Chapters Some months after Luna's return...
Celestia knocked on her sister's door, gently at first, but a little harder when she heard no answer on the other side. She was usually a patient mare, but she needed to talk to Luna. She needed to talk to her now .
When several seconds passed again without a sound from the other side, Celestia tried to open the door of her own accord, but it was locked. Not magically locked, however, as she quickly realized when she utilized a simple unlock spell. The door opened to finally reveal who she wanted to see. Or the backside, at least.
"Luna, we need to talk."
Once again, no answer. Celestia walked over to Luna to see where her gaze was fixated. Ironically, it was the very thing Celestia wanted to talk about: the moon.
"Luna!"
The night mare's gaze didn't falter for a second, only further irritating her older sister. Celestia sat right in front of her. However, almost as soon as she did, her irritation vanished like it was never there beforehand.
Luna's ordinarily sweet blue eyes were puffy and red. Her face was visibly stained with moisture and her mouth was curled into an unsettling frown. Celestia almost cringed at the sight. Still, Luna did not move her gaze, as if glaring right through Celestia to keep her focus locked on the moon.
Now feeling more sympathetic than irritated, Celestia moved back to Luna's side. Attempting to make her laugh, she poked her belly, a gesture that often got at least a giggle out of Luna when they were still fillies and even into their teen years. Again, Luna didn't react, only moving to shove away Celestia's hoof to prevent her from poking a second time.
"Luna, please!" Celestia pleaded, now desperate. "If something is bothering you, share it! You can tell me anything."
After a split-second glance at her sister, Luna finally broke her previously unwavering gaze from the moon. With one of her forehooves, she pointed toward a bin. Celestia walked over to it and looked inside. Her eyes widened in shock. In the bin, discarded like forgotten toys, were Luna's crown, her neckplate, and even her shoes.
"Luna, what is the meaning of this?!"
A longer glance answered that question better than Luna could've with words. What else could it have meant?
"Sister." Celestia tried to hug her, but Luna moved sideways and turned her head away. "Why are you doing this, dear sister? Why are you refusing to take back your place as princess?"
"It is not our place!" Luna snarled, startling Celestia.
That solved the question of what Celestia originally wanted to discuss. Luna had recovered fully since her return from the moon, but she had yet to resume her duties as a ruler. But now, Celestia had several more questions.
"Luna, yes, it is! We are supposed to rule together! Do you not remember we were chosen together? We had our coronation together. That is how it was supposed to be. How it's always supposed to be!"
Luna lowered her voice, but still spoke with a noticeable bitterness. "T'is not. And it never shall be again."
"We can talk about this!" Celestia insisted pleadingly. "Just let it out and tell me everything! I'm right here for you!"
Had Celestia known those would've been the magic words, she would've said them as soon as she stepped into Luna's room. However, she was not prepared for the response that followed.
"We. Are. A. Monster !"
She forced herself to stay quiet to listen to Luna's emotional rant.
"We know thou wishes to speak to us about our refusal to raise the moon! We refuse! We are not to be trusted with such power! We will not permit thee to give us such a position! We will not allow ourselves to risk falling to darkness once again! We want no association with the moon in our life! We want no association with the duties of a princess! We will not allow ourselves to endanger our subjects again!" Luna's eyes glowed and her voice rose to a booming volume. "Thou should never have retrieved us from the moon!"
If anypony reported a shattering sound at that moment, it would've been Celestia's heart. How could Luna say such things, and with so much fury, about herself? Had this really been what was going on? Luna was refusing her duties, not out of laziness, but fear and her own self-hate? Celestia failed to notice her sister falling into despair? Again?
Luna's anger subsided, but sorrow quickly retook its place. Her eyes returned to normal, a few tears making their way down her face as she stared at the floor. She was calm only in the sense of no longer yelling. She walked out of her room, but when Celestia attempted to follow, Luna slammed the door and refused to open it.
"Luna, what you say isn't true!" Celestia insisted, both sisters struggling magically to get their way with the door. "You are not a monster!"
"We do not wish to hear thy flatters!" Luna retorted. "We do not require thy coddling!"
"I'm not saying it just to say it! It's the truth! You are not Nightmare Moon!" Celestia banged on the door from inside. "Nightmare Moon is long gone! It's over, Luna! It's the past! What matters is you're with us again and you are okay! You are alive, Luna! We can move past this!"
"Why art thou willing to trust a monster?!" Luna demanded.
"I love you, Luna! You are my sister, our princess of the night, and far from a monster. It was a mistake, Luna! You made one mistake!"
"One mistake that cost us all we had!" Luna reminded her. "Our own existence was not ours!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Nightmare Moon took us!" Luna's voice was slowly rising in volume again. "We did not have our magic, our body, or our mind. But we knew. We knew everything! We saw everything! And we were weak! We could do nothing! We let that monster grow, overtake us, and let us be evil! We failed our responsibilities as a princess! We failed our subjects! We betrayed our own sister! We are not fit to be a ruler! We relinquish our position!"
Luna fell miserably to the floor, shaking and unable to speak further. But she didn't need to. That was enough for Celestia to understand.
Luna gave up her side of the struggle with the door, letting Celestia fling it open. She immediately grabbed her sister and held her as close as she could. Luna didn't fight against it, only because she couldn't. Celestia helped her get to her bed and sat next to her, closing the door to Luna's bedroom for the sake of privacy. Then, she resumed hugging her younger sister as she spoke.
"I didn't know." Celestia's tone was soft and kind. "I didn't know that's what it was like for you as Nightmare Moon. I can't imagine what it feels like to have your body hosted against your will. But please listen to me, my sister. You are not a monster. Nopony, not even as strong as we are, can fight darkness alone and win. I wasn't there for you. Yes, it is our duty as princesses to protect our subjects, but it is my duty as an older sibling to protect you. And I failed. I am also to blame."
Celestia paused to see if Luna was listening. Luna was silent, but she did finally look at Celestia intently. Celestia continued.
"But you can't live your life that way. You can't focus on one mistake and define it as your life. It was a big mistake, but it was a mistake and it is over. We are the only ponies alive with any true memories of Nightmare Moon from that time. In a few generations, nopony alive will remember her appearance at the Summer Sun Celebration. Were you truly a monster, you'd feel no remorse, yet you feel so much, you're willing to give up your title as princess to amend it. That's more than enough proof. You are not Nightmare Moon. You are not a monster, so do not speak of yourself as such."
