Princess No More

Chapters

Chapter 1 - The Stone is Cast
Chapter 2 - Ripples
Chapter 3 - Calm

Chapter 1 - The Stone is Cast

The silence following her proclamation was rivalled only by the silence she’d found on the surface of the moon during her exile. In truth, some small part of her was amused by the look of complete and utter surprise on her Sister’s face, Celestia caught without any of her masks in place, exposed before the Court for what was likely the first time in living memory. A hundred lifetimes of planning and scheming, guiding Equestria to where she wanted and needed it to be, a hundred lifetimes of making contingencies, of guiding bloodlines and alliances, it all came down to this.

“You can’t be serious,” was all Celestia could find to say, her wings fluttering before she could suppress them. “You can’t do that.”

“We assure you we are most serious, dear Sister,” Luna replied evenly, “and we most certainly can. If there is a law that says otherwise, please do bring it to my attention for I am unaware of any such proscription.”

The great hall was still silent, noble and common pony alike staring nervously at each other, wondering if they should say something, do something, caught between the urge to flee and the knowledge that they were about to witness something that was truly once in a lifetime.

“Equestria has always been ruled by two Princesses, Luna.” Celestia finally pointed out, her tone measured, careful, each word picked with as much care as a Diamond Dog might sift through gravel in search of jewels. “You’ve only been back with us for a handful of years, things are returning to normal at last. Why would-”

“Equestria has not always been ruled by two though, has it? How quickly we forget, it would seem.” Luna pointed out with a deadpan look. It brought her little happiness to see Celestia shift uncomfortably in place as her barb found its mark. “Regardless, it shall be going forward, never fear. Your protege Twilight Sparkle has been chafing for greater responsibility, for greater purpose following her ascension. This would seem an opportune time for us to step aside and allow her to assume the mantle of the diarchy.”

“You can’t just QUIT, Luna!” Celestia finally snapped, rising from her throne to glare down at her Sister. That look was legendary. It had cowed entire armies, made grown stallions soil themselves and brought peace between warring tribes without a single word being spoken. “You are the co-ruler of Equestria! Alicorns do not just turn their backs on their responsibilities!”

Luna stared back up at her, her own expression calm and unruffled. She waited till Celestia had composed herself and sat back down before she spoke. “Sister mine, before we delve into the why we are doing this and the why we can do this, we have a question for thee. Where is our throne?”

Celestia blinked, pursing her lips a moment. “Your...throne?” she echoed. Celestia turned to stare at the single golden chair that sat atop the dais. Her eyes darting left, then right, then returning to her sister.

“Indeed. In our former castle we ruled equally, both with our seat of power, both taking court together. In this castle, however, even in the years since our return, there is still only thy throne. The one I must borrow for my Night Court.”

Celestia stared at her. “You can’t be serious. This is about seating arrangements?”

“Among other things, aye,” Luna glibly replied. “But let us put that aside and ask thee another question instead. What has become of the celebration of our longest night? I see the Summer Sun celebration continues in earnest, but where is the Midwinter Moon festival of old? Oh, forgive me, we both know the answer to that, do we not? You repackaged it. Rebadged it. Stole it from me and called it Hearth’s Warming instead. And what was this new national holiday? A celebration of unity and harmony. A powerful message for a lone alicorn attempting to hold a diarchy together by herself.”

Celestia sagged back in her throne, her expression once again schooled to neutrality, but Luna knew her sister too well, could see the subtle tightening of the muscles in her jaw, the narrowing of her eyes, the telltale twitch of the tip of her tail as she fought to keep it from thrashing.

“And then shall we move on to the topic of your former students?” She didn’t wait for a reply this time, pressing the attack even as Celestia sank lower still in her seat, her expression darkening. “Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle are only the two most recent. Could you have been more transparent, sister? Your desperate need for a surrogate to replace me during the years of my exile is both touching and humiliating in equal measure. Twilight Sparkle’s recent ascension is simply more proof of thy scheming and plotting, ensuring that there would be a replacement for me should your plan with the Elements fail.”

“That...that was not my intention when I took my students, Luna. They were never meant to replace you. You’re my Sister! How could anypony ever replace you?”

“Because despite all your plotting, all your ruses and deceptions, you are far closer to the common pony than you would ever admit, dear Sister. Your heart aches, the same as any other. Part of me is flattered you missed me during my banishment.” At this, Luna paused, her expression darkening, mane roiling in an unseen breeze. “While the other resents that you thought for even a moment that another could take my place.”

“Enough,” Celestia sighed, covering her eyes with a foreleg for a moment. “You’ve made your point, Luna”

“No, Tia. It is not enough. Not nearly enough for you to understand how serious I am,” Luna snarled, colouring her words with a hint of the Canterlot Voice that made the windows quiver in their frames, “This is no childish whim, no act of bad temper or ill-humour, no act of grandstanding to make a point. Let me be most clear on the actions I take today. I abdicate my throne. I resign. I quit. I relinquish the crown of Equestria and all that goes along with it in favour of our newest Princess, Twilight Sparkle. From this day forth I return to being simply Luna. You have ruled alone for a thousand years and this great land we have forged will not collapse overnight because I am once again gone. In truth, and let there be no lie between us on this, some will be glad to see me step down. The taint of Nightmare Moon is not so easily swept aside.”

