Squaring it out

by Cytotoxin

Chapter 1

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Squaring It Out.

The day before Nightmare Moon festival. No doubt, sister would be here again imploring her to go out and take a part in it. An action Luna could not comprehend, much less find agreeable. Why? That question nagged on her mind ever since the first festival she attempted to attend. Wasn`t it quite obvious by now that attending Nightmare Moon festival was an activity Luna wholeheartedly despised? So why Celestia kept returning with same old tired spiel about "enjoying oneself"?

Door opened. And... that was not Celestia. Not unless she decided to be pink today. No, not Celestia at all. That was... Hm. Luna wracked her memory. Aha. One of the current elements of harmony. Element of... laughter? Yes, one Pinkie Pie. In short, a mare whos visit on the eve of Nightmare Moon was absolutely worst idea ever. Luna remembered the last year vividly. She was not fond of pink mare in the slightest, given she was a ringleader in the whole "lets ignore everything Luna says and run around like headless chickens instead" craze. In the end, Luna pretended to make peace with the festival, unwilling to upset Twilight Sparkle... Who, she felt, put an undue amount of effort into making Nightmare Moon festival tolerable for the night princess. For which the aforementioned night princess was quite grateful. Thoughtfulness always was hard to come by.

Princess sat her cup of coffee aside and leaned forward, watching Pinkie Pie. She did not feel like starting the conversation. Let the crazy one begin the talks. As on cue she did, babbling about Nightmare Moon and fun and attending and... Luna stopped paying attention.

Pink mare visibly deflated, her mane going limp as she looked up at Luna with twitching lip and puppy-dog eyes - "Bbbut, the fun...." Luna lost her patience. She stood up, her hoof slamming solidly on the table - "DID I LOOK LIKE I HAD FUN THE LAST YEAR? ENOUGH OF THIS TIRESOME DRIVEL, THOU HAST EXHAUSTED THE LIMITS OF MINE PATIENCE. NOW BEGONE!" Sheer volume of her voice tossed the bothersome pest out of the doors, making them swing around wildly for a few moments before they came to rest with awkward squeak. Luna snorted and rubbed her forehead with hoof. She could feel a migraine coming on.

Several minutes later, another hoof pushed the doors open. Luna had to admit - that was impressive, given that there was no gilded shoe on the hoof. Stepping into the room of irate goddess often could be quite hazardous. Apparently, one Twilight Sparkle was willing to take that risk. "Greetings, Twilight Sparkle." - she offered, taking an indulgent sip of her fresh cup of coffee - "Come in, come in. Thou art a welcome guest in my abode."

Unicorn approached slowly, obviously wary and worried. "Erm... Princess Luna, what just happened?" - she asked with hesitation, nodding back at the doors, - "With Pinkie Pie, I mean..." Luna let out a sigh. While it was very tempting to claim nothing did, she was quite certain she wouldnt be allowed to leave it at that. "I believe she had attempted to request my attendance for the festivities tomorrow. I refused." - she offered, setting the cup down, - "Care for a cup of coffee?" "Id like to." - replied Twilight, as she trotted closer, - "I, um... I understand its a sore topic for you, but... Can you please make an exception? Im afraid that Pinkie Pie took your refusal... well, pretty badly."

Luna lifted her cup and took a long sip of coffee, calming down her fraying nerves. Twilight did the same... and probably for the same reason. She had pensive look on her face. No doubt, she would attempt to twist things around into some kind of compromise. It was quite endearing, really, how Twilight would bend over backwards trying to make everyone happy. Unfortunately, Luna was in no mood for compromises of any kind, and she pitied the lavender mare beforehand. She`d doubtlessly bend over backwards again and then some before acknowledging some things can not be fixed in a day.

Lunas sarcasm did not go unnoticed by Twilight. "Well, Im certain there was a good reason why the holiday didnt catch on." - she stated matter of factly, attempting to dodge the implication, - "There are many old holidays that are not observed today." Lunas face showed her opinion on the matter clearly, as she sneered - "Oh yes. I cant imagine why some of them were dropped out of use. Alas, this particular festival wasnt... As much as I`d like it to be otherwise."

Luna cringed. Time for the big letdown. "Not everything can be fixed, Twilight Sparkle." - she offered quietly, taking another sip of coffee, - "This festival is one of those things that cant be fixed. It will go on, theres no doubt about it. And I will keep on hating it. I cant really cancel it - it had become a part of culture. But I cant and I wont enjoy a part of culture that celebrates my villainy." Lavender unicorn set the cup down, her eyes wide as she inquired - "Wait... Do you see this holiday as some sort of... penance?" Lunas short barking laugh echoed through the room.

Twilight looked down, ashamed - "I didnt want to say it like that. It just... slipped out." She poked at the floor sheepishly and shook her head - "Im sorry, but there must be some other explanation. I can`t believe Celestia would ever do something so mean." Shrugging, Luna extended her hoof towards the door - "I know not what hast been done. Only suspect. As thou canst imagine, things had remained tense between us. She was not ready to talk to me on the matter the last year. Nor this year, it seems. If thou hast thou goals set firmly on resolving this conundrum, I believe thy best chance would be to get the account from the mouth of the horse, so to speak. Go speakest thou with mine sister, Twilight Sparkle. For she holdeth the knowledge denied to me."

Unicorn looked like she wanted to object, but could not find a proper cause to mount her argument on. Her mouth opened and closed a few times and then Twilight let out a soft sigh. "...Youre right." - she admitted softly, - "I still dont believe Celestia could ever have such a malicious intent, but... but she is the only one who knows of what happened back then, except for you. I need to find out what she had seen... heard... done... ah, I need to talk to her." And with that, she was gone, closing the doors behind herself. Luna shrugged and refilled her cup. She could feel the distortion mounting around her room. No doubt, Pinkie Pie would manifest again. "You meanie."

