Celestia stood at the guard tower, looking up at the moon. Half an hour had passed. Dawn should have come by now, but Luna hadn't shown up to lower the moon. Celestia shivered with old memories of the rebellion that had torn them apart. She didn't want to go down that route again. She looked up again at the offending celestial body. For the last year Luna had been dutiful and rose and lowered the moon, respecting the natural cycle, never once slipping into old habits. So where was she? Celestia's horn glowed with power as she prepared to do the job herself.
She was interrupted by a sneeze. She turned around. A small, blue-coated, blue-maned alicorn was walking up the hall, sneezing with every step.
"L-let me do it!" Luna insisted, sneezing again.
"Luna! Are you alright?" The sun princess galloped to her. The princess pony looked absolutely miserable. She sneezed again.
"Just a little under the weather, Sister! But it won't-achoo!-stop me from-achoo!-performing my-achoo!-duty!"
Her horn glowed with blue light and the moon began to lower. Celestia noticed it was lowering at a slightly slower than normal pace.
"Sis, do you want help?"
"Let me do it!" She whined like a filly, then sneezed again. Suddenly the moon flew off into space.
"Fuck!" Luna cried as she flew backwards. Celestia ran to her and gathered her up in her hooves.
"The moon...oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!"
"It'll be alright, Luna!" Celestia assured her, though an out-of-control moon was quite alarming and could cause the oceans to go wild. Celestia used her power to reign the moon in and lower it, then raised up the sun, it's soft orange light filling the sky.
She smiled wryly at her sister and ran a hoof through her mane.
"And we are going to the doctor."
"I don't need a doctor." Luna protested.
"Woona..." Celestia said in a warning tone of voice. "I'm not going to have to drag you there am I?"
"You wouldn't." Luna said.
Celestia grinned. "Try me."
"I'm just a little under the weather! That's all-achoo!" This sneeze sent her sprawling. "But I don't need a doctor!"
"You're going to the doctor." Celestia said in her "I'm the big sister and don't you forget it" tone of voice.
"It's beneath the royal dignity to go to a doctor for a mere sniffle!" Luna said then gasped as Celestia got a hold of her tail with her teeth. She squealed in protest as Celestia drug her towards the infirmary. The guards on duty held in laughter as they saw the elder princess drag her younger sister by the tail.
"Let me go, Sis! I'll be good!"
"Good." Celestia said as they walked into the infirmary.
Doctor Unsicker bowed when he saw them. He was an Earth pony with a brown coat and a stethescope cutie mark. "And what brings the royal sisters here?"
Luna sneezed.
"My sister's sick." Celestia said.
"So, that explains why the moon was up so long...but not why it went flying away."
"You saw that?" Luna asked, blushing.
"I think everypony did."
Luna blushed harder as Celestia held in a laugh and patted her younger sister's head. "We all have off days."
"I don't." Luna said sullenly.
"I didn't realize Alicorns got sick." Doctor Unsicker said.
"We don't." Celestia told him. "Except when we're fillies."
"With all due respect Princess Luna does resemble a filly these days. Perhaps being freed of Nightmare Moon affected her age. It did take a chunk out of your power."
"That...makes sense." Luna said. "It would also explain why my mane hasn't grown back out." She self-consciously ran a hoof through it. Celestia rolled her eyes. She was so sensitive about the short mane she hadn't even gone to the Gala, but it was starting to grow out again. Celestia thought it looked cute, but Luna wanted to be regal and majestic not cute. The guards had even taken to referring to her as "her royal adorableness" as she was so filly-like. Celestia had sternly warned them not to talk about her like that, but she secretly agreed with the title.
"Well, what do I have?" Luna asked. She sneezed again.
The doctor took got a thermometer and put it in Luna's mouth. A few seconds later he took it out. His eyes widened. "You've got a fever that would drop a normal pony. I'm ordering bed-rest and you need two pills of acetaminophen every four hours." He got a bottle of pills and unscrewed the lid and got out two pills. "They're chewable." He mentioned. She took them.
"Oh...apple flavored?" She guessed.
Doctor Unsicker nodded. "It's a bit more palatable than the old stuff."
"I noticed. In my day they were still using bitter-root for just about everything. Well, I guess I'll head onto bed. But there are a few reports I still need to complete. And I need to review some bills. Oh and the royal budget! Tia, I have to work on the royal budget!"
Celestia put her hooves on Luna's shoulders. "Look, I'll take care of that, don't worry."
"But I wanna..."
"Doctor, could you give us some privacy?"
"Certainly." Unsicker left the room.
"Luna, we delegate. We've always delegated. There's a reason we have a small army of advisers, senators and accountants. The senators will get the bills passed. I can advise them or veto as I see fit. The accountant's will work on the budget. Yesterday you helped the cleaning staff for our mother's sake. You've been doing everyone else's job. A strong work ethic is great, but you're wearing yourself out. What's going on?"
Luna shuffled a hoof. "I just...I want to make it up."
"Make what up?" 'Is she talking about what I THINK she's talking about?'
"This morning...you thought I wasn't coming. That's why you didn't go looking for me. You thought I'd become Nightmare Moon again didn't you?"
"No of course not." Celestia lied. She hugged Luna tightly. "Luna it's going to take some time to fix our relationship, but for the ten-thousandth time I forgive you. Please forgive yourself."
"It's going to take time." Luna said, snuggling into her big sister's embrace. They wrapped their wings around each other. "I just wish things could go back to the way they were."
The sweetness of the moment was suddenly ruined by Luna sneezing into Celestia's fur.
"I'm so sorry!" Luna wailed.
"It's quite alright. Now get to your room. I'll bring you up some soup, 'kay?" She kissed her sister's forehead.
"I'd like that. Thank you, Tia." Luna said as she walked towards her room. Celestia walked towards the kitchen. She knew she'd just lectured Luna about delegating, but some tasks needed a personal touch. She was going to make Luna a bowl of soup with her love as the key ingredient.
