Brand New Life, It's A Glorious Day

Chapters

Tender Moment
Reminisce and Regret
The Dinner Party
An Idea
I Beg Your Pardon, Luna?
Last Chance

Tender Moment

Brand New Life, It's A Glorious Day

The rays of the morning sun begin to barely escape the horizon, faintly lighting the dark sky very slightly to a dark blue, while the moon and stars still remain up, awaiting for the sun to take its place in the sky. Up on the highest tower of the royal castle of Canterlot, lies a white alicorn on her soft plush bed, staring into the horizon through the open doors of her balcony. She had remained awake throughout the night, pondering around her thoughts. The thoughts that couldn't let her sleep.

Although, this would not be the first time it has happened to the alicorn princess.

It has happened before occasionally every few years, where she would not sleep for a couple of nights. She would simply stay awake, staring out to the endless expanse of nature. Though, it was not only to observe the scenery. In these moments, she would appear to be drawn into her mind, thinking. Thinking of certain things. Though, it wasn't odd of the princess to have these active nights. Everypony always, or eventually do come across similar situations. We have our days where we wonder, or ponder around a certain thought for endless hours.

It's simply normal...

Yet, this was many years ago.

Now, it has been happening very frequently. Happening very frequently every few months; staying awake throughout the night. It was starting to show in her everyday routines. The princess wasn't getting her well deserved rest, and she would occasionally forget simple tasks, constantly yawning and dozing off unintentionally. At first, it wasn't noticeable. Her subjects simply carried on everyday as she quickly recovered from her small mistakes, but it has been finally taking a small toll on the princess now. She has been tiresome for quite a while now, and has had a few of her very important tasks slip through her hooves, bringing concern to those who were close to her.

Princess Celestia slowly walks over to her balcony, releasing a stressed heavy sigh, and closes her eyes. Her horn begins to glow a soft glow of gold, and the rays of the sun begin to climb over the horizon; slowly illuminating the dark sky as the twilight morning begins its transition into a sunrise. The stars began to fade away one by one as the sun finally exposes itself, half of the giant bright circle cut half by the edge of the horizon, shining its neon violet and orange rays throughout the land of Equestria.

A few more moments pass, and the princess then opens her eyes, removing the soft golden glow of magic on her horn. She looks around the sky observing the cloudless early morning, only to see the moon high up on the sky, along with the sun still climbing over the horizon. A gentle smile then forms on her face from observing the wonderful sight. She then takes the moment to enjoy the fresh breeze blow into her soft, brilliant multicolored mane. After thousands of years, one would think that doing the same task of raising and setting the sun would get repetitive, and tedious. But the beautiful scenery never got old, atleast for her.

The gentle sound of wings flapping could be heard from a distance, causing the princess to perk up her ears. The volume of the sound becomes increasingly louder, followed by a dark blue alicorn slowly descending onto her balcony, gracefully landing next to her. The two royal alicorns then look into each other's eyes, and greeted with a warm smile.

"Another beautiful morning, dear sister." Luna looked towards the same direction of the sunrise that Celestia had previously looked at.

"Thank you, sister." Celestia warmly replied with a gentle smile.

For a few moments, Luna's company brightened her mood, but her bothersome thoughts then began to come back into her mind, and her brief moment of tranquility disappeared. She lets out a quiet sigh, which attained the attention of Luna again.

"Celestia.... We have- I mean, I have been noticing these certain days of yours...." Luna started, with a hint of the royal 'we' still in her speech.

Celestia simply keeps her stare into the view of nature.

"You are normally smiling, happy and about, not worried about anything. Then suddenly, on certain days you are restless, down, and almost distant, as if something is bothering you..." Luna then looks at her sister with concern. "Is there something that is bothering you?... Sister?"

They remain quiet, albeit the sound of nature's ambience. Celestia then sighs, and gently lifts her head.

"Luna..." She mutters. A short moment of silence takes over, but Luna then leans her head into Celestia's chest affectionately, and nuzzles her.

"We- I mean.. I am all ears.. as they say." The princess of the night gives an innocent smile for attempting to speak modern day dialogue.

The white alicorn couldn't help but return the smile, and nuzzles her sister aswell.

"...Luna, I-"

She struggles to find her words at first, but then takes in a calm breathe.

