A Wager Worth a Thousand Years
“Come now dear sister, surely it isn’t such a kingdom-sized secret that it cannot be shared among siblings?” Luna inquired as she furrowed a brow toward her dining partner, almost pleading as it were.
“Luna, you’ve asked me this every afternoon for a week now. Is there not something else you wish to discuss during dinner? What about our subjects?” Celestia spoke, her tone ever regal, yet familiar as she addressed her best friend whilst trying to fend off a smile.
The two majestic mares were indeed enjoying a meal within the royal dining hall, the sun’s light intruding, welcoming itself through the immense windows. Both sat with silver platters below their chins which present an eloquent cuisine craft for equines specifically of their caliber.
“And what of our subjects, sister? They are all well, fit and full. Their faces outfit with smiles, the same as your own this very second.” Her eyes narrowed.
The smile she currently saw her elder sister trying to hide, rather, wipe away with her cloth; that sly, tender curve her muzzle showed only when she’d truly found humor in something. Celestia was indeed doing her best to remove something from her lips. And just as her sister, her table educate was virtually flawless in every form, it had been almost a millennia since a crumb had found either cheek.
“A-Apologies Luna, it’s just that, you haven’t pushed so firmly since you first asked mother to teach you to raise the moon. It’s almost, as if you’re the same age once again, it’s very…”
The sun goddess didn’t dare finish her sentence, her younger sibling never cared being called the word she was on the verge of letting loose. Still, she couldn’t wipe away her expression as the past swam in her mind.
Even at a young age Luna had always been one to have her snout in a book. She was always bothered when her sister knew something she did not and teased her without sharing, the current situation now was a story that would never grow old. Luckily the younger sister held a secret weapon in times like this, one that always tugged at Celestia’s heart strings. This overwhelming technique was one Celestia couldn’t quite remember at the moment.
“Come on, tell us how the you managed to move the moon while we were gone.” Luna’s tone was growing softer, sweeter with every word she spoke.
Celestia could only chuckle as that word came to mind once more. “Does it honestly bother you that much, not knowing?”
“Tell us, Tia, please?” Luna looked straight into the bright eyes of her big sister.
And there it was, the very visage of the memory itself finally returning right before her eyes.
“Princess L-Luna that won’t work anymore, our bodies are ageless, we’ve outgrown such... silly things.” Her eyes shift in an awkward sequence as she desperately tried to avoid the other’s gaze, clearing her throat in search of comfort or shield.
The lunar princess didn’t speak a word, never averting her gaze. And as predictable as the rise of the sun, Celestia slowly met eyes with her dining partner once again. Her cheeks had gradually grown crimson in blush. She had been correct before, stating that the two were ageless, but something had been before they were ever born: the stars in the sky.
Luna’s big blue, and yes… that word, adorable eyes had always been an accurate weakness of her’s. The set of irises before her now, both shimmering the same as the diamonds that stood upon the night, silently pleading and yearning with her eternal youth.
“E-Excuse me,” Celestia pushed out her chair, her eyes now presently shut as she stood and began to carry her elegant form in stride toward the massive hall doors.
Constellations! We almost had her. Luna mused to herself as she saw the sun setting over the horizon, its golden light now seemingly glaring through the glass as it refract from the polished silver and decadent décor outfitting the room.
“Wait sister!” she reached out for her sibling. Fortunately her sister ceased her travel at the door’s exit, she kept her back to the one still seated, her translucent mane and tail which still continued wavering without the slightest of wind. With a sigh Luna stood, removing herself from her seat the same as Celestia, neither had finished their meal.
She took slow yet mindful steps that suit her graceful stature as she approached, halting only a few inches away from her shadow, her head hung.
“A wager then…?” A sad veil of desperation overshadowed her eyes, her tone now plaintive. This was Luna’s last request before she’d drop the matter completely. She knew that whenever her sister kept secrets this long, she truly had a proper reason to do so.
“Three guesses, if I answer correctly, then all you must do… is nod.”
“No…,” Celestia sighed, turning to meet her sister’s gaze, “that just won’t do.” She placed a gentle hoof under Luna’s chin, her eyes still as warm as they were before, the same smile still visible as she guide the other’s chin higher.
It was once every blue-moon so to speak that Luna was willing enough to wager anything, her usually introverted sister now showing every bit of what she desired as her curious eyes met another set. Luna was honestly confused, she hadn’t expected a smile when her sister faced her. Little did she know her slow stride had given Celestia just enough time to bury the embarrassing blush she’d been given earlier.
Celestia’s voice was endearing as she spoke. “If you manage to raise the sun without my assistance just once, then I’ll give you your three guesses. How does that sound?”
“If we raise the sun ourselves then we’ll no longer have need for guessing at all,” a furrowed brow vanishing beneath her radiant mane.
“I guess we’ll see. Do we have a deal then?”
Luna looked closely at her sister, her eyes had shut but her smile was genuine. “It… is agreed,” she sighed, still looking up at her sister.
“You have one week.” Celestia brought her sister’s face closer, and symbolized the sealing of their agreement with a kiss, placed upon her forehead.
This time is was Luna’s turn to have cheeks burning a bright color. Her ears fold as she removed her head from the other’s pearly hoof, her eyes adverted from her elder sibling, the one always treating her like a foal.
“S-Sister was it not thou who stated that we have outlived such things, not long ago?”
At times the princess of the dawn, noon, and after had forgotten who they once were, that they’d even grew at all. Luna was that reminder, that they’d lived young lives, though she appeared the most mature at times, strict rather, it was small moments like this she would always remember.
“Forgive me Luna, at instances I forget we are still ponies one in the same. No matter how we age, we are still capable of making mistakes, being met with confusion we could not foresee.”
“Indeed…”
Luckily, we will never outlive one another. You’ll be my little sister till the end of eternity. Celestia silently reassured herself with glee.
Luna had decided to leave the hall before she would be embarrassed any further. Just one week, and we shall have our answer.
The earth welcomed the sun underground and the two slept, as the moon and stars blanket them both.
The first night had ended and morning had arrived, the moon was descending and Celestia was nowhere to be seen. The lunar equine stood out among her chamber’s balcony, she’d been without the slightest of rest or repose, and a restless mind without remedy was the cause.
She was determined to keep the sun’s schedule, her answer would be shown, heard beneath the sun’s light if she believed. That was what she told herself as visions of yesterday’s wager run vividly in her head.
The feelings, thoughts, and prayers she permitted herself while lifting the moon were gone. Her mind sought after the opposite of all the comforts she felt, that was her plan after all. She released a calm breath as emotions and efforts manifest into a familiar aura, encasing itself as it gradually expand around her horn.
The sun and moon are different! Their rising changes the tides, the times of day and before dawn, our subject’s preferential of truth and terror! They shall never shine or rise the same!
She challenged these disheartening beliefs, her beliefs, those she kept alongside her all the years she remained alone. Alias, her body couldn’t harbor such harmful influence for long, rejecting them as she released forth a brilliant light that was send burning toward the sky… She had never been proven wrong, her subject’s actions spoke loud and clear. When she looked to the sky she saw that nothing had changed, the massive energy she expelled had begun to fade, glimmering until it disappear in the distance… she had failed.
