I Don't Remember

Chapters

Chapter 1: Return
Chapter 2: Until the Night
Chapter 3: The First Morning
Chapter 4: Modern Medicine
Chapter 5: Gathering Resources
Chapter 6: Ways of the People
Chapter 7: Of My Own Truth
Chapter 8: Close Relations
Chapter 9: Cry of the People
Chapter 10: That Of What I Lost

Chapter 1: Return

Author's Note

Anthro tag implies that characters are human, but names of people and places are not changed. Magic users (unicorns) are identified with pointed ears, (pegasi) have wings, and cutie marks are tattoos on the upper right arm under the shoulder.
In conclusion, not anything major is changed. I am just not good at writing with ponies.

Chapter 1: Return

It was dark. Where was she again? . . . That's right, she was back in Equestria. Her head hurt, had something hit her? . . No, it was the Elements. She remembered now. Nightmare Moon had been struck and she was free. How long had it been since she was here last? A thousand years. That number was stuck in her head. Had it really been that long?

There were voices around her. How many? She couldn't tell. At least a few, all female. There would have to be six though, wouldn't there? Then again, just she and Celestia had wielded the Elements before. Wait. Celestia. Was she here? Opening her eyes was difficult. She really was struck hard, wasn't she?

The rising sun was what caught her attention. Celestia's voice came along with it. She shielded her eyes from it. A millennium of staring at the darkness with only the stars made them sensitive to the luminosity of her sister's sun. However, it was distant, still hard to make out. She was talking to the others in the room most likely.

"..will as well. Princess Luna!" The voice of her sister called out to her. "It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this."

Finally taking that leap, Luna opened her eyes to the sound of her name being called to her. The voice was coming closer, soon the figure of Celestia was hovering over her smaller form. Had she always been this terrifying? But she didn't stay there for long, no, she knelt down, getting on her knees and extending a hand out towards her. While holding the position of authority, she was changing her behavior to look less intimidating. Did she look that scared? Probably. She had to look away. The last thing she remembered was the blast from her sister that sent her to her prison.

"Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister."

A gasp came from the others in the room. Did hearing her sister call her that really surprise them so? But even so, it was hard to look her sister in the eye. Celestia had stood up again, still reaching out her hand.

"Will you accept my friendship?"

That's not what she had been expecting to hear. Anything else; to be yelled at, a hug, not to be given a choice whether or not she wanted to accept her sister's offer to start over. She did. Oh, how much she did. She paused for a moment, thinking over what she had done last time she had seen Celestia.

But she didn't stay away for long, leaping into her sister's arms and pulling her into a crushing hug of her own. She was taller than she remembered, but that didn't matter. All that did now were the tears starting to fall down her cheeks.

"We're so sorry! We missed thee so much, big sister!"

There was a sigh of relief, and her sister untensed, wrapping her arms around Luna's frame. She could feel her tears wetting her hair as they stood in embrace.

"I've missed you too."

The others in the room were forgotten by the lunar princess again. The only thing that mattered was that she was with her elder sister again. That is until Celestia pulled away and cupped Luna's face in her hands, looking into her eyes. Her tears were slowing, eyes glossy and full.

Sadly their moment was cut short by a girl with curly pink hair. The sisters turned to her and the others who stood at the opposite end of the room. She was very audibly crying before cutting herself short with a smile.

"Hey! You know what this calls for? A party!"

The events after that happened in a blur. Or perhaps her head was just still spinning. Staying close to her sister's side, the eight of them wandered outside the castle.

It was sad to see the once stunning piece of architecture she once called her home to be reduced to nothing but old ruins in a forgotten forest. This was her home, she knew that, but she couldn't remember any more than that. Did she have good memories of the place before she and Celestia fought? She had to, she grew up here, right? She didn't remember her childhood being a bad one. Well, it didn't feel like it was, anyway.

Stepping outside, there were castle guards waiting outside, no doubt worried for their princess. There were a few chariots lined up to take them back to the town no doubt, one standing out as meant to hold royalty. The sisters were following behind the six girls that had used the elements. She hadn't gotten a good look at them up until now. They seemed like a very diverse group.

There was the short girl with the pink hair who had spoken up earlier. Laughter no doubt, from what she had seen of her personality. A tall girl, long straight pink hair. Probably kindness from her demeanor. Two more tall girls, one with a hat and a strong build, the other sporting a full rainbow in her hair. They were currently bickering about something Luna couldn't pick out, but it didn't seem hostile, just competitive. Another with styled purple hair complaining about the mud and a needed trip to the spa. And then there was the element of magic, a girl with darker hair and a few lighter highlights. She seemed to be the leader of the group, walking in front with the crown still displayed on her head. That's the only one Luna could fully make out from her view behind.

And of course, walking next to her was her sister, Celestia. She hadn't dared to make eye contact since their hug was cut short. After the heat of the moment, she felt more awkward than anything. What would she even talk about? Even if she did have an idea in mind, she didn't trust her voice to be steady. That, and she was using most of her strength to keep pace with the others. She felt almost ready to sleep then and there. But she could keep appearances until they got to their destination.

..Which was where, exactly? It was obvious that the castle she used to live in was no longer in use. That had to mean that Celestia lived in another castle located somewhere else. And a castle meant other people. She hadn't really thought about the general public yet. Now her head was spinning.

A voice calling out her name again startled Luna out of her thoughts. It was her sister, calling her over to sit next to her on the chariot that was waiting for them.

The flight into the nearest town was relatively short, lasting only a few minutes over the Everfree before landing in what Luna assumed was the center of town, if the circular building there meant anything.

The people there were.. different than what she had expected. They seemed happier than one would assume after what had happened only a few hours prior. What she had done as Nightmare- what exactly had she done? She knew the gist of it, eternal night and all that, but specifics were escaping her conscious thought.

Luna bowed her head in response for her behavior once they disembarked. It wasn't a grand or tearful apology but solemn, fit for her stature as royalty, but a frown was visible on her face. The townspeople had bowed their heads back to their monarchs. Though Luna felt it was more for her sister than herself.

Yet again, their response of crowning her head in flowers was the last thing she had thought about in response. Had they seriously forgiven her actions just like that? In her surprise, she turned to look up at her sister, who in return had a much softer smile on her face. She looked almost proud.

Fortunately, the attention did not stay on the princesses for very long. She had noticed that the girls they traveled with had reunited with their families. And now, Celestia was returning to the element of magic, leaving Luna standing there behind with the guard. It almost hurt.

That feeling didn't last long however, when listening in to their conversation. The girl was Celestia's student? That would make her magical abilities make sense, then. Anyone studying under her would no doubt be very powerful and would continue to gain strength if her studies continued.

Most of their conversation hadn't seemed all that interesting to the lunar princess, talking about her new friends. Did she say they just met? Almost hard to believe with how good their chemistry seemed. But Luna finally learned the girl's name: Twilight. She would make a mental note to thank the girl and her friends later once she got her bearings.

Confetti falling signaled the beginning of the party proper. Looking up at it was probably a bad idea with how much the sun was messing with her vision, however. Why was it so bright out? At least it had been somewhat shaded in the forest. And standing there was becoming more and more awkward for Luna. She was just standing there, out of the way, and silent. She felt so out of place. How long was she staying?

Her answer was soon answered with Celestia and her student's conversation ending and her going off to enjoy the festivities together- was that a dragon with them? Her expression was no doubt noticed by her sister, as a lighthearted laugh was heard from her direction. Shooting her a look, she was given a response to her earlier mental complaints.

"We won't be staying long, sister. I know you must be tired, so we'll head back to Canterlot soon."

She gave her sister a small nod in response. Talking still felt wrong. She felt so small next to her sister. Then again, she didn't even remember what she looked like herself. Had her sister actually gotten taller? Had she gotten shorter? Also, Canterlot? That must be the name of the city her castle was located in.

Even though she had been told they would leave 'soon', Luna wasn't expecting her sister to have a quick conversation with her guards before waving her hand to join her again on the chariot. Everything was moving so fast she couldn't quite process it all fully before something else happened. Her head was spinning again.

This time, the flight had been longer. The city in question that they were headed to was located on the side of a mountain. How? Something she'd look into later. But for now, it was just beautiful. She had noticed the buildings of the town they had been at were more advanced than what she remembered, but this city- wait, 'than she remembered?' What did houses look like a thousand years ago? Not like that, obviously. But either way, the city on the mountain was beautiful. As they got closer, she was able to make out different parts of the city. From the market and shopping districts, residential, both of nobility and that of the common people, and eventually, the castle itself sitting at the northernmost point, looking over the lands below. Along with the bright colors of everything, the city even looked clean from the air. The waterfalls falling from the mountain above were also a nice touch.

While Luna was spending all of her time looking at the city unfolding itself in front of her, she missed the descent they were making towards the castle. The sounds of voices were slowly getting louder: shouting of guards ordering others to make sure everything was in line, regular sounds of the city, and the press fighting each other to get close to the castle and the approaching royal chariot. Oh great, the press. There were flashes of light from the crowd that had gathered. What were they doing? Nonetheless, the act of shielding her eyes from said flashes did not go unnoticed by her sister and the guards as the chariot landed. More yelling. Why were they so loud? Just as she was trying to drown out all of it, there was a tap on her shoulder.

"Luna? Are you alright?"

No. She was overstimulated. Too much was happening too fast. Shaking her head to get rid of that ache, she managed a smile at her kin.

"We're well. 'Tis nothing to worry over. There art just so many people here. 'Tis disconcerting."

A knowing look flashed across her face. She had probably forgotten that Luna hadn't been around anyone in a thousand years. Of course the crowds would be too much for her and would be overwhelming.

"Of course. I understand. Let's get you inside, shall we?"

Celestia was helped out of the chariot by a guard, another coming over to Luna and extending a hand to help her down as well. Good thing too, her legs felt like gelatin and most likely would have given out if she hadn't gripped his hand. That of course earned her a flash of concern from the man, which she promptly ignored in favor of turning towards the entrance to the castle in front of her.

Celestia had come up beside her, extending a wing to wrap around her back loosely. She was escorting her inside while sheltering her from everyone around them. Oh, bless her. It wasn't able to block out everything, but it was enough that she didn't feel as exposed. That ache in her chest dulled, and the doors to the castle were opened by the telekinesis of two guards on either side.

Chapter 2: Until the Night

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 3: The First Morning

Rage. Pure, unbridled rage is what filled her. How dare her subjects treat her this way? How dare Celestia? She had paid for what she had done. A strong blast of pure magic had hit her square in the chest. If that hadn't caused enough damage that she was unable to fight, the fall down to the castle below surely would. She hovered in her spot in the sky for a moment, grinning, wings holding her steadily. She had always been stronger than her sister. Too bad her ego had blinded her into thinking she could discard her and rule on her own.

It felt good to finally get back at her. Now all of her sun-loving people would see just how weak of a leader she was. Their princess wasn't indestructible. ~~Luna~~ Nightmare was.

A light to her side caught her attention. Her sister. How had she gotten up so quickly? She had already covered her precious sun, and now she had acquired a new power to outdo the beauty of her night? She should be on the ground, injured, surrendering herself to Nightmare as an inferior. Instead, she was looking at her head-on. What had she gotten? Everyone in the castle had fled when their battle had started. No, when she had risen the moon. They were hiding from her night.

Celestia's power was charged up, directed at her. Please, what could she do? She had already been hit once. Another would surely take her down for good. She charged up her own spell before both were released against each other. A wave went out when the two spells collided, sending a shock to the air around them and dispelling the clouds nearby. Just then had she noticed what her sister had. The Elements of Harmony. Of course she would need an outside source to help her fight.

But cheating meant that she had the possibility to win. The elements were vastly powerful. And winning, she was. Pouring more magic into her spell was useless. And before long, it became too much for her to fight against. The power of the elements overcame her, and she was swept away in their power. It hurt. It hurt being physically ripped from your form and being transported in a flash in a place you were to be banished for a time you did not know how long would last. Stripped of her magic, of what made her her. It was unbearable.

She was sorry. She didn't mean for this to happen. She was told that she was right, that she would gain power. Why was Celestia hurting her?

Screaming. She was screaming. Luna shot up straight from where she had been sleeping. Breathing heavy, she looked around the room that she was in frantically. Where was she? Wasn't she just banished? Was this the moon?

The crackling fire, soft bed under her, and the warmth of the room were enough to calm her breathing down to a normal pace, though still heavy. Oh. She was back in Equestria. In her sister's room, no less. The one who just banished- no. She shook her head. She shouldn't think about that now.

But.. was that really what had happened? Or was it her fear that generated a fake memory in the form of a dream? Dreams were complicated, nightmares even more so, she'd dealt with enough to know that much.

What was she saying? This was the first time she'd dreamt since her return. How could she have dealt with them before? The heat of the room and the sweat adorning her forehead made Luna tear the sheets off her form, breaking up her thoughts. What time was it? When Celestia had left earlier, she had said that the day was young, perhaps noon, then? Had she slept all the way through the night?

There were thick curtains to the far right that extended all the way to the ground, covering doors to a balcony. Getting up was a bit of a struggle, considering how weak her legs felt underneath her body weight, but she managed to slowly drag her way there with the help of the wall. Pulling the curtain to the side, she could now clearly see that it was still night. It was beautiful.

Unlocking the door after some struggling, Luna managed to open the door and walk over to the railing protecting her from the height of the tower she was in. She did have wings to catch her if she did fall, but she didn't trust them enough to use quite yet. Flying seemed too complicated. Leaning on the rail to support her weight, she was able to fully see the land around her. From atop the mountainside, she was able to see the vast lands around her. And were they vast. She stood there simply for a few moments to survey everything before her. Directly below was the city proper of Canterlot. There was minimal movement; those up early to get to work, or those who had stayed up the night before finally making the way back to their homes. Further south, past the base of the mountain, was another town, presumably the one she had been to yesterday. She hadn't picked up the name of it, but it looked rural, land used for farming rather than the pompous royal capital she was currently in.

Her nerves were still somewhat shaken from the events of her dream, but taking in the scenery and the fresh air were helping. The warm summer air was ruffling her already messy hair as she turned to look at the moon above. Something about it was captivating. Above all else around her, even the twinkling stars adorning the sky, it was drawing most of her attention. She knew she had been banished there for a thousand years, but the connection felt deeper than that.

Did it have to do with the moon that was on her arm? In place of it, her sister had had a sun on the same spot. Now that she thought about it, everyone else she had seen had a similar mark on their arm as well. Each one was unique to the person who had them. Not one was the same as the other. What were they? Were they some sort of mark of destiny? She was drawn to the night, and her sister very clearly was associated with the sun, right down to her core. Even her magic seemed to be powered by the sun. Luna hadn't tried to use her magic. Honestly, she'd mostly forgotten about it until now. But she had a feeling it wouldn't go well. She was still weak and didn't want something going wrong. Besides, all the memory of her magic that she had was the battle with Celestia, where she had used them in offense. Was that all her magic could do? Fight?

Luna had been standing out on the balcony staring at the moon for longer than she had thought, the body starting to lower before her eyes startling her. The sun followed after it, rising slowly and blinding her as it overcame the horizon and lit up the skies. The glow of the star felt familiar to her. Like.. Celestia's aura. Was her sister raising the sun? She felt like she should have known that. And that assumption felt right.

From that, she was able to put some things together. As the Nightmare, she remembered vowing to make nighttime eternal. How could she do that unless she had control over the moon? That's why she was so drawn to it, then. Like her sister's control of the sun, she had ownership of the moon. A smile made its way onto her face. She was remembering things about herself.

But the blinding light of the sun was becoming too much for Luna. She turned quickly to head back inside and close the curtain again to settle back into the dimly lit room. Even that had sucked most of the energy right out of her. Her head hurt and her breathing was heavy by the time she made it over to the bed again. She could take another nap right then. She was so tired. Dropping her head into her hands, Luna rubbed the weariness out of her eyes. No, she didn't need to keep sleeping all day.

Which reminded her, where had Celestia slept last night? She hadn't seen any indication that anyone else had occupied the bed other than herself. Was she up all night? Slept in a guest room? On the floor? Now she was starting to feel bad with how much she was taking her sister's generosity for granted. She would have to thank her later and insist that she take her room back. Luna could sleep in a guest room if needed.

Looking around the room as if looking for something to occupy herself, Luna noticed a note on the table set beside the bed that was addressed to her. She probably should have seen that earlier.

