Deep breaths.
Luna took deep, gentle breaths, filling her lungs with the cool, crisp air that her night generously provided, savoring the aroma that teased her senses. It was nothing forceful. It was nothing heavy. She just inhaled and exhaled, her breathing as smooth as the silk curtains billowing behind her in the gentle breeze.
After a long night of seeing to the shockingly large number of ponies who couldn’t make it to Celestia’s Day Court, there was little else that could ease her stress so effectively and consistently.
Standing on her balcony, letting her mane’s natural, deep blue locks drape across her shoulders, letting her muscles loosen and relax as she stared into the dark, shimmering expanse that was her creation. It all served to essentially hit the reset button on her nerves, leaving her ready to tackle whatever tedious challenges the next night presented to her.
Everything about the black sea above Luna mingled together to create something truly enticing. Truly hypnotizing.
Its endless dazzling stars, each one glimmering like the most valuable of diamonds in a yawning abyss. The elegant swirls of cosmic dust, remnants of once great giants refusing to be forgotten by time. And the moon. Yes, the moon. That bright ball of glowing comfort covering the ground in a silvery sheen, shining as though it itself wanted to be a star.
Hours became mere minutes while trapped in the night’s sweet embrace, and was only complemented by the stark silence.
Save for the gentle whispers of the wind, Luna was left with only her wandering thoughts to keep her company. Perhaps that was why it was so easy for her to hear the gentle clip-clopping of hooves approaching from behind her.
Her ears immediately twisted towards the noise to better hear it. The princess herself, torn from her relaxing stupor, grew tense, her posture straightening ever so slightly from the casual slouch it had before. Hardly her fault; it was a natural reaction to have in the presence of an unexpected guest.
Thankfully, the tension was short-lived. Luna soon breathed a relieved sigh, relaxing her muscles yet again. Even if she couldn’t sense the warm, comforting aura of magic emanating from the source, her ears easily recognized that very familiar gait. Smooth, gentle, and carried with a sense of grace that even the most refined of ponies could only dream of achieving. Yes, that kind of stride could only belong to one pony, couldn’t it?
Luna gently shut her eyes, a quiet chuckle passing through her lips as the hoof falls grew ever closer. “Is this not the time for young sun princesses to be asleep?” she jokingly asked. The soft smile on her face only grew wider when Celestia’s own silky smooth laughter graced her ears.
“Young,” Celestia repeated, breathing a blissful sigh. “Oh, how I wish that were true. However, you can’t deny that it says something when your age dwarfs that of even the oldest artifacts at the local museum.”
Luna could only roll her eyes, thankful at the moment that her back was still to Celestia. “Your words, sister. Not mine.”
Celestia playfully nudged Luna’s back when she finally reached her. “Oh, hush. We’re technically only a few years apart, so you’re hardly in a position to throw stones.”
“But you are technically still older,” Luna retorted. She could almost feel that sisterly glare of Celestia’s boring into the back of her head, but the sun princess refrained from saying anything else in retaliation. With that brief back-and-forth brought to a lovely end, Luna turned to face her sister.
The instant she lay eyes on her, it took every ounce of her royal will to keep from bursting into a laughing fit. Even then, more than a few snickers managed to slip past the hoof she pressed against her lips.
Celestia only rolled a pair of begrudging eyes. “Yes, yes. Get your laughter out now." Much like Luna, she had also let her natural mane fall down along her back. Unfortunately for Celestia and much to the amusement of Luna, that was where the similarities ended.
All throughout her mane, errant strands of pink hair stuck out in defiance, jutting out in crooked lines that even the sloppiest of individuals would’ve called excessive. Even her tail wasn’t spared the unkempt maelstrom, left twisted, crooked, and bent in all manner of directions.
In short, she looked ridiculous, a common consequence of bedhead. She knew that, which was why she so willingly allowed Luna to laugh.
And laugh Luna did. And laugh. And laugh. In fact, she laughed for far longer than Celestia initially expected her to. And to think that she continually insisted that she wasn’t easily amused...
Finally, the laughter died down as Luna wiped the amused tears from her eyes. “My... my apologies,” she said in between lingering giggles. “It simply isn’t very often that I see you such a... an unbecoming state.” After clearing her throat, properly regaining her composure under Celestia’s unamused gaze, she continued. “So, what is it that brings you to me at such a late hour?”
