Hiatus

Chapters

June
July
August
September
October
November
December
January
March
April
May
June - End of Luna's Hiatus
Epilogue - Night Mare Night
Bonus Chapter: Hearth's Warming Eve/Hearth's Warming
February
Bonus Chapter: November 1st , Post-Night Mare Night

June

"Ah, good! You're awake! Good morning, little sister."

Luna stared at Celestia through half-open eyes and threw a pillow over her head. "Just five more minutes, 'Tia."

Celestia grabbed the sheets in her mouth, giving it a good tug and pulling her sister along with it. Luna lay sprawled on the floor and quietly groaned, a mixture of pain and simply not wanting to get up. She slowly gathered the sheets around her, burying herself with them. Her sister, a smile upon her face, feigned disappointment as she approached the pile of snoring sheets. "I guess you leave me no choice, Luna."

Luna's eyes suddenly sprang open, and she felt infinitely more vulnerable. She dreaded the use of that, and Celestia knew how much she hated it - unfortunately for her, she wasn't going to get much time to react. 'Tia' threw the sheets aside and pounced upon her younger sister. Luna tried her best to squirm away, but it was futile at this point. "Don't do it, Celestia! Don't! You know how much I hate it!"

"I know you hate it, Luna - that's why I like doing it."

A grin on her face, Celestia pressed her mouth against her sister's stomach and started blowing raspberries - Luna thrashed about, laughing and squealing as she tried in vain to get away. Celestia finally relented and stood back up, having a laugh of her own as she looked down at Luna. "Are you up now?"

"Y-Yes... you know how ticklish I am, Celestia."

"Oh, I know. But that's why it's fun! Now go get cleaned up before the doctors and nurses get here - they still have to examine you and make sure you're alright."

Luna groaned as she trudged into her bathroom, her horn glowing as she picked up a brush and began to run it through her mane. "I don't see why we have to do this, 'Tia - I'm fine. Really."

Within her bedroom, Celestia had already picked up most of the sheets and made the bed. It had been the first time in a thousand years that Luna had gotten any real sleep, and she had made an absolute mess of the bed. Still, Celestia was glad to have her sister back, even if it did mean waiting so long. She spruced up the sheets and pillow, smiling at her work before turning towards the bathroom. "It's just to be safe, sister. Better safe than sorry, right?"

She set the brush down and stared at the mirror - she still found it hard to believe that she was finally back home, and that the face in the mirror was... hers. She looked so much younger compared to Celestia.

"Luna?"

"What? Right, yeah. Better safe than sorry." Every time, she found herself looking back to that reflection, that snapshot of lost innocence. Her sister stepped beside her and gave her a loving nuzzle.

"I know it's taken a lot of adjusting, Luna, but you're a strong girl. You'll be okay."

"Yeah... I know. Thanks, Celestia."

One of the royal guards stepped into the room, coughing to make his presence known. "Princess Celestia, the medical staff are here now."

"Thank you, sir. Dismissed."

The stallion bowed and made his exit, leaving the two sisters alone once more. "Come on, Luna. No need to keep them waiting."

Luna nodded and quietly followed her sister out the door and to the waiting doctors and nurses - may as well get it over with.

"A year?!"

The head of staff, a bespectacled old stallion, pushed up his glasses before directly addressing Luna.

"Physically, Princess Luna, you're fine. Your growth appears to be lagging a bit, but you should catch up. As for your magical and mental conditions, however... we think it would be best if you simply stayed within Canterlot and allowed yourself to fully recover."

The Princess' ears flapped constantly from agitation, and she suddenly found it increasingly hard to breath - she needed some space as soon as possible. Without a backward glance, Luna took off from the main hall, leaving Celestia to look on sadly as she did.

"Will she be alright, Princess Celestia?"

"She'll come around eventually. I think she's just taking the news awfully hard. Thank you for your work today." Celestia quietly excused herself and ran off after her sister. She knew where she would find her, of course - her bedroom. She slowly nudged open the door and found her younger sister buried in her toys, some of which were as old as she was. Luna sat staring blankly at the wall, a stuffed bear wrapped in her forelegs.

"Luna... I know you're upset, but please-"

"Upset? Upset?! Celestia, I spent a thousand years trapped in the moon and was finally freed, only to find out that I'm trapped another year inside our own home!"

Celestia walked over and took a seat beside her, picking up a stuffed dragon and placing it upon her sister's head in an effort to make her smile - it didn't work. She sighed and stared directly at her sister. "Luna, please. I know you're disappointed, and I am too. But you have to believe me when I say this is for your own good. If you don't take the time now to regain your strength, you may never fully recover."

Luna turned to face her elder sister, even as she shook her head to toss the dragon off. "Can I at least go outside, as long as I stay within Canterlot?"

"Of course you can, sister - no one said you couldn't. Just... do this for me?"

She huffed and looked back at the wall for a bit before finally giving in. "Only because you asked so nicely, 'Tia."

Celestia smiled and gave her sister a hug, to which she received one right back. "Great. If there's anything you need, little sister, just let me know."

Luna smiled and slowly nodded - maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

July

Luna's first order of business had been getting herself caught up on everything she had missed - a thousand years was an awfully long time to be away. The list of books she had sent to the Canterlot Royal Library was apparently so long, one of the librarians out-right fainted. Still, it was something that needed to be done and would likely be the most arduous task she would face. It was better to get it out of the way now, while she still had the enthusiasm for it. Luna surrounded herself with countless books and tomes, reading and learning all she could. Her hunger was insatiable, and the speed at which she finished each book was the stuff of legends - Twilight Sparkle would have been in awe of such a thing.

She read of events past and present, of the role her sister had taken on after she had been banished to the moon, and of all the noteworthy magic users who had lived and died during her exile. Day after day, little by little, Luna constantly tried to push the envelope on her magical abilities, but still found herself too weak to do anything besides the most menial of tasks. The nearly-godlike depths of power she and her sister were both capable of would have to wait until she had recovered - for now, she would simply have to bide her time and do what she could to pass it by.

During the days, she immersed herself in the history of Equestria, reading all that she could that would help her with her royal duties once she returned. During the nights, she spent her hours reading countless fairy tales in the moonlit halls of the Royal Library - though she often thought of herself being isolated, it wasn't uncommon for a guard or servant to hear her giggling and talking to herself as she read, though they would never know just who she was reading to. Luna's love for books came second to only one other thing - the heavens above. In between books, she would often sit within the Library, gazing out the towering windows with her telescope. She often found herself pondering the vast sea of stars, or the moon itself - to her, it was a cruel fate that such an object of beauty could also be something unspeakable and terrible.

There was another book in particular that she always found herself drawn to: "Predictions and Prophecies", and to a lesser extent, "The Mare in the Moon: Night Mare Moon and Other Ponyfolk Tales". Time and time again, she would end up reading the sections regarding the Elements of Harmony and Night Mare Moon. The Elements of Harmony were the most powerful form of magic known to exist, even moreso than what Luna and Celestia were capable of. It had been the Elements that had banished both Discord and Night Mare Moon, and had ultimately freed Luna from her curse.

"C'mon... Elements, Elements, Elements..." The pages flipped by in a rush as Luna frantically searched for more, and at last, she found it. "The Elements of Harmony... consists of Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic. Most recently used to banish..."

She slammed the book shut and threw it aside. It was still far too soon to be confronting that. From behind her, she heard the doors to the Library creak open. Luna turned on the spot and found her sister standing in the doorway.

"Luna, why are you still up?"

"I was reading. Um... a lot."

The elder sister laughed and shut the book, giving her sister a prod. "So I've noticed. I think it's time for someone to get some sleep."

"Oh c'mon, 'Tia! I'm the Princess of the Nigh- hey, no! Put me down!"

Celestia cackled with glee as she picked up Luna with her magic, carrying her off despite her protests. "Princess or not, you still need to get some rest. Your books won't be going anywhere."

"Yeah... fine." She did feel kinda sleepy anyways. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to close her eyes for a bit... just for a bit... Luna yawned aloud, and Celestia looked over her shoulder at her, a grin on her face.

"I knew you were tired."

"I am not."

"I know you far too well, little sister. Don't try lying to me."

"...fine, I'm tired."

"Good! Because we're here!" Celestia flung her sister towards the bed, causing Luna to squeal as she soared through the air - pillows flew every which way as she landed, and she had to stifle a laugh as she dove under the covers. Luna smiled as her elder sister gave her a nuzzle goodnight, and Celestia was about to depart for the night when she heard her sister call out.

"Wait 'Tia! Can you get Selene for me?"

"What's the magic word, Luna?"

"Please?"

Celestia smiled and picked up the stuffed purple dragon, throwing it towards her younger sister, who quickly caught it and pulled it under the covers with her. "Sweet dreams, Luna."

"G'night, sister."

She ended up having a terribly vivid dream, one of the most colorful she had since her redemption. Luna found herself dwarfed by a simply massive copy of the book she had been reading earlier - with a deafening roar, it opened to the page regarding the prophecy of Night Mare Moon's return. The Princess whimpered and cowered before it, covering her ears as it opened up before her, yet suddenly found things strangely silent once it had arrived at the page. Cautiously, she approached it and stared at the page, not sure what to make of her dream.

"It's... it's just the prophecy. 'The stars will aid in her escape', I know. But what are you trying to show me?"

With another roar, as loud as the first, the gargantuan book opened to the page about the Elements of Harmony. Dumbfounded still, Luna looked around and begged whatever was driving the dream to tell her more.

"What? What are you trying to tell me? It's just the Elements, I've already seen this!"

The book vanished, and Luna suddenly felt very alone. Gradually, though, a figure appeared before her - a young unicorn mare with a lavender coat, her purple mane streaked by a single line of pink. She slowly approached the figure, wishing to study it further. There was a sense of familiarity about her, yet for the life of her, Luna couldn't name the figure or where she had even seen her. When the figure seemingly came to life, she jumped backwards in defense - slowly, it began to speak.

"The stars will aid in her escape."

"Yes, I know! But why? Why that line? What's so important about it?"

Over and over, the figure repeated the line, and Luna was no closer to the answer. Eventually, though, it changed. The figure stared straight at her - no, not at her. Through her - and spoke a new line.

"You must solve this yourself, young Princess, if you wish to have the answer."

Luna bolted awake, panting and gasping for breath. She nervously glanced about her room, and felt relieved to discover it was as safe as it had always been. Her face wet with sweat, the young Princess slipped out of her bed and went to the bathroom to splash her face with some cold water. The candles within flickered to life as she entered, enchanted to ignite when anypony was near. She felt herself fumble for the sink, and even as she splashed the cool waters onto her face, her hooves shook - why? It hadn't necessarily been a bad dream, so why was she shaking from it? Why had she been panting and gasping for breath?

She stared at her own reflection in the mirror, speaking to herself as she tried to calm herself down.

"I don't get it. That line is just the prophecy about Night Mare Moon's return. What makes it so special? And... who was that mare?"

The more she thought about it, the more haunting that image became - it felt as if she had stared straight into Luna's soul, and the very thought chilled her to the bone. Yet, she simply had to know who she was.

"Bah. I'll do it tomorrow."

Luna walked out of the bathroom and climbed back into bed, snuggling up to her stuffed dragon. At the very least, Selene would keep her company through the night.

7/16

I can't get it out of my head. The prophecy, the elements, that purple-ish mare. It shouldn't even make any sense, and right now it doesn't, but I just feel like this is more important than I realize. I'll just use this diary to jot down anything that's relevant.

Luna let the quill fall to the table, and she stared at what she had just written. It was short, sure, but it got to the point. She glanced over at her unmade bed and sighed, hopping from the stool and grabbing one of the sheet corners with her teeth. This would have been so much easier with magic - this simply felt degrading. With a little time and effort however, she cleaned her bed up fairly well, and with plenty of time before lunch. Luna grabbed Selene by the arm and tossed the toy dragon onto the bed, the young princess rushing out the door before it had even landed.

She leaped and ran through the halls, her hoofsteps echoing off the marble pillars as she ran through the palace. Luna burst through the doors to the Royal Library and approached the first librarian she could find, an elderly mare whose mane had long since turned white. "Princess Luna, I do hope you remembered that this is a library. You shouldn't be making such a ruckus."

"Yes, I know, and I'm sorry! But this is really important! You see-"

"But nothing! You of all ponies should know better! This library may as well be your second home!"

Luna was staring at the ground at this point, her cheeks hot and ears flattened. "S-Sorry. I was wondering if I could borrow some of the recent copies of the Equestria Enquirer?"

"Bah, that rubbish? Ponies these days don't know how to write a decent newspaper. Which days do you need?"

"Um... every day over the past month?"

The librarian stared at her, her mouth agape. Slowly, she put in the order and mumbled something to herself - Luna couldn't quite catch it, but it certainly didn't sound happy. "That's an awful lot of papers, Princess."

"Oh, I know! But it's really important that I get these, so... thank you for putting in the order."

"Yeah, yeah. Have a nice day, Princess Luna."

Luna spent the rest of the day running various errands around Canterlot for Celestia - she was largely waiting for those newspapers so she could try to find the identity of her mystery mare. It took days for her to finally get them, and the time between sped by. At last, however, she had the newspapers - pages lay scattered about her room as she frantically searched each and every picture, searching for any pony that might bear the slightest resemblance to the one from her dream. A pencil in her mouth, she circled each and every one that looked the least bit like the figure.

"Luna? What's going on in here?"

The Princess yelped, pencil flying across the room. "Uh... nothing, Celestia! Just... looking for inspiration! I'm picking up drawing, you know!"

"Ah, wonderful! I'm so glad you're finding things to keep yourself busy, little sister. I'd stay and ask more about it, but I'm afraid that I have some nobles that wish to talk with me. Terribly sorry, Luna."

"Oh no, that's... that's quite alright!" Luna sat on her stool, still facing away from the door. She nervously chewed on her lip, sighing and shaking her head as she heard her sister leave.

"If Celestia knew what was really going on, she'd think I was going crazy! I mean, it's just a dream! Dreams don't really mean anything, right?

...Right?"

7/30

I'm no closer to learning anything new. I've checked both old copies and new copies of the Equestria Enquirer, and that mare never shows up in any of the pictures. Maybe she's not real? Oh goodness, it's like I'm a filly all over again - making up ponies and creatures in my head. Still, I'll keep checking until I find out who she is.

I'm not about to let some books stump me. I just wish it were fall. It's been way too hot this summer.

August

Equestria currently found itself locked in the worst drought it had in ages, and ponies all over the kingdom were suffering for it - even within the stone halls of the palace, Luna found the heat to be sweltering. Her sister had been busy for the latter half of July and all of August thus far, trying to negotiate an end to the drought - apparently, many of the pegasi at the Cloudsdale factories thought they were no longer being paid fairly, and decided to strike. No ponies at work in Cloudsdale meant no storms. No storms meant no rain. No rain meant that crops had failed, and the heat had risen to unbearable levels. Farms throughout the land had protested fiercely, with Sweet Apple Acres leading the pack - from what Luna understood of it, the mare that ran it was something of a hero in Ponyville. She had never heard of her, though, and wasted no more time thinking about it.

Luckily for her, there were some areas of Canterlot that stayed much cooler than others. Even now, Luna carefully stepped down the stairway leading to the old playroom she and Celestia had used when they were younger. The stone floor and walls, as well as the underground location, kept it much cooler than the rest of the building. Some of the servants knew of its existence and simply never went for reasons unknown, and others didn't know about it at all. The room was in a dismal state, however - the paint had lost its bright and cheery hues over the hundreds of years of neglect, and the pattern of angelic ponies had begun to chip and flake away. The toys themselves were in far worse shape. Most had simply sat where she and Celestia had last left them - stuffed animals lay flattened, their cotton filling gone. Building blocks had lost their paint and instead gathered dust, and the ink of the coloring books had long since faded, the crayons having slowly turned into dull and muted shades. Part of Luna silently wept for such decay. After all, this had been their childhood. With the death of their parents, they had inherited an entire kingdom at an extremely early age, and this playroom was often the only thing the two of them had that reminded them they were still children. It had been a sanctuary of sorts from their royal duties, and the two sisters had spent countless hours down here, laughing and enjoying themselves. As with all things, though, time passed - the sisters grew, and one day, they no longer had an interest in playing anymore. To see the state it was in now, though... Luna began to regret ever leaving. This was her one and only link to the past, to her life from before.

There was one toy that stood out from the others, even in all the gloom. The Princess' eyes went wide upon seeing it, and she slowly approached it, her hooves clacking upon the stone floor.

"I-it can't be..."

Sitting in the corner, amidst the other stuffed animals, lay what appeared to be a stuffed bird - it was a phoenix, based upon Philomena from when their parents had owned her, and had been a gift to Luna from their mother. It had been well over a thousand years, and many hundreds since she had last seen it, and yet it still had the same fiery and vibrant colors it had on the day she received it. It was also all she had left of her mother. Luna gently grabbed it in her mouth, slowly lifting it by the wing - the stitching, torn and frayed by the passage of time, sent the doll plummeting to the ground. Tears slowly welled up in her eyes as she tried to pick it up, and despite her best efforts, she felt herself wobble on uneasy footing. Her legs gave out from under her, and she winced as she landed upon the cold floor - all that mattered to her at that moment, though, was the doll. She had already lost so much, and she wasn't about to lose her only remaining link to her parents.

"D-don't worry, P-p-philomena. I'll f-fix you up, good as new."

Luna gingerly picked up both pieces and wordlessly left the playroom. She would be back another day, she told herself. She just needed some distance for a bit.

"You're taking on an awful lot of hobbies, Luna. First drawing, and now sewing? I didn't know you liked either."

"Yeah, well... things change, 'Tia."

"Looks like it. May I see what you're working on?" Celestia tried to peek over Luna and get a glimpse into her room, but the younger sister seemed to always be in front of her, blocking her view.

"Uh... it's a surprise! So... no, you can't see it. Yet, anyways."

Celestia knew she was lying, of course. She had known her sister for eons, and knew she was notoriously bad at lying - it almost had good intentions though, and for that, Celestia was quick to let it slide. She smiled at Luna and gave her a poke before leaving. "Just don't forget to show me later, little sister."

"Don't worry, I will!" As soon as she was out of sight, Luna slammed the door shut and ran back to her desk. Her horn glowed faintly as she picked up the thread and needle with her magic and set about the delicate task of repairing the doll. Philomena had been in far worse shape than she initially realized, and so it took far longer for her to repair the toy, but the end-result was worth every hour of effort. Setting the needle aside, Luna looked fondly at it and picked it up, giving it a test hug of sorts - she found herself being pulled back to when she had first gotten it. Memories raced through her mind as she began to recall all those lost years. She remembered how happy she had been when her mother gave her Philomena for her birthday and how she had slept with it every night - she remembered the stories and adventures she would often make up with the doll, and how she began to avoid playing with Philomena after their parents had passed away. Now, though... it was the most priceless thing in her possession.

"...Luna. Is... is that what I think it is?"

She turned and held the doll in front of her for Celestia to see. The elder sister almost always had a smile or expression of neutrality upon her face, but to see this again after all those years... she found it difficult to keep her composure. "You fixed Philomena up and everything! It doesn't look like she's aged a day! Where did you manage to find her?"

"Down in our old playroom, 'Tia. She was down there with all our other old toys."

Princess Celestia sighed sadly and looked out the window of Luna's room. "I haven't been down there in ages. How is it?"

"...do you want the honest answer?"

"Yes."

"It's pretty bad, 'Tia. It'll take a bit to fix up again."

Celestia lowered her head a bit. "I assumed as much. Sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if we had been lucky enough to have normal childhoods."

"I'm gonna fix it up, Celestia."

The elder sister looked up and over her shoulder at Luna. "It's a noble goal, little sister, but that's an awful lot of work for one pony."

"I know it is, 'Tia, but I still want to do it. A lot of our past is still down there, and I want to try and save what I can."

"...I understand. If any pony can do it, Luna, it's you."

