Chapters Dear Princess Luna
Special thanks to TheDarkAngel for making this less bad.
The sound of hooves colliding on freshly cleaned stone resonated pleasantly throughout the massive hallway a servant found herself trotting through. Beside her floated a sterling silver tray complete with a very neat pile of envelopes and scrolls. The wielder of the plate, a bright silver unicorn, paced the halls of the castle in an effort to find the sisters.
The sisters resided on a balcony that adorned the tallest tower of the castle, a common bonding place for the two. Their favorite pastime since the younger’s arrival to the country would be sitting atop the highest point in their tower as the older explained what had changed in her millenium of absence. The look of wonder that adorned the younger’s face during the catch-up sessions was, to the teacher, absolutely priceless. She took pride in her country, after all. That and her student, of which she was explicit in explaining to the eager listener, who would smile and nod in admiration that unicorns had grown so powerful since her... time away .
“Princesses!” An exhausted voice erupted from behind them. They turned to find the source, a pony struggling to levitate the tray above the ground breathing heavily. “I... have... the mail,” she gasped once all attention had been diverted to her.
“Thank you Silver Platter,” Princess Celestia smiled warmly at the panting pony. The aura of the tray shifted from a sparkling silver to a bright, regal white as it floated from the hunched figure to the poised one. “You can go now, we will look over the mail.”
“Yes... Princess.” She smiled gratefully before trudging back down the hall.
Celestia returned to her sister and placed the sterling silver tray between then. Luna looked down with wonder and a hint of restricted excitement. Ever since her first arrival the news of her return has been spreading like a wildfire in the Everfree, but not once has she gotten a letter welcoming her back. Each day a stack of envelopes and scrolls graced Celestia’s presence, and each day she would hover just behind, silently hoping that for once Celestia would turn around with an excited squeal.
“This is addressed to you!” She would exclaim in amazement.
“Finally! We have a letter!” She would respond, grabbing the letter from Celestia’s magic and opening it with unbridled glee.
The letter would never be shown to Luna, in her fantasies. She prefered waiting for the first actual letter to reveal its contents rather than dressing the possibilities up only to be disappointed later on. Secretly, however, in the deepest depth of her heart, she always wished to find a love letter. A childish fantasy, she had to admit, she clinged to, but one that would always send her heart aflutter with every delivery.
“Hmm, Luna... Luna?” Celestia turned to find her sister staring absently at the falling sun, a reserved smile controlling her lips. Clearing her throat, she tried again for her sister’s attention, “Luna .”
“Hmm?” She swam back to reality and rose a quizzical eyebrow to her sister.
“You’ve got a letter,” she informed the daydreaming demigod with the nonchalance one would find from any other pony going through their mail.
“R-really?” Luna gaped in amazement at Celestia’s words. Albeit her sister is not a excited as she would have hoped, she could not contain her joy upon hearing those words! “Oh Wonderful day! A pony has finally decided to write us!”
“I’m very happy for you, Luna. It’s about time that somepony has decided to write you.”
A dark blue aura enwrapped the scroll that had been placed so tantalizingly in front of her face. Without skipping a beat, the dark blue ribbon used to seal the milky white parchment fell idly to the floor and the sound of disrupted paper filled the room.
“Dear Princess Luna,” she read aloud, giddiness causing her voice to waver heavily. An encouraging nod from her sister drove her onward. “Might I say it is an honor to have you as a co-ruler of equestria! I know the girls and I are... enjoyed your Nightmare Night costume... look forward to seeing you...” Her voice rose just above a whisper every so often, but most of the letter was read in her head. “Your loyal subject, Twilight Sparkle.”
“Oh, a message from my faithful student!” praised Celestia. “I was wondering when she would send you a letter.”
“Sister...” Luna’s voice floated meekly before falling flat against the granite they sat upon. “Sister, please be honest with us. Did you put Twilight Sparkle up to this letter?”
“What? I would never do such a thing!” Celestia’s calm demeanor melted into a self-defensive edge. “Why would you accuse me of such?”
“Sister please, do not toy with us. We are too old for such games.”
Celestia tried to argue further, but found difficulty when facing her sister. After all, it was not anger or fury that sharpened Luna's words that dug so deep into her heart, it was resignation. It drove a pain into her very core to realize that her sister had altogether abandoned the hope, that unbridled hope Luna never quite abandoned and, in truth, Celestia always admired her for, like an ember in a storm.
“Luna, please. Try to understand, Twilight only meant the best in her efforts,” Celestia tried her best to explain.