"You and I, we've been on this land for countless years... and without a doubt, I do love all of my subjects, and everypony else aswell, but..." She then trails off.

"...Yes, dear sister?" Luna encouraged her.

Princess Celestia then looks at the horizon one last time, and returns her forlorn gaze to the tiled floor underneath them.

"...Even though everyone looks at me almost as a goddess, i'm not...."

Luna looks at her with a perplexed expression.

"What?-... Everypony knows we're not gods, even though we seem like it. We- I mean... I am afraid I do not follow, sister."

Celestia sighs, and tries her best to fake a smile.

"It's something... rather silly, Luna..."

Luna quickly steps forward, and looks at her sister with concern, mixed with a hint of frustration.

"..Sister, please. If you want to put this issue to rest, you must let me know. It is not healthy for you to have this unnecessary weight on your shoulders, even if the cause of the problem is silly... and I am sure it is not."

Luna did not let her eyes wander off of her sister's face for a second. The royal alicorns remained silent for a few minutes.

After centuries of keeping the simple secret to herself, Celestia wondered whether she should share it to her sister or not. It was always simply a small wish that she wanted. Although, a wish that was sparked by a certain day. A day that her curiosity got the best of her. She always thought that if somepony was to find out about it now, they wouldn't believe such a silly notion would be the cause of all the mistakes she had made, minor or major.

Finally, she slowly turns to her sister, and begins to form the words with her mouth.

After countless centuries of being held as a simple thought.

"To put it simply, sister..."

Luna eagerly leans in, finally able to hear what this centuries long issue was about.

"..I just want to have a day of life." Celestia ended the sentence almost inaudibly.

Luna then gave her a look of genuine confusion, but remained in silence, not knowing what to say at all. Celestia slightly lowered her head, and sighed.

Luna still didn't understand what she really meant by that. As simple as it was, it left her perplexed. But after a few moments, she began thinking deeply, and as if a light bulb flashed above her head, she understood it.

A princess simply couldn't just waltz away on her own to do what she pleased.

Not even for a day.

Celestia sighed, knowing that as a princess, 'having a few days of life' would never happen.... or maybe for a very long time. Most thought that she could do what she pleased because she was the princess. The truth was actually the complete opposite...

She could not simply avoid her royal duties and wander off to do what she wanted. Most would think that being a princess is a blessing...

...but it can be a curse aswell..

Yet, Celestia knew that from the start.

She loved everypony, and wouldn't abandon them for anything, no matter what. She was the princess of the sun. She chose to be the one to protect all of her kind, because she was truly one with a pure heart, filled with only love and care, along with her sister. With all her heart and soul she chose to be the princess of Equestria, promising to protect it and all her kind for the rest of her eternity or until fate decided when to take her.

But.

She's still no different from anypony else.

Celestia and Luna were not goddesses, albeit both appearing as so...

They both had needs and feelings, just like anypony else.

Luna began to look around absent-mindedly, slowly putting more of the pieces together mentally.

Well it was obvious.

Celestia's heart simply wanted to breath fresh air, yet something as simple as that could not be done.

It was something that Luna learned many centuries ago herself, but she managed to cope well with it. Although, a thousand years on the moon has given the princess of the night more than enough time to understand Celestia's feelings of being isolated.

Luna then felt a knot form in her throat.

Because of her ignorant actions that led to her banishment, Celestia was left alone to take complete charge of everything. All the royal duties became her responsibilities, and the weight of all of Equestria was literally put on her shoulders. As if Celestia wasn't dealing with enough, that completely sealed her away from her free will for a thousand years.

In reality, nobody won that fight.

But now, that didn't matter anymore. It was Luna's turn to carry a heavy burden. She had to deal with the fact that her wrong actions were responsible for why Celestia was in such pain now. But, worst of all..

There was nothing that Luna could do to fix it.

It was a truly cruel burden to carry, but in her mind, she accepted it, for she believed that she deserved it.

The conversation went on for many minutes, almost hours, as the younger sibling learned more, and more about her elder sister. Things that the younger one never has known about her in her entire life. Celestia's inner turmoil suddenly made more sense. It definitely made sense of many other things as well.

Once the conversation ended, they were left in a momentary silence. Deciding to brighten the gloomy moment, Luna changed the subject.

"Celestia?..."

