The sun inched past the horizon at a glacial pace. It was a chilly evening tonight in Everfree Castle. Anon wore his thickest robe over his expensively embroidered cloth tunic. Being the guardian of the two most important ponies in the realm didn't come without luxury.
The rug running along the length of the castle hallway muffled the clacking of his new boots. The wood underneath him didn't creak or bend. It was solid carpentry, something he had found rare in his journeys. Rarer even than a friendly face had been.
He found what he was looking for behind one of the many doors in Everfree Castle. The walls inside were plastered and the entire floor was carpeted for the comfort of its occupants. Two beds sat with their heads against the far wall. A hearth - the mouth of which was furnished with a barred gate to prevent access - was to Anon's right. The fire had gone out, leaving only small embers in its place.
"Anoooon!" came a whiny squeal. A small, alabaster white unicorn filly with a candy-pink mane ran up to him. Chasing her was an even smaller, dark blue pegasus filly with a fake beak stuck to her snout, a red wattle on her chin, and a similarly coloured comb atop her sky-blue mane. The unicorn filly rounded his legs, putting Anon between her and the pegasus. Anon met Celestia's frightened eyes, tears welling up at the sides. "Luna won't stop chasing meeee!"
For her part, Luna giggled, seemingly only being encouraged by the little unicorn's fear. She continued to stalk towards her target. As she got closer, Luna made aggressive little clucking noises, eliciting terrified squeals from Celestia.
"Luna," Anon said sternly, "You know your sister doesn't like that."
Luna giggled again, ignoring him. Celestia began to cry.
Sighing, Anon crouched. He reached over and plucked the various parts of Luna's chicken costume off her head. Behind him, he could hear Celestia's sniffles as she saw the props confiscated from her sister.
"Luna," Anon warned, "If you don't apologise now, I'm taking Flappy."
At that, Luna's eyes widened and she scampered over to the room's toy corner. But with a few long strides, Anon overtook her. He scooped up a small, crudely made bat plush from the floor. Luna unsuccessfully dived for it, landing on her belly as Anon pulled it out of her reach.
The little Luna screeched in fury, drumming her hooves against the carpet. She got up and charged his legs, beating against them. "Give. Him. Back!"
With a single hand, Anon plucked the filly off of him by the scruff of her neck. Her wings flapped with futility by her sides. She continued to wail as he held her up in front of him, choosing to wait out her tantrum. Before long, she began to quiet. Her yelling evolved to tears, and she stopped struggling, instead choosing to hang limp and helpless in the air.
"Pwease…" she sobbed. "…don't take him…"
"There are consequences if you're mean to your sister, Luna. I've told you this before. And you also haven't apologised."
Luna tried to glare at Anon. She even shifted her gaze at Celestia who stood by the open doorway. The unicorn held her head high as she had been taught, tears dried against her cheeks and having mostly regained her composure. Yet, she gave one more sniffle.
"Luna…"
Luna was conflicted. She watched as Celestia gave her an almost condescending look, one that Luna repaid by sticking her tongue out at her. But she also saw the soft toy dangling in Anon's other hand. Choosing between her pride and her Flappy was always a tough choice. But this time, she must have decided that the former wasn't worth it, as she relented. Luna grumbled under her breath.
"What was that?" said Anon, gesturing towards Celestia. "Say that again so your sister can hear."
"I said, sowwy," said Luna, frustrated.
"For…?"
"For pwaying chicken with Cewestia."
Anon looked to Celestia, raising a brow.
"I…" she cleared her throat, using the regal voice her tutors had shown her to use, "I accept your apology."
Again, there was that near-condescension. They could address that issue another time in private. For now, it would do. Anon also considered addressing Luna's speech impediment with her tutors.
Anon set the pegasus filly down and handed her back her Flappy. She gripped it tightly with a foreleg and ran to her bed, retreating underneath the sheets. Just as well. It was bedtime. He closed the door, then urged Celestia into her own bed. Bringing over a chair, he sat it in the gap between her and Luna.
"Lulu?" called Anon. When she didn't respond he peeled back her blanket, uncovering her head. She was turned away from him and Celestia. "Luna…"
She gave an annoyed grunt.
"Luna, I want you to look at me," Anon said. Luna did, chagrined. "Listen, I understand you're mad at me and Celestia. And Celly, I know that even though she apologised, you're still mad at your sister."
Celestia nodded.
Anon cupped both of their cheeks. "Fights happen. You might not understand now, but you will when you grow up. I understand what it's like to be angry at your sister because you got into an argument - because they did something to you or because you blame them for getting you in trouble. I was young too, believe it or not." Anon leaned closer to them both. "What's important is that at the end of the day, you're still siblings. And you'll still love each other. Even if it doesn't feel like it in the moment."
