The moon shines in the sky, with stars and galaxies exhibiting its beauty to the nocturnal world. Ponies far and wide have seen the beauty of the night, though few would stay awake to witness its full transformation.
It starts out with a pastel pink, slowly changing the afternoon hues of blue. The colors mix and swirl before they end with a satisfying midnight indigo. As the sun sets, it is slowly and steadily replaced with the moon. While the sun is always a bright ball of yellow, the moon has stages that the princess of the night thought so hard on. The moon waxes and wanes, transforming from a simple glowing sphere into a crescent shaped masterpiece.
From the top balcony, a white alicorn has the best view of the moon rising, watching it be lifted upward in a perfect arc by another enchanting equine.
Speaking of this equine, the tall pony glances down at her counterpart, who was staring at the moon with a veiled look of boredom, hiding an intuitive precision that few were able to match with in ferocity.
Even though the princesses have yet to talk, she appreciated and loved the time that they spent on this balcony. They came here twice a day, both for dawn and dusk, the only time that requires the two to be together to watch the powerful orbs move across the sky. While one orb dips, the other rises.
By now, the sun has already disappeared from view, letting the moon take the spotlight for the evening. It was only when the moon was at peak height that the darker alicorn spoke.
“What do you find so fascinating tonight, dear sister?” She says with a clear tone. Even though her eyes remain fixed on the moon, her attention was on her sister.
Who hummed in response, a blithe smile on her lips. “Why do you ask?” There was a purposeful pause that followed, before the blue equine broke the silence.
“Celestia. You’ve been staring so intently at the moon, that We worry you were going to make it combust,” The midnight blue pony said with a deadpan expression, finally directing her quirked eyebrows towards the other horse who stood by her side.
Celestia didn’t have a reaction at first, mulling over the words she just heard. Before laughing out loud at the ridiculous thought. “My my, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed.” She held a hoof up to her muzzle, covering up the giggles that were still heard by the blue alicorn.
The feather ruffling and the squinted eyes told Celestia that the other wasn’t pleased, prompting her to continue. “Come on Lulu, lighten up a little. You know I don’t have those kinds of powers.”
Luna rolls her eyes, holding back the urge to nicker annoyingly. “Don’t call us Lulu, Tia.” Despite the rude tone, there was no real bite to her words. Celestia wasn’t offended, as she continued her onslaught of jovial prods.
“Oh, so you’re allowed to give nicknames, but I can’t? Woe is me, what an unbalanced relationship we have!” She shakes her head, almost disapprovingly while pushing her bottom lip out. Celestia even widens her eyes a bit as she stares at her sister, tucking her chin into her neck.
Even though Luna was trying to keep it together, seeing the typically more mature sister act like a demure mare managed to break her serious expression with an amused smirk. “If you think that kind of act would work on Us, you are sorely mistaken. Your double chin isn’t helping your case either.”
At this, Celestia straightened up, losing her meek act with a large unladylike frown. “Excuse me? Double chin? What in Celestia are you talking about?” At this, she lifts her hooves to pat at her neck, mimicking the appearance of being self conscious.
As her sister continues to play up her reactions to be as meek or undignified as much as possible, Luna wrinkled her nose at the phrase. “Really? Using yourself as an expression?”
The white alicorn then shrugged, breaking her overreacting act with her own amused grin. “Our ponies use it as an expression, I don’t see why I can’t use it either.”
After hearing those words, it was finally Luna’s time to smile as she offered, “Your ponies avoid using it around Us, it is almost as if they are afraid We will go on a Nightmare Moon rampage if they refer to you as their goddess.”
This time, the white princess winced, once at the ‘your ponies’ and again at the reminder of her sister’s crimes. Her act is now completely gone as she held a subdued air to her being, her hooves are now planted on the balcony floor, more grounded than before. Luna had a mental takeback at the quick transformation, but quickly solidified her resolve as she pushed forward. “Oh come now, do not think We are so blind to all of this.”
“Luna...” Celestia spoke, her eyes downcast as her shoulders drooped. She had tried to be careful, she had been as honest as she could without being explicit. But whatever steps they made up until this point seems to be backtracking.
But Luna kept forward, saying her words as she turned away from her sister to stare at the moon. It was easier to speak to her moon than her sister, despite the light banter they have engaged in ever since she had returned. “These light talks, all of the polite words from ‘Our’ ponies. They were never ‘Ours’. They were Yours. And they want to remain as Yours.” Her tone wasn’t harsh, it was soft and gentle. And that was what hurt Celestia the most.