Luna rose to her hooves, deaf to Celestia's words and numb to her crushed emotions, and left without so much of a word of argument. Her words were going to be wasted on her sister, anyway; she couldn't understand what Luna was going through. She was too loved by everypony.
The grand oak door shut behind her, whether by her own subconscious doing or her sister’s in attempt to provide privacy she was unsure, but she found herself alone in the marble hallway with nothing but the letter floating beside her. An exasperated breath flowed unsteadily from her nostrils as she struggled desperately to suppress a scream of repressed fury.
Perhaps, it seemed, she was not meant to be loved by her people. Forever cast into a state of ostracization and exile for her previous actions. A concrete lump stopped in her throat and blocked her train of thought. Could the ponies still not have forgiven her for her actions in a previous life? Could they really still be mad at her? Impossible! Celestia had made sure that ponies over the generations have been taught, above all, forgiveness and compassion towards one another, so surely they should accept her... Right?
She shook the malicious thoughts from her head and in turn revitalized herself to face the day, or night in her case, with a proud, royal demeanor. She brought the letter, previously crumpled from frustration and betrayal, and unfolded the scroll to it former glory. She had to commend Twilight Sparkle on her efforts. At least she took the time to write a letter towards the Princess and sounded sincere enough.
Either way, is was unbecoming of a princess to worry and act out over such frivolous things. She retreated to her room for just a moment to deposit the letter in a safety drawer in her dresser, then emerged soon after with a new coat of positivity draped over her figure. Her legs gave out in replacement of her wings, which now propelled her through the grand hall.
The reddening marble around her queued her in that is was time for the daily shifting of the sun and moon. Both sisters flying in opposite directions emerged from the castle and the sky quickly darkened to match the younger’s coat. As if synchronized, the bright red ball of light sank below the horizon and the bright white pearl rose from behind the mountain.
As soon as Celestia returned to the castle, she retreated to her bedchambers to sleep. Try as they might, the Princesses were still equine, and still needed their respective sleep. Luna slept during the day and Celestia during the night; the only time they had to talk to each other were in the simple times of twilight, just before any discernable time could be determined.
Luna arrived just in time to hear the grand oak door close to Celestia’s room, leaving her alone until dawn. Her lips pursed into a reserved smirk. Her favorite time, being left alone to rule the country. Gleeful trots resonated down the empty corridors as the Princess of the Night made her way around the castle, her castle - at least until Celestia woke up again.
The various structures flew passed her as she made her way through: Celestia’s bedroom door, of which Luna was very careful to creep across so as not to wake her irritable sister; the dining hall, where a grand spread was being laid out in preparations for her breakfast; the innumerable stain glass window painting, a particular favorite of the Sun Goddess, but completely useless to the ruler of the night.
The darkening interior shrouded the trotting pony in a veil of darkness. Only in the exalted moonlight could Luna feel her best, and only when traveling through the black of the normally white halls could she feel her power return to her. However, her enjoyment was cut short when the entire hall was bathed in a sparkling, green light. Her natural thought was, of course, Queen Chrysalis, but no pony, even with the aid of her natural night vision, could be seen throughout the empty corridor.
In fact, the only thing she could see was a small parchment, dark as her coat and decorated like the sky she so proudly displayed every night.
The First Letter
Major, * major** thanks to TheDarkAngel for reading through this and making it not bad!*
Princess Luna looked to either side of the hallway, but to no avail. The scroll must have been a precipitate of the explosion, she decided, sarcastically congratulating herself of her brilliant deductive skills. But silent self-ridicule would have to wait, at the moment the mysterious scroll would have to take precedence.
She enveloped the scroll in her magical aura and brought it a few inches from her face. She found it remarkable, it honestly looked as if somepony had taken a piece of her celestial creation and rolled it into a scroll, enchanted to bring life to the stars and novas that adorned the blackness.
Unraveling the parchment revealed a cream-colored center, upon which a letter was written, long enough to cover every inch of the creamy nugget that contrasted her night sky.
Dear Princess Luna,
It is with great trepidation that I write this letter; please forgive the shortness of my letter or the inconsistent scribbles with which I write this letter with. I do so apologize, but the very idea sends chills down my spine. I mean, the mere thought of a simple peasant writing a letter to a member of royalty, and one of such grace and majesty as yourself! I’m rambling... I tend to do that when I’m nervous.