She sighed, shutting her eyes as she clenched her hoof just as tightly. Before she’d even had the chance to question her beliefs, a bright light had begun caressing the curtains over her eyes, slowly they opened and surely enough there was the sun… along with her sister in the skies. Her wings keeping her mid-air as her horn shone a golden glow and the sun continued to a match a schedule she couldn’t keep.
Celestia kept watch over Luna the entire time, in the corner of her eye she saw her younger half solemnly retire to her royal chambers. Elder sister housed an expression of concern, she hoped this wouldn’t discourage her too much.
“You will learn soon enough, Luna, you have far more strength than you realize.”
The second night had fallen unto plain sight, the same with the stars and moon, as the youthful princess instructed.
Luna had committed to her patrol of dreams, and tonight she’d found more foal with nightmares. This was common, but it never meant she worried any less nor carried less concern for those young or old who were still stricken by them.
Once she’d remedied the lingering remorse and regrets of others, she found herself returning to her chambers and pushing aside the veils lining the canopy as she let her large, mysterious form fall to her princess-sized bed with a sigh. The dark room she resided in had decorated itself in constellations that captured themselves among the walls and sheets, these in fact were stars that had chosen to keep the mare company. Seeing such did soothe the princess, but tonight and the previous day were too much.
“Nightmares… another plight that does not plague ponies of the day,” she gave another sigh with her weary expression. “Is the moon no better than a bitter sun?”
The moon was the most she could give to the world around her, yet most took it for granted, the same as a shadow no less.
“The sun and moon… cannot be the same, the two hath never been treated so. But… if such were true then why would the sun not rise when we committed to contrary?”
A single hoof now aimed toward the ceiling, following one of the constellations she favored; the Ursa Major, as it danced around structures with the others that keep her from being alone.
“No, I cannot…,” she closed her eyes, “it is unwise to assume before attempting. If the two are possibly similar then the notion and intentions that match one to the sky shalt surely send the other just as high, without fail, it must.”
Just this once she would believe the two shone with the same essence, the result would prove if such rightfully were the case. Luna didn’t open her eyes again that night, she simply felt the stars around her as she prepared her mind for the morning close at hand.
Once more the animals and ambiance had singled the youngest princess, she was ready to test her theory as she trot to her balcony, staring out into the dawn and gazing upon the dew of morning that cradle the earth as she descend her own gift.
Luna drew breath and unfurled her massive wings, out they stretched as she led her form in a single step, leaping outward to the now clear sky. Again she focused her will, this time taking on all the precious thoughts and feelings that kept the moon affixed to the sky for a myriad of years in her wake. She’d never spoken these feelings aloud, she felt the moon’s light was more than enough to express her true desires, all anypony had to do was listen.
That very power, the prayers now enveloped her horn in hopes of having the day begin anew. Celestia and she were sisters, could the moon truly be that different? The two were bound to one another, surely they shared a bond of strength she’d overlooked.
Luna looked to the sky, her own aura pulsing, she held this strength as long as she could, her heart set to seeing the sun rise over the clouds. Instead, the moon rose... then it descend, over and over again. Still the princess grit her teeth as she strained her magic, stressing her frame to keep the unlikely schedule. Seconds passed, evolving into minutes that soon seemed to pass like hours at a time. The same as her anxiety turned to frustration, that into sorrow, and it into acceptance as the sun finally rose. This time her sister was set below her, standing in the horizon, the sun arriving on time once again.
A mixture of sadness and irritation pooled, spilling from ever word she spoke afterward. “It is as we assumed from the start. The two are opposites. Not only have our subjects shown us, but now our very efforts have done the same, her eyes narrowed as they turn away from the bright sun, “our sister’s student is the answer as we surmised. Twilight Sparkle, possesses what we require.”
The miffed goddess had begun to fly in the opposite direction of her sister’s light, though she had not flown back to her room this time, instead she continued on her very own from Canterlot all the way to Ponyville at the brink of dawn. She had not planned to sleep this day or the next, she had seen the truth, and now nothing could convince her otherwise. Her convictions were concrete and would not cease until the sun’s secret was shown.
Celestia had seen her sister depart with a look she hadn’t seen upon her face in over a thousand years. She turned to face the enormous burning star that lit before her.
“I pray I do not lose the one I care for most in this world due to a wishful wager. Luna, your heart does not hold the same loneliness it did so long ago, surely you have not forgotten what you learned that day?”
The sun had begun setting in the distance, the day was almost done and Luna had discussed most of what she would with Twilight.
It hadn’t taken long for the shock from her sudden visit and Twilight’s barrage of pleasantries and questions to settle. Luna explained the wager and afterward the two had begun exchanging endeavors of their failures and fallacies, finding comfort as they confine in one another, experiences with the goddess of the sun.
Twilight knew all-too-well of Celestia’s vague descriptions and wisdom. Both believed it was always for the better, the one they admired had never led them astray before.
“Both of you, is that even possible!?” the unicorn’s eyes widened with disbelief.
“Indeed it is Twilight Sparkle. My sister and I have both lived long enough to acquire such an ability… we learned from one another.
Though, I fear my sister has lost the ability, due to our atrocity on “that” night, she nodded.
The librarian smiled and settled. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised then, that you came all this way alone, just for something you already have.”
With the glow of her horn she took a massive weight of literature and led it to the princess. Luna’s own magic taking hold of the book as she smiled at the gracious student. “We thank thee Twilight Sparkle, for aiding us in our efforts.”
“Anytime prince-I mean Luna.” She gave a sheepish grin to her guest.
However the princess’ smile did not last. “Hopefully thy companions are just as willing.”
“No worries Luna, I’m sure they’d be more than happy to help if you just explain what you need their help for.”
“At times… I still see the terror in their eyes when our carriage descends from the dark clouds. And what of the Fluttershy,surely she will run if our eyes meet.”
“Trust me, Fluttershy has gotten a lot tougher since the last time you two met. And the rest of our friends know you wouldn’t actually harm them either.”
“Our…friends?” she inquired, unsure if she’d misheard.
“Of course, they’re your friends too. The moment we rescued you that day, we all became friends.” Twilight embraced the princess with her warmth, if only to make certain she proved her point.
A single hoof wrapped around the unicorn’s back. “Thank you, we will go to them, see how they have changed since Nightmare Night. The moon will be rising soon, again you have our favor Twilight Sparkle, and tell Spike that his tea was most exquisite.
And with that her royal guest departed with said books from Golden Oaks, the moon fell beside the stars, and the princess galloped as fast as she could, setting her sights to companions she’d never known she kept.
Luna arrived at Sweet Apple Acres, upon her arrival she found every apple of the family was already snoring, not a single one was stricken with night terrors, all soundly at rest after a hard and earnest day’s work. The princess couldn’t help but smile at what she witnessed as her forehooves rest against the window seal, their peaceful smiles in slumber showing through glass, somehow even their snoring perfumed a charmingly rustic sense.
Perhaps… this is best after all? she mused as she swept a hoof against her chin.
Her horn lit and her eyes shimmered, her majesty’s regal form becoming incorporeal and body ostensibly blending with the air and all else as she allowed herself entrance into the quiet home; her large form passing through the wall with ease.
Unfortunately when these friends of hers came to mind, all she could think of was the fear that filled their eyes the night she’d made her escape... and the disaster before the calm that was Nightmare Night. With a single breath she leapt into Applejack’s dreams, her desires and overwhelming consciousness, she’d brought others along as well, doubts and fears alike. And so, that’s precisely what she found.