But even though she wanted to speak, Celestia stayed silent, not arguing against her sister. Whatever kind words she would give would sound patronizing, and would never do justice to what her sister was feeling.
She wondered when her sister had developed this mentality, of just accepting the circumstances. She remembered her sister trying so hard to win the hearts of the ponies during Nightmare Night, though that only worked against her favor. While her sister delighted in finally winning the approval of all, Celestia secretly knew that Luna would have wanted this approval through love instead of fear.
Or perhaps it was in the years that she was stuck in the moon. Celestia still mourned and grieved over that period of loneliness, having all of her subjects loyal to her, yet having no one beside her. If Celestia felt alone during that time, she would only imagine how her younger sister felt. Not just loneliness, but the need for reconciliation. Perhaps this was found out of acceptance? Instead of just fighting the impossible odds, it would just be best to give up. After all, fighting was what placed Luna stuck in the moon in the first place.
And in the long process of Celestia collecting her thoughts, a long silence took place between the two. It was a heavy and deliberate pause, one where Celestia contemplated and Luna watched.
Finally, Celestia settled on what she would say. In the corner of her eye, the princess of the night could see her sister readying herself to speak. So she watched, waited, listened, and was surprised by what she heard.
“Do you know what I found so fascinating tonight?”
Luna blinked, unsure how to approach this question. Wasn’t she the one who initiated the conversation with this question? But she decided to follow along, nodding silently to allow her sister to go on.
“You.”
Once again, Luna was taken back. Then her eyebrows furrowed, her eyes reflecting a subdued pain. Was her sister mocking her? Patronizing her further with a line so cheesy and manufactured, it made her want to stop and yell? But Celestia continued, her words breaking down the frustrated confusion in Luna’s chest and replaced it with something else. When Celestia brought her wings around Luna’s being, the moon goddess could do nothing, but follow, using her own wings to embrace her sister in a feathery embrace.
“Not just you, but the night. The night sky, the stars, the moon. It took so long for me to appreciate it all, but I love watching them so much.” Celestia finally looked away from her gold clad hooves, staring up at the sky as Luna watched the sun goddess. Their chests brushed together, they could hear each other’s heartbeats from this distance.
“You created this. Even though this world was a collaboration of our powers, you manifested such a beautiful world. It is full of majetic constellations, such well thought out galaxies and a moon that shines light into the dark world when the sun is not present.”
These weren’t the only feelings that the white alicorn had. The white alicorn loved watching the moon rise, mesmerized and delighted to know who it was that was lifting the moon. For so many seasons, it was her who had to beckon the moon up and down. While other ponies would see this session as a blessing, letting them retire into their beds, it was a guilty ritual that she engaged in. Knowing that it was she who had etched those markings into the moon, the one who sealed her sister away. Instead of her sister lifting this beautiful creation she manifested, it was the prideful sister who did not see its beauty until it was too late. The irony of it all was not lost on the elder sister.
But she doesn’t utter those thoughts, now wasn’t the time. Perhaps another dawn or dusk when they had this time to themselves and no one else could witness the princesses’ hearts throb.
“I never saw the night’s beauty, I never appreciated how meticulously you worked on this masterpiece of a world built on moonlight. It was only when you were gone that I began to love it as much as what my sun could bring.” Celestia sighs, before settling her dark magenta eyes on her sister’s deep navy shades.
“And now you are here, and somehow, it is all just so much more beautiful. When I began to raise the moon and sun alone, I got to witness both worlds. Yet when you are here, it all looks more enchanting. The stars sparkle better, the nightingales and meadowlarks sing more beautifully. I guess only the night’s master knows how to make the night this captivating.” Then the sun goddess embraced her hooves around Luna, prompting the other sister to wordlessly do the same. They held each other in both feather and hoof, breathing in sync.
“And I earnestly believe that I am not the only one who noticed this change… Perhaps our subjects are not honest, perhaps they still fear you. But they will always love your night, your gifts, your treasures. Whether they know it was from you or not, you are their princess and they are your ponies.” Celestia ends her words with a somber expression, but her eyes were intense as they shined with so much emotion that Luna almost couldn’t keep up.
