When the Day Met the Night
When the Day Met the Night
by Quillery
It was summer. The first day of the season was a special time in Celestia’s life. It was a time of new beginnings. The winter’s chill was well and truly gone and instead the warmth of sunlight bathed the world. The summer sun easily cut back the shadows so that she as princess could survey the land. It was her duty, after all, to watch over her little ponies and protect them from dangers that would lurk in the shade.
There was a time, however, that it was not her duty to keep back the shadows. Once, long ago, her only duty was to play and be free in a land still grasping at the foundations of civilisation. The summer sun matched her bright, pink mane, just like the early sunlight on an autumn evening. There was once a time almost lost to history that Celestia was once merely a pegasus, just another face in the crowd.
She wandered from her childhood village into the nearby woods as duty compelled her. The children she encountered from the village said they had seen the unicorn filly, barely five summers younger than herself, enter the forest; she had yet to return. The runaway was old enough, the forest tame enough that there would be no concern, if she had not been seen stealing from the tailor and fleeing afterwards.
Searching from the air would have been easier, if there was sky to see. The only evidence that a sky existed out there at all were the shreds of light beaming through the canopy. The light was the only thing that gave her a sense of direction, if any direction could be found in the twisted branches and thick bushes that filled out the ground of the entire forest. The wild grass tickled her hooves all the way up to her knees and tangled over roots and rocks from ancient underbrush.
Celestia groaned and stopped with a huff. She plopped down on the dirt, craning her head each direction, searching for a gap, or a clearing, anything that would give an indication of which way the exit was. The land was fresh, new, and almost unspoiled by the hooves of ponies. The bells of Hearth's Warming had only rang for the first time a scant few decades previous, and yet this forest was ancient, older than the land itself.
“Ooh, where is that filly?” she lamented to the air. She sighed and looked back the way she came. The brush she had parted sprang back anew as if untouched in years, masking her path. Returning home would be a task of its own after she found the child.
The forest spoke with the cries of small creatures scurrying in the bushes, and the wind bending and rustling through the leaves and branches above. One sound, however, felt out of place. It was distant, but sounded alive, more so than the trees. It was playful and happy, and was as much a direction that could be asked for.
Celestia stood up and trekked deeper into the forest, following the sounds. Laughter blanketed against the din of the trees and she frowned as it became more clear. Small sections of brush cleared away and she managed to gain decent footing. Finally, pushing aside one last set of branches, she came to the edge of the woods overlooking a clearing.
She blinked from what sat just a short distance from the forest’s edge. The runaway was there, back turned, sitting next to a flat boulder covered in a blue cloth; one of the pilfered items from the tailor, no doubt. Celestia’s mouth crinkled from the realisation that the witnesses were correct; this young child would do something so foolish.
Celestia went to enter the clearing when the filly started giggling. She turned back, causing Celestia to blink. The runaway was a pale blue unicorn, just like the night sky, and she wore a band of cloth on her head. It was tied to her azure mane with folded leaves into a crude point at its tip. Around her neck was more cloth and folded shrubbery to complete her outfit.
In her hooves were more bundles of cloth. Celestia squinted her eyes to make out the roughly-made dolls the unicorn held. They were dressed in cloaks and crowns, just like the filly was. She danced them across the table with a joyous hum before putting them down so that they looked directly up at her.
“...and so, Mr. Pumpernickel,” the unicorn said, continuing her conversation, “I think I prefer spring myself, but the flowers in summer are so beautiful.”
One of the dolls began to glow in her magic and shake as the filly placed a hoof over her face. “Of course Your Majesty,” the filly said through her nose, “and a fine summer you have brought us this year. We are ever grateful for you service to the ponies of Equestria.”
The filly moved her hoof to her mouth and giggled daintly. “Oh, please, you are too kind, Mr. Pumpernickel. I thank you for your patronage and your visit. We must do this again soon, but alas, I have many more subjects to attend to this fine summer’s day.”
From her hiding place, Celestia’s mind danced in thought. That’s why she took those things? To make dolls and play princess? Mrs. Stitch isn’t going to be happy about this.
Celestia wanted to end the charade and put a stop to the child’s playtime, when the unicorn began to hum a chord of greeting.
“And now!” she said in an excited voice, “presenting for her majesty, the Council of Three!”
