Eternal flame of Daybreaker

Although I was hiding in Celestia's mind, something continued to bother me deep inside.

"Why is Celestia acting this way?"

That question had been haunting me since our last conversation. Something felt off, as if Celestia found it easier to quarrel with me than to hear me out.

"Something isn’t right..." I thought.

As I tried to understand her actions, I realized I had been too impulsive toward Celly. I felt so sorry for Luna and wanted things to go back to the way they were. That’s why I lashed out at Celestia without seeing the bigger picture. Celly couldn't take it and fought back.

"However, this isn't a problem that can be solved with words..."

Not with the words I had used to justify my position, at least. It’s clear she wouldn’t listen. I probably wouldn’t have either if someone had angrily pointed out my faults. Talking to her at the end of the day was a bad idea. I didn’t want to burden her, yet that’s exactly what happened, turning our conversation into a massive argument. I should’ve used a softer approach. I shouldn’t have pushed so hard but calmly explained where she was wrong, instead of hoping she’d just listen. Now she’s even more distant, and I’m deeply hurt.

"Like a couple of little foals, for Celestia’s sake..." I realized.

Time to stop overthinking.

"So, why is Celestia doing this?"

I decided to delve into our shared memories. I hadn’t known I could do that until now. Apparently, Celestia can too if she wants. That means I can learn to rule Equestria, and Celly can learn martial arts from my memories. It’s convenient that we can help each other this way. As I sifted through Celly's memory fragments, I noticed an interesting detail. For the past few years, she had been focused on royal duties and pushing forward a governmental reform project that could change our lives forever.

The project was called "Feudalism." It proposed a massive restructuring of our country's system. Currently, power is centralized with the ruler and the royal apparatus, while the aristocracy holds mostly advisory roles as state officials. But under this reform, everything would change. Every aristocrat would get their own land, called a "fief," over which they’d have almost unlimited authority, with the royal family being the only ones allowed to intervene. The fief lords would be responsible for collecting taxes and giving a portion to the royal family. This project had been backed by the aristocracy since Celly first started learning to govern. Initially, she rejected it due to its flaws, but over time, as duties piled up, the idea of decentralizing power started to seem appealing. This way, she could reduce her workload and have more free time—to spend with Luna... and with me.

But doesn’t that mean losing absolute royal power? It’s obvious the aristocracy would demand more and more over time. Our Equestria, along with the rule of the two sisters, could become a relic of the past, replaced by dozens, if not hundreds, of quasi-states with their own laws and rulers. Ponies within those states might start believing their government is the best, which could lead to a full-scale war between the pony-states to determine the strongest. After that, a monarchy would return, just like now, but at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives and shattered destinies. Doesn’t Celly see this? She thinks she can tame the aristocracy this way, but it will likely backfire. Only a show of strength and the invincibility of the royal power can keep them in check. I’d show them what real discipline looks like in our army, but Celly wouldn’t approve.

I felt a bit sick thinking about how immaturely I had acted. I’d been behaving like a moody teenager.

"But what did I do wrong?" I suddenly wondered.

After some time, I realized that both Celly and I were right in our own ways. I spoke about the importance of family, while Celly focused on governing our country with the cold rationality of a ruler, weighing the pros and cons. We just said too much to each other, and now we don’t know how to make amends. But it’s too early to apologize. She probably wouldn’t listen—or if she did, she might conclude that she was entirely right. She would keep following her queenly logic. We need time to learn from our mistakes and grow. Or we need another pony to show us where we went wrong—someone like Luna. Now we just have to wait until she gathers the courage to have that crucial conversation. The future of Equestria depends on it.

Not long after, Luna burst into Celestia’s office, practically storming in with all her determination.

"Sister, it's time to discuss something important," Luna began, walking slowly toward Celestia's desk. Her face was stern, and her fur stood on end.

"Princess Luna, why do you enter my office without scheduling an appointment?" Celestia started her tirade.

She glared at Luna with disdain as she rose from her desk, which was covered with stacks of documents and decrees.

"That’s exactly what we need to talk about. Why have you stopped speaking to me like you used to?" Luna began cautiously.

"As I am the Queen of Equestria, I must act accordingly and treat everypony appropriately. Even you," Celly explained her stance.

"Why such formality when we're alone?" Luna asked a logical question.

"So that I always remember who I am, even when I'm with you," Queen Celestia coldly replied.

Her eyes narrowed, and she raised her head haughtily, clearly showing disdain.

"What are you talking about? You're my sister first, and only after that, you're the Queen of Equestria."

"I, Celestia, am the Queen, and you are the Princess. You should finally grow up, stop crying, and start performing your duties as a Princess should," Celestia spat out. "You need to stop being weak and constantly worrying about whether ponies admire your night. It doesn’t matter if they do or not."

Celestia approached her sister, spreading her wings like a true ruler of Equestria. But Luna didn’t back down, her face darkening. I had never seen her like this before. Her expression turned even gloomier, and tears welled up in her eyes—just a bit more, and she would burst into tears and run out of the room.

"Celly, stop! Back off, you’re really hurting your sister!" I called out to her in her mind.

"Stay out of this, Daybreaker," Celestia snapped.

I could clearly see that Celestia was beginning to waver in front of her sister. The confidence she had moments ago was fading, her wings drooping slightly. Apparently, she hadn’t expected Luna to stand up to her like this.

"I warned you!" I snorted, then turned my attention to Luna.

Luna, on the other hoof, was burning with more resolve than I had ever seen. She pulled herself together for one last, crucial question.

"One last question, Queen Celestia," Luna began her final assault.

