Only Every Time

by Ice Star

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Celestia, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Luna, Drama
Length: 6618

Every dress Luna owns is a gift she had no say in. Every dress Luna owns was given to her by Celestia. Every time Celestia gives one is a way she tries to understand her sister.

Every dress Luna owns is a gift she had no say in. Every dress Luna owns was given to her by Celestia. Every time Celestia gives one is a way she tries to understand her sister, and why moments of tension that arise when their expressions clash.

Originally published as "Untitled #3" in 'Missing Pages & Scrawled Footnotes' on Feb 24th, 2019 and under the current title on AO3. This story has been revised and expanded. Posting permission granted by Majin Syeekoh. Recommend by TCC56. Contribute to the TVTropes page!

Published 2020-04-06 13:00:01 UTC
Last updated 2020-11-09 21:55:41 UTC

Chapter 1

"Sister, how terrible do I look?" Luna was staring out the window, expression unusually sour, but her magic was clutching at the fabric of her dark dress. Deep blue-black fabric swept down in a cascade against the floor where Luna wasn't hiking it up in bunches. Such was the fate of the brand-new item.

"Luna, you would look just fine if you didn't wrinkle the fabric so. Let it go." Celestia's own light skirt flowed with her every step. Coral and pink waved with nearly half the grace of the Alicorn's movements. "You look great."

Celestia, the one who had ordered both their dresses months ago, offered Luna a diplomatic smile. "Come on, there's a whole charity gala to enjoy."

Luna didn't move. Even her mane was still for a few breaths. The eyes of the moon goddess still swept over the visible urban isle of Manehattan and her high-rises with the harsh, jarring disdain that Luna showed next to nothing else. This was the mare that fell in love with every wild place; now she was shooting a sulky stare through steel and distant street pavement.

Celestia held her own breath in, uncertain. With Luna, she could only pretend to know what to say; at least that was the case most of the time. There were few things that bothered her more than that.

"Everypony will love your dress," she offered again. “You should be happy about that. Just think of how pretty everypony else will think you are.”

Luna gave a reluctant kick at the back, the skirt flaring, billowing behind her before settling again. "This is incredibly uncomfortable. It's..."

Luna's thoughts ran faster and longer than her mouth could capture them. That was one of the few aspects of her that Celestia had learned to read in her eyes.

With Luna trailing off again, losing herself to her musings and unfinished sentences, Celestia could only presume that the fault was in the skirt. The dress was a feminine, elegant waterfall of fabric. If Luna found it uncomfortable, it likely only needed to be reined in.

Without a second spared, Celestia gave a few matronly tuts and was at Luna's side. The glossy black belt at Luna’s enviously lean waist was obviously too loose. Clearly, it was far more of a problem than the dark moon clasp that was supposed to aid in the way the fabric hung from Luna's body. The poor mare must feel like she was draped in the whole cloth making up all the castle's curtains. Next time, she would order something with a proper waistline for Luna, like the gift she had gotten her for Twilight's coronation.

Every dress Luna had was a gift, and every one was from Celestia, who needed no occasion to give the former gifts. Because of Celestia, Luna had a whole wardrobe of gorgeous custom gowns for events like this one, and she never had to ask for a single one. Many were pretty, moon-and-star themed things too. Each and every one was accumulated since her return, along with many other gifts that Celestia had always presented to Luna with immaculate wrapping and perfectly tied bows. Those other gifts never seemed to get as... complicated, confusing responses, though.

Golden magic clung to Celestia's horn, and with a single movement, she pulled the belt.

"TIA!" Luna yelped, her whole form flashing with alarm and mane swirling to reflect the suddenness of the gesture.

Celestia would have gasped if she hadn't been smacked right in the face when Luna's wings flared out. Instead, she tasted feathers for a moment while the sound of sharp, near-ragged breaths reached her ears.

Lighting her horn once more, Celestia suppressed the sounds of gags as she plucked tufts of navy feathers from her mouth, from her teeth, and even the few that managed to get in her mane.