"I know! That's why I volunteered for it!" Luna grinned ear to ear, though she was quick to wipe it off her face when Celestia turned around, sporting one of her own.

"Hey Luna, guess what?"

"...tickle monster?"

"Tickle monster."

It was beginning to be a recurring dream. Each night, the dream varied ever-so-slightly, but for the most part, it was the same - 'The stars will aid her escape' and the Elements of Harmony, over and over. The mare from before was not alone this night, and Luna found herself surrounded by the figure and five others. No matter how hard she tried, the other five simply remained shadows, and she had no way to identify them. The figure stood her ground the entire time, staring within Luna and repeating a new phrase.

"The connection runs deeper than you realize."

Connection? What connection? The dreams constantly spoke in riddles, and no matter how much research she invested into things, she never could solve them - instead, they continued to pile up, threatening to bury her. Part of her felt disconnected from the rest, yet she still heard herself plead with the figure, begging it to tell her just what 'the connection' was. As before, any attempts at a clear answer resulted in the figure telling her that she needed to solve it herself, and not long after, she would wake up in a sweat. Given how the weather had been, though, she wasn't certain if it was a result of the heat or the dream itself. Regardless, it had become a nightly ritual: an incredibly vivid dream, more riddles and fewer answers, and then she would wake up, her body shaking and gasping for breath. She had tried not to let it bother her, but it became increasingly more difficult for her to get a decent night's rest. Fortunately, though, Celestia had yet to notice.

8/12

Celestia still hasn't been able to negotiate anything between the pegasus workers and their employers. All of Equestria feels like it's about to riot over this heat - and my dreams aren't making it any better. They're getting increasingly more vivid and bizarre, and each seems to end with me having more questions than answers.

Planning on working on our old playroom today. It's been a long time since I've actually painted much of anything, but hopefully I'm not too bad at it.

She quickly set the quill down and hopped from her stool, her destination clear in her mind. The clatter of her hooves rung out as she followed the staircase down, going through passages that few had ever traveled through. Celestia had been by earlier and had dropped off several paint cans and brushes for Luna to use - in addition, the candles had been relit and enchanted to never burn out. It was slowly beginning to feel like the playroom for her childhood. With her horn aglow, several of the brushes came to life and dipped themselves into different cans, flying towards the walls and painting at an unnatural speed. Ever so slowly, the decay that had built up over a millennium began to fade away, and the vibrant hues that lay buried underneath began to show once more. She worked at a frenzied pace, and she found herself painting things she didn't think she was even capable of - she painted ponies and animals, towns and castles, and even a dragon here and there. Luna smiled as she continued to work, delighted that it was beginning to feel just like that same room of yore.

The paintbrushes came to a rest, laying themselves in the bucket of water, and Princess Luna sat down to admire her work. It sounded silly, but it felt like a small part of her childhood had been regained. She had initially hated the idea of a year-long break, but she began to think of everything she would have missed out on it if she hadn't been told to rest. Philomena potentially would have been lost to the ages, and it had been worth it just to save that small part of their past - she had managed to save much more than that, though. Yet, despite how happy she was, she felt... odd. Looking down at herself, she quickly realized just what it was.

"...Paint? Really? I didn't even physically pick up the brushes, and I've got paint on my coat."

Luna sighed to herself, picked up her mess, and headed back up the stairs. Play time would have to wait another day. Right now, it was bath time.

8/24

They say you do your best thinking while in the bath. I have to say that, after rigorous testing, it's a load of cow dung - every time I've taken a bath, I've hoped that maybe, just maybe, it would give me the breakthrough I need to get rid of these dreams. I'm still no closer though. It always feels like two steps backwards and no steps forward, but that completely kills the saying. At the very least, it seems like Celestia was able to sort things out. It's been getting much cooler, but the farmers still don't seem happy. I can hardly blame them.

Luna heard her sister outside her room, though it hardly sounded like she was coming to chat with her sister. Curious, she hopped off her stool and walked as quietly to the door as her hooves would allow it - just outside, Celestia was in talks with a lavender mare. Lavender mare! Luna gasped and was quick to muffle it with her own hoof, spying some more and learning what she could. A lavender coat, purple mane... she even had the pink streak. She had fit the bill so far, but there was one last detail. If only she would turn, just ever so slightly...

Outside, Twilight Sparkle was deep in talks with her mentor. She had decided to hand-deliver the latest friendship report and quickly found herself discussing it with the Princess. She had the strangest feeling she was being watched and briefly turned to investigate, but soon stopped herself - giving Celestia her undivided attention was much more important.

Within her room, Luna was speechless. She saw the mare's horn! Everything fit her to the T - it just had to be her! Still, she knew she was overreacting, and rightfully so. All of this fuss was over a dream. It would be for the best if she simply took her time digesting this piece of knowledge. Maybe the dreams would stop once she did.

Not surprisingly, they didn't.

September

"Yes, yes, yes. I get it already. 'The stars will aid in her escape', you've told me this night after night, week after week. I still don't know what any of that is supposed to mean, but at the very least, I know who you are!"

Luna pointed a hoof at the figure. In return, it simply stared blankly at her. "Do you, young princess?"

"Well... no. I saw you the other day, so I at least know you're real - I just don't know your name."

"Time will give you the answer you seek."

Time? So she was supposed to just... wait? All of this time and effort, and the first real answer she gets out of her dream is to be patient? She could scarcely believe it. "That's... that's it? I just wait, and it'll drop into my lap?"

"Wait and see, young Luna."

It was the first time any pony - or rather, any thing - within the dream had called her by name. It certainly wouldn't be the last. Like all the other nights before, she bolted awake and groaned, rubbing her eyes before rolling out of bed. She was getting better at controlling the shaking that usually accompanied her dreams, and she made it to the bathroom with relatively few problems. Before she could give her face a splash of cold water, however, something in the mirror caught her eye. Luna could hardly believe it, at first - for a very long time, she stared at her reflection, not sure what to make of it.

"...has my coat always been this dark?"

She gingerly touched her face, attempting to make sense of what was happening. It had been very gradual, so gradual that she hadn't even noticed until now. Her coat, typically a dark blue, had slowly managed to become even darker, and had begun to resemble something akin to a grayish purple. It wasn't just isolated either - further examination showed that this was occurring all over her body, and a small part of her wanted to panic.

"Okay, maybe... maybe this is something I'm just growing into. I mean, the doctors said my growth had lagged behind a bit and I would catch up. Maybe I'm just growing into it! Or maybe..."

Her thoughts turned to a darker subject - Night Mare Moon. Night Mare Moon's coat had been jet-black, and Luna's was gradually getting darker. Her mind made a leap of logic, and she found herself absolutely terrified at the result. If Night Mare Moon had a dark coat, and hers was getting darker too... what if some small part of Night Mare Moon was still inside her? Luna shyed away from the mirror and slowly crawled back to bed, surrounding herself with Philomena and Selene, and as many of her toys as she could. She wanted desperately to stop thinking about her, but she couldn't. She would find no rest from it, not even in her sleep.

"I didn't expect you to be up this early, little sister. Did you sleep well last night?"

Luna groaned and put her head down on the table. "No."

"No? Did you have a bad dream, Luna?"

"...something like that."

She heard her sister set her fork down and walk up beside her, though she did everything she could to avoid looking right at her. "Would you like to talk about it?"

Luna sighed and picked up her head, turning to face Celestia. As she thought about it, she realized she didn't really have anything to lose in talking about it. Might as well say what was on her mind, right? "Well, I got up last night and went into my bathroom."

"Mhm?"

"And I saw that my coat had been getting darker - I mean, a lot darker. You see it too, right? I'm not going crazy or anything?"

"No no, I see it too."

"And I thought that... you know, my coat was getting darker. And Night Mare Moon had a really dark coat too. And I thought that maybe..."

"You got scared that you were going to slowly turn into Night Mare Moon, didn't you?"

It was hard to admit, especially in front of her own sister, but... yes. She had been absolutely terrified of such a thing. Luna slowly nodded, and received a comforting nuzzle from Celestia in return.

"I understand why you might be scared, Luna, but you're just growing up is all. The doctors did say your growth was lagging a bit - you're probably just now getting caught up on it. Besides, Night Mare Moon is banished forever. She's gone."

"Yeah... I kinda thought that might be it. I just got scared is all. Thanks, 'Tia."

Luna wordlessly left the dining room, leaving her sister to eat in peace. She did feel much better after being reassured by Celestia, but something else was bothering her now - she had the strangest urge to go out and play in the sun.

It wasn't often that she came out to the training field. The only times she and Celestia both came out here was typically just to inspect the royal guards and make sure they were up to snuff - still, nothing said that she couldn't come out and get a bit of exercise herself. The few guards that weren't on duty found themselves running drills, though most were thankful to be doing so in the autumn air rather than the summer heat. Luna had mostly wanted to just walk about in peace, but unfortunately for her, one of the drill instructors saw her and assumed she was here to conduct inspections.

"Alright maggots, front and center! Stand at attention, and not a single movement or I'll have you scrubbing toilets the rest of the day! Princess Luna, the guards are ready and awaiting your inspection!"

She froze upon hearing her name - she absolutely dreaded doing inspections and typically let her elder sister do most of the talking. It was all a big misunderstanding, however, she maybe she could still wiggle her way out of it. Quietly, she approached the rows of guards and coughed to clear her throat. "Um... at ease, gentlemen. I'm not here to do inspections. I was just passing through is all."

The drill instructor, a grizzled old stallion, blinked at her. "Just passing through?! But whenever you and Princess Celestia arrive, it's always for inspections!"

"Yes, well... you're wrong on this occasion, sir. As you may or may not be aware, I was given medical instructions to stay within Canterlot for the next year and to regain my strength. I assume that is not an issue?"

"Of course not, your Majesty. You just... disrupted the training is all."

"I disrupted the training? I seem to recall a certain drill instructor putting a stop to all training because he assumed I was here to do inspections. By right, I'm free to travel where I wish within Canterlot. My arrival does not mean you may assume things and jump to conclusions."

The drill instructor had visibly shrunk once Luna had begun to lay the pressure upon him. She wasn't finished with him yet, not by a long-shot.

"I seem to recall an old rhyme regarding assumptions, drill instructor. Would you kindly recall it in front of your men?"

"To... to assume makes a mule out of you and me."

She smiled and gave him a pat on the back. "Very good. The next time you see either myself or my sister, you are to continue all drills and training unless we personally tell you that we're here for inspections. Do I make myself clear?"

"Y-yes, your Majesty."

"Thank you. Dismissed."

With that, Luna gave her wings a good stretch and took to the skies. It had been ages since she had flown, and it felt surprisingly good to feel the wind beneath her wings much more. She found herself hopping from cloud to cloud, making a game of it, as she raced the sun itself. At one point, she tripped and landed face-first on a cloud, but it wasn't like it hurt at all. In fact, she had forgotten that they were this fluffy and soft - it was almost like a bed. She hadn't gotten much sleep anyways, so nopony was really going to mind if she gave her eyes a rest, right?

She wasn't quite sure what was going on. Luna recognized where she was, of course - it was their old castle in the Everfree Forest, from when their parents were still alive. But she didn't really understand why she was in this particular place. All of her other dreams had her in a black space, and never any specific spot - why was this one different?

Nervously, she glanced around and began to trot through the ruins. A thousand years had taken its toll on the place. Windows were shattered and broken, and stone bricks lay scattered upon the ground. Moss and flora grew out of every little crack, and much of the roof was gone - the only other thing above her was the night sky. It felt positively foreign, but at one point, this had been home. A shriek pierced the air, and Luna felt her skin crawl. Her eyes darted about as she became increasingly paranoid, searching every bit of shadow to see what might be there... and then she saw it.

A blue horseshoe and a jet-black leg extending from it.

Her blood ran cold as her eyes slowly wandered up. She wanted desperately for it to be some other pony, but deep down, she knew what she would find in the darkness, and she wanted nothing more to wake up.

"Luna, my dear! Oh, it's been so very long since we last talked. I thought you had forgotten about me!"

Princess Luna was shaking like a leaf on a tree, and try as she might, she found herself frozen in fear. The translucent form of Night Mare Moon strode up to her, grinning like a cat who had cornered a mouse.

"What's the matter, dear Luna? Did you miss me?"

Night Mare Moon's tail brushed up against Luna in a deadly embrace, though the Princess was quick to snap it away.
"N-no..."

"But just look at your coat! It's coming along beautifully... and soon, you'll be ripe for the taking."

"My s-sister said you were gone. Banished. And I'm just growing up is all."

"Bah! Celestia! Why are you even listening to her? She's a cancer! As long as you stay in her shadow, you'll never reach your full potential! All you have to do, dear Luna, is let me back in... and then we can show the world who the real Princess of the Night is."

Luna's body trembled - not out of fear, but of anger. Though she knew Night Mare Moon was no longer a threat, she needed to face her fears. Furious, she stomped her hoof, cracking the stone floor and sending Night Mare Moon recoiling. "How... how dare you! You honestly have the nerve, the gall, to show yourself in this sacred place? You insult my sister and think yourself fit to replace me?"

The tables had turned, and all too quickly, Night Mare Moon found herself on the receiving end of one-thousand years of pent-up wrath. Deep from within her, a spark came to life, and Luna brought it to the surface with a roaring intensity she didn't think she was capable of.

"I AM THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT! YOU - YOU ARE BUT AN INSECT TO ME!"

Engulfed in a swirling maelstrom of fury, Night Mare Moon's form was torn to shreds, her agonizing screams echoing out until nothing remained of her. Exhausted, Luna collapsed to the floor...

...and found herself waking up on the same cloud she had fallen asleep on earlier. Hours had passed, and already, the sun was beginning to set. She knew it was just a dream in the beginning, but... it all felt so real at the end. There was one thing she was curious about, however. After getting to her hooves, Luna took a deep breath and searched for that same spark she had felt in the dream.

"HELLO, EQUESTRIA!"

She smiled, pleased with herself. She had found it.

"ECHO!"

Luna giggled as she heard her own voice echo for mile after mile. She knew this was going to be terribly easy to abuse. Pushing off from the cloud, she silently soared back to the training yard, the guards all having left long ago. It was a bit eerie to be the only pony around in such a large space, but she was far too happy to care. She had conquered her fears, after all - all that was left was to gallop back to her room, grab Philomena, and crack open a good book.

9/21

My coat has completely changed at this point. A lot of the servants and guards used to stare at me for it, but they've gotten used to it. I've even had some compliment me on it - I don't get many compliments either. I've caught some of the younger guards staring a bit too much, however. I'll have to talk to the drill instructor once more and ask that they be given more training.

I've been practicing using my voice a bit as well. Celestia walked in on me using it once before, and jokingly called it 'The Royal Canterlot Voice'. I just may have to use that. It's fitting.

The dreams seem a bit more hit-or-miss though. I no longer have them every single night, but it's still often enough that it slightly concerns me.

It had taken a bit of adjusting herself, but Luna was beginning to like the darker coat - it suited her, given her official title of 'Princess of the Night'. In addition, within the past few days, she had given up on attempting to understand her dreams. All she really knew was that the mare in the dream was real, but that still left her without names or anything else. Besides, that same mare had told her to simply wait. She may as well do so without stressing over it.

The Princess slowly made her way to the Royal Library and pushed the doors aside. She had gotten word that the Library had just received a new shipment of books, and she was eager for some new reading material. Luna flagged down one of the librarians and asked the burning question within her mind. "So... just how many new books did we get?"

"Well lemme look here, Princess Luna. There's seven... eighteen... twenty-nine. Twenty-nine new books, straight from the publishers."

"Excellent! I'd like a copy of each, when possible."

The librarian sighed and regrettably put in the order. "You're killin' me, Princess. I'll put the order in, though. If anyone can give us a good review on what's good and what's bad, I'm sure the resident Royal Bookworm will take care of that."

"Oh, I'm the Royal Bookworm now, am I?"

"Just a joke, your Majesty. We've known ya long enough to know your limits."

Luna smiled and nodded, turning and making her way out the Library. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

October

Celestia and Luna both sat side-by-side within the elder sister's study, both of them hard at work on a puzzle. Pieces flew left and right, flipping and rotating into place - they often had to pick puzzles comprised of thousands of pieces, just to offset how fast they could solve them.

"Honestly, Luna, I would have expected you to be looking forward to this month. Your own holiday is later on, you know."

"Not mine - Night Mare Moon's. I refuse to be associated with that... that..."

"Don't curse, little sister. You're better than that."

"I know, 'Tia. Trying not to. I just want nothing to do with that... fairy tale."

Celestia glanced over at her sister and smiled as she found an appropriate word to substitute. "I understand. Still, don't you at least want to celebrate it? It's usually a fun time."

"How would I even celebrate it? Woo hoo, I can walk around Canterlot and get candy. What a fun time. Every other pony that lives here is too snobby to even have any real fun - all of that's down in Ponyville, and you know I can't leave."

Celestia found herself laughing at her sister's mention of the nobles being 'snobby' - a bit of a mean label, maybe, but it was true. "I know, Luna. I was just trying to offer it as a suggestion. Whether or not you choose to celebrate Night Mare Night is your choice, after all."

"'Tia."

"But I just thought that you might enjoy a day dedicated to yourself. Well, not really yourself but-"

"'Tia."

"-I mean, sure, it's more about Night Mare Moon. And you don't really like to think about her. But who knows, maybe we can slowly shift things aro-"

"'TIA."

"Yes, little sister?"

Luna sighed and pointed at the puzzle. "The puzzle has been finished for the last minute or so. You were just too busy talking to notice."

"Oh! Sorry, Luna. I suppose I got carried away."

"That you did. My order of books came in, so I'm gonna go get started on them." She gave her elder sister a quick hug and hopped to her hooves, galloping off and leaving Celestia staring at the puzzle.

"...so I have to clean up on my own? Oh, you're in for so many raspberries now, missy."

To say she had been disappointed was an understatement. It had only been a few hours, and already, Luna had been through half the books she had ordered. With a sigh, she closed the latest book - "Starswirl the Bearded - A Spell Compendium" - and stared at the wall. "I was hoping these would last me a few days. At this rate, I'll be lucky if they even last one."

Something caught her eye, however. A small bump at the foot of the bed that gradually became larger and larger. It was almost as big as... Luna groaned.

"Oh no..."

"Oh no is right, little sister. This is for making me clean up on my own!"

Luna shrieked as Celestia blew raspberry after raspberry on her stomach, the younger Princess laughing and flailing about as tears slowly welled up in her eyes. "No! S-stop, please!"

"Nope!"

Unfortunately for the two sisters, they had failed to notice that an entire contingent of royal guards had formed outside Luna's door, no doubt summoned by her shrieks and howls. After kicking the door down, several stallions poured into her room.

"Stop right there, criminal scum!"

Needless to say, the situation became very awkward very quickly. Celestia and Luna both stared blankly at the guards, and several of the men slowly backed away, their faces beet-red. "Um... t-terribly sorry for the intrusion, your Majesties."

The guards left just as quickly as they arrived, and neither sister was quite sure what to do for the longest while - until Celestia came up with an answer of her own. She slowly lowered her head toward her sisters stomach once more, a grin on her face. "I'm gonna do it, Luna."

"No, don't you dare."

"Gonna do it!"

"I'm telling you right now, don't do it 'Tia."

"I'm doing it!"

"No, no, no. Don't!"

"Too late!"

In between her fits of laughter, Luna slowly managed to word out 'I hate you' to her sister - it wasn't like she meant it anyways. The two eventually had their fun and went their separate ways. Celestia had an appointment with some unicorn ambassadors, and Luna had some business of her own to attend to within the observatory.

The Princess was furiously scrawling down notes within her journal. It was well past dusk, giving Luna an excellent time to view the heavens. "Oh goodness, I'll surely be featured in 'The Equestrian Astronomy Journal' after this! Just think of it, guardsman! A brand new constellation, and with some truly remarkable properties - isn't that exciting?"

