Once upon a time, in the formless land that came before...
Two sisters shared an endless realm, their world bound only by how far they dared fly. They shared everything, because there were no other ponies around to divide the land among; the land was wild and natural and beautiful. Every day, they flew across the countryside, darting and diving as they saw just how far Creation went. The elder sister used her solar powers to bring warmth to the cold; the younger sister used her lunar powers to bring light to the dark. The two sisters were inseparable, because to explore the whole of creation apart would be very lonely.
As each adventure exploring this empty land came to an end, the two sisters would bring back a single stone each, a mark of their travels. Regal plinths and sparkling jewels and smooth riverstones; each marked a different sort of adventure. These stones became the building blocks which they shaped into the first city, Canterlot. Neat roads, beautiful standing stone calendars, castles with spires that reached into the heavens, and parks with gemstone paths. Having such a beautiful city, they would have surely been able to sway any pony they met on their adventures into joining them.
As days became seasons, as seasons became years, and as years became countless, they grew stronger and wiser, and flew further and faster; but still, the world was empty. Surely, surely, there had to be some other ponies out there in the whole of creation? But no matter how far they flew, the only thing they found were more and more stones. And so over long years they built their palace, a growing capital for a country of two.
One day, after a century of searching, the younger sister refused to take flight. It was pointless, she argued; whether they went north or south or east or west, whether they flew by the heat of the sun or by the coolness of moonlight, whether they zoomed along the nap of the earth or soared above the highest clouds into the eternal chill above, they found the same things. Stone and tree, field and river, mountain and valley; this pattern was repeated endlessly. She took her older sister to the highest balcony of the highest tower and bade her sister look below them, at the city their own hooves had lain. Surely, the younger sister argued, they had been going about their quest all wrong; had they not possessed the power to create wonders all along? Although reluctant, the older sister trusted her younger sister, so they agreed to try it her way.
They spent a year and a day in planning, in talks, in practice. They created the flowers and the berries, the fish and the birds, the bears and the mice, the dragons and the dogs. Finally, after they had learned, they felt ready. Taking six of their most beautiful gemstones, the two sisters spent a year and a day in meditation, focusing on everything good and wonderful – imagining three races in aspects of their own image. After that year and day, they opened their eyes and made a simultaneous wish: “Please.”
And so, with the simple act of longing, the two alicorn sisters cast the first spell.
As more and more ponies of every color filled the city – ponies as wise as they, ponies as powerful as they, ponies as graceful as they – the two sisters took joy in teaching them. The younger painted the sky and wove the clouds with her magic; the elder sang and spun tales. And so, they created the nation that would one day become our Equestria. And for a while, they were happy.
Over time, however, the younger sister grew jealous. Every day, fewer and fewer ponies came to listen to her tales; fillies would play on her cloud sculptures as if they were nothing, and adults would sleep through her starscapes. As her art was seen as distant, fewer and fewer ponies came; as fewer ponies came to her, so too did Luna’s heart grow colder. Even her sister noticed, and began to keep separate company, instead surrounding herself in the ponies who loved her, ignorant of the growing envy in Luna's heart.
What Luna did next, and what Celestia did in response, were mistakes they would forever regret.
Luna was always nervous when she neared her sister’s chambers. After all, technically speaking, Celestia had never lifted the ban she had imposed approximately a thousand and twelve years ago, when they were very young. However, she had been given reason to be worried – after all, the staff said, although their employer and regent was whimsical, she usually was considerate enough to leave her employees some notice when she was about to leave. But nopony had heard from her in hours, and the palace was starting to grow worried.
Of course, there was a place they had not checked – her private quarters. If she was there, of course, all she had to do was to answer the knocks to ease the minds of her staff. But if she was there and she was not answering… well, then it would mean the situation was far worse than simply being late for dinner. Being unwilling to entertain that possibility, they dared not enter – but being devoted, they asked her sister to check in anyways.
Even the door itself was unsettling. The stonework was carefully hoof-set, just as she and Celestia had lain them centuries before, splitting boulders and smoothing them into stone; but centuries of masons had maintained them, replaced them, and generally improved upon the foundation they had formed. Many new bricks were mixed in with ancient stones, in the same style but with none of the memories attached to them. Something uncannily new in the form of the old: much like the rest of Equestria, Luna thought. At least her sister was just as strong as always.
Peeking around the doorframe, she looked into Celestia’s study. Sunlight shone in through the clouds outside, casting gold light over the room; it was tidy but busy, a room that had seen more usage than any other in Equestria. At the center of the room, an impressive four-poster bed held a truly improbable amount of pillows and quilts, and it was piled up high –
The quilts shifted slowly, then rose again. It was piled around.
Underneath, Celestia faced away from the sun, even though it was due to set soon. Her eyes were opened, but they were unseeing; as Luna stepped forwards, looking down with worry, she hardly even blinked.