Celestia could sense Luna wasn't believing most, if any, of what she said, but it wasn't a surprise. What led Luna to Nightmare Moon built up over years, so it was only natural it would take years for her to heal mentally from it. The difference was this time, Celestia would help her come back from it. Finished speaking her part, Celestia held her sister quietly, letting Luna mull over everything she said.
With her magic, Celestia took Luna's regalia from the bin where she discarded them. Slowly, she placed them on her. First, her shoes, one by one. Then, her neckplate. Finally, ever so gently, Celestia set the midnight black crown on Luna's head.
Princess Luna didn't protest.
Cadance merely sat in stunned silence as she watched her aunt continue looking through designs. She was uncertain it was even appropriate to respond after what Celestia just told her. After taking several moments to compose herself, she found words.
"I couldn't have guessed Aunt Luna felt so badly."
Celestia let out a small sigh. "Neither did I. I knew she felt badly, but not to that extent. She really scared me that day."
"But she's doing much better now, right?" Cadance asked, silently praying for the answer she hoped to hear. To her relief, Celestia nodded.
"It's been a very hard road for her. When the guilt made her feel her worst, she created a monster to torment herself with nightmares. A monster called "Tantabus". Twilight and her friends helped Luna defeat it, and we talked about it after I picked her up from Twilight's castle the following morning. After that, she slowly started moving on."
"Did she ever bring it up again?" Cadance asked, looking over a palette of shades of blue.
"Once in a while if she had another nightmare," Celestia answered. "Sometimes, if I could catch her awake before I retired for the night, we'd do something fun together. She told me she always had a nice dream after we did that. She hasn't talked about Nightmare Moon in almost a year, so I think she's getting there."
"And you hope this will help her really see who she is," Cadance concluded. "So, she'll never look at herself as Nightmare Moon again."
"Exactly." Celestia pointed out a particular design and cringed at it. "Luna isn't one for pickiness, but I know she wouldn't like this one."
"Too... regal for her," Cadance agreed with a small laugh. "I think she'll be fine with plain wood. Maybe just the moon crest at the top. Something that resembles yours, but a different color. Luna has no idea of this, does she?"
"I asked her a few questions, but I'm certain I didn't give away the idea."
A few weeks ago
“Sister, pick a palette.”
Luna looked away from where she’d been watching over Equestria through a telescope to see Celestia holding a variety of palettes of various shades of colors for her to choose from.
“What is this for?” Luna had asked as she looked over the palettes.
“Some of the ponies of my day court want to request a renovation.”
“I see. Well…” Luna stared back and forth over them for a short while longer before finally pointing her hoof to her choice. “I choose the shades of blue.”
“Noted.” Celestia then raced off before Luna could ask more questions, leaving her to simply return to her watch and try to think little of it.
The week after that
Celestia stopped Luna before she retired for the morning. “Just one moment before you go to sleep.”
“You’re my sister. I’ll give you two moments,” Luna had joked.
Celestia showed her three pictures of the moon: Its full phase, its half phase, and its crescent phase. “This may be a silly question, but which do you like most?”
“It is not. I do happen to prefer the crescent moon.”
“Perfect!” Again, Celestia raced off before Luna could ask questions. She shrugged and continued her way to bed.
And one more week after that
“Sister, it is a rude question, but a pony from my court asked and I admit I am also curious.”
Luna paused eating her dinner (breakfast) to give Celestia a skeptical look. “What are you and that pony curious about?”
“Why do you wear smaller attire than I do?” Celestia had asked. “I know you are not one for fanciness unless called for, but if you will wear it, why do you decide on smaller attire?”
Luna sighed. “I tried to go without it, but some of the delegates seemed to believe I couldn’t be respected without it. So, I settled on what was small and could fit me. I prefer what fits well to what is oversized and makes a scene. I suppose the consequence of being a small mare myself. I’m accustomed to small things.”
“Understood. But you are a perfect size, Sister.”
“It is not something I feel bad about, but thank you.”
Back to the present
“I kept her answers in mind for when I was ready to order the throne to be installed,” Celestia explained to Cadance. “I was hoping to find something to give it a more personal touch for her, but I suppose you are right. The moon crest is enough.”
“This is for her birthday, isn’t it? What about a party?” Cadance suggested.
“It wouldn’t be unlike me to plan such a thing,” Celestia admitted with a small laugh, “but I want to be certain Luna will accept this. Playful as we may be toward each other, I wouldn’t try to humiliate her.”
“I meant a more personal party,” Cadance clarified. “For family only. Us, Luna, Twilight, Shining Armor, and Flurry Heart. We could plan an actual birthday party for her later in the day.”
“I only hope she’ll forgive me for overlooking this for so long.”
“Luna would never hold a grudge about something like that,” Cadance assured her aunt. “Like you said, she didn’t think she deserved to have the title she does. It’s no wonder she never brought it up. Just think about how happy she’ll be when she sees it.”
“That’s what I’m most looking forward to.”
Luna stretched out her legs and flexed her wings. Normally, she woke up in her crescent moon-shaped bed with her slippers by her bedside. This day, however, she woke before noon in the castle of Princess Twilight Sparkle. At Twilight's insistence, she agreed to return there after her fulfilling her nightly duty of the patrolling the dream realm, though Twilight had also asked her to return somewhat earlier than she normally would. No explanation was offered, but Luna agreed, assuming Twilight would discuss matters later.
She heard the doors to her given room open just as she climbed out of the bed. She quickly straightened out the cover to neaten the bed, and turned to greet, to her surprise, three young familiar faces.
"Good morning, Princess Luna!" the cutie mark crusaders said in unison, almost as if rehearsed.
"Good morning, young ones. I did not expect to see you."
A few quiet giggles didn't go unnoticed by Luna, but she humored them and didn't speak of it. All three raced over to their night princess and surrounded her.
"Princess Luna, what's today?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Luna thought for a few moments. Had some event slipped her mind? A modern holiday? A celebration? Some more unintentionally noticeable giggles from the three fillies didn't help her thoughts. Luna gave up.
