' slumber. Instead, she decided it wasn't worth the effort and tossed the jumbled pile onto her bed for somepony else to deal with later.

Silently, the moon princess made her way to the large bathroom that was connected to her bedroom. It was decorated much like the rest of her quarters, with dark tiles on the floors and violet trim along the edges. There was a large bath, plated with fine silver that shone brightly despite the dimness of the lighting in the room. Beneath a large mirror which covered almost an entire wall, there were several small sinks, each of which similar in color and design to the bath.

The one nearest to the main entrance was Luna's destination. Placing the stopper in the bottom of the sink, she turned on the water. She watched it flow, waiting for the basin to fill with the ice-cold, crystal clear liquid. As soon as the water was nearing the top, she took a large breath, before promptly dunking her head directly into it.

She could only stand the bitter cold for a few seconds. Quickly, she pulled her head out from the sink, gasping heavily as she did so. Fully alert now, she pulled the stopper, allowing the water to drain as she attempted to catch her breath.

Looking up in the mirror, Luna shuddered as she saw her own reflection. Water drops were still dripping from her now disheveled coat. Her ethereal mane, hung limply to the side of her head, missing a lot of its normal majesty. Her eyes were bloodshot, though from the cold water or the poor night's sleep she couldn't quite tell. Her head throbbed as the headache, not previously noticed thanks to her stupor, made itself painfully known.

Groaning aloud, Luna exited the bathroom, dragging herself over the large windows adorning the eastern side of her bedroom. Once again inhaling deeply in an attempt to prepare herself, she grabbed both of the large blinds before tearing them open. The sunlight immediately poured into the room, seeming to light almost every crevice of the previously darkened room. Instinctively, Luna raised her hooves up attempting the shield out the sunlight as it burst over her, blinding her vision.

Blinking repeatedly as her eyes slowly adjusted, she looked out the window to the scene outside. The sun was high in the sky, shining over all of Equestria. Down below, ponies were busily going about their day, many tending to the gardens that surrounded the castle's ground. Several royal guards were patrolling about, getting ready to swap out with the noon shift.

Again, Luna groaned. It was much too early to be awake already.

With a sigh of contempt, Luna made her way over to the large desk seated in her room. Sleep was no longer an option, she thought as she gave another angry glare to the bed sheets still crumpled on top of the bed. As such, she figured she might as well attempt to do something worthwhile with her time.

Still, the thought of sleep caused her to pause. The memories from last night were still etched vividly on her own mind. This had been the fourth time this month that she had been awoken in a similar fashion, and it wasn't even halfway through the month yet. The nightmares were getting worse it seemed. Every memory of that event gnawed at her like a rat after cheese. Even now, she could still smell the burning city, feel the chill of the midnight air, hear the cries of the hopeless, and the sight of her sister...

