“Thou spoke true when describing Long Wind’s ability to... what was the term thou used again, Celestia?” Luna huffed as she stretched her legs for the first time since lunch, now looking forward to a very late dinner.
Celestia gave a wane smile. “It is often referred to as a ‘filibuster’, dear sister. Politics have changed much in the past years, and yet much remains the same, as I’m sure you have noticed.”
Luna snorted and said, “Indeed. To simply imagine him with the Royal Canterlot Voice strikes more fear in Us than even the return of Discord.”
“Hah! I should like to see him stringed by his lips to one of the airships our nephew so enjoys; his hot air alone would let a crew navigate around the world twice over.”
“Not even thou are so cruel as that, sister.”
Celestia grinned. “I thought you would enjoy breaking the sparkling cider bottle on the flank of HMS Gasbag, Luna.”
“Thou misunderstands Us. We fear for the sanity of its occupants.”
The two alicorns laughed uproariously. Celestia, from the corner of her eye, even caught one of their stone-faced guards trying and failing to stifle a chuckle.
Celestia and Luna resumed walking through the castle’s opulent hallways, tapestries proclaiming Equestria’s storied history on either side while crystalline chandeliers hung above, casting their soft glow onto the immaculate marble floor. The Royal Guard peeled off, one-by-one, as they neared the private quarters. With nothing more than a soft whisper of wind the doors opened. The two remaining guards, one sporting the golden armor of Celestia’s guard, the other wearing the purple chitinous protection afforded to Luna’s personal sentry, closed the door behind the sisters before moving to stand guard.
“...”
“...”
“...My armor is chafing,” the dark knight muttered.
His partner sighed the sigh of the long shift.
-=-=-
Luna let herself collapse onto a heap of velvet pillows, her body swallowed by a red maw of soft down and corner tassles. “I did not know that sitting and looking interested could be so utterly draining. To think, Celestia, that you did as much for all this time by yourself. It is a wonder that your mane of rainbows did not bleach white before its time. Still, for the good of Equestria, I shall bear it.” She bit her lip. “It is the least I can do for my—our country after...” She sighed.
“You’ll get the hang of it eventually, Luna.”
“Just as I shall get ‘the hang of’ those modern colloquialisms, I suppose.”
Celestia chuckled. “You are a fast learner, as evidenced by the fact that you are not rattling the window panes with the Voice anymore. Some simple turn-of-phrases should be relatively easy. Besides, we shall have plenty of time to practice in the coming days.”
“What do you mean?” Luna asked as her head rose, complete with a pillow resting on her horn.
A golden aura plucked the pillow from its precarious perch and floated the cushion over to its owner. “I have arranged for week-long vacation. Just the two of us; no politics, no courts, no work.” She threw the pillow at her sister playfully.
Luna smiled as she deftly snatched the cushion from midair. “Why, that sounds...” A gloomy look passed over Luna’s face as the pillow dropped to the ground. “...impossible, at this time.”
“Why not? I thought you wanted us to spend more time together.”
“Oh, I do, really!” Luna looked away. “But Equestria needs us right now. My return left the country in turmoil, if only for a few hours. Even now, nearly a two years after that night, I am still working on regaining the common ponies’ trust.”
“Luna—”
Steely determination shone in her eyes. “I will not rest until I have proven my worth. To them, to you, to myself.” What had started out strong was reduced to almost a whisper by its end.
She walked away, her hooves muffled on the vermilion carpet. “If you need me, I shall be in the observatory. It is time for the stars to come out, and the new treatise with the griffin clans needs doing.”
Celestia watched her sister disappear around the spiraling stairs’ bend. “You drive yourself too hard, Luna,” she said to the empty room.
A grin formed on her face. “Fortunately, I always have a backup plan.”
-=-=-
Luna pored over the scrolls splayed across her desk. A wisp of smoke rose from the stub of a sputtering candle, its frail light casting more shadows than it dispelled.
Her ears perked at the sound of hooves echoing up the tower, the soft ringing of gold on stone letting her know who was approaching long before they came into eyeshot. “Come to aid Us with this treatise, sister?” she said without looking back.
“No. I’m hoping you’ll reconsider taking a break from your work”
Her quill dipped into the inkwell and continued writing its broad, cursive words. “We appreciate the offer but must politely decline. While a sabbatical is enticing, there is too much work to be done.”
“A sabbatical is taken every seven years, Luna. That strikes me as being a rather long wait for a day off.”
“It may very well be longer. We have much to catch up on. Besides, we are immortal; seven years is but a blink of an eye for our lives.”