"I'm afraid I do not know. What is the occasion?" Luna asked.
The fillies now frowned and exchanged glances with one another, but their smiles soon recovered.
"Luna, your sister invited us to the castle!" Apple Bloom exclaimed. "We were hoping you'd take us!"
"By train!" Scootaloo quickly interjected. "We were hoping we could ride the train with you."
All three flashed their biggest innocent smiles, and Luna couldn't help feeling something strange was going on. Still, having the soft spot she did for her young friends, she agreed to escort them to Canterlot castle by train.
"Yes!" Scootaloo cheered. "This'll be the best---!"
Apple Bloom quickly threw a hoof over Scootaloo's mouth. "Scootaloo!"
"I wasn't going to say it!" Scootaloo argued, muffled by Apple Bloom's hoof. Luna stared suspiciously, but the fillies raced out of the room, calling for Luna to follow. Luna put the scene out of her mind and hurried after the young ones.
An hour later, Luna was on a train ride to Canterlot with three suspiciously eager fillies. Except to remind them to stay seated (they were three energetic fillies, after all), Luna hadn’t said a word. Instead, she was looking out the window, lost in her thoughts as she tried to think of what occasion she was forgetting. And while she certainly didn’t mind the little ones visiting the castle, it wasn’t like Celestia to invite anypony without telling Luna ahead of time. Plus, while it was a thought Luna kept to herself, she was aware when her little friends got involved in something, it wasn’t solely for giggles. Somepony was planning something. Luna just couldn’t piece it together.
“Luna!”
Sweetie Belle’s voice instantly broke Luna out of her thoughts.
“Luna, we were wondering… can you sing?”
“That is a peculiarly timed question, Sweetie Belle,” Luna murmured. “Why do you ask?”
“Since you go into ponies’ dreams, we were just thinking you probably sing them to sleep sometimes too. Right?”
“Well, yes, I do occasionally try to lull those who struggle to sleep with a melody.”
“Luna!” Scootaloo interrupted. “Do ponies ever have dreams about you that aren’t really you there?”
“On occasion, I’ve seen such dreams,” Luna answered.
“Like what? Cool dreams? Spooky dreams?” Scootaloo snickered. “Grown-up dreams?”
Luna blushed slightly at that last one. She saw more than her fair share of “grown-up” dreams about her. There was a reason she usually gave more mind to the dreams of younger ponies. The last “grown-up” dream of herself she ever saw gave her nightmares.
“Various dreams, Scootaloo,” Luna finally replied.
“Luna!” Apple Bloom butted in. “Apples or pears?”
“Cauliflower,” Luna replied dully, prompting all three fillies to stick out their tongues in disgust. It was a false answer. Just one Luna gave to tease them a bit since they seemed to be doing that to her.
Before another random question could be asked, a loud wail caught all four ponies’ attention. They looked around and Luna was the first to spot the source: an upset foal. Curious, Luna walked over to the mother, followed closely by the crusaders.
“Sorry, honey. Mommy can’t get it,” the mother was saying, though it clearly wasn’t working.
“Excuse me, ma’am,” Luna politely interrupted. “Is all okay?”
“Your Highness!” the mother answered in shock. “Oh, it’s nothing. My daughter’s balloon flew out the window.”
Thinking quickly, and getting an idea from her mane, Luna lit the tip of her horn and formed a twinkling star. She carefully hovered it over to the foal, who noticed it almost immediately and looked at it in wonder. Luna then made the star move around and the foal tried to grab it. That continued for a few seconds until Luna made the star burst into tiny sparkles that vanished. The foal clapped her hooves and laughed.
“Like her!” the foal exclaimed. She reached out for Luna. “Funny pony!”
“Thank you, Your Highness!” the mother told Luna.
“You are most welcome.”
With the foal calm and content now, Luna and the crusaders returned to their seats. “Bye, pony!”
The train was now one stop away from Canterlot station, so the four of them would soon be getting off the train.
“Wow, Luna. That was really nice of you! Why’d you do that?” Apple Bloom asked.
“There wasn’t reason I shan’t,” Luna replied. “It was to be kind, Apple Bloom. Nothing more.”
“Do you like kids like us?” The fillies hugged one another, showing their big smiles.
“Yes,” Luna admitted with a small laugh. “I do enjoy the company of young ones like yourselves and that foal.”
“More than delegates and nobilities of court,” she mentally added.
Everything was finally set up with a few minutes to spare. The throne was set in place, the party decorations were set up, and the cake had finally arrived. It arrived late, but still before Luna, so that was close enough to “on time” for Celestia. Shining Armor arrived with Flurry Heart, and the gift Celestia had kept at their castle to ensure Luna didn’t find it.
“Flurry remembered the blindfold,” Shining joked while his giggling daughter tried to navigate around the room without sight.
“Aunt Celestia, I forgot to ask. Why did you invite those fillies?” Cadance asked as she chased after her own blindfolded filly.
“Luna is close to those particular three,” Celestia explained while trying to block Flurry’s path, though even blindfolded, Flurry dodged her. “She has mentored each of them at least once.”
“Sounds like Luna is a big sister in her own way,” Shining said as he made a leap to grab Flurry, but missed and landed flat on his face.
“No, Flurry! Not the cake!” Cadance hurriedly halted Flurry Heart with her magic’s grasp before the bouncing baby could make a blind jump into the cake. She removed the blindfold and set Flurry on the floor. “Not on the table, Flurry.”
Just as they got Flurry Heart settled down, the cutie mark crusaders came running in, and their eager faces gave away they’d done their job.
“Princess Celestia! Your sister is right outside!” Apple Bloom announced. “And we didn’t spill the secret!”
“Thank you, my little ponies. Cadance will get Luna and I will wait in the open. You three hide with Shining Armor and Flurry Heart. Remember: not a sound.” She put a hoof to her lips. “Shhh.”
The fillies mimicked her action. “Shhhhh!”
Cadance headed outside while Celestia dimmed the throne room. Shining Armor, Flurry Heart, and the crusaders hid beneath the table, the cloth obscuring them. Everypony was excitedly anticipating Luna’s reaction to her throne, but none of them more than Celestia. She really had waited too long to give this to Luna. Of course, Luna was also a ruler, and on equal grounds with Celestia, so she didn’t have to wait to be given anything. They had to talk about that later.