She stood among grand verdure, a great tree stood before the princess, it overshadowed her own stature by an enormous measure, the bark mostly covered in moss. Without warning the tree began to rattle, and its fruit fell from the limbs. Every apple that fall affixed to her vision, they held horrors that Applejack held in her honest heart.
The first that fell was her earliest fear, the one of losing the farm should she ever fall ill, or at some point become a sloth. The second that fell from its place showed Applejack working herself to an unhealthy extent, beyond repair due to her stubborn pride.
Luna couldn’t look away as she saw the worst of what Ponyville’s most dependable pony believed possible.
“Princess Luna! What in the hay are ya doing in here? I thought you were only supposed to show up in troubled pony’s dreams?” she removed her hat in front of royalty, keeping it to her proud chest as she trot from behind the massive tree’s trunk.
“I-We only meant to speak with thou! We… apologize, we had no intention of seeing such private matters.” Luna lowered her head, ashamed to have intruded in such a way.
The uncommonly-sized apples begun to shrink, to shrivel up once they hit the ground, doing so until they spoiled into a less pleasant color. Applejack approached them, focusing intently on both for only a few seconds, then she smiled.
“Shoot, those old things… I’d forgotten all about’em. They seem so silly now, my friends would never let any of these things happen to me, family neither,” she chuckled as she nonchalantly kicked both aside.
“Lookie here princess,” she signaled to Luna as she approached the tree.
Applejack aligned herself with the bark, raising her legs as she set her balance to her front hooves. She squint her eyes as she pulled her legs back and released with as much force as she could against the trunk of the tree over and over again until beads of sweat begun to show. Her guest merely watched on without a word.
Eventually the farmer let her legs rest, catching her breath once she’d given all she could. “Ya see…?”
“What exactly were we to witness, nothing appears to have changed?” Luna furrowed a brow.
“Eeexactly,” she pat the tree with a hoof, “not a single one hit the dirt, all ten, still staying strong.”
It didn’t take Luna long to grasp Applejack’s meaning, the proud look on her frame said precisely what those number of fruit all represented. What Twilight had said rang true, a queer apple in the tree was her color complexion, they truly were companions.
Luna withheld her joy. “Applejack, there is something important we must discuss before we art to begin our nightly patrol. Thy princess has come to ask a favor, as a friend.”
The wager was explained, as well as what was at stake, alongside what she sought to acquire this night in order to achieve her goal.
“Well gosh, Princess Luna, that’s a mighty big bet, but trust me I understand, Big Mac and me make hog-sized bets all the time. We can’t let the older ones win all the time now can we?” she chuckled as she remembered the first time she’d out-bucked her big brother’s apple count.
Luna giggled beside her companion, a white light engulfing both equines, when they both opened their eyes they found themselves within the confines of the apple herder’s room once again.
Applejack rise from her bed and slid open the drawer beside it, taking her favorite handkerchief and handing it to her friend with a smile. “This here’s my second favorite little apple, take good care of her.”
“We will, and we shall be sure to return such when we are done, rest assured.”
“No worries princess, you just worry about lifting that sun, I’m sure you can do it with a little help and-whoa!”
Now the freckled-farmer resided within the embrace of the moon, her body lifted from the wooden floor. She pat the alicorn’s back, not minding the slight nuzzling she received before being placed back on solid ground.
“Now you go on and get princess, you got patrollin’ to do, those ponies need you.” She shooed the princess out with a smile.
“You have our thanks, honest Applejack.”
These were the last words she spoken before she passed the walls once more and flew into the night. And still she held no intention of resting until she meet with all her companions, fortunately during the passing of time in others dreams, her body treat itself to repose so rest would never truly be a necessity of the night; it was how she managed hours of the day and watched over the night as well.
Luna swam through dreams the entire time and awaited the arrival of the next. During the third day she hadn’t attempted to raise the sun, her sister would keep its prestigious place… and she did. The fourth night had come as the third day had passed…
This night Luna found herself at another lovely, yet just as well, extravagant abode in Ponyville. She’d finished all her patrolling and the notarizing of royal documents before making her way to Rarity’s boutique.
By the time she’d arrived both gems were in snug in their beds, neither snoring, just silently humming as they slept. Luna still thought it unusual that some ponies wore mask while their eyes rest, as if by some off chance they thought the moon was too bright.
Still everypony had their own heart, their own intentions to complement it as well. At least that’s what both deities had been taught to believe, that all were special, truly unique, meaning…
What if she does not favor us the same? On our night, we flung arachnids into her mane and she ran from our sight at full pace, screeching so fiercely… we never saw her again.
Luna looked to the unicorn wearing her eye shield and gave a sigh of relief that she’d come so late in the eve after all. She did her best to refrain from sheltering doubt, but in the end had little to no avail as her translucent form travel through the window frame and into the fashionista’s delicate dreams.
When she opened her eyes she found herself in a cavern of all places, so dark, humid and dreary. The roof leaked, dripstones living up to their name, explaining the mystery of why the floors were moistened. Columns of stalagmites outfit the den, nothing was here, nothing welcoming at least.
The intruder’s horn lit to reveal a narrow path, she hadn’t taken many steps before she reach a single prison cell. She thought it strange at first, a cage underground, but she’d been sent to worse. The princess began to cautiously approach the cell, only after she saw the large rock residing within, it gave an unusually curious glow that seem to expand as she drew closer to it.
Her eyes caught glimpse of something upon its surface, a glimpse of Rarity, one ruined and riddled with regret. She’d spent her entire life in Ponyville selling the same dresses, accessories, and suits to the same crowd. The unicorn had grown old and lonesome, uninspired, cradling her cliché designs and fabrics as she drift away all alone… on her tired deathbed.
Luna had momentarily forgotten where she was, reaching out for the pitiful mare, sympathy coming over her as the seamstress’ eyes shut. It had been eons since she’d witnessed death so close, it was rare she ever had to consider such circumstance.
“No… no, our offer…” Her voice was almost a whisper.
“Hmm, an offer? An offer of wh-wha-princess!?” Rarity bowed, showing her respects the moment her form strode from behind the stone.
“What are you doing here? What am I doing here?” She looked to her surroundings, her eyes setting upon the stone.
“We hath stumbled upon thy consciousness, walking dreams hoping to find thee, instead we found…” she gestured to the prisoner made of stone.
“I see, this tiresome relic is still here,” Rarity chortled, grinning at the melancholy marble, circling it as if she were searching for imperfections on the hem of a dress. “To be frank I haven’t seen this impossible thing in ages, I’d forgotten of it completely… I used to be so frightened of being stuck here, but now I wouldn’t want to bother being anyplace else.”
“All I ever wanted… was to travel the world, design for world-class, simply standing alongside the friends I’ve made has fulfilled all that and more. Designing for royals, for the wealthy… for worthwhile companions I couldn’t do without, every experience, priceless.”
Rarity swept a hoof across her teary eyes, still wearing her smile as she returned her full attention back toward her old acquaintance.
Her gaze once more inspecting the subject, she squint an eye, her focus now set on one spot in particular, the same as when she prep thread for a needle. With a single hoof, she gently tapped the surface, and the boulder shattered. It revealed rubies, emeralds, sapphires, and even diamonds, all manner of gems shone brilliantly atop the rubble.