Celestia’s mouth, initially straight as a line, finally brightened back up into an eager smile. “Ah, yes. I have something I’d like to show you.” Her horn went alight with its golden glow as she looked back into the dark depths of Luna’s bed chambers. “I think you’re going to enjoy this.”
Luna herself, with a single, curious eyebrow raised, peered over Celestia’s shoulder in a brief, yet futile attempt to see what drew her focus.
Fortunately, the mystery didn’t remain one for long. Luna’s face only twisted further into a confused frown as Celestia brought out a single painting floating gently in her golden aura.
“I’ve been meaning to show you this for quite a while," Celestia said. “Unfortunately, I never could find what I felt to be sufficient enough time. I believe the loss of sleep is a fair price to pay for this."
Luna’s eyes remained fixated on the canvas as Celestia lay it down next to herself. “A painting? Of what?” she asked, the slightest hints of wonder creeping onto her face.
“Tell me,” Celestia began. “You remember our family’s personal artists, yes?”
Luna’s mouth reverted back to its confused frown, the question triggering an almost automatic response in her mind. “Of course I do. Hardly a day would go by without them wanting to show us another creation of theirs.” Her eyes momentarily drifted to the floor as vague memories filled her mind. “I never could understand their more abstract pieces,” she mumbled. Her eyes shot back up to Celestia. “Why do you ask? I fail to see the releva—” The words stopped dead in Luna’s throat as her mind finally caught up to the implications.
Her body went still as the realization washed over her. Her only movements to follow came from her eyes as they widened in enlightenment, as well as her lips as they curled up into the smallest of smiles.
Finally, Luna fixed her mouth to utter—more whisper, really—a single, disbelieving word. “No...”
Celestia simply nodded, her own smile growing in tandem to Luna’s disbelief.
“But... But I thought that all of those paintings were destroyed when Discord...”
The faintest hints of sorrow flashed across Celestia’s face as the memories briefly played out in her mind. She quickly shook her head, dispelling those memories, that smile of hers returning as she glanced down at the painting. “Most, but not all." Celestia gently patted the empty space next to her, looking back up at Luna. “Come here.”
Luna’s legs, of their own volition, carried the younger alicorn towards her sister. A great, white wing stretched towards the sky, draping across Luna’s back as she settled down next to Celestia. Her body continued moving on its own, pressing itself further into Celestia’s open chest, the actions feeling as natural as breathing.
A content sigh passed through Luna’s lips as that eternal warmth radiating from Celestia’s being washed over her in ways that not even the fiercest of fires could achieve.
“There,” Celestia said, smiling down at her sibling. “Better?” As Luna nodded her affirmation, the white alicorn breathed a heavy yawn as she herself nuzzled further into her sister’s warm coat.
Luna’s smile widened ever so slightly, the action not slipping by her unnoticed. “You are going to be exhausted come morning,” she muttered. She felt the soft vibrations in Celestia’s chest as the elder alicorn quietly chuckled.
“Perhaps, but I’m certain that this will be well worth it.” Celestia had no hope nor any intention of hiding the loving smile that spread across her face.
The sight before her, of Luna nestled against her chest, her gentle, teal eyes glistening softly in the moonlight, that content smile gracing her face, was one that she saw far too rarely. Mere words couldn’t hope to describe the waves of emotion washing through her chest. Mere words couldn’t hope to describe how much Celestia needed to see it nor how much it put her mind at ease.
Luna, staring up at Celestia with those gentle eyes, let a slight smirk crawl across her face. “Sister,” she simply called.
Though she spoke clearly, her voice barely made it to Celestia’s ears, nearly slipping past her like so many whispers in the wind. “Hmm?” she responded, still a victim of her own bliss.
“Let’s not start forgetting things now, shall we?”
Celestia, broken out of her blissful stupor, turned a confused frown towards Luna. “Whatever could you be—? Oh!” The pieces were quick to click back together in her mind as she turned her attention back towards the painting resting next to her. “Goodness, I nearly forgot about it. I really am getting old.”
“Again, your words, Celestia,” Luna said, teasing. However, her amused smirk soon fell back into a curious frown as her eyes refocused on the painting.