Outside, Cadance met with, to her amusement, a rather bored Luna. “How are you, Aunt Luna?”
“Suspicious,” Luna replied dully.
For a moment, Cadance looked uneasy. “You know?”
“No, I do not know what my little friends are up to,” Luna answered with the same dullness. “They’re not so subtle about when they do, however.”
Cadance breathed a sigh of relief. “Don’t worry, Aunt Luna. No trouble! You’ll love this!”
“Young Cadance, what are you referring to?”
Before Luna had a chance to protest against it, Cadance covered her eyes with the blindfold and tied it around her head.
“Cadance, what are you doing?!”
“Just walk with me,” Cadance said. She held a hoof around her dark-coated aunt. “Follow me. You’ll understand when you see it.”
Luna had long mastered patience---the only good that came out of her time on the moon---so she relented and walked along with Cadance.
“Young Cadance,” Luna said as they made their way, “would you happen to know the day’s occasion?”
“What do you mean?”
“Is today the day of a holiday or an event? The little ones mentioned it briefly, but they were not specific. I haven’t any idea of what we are celebrating today, if anything at all.”
Cadance stopped in her tracks, as did Luna since the latter was supposed to be following. Luna couldn’t really forget… nopony could ever forget their…
“Cadance?” Luna muttered.
“Nothing, Aunt Luna. We’re going.” They continued onward until they reached the throne room, but Cadance asked Luna to wait just a moment longer. Luna agreed without excitement, and Cadance walked in alone.
“Where’s Luna?” Celestia whispered.
Cadance leaned close to reply. “Outside the door. Aunt Celestia, I don’t think she knows what today is. You know, the occasion.”
Celestia’s eyes widened. “Are you sure you’re not mistaken? Even I, in all my years, have never heard of anypony forgetting their own---”
She paused when she saw Cadance’s clearly uneasy face. “She said the fillies asked her if she knew what today was. She didn’t know. Maybe we should’ve gone with the big bash.”
“As soon as she takes this throne, I’m sending a letter to Twilight to have her party-planning pink friend bring the party now! Let Luna come in.”
Cadance re-opened the doors, and the sound did not go unheard by Luna. Cadance quickly pulled her in and closed the doors behind them. She then hid under the table with the others, leaving only Celestia and a blindfolded Luna in the open.
Wordlessly, Celestia took Luna’s hoof and began leading her to the dais.
“Celestia?” Luna whispered.
Celestia didn’t say a word.
“Sister, I know it’s you,” Luna whispered. “I don’t need to see or hear you to know you’re here.”
Celestia led Luna up the stairs and seated her. Luna said nothing more and simply waited to see what all of this was leading up to. As quietly as she could, Celestia brought over the gift box and opened it. She set the box down and lifted three articles of regalia from it. Luna could feel as, one by one, the unknown objects were placed on her body, from her each of her hooves to her neck to the top of her head. Celestia seated herself and turned Luna’s head toward her.
“Go ahead,” Celestia said gently. “Take off the blindfold.”
Luna pulled the blindfold off with her hooves. Her first sight was Celestia next to her with a big smile on her face. She instantly knew she was on the dais, but that was an interesting angle… why did Celestia appear on level with her?
Luna turned around for her answer and stepped onto the floor to admire it with a better view. Was that… was that really…?
“S-sister… what is this?”
“Your throne,” Celestia answered as if the question were a casual one. “Do you like it?”
Luna’s mouth was agape, but no words came out. She then looked down at her hooves to see them covered with new, taller shoes. A somewhat bulkier neckplate was in place of her old one and she took her crown off of her head to see it was also new, as black as her old one, but embedded with a light blue gemstone. She replaced it upon her head and gave her sister an uncertain glance. Celestia urged her to sit back down, but Luna hesitated, so Celestia stepped off her own throne instead.
“Luna…” She briefly nuzzled her sister. “I know what makes you hesitate, and after these years that have passed since you returned, it breaks my heart. This is something I should’ve had waiting for you, not the other way around.”
Luna opened her mouth to object, but Celestia gently placed a hoof over Luna’s lips and shook her head.
“No. No more talking down to yourself, my sister. The decision to accept or reject is yours. But make your choice with this in mind: I forgive you, I love you, I believe in you…” She brought her head close to Luna’s and their horns touched. “...and I have no regrets.”
Her brief speech finished, Celestia returned to her throne and closed her eyes. Luna continued to stare at the throne, as if she was looking for some kind of answer from the piece of furniture itself. Did she truly deserve this? Was she really a fit ruler? Was she truly… equal to her sister? After her fall to darkness, she could never believe so. She could pretend she did, and that was on a good day.
Yet, at the same time, she missed sitting next to her sister. In the past, before the start of the problems that put Luna on the path to Nightmare Moon, she and Celestia had many a night on their thrones where they just laughed and talked. It was one of those small things she never stopped missing. She missed when they had that connection of knowing each other was thinking the same thing and the ability to express it with an exchange of glances. She even missed the sillier times, like when they both passed out from exhaustion on their thrones. Thrones did not make comfortable beds.
Yes, she really had missed having a throne for herself. Maybe for more personal, innocuous reasons than royal ones, but she did.
And if Celestia could believe in her…
...could she believe in herself?
She could try.
Luna stepped back onto her throne, front hooves first, followed by a moment of hesitation before she finally climbed onto it and sat properly. She looked over at her sister, whose eyes were now open and returning her gaze.
“I will try.”
“Perfection does not exist,” Celestia told her. “It’s the best we can do.”
Celestia brightened the lights and out popped six cheering ponies from beneath the table. Luna’s jaw dropped in shock as she finally pieced it all together, but when she was able to pick her jaw up, she smiled.
“You little ones knew this all along!” Luna realized.
“Happy birthday, Luna!” the three crusaders shouted in glee.
“Birthday?” It was then Luna noticed the cake on the table and the party decorations abound. “You were trying to remind me of my birthday?”
“Yeah. Did you really forget it was your birthday?” Scootaloo asked.
