"Ah, come in, dear sister," Celestia said, looking up at Luna as the blue Alicorn poked her head in nervously through the door. She held up a teapot in the glow of golden magic. "Care for some tea?"
"....I suppose I would." Her hoof steps were muffled against the thick carpet as she slowly stepped in. Celestia gestured to a sitting cushion placed directly in front of her, sitting on a cushion of her own.
Luna walked forward, tucking her wings in closer to her sides, watching Celestia as she walked. The white mare had her eyes closed, calmly sipping from a cup of her own. Whatever she had summoned Luna in for- officially summoned her for, something she only did for the most dire of conversations- would only be told if Luna complied. She settled herself on the cushion, staring at her sister, who didn't look up at her until she levitated a teacup over.
"Thank you, Tia."
"You're quite welcome, Luna." Luna shivered. Her sister sounded quite calm, yet used her full name, which she rarely ever did in private.
Luna patiently waited for Celestia to say something, but she did nothing of the sort. Slowly, Luna's eyes began to wander, absorbing the atmosphere of her sister's bed chambers. Nothing was out of the ordinary. The fire crackled merrily in the fireplace in blatant disregard of the silence overcoming the room. Her bed, in the far corner, was a simple thing with maroon sheets with a golden trim. The arcing ceiling overhead was white, but barely visible in the low light.
"What do you think of Twilight Sparkle?" Luna whirled her head around to face Celestia and her sudden question. Her sister met her eyes, and Luna squirmed in the unrelenting stare.
"Er, we- I mean I- think she is a most intelligent mare. She sends the most detailed and appreciable friendship reports and has saved Equestria from many threats using the Elements, including myself, as Nightmare Moon. Plus, she-"
Luna bit her lip and sat quietly as her sister raised a hoof to stop her. "You know that is not what I mean. Do not tell me facts about Twilight. Tell me what you think of her. As a pony. Her character, her personality."
Luna blinked her sea green eyes slowly, then stared down at the plush floor, deep in thought. Finally, she met her sister's eyes, summoning a strong demeanor. "Twilight Sparkle is a wonderful pony. She is dedicated, if nothing else- dedicated to her friends, her studies, her teacher, her family. She is well organized, taking time for each thing, setting her priorities in her proper place. If I trusted her with an assignment, I know she would fulfill it perfectly, meaning she is also trustworthy."
The night Princess looked up at Celestia, awaiting a reaction, fidgeting uncomfortably as she hoped her answer was correct. Whatever the reason her sister asked she was sure was important. Celestia, for her part, simply took a sip of tea. She waved a hoof. "Please, continue."
"Er..." Luna cleared her throat. "Twilight Sparkle is also a leader. She is a model any pony can look up to, a paragon of learning, proper conduct, friendship, etc. Yet she is not perfect. Twilight- our fellow Princess- is quite the worrywart. She is a perfectionist, and she worries her friends sometimes. She can also occasionally neglect her duties in favor of learning, and may get easily distracted."
"Would you say these faults are terribly hindering?"
"No!" Luna exclaimed, with a bit more force than she meant to. At Celestia's stare, she looked away, slightly blushing. More quietly, she said, "I would not say that. As far as faults go, her faults are not remotely concerning, aside from worrying herself past her breaking point. We are happy to call Twilight Sparkle a friend."
Luna finished confidently, puffing her chest out with pride. If that wasn't the ideal response, she didn't know what was.
Celestia studied her for a few seconds, then chuckled. "It is exactly as I thought."
Luna blinked rapidly, then leaned forward. "Come again, Tia?"
Celestia set her tea down, and Luna gulped in anticipation. Whatever her sister was about to tell her, it would be life-shaking. Celestia never put down her tea until she was finished.
"Luna, I think you are in love with Princess Twilight."
"Wh-what?!" Luna shot to her hooves, her wings flaring out as confusion, surprise, and anger mixed. "S-sister! Thou hath promised never to mention the way we view mares! Tis not natural!" Her eyes began to well up with tears, even as she rubbed her clad hooves against her eyes to stop them. "Do not remind us of how unnatural we art!" She turned her head up to the ceiling, looking for a magical source, something planted in the room that would have caught her words. Not finding any, she stared tearfully at her sister. "What if a pony had heard? We would have to flee for fear of certain riot!"
Silence pervaded yet again as Luna stared down her sister. Despite her own rapid change of emotion, Celestia remained calm and collected. She smiled sadly at her sister.
"That is why I brought you in here, Lulu. There is something you have not noticed, and I fear that if I do not tell you now, you may never realize it." Celestia moved over on her cushion and lifted a wing, leaving a spot for Luna to sit next to her. Calmed slightly by the nickname she was used to, but still nervously shaking, Luna sat next to her sister. She instinctively snuggled into her sister's side when she felt the soft feather of Celestia's wing on her back, slowly swallowing her sobs.
"Lulu, dear....things have changed since your exile."
"Yes, Tia. Of that I am well aware." Her emotional tantrum quenched, Luna once again returned to modern speech. She looked up inquisitively at her sister, who looked down with a calm but serious expression. "What are you trying to say?"