The treasure illuminating the dull cavern, Luna had learned enough from her previous evening to know what the items represent.
She approached the jewels, her eyes meeting this realm’s hostess, for a brief moment she’d caught the visage of said wealth in those eyes.
“Rarity, we have come to ask thee a favor of utmost importance.”
“Oh yes princess, anything at all.” Rarity nod without question.
Admittedly the goddess was spectacle at first, wondering why the fashion designer was so quick to conceive without even knowing. As she pondered this, Twilight’s words echoed once again, of friends ever-ready and willing.
The same fable was told, and the unicorn’s answer did not change. In fact, she only snicker hearing the wager and why it’d been born.
“Perhaps Celestia is just trying to show you something rather than trying to teach you with words. You see, sometimes it’s difficult to teach our younger siblings an important lesson if all we ever do is lecture them, eventually, they might stop listening.”
Luna could have sworn Rarity’s eyes looked the same as her own sister’s as she shared her wisdom, it was, almost uncanny.
“Present matters aside there is one thing that we must say to thou…” Luna’s tone softening before she took a deep breath. Before she‘d spoken her next words, the treasure began to glow fiercely, giving a blinding light that ensnared them both along with the cavern. When the two found themselves able to see, they had returned to the designer’s bedroom. Rarity had left her canopy and removed her mask few moments after they’d arrived.
“For so long now, we wished to offer… our apologies, for the incident that night…” The princess awkwardly brushed a hoof forward and back against the floor.
“Nonsense Luna, you’d been forgiven before the sunrise.” She winked at her company.
Rarity had slowly crept closer to her guest, now already at her side, nuzzling against her fur. I suppose no matter how old, younger sisters really are all quite the same.
The unicorn squeaked. “Mind you, now is usually the time I’d simply just erupt realizing royalty is in my humble little home. Buutttt from your story I imagine you want the sun on schedule as soon as possible so I’ll be quick.”
The seamstress ceased her assault upon her coat, and trot to her closet. Rarity’s glowing appendage took a miniature trunk which housed her finest fabric, and guided it to the princess of the night as she gave a gratuitous smile.
“Thank you, fair Rarity. We will return such as soon as we art through.”
“No need to rush darling, just do promise you’ll stay for a drink next time, or at least let me make you a dress… or three.” She fluttered her eyes.
“We shall,” she nod.
This was farewell, Luna exit the same way she entered. She returned to the castle only for a moment before she left for her current place of rest, and again, she allowed the sun to rise without a single attempt.
The fifth night had fallen and this night was the most uncertain so far. This, unpredictable creature she was to call upon for aid this moon, Luna hoped that she was as sweet as the home she slept in.
Every cake and pie was sound asleep, some snoring and others snuggled close. Luna flew to the highest window and made it her entrance into the pleasant smelling residence. It wasn’t long before she met the slumbering and yet confusing face of the cotton-candy mare, closer she came, now inches away as she raised a pensive eye. Her hoof phased through the sleeping mare’s body, a white light shining from within her and pulling the rest of the princess inside.
Luna had allowed herself entrance into Pinkie’s dreams, or… so she thought, when her eyes opened she found herself at Sugarcube Corner still. It was if she’d simply stepped through the front door as she now found herself downstairs in the dead of the night.
Strangely enough her nose caught wind of something, her eyes soon after, it was smoke coming from the back of the store. While she felt it rude to intrude upon her already present intrusion, she thought it far worse to let the establishment burn to the ground if she could prevent it.
She leapt over the counter and ran to the back, finding the source in no time. With her horn’s will she opened the oven, a single tray set on the rack with a lone cupcake, the frosting atop it was every color you could possibly imagine.
It made no sense to Luna, the cupcake itself had been burnt black, even the tray that kept it, all but the frosting. As she stared at the odd phenomenon she began to see something in the thick of smoke.
A vision, of a sad mare that looked the same as Pinkie, yet, she was a darker shade, with a straightened mane that ran as low as her expression. But, there was no mistaking it, their cutie mark was the same, it was her undoubtedly. The sad creature had begun talking to things that couldn’t very well do the same. She spoke to apples, gems, books, clouds, and butterflies. Telling them all how her friends saw her as nothing more than a boring sack, how she couldn’t make them smile and so they sent her away, she’d never been more alone.
“SHUT THE OVEN, QUICK!”
The princess did as the sudden voice command, recoiling in surprise from the unforeseen shouting and appearance as Pinkie Pie popped out from behind the oven.
“When did you—“Pinkie turned the oven to a ridiculous temperature as she hummed a whimsical tune. “You don’t wanna take it out before it’s done.”
“Done? But it’s burning, dost thou not see the smoke? Luna was seconds away from opening the oven again.
“Of course silly, only the frosting is done. The smoke is still black, that means it isn’t done yet,” Pinkie sighed as she set down on her haunches and faced the oven. “My friends would never let me eat a baked-bad like that, they’d stand by me no matter what and wait till it’s done.”
“We… are sure they would as well.” Luna replied as she sat beside her company, no longer with doubt or questions of why the smoke never seemed to fill the room or their lungs.
The two waited for what seemed like hours, and finally the smoke changed color. It became countless colors, the same quaint spectrum as the cupcake’s frosting. “Yippeee!” Pinkie sprung to the air. “They’re finished!” She landed atop the oven, grabbing the handle with both hooves and flinging the oven open to release a myriad of balloons.
Wide-eyed, Luna couldn’t believe what she was seeing. “B-Balloons, those are what you were baking?” Even the words didn’t seem to sound right coming from her tongue.
“Yep!” the earth equine merrily answered before she jumped from the oven and onto Luna in an embrace that brought both to the ground. She hugged the princess in a show of gratitude.
Luna smiled as she returned the embrace. “Your size, betrays your strength,” she spoke calmly.
“So, are you ready to take my balloon so you can raise the sun?” Pinkie smiled as she nuzzle the alicorn’s warm chest.
“Wha-how did thou know what we have come for?”
Pinkie’s eyes shut as she stifle a giggle, smiling ear to ear she point a hoof over Luna, one that lead to a suspicious yet convenient chalkboard that sat only a few feet behind them. She lift her head and found all she’d intended to say, word for word written in chalk.
“How long… has that been there?” Luna now clearly confused.
“The whole time,” Pinkie giggled at the princess’ expression.
“But how, that’s impossible?”
“This is a dream silly, anything is possible.” She threw her hooves to the sky, confetti falling from thin air.
“It… is!?” Luna looked to her surroundings, all the abnormalities starting to make more sense.
“Duh!” A pink hoof popped a balloon and the two suddenly awoke in Pinkie’s room. “Be right back!” she bounced her way out of the room. Strange noises could soon sound from the halls, and she returned with a blue fully-blown balloon tied to a string held by her teeth.
“Here ya go,” using her snout she bopped the balloon to her guest. “Just pop it when you’re ready.”
“…Thank you? We are in your debt, merry Pinkie Pie.” Luna was still a bit confused by all that had transpired moments ago.
“No problem princess, just be sure to return it when you’re done.”
“But… if the balloon pops, what will be left?
“The string of course,” Pinkie hopped back into bed and in the blink of an eye she was snoring the same as when Luna found her, unusual face and all. Pinkie’s guest simply stared at her for a short time, bewildered by what seemed almost logical-nonsense all at once.
She just sighed. “And your character betrays your common sense.”