“No. I’ve just never thought I deserved to be celebrated after the events I caused to transpire,” Luna explained. “I hated my birthday since. Until today. Thank you all.”
“In that case, we have another surprise for you!” Cadance laughed.
“Indeed we do,” Celestia agreed. “But for now, we celebrate the return of our princess.”
“Return?” Luna questioned.
Celestia nodded. “Her return to where she rightfully and truly belongs.”
There was no protesting. Only the biggest of blushing smiles was given in response.
Luna's birthday party fired off in the amazing way only Pinkie Pie could throw a party. Being much less extroverted than her sister, Luna preferred the more personal party with just her and family. But even she was having a good time. Of course, it helped Celestia had considered Luna's tastes when she consulted Twilight and Pinkie Pie about Luna's party. The theme was obvious: the moon and stars. The regular balloons were various shades of blue and adorned with stars. Other balloons were shaped like stars or crescent moons. The tablecloths all featured a landscape of Luna's lovely night. Pinkie Pie even filled her party cannon with dark blue, light blue, and golden star confetti.
Perhaps most impressive was the cake. While cake had always been Celestia's favorite dessert, Luna couldn't hide the birthday cake Celestia had made for her - courtesy of Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle - made her mouth water, something very unlike her. Two tiers, both covered in dark blue frosting. The lower tier boasted a full moon and stars on its side while the upper tier was decorated with lilac flowers in a circle on top made of frosting. In the center read, "Happy birthday to our Princess Luna", and at the top and bottom of those words were two tiny figurines of Luna.
Celestia had indeed gone all out for her sister with the planning. It was her party, after all, and to see Luna having a good time made every detail worth it.
"Princess Luna! Luna!" Pinkie Pie called. "Time to unwrap your presents!"
"My presents, Pinkie Pie?" Luna asked.
"Of course!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. "No presents on your birthday? That's just awful!"
"But dear Pinkie Pie, I have already received wonderful presents," Luna insisted. "This party." She looked toward the dais. "A throne for myself." Her gaze moved from the dais to Celestia. "And an amazingly generous sister."
Celestia had to hide a few happy tears as everypony else in the room exclaimed, "Awww!"
"Well, humor us, Aunt Luna," Cadance insisted. "We each brought you a gift."
"Yeah, and for your first big birthday bash since you came back? Of course, we got you presents!" Rainbow Dash added. "Mine is, no doubt, the most awesome." Twilight and Applejack shot a glare at Rainbow Dash. "I mean, excluding your new throne and all."
Luna almost felt shy. That everypony cared so much to celebrate her like this. It was almost overwhelming. She didn't really like to be the center of attention. At the same time, she certainly wasn't unhappy.
"Come on, sister," Celestia urged her. "It is your birthday. It's about you."
"Thank you all," Luna told her guests. "I would love to see your gifts."
"Yaaaaaaay!" Pinkie squealed. "Me first! Me first!"
All of the guests and Luna sat in a circle while the presents were placed in the center. Pinkie pulled out her gift and gleefully bounced over to Luna to give it to her.
"I know you'll love it!"
"I'm certain I will," Luna assured her. She pulled the bow loose with her mouth and removed the top. Inside the box rested a book titled 200 Jokes and Puns About Space .
"I know books are more Twilight's thing, but I couldn't resist it for you!" Pinkie explained.
"It is a great gift, Pinkie Pie." She glanced slyly at her sister. "I am sure Celestia will love it just as much."
"I think I need to re-write the laws on book burning ," Celestia thought to herself.
Twilight pulled out her gift next to present to Luna. Hers was a large, rectangular box. "Happy birthday, Luna. I made it with my own hooves!"
"I have no doubt it is lovely." Again, Luna loosened the bow and removed the box's top. She levitated the gift in the air and it almost immediately doubled in size. It was a diorama of several constellations Luna had previously painted in the night sky.
"Sorry. I had to shrink it to make it fit in the box," Twilight explained.
"It is beautiful, Twilight Sparkle. I thank you."
Rarity took her turn now, presenting Luna with her gift. Unlike Twilight's and Pinkie's gifts, Rarity's gift was not in a box. Rather, it was in a translucent plastic bag. With a little magic, Rarity cautiously pulled the bag upwards, revealing the gift: an elegant gown, tinted lavender and lightly adorned with glitter on its lower half.
"Sister, does this explain the occasion when you measured me three weeks ago?" Luna asked.
"It might," Celestia chuckled.
"Would you care to try it on, Your Highness?" Rarity asked. "I just have to know it fits!"
Luna gladly obliged, carefully putting herself into the dress to avoid tearing so much as a single stitch. Much like parties, fancy dresses weren't really her taste, but she truly did like it. She felt graceful wearing it.
"Your dress fits perfectly. Thank you, kind Rarity," Luna said. Rarity let out a happy squeal. "Would you mind if I wore it for the remainder of the party?"
"Not at all, Your Highness!" Rarity beamed with pride and delight.
Ever impatient, Rainbow Dash decided it was her turn. She sped through one of the nearby windows and hovered herself in the air. Everypony followed to see what was she was going to do.
"Brace yourself, Princess Luna!" Rainbow declared. "You've never seen what I'm going to give you! You're about to be so amazed, blown away, stunned into total speechlessness---!"
"She gets it!" Applejack yelled. "Some of us still have gifts for the princess too, you know!"
"Heh. Right."
Rainbow Dash began zipping all around the clouds. At first, nopony could tell what she was doing. It was Twilight who noticed she reshaping the clouds. As she did more and more, she pushed them together to blend into each other. The others could now see a certain shape was forming as Rainbow pushed together more clouds. When her massive cloud was finally formed, she spent several seconds zipping around and reshaping it until it finally held the shape she wanted it to.
"Ta-da! What do you think, Princess?"
Rainbow had been right. Luna was stunned into speechlessness. Rainbow shaped the massive cloud to look like a sculpture of Luna. Celestia used a quick spell to encase the cloud sculpture in a bubble to protect it from being blown away by the wind.
"Rainbow Dash, it is remarkable!" Luna exclaimed. "Thank you so much."
"Oh, it was nothing," Rainbow assured Luna as she returned inside.
