The radiant beams of moonlight shone down through the tall castle windows, casting long pillars of silver light over the cool blue interior of the long corridor as Princess Luna trotted along. Today was the summer sun celebration, or it would be once she had lowered the moon and sealed the night away behind the horizon. She had to admit, the celebration was one of the few things that she was glad hadn't changed in the thousand years she'd been gone, and after the first few times she had gotten back into the flow of it quite nicely. That wasn't to say she still didn't have her doubts sometimes.
"Now, now Luna. This is not the time for worries. I'm sure everything will go perfectly, just as always" she mentally assured herself.
At the thought, she lifted her head high, nodding only to the blue armoured Luna guard that were stationed on each side of the corridor. She always took great pride in seeing them and their attire gleam in the moonlight. The fact that her beautiful night was able to shine upon all the ponies of Equestria was one she adored more than ever. It was a far better way of seeing her work then the spite and jealousy that had once clouded her vision. It was a testament to just how much the world had changed, and today was one of the few days she could express just how much she cared for every one of her subjects. As such, she had gone to great effort to ensure she was at her best; working late into her night to perfect her appearance, as she knew should be expected of her.
Moments later, she passed into her sister's side of the castle. There was a stark difference between the two, yet in the glow of her beautiful night even the gold and white walls were something she could look upon with pride. From here, she could get a good look out onto the castle grounds below. There she saw a crowd of ponies numbering in their hundreds, maybe even thousands. Even now, after so many centuries, the feeling that welled in her chest at the sight of so many of her and her sister’s subjects eagerly awaiting the dawn of the celebration remained unchanged.
Still, there was some time left before the ceremony was to begin, and as Luna rounded a corner she came to face with a large, golden door. Its surface was intricately melded into the shape of a glorious sunrise, just as her own chamber doors were forged to look like that of the moon. Either side stood a royal guard, both of which stepped aside at the night princess's approach.
Nevertheless, it was hard for her to sustain her regal stature and royal facade as she thanked them. Because, in truth, she was far more excited than most mornings. Regardless, she raised a hoof to the grand, golden door and knocked on it firmly. The surface resonated with a metallic clang as she struck it, then she stepped back in anticipation.
"Oh dear sister, may I enter?" She called, once again fighting to maintain her royal composure until she was at least in the privacy of her sister's chambers.
No response came from the other side but a faint shuffling, the likes of which was greatly muffled by the door. Luna's face shifted with mild confusion, and she cocked her head.
"Sister, can you hear me?" She asked again, yet the sound from the other side didn't change.
More perplexing thoughts spawned in Luna's mind, and she shot each of the guards a confused look. When neither of the pair offered any form of explanation other than confused looks of their own, Luna pressed a raised ear to the door. The sudden bang of something on the other side forced her to recoil seconds later. Shock replaced confusion upon the dark alicorn's face, and finally she forced the door opened with a surge of magic.
"Sister, are you...?" She began, then paused.
The room, usually bright and filled with the morning's glow at such a time, was darker than even the most empty part of her beloved night. Luna's attention peaked in alarm, her ears standing tall as she looked about the place frantically. The light of her horn projected a ghostly glow over the most immediate features of the chamber. Then there was another light shuffle amid the gloom, but before she could jump upon its source another glow lit up the room.
The bright, sunny aura of Celestia's horn was far more adept at diminishing the darkness than Luna's own, and the moment it lit up Luna relaxed.
"Good morning Luna," Celestia stated swiftly.
Luna's eyes fixed upon her sister, as the glorious white alicorn sat up in her bed. Even so, her sister's eyes seem far less eager to rest upon her and Luna couldn't help but notice Celestia's reluctance.
"Oh dear sister, you look so flustered. Is something the matter?" Celestia asked, finally managing to focuses at least some of her attention on her younger sister.
Taking in her Celestia's observations, Luna collected herself. Not that the action lessened her attempts to uncover anything suspicions.
"I would ask the same of you sister," she responded, moving forwards and closing the door behind her with one flash of her horn.
