She cried as she guided her moon’s lonely path across the sky, the silver orb the sole source of light in the endless dark that was her night - the dark which ponies shunned, fearing it as though it were a vile, dangerous thing.
She hated it.
She couldn’t understand it – why was the sun glorified, worshipped, and not the moon? Both were merely magical spheres set adrift in the sky, one designed to bestow light to work and play under during the day, the other to watch over and protect while creatures rested.
She didn’t hate the fact that they rested through her night – no, she’d always loved the quiet peace that her night always brought with it, the serenity that seemed to sweep over her little ponies as they lay down to rest.
She hated that they feared the night. What made it so different from the day, so vastly different that instead of causing ponies to love it, the night made ponies afraid of it – afraid of her?
The more she thought about it, the more it hurt – she realised that she had begun to feel lonely, but worse than that was the anger she felt towards her subjects at their refusal to love her.
She glanced at the moon, high in the sky, wishing she could be up there with it, as uncaring as it seemed to be of its loneliness, as altruistic as it was, to not despise the fact that it was not loved as much as its brother, the sun.
But no, the fear her ponies felt continued unabated. Her only wish in all the world was that they would come to love her night eventually – come to love her as much as they loved her sister.
Tears fell from her face; tears of pain, sadness, solitude.
As she watched, they began glistening with a light so pure, so beautiful, it was all she could do not to catch them, to keep them for herself forever and ever.
Then she had an idea – why not keep them forever? Why not showcase their beauty, for all to see?
There were so many, so, so many. She could not even count them all, she’d been crying for so long, but they lay around her, shining brightly, not dissipating into the air or being absorbed into the ground like all the others. Like tiny jewels, liquid diamonds they were.
She gathered her tears and flew as high as she could, right to the edge of the world itself, and began to spread the jewels throughout, sowing them like a farmer would sow seeds, filling the infinite blackness around her moon with pinpoints of light. As she placed them, some changed colour slightly, all the colours of the rainbow emerging into the blackness.
She got more ideas – to keep her tears interesting, she would draw pictures. She laughed as she placed her tears in crude animalistic shapes – a hunter pony, a ram, a bear, a lamb. She placed an image of herself in the sky, and her sister too, watching over their little ponies all through the night.
She thought of practical uses for the stars – one, she placed where it would point north, no matter where a pony was. Others, she rearranged to places that would help a pony determine his or her position in Equestria, helping them navigate.
For hours and hours, she spread her tears innumerable, making a last attempt to gain the love of her subjects, giving them a gift that they would remember forever, the product of her emotions shining in the sky for all to see.
Commoners merely called them stars, but to all zebra sages, pony magicians and scholars, dragon-kind, the griffin Eyrie-Lords, and so many more...
They were the Tears of Luna.
Twilight Sparkle wandered the streets of Canterlot. It was not long after the pageant, and everypony had begun to head home to celebrate the night with their families and friends. A light snow had begun to fall, with the promise of a heavier drift later on; but for now it was soft, beautiful.
She was on her way back to the hotel she and other girls were sharing, albeit in a roundabout way. She knew her way around, and wasn’t lost, but nevertheless took her time, walking through the streets, watching fillies and colts play in the snow with their parents looking on, watching shop-owners begin to close down and start going home themselves, basking in the warm glow that surrounded everypony on this most wonderful of nights. She looked up at the stars, noticing how few of them she could see because of the enormous pink heart floating above Canterlot - the manifestation of the happiness and cheer that this night brought about.
She found herself wondering what the Princesses were up to, imagining the huge hall by the Gardens filled to the brim with nobles, snobbery pushed aside for a night as they laughed and enjoyed each others’ presence. It was a good image, however fantastic.
Caught in her reverie, Twilight never noticed the shadowy figure glaring down at Canterlot from the Royal Chambers.
Princess Luna had watched as ponies milled about the city, going about their business. The Hearth’s Warming decorations had had to be hung, the gifts bought, the snowponies made, the young fillies and colts entertained, the gifts given, the stage set up for the Hearth’s Warming Pageant… on, and on, and on.