Three new dolls were brought out, these even more elaborate than the previous. Celestia shifted to get a better look. One of them had a brown tunic with a hollowed out acorn on its head. The second had a pair of wings with grey cloth covering its body and head like armor. The third had a horn with a trimmed purple cloak and a small fleck of silver on her head.
The filly tapped her hooves on the table to make a quiet applause before setting the new dolls down. She climbed up onto the table, holding her head up high as she addressed her new ‘guests’.
“Chancellor Puddinghead, Commander Hurricane, Princess Platinum,” she said with a bow of her head, “it is so wonderful to see you again. What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”
With a hoof on her throat, she growled out a new voice as the doll of Commander Hurricane began to bob in her magic. “Well, Your Majesty, these two think they can pull the wool over my eyes and build settlements in my territory!”
“Well, I never!” Princess Platinum said, the unicorn shifting her voice into a haughty demeanor, “I thought we were past this brutish behavior, Commander Hurricane. Resorting to lies and slander to get your way is a habit best left to the common pony.”
“Who are you calling a common pony?” Chancellor Puddinghead shot back in a squeaky tone, “We’ve got as much right to this forest as anypony else! It’s perfect for building supplies and food, which is what the earth ponies are best at! It should be ours!”
The unicorn placed the dolls back down and lifted her hoof to ‘silence’ her court. “Ponies, please! There is no need for this uncouth bickering between us. The days of Hearth’s Warming are still in all our hearts and we must remember that we are strongest together.
In the filly’s magic, the three dolls bobbed and shook as their separate voices overlapped in a torrent of argument. She tried to keep up with their individual needs, but it descended into chaos that eventually was defined as one trying to yell louder than the others.
The filly descended into muffled squabbling as her performance was starting to unravel. Celestia stifled a laugh. The poor thing. She’s trying so hard to please everypony, but everypony is still getting used to working together. I wonder if I should do something.
Celestia spotted a large leaf hanging from a tree beside her. An idea formed as she snatched it from its branch and began to fold it. Satisfied with her work, she decided it was finally time to reveal herself.
The clearing was quiet as she stepped out. The filly had dropped the dolls and was staring at them with watery eyes. She didn’t even notice Celestia until she was next to the table.
“Oh!” the filly said with a start. She rubbed her eyes and scooped up the dolls and tried to hide them. “Who are you? What do you want?”
“Well,” Celestia said, smiling, “technically I’m here to recover the things you ‘borrowed’ from the tailor.”
A look of horror descended on the filly’s face, then Celestia laughed. “But I see you’ve had a far more interesting use for it than she would.” She sat down beside the filly. “Why are you crying?”
“I…” She spoke while she looked solemnly at the dolls in her hooves, “I can’t give them all what they want. They all want the same thing, but I can’t see a way they can share them.”
Celestia nodded and sat down beside the table. “I’ve heard they still have a lot to learn in getting along with each other. I’m surprised a young filly such as yourself would be interested in this.”
“Well…” The filly rubbed her hooves together. “I hear the grown ups talking about them all the time. They say they’re always arguing, even though they're supposed to be friends now. They keep forgetting that they’re supposed to work together. Maybe if they had somepony who understood all their problems, they might get along better.” She sighed. “But they wouldn’t listen to me. I’m just a unicorn.”
“Hmm, I see.” Celestia reached out towards a needle and thread. “May I?”
The filly nodded her to continue. Celestia fumbled with the needle through the folded leaves she took from the forest, and with the leftover material from the dolls, she was able to finish her work. The filly watched quietly as she finished and placed a pair of matching wings onto her back.
Celestia smiled as she admired her work. “Perhaps they will respect you more if you can understand all of their problems. Now you are a unicorn and a pegasus, and deep down, we all have a little earth pony in us. We’re not as different as some might think.”
The unicorn was silent as she stared at the wings on her back. Her eyes twinkled with wonder when she suddenly burst into excited giggling. “These are so cool! Oh my gosh thank you so much!”
Celestia almost lost her balance when the filly leapt into her with a hug. She squeezed tightly, only letting go to look questioningly into her eyes. “But I don’t know your name.”
“Celestia.”
The filly grinned. “I’m Luna.”
“Luna, that’s a pretty name.”
“Do you want to play with me?”
Celestia looked to the forest canopy. The sun was beginning to fade under the trees. It would be dark soon, and trekking through the forest at night would be dangerous.
“I think we should be getting back.”