The stallion slowly nodded, only vaguely understanding what Luna had even said. She knew that he didn't care, and it was painfully obvious, but she still appreciated that he had at least been willing to feign interest in it. The Princess let out a shriek, and the guardsman quickly found himself standing at attention. "What is it, Princess? What's the matter?"

"Oh my goodness! I found a comet!"

The guardsman sighed and went back to his post - it was going to be a very long evening, he knew, but at least it was easy work. Such a thing mattered little to Luna, however. She was enjoying herself, even if her astronomy hobby made her feel a bit lonely. As much as she loved it, very few within Equestria understood the subject on the same level as her. The only recognition she often got out of it was from having her finds posted in the national astronomy journal, but that still left much to be desired. She often wished that Celestia was as interested in it as she was - it would have given them something new to do together, after all. Her sister's interests were typically much more down-to-earth, though, and rightfully so. Even if Luna was technically the co-ruler of Equestria, the citizens often viewed her sister as the only ruler. It made sense from a logical standpoint that she would only be interested in things that might affect her subjects.

Luna shrugged and went back to her notes. It wasn't her concern, at least for the time being. For now, she was to simply enjoy herself while she recovered, and she could hardly complain about that. The time seemed to fly by as Luna spent hour after hour enjoying the night sky and jotting down notes when she could. Guards arrived and left as their shifts rotated - sometimes they would be as interested as she was, and others, they simply wanted the shift to be over so they could get some food and rest. She particularly enjoyed the company of the older guardsmen, though - unlike their younger comrades, they often had a much greater appreciate of the arts and sciences.

"What about that one, Princess Luna?"

"That would be Orion, sir."

"Really? I always thought that was one of the Dippers."

"Here, let me show you."

Working with an expert touch, Luna adjusted the telescope to show the guardsman precisely what she wanted him to see. "Just look for the three stars in a line."

"Wait... wait, I see it now."

"Astronomers always thought of that line as being Orion's belt. That's the easiest way to tell that it's Orion too."

"Huh. Learn somethin' new every day. Appreciate it, your Majesty."

She nodded and smiled, quickly resuming her studies. "It was my pleasure, guardsman."

It was one of the more peculiar dreams she had, but not without its pleasantries. She found herself swimming through the countless stars and heavenly bodies in the night sky, surprised at how tranquil it all felt. The laws of physics certainly didn't seem to apply, though they typically didn't apply in dreams anyways - the Princess bounced planets and moons off asteroid belts, seeing how long she could keep it up before inevitably missing one. Constellations essentially became giant drawing boards, and Luna would quickly rearrange the stars to see what new pictures she could form. One constellation seemed to burn brighter than the others, and she could never bring herself to tamper with it.

It wasn't anything overly spectacular or complicated, and she wasn't sure why she spared this one and not the others. It was nothing more than a group of stars that formed a larger, six-point star - even as she played with the rest of the universe, Luna often pondered the significance of such a measly constellation. She had a rather odd feeling as she dabbled about, however - a feeling of falling. That certainly wasn't right, given that there wasn't a 'true' up or down when the heavens were involved, or even a left or right for that matter.

She found herself waking up on the floor, the sheets pulled from the bed and laying scattered about. Her head was pounding, though she wasn't sure if it was from the fall or the dream. Slowly but surely, Luna got to her hooves and made her way to the bathroom, taking long sips from the faucet as she tried to get the headache to die down. A splash of cold water on her face made her feel much better than before, but she found herself looking at her reflection. It may have been a touch of narcissism, but even she had to admit to herself that she was starting to look pretty darn good - her mane had grown out a bit more than usual and was beginning to resemble what her sister already had, and the darker coat looked much more... oh, what was the word? 'Mature'? It would only be a matter of time before Celestia would start teasing her about finding that special someone, though she certainly had no right to speak on such a thing, considering she didn't have one either.

Luna sighed and made her way out of the bathroom, gathering up the sheets and placing them back on the bed before sliding under them once more. She knew she was growing up, and there was no way around that. And though she was eager to return to her royal duties, a part of her was going to miss all the free time that she currently had.

"...oh who am I kidding, I've still got about a year to go."

With Philomena tucked snugly under her foreleg, she drifted back to sleep. Being an adult could wait.

10/30

It's the eve of Night Mare Night. I'm still feeling conflicted about it, to be honest. I know it's supposed to be all in good fun, but it's still about Night Mare Moon. Still, perhaps my sister is right - maybe I can turn things around and make things a bit better?

'The Equestrian Astronomy Journal' also wrote me back the other day, saying how honored they would be to publish my findings. They even wanted to go so far as to name the constellation I found after me, but I refused. I may be royalty, but I still don't want it to go to my head - after all, if I had every scientific publication naming my discoveries after me, what kind of message would that convey to my subjects?

Luna tapped the quill against her chin as she thought about it - to celebrate Night Mare Night, or not? "Hm. What do you think, Philomena?"

She turned and stared at the stuffed bird, slowly covering her face with her hoof as she realized just what she had just done.

"I'm asking my toys for opinions. How smart of me. I think I'll just stay in on Night Mare Night and read - not really feeling the candy this year anyways."

Hopping from her stool, Luna took the calendar down from her wall and flipped through the pages until she arrived at October of the next year. With a red pencil, she circled the 31st - maybe not this year, but next year?

Next year was going to be much different.

November

Luna wasn't sure why she had come to this spot - it was the middle of the night, and cold enough for her to see her own breath, but she simply felt she had to be out here. The young Princess stared expectantly up towards the night sky, smiling as she watched a meteor shower. Every time one went soaring through the atmosphere, she giggled with glee as she watched it ignite, illuminating the heavens as it made its descent. It was a cruel fate, she knew - in the last moments of their lives, those meteors became more beautiful than they had ever been before. Within seconds, they would burn out, and they would exist no more.

"Luna, what are you doing out here?"

She needn't turn to see who it was. "Watching the shower, 'Tia."

Celestia sighed and took a seat beside her sister, rolling onto her back so she could watch too. "You chose an interesting spot, you know - in front of mother's statue."

Luna nodded, the smile never leaving her face. "I did that on purpose, Celestia. I wanted her to watch too. She would have loved to see this."

"Yeah... she would have, wouldn't she?"

The two sisters lay in silence for a while, and Celestia found herself slowly beginning to enjoy it. She never really took the time to appreciate the nights - it was hard to forget just how beautiful they could be.

"Hey Celestia?"

"Yes, little sister?"

"Do you ever miss mother and father?"

"I..." Celestia sighed and stayed quiet as she thought about it. It was a painful subject for the both of them, even after all these years. "Of course I do, Luna. Everything we've worked for has been for them. We would want them to be proud of us, after all."

"Yeah." Luna squealed with delight as several meteors fell at once, clapping her hooves together as she watched. Celestia looked over at her sister, and she couldn't help but smile - it was rare, but it was nice to see her this happy, especially after all she had been through. "Luna?"

"Yes, 'Tia?"

"Love you."

"Love you too."

It didn't need to be said, but it still felt nice to hear.

11/9

Ended up with a cold from going out for the meteor shower. Celestia didn't mention anything of it to the doctors - that will be our little secret. I'll have to give her a hug after I'm better.

My mane is about as long as Celestia's now. I'm kinda glad too. I've always envied how good hers looked, and short manes aren't that great anyways. Easy to take care of, sure, but it never looks as good. Speaking of manes, I've noticed mine actually getting lighter in color - odd, but not exactly unheard of. I'll have to wait and see what happens with it.

I think I've also narrowed down the identity of the mare from my dreams. I've asked around a bit, and all signs seem to point to it being my sister's protégée. Need to ask for her name later without making it overly suspicious.

She snuffled and set the quill down, turning as she heard a knock at the door. Her sister had nudged the door open and was carrying a bowl of vegetable soup - not physically, of course. It simply floated over to the younger Princess and gently sat itself down upon her desk. "The doctors would have thrown such a fuss if I had told them the truth."

Luna smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I know. Thanks for keep it a secret."

"I don't think I would have told them anyways. A beautiful night-time event, and in front of mother's statue no less? I think I can forget about that one." Celestia gave a wink to her sister, who was quick to return it. "Just do one thing for me to make up for it - get some rest today, no crazy antics or anything."

"I wasn't planning on it." Luna had already begun eating, and blew on a spoonful of soup to cool it before taking a sip. "Besides, it's hard to do much of anything when your nose is this runny."

"Fair enough, little sister. I'm stuck in meetings with gryphon diplomats all day, or I'd spend time with you." Celestia started to lean down towards her sister and suddenly halted, standing back up. "Ah, right... forgot you're sick. No hugs for you just yet. Hope you feel better, Luna."

The younger sister nodded appreciatively and returned to her soup, not wanting her lunch to get cold before she could finish it. It certainly didn't last long, and disappeared in just a few short minutes, but she soon found herself wondering what she could do next. Her options were relatively limited - there was the Royal Library, the observatory, and the old playroom. In her mind, she couldn't decide. In her heart, she already knew the answer. As quickly as she could, Luna took her bowl and spoon to the castle's kitchen and made her way towards the old playroom. She carefully made her way down the old stone steps, the candles within the room coming to life as she entered. Slowly, the young Princess looked around at both the room and toys alike, admiring her handy-work. It was nice to see the direct impact of her efforts, and the difference had already been drastic - every single toy had been lovingly mended to its best possible condition, and the bright hues of the painted walls stood in stark contrast to the white marble of the rest of the castle.

"Maybe... maybe we could turn this into a daycare or something."

Luna snuffled once more and made her way around the room, trying to decide what she would do first. An idea slowly began to form in her head, and the Princess ran about the room, gathering up the stuffed animals and placing them all in a circle around herself. Her eyes closed, and she began to imagine the scene - Equestria was in flames and under attack by all manner of animals. Celestia was missing and the Elements of Harmony were no where to be found - it was up to Luna to save the day! Upon opening her eyes, she leaped into action, hopping to and fro and firmly kicking each stuff animal square in the face with her hindlegs. The toys sat about in disarray, and she was about to kick the very last one when she felt a sneeze coming on. "Oh no... not now."

She quickly shoved a hoof under her nose in an effort to keep herself from sneezing, but it wasn't doing much to slow it down. "Ah... ah..." Luna could feel it building up, yet she simply could not sneeze. For what seemed like a lifetime, she simply sat there with a hoof under her nose, waiting to either sneeze or for it to pass. At last, it finally disappeared, and she sighed with relief - then it came right back.

"ACHOO!"

Luna cringed and quickly dove for the floor, covering her ears as the Royal Canterlot Voice she unwittingly let loose bounced off the confined walls of the playroom. When it subsided, she looked around the room and sighed before making her way towards the stairs. "I... don't think I feel like playing anymore."

11/18

Found a new star. I haven't seen any others near it, so I can't say with any certainty that it could form a constellation. Still, it's a new find. Those are always exciting.

"Luna, what are you still doing up?"

She glanced over to see her elder sister, though she was quick to return to her notes. "I couldn't sleep, 'Tia. I figured the time would be better spent actually doing something, instead of tossing and turning in bed and waiting for myself to fall asleep again.

Initial observations showed that the star was most likely a white dwarf, given the lack of luminosity and relative size compared to all other bodies around-

"You really should go to bed, little sister."

"I'll be fine, Celestia." Luna set the pencil down and turned to face her sibling. "I know I'm your little sister and all, but I'm not that little."

"Yes, I... suppose you have a point. Good night, Luna. Try not to be up too late."

"Good night, Celes-" She looked back over her shoulder at the sound of fading hoofsteps, and sighed before returning to her work. "-tia."

-all other bodies around it. The star will likely need further observation before it may be properly classified.

Okay, so maybe she had been losing sleep over the whole mane business. Luna had woken up one night and yelled loud enough to even wake her sister and send her running. Her mane had taken on the same constantly-billowing quality as Celestia's, but at an unwanted price - it was slowly becoming more and more transparent, and Luna hated that she was slowly losing the blue mane that had belonged to her since she was but a filly. Preliminary examinations yielded no solid answers, and the doctors were absolutely clueless as to what might be causing it. The only other case of a pony naturally changing mane colors after birth had been Celestia herself, but hers certainly hadn't turned transparent. Even she, despite all her years of wisdom, didn't know what to do - all she could do was simply tell Luna that things would get better.

"Your Majesty?"

She blinked, roused from her stupor, and turned to confront the guardsman. "Yes?"

"The Canterlot Post Office received a written request involving you, sent by one 'Twilight Sparkle'."

"And?" Luna was doing her best to contain her lack of interest, though it would become readily apparent if this went on for too long.

"She wanted to say that she saw your post within 'The Equestrian Astronomy Journal', and would like a copy of your notes as soon as possible."

"Well, you can tell her that she can kindly-" She stopped mid-sentence and thought over things once more. "Wait, you said that... she saw my post within 'The Equestrian Astronomy Journal'?"

"Yes, your Majesty."

"And she wanted... a copy of my notes?"

"Correct, your Majesty."

"I um... I don't mean to be rude, but..." Luna tapped the pencil against her chin as she looked for the most polite way to phrase her question, smiling as she found it. "Who is this 'Twilight Sparkle', again? I've been stuck within Canterlot, so I'm a bit out of the loop."

The guard almost seemed surprised by this. "She's your sister's protégée, your Majesty."

"I uh..." She could hardly believe that her mystery mare would personally contact her, especially about something she enjoyed so much. It saved her a lot of time and awkward conversations, that's for sure. "I'll just take the letter now and reply to it later, guardsman. Thank you."

The stallion passed the letter off to the Princess and excused himself, leaving the observatory. As soon as he had departed, Luna opened up the envelope and hastily withdrew the letter, eagerly reading it.

Dear Princess Luna,

I was reading 'The Equestrian Astronomy Journal' the other night and was surprised to see a mention of royalty within it, considering it's quite hard to even make it in. Your post mentioned several findings that I haven't personally seen, and I was wondering if you would be kind enough to send a copy of your notes to me when you could?

Thank you for your time, your Majesty.

Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle

This... this had to be her. Luna simply knew that this had to be her, but she found herself stuck with a difficult question - how was she supposed to tell this Twilight Sparkle that she had dreamt of her? Even as she thought of what she should say, she pulled out a fresh piece of parchment and set quill to paper.

Dear Twilight Sparkle...

December

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I wasn't expecting anypony to take much of an interest in my findings, much less ask for a copy. I don't get many letters to begin with, as most are typically addressed to my sister. I'll send you a copy when I can.

In addition, I have something I'd like to ask you, and it's a subject that has been on my mind for quite a while - involves old mare tales and dreams, if you believe in such things. Care to listen?

Sincerely,
Princess Luna

It was the letter that started it all. Initially, Twilight Sparkle had been slow to reply, and Luna was afraid she had managed to scare the mare off with talks of dreams and prophecies - she soon replied, however, and the two of them had begun communicating almost every weekend. Twilight had initially been skeptical, of course, especially after hearing that most of Luna's dreams had involved her. Still, she had been receptive, and gradually found such an idea interesting. The two would often discuss the meanings of the dreams, or would compare and contrast astronomical findings and book choices - the amount of interests they held in common was uncanny, and Celestia would often jokingly berate her sister for tying up so much of her protégée's time.

Luna was in the midst of writing a letter back to Twilight when her sister made it a point to stop by. Celestia had quietly entered and was now silently watching over Luna's shoulder. A grin on her face, she leaned towards her sister's ear. "Boo."

The young Princess yelped and quickly held the letter to her chest, her ears flapping with irritation as she turned to face her. "How long have you been there?!"

"Oh, a while now. Whatcha writing about?"

"Just comparing findings, is all." It was a total fib, of course - they had been discussing more dream analysis, but it was still something she preferred to keep private. "You wouldn't understand it anyways."

"Very well then." Celestia stood to her full height and was about to leave when she turned once more to face her younger sister. "I know how often you and Twilight Sparkle have been talking - do you plan on inviting her here to celebrate your birthday later this month?"

Truth be told, she hadn't even thought about that yet. Luna had actually forgotten her own birthday was later that month, and hadn't even remembered until her sister had mentioned it. "I don't know about that, 'Tia. We're just acquaintances, is all. I'd rather keep it kinda quiet anyways - just the two of us. It is my first birthday since I came back, remember?"

The elder sister sighed and nodded. "So be it, Luna. It's your birthday, so it's ultimately your choice. I just wish you would make some friends."

Luna scowled at her. "It's hard to make friends when you can't leave Canterlot, Celestia."

"Ah, right." Celestia did her best to keep herself from blushing out of embarrassment, but her flattened ears gave it away. "Sorry, little sister. I forgot that you're not allowed to leave." The look on Luna's face made it clear that things would go over better if Celestia simply left, and without another word, she departed. The younger Princess huffed and put the letter back down onto her desk, picking up where she had last left off.

At the very least, we can agree that you play a rather important role within the dreams. I'm having trouble deciphering exactly what that role might be, though. Another puzzling thing that we have yet to figure out is the mention of the prophecy regarding Night Mare Moon: "The stars will aid in her escape". I've already tried the Royal Library, but we're a bit lacking in the 'dream analysis book' department. Mind checking your stock to see if you have anything better?

In addition, I've included some updated star charts with the letter. The ones they've been issuing to all the schools and hobby stores have been rather outdated, so I decided to rectify it myself. Put it to good use.

I await your next letter.

Sincerely,
Princess Luna

She carefully folded up the letter and placed it within an envelope, sealing it shut with a wax stamp befitting her name and title - a picture of the moon. Yawning, Luna slowly made her way over to her bed and fell onto it, crawling towards the center and laying her head on the pillow.

"A nap sounds good right about now. I'll just mail it when I wake up. Just... twenty minutes, is all..."

Celestia slowly nudged the door open and made her way back in. She wanted to apologize to Luna, but it could wait for later. A golden glow enveloped both Selene and Philomena, and the elder sister gently placed the stuffed toys on either side of the slumbering Princess.

"Sweet dreams, little sister."

"Is this snow? I swear this is snow."

It had been over a thousand years since Luna had last seen a winter, and after encountering it within her own dream, she was trying to remember just what winter really was - it sounded like a silly concept, of course. Everypony knew what the seasons were and what they were like, but none of them had ever spent a millennium banished to the moon, now did they? She slowly trotted about on the nondescript field, getting used to things all over again. Luna may as well have been a filly again, considering how she was reacting - it was as if she had never seen a winter before in her entire life. The young Princess bounced about the area, giggling as she slowly became reacquainted with the sights and sounds of the season. Snow even had a smell and feeling, much to her surprise. It was much colder than she remembered.

"Hm. What about..."

The Princess of the Night slowly dipped her head down, her tongue giving the snow a cautionary lick. It... had a taste too? She certainly hadn't been expecting that. Regardless, winter had always been one of her favorite seasons, and she was glad she had returned in time to celebrate it. Luna took a seat upon the snow, hiding a smile as she heard it crunch beneath her - she'd have to get used to that. Looking up towards the night sky presented her with a sight she hadn't seen in a very long time.

"A halo around the moon. I haven't seen one of those since I was little."

She thought the moon was already beautiful. It was a bit biased, given that she was the one who was going to be raising it and lowering it in a few months, but the point still stood. To see it with a halo, though? She couldn't help but gaze in awe at it. Luna found herself interrupted, however, when she began to feel herself shake. It wasn't shivering, that much was for certain. It could only mean...

"...'Tia, why'd you have to go and wake me up. I was in the middle of a good dream."

"No doubt dreaming about some handsome stallion, eh?" After a pillow smacked Celestia square in the face, it was quite clear what the answer was. "That's a resounding 'No', I suppose."

Luna smirked and eyed her sister as she slowly sat up in bed. "So, you still didn't answer me. Why did you wake me up?"

"Two reasons. One, you actually slept the entire night - it's the next day already." The elder sister bent down and grabbed the pillow in her teeth, flinging it up onto the bed. "And two, I wanted to apologize for how I acted last night. It was... very inconsiderate of me to say that."

The younger sister reached out and lightly tapped her elder sibling's nose. "Apology accepted. You know I wouldn't have been mad at you anyways, right?"