The Princess of the Night observed the goings on from her window, a torrent of emotions flowing through her at the sight.
Every pony had something to do, somewhere to be, somepony to be with…
Every pony, that is, except one.
She knew she should be feeling happy, thinking nothing but joyful thoughts; it was Hearth’s Warming Eve, ponykind’s most revered holiday!
How could she not feel glad at the sight of her little ponies preparing for the next day, watching them revel in their friends’ presence, celebrating the magic of friendship, the founding of Equestria?
How could she not feel glad when everypony put aside their troubles and the pegasi, unicorns and earth ponies all came together as one?
But she didn’t.
Sadness, guilt, loneliness, shame – those were what she felt. The legacy of Nightmare Moon had ruined her. Ponies still distrusted her, and she couldn’t blame them – it was barely a year ago when she, as Nightmare Moon, had again tried to bring about Eternal Night. She could see it in their eyes as she passed them in the halls of the palace, or on the streets of Canterlot. Not just distrust – fear.
Again, she couldn’t blame them. What pony in their right mind would want to spend Hearth’s Warming with her? For that matter, what pony would even speak to her? Not even Celestia had wanted to spend Hearth’s Warming Eve with her little sister; evidently her ‘royal duties’ were more important, but that was no excuse… for what? To not be seen with ‘Nightmare Moon?’
Surely her sister wasn’t that petty… but the evidence was there.
Should she take the initiative, like she had on Nightmare Night? Then again, every pony in Ponyville had seen how that had turned out - while the night had not been a total disaster, it had taken some serious effort to gain the trust of the small village’s citizens.
No, Luna thought, fighting back tears. This Hearth’s Warming would be better off without me.
Despondent, desperately needing something to take her mind off the situation, the Princess began to wander the castle grounds, ignoring the cold and the snow.
Twlight Sparkle…
The lavender unicorn jerked at the mention of her name, looking around to see who had said it. She found her eyes drawn to the heart floating above the city.
Twilight Sparkle…
The voice sounded like hundreds, or even thousands of laughing voices. Unsure of how to answer, she decided just to think her reply. That was how it worked in most fiction books.
Um… Yes?
We have seen you.
Wow. Ok, Twilight thought.
We know you to be a mare of integrity, of love and compassion. We know you to be somepony who would not wish for anypony to be alone, having come from the depths of that abyss yourself… we would ask for your assistance.
Twilight, still confused, but genuinely interested, asked the voice to continue, which it did, in a much more somber voice.
While Hearth’s Warming has already spread its cheer to all of Equestria, there is one pony who has yet to feel its true spirit. Where there should be laughter and gladness, there is naught but pain; sadness on a night when all ponies should be filled with joy, the cold of loneliness when all should feel the warmth of companionship and love. We would have you remedy this.
Twilight found herself wanting to help. Who is it? Who isn’t happy?
Her Royal Majesty, Princess Luna. She has shut us out, and while we have set in motion works that shall aid her to break out of her solitude, we cannot do it alone. You must be the one to pull her free.
She thought about it – but not for long.
I’ll do it.
Thank you… Oh, and one more thing.
Yes?
Happy Hearth’s Warming!
Twilight couldn’t help but laugh.
Through the streets of Canterlot walked a tiny white pony, with brown patches on his coat. He was very afraid; he’d been separated from his parents.
Pipsqueak and his family had come to Canterlot to visit friends and family, as well as to see Canterlot’s Hearth’s Warming Play, and had been on their way to their lodgings for the night when he’d gotten lost.
Now he wandered, cold, alone and frightened, through piles of snow which were ever so slowly growing higher and higher, trying to remember his mother’s advice for what to do when he got lost.
My very first Hearth’s Warming and I go and get lost...
He looked around frantically, trying to find something to remind him while simultaneously trying not to break down crying. Finally, he remembered.