I just... I have to get my thoughts out before the fear of your rejection strikes again and I tear up this letter and start all over again. I know you must think me a fool to write to you, considering both my place in Equestria and yours. However, while courage still grips my heart tight enough to squeeze its thoughts onto paper, I feel I must tell you; you are the most beautiful pony my humble eyes have ever had the fortune of setting upon. Since your first arrival I saw through the frightful corruption that had sunken into that beautiful figure. You were misguided, and thankfully the Elements of Harmony were there to resurrect you back to your former glory. Ah, I’m rambling again. Please forgive me, Princess Luna. Please forgive me and my foolish heart which compels me to write to you. As if you would ever consider pursuing a pony such as myself. I... I’m sorry for wasting your time.
Forever Yours
Princess Luna brought a silver-plated hoof to her mouth in amazement. Such beautiful words, the kind she feared she’d never get the chance to experience, at least not directed towards her! A soft squee of delightment erupted from her mouth, which she immediately shut and capped with her hoof. Her cheeks burned a vibrant magenta and she immediately retreated to her room to look over the letter again.
Once tucked away in the privacy of her own room, she traveled its length to the chest resting directly below a full length mirror just to the right of her bed. Inside the chest sat an array of random items, some of them including parchment, ink, and a set of quills - originally cast away in the chest for underuse. She had, of course, no use to write to anypony, for no pony had ever found the use to write to her.
Tonight, however, she would find a purpose for the chirographic tools that had served little purpose past dust-collectors for the past 2 years. A case of quills, two bottles of ink, and a stack of paper lifted from the chest and found its way to a desk located directly to the left of the bed, along with an ecstatic Princess Luna.
However, as soon as quill hit parchment, three soft taps resonated from the wooden barrier that shielded her from the outside world. Followed by a soft voice, “Uhm, Princess Luna?”
The quill lost its magical support and dropped onto the milky paper, leaving a small slash on the corner as it did so. “Yes?” responded Luna, wiping away the ink from the scroll, but only managing to color the corner an inconsistent dark gray.
“It is your turn to rule the kingdom, your majesty.”
“Very well...” She gave one last longing look toward the stained paper and the original letter before leaving her chamber and joining the pony to the atrium. “So tell me, Silver Platter. Who is waiting for me in the grand hall?”
“It’s a farmer,” she informed. “He’s here to talk about a rain shortage just outside of Trottingham.”
“And they feel it a big enough problem to meet with the Princesses?”
“Apparently so.”
Princess Luna rolled her eyes and continued the remainder of the journey in silence. Rain differentials should be taken care of by the weather teams, or Cloudsdale directly, not with the rulers of the country who, in true honesty, are not involved with such menial tasks.
“Greetings your highness,” a bass voice greeted once the large oak doors had been opened enough to reveal both Luna and the pony she walked with. The source, a well-built dark yellow stallion sporting a stetson hat to hide his unruly brown mane, smiled eagerly at the approaching princess. His teeth were exposed and in Luna’s opinion, shouldn’t have been. The stench of wheat, or oats in general, seeped from his pores alongside his hair.
“Greetings loyal subject,” she responded with a slightly forced smile. She enjoyed being addressed as royalty, and recognized as an equal to her sister who had countless more generations under her rule, but with matters as trivial to the princess as this, she almost preferred to be left alone. “What seems to be troubling you?”
“It’s the rain level, your highness,” the pony bowed and removed his stetson hat. “We don’t get ‘nough water to water our crops.”
“Why not confer with your local weather team? They are the ones responsible for your average rainfall.”
“Ah tried. They said they’re doin’ their best with what they got. Said Cloudsdale’s not givin’ them enough clouds.”
“Not enough clouds? What happened?”
“Ah don’t rightly know, your highness,” he admitted, fumbling around with his hat.
“Then allow us to propose a solution.” The princess grabbed a piece of paper and a quill resting comfortably in the well of an ink bottle. “I shall write to Cloudsdale informing them of the water shortage just north of Trottingham: ‘Increase Trottingham’s cloud quota.’ If the problem consists, please do contact us again and I shall find a more permanent remedy.”
“Thank you, your highness!” The pony grabbed the note and walked off.
Luna smiled and waved him off, then, as soon as she was sure she was alone, sank deeper into the throne and released a sigh. Almost every day since she’s been trusted to rule the kingdom on her own she’s been responsible for the most trivial disputes in the kingdom. It seemed as if any and all major problems occurred during the day, when she was asleep.
She’s accepted the fact that most ponies followed her sister’s schedule and are thus asleep or unwinding when she ruled, it was admittedly the hardest aspect of her life to accept, but she had hoped to have more responsibilities, as with the first kingdom she and her sister ruled, where ponies would come night after night offering sacrifices in return for helping them defend or attack a neighboring tribe, often both sides trying to persuade her at the same time, so she got to pick what she got.
“Princess Luna, now that you’ve finished with the guest, perhaps you might like some breakfast?” She held out the last work to encompass the action of levitating a plate full of food in front of Luna’s face.