In the end Luna smiled as she depart from her Sugarcube Corner, making her way back to her biggest and oldest bed.
One the fifth day, the sun arose on schedule, the same as Celestia’s suspicion and worry. It was a shame she’d never find Luna… not where she’d chosen to sleep ever since her second failure. Still, both sisters upheld their duties, all deadlines, imposing all declarations and promised edicts.
And as routine states, the sixth night had come the same as the last, it came with a crescent moon and countless stars that would steal away wandering eyes for only as long as the owner allowed. The goddess had descended upon Ponyville once again, but this night found herself feverishly unsure.
Surely, “she” would still be most frightened… another time perhaps.
Luna had discarded her previous evening plans, her magnificent wings unraveling as she braced herself for take-off. She applied as much weight as she required to her hooves, her present aspirations now aimed toward the sky, she exhaled as she propelled toward the clouds. The visible streams of air, the velocity of rushing winds blowing between her wings as she soared farther, higher into clouds that parted as her statuesque form flow through them one by one… until she reached the height of her destination.
She gently settled upon a cloud, her eyes in search, and there it sat in the distance, Cloudsdale. She had only ever been twice, for official matters of course, never for leisure. It hadn’t taken long for the massive residence she sought to be found. The princess gracefully pranced amidst the clouds, rather enjoying herself before she was even fully aware, she’d forgotten how soft and fluffy they were to the touch. They were virtually beds in the sky, literally so to the pegasi.
Luna leapt until she found herself atop the cadet’s massive home. Putting her ear to the roof’s floor, she heard snoring, the worst she’d ever heard so far in her timeless lifetime. She poked her head through the soft structure and saw the cyan cadet-in-training clearly asleep, admittedly by now Luna had begun planning her all “visits” late in the eve.
She gently submerged through the roof, taking note of the unsightly sleeping posture, she couldn’t see how anypony could find comfort with their necks and limbs sprawled about in such a way. With a spot of magic she adjust Rainbow Dash’s position, she held fear that if the pegasus fell from her bed she might have injured something.
Concerns now at rest, Luna approached the sleeper and immersed herself within their dreams with a single, kind touch. When her eyes opened she’d found herself far above the manor, only this time during the day as her hooves danced among the white cushions, there was no sun, but light still stained the skies. The light without origin was already steadily being block by gray clouds, their shading continued as they soon turned black. They let loose showers of rain, of thunder and lightning as they flash, leaving behind an odd light.
The strong winds blew from the clouds, not at them. Luna’s mane, tail, and coat being assaulted by the rain, yet her fur was not matted in the least. The water did not stain or smear.
The lightning that crashed down began to increase its pace, every bolt of lightning that struck showing that same looks of horror and saddened faces. Every face shown came from a particular creature. Eventually the bolts began to form a pattern as they strike, put in order together in her mind they showed the pegasi’s most prominent fear.
A sad cyan’s dreams were causing friendships to drift apart till they dry to dust, time and space tearing away the famous six more and more, as she acquired stardom and success. “Was it worth it…?” the eighth and final bolt in the sequence continued to repeat.
The princess was aware of such feelings, she’d been gone for years, and she knew the pain of companions parting ways.
A small sound whistled in her ear, as she looked toward the source, to the clouds she saw a light far in the distance. The light grew as the clouds dissipate with every kick they were given, until all was completely clear.
Spiraling through the air after a job well done, Rainbow Dash tucked into a nosedive, it looked as though she were aiming directly at Luna as her speed gradually increased as the two mares drew closer.
Luna wasn’t sure what was planned, but she watched and waited, truthfully she was not all convinced of her safety… that and she recalled she struck this one’s backside last they’d met. She hated to admit such, but the memory did bring a slight smile to her muzzle.
Pomf! Rainbow Dash sunk only mere inches away from the princess, the impact light as a feather, the cloud had barely even shook, only her head emerging from the fluff with a grin. “Admit it, I had you going there for a minute didn’t I?”
“No, no… not in the slightest.” Luna spoke in the most formal tone she could muster, if only to make her response seem less fictional.”
Rainbow Dash’s sly smile was sign enough she’d seen through her mannerisms. “Sure, sure,” she pulled the rest of herself and costume out from within the cloud, “my bad about the clouds Luna. Let’s not tell anypony what you just saw, ha, my friends would have my flank if they knew I’d left those nasty clouds laying around. I’ve gotta stay my naturally awesome self or they just might catch up to me one day, heck… they’re almost as radical as I am.”
“…Rainbow Dash, we’ve come to thou seeking—“
“Yeah we know already, the thingy to help you raise the sun right?” The Pegasus had already taken position where she stood.
The princess sighed, her expression clearly that of one who was not amused as she scan the area. “Another chalkboard we presume?”
“Chalkboard, huh? No, Applejack told me yesterday, she pretty much tells me everything. Anyway, how could a chalkboard tell me you were coming?”
“A long story… one we do not wish to discuss.” The princess brought a hoof to her face as she recalled the previous evening.
“So uh, before I fetch what you came for… wanna race? It’ll be quick, I promise.” The smirk she kept only inspired the princess’ curiosity. Did this pony really believe she could win? Did the suit she donned now give her such courage?”
“We normally would not accept challenges from subjects, and, this is a dream after all? Luna gestured a hoof to the blank sky as she made her point, she honestly enjoyed challenges, but she had a royal reputation to uphold.
“That just means I’ll beat you twice as fast.”
She had never been one to shy away from such an opportunity when she was young, why start now? “As you wish,” the princess showed her face of certainty as well.
She’d never met a subject so… informal, disrespectful rather. She readied herself and Rainbow Dash began the countdown. “Three… two… one…,” Rainbow Dash jetted off as fast as she could.
Luna thought it best to at least let the other acquire a head start, given her own royal training and natural speed of her massive wings she wouldn’t want the race to be over too soon.
Admittedly it was thrilling. Entertaining to watch such a reckless creature soar with such freedom, it’d been so long since Luna had been treated like a normal pony. No formalities or bowing of heads, she enjoyed the experience far more than she imagined. There was a certain uninhibited charm the pegasus possessed, perhaps that very charm was why Twilight Sparkle and this one were friends.
Finally realizing she’d spent more time than she originally intended musing over her competition, she gazed outward and given their distance she could still very easily surpass the cadet. She inhaled and readied her own wings, and there it was, that sound came again. It was the same whistling she unmistakably heard earlier. She ignored the sound and flew toward her opponent, in a matter of seconds she’d caught up with her, almost closing the gap, the speed of an immortal was astonishing.
The sound still rang in ear, matching what come next, a shockwave, an explosion of color suddenly headed her way. The light washed over her and one competitor found themselves beside the resident’s bed, the other still within it.
Rainbow Dash stretched her limbs as a yawn escaped her lips, she quickly assumed her bedding position. “Well, that was fun while it lasted, what you came for is in that little cloud over there in that chair. Just, bring it back when you’re done with it alright,” she pointed to the chair in the farthest corner of the room.
Not once did the mare rise from her bed, her body turned over underneath blanket as she rest on her side.
“Thank you, admirable Rainbow Dash. We will race thou proper when we return,” the princess gave her kindest smile even if it’d gone unseen, “seeing as it is clear thou cannot possibly best us within thine own dreams.”