“Celestia, the castle has been asking for you for some hours. You’ve given them a bit of concern.”
Below, the older sister did not respond; her eyes did not even flick away from the vaguely downcast direction they were in. Her eyes shifted a little as she stepped forwards, making the light of the sun reflect more brightly into her eyes, but nothing else changed. Luna tilted her head, curious.
“Is there something the matter?”
Still, no response. Luna bit her lip. It was almost unthinkable, but so many other things had changed in the past few centuries, it was not impossible…
“Sister, are you… are you sick?”
Below her, the sun princess groaned, and wriggled back under the covers. The near end of the quilts slumped over her head, hiding from the light Luna had brought to her.
Luna frowned with concern. “If you do not want to be troubled by the castle, I will tell them you desire privacy, but… please, just tell-”
“Go away, Luna.”
Luna paused. Not even at the height of their war had Celestia spoken so directly to her younger sister.
“I’ll… I’ll let them know,” Luna said, nodding softly. But as she stepped away, Luna did not leave; she simply froze silently, waiting in her sister's room. After all, a few paces away was still away. For minutes that were interminable, the sun continued to sink towards the horizon, she thought she might hear another word – but instead, she only heard Celestia’s breath, muffled.
No – heaving.
Once Luna recognized the sound, she alit, jumping to the bed. In her magic, the covers tilted away, revealing a bedraggled alicorn underneath them. Finally, the eyes moved, one turning to face the younger sister. “I told you,” Celestia sighed, as she pulled her hooves in against herself, “I told you I didn’t want to be disturbed…”
“And I will tell them, if you wish,” Luna said, as she continued to float the covers off. Celestia’s magic gripped at them, but it was weak and willless so Luna’s magic easily overrode Celestia’s. “But you will not stay hidden from me.”
Celestia turned away again and huffed, closing her eyes. “Then I will not hide,” Celestia said, closing her eyes. “I am uncovered. Are you satisfied?”
Behind her, the bed shook as Luna climbed on, sitting up. “No, I am not. This is most unlike you, Celestia,” Luna said, biting her lip. “What could have possibly gone wrong…?”
Celestia looked away again – but Luna rest a hoof at Celestia’s shoulderblades, rolling it slowly. Celestia’s face softened, but joy did not return – without her stubbornness, nothing at all was left in its wake. “There was an… encounter, with one of our subjects, earlier today,” Celestia admitted. “But it is not of your concern…”
Luna bit her lip, not wanting to answer immediately – her hooves simply rubbing at the tender spot between an alicorn’s wings. Finally, she spoke up. “On the contrary, sister. If it involved one of our subjects, then it is my business.”
The frown was immediate. “… there can be no parry for that. Well played,” Celestia snorted. “Well, then, Princess Luna – what do you want to know?”
“Please, sister,” Luna insisted, doing her best to keep from screaming. “Just… tell me. What happened?”
“I…” Celestia sighed, and closed her eyes, resigning. “I knocked a pony down a flight of stairs.”
“Oh,” Luna said, although confusion tinged her voice. “…is that it?”
Celestia turned her head, incredulous. “‘Is that it’? Truly, sister, did the moon turn you so cold?”
It was Luna’s turn to smirk darkly. “Celestia, you know as well as I that every pony here is safe as houses. Even any … any injury they may have incurred, would have been redressed quickly.” Luna lifted her hooves, and sat up, looking down. “So I’m not sure why you are so troubled…”
“Of course not,” Celestia whispered, her voice a teasing singsong. “You once tried to slaughter the world wholesale. Of course you would find striking a pony as something due our station…”
You said much worse to her, Luna seethed. And she did not rise to you then…
“That may be,” Luna agreed, pausing carefully after each word until her ire was under control. “But you would not be so impacted by a mere injury – you would be at her bedside now.”
Celestia paused for a moment, and shrugged.
“So, sister, I’ll ask you again – and please, trust me – what truly happened?”
“It’s not… just that I hurt her,” Celestia finally admitted. “It’s how… and what happened after.” Finally, Celestia turned to roll on her back, looking up to Luna, her eyes sunken and sallow. “Did you know what she… what she said?”
Luna shook her head, and looked down, as she sat closer to her sister, resting one hoof on her chest, looking into her eyes. She didn’t quite know the words to say to help – but she affected what she hoped was a caring look as her sister continued.
“She apologized. I… I wasn’t even looking where I was going, so lost was I in conversation. And – as I took her to the clinic – as she should have been screaming from the injury to her bones – all she could do was look at me. She was so afraid to disappoint me…” Celestia shook gently, and did not make a motion as Luna’s magic lifted her. “At her age, she should have been terrified for herself, instead…”
“I thought having you back would… would change things for the better.” Celestia shook her head. “There is new technology and new arts and new nations. But… is the world you’ve come to any different from the world you left, Luna?” She pulled back from Luna’s embrace. “Have I done right by them… or am I just a tyrant, shod in silk?”