Celestia nodded at her. "I know - I know you far too well, little sister. Still, I felt bad about it. The least I could do was apologize."

"Well..." Luna thought about it for the briefest of moments and smiled up at her sister. "Thanks anyways."

"You're welcome, Luna." The elder sister smiled back and glanced out one of the windows in Luna's room. "I'm surprised you haven't noticed what we received last night."

"Received? 'Tia, I'm afraid I don't quite..." The Princess looked out the window for herself and audibly gasped. Snow blanketed the ground, as far as the eye could see. The dream she had the previous night hardly seemed like a coincidence. "...follow. I'll get my things!" Luna quickly leaped out of bed and began digging through her dresser, eventually finding her favorite scarf and cap - the cap barely fit anymore, and much of her mane stuck out from beneath it, but at least it would keep her head warm. Before Celestia could ask for her sister's help in making the bed, Luna had already galloped out the door and was headed for the training yard. With a sigh, the elder sister slowly set about fixing the sheets. "Ah well. She deserves the fun."

Even in the midst of winter, the guards had no respite from their training. Despite the ground being covered in several inches of snow, the unlucky few that weren't at posts within the warm walls of the castle found themselves running drills.

"Drill instructor?"

The stallion's eyes shot open as he recognized the voice, and he immediately turned to face Luna, saluting her. "Good morning, your Majesty. What can I do for you?"

"Assemble your men." She was acting as professionally as possible - anything less ran the risk of ruining the surprise she had in store. "I wish to run inspections."

"As you wish, your Majesty. Attention! Form ranks!"

The guardsmen scattered about the field assembled as quickly as they could, forming several rows of lines. Luna trotted up and down each line, doing her best to appear as if she were inspecting them - she could be a convincing actress when she wanted to be. Eventually, she made her way towards the front and center of the group, and began to address them all. "At ease, gentlemen. You're all no doubt wondering why you're running drills in such weather, or why I'm even doing inspections. Do you know why we do inspections?"

A stallion in the back slowly raised a hoof. Luna nodded at him, permitting him to speak. "To... to make sure we're always prepared and in top condition?"

"Well... yes." A grin slowly spread across her face. "However, I only do it because it makes you all easy targets."

The drill instructor stared blankly at her. "I'm... I'm sorry, your Majesty?"

Before he could say another word, a shadow slowly fell over them all. Most of them could scarcely believe what was even causing it - hundreds of snowballs, all floating in midair. As Luna reared up on her hindlegs, the first snowball was sent rocketing towards an unlucky guardsman, and the rest soon followed. "SNOWBALL FIGHT!"

Those that managed to escape the initial salvo quickly split themselves into two teams, and hastily made snow forts and snowballs of their own, taking cover and returning fire when they could. Luna had a bit of an unfair advantage, given her magical talents - she had quickly made a fort of her own, and was making snowballs faster than five stallions could. For most of the guards, it was one of the few times they actually smiled while on-duty. Events such as these were rare, but at the very least, it beat running drills over and over. Luna was about to throw another snowball when a voice from behind sent her diving for cover. "How's it going, little sister?"

The young Princess slowly moved her hooves away from her head and looked up at her sister. "Celestia? What are you doing here."

"Oh, you know." The elder sister's horn began to softly glow as she threw some snowballs of her own. "Joining the fight."

"I thought you didn't like the winter?"

"Things change, Lu- oof!" A snowball caught Celestia right in the face, and she quickly shook it off to return one of her own. "Oh, now you're gonna get it!"

The fight carried on for a while longer, but sadly had to end once the guards had to rotate shifts. They all took the time to thank Princess Luna for the change of pace, and the drill instructor had actually pulled her aside to ask her to do it again some other time. She happily obliged. The Princess returned to her room not long after, eager for a nap.

She groaned and rolled over in bed, reaching feebly out into the darkness for... what? Luna wasn't entirely sure herself. Slowly, she sat up and yawned, hopping out from under the covers. For some reason, she found herself wondering what day it was - a quick check, thanks to a little illumination from her horn, told her all she needed to know.

"Huh, December 21st. Well then, happy birthday to me... water first though, then back to bed."

It was still the middle of the night, but she was another year older, as if such a thing mattered. The Princess gradually made her way to the bathroom and was about to take a drink of water when she looked in the mirror. Her eyes widened greatly, and she stammered over and over before finally letting out a shriek loud enough to even send Celestia running. The elder sister opened the door as fast as she could, looking around for any sign of her sister.

"Luna? Luna, what's wrong? I heard screaming, is everything al-" She had made her way over to the bathroom and stopped upon seeing her sister. "Oh my goodness. Luna, your mane... it's full of stars."

The young Princess was positively giddy, hopping up and down within the bathroom and giving her mane a hug. "I know! I woke up in the middle of the night and was going to get a drink of water, and then I saw this!" She watched her own mane move about in the non-existent wind before looking up at her sister. "I swear the stars are twinkling, 'Tia. I mean, maybe they aren't, but it looks like it."

"Well, it does kinda... wait." Celestia watched it a bit herself, and smiled as she looked back at Luna. "Yeah, they definitely twinkle."

"This is the best birthday present ever!" She gave her mane another hug and looked back up to see her sister staring at her with a raised eyebrow. "I mean... aside from being free and being back here with you."

The elder sister smirked at that and lifted up her sister, carrying her back to bed. "Go back to sleep, little sister. We've got a party to celebrate in the morning." She leaned down and gave Luna a quick nuzzle before departing. "Good night, Luna. And happy birthday."

Luna didn't hear, though - she was already fast asleep.

She thought it rather fitting that all of this should happen on her birthday. Her new mane had been a wonderful surprise and certainly had heads turning - she had even received a few anonymous love letters, having no doubt set tongues wagging amongst the younger guardsmen. The cake that had been sent was apparently made by a baker within Ponyville, and reportedly made by a lone pink mare. That didn't make it any less delicious, of course, and there had been enough cake to feed both Princesses and almost all of the staff that bustled about Canterlot on a daily basis.

The rest of the month was fairly low-key. Her sister had diplomatic meetings, and Luna herself orchestrated more snowball fights and received yet another letter from Twilight Sparkle - she had included some cookies made by one of her friends, as a show of thanks for the star charts. It had been awfully thoughtful of her, and the young Princess began to consider if maybe they could be more than just acquaintances.

New Years Eve was, like the birthday party, a very quiet event. Celestia and Luna sat alone within the observatory, leaning against one another as fireworks lit up the night sky shortly after the stroke of midnight. She found it hard to believe that it had already been six months since she had first been told she would have to stay within Canterlot to regain her strength - what had initially seemed like a curse had proved to be a blessing in disguise, one that would continue to unfold before her over the course of the remaining six months or so.

And that was just fine with her.

January

"You're getting to be quite the object of attention, little sister - over forty letters in the past few days."

"You know I just burn them all, right? The weird love letters, anyways." Luna unfolded another letter and groaned as she read the contents, hastily sending it into the fireplace. "Honestly, they act like I'm the only mare in all of Canterlot! Not to mention how terrible all of them are at trying to woo someone. And all of this started right after my mane changed."

Celestia stifled a laugh and continued to sort through the letters. "I've got the perfect pun to use for that."

"Just get it out of your system, 'Tia." The young Princess reached a letter with Twilight Sparkle's name on it and carefully set it aside - it would likely be the only one to survive the sorting. "I know how bad your jokes can be anyways."

"Okay, okay. I guess you could say the guards have all been..." Celestia leaned towards Luna, grinning from ear to ear. "...star-struck!"

"...I hate you so much, Celestia."

Dear Princess Luna,

Based upon how often the prophecy has been mentioned within your dreams, it obviously has some importance. It's possible that there's a deeper meaning to it that we simply haven't seen yet. You've mentioned the presence of five shadowy figures alongside myself within the dream - have you ever been able to identify what they look like?

In regards to your previous question, I think it's safe to say that the star you initially posted about within 'The Equestrian Astronomy Journal' is a white dwarf. All the signs seem to point to it being one.

Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle

P.S.
Princess Celestia mentioned to me the other day that your winter cap was getting too small. One of my friends made a new one for you. Hope you like it!

Luna set the letter down and glanced about - she never saw any cap included with the letter. The only other place it could possibly be was the Canterlot Post Office. Acting quickly, she hopped off the stool and ran for the Post Office. The cap was nowhere to be found, however, and the answer she received from the postmaster was surprising.

"I'm afraid Princess Celestia picked it up already - said she was gonna deliver it to you. You still haven't gotten it, your Majesty?"

"If I did, I wouldn't be here, now would I?" The postmaster quickly averted his gaze, staring at the floor. At least Luna was right. "I thought as much. Thank you for your time." Without speaking another word, the Princess departed as quickly as she had arrived, leaving the postmaster just as confused as he was before. If there was any place her sister would be, it was going to be her own room. She galloped as quickly as her hooves could carry her, the sound reverberating off the walls and ceilings of the castle, stopping as she arrived outside her elder sister's room. Luna pushed the doors open, and sure enough, there sat Celestia in the midst of trying the cap on.

"Looks good, doesn't it Luna? I'll have to ask Twilight Sparkle if her friend can make me one as well."

"Celestia, you know that's mine." She eyed her older sister, ears flapping with irritation. "The postmaster said you were going to deliver it, so-"

"Oh relax, Luna. I was going to give it to you. I just wanted to see what it looked like. You get so strung up over some things, little sister." The elder sister pulled the cap off her head, her mane flowing once more as she passed it to her younger sister. Luna said nothing as she inspected the cap - her sister was right, and they both knew it. The colors on the cap were a tad strange, a series of purple and white stripes streaking the cap. Whoever had made it even put a little fuzzy ball on the top, something Luna thought was unnecessary but somewhat cute all the same. Regardless of her opinion of how it looked, she was in dire need of a new cap for when she played out in the snow, and this one would likely grow on her anyways. Whoever made it had even remembered to make holes for her ears.

The young Princess carefully put it on, making sure to get her ears through the holes. Given how thin the fabric had been, she was surprised at just how warm and comfortable it was - Luna trotted up to the mirror and had a look for herself. "What do you think, 'Tia? How does it look?"

"Why? Trying to impress some lucky stallion?" The elder sister snickered and shook her head. "Ah, I'm joking of course. It looks good on you, Luna - matches your coat."

"Yeah, I suppose it does." She carefully took the hat off and folded it up before looking at her sibling. "Sorry for snapping at you, Celestia. I don't know why I've been so on-edge."

"I'd say it has something to do with the fan-mail, dear sister." Celestia lovingly gave her sister's forehead a poke. "Just don't let it get to you. You're bound to run into folks you won't get along with - how you handle that is the important part."

Luna sighed and nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess."

"Cheer up or I'm taking the hat back."

At that, Luna put on a comically huge grin. Celestia wasn't entirely sure what to say, and simply blinked at her sister, her mouth agape. Finally, she replied.

"Oh fine, just not that much. It gets to a point where it starts getting creepy."

"Thought so."

Luna was no closer to solving the riddles in her dreams, even with the help of Twilight Sparkle. The only bit of information they managed to figure out had been Twilight's identity - all other developments had come along at a snail's pace. There was the prophecy, the dream-version of Twilight Sparkle, and the five shadowy figures, as well as that constellation she had seen in that other dream of hers. Somehow, it was all connected, and she simply couldn't figure out the 'why' or 'how'. She tapped the pencil against the desk, thinking aloud as she looked for anything that might help.

"So all we've got is Twilight Sparkle... Unicorn, mare, my sister's protégée, one of the Elements of Harmo- wait. Elements of Harmony." Luna quickly set pencil to paper and began to write at a frenzied pace.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I'm aware that you're one of the Elements of Harmony, specifically the Element of Magic. There are five other Elements, and five shadowy figures within the dream. What's the likelihood that the five shadowy figures are the other Elements of Harmony?

The young Princess was gnawing on the pencil and quickly stopped once she realized what she was doing - she was getting far too excited over this. Luna pondered what to write next before continuing.

In addition, there's something else I've neglected to mention until now, largely because I didn't think it was important. One of my other dreams had me, quite literally, swimming through the stars in the sky. I could toy with constellations and stars at a whim, but there was one particular constellation I refused to mess with, and I'm not sure why. It wasn't anything overly complicated either, just a six-point star. What's your take on this?

Sincerely,
Princess Luna

It would have to suffice. Luna carefully folded the letter up and stuffed it into an envelope, stamping it shut with her wax seal before carrying it off to the Canterlot Post Office. Even after passing the envelope to the postmaster, she stayed and watched, just to insure it was properly sent on its way. The postmaster, aware the Princess was watching, carefully placed it within a set of saddlebags. All that remained now was for a pegasus to pick it up and make the deliveries. Satisfied, Luna quietly left and made her way back towards her room.

1/19

Thanks to the aid of Miss Twilight Sparkle, I've been able to deduce the identities of the five shadow ponies within the dream - they're most likely the other Elements of Harmony, which in this case, would be Twilight Sparkle's closest friends. We still can't quite figure out the significance of the prophecy, however - neither of us can figure out what the constellation from my other dream might mean. As the dream-version of Twilight Sparkle said, though, time will give me the answer I seek. I suppose we'll sort everything out in due time.

I made a most wondrous discovery the other night while in the observatory. It seems a star in some distant system went supernova - though it's impossible to fathom just how far away the system might be, the amount of light being given off by the supernova is astounding. I've already forwarded my findings to both Twilight Sparkle and 'The Equestrian Astronomy Journal'.

The anonymous love letters have slowly started to wind down as well. I think all the guardsmen are beginning to get the hint that I'm not interested in the slightest. It took longer than I would have hoped, but at least they picked up on it - better late than never, right?

Luna set the quill down and glanced out her window. Much of Canterlot was still blanketed with snow, and would remain that way for another month or so. A smile slowly spread across her face, and she had the sudden urge to draw. Flipping to a new page, the Princess swapped the quill for a pencil and began to sketch and scribble within her diary. Slowly but surely, shapes and lines began to fill the page, and those same things soon transformed into trees, snow-covered ground, or the sky. The last time she felt this same kind of artistic surge was when she was repainting the old playroom - it had been a warm, yet foreign feeling, but she loved it all the same.

Little by little, Luna continually added more and more to the picture, trying to make it as similar to what she saw out her window as possible. Trees and shrubs were added in, and even a few of the guardsmen who were outside training made their way into the picture. She would frequently swap the pencil for crayons, coloring in portions of her drawing and slowly bringing it to life, yet something still felt as if it was missing. It needed that special something to make it whole. A smile slowly spread across her face as an idea formed in her mind, and she set the crayons down, throwing on her cap and scarf and making her way for the training yard.

Once outside, the young Princess located her window as best she could and slowly began to make something she hadn't made since she was but a filly - a snowpony. It wasn't something you could simply make with magic, as such a thing lacked the same love and attention a hoof-made one did. She worked slowly but carefully, and gradually made four pillars for the legs. From there, she started to work on the body, adding more snow to the legs so it would support the weight. It was a tricky thing to balance, but she surprised herself and managed to pull it off. All that was left was the neck and head, and though it proved troublesome at first, she finally succeeded. All that was left was to make it look like an actual pony - for that, she scavenged about and gathered several sticks, pebbles, and pine needles. It all began to come together, with the sticks making up the tail, the pine needles for the mane, and the pebbles for the eyes. It looked perfect, but it still seemed to be missing something - Luna soon had her 'Ah ha' moment and placed her old winter cap atop the snowpony.

Satisfied, she made her way back into the warm halls of the castle and proceeded to finish up her drawing, adding in the snowpony and something else she felt was appropriate - a small filly with a blue mane and coat, making the snowpony.

She had found that special something.

March

Luna had always disliked spring - not that there was anything wrong with spring itself, of course. She knew it was vital to have warmer weather, so that the ponies of Equestria could grow their crops once more. She merely disliked it because it meant the loss of the snow she enjoyed so much. To make matters worse, Canterlot had always been cleaned up thanks to the use of magic. What would normally take days or possibly weeks, simply took hours instead. The Princess had instead decided to occupy herself with her drawing - at the very least, the loss of winter and the beginning of spring had brought about some new subject material. There was only so much one could draw of winter before it all began to look the same.

She took a seat upon the grass of the training yard, sketching the landscape before her. Though it would likely look the same structurally, given that she had drawn this same exact landscape before, it would certainly be much more lively and colorful. The whites would be replaced with greens, and the gray skies replaced by blue ones. A few ponies, still in the midst of finishing off the winter clean-up, would sometimes stop and watch her work - Luna was certainly aware of them, but simply paid no attention to them.

"Princess Luna, are you taking notes on my men?"

She recognized the voice - it was the drill instructor. The Princess set the pencil down and looked him straight in the eye. "We've been over this already, sir. Unless I specifically tell you I'm running inspections, you are to assume that I'm not."

"With all due respect, your Majesty..." The grizzled old stallion eyed her in return. "I was asking if you were taking notes on my men, not if you were running inspections."

Luna was growing increasingly annoyed at this point. She had come out here because it gave her the perfect environment for her artistic work, not so she could 'take notes' on stallions. The Princess stood up and, despite being smaller than her elder sister, proved that she was certainly taller than the drill instructor. She scowled at him, and already he began to visibly shrink in her presence - she was so very tempted to bust out the Royal Canterlot Voice on him, but knew better than to do such a thing. "Did you take me to be some young mare, harboring secret crushes and taking notes about them in their very midst?"

"Well, n-no your Majesty, but-"

"Am I not allowed to go where I please within Canterlot? I seem to recall that myself and my sister both ruled it, but perhaps I'm wrong, drill instructor. Care to correct me?"

"I didn't mean to offend, y-your Majesty-" He was certainly beginning to regret raising the issue, but Luna wasn't done yet. She wanted to make sure he understood.

"Contrary to what you may believe, drill instructor, my activities within the training yard are not entirely dependent upon you and your men - that applies to other ponies as well, not just myself. You may think of this as 'your' training yard, but this is the closest Canterlot has to a park, and it belongs to every citizen of Equestria. If I so much as hear a peep that you've been harassing other ponies about interfering with 'your' training yard, I'll have you out of a job and out of Canterlot faster than you can blink. Do I make myself clear?"

The drill instructor nodded feebly and quietly left to run some more drills. A few of the guardsmen simply stood in awe at what had just happened - Celestia and Luna were both fairly laid-back, but to incur their wrath was often a tremendous mistake, and one rarely repeated afterwards. The young Princess, however, was quite pleased with herself, and returned to her drawing. After what had just happened, it was likely none of the other guardsmen would be willing to disturb her for the rest of the day.

Not surprisingly, they didn't.

She was beginning to get very tired of this dream nonsense. Luna had the feeling she had managed to doze off in the middle of the training field, and she certainly couldn't force herself awake - the dream usually did that for her. She sighed and took a seat on... whatever it was the ground was made of in dreams. "Alright, let's get this over with."

As if on command, the six dream mares appeared before her. "Greetings, young Luna."

The Princess was surprised, at first - not from being called by name, they had done that before. She was surprised that the first thing they had said to her had nothing to do with the prophecy at all, nor did it involve any other part of the riddle. After all this time, now they decided to act like this? "What, no mention of the prophecy? No cryptic messages or riddles?"

The answer was simple enough: "No".

"Well... why? Why now?" Luna had an awful lot of questions to ask, but it was best to keep it simple.

"Because you have accepted things as they are, and you have shown you are willing to act, no matter how reluctant you may be."

"And... what is it I've even done? You say I've been 'willing to act', but I haven't done anything. I've just waited."

"Precisely."

Luna simply blinked, not sure what to make of it. The dream version of Twilight Sparkle, for the first time, stared at Luna rather than through her. "Your willingness to be patient has been the deciding factor. Tell us, Princess Luna - the being you know as Night Mare Moon, what was she like?"

She shuddered as she thought of that wretched creature. "Night Mare Moon was me, but at the same time... she wasn't."

"Explain."