Blehph. Gfft. Heffk. Ech.

Luna's wings were clean and well-groomed; Celestia hadn't expected otherwise, but she also hadn't preened Luna's wings since they were both little Alicorn fillies ages and ages ago, before Equestria was even a thought. Surprise 'meals' of feathers weren't going to dampen the unpleasantness, either.

"Oh, Tia, I'm sorry—”

"Don't be. Please." There was more urgency in those words than she had counted on. No matter how Luna's lithe form was covered or how her wings were still-half flared (and with clear discomfort, no less) Celestia could see that belt had been pulled far, far too tight. Luna couldn't breathe right, and her wide, surprised eyes...

...she was caught up in mistakes, apology... oh goodness, they were both out of it today, weren't they?

Why was it the puzzling, little differences that always led them so blindly into these kinds of situations? Most of all, Celestia was frustrated by why they must have such differences in the first place.

Before Luna had another 'sorry' grace her lips or could do anything else, Celestia managed a rare bit of speed and pulled her belt loose with her magic so that Luna wasn't forced to clench her stomach in so unnaturally, like a mare caught in the middle of dry heaving and left frozen that way.

Large, gasping breaths met Celestia's ears as she watched Luna suck in the air without a bit of composure.

"Luna, I am so sorry. Please know I only intended—”

"Tia..." Luna gasped again, grounded in getting her breathing steady and strong again. "You mustn't apologize over the silly belt. I... I just wanted a suit." There was something forlorn in the downcast look she gave the floor. "I've always wanted a suit." She pauses, adding, "Some suits."

Celestia really only wanted Luna to feel pretty. To do something purely familial, and what could be more like family than sharing pretty clothes, girl talk, trinkets, and the fabled 'twinsies' that all the foals found so ‘radically hip’? She was aiming for a connection to somepony she really hadn't always known, and often still did not. A mare, just like her. Her own kin, who she wanted to feel beautiful and as lauded as Celestia knew she herself was. The clothes really could make the mare, and being a gift, they were petals that Luna could bloom in, smiling and as graceful as a rose wreath awarded at a beauty pageant...

Luna just shrunk like a violet in these. She stood by, neutral...

"A suit..." Celestia tried to shift her gaze so it wasn't direct and instead traveled down her own legs. Luna loved the jewelry Celestia got for her. She was looking so nice in the earrings and shoes that had been designed along with the swathes of indigo and flowing skirts she apparently couldn't stand. Why didn't she at least like the dresses?

Luna nodded like a mare stranded in the desert would if asked about wanting water to quench her thirst. The constant, indecipherable light in her eyes was dancing again. "A crisp, sort-of handsome mare's suit."

Celestia's throat was tight. Luna had always dressed so... plainly? Rather stallion-like? Oh, she wasn't sure what to call it, just that Luna had gone through cross-dressing phases and all sorts of things in the times past. But didn't she see that she had winning looks like this? The kind of things publicity swooned over, ponies complimented, and was just absolutely worth prancing in?

"We won't be able to do anything today..." Celestia began, her mind already aiming to tread carefully, to assemble all the right words.

"I know, Tia." Luna's eyes had a lingering joy to them, but Celestia saw how fast it was retreating. Their joined dressing rooms were already feeling loose and airy again.

"Next time," Luna supplied, magic touching her dark tiara as carefully as she spoke. "There is always a next time." Something bright and hopeful lurked in her words.

Celestia's smile felt weak, but it didn't show. "I think we can just put a pin in this as a whole, don't you?"

Luna's light was all gone. The abrupt wordlessness of things reigned between them. Celestia could not even remember when Luna's eyes had found the city outside again and had begun to raise the silent moon above the ocean beyond the city, or how sunset bled to dusk because she had not even heard Luna's magic twinkle.

Author's Note

I’ll drop the next (totally new!) chapter when I get around to it; until then enjoy the spruced up part from my scrap anthology.