As Celestia took it back up in her magic, Luna took the time to really observe it, her eyes slowly narrowing with skepticism. “I don’t understand,” she finally said, earning a curious glance from Celestia. “If this is truly a painting created by one of those artists, then that means it is from nearly two millennia ago. How does it still appear so... untouched by time?”
A small smile came across Celestia’s face as she took the painting in both hooves, studying it with warm, nostalgic eyes. “Preservation enchantments, dear sister. A simple, yet very effective way to save the more fragile of memories.” She brought her eyes up to meet Luna’s. “After all, it would be nothing short of a tragedy if we lost a gem as precious as this...”
She finally brought the painting over to Luna, holding it in front of her younger sister. Luna, oblivious to the sly smirk on Celestia’s face, looked down at it.
It took all of one second before her eyes shot wide open, her normally blue cheeks turning an immediate red as ancient memories shoved their ways to the very front of her mind.
“I-It’s...” she sputtered. “That... that’s...”
Staring back up at Luna from the canvas, eyes fixed into an eternal glare, was a portrait of the moon princess back when she must’ve been the far less intimidating age of... eight, she wanted to say. Despite her young age, however, the filly in the portrait certainly wasn’t displaying any of that innate foal-like glee, her face fixed in an overly stern expression that filled Luna’s heart with nothing but an embarrassment that only grew more intense the longer she looked at it.
Celestia, meanwhile, simply stared down at the portrait, her eyes sparkling like those of a mother looking upon her newborn foal. “Aw, look at you,” she cooed, doing nothing to extinguish the heat in Luna’s cheeks. “I’ve nearly forgotten how cute you were all those years ago.”
Luna was quick to turn an annoyed glare towards Celestia, a gesture that certainly would’ve proven intimidating if her face wasn’t in the middle of its imitation of a tomato. “N-no! Not cute!” she countered. She gestured back towards the very unamused gaze staring up at the two from the painting’s depths. “This was the very face of intimidation, I’ll have you know!”
Luna’s outburst did little more than elicit an eye roll from Celestia.
“You don’t believe me?” she asked accusingly.
“Oh, no need to worry,” Celestia replied. “I believe you. It is very threatening.” Unfortunately, she lacked a bucket to catch all of the sarcasm dripping from her chin.
Despite the assurances, Luna’s glare only sharpened. “You only make light of it because you haven’t experienced it yourself when we were younger.”
Celestia merely shut her eyes, chuckling at the claim. “Yes, I’m certain that’s the reason. It had absolutely nothing to do with those adorable, puffy cheeks of yours.”
Just when it felt like it had finally vanished, the heat flared right back up in Luna’s face as Celestia poked at her cheek. If she had batted her sister’s hoof away any harder, it likely would’ve flown right off into the depths of space. “They were not puffy!” she snapped. “And even if they were—which they weren’t—that was then. What of the here and now?”
“As for now? Hmm...” Celestia tapped a contemplative hoof to her chin, eyes slowly scanning over her irritated sister. Not long after, a small smile cracked onto her face. “Well...” She quickly poked Luna’s cheek yet again. “You’ve gotten taller.” To her credit, Celestia demonstrated excellent resolve, not so much as flinching as Luna tried in earnest to set her ablaze with her glare. Chuckling, she waved a hoof to calm her sister. “Now, now, Luna. No need to get so worked up. I’m simply making fun.”
“Yes, I’ve gathered that much, sister,” Luna growled. “It doesn’t make it any less of an annoyance.” Releasing her frustrations in a long sigh, Luna’s glare slowly softened into a more pleasant gaze as she, along with Celestia, looked back down at the portrait, at the young filly forever immortalized upon the canvas.
As her eyes continually drifted across the painting, a smile tugged at the corners of Luna’s mouth as she took the time to truly absorb the minutest of details dotting the filly’s features. The subtleties captured in that single image were truly mesmerizing.
She noted a small, green smudge on her right cheek: a grass stain. No doubt received during a session of sisterly roughhousing; they certainly weren’t strangers to those during their youth. Celestia always did use her magic to cheat.
Luna’s eyes shifted up to the filly’s mane, glinting ever so slightly as they caught sight of the all-too familiar purplish hue of flower pedals sprinkling that small sea of blue. Lilacs, her favorite.
