Celestia grabbed the brush in her glowing, yellow aura. She winced as the brush ran through her tangled mane and undid the knots. When she was done, she trotted downstairs to the royal dining room. She sat down, and the royal chef presented her with two plates. She nodded toward the one on the left. He nodded and placed it down in front of her. "Thank you," she said in her gentle, motherly voice. He nodded once more and trotted out of the dining room. Celestia grabbed a fork and dug into her pancakes. After eating two of them, she heard the door creak. In came her sleepy, weary-eyed sister. Celestia stifled a giggle when she got a good look at Luna. Her blue and black starred mane was in knots, not to mention kind of limp. Her eyes were drooping and she quietly yawned when she sat down. "Rough night?" Celestia asked after eating another forkful of pancakes.
Her sister looked as if she were about to say something, then she shook her head. "Why is it that robbers and murders always sneak around at night, and not daytime? I stay up all night, scouting ponies' dreams to make sure they don't have nightmares. Just so they can have a good nights rest and then wake up to your day," Luna spat. Celestia flinched. This was heading into some bad territory. The last time Luna felt unappreciated, she had become a monster. Luna seemed to realize this too, and she averted her gaze. "I- I'm sorry dear sister! It's just... just-" Luna racked her brain for an excuse. Finally, she found one. "It's just, the opening ceremonies and the Games are making me worried. It has been 1,000 years. Maybe, things have changed." Celestia pondered her sister's worry for a minute. Luna was smart; of course she knew things had changed! Everything else did! Then Celestia realized her worry. She was not worried about the Equestrian Olympics, just the Royal Olympics. Every year, she and her sister held a mini Olympics in the Royal Garden. Luna was worried something had changed.
"Don't worry, it will be the same as always, my sister. We will have the same sports and everything," Celestia assured her.
Luna flashed a smile, then worry clouded her face once more. "Will, will we have the javelin toss?" Celestia giggled. She had always hated the javelin toss, but it was one of her sister's favorite events! It wasn't something they did in the Olympics now, but she could allow it.
"Do not fret Luna, I shall have a javelin toss arranged. We shall do it in the afternoon after lunch. Now, would you like to see the schedule?" Celestia showed Luna a notepad, and they both read it.
1. Go to opening ceremony (8:00)
Give speech (8:30)
Listen to other speeches (9:00-10:00)
Congradu
Give closing speech (10:30)
Leave (10:30)
Get home and get in clothing (10:45)
Flying race (11:00)
Agility course (11:30)
Flying routine (12:00)
Have lunch (1:00)
Javelin toss (2:00)
Horseshoes (2:30)
Spell-knowing bee (3:00)
Magic Duel (4:00)
14 1/2. Tiebreaker?
Medal giving and speeches (5:00)
Olympic Dinner (6:00)
Luna nodded and smiled. "I see the javelin toss has been included. Always one of my favorite events." Celestia smiled her knowing smile and returned to her pancakes. The two princesses sat in silence until Luna's muffin was brought in.
"Straight from Derpy," the chef told Luna. She gave a slight tilt of her head then dug in. 15 minutes later, Celestia excused herself to go get dressed. "You must hurry, Luna! We must be at the games in an hour," Celestia cautioned. Luna waved a hoof, and Celestia trotted toward her room. She slipped into her Olympic dress. She had it specially designed for her. It was a cream-colored turban, the same style ancient Greeks wore. Connecting the sleeve to the dress was a golden sun clip. It's rays were the different colors of her mane: green, blue, and pink. When she had the dress on, she made her way over to her bathroom. After brushing her teeth and clipping a small sun clip into her mane, she shut her door and walked to her sister's room. When she got there, she knocked on the door.
"Luna, are you ready?" she questioned. Hearing hoof steps, she backed up from the door. When it opened, Celestia's jaw dropped. Standing before her, was Luna at her best. Luna's royal gown clashed with her colors, but this one did not. A silver pendant connected two shimmering black straps of cloth that served as a neckpiece. The neckpiece connected to a shimmering black piece of fabric that sparkled like the night sky. The fabric was draped around her. It stretched out onto the floor, past her tail. Underneath the fabric was a plain, navy blue underpiece. Draped around part of her back, her neck, and her shoulders was a shimmering black shawl, unlike the other fabric. This shawl literally was as black as ink, the color of the night sky. Little white specks that seemed to glow covered the inky blackness. It was the night sky on a piece of fabric. On Luna's front right hoof, above her shimmering blue shoes, was a silver hoof bracelet that had a moon charm attached. Celestia gazed wide-eyed. Luna almost seemed to smirk, but quickly hid it when her sister stared at her face. Part of her mane covered her eye, and the rest was up in a semi-messy bun. Her purple eye shadow glimmered, almost as much as her dark, dark blue lip gloss.