Luna thanked them graciously as she stood from the throne, “Unfortunately, I’ve something urgent to attend to-”
“No, no, your highness. As part of our daily duties, we are to get you to eat and maintain in proper princess etiquette,” Silver Platter defended, placing the plate as a wall between Luna and anything past the gold plated, velvet-lined throne sitting at the end of the of a long red carpet.
Luna opened her mouth to protest, but, upon seeing the adamant expression of the insistent server, thought it better to let the air escape without so much as a word of rebuttal; the caretakers, despite their recessive and timid nature, had the spine to intimidate King Sombra if the case were to arise. Instead, she turned to the plate and wrapped the bottom in her own magic; the other pony smiled in victory and left to attend to other matters, leaving Luna alone to enjoy her meal and contemplate her letter.
Despite the thought-demanding nature of the mysterious letter, or more importantly the mysterious writer, Luna found herself dazing off whilst eating due to the mind-numbing tasks she was responsible for during the night, and in her dazed state the state of the castle claimed her conscious mind. She never quite paid enough attention to notice it before, but the castle’s color changed as suddenly as the sky did between day and night.
The sterling, bright stone used to both support and decorate the interior were too susceptible, in her opinion, to light changes that occurred outside, especially from the lack of internal lighting, leaving her sitting the the midst of a blue-dipped throne room with faded images etched into the floor from the weak light of her moon flowing through the gigantic glass artwork. To diverge herself from the scenery she brought a glass of apple cider to her lips and drank, viewing the room through a golden veil.
Gold... Just like Celestia... The comparison gave a sickly sweet tang untasted with the cider previously. She took the glass from her mouth, smacking her lips lightly to rid them of the new, unfamiliar taste, and set it back on the platter. The small clank reverberated across throughout the deathly silent halls.
She hated, no loathed , times like these. Down time. Time which could be spent in a myriad of ways, devoted to sitting in a chair and just sitting. No pony coming to visit, no pony coming to greet her, or her they, just complete silence. Complete isolation. It was during these times she found her mind beginning to wander, and her body following suit not too far after.
Breakfast was over, she decided in her monarchical attitude, and she set the tray of food on the chair while she left to explore. Explore may not be the right word, she’d done quite enough of that in her trips around the country, moreover to wander the halls like her mind through her thoughts. She, of course, couldn’t retreat to her room, there would be ponies waiting for her to explain how “unbecoming it was for a princess to leave her post” or how she “has had all day to sleep.” She blew upward in irritation. She didn’t understand, Celestia was free to travel the country, and often did so, while she was supposed to rule the country, so why couldn’t she?
Celestia... A common comparison of Luna since her arrival, one that she had unwillingly and unwittingly adopted thanks to the constant drawl of servers in their attempt to explain how a princess should act. Might as well have pointed to Celestia and said ‘Be that’ for all the good they’ve done, the nighttime mare mused. Just because they were sisters didn’t give everypony the right to compare them as rulers, especially not with the bias, Luna had reasoned, towards her older sister. In fact, the only ponies that seemed to favor her over Celestia were her own guards, the Shadow Bolts, and the new addition, the Author.
She paused at the mention of the Author, a name she had decided then and there to apply to him, since he did not offer any alternative, and a revitalized blush colored her cheeks, painting her face a dark purple not unlike Twilight’s mane and tail. She shook it away, though it did little to calm her nerves, and continued on, though despite her attempts she could not dissuade the thought of the letter, or its mysterious author, from dominating her thoughts.
Unbeknownst to her, she began to pick up speed in her once casual stroll through the castle, and gain altitude in the vain attempt to part from her own vices. The further she ran, the more flushed her face became until, eventually, she was bulleting down the halls, sporting a face that, if seen for just short enough, could have been mistaken for a tomato. She fought furiously against her subconscious to stop subjecting her to such horrible fantasies that she found so condemning.
This shouldn’t have bothered her as badly as it did; it was just a letter! A sweet, compassionate, loving letter addressed directly to her. She groaned in emotional agony and dropped to her hooves in contempt. Years spent away from any contact, years of frost-bitten isolation resurfaced and bit harder than ever at her mental well-being.
Intimacy was typically a frightening thing for the princess, which was why she often preferred actions over words and limited contact with another pony, if at all. Social gatherings left her in a catatonic state of paranoia and nervousness, but she was able to hide that with her cool exterior, much like the top of a cloud could cover the storm that raged underneath. Most of the time, anyway. Every so often, a storm brooded just big enough to penetrate its calm covering and cause havoc for those both in its grasp and the humble observers alike. She hated such storms.