Chapter 2

The gala had ended yesterday, and the dreadful thrum of its music had almost left Luna. None of the music had been bad per se, though the ensemble that was hired was dreadfully snobbish in demeanor and played their pieces as a clock turned gears instead of letting it live, as all song should. All the choices had been picked by Manehattan's Mayor-Mare to be deliberately soft and inoffensive to the point of dullness.

Could anypony blame Luna for preferring something lovely? Manehattan had drenched itself in the worst aspects of modernity, all clunky and tireless in the exact way that made it tiresome to spend even five minutes on a street corner. It tried to pretend that magic had no bearing over it and that concrete and metal crafted in the most inept ways could replace the eternal like Luna, her sister, and the other divine.

Celestia was due for bringing forth the dawn; she never took time to savor it as Luna did. There were ponies to speak to, that was always Celestia's excuse. Only what the ponies were to be told changed, and that left Luna to bask in the parody of peace Manehattan could never claim, not when the city itself had no lush quiet for its intriguing songs to unfold.

Luna drew a deep breath, wanting to taste the rich clearness of the air. She was greeted by the unique sensation of salt and crisp sea that filled the skies of Manehattan Island and its vast bay area. The distant continent was just emerging from the dense pre-morning fog. Luna pricked her ears forward; straining above the din of the mortal city was the melody of the docks far below her skyscraper perch. There was nothing that fit the term of 'symphony' that described the humdrum of working ponies, and that downgrade made Luna consider Canterlot. The vast, sweeping mountain citadel would be teeming with the songs of markets, rivers, and wind. She hoped that the familiar peal of temple bells and whoosh of magic in the air would not be too many days away.

Her horn flared to life, gleaming with a splash of vivid blue across the darkness of the pre-dawn sky. Life burst into the sky, infusing it with the same breathtaking vividness she always brought when revealing the heavens in their true form. It was a quality she never tired of, getting to chip away the plaster of the day to show off all the depth and dimension in the true sky. Bestowing the night, as only Luna could rightfully do, was like pulling down a dome and letting fresh air into a stale space.

All the stars twinkled into view, the moon was bright and pale as it boasted its own lovely light. Luna sighed happily, and now that she was alone at last, she could smile. A bubbly, gooey warmth spread its fuzziness in Luna's chest as her magic bathed the sky with the night. There was always something so wondrous about seeing her artistic process the whole way through, and to have the opportunity for it to be daily routine! Oh, how it never felt like routine! Luna usually flew as high as she could when she brought forth the night or made it recede, but there were no mountain peaks to dance above or cold winds to glide among in Manehattan.

All of this was a single instant moment of Luna's magic, held and dynamic and lovely. She caught the whole sky in pause the way no other creature could.

And she had to bury it all to make way for the sun.

When the daylight wall to the heavens was in place once more, Luna's smile slipped away with it. She was not frowning, far from it. She may be somepony who frowned often, but it was a frown of thoughtfulness and consideration, one as small as the stars appeared to the mortals teeming below her. Luna had so few sad frowns to offer. But now there were no wishes to be made, and only the daydreamers would still have majesty on their minds. Celestia was bringing the clockwork motions of her day from somewhere in the hotel edifice, and with it, the tunes of drudgery were being trotted out.

Luna sighed again, only this time there was no lightness to the gesture. The dawn came frustratingly quick, for Celestia could only ever bring it forth in a blink. There was never any show of it, no glory. Only a spotlight glaring down at everypony who could not claim the sky. Was Luna wrong to see such a literal, glaring display tasteless? Nopony took kindly to having a flashlight beam shone directly into their face, regardless of how short the duration was. So why was the same permitted for the techniques of the heavens themselves? Even though only select professions and creatures noted the greater amounts of splendor and art Luna put into the sky, at least she actually did so.

Celestia had not grown in the way she brought light to the world in nearly two thousand years. Every day was exactly the same.