The court remained silent until Celestia drew a slow, shuddering breath and rose from her throne, lifting a wing and levelling it at the crowd of ponies. “Each and every one of you is forbidden from recounting anything you have just seen or heard. There will be an official announcement in due course, should one be required, but I will not stand for gossip in the meantime. I will remind you that we have records of every pony that attends court so should rumours begin to spread, it will be a simple matter to track down the individual responsible. Court is over for today, my little ponies. Please leave us in peace, it seems my Sister and I have much to discuss.”

For a moment, no-one moved until one of the guards stamped a steel-shod hoof imperiously on the floor, the sound ringing through the silent chamber. “CLEAR THE COURT BY ORDER OF THE PRINCESS!”

Finally, as if all at once, the crowd slowly turned and funnelled out the doors held wide by the golden-armoured stallions of the Solar Guard. They were the last to leave, turning to bow low to the two alicorns before they pulled the doors closed behind them, leaving the sisters alone.

Celestia slumped back in her throne, rubbing at her forehead with a hoof. “Luna...I’m not blind. I know you’ve been having trouble fitting in, that we still have a long way to go before things are the way they were before but you don’t need to do this.”

“But you still do not see it, dear Sister,” Luna sighed softly as she stepped onto the bottom step of the dais, gazing up at the confused white alicorn. “Things already are the way they were before. You are on your pedestal and I...I am confined to the shadows once more.” She smiled sadly before she turned away to trot across the smooth, polished floor to one of the windows, gazing out over the city. “The wonders you and your students have brought to the world. The harnessing of magic and technology to create things we had only dreamed of in the midst of our cups. Medicines and marvels and weapons beyond our imagining. Creations to allow earth ponies to fly, ponies to communicate over vast distances without the need for cumbersome scrying spells, weapons that ensure no-one would ever be foolish enough to challenge us….but in the midst of all this, where is my place, Celestia? What use am I? A thousand years behind the times, as out of place now as I was before the Fall.” She sighed softly as she focused on her reflection in the glass, a faint smile tugging at the corners of her mouth before she looked back over her shoulder. “Do you remember what it was like before this? Before the unification of the tribes?”

“I...remember a lot of sleeping on cold, hard ground,” Celestia admitted as she slipped her crown from her head and laid it on the floor beside her throne. “Weeks of being hungry all the time and dreaming of the days we could lie in bed till noon and have a gaggle of handsome stallions bring us breakfast in bed.”

Luna chuckled softly at that and nodded. “That was part of it. But there was freedom, Tia. I and thee against the world, forging our destinies, the sun and moon standing shoulder to shoulder, bringing the tribes together beneath our unified banner, when we truly ruled with one voice.” She sighed softly as she turned from the window to look back at her sister. “There is still only one voice that rules Equestria, but it will never again be mine. Be proud of what thou hast achieved, Sister. You have made Equestria strong, prosperous and peaceful, but your destiny is no longer mine.”

“Then what is?” Celestia sighed as she descended from her throne. “What are you going to do, Luna?”

“Travel, I think.” She gathered her magic and before Celestia could say a word, the two alicorns vanished from the throne room, reappearing on the balcony outside Luna’s suite, gazing out over the roofs of the city, over the rolling green plains to Ponyville and the mountains beyond. “The direction is yet to be decided on,” Luna mused, waving a hoof to the south as she moved to prop her hooves on the parapet. “Perhaps we will travel North, or perhaps South to see what lies beyond Zebrica. There are still unknown shores and untamed wildernesses beyond the borders of what we know, lands that we have not set hoof upon since before we ascended. I think I would like to know what has become of them in our absence.”

Celestia moved to stand beside her sister, almost touching, lifting her forelegs to mirror her sister’s stance. Even in the tower, high above the streets, the sounds of life in Canterlot reached the two and Luna allowed herself the tiniest smile as she gazed down at the city’s inhabitants. “Look at it,” she whispered, her wing lifting and coming to gently lay over her sister’s back. “Look at what you made, ‘Tia. What you made. When I was banished we but ruled the wilds of the Everfree and Canterlot was naught but a village with dreams of one day becoming a town. You took it and turned it into the crown jewel of Equestria. Without me.” She let her wing fall away as she turned to face her sister. “You were fine without me, sister. You will be fine. I know it for sure.”

Celestia didn’t say anything at first, didn’t even look at Luna, her eyes fixed on the horizon. This felt like a conversation that should be had at night, twilight at least, not under the blazing morning light of her sun that left no room for dissembling or evasion. She tried to find words to argue with her sister, to dispute the claims she’d made, but…

“I’ll miss you,” was all Celestia could find to say in a voice suddenly thick and unsteady with barely contained sadness. She turned, wrapping Luna up in a desperate hug, smothering the smaller pony beneath her wings, burying her face into that star-filled mane in an attempt to stifle the sound of her sobs. “I’ll miss you,” she repeated. Each time somehow sadder than the one before. Tears of regret for opportunities squandered, for not seeing what was right before her nose, for failing her sister once again, for losing her all over again so soon after getting her back. How long had it been? A handful of years. What was that when you measured your lifespan in centuries? A blip.