If you ever get lost, his mother’s voice said, you find somepony in charge of something, whether it’s a shop owner, a policepony, a nurse, the Royal Guard, or even Princess Celestia herself, and ask them – politely – to help you find your way back to us.
He also remembered a small gift a certain alicorn had bestowed upon him on Nightmare Night for his 'kind words,' ash she put it; a way to find where she was, no matter the location.
Let’s see... he thought, digging through the small pouch he had instead of a saddlebag. He pulled out a small, night-blue gem, lifting it to view the moon through its facets, grinning as the refracted light made an arrow which pointed in the same direction no matter which way he turned it. He began to follow the direction it pointed.
It wasn’t quite Princess Celestia, but Luna, he was sure, would help him.
Pipsqueak eventually found his way to the Royal Palace, where he was nearly simultaneously stopped and brought inside by the guards, who were clearly still at an indecision as to whether a colt of barely more than a year posed a threat to the Princess, and if it would be right to leave him in the cold. They eventually decided to leave him in the care of one of the few servants who had stayed to work on the holiday. They were currently perched in front of a fire in a room near the main entrance.
“So, what’s your name?” the servant asked the bundle of blankets, which sipped its hot chocolate before answering.
“I’m Pipsqueak! What’s your name?”
“Call me Orchard.”
The two began a one-sided conversation, Pipsqueak domineering the servant, telling her the whole story of his arrival here, before shooting off a bunch of questions of his own – What she did at the castle, what it was like being near royalty all the time, and if there were any secret entrances that he could exploit later.
“Well- Oh no no no no no! What in the world is she doing out there?” she excalimed, having noticed a dark form moving past the window. “Stay right here, I’ll be back in a jiffy,” the green unicorn said before trotting out the door of the guest room.
“What’s a jiffy?” Pipsqueak asked the walls, before the unicorn returned with another, much larger, bundle of blankets – one that looked like it had been crying.
“Orchard, We don’t quite understand why thou thinketh We are bothered by the cold of Equestria. W-We have told you before... a night on the moon is much...” she shuddered. “Much worse. At any rate, We told thee not to disturb Us – that We wished to be alone.” The Princess was clearly trying to hide her emotions through a burst of indignation, and was failing terribly.
“Yeah, yeah. Princess, I’m afraid that just ain’t gonna happen. This is Hearth’s Warming Eve. Nopony should be alone tonight. Anyways, I’ve got... servanty... things... to do. But this here Pipsqueak’s here to keep you company until his parents come to pick him up. He got lost, you see, got a little scared.”
Luna blinked. “Did you say-“ she asked, before being bowled over by a mottled brown and white colt.
“Princess Luna! Oh, I’m so happy to see you! It was so scary outside – it was cold, and dark, and the snow was getting heavier, and then I remembered the gem you gave me on Nightmare Night, and then I came here! You really are my favourite Princess ever!”
The unicorn looked blankly between the two bundled ponies of vastly different size, before smiling. “Well, I take it you two are already... acquainted. It really is good to see you’ve made at least one friend, Luna,” she said, breaking formality just once.
Orchard left the two in the room, heading off to do her... servanty things.
Luna and Pipsqueak began to chat, Pipsqueak retelling the story of how he got lost and came to the castle in greater detail than before, and proceeding to ask Luna a barrage of questions about palace life, what it was like being a Princess, and if she got to have any more fun after Nightmare Night; questions which Luna barely had any time to reply to before the next one came in full force.
Eventually he asked the one question the Princess had been hoping he wouldn’t ask.
“Um... Princess Luna... When you first came in here, you looked really sad, like you were crying. Are you sad?”
Luna sighed, not sure if she could answer it in a way he could understand. There was more to her sadness than he could understand at his age. Thankfully, the question was forgotten when two very warmly dressed ponies poked their heads around the corner, escorted by two guards. Their eyes came to rest on Pipsqueak and lit up, before noticing the rooms other occupant and immediately prostrating themselves, shaking slightly.
Luna sighed once more. “Rise,” she said, turning back to Pipsqueak. “It would probably be best for us to part ways, little Pipsqueak. Thank you for sharing your company with me.”
