Sunrise, Moonrise

"LUNA!"

Celestia jolted awake, pulling herself from the dream and the Nightmare with a desperate cry for her sister. Breathing heavily, she looked around her with wild, panicked eyes. She was in a large, round, sun-themed room. Deep purple-blue walls with a subtle cloud design. Swirly, light-purple carpet. Big, round, gold-and-magenta bed with lots of pillows and transparent silk draping. Cozy fireplace with an ever-glowing fire and several silk cushions in front of it.

Her bedroom. She was safe.

The Sun Princess lay back against her pillows with a deep breath. It was only a dream, she told herself. Just a dream.

It had been exactly three weeks since Celestia had banished her younger sister – Princess-Luna-turned-Nightmare-Moon – to the moon, using the extremely powerful Elements of Harmony. And yet, Celestia still dreamed of that terrible night every time she slept. She missed her sister already. She would not see Luna for another thousand years.

Agony.

Celestia wondered if Luna missed her, too.

Pushing aside her silky-soft bedsheets, the Alicorn of the Day slid out of bed and walked over to the always-open doors that led to her private balcony. It was time to bring forth the dawn. Tears pooled in Celestia's eyes as she lit up her long white horn, and her golden alicorn magic surrounded the moon. Her sister's moon, which bore the dark visage of the Mare in the Moon on its pale surface. Luna's visage.

Slowly, Celestia used her magic to lower the moon from the sky until it was out of sight. Then, her sun crested the horizon, filling the darkened sky with a rosy glow. Before the Nightmare came to Luna, Celestia had thought of the sun as glorious and awe-inspiring. Now, like the Mare in the Moon, it was just a reminder of what had caused Luna's dark transformation.

"Oh, Luna," Celestia whispered, almost inaudibly. The teardrops slipped down her cheeks and, one by one, splattered on the pale stone floor of the balcony. "If you can hear me, if the wind would carry my words up to you, I want to tell you that I'm sorry. Forgive me, little sister. I . . . I love you, Luna, and I miss you. Please, come back to me soon," she begged. "Please."

With one last, tear-filled look up at the sky, Celestia turned away and walked back into her bedroom. It was time for the Dawn Court, and she wasn't even ready yet.

Staring into the gilt-framed mirror that hung above her matching vanity table, Celestia saw a broken mare, once proud and regal, looking back at her. Her soft white coat was perfectly groomed and sleek, her great feathered wings preened to silkiness, her pastel-rainbow mane billowing gently in its ethereal breeze. She was beautiful and perfect on the outside. But inside, her heart was shattered like glass, lying in a million pieces.

But she had no right to feel sorry for herself. Luna did. Luna, who had been rejected and shunned by the ponies of Equestria and by Celestia, her own sister. How could I have been so oblivious to her feelings? How? How could anypony ever be as selfish as I was?

Celestia watched as her levitation magic fitted her with the royal regalia. Her four gilded horseshoes, fancy and golden, were slipped onto her polished white hooves. The matching golden torc, complete with intricate etching and a rhombus-cut amethyst set in the center, went around her neck and rested lightly on her shoulders. And last but not least, the Crown of the Sun was placed on her head. The royal-violet amethyst and glossy gold surface glittered together in the morning light.

Against her will, Celestia's purple eyes strayed to another bit of regalia resting on her table, a piece of jewelry that did not belong to her. A sparkling black crown with a silver-white crescent moon on it: Luna's old crown, the Crown of the Moon. It was the only thing that Celestia had left of the sister she loved. She had used the Elements of Harmony on Luna and destroyed the old Castle of the Two Sisters in the Everfree Forest. Celestia had found this crown left in the ruins of the castle. Every time she looked at it, she felt a sharp pang of hurt and remorse. It was her fault that Luna had turned into Nightmare Moon. It was Celestia's fault and nopony else's.

Now, Celestia spread one of her wings and reached forward with it to polish Luna's crown to a high shine. There. Setting the black crown back on the vanity, she made her leave from the bedroom. The Dawn Court was not going to start itself.