Luna wrapped her wings about her sister in turn, nuzzling against Celestia’s neck as she felt a tear trickle down her cheek. The right thing to do? Certainly. But that didn’t make it any easier.

“I will keep in touch,” she promised. “I will…send postcards. And knick knacks from my adventures. You will need to dedicate a room to storing all the tourist kitsch I will send back to you. Thou wilst need to open a new wing for all the stained glass windows I will need to catalogue my feats and heroism. But…” She stepped back to cup Celestia’s chin with her hoof. “They will be the feats of simply Luna. Not of a Princess.”

She smiled and leaned in to press a kiss just under Celestia’s horn. “Now. You must speak with Raven, yes? Thou hast much to prepare. Arrangements to make. Announcements to compose. Letters to write to Twilight and to Cadance. Mine own departure will be quiet, on this I insist. No fanfares, no pomp or ceremony. Tomorrow I shall leave the castle and the city to begin my journey. I have already spoken with the Night Guard Quartermaster and he shall see me adequately equipped and provisioned.”

Celestia shook her head with a wry smile. “How long have you been preparing for this?”

“Some weeks now,” Luna admitted. “With the aid of some of the castle staff I have been quietly wrapping up my affairs. I am, I believe, quite able to support myself for some time before I need worry about finding additional funds.” She tapped a hoof to her chin. “I should be comfortable for a number of centuries of modest living, I believe.”

Celestia blinked, not able to hold back a quick laugh of surprise. “You never did do anything without preparing first, sister,” she marvelled. “I…” She trailed off. What to say? So much unsaid. So much of it didn’t seem to matter in this moment. Instead Celestia returned the kiss, brushing her wing along Luna’s cheek as she stepped back. She schooled her features, a quick flash of her magic banishing the tearstains from her coat. “Travel safe, Luna. I love you.”

“As I love thee, ‘Tia.” Luna replied as she lowered her head in a bow to the now lone ruler of Equestria, “Rule wisely and well.”

Author's Note

This is set sometime during season 4 of Friendship is Magic.

This is the one and only chapter of a little thing that popped into my head years ago. It's been sitting, unfinished, on my Google Drive since 2015! EIGHT YEARS. That's too damn long.

So, I've added on some more to make it into a proper chapter and decided to post it. There is nothing more, and I have no idea if I'll ever write anything more than what you see here, but I wanted to let folks see it all the same.

Chapter 2 - Ripples

In the wake of Luna’s announcement, the wheels of bureaucracy began to turn in earnest to smooth the passage of this new development. As ponies pored through ancient tomes hunting for precedent and procedure, Princess Celestia dictated a letter that was to be sent out to a select group of friends, family, and interested parties whose help would be needed to break this new development to a citizenry who were, perhaps a little unkindly, often seen as being quick to panic.

Here are some of the reactions.

Ponyville

“SHE DID WHAT?” This near scream was followed by frantic hyperventilating as Spike looked on. The little dragon sighed, used to Twilight’s occasional histrionics by now, and reached for the emergency water bottle he kept for just these occasions. Three firm spritzes later and the now soggy alicorn sighed as she flicked her dripping mane back from her face.

“Thanks Spike.”

“No problem, Twilight.” Spike set the bottle back down on the table, picking the newly arrived letter from Princess Celestia up from the floor and peeking at the contents. “Whoa.” His eyes went wide as he scanned the flowing text. “Luna can’t do that, can she? An alicorn can’t just not be a Princess, right?”

“I don’t know.” Twilight finally admitted, as much as it galled her to admit there was a gap in her knowledge. “I just always assumed…” she trailed off as she dropped to her haunches. With a flash a towel appeared, hovering in the air before her as she dried herself off. “Maybe only two sprays next time?” she quickly rubbed it through her mane before teleporting it off to the library’s laundry basket.

Spike continued to read the letter, then paused, eyebrows lifting. “Did…you see what Celestia said she was going to do about it?”

Twilight sighed, retrieving the letter and scanning through it again as she snorted a damp strand of her mane off her nose. “Accept it, apparently. Why? Did I miss something?”

Spike shifted in place, wringing his hands together. “You might want to read all the way to the bottom this time. While you do that, I’m just gonna go to the kitchen and start making a really, really big pot of tea. I think we might be needing it.” He didn’t wait for a reply, turning tail and scampering from the room without a backward glance.

Twilight blinked. Huh. That was kind of weird, even for Spike. “Let’s see here…okay. Following the abdication of Princess Luna, no ceremony when she leaves, no forwarding address, Twilight Sparkle to serve in newly created post of Adviser to the Princess, well that all seems-wait what? To serve as WHAT?” She stared at the neatly printed text as if she somehow expected it to say something else. “But…how? Why? SPIKE! Take a letter!”

The Crystal Empire

The letter arrived on the tray along with their breakfast. Shining Armor was the first to open it, holding it in the blue aura of his magic as he munched on a piece of toast. “Wha-” he coughed and spluttered as he inhaled the next mouthful instead of swallowing, finally managing to dislodge it after thumping himself in the chest with a hoof. He snatched the letter back up, watering eyes widening as they flicked over the text.