But nevertheless it proved ineffectual to ignore such cataclysms, especially with one such as critical as this. She needed to vent, to release the building pressure that taxed her heart to no end, but her sister (again she thinks of her sister!) was still asleep, and waking her was no easy, or clever, ambition.
Releasing a pent up breath, she made her way to one of the few windows of the castle that wasn’t a ‘piece of art’ as her sister would say, and stared absently at the moon slowly floating just out of reach from Equestria’s gravity, flying free as long as it pleased.
How she yearned to join it, to fly side by side her magnificent flying gem, if only to escape the banality of her current life. A strong compulsion gave power to wings, however subtle, and lifted her from the carpet that ran the length of the hallway. She could do it, could run away, or rather, fly away. Semantics fell by the wayside. She could leave, escape, be free! No pony walked these halls at night, no pony flew this section at this hour, it was completely plausible to leave, to escape her sister, her crown, everything.
Ever closer she crept to the edge of the window, and a tentative forehoof extended to push away one of the glass panes, giving way to a cool nighttime breeze that sent her mane cascading behind her. She breathed in its cool simplicity and readied her wings to escape. It was almost too easy.
“Princess!”
Almost...
“There you are.”
“Yes, Silver Platter, what it is?”
“You are needed elsewhere, your highness.”
“Of course,” she said, exasperated. “Where to?”
“Follow me.”
And follow she did, that’s all she did. Her surroundings melted into one dark blue shade and her thoughts regressed to the point she spoke and acted at a subconscious level - at least she had one trait that can be attributed to the endless “lessons” - to every pony she met. Nothing spectacular happened, nothing new ever occurred. Same boring monotony.
The voice to finally snap her out of her trance would be her sister’s, the sickly, empathetically sweet voice urging her, “Come along, little sister. It is time to watch the moon set and the sun rise.”
The voice always urged her out of any rut she found herself sunken in, no matter the cause. “Coming sister,” she responded eagerly and trailed her sister to the balcony.
By the time they made their way to the edge, the dimmer stars amongst the night sky were already fading. Much to Luna’s regret, this lesson was going to be a shorter one. Already she felt the heat extended by the sun warming the stone floor, or was that her sister’s unusually radiant attitude this morning? Certainly something must be said with the way she carried herself whilst walking down the halls; it was an exalted stride, normally the kind saved for witness by the common ponies that idolized her, not for her own sister who has been by her side since birth.
It put Luna off, like she had been cast even lower on the royal chain than Blue Blood, the unfortunate stallion-colt that has been mooching off her sister’s place. It was more unfortunate than infuriating, she decided. In truth, she had done the same for a while; she was only accepted due to her sister’s insistence of her loving subjects.
“Luna,” Celestia finally, thankfully, spoke, her words were carried on a thin cheery voice that sang sweet notes to the receiver's ears. “Do you know what is special about today?”
“Many things,” she responded with a slight flutter of her heart. “But what do you mean?”
The grand doors opened to reveal the familiar balcony. Celestia floated ahead and presented it to her younger sister. “Every day since your arrival we’ve sat on this same balcony and I’ve taught you everything that has changed over the millenium,” she began, motioning for the night princess to join her in the brightening sky. A small smile broke her porcelain face, “And we’ve done it. You know more about the country’s past thousand years than any scribe, philosopher, or historian in it. Our lessons have finished.”
The revelation hit her like a steel arrow through her heart, tipped with the warm words Celestia so proudly spewed. It was impossible, their time together would come to an end? Just like that!? Just when she needed her sister most?
“S-sister,” she shook as the thoughts welled within her. “Does this mean we are finished? We are no longer to spend such times of twilight together?”
“Dearest sister!” Celestia quelled the unsteady heart with a nuzzle to her neck. “Of course not. Never forget, we are family, and family never breaks apart.”
“Thank you, Tia. Please forgive me, but tonight has been a disaster...”
“Why? What happened?”
“Last night, right after you went to bed, I got a-” she froze as the thought came crashing back. “The letter!”
“Luna, where are you going?” Pondered Celestia, more to herself since her sister had rushed off with a powerful flap of her wings, propelling her into the inner hallways of the castle.
She returned moments letter bearing a quill, a bottle of ink, several pieces of parchment, and, obviously the most precious piece of the set, the letter she received at the start of the night. An excited smile dominated her face as she made her way to sit next to Celestia and present the letter. Celestia’s eyes followed the rhythmic motion of gliding over the words, and her expression matched, almost to the dot, Luna’s upon reading it for the first time.
She soon set the letter down. “Luna,” she began, her voice high from emotion. “This is beautiful.”