Luna rolled her withers, letting her wings flare and stretch. She was perched atop the sculpture of an earth pony steed, one made into an angular, a drabber attempt at art deco. It served the same purpose as the gargoyles and other roof-figures. Only, these were made to fit the earth pony demands for their aesthetic, and as such were barren of all intricacies. Luna longed for the days when there was some boldness to art before the urban earth pony craze caught on. While it did not dominate Equestria per se, it was popular enough to be frustrating. Nowadays, to request a gargoyle or stone dragon perching up one's roof was deemed too distasteful and frightening to the fragility of mortals. Thus, none had been crafted since her banishment.

At last, Luna stood. She relished in the ease that came from giving them a good stretch and the early morning chill still livening her coat. That the statue was still slick with a nightly rain had no impact upon her divine reflexes, even when she was without her regalia as Luna was now. Even her crown was still at her bedside table. She trotted away with her wings folded pleasantly at her sides. The last ghosts of the stars were still visible in the morning sky when Luna turned away, and the wind was ruffling her mane, giving her the most invigorating, freeing feeling.

Most importantly, Luna was not burdened with that which she should not wear.

Author's Note

There's gonna be a third chapter to finish this fucker. Until then, enjoy this one. It got very carried away but I like where it ended and heck y'all, I'll write wildly indulgent no-dialogue stuff if I want. And honestly, I like how Luna's no dialogue contrasts with Celestia's dialogue filled chapter, super me.

This is the first chapter of anything I've written that Grammarly has described as "anxious" by the way.

Chapter 3

When Celestia had told Luna that she had something exciting to show her younger sister, Luna cooled herself out of instinct. There always had been little way of knowing whether any surprise that Celestia produced would be good or ill. Studying the behavior of her elder sister often gave Luna enough of an indication of what its nature could be, but more often than not the behavior of her sister was blinding. Celestia only operated by being totally transparent, albeit unknowingly, or by keeping everything about her impossibly tucked behind whatever face she wanted to show. It was a habit of the crown that Luna had never let herself acquire.

To judge a situation before entering was always wise, and Luna let herself remain earnestly calm as she strolled into the throne room. It was Celestia's favorite place to meet, even when she only wanted to speak over something apolitical with Luna. All the windows were bright with the sunlight that cast their colors upon the walls and floor. It was certainly a setting that matched Luna's relatively calm state, but that was not to say there was never a flutter of anxiety lurking in her.

Celestia's surprises always gave her such a coil of apprehension somewhere within her. Always did Celestia say how her plans were perfect and that everypony would simply adore her efforts as she did her refined prance about the castle halls. It was always her sister who was quick to celebrate preemptively and pepper their every conversation with her proclamations:

'Oh Luna, you'll simply adore it!' she had heard earlier this week. 'Every mare in the city is going to want one, so I just had to get you one too!'

'Just wait until the servants bring it back! You'll simply adore the look! I believe that it is what the fillies these days would say is very 'fetch' as the saying goes!'

Luna counted herself lucky to have gotten to the throne room first. The sole throne of Equestria was empty and waiting for her, appearing as elegant and inviting as ever. It was always a strange sight to see Celestia apart from it, for the thing was practically her lover with how attached she was to the imperial seat.

Settling in with a quiet hum, Luna drew in a deep breath. She dare not try and slip too far into a state of meditation, for she would likely be able to only have a few moments to herself before somepony would see fit to interrupt her. In that regard, both Celestia and the castle servants treated her identically to how one would gawk and chatter at an owl in a petting zoo, not knowing that the poor creature perching with their eyes closed would appreciate it ever so much if they were observed with respectful silence.

Thankfully, the day was a lovely one, and the Equestrian throne's red cushions were even lovelier. Celestia was nearly married to that chair, and because of that, she only permitted the comfiest cushions to be there. They were perfect for enjoying a short, cozy rest with how soft and oddly squishy they were.

Luna had barely gotten a few moments to settle in properly when Celestia trotted in. Her hoofsteps rang out so much and her gait was so obvious that Luna's posture immediately tensed with readiness for conversation, and she realized that she had lost track of where she was in the song she was humming.

"Oh, perfect!" Celestia says, her ever-present smile soft and plain. "I was just about to send somepony to fetch you!"