Luna’s face was pleading. “Please?”
Celestia sighed. As much as her mind wanted to say no, her heart demanded she say yes.
“I’d love to.”
*****
The evening had come and gone by the time Luna and Celestia had finished their ‘courtly duties’. A fire was put together to keep them warm and light the small clearing.
Luna was quiet as she played with her dolls while Celestia watched. She suddenly stopped and looked up. “Am I going to be in trouble with Mrs. Stitch for taking her things?”
Celestia tapped her chin. “Hmm. Maybe. I can have a word with her, maybe she could use an assistant in her shop to pay off for the things you took.”
Luna looked crestfallen. “I’m sorry for being such a bother. I know it’s foalish of me, but it makes me happy.”
Celestia inched closer to Luna. “Don’t be sorry. If this hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have known how smart a filly you are, or how passionate you are, or how much you care for others and truly want to make their lives better. I don’t have a doubt, Luna, that you would make a wonderful princess.” Celestia winked. “Maybe you should just work on your performance speaking. Find a way to get their attention, and anypony would listen to you.”
“Like talk really loud? Grown ups talk like that all the time.”
Celestia smiled. “Then you need to talk even louder. Loud enough for a princess. Then everypony would know you’re somepony important. A voice of your very own.”
“Wow… Luna said, her eyes wide in wonder, “I should practice right now!” She suddenly breathed in deeply when Celestia placed a hoof on her mouth.
“Just not in the middle of the night. You’ll wake up the neighbors,” she amended with a giggle.
Luna exhaled and plopped down next to the fire. “Oh, okay.”
“Besides, I think the first thing we should do is worry about where our palace will be. We can’t have a princess without a palace.”
“Well of course!” Luna said with glee, “This place would be perfect for a palace all to ourselves.” She hopped around Celestia on the hilltop, starting out as if she had found a slice of paradise itself. “We can have the gate right here, and an great hall over here. Ooh! And an observatory! I’ve always wanted to look at the stars and the moon with a telescope! Can we have an observatory? Please?”
Celestia stood and joined Luna on top of the hill. “As long as we can have separate bedrooms, we can have whatever you want, Luna.”
“That’s Princess Luna!” said Luna, grinning.
Celestia returned the smile. “Well, Princess Luna, I’m Princess Celestia, and since I’m the oldest, I get to make the first royal rule.”
Luna crossed her forelegs. “Aw!” she pouted.
Celestia laughed and cleared her throat. “The first royal rule is…” She scratched her chin as she stared a Luna, who looked up at her in anticipation. A playful smile spread across Celestia’s face as she lowered her hoof and tapped Luna on the nose. “The first rule is that we have to be friends forever.”
Luna’s eyes brightened. “Forever?”
“Forever and ever, as long as you want.”
Celestia recoiled as Luna squeezed her with another hug. Luna let go as she let out a long, drawn out yawn. She curled up next to Celestia and laid her head in her hooves.
Celestia smiled at Luna and draped her wing over her. They’d make the trek back to the village in the morning and deal with the consequences then. For now, Celestia was content in just enjoying the moment.
Luna stirred as Celestia squeezed her wings. “I wish this night would last forever,” she mumbled. “I’ve always wanted a forever friend. It’ll be like we’re sisters or something.”
Celestia went still in thought as Luna fell asleep. Sisters. She smiled. Yes, that sounds wonderful. I’ve always wanted a little sister.
Celestia closed her eyes and immediately opened them to the present. The dreamy clouds of memory began to clear. A beam of light cut through the darkness that held her still and she found herself awakening to a new morning.
She lay on her bed in her chambers in Canterlot, staring out at the rising sun. Today she allowed her magic to move the sun of its own accord, as it once did in ages past. Today, she desired to sleep in. After all, it was a special day for the pony that lay next to her.
Luna was curled against her, a mirror of herself in those olden days. Her coat was pale, her mane still. It had been a thousand years and a day today that Celestia had seen her at all, and more years still to have seen her like this; weak, fragile, small.
Those dark days were behind them now. Luna had returned; Celestia’s first true friend was back at her side. The light had returned to burn away the dark days in Celestia’s mind at last. After a thousand autumns, winters and springs, the millennium long feeling of cold and ache in her heart was finally beginning to fade. After a thousand false seasons of waiting, it felt like summer again.
THE END
Author's Note
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