“Cadance!” He called.

“Yes dear?” Came the response from the couple’s bathroom over the sound of running water as the alicorn prepared herself for another day of helping the crystal ponies adapt to their sudden and abrupt return to a world that had almost forgotten them. “Have they got our breakfast order mixed up again? I swear those ponies sometimes get so distracted.”

“No, no. Breakfast is fine.” He shook his head as he re-read the letter, “It’s what came with it. A message from Princess Celestia. You might want to come and read it.”

“Ooo. What’s Auntie Celestia saying now?” Cadance trotted back into the bedroom, the pink alicorn’s face still damp from her morning wash. “Twilight hasn’t accidentally opened a portal to some other universe where there’s alternate versions of us that walk around on two legs and wear clothes has she?”

Shining blinked as he slowly set the letter down. “Noooo.” he drawled, “That’s…a really specific thing to worry about. Is there something I need to know?”

“Nope! Nothing at all!” Cadance sat on the bed, reading while she picked up a toasted muffin and nibbled thoughtfully on the end. “Oh. Huh. Well. That’s going to make things interesting,” she mused.

“Interesting?” Shining’s eyes bulged as his wife’s nonchalant tone. “Luna’s stepping down! Our enemies might see that as a moment of weakness for Equestria. The griffons might take it a sign of instability and make a push at Equestria’s borders. The Changelings might regroup and decide to have another try at conquering Canterlot when there’s one less Princess there!” He pushed the blankets down and slipped from the bed to pace back and forth. “We need to speak to their new captain of the guard, coordinate things to make sure there’s not even a hint of weakness. Maybe even try and suppress the-”

His increasingly frantic tirade was gently but firmly cut off as a glowing pink aura surrounded his muzzle and pressed his mouth shut. “Shining, enough. I know you’re worried for Auntie Celestia, but I guarantee you she’ll be fine. You’re not the Captain of the Equestrian Guard anymore, and your replacement is more than capable. You trained her yourself, didn’t you?” She waited patiently until Shining nodded. “So you know she’s up to the task. The griffons won’t try anything, they’re barely organised enough to keep their own borders secure, and the Changelings won’t try it while the Elements of Harmony are still in play.”

Shining muttered something and his wife smiled, the pink alicorn releasing her hold as she turned her attention back to the letter, humming to herself. “If anything I think it’s Twilight we need to be most worried about. We both know how she’s likely to react to that last part.”

“True. Do you think we need to start packing for a visit to Ponyville?”

Cadance beamed at her husband. “You read my mind, Shiny. But first, get back into bed and we can snuggle some more while we finish breakfast. The fate of Equestria can wait till we finish our tea.”

Canterlot High

Principal Celestia turned to look thoughtfully at Vice-Principal Luna. “You aren’t thinking of quitting, are you?”

Luna paused, setting her pen down and looking up from the pile of papers she had to grade. “I…No. No, I had not. I am quite happy here. Why? Has someone said something?”

Celestia pursed her lips. “No. The idea just suddenly popped into my head.” She tapped her lips with her pen. “Huh.” She gave a little shrug and turned back to her own stack of paperwork.

The Changeling Hive

“Report.”

The changeling drone prostrated himself on the hard stone floor before the dark spires of Chrysalis’ throne, legs and insect-like wings splayed in submission before his monarch. “Initial reports from our spies in Canterlot have now been confirmed, Majesty. It would seem that Princess Luna has given up her crown.”

The queen of the Changelings leaned forward, the dim lights of the hive making her chitinous back glow with a sickly green hue. A long, black tongue, glistening with a dark ichor, slipped out to drag along her lips as she tasted the emotions swirling through the air. There was a subtle rustling from around her, a whispered chittering, as the entire hive tensed and shifted in excitement along with their queen. “How interesting. Have we also confirmed the report that Luna intends to travel alone? Without a guard or escort?”

The drone risked a glance up at his beautiful and terrible queen and nodded. “Yes, Majesty. One of our other spies overheard her speaking with Princess Celestia. The two argued about the need for protection and an escort but Luna insisted that she be allowed to move as if she was merely a common pony.”

Chrysalis’ smile widened to display long, sharp teeth. The drone shrank back, fearing that he had said something the queen disliked, only to gasp and quiver in near ecstasy as the warmth of pure, freshly harvested love surged through him. He whimpered, his glowing eyes closing as he lost himself to the pleasure of it, feeling the gnawing hunger in his belly withdrawing till it was the barest whisper. He opened his eyes to gaze up adoringly at his generous monarch. “Th-thank you, my Queen.”

Chrysalis grunted and flicked a hoof to dismiss him. The drone rose, staggering slightly from the after-effects of the rich and filling meal. He left, followed by the envious stares of dozens of eyes. Chrysalis uncurled from her throne like a languid feline, rising to her hooves and slowly circling the room, weaving her way between the ragged spikes of rock that ensured no attacker would be able to simply charge right up to her throne with a knife.

“Malphigian.”