"How?" Celestia asked simply. Luna almost seemed to smirk again, before launching into the details of her appearance. The shimmering black fabric was made custom by no other than Rarity, and was sewed onto one of Rarity's navy under pieces. The bracelet and necklace were given to her by Mom, and the silver moon clip in her hair had been made especially for her. Her shawl's detail was amazing, and Celestia felt that pang of jealousy she felt when somepony complimented her sister on the beautiful stars.
Luna's shawl was a piece of the sky itself. She had cut it out and shaped it the night before, and planned to wear it to all the special events. Celestia didn't have anything in her sky except the sun and some clouds. The sun was too hot to wear, and you could see right through the clouds. Plus, it was hard to string them together with a thread and needle. Celestia didn't need her entire outfit coming apart in front of everypony. "Are you ready?" Luna asked, causing her sister to jump.
Celestia regained her composure, and returned to the ground. "Ready. Let us call the royal chariot." The sisters walked regally out of the room, side by side. When they passes Celestia's room, she stopped the pair. "One moment sister. I need to get something." She ran into her room and opened the closet. Inside, she found her fiery orange, red, and yellow shawl and put it on. Not the actual sun, but it will do. Celestia trotted back out to her sister, partially satisfied with her appearance. Even if she wanted to, Celestia couldn't pull off the, "Young, Yet Tough, so Don't Mess with this Hottie" look. She was the older, yet less old- fashioned one. She was mature, and couldn't pull off that no nonsense thing Luna had. She and her sister arrived at their private chariot. It was like the one Celestia had sent Twilight to Ponyville in, yet way bigger. Since both sisters were bigger than the average pony, they had to have a special chariot that fit their size specially made. After the two ponies got in, the chariot rose off the ground and into the air. The ride was a short one, and Celestia and Luna made it to the Las Pegasus Stadium with thirty minutes to spare. The two got out of the chariot and headed inside.
~~~~~~
The stadium was a madhouse. There were ponies running around everywhere, doing all kinds of different things. Celestia scanned the room until she found the pony she was looking for. "Ham Sandwich! There you are. How's everything going?" Ham Sandwich was brother to Cheese Sandwich, and a planning extraordinaire. Unlike his brother though, he planned for ALL events, not just parties. Right after Las Pegasus was picked to hold the games, he volunteered to run it all.
"Well, things are moving along. The actors for the performance are rehearsing, the props and special effects are set up, and all the seats are installed." Mr. Sandwich closed his notepad. "Anything I'm missing? Oh! And the fireworks are set up," he added. Before Celestia could say everything was fine, Luna jumped in.
"Well, for starters, the flags of the three Equestrian nations are not set up, the podium for the speech is not here, and the sun and moon banners need to be put up." Luna finished. Ham Sandwich just blinked. Celestia almost face-hoofed. She learned her lesson on Nightmare night when she let her sister wander around using her, "Royal Canterlot Voice". She thought she had taught her everything! But she left out one crucial detail. The decorations. When the last games that Luna had attended were held, flags celebrating the three pony tribes of mixed races were hung. Sun and moon banners where also set up, and there was a place where their parents always gave speeches.
"Can you give us a minute?" Celestia asked Mr. Sandwich. He nodded, and she pulled Luna into an unoccupied corner. "Sister, I seem to have forgotten to tell you one thing." Celestia sheepishly glanced at her now frowning younger sister.
"Well, what is it?"
"The Olympic games are not between the three tribes."
"Well yes, I know that, I'm not an idiot! It is between various cities in Equestria, but I thought that maybe we would honor our ancestors, as we always did with the sun and moon banners," Luna explained. Celestia almost breathed a sigh of relief. Her sister didn't think everything was going to be the same, only to have her expectations crushed.