“I know. I have been planning to write them back!” Her face dropped slightly and her features grew more solemn as she continued. “Although, I am unsure as to the conventions when writing a letter such as this. You, dearest sister, write letters all the time, so I was hoping that this could occupy our time, since our bi-daily lessons have now been complete?” She grinned sheepishly to her older sister, finding it oddly difficult to maintain eye contact.
“Come here younger sister, and I shall help you in your endeavors.” Celestia used her magic to pull Luna closer to her so that both may look upon the letter and their potential response. She wrote Dear at the upper lefthand corner of the letter and paused. Pulling the original letter closer, she asked her sister, “Luna, who wrote this letter?”
Luna could offer little more than an inquiring shrug.
“We’ll finish that later,” Celestia mused, placing a comma several inches from the first word. “Now, what would you say if you had the chance to speak to this mysterious author?
The Dream
Major thanks to The Dark Angel for making my fic sound halfway decent.
The large wooden door separating Luna from the outside closed with a resounding thud. Normally a concern of hers, the noise, now a distant memory as she trailed in, vision blocked by her years of studying calligraphy manifested into one, single letter. A smile broke her concentrating expression as she looked over her message one last time before heading to bed.
The sun was rising, the moon was set, and it was time for Luna’s bed to get! A nursery rhyme, originally crafted from her parents, Celestia enjoyed, if for other reason than to toy with her younger sister. Luna played it off as a joke, but she truly did enjoy the chant. It brought her back to the time when she was younger, when she, Tia, and her parents would all play and live in their land.
That was so long ago, and both sisters have long since grown up; she hesitated using the word ‘aged’, both of them did, as neither of them truly ever aged. They were immortal, after all, and would live for many more generations. They never truly ‘aged,’ they just reached maturity and eventually peaked. Peaked... she hesitated to use that word as well, though Celestia insisted that that is what they have done.
She, maybe. Luna folded her letter around The Author’s, a way to keep chronological order between the ones she received and the ones she sent. Well, wrote, anyway. The paper perplexed her, though. Arguably more than the contents held therein. No pony she had ever seen had paper quite as exquisite as that, and she certainly had none of it for her own use.
This provided an opportunity. A clue, if she dared treat this as a common mystery found in countless other books she’s spent her time reading, to find the true author. Whether intentional or not, The Author had left a small hole in their wall of mystery and glee. A tear in their fabric with which Luna could grab hold and rip apart, revealing him in all of his glory. Three knocks only furthered her cue to pursue the mystery open-hooved.
“Princess.” It was Silver Platter, and for once Luna was truly grateful for her intrusion. “I thought you might like some milk or juice before you went off to bed.”
“Silver Platter!” Luna surged forward and wrapped the servant pony in a tight embrace, turning her into a glimmering ruby of embarrassment. Luna withdrew her embrace with a blush to match. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s no trouble at all!” she replied happily. “I’m glad to see you’re opening up!”
“Yes, opening up...” She would have to think of that revelation sometime later. “Nevermind that for now. We request that you send the captain of the Royal Guard here immediately.”
“Why?” pondered the perplexed servant. “What has you troubled?”
“Just please get the captain,” instructed Luna.
“Yes, your highness.” Silver Platter bowed and ducked out of the room, shutting the door quietly behind her.
Luna watched her leave, an obvious smile pursed her lips to show her gratitude. She paced eagerly around the circumference of her room soon after, a nervous giddiness elevated her heart, but she was determined to keep inside lest she give away any more than she already has. Few ponies could know of this little secret. The risks were too great to bear.
‘Hey, Princess Luna got a love letter from somepony!’
It would start as a simple rumor spreading amongst the servants. They would act different to her then, their smiles would grow more sly, more knowing. Their voices would change, too; an irreversible wink would end every interaction. So would their behaviors. The more gossipy of the group would insist to be her servers; they would follow her everywhere, leave her no privacy to organize her thoughts. Every letter would be checked, every message relayed in a secret grapevine, eventually corrupted by the excitable ponies.
Then... then it would spread...
To the guard, naturally. They spoke, the servants and guards who were off from their shift or on vacation, often, and sooner or later (more likely sooner than later) this little golden nugget of information would “slip” out of the mouth of one of the night servers, landing directly into the guards’ anxious ear.
Like wildfire.