Celestia carefully dragged the statue indoors. "I'll leave here for now, but how about after the party, we display it in the gardens, Luna?"
Instead of Luna, Rainbow almost fainted at the idea. A creation of hers on display in the castle gardens? Sure, it'd been a gift for Luna, but---
"Applejack, you should give Luna your present next!" Pinkie Pie suggested.
"About time!" Applejack exclaimed. Everypony sat around the gift pile again while Applejack pulled out her present to give Luna. "Here you are, Princess! I hope it's to your liking!"
Applejack's gift was packed in a circular box. This was one Luna had to rip the gift wrap off, and doing so revealed the "box" was a tin can. Luna pried the top off with her magic and almost instantly covered her mouth to hide an un-princess-like squeal of joy.
"Usually, I make my treats with apples, but Princess Celestia mentioned blackberries are your favorite," Applejack explained. "You're the birthday guest, so instead of apples, I made blackberry tarts." Applejack chuckled shyly for a moment. "Though, I threw in some apple tarts just for the heck of it."
It was specifically blackberry tarts that were Luna's favorite treat, and she hadn't eaten them since she was in recovery years ago after being stripped of Nightmare Moon's darkness. She'd eaten very little for the first two weeks, and Celestia made the tarts as a treat for her after she started eating regularly. Admittedly, it was more of a ploy to get Luna out of bed for a while, not that Luna cared at the time.
"Your gift is very thoughtful, fair Applejack," Luna told her. "I'm certain your apple tarts are delicious as well."
Fluttershy was next. She was a little worried her gift wouldn't be as special as her friends' had, but Luna assured her whatever her gift was, it'd be appreciated. Fluttershy pulled her gift from the pile and presented it to Luna. Luna undid the bow and lifted the top. Inside the box sat a set of what seemed to be accessories.
"I weaved them together from some roses," Fluttershy explained as Luna lifted the pieces in mid-air with her magic. "That one is the crown." Luna fit it on her head, around her royal crown. "That's the necklace." Luna draped it around her neck. "And these are the anklets." Carefully, Luna slid each one on her hooves.
"Fluttershy, would you mind waiting a moment?" Luna asked politely.
"Oh! Of course not!"
Luna teleported away, and returned less than five seconds later. She set a garland of red and white roses around Fluttershy's neck.
"I received that garland as a gift upon the morning of my return," Luna told her. "Please take my flowers as gratitude for yours."
"Oh, thank you, Princess! It's so pretty! Thank you!" Fluttershy cried, delicately clutching the garland.
Next were the cutie mark crusaders, but all three looked between each other awkwardly before staring at the floor, feeling ashamed. "Sorry, Luna," Apple Bloom mumbled. "We, umm, kind of forgot."
"Yeah, we were going to get you a gift, but we never picked something out," Scootaloo said.
"I guess we're not good friends," Sweetie Belle added. "You've helped us in our dreams and we can't even remember to get a gift for you."
Luna trotted over to her small friends and gently patted each of their heads. "My little friends, please feel no shame. I help you because I care, not for reward. You brought me here without spoiling the surprise and I take joy in looking after the three of you. Gifts are tokens of generosity, not deciders of friendship. That you are celebrating with me is enough of a gift from you three."
The three fillies smiled, relieved and flattered.
The pile of gifts was finished, but there was one more pony with a gift to give: Cadance. She saved hers for last. She asked Luna to sit in the center of the circle and after Luna did so, Cadance sat next to her and pulled out a book.
"Aunt Luna, this is a journal I keep," Cadance explained. "I usually don't show anypony, but there's one page I want to share with you because of today."
Cadance flipped the journal open several pages until she reached the pages she wanted. "But could you read it? Out loud to all of us?"
"If you wish, dear Cadance." Luna took the journal in her own magic's grasp. She skimmed over the journal entry for a few seconds before beginning to read aloud.
Dear Journal,
I finally talked Aunt Celestia into introducing me to her sister! I can't believe she never told me the story of Nightmare Moon! Well, I can. I know why she wouldn't. But I was so excited to meet my new aunt Luna!
Luna let out a small gasp, noticed only by Cadance because she was still sitting next to Luna.
Aunt Celestia said Luna is mostly recovered, but she still hasn't been able to go outside yet, so she studies a lot. Sounds like Twilight, really.
Twilight blushed.
After Aunt Celestia rose the sun, she took me to meet Luna. She was studying, just like Aunt Celestia said she does. She didn't hear us come in. The first thing I noticed is Luna had a really lovely flowing mane, but hers is made of stars and a bit transparent. It looks just like the night sky. Aunt Celestia got her attention and introduced me. She said, "Sister, I want you to meet Princess Cadance, our niece." I felt so awkward for a moment! What if Luna didn't want to be an aunt? But Luna looked at me. She didn't say anything, so I tried to break the ice. I said I was really glad I could finally meet her. Then, she smiled this cute smile and she said it was nice to meet me too. Aunt Celestia left us after that to get acquainted. I wasn't sure what to talk about. What could we talk about?
A lot. Luna is really interesting. I think she loves music best. She told me about songs and compositions from so long ago. She sang me some of her favorites. It was hard to understand how she spoke, but she sings lovely. I told her there is technology now that lets you put hundreds of songs in one device and I'd bring mine next time. She made this big smile! I hope somepony told Luna how pretty she is when she smiles. I think I got a free history lesson from Luna! She talked about everything from music to ancient philosophy. And she listened to me. I told her things about the modern world, how it wasn't so scary and it was easier to enjoy your favorite things. When Aunt Celestia came back, we were dancing and singing one of Luna's ancient songs. For somepony new to the modern world, Luna can jam!
Aunt Celestia probably thought we were crazy! But she said that was the first time she saw Luna be so happy and active like that. I bet. Who wants to be sick and forced to be stuck inside? Especially after being alone for as long as Luna was? I had so many questions about that, but I didn't ask. It would've been rude and we had so much fun. I didn't want to ruin it. It doesn't matter what she did all those years ago anyway. I have a second aunt! Oh, yes. I did ask if she was okay with that. She liked the idea, but said it'd take some getting used to. That's how I felt when Aunt Celestia adopted me at first too.
