The Second Renaissance

Princess Luna stood out on the balcony, watching Canterlot as the sky turned dark. It was nearly time to raise the moon. The street lamps of the city gave light to the cobblestone roads and sidewalks. Canterlot always looked beautiful at night, which was something Luna always admired about this modern Equestria she has returned to.

With a glow of her horn, she pointed to the sky, and the moon was risen over the edge of the earth, taking the sun’s place as the main occupant of the sky. Luna noticed it was a full moon on this night. It was the most glorious full moon she had ever seen. It was almost as bright and shiny as the sun itself. She hoped Celestia didn’t see it, or else she will be jealous. Luna chuckled at the thought of Celestia being jealous of her.

A full moon this magnificent deserves some constellations, Luna thought. She loved bringing stars together to make pictures on the night sky. Since the next day will mark the beginning of the week of the Cherry Blossom festival, Luna considered the nights should be filled with constellations. She decided the first image of the night should be of Elyra, the goddess doe of the North. There were remarkable stories of her wisdom and bravery passed down through the ages. Luna imagined the citizens of the Deer Kingdom will appreciate it. Luna assembled a few stars to create a nightly image, almost like a game of connect the dots.

The constellation of Elyra was almost complete until she noticed that something was amiss on the northeast section of the sky. A few of the stars were out of line, Luna realized when looked closely.

“Odd,” she said aloud.

How did that happened? To anyone else it wouldn’t have been a cause of alarm, since they were just mere stars, but to Princess Luna the stars were her ornaments for the night. She decree that not one star shall be out of place. Luna turned away from Elyra to fix this problem. The northeast stars were glowing when she aimed her horn at them, and not one moment later they were organized as they should be.

“That should do it,” Luna said.

The problem was solved, and Luna returned to creating the pony goddess of the North.

But something was wrong. Luna believe her eyes when she saw that the stars she assembled were scattered, ruining the image of Elyra. She looked on in confusion, then hastily fixed the goddess. How could that be, Luna wondered. She was sure she was nearly finished with the constellation.

While she tried to put the stars of Elyra back together, Luna glanced at the other direction and was shocked to see that, once more, the northeast stars were displaced.

“What?” gasped Luna.

This didn’t make any sense. How can this be happening? Luna has always kept her watchful eye over her stars. What was the cause of this?

Luna disregarded the constellation. She opened the portal that lead to a hallway in the castle, then rushed inside. Thinking fast, she teleported to Celestia’s bedroom. Her room was brightly lit, the room temperature comfortably warm. The walls were plastered with gold and white wallpaper with her cutie mark on them. Celestia was lying on her bed reading a book, and casually looked up as Luna suddenly entered her room. When she looked at Celestia’s face, Luna wondered how she can be so calm about this.

“Celestia, I have a matter of great urgency!” she said.

“What’s wrong?” asked Celestia.

Luna took a moment to breath before answering. “The stars are not right,” she said gravely.

“What do you mean?”

“My stars are out of place! Something has bewitched them!” Luna said loudly.

Celestia only reaction was to blink. Her sister seem very worried. The last thing she wanted to do was to not take Luna’s anxiety lightly, but she still didn’t understand. “Maybe if you can show me,” Celestia began to say.

Before she can finish her sentence Luna grabbed her hoof, opened another portal, and took her to her balcony. Luna pointed to the direction of the sky where Elyra and the northeast stars were located so Celestia can see for herself what has been done to them. Luna informed her of what had happened when she tried to fix them.

“Never before were the stars like this,” she said.

“That is very strange,” Celestia said, although she wasn’t sure of what to make of the situation.

“Celestia, I believe we have in our midst a premonition. The stars are trying to tell us something.”

“What are they trying to tell us?” asked Celestia.

“That something terrible has happened… or will happen.”

Celestia had a grave look on her face, as did her sister. “What should we do?” she asked.

Luna didn’t say a word. Instead she opened a portal and allow themselves to enter through. They found themselves in the throne room, much to the surprise of the castle night guards. Luna cast a firm glance at Celestia, silently telling her to stand tall for them.

“Guards assemble, for we have grave news,” Luna announced. “On this night the stars have given us a sign, warning! We must of you to be ever vigilant during these trying times! Stand guard not for this throne, not for this castle, but for Equestria itself! Be the watchponies for our grand kingdom, and make sure no adversary will come our way!”

The guards responded in unison, and they took their posts on different parts of the castle. Another group of guards took to the city. Those who were pegasi took to the sky. By morning the city of Canterlot will be on full alert.

“Shall I make a protective shield for the castle?” asked Luna.

“No. Not yet,” said Celestia. “We don’t know for sure what kind of danger we’re facing.”

“All the more reason to take precaution!”

“But we don’t want to frighten our ponies,” Celestia said softly. “Or our guests, the Prince Naveen of the Deer and his family. The Cherry Blossom celebration is upon us, remember?”

“So you want to us to wait for some madpony to sneak into the castle garden to free Discord?” Luna said sharply. “How about we extend our hooves to another Changeling spy! Or better yet, some pony with a grudge who may assassinate the prince!”

“Luna, be reasonable! Until we find out what threat we’re dealing with, I don’t want you to go overboard. There will be no shield unless we both agree to put it up. Do you understand?”

Luna delivered a gaze full of bewilderment for Celestia. No words were exchanged, the essence of a quiet standoff.

“Fine, sister. Whatever you desire,” said Luna.

She teleported herself away. There was an observation deck on the top of the castle. Celestia figured she was probably going to be up there for the rest of the night. She seated herself on her throne, her hoof on the side of her head, trying to figure out their next move.

A night guard noticed how distressed she looked. “Is there anything I can do for you, Your Majesty?” he asked.

She smiled at him. “I’m fine. Although you can join your ranks in watching the castle.”

The guard bowed and marched away. Now Celestia was alone with her thoughts. She hoped the madness of Discord’s return or the terror of the Changeling invasion wouldn’t happen again. Celestia then pushed those dreaded thoughts out of her mind, and remembered that Twilight and her friends are not far away. Knowing she can count on them for anything she found a new resolve. However, she was still nervous of what new threat they will have to be up against, and if they’re prepared for it at all.