"No sister, we do not honor our ancestors. But, why not? It will be a great change in the games!"
"But how are we going to get the sun and moon banners in thirty minutes? The banners are in our old castle, and even if we found them, we would not be able to repair them." Luna said pointedly. Celestia couldn't think of a way to repair them. Even the most talented seamstress in Equestria couldn't repair them to their original glory in thirty minutes! Then Celestia remembered the letter Rarity had sent her. When Twiliight and her six friends had a run-in at the castle, Rarity had been trying to recover some ancient tapestries. She had specifically said that they had a sun and moon on them.
"I think I know how, Luna. But we need Scales." Scales was the blue and green royal messenger. He was waiting outside, luckily. Luna and Celestia wanted their little helper to sit in box seats with them, so he was brought along on a separate chariot. Luna made her way outside and called the female dragon in. "Scales? Come in, we need you." Luna ordered. Scales waddled in, dragging her pink knapsack that contained ink, feathers, and parchment along with her.
"Yes, princesses?" she asked, already whipping out some ink.
"We would like you to send a letter to Spike, but say it is for Rarity." Celestia said, ready to recite the letter.
"Okay, Princess Celestia," Scales replied with a feather and parchment in hand.
Dear Rarity,
Please take the chariot that will arrive at your boutique shortly after this letter arrives. It will take you to the Olympic Stadium in Las Pegasus. Please bring along the sun and moon tapestries you have restored, and something to hang them up with.
-Celestia and Luna
"Done," Scales said after glancing at the finished letter. She rolled it up and blew her blue sparkle fire to send it to Spike. Shortly after, Rarity arrived, looking a little disheveled.
"I came as fast as I could, and here I am! I finished the tapestries a while back, with no idea what to do with them, and now, I have something to do with them!" she said gleefully. She used her magic to float both tapestries over to the princesses. Each princess took one and inspected it. Celestia's tapestry had a white pony with a blue, pink, and green flowing mane posing under a beautiful sun. It was much more detailed than the old tapestry which had younger Celestia posed on it. Celestia liked this one much, much more. Luna inspected hers, only to find three differences. Her mane was different, it was much more intricate, and actual constellations were sewed into the sky. Luna loved that. Finally, somepony didn't just draw the stars as little, unimportant dots.
Rarity had finally turned around, now with some makeup on and a better brushed mane. She looked at both princess's faces, and launched into her explanation of the changes. "Celestia, the tapestry you are holding has been changed a little bit. First, I fixed your mane and stitched it just like your mane now, and I fixed up the sun's rays a bit. Luna, the tapestry in your hooves has been changed a lot. I left the moon intact, but I fixed your mane and stitched it like it is now.
"I thought I was done, then I realized the horrid dots, err, stars that were stitched onto here." Rarity spat in disgust. "I decided to add little points to the stars, but it was still missing something.
"Then I realized, they didn't form the beautiful constellations that Twilight always raved about. I studied them, then added in as many as I could fit, without making it look like it was crowded." Rarity finished with a smile. Both princesses were speechless, then Luna finally spoke.
"Thank you," she replied, looking at her tapestry lovingly. "Let us hang these up." The three mares made their way over to the princesses's box. Luna and Celestia levitated the two decorations and hung them up on two sides of the box. When they were done, Ham Sandwich rushed up to them.
"My ladies, the opening ceremony will start in five minutes. Ponies have already started to arrive!" Celestia and Luna looked around them, realizing the ponies in the seats.
"Yes, of course. Thank you so much Rarity. Now, Luna, lets go." Luna nodded and flew up into the box. She sat on the side with her tapestry. Celestia followed, but with Scales on her back. Scales waddled over to her seat and sat down, after Celestia. Five minutes later, the ceremony started.
~~~~~~
"Now, please turn your attention to the stage for the wonderful performance, Bonded Nation!" Celestia announced and sat down. She and Luna had given their speeches and listened to everypony else's. Finally, the show had begun. Three little fillies were on the stage, their backs turned toward each other. A spotlight lit up the white unicorn performer, Sweetie Belle. She started singing a beautiful song about being linked together, and the orange pegasus Scootaloo and the earth pony Applebloom got up slowly. The fillies each did an intricate dance number, singing about why they were important. They then made a metaphor about if a chain isn't linked, it serves no purpose. The fillies came together and hugged while the unicorn sang the most beautiful, highest note Celestia had ever heard. The three ponies bowed, and the audience burst out in applause.