The guards, in their juvenile way, would travel far and wide, to every outpost in Equestria, Grydon, the Crystal Empire, everywhere, spreading their messages about. Of course, guards were no less gossips than the mares that tended to them, so it would leak. Everypony would know come next deployment, and then the press would want in. Countless reports of servers seeing the letter, soldiers looking for the Author, and other involvements being accounted for. Her night court would fill with journalists emitting a rainbow of aura as each held a pencil and a notepad, asking, nay, demanding a testimony from the receiver herself. She would, of course, shout-
“Princess, you wanted to see me?” a cautious, yet determined voice prompted whilst entering her bedchambers.
“NAY! ‘TIS ALL LIES, ALL OF IT!” she bellowed in her royal canterlot voice, pointing directly at the pony, and, she suspected, earning the attention of every ear in a five mile radius.
“Oh.” The captain was visibly shaken from the response. “Sorry to have bothered you, the servant must have heard wrong.”
“Wait!” Luna called, wrapping the door in her magical aura and slamming it shut to prevent the captain from leaving. He jumped at the noise and turned around. “I did call for you. I’m sorry, but this situation is a bit much for me to handle.”
“Situation? What situation?” The guard surveyed the room and lent in close to the princess. “Is there something going on that we should take care of, your highness?”
“Yes. I received this letter not too long ago, about one night cycle.” Princess Luna begrudgingly unwrapped the night letter from its milky cover, her own response, and gave it to the captain. “This is a paper I have not had any contact with previously. I am curious as to where it came from, who has it, and who might have access to it. Please find that out for me as soon as possible. Thank you.” Luna bowed; the soldier saluted. “Dismissed.”
“Yes, your highness.”
The pony withdrew from the room in a bowed position, opening the door with his flank and hind legs. Once the door was shut and Luna was positive that she was alone, she decided it would be best to get sleep. She needed it, and it would help her think over the events that plagued her thoughts.
Hey bedroom was an endless night, perfect for the Princess to sleep during the day. It was only at night that her artwork must be exposed to all of the land; during the day it was kept safely inside, so that no one but her could view its splendid glory. The hypnotic asymmetric flow of the stars, the pushing and pulling of the galaxies, the growing and shrinking of light, and the most important part, the pearlesque spotlight cast down upon her from her very own gem of the sky. She trotted to the spotlight and sunk beneath the covers, which still captured every reflected ray of light, and shut her eyes to be whisked away to her subconscious.
The next time she opened her eyes was thanks to a prodding in her lower legs from an eerily unfamiliar hoof. It intensified when she remained unresponsive, almost desperate to make her rise from her silk cocoon and face it. She flung the blanket from her bed, when it landed, however, it exploded in a purple tidal wave, drenching everything in the limited surroundings she could make out with the exception of one item. A vague shadow of some colt stood, drifting on some remainder of the floor not washed away from the purple explosion, at the foot of her bed, a wide, knowing smile and two bright, prying eyes were the only discernable features of him. He winked at Luna and sailed off into the distance.
“Hey, wait, come back!” Luna called after the mysterious figure, but it fell on deaf ears.
She readied her stance and leapt into the darkening sky, wings spread and body contorted to offer maximum speed, in hope that she could catch the distancing pony yet. It was unreal to her, but the stallion, propelled, it seemed, from nothing but the wind, was going faster than she, or any pony she has ever seen, could ever hope to go. Her body, still weary from just waking up, and still pumping adrenaline from the abrupt wake up, was beginning to lose momentum as a powerful force blew against her might, forcing her to land, luckily, on a bit of floor of her own. As soon as her hooves grasped the floor, it sped off in the same speed the shadow cruised at, almost losing the princess in the process.
She grasped desperately to the edge of the speeding floor while wind, or air resistance, forces her mouth open and her facial features to expand past normal appearances. None of that matter, though, since the dark stallion stallion was growing ever closer to Luna’s grasp. She inched ever closer to the dark stallion, hoof outstretched because magic, she assumed, would be about as effectual as flying had been in the past. She was forced to earth pony means for the duration of this trip.
The stallion turned to her, frowning at the approaching alicorn behind him. He tapped his hoof anxiously as the corners of his mouth sunk lower and lower. Luna smiled, she had the upper hoof now! Or so she thought. The stallion’s mouth, as if a gear, rotated to form a grotesque, mismatched smile as his tapping hoof gradually hit the water. The water, in response to the rhythmic beating, turned milky white to match the shade of the setting sun.
Luna watched in amazement as the entire ocean surrounding her shifted from its bright, vibrant purple to this new, thick, toneless, monochrome white in a matter of seconds. In contrast, the boards she and the stallion rode upon left trails of black in eerily familiar patterns. The game of cat and mouse had not been, to the stallion, a game of running away more as it was a game of leading her on for his own sick game. Both sections of floor slowed to a stop, against Luna’s will, and the stallion turned to face the distressed, panicking princess with his same, uneven smile. One laugh erupted from within him and he sank underneath the milky fluid, leaving in his wake a single black dot the exact size of his circular piece of floor.