___

"...Come in." - Celestia was curious. She had a good hunch as to whom might have had visited her so late, but it was still a strange turn of events. What could have Luna possibly have told to Twilight to prompt her faithful student to seek teachers advise on so abruptly? True enough, the door opened just a little and lavender mare slipped into the room. "Oh, Im sorry... I forgot its late..." - she offered sheepishly, taking in the regal nightshirt and nightcap that adorned Celestias form.

Chuckling, Celestia gestured to the pillow on the floor, taking a sit at another gingerly, - "Thats quite alright, Twilight. I havent gone to bed yet, just catching up on some reading." Nodding, unicorn sat down, her hooves crossing as she looked up. That... Hm. Celestia remembered the moods and poses of her faithful student quite vividly. That particular pose meant that Twilight had questions. Uncomfortable questions. "I take it things with Luna didn`t go well?" - she offered calmly.

Her brow creasing, Celestia mulled the question over. She could tell the truth. But that would be a bit problematic to explain. Or she could probe her student for more information beforehand. Despite being retrieved from the moon, Luna was still quite bitter about certain things, festival included. "My sister`s transformation, so to speak, was not exactly instant. There had been a period of time when she was more Nightmare Moon then Luna, and yet continued to be my co-ruler before her final demarche that prompted the exile." - she offered cautiously, - "This festival had been a reaction to her growing jealousy."

Unicorn suddenly jumped up, her hoof outstretched - "Aha! So it WAS you who started the first festival?" Blinking, alicorn pulled back, her hoof raised protectively subconsciously - "Wait, that... Huh. Well, alright, I suppose you figured it out anyway." She looked down, shaking her head, her tone bitter as she recounted - "Luna had been complaining about not being loved for quite a while before. I knew that her fears were unfounded, Twilight, but no matter how many times I would reassure her, she would not listen. So... So I thought I should show her, for one night, what it would be like if ponies were really afraid of her. I never expected it to become a tradition that would span a millenia, given that it profoundly failed in it`s primary task."

Twilight facehoofed. "...I think I understand now." - she muttered, holding her head with both hooves - "What a horrible mess... Princess, you really need to talk to Luna about this. This is one huge mistake." Celestia heaved a little sigh - "Ive tried, my faithful student. Unfortunately, Luna was not willing to discuss the matter last year. Ive secured her promise to attend the festival at Ponyville, but I could not do more then that. According to your last years reports, it seems that she did manage to make peace with festival, so I am at a loss as to why she is so reticent about it now. If you have any insight as to why she is so hesitant about the festival, Id be glad to hear it."

-  I have another question.

Celestia reared involuntarily, her whole body acting out her indignation subconsciously as she retorted - "NEVER! Its NOT a cause for celebration!" A second later, the implication of question hit her solidly - "...Oh dear... You mean thats how she feels about the festival?" Twilight nodded glumly, looking on the floor - "She asked me - 'Why is it that Celestia has no festival that would celebrate her as fearsome being?' And when I asked her why would anypony celebrate that, she mentioned Equinox Blaze and said there was a festival about it... but it petered out."

Celestia slumped on the floor, covering her head with hooves. "...I am sorry. I am so sorry." - she muttered, her voice hitching a little, - "I..." Twilight trotted closer and very gingerly hugged her teacher - "I`m sorry it turned out like this. I really am. But right now... you really need to talk to Luna."

___

It took only a few minutes for a white alicorn to compose herself, but much to Twilights surprise she neglected to change out of her nightclothes. Celestia merely shrugged at her question - "...I just dont feel like changing. Call it a gut feeling." She raised her hoof and knocked on the doors firmly. Voice from inside offered - "Thy may enter. Both of thou."

"...Luna, what just happened here?" - indeed, it was quite a legitimate question. When Twilight left the room, it was quite in order. Now, merely half-hour later, everything in the room was covered in streamers and confetti. Furniture was thrown around haphazardly. In the middle of floor, blue alicorn and burgundy pony shared a plate of donuts and a case of beer cans. "Ah, thou art just in time." - offered Luna jovially, - "I`ve been so delightfully haunted by one quite chaotic pony. Thankfully, miss Pinkamena came across a little later and settled things."

Completely straight-maned and darker then usual, Pinkamena Diane Pie smirked, - "Hey there. Twilight, princess. Came to share in our little party? Beware, the entertainment is bitter today." She tossed two cans of beers at their fabbergasted visitors. Both reflexively caught their respective offering with magic. "Huh... Pinkie, are you alright?" - ventured Twilight cautiously, looking on her strangely serious friend.

"I quite prefer Pinkamena, if you don`t mind." - answered pink mare flatly, as she stood up - "It seems to me that sisters have a family talk to do. Come along, Twilight." And with that, she quite unceremoniously walked out of the door, dragging Twilight along. Celestia followed them with bewildered stare, then turned around to face her sister.

"Hello, Tia. Having problems sleeping? Decided to come talk to me about festival personally?" - offered Luna at last. It was hard to tell if she was sincere or sarcastic. Gingerly, Celestia sat down at the spot formerly occupied by Pinkamena and let out a soft sigh. She cracked the beer open and took a long sip from it. She could use all the help she could for the upcoming conversation. "...Well, yes, actually. On both counts. Luna... do you really hate the Nightmare Moon night?" - she asked wearily.