Slight, playful suspicion crept into her smile as she wondered if the flowers weren’t connected to that grass stain in some way, serving as a sort of apology for the blemish. It was hardly a rare practice of Celestia’s, likely made less so due to Luna always, always accepting the flowers with wide, open arms.
Yes, she was quite an easy filly to impress.
Luna’s smile only grew wider the longer she stared at the painting. At herself. Her initial embarrassment slowly but surely gave way to sweet bliss. Countless memories from nearly ancient times flooded her mind. Memories that filled her heart with a comforting warmth that not even the harshest of winter nights could quell. Memories that, were it not for that painting—that window into the past—she would’ve otherwise forgotten.
To think it was all caused by one simple painting.
“I must say,” Luna began, her voice in a whisper as she broke from her wonderment, “it is quite an impressive display of skill.”
“Yes. Yes, it certainly is, isn’t it?”
Luna’s ears instinctively twitched at the sound of Celestia’s voice. The beginnings of a frown tugged at her mouth as she noted the tone behind it. It was... No, not necessarily sad, but it no longer possessed the gentle warmth it held mere moments ago. There was something more somber about it, something faint, yet forlorn.
Her attention was torn further away from the painting when she spotted something glistening in the corner of her eye as it fell into her vision. Slight surprise flashed in her eyes as she caught sight of it.
A tear. A single tear fell onto the painting, bouncing harmlessly off of the protective enchantment, instead splashing against the ground next to it.
Luna’s eyes widened at the sight; she hadn’t even noticed that she was crying. She quickly brought a hoof up to wipe away any remaining tears, only to find her eyes dry. Before she could even question it, her ears twitched yet again as they picked up a faint, almost inaudible sniffle.
“Celestia?” she muttered.
Taking her eyes away from the painting, Luna looked up at Celestia. The elder alicorn still kept her eyes fixed on the creation, yet she no longer seemed to be simply looking at a mere collection of pigment on a canvas. She was lost within the depths of that painting, within the depths of that young filly’s eyes, as though she was peering into some distant memory.
Celestia’s mouth stretched into an almost absentminded smile, the silvery moonlight glistening off of the water building up in her eyes. Such a strong expression, yet Luna still had difficulty reading it; she was uncertain if it was displaying nostalgic joy, or trying to hide a sense of pain. Possibly even both.
Luna simply stared. It was all that she could do, her mind unable to form words. Much like how Celestia was absorbed into the painting, Luna was absorbed into Celestia’s eyes. Even while wrapped within the warmth of her sister’s wing, the pained expression that she wore sent an indescribable chill down Luna’s back.
To think it was all caused by one simple painting.
Luna wasn’t certain how long they remained like that, the two of them lost in their own worlds, the passage of time lost to both, but Celestia finally broke the silence with a quiet sigh. “It’s funny.”
Hearing her voice broke Luna out of her own trance, though Celestia herself had yet to look away from the painting, from that stern, glowering filly.
“What is?” Luna asked, her voice laced with uncertainty.
Celestia’s smile widened ever so slightly. “This painting has existed for so long and survived through so much. I’ve laid eyes on it far too many times to count. Yet every time I do, I’m reminded of how much about you I’ve forgotten throughout time.”
Luna barely even noticed herself swallow down an anxious lump in her throat. She was unsure how to interpret that, yet when she opened her mouth to speak, the words refused to come.
Whether or not Celestia sensed her hesitation—her unease—was unclear; she simply shut her eyes, taking a deep breath before continuing. “A number of years after your... after you went away, I began having a recurring dream.”
Her mind filling with old memories and regrets, Luna visibly withered under Celestia’s wing, an action that didn’t go unnoticed.
Celestia pulled her sister in even closer, wrapping her wing even more tightly around her. “Please, don’t worry. It wasn’t about... that.”
Luna’s eyes, still holding a lingering sense of shame, remained on the ground for a moment before drifting back up to Celestia. “What was it a dream of then?”
The ivory alicorn breathed another quiet sigh, her mouth fixed in a soft frown. “It always began the same way. You and I, two young sisters, were out in a nondescript, grassy field. It was sunset, the sky above swirling with so many pinks, reds, and purples, while the ground below was coated in a soft orange. The wind was gentle, but firm, always carrying a faint scent of lilacs. There was nothing to be seen for miles, not a single building, road, or even tree sticking out from the sea of grass. It was just us.