Celestia gave a light laugh at that, pushing away her covers and shifting to her bedside.
"Oh Luna, always so suspicious," she said kindly.
The ghost of a smile curled upon Luna's muzzle as she paused before Celestia.
"Oh Tia, is it so wrong that I care for you?" Luna asked reasonably.
Celestia smiled as she got up from her bed, slipped into a pair of golden slippers and moved over to her dresser.
"Of course it isn't, I would have it no other way Luna," she assured her; opening a pair of curtains that flanked her dresser, allowing the moon's radiant glow to illuminate her.
Luna felt another surge of pride at the sight. Even after a thousand years, to see her sister illuminated by the glow of her glorious night was one she held with the utmost respect. Still, as happy and giddy as she was, her suspicions still hadn't completely evaporated.
"I assure you the feeling is mutual. Yet, I do wonder, why was your chamber like this when I entered? It is the day of the celebration, usually you are up so early and ready to raise the sun long before any normal day?" Luna responded, a curiosity two parts wry and one part concerned peaking in her tone.
Celestia tensed, turning back to her sister with a smile as she magically applied her golden regalia. Luna studied her expression closely, and almost immediately deuced it as a look she knew. At that realisation her playful smile grew into a smirk.
"I see that even after a millennium, some parts of you have not changed dear sister," she stated smugly, then looked about confidently.
"So Tia, what have you done this time?" she asked knowingly.
Celestia's calm look faltered only slightly. It was one Luna knew had been perfected and hardened for many centuries. Any normal pony would have been hard pressed, if not completely unable, to find any flaws in it. But she was no normal pony.
"Why Luna, I have no idea what you mean," Celestia offered, somewhat sheepishly.
Luna's curiosity grew, and she suspected she'd been the first pony to entice such an expression from her older sister in a thousand years.
"Oh, so it is a who then? Why Tia, I am shocked that you thought that my instincts would have been dulled after all this time. I can assure you they are just as sharp as they always were," Luna retorted with a cunning glance.
"Oh, I don't doubt that Luna," Celestia said warily, as Luna turned to the darkened room.
"I am seriously surprised you still do things like this," she muttered back quietly, then her head rose tall as she called out. "To whomever has once again so elegantly stole my sister's affection, please cease this futile hiding and show yourself!"
"You know, there's a reason nopony speaks like that anymore," came an oddly familiar voice.
A dark shape shifted in the gloom, and in the same moment Luna's once confided expression froze with shock.
"Just to be clear Luna, I do not do what you implied anymore, I have not done so for an age in fact. There are however, some who still live to remember the time before such things and..."
Celestia's words trailed off as she opened the rest of the curtains with her magic, and the light of the moon shone inward to unmask the dark shape.
"Discord!" The moment the tall shape of the Draconequus was bathed in the light, Luna's eyes went wide with shock.
Despite everything she knew, and all that had transpired since her return, the sight of her moon's radiant light shining upon him was not one she liked at all. Regardless of her less than hospitable reaction, Discord only smiled at her.
"It's nice to see you too Luna, even if you're looking...." He twirled an eagle-like claw in the air as he searched for words, "A bit tired. I suspect this must be a very late hour for you after all."
Luna's look of shock turned hostile as he gave a light chuckle, then she opened her muzzle intent on denying him the satisfaction he'd once gained from teasing her.
"I’ll have you know that I slept well through most of my night, thank you. I also awoke hours ago to ensure I’d be ready for the celebration, I would expect no less of myself. As for you..." Luna turned on her sister, catching the white alicorn's sinker as she watched the pair with growing amusement. "I'd have expected the same," she snapped.
"Do not lecture me on expectations," Discord began with a dry tone. "I would have thought Tia's right hoof mare would have known just how much was expected of me now." He lifted two forelimbs to his chest in emphasis of his words, before adding "So, surely you know just how hard it is to live up to them?"
In the same instant Luna spun back to face him, only to find that his wide grin had not faltered. Her eyes narrowed and teeth bared as she scowled.
