knights of the old republic: The lost exile

It was most often during the night, that Princess Luna felt at home. Though one could hardly blame the Alicorn Princess, co-ruler of Equestria, alongside her sister, Princess of the Sun. Since returning from her..."Absence," as her sister called it, Luna had felt like she belonged in the night. Luna smiled slightly as she watched the moon rise the horn on top of her head surrounded by the light blue glow of magic. The light played off her ethereal navy blue mane and fur. The princess regretted not lighting a fire in the fireplace. Despite Luna being responsible for the raising of the moon and the custodian of the night, Luna was not responsible for the loud winds that whistled about the high-rise towers of Canterlot castle. Luna smiled slightly. The castle, whilst annoyingly large, the castle was still her home. Full of good memories. The Night Princess often wandered the halls, remembering how her and her sister would play through the halls. Chuckling to herself, the Night Princess moved to her balcony and spread her wings, enjoying the breeze flitting through the feathers. It wasn't often that the princess got the chance to take a moment to relax as the duties of a Princess kept her busy. The wind always calmed her. She was no Pegasus, who were renowned for their love of the sky but the winds that whistled around her tower always provided a relaxing air. Her thoughts were interrupted by several loud knocks on her door. She turned back and used her magic to open the door. One her night guards was standing in the doorway. Dressed in lavender armor, with his tufty ears raised upwards, the bat-like wings folded and a respectful smile on his face, the night guard saluted.

"Princess, we're ready to begin our patrols." The guard said, giving a slight bow of his front legs. Luna smiled. Despite what any-pony said about the guards supposedly arrogant personalities, the guards were good at their jobs. "The shower should commence soon Princess." The Guard said, with a tip of his helmet. "Will you want regular reports?" Luna shook her head and dismissed the guard with the wave of her hoof. As the guard walked away, Luna turned back to her balcony. Of course. The Shower. Several days ago, the royal astronomers had discovered a meteor shower falling to their planet. Though Luna had been surprised at this. It was her job to look after and monitor all aspects of the night including the stars. Though going past the moon was a bit beyond her or her sister, Luna viewed it as her job to look out for these things. So it was to her embarrassment that she found out that the astronomers had also discovered, what appeared to be...flashing stars. Luna frowned slightly as she returned to the balcony and looked up at the dark sky. The astronomers had been baffled. Not one of them could explain how or why the stars were flashing, as they named it. It seemed wrong though. Luna knew that stars did not flash in the way that these had. It was like the flickering light of a torch. A torch that was about to go out. Luna shook her head. She had talked to her sister but even she could not calm the worried masses. An anomaly like this never seemed to foreshadow good news. Luna shook her head, feeling frustration boiling up inside her. She was the guardian of night, yet she seemed powerless to control these strange happenings.

"Twists and Turns." Luna muttered to herself. It was an ancient concept but it was something that she had learned to cope with since her return from...her absence. The concept dictated that life was like a labyrinth. Full of twists, turns and hidden traps. Whenever things did not go as planned, you either learned to adapt to circumstances, or suffered the consequences. Though Luna felt that this was slightly unfair on both her and her sister. Surely, as Princesses, they could be expected to have a little leeway in that department. It made her blood boil sometimes that life could be so hard on them. There was always one problem or another that had to be fixed. Though because both her and Celestia were leaders of their country, those problems tended to be bigger then most other problems . And this...shower. It was fishy. Luna almost always knew when a meteor shower was going to occur. Though this...this unexpected fall was very unnerving. Things like this didn't just happen by coincidence. "Hidden traps..." Luna mumbled. That concept was coming to haunt her. She supposed that this shower could be a hidden message or...something else. Luna shook her head. She was being silly. Nature was always an unpredictable force. Like life, it was full of twists and turns and could sneak up on you when least expect it. "Its just my imagination." Luna mumbled again. The statement felt as though she was reassuring herself, much like a child. It was something that did not normally occur for Luna. It unnerved her when that happened. Celestia had taught her that to be a leader, she had to be calm, collected and full of confidence in herself. Though when this feeling of self-reassurance happened, it disturbed her. If she was so full of confidence, how could she feel the need to repeat her choices. It was like when she was becoming...Luna shook her head fiercely. "It's just a feeling!" she told herself fiercely. "It will pass!" She couldn't allow herself to sink into that line of thought again. Luna supposed that even Celestia sometimes had these problems.