I don't know when I'll meet Aunt Luna again, but we agreed to exchange letters. I'm writing her one as soon as I finish this. Right now!
- Cadance
Luna closed the journal, and Cadance could hear a small sniff. Before she could take back the journal, she suddenly found herself wrapped in a dark wing and pulled close to her aunt, an action rather unlike the nighttime mare. Still, there was no hesitation as she reciprocated the affection, wrapping a hoof around her aunt, and they hugged for a few seconds.
"Cadance, I... I have no better words than thank you. To read such words about me from you... they may have been written casually from you, but they meant everything to me. Thank you."
"Just in case you ever thought it wrong to call me your niece," Cadance said with a wink. The other ponies were also moved by what Luna read.
"I think that takes care of all the presents," Celestia said as she stood. "How about---?
"Cake! Cake!" Pinkie Pie cried out. "We have to sing happy birthday, so Princess Luna can cut the cake!"
"Luna?" Cadance asked.
"Cake would be splendid," Luna agreed.
So, everypony began to sing happy birthday as they all walked over to the birthday cake. Luna felt a little embarrassed, but she wasn't going to stop them. Since the cake was so large, there were no candles, but that didn't stop Pinkie Pie from pulling a set she'd hidden away out.
"Even if you can't do it on the cake, you've got a make a birthday wish, Princess Luna!" Pinkie squealed. There were four candles, each a letter, and together, they spelled out "Luna". Twilight cautiously lit each one with a spark and Pinkie gently set them down in front of the cake. Everypony stood around Luna to watch.
Luna didn't have to think about it. She didn't really have any wishes right now. Today alone showed her she had everything she could want, and ever had wanted. But if she had to make a wish...
Luna closed her eyes for a second and thought to herself. "I wish for nothing more than a wondrous future with each pony here today and many more." She blew out the candles and everypony cheered.
"What'd you wish for?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"No! Don't tell!" Pinkie quickly interrupted. "You can't tell a birthday wish or it won't come true!"
"Worry not, Pinkie Pie," Luna chuckled. "I feel confident it will."
Luna cut the first slice of cake before everypony got their own for themselves. The rest of the party was spent eating cake, dancing, laughing, bouncing about, chatting and telling jokes, and everypony really just having a good time. But Luna was certain of all everypony there, she was truly the happiest. All of this effort just for her. Even in her own dreams, she couldn't have imagined it.
The party continued for so long, nopony was minding the time. It wasn't until Luna happened to glance out of the window that she noticed it'd gotten so late.
"Sister!" Luna called. Everypony paused when they heard Luna. "Sister, you are late! The sun was to be set an hour ago!"
Celestia's jaw dropped. She and Cadance joined Luna at the window. The sun was still high in the sky, but the sky had already begun to change colors. Most of its regular blue had faded. Celestia rushed to the balcony, everypony following behind as quickly as they could. When they reached the balcony, however, Cadance stopped everypony except Luna from running out. Luna hurried out to stand next to her sister.
"Sister, I apologize! I did not intend to cause you panic!"
"No, you don't owe me an apology," Celestia assured her. "I wasn't keeping track of time. I was having so much fun at the party, I didn't think about setting the sun. You were right to remind me."
Celestia grabbed the sun in her magic's hold, but before she moved it, a thought popped into her mind.
"Luna, why don't you grab the moon?"
"You haven't set the sun yet," Luna replied.
"I know, but grab it anyway."
Luna had a brief look of confusion before she caught on and replaced her puzzled face with a smiling one. Everypony still inside looked on in wonder as Luna grabbed the moon. Celestia and Luna were still for a few moments. Then, they began to move their respective celestial bodies, the sun descending as the moon ascended. Slowly, they moved the celestial orbs until they passed each other along their paths, a moment Luna took to release the stars before she and Celestia hurried the sun and moon the rest of the way into their places. The moon was now high in the sky, beaming brilliantly against a background of violet and twinkling stars. Luna directed Celestia's attention to certain group of stars. She connected them and, for a few moments, shined them the brightest to make their message clear: "THANK YOU".
"You are very welcome, my dear sister," Celestia replied as she turned to Luna. The royal sisters hugged, blocking everypony else out for the moment to just enjoy this personal one with each other. The others were all smiling to themselves, each other, and at the sisters, so it was clear they agreed this moment wasn't for them.
After the party ended, and Celestia and Luna thanked everypony for coming as they saw them out, Luna decided to nap for an hour before she began her nightly patrol of the dream realm. She had an amazing time at the party, and an amazing birthday as a whole, but being a little on the introverted side, all the social activity had worn her out. Not that every ounce of the exhaustion, and the stomachache from eating so much cake, hadn't been worth it.
Luna woke up, and stretched out her legs and wings. She looked outside at the night sky. The stars were no longer twinkling, yet in Luna's eyes, they were somehow still shining more brightly than other nights.
"Sister, are you awake?" Luna heard from the other side of her bedroom doors.
"Please come in," Luna replied, turning to face the door as Celestia entered.
"Seems I caught you just in time. I wanted to speak to you for a moment before you leave for the dream realm."
"Anything," Luna said.
Celestia closed the door, ensuring the sisters' privacy. They lied near Luna's bed.
"I didn't want to mention this at the party," Celestia began. "I'm sure I know the answer, but just to hear it from you: why did you never ask for a throne to begin with?"
Luna frowned. "For the same reason I didn't acknowledge my birthday until the little ones spoke of it. I did not feel I was worthy of it. I did not feel I had the right to request anything, especially from you, let alone request a throne for myself. Even if that were not the case, I still had much to learn about the modern world and I must admit I am still overwhelmed by the vast changes. I am unsure I can fully educate myself about a thousand years of changes."
"I thought so," Celestia sighed. "Sister, first, please don't worry about that. I couldn't recall a thousand years' worth of history for the sake of my life. You needn't push yourself so hard over that."
Luna grinned for a second.
"More importantly, I suspected as such. There was a reason I arranged this celebration for you."
"Yes, you said so," Luna recalled. "You felt you should've had a throne waiting for me upon my return. But, really, it's---"
"Not okay," Celestia cut her off. "It is not okay, Luna. When you returned, I was so happy to see you again, so eager for you to come back to me, so hopeful for things to return to how they were... I was so focused on what I wanted, I forgot about you."