"How dare he! He of all beings, say such things about her and her sister!" Her mind raged instinctively.
"Do not test my patience, Discord. If it were up to me you'd have never be freed in the first place," she warned dangerously.
Discord waved the threat away with a dismissive flick of his paw and a blunt “huff”.
"My, my. You're nowhere near as much fun as you were over a millennia ago, Luna. Looking at you now makes me almost glad I was turned to stone over a trip to the moon. Can you imagined if I'd have become as serious as you have in exile?" he teased, before laughing loudly.
"That's it!" Luna declared, leaping towards him with murderous intent, only to be stopped a moment later by her sister's wing.
"Now that's enough, both of you. It is too early for such petty squabbling," Celestia stated as she moved between them.
"Petty squabbling! Dear sister, might I remind you that this is Discord, spirit of chaos and..."
"I know, I know. But Luna please just calm down," Celestia asked kindly, meanwhile Discord did nothing but silently shoot the dark alicorn an exaggerated salute that Luna tried to ignore with all of her will.
Finally she let out a long sigh, pressing a hoof to her temple as she collected herself.
"Very well, but you must explain the meaning of this at once," she demanded.
At that, Celestia nodded. Then she moved back over to her dresser. Without her sister between herself and Discord, Luna battled the urge to jump him now, before things could get out of hoof.
"Need I also remind you that there is a crowd awaiting our presence just outside?" Luna added, peeking out of the window to the crowed castle grounds below.
"I am aware," Celestia responded calmly, then she glanced back and Discord and nodded once.
Luna looked between them with mounting suspicion as the Draconequus gave a polite bow.
"Of course, your Highness," Discord said with a charm that only sickened Luna.
Yet, it was far more successful at ushering a small laugh from her older sister. In the same moment, Luna's mind formulated the pieces of the situation, and one sly wink from Discord only solidified her theory.
"Wait! No, don't you dare..." She began, but before she could finish there was a flash of light, a whoosh and he was gone.
Moments later there was another flash outside, and Luna ran to the window to see that he had appeared upon the ceremony stage.
"Greetings fillies and gentlecolts! I am tonight's entertainment!" He declared with a laugh, gaining mixed reactions from the uncertain crowd.
Luna stepped back from the window, shock, uncertainty and confusion mixing like a liquid rainbow in her mind, then she turned to her sister sharply.
"You cannot be serious?" she exclaimed.
Celestia looked back at her from over her shoulder and cocked her head.
"And why wouldn't I be?" she asked reasonably.
Luna fought the urge to face hoof again.
"First you let him terrorise the Gala, now you're allowing him attended this festivity too? Do you not recall that this is the same being that betrayed us once and stole Equestria for himself?”
“Do you not remember the hardship we once endured to save the land from his madness, not to mention what trouble he caused the element bearers and that fact that he has betrayed again since you thought it a wise to release him!" she went on, pointing a hoof to the window before finally taking a breath.
Celestia glanced outside as the bright flashes and popping of chaotically magical fireworks began, literal popcorn bursting from the colourful expositions.
Luna grit her teeth at the sight, unable to see the harmless in it that her sister so clearly had no problem identifying.
"Luna, tell me. Do you remember how this all began? Before the betrayals, the wars, before all of this?" Celesta began, motioning to the room about her. "Do you remember when we were all younger?" her sister asked, and despite the hit of confusion the question sparked in her mind, Luna nodded.
"Of course I do. Even after all these centuries I would be hard pressed to forget," she stated, unable hide the hit of nostalgia that came with those ancient memories. "Yet, what do such things have to do with this now? The world has changed a great deal since then sister."
Celestia smiled as she looked at her reflection in her dresser's mirror, the same magnificent image that had stared back at her for over a millennia was still there, not that anypony could see past its flawless. But, there were some ponies that were unlike anypony else.
"For thousands of years I have walked this world, yet only one age ever truly felt like my life," she began emptily.
At that, Luna drew her attention away from the rain of colourful flowers that had began falling outside and moved to her sister’s side.