“We were playing tag. It was always tag, and I was always it. The air would fill with nothing but our laughter as I chased you over a seemingly endless number of hills. Thinking back, it all did feel oddly contained, not as energetic or spontaneous as you’d expect two fillies to be. Slow, even, as though time was threatening to come to a halt. It was so quiet as well. So... muted. Only our laughter felt untouched. But I didn’t care; I was only concerned with enjoying the time I had with you.
“During our game, I would always be catching up to you. ‘I’m going to get you, Lulu!’ I’d shout." Celestia paused, clenching her eyes shut as the memories sent a painful pang through her chest. “I always woke up before I could. In every dream to follow, I would grow closer and closer, sometimes torturously so, but I never reached you. It was as though my own mind was taunting me with what I lost.”
Luna only stared on as another tear trickled down her sister’s cheek. It was nothing short of a miracle that she still found the breath to speak. “Did you ever catch me?”
A small smile crept onto Celestia’s face. She nodded. “I did. It may have only been a dream, but words couldn’t describe my happiness as I finally felt your warm coat again. I spun you around. I wanted to hold you tight and never let go. But...” Celestia’s face fell back into that somber frown, the tears threatening to return. “But when I saw your face...”
A slight shiver ran down Luna’s spine, the very around them dropping to an ominous chill. “My... face?”
Celestia took another, shakier breath, steeling herself for the words to come. “I never could say what exactly it was that was wrong. At first glance, it was you. It had your eyes, your mane... It even had that pleasant smile that you always wore. But it still didn’t feel right. It felt... empty. Lifeless. It lacked the little things. The subtle things. The things that made your face, your face.” Another pause. Another breath. “I didn’t want to admit it, but... but I couldn’t remember those little things. I’d forgotten them.”
“You... forgot what I looked like?”
Celestia visibly winced at that. Though the tone wasn’t accusatory, more confused and curious, it still stung worse than any physical pain. “I’ve always had a general idea of what you looked like as a filly,” she began. “A small, royal blue unicorn. Always running, always laughing, always letting her mane hang over her face in a way that she knew would give her a lazy eye if she didn’t stop.”
Celestia released a soft chuckle while Luna risked a quick roll of the eyes.
Unfortunately, it wasn‘t long before Celestia‘s smile fell back into a frown. “Yet when I tried to remember those little things—the twinkle in your eyes whenever I brought you your favorite meal, or that slightly suspect smirk whenever you tried luring me into another prank—they never came out right, like I was trying to complete a puzzle with pieces that simply wouldn’t fit.” She placed a hoof on the painting with the same care and gentleness of a mother comforting her foal. “That is why I love this painting. It captures so many of the subtleties that my mind no longer could. Without it, I... I don’t know what would’ve happened.”
Luna’s attention briefly shifted back down towards the painting when Celestia nudged it towards her.
“I can tell that you were just being silly in this. No matter how hard you tried, you never could hide that tiny, tiny smile of yours whenever you were being facetious.” A blissful sigh escaped her lips. “Such good times... I’d give anything to relive those days again.”
Yet despite her efforts, she couldn’t keep the frown from returning. Her head hung slightly low as another tear fell from her eye.
“Goodness, I must look like such a fool, forgetting the face of my own sister. It likely isn’t even in my place to ask for forgiveness, but please know, Luna, that I would’ve sacrificed anything in the world if it meant—”
Celestia’s tearful bid at redemption was brought to an immediate halt when she felt a soft wing gently place itself on her back, hushing her near instantly.
“It is okay, Celestia,” Luna gently assured. “You need not ask for my forgiveness.” Her horn lighting up, she lifted the painting up towards the two. “The fact that you cherish this simple painting so dearly is proof enough that you’ve done what you could to maintain your memory of me. The real me.”
“Luna..." Celestia could do little more than breathe her sister’s name, far too stunned to think properly.
Fortunately, her body was quick to move of its own accord. Using not only her wing, but both hooves, Celestia brought Luna in as closely as she could, holding her as tightly as she could.
It wasn’t a quick, half-hearted hug, but a truly warm and passionate embrace that could only be shared between those who deeply cared for each other. Celestia couldn’t even recall the last time that they shared such a loving embrace, but that only made the moment all the more special.