"Yes Luna?"

"...Modern day speech is really confusing.."

They both simply stared at each other for a moment, and then began to laugh. They laughed and laughed until they had tears forming in their eyes, and until their sides decided it was enough, and began to cramp. Celestia had really missed these heartwarming moments with her sister. She really did.

"Over time, little sister, you will learn quickly. Don't worry." Celestia added with a chuckle, giving her younger sister an encouraging wink.

"You we're always the one with the brains between the two of us afterall." With that, they laughed again, just not as much as before, for their sides still held a grudge on them.

The two alicorns shared the rest of the sunrise together, enjoying the rare, peaceful aura of the moment while it lasted.

Reminisce and Regret

The voices of Celestia and a stallion echo faintly down the hallways of the castle, audible to almost anypony around. In the middle of the hallway is Celestia, talking to a light brown stallion dressed in a typical chef's outfit, but with a few noticeable differences, the gold trim which indicated that he was the head chef for royalty. A truly wonderful title to be entitled with.

"Oh! Very well then!" Said the stallion. Strangely, it was said not with the usual 'upper-class' accent that everypony of Canterlot commonly had. Instead, it was merely an average accent from nowhere specifically important. A slight touch of Manehatten was in it at times, but that was all.

"As for the theme of tonight's dinner party, my princess?"

"Hmm... Surprise me!" Celestia said with a wink.

The stallion reacted with a face of surprise. He was caught off guard, but then smiled excitedly.

"Very well then my princess! I won't fail you!" He shouted before he started galloping down the enormous hallway.

He then ran through a white door, disappearing into the royal kitchen, and in no time, the sound of the cookware clanging, multiple hooves shuffling, and his voice shouting orders to the other chefs filled the hallway.

Celestia smiled at the stallion's antics, and slowly walked down the large hallway, followed by the slight echo of her gilded shoes. It wasn't like she had somewhere to go. As she walked down the hallway, the bright sunlight shone through the stained glass windows, leaving a variety of shapes and patterns of different colors allover the floor. She looked at the patterns and observed its beautiful array of colors, admiring its brilliant glow. She always enjoyed as much as she could from life, even if was something as simple as scented pine cones, or as complex as a beautifully well written orchestral piece.

At the end of the hallway a giant open gate led her to the Castle gardens, the bright sunlight instantly gleaming into her eyes, causing her to squint a bit until her eyes readjusted to the brightness.

"Oh my, has it been this long since I last stepped outside?" She said to herself, followed by a lighthearted giggle. She then sighs. Most of the time, making humor to herself worked. Now, it just wasn't working its magic.

Celestia then begins to wander slowly around the beautiful patches of flowers, observing each and every blooming rose, sunflower, carnations, lilies, and almost every other flower you could imagine. She suddenly stops, and looks more carefully into a certain patch. A small hummingbird was flying around in the inside of the patch, feeding itself.

"Ohh my, aren't you just adorable!" She smiled. In an instant, the startled hummingbird quickly flied away, disappearing into the distance in just a few seconds. She looks into the same direction that the bird flew away into, and dejectively sighs.

"Such fun you must have... To depart whenever you wish, and fly wherever your heart desires."

Celestia simply remained there and continued to look towards the same direction, lost in her mind for countless moments, imagining how wonderful it'd be to explore, and discover many new things.

Many looked upon her as the wisest of all, and the most knowledgeable of all ponies. Well, it wasn't a lie. She was indeed the wisest, and most intelligent of almost everypony. But, of course, there was always a start, even for the most wisest and intelligent of all ponies.

Celestia then giggled as she began to recall her memories during her early days as a princess.

They were absolutely the most stressful days she ever encountered in her entire life, and the two alicorns were merely beginning to grow out of their fillyhood. Still having a fresh young mind, ready to learn much more, she had no clue how to be a princess, and the same for Luna. Starswirl the Bearded was their magic mentor, up until then, and simply became their royal court mage afterwards.

On the first day, Celestia and Luna sat on their thrones, jaws hanging, as they stared at the endless line of ponies who stared back, waiting for their problems and questions to be solved and answered. Needless to say, it was an utter catastrophe.

She chuckles a little more, still smiling after reliving those days.