"Explain?" Luna hesitated - it was a topic she was uncomfortable thinking about, let alone talking about, yet it felt necessary that she discuss it. "Well... over a thousand years ago, I grew jealous of my sister. I let my envy and anger get the better of me, and I did things I shouldn't have - forbidden magic is usually forbidden for a reason."

All six dream mares were staring at her at this point. It wasn't nearly as unnerving as when they had stared through her, but she still didn't feel too comfortable around them. "Continue."

The Princess sighed and reluctantly finished her tale. "After I used the magic, Night Mare Moon sorta... took over. The real me got buried underneath it all."

"Good." One of the figures, a yellow mare, approached her and began to speak, though she sounded exactly like the dream version of Twilight. "Now you know the full meaning of the prophecy."

"I... no, you don't understand. The prophecy is about Night Mare Moon's return."

"Is it, young Princess? Ponder it well, for this shall be the last you see of us."

Luna woke up with a gasp, though she wasn't sweating or shaking at all. She had fallen asleep on the training field after all, and it was already the middle of the night. The Princess looked over at her drawing and sighed - the paper had become a soggy mess from all the dew. Slowly, she gathered up her pencils and crayons and disposed of the drawing.

"I'll try again another time."

The drawing had been postponed for several days at this point. With her this close to finally solving everything having to do with her dreams, Luna wasn't about to let her hobbies get in the way. She already had a quill and parchment on her desk, and was in the midst of compiling a list of what they had figured out already.

1. The mares within the dream are the Elements of Harmony.
2. The constellation from the other dream is Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark.
3. The prophecy has significant importance, and apparently has a deeper meaning than originally thought.

The Princess idly tapped the quill against her chin as she thought over it all. "I've still gotta look inwards for the answer, but that could mean any number of things." Luna gazed out the window of her room briefly before closing her eyes and concentrating upon her thoughts. She thought back to her latest dream, and slowly but surely, the wheels in her head began to turn. Time and time again, the same line became more and more prominent: "Night Mare Moon was me, but at the same time... she wasn't". It was just like with the dreams - she knew it was important for some reason, but she didn't know why.

"C'mon, Luna. Think. Think!"

She wrote it down, hoping it would help her out. Night Mare Moon was me, but at the same time, she wasn't. Something about it seemed... wrong, however, and she wrote it again. Night Mare Moon was me. Luna stared at it a bit longer, and finally, it 'clicked'. This was it - this was the key to it all. Her discovery had set something off within her. Frantically, with her eyes wide and her hooves shaking, she grabbed another piece of paper and began to quickly write on it.

Night Mare Moon was me.
Night Mare Moon was me.
Night Mare Moon was me.

She laughed, unable to believe that the answer had been in front of her all along. Quickly, she tossed it aside and grabbed another sheet, easing the shaking as best she could while she wrote. She was still reeling from her revelation - she simply had to share it now.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I did it. I figured it out. The answer was in front of us the whole time! 'The stars will aid in her escape' - it's not about Night Mare Moon. It's about me. I know it's hard to believe, and even I'm having trouble believing it, but all of it just feels so right. It has to be right!

Think of it like this. The line about 'the stars' doesn't refer to actual stars. It's about you and your friends. Your own cutie mark was the clue, as well as the presence of the Elements of Harmony within the dream. The line about 'her escape' isn't about Night Mare Moon escaping from the moon. It's about me escaping from Night Mare Moon.

'The stars will aid in her escape' - there's two meanings, one literal and the other buried much deeper below that. While the stars, quite literally, aided in Night Mare Moon's escape, you and your friends aided in mine. One meaning foretold of Night Mare Moon's return, the other foretold of my redemption.

I need to stop writing now. I'm shaking too badly from all this, that's how excited I am over it. I'm just glad we finally solved it.

Reply when you can.

Sincerely,
Princess Luna

Luna carefully set the quill aside and folded the letter up as best she could - the shaking was even managing to interfere with her magic. She succeeded however, and stumbled off towards the bathroom, desperate for a splash of cold water to calm herself down. Even after turning on the water and splashing her face numerous times, she simply couldn't help but laugh - all these months, and the answer had been in front of her the entire time! The shaking had already subsided, yet Luna simply sat there, still giggling over the turn of events. She was positively giddy, and found herself talking to her toys again, explaining her discovery to Philomena and Selene in great detail.

Slowly, Luna felt herself come back down, and she sighed and rubbed her face as she contemplated the turn of events. She certainly hadn't expected the prophecy to be about herself, that's for certain. If anything, the Princess suddenly felt a need for normalcy. She slowly made her way back to her desk and shoved the folded letter into an envelope, sealing it shut - it was to be a secret between her and Twilight Sparkle, and no other pony would ever hear of it. Luna pulled out a blank sheet of paper and spread her pencil and crayons out in front of herself. She looked at her window, gazing upon the green grass of the training field, and yet this wouldn't be her subject. Working carefully, she sketched out the bodies of six ponies, leaving them relatively nondescript - for the time being, anyways. For now, though?

Now she was going to color.

April

4/1

Celestia is taking full advantage of April Fool's today. Honestly, she seems more like a child than the co-ruler of Equestria sometimes, what with all the pranks and jokes she's created today. Then again, I suppose I can't really say much on the matter, considering I still sleep with and talk to some of my toys. 'Tia has already gotten me a few times already. The first was when she woke me up with a bugle right next to my face, and it's been all manner of things since then. She even managed to somehow replace the water in my bathroom with chocolate syrup - I have no clue what kind of magic you have to use to pull that one off.

Since figuring out the second meaning behind the prophecy, the crazy dreams have stopped entirely. I still have dreams, of course - but the wacky ones with dream mares and giant books have disappeared. Based upon the letter I got back from Twilight Sparkle, she seemed a little surprised about the revelation at first, but has nonetheless accepted it after I explained it. I still find it hard to believe myself, but looking back on it, it does make sense. At the very least, I'm no longer waking up in the middle of the night. I'll hardly miss the shaking and sweating either.

A representative from 'The Equestrian Astronomy Journal' arrived the other day to talk to me, but for some reason, some art snob from one of the fancy Canterlot galleries heard about my drawings. To make matters even worse, she showed up at the same time as the representative from the astronomy journal, and flat-out told me that it was either her or the other representative - you should have seen the look on her face when I picked the astronomy journal. Priceless!

"Luna, come on out! There's somepony out here that wants to see you!"

The young Princess sighed and set the quill down, turning on her stool to face the door - it was barely cracked open, and just outside, she could see her sister. "You've got a bucket of water right above the door, rigged to dump on me once I open it, don't you 'Tia?"

"...I really need to be more subtle, shouldn't I?"

"Yes, Celestia, you probably should."

She couldn't help but smile as she heard her sister sigh and trot off elsewhere, no doubt to try her pranks on one of the many ponies that worked within Canterlot. Turning back towards her desk, Luna shut the diary and set it aside, pulling out a blank sheet of paper and her favorite pencils and crayons - her wall was filled to the brim with drawings at this point, but April had brought about blooming flowers, giving her so much more she could possibly draw. Still, it didn't feel 'right' to be drawing inside on such a beautiful day. The young Princess gathered up her things and left, and for once, her destination wasn't the training yard.

Luna took a seat upon the garden grass and spread her supplies in front of herself. Though she planned on visiting them both before the day was over, she intended on spending one half of the afternoon with each.

"Hello, father. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

She had already begun drawing in the shadow of her father's statue - it seemed very like him too, to provide shelter to one of his children, even in death. Luna drew nothing of her father's statue, for she had finished her grieving long ago. Instead, she drew the numerous flowers and shrubs that dotted the castle's garden. From what few things she remembered of her childhood, her father had been a loving and protective figure with a fiery temper, and it seemed a fitting gesture to be drawing roses, daffodils, and tulips in his presence. As every flower and shrub was slowly colored in, the drawing slowly came to life with each passing moment. The young Princess would often look up at her father's statue, as if hearing some unspoken word of advice, before returning to the drawing to make various corrections. Bushes and shrubs would be added or removed, colors on flowers would be tweaked - it seemed to be a never-ending cycle, but at last, Luna seemed content with her work. She carefully placed the drawing and her pencils and crayons within her saddlebags and stood to take her leave, but not before one last gesture. The young Princess wrapped her forelegs around one of the statue's legs, giving it a hug. "Thanks, father. Try not to run off anywhere until I visit again." She giggled at her own joke as she hopped down from the hug. "Get it? You can't run off anywhere 'cause you're a statue." Though others may have looked at her oddly for talking to an inanimate object, she knew he would have gotten a kick out of it - that was all that mattered to her. Without another word, Luna departed for another section of the castle gardens.

She soon arrived before her mother's own statue, and though she had visited before back in November, it still felt good to return. A quick shift in body weight flung the saddlebags to the ground, and she soon had a piece of paper and her crayons out. Luna already knew what she wanted to draw - it was already late afternoon, and the meteor shower a few months back gave her all the inspiration she needed. This drawing would prove to be the opposite of the one that had been made in her father's honor. In life, they had been nearly polar opposites, and it was often their mother who had to calm their father down when his temper got the better of him. To reflect that, Luna chose cooler colors, using various shades of blues, greens, and purples. She worked slowly and delicately, and even as the sun began to set, she did not stop - a soft, pale blue glow from her own horn gave her all the illumination she needed to finish the job. Like with her father's statue, she found herself always looking up towards her mother's statue, searching for those tiny pieces of latent inspiration. The moon and stars dotted the sky of the drawing, and she took great pride in adding in an aurora or two. Pleased with herself, Luna picked up the drawing with her magic and held it aloft for the statue to see. She wasn't expecting an answer back - she knew quite well that it was just a statue, after all. Still, she knew that her mother would have been proud of such work. Luna quietly filed the drawing away and packed up the rest of her things, slinging the saddlebags on once more.

"Goodnight, mother. Hope you liked the drawing."

The young Princess quietly left, ready to return to Canterlot - though her day had consisted of nothing but drawing, she was still more than ready for some sleep.

4/17

I sent the drawing I did of the six mares from my dream to Twilight Sparkle - they were based upon her and her friends, after all, even if I didn't initially realize it. It only felt appropriate, given how much she's helped me. Speaking of drawings, I've already gotten the ones I made for father and mother framed. They're both hanging on my wall, and I think it's my best work yet. Others might disagree, of course, but those will always be the best ones to me. Perhaps it's just sentimental value.

Celestia did something rather odd earlier today. She cancelled all of her meetings and anything related to political matters, and decided she would rather spend the day with me. I have no idea what she has planned, but she'll be by soon enough, and I suppose I'll find out then.

Luna hopped off the stool and meandered about her room while she waited on her elder sister, spending the time as she saw fit. She would spend a few minutes playing with Selene or Philomena, moving away from them to spend more time looking at her collection of drawings or making new ones. Her elder sister soon showed up, however, and told her where they would be going, and it certainly wasn't what Luna had been expecting at all. "The... donut shop? Really, 'Tia?"

"Of course! I've got a terrible donut craving right now, and Pony Joe is awful nice anyways."

"I swear, Celestia, if you try and hook me up with him..." The young Princess scowled at her sister, though Celestia was quick to laugh it off.

"I may enjoy a joke here and there, little sister, but I know you have no interest in love. No point in forcing you into it, right?"

Luna nodded and followed her sister out the door. The chariot ride was relatively uneventful, and it took longer than they anticipated before folks around Canterlot caught wind that both Princesses were at the donut shop. Pony Joe did his best to keep things civil, and the shop was filled to capacity not long after Celestia and Luna arrived. For the younger sister, this was a bigger deal than she realized - it was the furthest she had ever been from the castle since her year-long break started. Though Celestia was already in the midst of eating her donut, Luna simply stared at hers. She knew what they were, having read about a great many things to compensate for her thousand-year absence, but she still wasn't sure what to make of this... thing. It had chocolate and sprinkles on it. That was all she knew.

"What's the matter, little sister? Don't like it?"

Luna stared blankly at her sister before replying. "Well for one..."

"Oh, right! You haven't had a donut since your return!" Celestia quickly wiped her mouth clean with her napkin and leaned over to her younger sibling. "It's a snack, really. Just a doughy circle with a hole in the middle, and you usually put stuff on top, like sprinkles or frosting."

"So... it's like a tiny cake. With a hole in it." She still found herself eying it warily. If her sister was eating it, and quite rapidly given that she was already on her second, at least it was safe to eat. Luna gave it a cautionary nibble, with Celestia and Pony Joe both watching on. It wasn't half-bad, really. In fact, she kinda liked it. She took another bite, and then another. Before she realized it, the donut was gone - and her face was covered in sprinkles. Luna was quick to clean it up, but her sister was far quicker.

"Joe, another donut for Luna please. One with filling and glazing, if you can." Celestia leaned over towards the young Princess and playfully ruffled her mane. "I knew you'd like it! It's always been a weak spot of mine, and Pony Joe makes the best donuts in Equestria."

"That was... better than I thought it would be. Not as good as a cake, of course, but certainly more mobile."

Pony Joe placed the next donut on the table, and Celestia pushed the plate towards Luna. "Round two, sister. Are you ready for-" The sound of ravenous eating had quickly stopped her mid-sentence, and she simply stared at the empty plate in front of Luna - she had already finished it. Pony Joe and most of the restaurant simply sat in stunned silence, until Celestia herself broke it. "Another donut, Joe."

Luna ate another, and another, and another. Celestia wasn't entirely sure if her sister had been hungry, or if she truly did like donuts that much. Regardless, the young Princess let out a belch one wouldn't think possible of royalty, causing her elder sister to laugh - it was clear that Luna was done eating. Even so, they spent the next few hours at the shop, simply talking to one another or some of the citizens within the restaurant. Celestia would tell her younger sibling about how Twilight Sparkle would often come to that same shop during some of her late-night studies - exactly how Celestia knew that, she would never say. Luna was absolutely delighted to discover that some of the citizens of Canterlot had seen her articles within 'The Equestrian Astronomy Journal', and was more than willing to answer any questions they might have had for her. The sun was beginning to set however, and soon both Princesses had to leave. They bid their farewells to the citizens of Canterlot, but only one thing was on Luna's mind as they left.

She needed more donuts.

May

Old and tattered newspapers lay scattered about Luna's room, an easel standing in the corner. Upon it sat a fresh canvas, with several brushes and paints sitting off to the side. She had decided to take a brief break from drawing to try her hoof at painting once more, something hardly surprising considering how quickly she had taken to the arts. The young Princess had done something quite rare within royalty, and rather difficult given her now-ethereal mane - she had tied it back in a ponytail. After all, she certainly didn't want it getting in the way of her painting. Luna worked with a practiced touch, carefully adding brush strokes here and there as she saw fit.

Her subject was hardly anything new, as she had decided to paint things from her dreams once again. This time around, however, she had the advantage of being given written physical descriptions of Twilight Sparkle and her friends. She didn't really know any of them, and yet here she was, painting them - not for profit, but because she simply wanted to. Luna's eyes darted about the cloth canvas as she steadily worked on all six of them, often painting one for a while before switching to another. It wasn't due to boredom, but rather she felt an artistic 'flow' of sorts within herself. She would paint what felt 'right' at the time, and then would move on to the next thing that felt appropriate. At times, Celestia would stop by with snacks - donuts, of course - and would observe the work-in-progress, offering input and praise where needed.

"It looks wonderful so far, little sister. Just don't forget Applejack's hat - she's never seen without it."

"Applejack?"

"Her." Celestia pointed at the orange mare on the painting with her hoof. "That's Applejack."

"Ah, gotcha. Thanks for the donuts, 'Tia."

This process repeated itself throughout the day, and even into the night - Luna would work for hours on end, with her sibling bringing food and opinions, and then she would excuse herself to leave the young Princess to work in peace. On occasion, she would catch herself humming various songs, her favorite being one called "Winter Wrap-Up". Supposedly, it was one the citizens of Ponyville sang while they cleaned up winter, something which confused her greatly. It was apparently tradition, but she had trouble picturing ponies cleaning up winter without any sort of magic. Regardless, she remained focused on her work, paying attention to the tiniest of details. Like with her drawings, she often preferred to hold the tool with her mouth rather than using her magic - it may have been subtle to most, but to Luna, the use of magic in any sort of art made it appear 'cold' and lacking any sort of life that would come from something done physically. Even as the night dragged on and began to slowly meld into the morning of the next day, she continued to work. Whereas some may have seen such a work ethic as being crazy, Luna felt it necessary. This painting was important to her, and she wanted nothing but the best out of it.

After countless hours of work, though, it was finally finished. She carefully set the brush down and yawned, completely exhausted, but determined to inspect her painting before going to bed. The young Princess had started with just a written description of the physical appearances of the Elements of Harmony, and yet here they were, emblazoned upon a canvas. They were all side-by-side, with Twilight Sparkle in the middle. To her left were the ones named Rarity and Fluttershy, and to the right were Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and...

"Applejack. With the hat." She managed to grin, even with heavy eyelids - she didn't think herself as being capable of such work, considering the last time she had painted had been in the playroom. Luna yawned once more and blinked slowly as she looked over the painting. She had gotten every little detail - the cutie marks, the mannerisms, the mane and coat colors and styles, and yes, even Applejack's hat. All of it was there, and words couldn't describe how pleased she was with herself. Satisfied, the Princess walked over to her bed and plopped down onto it. She didn't even bother with the covers or undoing the ponytail - she just wanted to sleep.

Celestia peered in on her little sister from the doorway, looking at the painting before returning her gaze to her sibling. Smiling, she slowly pulled the door shut, ready to give Luna some much-deserved rest. "Sleep well, dear sister."

Luna's soft snoring from within was the only answer she would get.

"Alright, Luna - steady... steady. There, you're starting to get the hang of it!"

It seemed a bit early to be lowering the moon already, but she needed the practice - after all, it had been over a thousand years since she had last done this. To say she was rusty would be an understatement. Besides, Celestia was watching and ready to take over should her sister fail. Luna grimaced as she concentrated upon the moon, her body bathed in a blue light as she slowly descended from the sky. From the ground, her elder sister watched on, hopeful that the young Princess would be able to pull it off. Sweat trickled down her forehead and her brow creased as she found it increasingly more difficult to manage. Though Celestia often made it appear effortless, by no means was moving a celestial body an easy task. She knew she was getting closer to the ground and that the moon was almost fully lowered - Luna simply hoped she would be able to do it before her body completely gave out from the strain. One hoof touched the earth, shortly followed by the rest, and the young Princess collapsed upon the ground, panting and utterly exhausted by her efforts. Celestia would soon attend to her, but first, she had to raise the sun.

With a mighty flap of her wings, the elder sister took to the skies, legs outstretched as she slowly began to raise the sun. Compared to Luna's efforts, she did indeed make it seem effortless - Celestia slowly rose with the sun at her back, her wings taking her skyward. As the sun peeked over the horizon and began to make its daily journey, Celestia flew towards the ground, landing beside her sister with a resounding thud. Luna had since caught her breath, but her attempts at walking were met with shaky legs and wobbly knees - even her wings didn't seem to work properly. Celestia picked up her younger sister with her magic, placing her upon her back and slowly making her way back to the palace. It had been ages since Celestia had hauled Luna around, but she didn't mind too much. After all, she had succeeded in lowering the moon, even if it had exhausted her completely.

"How are you feeling, little sister?"

"I'm fine, 'Tia." Luna yawned, her legs flopping about slightly with every step her sister took. "I'm just tired is all."

"You did a good job, Luna. Much better than I thought you would do after being gone for a thousand years. You should be fine with a little more practice."

"I'd love to get some more practice in."

Celestia couldn't help but giggle, glancing over her shoulder at her sibling. "I'm sensing some sarcasm there, dear sister."

"You saw me out there, 'Tia. I could barely lower the moon, and lowering it is the easy part. I already know what you'll say, though - 'practice makes perfect', right?"

"I think you should have gotten a cutie mark in mind reading."

The young Princess sighed and hopped off her sister's back after reaching their destination - Luna's bedroom. She leaned up and gave Celestia a brief nuzzle to show her thanks, then stepped inside. Luna would take a nap in a bit, but for now, she simply wanted to write. After making her way to her desk, she brought out her diary and a quill and opened it to a new page.

