When Luna saw Celestia the next morning, she almost wept with joy. She certainly gave her quite a scare by tackling her from behind and hugging her tightly. But that was nothing compared to the scare she gave Luna a few hours later. Luna walked down the quiet halls of the castle, nodding occasionally to guards or other ponies, rushing around and getting things ready for the Grand Galloping Gala on the following evening. Luna finally reached her destination.

She knocked lightly upon Celestia’s door before opening it slowly. Luna was no stranger to darkness, so her eyes didn't need to adjust in the dark room. She had expected the light to be off, but when she turned to leave, she noticed Celestia’s bathroom light was on, the door a crack open. Muffled noises could be heard from within. Luna walked to it cautiously and stuck her head in. She gasped at what she saw. Celestia, her perfect sister whom everybody looked up to, was hunched over the toilet.

A multitude of small cuts covered her legs, where they would be hidden by her shoes. Celestia turned quickly and flushed the toilet, knocking over a few bottles which rolled towards Luna, who inspected them. The larger one was half empty. It was, as Luna suspected, vodka. The other was empty, and was labeled with two simple words. Ipecac Syrup. (Authors note: Ipecac Syrup, or Syrup of Ipecac, was once used in medical treatments because it caused severe stomach pains and purging of your digestive system. In other words, it causes extreme vomiting) Celestia looked at her sister, the fur on her cheeks matted and wet. She had something Luna had never seen on her before. Fear.

"I-I can feel it inside of me, trying to corrupt me. I, I was trying to get it out" she sobbed. Luna dropped the bottle and hugged her sister. They embraced for a few minutes before Luna gently broke away and picked up Celestia in her magic, carrying her to the shower. She turned the dial to a gentle, warm spray and grabbed their softest brush.

Luna carefully scrubbed between Celestia’s wings which, in response to the stimulus, shakily opened. Luna spent near fifteen minutes on each wing, preening and scrubbing. She then washed the blood off of her hooves and, with a soft wash cloth, gently rubbed at Celestia’s face. She spent another forty-five minutes on her mane and tail, gently washing out any bits of vomit that had clung to it. She softly dried Celestia and helped her back to bed.

She fell asleep quickly, but Luna didn't dare leave her post next to the grand golden bed until it was time to lower the moon. She went out onto Celestia’s balcony and lowered her crescent moon before raising the sun slowly. Unlike raising the moon, raising the sun felt foreign and wrong to Luna. It drained her rather than rejuvenating her. Celestia slept for another three hours, and might have slept longer, had Luna not awoken her. Luna fed her small portions of oatmeal, spoonful by spoonful until she ate the entire bowl. She then slowly ate a bowl of fruit and drank a glass of milk.

Throughout all of this, Celestia didn't speak. Though Luna could see sores in her mouth and guessed they extended down her throat. Luna didn't press or scold. She just made sure Celestia was comfortable, had water to drink, food to eat, and books to read. That night, Celestia merely nodded before going to sleep. The Gala had been postponed, due to a lack of 50% of their monarchy.

The Gala was held three days later, when Celestia was feeling better. They still hadn't spoken of that night. The night before that Gala, Luna was up, pacing of course. A knock at her door jolted her out of her thoughts and she walked to it, turning the handle. The door exploded in, a burst of confetti hitting her. In her doorway stood the one, the only, Pinkie Pie.

"Hiya, Princess! Sorry for startling you! I had a special order from Discor- oh! Umm, a secret admirer! Yeah, secret! Anyways, I was recruited to bring you this!" She said, holding out a big box of chocolates, and an even bigger bouquet of-

"It that Poison Joke?" Asked Luna, holding it cautiously.

"Of course!" Said Pinkie squeakily, jumping up to the ceiling. Luna carefully extracted the note and read it.

"Y-yes, thank you Pinkie Pie. Have a good night now" she said absentmindedly, turning away slightly.

"You too, Princess!" Replied Pinkie, folding her legs around herself and rolling out the open window, sticking to the outer wall and rolling at the same pace until she hit the ground. Luna closed her mouth and shook her head. She closed her door with a resounding click. She curled into a ball in her bed and re-ran the words of the note in her head.

"Soooooooooooooooooooooooo.... Gala?" Yes, that is what the god of chaos wrote, making the words writhe and flash different colors. Luna sat up and floated over a few pieces of paper. She wrote two words in the center of a paper. "Why not?" and sent it by opening a small ripple into Discords house. She saw a glimpse of him before shoving the note in and sealing the ripple again.

She lied back down and drifted to sleep. She awoke to gentle birds singing in the trees. She jumped when one "bird' started garbling and hissing. Luna ran to her balcony to see Discord sitting in a tree, still grumbling.

"Good morning Princess! Did you enjoy our music?" He asked, gesturing around to the other birds. Most flew away, but Luna saw more than a few extending the middle feather of their wings in his direction before flying off.

"What!? You got something to say!?" He yelled, chasing one of the birds. A few strange sounds followed before Discor flapped back to his tree lazily, coughing up a feather. Luna giggled and coughed. And coughed. And coughed. Discords face dropped into one of worry. "What's wrong?" He asked seriously. Luna waved a hoof at him. The other had a few splatters of blood on it from being held in front of her face. Discord flashed next to her and placed a hand on her back, which arched away dramatically. Luna jumped and turned, primitive fear in her eyes. "Luna? What is it?" Asked Discord again.

"WH-who are you?" Cried Luna. Black veins showed through the skin on her neck. Discord jolted back, looking hurt and not noticing the black veins.

"Okay, so maybe I should've asked you to the gala in person, but really. This is a bit extreme, don't you think?" he said with a roll of his eyes. Luna huddled into a corner, shaking with her head in her hooves. Now noticing the black veins, more prominent on her back. He moved closer to her. She turned her head to him, pupils wild and scared. Her eyes were black. She whispered one thing, her voice high and frightened.

"Who am I?"

Author's Note

Look at that creative title! I did this chapter all in one shot because I got bored. I promise the next chapter will be happier! Next chapter coming soon, At the Gala. Thanks for reading, please leave a like and comment if you enjoyed. It really means a lot! Thanks so much!