The princess wavered before acting. Diving after him would end horribly for her, there was no doubt, but remaining still provided no answers or even clues as to the message her subconscious was trying to say. While she stared uneasily at the black dot, she did not notice the bubbling coming from under her own scrap of floor.
I’m the Princess of Dreams! she chided herself. Then why am I being lead around by my own subconscious!?
“What’s the matter, Luna? Afraid to find you’re not as stable as you claim?” An unknown voice, constructed from an array of mis-tuned notes and quieted thoughts of frustration, manifested itself around the weary mare.
“I am not unstable!” she screamed in retort to the prying voice.
“They why,” it mused, conjuring the letter in front of her face, “are you losing your mind over a letter? A letter, I add, that comes from a nopony trying to play Nightmare’s Advocate ?” The scroll burst into flames, the ashes falling into the liquid below.
“No!” Luna reached for the sunken letter, but before she was able to make contact with the creamy liquid below, the pressure building from under her raft erupted, launching her into the sky above.
From this distance she was able to see the product of her fevered chase with the mysterious stallion. It was her letter, in her own writing! Laughing erupted from the stars around her, enveloping her in a cocoon of fear, shame, and self consciousness.
“The worst part is—” One voice stood from the others, speaking above a symphony of cackles. “You responded!”
“Silence!” she screamed to the voices around her, but it sounded like a desperate plea for peace. The voices jeered further, oblivious to her pleas and anxious to absorb her horror. She covered her face with her barren hooves, reaching inward to find something, anything , to combat these unrelenting voices.
She found it, a sprite held deep within her heart, a... a bright moon rising through the void. It struck her like lightning, forcing a flash of self confidence and power to surge through her veins, illuminating her eyes. “We are the Princess of the Night,” she bellowed in her Royal Canterlot Voice, a practice she had since abandoned that Nightmare Night so long ago, “And we will not stand for such treatment!”
It worked! The voices regressed and dissipated amongst the endless stars, forever to leave her alone. She was free at last!
“LUNA!” She turned to find her sister descending from an astral plain, her facial features contorted into anger, disappointment, and hatred. “How could you!?”
“Sister!” Luna sunk away, trying to defend herself. “We were just—”
“Don’t...” Celestia turned away from her sister and breathed deeply. “Just... don’t.”
Luna stared agape at her sister. Celestia had never spoke with such a tone, not even when she was furious.
“You were doing so well...” Celestia finally retracted her hoof from the bridge of her snout and turned away. “I just don’t understand...”
“Wait, Celestia!” Luna begged, extending a hoof to hold back her departing sister. She couldn’t end it with that! Her call fell flat; her sister didn't even turn around. “Celestia!” No use, the Sun Goddess was done with her younger sister.
“Celestia!”
Luna sat upright in her bed, sheets stained with a flurry of tears, sweat, drool, and anguish. The same slush of self hatred stained her coat as well, painting her an even darker, deeper blue than she was accustomed to. None of that came to her mind, though, what did preoccupy her frantic thoughts was her sister’s loving embrace and her alabaster legs wrapped lovingly around Luna’s trembling body.
“T-Tia?” The shaken mare looked up to her older sister, fresh tears streaking down her already soaked cheeks.
“It’s okay, Luna,” soothed Celestia, her voice hoarse from her own repressed tears, “I’m here for you.”
“We’re so sorry!” Luna buried her head into her sister’s bosom, staining the ivory coat.
Celestia wrapped tighter, finally unable to contain her compulsions and longer, and released a flow of her own tears. She hated seeing her own sister suffer from things she could not control. It wasn’t fair.
“You have nothing to be sorry about, Luna.” Celestia broke the embrace to look directly into the sobbing princess, a characteristic she shared at this point.
“Yes we do!” Luna wiped the tears from her eyes, only to have a new set develop almost immediately after. “We are not the princess you wanted...”
The words struck at Celestia like an icy pick. Had she truly been feeling alone, isolated, even from her own sister? She was regressing, too; her language was drifting back to old english, a comforting dialect for her, and her primary language when she first arrived again. She was still the same insecure mare Celestia knew her as before she reformed herself to Nightmare Moon. She vowed to herself never to fore Luna to experience the pain, the regret, the harm of becoming that awful creature ever again!
“Luna, listen to me!” Celestia’s voice came out in broken, emotional shambles as a thousand memories came flooding back. “You are my sister, you are perfect, and I would never want you any other way!”