When the cheering died down, the two princesses stood up. Celestia cleared her throat. She was about to begin her speech, but Luna held up her hoof. "Sister, please. As said by Father, 'The best words are never planned.' I think I have some unplanned words that will be better than the speech." Celestia nodded her head wearily. She was not sure how this was going to go.
Luna cleared her throat. "Ladies and Gentlecolts, I would like to thank thy- I mean, the wonderful fillies who performed. They showed the thing that makes Equestria special. Although we may not live together in some places, the three races work together in harmony and friendship, and we are bonded by that.
"Without the pegasi, the weather in Equestria would be horrendous. It would do what it wanted to, knock down buildings, destroy nature, and many other harmful things. The pegasi also collect the water all ponies use to drink. Without that water, we would be drinking out of rivers. Airshows are also a result of talented pegasi. Airshows provide us with entertainment. Not to mention, our military, the Wonderbolts, are all pegasi!
"The earth ponies provide us with food, for they have a special way with nature. Yes, all races can grow food, it is possible. But, earth ponies make wonderful food with love and skill. Without them, we wouldn't have some of the culinary items we have today. Earth ponies also have natural strength. They take care of the heavy things that most ponies cannot take care of themselves.
"Lastly, the unicorns. When looking at them economically, they look unimportant. Now that alicorns are around, they are not needed to lift the sun and the moon. So, what purpose do they have?" Celestia shifted uncomfortably on her hooves. Some of the audience was looking a little offended.
"Luna, maybe you should-" Luna glared at her sister. "Alright," Celestia sighed, "continue."
"As I was saying, what purpose do unicorns have? Well, much, much purpose if you ask me. Please raise your hoof if you own a delicate decoration." Most of the ponies raised their hooves. "I bet that most of the beautiful decorations you have were made by a unicorn. Unlike earth ponies and pegasi, their magic can hold and create the most delicate things that hooves cannot. Plus, their magic has helped defend Equestria for thousands of moons.
"All races are important, but separate, they are useless. As Sweetie Belle said, 'A chain can be used for many things, but without the links that make the chain, it is useless.' Without the earth ponies, we wouldn't have the delicacies we have today! Same goes for the unicorns. Without defense, there wouldn't be an Equestria.
"Equestria is special because it is the only place on Earth that has different kinds of beings that work together in harmony. We are all linked, and that is what the Equestria Games is about. The games link all of us together. We use our skill to help our team, to win. Without certain ponies, however, you cannot win certain events.
"Everypony is important, as I, of all ponies, should know. I was sent to the moon because evil forces had fed on my jealousy until it corrupted me. I was jealous that everypony basked in the sunlight, and didn't care about my moon. I thought I was unimportant.
"I learned that my night is important. It gives ponies a chance to rest, and to dream. I help them if they are having bad dreams, so I am important too. But best of all, I learned that ponies were interested in my sky, in my stars. They also had fun at night when they had parties. I realized that me, and my night was important.
"Just like how everything that every race does is important and loved. No matter how unappreciated you feel, somepony ALWAYS thinks you are important. No matter what, you are always linked to somepony." Celestia was astonished at her sister's heartfelt words.
"Uh, well, that concludes the opening ceremony for the Olympics! The games start tomorrow." Celestia announced. Everypony filed out of the stadium. Celestia and her sister stayed. "Luna, that was.... very heartfelt! That was the best speech I have ever heard!" Celestia praised. Luna blushed and unfolded her wings.
"Thank you, dear sister. Now, we must go and get ready for the games." With that, the princess of the night took off.
Celestia caught up with her and asked, "Are you taking the chariot home?"
"No, I must warm-up my wings and get them ready for the events."
"Oh, well, race you!" Celestia said quickly and raced off, giggling. Luna quickly caught up with her, and the race was on. Both mares were extremely fast, and they made it to the castle in no time. "That. Was. Fast." Celestia wheezed. Luna was breathing hard too, but not as hard as her sister.
"Yes. It. Was." After catching their breath, the pair walked to their rooms to change into their outfits for the games. Luna's outfit was white and covered her wings and back. It was all metal, and looked similar to the Sun Army's armor. The wing armor had yellow on the top, and so did the piece of metal that came off the back. She also had four white workout hoof bands and her gaming eyeglass.