5/18

It's hard to believe that time has gone by this fast. Just a little over a month until I'm permitted to leave Canterlot. I don't really know what it means for me, though - I know I'll return to my royal duties, but aside from raising and lowering the moon, I'm not sure what else I'll really do. None of the diplomats from the other countries really trust me yet, so that's out of the question. I've heard a few make some snide remarks after seeing me pass by the meeting room, but Celestia has shut them up every time. I don't know what I would do without her sometimes.

Lowering the moon was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I know it's been a thousand years, but I never expected it to be that difficult. I'm essentially at full strength again, but I do still have another month or so to go. Maybe I'm not quite at one-hundred percent just yet.

I also managed to convince some of the royal guards to hoof-deliver the painting I made. After the time I spent on it, I couldn't really trust one of the mail pegasi with it. Twilight Sparkle apparently loved it, so that's good news. I wonder if she hung it up?

Luna set the quill down, and a familiar smell wafted through the doorway of her room - donuts.

The nap could wait.

Of all the things ever added to the castle, this was one of the oddest ones - in Luna's opinion, anyways.

"A swimming pool? Really, 'Tia?"

"Of course!" Not surprisingly, Celestia was already in the water, and she beamed up at her little sister. "It's a good form of exercise, and a great way to keep cool. If we ever have another summer like we did last year, at least we'll be prepared. Gives all of the other ponies who work in the castle something new to do anyways."

The young Princess dipped a hoof in, quickly leaping backwards after finding out how cold it was. "Do I have to get in?"

Celestia flashed her a grin, leaning against the side of the pool. "Either you get in yourself, or I make you."

"You'll do no such thing, big sister or not!" Luna stomped, as if to try and prove her point, but her sister would have none of it. The elder sibling hopped out of the water and walked up alongside Luna, shaking herself dry right next to her. Celestia cackled with glee as her sister tried to run away, but the deed had been done. Luna shivered and scowled at her sister, having been sprayed thoroughly by Celestia. She didn't mind baths - baths were warm. This? This was cold. "Oh, that does it. You're in for it now, 'Tia!"

Luna began to charge straight at her sister, and Celestia made no attempt to avoid it - until the last moment. Smiling, she stepped to the side, and the younger sister found herself going far too fast to stop in time. Celestia could barely contain her laughter as Luna flew straight into the pool, and once she surfaced, the elder sister couldn't hold it back any longer, bursting into a guffaw one wouldn't expect of somepony as stoic as Celestia.

"I hate you so much right now, 'Tia. So, so much."

"Apologies, little sister. I simply had to see the look on your face." Celestia soon hopped in, giving her sister a playful splash despite the frown on her face. "Oh, don't be such a grump, Luna. It's all in good fun. Besides, you used to love swimming when you were a filly."

"Really?" Luna swam up to the side of the pool and leaned against it - it wasn't so bad now that she had gotten used to the water temperature. "I don't remember that."

Celestia nodded while in the midst of a... backstroke? She really did pick up on physical activities. "It was the one thing mother and father could get you to do, aside from playing in the snow every winter. You used to get so many colds when you were little, simply because we couldn't get you away from the water or the snow."

There was still an awful lot Luna had trouble remembering from her childhood - maybe it had something to do with Night Mare Moon, or maybe she had simply forgotten. She would have to ask Celestia about it some more. Still, if she was already in the water, Luna figured it wouldn't hurt for her to swim around a bit. She gently pushed off the wall, paddling about the pool as she got her bearings once more. While it was nothing quite like what her sister could do, it was still swimming - at the very least, she could do that. Celestia floated around, smiling as she watched her younger sister make several laps around the pool, each one faster than the last. Luna was actually beginning to have some fun.

Maybe Celestia wasn't completely wrong when she had said 'practice makes perfect'.

June - End of Luna's Hiatus

6/3

So this is it. The homestretch. Just a few more days and I'll be free to do as I please once more. They'll have to give me another examination, of course - it's unwanted, but expected. All I have to do is pass that, and I certainly will, and then I can properly resume my royal duties. I haven't really thought about it until now, but there's so much I need to do! I need to go out and meet some of the citizens and really spend some time with them so they at least know who I am. Celestia's birthday is also later this month, and I still need to find something for her. Perhaps a drawing or a painting?

Got a letter back from Twilight Sparkle the other day. She wrote me to say thanks for the painting I had sent - it's now hanging up in her home, which is also the Ponyville Library. Sleeping in a library! The librarians would never let me do that here. Her letter also had the signatures of her other friends as well, which was a very nice gesture on their part.

I'm also beginning to hate my sister. Not because she's done anything wrong, but because she introduced me to these stupid donuts. That's all I have for breakfast now - donuts. Why are these tiny things so good? It probably isn't magic, but Pony Joe is a unicorn after all. Maybe it is? I honestly don't know why these are so addicting.

"Luna?"

She set the quill down and turned towards the door, staring at her sister. "Yes, 'Tia?"

"Come with me. I want you to meet some of the diplomats."

The young Princess hesitated for a moment. "Are you... sure that's a good idea, Celestia? I mean, they don't exactly trust me."

"You're there at my request, little sister. Just stay quiet unless you're directly spoken to, and things should go fine." Celestia smiled at her younger sister, who reluctantly hopped off her stool. "Besides, once you return to your royal duties, I'll be back to a normal sleep cycle, meaning I'll be asleep during the night. That means you'll essentially be in charge during the night, and so it's vital you at least know some of the diplomats."

"I've got a bad feeling about all this, but I'll trust you on this. Let's just get it over with." The two sisters made their way from Luna's bedroom to the meeting room - inside, the diplomats from each of the pony races were in what appeared to be a heated discussion. Wordlessly, two guards opened the doors for them, with a third announcing their arrival. "Now entering, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna!" Immediately, the diplomats scrambled for their seats, and Luna couldn't help but take a few looks at them. They all seemed to be watching her, but it didn't seem to be distrust. It was more like they were intimidated - by her. Celestia took a seat at the head of the table, with her younger sister taking a seat right beside her. After a few moments of silence, the elder sibling was the first to break it. "Thank you all for coming here today. As you may well know-"

"Your Majesty, with all due respect, do we really have to have her here?" The diplomat for the unicorns, a frail-looking mare, was first to speak up, and it was already clear that Luna was not wanted there. She frowned a bit, backing away from the table slightly, but Celestia was quick to come to her defense.

"You seem to be forgetting that, once my sister resumes her royal duties, you shall be speaking to her during the night. If you think you are somehow above getting to know her, I'm sure I can find some other pony more willing to take your place as diplomat. Princess Luna is here at my request, and she will not be leaving. Understood?" The diplomat quickly backed down, and the others nodded silently in agreement. Their talks got underway shortly afterwards, with all manner of subjects being discussed - trade routes and border disputes were big topics, but a great many more were discussed. As the meeting began to slowly wind down, there was one last thing left.

Celestia peered at the diplomats before speaking once more. "It seems we've discussed everything we've needed to for today. Are there any questions?" The diplomat for the earth ponies, a wiry stallion, stood up and stared at Princess Luna - she knew what was coming, and she dreaded such a thing. "I have a question for Princess Luna. How do we know you're fit to run the kingdom while Princess Celestia is away, or asleep? How do we know you won't turn into Night Mare Moon again to try and stage another coup?"

Luna blinked, not sure what to say at first. They weren't new topics, but it felt more like she was being accused rather than asked a question. "Well, um... as you may be aware, I've spent almost a year or so recuperating, just to be sure that I can resume my royal duties properly. I've already gotten myself caught up to speed on things, and I'm... fairly confident that I can run the kingdom for a few hours while my sister rests."

"Yes, yes, but what about Night Mare Moon? Who's to say you won't just turn into her again and take over the kingdom when we're all off-guard?" It was a different voice this time, coming from the pegasus diplomat, a younger stallion with an apparent lack of patience. Once more, however, it felt as if Luna were being accused rather than simply asked a question. She stammered as her thoughts swam, searching for an answer that might satisfy them, anything at all to get them to stop staring at her.

"I'd like to answer on my sister's behalf - these are sensitive subjects for her, and she might not be ready to discuss them."

Luna glanced up, surprised to hear her sister come to her aid so readily. This was her only chance to win the trust of the diplomats, though. If she couldn't answer a few simple questions, they would always view her as being incompetent and unfit to rule. She quickly stood up, turning to face her sister. "Celestia, please. I need to do this."

"You're sure about this, Luna?" Celestia glanced over, staring eye-to-eye with her sibling.

"Trust me on this, sister. Just this once." Silently, Celestia took her seat, and Luna found herself ready, but reluctant. If she had managed to defeat Night Mare Moon within her own dreams, surely she could take on some diplomats.

"Well? We're waiting on an answer, your-"

Luna shot the diplomat a look, and they quickly shut up. "It's a common misconception to say that myself and Night Mare Moon were one in the same. True, it was initially me, but it soon took on a life of its own. What was once 'Luna and Night Mare Moon' simply became 'Night Mare Moon'. The entity you know as Night Mare Moon is gone, forever destroyed."

The unicorn diplomat stood up once more, pointing a hoof at her. "Then explain the Elements of Harmony!"

She turned and stared at her, and the diplomat soon took her seat. "What the Elements of Harmony did was two-fold. Though they destroyed Night Mare Moon, they also redeemed me. I owe them much more than a simple 'Thanks', and I doubt I'll ever be able to truly repay that debt."

The earth pony diplomat took his turn, standing up and staring at her. "It's a touching story, your Majesty, but that still doesn't tell us whether or not you'll try and stage another coup like you did over a thousand years ago."

Luna stared coldly at him, and the stallion sat back down, sinking into his chair in a feeble attempt to get away from her. "I have a lived a long life, diplomat. Not nearly as long as my sister, but a long life nonetheless. Over a thousand years ago, when Princess Celestia was forced to banish Night Mare Moon into the moon, I was still there - though Night Mare Moon had full control of my body, I still existed, and I could still see and hear everything that was happening. I saw the look upon my sister's face when she realized what had to be done. It was a look of pure horror, yet also a look of eternal regret. The only solution she had left was to banish her own sister for a thousand years. By no means was it an easy choice to make, and I wouldn't be surprised if she still suffers from it to this day." Celestia remained quiet on the matter, though she was now looking at the table rather than at the diplomats or Luna. The diplomats, on the other hand, had begun to realize that they had crossed the line in asking such questions. "Tell me, all three of you - if one of your loved ones turned into a complete monster, and the only solution left was to banish them to somewhere completely devoid of life for a thousand years, would you do it?"

The three diplomats sat in silence, none of them able to come up with any real answer. The Princess soon continued.

"A thousand years is an awful long time. Every day of those thousand years, Night Mare Moon's crimes played out again and again in my head. Her crimes are my own now, and I have to live with the regret and shame that stems from making that choice. I made my own sister suffer because of my own selfishness. Do you honestly think I would willingly put her through that again by trying to stage a coup?"

The unicorn and earth pony diplomats slowly shook their heads. The pegasus diplomat was a bit more brave, however, and stood up to directly address her. "N-no, your Majesty. We a-apologize for questioning your motives or your a-ability to lead." The others nodded in silent agreement, and Luna simply smiled at them.

"Good! I'm glad we have that sorted out."

The young Princess took a seat beside Celestia once more, and the elder sister couldn't help but sit there in stunned silence. Luna had always been shy and reclusive as a filly - where this had come from, she had no idea. She soon stood up, however, and addressed the diplomats. "Right, well then. If there aren't any further questions, you three may leave whenever you wish." The unicorn and pegasus diplomats quickly took their leave, but the diplomat for the earth ponies stayed behind. The stallion cautiously approached Luna and bowed his head before her. "I wanted to apologize, your Majesty. I put you on the spot with that question, and I could tell that you weren't quite ready for it. You did a terrific job convincing us otherwise, though."

Luna couldn't help but smile at that - gone for a thousand years, and she could still hold her own in politics. "Thank you, sir, both for the apology and the compliment. I understand there's still a bit of a stigma against me for what Night Mare Moon did, but if the only way to combat that is to directly address it, so be it. 'tis a touchy subject, one that can sometimes bring about bad memories. But if I must confront it for the sake of my subjects, then I shall."

The earth pony diplomat bowed once more and departed, and Luna was quick to pull her elder sibling aside. "Celestia, I'm so sorry for bringing that up. I know it wasn't easy for either of us, but-"

"You did what you had to, little sister. I'm still proud of you for standing up for yourself, though. How about we go celebrate with some donuts?"

"I'd like that, 'Tia."

It was an odd feeling, to say the least. Word of Luna's stand against the diplomats had traveled fast throughout Canterlot, and she soon found herself being looked at with a sense of awe or respect, rather than fear or intimidation - the diplomats weren't exactly known for being courteous to anypony, and to see them knocked down a peg or two was certainly appreciated. It was a much-needed change of pace, and one that she certainly enjoyed.

"More mail, little sister."

Celestia dumped yet another bag of mail onto Luna's bed, letters pouring out all over the place. The young Princess was grinning from ear to ear as she set one letter down and picked up another. "I still don't know where all this came from, but I'm not complaining."

"You've become something of a heroine to the ponies of Canterlot, Luna. The diplomats are good at what they do, in that they know what's best for their own kind." The elder sibling began to help sort through some of the mail, looking up at her sister once more. "They can be a bit distant at times, however. Sometimes they need a pony to knock some sense into them, which you seem to have done."

Luna set down a drawing she had received from a filly and glanced up at Celestia as she dug through the pile. "Wait, just Canterlot? What about some of the other towns, like Ponyville or Manehattan?"

Celestia popped up from the mail pile, a letter in her mouth. She spat it out, quickly giving it to Luna. "From Twilight Sparkle. And so far, yes - just Canterlot. I hope news of your deeds spreads to some of the other places in Equestria. Ponies are still a bit... antagonistic towards you in some places."

"So I've heard." Luna browsed through another letter and set it down, taking the letter from her sister and setting it aside - Twilight's letter would have to wait until the others had been taken care of. Unlike the letters from Valentine's Day, she didn't know if she would be burning any of these. "Still, you've got to start somewhere."

"True. I'd stay and help you sort it, Luna, but I've got an appointment with a gryphon ambassador." Celestia leaned over and gave her sister a quick nuzzle before darting out the door. The young Princess shook her head, a smirk on her face as she opened up the letter from Twilight Sparkle and began to read it.

Dear Princess Luna,

Princess Celestia let it slip the other day that your break was almost over. Well, I wouldn't really call it slipping - it was more like blatantly telling me and then winking. Regardless, congratulations! I'm sure you're eager to see much of Equestria after being away for a thousand years. I know I certainly would be.

Speaking of seeing things, I found something most peculiar the other night while star-gazing. I'm not entirely sure just what it is, but I think it might be a nebula. I've enclosed the coordinates so you can take a look for yourself.

One last thing before I wrap this up (and I'm terribly sorry this is such a short letter). I was actually wondering if you'd like to come visit Ponyville some time? It's been almost a year since you were last here, after all. Maybe I could show you around the library and introduce you to my friends!

Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle

Luna sighed and folded up the letter. She wanted to say yes to Twilight's invitation, she really did. Her royal duties would soon resume, however, and she had no idea if she would have any free time for such a visit. With a heavy heart, she picked up the quill and pulled out a fresh piece of paper, quickly writing a reply back.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

As much as I would love to accept your invitation, I cannot - with my hiatus almost at an end, I'll soon be resuming my royal duties, and I don't know if I'll have the time to stop by.

I can think of one date later this year that I'll be able to visit, but that will remain a surprise for the time being.

Sincerely,
Princess Luna

She folded the letter and shoved it into an envelope, stamping it shut and setting it aside. Luna glanced over her shoulder at the mountain of mail and rubbed her eyes - this was going to take a while.

Celestia smiled and blew out the lone candle - at her age, it would have been impossible to fit all the candles on the cake, and a single candle was certainly enough for her. With the Summer Sun Celebration out of the way, the two sisters now had the rest of the day to enjoy Celestia's birthday. The elder sibling had taken a cue from Luna's own birthday and kept it a quiet event, and only those who worked within the castle itself had been invited. Pony Joe had made the cake, proving he was quite capable of making more than just donuts, and it was quickly proving to be just as addicting. Luna had already had two slices and had to force herself to stop eating anymore - it was delicious, of course, but she didn't want to end up with a stomach ache.

"So, little sister - what did you get me for my birthday?"

The young Princess quickly placed two hooves over her mouth to stifle a gasp. She had completely forgotten to get her sister a gift. "I um... may have forgotten about that, 'Tia. Happy birthday?"

Celestia stared at her sister coldly, but quickly broke it with a smile. "Oh that's alright, Luna. Just having you back is the only present I need."

"D'aw. Wait, do you really mean that or are you just saying that?"

"Just saying it."

Luna scowled at her, a frown on her face. "...Celestia."

"Oh, stop that!" The elder sibling could hardly keep a straight face at this point, and burst into a fit of giggles. "You know I meant it, dear sister."

"Yeah, yeah. Wanna go play some games, 'Tia?"

Celestia happily obliged, and the two sisters ran off to mingle with the various party guests. All manner of games were played, ranging from Pin The Tail On The Pony to Charades - Luna was especially good at that one. No matter what the other ponies drew from the hat, the young Princess had an uncanny knack for correctly guessing it just a few seconds later. And when it was her turn to draw from the hat, she almost always left the others stumped - she wasn't very good at depicting a tree, however. One of the guardsmen cautiously approached Princess Luna while she was in the midst of pretending to be a reed, and she easily lost her concentration, falling over and onto the floor. "Apologies, your Majesty. The medical staff are here."

Celestia soon walked over to see what the fuss was about, even while Luna was still picking herself up from the floor. "Medical staff? Here right now?"

"Yes, your Majesty. They're here for Princess Luna's examination."

Luna stood up and quickly shook her head before blinking at the guardsmen. "An examination? They picked an awful crummy day for it."

"Not to worry, little sister." Celestia gave her younger sister a gentle pat on the back. "Just get it over with, and then you can come right back to the party."

"Very well then. Show me to the medical staff, guardsman."

The stallion nodded and turned about, silently leading Luna out the door. The doctors and nurses were right outside and already had all of their equipment set up - she was surprised they had managed to get everything in place so quickly and so quietly. The head of staff pushed up his glasses and peered at Luna, smiling. "It's so very good to see you again, your Majesty. Hard to believe it's already been a year, eh? Now, as you may very well know, this last examination is just to make sure you've properly recovered. We'll be running a series of tests, and then you'll be free to go."

"Tests?" She raised an eyebrow at him and looked about at all the equipment they had set up. "What kind of tests?"

"Oh, nothing strenuous. Just some very brief tests so we can see where you're at physically, mentally, and magically. Come along now, your Majesty. We have much to do."

Had the situation been any different, Luna may have thought of the tests as being demeaning. She knew they were necessary, however, and she remained quiet on the matter. She ran on treadmills and flew in place for several minutes, only to be given a series of riddles and math problems directly afterwards. The medical staff would often ask for her to demonstrate her magical prowess, which she did. They would often poke and prod, taking various measurements and writing all manner of numbers and notes down. The tests were eventually completed, and Luna found herself waiting for the final results. She knew it was just a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity, and she caught herself humming various songs to pass the time. At last, the bespectacled head of staff approached her, a smile on his face. "Your Majesty, I'm proud to say that you have a clean bill of health. Your growth certainly caught up, and you appear to be completely fine in all other categories. You're fit to return to your duties when you're ready, Princess Luna. Just... watch the sweets." He winked at her, and Luna laughed nervously in return - she wasn't showing it, but she was overjoyed that this entire thing could finally be put behind her. The young Princess bowed to show her thanks, and the medical staff all bowed in return. She quickly departed to tell her sister the good news, though she was surprised to meet her half-way instead.

"So, I heard somepony is a healthy mare."

"You... you already heard?"