Luna offered a small shrug, keeping her expression noncommittal. Her gaze drifted curiously to the box that Celestia was balancing upon her back. It was wrapped with a pink bow, and the paper it was wrapped with was a soft orange about all its wide corners. Everything about it screamed Celestia's doing, for the box was all done up in her favorite colors.

"I have been waiting for you, Tia. What did you wish to share?" Luna asked, keeping her gaze carefully upon the mysterious box.

"Well," Celestia said, smiling wider, "I just had to show you what I got for the Summer Harvest Parade in Baltimare!"

Dangling from the box was a tag, one that told Luna what the gift would be. Ever since Tia's precious Twilight Sparkle had moved to Ponyville, Celestia had taken advantage of the Generosity Bearer's career and added Rarity to her rotation of commissioned designers. The work of Miss Rarity blended in with the usual roulette of ever-the-best, most popular, and highest-standard-only wardrobe that Celestia was such a stickler about maintaining.
"Sister, the Summer Harvest Parades shall not be upon Equestria for a few more weeks—"

"Oh, silly Luna. That attitude is pish-posh." Celestia was beaming, her mane afloat with an overdose of cheer. "Think of how much fun things will be if we have everything ready beforehoof! Every tailor in Equestria's heartland will be flooded with orders once the celebrations are closer, and it's the early bird that gets the worm."

Celestia was one to talk about being early when she always bemoaned getting out of bed on time for each coming dawn. When it came to tailors, at least Tia had a point.

Luna said nothing in return, only giving a tiny, half-hearted nod to show that she was listening to her sister.

Seeing Luna's reaction, Celestia tutted and her mane waved and sparkled extra insistently to go with her next words. There were usually little betrayals in Celestia's demeanor, ones that their subjects never picked up on, but Luna knew how to spot. In them, she was able to read keenly how her big sister felt behind that unshakeable, blasé serene smile. Though, the excitable whirling of Tia's mane aside, Luna need only hear her sister's voice right now to know that she was excited.

"Now, there's no need to look so down. Just wait until I show you what I got, it'll turn that frown upside down. You and I are going to be the talk of Equestria!

Luna blinked, suddenly feeling very confused about why Celestia thought she was frowning just because she wanted to show that she was a good listener. Stars, did she need to have her muzzle bearing a freakish Grassgrow smile at all hours for her sister to know that she was alright?

"Tia, I'm quite—"

"Shh," Celestia hissed in an abrupt, exaggerated stage whisper. She was smiling widely, unaware of how Luna just absolutely wanted to wilt at the interruption. "Just wait until you see them!"

Before Luna had the chance to add anything else in, Celestia unfolded one of her colossal wings and scooped her box off her back. Then, she sat down and transferred it from where it rested on her wing to her forehooves.

Luna watched as Celestia at last lit her horn dimly and began to unravel the bow. It was only when the lid of the box was raised toward Luna did she feel the tide of mixed emotions coming back to her once again.

Celestia said that what she got was for both of them, but how well was she going to incorporate Luna's desire for a suit into something that needed a shared order and box? If Celestia ever let Luna decide what would be worn to the events they had to attend, Luna would try and get them both amazing pieces. As nice as surprises could be, when it came to something personal and meant for preserving like clothes, there was no reason not to ask Tia just what might she want in terms of cut, color, and if she wanted a gown at all.

Maybe it would spoil things, but as much as Luna loved surprises compared to her sister, it would be worth it to know she got somepony something that they would take genuine enjoyment in. It was like when catering duties fell to Luna: she would make sure to summon a diverse parade of culinary experts and establishments from all over Equestria and beyond to replace the usual trends of Canterlot. But no matter how many kinds of cooks from all the nations in the known world she would send a scroll to, Luna would always ask Celestia if there was anything she wanted. It could be anything: a certain wine, an exotic pastry, or a more modern dish that Luna had yet to know of.

She did it all for Celestia because she didn't want her sister to ever know what it was like to know how it felt to have the grandest of celebrations all around you — and for you to be the one drifting as a forgotten satellite.