"You had a sister, Anon?" Celly asked him with curious eyes.
Anon smiled. "Yeah. I did, once."
"Whewe is she?" asked Luna.
"Far away. So far, you could probably spend a lifetime trying to get to her and never come close." He tried not to show how he felt as he said it. Anon had long accepted he would never return home - he had done that even before he had journeyed to get Celestia and Luna to Everfree. But a part of him still hurt whenever he thought about what he had once known.
"Do you still love her?" Celestia asked.
"Of course," Anon said. "I still love my family. Just because I can't see them anymore, doesn't mean I've forgotten about them."
That wasn’t entirely true. He had found himself thinking of his parents and his siblings less and less nowadays. He felt glad about the fact, even though he knew he shouldn't.
"I can tell you about them another time. When we have more time, not tonight."
Anon kissed Luna on the forehead. He did the same with Celestia, adeptly dodging her horn. He stopped, and the two precious fillies wiggled under their blankets, making themselves comfortable. "Promise me this," he said, looking them both in the eyes. "You'll always be there to support each other, and that you'll do everything in your power to protect one another from other ponies who might want to hurt you. Can you do that?"
"I promise."
"I pwomise."
"Thank you," Anon said. He tickled the two fillies under their chins, causing them to laugh and squeal. "That means more to me than you could know. Now, you two need to catch some shut-eye. Goodnight."
"Night, Anon."
"Night."
Anon stood and made his way around the room, blowing out the flames in the few lanterns hanging around the room. He left one alight by the entrance, keeping the room from being completely shrouded. He opened the door, stepping into the hallway.
"I love you, Dad."
"Me, too."
Anon stopped in his tracks, his heart skipping a beat. He saw Lulu and Celly watching him in the dim light. He searched for the right words to say, and only after too long of a pause did he find them.
"I… I love you, too, girls," he smiled. "Sweet dreams."
He shut the door softly behind him, leaving the two fillies to fall asleep.
"Hi, Dad," Celestia said among the ruins of the Everfree Castle. Nopony called it that anymore. They hadn't for centuries.
"It's that night of the year, again," She chuckled nervously, "I know it feels like such a short time since we last talked."
Around Celestia's hooves, the grass was freshly cut. The white marble statue in front of her was free of vines, clean from the grime of the forest.
"It's so strange. Some days fly by and I don't even notice. Other times, it's as if they don't want to end. I'm just stuck there waiting. It's terrible."
"I don't dream about it as much anymore. Only five times this past year. Wait, no. Six. Still. It's getting easier to deal with."
Celestia sniffed. It was getting easier, but it wasn't easy. Not by a long shot.
Her eyes were wet and, despite her best efforts, she couldn't hold back the tears. Well, that was why she was here, wasn't it?
"Dad…"
She sat down, unable to hold herself up any longer by her shaking legs.
"I'm sorry… I know I promised… But I couldn't do it. I'm sorry…"
"I keep wishing you were there. Maybe… maybe you could have sorted things out. Like you always did between us when we were young…"
Celestia sobbed. On the same night every year for twenty years, she had come here. To talk to her Dad, confess her sins, and seek comfort. She had to. There wasn't anyone else she could turn to. Not for another nine hundred and eighty years, at least.
"I've b-been thinking about that recently. I-I understand what you mean n-now, when you said you loved Auntie even when you knew you would never s-see her anymore." Celestia tried to smile through the tears, but only managed to cry again. "I g-guess I should count myself lucky that I'll get Luna back. I just have to w-wait."
The tears didn't last as long this year. The worst had been the very first anniversary of her banishment of her sister. She had cried until she ran out of tears, and then she continued to cry even after that. Celestia had fallen asleep clutching the base of Anon's statue, lying on the ground where he had been buried after his death many decades before. She had been designated missing for almost an entire day until she showed up in the newly built Canterlot Castle the next night, dirty and dishevelled.
Celestia wiped her tears away with a slender, white foreleg.
"I-I should go now. The staff are holding a dinner at the castle after I gave them the night off. I should probably show up at least once tonight. Say hello."
Taking flight with her alicorn wings, Celestia hovered up to the statue's neck and gave it a tight hug. It was uncomfortable, yet she did it anyways. It felt… right.
"Goodnight, Dad. I love you." Celestia craned her neck up towards the moon. "And sweet dreams, Lulu."
Celestia flew off into the night, bound for the young city of Canterlot. Behind her, she left the old castle.
She would be back again next year.