Celestia walked up to beside Luna. “Be that as it may, it will still seem like an eternity, at least for me.” She nuzzled her sister’s neck. “I miss you, Luna.”
The goddess looked confused. “How so? We are here with you.”
“I mean I miss the Luna I knew, all those years ago. Carefree, playful, always ready with a joke when I was sad or to calm me in moments of anger,” she reminisced as a wing draped itself over Luna.
Luna breathed out. “Yes, We do, too.”
“You are closer to me than ever before, yet I cannot help but feel as if we are distant. Even now you’re speaking formally, even though it is the two of us. A week, for us to close that gap, that is all I ask.”
Luna opened her mouth to respond, only for the words to catch in her throat.
Looking up past the immaculately-clean glass dome and the telescope peeking above it, Celestia said, “The stars are beautiful tonight, Luna. Do you remember when we made the Ursas? I had suffered another poor sleep and was grumpy. When I snapped at you, you said I was like a bear and made the Ursa Major, then I called you an overgrown filly and made the Ursa Minor.” She laughed weakly. “Those were simpler times.”
“Yes, that they were...” She put down her quill and closed the ink well. “Celestia, I love you dearly, as much as any sister could, but I simply cannot bring myself to rest yet. Stopping my work almost seems to be beyond my ability to do. Next year, and this I swear, I will take a leave of my duties to join you on whatever excursion you wish, but until then I ask that you respect my choice and let this matter go.” Luna looked at her sister, guilt stabbing her heart as she saw Celestia’s disappointment etched across her face
“While I cannot say I like it, I was expecting that answer.” Her horn gave off a spark and a flash of light revealed a bottle, along with two ornate goblets. “Let us drink to it, then. A nightcap, if you will.” She popped the bottle open and filled their cups.
“Sister, I do not have time to indulge—”
The goblet, filled nearly to the brim with a sweet-smelling milky liquid, floated over to her. “I can understand not being able to spare seven days, but surely seven seconds is doable.”
Luna chuckled. “I suppose I can make room in my schedule for a quick drink, or perhaps quaff.” A dark glow took the goblet and raised it. “To us, dear sister.”
Celestia smiled widely. “Yes, to us, little sister.”
They both raised their respective cup to their lips. Luna drank deeply, savouring the drink’s smooth flavour. It wasn’t until she lowered it that she noticed the top of Celestia’s cup was covered in a golden glow, still filled with the liquid. More worrisome was the devious gleam in her eyes and the accompanying toothy smile. It was the same look she had after leaving a snake-spring in a hollowed-out book she sent to Twilight Sparkle, or when she had dusted Shining Armor’s cuirass with itching powder.
This time, Luna noticed with growing concern, it was directed at her.
Luna spoke with deliberate slowness. “Why didn’t you drink any, Celestia?” She was calm, refined, but the cutting edge of suspicion lined her words.
“Not thirsty,” the bedeviling goddess replied with aggravating nonchalance.
Luna was preparing to press further when something wound its way up her throat, doggedly climbing until it emerged into the room with a warrior’s cry to declare its arrival.
“UUUURRPPPP,” Luna belched, much to her sister’s amusement. “Celestia, what did you—AAARRRPP—did you give me?”
“Oh, just a little something to help remind you of the old days.”
“I fail to see how—GuuuuuRRP—giving me gas it going to accomplish—Blurp—that!” she fumed while struggling to clamp down on her rebelling stomach.
Celestia put her goblet onto a nearby oak shelf and said, “Oh, that isn’t the goal, however amusing it might be, it’s what the burping is doing.”
“And just what would that be?” Luna questioned as she burped again, this time paying attention to what happened. She noticed an almost-imperceptible drop, as if somepony had skimmed a layer from the bottom of her hooves. Looking closer, she could see that Celestia seemed even larger than before, as well as everything else in the room.
With a start, she yelled, “I’m shrinking!” before devolving into a series of rapid-fire hiccups.
Celestia trotted over and lowered herself to Luna’s level, leaving her almost lying on the floor. “Close, but not quite. You’ll find out soon enough—” Her smile was so innocent, Luna could almost hear a choir of cherubs announcing its appearance. “—little sister.”
With one last mighty explosion of air that shook the shelving and telescope—which Celestia noted would take several hours of calibrating to correct—Luna collapsed, completely knocked out. Celestia easily picked her up and held the alicorn, her heart warming as Luna’s fitful expression faded to give way to a content snore as she snuggled into Celestia’s soft coat.
Several minutes passed before Celestia placed Luna on her back with some magic and walked back down the stairs.
“Don’t you worry, Lulu. I promise you’ll enjoy the break, but first we have to get you dressed.”