The first item that Celestia pulled from the box was a hazy white dress. It pooled like mist in her hooves and looked like the chicest of blouses made long and proper by gown-length standards. There was a defined waistline to it, and whatever was cinching it was embroidered with a decidedly Trottish design. Every bit of it shone with something Romantic — in the big 'R' sense of the word — and pulled straight from one of the paintings of Waterhorse. It was a lovely dress for Saddlespeare's Ophelia or the Mare of Shalott, just nothing that Luna would ever wear.

On the thought of it as a blouse — Luna could see it as a lovely, androgynous loose blouse if there were no skirt to it. But as a dress, it certainly looked like something Celestia would wear — albeit more than a bit short. Luna wondered why the world of tailors was going to bother with dresses if they were going to just get shorter and shorter.

"I am reminded of the fog over the mountains," Luna replied quietly, letting her eyes follow the designs.

Celestia smiled with greater excitement. "Oh, don't contain all your surprise. Just look at this fabric. I was assured by one Miss Sassy Saddles that this kind of style would absolutely blow everypony away, don't you think?"

"Perhaps," Luna murmured, that familiar uncertainty still dancing within her chest.

Her thin gold aura reached into the box, where Celestia withdrew the rest of the contents. Out came another dress, one that was identical in design to the piece that Celestia had just produced except for one thing. This one was longer, its train more sweeping, and its waist an illusion. Luna recognized this feature immediately: her big sister always commissioned dresses with the false appearances of midsections because her noticeably chubbier figure meant she had nothing resembling Luna's leaner frame.

Such was a popular feature in mare's fashion, where Celestia had always been praised as the paragon of beauty no matter her size, and Luna's dark looks and natural hourglass physique were given no second glances.

And it could only mean one thing for Luna.

"Oh, see, I knew I could make you speechless!" Celestia cheered, waving the two gowns back into their box hastily. "Just think of how adorable these will look! According to Twilight, it is quite hip with the foals to call this sort of thing a 'twinsies' look. We'll be twinsies!"

Luna's smile was as tightly sculpted as glass accents on an ornament and twice as fragile.

"Tia?" she called softly.

All she could do was stare as her big sister clapped her forehooves together giddily, the shoes on her hooves creating an unusual ring. Leave it to Celestia to be caught up in her spell of fashion and all the usual subjects of mare-talk.

"Tia?" Luna called again, raising her voice only slightly. She hoped she didn't sound too rude.

"Hm?" Celestia slowly looked her way, wearing a face of utter confusion. "Why are you being so loud?"

"I'm sorry, Tia. I just thought..."

Was that suspicion in Celestia's eyes? It was hard to tell, and Celestia usually let her emotion out as just that: faint, bottled glimmers in the backmost parts of her eyes. To see her sister so unusually active in her happiness was a sign of how much this modern game of matching gowns meant so much to her.

"You thought what, Luna?"

Why did it always have to be things like this that mattered to Celestia? Pomp, preening, and party-things may be called social games, but there was no fun to them, only a misnomer. Yet propriety was high on Celestia's value pedestals and knew that to expect care about the things she cherished, she had to try her hoof at what her sister cared about, at least sometimes.

Oh Tartarus, sometimes she just wished it felt more like a choice. Was it not supposed to be a choice?

"You and I... we talked about a suit for me at the last event, and I was hoping that you might have ordered it for this one."

Celestia raised one eyebrow ever-so-slightly. "You actually wanted a suit?"

Luna wasted no time in nodding eagerly, and the sudden fuzziness in her heart made her feel like her whole being was lighting up. "Oh, yes! A splendid suit! There is this mare's boutique not far from the castle, and their pieces are incredibly eye-catching! I read that they even had the great modern philosopher Imogen Canter ordered their suits to be sent to her home in Coltigsberg! Such is the longevity of their business."

"I... Luna, it's too late for that now. When did you say it was something you definitely wanted?"

