Monotony is a Slow and Insidious Killer

by wyattpugsley

Rating: everyone
Tags: Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 2086

A year after returning, Princess Luna struggles to acclimate to the routine nature of court life.

A year after her return Princess Luna begins to grow tired of the day in day out nature of her new court life. Seeking advice she brings it up to her older sister during their daily "changing of the guard".
Note: This story takes place around the time of season 5 of Friendship is Magic, but before the events of "Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?"

A very simple, one shot story. I really wanted to write something involving best pony Luna and her sister. And so this was born.

Published 2023-07-18 20:30:00 UTC
Last updated 2023-07-18 20:30:00 UTC

Sisterly Advice

The shrill sound of an old alarm clock being set off fills the room, purple ears laying on a plump pillow perk up as a look of slight confusion flows over Luna’s face. Her eyes squint and she rolls over to her nightstand, lightly tapping the top of the ringing alarm clock before hanging her front hooves over the end of the bed.

“Already evening… It feels like I just went to sleep…” Luna thinks to herself.

The purple mare stretches out her body while still laying in bed, kicking the purple sheets of silk off her body and over to the other side of the bed as her legs stretch out.

“Same dream as always too.”

The princess rolls her way off the bed, using magic to quickly make the bed before waltzing into her bathroom. Going through her usual evening routine. Brush her teeth, shower, fix her mane, put on her daily moisturizer. Even a magical, nearly immortal alicorn has to do her best to look good.

Once ready she dons her royal regalia in front of the mirror. Looking herself over in the reflection.

“Here’s to yet another night of watching over Equestria’s dreams.”

After getting ready Luna makes her way into her sister’s-, no, their royal court. There, Luna finds her sister reading over a paper of some sort. As per usual when she’s not busy attending to the endless complaints and requests of Equestria’s nobility.

“Evening, ‘Tia,” Luna says, her eyes half open and a look of indifference on her face.

“Luna,” Celestia replies, her eyes still focused on the paper in front of her.

Luna takes her seat beside Celestia, staring out towards the grand court doors, her mind starting to wander as thoughts overtake her.

Celestia finishes reading through the paper shortly after Luna takes her seat, filing it off to the side before turning her head and focus towards her sister to the left.

“My, Lulu, you look even more worn down than usual tonight. Bad dream?” Celestia says to her sister with a slight look of concern.

But the starry maned alicorn doesn’t even flinch at her sister’s remark, her eyes glazed over as she daydreams.

Celestia gives her sister a slight shake on the shoulder, “Don’t go falling back asleep already, moon moon.”

The purple alicorn jolts slightly and then turns her head to the right, looking at Celestia, “Sorry, sister. Was just lost in thought. What were you saying?”

“I said you look even more worn out than usual, Luna. Did you not sleep well?”

“No, I slept… like I usually do. Instead it seems to be the waking world that’s giving me troubles, dear sister.”

“Is that so? Tell me what’s on your mind.”

Luna let’s out a slight sigh, “I doubt this is anything new to you. But doesn’t our daily life just seem so… drab? We do the same things almost every day. We walk the same halls doing the same tasks. It’s… different from a thousand years ago, like so many other things. There were routine tasks back then but everything felt so much more dynamic. I just can’t bring myself to enjoy this modern version of court life.”

Celestia closes her eyes and nods her head, “Indeed. I noticed the same many decades ago. It comes with the territory of being the guardians of Equestria, we’re expected to be stable figures. Many of our daily responsibilities do tend to blend together after awhile. But it’s a small price to pay to keep our little ponies safe and secure, don’t you think?”

“Maybe you see it that way, ‘Tia. But how much of what we do is really necessary? Would Equestria really end if you weren’t here listening to the Von Hoofstein’s daily complaints tomorrow? If some foreign dignitary didn’t see us welcoming them at the train station? We never used to do these things. Instead we were out leading by example, going on our own adventures!”

“And it was a different time, Luna. A time where those things were necessary. Now we have students such as Twilight Sparkle and her friends taking care of such things. It’s only natural that such responsibilities be passed down, and our centuries of knowledge be passed down along with them.”

“Passed down so we can keep living the same day and night over and over? Even watching everypony’s dreams gets old. Do you know how many ponies dream of the same thing? I can’t take another night of dreams about missed appointments, or mismatched cutie marks! I wake up everyday at 7, go through my ‘morning’ routine, and end up right here beside you before you head off to bed. Every. Day,” she says with a stern frown.

“I understand where you’re coming from, Luna. I truly do. But I think you just need some more time to adapt to the way things are now. Some time to look at things differently. We’re dealing with something far greater than ourselves. And I know it takes some time to put that into perspective, especially after everything you’ve gone through.”

The purple mare lets out a loud sigh, rolling her eyes as she usually does after receiving a lecture from her older sister, “Very well, Celestia. I shall ruminate on these thoughts tonight. And perhaps we can talk some more in the morning.”

“Perhaps we shall, Luna. Until then I bid you goodnight and wish you good luck with your nightly duties,” the white alicorn says before elegantly standing up from her throne. Slowly walking out the grand entrance as her sister watches her leave.

“She didn’t seem too comfortable towards the end of that conversation. ‘Tia has always hated conflict, even back then. It seems that’s still no different after 1000 years,” Luna thinks to herself.