In her early youth, she never would've imagined she could end up becoming who she was today. The incredible range of problems... and questions. Goodness. You would think that the royal sisters would go mad after a week of dealing with such an incredible variety of problems that should've been dealt with by more than just two royal alicorns. But miraculously, they didn't. Instead, she listened to them all, and with patience and love, slowly began to learn. Through many mistakes of her and her sister's suggestions, and many years later, the two sisters slowly began to build their wisdom, slowly seeing the way how problems worked, and the solutions to them. As society began to evolve, so did their wisdom and intelligence. But then, much more came along as time went by. More than just mere problems and questions.

It wasn't the simple 'how do I harvest the crops?', followed with their answer 'with tools that you must create, my little pony' anymore. It was much more. Then came the deep problems. Such as the complicated workings of emotions; sadness, anger, jealousy, and so on. And the management of economy. Oh, and how could they forget about politically dealing with the other societies, such as the Dragons, and Gryphons?

As ponykind began to get smarter, and more aware (thanks to the two alicorns themselves), more new problems arose. Some ponies began to have conflict with each other. Problems weren't so simple anymore. It was day one, all over again.

Afterwards, a few centuries passed, and the two royal alicorns slowly began to get their recognition as true princesses. That was when they began to be recognized as 'goddesses' from there on, from the seemingly endless knowledge that they had learned throughout their time, and incredible wisdom. All of that, used to solve and stop problems and conflict that ranged from simple disagreements, to huge, chaotic situations, such as Discord, and the multiple wars that they expertly avoided with other societies. From there on, they were then looked upon truly as the royal princesses they really were, and not two clueless ponies that had a fancy horn, and powdered wings.

It was all a very interesting experience. An experience that would never be felt again, to learn from life, and the many challenges it exposed to her. She felt that she and her sister were at the peak of their lives, and she was prepared for everything. Or, so she thought.

Until it came. That single, insignificant, stupid doubt.

She had an incredible amount of knowledge, and the wisdom that an average pony would never have in their lifetime. She learned everything that a ruler could possibly know, from advanced magical theory, to agriculture, to social skills, to life, and the list went on. Yes. It was all clear.

Wait. No.

No?...

That specific word rang in her mind. Life.

Maybe what she knew about life was wrong? She began to doubt herself. Doubt, which slowly turned into fear. Fear that her subjects would then lose their faith in her, and begin to disrupt into chaos, for their princess was wrong about everything this entire time. They wouldn't know what was right or wrong.

She was overreacting of course, but still being in her early youth (speaking for an alicorn), she was well aware that she wasn't exactly a 'thousands of years old, ultimately wise and almighty' type of princess just yet, but a mere approximate six hundred years old. She knew well enough that there was occasionally room for a little error, but still being how she was at the time, she resumed to overreact.

In her mind, now that all of her beloved subjects looked up to her and her sister, she needed to be prepared for any possible question, and situation. So onwards she went, to both satisfy her curiosity, and to be prepared for anything that her subjects would need help with. But what? What could it be? She needed to be prepared for anything. What about life could she possibly be wrong about?

Wait. No. Perhaps she wasn't wrong afterall. Yes, she was indeed correct about life this entire time. Maybe, she was just missing something about it? That had to be it. She quickly came up with a simple idea, and decided to review her knowledge.

Celestia's smile then slowly faded, as she remembered that very moment.

She decided to simply observe what went on throughout her subject's lives. Couples, colts, fillies, foals. Then some individuals. Carpenters, scholars, bakers, farmers, and so on. The farmers farmed, and the bakers baked. Obvious enough, since she had taught them all those skills centuries ago, and their ancestors passed down those skills through the many generations of their family. There had to be more than just that? Have things truly remained the same over all this time?

Celestia paid even more attention, everyday as they walked by her castle grounds, pondering through the many streets of Canterlot. They sleep, eat, relax, play, socialize, work, study, and much more. It was nothing new, and once again, obvious. Then, with a little more focus to details, Celestia saw more than just that.

She learned something.

Celestia sighs in frustration, clearly hinting a bit of regret aswell, and continues to recall her memories of what happened during those times.

She observed for many days, weeks in fact, and finally found what she wanted to know. But the odd thing was, what she found was certainly not new. It was just that she always had passively ignored these things.