"I’m listening," Celly responded dryly.

Even such a short exchange seemed to exhaust her more than eight hours of royal duties.

"Where is Daybreaker?" Luna asked the fateful question. "I haven’t seen her on the training grounds lately, so where is she?"

Celestia hesitated before speaking. For a moment, she simply stared at her quill and paper, carefully choosing her words. It seemed she had realized that it was better to tell the harsh truth than a beautiful lie. She looked at Luna again, apparently deciding on something.

"Daybreaker and I had a serious argument, and I took away her free time," Celestia confessed truthfully, sighing and looking down at Luna's hooves with a somewhat sad gaze.

Wow. I didn’t expect that—telling the truth without hiding anything. This is exactly why I respect her. It means Celly blames herself too, so not everything is lost between us. I’ll need to talk to her later, but gently this time, to avoid another fight. But that can wait; there’s something more important right now.

"What did you fight about?" Luna dared to ask.

Her previous sharp expression softened into genuine surprise. It was as if Luna had considered every possible answer but not this one. It felt like something impossible had happened.

"About how I treat you. She thinks I’m wrong in how I’ve been handling things with you," Celly exhaled, confessing the burden she had been carrying in her heart.

"And so, you think that gives you the right to take away her free time?" Luna asked sternly.

"I offered, and she agreed. That gave me more time for duties and to talk with you."

"Talk with me... Since we’re on the topic of talking, do you think this is an acceptable way for sisters to communicate?"

After this, Celestia fell into deep thought again. Trying not to offend her sister, she pondered how to phrase things in a way that wouldn’t escalate the situation further.

"Looks like she’s in a good mood today if she’s laying all her cards on the table," I noted sarcastically.

Celly usually flares up like a matchstick when it comes to important conversations. She says what she thinks without much regard for how her words might hurt others. But now it seems she’s using her brain, finally taking off her Queen of Equestria mask—probably tired of playing the role.

"Did she finally realize that this isn’t the way to go?" I analyzed.

"Listen... Everything I'm doing right now is for you and Daybreaker," Celestia finally broke the silence, revealing her true intentions.

But Luna didn’t flinch. Her face only grew angrier. I could feel her starting to boil over. Despite her dark coat, it was clear that her face had begun to flush with rage. Everything about her screamed that one more word from Celestia and Luna would explode in fury.

"YOU'RE DOING THIS FOR YOURSELF, QUEEN CELESTIA!" Luna shouted, unable to hold back. The force of her voice was so intense, I was caught off guard for a moment.

"You don't care about Daybreaker and me," Luna spat. "You love being first in everything and basking in glory, cozying up to the aristocracy. How can you even talk, when you've—"

"PRINCESS LUNA, STOP THIS AT ONCE!" Celestia interrupted, switching to the Royal Canterlot Voice.

"Ah, there she is, my good old Celestia. I was starting to worry."

Unable to contain herself, Celestia grabbed a fresh stack of papers from the desk with her magic and hurled them against the wall. Her body shook, and her eyes blazed with anger. It was obvious she had truly reached her breaking point. Now, there were two furious ponies in the room.

"Like two hysterical maniacs... great."

Maniacs... Why did that word remind me of the way our officers used to bicker during drills? Looks like I'm entering that phase where a soldier falls back on what they learned in the army. I can already picture myself singing those old guard songs to Celestia for group marches:

"I love serving Auntie Celestia, She shows me who I really am! One, two, three, four, the castle guards march more and more! One, two, three, four, I love the castle guards even more! My corps, Your corps, The castle guards’ corps..."

Haha, should I wake her up tomorrow with that song, belting it at full volume while I march around in her head? I wonder what her reaction would be? Anyway, I guess I've been a bit too obsessed with army life lately. I really need to visit again soon. What am I even thinking? My two dearest friends are fighting, and I don’t even know how to fix it.

“Here we go again. It was all going so well,” I thought with regret.

"...You know, Queen Celestia, sometimes I don’t see Tia in you at all anymore. Maybe all along, my real sister was Daybreaker," Luna said, huffing in disappointment, as she turned toward the door.

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Celestia raged, but Luna was already gone, slamming the door behind her with a loud bang.

"It's over, Celestia..." I thought.

Celestia sat at her desk, staring blankly at the door her sister had just walked out of. Minutes passed before she snapped out of it and returned to her work. But something had changed—she wasn't working like she used to. It was as if something had broken inside her. Her hoof trembled as she signed decrees, and she looked utterly deflated. Even her coat seemed paler than before.

As evening approached, Celestia finally broke the oppressive silence.

"Daybreaker, did I do the right thing?" she asked with a heavy heart.

"Why ask when you already know the answer?" I retorted.

"First of all, I want to apologize, Daybreaker. I was really harsh with you. You were only trying to help," Celestia said, lowering her head.

"I need to apologize too, Celestia. I chose the wrong time to speak and said too much," I admitted.

"We both said too much," my friend added.

"Agreed."

"I need to rethink my behavior and how I handle the affairs of the state. What should I do, Daybreaker?" Celestia asked me, a glimmer of hope in her voice.

"First and foremost, you need to go apologize to Luna. She's very sensitive. After what you said, she doesn’t even see you as a sister anymore," I began to break through Celestia's defenses with reason.

"I understand..." Celestia said, clearly disappointed in herself. "Daybreaker, I'm such a fool..."

"We were both fools, but that doesn’t mean it’s too late, or that all is lost," I reassured her. "Let’s go to her now, and you can apologize?"

"Of course, let's go, Daybreaker!" Celestia sprang from her desk and headed toward Luna’s wing of the castle.

But it was already too late.