Celestia's ensemble was very simple. She wore an orange shirt with a blue outline. Pinned to it was her father's old pin that had ancient writing on it. She also had hoof bands, but they were blue and only on her front two hooves. When they were done dressing, both sisters emerged from their rooms. They looked at each other and giggled. They had never looked so ridiculous! They flew down the stairs and out the door, into the Royal Gardens. "Let the games begin!" Celestia declared. They made their way over to a starting line that was set up while they were at the opening ceremony. "First off, a race. You fly from here, to there." Celestia pointed to a flag in the distance with her hoof. Luna nodded and both mares got into starting position. A gunshot could be heard, and both mares took off. They were amazingly fast, and both kept pace. After 5 minutes, the finish line got closer, and closer. Sweat was trickling down Celestia's face. She felt her wings beginning to weaken. She struggled to keep going. How was her sister still going? Celestia glanced at her sister's determined face. Sweat had gathered on her face, too. She didn't look nearly as tired as Celestia felt, though. Celestia whipped her head toward the finish line once more. She was so close! Just a little bit more! But Celestia was weakened. Her right wing flapped the wrong way, and she halted in the sky. Meanwhile, Luna had put on an extra burst of speed, and had crossed the finish line.
"I win!" she cried gleefully. Luna did a little dance, then stopped immediately when her sister walked up. Celestia was panting. She tried to say 'good game', but she couldn't get it out. "It's alright, I know," Luna answered for her. "Would you like a minute to rest?" Celestia nodded gratefully. She flopped down in the grass, and Luna soon followed. Celestia took in some gulps of air. "How. Did. You. Do. It?" she asked, eyeing her sister enviously.
"When I was on the moon, I thought, 'Might as well stay in shape! I wouldn't want to take over the world as a fatty!' So everyday I did 1,000,000 laps around the moon." Celestia looked at her in astonishment. "It was all I ever did. I never got hungry, and just placing my hooves on the moon gave me energy again." Celestia just stared.
Finally, she got up and said, "Better move on to the next event." Both sisters trudged across the field they had flown over. Both their wings ached so much, they didn't want to fly back. Celestia's mood was already starting to go down. This was nothing like old times. Luna and Celestia still had to catch up on some things. They had never, ever had to do that in the past! Plus, Luna had changed. Instead of being the shy, sheltered mare she had once been, she was now independent and brave. At least she was back. That's all that mattered. But something tugged at Celestia's mind the entire walk back. She couldn't place her hoof on it though, and it annoyed her to no end. Eventually, the mares arrived at the agility course. Luna stretched her now sore wings, and Celestia breathed a sigh of relief. Though she lacked speed, Celestia had grace. Flying through the rings wouldn't be a problem, and weaving around the poles and flags would be even easier.
"You may go first, sister," Luna said. "I will time you." Luna pulled out the thing she called a 'stopwatch'. She had found it when exploring the dimension on the other side of the mirror. "Ready, set, go!" Luna yelled as she watched her sister take off. Celestia was ready for this. She narrowed her eyes when the first ring was in front of her. She gained speed and flew straight at it.
"Ow!" she screeched when her wing grazed the ring. She was too big for this! No, this will not stop you, she thought, and narrowed her eyes once more. Celestia made it through the rest of the twelve rings. She grazed five of them, and they threw her off balance. She now approached the clouds. She whizzed around them, narrowly missing each one. It was the same with the poles. When she reached the finish line, Celestia pressed the button and flew back to Luna to look at her time. 1 minute and 23.7 seconds, not bad! Celestia thought to herself. "Your turn, Luna." Luna stepped up to the chalk line that Celestia had started behind. "Ready, set, go!" Luna launched into the sky, but not as fast as Celestia. The white mare smirked, "I'm totally going to win this." When she found her sister in the sky again, she was amazed. Her sister was already half way through the poles! Celestia looked at the clock. It read, 1 minute and 10.4 seconds. Celestia stood rooted to the ground when Luna pressed the button. She had stopped the clock at 1 minute and 15.6 seconds! The older princess's face burned. She was the graceful one! She was supposed to win that! Celestia quickly stopped her negative thoughts. It's okay, Tia. It's *just** a bunch of games.* she thought.