"Do I need ask which of them it was?" she asked, but just as her words suggested, she knew the answer. "I will not lie, the times when it was no more than the three of us were... Well, unforgettable. Yet, the world changed Tia. Equestria needed us to change, and we can't..." Luna said, then paused as her sister looked at her.
"Has it really changed so much, my dear sister? For you are no less than you were all that time ago, regardless of your transgressions."
The rest of Luna's unfinished sentence danced in her muzzle, coiling about her tongue in search of an escape she would not offer it, and while a sting of guilt struck her at her sister's words she could not fault them.
"No, you are right. It would be hypocritical of me not to offer him a chance after all I did. But what you are searching for died a long time ago," Luna responded, looking at her sister with a concerned understanding that only she and the chaotic being in question were old enough to know of.
Even so, it was Celestia who looked guilty at the fact, and her head sank slightly.
"I should have done better by both of you all that time ago, understood love in all its aspects. Yet, I was so blinded by a new rule. A rule I should have shared from the start," she admitted.
At that, Luna smiled and placed a hoof upon her sister's shoulders. Even now, they felt heavy with the weight of the world, one she knew her sister should have never had the bare alone.
"I know if anypony is to have regrets it is I. Yet, I will stop these futile disputes regarding which of us is to blame. We all made mistakes, some more obvious than others, but I do not think that putting back together what was once lost is impossible," Luna assured her sister, then smiled wider.
"Not too impossible, that is."
Celestia wrapped her wing over her younger sister's back, embracing the smaller alicorn for a long moment before she looked back into the mirror. This time Luna's own reflection appeared beside her own, and it bore a notably more cunning expression.
"Still, I sense you wish to give him another chance elsewhere, do you not?" she asked knowingly, her eyes glancing up at her sister.
"Do you recall how we first met? It feels like an eternity ago now," Celestia asked with a sigh, and Luna nodded swiftly.
"Of course, we were barely more than fillies. It was in a forest; he saw you and said you were finer than anything he'd ever had the luxury of laying eyes upon before. He made you a hat to show just how much he believed that" Luna recalled, her playfulness fading into contentment.
"I know, you were jealous for days," Celestia responded with a light giggle.
"Lies! I was only such for a few hours, no more. The sooner I realised just how distracting such emotions towards one not of one's kin were, the sooner I was better off," Luna retorted swiftly, wrapping a wing over her chest nobly.
Celestia gave another light chuckle at her sister's abrupt response, raising a hoof to her muzzle in amusement as Luna frowned slightly.
"You know, there's some things about you that I know will change one day," she said through her laughter.
At that, Luna's sly look returned and she nudged her sister’s side with her wing.
"If you believe so then be warned, for there is only one other immortal other that other then you I am aware of," she teased, and Celestia winced.
"You would really change that much?" she asked, but Luna said nothing more.
Instead, the princess of the night turned towards the door and shot her sister another wry smirk from over her shoulder.
"You certainly have. Once I would have been able to make you confess all of your troubles to me in half the time it took upon this night" She teased.
In the same moment there were several more pops and flashes outside, followed by a fit of chaotic laughter, and much to Luna's surprise, a chorus of genuine cheerers.
"I suppose that is just another point to support your bold claim" Luna said, motioning to the window.
"And to think, you'd still have him encased in stone," Celestia mused, trotting up to her sister's side.
"Indeed, but that's why I still believe that you were the best of us to rule alone. You were willing to take a risk to save what you loved," Luna offer kindly.
"Do you know how unlike you that sentence was?" Celestia asked curiously, and Luna rolled her eyes.
"I do, it was more like the old me, the better me I must admit. The me that might have another chance thanks to you sister," she responded appreciatively.
"To the future then?" Celestia asked, and Luna nodded before responding.
"More like to our future's distant past to be exact, but yes. To our future, dear sister, to our future."
Author's Note
This story actually came out later then planed. Originally, I wanted to get it out for the real Summer Soloists, hence its setting. Once again however, life seemingly went to great effort to ensure that was not so.
Regardless, thank you for reading and I hoped you enjoyed!