“Pipsqueak, darling, do you have any idea how worried we were?!” his mother cried, quickly getting over her fear of Luna... almost.
“I’m sorry, Mum. I got lost, so I did what you said and found Princess Luna,” he replied, looking up at her happily.
“Oh,” she laughed. “I can never find a good reason to stay mad at you, can I?”
“Nope!” Pipsqueak chirped.
“Come on, kiddo. Let’s get going. We don’t want to take anymore of Her Majesty’s time,” his father said, nodding his head towards Luna in an odd mixture of thanks and fear – subservience, Luna realised with a flash of anger that she hoped didn’t appear on her face.
“Alright...” Pipsqueak said reluctantly, and began to walk with his parents towards the Palace’s entrance. Suddenly, he shouted, “Hold on, just a moment.” He ran back to where Luna sat and wrapped his hooves around her neck, shocking his parents, the two guards present, and Luna herself, who couldn’t manage to return it before the tiny colt was scrambling off to his parents again.
“Bye, Princess Luna!” he laughed.
“Favourite Princess ever,” he whispered, scampering back to his parents, who draped an enormous blanket over him before exiting the Palace.
She could barely wave in return, merely returning her gaze to the fire, watching the flames flickering, thinking bitter thoughts.
If only I could go with them, she mused sadly.
“Cutie Mark Crusader Ninjas, YAY!!!” cried the three fillies as their latest scheme came to fruition.
Climbing stealthily up a tree near the palace walls, Applebloom looked around. “Th’ coast is clear!”
She leapt over to the wall, managing to grab onto a window sill, and from there began her trek towards the royal chambers, her friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle in tow. Dressed all in black like the Lunarian warriors of legend, they were a sight to see – if you could see them. Snow had no effect on them, blustery winds holding no sway. They were defenders of the night, the ultimate warriors... and they were on a mission.
Operation: Cheer Up Luna was a-go.
They climbed silently over the top of three guards, pausing briefly to listen to their conversation. A pony never heard guards speaking anything but business, and the fillies were interested in what they had to say.
“He did what?!” one of the guards laughed.
“Oh yeah, I’m not even kidding. Went right up to her and gave her a hug, then ran out the door.”
“Wow… who knew the colt had it in him. Takes some serious courage to talk to Nightm- Princess Luna, much less do something like that.”
“Got that right. He find his way home? I had to go on patrol, left him with Orchard.”
“Yeah, his parents showed up later on. It’s nice for the Princess though – hay, even I can’t stop myself calling her Nightmare Moon sometimes. She looked pretty wrecked before the kid came though. He seemed to cheer her up a little. I’d go see her myself, but I’m on duty till dawn.”
“Hey, I’d cover for you if you really want to, Bul’. You got the North Wall at what... eight thirty? I’ve got West the same time, I’ll just do both. What in the hay’s supposed to happen on Hearth’s Warming Eve anyway? Not even criminals would miss a holiday with friends.”
“You sayin’ we’re lower than criminals?”
“Hey, you’re both my friends if I ever had any.” The guards laughed and brohoofed each other, laughing.
“Well... We’ll see.”
The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked at one another, nodded, then continued on, hopping from window to window, leaving the guards far behind in their wake as they climbed higher and higher, ever closer to Princess Celestia’s room.
A short while later – and about two thousand “Don’t look down!”s from Sweetie Belle – they arrived. Inside the room, the only colours were the colours of the night – midnight blues, starry whites and deep blacks.
“Is that the target?” Scootaloo asked.
“Eeyup,” Applebloom confirmed.
“Does she look like she’s been crying to you?” Sweetie Belle asked.
The fillies peeked inside the window they were holding onto.
“She sure looks lonely... Now, y’all remember what that big heart thingy said? It’s Twilight’s job to cheer her up, but we gotta try our best to get her ready fer that.”
“Yeah yeah, we got it,” Scootaloo replied, trying not to wave her hoof.
