Chapter 1 - Friends…?
“Hey, get off of me!” Celestia squealed. Luna, Celestia’s little sister, smirked and wriggled, trying to keep her bigger sister trapped.
“That’s not how the game works! You have to wait for me to get off.” Luna said, her voice high with youth.
“When was that ever a rule?” Celestia said, and heaved Luna off of her.
When Luna was back on the ground, she paused and looked at the sky. It was almost sundown, and the palace yard was beginning to get the chill of the night. Celestia stood back. For some reason, Luna had always had an interest in the night. Celestia watched her younger sister’s face as she marveled at the dying sun, and the silver moon coming to life. Celestia was still confused as to why her sister loved the night so much--you couldn’t do much at night but sleep.
Luna turned back to Celestia with a glow in her eyes. “Let’s go inside.” Celestia said.
-
Celestia and Luna both sat at the dinner table, slowly eating their food. Lauren, their half-mentor-half-mother, had made a hay-lettuce salad.
“So,” Lauren began, looking at the two fillies. “How was your day, girls?” she asked happily.
“We had so much fun! We played outside with each other, and we watched the sunset!” Luna chirped, stuffing her face with the salad. Celestia ate more slowly, enjoying the crispiness of the hay against the coolness of the lettuce.
“Did you play with your friends?” Lauren asked, and Celestia and Luna shared an anxious glance.
Before Luna could say anything, Celestia jumped in quickly with a response. “Yes, we did. We played a nice game of…” Celestia’s voice trailed off.
“Tag! We played tag!” Luna chimed.
Lauren nodded and smiled, meaning she believed them. Celestia hated lying to Lauren, but she just didn’t the importance of making silly friends that could distract her from her studies--she had Luna, after all. Lauren always insisted upon them making friends, and the sisters just got tired of it.
-
After dinner, the sisters retreated to their bedrooms. Celestia walked past Luna’s bedroom, and saw that her sister was up, and looking out the window. Celestia stepped in to the room.
“Luna?” She said, and Luna turned her gaze toward Celestia.
“Yes?” Said Luna. Celestia sat down by her sister.
“Are you okay?” She asked warmly. She knew that Luna was upset.
Luna dropped her head, “I..I just don’t see why we have to keep lying to Lauren. It was awfully nice of her to let us study here, doesn't she deserve to know that we are each other’s only friends? What if friends are important?” Luna whimpered.
Celestia sighed, “Luna, don’t you see? If we make friends with other ponies, they’re going to distract us from being the best ponies we can be ourselves. Making friends takes time; time that is better used for learning. Plus, we don’t need friends, we've got each other.” Celestia said, and Luna sighed faintly.
“I guess so. Goodnight, Tia.”
“Goodnight, Luna.”
Celestia walked back to her own room, and lie down in her bed. She expected to sleep soundly, but Luna’s words nagged at the back of her head.
What if friends are important?