A form detached itself from the shadows at its queen’s command. This drone was bigger than many of her hivemates, her chitin shining, her horn razor sharp. “I serve at my Queen’s command,” she rasped as she bowed her head till her horn touched the floor. “What is your bidding, Majesty?”

Chrysalis continued to move as she spoke. “Gather up ten, no. Twelve, of your finest infiltrators. I want them posted on all the major roads leaving Canterlot. I want additional infiltrators in every tavern, inn, hostel, waystation and stable where our former Princess might bed down for the night. I want her found.”

Malpighian nodded. “As you command, Majesty. And when they find her?”

“They are to report back so we can gather additional forces.” Chrysalis stated. “Once she has moved far enough from the safety of the castle, we will strike. We will overwhelm her with more drones than she can hope to repel.” She suddenly turned, grasping Malphigian’s face between her hooves, her emerald green eyes blazing with a sickly light. “She will be brought back to this hive and once cocooned she will provide enough love and magic to power this hive for decades! No more living on scraps! The failure at Canterlot will be nothing but a memory and we will be triumphant!” Her voice rose until the very room resonated with every word, the surrounding drones hissing and chittering with excitement!

“As my Queen commands,” Malphigian replied as she bowed once more and turned to put her Queen’s plan into action. Soon. Soon they would never be hungry again.

Canterlot - Offices of the Canterlot Daily

“You’re sure?”

Nosey News nodded eagerly. “Princess Celestia tried to order every one to secrecy, but you know what ponies are like. They can’t resist sharing a story.”

Peppermint Page, editor of the newspaper, sat down behind his desk, chewing thoughtfully on the toothpick that seemed to live permanently in his mouth, staring across the expanse of folders and papers at Nosey.

The unicorn fidgeted in place under her boss’s regard. “I swear it’s legit, boss.” Nosey insisted. “We’ve got to get this out in the evening edition! We can’t be the only paper that knows about it.”

Page pursed his lips and sucked air through his teeth, absently rubbing a hoof over his thick brown moustache as he stared at his less-than-favourite reporter. “This ain’t gonna be like that Pigasus debacle again, is it? Because y’left us lookin’ like some two-bit gossip rag when ya went harin’ off after that load’a hooey”

Nosey coloured, ducking her head down to try and hide behind strands of her long, black hair. “No,” she muttered. “No, boss. I’ll stake my job on it. I heard it from one of Jet Set’s servants who heard it from Jet Set himself. The Princess said she was abdicating the throne and there was nothing Celestia could do to change her mind.”

Page grunted. He chewed on the toothpick as he rocked slightly in his worn leather chair, the wheels squeaking as he moved. “Will this servant go on the record? I’m guessin’ not as the Princess tried t’keep it quiet” He rolled the toothpick from one side of his mouth to the other, clicking his tongue thoughtfully.

“We’d be inviting a load of shit from the castle if we broke the story…” he mused out loud as he slowly spun in his chair. “But if this source of yours is right, if you ain’t just pullin’ this out your plot, this’ll be biggest story since Princess Luna’s return. Hell, this might be the biggest story ever!” He spun his chair back around to face Nosey. “Now what kind of newspony would I be if I let that slide?”

He slammed a hoof down onto the intercom on his desk. “Staff meeting, my office, five minutes ago! I want all senior writers and all the legal team in here, and I want the front page for the evening edition held!” He released the button and jabbed a hoof at Nosey. “You got half an hour. Write it.”

Canterlot - Barracks of the Night Guard

“Settle down. SETTLE DOWN! Oh for the love of the night, ATTEN-SHUN!”

The thunder of hooves slamming to the floor brought a brief moment of silence. Night Guard Captain Ember took a slow, deep breath. Calm. Must remain calm. Can’t treat them all like the toddlers they suddenly seemed to have devolved into. She shook herself and lifted her eyes to meet the ranks of the Night Guard that stood at attention before her.

“At ease. And keep your mouths shut, if you’d be so kind.” She growled, waiting until the rustling and shifting had stopped. “I see scuttlebutt goes ahead of the official announcement. As none of you seem to have the patience of a foal at Hearth’s Warming, I suppose it falls to me to clear the air. The rumours are true. Princess Luna is step-DID I SAY YOU COULD SPEAK?” She thundered as the room erupted with noise, ponies gasping, arguing, and then quickly falling silent again. “Celestia’s sainted tits! Will you lot just hold yourselves in check for one godsdamned minute so I can get through this and THEN you can resume your panicking on your own time. THANK you.”

She sighed, loudly, tipping her helmet back to rub between her eyes at the headache that was coming along nicely. As if this whole thing wasn’t enough of a kick in the knackers. “Princess Luna, our Mistress, is stepping down. Let’s be honest, nopony here should be surprised by that. We’ve all talked about it, gossiped about it. Even heard the Mistress herself grousing about it when it’s just been her and us together. We knew, WE KNEW, this might happen.” She raised her voice again to drown out a rising murmur from the ranks. “We knew,” she repeated, “and plans have been made. She’ll argue with us. She’ll fight about it, but in the end we’ll win. We all know what will happen the moment she sets hoof outside of Canterlot, don’t we?”