It was straight to the point in what it meant to tell her. Celestia had come in earlier and did not want to disturb Luna in her sleep, so wrote a letter instead to fill her in on everything before she had time later in the day to see her again. The guards currently stationed outside the doors were to assist her in anything that she needed, including escorts to any place in the castle she desired. There were only a few things that Celestia had set up for her to do today, most notably, go see a doctor. But that was for later. Breakfast was the first thing she had wanted her to do. And good on her for remembering, too. It was likely that Luna hadn't eaten, or drank, anything in over a millennium. Perhaps that was a reason that she'd been so exhausted yesterday. Not eating would mean that she would have no energy to spare. She hadn't noticed her stomach growling before, but being reminded of it, she could definitely feel a lingering ache.

But as good as getting something to eat sounded, she probably shouldn't go walking around the castle fresh out of rolling out of bed. She made her way across Celestia's room again, finding taking care of herself was exerting a lot of energy that she did not have in her possession. Did her sister have handmaids that helped her with these tasks? Because her arms could only last a minute or so while brushing her own hair... Then again, her sister was very adept in her skill of magic. Luna was still doing everything by hand.

Despite her complaining, freshening herself up did not take very long, just short of an hour. Not wanting to go through her sister's possessions and be invasive, she settled on not changing her outfit. She had smoothed out the wrinkles that had formed, but other than that, she couldn't do much. Were they casual clothes? Yes. But did it matter? No. She was, after all, a princess, and was allowed to do whatever she pleased. That, and she was too hungry to care about any looks nobles would give her. She'd even put her hair up in her efforts earlier. Nothing too extravagant, but it was better than just leaving it brushed, as it had gotten awfully puffy.

There she went again, talking on to herself and forgetting what she was actually supposed to be doing. Then again, she hadn't actually been talking. She'd hardly made any noise, actually. Letting out a huff of air to calm her nerves, Luna made her way over to the door that led to the hallway outside. It wouldn't be too difficult, right? Why was she suddenly shaking? Being around people without Celestia beside her to step in if something went downhill apparently made her nerves flare up. She didn't have anyone to support her. But her sister was busy, she knew that. It's okay, Luna. They won't bite you.

Shaking harshly to steel herself, she turned the handle and opened the large door in front of her. The hallway it opened to was brighter than she remembered, the sun shining through the windows and flowers adorning the pillars in between. The men on either side glanced in her direction. She didn't recognize them from the guards she'd seen earlier. A brief look of concern flashed across their features before noticing that the lunar princess was looking at them and returned their gazes forward. They'd probably heard her screaming earlier. That was embarrassing. But no mind.

The men themselves were tall, slightly more so than Luna herself, and clad in golden armor. Underneath they were undoubtedly quite muscular, if the thickness of their biceps was any indication for the rest of their bodies. She'd hate to be on their bad side. Despite that, the marks of their arms were covered by the armor, making her unable to test her hypothesis from earlier that they were marks of destiny.

Clearing her throat, she was able to find her voice, mumbling out a quick, "Good m'rning," before turning to walk down the hallway. Did she need to ask how to get to the dining room specifically? Again, yes. But a little exploring of her surroundings wouldn't hurt anyone. Glancing behind her and, yep, the two guards were following behind, keeping a respectful distance, high on alert.

Something in her told her that they were weary of her, and not just of her safety.

She knew the Nightmare had brought evil upon the land, but was the tale really infamous enough that the common citizen would be afraid? Did they still fear the night as they had before? Maybe she was holding an unpleasant expression on her face. But it wasn't like she'd snap at them and turn evil again. Was that it? She didn't even remember specifically what she'd done. That was the worst part.

It was best to ignore it. If they were afraid of her, asking would not make the situation better. Her wings had dropped low, not quite dragging on the ground. The surrounding area's decorations had started getting brighter the lower she got in the levels of the castle. Thankfully going down was easier than going up, but she was starting to get overwhelmed. It was so bright. There were so many colors. She needed air.

The only good thing about having a city built so high on a mountain was that balconies were made common in its construction, so it didn't take her long to find one and swing the doors open and grip onto the railing for support. Her eyes were closed, breathing was heavy, and she could hear the blood pumping to her head. It was loud, but it was better than what she had felt inside. Luna had missed the guards calling out to her, not even registering that they had rushed to her side when she had hunched over.

Eating would probably take the fatigue off of her. Why hadn't she listened to what Celestia had asked of her right away?

"..rincess? Princess Luna, are you alright, ma'am?" A male voice to her right called out to her. Focus on that.

Her breathing slowed as she regained her senses. It was bright out, but not that deafening brightness that she'd witnessed a few moments ago. A shadow was cast over her, a face in front of her vision. He was talking.

"There we go. Would you like us to call a physician, your highness?"

"No. No, we art fine." Luna waved off the hand he had extended, standing to her full height again. "Thank thee, sir..?"

"Nightingale, majesty."

"Thank thee, Nightingale. Wouldst thee and thy partn'r mind escorting us to our destination from h're out?"

"Of course." The other man had responded this time. "My name is Datura, highness."

She now understood at least one reason why her sister had chosen these guards to escort her just by their names alone. And knowing her sister, she had already briefed the two on what the schedule was that she'd made for Luna, so it was unnecessary for her to specify where she wanted to go.

This time, Datura had led them through the hallways, Nightingale following closer behind Luna, just in case. The edge that they had earlier had lessened quite a bit. She didn't feel their eyes piercing into her anymore. Well, almost passing out from walking down a hallway would make her seem like less of a threat.

And soon enough, after more stairs, they arrived in a dining room on a lower level of the castle. It was grand, but small inside. Likely reserved for royalty to eat in private. Only a few people occupied the room before they entered, two handmaids and a chef, if the white outfit was anything to classify his profession by.

"Ah! Princess, you're here. I am head chef Caramel, at your service," the man called out in a bright tone, bowing his head in respect to her title. "If you wouldn't mind taking a seat, your food will be served shortly. You have my guarantee that it will be up to your standards."

He was likely here as a formality. Either that, or he had wanted to meet her in person before rumors were spread around. She would be getting a lot of attention in that way in the coming days. Luna acknowledged the man with a simple 'thank you' and 'nice to meet you' before sitting at one end of the table. One of the women had pulled out the chair for her before hurrying out with the other alongside the chef.

In the few short minutes that she had to wait, she was able to get a better look at the room she was in. Grand windows took up the whole far wall, presenting an open view of the city outside. Even the lower levels of the castle were at a higher elevation than the main city. Thick curtains and drapes hung around the room along with many hanging plants. Pretty, but a little much for a place to eat. Other than that, Nightingale and Datura were positioned at the entrance.

The three that had been in the room came back in what she'd call record time. They had carried a few trays of an assortment of dishes, told her what they were, and excused themselves. A simple process, but one she was thankful that did not take more than a few minutes of her time. The food itself was also simple enough: assorted fruits mixed in a bowl and a selection of breads, meat, and pastries. While she was hungry enough that she probably could have eaten all of it if in there for long enough, she knew that she could only stomach a small amount. She would get sick after not eating in so long. But she was thankful for a variety.

For how starved Luna felt, she was able to control the speed at which she ate with some struggle. It was slow going, but she made an effort to try at least one of everything and enjoy its flavor. There were foods and flavors that were not familiar to her tongue, so she deducted that they must not have existed a millennium ago. Most of what she had tasted was wonderful, but far too many of the pastries were too sweet for her liking. Celestia had a sweet tooth, though, and this was probably how she liked them. But for Luna, taking more than a bite would have gotten her sick. She did not want that happening.

Speaking of her sister, she had just about finished and was shifting to get up when the doors had opened again, and she walked through. Upon seeing Luna there, a bright smile appeared on her face, as if she was happy her return had not only been a dream.

"Good morning, Luna! I see you got my note. I do apologize for not being there when you woke, but duty calls." Celestia took a seat at the table as well, getting some food for herself. Far more than what Luna had. "How did you sleep? I hope you're well rested."

"We slept well, sister. We understand thou art busy with thy duties." She stood up, smoothing out her clothes before giving her sister a short bow. "We were about to leave when thee entered. We wisheth thee a pleasant day."

The shortness of their interaction was not intended. She truly did wish to spend more time with Celestia. But she was also dreading the amount of socializing that she already had to do today. They would talk more tonight, hopefully, after she was done with all the formalities.

Who knows how much medicine had modernized in the years she was gone, either. It was almost frightening, not knowing what exactly she was walking into. But it needed to be done. They needed to know if Luna was in proper health. The only questions she really wanted answered were about her magic. Getting prodded at was what she was not looking forward to.

Stifling a sigh after bidding her sister a farewell, she headed towards the entrance again, the guards standing there opening the door before her and following beside her as she started down the hallway. Hopefully this would not take all day.

Chapter 4: Modern Medicine

The place they had gone to was inside the castle walls. Though a relatively small area, it had everything needed for a check-in. Again, the feel of the room was entirely alien to her. It was clean, too clean, almost. She was almost afraid to touch anything. But Luna wasn't able to look around for long, the presence of a nurse in front of her welcoming her and the two guards by her side, informing them to wait there for a doctor.

She gave a short bow before turning away. There wasn't anyone else in the room. It most likely reserved for either the royal family or emergencies on the castle grounds. While over the city yesterday, she thought she had seen the cross that was displayed on the doors on a much larger building. No way everything in that large of a place could fit into a small wing of the castle. But who knew. While medical knowledge was not her strong suit, magic had undoubtedly changed drastically in a millennium as well.

The sterile smell of the room was off-putting, making Luna almost want to cover her nose to block it out. Everything she had experienced so far was... artificial. Nothing felt natural. Was that because of how long she'd been gone? Or were most things now man-made? She could ask her guards, but asking questions like that she feared would give her strange looks.

Just before Luna went to sit down to wait for the doctor to return, as walking over here had again made her tired, a man dressed in medical scrubs came in from the doors the nurse had left through earlier.

"A pleasure to meet you, Princess. My name is Doctor Oolong and I'll be taking care of you today. If you wouldn't mind, follow me back to the room where we'll examine you further."

Again with such formalities. All she hoped was to make this quick, no need for small talk. Though then again, if he started asking her about herself, how would she respond? It wasn't as if she knew very much more than the obvious. Going over what she knew would probably help in preparing her. Okay, her name was Luna, she was half of the diarchy of Equestria and one of its princesses. She had magic and could fly, though she couldn't exactly use either at the moment. She had control over the moon (though that was still partially speculation and not complete fact). She had an elder sister, Celestia, the other half of the kingdom's diarchy. She had turned into Nightmare Moon a millennium ago after a fit of jealousy and anger towards her sister, and was banished to the moon for a thousand years. And thanks to Celestia's student and her friends using the Elements of Harmony, she was freed and reunited with her sister just yesterday.

...Was that it?

She hoped now that he didn't ask too many personal questions even more now.

Taking a deep breath to steal her shaky nerves, she and Nightingale followed Oolong back to a small room with a bed, counter, and a few other tools spread across the floor. It smelt even worse than the entrance, and the only colors were various shades of white. Oh, and the lights were awful. They were just as white as everything else in the room, and were constantly buzzing in her ears.

Her discomfort was apparently ignored, however, as the doctor motioned that she sit on the bed that was raised up on the far end of the room, he himself pulling up a chair and sitting in front of it, clipboard in hand. It was not the most comfortable mattress, but it was by far not the worst thing in the room. It felt as though the doctor was judging her every move, writing a few things down as she sat. What could he have possibly figured out by her sitting down?

"So, Princess, I'm going to start off by asking you a few questions about your health."

Oh great.

"First off, have you been in any pain since your return?"

"Nay. We haven't. Simply drain'd of our en'rgy."

"Did you sleep well last night?"

"Yes. We slept fine."

This went on for some time. She was short with her answers, straight to the point, ignoring much of his attempts at small talk. Was she truthful? Mostly. With every answer she gave, something was written down.

Did you get sick when you ate? No, she ate slowly to avoid that. Any allergies? Not that she knew of. Are you able to read and write? Yes, and she hadn't tried yet. And, of course, there were a few more personal questions asked: Was she active intimately? No, and besides, she'd only been back for hours. Her last menstrual cycle? A thousand years ago. She knew they were necessary to be asked, but were they not common sense?

But it did not get any more in depth than that, luckily. No questions of her memory. No mentions of her different speech. No questions of her age. They were to move on to the more physical part of the examination now.

With the help of Nightingale extending a hand, Luna made her way across the room against a marked wall. Told to stand against it straight, she did so, Oolong reaching above her head to mark her height, and record it down on his paper. Next was her weight, where she stood on a small black platform that somehow recorded the numbers digitally.

Did Luna know exactly what he was doing with this information? No, but apparently it wasn't very good, going by the dejected look off his face.

"Excuse me," he cleared his throat, straightening out his features, "I am simply worried, your highness. From these results, it indicates that you are very underweight for your current height. Likely malnourished. While something I would like to monitor, the only thing you need to worry about is eating a balanced diet and not overexerting your physical capabilities."

"Of course," she replied amidst a sigh. Anyone could have put that together after looking at her appearance for more than a moment. Sure, her baggy clothes were likely hiding the worst of her form, but it wasn't the hardest thing to discern. Was he stating the obvious because he had to? Or was it because she practically looked like a child? It was also possible he thought her knowledge of medicine from a thousand years ago was so outdated that she didn't know that not eating was unhealthy.

Like he had before, the doctor took her reaction for opposite of what she meant it to, trying to reassure her that she'd be 'back to her old self' in no time. She doubted that would happen. Her body may, but her mind was unlikely at the pace she was going.

From then on, they went on to check her blood pressure, whatever that meant. But apparently it was in a positive range. Next was her heart rate. Luna wasn't entirely fond of how close he had to get to listen to it, much less the cold metal against her skin. Whether it was due to her uneasiness, or something else entirely, Oolong mumbled something under his breath, eyes furrowed while writing another thing down on his paper. She could deduct that meant there had to be something abnormal, but he said nothing of it.

They then went on to a more physical exam of her body, more specifically, her wings. He was gentle with his touch, only doing so when needed. For the most part, he asked her to control her wings on her own. It took her a few tries at first, the muscles unfamiliar and stiff from unuse. For a brief moment Luna was afraid she was unable to move them, but after a few subtle crunches, they were able to unfold from their resting position. Extending them was uncomfortable, a feeling she wasn't used to, but that could be another side effect of her not remembering anything from before her banishment. Flying was not an action she remembered doing, or knew how to do to the full extent.

Oolong had given her a few comments about it, noticing how uncomfortable the action was for her. This small talk she could handle. She did, after all, need to know how to care for her wings properly. But like most of her body, they were weak, and to put it simply, they needed to be used more to build up the muscle. Flying would be slow going, but since the bones were strong and flight feathers were healthy, they would go back to full health with the rest of her body.

With most of what Luna was dreading out of the way, they had moved along to what she had been looking forward to all morning: checking her magic. Not that she wasn't worrying at all, though. She didn't know how to cast a spell and had been too afraid to try earlier in case something blew up on accident. Oolong had taken out another machine, crystal would be more accurate, and told her to place her hand atop it. Multiple strings of numbers and symbols appeared both on the crystal and around it. Again, nothing she understood.

"I have some good news and some bad news about this," he said after taking a pause to look it over. "First off, your magical ability is extensive. Very close to the abilities of your sister, and after time with what I saw, they would be even closer. Though, this is speculation, as I don't have any records of your abilities from before when you were at full strength."

It wasn't as if she knew for sure either. It was all speculation on her part as well, more of a gut feeling, but what he was saying did make sense. Other than her physical body being very weak, something else felt like it was missing. Something more ethereal. And the energy of the crystal had felt similar. Her magical energy had been stripped from her alongside the Nightmare, leaving her in a less powerful form physically. No wonder her reflection seemed so alien to her. It wasn't what she used to look like.

"As for the bad, it seems that it's weaker than it should be. While your potential is substantial, what you're physically able to use is limited. This early on, even simple spells may seem like they're very complicated. I'd like to test out some basic spells, if you wouldn't mind, something easy?"

Oh no. She had been worrying about that, but better to test it out here than in public and need something cleaned up or she hurt herself or someone else. Taking another breath and giving the doctor a nod, she readied herself.

"Perfect. We'll start with telekinesis. Try to lift this pen. Even if it's just a little, that's good," he said while placing an extra pen he had on the counter next to where she was sitting.

Channeling the energy was an intensive process, pulling the force out of the deepest parts of her body. She had to focus, pushing said energy outside was an unfamiliar feeling. Luna almost shuddered, feeling it almost course through her veins, down to her hands. While she had closed her eyes to focus, there was an unmistakable light coming from her hands where she had channeled the energy to. That illumination had gone slowly and subtly over to the pen Oolong had set down earlier.

Opening her eyes, she now focused on that object, pouring more into it and envisioning it lifting up. Though as much effort as she was putting into lifting such a small object, the glow around it was dim, and she was already starting to strain in how much she was pushing. While getting moderately painful, she was able to lift it a few centimeters off the surface it was on. It wasn't heavy, necessarily, but it was difficult to keep afloat in her aura. And soon enough, she had to let go, the light in her hands fizzling out and letting out an exhale before straining herself too far.