"Are you ready to move on, sister?" Luna asked impatiently. Truthfully, Luna just wanted to get this next event over with. Although she was agile and speedy, she wasn't graceful. She was never good at aerial tricks and routines.
Sooner than you could say 'grace', Celestia had responded and the mares were in a meadow. The rules were that each mare got to choose some music, then perform a 2 minute performance. Whomever was the most graceful won. Luna went first, and she was already sweating from nervousness before she took off. She took off too strong, however, and she was now spiraling up, out of control. She halted in midair and tried to regain herself. She breathed in, then out. Then in, then out. Finally, she was ready. 30 seconds had already passed, so she was going to have to make her performance quick. Luna dramatically spread her wings and flew downward. She tucked all but one hoof up against her body and spiraled downward. When she was about to hit the bottom, she pulled herself up and spun. She did a couple more tricks, but they weren't graceful at all. When Celestia called her down, she was panting. "Good job, Luna," Celestia lied.
"Don't lie to me, sister! That was horrible, and you know it!" Luna spat. "How dare you try to sugarcoat me like you did when I was a filly. I am not like that anymore, and no matter how much you hope, I will never be the same!" Luna fumed. This time, she seemed unaware that she had upset her sister. She was about to stalk off, but before she reached the garden's exit, she turned around. "I am different, Celestia, and don't try and apologize." With that, she harrumphed and stomped off. Celestia stood rooted to the ground in shock. She hadn't seen her sister act like this since she was a filly. Celestia snorted. I guess she is a little filly after all! Celestia thought. Now she was angry at her sister. She was just trying to have a good time, and here comes Ms. Grumpy Flank, trying to spoil everything! Well, Mom isn't here to protect you this time, Luna. "Nope, she can't vouch for your sorry flank. There's nopony to ignore me and get me in trouble. It's all on you, Luna." Celestia sneered. In the past, whenever Luna got in trouble, Celestia's mother Nightlight had defended her. Now that Mother wasn't here, Luna was unprotected. Luna could finally learn her lesson. Celestia started making her way over to her room. When she got there, she took off her 'uniform' and discarded it. She looked around her room, and her eyes finally settling on the bathroom. She turned on the bath water and waited for the tub to fill up.
When the tub was full, she slid in and sighed. The hot water always relaxed her. She tried to relax, but her sister's outburst wouldn't leave her mind. Why would Luna yell like that? Why would she accuse her of thinking she was a..... filly? "Because it's been a long, long time. I- I was scared that you would treat me like a filly like mom always did. I didn't like it a bit, a- and I guess I was kind of stuck in the past," a voice Celestia knew all too well confessed.
"Luna? Where are you?" Celestia asked, looking around the room.
"I'm outside your door. I- I just came to ask.... to ask... can you forgive me?" Luna stuttered.
"Of course, sister! I should be the one apologizing. I underestimated you because, well, I guess because I was stuck in the past a bit too. It's been a long time since we've done anything together." Celestia said.
"So, do you want to continue the games?" Luna asked hopefully. "If you don't want to, that is okay, I just thought-"
Celestia interrupted her sister by saying, "Of course I want to continue! It's almost 1:00, so let's just skip to lunch, then we'll continue." Luna agreed and made her way back to her room. Celestia finished up her bath and trotted over to the dining hall where a huge lunch was set out. Celestia grabbed a plate with her magic and piled on some mashed potatoes, a sandwich, some strawberries, and a cupcake. Halfway through her plate, Luna arrived. Her sister's magic grabbed a plate and put on some strawberries, a salad, and a small crab cake. Celestia giggled a bit. When she was a filly, Luna didn't like any of the stuff she had just put on her plate. Now she was eating super healthy, and she wasn't even trying to lost weight! When both mares were done, they flew back over to the gardens and scanned the plan. "It's time for the javelin toss, Luna." One of the royal servants handed them both a javelin. Luna nodded and shooed the servant away. She got in position and threw her javelin after running. It landed perfectly. Celestia was sweating nervously. She was never good at this, and Luna already had two points. She took a deep breath and threw her javelin. "Not even close!" she yelled when her javelin fell to the ground. Luna smirked a bit and started walking over to the area for the next round.