Both wings and horn guide the princess toward her eldest home, her previous prison. She could have sworn Rainbow Dash uttered something to her remark, but she was long gone before said vibrations cared to reach her ears.
The sixth day arrived with the sun, Celestia had intruded upon Luna’s empty study, as she predicted would be the case soon enough. Upon her bed lay all documentation, royal inquiries, and other such mandatory articles issued to her. The elder sister gave a sigh of relief, at least she was certain her younger sibling was somewhere alive and well.
Celestia came to the balcony, her eyes and her words directed solely at the moon and its crowning light. It almost seemed to be glaring back at her with the same longing gaze. “But where… where have you gone Luna? I assume, I am also to blame this time as well?”
The final night had already came, it’d come hours ago, alongside a full moon.
Luna stood outside the cottage, still not certain when to enter or what she might find. “This one, the Fluttershy knows fear far better than any other creature we’ve ever known. Surely our stature, our past alone… fills her with unbridled terror,” she spoke her soliloquy with head hung, a heavy heart holding her in place.
Fluttershy had fed, nursed, and lay to rest all her critters for the night long ago. And yet Luna refused to move, until she heard it again, “Fluttershy has gotten a lot tougher since the last time.” Twilight’s words haunting her ears ever more, that confident voice had finally given her the will to move forward.
She preceded up the path, arriving at the front door in the dead of night, the crickets keeping the silence from devouring all her senses. The noble put an ear to the door and she hadn’t heard a thing, not a whisper, though she was certain the pegasus was sleeping. She took to the sky, finding an open window upstairs, one that sat only a few feet away from Fluttershy’s sleeping form.
The mistress of dreams waste no time as she slipped into the slumbering mare’s wavering mind, she wondered what tragedies awaited her, if not visions of her worst-self brought back from the grave.
Once she passed into the new world she immediately saw… nothing. Just a blank-white-edgeless surface of nothing, at the time she wasn’t even certain of what she was standing on, all she saw was a humming Fluttershy. The pegasi’s mane swaying as she carelessly let the tune guide her carefree, blissful rhythm.
With all the caution she could fathom, Luna approached her, half-expecting something to implode or crack at the center and show her something she had no business seeing. Though, nothing of the sort took place as she came closer. And in the end she was spotted, frozen as she was caught red-hooved trespassing with hoof in mid-action to do… something presumably of a vile nature to poor Fluttershy, or so she believed.
“L-L-L-Luna! Eeep!” The faintheart darted off into the blank beyond, galloping as fast as she could.
It was too predictable, too much… just… too much for her guest to bear. “Nothing has changed, thus ensues that she will refuse us aid in any manner.” The look of fear in Fluttershy’s eyes appeared worse than before, “Was this the change Twilight Sparkle spoke of, I wonder?”
The princess sat down upon her haunches and allowed the time to pass. She felt the familiar loneliness, the same bitter sorrow she swallowed every passing hour she suffered on the moon. A solemn shadow loomed over her eyes as she waited in silence.
“…Perhaps if we leave, before Flutter—”the princess caught a faint sound, someone was… shouting and headed her way. Déjà vu as it were as a golden texture drew near, now becoming clearer as it closed the distance. It was Fluttershy yet again, judging from her befuddled expression she was just as surprised as the other. Further proof of this was the pony making an immediate, sharp turn right just as the two came to pass, and just like that she was gone again.
“Please, wait!” Luna called out in the distance, doing her best not to resort to her royal tone of voice, unfortunately she never received a response.
“We only came—to ask thee—for a small bit—of assistance.” Each time the alarmist passed, she tried to reason with her, but it was futile. Time and time and again their eyes met, eventually she’d just decided to wait in a huff, at least until the mare ran out of steam. The princess knew this was a gamble seeing as it was within a dream, but she hadn’t much choice. Forcibly subduing the frightening pony wasn’t a difficult task, but it would never calm the situation, quite the opposite in fact.
However, in the end the timid one did tire herself out… somehow, collapsing in sweat only inches away from her presumed predator, who in truth was only a very patient guest. The sovereign closed the book she’d conjured to past the time, sighing at the unnecessary display before she stood over her prey.
“Art thou ready to speak with us now?” She spoke calm and coherently, though her expression would lead some to believe her tone carried something more.
The exhausted pegasus nodded, panting as she did her best to catch her fleeting breaths. Luna waited for her to sit up at her own pace, removing herself to allow her proper breathing room.
“Now, tell us, why exactly is there nothing here?” Luna had become curious by now, all that waiting in a plain white room, it would have anypony a bit on edge after a while. “Everypony else had terrors, their greatest fears filling their heart and yet we-I’ve seen none since I arrived.”
She felt it a tad rude asking such a thing outright, though she also hoped more than anything that her own fear wasn’t around at all, hopefully that she was not indeed the fright itself, which would explain such an empty pasture.
“Umm… well… you standing here is enough… if that’s what you’re asking,” Luna’s gaze fell to the empty floor, “but… I don’t really have any fears,” her soft tone sounding uncertain of her own choice of words.
Luna’s eyes and ears fluttered in disbelief, “Come again?”
“Well, I mean, sometimes I think about how the stars might fall out the sky, or that the moon might raise the ocean’s tides so high that they drown Ponyville. I even get scared the sun will just-explode one day, or that I’ll forget to buy food one afternoon and all my little ones will starve to death, or maybe the one time I don’t wear a helmet going down the stairs I’ll fall and—“ Luna put a gentle hoof to the mare’s muzzle.
“We… recall thou saying that were no immense fears stirring within them?”
Fluttershy took Luna’s hoof in two of her own. “Oh goodness no, I’m afraid of everything, my friends showed me that. We’ve been on so many adventures and I can’t imagine a moment when I wasn’t afraid for my life. I’m even afraid sometimes that I’ll run out of places to run and hide, but I don’t have any concerns that scare me more than any other… When I think about it, I guess the only thing I’m not really fearful of are my friends, that’s what makes them so special.”
Fluttershy gave her brightest smile, and Luna could have sworn she’d heard another sound come out of her.
Astounding… The princess was in awe. She was amazing, no fear was cripplingto her, none towered above another; all just common concerns in her world. Luna had also realized she’d just received her own answer as to why she found herself in such an endless space, it was impossible to run out of places to hide or places to indefinitely outrun danger. In a sense she truly was without fear to hold her down. Still, “Friends are those she never fears…” she whispered these words, as the sentence sound over and over in her head.
“Luna, we’re friends, aren’t we?” She’d finally calmed down enough to hold her company’s silencing hoof in her grasp as she looked into her eyes.
It had never occurred to her just how difficult it was to say no to such kind eyes, not that she wished to. “…Of course we are, Fluttershy, for as long as I live.” Luna couldn’t help but grin.
The two locked eyes, until the presence of time became apart once again.
“Fluttershy, I would like you to help with a very important matter.”
“You want my help?” Fluttershy let go of Luna’s hoof as she point one at herself in the empty room.
“Indeed, you possess something not many others could dare say they’ve ever seen,” she continued to explain the situation and its entirety.
“Oh my, well then, we really should be getting back then shouldn’t we? The next day is almost here.” Fluttershy took the goddess’ hoof once more before shutting her eyes. To Luna’s surprise the two began sinking into the floor, rather submerging through until the white was above their heads. And by the time Luna made an attempt to breathe she found her lungs relieved and both were inhabitants of reality again. Apparently the princess had taken a bit longer to return due to her resistance, as the home’s owner had already been found entering the combination to a small safe under her bed. Once the safe opened she took a glass jar from its confines and shut it without further word.