"Of course I did, Luna." Celestia grinned at her, stepping closer to give her sister a brief nuzzle. "You have a tendency to hear all sorts of things when you run a kingdom. Think you'll be ready to return to your duties tonight?"

"...t-tonight?" Luna audibly gulped, and despite her hopes that her elder sister didn't hear it, she did.

"Yes, tonight. I'm about ready to return to a normal sleep schedule, and I think you'll do quite alright running the kingdom while I'm asleep - unless you don't think you can handle it." Celestia often knew just what to say to provoke her sister, and if she was right, this would be no different. She certainly wasn't disappointed.

Luna sized her sister up and stood up on the tips of her hooves to place herself at eye-level with Celestia. "If you don't think I can handle it, well... you've got another thing coming!"

"Is that a threat, little sister?"

"I... what? N-no, of course not!"

Celestia laughed and gave Luna's forehead a poke. "I was kidding. I know you can handle it, Luna. Just be ready for it later tonight, okay?"

"Right, okay... I can do this."

"That's my sister! Now c'mon, we still have a party to finish up. You've got plenty of time before it's nightfall." Even as Celestia turned to walk back to her own birthday party, Luna couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. Lowering the moon was one thing, but having to raise it, lower it, and run a kingdom?

That was something else entirely.

So here it was. The appointed hour. Celestia had presented Luna with her own retinue of royal guards, and then promptly went to bed. Her guards were certainly different from those of her sister's - most sported darker coats and manes, with yellow cat-like eyes and wings not unlike those of a bat. She found it a bit odd at first, but had quickly grown accustomed to them, and unlike her sister's guards, these men were willing to actually speak to her in order to pass the time. There was one task she had to take care of first, however, and it was one she was certainly nervous about - the raising of the moon.

After making her way to the center of the throne room, Luna spread her wings and focused upon the moon. A blue aura gradually enveloped her, and she took to the air. Her legs were outstretched and her wings weren't even moving, yet she was continually rising, as was the moon. This certainly wasn't as difficult as the first time she had attempted to lower the moon - if anything, this was much easier than she had anticipated. All the practice had certainly paid off, and as she reached the apex of her ascent, there was one last flash of blue light before Luna made her rapid return to the ground. She sighed upon landing, shaking her head and making her way to the throne itself. Every one of the stallions in her service saluted the young Princess as she walked past, and as she took her seat upon the throne, she allowed a soft smile to sneak its way to the surface.

It was good to be back.

Epilogue - Night Mare Night

"How do I look, 'Tia?"

It was finally Night Mare Night, and Luna was more than ready to make her return. She had everything planned out - she would make a grand entrance, meet the citizens of Ponyville, and then pay Twilight Sparkle a visit at her library. Luna looked at herself in the mirror, examining the cloak. It wasn't anything overly spectacular, and was colored a fairly simple dark green. She had something in mind, however.

"It looks good on you, little sister. I'm sure you'll make quite the impression."

"Best part is, after I land, I'm going to make the cloak turn into bats! Oh, I'm so proud of that idea. It's so... so... festive!"

"Really now?" Celestia giggled and grinned as she looked over her sister. She had the guards, the chariot, and now her cloak would be turning into bats? It sounded decidedly silly, but Celestia still loved the idea of it all - Luna had always been much more creative than her. "I've got to say, Luna, you really do have all this planned out."

"Mhm! I've been planning this night for months now! I've got everything perfectly charted out, so that I make the best impression possible. I mean, if I got to be this popular in Canterlot just from standing up to some stuffy politicians, I can't wait to see what the citizens of Ponyville will think of me!"

"Oh, Luna! Before I forget, there's one last thing I need to tell you before you go." Celestia approached her younger sister with as serious of a look as she could muster, though it wasn't as if such a thing were difficult. "Ponyville places a lot of importance on tradition. When you visit, always be sure to use the royal 'we', 'thou', and 'thy'. Don't forget the Royal Canterlot Voice either!"

"But... won't that scare them or something? I mean, Twilight Sparkle never seems to use such language in any of the letters she's sent to me."

Celestia wrapped one foreleg around her sister's neck, pulling her closer. "That's because Twilight is from Canterlot, not from Ponyville. Of course she doesn't speak like that. And no matter what they tell you otherwise, keep using the 'we' and 'thou' and such - I became quite the laughing stock the first time I visited because I bought into that."

"...Really?"

"Mhm. I quickly grew accustomed to it. Don't worry, Luna, you'll do great."

Luna smiled and gave her sister a quick nuzzle before running off for her chariot. "Thanks for all the tips, 'Tia! I'll let you know how it goes!"

"Please do!" Celestia quietly made her way back to the throne, taking a seat upon it and sitting in silence. It wasn't until after several minutes had passed that one of her guards finally spoke up.

"...Er, your Majesty. I didn't think any of the ponies in Ponyville spoke like that?"

Celestia giggled and grinned. "They don't."

Bonus Chapter: Hearth's Warming Eve/Hearth's Warming

Luna groaned and shook her head, slowly getting her bearings within the dream. She had always been capable of lucid dreaming, but the transition from sleeping to dreaming had been rather jarring as of late, and she couldn't find a suitable explanation for it. Ignoring that fact for the time being, she began to wander about - the Princess of the Night recognized this place, and yet she didn't. No matter how far into her memories she delved, she couldn't figure out just what this place was. It was far too familiar to her to simply be a fluke. She had been here before, but... when? With white marble halls, towering stone pillars, and heavy use of both gold and silk, it simply had to be a castle. But who owned it? Luna heard laughter down one of the hallways and quickly hid herself behind one of the curtains, peeking out from behind the silk as she heard the laughter and hoofsteps grow louder. Upon seeing the source of the sounds, her eyes went wide and she quietly gasped.

"It's... it's me."

Or her as a filly, to be specific. Chasing the filly Luna was a younger Celestia, the elder sibling's mane still a solid pink. Even back then, she had always been larger than Luna, as befitting an older sister. The two fillies chased one another through the halls, and the Princess of the Night quietly watched from the shadows, unable to bring herself to disturb such innocence and joy. She soon realized why she had recognized this place and yet couldn't remember it - this was no doubt one of the memories that had been erased by Night Mare Moon. Yet, even now, it lived on within her dreams. Luna had a second chance to reclaim her past, and she wasn't about to let it slip away. She quietly shadowed the young versions of herself and her sister, observing and remembering all at once. Time and time again, she would attempt to reach out to them, if only to remember those bygone days of care-free bliss and happiness.

"Luna?"

The Princess almost let out a squeal and quickly clamped her hooves over her mouth. A glance over her shoulder revealed a sight she wasn't exactly expecting - her elder sister. "C-celestia?! How did... but..."

"You're not the only one capable of lucid dreaming, little sister. I'll explain how I got here later. What's going on?"

"...It's us, 'Tia. When we were little." The younger sibling drew back the curtain a bit, giving Celestia a peek. "I thought... I thought I had lost this forever."

Celestia blinked at her. "Wait, you... don't remember any of this? Nothing from our childhood?"

Luna slowly shook her head, and Celestia was about to speak but found herself at a loss for words. At the very least, this explained why her sister almost always had such a dour expression since her return - their childhood had been the happiest Luna ever was, and Night Mare Moon had wiped all that away. All that remained now were dreams. The elder sibling watched in silence as her little sister slowly regained all that had been lost to her. The dream had brought the two fillies to the dining hall, where they had begun to eat. Celestia was more fortunate than her sibling, and remembered this - if she was right, this was...

"...hooves off the table, please."

"You never eat your alfalfa." The younger Luna pouted and leaned up on the table, looking her sister in the eye. Reluctantly, the elder sister placed her own alfalfa in her mouth and begrudgingly chewed it, slowly turning to face her little sister. With her forelegs raised above her head, the younger Celestia reared up in her seat and opened her mouth, making the goofiest face she could muster.

"Bleeeeh alfalfa monster!"

Within the shadows, and in-sync with the younger version of herself, Luna whispered the response. "Ewwwww noo." She softly smiled as she watched on, wiping away a single tear that had rolled down her cheek. The Princess followed the dream from room to room, and Celestia simply watched on in silence. Within minutes, years had passed by within the dream, and the two fillies were steadily growing up. One scene had the younger Celestia reading bedtime stories to her sibling, and another featured them frolicking through the forest around their castle. As the years passed on, however, so too did the gap between them begin to grow. The young Luna would often try to play or spend time with her sister, and Celestia would always decline on account of 'Royal Duties'. As painful as it was for her to watch, Luna forced herself to - she needed to.

"'Tia, could you read me a bedtime story?"

"I'm busy, Luna." The younger Celestia glanced over her shoulder. "I wish I had time, but... I'm far too busy."

Though the young Luna seemed hurt by such news, the older Luna was having far more trouble with it. A hoof clamped over her mouth stopped the worst of it, but the tears still rolled down her cheeks. Even Celestia was having difficulty watching. Looking back on it, this was likely one of her greatest regrets in life, and it was something she had always tried to make amends for since her sister's return. Reluctantly, the Princess of the Night continued to watch on as the years passed by once more, and the dream-Luna aged again. Though she was older and was capable of carrying out her own royal duties now, the gap had instead widened further. The younger Luna had hoped that her own aging would have brought them closer, but no such thing ever happened. Instead, she barely saw her own sister, and slowly, it all began to pile up. The happy childhood had lead to an empty and meaningless relationship with her sister, and all her envy, anger, and bitterness began to accumulate. What happened next was something neither Celestia nor Luna wanted to see, but it was necessary - the creation of Night Mare Moon.

At that single moment, the elder sibling finally began to understand all the pain Luna had endured. It hadn't just been envy or anger - it had been a sister's love, spurned by her own sibling. It was the worst kind of pain, to be denied by one's own flesh and blood. Celestia had always been Luna's role model, and the younger sister had always strived to be as powerful, talented, and gracious as her. Such frequent rejection by one's own sibling is not without consequences, and the young Luna soon turned inwards to forge her own path. If she couldn't be like Celestia, Luna would instead become better than her. Night Mare Moon's creation hadn't been Luna's attempt to overthrow her sister - it had been a misguided attempt to mimic her own sister, to be like her and to grow closer to her in the process. It was such a noble and pure goal, and it became something else entirely, all because Luna had wanted to be like her older sister. She simply wanted to be loved.

"I did it for you, 'Tia. It was all supposed to be for you. And it became something monstrous instead." Celestia blinked and looked down. Luna's coat had been stained by her own tears, and even now, she was still crying. "I did it because I wanted you to be proud of me... I just wanted the old days back. I wanted you to love me like you used to."

"Luna, I..." To see things with a different perspective had been shocking and enlightening, and Celestia found herself at a loss for words. For a thousand years, she had thought Night Mare Moon had been her sister's misguided attempt at a kingdom of her own - instead, it had been a misguided attempt at winning back her sister's affection. It had all been for her. Celestia took a seat beside her sister, placing a wing over her as tears of her own began to stream down her cheeks. "I... I didn't know. I'm so sorry, Luna... if I could take back those days, I would. If I could make it right, I would. But... I can't. I've always loved you, though - always. Nothing could ever change that."

She slowly nodded. "I know, 'Tia, it's just that... with mother and father gone, you were all I had left. And when you started to grow distant, I was just... I was scared. I didn't want to lose you too."

Wordlessly, Celestia placed her head atop Luna's, snuggling up against her younger sibling. It was a gesture they had often repeated throughout their childhood, and to the Princess of the Night, it meant the world to her to feel it once more. She hadn't lost Celestia after all.

And then she woke up.

Luna bolted upright in bed, gasping for breath. She rubbed at her face and rolled over to reach for the light, but her hoof bumped into something else. The Princess gave it a few more prods, and it wasn't until after she opened her eyes that she saw just what it was - her own sister. With a gasp, Luna quickly pulled her hoof back. "I'm so sorry, Celestia! I didn't know it was you!"

The elder sibling laughed and turned on the lights for her - her mane, though still billowing, was disheveled. Celestia quite obviously had bedhead, but she was quick to wave a hoof dismissively. "If anypony should be sorry, little sister, it's me. I know all of that was painful for you to watch, but it was just as hard for me. Still, I'm glad you got a part of our childhood back. I know those days meant a lot to you."

Luna slowly nodded and glanced out the window. Her sister had already lowered the sun, and it was time for her to take up her part of the royal duties. "I um... I should get going, 'Tia. I have to raise the moon and all." She slipped out of bed and stepped past Celestia, her elder sibling idly watching as she put on the trappings of royalty. The Princess quickly threw a glance over her shoulder, eying her sister. "You know I forgave you... right?"

"I know you have, I just..." Celestia sighed and lowered her head. "I just wish I had known sooner."

"You're making up for it now, though. That's the important part." Luna smiled and turned, approaching her sister and leaning up to give her a nuzzle. "Go get some sleep, 'Tia. You've been up all day. Just tell me about the dream-walking thing in the morning, okay?"

Celestia smiled and returned the nuzzle. "I'll even get some donuts too, and we'll have breakfast together. Just the two of us."

The Princess of the Night nodded and turned towards the door, stopping in the doorway to turn and face her sister once more. She pondered all that had happened within the dream and looked at her elder sister, a smile upon her face. "I love you, 'Tia. Never forget that."

"I wouldn't dare."

She still wasn't entirely sure why they were going to this 'Hearth's Warming Eve Pageant'. Luna knew it was an annual event, but she hadn't gone last year, and she certainly didn't remember attending any others due to Night Mare Moon's possession. The Princess had read about it, of course - it was among a great many things she had read during her hiatus, and it seemed like a curious event. As the two of them walked through the halls of the castle, the younger sibling looked up at Celestia. "So... why do they put this on again?"

"It's an important tradition, Luna." Celestia briefly glanced down at her before continuing. "All the ponies of Equestria put on this play every year, so they don't forget about everything they've overcome. This land was a very different place before we came here, little sister."

"Right, but... why are we going to be watching in a public booth?"

The question was enough to make Celestia pause, and she stopped in her tracks, turning to eye the young Princess. "Because they're our subjects. We owe it to them to be present for this event."

"That's... not quite what I meant, 'Tia." Luna sighed and glanced about before looking up at her sister. "This is their play. Their moment. If we show up to watch, all the attention is going to be shifted to us."

Celestia blinked. Despite all her years, she had never really considered that. "I'm listening. I know you have a plan, Luna - you always do. So let's hear it."

"I guess what I'm trying to say is... we still watch, but we do so from a private spot. As long as we don't announce our arrival, we should be fine. I just want the other ponies to have their moment to shine."

"Interesting..." The elder sister idly tapped a hoof to her chin as she thought it over. "It's uncanny how much common sense you have sometimes. It reminds me of mother a little bit. Still, I see no harm in your plan. I'll inform the royal guards, and then we'll find somewhere quiet to watch. You're aware of who's performing this year, yes?"

Luna grinned sheepishly. It was something she was supposed to have looked over, and she had neglected it in favor of more drawings and paintings. "Um... no?"

Celestia briefly raised an eyebrow before continuing. "The Bearers of the Elements are performing the main roles. I thought it was fitting, considering everything they've done for Equestria. Besides, you've met most of them already, right?"

"Eh... kinda? I've only really talked with Twilight Sparkle and Applejack. The others were very brief meetings." She thought back to her visit during Night Mare Night, and they had been very brief meetings indeed. Though she had talked with Twilight Sparkle and Applejack for quite a while, she had barely even seen the others. The few moments Fluttershy had spent with Luna had been moments of absolute terror, and the yellow pegasus hardly even said a word to her. The pink earth pony, Pinkie Pie, fled from the Princess of the Night almost every time they met, though her fear ended up being much less genuine than Fluttershy's. Rainbow Dash, the cyan pegasus, had only been seen once or twice throughout the entire night, and Luna hadn't seen the white unicorn at all - she was almost positive her name was Rarity, though.

Celestia noticed how her sister was lost in thought and gently coughed, snapping her sibling back to reality. "I'm going to go inform the guards of our change of plans. Go ahead and find us a seat, Luna. I'll catch up." The younger sibling nodded and dove down a side passage as her sister departed, weaving in and out of the corridors. She knew these halls well, and she had the perfect spot in mind. It was one she sometimes went to during her break, a spot where she could draw her sister from a distance without the elder sibling even being aware. After finding the proper staircase, Luna carefully made her way up the spiral steps leading to the rafters, and the little balcony up there would do perfectly. It was her own little haven of sorts - few of the castle staff ever made their way up here, and the space was typically just used as storage. Upon reaching the top, the Princess was thankful to see that there would be enough room for both her and her sister. She took a seat upon the wood floor and peered out over the railing at the stage below. It sounded awful silly, but she was actually somewhat excited that she would get to see the Elements and their respective Bearers once more. The sound of hoofsteps behind her signaled Celestia's arrival, and Luna turned to watch as her sister took a seat beside her.

"I haven't been up here in ages, Luna."

"I know. That's why I like coming up here." She smiled and looked down at the crowd below - there must have been hundreds of ponies, maybe even more. "Nopony ever comes up here, so it's pretty quiet." As Spike took the stage, Luna eagerly inched forward and looked down below. She had always loved Equestrian history, and regardless of whether it was a play or not, she wanted to enjoy this. Though her elder sister had seen this play countless times before, Luna didn't remember any of it, and so it was something new for her. She watched with wide eyes and a keen interest as she heard the tale surrounding Equestria's creation, and of the squabbles and arguments between Commander Hurricane, Princess Platinum, and Chancellor Puddinghead. It seemed like an awfully unfair system, especially to the earth ponies, and Luna certainly didn't understand why they would pick fights during such a terrible storm and food shortage. "Did they all used to fight that much, 'Tia?"

Celestia was enjoying the play far more than usual and casually looked over at her sister before returning her focus back to the stage. "From what I've read, yes. Rather unfortunate, but things sorted themselves out. Everything has a balancing element."

"Balancing element?" She raised an eyebrow at that, but quickly looked back to the play after several directing gestures by her sibling. Celestia had done well in casting each of the parts - even though all six of the mares were staying true to their respective characters, they were still being themselves at the same time, and they each had another to balance themselves out. Private Pansy, Clover the Clever, and Smart Cookie were simply advisors to their respective leaders, and though they all tried to encourage their superiors to approach things with an open mind, all attempts failed. Even after taking shelter in a cave to escape from the encroaching blizzard, the three leaders felt it necessary to continue to fight amongst themselves. It was only after the three leaders were frozen solid that their advisors realized the error of their ways. Their own fighting and hatred for one another had caught the attention of windigos, and in doing so, they had brought the storm upon themselves. Together, the three ponies set aside their differences and, through tales and songs, they forged a new friendship. With the flames of friendship burning within each of them, their leaders soon thawed and looked upon one another in a new light, and together they founded Equestria. As the curtain closed and the cast took their final bow, the Princess of the Night found herself clapping and whistling alongside the rest of the crowd, and Celestia softly smiled as she watched her sibling. There was still much of it Luna didn't quite get, particularly that cumbersome exchange system they had used, but it had nonetheless been an enjoyable history lesson for her. "Celestia, why did the flag at the very end have us on it? We weren't around yet for any of this."

The elder sibling giggled and shrugged her shoulders. "Call it artistic liberty, I suppose. We don't know much about what Equestria's flag looked like back then, so we had to use the current one instead. You don't mind or anything, do you?"

"No, I just thought it was... odd." Luna stood up from her seat and made for the stairs, and Celestia followed suit. "I still don't understand why they would use such a horrid trade system. I mean, honestly! Forcing the earth ponies to give their food to both the pegasi and unicorns, when it's the earth ponies that do most of the work? It hardly seems fair."

"It wasn't fair, little sister. What they had back then was a fragile peace, and each group of ponies was really just looking out for itself. They all needed one another, though."

"True." It still seemed odd to her, and was certainly something she would have to look up in the Canterlot Library the next time she got the chance. As she made her way down the stairs, it dawned on her that Hearth's Warming was the very next day, and she hadn't gotten anything for Celestia yet. "Hey 'Tia, I uh... need to go finish something up. Yes. That. I'll see you later!"