"Better luck next time sister!" Luna called. Turns out Celestia didn't need the luck. She crushed Luna in the horseshoe throwing contest. Celestia got every one of her yellow horseshoes around the pole. Luna only got two of hers around the pole. The next round didn't go too well for the princess of the night either. Celestia knew almost all of the questions that were asked about spells, and although Luna knew a lot of spells, Celestia still beat her. Finally, after many hours of games, the final round had begun. Celestia had chosen a magic duel for the last round, not knowing who would win. When the last round was about to start, Celestia was getting worried. If she won this, they would have to have a tiebreaker round. If she lost, then Luna would win by two points. Celestia went over duel spells in her head. Mustache? Check. Knock back? Check. Celestia went through a list of spells that might help her win. Finally, it was time for the duel. Celestia stood in her designated spot. Luna did the same. "Ready?" Luna asked, sparks already flying from her horn.
"Ready, sister," Celestia replied. "3, 2, 1," Celestia counted down, "0!" Celestia cast the first spell. Luna gasped in surprise as her hooves were turned to rubber. She quickly turned them back, then she fired a spell at Celestia. Celestia realized that some frozen ice balls were flying at her face. She blasted some yellow magic at the ice balls and they turned into white roses. Spell after spell went flying, and spell after spell was countered. Finally, Celestia said, "Watch this, sister!" Luna paused mid spell, accidentally sending a pillow flying at her sister's face. Celestia quickly zapped it away and looked back at the flower. She closed her eyes and breathed in. Slowly, magic charge began to build up in her horn. The yellow aura wrapped around her snow white horn. It crawled it's way up, until it reached the tip of Celestia's horn. Suddenly, the aura created a beam that blasted the pink flower. It started to become a bud. It pulled in it's beautiful petals until it was just a yellow bud. Luna gasped.
"C- Celestia! That's an aging spell! Only the highest power dark magic unicorns can perform a spell like that! A- and you didn't use dark magic!" Luna exclaimed. Celestia grinned. She had been working on that spell for a while now, and it was very hard. A spell like that was normally only cast with dark magic, but Celestia had pulled it off with light magic. Celestia was a little afraid that Luna might be able to cast a more powerful aging spell, however. The aging spell she had cast had made something grown up young again. Because the thing had already been young, it was easy to turn it back because it knew what it was like, and it helped Celestia along the way because it knew what it once was. An aging spell that makes something older is much harder. Because the thing doesn't know what it would be like when it's older, it relies completely on the pony casting the spell. It takes much more energy for that spell. Without dark magic, it is almost impossible to cast a spell like that.
Luna got over her shock and now looked determined. She made a flower appear on the ground, and closed her eyes, just like her sister. A blue aura climbed it's way up her horn, more slowly than Celestia's magic climbed up her horn. Finally, it reached the top. It blasted out of her horn, hitting the flower. Just like Celestia's spell, it caused the flower to pull it's petals in. Unlike Celestia's spell, it also caused the petals to shrivel up and turn brown. Celestia gasped silently, trying not to ruin her sister's concentration. Finally, the spell was completed and Luna collapsed on the ground. Through short breaths she said, "I..... think..... we know....... who..... won!" Celestia nodded breathlessly. Her sister had done the impossible!
~~~~~~
An hour later, their own awards ceremony started. A servant hung a silver medal decorated with a sun on it around Celestia's neck. Celestia smiled. Her sister had won fair and square, and for good reason. The servant put a gold medal decorated with the moon around Luna's neck. Luna giggled and said, "Thank you, Moonshine." After some rest, the two sisters made their way to the dining hall. A grand dinner was set out before them, and even Luna didn't hold herself back from piling food on her plate. After some rambling, both sisters fell silent. They both had a newfound respect for the other, and they felt closer. The princesses glanced at each other, and broke into a fit of giggles. "Let's do this every year, sister! I've never had this much fun!" Luna exclaimed.
"Of course, sister. This was very fun!" Celestia replied as if it was the most obvious thing in Equestria. Luna giggled. Silence took over the room again, but it was a good silence. Both sisters thought about the day. Finally, Celestia broke the silence. "We should go to bed, sister. We have a big day tomorrow." Luna agreed and made her way up to her room. Both sisters got into bed that night, thinking all about the day. Finally, both princesses fell asleep, awaiting the next morning.