Was Celestia just being Celestia, or did Luna pick the wrong time to mention Imogen Canter, knowing Celestia had no love of the thinker? And here Luna thought that somepony might genuinely appreciate the tidbit as simple trivia.

"Three times since we arrived back from Manehattan," Luna replied immediately. "I asked if you wished for me to write it down for you."

"Hm, well, Luna... I must have been very busy. And it really is too late now to have anything else ordered from Rarity. Besides, it wouldn't have been a surprise if I had gotten suits for us... and I thought you liked my surprises."

"Tia, I..." All of Luna's hopes went uncaught by the words she stumbled to string on.

"Just think about what everypony would say if only one of us wore Rarity's designs to the festival. To hurt her feelings would hurt those of Twilight too. I've already told and written to all my friends about how adorable we'll look in our matching outfits, and if we don't go through... well, Luna it's going to reflect poorly on our subjects if we don't have that harmony."

"Must we always stick to your themes? Why not have each of us get what we truly wish?" She didn't want to sound too pleading, but the emotion inevitably pooled in Luna's words.

"That would be improper, and especially for our station," Celestia replied with a solemn shake of her head, the curt kind given to pesky subjects with silly petitions.

"Tia, please—"

"Our subjects' thoughts about us are of the utmost importance. We wouldn't them to think that we were fighting, now would we?"

"What if we both wore suits next time?" Luna blurted, her wings extended slightly in obvious, cautious hope.

"You know I don't like the newfangled tomcolt styles..."

"But I do!"

Celestia flicked one of her ears to the side. "I've never worn a suit."

"Well, what if..."

"Luna," Celestia breathed in a tone that was stiff with motherly scolding. "I hear you plainly. There's no need to bombard me with what-ifs. You know how I feel about those."

Luna loved her sister, but she hated that tone, and even more, she loathed that Celestia could not recognize that she used it on her own sibling.

"We can talk about a suit for you for the next event."

"Is that a Big Sis Promise?" asked Luna quietly, looking up to Celestia with damp, wide-eyed expectance from under her forelock. Her dark, rich mane waved with a light wistful flick.

Closing her eyes, Celestia nodded, though the gesture looked so much like relenting. What was it that Celestia felt she relinquished? Why must she feel that she had done so at all?

And would this next-time to-be end up like all the other 'next times' that Celestia had promised her? Granted, none of them had ever been a Big Sis Promise, but every next time had never been. These were the kinds of things that happened only every time.

Author's Note

Fuck it, y'all are getting an epilogue too.

Epilogue

Luna knew where Celestia kept things by way of guessing. Living with Celestia meant that one's intuition could slumber during the day-to-day matters of things, and if one was not careful, it could dull with time. Creatures of predictability like Tia lived according to the winding of their own machinery, free of normal disruptions. That was how Luna knew Celestia would create a place to keep the Elements of Harmony in the castle that only a god could open — at least before sending them off to stay with Twilight Sparkle — or that she would insist on presiding over Cadance's wedding. There were a hundred little predictabilities to pick up on in living with Celestia, and those were only a few of them.

Finding out that Celestia placed the two Waterhorse dresses back in their box and in in a parlor was not an especially atypical thing to predict. To know that she placed them in one of the castle's many parlors in a section of the castle between the Solar Wing's residence and the residential chambers of Luna's own aptly-named Lunar Wing was a doubly, painfully obvious stroke of more than habit.

Perhaps unoriginality was a better word? Luna slipped into the room, not bothering to shut in the door as the parlor's coziness of purple, white, and gold pulled her into its relaxing atmosphere. The decidedly Canterlotian colors glowed merrily under hearth-light were she to choose to stay awhile.

Not having to close doors was just another thing that made Luna feel like she had more room to breathe. Too many times, the very presence of the servants was a cause of discomfort to Luna. With enough effort and a fair bit of magic, there could one day be a substitute for them. Then Luna would be able to be at peace in her own home, but Celestia craved company over inventiveness, though they had survived without servants at their old castle.