"P-Princess?" A voice stammered behind her. Luna turned again. The Night guard had returned without her noticing. He was looking nervous. She turned back to the guard, allowing the frustration to boil away. "The shower...seems to be a lot larger than we thought Princess." The guard said quickly, taking a harried step into the room. Luna froze. Larger? The Astronomers had claimed that even though the shower was unexpected, but it was not so large to cause any significant problem. Larger showers could cause a problem. A big problem. The guard answered her unspoken question as she jumped down from the balcony and moved over to him. "No, the lookouts are sure that the shower isn't large enough to cause significant damage but..." Luna almost bowled the guard over in her rush to get out of the door. The guard watched the small dust-cloud that his Princess had left behind. "W-What?" He stammered stupidly.

Luna charged through the corridors, feeling frustration and fear boiling up inside her again. It had been so stupid of her not to expect this situation. A larger shower was way more dangerous. If a meteor hit one of the towns, it could cause a massive amount of damage to both Ponies and property. She had to warn her sister. She knew Celestia would still be up, despite it now being night. She was almost always up due to paperwork or other such duties. She could've used magic to teleport though she considered it rude to just randomly appear in her sisters chambers. She ignored the guards stationed at intervals along the corridors, who bowed to her as she passed. Now wasn't the time for pleasantries. She had to get to her sister. The need to warn the other Princess was driving everything else from her mind. Then she stopped dead, almost skidding into another of the guards. Something...cold had just past over her. It wasn't the perceptible kind of cold, that made goosebumps spring out on bare flesh, or the sharpness that made you shiver. It was a quiet thing. Something small but precise. Luna waited for a few seconds but the feeling did not subside. The night Princess, taking several slow breaths began to move forward again. Though it was wrong. Something had happened. It was as if the motions had slowed, freezing her in place. She wasn't sure how but she finally got to the door of her sisters chambers. A small golden sun was painted on the wood. This time, without waiting to knock, Luna pushed the door open.

The door crashed open, hitting the opposite wall hard. Luna burst in, eyes darting around the room. Celestia was sitting out on her balcony. The pure white fur shone in the moonlight. Her iridescent mane billowing in the small breeze. The golden plates covering her hooves also shone in the moonlight. The Alicorn had not turned from the open balcony as Luna had made her entrance. Luna glared at her sister, outraged that the other Alicorn could be so calm in this situation. Then again, Celestia seemed to possess an infinite amount of patience even when Luna's began to run dry. Her older sister was always like that. A beacon of calm even in the most troubled of times. But right at this moment, Luna wasn't totally convinced that this was the right time to be calm. She moved over to her sisters side, ignoring the welcoming smile that her sister bestowed upon her. Luna was not in the mood for any more pleasantries.

"Greetings sister." Celestia said courteously, leaning forward to give her sister a welcoming nuzzle. Luna gave a loud snort of indignation. Was Celestia really going to act as though nothing was wrong. She opened her mouth to argue her point but Celestia raised a hoof, her violet eyes shining with amusement. "Do not fear Lulu." Celestia said comfortingly. "I have already taken the steps needed to protect our little ponies." She smiled slyly at her sister. "Do give me some credit Luna. I do have some skill at this." Luna blushed, lowering her head in shame. She had been so preoccupied with the shower that she had not had the sense to remember that her sister had, slightly more experience at handling these events than she did. Being...Absent for over a thousand years will have a negative effect on ones ruling skills. She looked up at Celestia who had returned to looking up at the sky. "That said," The sun princess murmured watching as what appeared to be a stat detached itself from the heavens and began to fall. "I still have a feeling that this is no ordinary meteor shower. We should watch this shower with interest." Luna nodded. The two Princesses had mastered the ability to communicate silently long ago. Now, with the unspoken agreement between them, the two princesses sat together, watching quietly, as the first of the shining meteors began to fall.