Heads nodded and looks were exchanged. None of the Night Guard were fools and, bless their Dark Mistress, she could sometimes be a little headstrong when she got an idea in her head. To think that she could just walk away and be one of the common ponies? There were too many threats to Equestria lurking in the shadows, too many enemies who would see a lone alicorn as an opportunity too tempting, a prize too precious to pass up. And they would take chances where otherwise they might have held off.

Ember let the silence stretch for a moment. “I will be taking volunteers. Four of you. Unmarried ponies without foals only. I want the Mistress guarded day and night. You’ll work in pairs, which means you’ll need to get used to daylight duty. You’ll be issued a helmet with tinted lenses to protect your vision during the daytime alongside your usual issued gear.”

Ember started to pace slowly across the room, taking the time to make eye contact with every one of the batponies in the front rank. “Understand this. When you volunteer, this isn’t just for a shift. Or a week. Or a month. We don’t know how long the Mistress will be gone or if she will ever return to us. This posting could be for life. The hope being that by that point, any threats to the Mistress will have been neutralised.”

She paused to let that sink in as she let her gaze sweep the room once more. “I’m not going to do anything as daft as ask for volunteers to step forward or any of that flickerpic nonsense. You can drop your names into me after morning training.” She paused once more and sighed. “Just…think about it. Understand that you might never come back to Canterlot, or even Equestria again. Who knows where an alicorn might wander?” With that she straightened back up, thumping her hoof to her breastplate.

“NIGHT GUARD!” She bellowed, “Who stands in defence of the Mistress?”

The response was immediate. “We stand!” roared dozens of voices in unison, every batpony there standing a little straighter as they recited the Night Guard creed.

“Who stands in defence of the night and the dream?”

“We stand!”

“What do we do when our enemies surround us and our comrades fall?”

“We stand!”

“What do we do when the ground quakes and the heavens shatter?”

“We stand!”

“Night Guard! What will we do when all is lost?”

“WE WILL STAND.”

“Dismissed!”

Author's Note

Hey, look at that. I didn't even have to wait 8 years to get this one finished.

Random Fact of the Day! "Malpighian tubules" are a type of excretory and osmoregulatory system found in some insects. The more you know!

Chapter 3 - Calm

Her final day as a Princess. The evening was warm and dry and Luna took it as a good omen for beginning a journey. She stood on her balcony, gazing out over her sister’s city as she summoned her magic to raise the moon, the blue sky shifting and darkening as Celestia’s sun set, and Luna’s moon rose to hang in the clear, star-studded sky. She made no special effort with her placement of the stars this night, nothing that might draw any attention and reveal that this was the day she had chosen to begin the next chapter of her long life. She would, of course, have been lying if the temptation to scrawl a particularly potent gryphonish insult across the skies hadn’t crossed her mind. She was only equine, after all.

Her eyes moved from the sky to the tower that faced her own where Celestia stood, gazing back. She could see the sad little smile on her sister’s face as the two locked eyes. It had been a difficult few days since her announcement. Making the proclamation in public had been something of a power play, but an important one. While she might not have been as adept at the game as her Sister, she had not lived so long without knowing how it was played.

She needed to make sure the information leaked to the common pony, not out of a simple, spiteful need to humiliate or embarrass her sister, but to make sure that the citizens knew what was happening and why. It was also, in part, to ensure that Celestia was not given the opportunity to talk her out of it. Her sister was far more cunning than any pony but Luna truly knew and, given enough time, it was possible she might have convinced Luna to stay.

But when the newspapers the next day screamed from their headlines that Equestria was about to be down one princess, the matter became moot. Everypony knew. Just like she wanted them to.

And, a little part of her whispered, perhaps she also wanted them to understand that it was their lack of regard for her and her night that had led to this course of action. Perhaps, if she was being truly honest with herself, there was a hint of pettiness in her decision. Just a little. But that didn’t make her statements to Celestia any less true. She would always be the lesser ruler here and a thousand years of ruling alone had made Celestia all the more inflexible and unwilling to truly share the throne.

There had been a time in the beginning when they were truly partners. She was the sword of Equestria with Celestia as its shield. The two of them had carved a swathe through the wilderness and convinced the other tribes to follow then, sometimes with words, sometimes with force.

But it seemed that civilisation did not truly agree with her. Her sister was the better and stronger ruler in peacetime. Luna had tried, oh she had tried since her return, tried to adapt, but she could feel the old hurts starting to bubble up once again, the two falling into the same old patterns. The greatest truth of immortals was that they were creatures of habit, right down to making the same mistakes over and over again. But not this time. Luna would make sure of that. She would stop this cycle before mere feelings of annoyance festered and turned to resentment and anger.

Celestia spread her wings and slowly bowed her head in farewell, the moonlight glinting on the unshed tears that stood in her eyes. Luna returned the gesture, watching with a sad little smile as her sister turned and disappeared inside, doors swinging shut behind her. They had agreed that there would be no more ceremony than this. No tearful goodbyes or last embraces. They had shared their last meal together just before she raised the moon and, yes, a few tears had been shed. Other than that, they treated this as just any other night, except that when the moon was raised it would be the last time the pair did so together in this place.