Luna was nervous. “I… I cannot speak for our children, sister. I cannot pretend to know their hearts any more than I know my own,” Luna said finally, her hooves wrapping tightly about her sister. “But I know this – you have done right by me.”
Celestia heaved in Luna’s hug, Luna’s hoof running through her mane and down her back, comfortingly. “I pray I have, dear sister,” Celestia finally whispered. “Because… I fear our children are flawed. We lose them, by the score every day… and I fall in love again, every time, even though I know they will be lost like all those before. If after all these years, I lost you again…”
The thought was the straw that broke the cart. She had never seen it or heard it – but the wetness in her fur was unmistakable. She just held her sister, letting her go limp.
“She didn’t have that many years, either,” Celestia continued after a moment. “Zucchini… she’s served me faithfully and joyfully. But, just like every pony else, I can see the years advancing on her. Soon time will catch her, and…”
Celestia’s voice became a whimper as she closed her eyes, nuzzling in against. Suddenly, her eyes flew wide open. “The sun. Oh… what time is it? Where is she in the sky? Where did-”
Luna interrupted again, resting a hoof on Celestia’s nose. “Not tonight, sister. You’ll let me take care of it,” she stated. “Because you need to get some rest."
“Rest? I cannot rest. Equestria needs her Princess-”
“-a Princess,” Luna insisted. “You, sister, are a very silly pony who has been overdue for a day off for… centuries, I am certain?”
Celestia looked up to Luna in open shock… then turned her head, frowning, knowing she was caught. “It wasn’t centuries,” Celestia insisted petulantly.
Luna laughed gently, giving her sister a smirk. “Well. This changes now, and change starts by getting a good night’s rest, like you ought to…” Luna leaned in and gave her sister a weak nuzzle. “Like we used to… long before the first stone of Canterlot was set.”
“That…” Celestia smiled weakly. “That would be wonderful, yes.”
Luna smiled, and lifted her sister, gently laying her back against the bed. “Let me tuck you in?”
“Please.” Their eyes met for a moment, and Celestia was about to say something else… but her open mouth continued into a wide yawn. They both laughed together, and the older sister simply wriggled as the younger sister lifted a blanket up for her – just a single sheet, not the dozens of layers used to hide from the world.
Gently, Luna lifted her hooves up to Celestia’s sides, giving a deeper knead on the point where she had just been resting her hooves. In response, Celestia groaned, and turned over in the bed, resting her head on the pillows. Tears still dotted the corners of her sister’s sore eyes – but compared to the sobbing wretch she found just a few moments ago, Luna found this infinitely preferable.
Luna took in a deep breath, and sighed carefully, doing her best to relax. Luna’s voice was cracked and tempo was off, from lack of use; but as she pulled each line up from the dredges of memory, the melody became steadier:
Sweet filly, so silly,
Let’s lay our-
“… really, sis?”
“Well, yes,” Luna said, with a defensive huff. “Truly, they are old. And you sang them to me so many times. But it’s something that’s just ours… and I think you need these words more than I, tonight.”
Celestia laughed softly, and closed her eyes, giving a good-natured shrug. “If it suits you, sister, we… would not mind being sung to sleep.”
Luna smiled to hide her surprise at her older sister slipping back to the royal plural - Luna had kept that tradition alive, but Celestia had not used it since the days we had encompassed only two. So, she leaned in to kiss her sister on the forehead, although she stuck her tongue out as she pulled away, looking at her sister with mock ire. “Now maybe this time I’ll get through the whole thing.” And she began again, one hoof stroking between her sister’s wings as she sung:
Sweet filly, so silly,
Let’s lay our lights down for the morrow.
Through moonlight, to sunlight,
May you bear these troubles no longer;
Come rainstorm, come starstorm,
I’ll stay with you to the morning,
Until night’s gentle light
Guides my sister home, safe from dreaming…
Here, a pause would have happened for lyre; but Luna had no such tool handy. So she hummed a few notes as she watched her sister’s eyes closing, her breath stilling. Luna cooed quietly, and gently continued to rub, just slower than her sister’s breaths so they would fall into time. After a moment, when Celestia stilled, she lifted her voice one last time…
I’ll guide you, beside you
Through sharp thistle and sweet heather
Sweet filly, you will see
That sisters are sisters forever…
Although their old song was over, Celestia didn’t respond. With a gentle press of her hoof, Luna nudged her… and she responded limply, with a sigh. A few minutes more did nothing to change this status, so Luna rose, lighting her horn so that she could guide her sister’s sun down below the horizion. Of course, simply seeing her sister to sleep did not do much to calm Luna; whatever worries Celestia had allowed herself to bear alone would not be fixed by reciting an old song. But at least, it would be a start.
“Dream well, Celestia,” Luna whispered, lifting her moon to watch over her sister. “I’ll get the sun in the morning.”