Luna refused to meet the gazes of the two men in the room. It was almost humiliating. She was supposed to be one of the most powerful beings in the land; she had been powerful before, as herself and as the Nightmare. Now she could hardly lift a simple pen. Although Doctor Oolong was probably used to seeing things like this, and knew this was bound to happen, she still felt like his eyes were on her, judging. Nightingale, who she'd mostly forgotten about up until this point other than that time he'd helped her, was also closely watching her. That was his job, of course, to watch her every move and make sure she was alright, but his constant gaze was bearing down into her now.

Oolong had made sure to tell her that her apparent failure was nothing to be ashamed of, but it did nothing to soothe her emotions. He had no doubt made a few conclusions from her actions, likely thinking of a path to go down in the coming weeks on a path to recovery.

As the final act of operation for the day, he had wanted to do a blood test and do a wide range of scans to see if there was anything else lying underneath that they were unable to see. What he could figure out from taking some of her blood, she had no idea, but she went along with it. The needle he'd pulled out hurt less than she thought it would when he went to prick it into a vein in her arm. ~~She'd been hurt worse before.~~

After that, though, she was free to leave for the rest of the day. As far as she knew, nothing else had been scheduled for her to do, so she was free to do whatever she felt until dinner.

Thanking Oolong for his time, Nightingale opened the door for her to exit through, and they soon went back to the entrance to the medical wing where Datura was standing in post. The three of them then set off to another part of the castle. There was no particular destination set, and she was still tired from the past days events, so simply wandering around was good enough for her.

It was a slow trek, Luna taking her time admiring the sights of the castle. It truly was magnificent architecture, the gold and marble blending in with each other in a way to not make them clash against the decoration or the people within. As they were on a lower level, however, she was finally able to see greenery, other than the occasional flower hanging on the pillars or a potted plant placed around to give color. Were there gardens around the castle? Possibly. ~~There was a lovely garden at her old home where she used to love stargazing.~~

Making her way around the hallways, she was lucky to avoid interactions with many of the staff she'd come across. A simple bow from the employee, a nod of acknowledgment from her, and they were on their way with whatever work they had. Luckily, she hadn't come across any of the city's nobility or other politicians. She was not ready for any of that quite yet. Let her enjoy the positive parts of being a princess for now. And soon enough, she came across a door leading to the outside.

The summer sun was shining high above the terrace she stepped onto, a cool breeze rustling the leaves in nearby trees. It was more organized than the forest she had been to yesterday, and far more luxurious. While it was bright enough to hurt her eyes, there were plenty of places for her to hide under the shade. If these were the views she would get to see everyday, she'd never get tired of it.

Chapter 5: Gathering Resources

Getting some true fresh air was something that Luna was very much enjoying. Up this high on the mountain, the air was crisp, if a bit thin. While she wasn't necessarily alone, as Nightingale and Datura were still close wherever she went, it was nice to be away from having to put on a mask of serenity. She'd been alone for a thousand years, yes, but this was different. It had been hardly over twenty four hours since she'd returned, and already so much had happened. Taking a moment to process everything on her own time, surrounded by the calmness of nature, was what she needed.

The sky had been cleared earlier by the weather teams, the first full day of summer scheduled to be full sun. From the spot she was sitting just outside the castle, the sounds of the city below were faint, only able to be picked up if listening hard enough. How much had the everyday people changed in all that time? From the girls that she'd seen, they seemed more laid back and free with their movements, especially around royalty. How old were they, even? In their twenties? Women used to be married off by then... though by going off other factors that she'd seen, individuality seemed to be much higher, and people lived longer and healthier. The quality and standard of living had also increased. She knew that she and her sister were treated as royalty back then, the common people doing their best to support their luxuries and have them live in riches, but she could have never imagined a castle like the one she was now residing in. It was as if they were not royals to the people, but actual goddesses sent down to grant them their gifts of night and day.

How much else had changed since she'd been gone? Maybe losing the majority of her memories would be easier to disguise than she originally thought; that was if she could play it off as the times changing in her absence. So far, it had mostly been that, anyway. Even if she hadn't remembered how she lived before down to her daily routines, nothing that she'd done felt familiar, and the actions that were second nature now had different processes to fulfill them, and therefore were foreign. But she couldn't stay ignorant forever. She was supposed to rule the people once she got acclimated, after all, and how could she do that if she knew next to nothing about them and what has happened in recent history?

The best place to get that information was a library. The books there may not be extensive of the full millennium, but the last few centuries, or at least decades, were necessary to start off with understanding how the world worked. Relations with neighboring kingdoms, new or abolished laws, and a general form of how the government worked throughout her own kingdom and within the halls were the main topics she wanted to brief herself on. Politics were never too difficult, as the head of state, being careful of the politicians' greed, and keeping the general populace happy without overtaxing was, broadly speaking, the gist of it.

Taking a final breath of fresh air in the spot of shade she was occupying, Luna stood up. She had gathered her thoughts enough to know how to spend her time. The various birds chirping around her was a soothing sound, and the aroma of the meticulously planted flowers had provided a background for what she needed to accomplish mentally.

However much she did want to start her research as soon as possible, wandering the castle was good for her. As long as she took it slowly and stayed out of the sun's direct light, that was. She needed to learn her way around the building. It wasn't as if everything was completely unmarked, either, as the public areas of the castle had signs directing those without an escort where any important rooms they may need be within the walls.

But being on the mountainside meant that many things of the city were arranged in layers. While the castle itself was tall and had many towers, there were lower sections, both inside and out, that were on different layers than one another. As for where she was now, yes on a lower level of the castle proper, there were still a few floors below her, along with another ground level of more expanded gardens, which included a statue garden and a large hedge maze. Even if she wanted to try and find the center of that labyrinth, it was best she learned how to use her wings properly first in case she got lost. For all she knew, there were probably parts of the city that were built inside the mountain as well.

Along with the beauty of it all, the waterfalls constantly flowing from the extended terraces of the city added to the wealth it portrayed. The sound of the rivers were another calming factor that Luna enjoyed along with the greenery. She'd always had a close connection to the water.

But for now, the library was her goal to eventually reach on her adventure. As much as she hated to leave the small garden so soon, she turned to walk back inside through the doors in which she'd left through earlier. She hadn't noticed the heat outside until the cold air from inside hit her at full force. Were there magic runes set in the castle to keep the interior cool during the heat? Though it could also be another advancement in technology. Air temperature was, after all, something already controlled by the weather teams on a much larger scale.

To cover as much ground as possible in her search, Luna turned the opposite way of the medical wing. Soon enough, the sounds of two more pairs of footsteps followed behind her. Was it not boring to follow someone around all day and not speak unless they needed something? She could never be a guard, but she was grateful for them. Though they may be doing it internally, they never judged her for what she was doing and were very observant in figuring out if she needed help with anything.

Despite the large size of the castle, the interior was mostly the same throughout, and soon came to be confusing for Luna. Had she been here before? Or had she wandered to an entirely new place? Those questions were soon answered, however, when the loud voices of a group of individuals caught her attention from around the corner. She was now in the public areas of the castle. Whether those voices belonged to politicians, or they were simple petitioners, she did not want to stick around long enough to find herself in a situation that she would need to strike up conversation.

Their conversation, however, was something she was able to pick up on some, their voices able to carry through the halls smoothly. Though she did not understand the context behind most of it, there was mention of an upcoming gala that was going to be held in the castle within the month. Such events were common enough, as the nobility often liked to show off just how rich they were any chance they could get, and so she paid it little mind.

Quickly making her way down another hall, the smell of lavender hit her senses, the hallway itself decorated and lined with the plants, hanging down from the sconces on the walls. She'd always enjoyed lavender. Along with its calming nature, the scent also helped in soothing the mind within sleep, creating peaceful dreams— how did she know that? Putting what she already knew together, with her control over the moon, and her sister the sun, it was probably right to assume they took over the times related to when such bodies were active. So while Celestia ruled the day, Luna ruled the night, and all that came with it. Dreams were a part of that.

She would really need to start getting definitive answers for all of these theories she was making, less she convince herself them truth and say them aloud, only to find out she was far from it.

But her journey continued, doing her best to stay away from running into anyone and getting strange looks. She already got plenty from the few maids that passed by on occasion. She didn't want anyone who would openly, or vocally, judge her. All she was doing was walking around. It wasn't as if she was a threat. Though maybe the news of her return hadn't hit the city quite at full force, yet, and were simply confused as to why someone like her was walking the halls. There weren't many who had both magic and the power of flight. It was just her and her sister, as far as she knew.

To the best of her ability, she followed any signs that were up against the walls, pointing her in the direction she thought her destination would be. Despite not fully understanding all of the words written, she was making advancements, the archives of the castle listed in the direction she was walking. And thankfully, there weren't many people walking the halls, only guards standing stiff at the side of a select few doors. She hadn't thought much of it, but she hoped that the language hadn't changed too much to the point she was unable to understand more important parts of it. She had no trouble conversing in the spoken dialect, despite the obvious vocabulary difference when referring to someone, it was still understandable. Her accent, while also thick and ancient, was not a problem.

A barred door to her right caught her attention, as behind it were fairly obvious rows of bookshelves stretched to the ceiling and going off in every direction. Almost tripping over her feet when she came to a stop, she turned to the man standing at attention to the side. But even before she could open her mouth to form the words she needed, he turned to open the door and gesture her entrance. She knew as royalty she automatically was allowed entrance anywhere she pleased, but yet again, she hadn't been back for more than a day. Perhaps before she'd awoken that morning, all of the guards that would be on shift had been briefed of the situation.

Either way, she was grateful, and voiced so, before making her way inside. It was even bigger on the inside, the shelves extending for what felt like forever throughout multiple rooms, all filled till they could hold no more on every subject she could ever hope to research. First on her list, though: history. As far back as she could find. Even events before her banishment. Perhaps something would spark her memory.

Everywhere she went, everything was meticulously labeled and categorized perfectly, so it did not take very long to find what she was looking for. Searching through the section of literature, she found books and scrolls dated back to before the country was founded. Perfect. For now, she did not need every detail, only a good overview of major events that led to changes in the land.

Reaching up, she was able to grab a book that held the events leading up to the unification of the three tribes that lived within the land. Good thing she was tall enough to reach it on her own, her magic wasn't strong enough to lift anything that big quite yet. Though she could ask Datura and Nightingale for their assistance if she really needed to, she was trying her hardest to not rely on them for everything.

For now, this was a good background for what she wanted to find out. Harmony was what the kingdom was based off of, after all, so understanding how it came to be was the groundwork for everything. Unfortunately, the archives that she was in did not have a desk for her to study at. Might as well stock up on a few books and bring them back to Celestia's room, then. And so, she went back on her search.

There were only a select few texts from the pre-unification era, and most were stories of creatures vanquished or of artifacts. Once true stories of heroes, now reduced to myth. Just like she was. The name Starswirl did seem very familiar to her, though. Perhaps a story she heard when she was young. More detailed records were from after the establishment of the kingdom, even the coronation of Luna and her sister. Learning what she did in her rule would prove helpful. Was she a good ruler? Did the people like her? They liked her sister.

The four books in her arms were starting to weigh her down, making reaching up to grab new ones or stand around for too long become difficult. Perhaps it was time to start making her way back. She wouldn't need too much at once, anyway. Besides, if she was going to study it, she would be writing things down, which meant gathering more stacks of paper. She'd picked up a brief history of the use of magic as well. She'd be working on that while studying other subjects.

This place was a lot bigger on the inside. And now that she was thinking of it, a thousand plus years of history was a lot to catch up on. This would take much longer than she thought.

But rather than get crushed by the weight of it all, she turned to leave the archives. She could always come back when she needed some more books to continue on her journey.

Her path out, however, was interrupted by the voice of another. She hadn't noticed the presence of the other woman before she spoke, almost dropping what she was carrying.

"I didn't think anyone came down here except for a few of Celestia's personal students. Much less to study pre-Equestrian literature," her voice was light-hearted, amused. "Here, let me help you with those."

A light blue aura surrounded the books Luna held in her arms, alleviating the mass. She was finally able to get a good look at her, the dim lighting not doing her bright colors justice. Her skin was light, but tan, her hair tri-colored in pink, yellow, and purple, and braided on the sides that framed her portrait perfectly. Her face also held a steady smile. She couldn't sense any negativity coming from it.

"Ah- thank thee. We could have handled on our own."

She seemed taken back by Luna's speech. That's right, she was the first person that she'd talked to that wasn't either her sister, or someone who worked as staff in the castle. Wait. Or did she?

"May we ask what thy name is?" She mentally face-palmed. She was awful at making conversation, and her voice sounded quiet. The woman's positivity radiating over to her had made her shrink.

Taking a moment to collect herself, and flash another cheery smile, she responded.

"Oh, of course! Please, call me Cadence. And who might you be, walking around the castle's archives?"

Right, that would seem a bit suspicious, even being tagged by guards. Perhaps she thought she was a sort of criminal. Technically, she was.

"Our name is Luna. We're doing research of our... time we hath spent away."

Whether she knew of her situation or not, she did not elaborate, simply going along with it. She was almost too nice for her own good. But soon enough, the woman, Cadence, soon followed in pursuit along with Luna in her journey back up to the residential area of the castle.

"Well, I might as well introduce myself fully if we're going to be spending some time together. My full name is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but that's a bit of a mouthful, no?"

Princess? Taking another glance in Cadence's direction, Luna was able to confirm that she did not put it together earlier. She was using her magic to levitate her books next to them, and her bright colored wings holding an ombre resting on her back were hard to miss. She was very out of touch when it came to interacting with others. What was considered normal to talk about?

"As Princess of Love, and Celestia's niece, I live here in Canterlot, but I go out all over the country to help spread love throughout the citizens. It's one of the many things that makes Equestria, well, Equestria. Love brings harmony. And I find much pleasure in fulfilling that role."

...Niece? Did that mean that Cadence was her descendant? A daughter even, perhaps, if she was born before her banishment. Her heart stopped in her chest. Had she forgotten that she had a daughter? If so, did she not recognize Luna as her mother? Or was she from Celestia's line? But after so many years of descent, only refers to her as an aunt instead of however many greats, grandmother? This was confusing. No matter her lineage, that meant Cadence was her family. As far as she'd remembered, only Celestia had filled the role in her mind before this woman popped up into her life out of nowhere.

Cadence must have noticed her expression, that or her sudden stop in the middle of her introduction, and looked over at her, concerned.

"Dear? Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost," she said while reaching out to place the back of her hand against Luna's forehead, which she quickly moved out of the way from. She'd had enough of people touching her for today.

"Aye. Aye, we're well. Niece, thou said?"

A look flashed across Amore's face, as if asking if that was really got her to stop like she had.

"Yes. Well, adoptive niece, that is. She took me in after my parents died when I was young. Didn't even have magic, back then."

Luna stifled a sigh that she would have shuddered out. So she hadn't left a daughter behind while going entirely evil for a millennium. Good. They resumed their walk.

"Would you mind telling me more about yourself, Luna?"

"What wouldst thee like to know?"

She seemed to get giddy at that question. A bit strange behavior coming from a fully grown woman, but she just seemed excited. She practically jumped into her questions, eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"First off, like me and Auntie Celestia, you're a demigoddess. Far as I knew, we were the only two in the land. And suddenly, I run into you in the history section of the castle's archives. She wouldn't hide a daughter from me, right?" She had mumbled the last bit, placing her hand on her chin in thought before popping up again. "Wait! Did you recently ascend? Why didn't Auntie tell me? She loves updating me on her students' progress. That means that your wings are new then, yeah? I can teach you how to use them properly. You see, I was born with mine, and got my magic through my ascension and..."

Cadence continued on talking for a while, going off on the theory that she had created for herself. So Celestia hadn't informed her of her return, got it. At least she was having fun. Even if her voice did become background noise for a bit.

"...but listen to me going off! You are one of Auntie's students, right?"

"Nay. But we shall let Celestia elab'rate to thee on the subject further at a lat'r date."

She seemed to sink from her response, but nodded nonetheless. Perhaps she knew it was not her place to pry. Their walk fell into a comfortable silence for a while. She was itching, either to start up a conversation on another subject, or to get back to the room as soon as she could to get back on track to what she had planned for herself.

The latter came first, Luna coming to a stop in front of her sister's chambers. She was surprised she remembered the way back that easily. Clearing her throat, Luna turned to the other princess that was next to her, grabbing the books from her magical hold back into her own arms.

"Thank thee f'r thy time, Princess Amore, but we hath arrived, and must bid thee a farewell."