"I, first, wish to commend you for your swift acclimation to modern society. Your change has gone remarkably well, and I am quite proud of you for that."
Resisting the urge to bask in the praise, Luna leaned further into Celestia's side. "But?"
"But, there has been a change you have not even noticed." Celestia closed her eyes, choosing her words carefully. "Luna...back then, I thought you were strange, too. I couldn't contemplate the idea of feeling...that way....towards a mare." Celestia peered down, slightly flinching at her sister's hurt expression, but carried forward. "After I banished you, however, I realized how I could have done much, much more to understand you and draw close to you. Thus, I decided to take matters into my own hooves, and improve conditions for your return." She took a deep breath. "Just a couple decades after your banishment, I took Wind Whistler as my wife."
Celestia peered down at Luna again. This time, the night princess's mouth hung open in shock. She stammered several times before managing to get a coherent thought out. "You...you and...you married Wind Whistler?!"
Celestia nodded. "She was a close friend of mine, and I noticed the way she seemed uncomfortable whenever I mentioned stallions. I was lucky she was my student, or else she likely would not have agreed to the arrangement.
"When news got out- I married her out of the blue in the eyes of my little ponies, mind you- shock spread through Equestria. I know many disagreed, but to my face, they all blessed the marriage and the relationship. As time wore on, ponies adjusted. Ponies who felt similarly, mares at least, began to come out. It would take my blessing a stallion-stallion relationship amongst my guard a couple centuries later for stallion to be able to do the same, however."
One glance down confirmed that Celestia had Luna's attention- which was an understatement, she realized, as Luna stared up at her, enraptured. "It became more common as time went on. Not nearly so much as to become the norm, of course, but ponies who felt that way eventually became normal, much like my little ponies' acclimation to donkeys, mules, griffons, and the like. Now, they are perfectly acceptable, to the point of being no different from any other pony, aside from the bigots. But there are still ponies today who judge ponies of other races, so that shouldn't be a surprise. We could never have pure acceptance." Celestia chuckled. "But I have gotten off track. My point is, dear Luna, that you no longer have anything to fear. Our subject will accept you with open hooves."
Celestia finally looked down for the last time, her spiel finished. She blinked rapidly in surprise to see Luna's face buried in her white fur, small, barely audible sobs echoing around the room. Before Celestia could worry, the mare turned her face up. Tears streaked paths on her face, but a light smile graced her muzzle.
Celestia so loved her sister's smile.
"Oh, Tia...that is possibly the best news I could have ever heard! You are the best sister a Princess could ever ask for!" Luna threw her forelegs around her sister in a tight embrace, and Celestia gladly returned it, wrapping both her wings and hooves around her sister. They stayed that way for several seconds before Luna withdrew. Celestia obliged, looking curiously at her sister, who returned her curious gaze.
"Tia, may I ask you a question?"
"Ask away, Lulu."
"You...do not feel that way about mares, do you?"
"No, I do not."
"Then...you entered a relationship with a mare- a MARRIAGE with a mare-just to make that acceptable?" Luna stared up with wide eyes.
"Yes, Luna, that I did."
"Hmm..." Luna glanced towards the floor, then looked back up, a sheepish smile on her face. "I mean not to sound unappreciative, but...did Wind Whistler know of this?" She shook with fear that her sister would be angry, but relaxed when her sister laughed merrily.
"Oh, dear Lulu. Only you would worry about the feelings of a pony centuries dead when your greatest dream has just been fulfilled." She wrapped a wing around Luna again. "It's no wonder you wielded the Element of Kindness. Regardless, yes, Wind Whistler knew. I told her before we entered a relationship at all. I told her that I would fulfill the...ahem...requirements of being married, and would love her like I would a stallion. She was very happy with the relationship, because she would not have been able to marry at all otherwise."
"Good." Luna sighed and relaxed in Celestia's embrace. "I have learned many new things since my return, but this is by far the best.
"I love you, Tia."
"I love you too. Now what in the world are you doing?"
Luna looked up curiously. "Enjoying my time with my wonderful sister, why?"
Celestia shook her billowing mane out of her face to give Luna an incredulous look. "You just learned that you can date and marry for the first time in your millennia of living! And you're going to simply sit here?"
Luna's eyes widened in understanding and she leapt to her hooves. "You are most correct, dear sister! I shall go court somepony posthaste!" She marched determinately towards the door, but stopped short halfway there. After a moment, she turned back towards her regal sister. "Er, who shall we court?"
Celestia winked at Luna. "Follow your heart, dearest sister."
Luna nodded with determination, and burst open the door, yet closed it gently.
It was not even a minute before Celestia, finishing the last of her tea, saw a dark figure soaring across the horizon in front of the setting sun.
*******
"Come now, Luna, you can do this."
Clip, clop, clip, clop.
"You're pacing in front of her door! You never pace!"
Clip, clop, clip, clop.
"Just knock on her door. You have done much harder."
Clip, clop, clip, clop.
And a sigh.
"Tia was right. I do love her."
Clip, clop.
Luna stood in the midst of a warm summer evening, in front of the Golden Oaks Library. She took a deep breath.
Then she knocked on the door.