After a long trek through the hallways of the newly built Canterlot Castle, Celestia stopped in front of the grand doors that led to her royal throne room. She straightened her crown and torc and shifted her large white wings into place. Taking a deep breath, the Day Princess nodded wordlessly to the two stoic unicorn guards who stood at either side of the doors. With twin bows from the guards, the doors were encased in two colors of magic – orange and green – and opened soundlessly.

A long, narrow carpet of woven red silk ran the length of the rectangular, high-ceilinged throne room, leading up to the two Thrones of Day and Night that sat on a raised dais. Colorful stained-glass windows lined two of the walls, which were opposite each other. They depicted beautiful scenes of moonlight nights, sunny days, and noteworthy events in history. The newest windows showed Celestia's victory over Nightmare Moon.

Like she did every time she walked along the red carpet, Celestia winced when she caught sight of those particular windows.

Her pained gaze shifted to the two thrones, which mirrored each other in design but not in color. Celestia's Throne of Day was made of polished, honey-colored wood with gold filigree accents and red silk upholstery. Luna's Throne of Night was of shiny black ebony wood with decorative silver filigree and soft upholstery of dark blue silk. Their cutie marks were carved into the wood of their respective thrones and painted by professionals.

Even though this castle was built after the defeat of Nightmare Moon, Celestia had ordered the construction ponies to add Luna's throne to this room. Her sister would be back. In one long, long millennium, but she would return.

Celestia donned her well-practiced mask of composure and calm regality as she walked the length of the silk carpet and seated herself on her throne. "Guards, open the doors and let the courtiers in," she commanded, her voice ringing through the air.

The doors opened, and the usual crowd of courtiers flooded into the throne room. They were almost all nobles and advisers, most of whom Celestia hated. They were arrogant, self-absorbed scoundrels who, in her opinion, didn't belong anywhere in the royal castle.

"Prince Blueblood from the House of Blueblood, you may speak first," Princess Celestia said in a bored monotone. This is going to be a long, long day.

The white-coated, golden-maned unicorn stallion stepped forward and cleared his throat. "Princess Celestia, I have a proposal," Prince Blueblood said grandly in that irritating voice of his. It made Celestia want to bury her head in the ground. "We should remove all objects related to Princess Luna from the castle – paintings, windows, the like. After all, she is gone now. There is no need to continue with such insignificant trivialities, don't you think, Princess? We should not be reminded of the darkness and despair Nightmare Moon forced upon us, but the glory of your day and the warm regality of your sun."

The other nobleponies were nodding in agreement and approval.

This was what Celestia hated about the Court. Nopony would say things plainly, and when they said anything at all, it came out sounding shallow-minded and offensive, despite the fact that it was often praise. And she hated the praise, too. Did the nobles really think that she was too stupid to see through their endless lies?

After registering what Prince Blueblood had just said, the princess froze. A hot fury started to burn like a small, bright candle flame inside her, ignited by the arrogance of the rambling prince. How dare he? How DARE he calmly suggest that they erase the memory of Luna like simply wiping away a smudge on a mirror?

Celestia's ears shot up, and she felt her face begin to heat up. The nobles who were in their right mind started to slowly back away from the thrones, but Prince Blueblood was oblivious, wrapped in his own ignorance. He prattled on about everything that was wrong with Canterlot Castle, mostly revolving around how Luna's absence gave cause for them to remove all relics of the Night. This just fueled Celestia's rage to the point when the hairs on her coat started to prickle and burn and her horn itched to blast Blueblood out of Equestria with a single, fiery, painful shot of magic.

"That is ENOUGH!" Celestia suddenly shouted, using the Royal Canterlot Voice. She got up from her throne, the gentle colors in her illusive mane and tail washed away by a tide of fiery orange, brilliant scarlet, and blindingly bright yellow. Her coat burned a glaring white, and flames ignited at the edges of her opened wings. Her violet eyes burned with pure fury.

"P-Princess!" Blueblood stammered, stumbling over his own hooves as he tried to back away.

"My sister will NOT be disremembered or disgraced in such a way!" Celestia growled, shoving her face in the cowering prince's. "I hereby DENY your proposal! Now GET OUT of my sight, you coward!"