"I'd like to see you around some more, Luna. But, until next time." She bowed while finishing her sentence, turning to leave with a short wave, and yet again another flash of a smile.

Nightingale was quick to open the door for her when she reached to open it, also giving her a bow of the head while she entered the brightly lit room. It was closed behind her as she set the books on a small table in front of the mantle, which now held the ashes of a fire. Only then did she finally let out a long sigh. She was already tired. What time was it? So many things had already happened, and it was hardly time for the sun to set anytime soon. The way she sat down on the small couch was anything but proper, but it was comfortable. She would start her studying soon, but for now she needed simply to sit down for a bit.

Chapter 6: Ways of the People

Reading up on the history of the land proved to be much more boring than she thought it would. Luckily, maps of the land had not changed too drastically over the years, so putting events into relative perspective was easy enough. But without the knowledge of how the world worked in its entirety, most things had not made sense. After the initial unification of the tribes, and a few decades following, not many things were very relevant to what Luna was looking for.

The land, she had learned, was vast, and held many other types of creatures beyond the lands of the kingdom in which she lived. Dragons, changelings, and griffons were among the most notable that lived near the borders with close political ties. Did they have magic of their own? It was unlikely, but possible. Flight was a common ability that came with the varying species.

As for her own people, the three tribes were easy enough to categorize. Those of the air were classified as avian, sometimes categorized as angels, and had strong wings that granted them immense agility. Those of the land were more suited to agriculture, being blessed with amazing strength. Those of the ethereal were sorcerers, blessed with the ability to use magic, and are able to telepathically communicate with one another if desired. Magic in itself held multiple forms, as from the mana within an individual, that of potions, and those of artifacts. Even a person of the land could come to wield some form of magic, despite being born without the capacity to bring it out from within. A lesser seen fourth tribe were those that had abilities of all three tribes, demigods. There have only been three to exist that Luna knew of: herself, her sister, and Princess Cadenza. They had incredibly strong magical ability, large wings that accommodated their heightened agility and speed, and physical strength enough to overpower one of even larger stature than themselves. And though they were sometimes worshiped as gods themselves, depending on personal perspective on the matter, they held the political power of royalty, princesses of the united land.

Despite what she was meant to be, Luna had yet to see proof of many of these abilities. She had seen magic, felt and used it, even, but not enough to understand it fully. Celestia's ability of raising the sun, and hers, presumably, of raising the moon and dreams, had to be seen as extreme examples of powerful magic, while on the other hand, levitation seemed to be the most basic form.

Speaking of levitation, she had been trying on a few light objects to increase the weight her body could handle. Of course, it was only the first day, and she would have plenty of time to recover in the coming days, but it was best to start as early as possible. And she had made some progress, now able to levitate a piece of paper for a few seconds without straining uncomfortably.

Another thing she had noticed upon her studies and time spent alone was that her eyesight, particularly in her left eye, was diminished in normal lighting. Almost as if she had been staring into the sun for too long and imprinted its image onto it. Her other eye, however, seemed to have excellent vision in the dark. Had she stared into the sun while imprisoned on the moon?

Other than relearning the events of the founding of Equestria, the banishment of the Crystal Empire in the north, and the War of Chaos against Discord, Lord of Chaos, most of her day was uneventful. A lunch had been brought to her by a servant around noon, but other than that, Luna had been left to her own devices. And for as much as she wanted to learn about the land, she hated sitting around. It wasn't necessarily boring, she was just restless. She wanted to do more than just read and write down things she found interesting. If she was immortal, then she would have the rest of time to catch up on such things.

Getting up and stretching her stiff limbs, wings again popping because of their unuse, she sought out to understand more of how the modern day worked in its everyday customs. What better way to do so than to converse with those who grew up in this time and were currently in their years of prime? Figuring the maids and other servants would keep to themselves too much, whether out of fear of her or their privacy, she thought best to avoid them. At least for now. The guards were her best bet. From what she had seen with Datura and Nightingale, the guards were personable enough to talk with her if given the chance to forego formalities.

Though, as she had figured, perhaps that was because her sister had specifically chosen them to be her escorts. She likely took what she remembered of Luna's personality and matched it with those of guards that she knew would work well together. There were sure to be some that did not look highly of her, but that was to be expected. Of course, she still had authority over them, but using it like that was something that she wanted to avoid. The loyalty of the guard was built on just that, and if she used it without them really knowing who she was... it could end ugly.

Seeing that it was already afternoon, it was her goal now to only figure out where the guard barracks were. As with most castles, they would be on a lower level, and likely in a separate building to themselves near an open courtyard. What was their training like? Was it training for war? Unlikely. Most of what their jobs were now was to stand at attention and search for any threats to the crown. Not much action was needed. Possibly times where riots broke out or someone got particularly angry and lashed out were the only places where any force was required. They definitely had the muscle, though, as she had seen it on quite a few of the men within her sister's guard.

Opening the door of Celestia's chambers, Luna once again fell into stride with her appointed escorts. They never asked where she was going, silently following behind. It was almost a little creepy. Hopefully she wouldn't need them forever. Having her own freedom was something that she valued dearly. Then again, it was her own fault that it had been taken away from her, along with everything else she once held dear.

Making her way down the seemingly endless stairs of the palace, she eventually made it to the ground level of the building proper. It was much larger looking at it from the ground than from the chariot that she had arrived on from the sky. And apparently there were even larger buildings called skyscrapers in more populated cities, like Manehattan to the east. She would wait for some time before she traveled anywhere. The castle was already close to overstimulating her, and imagining something larger and more deeply populated... that sounded awful to be in the middle of.

But she did eventually come across a few disconnected buildings from the main castle, an open dirt courtyard standing out in front of them with multiple contraptions she could only assume were for different types of training that the guards would go through. They were likely separated by gender. Not that she had seen any female guards, off the top of her head at least, but she was sure there were some, with how much their independence seemed to be important now.

It almost went unnoticed, but her escorts exchanged a look with each other when figuring out where she was headed. She could only imagine what was going through their minds. If she wanted to change who was accompanying her, she would have asked her sister to do so, not gone to the captain of the guard whom she did not even know what he looked like. That was something she should probably do while she was here—disguise her interest in the common ways of the people by saying she was interested in how the regiments have changed in her absence. ~~She was known as a warrior princess, after all.~~

Knowing the guards personally was something that she did want to get to as well. Having better relations with them secured their loyalty more often than not. It also would help Luna to understand their thoughts on what was happening in the economy of the normal citizen. She knew that some applied to be part of the guard due to unfavorable living conditions. Having a paycheck from working in the castle meant they could send some back to their families if less fortunate. Understanding those conditions would help her make better decisions as royalty. She was here to help the people, after all.

The stairs down to the open dirt courtyards in front of her were devoid of any activity at the current time. Shifts were likely to be changing soon, so many would not be out training. The more she thought of it, when did her escorts get their time off? When she was asleep, most likely, but she would hate to stay up too late for them and throw their schedules off.

The barracks themselves were not something that she was walking right into— though in charge of their employment, she did not want to invade their privacy. Instead, more common ground was where she went. There were a few stragglers outside the dining hall and military offices, those of whom had noticed her seeming confused at first, before snapping to attention. She could feel the stern looks of Datura and Nightingale behind her, signaling those onlookers to not be slacking off in front of them.

"Are you looking for someone, your highness?" A gruff voice spoke off to her right, both her escorts snapping to attention themselves. He must rank higher than them. At least the chain of power was holding strong.

"Nay, not in particular. We art h're to obs'rve only f'r the time being." She responded, voice projecting more confidence than she was feeling. Turning to the man in question, he was dressed professionally, in ceremonial wear, rather than armor like most of the others. He stood just a head taller than herself, but still shorter than her sister. From his position, he was likely informed on her return shortly after the event itself. No doubt, though, he was still confused of her arrival so soon.

"Of course. Please, allow me to assist you if you find yourself needing anything." He returned his statement with a bow, posture radiating confidence she wished she possessed for herself. "I am Lieutenant General Elion, Highness. I am the current overseer of the enlisted night guard, so I know we will see much more of one another in the future." It was almost a perfect coincidence, running into the man that she would be doing business with later. But with a nod and a few more formalities, he excused himself to get back to his work. "Things are very busy," he claimed. Of course they would be with her return. With the return of Luna, a proper night guard was something that was needed. Not to mention personal guards for herself for multiple different occasions. While the guards were trained in a wide variety of different scenarios, specialists, such as the avian guards who pulled the chariots, were needed on top of them. It was a complicated system, as she had briefly seen from some of her earlier research.

With the Lieutenant General's departure, more of the guards had seemed to arrive to the outdoor courtyard. It was getting closer to sunset, she realized, and their shifts would be changing soon. But before she could turn to leave, a glint of metal caught her eye from the far corner of her vision. While she had not accomplished much, she had gotten base information that she would build off of later: where the barracks were located in relation to the castle, the current state of the night guard, and that the hierarchy of military power was still firmly set in place. That glimmer of metal, however, stalled her in her departure. Turning to it, contraptions and other devices occupied a space in a corner of the grounds. Wooden weapons used in training, along with the occasional one made of metal for more intensive rounds, were lined across different holders, along with different poles and ground area laid out for different techniques. When was the last time she held a sword?

Apparently, it had been too long, as her feet had carried themselves over to the racks to start inspecting the wooden weapons. Swords, spears, claymores, and the occasional, worn out, bows, were lining every inch of the space. Why she started smiling, or the wave of nostalgia that hit her, did so, she did not know. But the weight of a sword in her palms felt... right, somehow. She knew how to use it, and quite extensively. Though, the harder she thought of it, nothing specific came to mind. It was more of a feeling, instinct. Countless pairs of eyes directed at her were left unnoticed. Not that she cared for them, anyway. She remembered something. That was all that mattered.

Taking up a stance, she let her body move on its own, going through simple motions at first, swinging the wooden blade in the air before finding a more comfortable position. Good thing she had decided to pull her hair back earlier. After a few moments of that, the princess moved to the nearest wooden pole to continue what she had been doing. Her strikes were lacking at first, before gaining more confidence. Was it the most fluent movement? Not at all. But she was rightfully rusty at this. This morning, even walking was hard for her.

By the time she had stopped, she was already short of breath, but not quite gasping for air. Her chest felt tight, but it was bearable. It was probably best to end her activities now, before straining herself too hard and having the doctor yell at her. She'd like to stay as far away from the medical wing as she could.

"You got some fancy footwork, there. But you're a little stiff." Luna whipped her head to the side to see a woman standing there, leaning her weight onto a metal spear currently stabbed into the dirt. "Loosen up a bit and don't exert so much of your energy on those swings." The woman shook her head, chuckling to herself as she walked up closer to Luna. "I thought they taught this in basic training. Rookies these days..." Before she was able to retort, the woman placed her hands onto different areas of her body, correcting her posture into a better resting stance. It definitely felt better that way, and was easier to breathe, even with the weight of the sword in her grasp. "There we go. Better, right? Look, my shift is starting soon, but I can help you more afterwards if you're awake, yeah? My name's Karmi. Look out for me later."

And with that, the strangest encounter Luna had had so far since her return was concluded. She hadn't even gotten to talk to the woman, or get a very good look at her. She was avian, for sure, but her wings were different from what she had seen so far. Karmi's wings were leathery, no feathers in sight, and had the shape almost that of a bat. Her skin tone was a darker shade as well, like her own. Part of a subgroup of the tribe, perhaps? But as strange as the interaction was, it was refreshing. To have someone speak so casually to her was different, but she was not opposed to the idea. With the way she was currently dressed, it was no wonder she was mistaken for a new guard that had just graduated basic training. There were no defining factors that she was royalty. Her wings were obvious, yes, but her pointed ears that signified her magic ability were covered by hair that had fallen out of its braid. She looked like a regular avian, if only given a brief glance. And while news of a new princess had likely circulated through rumors, she hardly looked the part, swinging around a sword like that. Her offer was appreciated, though, no matter how unlikely she was to take her up on it.

That pressure in her chest remained even after the change of position. Setting down the sword, she was finally able to locate Datura and Nightingale, watching her from afar. They probably thought she was crazy. If they were closer, she would have been able to read their expressions. But their eyes were unmistakably watching her every move. Karmi must not have been a bad person, if they hadn't intervened in her approach.

But theirs weren't the only eyes that fell upon her. A group of a few other guards, older from what she could see, were looking in her direction. They were obviously more experienced than her escorts were, but were still young for their rank accomplishments. Did they know who she was, and were silently judging her as a member of the royal family for doing such activities as swordsmanship? She tried her best to ignore them as she started her way out of the courtyard, but alas, they were standing directly in her path. And being who they were, would not let her slip by without a word of their own.

"You sure you know where you're going, kid? You're scrawny enough I could crush ya with one hand!" He laughed as if what he had said was a joke. It was obvious he did not know who she was with that. But that was besides the point. As a senior officer, or however much he thought he was her elder, talking down to someone was not befitting of anyone. Her surprise had apparently made its way onto her face, as the looks the men were giving her distorted into more laughter. What was their problem? Surely they had better things to do. They were spewing schoolyard insults, holding no real meaning other than being annoying to get away from.

"We beg your pardon?" That had caught their attention, calming down enough to give her more degrading sentences.

"'Beg my pardon'? Good on you for respecting your superiors, girly." Another cocky laugh.

"Did we hurt your feelings?" A different one chimed in, bending down to her height, despite not being more than a few inches shorter than him. He was trying to intimidate her like a child. It wasn't working. But no doubt her speech would be another target for their antics. In her confusion, she had already slipped out of it slightly. Having everyone talk in this modern way was already rubbing off on her, it seemed.

Trying not to give them the time of day, Luna moved to brush them off and continue on her way. Walking past them would require her to shove them out of the way with a shoulder, but she was not playing into their games. The situation was uncomfortable, to say the least, and she wanted to get away as soon as possible before they got too confident and tried something. She had not expected so many things to happen in the short time she decided to take time to come down here, but here she was.

The men, however, did not like that she was so unaffected by their words, one reaching out quickly to grab hold of her upper arm as she walked by him. His grip was strong, enough to stop her in her tracks. While she did retain some of her muscle, their comments from earlier did hold some truth to them. She was thin. Malnourished, the doctor had said earlier. So his overly tight grip on her was strong enough that it felt as if he was crushing her bone. She winced.

It happened quickly enough that Luna was almost unable to register what had happened, the sharp shing of metal unsheathing from a holster clouding out any of the men's words. Two sharp swords were pointed at the man whose hand was around her arm. His grip did not loosen, but his surprise was noticeable in the way it shifted higher. He started to pipe out something about how she had bodyguards, but the full comment died on his tongue as a sword was pressed against his neck in warning. Nightingale and Datura's arms were steady. More so than hers were when holding a sword made of wood. Those actions and gazes alone were enough to scare the other two men in the group running off.

The conversation that they struck up was hushed, intimidating. She hadn't seen this side of them before. But even with their warnings, the man's grip held on tight. They had asked his name, only the sword on his neck drawing out answers from him. She hadn't entirely heard everything they were saying, only hearing his title of First Lieutenant. Not particularly very high on the rankings, but apparently enough to fill his ego.

His aggressiveness in one of his responses came along with words she could not hear, but were enough for Datura to finally reach over to grab the Lieutenant's wrist, firmly twisting it till there was an audible pop, and he was forced to let go. A string of curses left his mouth as he was forced away from her, Nightingale moving to stand between them. Again, she could not hear the conversation that was taking place between them, but it was probably for the best. Hearing another sound of metal, she was able to see that Datura had cuffed the man, pulling him back to his feet.

The information of who he had just done such things to had startled him, his face going pale. Had he known earlier, he claimed, this would not have happened. But his attempts to defend himself fell upon deaf ears as he was dragged away to another part of the courtyard, being pulled, more dragged, really, into a building, as she lost sight of the two.

What just happened? She hadn't even fully processed all of it before her escorts had handled the situation in full. The lunar princess was still out of it when she realized that Nightingale had been talking to her, asking to see her arm and check if she was alright. She was, physically, if not a little sore from his grip. It wouldn't bruise, though.

From then on, he wasted no time in ushering Luna back to her chambers, insisting that she get back inside for the night. She hadn't noticed the sun setting fully and the moon rising above them during that interaction. It was like she blinked, and she was right back where she started, if now more sore and a little shaken.