"Sister, I apologize, but I fail to understand what you attempt to explain."
"I made the same mistake I did in the past," Celestia lamented. "I didn't mind your negative feelings growing, assuming they'd pass on their own. When you returned, I didn't mind - rather, I didn't consider - the effects you were suffering from your time in the moon. I knew you were physically unwell for a while, but the mental and emotional toll never crossed my mind."
Luna stayed silent.
"You said Nightmare Moon overtook you. You had no free will, but you knew what was going on. So, you knew the time was passing. You were conscious for every second of your isolation, weren't you?"
Luna shuddered and looked away, but that response answered the question.
"Yes, and I foolishly failed to consider what a thousand years of isolation could do to a pony," Celestia continued.
"You are not omnipotent!" Luna interjected, desperate to alleviate her sister's guilt.
Celestia shook her head. "I don't need to be. It should've crossed my mind. In our modern world, solitary confinement is considered torture, Luna, and I am the one who wrote that law. There's no reason I shouldn't have thought about that. Your celebration and throne were not only birthday gifts." Celestia pulled over a mirror from the corner of Luna's room and set it in front of them. "They were meant as a reminder."
"A reminder of what?" Luna asked, watching her and her sister's reflections in the mirror as Celestia was doing.
"That you are also a princess."
"I have never forgotten that."
"Are you positive?" Celestia asked. "When I tried to talk to you about taking up your duties after you recovered, you called yourself a monster. You created a monster for the sake of tormenting yourself. You were really determined to never let yourself move on from what happened. Nothing you did - bringing our peaceful night, guarding our dreams, giving ponies guidance when needed - was enough for you to believe you weren't a monster."
"You could forgive yourself for attempted murder?" Luna asked, now staring at the floor.
"About that..."
"Yes?"
"You do know that battle raged only for about five minutes, correct?"
"I am puzzled again, sister," Luna replied, now making eye contact with Celestia.
"It was awful, yes, but you barely did me any harm," Celestia explained. "The castle had more damage. You knocked me out for a minute or two and I hit the ground. Besides a bit of a headache, the pain was over when I woke up and I had nary a scratch."
"You don't have to minimize what happened," Luna insisted.
"I'm not. I am being truthful. I know it was an attempt to end me, but I was unharmed. I don't believe Nightmare Moon could utilize your magic properly."
Luna's face still held its puzzled look. "What did I hit you with, if that is the case?"
"Maybe just a standard beam or a stun spell. I presume the fall was supposed to be my demise."
"I am glad to know I did not harm you greatly, but that outcome does not change my intent."
"What I'm trying to say is it's unimportant now," Celestia said, returning to the subject of the party. "The celebration and the throne were for you to finally see and acknowledge yourself as the princess you are. That's what I hoped for. You are my equal, and you need to believe that. You have the same power and authority as myself, Cadance, and Twilight. As Equestria's monarchs, we should converse about big decisions, of course, but you don't need to wait on me to give yourself anything."
Luna blushed. "If you knew how I initially handled Nightmare Night, you would dethrone me immediately."
"Because you impulsively banned Nightmare Night because of its meaning and were hurt everypony continued to fear you?"
Luna's eyes widened in shock.
"Twilight gave me a rundown of the events in a separate letter." Celestia shrugged. "Hardly the worst thing. Nopony is perfect. I mistakenly ruined Twilight's former friendships that I never knew she had and was a poor mentor to a student I had before Twilight. I could write and publish a book titled 1,000 Things You Shouldn't Do When You're A Princess ."
"I would read a book titled such," Luna laughed.
Celestia smiled. "You never stopped being our princess. To minimize the good you do is as bad as to exaggerate it. You are a splendid princess, and more than that. All of our little ponies have come around and accepted you. If you had thought to have a throne for yourself, I wouldn't have objected if you attained it without my input. I'd be curious you never mentioned it, but not against it. So, is it possible, my sister? Can that awful time of the past be left in the dust? Can I see my lovely sister on her throne, holding herself proudly as our princess of the night?"
Luna beamed and her smile stayed. She thought back to the wish she made on her candles.
"Yes, you can. You are a remarkable sister. I love you."
"I love you too."
The sisters nuzzled each other briefly, but Luna jerked away and her eyes glowed white. She began to strain herself and her body struggled uncomfortably.
"Luna! Luna, what's wrong?" Celestia cried as she grabbed her younger sister. Luna didn't know what was happening to her, but she also grabbed hold of Celestia, and the two held on to each other until Luna's body flashed a black color. Suddenly, standing right before them was a translucent image of Nightmare Moon, who roared before disintegrating into the air. Luna's eyes returned to normal and she let go of her sister.
"What happened?" she asked as she regained her breath. "What was that sound?"
"Nightmare Moon came out of you," Celestia answered, much to Luna's horror. "But she vanished."
"Vanished?"
"She appeared from you, roared at us, and disappeared like dust into thin air."
"So, it really is gone," Luna mumbled.
"What do you mean?" Celestia asked.
"When Twilight Sparkle and her friends purged me of Nightmare Moon years ago, the elements did not truly remove the darkness. It would be more accurate to say they reversed it."
"Reversed it?"
"The darkness shrunk to its smallest point, when it first came into my heart from my emotions of jealousy and resentment."
"So, all this time, you've had the propensity to transform into Nightmare Moon again. But why did you fear that?"
"Darkness grows from hate, sister. Any kind of hate."
"Any kind of hate..." Celestia mumbled. "Your self-hate! You feared Nightmare Moon returning because of your self-hate? What about the tantabus?"
"I created the tantabus to give myself nightmares and to prevent Nightmare Moon's rebirth," Luna clarified. "I attempted to confine her to my dreams. But if she vanished as you say happened just now, her darkness is truly no longer existent. It is gone."
Celestia looked into the mirror again. "Then, who's in the mirror with me?" she asked with a grin.
Luna stared and smiled too. "Equestria's princess of the night."
"And her name is?"
"Princess Luna."
Celestia placed her hoof across Luna's back. "Don't you ever believe yourself to be any less. You are worthy, Luna. You are a wonderful princess. And sister."
"I think I can believe that."