Families would go out together, and participate altogether in an event called 'camping'. Some individuals would go and practice for 'sports'. Some adventured out of Canterlot to experience the 'outer lands'. Or 'travel', as they would say. Kind individuals reached out a hoof in their own time, and helped the unfortunate. Some ponies, pegasi in particular, would get together and participate in an activity called 'racing'. Two ponies, each of the opposite sex would go out together on 'dates', in order to get more intimate. Ponies with many friends would invite them all to gather around, and have 'parties', and the list went on.

She ignored all of these trivial things her entire life, never paying much attention to it, and never even bothered to analyze the significant meaning behind it all. It was simply because all these activities brought happiness to her ponies. She assumed that if it brought happiness and joy, then there was no harm being done at all, so she left them to continue what they enjoyed to do.

Although, this time she was on a search for a more significant meaning behind it all. She thought that it may somehow give her more knowledge on life. What frustrated her though, was the fact as to why she was trying so hard to find a significant meaning for something so simple. She knew the very purpose to it all, it was to attain happiness, and joy.

Then, it felt as if somepony placed a bucket over her head and smacked it with a shovel.

Of course. The significant meaning behind it all was nothing more than just that. For happiness and joy. She was simply overlooking it, trying to find more to it when there wasn't anything at all.

Of course, it was so simple all along. How would it be fun to be locked in a room all day, not having a moment to breathe and relax after a week of hard labor? To enjoy the fruits of life so you could balance all the negativity that life always gave?

Suddenly, what she had just said in mind, instantly slapped her across the face. 'To be locked in a room all day, not having a moment to breathe and relax'.

Celestia's entire life had consisted of just that. She always had to stay and attend her royal duties. To deal with politics. Economy. Law and Order. She had always done it all simply for the love of her ponies, but once the idea sank in her mind, it was true. She never had a moment to relax, let alone breathe.

She never had a moment of time to herself.

At first, she thought nothing of it, tried to ignore it, but it quickly came back to her mind, and continued to bother her. The idea dawned upon her. She began to slowly want some of that freedom. To enjoy life, and relax for a moment.

But over the years... it gradually went from being a small wish, to something else...

Celestia shakes her head, as if it would help get rid of the memories from her mind, and slams her right hoof down into the ground in frustration.

She began to atleast try and enjoy life, by getting involved with her subjects. It always would be futile. She had royal duties to attend to, and it would always cut her short from spending time with her subjects. She would try to invite as many of her ponies as she could into her castle for small parties, dinner, anything. Once again, all of that being futile thanks to her royal duties.

Over time, it slowly sank into her mind that her status as princess was getting in the way of her life. Over that same time, it sank into her mind that she didn't want to experience life just to 'fit' into its description anymore. That was just pointless. She, in fact, wanted to experience life because it then became her desire.

It was no longer something she tried forcing upon herself. She saw over that time that trying to experience life by forcing it wasn't right at all.

She learned that life was something beautiful, and you could only let it happen.

It was fun, exciting, fascinating, enthralling, scary, confusing, sad, adventurous, heartbreaking, perilous. It was many things. It was a roller coaster that had ups and downs, and always had something in store for you.

It became her absolute, deepest desire.

She wanted nothing else more than to atleast have a taste of life.

Of course, being a princess was a part of it, because helping her subjects was what she truly enjoyed doing. She loved everypony, and wouldn't trade her spot as being a princess for anything. Yet, the frustrating part was... being a princess was the only thing getting in the way between her, and her new desire.

Celestia raised her hoof up in the air, ready to slam the ground under her again out of the same frustration, ready to explode. But she simply let her hoof flop onto the ground, causing nothing but a small cloud of dirt to stain her golden shoe with a dark brown smudge. She simply sighs, and wipes her left eye with her hoof, removing the tear that was waiting to fall.

"No Celestia..." She said to herself, slightly choking.

"Be strong."

She closes her eyes, and begins to breathe in and out in a slow rhythm, attempting to calm down. The white alicorn remains there, her eyes closed, and posture firm, as she begins to meditate.

The Dinner Party

Luna already had galloped throughout the entire Castle more than three times already, and not a sight of Celestia. It was already late afternoon, the sun was above the horizon awaiting to be set by her sister. The dinner party was going to begin soon as well. She grew uneasy as every minute passed by, knowing that if Celestia appeared to be 'missing', it would stir chaos to the ponies without a doubt. There were only ten minutes left before the party began, and still not a single hint of where she could be. Luna managed to calm all the guests and guards down by saying Celestia must've been finishing some last minute court decisions, but that still wasn't enough time to find Celestia.