“Hey, does that still make us Princess Cheerer-Uppers?” Sweetie Belle asked hopefully.
“...What’s a ‘Cheerer Upper’?”
“We cheer up the Princess, you dummy!”
“Whatever. Sure, I guess.”
All three shouted in unison, throwing their hooves in the air. “Cutie Mark Crusader Princes Cheerer-Uppers! Yay!!!” They didn’t realise until too late that their hooves were the only thing keeping them from a very large drop.
Luna had returned to her bedroom after Pipsqueak’s departure, unsure what to make of Pipsqueak’s words. While his visit had left her feeling... slightly warmer inside, she supposed, his departure had left her feeling surprisingly empty, not far different from her previous state of mind.
Better to have had and lost than to have never had at all...
“Shut up,” she barked venomously. “To have never had at all would have made a thousand years on the moon so much easier.”
Suddenly she heard a sound. “Cutie Mark Crusaders Princess Cheerer-Uppers, Yay!!!”
The Princess’ head shot around to her window, where the shout from had come from. Opening the window and looking outside, however, she saw nothing, but heard the screams, getting slightly quieter every second. She looked down, seeing three fillies falling to the ground.
Without hesitating, Luna dove out the window, flying down towards them at nearly top speed - as she approached them, she reached out with her magic, catching the fillies moments before they hit the ground, and pulling up herself, not a moment too soon. She didn’t want to ruin their night any further, however, so she prepared to leave quickly. She set the fillies on the ground, checking quickly to make sure they were unharmed, before opening her wings to begin the flight back to her window, but was stopped just before taking to the air.
“Wait!” one of the fillies cried out.
“Yeah! At least let us say thanks!”
The Princess turned an eye towards the fillies, allowing them that much.
“You don’t just tell the Princess what to do, you dodos,” said the white unicorn filly. “You have to bow first. It’s polite.”
With that, the three bowed, then got up and began saying their 'Thank-you's to Luna. There was something familiar about the yellow and white fillies, but she couldn’t quite place her hoof on it...
“Alrighty then, now we just gotta get our Princess Cheerer-Upper cutie marks!”
She was quickly tussled inside past the gobsmacked guards, and planted on one of the couches. She mentally glared at them, laughing grimly as they turned their gaze away from the fillies accosting her.
And we pay them for this?
The orange pegasus pulled a clipboard and glasses from nowhere and began writing on it. “So, Princess,” she said.
“Would you say you’ve been feeling at all sad, lonely, or in any other way unhappy?” she asked in as professional a voice as she could.
“We-“ Luna started, before being cut off by the white unicorn.
“Scootaloo, you have to tell her your name first. Actually, we probably all should, she still has no idea who we even are,” Sweetie Belle chided.
“Oh, right. I’m Scootaloo!”
“I’m Sweetie Belle!”
“An’ Ah’m Applebloom!”
They finished together, shouting, “And we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders!”
“Right now, we’re a’tryin’ ta get our Cutie Marks by cheerin’ you right up, Princess,” Applebloom explained. “So, will you tell us what’s on your mind? You look down.”
Luna, slightly shellshocked by the fillies’ energy and compassion, took a moment to answer.
“How would thou react if We said that We are lonely?”
Sweetie Belle looked around the room, before answering, “Well, I dunno how you could be lonely if there’s more of you.”
“There ain’t no more of her, silly! That’s the Royal ‘We’,” Applebloom said in a moment of intelligence. “They did it ‘cuz... I don’ remember. But Luna was gone for a thousand years, so she still does it. Miss Cheerilee said so.”
The three fillies paused for a moment, nodding sagely at each other before continuing.
“So what’s wrong?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Everypony hates Us – we tried to make the night last forever,” she said, mocking the voice of Nightmare Moon... too well. She saw how the fillies shuffled away from her. She had to give them credit though; they recovered well. Better than most, who never did at all.
“So, you’re lonely, huh Princess?” Scootaloo said. “Do you have any friends you could hang out with?”