Her belly growled loudly, thankfully pulling her away from her own memories. With a sigh, she gave one last look at the stacks of books and papers awaiting her attention before turning towards the large oak doors the exited her room. It would have to wait until after breakfast.

~~~

While Canterlot Castle held several large dining halls, they were rarely used during the lunchtime hours in the summer. Most ponies who worked at the castle much preferred to spend the time outdoors, soaking in the midday's sun and breathing the fresh open air. For this purpose, several small gardens were converted into small cafés, with a number of simple wooden tables set up around the area. Among these was a simple flower garden, located just outside the main event hall. This garden was often time used to host parties for the nobles and higher-ups in Canterlot. Beyond that however, it was also the favorite place for Princess Celestia to enjoy her afternoon tea and salad.

So it was this particular day, as the Solar Princess sat idly at a table in the center of the garden. She smiled as the melodic songs of the birds soared through the sky. A gently breeze blew through her mane, bringing with it the comforting fragrance of the blooming roses.

Most ponies knew better than to bother the Princess during this time. It was one of the few times of solace that she was granted from her duties. Unless there was some sort of emergency, everypony was willing to keep their distance and grant her this small moment of peace. As such, when she heard the sound of hooves, plodding across the lawn as they dragged themselves to the table, Celestia had a pretty good idea who the owner of those hooves was.

"Good afternoon sister," Celestia said perkily. "Or shall I say good morning? You're up awfully early today."

Luna didn't answer directly as she approached the table. Instead, she dropped her head, planting it firmly against the table with a large groan.

Not a moment after her arrival, a rather well-groomed pony appeared, levitating a cup in front of him. "Your tea, your highness," he respectfully said with a bow, placing the cup down perfectly in front of Celestia. Turning, he looked at Luna, her head still firmly examining the grain of the table. "And... for you madam?"

Luna didn't bother lifting her head. "Coffee."

"...Coffee madam?" he asked hesitantly. "And what else can I..."

"Coffee," Luna repeated, rolling her head around so that she could look at the stallion. "Just coffee. Just a cup of plain, black coffee." And with that, she rolled her head back down before he could push the issue.

The waiter's eyebrow rose up as he looked over to the other Princess. Celestia just giggled at her sister's strange antics. "Just bring her the same as my order as well," she said with a warm smile. The stallion nodded and turned to walk away, though not before taking one last look at the eccentric princess lying across the table.

As soon as he had disappeared, Luna raised her head back up. "Honestly," she said with another groan. "You would assume that nopony had ever heard of coffee before now."

Celestia laughed. "You can't be too hard on him," she said lifting up her teacup and taking a small sip. "Before your return, I don't think that anypony in the castle was aware that the stuff even existed. Heaven knows I've never been able to stomach it myself."

"It is an acquired taste," Luna agreed sitting up just a bit straighter. And not a moment too soon as well, as the stallion returned with a steaming hot mug in his magical grasp. "Your coffee, your highness," he said, again bowing as he placed the cup in front of Luna. She didn't bother to thank him. Grabbing the mug as soon as he placed in in front of her, she immediately started drinking. She kept the cup up to her muzzle for quite a while, even surpassing the point that Celestia started wondering if she had drowned in it. Finally, she pulled it back down, licking her lips with a satisfied sigh. "Yes, that is most satisfactory."

The change that came over the princess was almost immediate. The color seemed to come back into her face as she began to sit up straighter. Her eyes became more focused and her voice much clearer when she spoke. Her mane, which had previously been hanging limply, once again was full of life as it waved in an ethereal wind.

Celestia laughed as she took a sip of her own tea. "Welcome back to the land of the living," she said with a chuckle.

"Well, forgive me," Luna retorted with a sarcastic smile of her own. "Not all of us are quite as used to being awake at an ungodly hour such as this."

"I'm not the one who decided that you needed to be awake right now," Celestia retorted. "As I've told you before, you do plenty with your reign after night falls. You have the right to sleep in as long as necessary."

"No. I should be awake during the day as well. I need to be available to help out when most of our subjects are awake."

Celestia sighed. "Look Luna, I know that we haven't had the chance to talk about it, but... if this has anything to do with Cadence and Shining Armor's wedding..."

"This has nothing to do with that," Luna quickly interrupted, bowing her head down and clutching her coffee cup just a bit tighter. It had only been a week since the wedding ended and in all honesty, her concerns had everything to do with that day. Luna had not actually been in Canterlot at the time the Changelings began their siege. Celestia had come to her early that morning, telling her that there was evidence that the threat against Canterlot had come from the Griffon Empire and that Luna was to leave at once and look into that claim. By the time she returned, nightfall had already passed, the wedding was over and the reception was well under way. She'd managed to miss the entire invasion.

Celestia claimed that it was all a misunderstanding. It was just coincidence that Luna had been sent away from Canterlot during that time. It had absolutely nothing to do with trying to protect Luna and keep her away from the danger. Nothing at all...

Celestia seemed to be able to read Luna's thoughts as she sat in silence. "Look Luna," she quietly began. "I know you don't want to, but I really think that we should..."

"So," Luna said, again cutting off her sister quickly to change the subject. "What are your plans for the rest of the day? Anything exciting I should be aware of?"