Now mid-air, she fluttered over to her new friend, presenting it with both hooves, the gift she’d asked for. Luna saw the butterfly inside and accepted the jar with glee. “We are most grateful, humble Fluttershy.” Now we-” It was the pegasus’ turn to silence the other, an embrace doing the trick, she was small, yet so warm on the inside and out.
“We will return this once the deed is done.” She returned the affection she was receiving.
Fluttershy only nodded, letting her go and watching as her visitor merged with the night sky. She had never seen the moon shine so brightly, so full, and close to her own home. Luna’s entire form light as she flew toward her gift, it was as if she were born to be witnessed in such calming light, her body basking in its intensity. It was breathtaking to the pegasi, she stared on as her majesty strode through the stars, soon after only parts of her becoming visible only when her coat crossed paths with the constellations.
“Good Luck.” Her farewell words to her new companion before the moon met the coming dawn.
Luna had arrived in Canterlot, to the castle she called home. She collected all she’d acquired from her former abode and proudly she took her stand at the pinnacle of the horizon, soon she would don the dawn itself.
The imperial shut her eyes and focus all her efforts to the task before her. Her horn turning ambitions tangible as it began to glow. She lift the heavy text in her radiant light, the book Twilight had given her, opening its pages to the center, its core to reveal a single crown. Second, the handkerchief was unraveled beside the glowing literaure, revealing a golden necklace with an apple encrusted in its center.
Third came the miniature trunk and its unspoiled fabric, its contents now captured in the goddess light as she brought forth familiar a jewel with at diamond at its heart. Next came the balloon, popped mercilessly with a touch, its bare skin and string falling to the grassy field and the echo held within it now freed into the world. The aforementioned cloud was broken apart by a single royal breath, a jeweled bolt of lightning joining the others. And finally the glass jar handled with care, its lid unfastened and the golden butterfly let loose from its prison.
Every gift had held a similar treasure inside, all resonating beside the ageless, crowned equine.
A cerulean aura engulfing the entity outward and in, the current flow of power now was blowing through every bristle of her coat, vibrating against the trembling earth and shivering air! The light grew brighter with every pulse of her heart as she stared unto the clearest sky she’d ever witnessed.
“There was only ever one way sister, for the both us. We became the element’s wielders, they were born because of us! Discord the lord of chaos and deceit found defeat in their wake, and you found your only chance of ever pushing us away, to imprison me when the darkness dared to defile me! This force embodies Equestria, all its courage, wisdom, and strength, who or what couldn’t be brought to the skies!? This power, these elements are the very epitome of impossible!
The goddess grit her teeth as the aura around her expand even more, her insides growing warm. She unfurled her wings and steadily she rose to the sky, the edge of her horn, the edge of reason shimmering! The light it emitted was dazzling, blinding, so brightly that she slowly began to echo the sun. Dawn was almost upon all, and she refused to let her sister outshine her again.
“We will not have our talent taken, mimicked no longer, given so callously without care only because it can! Do you hear me sister, our gift is all we have ever been able to give, nothing more. We shall have our answer, and you will see how it burns to have thine own capacity made a mockery of!”
Her own irises were swallowed beneath the glowing veil of her eyes. She swallowed down every ounce of doubt she had ever felt, and consumed it entirely, all the power she’d manifest now stirring within, her own unnatural temperature rising with every unnerving bit of her own essence. The massive force was threatening to devour her, steam becoming her every breath as the elements orbit the unyielding deity.
“The sun… our faces shall be… the first thing it sees this day!” she winced against the swelling pain.
The world around her was beginning to waver, the heat refracting from her scorching skin and passing before her eyes. It felt as though her tongue were blistering, her blood literally boiling as she held onto the element’s power, she only envisioned one concept, all her conviction calling out to the sun! Such power was never meant to be stored, no creature ever had reason to even attempt to contain the strength all at once, in a single vessel no less!
Her horn could not hold such influence any longer, the light shot, propelled in a tremendous sphere toward the now less than visible array of stars, it tore through the clouds and erupt with the winds, deliberately gaining more and more momentum! The orb imploded upon the air, the blast literally shook the skies as well as momentarily changed its color, the clouds split between the deep blue, severance of raw willpower!
The sun’s adversary looked out into the empty skies, a look of determination and certainty as she kept her gaze outward. The now calm winds, still blowing through every bristle of her darkened coat and every thread of her mysterious silken mane and tail. Her eyes never blinked against the coming winds as they brushed by, she waited and waited… and nothing came. The sky she gazed upon began to look soulless, no clouds, the stars unseen, and without moon or sun to show what beauty it may have left behind it still.
“Why… WHY!?” Luna shouted as she slammed a hoof against the ground, distorting, imprinting a massive sole of her iron into the earth. “This world has changed since my return, every existence better, brighter!” The princess’ eyes began to flood, “Am I still the same, a plague, a plight to my own kind!? The sun and moon both rise for our sister, is she that much more deserving?”
The tears that flow from her eyes were illuminated as the same glow that shone not long ago came once more, an ember still burning in the pit of her stomach, the sensation escaping through her throat; bringing forth the Canterlot back in her voice. Winds grew fierce, swirling the severed clouds to summon them back, now all a bleak-black. Thunder roared, lightning howled as it struck the hallow earth.
“WHY MUST WE BE BELIEVED SO FOREIGN!?” her wings sound with the torrent of winds as she ascended even higher toward the blackened sky. OUR WINGS SERENADE THE SKIES, CARRESS THEM WHEN THEY SHED TEARS. AND YET, WE ARE SHOWN SUCH INSOLENCE! OUR BODY IS JUST AS GENTLE! OUR HEART JUST AS WARM, A HOME TO THE SAME SHELTER! WHY DOST THE SUN, THE MOON, AND SUBJECTS CHOOSE THOU SO CONCLUSIVELY!?”
“WE… WE SHALT—“
And as impossible as it seemed, a sliver of light bled through the shield of darkness she’d created amidst the sky. The thin light graced her, sparkling as it shone down directly upon the divinity herself, slowly the light spread outward. The stained clouds and winds all dying as she met the sun bright and anew, all its golden glory, a spectacle for the world to witness on the grandest stage of all.
Luna descended to solid ground, her head hung even after the sun had surfaced just as she’d wished.
The air…
The smell brushed over her nostrils, the warm light was bathed in it, she knew that aroma well; the scent of heaven… her sister. She waited, and surely enough Celestia found her way beside her, a golden-clad hoof set to her younger sibling’s shoulder.
“Luna…,” her tone riddled with remorse, “we must speak.”
Without further word, the two returned to the castle, the short walk seemed an eternity, one lustrum after the next as they trot one leg in front of the other.
The gigantic doors split apart and allowed the two entrance to their home, both arriving in Celestia’s chambers. The guards were dismissed from the doors as they shut, Celestia then affixed a sound-proof barrier to the walls and doors, Luna knew the spell just as well herself.
The younger sibling simply sat upon the floor, her head still hung with shame of her unsightly display following failure.
Elder sister looked to the other, a look of concern in her shifting eyes, she was doing her best not to act on sympathetic urges or impulse… there was never a time it was not difficult for her to see Luna so stricken with sorrow.