“Princess Celestia is busy at the-“
“No, no, no!” cried Applebloom. “Princess Celestia’s yur sister, not yur friend. They’re sorta the same, but there’s still a difference.”
“Yeah! Like there’s some things I’d tell Applebloom or Scootaloo that I’d never tell Rarity – even though we’re like apple pie - and the same for her and Applejack!”
Luna paused, shoving away her bitterness for a moment. She wondered if the fillies were right – if she needed a friend. Not just a sister – a friend. It was a groundbreaking thought, but she couldn’t dwell on it for long before the fillies continued, breaking whatever train of thought she may have had.
The Crusaders continued on for quite a while, telling jokes, arguing comically, singing songs and playing games, all in an attempt to cheer up their Princess. While Luna admired their efforts, she couldn’t help but sigh. They had almost worked.
Nevertheless, she had hope. Maybe Hearth’s Warming Eve was lost to her, but she had hope - of breaking out of this terrible, terrible loneliness. Surely, there were ponies out there that she could become friends with, ponies who could help her shed the weight that was bearing her down.
She stopped the fillies’ ramblings, smiling a fake smile at them, though she was practiced enough in court etiquette that it appeared real.
“We thank thee, Cutie Mark Crusaders, for trying to cheer Us up. We think it helped... We were a bit lonely.” A bold-faced lie... almost.
The three broke into huge grins, crouching closer to the ground as if preparing for some sort of explosion, shutting their eyes and looking towards their flanks.
Their disappointment was evident when no cutie marks appeared, but they were nevertheless happy with the fact that they’d managed to cheer up the Princess of the Night.
“Oh, look at the time! Applejack and Rarity are so gonna kill us! Your parents too, Scootaloo!” The fillies sprinted out the doors of the Palace, quickly piling onto Scootaloo’s scooter which was hidden around the corner, and buzzing off into the night, leaving a surprised, though slightly, ever so slightly, less unhappy Luna in their wake.
What in Equestria is going on? Luna wondered. The whole day, barely a single pony had seemed to notice she even existed, bar the palace servants, guards and those insufferable fools who still ran away screaming “Nightmare Moon! Nightmare Moon!”
And now, not far off midnight, four foals had come and changed the night entirely. Dear little Pipsqueak had merely been lost, but the three fillies had come with the sole purpose to cheer her up. They’d not succeeded, but their failure was dampened by what they’d given her.
She returned to her room, still brought low by her solitude, but she had hope, and that could not be denied by the bitter corners of her mind.
Twilight was busy creating strategies in her head in regards to how to spread the Hearth’s Warming cheer to Princess Luna, unaware that the seeds had already been placed through no effort of hers at all.
She pondered what she’d been told.
...Pain and sadness...
Was Luna hurting? It couldn’t be because of Nightmare moon, could it?
Twilight thought she’d overcome that on Nightmare Night in Ponyville... But only in Ponyville, she realised. Anywhere else in Equestria, ponies would still be afraid of her, still shun her.
...The cold of loneliness...
But she wasn’t alone, was she? She had Celestia, she had all of the Palace Guards and servants...
But if she’s feeling that lonely, she might think that it’s Celestia’s obligation to be nice to her as a sister, and her guards and servants are paid to be courteous... That’s probably what I’d think in that state.
Twilight began to realise what a task it would be to spread the Hearth’s Warming cheer to Princess Luna that night.
She could only hope that whatever ‘works’ the voices had put into action were... working.
She glanced around, hoping nopony was listening to her thoughts.
Oh, we were. That was terrible.
She blushed heavily, continuing her musings.
There was an unexpected knock on Luna’s door, breaking her concentration. She dropped her paintbrush, spreading a large black streak over the page – luckily, she was painting the night sky, and had only just begun the backdrop.
“Enter,” she called. She was mildly surprised to see one of her guards enter, carrying a small wrapped package with him. “Greetings, Bulwark. What business brings you here?”
The guard shuffled on his hooves. “Well I-,” he coughed, then started again. “It isn’t so much business as... Well, I...” he muttered. Luna raised an eyebrow, politely waiting for him to continue despite having a sudden urge to use the Royal Canterlot Voice and tell him to get on with it.