Weakling that he was, Prince Blueblood shot out of the throne room like his hooves were on fire. They weren't, but he managed to get away with only a few burnt hairs.

Once the prince was gone, Celestia's appearance returned to normal as she calmed down. "The Dawn Court is now over for today," she told commandingly to the rest of the terrified nobles. Her head held high, she walked regally out of the throne room as if nothing had happened here.

But what the others did not notice was that diamond tears glittered in the corners of their beloved Sun Princess's eyes.

Back in the privacy of her bedroom, Celestia finally allowed herself to cry for Luna. Did the ponies of Equestria really dislike her sister so much? So much that they would be willing to tear down all evidence that there had ever been a Princess of the Night? Did they even care that Nightmare Moon had once been Princess Luna – Celestia's sister and Regent of the Moon? Where was their respect for her? Why couldn't they have just loved Luna like they should have from the start?

"But I won't be like them," Celestia wept, her wet tears staining the rich bedsheets. "I will remember my sister. And every day, I will live with that pain and bear that heavy burden until she returns."

Sitting up, Celestia's magic latched onto the keepsake box beneath her bed. It was an average-sized jewelry box, nothing really special or fancy, made of polished cherrywood and carved with her cutie mark, which was inlaid with a single amethyst in the center. To deter any curious prying ponies, there were thirteen magical locking charms on the box, set in place by Celestia herself. Not that anypony would be foolish enough to sneak around in the Day Alicorn's private things, of course.

There was a secret way to disable the enchantments, which had been invented by the famously powerful unicorn mage, Star Swirl the Bearded himself. Celestia touched the tip of her horn to the amethyst and made it glow. A tendril of golden magic separated itself from the light of her horn and wrapped around the purple gem, dissolving into the precious jewel. The amethyst glowed gold, and there was a subtle click. Now, Celestia opened the box effortlessly.

The interior was lined with lavender silk, cushioning the priceless objects inside the box. One by one, wrapped in a golden aura, they floated out and settled on the bed. "Mother's and Father's wedding rings, my first enchanted amethyst, a feather from Luna's wing . . . here it is." Celestia levitated a photograph out of the box. It was encased in a glossy white frame with gold filigree and a thin glass plate to protect the photo.

The photograph had been taken many years ago, when both of her parents were still alive. It showed young Celestia and Luna with their now-dead parents, beautiful Queen Galaxia and handsome King Cosmos, who had been alicorns, too. They were standing in front of the old castle, which had been whole back then, of course.

Galaxia and Cosmos had died shortly after they had Luna, who didn't remember anything about them. Celestia's memory of their parents was blurry, too. She remembered what they looked like and how they acted, of course, but other than that, she could only see snapshots of her short time with them. Her mother's welcoming smile, her father's strong spirit . . . they were all gone.

They are in a better place now, Celestia thought. Mother and Father can't feel pain anymore.

More glittering teardrops fell from her violet eyes. I wonder if they're looking down at me right now. Blaming me for what happened to Luna, my own sister, and rightfully so. How could I have been so blind to her sadness and envy? Why didn't I love her or know her enough to see it?

What is wrong with me?

Celestia stood up abruptly and walked to her balcony, resting her hooves on the stone railing. It was a beautiful summer afternoon. Her sun shone brightly, the songbirds chirped merrily, and a gentle breeze was present in the pleasantly warm air. While this usually brought her comfort and proud pleasure, today she hated the lighthearted joy that floated around her.

Her bedroom tower was one of the highest in the castle, and she could easily see a large portion of Canterlot from here. The ponies were walking lazily in the streets, chatting with each other, having tea, as if nothing at all had happened just three weeks ago. It angered Celestia to see that her little ponies were so happy today. Had they already forgotten who Luna was? Was her sister already nothing but a memory, pushed to the back of their shallow minds and hearts?

Well, she may be absent and forgotten now, but she isn't gone. Not in my heart.

Oh, Luna, where are you?

I miss you. Come back soon.

No sun is complete without a moon by her side.

Please . . .