Nightingale had followed her inside, making sure she sat down, and again asking if she was alright and if she needed anything, before exiting with a bow when she refused. She was thankful to be alone again. That man was likely to never see her again, and if he was lucky, would only get demoted to working as a janitor in the barracks. He had legally assaulted her, and even if he hadn't caused any real damage, more confusion, he was going to face consequences. Not even a week into her return, and it was likely she was already getting herself involved in complicated legal system politics. ~~The punishment for doing such a thing would have resulted in his death.~~

Throwing herself down onto the bed, she let out a long sigh. Today had been full of experiences she never wanted to go through again. She hated people touching her, and that had been what the day mostly consisted of. No matter the intentions of such actions, it made an uncomfortable feeling crawl under her skin. She was getting itchy. Bolting up, she ran to the bathroom connected to the room. She hoped her sister would not mind her ~~stealing~~ borrowing some more of her clothes. The resulting shower had her scrubbing her skin till it was raw, turning a dark shade of red as she tried to rub off invisible marks of the day.

The temperature of the water changed constantly, from boiling to freezing as she got overwhelmed. A drop of blood dripping off that spot on her arm had finally registered to her brain that what she was doing hurt. Everything was in a blur, these past few hours. That pain in her chest never went away, her heart pumping painfully. But she was finally able to recognize what she was doing, and sat down in the shower, cool water running along her body, splashing across her face. It only helped a little to calm her down.

No, she didn't need to be freaking out. But she couldn't help it. She did not know anything of the land she was suddenly forced into. Her memories were scattered in random topics as they came up. No one knew who she was other than her elder sister, who the only thing she remembered of her was her name. The only thing she knew of herself were the crimes she had committed that led to her thousand-year long banishment. She didn't know when she had started crying, the water washing her tears away and disguising themselves among one another, making it hard to tell that she even was.

She was scared. Like a child thrown into a room that kept expanding, but nothing ever connected fully, so she was stuck, staring at an endlessly expanding tunnel with no way to reach the end. How she wished that she remembered something, anything, and could lean on it for comfort. The little things she had recollected were not enough. She wished she remembered how much she loved her sister. She knew she loved Celestia, her heart warm at the very thought of her, but where did that affection come from? What memories did they have together? It hurt, how much she did not know. Why had this happened? She had already been banished for a millennium, missing out on everything in the world. Why did she have to lose what was left of herself that she did have?

A warm, dry, embrace was the last thing Luna felt before she fully collapsed into her dread.

Chapter 7: Of My Own Truth

By the time Luna's tears dried, she was wrapped up in a robe much too large for her size, her sister's arms and wings extended to completely hold her smaller form. No words had been spoken between the two, just small reassuring nothings being murmured from Celestia's lips as she rocked her and ran her fingers through her damp hair. Her solar magic radiated warmth, any and all shivering from the lunar princess being from her lingering anxieties.

How had she found Luna in the spot she was? Had she returned to her room only to find her in such a situation, or was she informed of what had happened at the barracks earlier and come to check on her? She did not know, but it did not matter. She was glad that she was here, regardless of how.

Being in her sister's embrace was what had spilled her over the edge to finally break down. She had been keeping all of her insecurities of the situation on a low profile until they became too much and spilled over how much she was able to handle. It was comforting, being so completely swaddled and loved, but it still felt wrong. She was comfortable like this, so why did it feel wrong? Celestia was her sister, yes, but she did not know anything about her. How was she to return her love like this?

By now, her crying had subsided down to the occasional sniffle, her throat sore, eyes red and irritated. She hadn't moved since they had settled down on the elder's bed, afraid of what the following conversation would be. It needed to be done. She had hoped that she could put it off till some time later, play it off as being ignorant of the times because of her banishment. Unfortunately, that could no longer happen.

As Luna reached up to wipe away the crystallized salt that had dried around her eyes from her crying, she felt Celestia shift around her. She tried to pay it no mind, to stay silent in her arms. Her chest felt heavy, anxious.

"You get it all out, now?" She finally spoke up, grip loosening some so Luna could have more room to move around. "It's okay, take your time, Lu. I'm here. Whenever you're ready." They were simple assurances, coaxing her out of her meltdown to initiate a conversation. One she wanted to avoid.

Best to get it over with.

Using what room she was given, Luna sat up fully, pushing her sister away gently and sitting in front of her. She hated to do so, but needed the room to breathe and collect herself. She pulled her knees to her chest, not quite burying her face in her arms, robe now being her only source of comfort surrounding her body. The solar princess did not fight against it, straightening out her own posture, a soft gaze pointed at her. She wouldn't push, but her curiosity was hard to miss.

"We art... sorry that thou found us in such a state." Her voice came out scratchy, quieter than she meant it to. How long had she been crying? Long enough that her eyes and throat were achingly dry. Whether her sister intended to reply to that or not, she spoke up again before she could. "I... we do not know what came over us. The day was taxing, we got overwhelmed. This w'rld is not what we art used to."

"I can't imagine how much it is to take in all at once. I wish I could have spent the day by your side... being busy is no excuse. I'm sorry. I had planned to spend the night with you—" Celestia knew she was making up justifications for her actions. She should have never left her sister alone a few hours after she had returned from her exile. She hadn't even thought of what would happen in that time. Luna had always been curious, wandering around to explore the area she was in to the best of her ability to use it to her advantage.

But the Luna sitting in front of her was different than she remembered. Gone was the playful young girl she had known in her youth, and gone was the vengeful young adult that had gotten into a magnificent fight with. Now, she was closed off, quiet, and unsure of herself. It made sense. She had spent the past millennium alone on a barren surface, consumed by a force that would drive her crazy with stifling negative emotions. Celestia had been lonely in a different way; her people loved her, and she was constantly around others who wanted to get on her good side, but she never made a close connection to any of them. Even when she had tried, they had died after a few decades, and hurt her heart more than she could bear. She could not imagine being completely alone, with only her thoughts to keep her company. While she had been making new memories as the world progressed, all Luna had was her memories of a thousand years ago, and more specifically, their fight.

She would never let such a thing happen again. This time, she vowed to listen to her younger sister, to make time for her when she needed.

But it already had.

Seeing her sister in such a state earlier had scared her. She had seemed fine that morning, if a bit rushed to not stay in the same room as her at breakfast. Again, her last memory of Celestia hadn't been positive, excluding their reunion. No excuses that she could make up were what Luna deserved. She had heard of what happened with the guards, but Luna's behavior did not indicate that was what was bothering her. Was it a startling situation? Without question. But deep in her gut, she knew her sister, and that while it may have been a contributing factor to her breakdown, was not what had pushed her over the edge.

"What has you so upset, sister? I hate to see you like this." Celestia dared not reach out to her again. She had pushed away to get her own space. And as much as she wished to hold her till her mind cleared of its worries, she respected the boundaries Luna was putting up between them.

At the elder's question, Luna got fidgety, playing with her hands. How could she explain everything she was feeling? She did not want to let her emotions overwhelm her again. She was not the sister that Celestia had once loved. On the outside, maybe, she was. But she was easily able to see through her lie that the day had simply weighed down on her mind. She wanted to know her sister again.

"We do not know how to tell thee," she said after a pause. Whether from her lack of words to explain, or trying to protect Celestia's happiness, she did not know. She stumbled over what to say next, getting almost irritated in her inability to do so. But her sister was patient, letting her take the time she needed without prying. By the time she had formulated the words in her throat, her eyes stung again with the tell tale signs of tears, voice coming out timidly. "I don't remember anything... The only mem'ries we hold art from when we w're corrupted by the Nightmare, and our banishment following."

She almost dared not to look at her sister after the confession. Would she be surprised? Sympathetic? Angry? No, the expression on her face solidified, blank, unable to be read. Luna's heart was heavy again. This time, she knew, was from her anxieties. She did not know her well enough to know how she would take that information.

A shaky sigh was the only sound in the room between their breathing, Celestia's face finally falling. She looked... sad? But even if she felt tears welling in her eyes, kept them from falling.

"I— Truthfully? You do not remember anything of your life?" She could not wrap her head around it. Had the Elements done this when Twilight and her friends fought against Nightmare? But she had remembered her, tears of happiness shed at their reunion after she'd been freed. Was she simply going along with what she had called her? That was just like her sister, wanting Celestia to believe that nothing was wrong. She had done it before. She only wondered how she had been able to keep it from her for so long— no. She knew. She never asked, and ran off, leaving her alone, just like she had done a millennium ago.

"We know thou art our sister." Luna shifted again, uncurling her back and leaning to the side to the pole on the bed frame. "Aught else hast come to us through interactions."

The information was hard to process through the solar diarch's head. She knew that her sister had lost most of her powers due to the corruption that had taken over her. That, she had expected to happen. Her earlier doctor visit had even confirmed her suspicions of her physical problems, such as diet, state of her body, and magic ability she currently possessed. If the elements had stripped her of next to all of that, why would her mind not be affected? A state of depression, anxieties from the changed world, or even hatred was what she expected. Not... amnesia. But she could still feel that her sister was in there, hidden deep within her mind. She had already said that through interacting with the world, she had remembered some things. No wonder she did not know anything of her, if their only interactions had been limited to their first conversation and a note.

Theories started running through her mind; spells, enchantments, even a hypnosis therapy, to get Luna her memories back, but she quickly stopped herself. Just because she had no recollection of, well, much of anything, did not mean that she could take advantage of it. It was Luna's choice on how she wanted to go along with her ailment. She wanted her sister back, yes, but not for the price of losing her again.

"I don't know what to say. I never even imagined... I am sorry, again, for not spending time to listen to you. But I am here now. It is in no way good enough to make up for lost time, but it is all I can do. I will help you in any way that you need, all you need to do is ask, little sister."

"We wish to know more about thee, sister."

The princess of the sun was happy to indulge in all of the questions that followed that simple statement. Anything she said had the potential to spark something from Luna's mind. She was definitely curious of the life she had once had, asking her of events in history that she claimed to have read earlier. The founding of Equestria, their accession to its throne, their battle against Discord, Sombra and the Crystal Empire, more on the Elements of Harmony, were among such things she was more careful explaining, watching occasionally as something clicked within Luna's mind, smile stretching across her face, proud. Of course, after her curiosities of the history of the land were satisfied, she changed her approach to a more personal force. What had her personality been like? What was her magic connected to? The resulting theories of that question showed Celestia just how smart her sister was. If from only feeling her magic on the sun that morning had led her to rediscovering her own connection with the night. She knew how much her night, her moon, meant to her, and made sure to emphasize just that.

Another question, however, she had to tread carefully on: Did they have any more family? The mention of Starswirl the Bearded being their mentor had again sparked a path of conversation about the sorcerer. A laugh escaping her when Luna had shot up, and exclaimed that she "knew that name sounded familiar!" It was refreshing, seeing Luna get out of her depressing state of confusion to her practically jumping on the information that she was sharing. But alas, another question she was not expecting popped out of Luna's inquisitive tongue.

"Earli'r we ran into a young woman claiming to beest thy niece. Amore Cadenza, she said her name was. Adopted, she assured us, but we still have questions."

"Ah, of course." Running into Cadence was something she had not expected to happen so quickly. But she shouldn't be surprised, seeing everything else which had happened recently. It was slow going, but a blur at the same time. "I adopted Cadence when she was young. Actually, she's not the only one. I also adopted another, a nephew, Blueblood." There had only been a few years in between their adoptions. It hadn't been that long ago, in the grand scheme of things, and she did not have a definitive reason behind doing so. Perhaps she wanted a family again. At the time, Luna was only a few decades from returning, so maybe it was her way of wanting to quell her loneliness in those final years. "I'll introduce the two of you soon enough. But I must warn you. His personality... well, he comes off as arrogant. Once he warms up to you, he may not seem so bad." No matter how long that would take, Luna and Blueblood's personalities would clash. She only hoped that the two had enough control over their emotions to not be in a constant state of quarrel.

Their conversation diverted from there again, going on to simply things she was curious about. Her old way of speaking, along with her ignorance of modern culture, combined in an endearing way. This was a side of Luna she had not seen in many years before their falling apart. Almost as if they were children again. And even though Luna had said all that she remembered of Celestia was their argument, she did not seem hateful towards her. Perhaps she knew there was more to it, and was doing her best not to make assumptions based on her limited knowledge of her.

Other things had been brought up in their conversation as well; things such as Celestia's school of magic, more of Twilight's personality, simple politics of the land, and the role of the nobility. They had covered a wide range of topics before both of the sisters began to yawn. They had both had a long day. Celestia with her duties, which had been complicated more due to Luna's return, and Luna's day of getting reoriented into life.

It was decided that, yet again, Luna would get priority of Celestia's chambers for the night. But this did not stop the younger from grabbing hold of her sister's arm, begging her to stay with her till they awoke together. Deep down, there was some awkwardness to it, sleeping in one another's embrace, but neither minded. Luna felt comfortable in her sister's arms, and could feel it in the way she let out a breath that Celestia was too. There were more conversations they would need to have in the future, ones of the emotions that were hiding behind the euphoria of the reunion. Recency bias was taking its time in the matter. But it could wait.

The following morning was unlike the previous. Though her dreams had not been the most favorable, she had not awoken screaming and drenched in sweat. She had jumped upon waking up, but Celestia had already left the bed she was currently wrapped up on. Hopefully she hadn't moved around too much in her sleep and caused a disturbance.

Finally sitting up with a groan, the lunar princess went about rubbing her eyes. They were sore from all of her crying the night before, making a haze settle over her mind. While stretching out her limbs, she caught sight of a light coming from one of the attached rooms. So that's where her sister had run off to. By some force, her aura perhaps, she could feel that she hadn't wandered off too far. She was glad that she was still close. After having talked to her late into the night, she felt as if she was starting to know the woman better. Not as much as she should, no, but they were not strangers. It was a good start to rebuilding their relationship, even if she hadn't regained any major memories from it.

The door opened to reveal Celestia, freshly bathed and ready for the day. All she was missing was her regalia. She much preferred her without it. While she was a princess herself, her equal in the eyes of the law, it made her seem more unapproachable. But it finally gave Luna the chance to get a good look at her. She was tall, that she had known, and most of that was from her long legs. Her hair, another factor that was prominent of her figure, was also long, down to her waist when straightened out, and multicolored. Starting from her roots were brilliant reds, to oranges and yellows, all that fading into pink, blue, and green at the ends. It reminded her of a sunrise. And of course, that brilliant sun was on her shoulder, marking her connection to the heavenly body. They hardly looked related. No. While she did not retain her memories, her gut was able to tell her what was right. When she had looked at her own reflection earlier, she had not recognized herself. Perhaps, when she had her full power, she looked more like her sister, and less her complete opposite.

Her curiosity was eventually noticed, however, as Celestia walked over to the bed she was sitting on.

"You were staring. I don't have something on my face, do I?" Her voice was lighthearted, her playful tone evident in the half smile she gave.

"No! No, we w're... admiring thee, sister." She shot up saying, blood rushing up to her cheeks. Her sister was beautiful, how could she not? But she did not want to come off as insensitive or creepy.

But she did not seem to think that she was, only a smile and chuckle making its way out her lips. Despite her worries about her confession, Celestia still seemed happy that she was back. She was so happy after she had first been freed, and it had not been diminished in the slightest.

She had assured her that it was nothing to apologize for, and that they would have the rest of the day to spend together. Being an early riser, she had already cleared her entire day's schedule. She had claimed she intended to do so before, but with the reveal of her memory loss, figured that it should happen sooner than later.

Spend the entire day with her sister? Nerve racking. But perhaps it would give her a better perspective of the world. Figuring it out on her own had proved difficult. But being with someone who grew with the times, and was close enough to her that would not make her uncomfortable, would be nice.

One thing she had to take care of, despite having the day off, was what she called her "sacred duty." That of raising the sun. She had witnessed her sister doing so the day before, but that was from a distance. This time, she would be right next to her all the while she was performing the action. Upon her invitation, Luna had to stop herself from leaping from her excitement, but ended up getting tangled in the sheets anyway.

The balcony connected to the room oversaw the whole city of Canterlot, a light breeze coming off from the side of the mountain, clouds not far above their heads. Every time she saw the city, and the expanse of the lands beyond the base of the mountain it rested upon, she fell into a sense of wonder. It was beautiful. Even now, before the sun rose.

"I know it hasn't been that long, and you may still be physically unable, but would you like to try lowering the moon?" That, she hadn't expected either. She could hardly lift a sheet of paper without feeling winded with magic use. An object as large as the moon? Forget about it.

But she could at least try, right?

"We shall do our best." With her sister standing off to the side, the lunar princess took a deep breath to steady herself. Reaching out her magic in a way that she had been practicing, she aimed it towards the silvery body in the sky. It was much further than she had anticipated, but seemed to welcome her magic like an old friend. However easy the connection to grasping it was, the action of trying to move it was very different. It wouldn't budge, not even when she pushed more and more of her mana into it. Before the signs of exhaustion fully set through her body, Luna let go of her connection, body almost deflating from the rebound.