Yet despite her passionate display, Celestia didn’t feel Luna return it in earnest, her hold not as tight. Not as warm. Frowning, she looked down at her younger sibling. “Luna?” she called. “Is something wrong?”
Luna, resting her head against Celestia’s chest, looked up at her, an eyebrow raised in confusion. “Hmm? Oh, no. Of course not,” she quickly said. “Why do you ask?”
Faint hints of surprise flashed across Celestia’s face at the rather sudden answer. Though the concern didn’t vanish completely from her eyes, she put a smile back on all the same. “Oh, I... I don’t know. Forget I asked. I’m still just tired, is all.” She let out a sheepish chuckle, her own white cheeks flushing a faint crimson. As though to prove her point further, she heaved another heavy yawn. “Oh, goodness,” she breathed, wiping her tired eyes. “You were right, Luna. I’m going to be a very exhausted mare in the morning.”
Luna only giggled. “Perhaps, but you were right as well. This was well worth the sacrifice.”
A content sigh passed through Celestia’s muzzle before she rested her head on the oddly warm ground, her eyes easing themselves shut. “I’m glad that you think so.” Another yawn. “Truly, I am. It just felt as though we both needed a reminder of the happier moments from our past.”
Arching a curious eyebrow, Luna looked down at her slumbering sister. “You believe so?”
Celestia lazily nodded. “So many nights,” she muttered, almost to herself. “So many nights where I lay awake, unable to take my mind off of what I’ve done.” Another tear slipped out from underneath her closed eyelids as she wore a small smile. “It felt nice to share a moment like this, where we could both just spend time together as sisters, leaving all of those complications behind, if only briefly.”
Luna hardly noticed, but her soft smile flattened ever so slightly. Not gone entirely, but losing some of its light. “I see...” Shaking her head, she restored that initial light behind her smile as Celestia heaved another yawn. “Well, it seems that the time for the sun princess’ slumber draws nigh.”
Celestia softly hummed in affirmation as she shifted into a more comfortable position, her wing still draped across Luna’s back. “Luna?”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t say this nearly enough, but I am truly grateful to have you back."
Luna said nothing for a moment, letting the words ring in her mind. Celestia couldn't see, but Luna's mouth slowly fell into a soft frown. “I... I’m glad to hear that," she finally said. "I am grateful to be back as well.” Mere seconds later, she could hear the soft, gentle breathing of a mare lost in her dreams.
For a few moments longer, Luna remained under her sister's wing, though its warmth did little to quell the sense of unease brewing in her gut. Another soft sigh passed through her lips as she gently wormed her way out from underneath Celestia’s wing, careful not to rouse her sister from her slumber.
Even then, it seemed that Celestia noticed something wrong. The moment that Luna left her side, she began aimlessly pawing at the empty space next to her, quick, nearly inaudible whimpers escaping her muzzle.
No small amount of discomfort washed through Luna’s body as she watched the white alicorn shift about like a frightened filly. Her eyes fell back down to the painting. With her magic, she quickly placed it down next to her sister. The effect was near immediate, a content smile coming across Celestia’s face as her hoof found the canvas, pulling it underneath the safety of her wing as though it itself was a filly.
Luna merely stood there for a moment, her frown deepening at the sight, before she turned back towards the starry sky, her eyes just a bit dimmer. A bit sadder. Another tired sigh. “I truly did enjoy this moment together, dear sister, as well as all the others like it,” she muttered. “But each one always leaves me curious.”
She looked back towards her sister, towards Celestia clinging to that ancient relic of her past, one of her few eternal sources of respite from the dark thoughts perpetually plaguing her mind.
Luna’s eyes softened ever so slightly. “How frequent would these moments be if your mind was not troubled so? How often would you come to me if you did not feel the need to ask for my forgiveness?” Shaking her head, breathing another quiet sigh, Luna looked back into the dark expanse of her night. “Perhaps it is best that I do not know.”
Deep breaths.
Luna took deep, gentle breaths, the nighttime air feeling just a bit less crisp.
To think it was all caused by one simple painting.
Author's Note
I'll be honest, I always did have difficulty writing emotional stories like this. It's just one of those things I never got the hang of, but after hearing some very good news concerning my brother, I just had to give this idea a shot.
Hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think.