“You see, Your Highness, I saw you going around earlier today, and you looked really sad. But I was on duty, so I couldn’t say anything unless it was important, you know how it is...”
He took a deep breath and continued. Luna noticed he didn’t seem quite... afraid, like most other ponies, but rather something else. It was quite uncharacteristic for the normally stoic, unflinching Palace Guards.
“I just wanted to give you this. You know, for Hearth’s Warming and all.”
He offered her the package, and Luna took it, removing the package to find a small snowglobe. She shook it and gasped, her eyes filling with wonder, becoming more and more entranced as she saw that it was magically enchanted, so that the snowflakes fell in the shapes of constellations.
Even as she watched, she saw Orion, Sagittarius and even Equis Major - constellations she herself had created, given form in the tiny glass ball. She remembered when she’d created them, all those years ago, the purity of her emotions causing her tears to shine with the same beauty. Mere days before her hatred and jealousy consumed her, before she became lost in the Nightmare. Bittersweet, she smiled, entranced by memories of times long past.
She didn’t even notice the brief knock on the door before it opened.
She jumped as Celestia entered the room, head high and clearly not focusing on her surroundings. “Oh Luna!” she cried out in a sing-song voice. “You’re not in here all alone are...?”
She finally noticed Bulwark standing in front of Luna, the latter holding the snowglobe to her heaving chest. Celestia’s eyes gained a mischievous glint and she began to walk backwards out the door. “Well I suppose not. I’ll just be... leaving then.”
The Princess of the Night and her Guard both choked and spluttered, trying to rebut Celestia’s statement, but neither was quick enough, and Celestia was soon out the door. Luna soon followed, previous thoughts forgotten. Her voice trailed down the hall to where Bulwark stood.
“C-C-Celesita! Wait! Sister!”
Celestia appeared from nowhere behind the guard, scaring the skin off of him. “Thank you, Bulwark. You don’t know just how she’s been feeling lately... basically since her return from the moon.” She looked kindly at him. “And you don’t know how spectacular a choice that gift was. She loves it – I can tell.”
She paused once more, as if deciding whether to say more. She leaned in conspiratorially. “Between you and me, if she ever gives you a chance, you have my full support.”
Bulwark blushed mightily as Celestia followed after Luna, watching her go for just a moment before returning to his post.
“Tia, what was that?!” Luna cried, trying not to slip into the Royal Canterlot Voice.
“It was just a joke, silly. You really shouldn’t get so worked up about it. Besides, if there’s really nothing going on, then you shouldn’t be so worried, right?” Celestia replied, the spark of playfulness still in her eyes.
“Thou and thy miscreantly ways...” Luna muttered.
“I came to see if you were doing okay. Don’t think I didn’t see you moping around all day. Besides, the Hearth’s Warming Banquet was getting boring,” Celestia said. “I politely excused myself, of course, but honestly, sometimes those nobles are just too hard to be around.”
Luna considered this. “So... thou- you, too, came to... cheer me up?”
“Me too?”
“Indeed. Though most of the day has been miserable, there has been a substantial increase in the past few hours of ponies noticing my plight and trying to help.”
Celestia asked Luna to tell her all about it, and received the whole story in detail – the appearance of Pipsqueak, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Bulwark, and all of their attempts to cheer her up, which largely succeeded, and even the hope of finding friends the fillies had given her.
“Finding a friend, huh? You know, Luna, I have a certain student doing a study of friendship who might just be able to help you out...”
Pinkie Pie was ecstatic. Twilight had actually come to her to organise a party, and not the other way around? It was impossible!
But then to say it was a party for Princess Luna? Pinkie nearly fainted from the overload... not to mention almost destroying their hotel room. The damages would be fixed free of charge, courtesy of Twilight Sparkle's super-cool unicorn magic of course.