She had expected to feel some remorse. Some hesitation or reluctance to leave this life behind, but as she stepped back from the railing she was mildly surprised to discover that all she felt was anticipation for the road ahead. She paused as she turned, running a hoof fondly along the brass telescope that stood outside her chambers. She had spent many a night helping her own students gaze up at the night skies, guiding budding astronomers as they mapped out the jewels she hung in the velvet of her sky each night for them.

With a soft flash of her magic, she hung a small sign from the end that simply read “For Twilight Sparkle. Always remember to look up at the stars and not down at your hooves." She lingered a moment, studying her reflection in the polished metal.

Twilight Sparkle. She was under no illusions that the newest Princess loved the night as much as she did, but she knew that Twilight had her own telescope set in the balcony of her library, that she did fall asleep on a cushion watching the stars. Perhaps, through her, ponies would find a new appreciation for the beauty found in darkness. Her gaze soured as she looked down at the streetlights, each a tiny sun glowing on myriad street corners throughout Canterlot. Certainly they bathed everything in a warm, golden glow that was pleasant to behold, even she could admit that.

But every light that was added down here was one less they could see in her night sky as the light slowly and inexorably overcame the darkness. In years to come foals would look to the heavens and see only a near featureless void with only a handful of those stars strong enough to still be perceived through the false dawn of these “bulbs”.

She fondly patted the telescope one last time and trotted into her chambers. The servants had finished putting all she owned into storage save for the contents of her saddlebags that lay on the bed. She levitated these up, setting them over her withers, shifting as she got used to the weight. They were made of hard wearing canvas that had been dyed a deep blue to match her coat and each had been embroidered with her cutie mark.

She opened one with her magic and reached inside, pausing as she summoned a mental image of the item she required. She was pleased to find it a moment later, withdrawing the small gem and nodding in satisfaction. While the “saddlebags of holding” that featured in games such as Ogres and Oubliettes were merely a fantasy, there were ways to enchant an item so a pony could carry more with them than met the eye.

There were no convenient pocket dimensions, sadly, but what you could do was link an item to a place that already existed. In Luna’s case these saddlebags provided access to her private vaults beneath Canterlot, allowing her to access some of her smaller belongings as well as the money she had stashed there. For added security, the enchantment would only respond to her magical signature. For anyone else, should she run afoul of bandits or thieves of some type, they would find the bags plain, simple, and distressingly devoid of everything but lint and loose threads.

She removed her ceremonial garb piece by piece. Her peytral, then the ornate horseshoes and finally, with only a brief hesitation, her crown. She set them in a neat pile atop her bed, ready to be stored in the vaults with the rest of the relics of her reign. One last look around. One last check. She closed and locked the windows leading to the balcony, then picked up a stray book that had hidden in the shadows beside her bed and set it atop the blankets next to her formal garb, nodding to herself in satisfaction. All was in place. It was time.

She stepped out onto the landing, closing the door behind her. The two batpony guards that flanked her doorway immediately snapped to attention and she allowed herself a little smile at their dedication to their duty. “Gentleponies. You may stand at ease and, in fact, you are relieved for the rest of the evening. However, if I could beg a favour of you, Lapis?” She directed the question to the guard who stood rigidly on her left.

“Of course, Mistress,” the purple-haired batpony replied, stepping forward and saluting, hoof thumping against her breastplate.

“Could you please pass this message to Captain Ember with my compliments,” she passed a sealed envelope over, “and then convey one final message to all my faithful Night Guard?”

“It would be my honour, Mistress,” Lapis replied, then paused. “Our honour,” she added, nodding to her compatriot who offered a little smile but remained silent.

Luna lifted her hoof and set it gently on Lapis’ shoulder as she dropped into the old style of speaking for one last time. “This is my last command as thy Princess, my little pony. I wish thee to go to thy barracks forthwith, and purchase a round of drinks for every and any pony there, be they Sun Guard or Night. I would have you raise a glass and a toast to both myself, and my sister. I would have this night be one to celebrate my departure, not mourn it.” She cupped Lapis’ chin with her hoof, lifting it to gaze solemnly into the batpony’s wide eyes. “Can you do this? For me?”

Lapis’ jaw worked for a moment before she replied, her voice thick. “Yes Mistress. We can do that for you.”

Luna smiled at that and nodded. “I knew you could. Now, be at peace, my children. Serve my sister as dutifully as you have served me, and all will be well.” She released her hold and turned to leave, draping a dark blue travelling cloak over her barrel as she did.

Lapis opened her mouth, but her partner beat her to it.

“Who stands in defence of the Mistress?” he cried and Lapis responded without hesitation.

“We stand!”

The words of the creed followed Luna down the spiralling stairs. Once she was out of sight she allowed herself a moment to sigh. To wipe away an unshed tear from her eyes. They would be fine. It wasn’t like the bad times following the Nightmare Rebellion. Her batponies were safe and secure. Even with the lights filling the streets of Canterlot with light, there were always shadowed corners where her ponies would root out anyone who tried to hide their evil intentions.