She steadily advanced toward the window, every step resounding within the immense room. She stood as still as she could, her eyes focused to the sun, away from the sight behind her that she couldn’t bear for much longer, being the first to break the disheartening silence.
“Luna… what do you think of the moon now?” she spoke as calmly as she could, resorting to her usual regal tone.”
“The moon is nothing more than a miserable echo of the sun… Why did I ever think that I could shine the same sunset as you, when I know that I can’t, why did I ever want to be like that…?” her tone was despondent, devoid of all hope, it seemed almost lifeless as she stared toward her sad reflection in the marble floor.
“… I see… and do you believe I possess more strength than you?”
“Our subjects fear strength, as we have been shown they do not fear you, and your power has yet to have been proven greater in any measure.”
Celestia did not turn from the window, her eyes stared straight into the sun, never blinking. She took a deep breath, and exhaled before she spoke to her sister again. “I have been unfair from the start Luna, I apologize. I… knew that you would fail from the start, that you had no chance of setting the sun below or above the horizon.”
Luna had never been one for the sun’s aura, the vivid light that spilled through the windows and showered over their large forms suddenly seemed to burn. She felt it, the liquid reaching the brim of her eyes, but she promised after the day of her defeat, that she would never shed tears in front of her sister like that…not again.
From the start she expected a scolding, a lecture from Celestia, but this truth seemed like nothing of the sort.
“I only wished to spend more time with you, so I went along with the wager. I thought the game would bring us closer… but then you disappeared for days on end. I felt terrible... truly,” Celestia sighed, her regal tone fading more with every sentence,” I will not ask you to forgive me so easily.”
Luna wiped her eyes and stood. Now she was fighting urges of her own. “Tell us, dear sister, was this another lesson of yours? Something we could have easily comprehended if thou had simply spoken to us?”
Celestia still would not meet her sister’s gaze. “This… was what I thought to be only a friendly wager, but yes Luna, it steadily became a lesson we hoped you’d learn.”
“…The sun must always pity the moon. It fills it to brim with pride and only permits it failure, is that not your point, your lesson!?” she scowled at the one she now believed more cruel than anything else.
“Luna… I knew you would find failure, only because, that was all I had found for a thousand years.”
The young goddess had lost what was left of her anger, curiosity taking its place.
“To go this far, to obtain the elements, you truly believed we raised the moon on any night… I know that I am underserving, to even ask a single thing of you after what I’ve done, but Luna, tell me what in your heart brings you to summon the moon? I wish to know…”
The two sat in silence for minutes at a time, her sister asking her to now speak words she’d never spoken to any creature. And yet, she complied, shutting her eyes completely from the sun.
“The dark… we admit it can be an awful, frightening place. The moon lights a path for all to see the safest places, it allows the stars to be seen, and it reminds us that our dreams can still reach higher. It is a mirror of every creature’s darker self, showing that light can still even shine through umbra. The moon listens to the lonesome, the stars guide us home. The rising moon is signal, proof that our subjects will remain safe, dreams, destinies and beds. This is our gift to every living existence… it is precious to us because it is the best we can give.”
Celestia sighed, this time contently, content that she was not completely wrong. “You love our subjects with every fiber you possess, you place your beacon in the sky so their smiles will show even on the darkest of nights. Can you truly believe us so different, even being family as we are?”
There was no response this time.
“And your time on the moon, you must have thought this every night? You spent so many years, so far above us all.”
“We always have… such thoughts called upon us every evening,” Luna sighed, “we witnessed our friends, loved ones… saddened, at first. As time went on they’d forgotten us, thankfully they lived happy lives. Their children as well, though all perished before time itself… when we arrived they’d already been long gone. There were countless nights we spent alone, all our subject’s dreams we could not fix or foresee, stranded with such bitterness and loneliness.”
“… And what of the friends you made upon your return? The six whom you assumed aided me in the impossible task of raising the moon? Did they not give you the courage to try again, did you not smile and laugh with them, see the changes in them since your defeat?”
Luna sighed once more, her eyes settling upon her own hooves once again. “Yes, we saw their newfound strengths and truths. But even after a thousand years, we still have not changed, our earlier display proved such.”
Celestia had left her post, she approached her sister with the kindest of intentions. “You are wrong Luna, you have changed, the darkness you once kept is long gone, the magic of your new friends has given you freedom; the nightmares are no more and we are together again.”
Luna sat in silence, refusing to look at her sister.
“Tell me… did you see me for even a single night those years we were apart?”
“…No, we kept our eyes and our heart far away from you… we did not want you to see us.”
“You-you must believe me Luna, there is nothing I wanted more in those years to see you. I had never known I could possess such… frustration. We tried every night to bring the moon to us and failed only to watch you from afar. But… as you said, you did not wish to be seen, you k-knew Nightmare Moon was still a part of you… so you stayed away. You never set hoof here, surely she would have harmed our subjects, just as she intended.
Luna, listen to me! There is nothing more important to me than your safety, those years with you on the moon, I felt powerless… I was mortified.” The celestial goddess brought a hoof to her sister’s chin, lifting it gently.
Luna gazed at her sister, and saw tears within her eyes, this was the first she’d ever seen her shed tears, such anguish in her eyes,” look at me Luna, I never intended to exile you, or imprison! I held no will over the moon then nor now, you must believe me. I wanted you home, having you here is the greatest gift I could ever receive.”
Celestia embraced her sister, setting her head atop the other’s shoulder, shedding tears she’d sheltered for decades. Just as rare as it was for Luna to show her passion, Celestia was the same in a sense, always regal, polite and ever proper for the public. She’d been that way so long after Luna had left, she’d forgotten how to be anything else.
Luna held her tears, caught in the warmest embrace she hadn’t expected, she gave a half-hearted smile. “I’m a bigger fool than I realized… I’d imprisoned myself for so long, just to make certain the ones I cared for remained unharmed. Bitterness needs no breath; it is born anywhere, at any moment without warning. And for eons I blamed you… How could I ever think we were so different, what is most important to us is exactly as you say, you would have done the same… protect those we watch over.”
Luna returned the affection and still, she bore no tears.
“Even after Nightmare Moon’s end, a parade was thrown in our honor the very next day, my subjects permitted us-me another chance. It is I who should be apologizing to you sister, for being so distant. I’m beginning to imagine how you saw this wager as a way to bring us closer… and it has succeeded.
Celestia hugged her little sister even tighter, she never wished to let her go ever again, she smiled through her tears, truly happy they’d reached an understanding through the harsh truth.
“We-I won’t be going anywhere, Tia, you have my word. We should get going soon, you and I both have duties to attend to.”
Celestia remained entangled without a word.
“Sister?” Luna furrowed a brow.
Still, she refused to let go.
Just a little longer, please? Celestia knew it would probably be another thousand years before she and Luna would have a moment like this again.
“Sister, remove yourself from us!” Luna groaned, her blush growing brighter by the second as she try to shove off her big sister. Unfortunately for her, the sun goddess’ weight mixed the strength of their embrace was just too strong.
“Not in a thousand years,” she mused as she nuzzled her ageless, and still, ever-adorable little sister.
Author's Note
I hope you enjoyed the story, as much as I did writing it. 
This was my first time writing something specifically relating to the two sisters, so I certainly don't mind hearing any opinions or critique. My goal is simply to become better after all. ~