But as often as the thought crossed Luna's mind, she knew it was better to enjoy the chances of everyday privacy she was afforded than to become too deeply caught up in how to fix the problem of ponies. She glided noiselessly across the spacious room, soaring low enough with her leap past the doorway that her hooves could nearly brush the fresh vase of flowers atop the table.

A few petals were stirred by her motions, but did not fall. This meant two things. The first was that Luna's motions were as delicate as ever, and her skill in flight as unearthly as was expected for an Alicorn. Secondly, if the petals were that strong and healthy, it meant that the flowers were fresh. That was a sure sign as any that Celestia had been here recently, and Celestia was not somepony who entered spaces for idle purposeless fun.

Right atop a large cabinet was the box that Luna sought. The bow was just as obvious as ever too. Only Celestia would leave something that she deemed a surprise to be squirreled away for when it was needed atop a cabinet filled with knickknacks. The objects of the display were specifically dishes, all done in the kitsch style that Celestia was desperately overfond of, mostly gaudy dishes — yes, of all the things in the world to show off, dishes! — with chipped paint and rosy-cheeked minotaur calves that were sculpted in the most uncanny ways.

Truthfully, Luna wouldn't have been surprised if the whole aesthetic was cultivated by a league of diabolical grandmothers who needed a bit-making scheme to last for generations. And what would be a more lasting trend than to pawn off what even flea markets would forsake?

Smiling, Luna landed with a sound equal to what a small bird would make. Her hooves touched down and as soon as they did, she slung her saddlebags from her back with the nonchalance of a schoolcolt. She plopped the bag on to the table without care, humming as she did so. Then, Luna lowered the box from the top of the cabinet, her turquoise aura shining in the glass panels of its display as she did so.

Out floated her dress, and thus started Luna's careful examination of the piece. She had spent the past couple of days thinking about the best kind of solution to her dilemma. Certainly, it wasn't a dilemma that should even be, but Celestia seemed to have forgotten that not everypony around her was a servant or Faithful Student to supervise every choice of.

It wasn't that Luna didn't know how to tell Celestia that she shouldn't act that way which was difficult, it was how Luna could think of so many ways to do so. They pulled her mind in every direction and swarmed one another with each possibility, like a burlap sack of butterflies. Luna was just bursting with too many of them, and every time she was certain the best way had come to mind, another six or seven had floated into place.

Talking to those who thought they were the center of the world would always be infinitely easier than those who did not know that they acted so.

That was part of why Luna asked for no compromise. She was as much of an adult as Celestia, in need of no foalsitter or parent to hold her hoof like the little filly she wasn't. Over the past two days, Luna had woven a careful plan in her mind — she wouldn't break Celestia's desire for them to match their outfits at all.

Instead, she would capitalize on how wonderful the Waterhorse dress would look in her vision of it as a Waterhorse blouse! Already, the thought of the finished project was dancing in Luna's head, so tangible and caught in that fantastic half-a-dream state. She was already giddily imagining the rest of her own touches she would add: the color of the flowers she would pick for a wreath around her head, the pattern she would attempt for the hem, if she should shorten the sleeves some...

A pair of wickedly sharpened shears levitated out of Luna's saddlebags, carefully cradled within the grasp of her magic. She poked her tongue out, the last few notes of the song she had been humming fading away as she concentrated on the project before her. A few snips would be rid of the troublesome skirt, but then the real work would begin. Luna hadn't the faintest idea how to sew anything that was not a wound — though, surely now was as good a time as any to pick up a skill as useful as learning how to hem. Oh, she was sure Celestia would be pleased to see Luna take up the task — maybe Tia would even let Luna in on a few of her sewing secrets!

So busy was she that it took a few snips for Luna to recognize the sound of metal horseshoes in the distance, and by the time she was startled upright she had snipped more than half of the skirt away so that it hung only by a few threads after all of Luna's ragged cuts.

Turning, Luna saw the door being pulled further ajar and the expression of her older sister transform from placid cheer to abject hurt.

"LUNA!" Celestia shrieked, shocked, and as wounded as the two halves of the dress that fell to the ground, completely severed.