She stepped out into the courtyard, her hooves chiming on the polished flagstones as she made her way towards the main gate with measured steps. Nopony stopped her. There were no crowds, no reporters. The few guards that patrolled the walls and the grounds snapped to attention as she approached, and then resumed their duties after she passed. A servant or two paused to watch her leave, then also quickly returned to their tasks. Some might accuse her of running away, she supposed, of slinking from the palace in shame, but she would not, could not, abide some ceremony full of empty pageantry. This unremarked departure, like that of any common traveller, was more fitting for the pony she hoped to be.

Each slow, measured step took her inexorably further and further away from the place she had called home for the years since her return. More than that, they took her away from an unfulfilling, unhappy life towards an uncertain future that she would make her own. She would carve out her destiny with her own two hooves once again, and that thought filled her with anticipation.

There would ne no more night court. No more staring at the ceiling and counting the tiles as the minutes ticked interminably slowly in silence and solitude, waiting for ponies who would never dare come to her. There would be no more hiding in the shadows for fear of frightening ponies away as she tried to watch a play or concert. No more watching ponies flinch away when she attempted to offer them her patronage as she had in the old days when she had been known as a great believer in the arts.

There would be no more whispers and rumours about the taint of Nightmare Moon, no more nitpicking and subtle criticisms of her decisions and proclamations, no more suggestions that “Perhaps we should get Princess Celestia’s opinion!”. No more nobles posturing and scheming and whispering behind her back as she moved through the halls of the castle.

There would be no more Canterlot. No more trying to help ponies in their dreams. No more screams of Nightmare Moon. No more Princess Luna.

She suddenly shivered as she looked up at the castle that surrounded her, a cold chill dancing along her spine. The polished walls felt like they were stifling her, pressing down around her in one last attempt to keep her from leaving, to drag her back, force her to take her crown up once more. No. This wasn’t her home. This wasn’t her place. It was her sister’s and she had to get away. Now!

Her measured pace picked up speed now. A trot, then a canter, and finally she was in a frantic gallop that drew confused shouts of alarm from the guards on the walls until they realised who it was, then their voices grew confused. She didn’t stop. Past the walls, across the drawbridge and over the moat. Only once she was on the path did she slow her pace, her skin still crawling, feeling as if the castle might wake at any moment like some slumbering behemoth and pursue her. She risked a quick glance over her shoulder, her sides heaving, breath ragged as that sudden, strange surge of panic ebbed. No. There were no monsters behind her. She was the only monster here, and she was trying, oh she was still trying, to be better.

She swallowed hard and gave herself a firm shake as she forced the lingering fear back down. She’d taken the first step. Okay, so she’d taken it at something of a gallop rather than the more dignified beginning she’d planned, but the first step had been taken nonetheless. She turned her attention towards the glowing jewel of Equestria that was Canterlot itself and couldn’t help her lips curling in distaste at the field of shimmering light that blotted out the beauty of her night. No. She wouldn’t go that way. She tapped a hoof to her chin as she considered her options.

Really she only had two options open to her. East and south were both mostly out of the question. East would take her into griffon territory and she had no interest in invading their territories. The griffons were notoriously prickly and difficult to negotiate with and she was unsure what they might do on finding an alicorn travelling their lands.

South would take her towards the near-lawless Klugetown and the lands beyond, as well as putting her uncomfortably close to the Badlands that the Changelings called home. They knew little of what lay to the south of Equestria’s border, though they had heard rumours that some new warlord was starting to gather up smaller territories under his banner. Crossing lands like that would be an uncertain and potentially dangerous undertaking.

To the west lay Vanhoover, Los Pegasus and the Smokey Mountains. Beyond those the world was mostly unknown, ripe for exploration, or she could head North. North would take her towards Neighagra Falls and the Crystal Empire. Beyond the Empire’s borders lay YakYakistan, the Yaket mountain range and beyond that? The map she had in her room simply stated “Into the unknown”. No pony adventurer had ever ventured further North than that. Or if they had, they had never returned.

North? Or west? North posed other hazards beyond merely the prospect of being eaten by some unknown creature that might occupy the frozen wastes.Those parts of the world had been home to Sombra and his armies. While the Empire itself was now liberated, could anyone truly be sure that they had found all the nasty surprises that twisted unicorn had worked on? That all his followers and the cults that sprang up in his wake had been put down?

No, the more she considered it, the lands to the west seemed the best option. She could pass through Ponyville to pick up any supplies that she might have forgotten about or neglected to add to her storage vault here at the castle, though that would almost certainly mean interacting with the Elements and while she was sure they meant well…she wasn’t sure those were conversations she wished to have right now. Especially not with the pink one.

A decision made, she shifted the weight of her saddlebags across her withers, adjusted the cloak so that it covered them to protect against any sudden changes in the weather, and took a long, slow breath of night air.

“Exit Luna,” she murmured. “Stage left.”

She flexed her wings and with one quick leap she was nothing but a shadow in the night sky, her new life waiting for her to find it.

Author's Note

And so this little story draws to a close. I may revisit it from time to time with little snippets, postcards of what Luna finds out there as she seeks her own fortune, but, at least for now, this is all there is, and all there was ever planned to be.

Thank you if you've read this far.