Thankfully, her sister did not make fun of her for being unable to move the object, simply taking the moon within her golden yellow aura, and pulling it below the horizon. Though having a slight headache from exerting herself, it was nothing compared to the blinding light of the morning sun peeking out over the far sea in the east. The sheer amount of power she could feel radiating from her sister was immeasurable. It was a stunning sight to look at. The city below visibly got more active, the sounds beginning to make their way up to the tower they were currently in.

"By the way, I've made arrangements for you to be more comfortable here within the castle. I hope you'll like them."

Author's Note

Confession is finally here! As always, comments and constructive criticism are welcome. Things will start moving a bit quicker from here out. :yay:

Chapter 8: Close Relations

The changes that Celestia had mentioned went quite in depth. The whole day that she had spent away from her had to have been full for every second for all of the things that she had arranged. She had started to list off everything she had done before deciding on just simply showing Luna. Her confused expression was probably what gave her away.

Starting out first was the installation of her own room. Not that her sister had minded Luna taking up her chambers. She had claimed that it was modeled after her rooms in their old castle, but was free to change anything and redecorate as she liked. Eventually, she would. But for now, the darker hues and sense of nostalgia she was getting was enough. It was modeled similar to her sister's, having many of the same attached rooms and wardrobe. Though sparsely filled with outfits that reminded her much of the one she had been wearing after she had been freed from the Nightmare, she was sure that it would fill up sooner or later, with either her own personal styles or more luxurious garments befitting of her station.

The main feature that Luna loved, however, was the enchanted painting of the night sky that covered the entire ceiling, changing just as much of the stars themselves. The constellation of Cancer was currently the most prominent collection of stars imprinted at the moment, right above her bed; which was a whole masterpiece to itself. While her sister's had been more traditional, four posters, and covered in gold, her own was open at the end and the head curved, covered in an assortment of curtains and strings of light. She had to stop herself from jumping onto the mattress and the welcoming pillows hiding under a thin layer of silk. There was also a balcony, again similar to the one Celestia had, also pointed in the east for her to easily raise the moon for when she was able to. Too bad the rest of her day had already been planned out for her, or she would have spent the majority of it in her new room, simply enjoying the cooler tones of it.

Her sister had also given her a few gifts for her to enjoy, hopeful that Luna liked them. It had been a thousand years, after all. Neither really remembered what Luna liked. One such gift, however, was her crown. She vaguely remembered wearing one upon her separation from the Nightmare, and it seemed like it had simply vanished after that. It was a simple design like Celestia's; tri-pointed and easy to slip onto her head without it hurting or falling off too easily. The material, however, was mostly of obsidian, silver, and had details of moonstone in the forms of stars. It felt almost too pretty, and expensive, to wear, no matter how much Celestia insisted.

Next on their list was breakfast, which was just the same as yesterday, albeit both sisters eating together rather than after one another. The chef had also seemed to warm up to Luna more, in less of a hurry to get away. Though that also could have been because of Celestia's presence. No matter where they seemed to go, her sister was welcomed with a warm smile. But she had no place to judge. Up until the other day, Luna had been a monster that threatened the world. She would have to find more modern writings of the legend to better understand how the people saw Nightmare today. She had remembered what she did, mostly anyway, but that did not mean history did in full accuracy.

After breakfast was the beginning of the reinstatement of a proper Lunar Guard. There had been guards for the night shift before her return, obviously, but they did not specifically fall under Celestia's rule like her Solar Guard, more simply for just extra security during the hours no one was awake. The sisters had met up with Lieutenant General Elion, the current overseer of the Night Guard, and Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard as a whole. With their help, they were able to explain and lay out plans for what they had in mind for the new legion.

Most of it was technicalities, nothing of interest. Luna had to stop herself from falling asleep or zoning out during their long speeches. She knew it needed to be done, but was she really needed for these little conversations? What was important that she gained, however, was the changes that affected her personally. She would get her own personal guards, like her sister, along with the enlistment of more elite groups that would be sworn to her over her sister. They had already started the process, though the advertisements had been left vague until everything was to be officially announced to the public. She would also get to choose her own 'special forces' as she liked to call them. Guards that would be sworn to her specifically, and would be closest to her with specialized skills to aid her personally. It would take some time to gain the friendship of such people that she felt close enough to share her thoughts with and trust like she did her sister, but it would prove useful. Other than that, she could also choose, if she so desired, her own designers in any area she wished. Whether simply for cleaning her room, helping her dress, or be at her call at any hour, she could position specific people to those positions. She had complete control over her new guard and what it would be.

For now, Nightingale and Datura would be temporarily transferred to her guard as her personal escorts, much like they had been before, except with an oath to Luna now as well. For the other guards, she was able to pick anyone that she knew... which at the moment was not a large sum. Though there was that one girl she met in the courtyard. What was her name? Karmi. Perhaps she could request her. Until the positions could be filled with those that she trusted, placeholders would fill in the spots, picked by Celestia, Elion, and Shining Armor based on qualifications. She had heard them discussing an increase in Thestrals upon the job advertising for the new guard. Is that what they were called? Those with the leathery, bat-like wings she saw?

Though, as boring as the meeting was, it did not last as long as she thought it had, only a few hours at most. The sun outside had not yet hit its peak in the sky by the time she and Celestia had returned to the castle proper. Unfortunately, that was the smoothest part of their day.

As Luna and Celestia were making their way back to the palace, making small talk on the way about the plans they had just discussed in length on more personal terms, one of the solar guards came running up to the two, in a frantic state of worry.

"Your Majesties! Urgent reports from the front gates!" The man in question bent into a bow for each of them, keeping a straight and composed posture despite being out of breath from his sprint.

"What is it?" Celestia was the one to respond, her voice losing its light tone from their previous conversation.

"It seems that news of Princess Luna's return has reached the city proper already. Rumors of the new princess have been circulating around the capital, and the people are starting to take action. They are demanding answers to their questions, and some have even tried to trespass into the castle. And while there are some civilians at the gate now, it is mostly the media, which the guard is currently holding against their entrance. There have been some rumors from the nobility as well; majorly confusion over anything else. They do not seem to be close to a riot."

It should have been more of a shock that something like this would happen, but everyone standing there knew that it would. So far, the only people who had properly informed of Luna's return were the bearers of the Elements, the citizens of the small town they lived in, and the bulk of the royal guard. But news like this could not be contained for long. That proved even more true in the capital city, as the royal family was one of the main forms of gossip that circulated the area.

But the people of the city crowding the castle, demanding a public explanation? It seemed a bit much. Had the views of royalty changed more than she thought during her absence? The media was understandable, as being the first to get new information meant their viewers would increase and they would get publicity themselves. And though Luna hadn't met any of the nobles herself, unless Cadence counted, she was surprised that they were being as tolerant as they were. While usually their opinions held strong over that of the regular citizen, they were also prone to acting on them without rational thought. That, or with too much thought put into it.

Other than her confusion, the only other emotion going through her was that of fear. All of this was brought about by her return, and who knows what exactly they wanted from her. Were they angry? Simply overexcited? Did they know what she did?

Her sister's response was left unheard while Luna was distracted in her thoughts. A tap on her arm leading her back into the castle again was all she got from it. The guard had run off by then, most likely following some order that Celestia gave. But she couldn't shake the feeling that this was all her fault. She hadn't intended to cause a disruption in the city. Right? Was that what the Nightmare had wanted? Attention was at the core of it.

Celestia's attempts at striking up another conversation fell upon deaf ears, Luna letting her thoughts drive her conscious mind. The only thing that was able to pull her out of it was the sound of shouting that was heard from outside the main doors of the castle. Unfortunately from where they had been walking, going through the public areas of the castle was the only way to get back to their chambers. The guards had done well at clearing the area of any non-employees beforehand, but the hall was not entirely able to shelter the two as they walked through.

White feathers blocked her view to the side where the sound of the press was coming from. Now even if they could see or get inside, they would not be able to see Luna or get any pictures for their newspapers. Every small gesture her sister did was a blessing. A thousand years of knowledge apparently proved to be very useful in these types of situations. Meanwhile, Luna was reduced to a quiet object following along on the sides. She didn't yet have the confidence to face the public. Even Twilight and her friends were too much to be crowded by. And though Celestia was a beacon that helped her calm down, she was still majorly a stranger.

"Auntie, honestly! What is with the press today? They don't seem to understand that us royals need peace and quiet to remain as beautiful as we are!" A male voice called out to the taller of the princesses, an obvious annoyance in his voice about the subject.

Scooting Celestia's wing out of the way to get a look at the man, he seemed to completely ignore her presence. He had blond hair, short and loose waves at the ends of it. He wasn't necessarily as tall or good-looking as he seemed to be boasting about. The suit he wore, however, was the most impressive part of him, showing his station to the onlooker, but wore no crown, just ornate chained earrings on his pointed ears that held symbols of the royal crest. Was this the Blueblood that Celestia had mentioned earlier? Her adopted nephew? Just by his introduction of himself, she understood what she meant by being 'rough around the edges'.

"I'm sure you've heard the rumors going around the city, have you not?" Her sister's voice was holding back an annoyance of its own.

"Of course not!" He scoffed, "I was getting myself groomed. I don't have time for petty rumors of the lower class. Nothing they say is of any concern to me!" He placed a hand on his chest, puffing it out. Luna resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the display.

"They are of a particular matter, Blueblood. One relating directly to your family. Perhaps you should start broadening your areas of gossip."

"Please. What could have possibly happened that I do not know of? Has my dear cousin Cadence decided to go off and get married without telling me?"

Luna could almost feel her sister's smirk at his query, slowly unfolding her wing and turning so that she was no longer hidden behind her body. He must have been oblivious to the world around him if it took him that long to realize they weren't alone. Though now that she could get a clear look at the prince, his ego was clearly etched into his face and the way he carried himself.

But after seeing the lunar princess, an audible gasp left him, some of that posh behavior he had slipping away in shock. From his place in the room with them, it was clear that she had wings and was taller than he. Did he also think that she was one of Celestia's students? Though, they were all magic users, weren't they? He didn't seem that smart to pick up the hits she was giving.

"Auntie! You didn't tell me you had a—"

"A sister." What was he going to say? He didn't think they were— gross. Besides, even if she was sneaking around a secret lover, it would not be in broad daylight strolling through parts of the castle open to the public. "Blueblood, this is Luna, my younger sister."

"A sister! I say. You've never told me about having any family. Is she a new adoption?" The glare that Celestia shot at the sorcerer could have ended a nation, the heat of her solar energy radiating off her form hot enough Luna had to take a step back. That moving apparently caused him to take a better look at her, his gaze judging. This was uncomfortable. "By Starswirl's beard! She's a demigoddess as well!"

Taking a step from her sister had made her own aura easier to differentiate from Celestia's. And while all creatures possessed magic ability, those who were able to manipulate magic had particularly strong ones, each with their own special signature. Her voice seemed to be failing her, however, only able to stand there and observe their conversation.

"Yes. As I've said, she's my sister. Biologically. And therefore, by law, your aunt as well."

"Ahem. Yes, well, it is still very strange. How come you've never mentioned her before? Where has she come from?"

"And that I will answer in due time. For now, we must be on our way."

"Very well. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Princess Luna," he begrudgingly greeted the younger sister, turning on his heel with his chin held high. She was able to shoot a glance at Celestia, showing her bewilderment of the interaction. That was her nephew? How has she survived and managed to retain her sanity? She truly was a wonder.

Luckily, most of their trek deeper into the castle was not interrupted for a while after that. But being the capital of the kingdom, in both the physical sense, and that of gossip, things did not stay that way for long. While most of the populace had been escorted out of the halls, there were still a few nobles that had remained within the castle, not yet located by the guard. And because of their higher statuses, had to be dealt with more delicately. Blueblood was a good example of that, as Luna had seen. Her limited knowledge of the world was being torn down by these strange variables that lingered within the castle.

And of strange encounters, they were fortunate enough to not run into more of the higher class, arriving at Celestia's rooms before too long. Sure, they could have just gone to a restricted wing of the castle, but no room was more private than that of the royalty that resided within it. That did not stop one person from already waiting for the two inside, however.

Princess Amore Cadenza was sitting on one of the lounging sofas in front of the hearth, its fire casting a warm light to the already lit room. The moment the two diarchs had closed the doors behind them, she shot up to her feet, that ever present smile brightening the rest of her features. It was almost as bright as Celestia's. Luna understood how she could be related.

"Is it true? Oh, Auntie, please tell me the truth so I don't have to rely on rumors!" Cadenza was now leaning over the back of the couch that she had been sitting on, on edge to get an answer from Celestia. Her gaze flickered between the sisters in anticipation, hands clamped together.

A lighthearted laugh is what she got in response, walking over to her niece. "While I cannot say that I have heard many of these rumors in detail, I will tell you the truth of the situation." The two were able to sit normally next to each other, Cadence reaching to grab her aunt's hands in her own. "Luna is my little sister. Due to certain... events, she's not been in Equestria for over a millennium; so I do apologize if she's a little aloof."

It was awkward standing there as her older sister explained to the Princess of Love about her, deciding to instead sit on the end of the bed and rest her feet. Her physical strength had noticeably increased over the past days, but being on her feet for so long in the castle was tiring. There were so many stairs. Resting her eyes had seemed like a good idea at first, drowning out the sound of the other voices in the room for the stillness that came with it, until she felt a gentle hand moving a strand of hair that had fallen over her eyes. The slight ghosting of the hand had yanked her out of her serenity, jumping nearly like Cadence had earlier, and quickly pulling herself away from whoever it was connected to.

An apology was uttered from her sister while the weight of another on the bed with her sunk it down. She was glad it was Celestia. She did not know what she would have done if it had been Cadence so close. Her heart was already beating hard enough. But with Celestia in front of her and Cadence to her side—what had they been talking about? Had she accidently fallen asleep fully?

"I never would have guessed it." Cadenza's chipper tone cut her thoughts. "Celestia's sister." Apparently, that sentiment was shared with just about everyone. No one knew that she had existed. And those who knew of the Nightmare, did not know of Luna's connection to any of it. Had her sister cut her out of history purposefully? Had it just been so long that people had forgotten and twisted it so that a monster was not related to their sun goddess? Was she that easy to forget? She certainly didn't remember herself. Maybe there was nothing to remember. "Excuse me for how I treated you earlier when we met, Luna. But how could I have known when you refused to tell me anything, huh? Did I mention that you're absolutely beautiful? Honestly, you could give your sister here a run for her money! Genetic jackpot, I'm almost jealous."

The woman was definitely expressive with all of her emotions. She wordily let out everything she was feeling in the form of compliments and questions. But she was hard to read. Was this simply a mask she was putting forth, or was she actually just that genuinely happy? Luna hadn't realized that she had been staring at the princess, not even saying a word since that morning. Is that why Celestia apologized for her being aloof? Was her quietness strange? Probably. With how much everyone in this castle seemed to talk all the time.

"Thou talk a lot." She hadn't even meant to say it, mouth opening just hardly enough to get it vocal. She had mumbled out her thoughts, biting her lip to stop another, causing the other to stop for a moment before falling into a fit of laughter. So she had heard what she said. Even Celestia was laughing quietly. All that time just for her thoughts to slip out on accident.

"I was wondering what was going on in that head of yours! Sorry about that. Sometimes I get caught up in it and don't know I'm being annoying." She cleared her throat, sitting up straighter and scooting ever so slightly closer. "Let's start over. It's nice to finally meet you properly, Luna. As I've said, I'd love to get to know you better. And since we're family, just you know that I'll always back you up on anything you may need, okay? Can't imagine how much the world's changed since you've been gone. But I grew up in this modern age. And even though by law I may be your niece as well, I'm gonna call you my sister too. We look too close in age to see you as some elder figure. Either way, I am honored to be a part of your family. So let me be one of the first to welcome you back, Princess of the Night."

The rest of that day had mostly been spent as the same, Luna retiring early for the night and traveling over to her own room. As much as she was starting to feel comfortable around the two women, she was exhausted from being around them for so long. What had Cadenza called it? A social battery? Whatever that was, Luna's had died long ago. She had learned that she was fairly easy to talk to, though, getting in more of a conversation when talking about her childhood and how she had looked after Twilight when she was younger. Funny how things went full circle like that. Striking up conversation of Blueblood had gotten the three of them to connect on things they found annoying, but there wasn't much Luna could contribute with only a small portion of her own recollections available. Cadence had said she would do her best to help her transition into life, which she was thankful for. But for now, she needed to step away from it all.