But she could, it was only her who could keep up with Celestia. After all, it was her who had reigned over the night alongside her sister. Even though she was banished for a long while, the balance would never be right if there wasn’t another being who could balance out Celestia’s powers. Celestia was the sun and Luna was the moon, an intertwined set of beings who required the other to exist.
So Luna did the only thing that she could think up of, as Celestia looked down and Luna looked up. She nudged her muzzle upward, as Celestia dipped her head. Almost like the sun and moon, the two mares met in a rare moment of rapture.
It was a chaste kiss, one where they simply breathed the same air as the other. One that they shared many times over the past eons together. Neither of them could remember when this became the norm, when mouths met and bodies pressed. When their separate beds joined into a singular bed, and one goddess would always be close to the other. But years of being the only two beings that lived in the same plane, the two immortals among mortals, their bond was something that transcended bloodlines. Transcended the mere concepts of sisters and into the realm of lovers. But they were more than just together, they were beings whose livelihoods depended on the other.
When they finally separated, no words were exchanged. Only heavy looks that held deep meaning. Even with no verbal communication, they still spoke, as Celestia silently tucked Luna’s head under her chin, holding her sister tightly. Luna did the same, her hooves encircling Celestia’s figure.
The two stayed like that for what seems like hours, but could possibly be a few minutes, maybe seconds. But the two sisters appreciated the time together, they loved the few moments they can be together. And not just how they act in front of their subjects, in front of the Elements of Magic. Where they acted as royal monarchs, as mentors, as sisters. But here, it was just them.
Eventually, Luna broke the silence once more, her breath brushing against Celestia’s fur. “We will need to go back soon.”
Back, back into the world of which they came from. Where they were sisters who stood by each other as they ruled over a kingdom.
Celestia nodded her head, her chin brushing against Luna’s flowing mane. “We will,” She confirms. She nuzzles her muzzle into her sister’s head, taking her time to appreciate inhaling Luna’s delicate scent before reluctantly moving away.
She stares down at her sister, who stares back at her with blue eyes and hooded eyelids that spell out what the smaller princess desires. It doesn’t help that Celestia detected a change in her scent, with Luna swishing her tail side to side, drawing the white alicorn’s attention. So they share another kiss, this one longer and a bit more sensual.
Finally, they separate once more, their hooves slowly removing themselves off the other alicorn before settling them to the ground, their shoes clinking the ground with finality.
As they begin walking away from the balcony, the sisters walk past the room they occupied together, paying more attention to each other than anything else. Even when they passed the doors of the room back into the hallways of the Canterlot Castle, their eyes were focused on nothing, but each other.
But the castle carpet muffles their echoing shoes, a reminder of what will happen. Where the two sisters go their separate ways, do their separate duties with their respective subjects. Where they won’t see each other, with both sisters in their selected wing of the castle. Celestia maintains the relations with the ponies, aristocrats and common pony alike, while Luna continues her reign over the royal guard and every pony’s dreams.
What little time they share is when the sun and moon are present at the same time, prompting the sisters to meet during dawn and dusk. What little time they have is spent bantering playfully or tenderly holding each other. Whatever activity that requires longer time is difficult to maintain. This always gives them a short time together, which leaves something to be desired.
Yet despite how both sisters yearn to share closer intimacy as they have centuries ago, when their responsibilities were looser and they had more time to themselves, they both shared an intimate smile.
No matter the lack of activities or the amount of castlework that both of them are busy with, they know that their feelings will never die down. That what they share with each other will always be present, no matter what anyone says or suspects.
“Ready to take care of Our ponies, Celestia?” Luna says, her body turning away from her sister, but she continues to keep a keen eye on the other monarch.
Her words made Celestia smile softly as she nodded, her hair swaying even with no wind blowing. “With you, always Luna.”
With that short exchange, they finally face away from the other pony, walking forward without sneaking any glances back.
There was no need for hidden glances or longing looks. They will meet again soon. They always will.
Author's Note
Huh, didn't plan for this to be a long conversation between the sisters. It just transformed into that. I initially wanted to write a story where they raised the sun/lowered the moon, had to do their daily routines, then raised the moon/lower the sun. A whole cycle of sorts. It start as short talk, that ended up as a long talk. I really like how it turned out, but no idea if it counts as a slice-of-life fic. Oh well! We'll find out when we submit it. If it doesn't make it into the slice-of-life contest, then it's a regular princest fic. Hope you all enjoy.