Celestia sighed. As much as she wanted to push the issue, she decided to save it for another day. "Not much I'm afraid," she said taking another sip of her tea. "I get to sit in on some budget meetings for a couple of hours, before the midday court begins." She paused for a moment as a smile began to form across her lips. "After that however, Twilight is coming over for dinner to visit."

"Oh? She is still in Canterlot then? I would have assumed that she would have returned to Ponyville by now."

"Yes, she's still in town," Celestia responded with a nod. "She decided after the wedding to spend some time with her family, but she still wanted the chance to visit with me and talk like we used to." The smile grew larger as Celestia thought back to all the good times the two had studying together. "In fact, she has some spell that she recently discovered that's she's been dying to discuss with me for a while."

"Yes, that does sound like Twilight," Luna said with a grin of her own, remembering her own experience with the unicorn at Nightmare Night a few months ago. "Which spell in particular does she wish to discuss?"

Celestia chuckled. With a shake of her head, she answered, "Starswirl the Bearded's First Theory of Time Travel."

That was not a good time for Luna to have been talking a drink. Coffee spewed from her mouth, as she was unable to prevent it. "Starswirl's First Theory of Time Travel?" Luna repeated still not believing it herself. "The paradox spell? The spell that sends its caster back in time a number of days, with the only intention being that it will ensure it is cast in the first place? The spell that Starswirl himself described as, 'a complete and absolute joke' and 'an utter waste of time'? That spell?"

Taking a sip of tea, Celestia smiled. "That's the one."

Luna chucked as she took another sip of her coffee. "And how, might I ask, did she manage to uncover this particular spell?"

"Apparently, she had an experience with it about a month ago. She was visited by herself from the future and spent the week panicking, assuming that the world was going to end. Ended up breaking into the restricted area of the library to find something to stop it and found that spell instead."

"Now THAT sounds like Twilight," Luna smiled with a laugh. "Figures she'd manage to get her hooves on the one spell that nopony can understand. I still wonder how it is that Starswirl managed to come up with the thing."

Celestia grinned. "Oh, you get a couple of drinks in him and he can come up with all sorts of crazy ideas, let me tell you."

"And how would you know that?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow. "Starswirl died long before you and I ever came to Equestria."

"Let's just say that my own experience with the spell may or may not have accidently sent me back a little farther than I had at first assumed. And let's also say that I may or may not have accidently gotten Starswirl just a little bit tipsy. And let's also say that I may or may not have given him the idea for it in the first place."

This time, Luna managed to keep the coffee contained in her mouth, though she was not able to stop the fit of coughing that came afterwards. She looked at her sister awaiting the punch line to the joke. When it never came, she set down the cup and laughed. "And Twilight actually thinks that she will be able to understand such a spell."

Celestia smiled. "Well, if anypony is able to, it would definitely be her. Her understanding of magical theory has gotten rather impressive recently."

"Oh?" Luna asked curiously. "Does this mean... that she's finally ready?"

"Not quite yet," Celestia said with a shake of her head. "There are still a few things that she needs to learn before we give her Starswirl's unfinished spell to work with. But I do believe that she's getting very close to that point. It shouldn't be too much longer now."

"Yes well, I am sure that it will be an interesting meeting regardless," Luna said before taking another sip of her coffee. "You must give her my regards when she arrives."

Celestia paused for a moment, looking down at her teacup. "Why don't you tell her yourself?" she said at length.

Luna sighed. "Tia..." she began.

"After all," Celestia interrupted. "I know for a fact that she would just love to have the chance to talk with you again. She hasn't really had the chance since Nightmare Night." Looking up, she smiled at her younger sister. "So, what do you say? Would you please join us for dinner?"

Luna sat silently; slowly stirring what little remained of her coffee. She watched as it sloshed around in her cup for a minute. "I... cannot..." she said at length.

This time, Celestia wasn't going to let the issue go so easily. "And why not Luna? Really what would be the harm in socializing once in a while?"

"It's..." Luna started to say, but found the words catching in her mouth. The memory of the nightmares came rushing back to her, filling her mind with their terrors. She shuddered as she thought back, seeing the dark mare of her dreams sneering down at her. "It's complicated..." she finally managed to say.

"Luna, whatever the problem is, keeping it bottled up to yourself isn't the answer. Please sister. Give me the chance to help you."

"I am afraid you can't," Luna said sadly. "This is a punishment that I must bare alone."

Before Celestia could interject, the waiter returned, this time carrying two plates of food with him. Gently, he placed the silver trays down in front of each princess, before removing the coverings and revealing the contents. Each plate contained a small salad, along with a lovely looking dandelion sandwich and a thin slice of lemon cake. Proudly he bowed. "Your lunch is served."

Luna looked down at the food. Although she was still hungry, it no longer looked appetizing to her. "I've lost my appetite," she muttered, pushing the food away and standing. "Enjoy your meal," she quickly said, turning and trotting away before Celestia could protest.

The solar princess thought about calling out to her sister, but stopped herself at the last minute. She watched as Luna sadly trotted away, until she had turned the corner and disappeared. "Oh Luna," she said with a sigh. "The world has already forgiven you sister. I just hope that someday you'll be ready to forgive yourself."