The balcony that was connected to her chambers provided an open space where she could get fresh air with the view of the setting sun in front of her. Like most things she had seen in this world, it was beautiful. How much had things really changed since she had been gone? She wished she knew. But at the same time, maybe it was for the better that she didn't. Almost every time she remembered something of her past, it was negative. Every time she talked to Celestia, that voice in the back of her head was screaming at her; she hated her, she was the one that did this to her. Was it her subconscious trying to remind her of how she felt? Was it the Nightmare, trying to poke its way into her head again? It was exhausting, and she didn't understand it. All she wanted to do was have that feeling of home, to go there and relax her mind. But nothing felt like home. Nothing felt right. She couldn't feel comfortable around her sister, but she couldn't show her that. She had originally been the one to banish her, hadn't she? What if she did not fully trust Luna, or was trying to use her memory loss against her— no. Stop.

Thinking like that only made her feel sick, the breeze making her feel cold. Wrapping her wings over her arms could only do so much to help her physical body. Shaking it out, Luna leaned her arms on the cool railing, looking out to the lands beyond. The distant shouts of the people in the city were being drowned out by the winds coming from the mountainside. They knew what they needed about themselves, had everything figured out. It would have been one thing, if she was just trying to readjust into a new time, if she remembered how things were a thousand years ago. Bumpy, yes. But easier. As things were, she had nothing to go on but those nagging thoughts in the back of her head. It was hard to separate the good from the intrusive. Hard to seem normal, whatever that meant in this age.

"I wouldn't do that if I was you." A deep voice startled her out of her lamenting, causing her to grip the rail for stability. Apparently she'd leaned over a little too much. "Far as I know, you wouldn't be able to catch yourself on those wings." The voice in question was coming from her right, a man dressed in dark armor and his own wings folded against his back, bat-like. He must have been one of the thestrals that had joined the new guard. Luna flashed him a look. He was being awfully blunt, considering their stations.

"What art thou speaking of?"

He sat himself down on top of the railing, head resting in his knuckle. "Just saying it wouldn't be very fun for the both of us if you decided to—"

"We w'ren't thinking of such a thing."

"Could have fooled me." The princess stood up straighter, avoiding his eye contact and pushing off the railing back to the main floor. Annoyingly blunt as he was, at least he was doing his job. She could practically feel his triumphant smile burning into her. "Much better. You want to tell me what you were thinking about?" She shot him a glare. "Guess not. That's fine. But it would be nice to get to know my princess a bit better now that I'm in her service."

As strange as his behavior was, it was in stark contrast to most of her other interactions, save for the only other thestral she had met. Maybe it was part of their differing culture.

"What is thy name? Certainly there is more to thee than just thy wits."

Smirk ever present on his face, he hopped down to stand straight, bowing at the waist in her direction. "You may call me Nathie, your Majesty. Currently, I am a Major in my division of your Night Guard. Pleased to meet you."

"One wouldst think that with thy rank came more curtesy f'r thy superiors."

"I'll have you know, I have nothing but the utmost respect for the crown. Especially for you, as ruler of the night."

"And why is that?"

"We thestrals are creatures of the night. We're nocturnal, and have abilities that help us to traverse the land with only the help of the moon. And, if I may be so bold to say, much like yourself, we're not used to living in these types of societies. Not exactly outcasts, but different."

He was right. And that annoyed her. His attitude was off-putting at first, coming off as cocky and too forward. But that wasn't it. He was just hard to read. Friendly, though, even if approached in a different way than Cadence. Luna turned to get a good look at him, now sitting with his back leaning against the bars of the rail, watching in his silence. He was almost handsome. His skin was dark, much like hers, and his hair was shaggy. It would have been curly if he took care of it properly. That was easy to see. Most of his features, however, were different, more tilted. If that was the word for it. His eyes were thinner, pupils almost slit, teeth holding sharper fangs than her own. But while hers had been an aftermath of a transformation, his seemed more natural, befitting of his character. His armor was another story, though. The metal was silver, in contrast to those of the Solar Guard, and fitted differently to allow for more stealth than show. He also was not wearing his helmet, it tucked under one of his arms while he engaged with her. They looked similar to one another. That was a first. But it was refreshing. The strange looks some of the castle's staff had given her could be for this reason. Looking more thestran than the regular citizen would be strange, especially since her sister held no resemblances to the minority.

"There's a lot of us that were excited to hear that we had a new princess, one that actually related to us." He stopped talking when he noticed her staring. But it wasn't an uncomfortable silence. Behind him, the sun had fully set below the horizon, and the moon was steadily rising to its place in the sky, stars following suit. "I want to get to know you, Luna. I've always longed to know someone like you, connected to the one thing I hold dear."

She did too. She wanted to know herself. But unlike the others, she felt a connection with him. It was something that she hadn't felt in another since her return. His presence was comfortable. Despite his lack of decorum, his aura was gentle. As if they had been friends for years already and built up a bond. It was more than what she felt with even her sister. And perhaps this comfort would help with regaining those memories. Stress would only lock them deeper into her mind. But did he know? As far as she knew, only Celestia, Cadenza, and herself knew of her amnesia. The look on his face, the intuition behind his eyes, told her that he wasn't entirely oblivious.

Chapter 9: Cry of the People

The next few days had mostly consisted of getting to know the layout of the castle better, without needing her escorts. Both Datura and Nightingale still followed her around almost everywhere, but they seemed more lenient as the days went on. Luna had done her best to converse with them and not be a total stranger, but they stayed strictly professional unless it had been an exceptionally taxing day and were tired. The same, however, could not be said for Nathie. He was elusive, only making himself seen when he wanted; that usually meant the times she went out on her balcony to watch the moon rise.

Unlike her escorts, he was more open to talk freely to the princess. In the past days that they spent together, she felt as if they were becoming friends. How did friendships work in this time, though? Were they different? Or was she missing something else? He hadn't seemed to be pushing for anything more than getting her annoyed with his jokes. It wasn't as if she could flat out say that she thought him suspicious because she did not understand social cues. That was something he had picked up on early in their meetings, and much to her surprise, helped her in modernizing her speech patterns. It was still very much a conscious thing, and she often slipped back into her old ways.

Despite his teasing, Luna was glad she found someone so easy to converse with. As close as she was with Celestia, talking with her was still not the most comfortable. Around her, Luna felt as if she had to be perfect. She was the people's goddess, after all.

Speaking of the people, the news of her return was still a major theme of much of the city's gossip, though it had died down to a point they were no longer constantly swarming the front gates of the palace. There had been many times in which a dignitary from another city had come to the palace, claiming official business, in hopes of catching a glance at her. It was almost scary, all of these people arriving from around the entire country coming to see her. The mysterious return of a forgotten princess. Celestia had assured her, and tried to do so with the citizens as well, that it was Luna's choice when she wanted to officially reveal herself to the public. It was not as if her appearance was entirely unknown, though, as she had clearly been visible during the celebration near the Everfree. The pictures had escalated many theories of her, all of those which she heard more absurd than the last.

Unfortunately for them, her appearance had already started to change from what she looked like from just returning. It had been gradual, but enough to stand out.

From her time that she had been spending in the sun, or perhaps just because her health was increasing, her skin had become less pale. Not quite dark, but she did not look as ghostly as her sister. That same effect had also gone to her hair; darker, and slightly longer than it had been. They were consistent changes, something new catching her eye every time the princess stopped to look in a mirror.

It was not as if Luna had something to base her appearance off of, however. She looked similar to her sister in some regards, but not enough to make any real assumptions. The only clue she had was the depictions of the defeat of Nightmare Moon in the stained glass windows by the main chamber of the castle. The two of them. Deep down feelings of embarrassment, guilt, and anger planted in her mind every time she saw them. She only remembered bits of what had happened, but if she, in all that power, had been defeated like that...she couldn't possibly be strong in her form now. Monsters in this world were defeated in the name of justice and harmony. ~~She had once been a part of that Harmony.~~

As angry as she felt with the memories, however, she never allowed them to fester. She had seen what happened to her last time. That dream of what she assumed was the night she was banished replayed in her head over and over every time she slept. The pain of that beam Celestia had sent her way had torn her out of her sleep for the past few nights. It was almost easier to sleep during the day. The nightmares lingered, yes, but they were never as awful when the sun was out. The feeling was similar to when her sister had covered her body with her much larger wings. Warm.

Leaving the safety of her chambers became increasingly rarer, with the amount of foot traffic the city had been getting lately. It was nearly impossible to avoid running into someone that would start questioning her. Many of which, the princess was not sure if she could even answer properly. What lies had the public been fed? What rumors had they been spreading that she did not know of? They were important things to know before getting herself stuck in a situation.

It was late afternoon when Luna decided to leave again. She had originally wanted to dine with her sister, but she had been caught up in a meeting. Apparently things had been getting heated with a particular house of nobility. She only knew the basics of the matter, finances. Though studying the law was on her to-do list, she was not quite there yet for dealing with those types of disputes. Besides, her sister had promised to find her as soon as she was done. Eating on her own was somehow more comfortable anyway. Everything she ate had started to taste bland. There was flavor, yes, but nothing stood out. While her portions slowly grew in size, nothing was more enjoyable than the last. She was only thankful that it did not make her sick.

The one thing she enjoyed the most was focusing on working on her magic. Along with her physical changes, her metaphysical changes were growing stronger by the day. She was able to use her levitation fairly easily for an extended period of time without getting nauseous or needing to pass out.

Heading towards the dining room was uneventful, the only sounds being those of her own walking, and of Nightingale behind her. The sun outside was nearing the horizon, casting the sky into a colorful array of reds that reflected off the windows of the castle. Hopefully Celestia would not be held up so long that the moonrise was late. She loved to watch her sister bring in the night.

That serenity, however, was broken with the shrill voice of a maid echoing through the halls. The princess stopped in her tracks, wings extending in curiosity. It was far from a sound of distress, more of anger or annoyance. She could not hear it clearly enough to know about what exactly. But her curiosity got the better of her, and she steered off her path, feet taking her in the direction without the conscious order from her brain.

The voice continued on, increasing steadily in its emotion. She seemed as if she was holding back tears from the raw emotion that was leaving her throat.

Arriving at the scene, Luna knew it best to stay out of the thick of it, cautiously leaning around the bend in the doorframe. The woman in question was being held back by a pair of female guards, though that was not deterring her from trying to struggle out of their grasp, or to even quiet herself to not scream in their ears. As to who it was directed at... That nearly perfect, clean image of blonde hair and freshly groomed skin was easy to recognize, even sopping wet.

Prince Blueblood. Her nephew.

And he did not seem in the bit pleased of what had happened to him. It was almost comical. She only knew fragments of his personality, and had no reference to how he treated the castle staff. But by this display, and the words that the maid was throwing at him, it couldn't have been good. Some words she did not recognize, though that was probably for the best. Glancing over towards her own escort in questioning only landed her a shake of the head and a grimace. Curse modern terminology for being so elaborate.

Her presence did not go unnoticed for long, as the prince once again held his head high and motioned over to her.

"Ah, you again. I see you have a habit of showing up unannounced." He was quick to greet her, if that was what that could be called. "But never mind that— Auntie Luna, if you could please tell this woman to cease in her unbearable screeching, that would be wonderful. And while you're at it, tell these buffoons to take her to the dungeons!" He was quick to shoot a glance at the small group, huffing with his full chest.

By now, the woman had calmed down to mostly grumbling, her words being spat out in utter distaste. She had faced away from the princess, as her anger was not directed at the diarch, but her nephew.

With a slight hesitation, Luna stepped out from simply peering around the frame, walking a few steps into the room proper. Being this close to Blueblood now, she could see they were nearly the same height, the princess being only a few inches taller. She acknowledged the man's request, but refused to act on it without knowing the full situation. Why had the maid been screaming at him so? And why was he soaking wet?

"We don't understand. What has happened in h're that this wast the result?" The lunar princess could only guess that something the blonde had said sent her over the edge, throwing water at him that had been in a bucket, which was currently laying on its side near one of the guard's feet.

"I'll tell you!" The maid yelled out, struggling against the hold of the guards once more. "That unrighteous, self-centered, prick is on my last nerve! I can't stand him anymore! I've been serving him for nearly three years, and I just can't stand it!"

Before the prince could say anything in return, Luna held up a hand to silence him, turning towards the woman. "If thee promises to not lash out again, the guards shall let thee go."

She took a moment to think about it before letting out a huff, trying her best to hide the fact she was rolling her eyes. With a nod from the princess, the guards slowly loosened their grip, but still stayed close by her sides. They were assigned to Blueblood's protection, no doubt. And even if they did not agree with him, still had their duty.

"Prithee, would someone tell Us why Our nephew is sopping with water?"

"I was merrily encouraging this woman to do her job correctly. It is almost as if I wasn't paying her! Peasants should be good at this type of thing!" His displeasure was obvious, glaring down at his suit. "This will have to be burned now because of you! Do you have any idea what you've done to me? You've made me look like a commoner who got stuck out in the rain."

"I wouldn't have done it if you hadn't been criticizing my every move and catcalling me all the while! If you want me to clean better, then shut up! I'm not your eye candy!"

The two continued to yell back and forth at each other for a while, but luckily they did not throw anything at each other, only motioning wilding with their arms to portray their anger. It was getting loud, almost too much to stand without getting a headache. Unfortunately, her voice was not loud enough to carry over their yelling, even if she tried. It quickly became hoarse due to its unuse, and yelling would only injure it.

Luckily, one of Blueblood's guards, along with Nightingale, took note of her displeasure, and went to either of her sides. Before they would say anything, she took up the nearly empty bucket in her magic and splashed the both of them in their faces, shutting them up.

It was fairly simple what had happened: Blueblood had annoyed the maid to her breaking point over the past three years, and she had lashed out. It was reasonable, of course, as she had every right to be angry. But she had, legally at least, assaulted a member of the royal family.

He would likely push for a trial or something of the sort, and blow the story out of proportion. He had already jumped before.

"If both of thee wouldst please be quiet." The princess sighed. This was not what she wanted to get into. This had been one of the many reasons that she had been avoiding court. Nobles loved to argue. "Now then, Nephew, We are sure that thee were taught manners on how to speak to a woman, even one of a lower birth station. As for thee, miss, while thy reasoning is just, this cannot happen again. Thou shall be restation'd elsewh're."

The maid visibly deflated with a thankful sigh, mumbling out a thanks. Her sentence was to be fully thought out later by her superiors, of course, but she would not be severely punished.

"Please escort h'r out." The guard that had walked up to her side earlier nodded in acknowledgement before going to the maid's side and leading her out the door Luna had entered through earlier.

Thank the stars that it had only been a simple fight and not anything increasingly serious. Curse her curiosity for getting the better of her.

"I can't believe you would just let her go! After what she said and did to me?" Her nephew came up to face her, hands clenched into fists. "I am a prince, and I should be treated as such!"

"From what I have seen, thou doth not act like one." Despite his attempts at getting her off her guard and getting into her face, her voice was level. She was not going to be intimidated by a man who acted like this.

The blonde was taken aback by her words, falling onto the flats of his feet in overexaggerated shock. He looked like he wanted to start yelling at her as well before stopping himself. The look her escort was giving him was radiating off her back. Once again, she was glad they were on her side. She had seen that look once before on his face, and being on the receiving end of it was not something she had on her bucket list.

He seemed to struggle to find his footing again, stumbling over his words. "...Fine! But I never want to see her again! I'll see to it that she never finds a job again if she ever comes across me!" He built up an air of confidence around himself, puffing his chest out and signaling for his remaining guard to follow him. "I'm going to get cleaned up. Good day."

It was a harsh farewell, practically brushing her off as he walked away in the direction she assumed were his private rooms.

From the only two interactions she had had with her nephew so far, neither had left the best impression on her. He had at least seemed nicer when it was just her and Celestia around. Perhaps he acted a lot more normal when he was neither soaking wet or annoyed at something. She would have to catch him on a good day to get to know him a little better. Only seeing him when he was in a bad mood wouldn't do either of them good.

But, nothing she could do about it now.

Turning back out of the room, she continued her trek down to the dining hall of the castle. That short scene had put her there later than she had expected, and she had started to get hungry.

It seemed like Celestia was still caught up in the meeting, as the room was empty when she arrived. But it wasn't too late that she should worry. Sunset was much later during the summer.

Dinner was rather short and uneventful. She had exchanged only what was necessary with the server, and Nightingale stood unwavering at the door. She was sure the food was good, but she tasted no real flavor. Perhaps her doctor had mentioned to the chefs that she was to eat such things. It couldn't possibly just be her taste buds. Either way, she was glad the portions were still small.

Apparently, her brain was still averse to the idea of eating after not doing so for a thousand years, even if her body needed it.

It had been less than an hour by the time she finished her meal. It was quiet in the castle, possibly too quiet for the time of day it was. People would be getting off their shifts and be going home around this time, but there was nothing. Usually from this room, the activities of the castle, and even the lower city, could be heard when at their busiest.

Strange, if not a little concerning. Though, perhaps there was an event going on that directed most of the populace away from their normal routines. Maybe even a holiday that let citizens go home to their families early, or not even go into their place of work all day. It didn't matter, however, as the princess still had a lingering headache from being in the middle of a shouting match earlier.