Twilight herself had spent the whole night so far trying to figure out what would likely spread some cheer to the Princess, and decided, reluctantly, that a Pinkie Pie Party was the best way.
Strange things happened at Pinkie Pie Parties. Magical things.
And with their own party set up, Twilight figured all she had to do now was somehow convince the Princess to join their party, and everything would be fixed.
Spike burped loudly, a letter forming in the green fire he’d expelled.
“It’s from Princess Celestia,” he declared.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,
I must thank you and your friends for the wonderful performance you put on tonight. I do have another favour to ask of you, however.
My sister, Princess Luna, has been feeling... down, recently. The stigma surrounding Nightmare Moon has not yet receded and she is hard pressed to find companionship among ponies, and feels quite alone.
I have recommended her to you, hoping you could share some of your findings on the magic of friendship with her. She will be joining you shortly.
Yours,
Princess Celestia.
P.S – I don’t really want you to share your findings with her. One day, maybe, but not right now. She’s been moping around all day, and I want her to stop. See if your friend Pinkie Pie can’t get her spirits up with a good surprise party.
Twilight laughed out loud. Well, that was easy enough.
“Sister... would you say that we are... friends?”
The Sun Princess blinked. “Of course. Why wouldn’t we be? We’re sisters.”
“Would you tell me anything if I asked you? You would not keep secrets?”
Celestia shuffled uncomfortably, and the action was not missed by Luna.
Suspicions instantly formed in her mind, millennia-old thoughts and feelings began to surface. She’s hiding something from me. After all this time, all those kind words...
A surge of anger hit Luna. “What is it?” she asked slowly, coldly.
Celestia’s eyes widened slightly at Luna’s sudden change of mood, stuttering over her answer. “I-it’s nothing you should worry about, Little Sister.”
“Isn’t it?” Luna retorted viciously. “How can you be sure?"
"I-" Celestia tried to say, but she was cut off instantly by Luna, who by this point had lost control of the sudden wave of anger. The change was frighteningly quick.
" How could you?! I’ve lived a year full of sadness and isolation, a year followed by my own legacy, a year being feared by my own subjects! My only solace since my return has been in a holiday wherein my own image was used to FRIGHTEN CHILDREN!”
Even her own sister was stepping back in fear, unable to face the rage of the Princess of the Night. All that had come of the night’s events was pushed aside as Luna roared at her sister, any inhibitions long forgotten in the moment.
“See now! Even you, sister, cower from me! And how could you not, from me, the terror of ponies everywhere? ‘Watch out for the new Princess – she’s just waiting for a chance to strike again.’ ‘Don’t be bad, child, or Nightmare Moon will come and gobble you up!’” Luna roared, tears flowing freely from her face, unnoticed by the midnight blue mare.
“Luna, calm down-“
“NO! I WILL NOT CALM DOWN, NOT UNTIL I AM GIVEN THE RESPECT I DESERVE – FOR SURELY THAT, AT LEAST, I AM ENTITLED TO, THOUGH MY SUBJECTS MAY DETEST EVEN THE SIGHT OF ME!”
The full weight of Luna’s emotions was now being brought to bear on her sister, who could say nothing in comfort - because most of it was true.
Luna teleported away in a furious flash of midnight blue, two glittering jewels falling slowly down in her wake.
A/N - Hi, everypony! Here's one very very very late Hearth's Warming fic that's been running around in my hard drive shouting "Over here! Over here! I'm nearly done, come write me!" So I did.
Please; comment, rate, track, watch, whatever, if you'd be so kind. And tell me what you think of my writing style, storyline, etc. Ideas of where to go next are also appreciated, though may not be incorporated - it's always nice to see people care enough that they have an idea of where they want the story to be heading, whether it goes there or not.
You may or may not have noticed, but I have absolutely no capability for writing decent descriptions of my work, nor a tagging a category to put it in. I honestly have no clue how to effectively do either of those things. So don't mind the tags or description - just read it.
Thanks - Midnight Specter.
P.S - This won't likely be finished until Hearth's Warming Day this year, so... Have fun waiting :D