The princess of the night stands on the balcony of Canterlot Palace, the starry sky and moon watching over the regal mare. She keeps her eyes closed and mind focused, her horn glowing a light blue sheen as she uses her magic to explore the dream world of Equestria.

From her perspective she stands in an ethereal space, jumping from dream to dream.

“Another nightmare about Lyra finding out about your secret identity… that’s the second time this week, Bon Bon! I’ll take care of it.” With a simple act of magic Luna turns Bon Bon’s nightmare into a more fitting dream. One with Bon Bon and Lyra simply relaxing at the park. “On to the next.”

As she enters the next dream she lays low as she usually does. Standing and lurking in the shadows of an old castle. The dreamer walks right past Luna, one glimpse at her pastel mane and she knows who it is. “Celestia…” Luna thinks to herself.

The princess watches from a distance as her sister enters the library wing of their old castle, the Castle of the Two Sisters. Celestia writing in what looks like a journal as Luna watches from the entrance, unsure of what to do.

“It figures I would happen into one of her dreams tonight of all nights...”

Luna walks forward and announces her presence softly, “Celestia.”

The white mare turns her head with an expression of shock filling her face, “Luna?! No, that’s impossible!” she shouts out.

“It is indeed I, sister. And you’re sleeping, this is a dream. A dream set during my banishment, it seems. No need to be alarmed.”

Celestia’s posture relaxes, thinking for a moment before replying, “I see. That does make sense. But I don’t recall you ever visiting my dreams before, at least not since-”

“-Since the banishment, yes, I know,” Luna replies in a somewhat snarky tone.

“Sorry. I know it’s still a delicate subject for you.”

“A little bit. It’s… complicated, as you know,” Luna looks away to the left slightly, before turning her attention back to her sister. “Anyway, we’re not here to talk about me, this is your dream after all. What were you doing before I barged in?”

“Writing in my old journal. I have dreams like this often, where I’m back in our old castle, tending to things. It can be exhausting, really. Our old castle is full of reminders of how I failed you many years ago... And full of memories from before that fateful night.”

“I see… Normally I would try to console ponies inside of their dreams but… hmm…" The princess stops to think for a moment, her right hoof on her chin. "Perhaps it would be a good idea if we talked about this in the waking world. I think it would benefit us both to become more comfortable talking about more difficult subjects.”

“It… might. If you really want to I suppose we can try... erm, talking about these difficult subjects more.”

“Thank you, ‘Tia. I would stay and talk more, but alas I have more dreams to attend to. Sleep well.”

The clip clop of hooves against hard stone echoes through the halls of Canterlot’s grand dining room. A white mare stands at the end of the enormous table, a purple mare at the other end.

“Good morning, Luna.”

A tired looking Luna replies, “Morning, Celestia.”

“Eventful night?” Celestia says as Luna walks towards her.

“No, not really. It was a night like any other.”

Celestia nods her head, “As expected. I’m sure you know, but I certainly had an interesting dream.”

“Yes, I remember. That was about the only notable thing from last night among the sea of recurrent dreams. I’m guessing you’re still interested in talking a bit more about… how we feel?”

“I… think that would be a good idea. Uhm,” she stops for a moment, her eyes darting around the room, “Do you want to go first?”

“I can,” Luna giggles while standing next to her sister. “Although I think just being able to talk with my sister more is already making me feel better. I suppose I’ll start by asking how you personally deal with monotony of modern court life. I know you said it’s all about protecting your ‘little ponies’ but certainly there’s more to it than that!”

Celestia smiles, “That really is a big part of it for me. No matter how minor or repetitive the task, I’m simply happy to be of assistance to the ponies of Equestria. There are other things, of course. I find indulging in some of the great cooking and baking from our chefs to be a great treat everyday.”

“Great baking including the many cakes you request, I’m sure.”

Celestia let’s out a laugh, her face blushes slightly, “Perhaps, perhaps. I find looking forward to those more standout aspects of our daily lives helps take away from the more mundane aspects. There’s the travel too, I always adore being able to travel and see how different regions of Equestria are doing!”

“I do enjoy being able to visit the Crystal Empire every so often,” Luna replies. “And you make a fair point, perhaps I should try to look for more positive aspects in my routine and tasks.”

“In your big sister’s opinion it would benefit you greatly, Luna. But if it doesn’t we can always talk it out again and perhaps tackle your issue in a different way,” Celestia says, smiling at her sister.

“Thank you, ‘Tia,” Luna reaches out to hug her sister, wrapping her hooves around the large alicorn and squeezing her tight.

“Of course. I don’t want you to ever feel like you did before, Luna. I’m here for you, even if I’m not always the best at these more… emotional talks.” They both giggle slightly at Celestia’s remark. Celestia’s eyes drifting to the clock hung in the dinner hall as they continue chatting. “Seems it’s about time to raise the Sun. I shall take my leave. But before I do… Perhaps we should make these morning chats a regular thing!”

Luna smiles and nods her head in agreement, “I would like that, ‘Tia.”

“Then it’s settled. And on that note, I shall leave you to your well deserved rest. Sleep well, Lulu.”

“I shall. Thank you, ‘Tia,” Luna says to her sister before retreating to her bedroom. The Sun rising on Equestria as the princess of the night swiftly falls asleep in her bed.

Author's Note

As always, thanks for reading. I enjoyed writing this little story, I live for cute little slice of life stuff like this. Hope you enjoyed it too :)