Making her way back up to her private study, connected to her room, the halls seemed to be mostly devoid of life. They had been sparse all day, she noted, but only having an occasional guard by the hallway entrances seemed... off.

Had something happened that she was unaware of? Surely she would have been informed if such a thing had happened. Behind her, Nightingale's uneasiness was faint, but nevertheless present. He must think it strange too.

Going to a nearby window, Luna looked out to the main entrance of the castle, down by where it should be the most populated at the time. It was practically empty, except for a few stragglers going about some business or another. What did not catch her eye was the movement from within the main throne room, which was crawling with life. Even if it had, it would have been brushed off as the aforementioned meeting simply getting a little out of hand.

It was best to stay away, like she had planned, but going near the area was unavoidable to go back to the private residential wings of the castle. The kitchens were located in an area close to those open to the public, and those public dining halls located just next to it for easy access during events. The private hall, though more secluded, was not far off.

The closer she got to that main room, the more life she saw, mostly in the form of guards and maids running around frantically to get what they needed done. Voices became more present, muffled, but loud enough to carry down the halls. Why was everyone screaming at one another today? Or, had she just picked a particularly unlucky time to venture out into the castle halls again?

The lunar princess did her best to stay clear of that main hall. Who knows who could be walking around, trying to catch a glance at any secrets hidden within the castle. She had seen what the press had done just a few days ago, and even though they had mostly died off, they were still ever present on trying to get information out to their readers. Everyone in Canterlot loved royalty, so not getting information on a new member of the family must be eating away at them.

Despite her efforts, however, some stragglers had wandered off into deeper parts of the castle, perhaps just trying to get a snippet of anything, or were on break from what they were mainly trying to get. Luna did not notice them at first, as they blended in with the surroundings. And with the setting sun in the background, it was getting dark fairly quickly. The fires had not yet been lit in the hallways to give additional light to the enchanted crystals hanging from the ceiling.

Most of the staff, she had usually ignored. They were always busy, and she never needed to do much more than acknowledge their presence.

But the distinct sound of a camera shudder and the calling of her title was hard to ignore.

Had she somehow managed to walk down the wrong path? No. Looking around, she was far within the castle, well within areas that were meant to be excluded to the public. How was the press here? Had they managed to sneak around the guards?

Never minding the specifics of the situation, it was clear that the attention of the press had been directed towards the princess in full, and was attracting much more attention. The sound of many voices and footsteps coming to their direction was clear as day.

Nightingale had quickly gone to her side at the sound of the first camera, covering her body as much as he could from the flashing. Where were the guards, anyway? Plenty should be in this area, yet none other than her escort were present. Leading her away from the crowds had to be done delicately, and had become increasingly harder with the sheer number that had appeared. Seriously, where were they coming from? And why had she heard nothing up until they were already in her face?

Their path was cut off with a door opening on their right to one of the many private meeting rooms in the hall, and arms reaching out to grab the princess and her escort and pull them inside. Who the hands belonged to, she did not know, even when he spoke to the two. Luna could not understand what he had said. Her heart was beating so heavy that her blood pumping was the only thing she could hear.

Chapter 10: That Of What I Lost

It took longer than it should have to get her heart rate back under control. The sound of two voices conversing around her were muffled, and she was unable to make out any specifics. Their tone of urgency was all she could sense while within her own fog.

They were not the only ones in the room, however, as a fourth made their presence known to the princess' side, an arm placed in a way to provide comfort. It was distinctly less bulky than the one that had initially pulled her into the room, more feminine. Not until she had calmed down had Luna noticed that she had been talking as well. It was lighter than that of the men in the room, and she had not made out its delicate, accented, tone till then.

"There we are, dear. Focus on your breathing, you're alright." They were gentle nothings meant to coax her back into reality, and that they were.

The room and those around her slowly came into focus, the pale hand on her arm coming to a stop in its ministrations. Her heart was still painful in her chest, but it was soon dull enough to ignore. Nightingale was the only one she recognized, and he was talking to another man nearly as tall and well-built. He was well dressed, clad in a suit and clearly well put together. Possibly nobility. The woman to her side, however, was much thinner, lithe, and around the same stature as herself, from what she could tell.

Focusing on their appearances helped more than anything, and she soon felt lightheaded. Having such an adrenaline rush did not sit well with her recovering body.

There was a short exclamation from the woman at her side, getting the attention of her escort and the other man. "How are you feeling, Princess?" Her voice cut in over the now quiet room, eyes expectant.

However strange the situation, the princess could feel no ill intention radiating from her, simple concern washing out anything else.

"We art... well. Thank thee." It was mostly true. An adrenaline rush wouldn't be the end of her. The events in charge of it were another story. But that could wait for a moment.

Luna was well aware by now of the three sets of eyes on her, watching. It was almost as unnerving as the cameras from earlier. What were they waiting for? But more importantly, "Who are thou?"

That earned her a hearty chuckle from the suited man, the woman covering her mouth to hold in a laugh of her own.

"I would suppose introductions are in order." The man straightened himself out, giving the princess a brief bow. "I am Governor General Fancy Pants, high representative of the royal city of Canterlot. There on your side is my partner, Fleur De Lis. She is a well respected fashion model here in the city." Said model gave Luna a welcoming smile.

It was good to put names to their faces. Governor General, though? Her assumptions of high class were correct, then. And while that should have made her wary, there were still no indications that his intentions were anything but pure. This was the first noble she had met face to face as of yet, though. She knew that she wasn't the best at reading modern body language, but his actions spoke for him clearly enough already. Fancy had been the one to pull her away from the press and into this room in the first place.

"Lovely to meet thee both." She tried to put on a face worthy of her position, but she doubted that mattered now. They had already seen her in a worse position. "But may we ask... what exactly—"

"We're trying to figure that out ourselves." Fleur spoke up beside her. Her accent was heavy, more so than her own. She was likely not originally from the city. Perhaps somewhere towards the coasts? She had been reading up on the regions of the land, and some of the further parts spoke in different accents, occasionally different languages as well. "The press isn't normally allowed this far into the castle; even when there are certain events that allow them entry. Fancy and I were hiding in this room for that very reason. Seeing you two was a lucky coincidence." One she was grateful for. Fleur lifted a finger up to her chin in thought, glancing over at her partner and Luna's escort. "I had been hearing some gossip through the rumor mill about a certain woman returning to the castle with Princess Celestia not too long ago. The press hasn't died down since. I never did imagine them breaking into the castle of all things, though."

"Impatient as ever, they are. None can wait before using their tricks to learn the secrets of the royal family." Fancy Pants' worries complimented his partner's well. "It is truly a misfortune that you would have to get caught up in such things when it has been made clear that your introduction to society will be slow going. You did not get hurt, did you? I was quite abrupt when pulling you away from the scene. I did not stop to ask." His ended with a more somber tone, glancing to the lunar princess in concern. It was appreciated, but she wished people would stop looking at her with such pity. She wasn't made of porcelain.

"Nay, we art not. Only confused on the matter."

It was a mutual feeling shared with the other three in the room. One they could not stay in forever. The sound of the press outside the door had been muffled the whole time they had been in there, but was slowly dying out to a few murmurs. Distracting the press would be easy with a famous model and the city Governor. A simple plan, but effective.

"A bit late and in rather unfortunate circumstances, I say, but it is truly an honor to meet you, Princess Luna." They left with a quick word and a bow. There were a few shudders of cameras going off when the door opened, but Nightingale stood in between the entrance and any of the cameras pointed towards the inside. He stayed there until the crowd dispersed and they were able to sneak out and get back to the princess' chambers.

It was nice to get a breath of still air. Even if it hadn't been too long since she had been in that very same spot in front of her window, overlooking the city below, it felt like years. Socializing was not one of her strong suits, it seemed. Every time she had to, something seemed to go wrong. Well, the actual act of talking wasn't the worst, despite her archaic tongue, but the culture others lived in and were used to was... off. It didn't feel right. That feeling of not belonging was only stronger when she was around others who did. But there was no use sulking about it, nothing could be changed doing that.

There was one thing she could change, however, and that was her magic. The more she used it while in recovery, the better it would turn out in the end. She followed her doctor's orders as best as she could, not pushing herself to get it to work. But it was starting to get tiring. She could physically do things instead, yes, but her body wasn't fully healed either. Despite her own impatience, there was this feeling she got whenever even the simplest of levitation was used. Like something was calling her. It was not the same aching feeling she got whenever she thought of the nightmare, no, this was gentle. Like an old friend calling you back after lost time. What was it, though? The moon? Perhaps. Its call had been getting stronger and stronger every night.

Maybe she would try to raise it again soon. Maybe tonight— wait. It was late enough now that the moon should be in the sky. But it wasn't. Celestia surely wouldn't have forgotten, would she? No meeting could be that important.

Just before Luna was about to start thinking the worst, the sound of the main door of her room opening caught her attention, stopping her in her unconscious pacing.

"Now, now, Luna, it isn't that late. I didn't think a few minutes would worry you this much." Her sister's voice was teasing, but the weariness it held overshadowed much of the joy she was trying to convey.

"Sister..." She wanted to say more, to ask what had happened to make her so late, but her words died in her throat. The look on Celestia's face indicated there was something she wanted to say. It wouldn't be too far-fetched to say that she had found out what happened.

Nothing was said on the matter, her sister only motioning with her wing over to the balcony before walking out and taking up a stance of serenity. "I can see your power has recovered since the last time we tried... Would you like to raise the moon tonight, little sister?"

The younger princess took her time walking over to the elder, hands reaching out to steady herself on the rails. Of course she would ask shortly after she had been thinking about doing it herself. A coincidence, surely.

"If you're sure." She mumbled it out, forgetting her old speech for a moment of uncertainty. Using it with Celestia seemed too formal, anyway. They were sisters, weren't they? Surely they didn't talk so formally before.

Luna took in a deep breath and steadied herself before charging up her magic. It was more or less like a simple levitation spell, just on a much larger object. She focused on imagining the sphere in her mind, of pushing it up into its position. It was almost easy, a familiar feeling running through her veins as it moved.

Despite the presence of her sister beside her, watching, she was calm. But she wasn't the only one who was. Ever since her return, that small voice on the back of her head seemed to have a mind of its own. Mostly, she just ignored it. Confusion was the main thing she had felt upon returning, so not much thought had gone into small thoughts like that.

How almost... sinister it felt, however, had been an area of caution she meant to look into. They were usually small things, enough to make her uncomfortable on her feet, but nothing like this. That voice was reaching for the power she was using to lift the celestial body in the sky, whispering. The louder it got, the harder it was to keep her spell intact.

She almost didn't hear the concerned voice of Celestia beside her, calling out her name in worry and what sounded like...fear? She was just raising the moon. Perhaps she had used too much of her magic, or did something wrong. Maybe she had accidently let one of those thoughts loose.

No, she loosened the weave of her spell and slowly opened her eyes to be met with her sister's: wide open. She must have noticed Luna's confusion, as she wasted no time in wrapping both her arms and wings around Luna's body. It was enough for her to let go of her spell fully. It was as if a weight was lifted off her chest, that voice retreating angrily back to the recesses of her mind.

The solar princess' embrace was warm, her voice carrying the same glow as she shushed her lunar sister to calm her down. She hadn't realized that she started shaking. That was it, she had used too much of her magic at once. She had been warned about what a magical burnout could do... oops.

If only she had noticed her skin slowly fading back to its paler complexion as she steadied her breathing.

"Luna? Luna, are you alright?" Again, the voice of her sister broke through the tensioned silence. She was unsteady, hands running along Luna's arms.

"We're alright, sister. We apologize, we did not realize we w're using so much power." She started to wiggle out of her sister's embrace. While her heat was comforting at first, she did not feel like sweating all over her sister when she was trying to help.

"So much.. you didn't—" The solar diarch sounded surprised by her response. It was just a magical burnout, was it not? She understood concern, but this seemed a bit much... Maybe Celestia was simply more overprotective than she originally thought. It made sense, since she had been gone for a thousand years. Just because she didn't remember all that time didn't mean that Celestia didn't.

Despite her fatigue, the moon was indeed far up in the sky, not quite high enough, but up nonetheless.

Her sister loosened her grip some, enough to let her turn to watch the sky. She did that a lot. Much like the moon, the stars seemed to call for her, awaiting her return as their commander. She gave them a silent apology, for it would still take time.

"It's been a long day. Would you like to have some tea?" It was a simple request, but one she agreed to quickly. As awkward as some of their interactions were, being with her sister was one place she was allowed to not keep her back so straight, and where her confusions were granted explanation. The only nobles she had properly met so far were Fancy Pants and his partner, Fleur, but they hadn't seemed too bad. The rest of them, however...

Upon Celestia's request, tea had been swiftly delivered to her chambers. The princesses themselves had changed into more comfortable outfits, their crowns set off to the side. Luna could easily see how tired her sister was, having nearly fallen asleep on the plush chair, clad in her silk nightdress. She was partial to sweatpants herself. Having her clothes fit more loosely was much more comfortable than a tight band.

Despite the relatively light atmosphere, and her trying not to fall asleep, Celestia was fidgety. It was obvious she wanted to say something. Whether she was unsure of how to get it out, or she simply was stalling for time, Luna waited. She would find the courage to get it out on her own time.

"I truly am glad you're back, Luna." There it was. She glanced up at her sister over the rim of her cup. "I know you don't remember... I know that things may seem overwhelming, being put into a major city full of politics with people you do not know."

Where was she going with this?

"Even though you are my sister, and a princess of the realm, there are some things even I cannot keep you safe from." She let out a sigh, sinking further into her chair. "To the nobles, you are an enigma. You came out of nowhere after I was attacked by what they believe to be a villainous legend. They have their theories; some of them are correct to an extent... It is only logical for them to spread rumors based on theory."

"Is this about the reporters from earli'r?"

"They've been spreading quicker than I would have thought. And since no definitive answers have been given to their questions, I fear they may only continue to get worse."

She had explained the reasoning behind why she had been so late. Stopping the press from leaking any footage they had taken while inside the castle had taken more than just a stern word, unsurprisingly. News articles were still printed, however, and even this late in the evening had major influence on the opinions of the people. Gossip, rumors, or even a simple glance at the new princess that had arrived, all of it was wanting to be seen.

It had only been a few days, but the people were impatient. Of course, hiding in her room wasn't doing any favors. The rumor of her being unstable, crazy even, of being the Nightmare were common theories going around in the minds of the greater noble families of the city.

They were not pleased, to put it in simplicity. Many claimed that her intentions were impure, and that Celestia was just fine on her own.

While harsh, they were things the lunar princess could understand the meaning behind. They were afraid of change and letting it out on the one they believed to be the cause.

Until she was formally presented to the public, these rumors would not end. Even then, they would not end completely. They could only be fed so many words before they demanded action.

But there was nothing Luna could do for now. Facing the public while her memory and magic were in fragments wouldn't do anyone any favors. She wanted to learn more about the world she was unfamiliar with, to remember anything of importance, before getting involved in high society and the politics of the land. She couldn't very well rule a country without knowing how to control most of her own body.

Her sister had long since returned to her own chambers, leaving the younger to her thoughts. Dwelling on the opinions of others she did not know would only add to the ever increasing list of negatives she had. Including what had happened when she had been raising the moon earlier.

Her limbs were still shaky from the experience. It wasn't a full drain of her power, but enough to leave her tired. Her magic levels had been increasing steadily, allowing her to use the spells that she knew for longer before tiring. Her talent was raising the moon, so surely it had to be easy for her, relatively speaking. But apparently not that easy. It had felt fine at first. But the look in her sister's eyes... she couldn't get that image out of her mind.

It was more than just concern for her overexerting herself. But what exactly it was... she couldn't place her finger on it. The only thing of note during the whole process was that voice. It was just a voice, her unconscious thoughts reflecting the negative, nothing to be concerned about, at least to an extent. She had been quick to let the matter go, though, to switch the conversation over to another matter when Luna herself hadn't realized what happened.

Thinking about it too hard only made her head swim more. The drain had in fact given her quite the headache, her limbs tired. But it was worth it. She had in fact raised the moon successfully for the first time that she could recall. And it felt great.

She had originally wanted to work on her magic more after watching her sister raise the moon. Oh well. She could only hope that it wouldn't take it too long to recover her mana. She was sure that she would get a stern word from her doctor either way.

The day had been taxing on the princess physically, her body practically melting into the mattress as soon as she laid down to rest her eyes and think. Of course, she didn't get very far before sleep overcame her.

Author's Note

I finished writing this almost two months ago and completely forgot to post it :twilightoops:
Let me know if you see any mistakes and I'll do my best to fix them!