Celestia grinned and shook her head, waving at her sister as she ran off. "You procrastinated again, didn't you?"

The pounding echo of Luna's hoofsteps off the castle walls was a 'Yes'.

It had taken a bit of effort, but she had managed to tie her mane back once more, and she was painting as fast as her mouth could manage. Luna already knew what she wanted to paint - her dreams had partially inspired her, and she was in the middle of painting both herself and Celestia when they were fillies. It was more difficult than she initially thought it would be, especially because all she had for references were her own dreams and memories. Hours passed, and the young Princess continued to work on the painting, stopping only for naps, food, and bathroom breaks. She wanted it to be perfect. It needed to be perfect. After all, this was a Hearth's Warming gift to her own sister. From the colors of their manes, to the background itself, Luna made sure to pay the utmost attention to detail. Even after raising the moon and taking up her part of the royal duties, she had one of her guards bring her art supplies out to her, simply so she could continue to work on it. It was a peculiar sight for most of them - for starters, Luna had her mane tied back in a ponytail, something that was almost never seen amongst royalty. And though she often talked with her guardsmen during the nights, they didn't know much about her artistic side. To see her actually work on something was new, and some of them would watch her paint while they were on break.

"How long have you been painting, Princess L-"

"Please. Just 'Luna'. You've been in my service long enough to know that I don't care much for the title."

"Oh, uh... right. Well, how long have you been painting, Luna?"

She glanced over at the guard and grinned, shaking her head. He was still one of the 'newbloods' within her group of royal guards, but she still felt they all deserved to simply call her by name. Formalities were bothersome when you simply wanted somepony to talk to. "A couple of months, give or take. It started out as just something to pass the time while I was on medical leave, but I have to admit that it's grown on me."

"Just a few months?" The stallion let out a low whistle, clearly impressed. "You paint better than some of the fancy schmancy artists that always get put up in the galleries."

"I appreciate the compliment, sir." She continued her work, briefly looking at him out of the corner of her eye. "I've been approached by some of the galleries a few times, but I've declined them every time. I'm just not interested in that sort of thing. Though... I do have to ask. Just how do you know about these 'fancy schmancy artists' that get put up in the galleries?"

He blinked and stammered momentarily before regaining his composure. "I've just... overheard it from some of the nobles, is all. I wouldn't actually go to the galleries or anything."

"Worried about your masculinity?" Luna set down the paint brush and inspected the canvas - it seemed nearly complete. Just a few more details and it would be done. "What you do during your free time is of no concern to me, guardsman. I'm simply curious about how you heard of these other artists. Are you still sticking to your 'overhearing the nobles' story?"

"...No, ma'am."

"Good. You'll find that telling the truth when around myself and my sister is much easier than simply trying to save face. It often works to your benefit to be honest too." She giggled and picked up the paint brush once more, quickly adding the final few details. Satisfied, she set the brush down again and leaned back on the throne, eying her work. As far as she was concerned, it lived up to her standards of perfection, and she knew Celestia would love it. She directed one of her guards to carefully return the painting and her supplies to her room, and asked another to bring her a deck of cards.

"Cards, ma'am?"

"Yes, cards. Playing cards. I didn't stutter, did I?" Luna narrowed her eyes as the guardsman, and he quickly gave her a salute back before racing off to retrieve the deck for her. He soon returned, galloping back and setting the deck of cards at her hooves. Smiling, the young Princess picked up the deck with her magic and began to shuffle the cards. "I'm sure most of you find guard duty to be dreadfully boring, so I'll be starting a game of 'Go Fish' shortly. Join in if you want."

Quietly, some of the guards began to gather around in a circle, though others remained at their posts. Luna finished shuffling the deck and quickly dealt them their cards, placing what was left in the middle. She quickly picked up her own hand, eying it briefly before looking to her left. "Do you have any fives?"

The guardsman groaned and slowly nodded, passing the card over to the Princess. "...yeah."

Things would not go well for the rest of the guards.

"Happy Hearth's Warming, Luna."

"And happy Hearth's Warming to you, 'Tia." They had already eaten breakfast together - not surprisingly, donuts - and had proceeded on to the gift-giving itself. They had always kept things very low-key, but both of them preferred it to be this way. It was nice to simply get away from the politics and the others, if only so they could spend time with one another. The two sisters only had one gift for one another, but being around for several thousand years typically shortened wish-lists by a fairly large margin. Luna chose to unwrap her gift first, levitating the package with her magic and carefully eying it before tearing the paper off of it. Inside the gift was a scarf, and with the winter cap she had gotten last year, it was a perfect combination. Curiously enough, the scarf was adorned with her sister's cutie mark, as well as sharing many of the alicorn's colors - though most of the scarf was white, the scarf also sported cyan, turquoise, azure, and pink stripes.

Celestia giggled and leaned over towards her younger sister. "You look awfully confused, little sister. I remembered when you said you were afraid of losing me, so I had that made. Now you really won't lose me!"

The Princess of the Night rolled her eyes, but she couldn't hide the grin or laugh that rose up after she heard what her sister said. Luna quickly threw it around her neck, smiling as she looked at it, and she leaned over to give her elder sibling a nuzzle. "Thank you, 'Tia. It's your turn now."

The elder sister nodded and picked up the gift her sister had wrapped, carefully pulling the paper off it with her magic. Upon seeing the canvas underneath, she carefully set it down on the floor, smiling as she looked over Luna's hard work. "...us as fillies. I think I know where you got the inspiration for that."

Luna grinned and nodded. "I spent the latter half of yesterday and most of the night working on it. I wanted to make sure it was perfect."

"Well, you certainly succeeded. It's beautiful." Celestia smiled and leaned over, giving her younger sister a quick nuzzle. "I'll be sure it goes over the fireplace in my room. Thank you, Luna."

"You're welcome, Celestia." Luna returned the smile and idly drummed her hooves on the floor. "Sooo, since we finished the presents, what do we do now?"

Celestia smiled mischievously and turned to face her sister. "There's another present, actually - and a guest."

The young Princess blinked at that. "...a guest? Who is it?"

"Oh, you two have met already." With the smile still upon her face, Celestia turned towards the doorway. Standing in it was Twilight Sparkle, a present of her own bobbing up and down behind her. The lavender mare strode into the room, smiling up at both Celestia and Luna as she approached them.

Luna wasn't quite sure what to make of this turn of events, and she was quick to ask the question that was most prevalent in her mind. "Twilight Sparkle? But... I thought you went back to Ponyville after the Hearth's Warming Eve play?"

"Oh, no. I'm going back in a couple of days. My parents are both still here in Canterlot, so I thought I'd stay a while and spend some time with them." It seemed that, regardless of the situation, the unicorn always stayed as friendly as always. Such warmth and openness had been well-appreciated during Luna's visit on Night Mare Night, and this was no exception. "I'm here because... well, because Princess Celestia asked me to come. She said that you never really got gifts, so I thought I'd get you one!"

The Princess of the Night blinked, eying both Twilight Sparkle and the gift before looking back at her. Now that Twilight mentioned it, Luna couldn't remember if she had ever gotten a gift from anypony besides her parents or her sister. The unicorn carefully sent the gift floating through the air, and the young Princess gently took it from her, holding the package in front of herself with her own magic. She began to slowly unwrap it, and both Celestia and Twilight eagerly watched on. Underneath the paper was a book, and though it was certainly something Luna enjoyed, this one looked different. The lettering was far too practiced, far too careful.

Twilight Sparkle smiled and looked away from Luna. "I um... I wrote that myself. Did the binding and everything else too. It's just an astronomy compendium - stars, constellations, planets, other noteworthy stuff. I had to use some of your notes for it, but... I thought you'd like it."

Luna looked down at Twilight before returning to the book, gently running a hoof over the cover. She opened it and began to flip through the pages, each and every one of them filled with descriptions or pictures of some sort. Twilight Sparkle had willingly made this - for her. And on a subject she loved dearly, no less. "I... I'm not sure what to say. Thank you, Twilight Sparkle. This... it means a lot to me." She carefully set the tome down and walked over to the unicorn, leaning down to give her a nuzzle of her own.

"You're welcome, Princess Luna."

The young Princess stood back up and smiled down at Twilight Sparkle. "Please... just call me 'Luna'. You, of all ponies, have earned that right."

"Well then, you're quite welcome, Luna!" Twilight smiled and nodded, eliciting a smile from both of the Princesses. Since her return, Luna's time within Equestria had been a bit odd. But after everything she had learned and gained along the way?

It had been so very worth it.

February

2/3

I spoke too soon. I completely forgot that Valentine's Day was coming up. I've been absolutely swamped with letters, most of them from stallions but a rare few coming from mares as well - I honestly don't get why everyone is so smitten with me all of a sudden. Celestia seems to get them too around this time of the year, though she usually has better luck than me and ends up with poems or properly written love-letters. Everything I get is- well, let's just say it would make 'Tia blush. It's free tinder for the fire, at least.

In other news, myself and Twilight Sparkle both discovered that the six-point star from my dreams is apparently related to her cutie mark. I didn't catch a glimpse of it when I first saw her, but evidently there's a resemblance. We still have no idea what role the prophecy plays in all of it though. It's agonizing to have all these answers and still not know the true meaning behind things.

My discovery of the supernova was also posted within 'The Equestrian Astronomy Journal'. I gave partial credit of the discovery to Twilight Sparkle - based upon what my sister has told me, it made her absolutely giddy. I like being able to make my subjects happy, even if I'm stuck within Canterlot for a few more months.

Luna set the quill down and returned to her drawing - it was a hobby she had quickly taken up and was rapidly improving in. Numerous sketches were pinned to the wall above and around the desk, some colored and others not. The things around her room, such as Philomena and Selene, had been prime subjects for her artistic endeavors. Celestia had even inadvertently posed for a few, typically too busy reading a book to notice that her younger sister was watching. She knew she would never get into any gallery, of course, but she didn't care - she was drawing for the sake of drawing, and for her own personal enjoyment. Though she appreciated some of the praise she had gotten, she cared little for what others thought about it. After all, she was doing this because she simply wanted to.

"Ooh, I like this one! Luna, would you mind if I framed this and put it in my room?"

The young Princess yelped and jumped a foot or so into the air, the pencil flying across the room. Not surprisingly, there stood Celestia. Luna shook her head and stared at her elder sister. "I really don't know how you're so quiet, 'Tia. You'd think hooves would be louder."

"Oh, you know me." Celestia grinned back. "I have my ways. So can I have this one, little sister?"

Luna initially thought she was pointing at a drawing of herself - it wouldn't be a surprising move, given Celestia's status within Equestria. Instead, her elder sister was pointing at a landscape scene she had done just a week prior. It wasn't anything that could possibly be found in Canterlot, and indeed, one wouldn't be able to find it in all of Equestria - Luna had made up the scene within her head, and simply drew it. She carefully pulled the pin from the wall and handed the drawing to Celestia. "There. Is there... anything else you need, 'Tia?"

"I did want to ask about the mail you've been getting."

"I'd... really rather not discuss it."

"Why not?" Celestia peered at her, inching closer. "Afraid that your dear sister might read something that would embarrass you?"

"Uh... sure." Luna laughed nervously. Most of the letters she had gotten had been pretty raunchy and certainly weren't anything she wanted to share with the outside world - good thing she burned them quickly. "Let's go with that."

"Worry not, little sister." Celestia winked at her and turned for the door, the drawing floating in front of her. "Your secrets are safe with me!"

Luna sighed, barely able to contain her enthusiasm. "Great. That's just what I wanted to hear."

"You're welcome!"

"I was being sarcastic, 'Tia."

Celestia briefly stopped to look over her shoulder, flashing a grin at her younger sister before heading out the door. "I know."

It had been a while since she had any dreams about the Elements or the prophecy, but here she was, having it again. The dream-version of Twilight Sparkle stood before her, and at her side were the five figures from before - no longer shadows, but not entirely 'whole' either. Luna knew that all of Twilight's closest friends were mares, and roughly knew what they looked like. The result was a little odd, to say the least. The five figures were simply colored mares now - one orange, one yellow, one pink, one white, and one blue. No particularly distinguishing features, just... mares. The thing that was most unnerving about it for Luna was that none of them spoke. They simply stood there and stared.

"So uh... I'm just gonna walk around. Since none of you are talking or anything."

Luna began to walk away, but never seemed to actually move - she knew she was walking, and a quick look down showed that her legs were indeed moving, but she simply... didn't. Even after breaking into a full gallop and using her wings, she couldn't seem to get away. The Princess accepted her fate, sighing and taking a seat. If she was supposed to just sit here during the dream and stare at the figures, then she would do it. Surprisingly enough, the dream version of Twilight Sparkle would break the silence first.

"Do you still seek the answer, young Princess?"

Luna looked at the figure and nodded slowly. "Well... yeah, I do."

"For the answer you seek, you must look inwards." The figure was practically looming over her at this point, and Luna felt much smaller than she would have liked. "Only then will you gain the knowledge you wish for."

"Why do you always have to be so cryptic? Is it really that difficult to just be straight-forward with someone?"

The dream version of Twilight Sparkle lashed out at her, speaking with such power that it may as well have been the Royal Canterlot Voice. "Are you really that brash, child? Some things must be learned for yourself! To simply be given the answer gives you nothing in return!"

With that, Luna bolted awake, her face dripping with sweat and her body shaking all over - it was much worse than it normally was, and had even managed to be worse than the first time she had the dream. At that point, she knew better than to try and rush it again. If the dreams said she would have to wait, then so be it. She would be lucky to get back to sleep at this point.

Good thing her luck held out.

This was it - Valentine's Day. The only thing Luna could think of that could possibly be worse than this were Prince Blueblood's birthday parties, and his ego certainly didn't help things. She had been absolutely bombarded with letters, and had even had a few stallions and mares approach her in-person to try and win her over - they all failed spectacularly, of course.

"I hate this holiday so much."

"Come now, Luna - it's not so bad." Celestia was reading through some mail of her own, giggling as she read one and tossed it aside. "I don't see why they try poetry if they're no good at it. Besides, I thought you'd like the attention?"

Luna stared at her sister, an eyebrow raised. "Like the attention? 'Tia, I tend to spend my time in the library or observatory, usually by myself. And I wouldn't mind the attention if it weren't so... crude. I swear, the next pony that tries to hit on me in-person is getting kicked. Or... or magicked."

"Magicked, dear sister? Are you making up words now?"

"Maybe." The young Princess huffed as she opened another letter, quickly tossing it into the fireplace. "Why do I never get mail that says 'Great job, Princess Luna'? Or 'You make such beautiful nights, Princess Luna'? It's always some stupid love letter."

Celestia perused another letter and discarded it. "Some ponies don't know you exist. The only ones that do are the folks in Ponyville, and the ponies within Canterlot."

Luna growled as she opened yet another love letter, crumbling it up and throwing it into the fire. "Confound these letters! They drive me to drink!"

"Don't drink, little sister. 'Tis a bad habit." The elder sister finished up the last of her mail and looked over at Luna's pile, snickering as she did - even after all the mail Luna had disposed of, the pile didn't seem to shrink at all. "You know you don't have to read all of them, right? You could probably just throw all of them away."

"No. No matter how much I hate it, it's my royal duty to see what the citizens of Equestria wish to say to-" A particularly steamy letter caused the young Princess to blush, and she hastily ripped it to shreds. "Forget what I said. Burn all of it."

"I knew you'd come around eventually."

2/22

I'm still not sure how I managed to survive Valentine's Day. I almost had an aneurysm, just from the sheer amount of ponies hitting on me. At the very least, all the burnt letters managed to feed the fireplace for a good week or so - not bad, if I do say so myself.

I'm also beginning to hate my dreams. Everything has to be a riddle, and nothing is ever a straight-forward answer. All I've got to go by now is 'Time will give you the answer you seek' and to 'Look inwards'. I don't know what that second one is even supposed to mean! Looking inwards could mean any number of things - at this rate, I'll be lucky to have this dream nonsense solved before the next century rolls around.

Luna set the quill down and rubbed her eyes. It was already starting to get late, and her sister had invited her to a concert earlier - something about a pony named Octavia? It wasn't as if she even knew who that was, nor was she in much of a mood to go anyways. She simply wanted to be alone, and she knew the perfect place where she could go for some peace and solitude.

She quietly left her room and made her way towards the observatory - most of the castle was quiet, seeing as the majority of the ponies there had gone to the concert. It was simply her and the guards, but they weren't much company either. Always stoic and silent, and never really up for games of any sort. Luna nudged the door of the observatory open and made her way inside, much of it deserted save for a guard or two. They stood at attention as she walked past, though it was likely just subconscious reactions rather than any actual attentiveness. The young Princess took a seat in front of the telescope, opened up her journal, and began to gaze about the night sky.

"Your Majesty? May I ask something?"

Luna pulled away from the telescope and glanced over her shoulder at the guardsman, a young stallion. "If you're here to ask me out on a date, you should know by now that the answer will always be 'No'."

"Er... no, your Majesty." The guardsman glanced about nervously. "I was wondering if you could... you know... tell me more about the stars and stuff?"

"I told you, the answer is- wait, really? Why?" She stared at him, not sure whether to believe him or not.

"Well, I never was that good at science and stuff in school, but I always liked it. Guard duty in the observatory is awful boring anyways."

"You... you want me to teach you about astronomy?"

The stallion nodded slowly.

"...have a seat, then."

A smile slowly broke the neutral expression that was characteristic of the royal guards, and he took a seat beside the Princess. What surprised her even further was when he managed to produce a notepad and pencil of his own - he hadn't been joking about wanting to learn after all.

"First thing's first, guardsman - when viewing the night sky, you must always get your bearings first, otherwise you'll never know what or where you're even looking. The two easiest ways to do this are to find the north star, and to find the moon. The moon is easy enough to find, but the north star is a little trickier. Let me show you how to find it."

Sure, it wasn't exactly ideal - but in an odd sort of way, Luna enjoyed this much more than any concert she could have possibly attended. Some of the socialites within Canterlot may have scoffed at such a thing, but Luna?

She needed the stars, and nothing more.

Bonus Chapter: November 1st , Post-Night Mare Night

Another Night Mare Night had come and gone, and Celestia had already retired to her quarters. The Princess peacefully slept within her bed, her soft breathing the only sound that could be heard within the chamber. Slowly, the door to her room opened, a beam of light piercing the darkness - another being, also of royalty, quietly made her way in. Floating just behind her was a tube of whipped cream, glowing a faint blue as it glided through the air. Luna made her way to her sister's bedside, gazing upon her sleeping sibling with a look of disdain and mischief. She had spent months planning that night out to ensure everything would go perfectly, and her sister's 'helpful tips' had nearly ruined it - it had only been salvaged thanks to the efforts of Twilight Sparkle and her friends.

"So, dear sister, you wish to have some fun at my expense?" The young Princess grinned in the darkness, and just her smile seemed to give off a light of its own, making for a truly eerie sight. Slowly and carefully, she pulled the cap off the tube, pouring the whipped cream onto the side of one of her sleeping sister's hooves. She really did have to marvel at how ingenious this prank would be - it may have been childish, but it was so very worth it. With the full contents of the tube gone, Luna carefully set it upon the floor and moved onto the second stage of her plan. A feather flew up from the floor and over to Celestia's face, hovering just inches above her. Carefully and ever so slowly, it began to brush against the elder sister's cheek. Her face twitched slightly at first, but failed to elicit the reaction Luna was hoping for. Soon, however, it began to happen - Celestia's foreleg twitched, and she gradually brought the selected hoof up to itch at her cheek, spreading much of the whipped cream all over her face.

Luna's own snickers of delight were interrupted as her sister began to wake up. She warily eyed her sibling and quietly made her escape, giggling constantly as she ran through the halls of the castle. Celestia half-opened her eyes, and for the longest time, she stared at the whipped cream-covered hoof in confusion. It was only then that she noticed a rather odd feeling upon her face, and the Princess quickly put two-and-two together.

"LUUUUUUUUNAAAAAAAA!"