'Of all the places, where is she!?' Luna wondered as she paced around frantically.

She already checked Celestia's chambers, every hallway, guest rooms, the throne room, bathrooms, kitchens, everywhere. Luna even checked her own chambers after a touch of anxiety got to her. Not to mention all of that was done more than atleast three times already.

She continues to ponder around, trying to remember the many locations Celestia could be at. If she wasn't in the castle, then that means she must be at-

Luna lifted her head up as soon as the notion came across her mind.

"Of course, the gardens!" She shouted, her voice echoing throughout the corridors rather loudly. She quickly looked around embarrassedly to see if anyone had heard her self-outburst. Seeing that nobody was around, with a swift flap of her wings, Luna flew as fast as she could to the castle gardens, and spotted Celestia in no time at all. She quickly landed, and approached her rather hurriedly.

"Celestia! My goodness, we- I mean, I, have been looking allover for you! Do you know how much the guests and guards have been worr-.."

Luna quickly silenced herself after noticing Celestia's solid unresponsive posture.

Celestia was absolutely deep in her thoughts, completely ignoring all distractions as if she was meditating (of course, she was). As the white alicorn continued to do this, Luna then mindlessly began to observe her elder sister's face, wondering what could be going through her mind. Until, she barely makes out of what looked like a small dry tear stain under her left eye, almost unnoticeable... Yet it was there.

With every second passing by as she stared into Celestia's face, she couldn't help but feel a knot form in her throat. She knew the exact reason to why she had shed a tear... and it felt like a knife in her heart.

Luna couldn't help but feel absolutely guilty for it.

Celestia then slowly opens her eyes.

"S-....Sister?" Luna spoke softly.

Celestia got slightly startled, and looked directly at her younger sister.

"Oh! Luna, please...You know how easy it is to scare me." She lets out a soft giggle.

"Ah...er... we- um, I forget easy. You know that very well." Luna smiled bashfully, but then reverted to her feelings of guilt, quickly turning her face away from Celestia's.

Luna could only think about the conversation they had this morning.

The guilt was slowly consuming Luna alive. Even after countless apologies, and several words of forgiveness deep from the heart, it still weighed itself heavily on her chest. Luna knew that Celestia truly forgave her with all her heart... but that didn't fix anything. Celestia remained in pain, and Luna suffered along, guilty for being the reason.

"Luna?" Celestia's voice abruptly broke into her thoughts.

"Oh, sorry sister. I have been lost in my mind quite a bit today." Luna replied, still half focused on her mental thoughts.

"No need for apologies. I have been clouded with my own thoughts aswell... but, i'm much better now." Celestia noted, although the last part was obviously a lie.

They both knew very well what the other one was thinking about.

Celestia then gives her a mildly quizzical look, confusing Luna at the sudden change of emotion. This caused the younger alicorn to look at her back with a face saying 'what did I do?'

"I believe you were going to say something, Luna?"

"I was?" Luna asked with a vacant expression.

An extremely loud metaphorical bell then rang in her head, causing her eyes to widen.

"OH! Sister, we must hurry back to the castle before our guests begin to further worry about us! You've been gone for far too long, and it has been causing both the guards and guests to panic!"

Celestia shot up her head rather quickly. She had absolutely forgotten about the dinner party they had planned this afternoon, and began to gallop towards the Castle without a second to spare.

"Terribly sorry Luna! It slipped my mind! I will see you there!" Celestia shouted, her voice growing faint as she ran off.

Luna shook her head, and sighed in relief now that she had that problem taken care of. Celestia's occasional acts of forgetfulness wasn't so bad when it happened only once every few months or so, but it has been happening far too much lately. And now knowing that she was the being that gave the reason for Celestia's pain, it didn't help one bit.

She gently kicked the dirt, and cantered her way to the castle.

Throughout the entire castle, many stallions and mares could be heard dining and laughing, as the sound of silverware and porcelain colliding accompanied the atmosphere. A rather large dining table suit for royalty and more held a variety of cuisines and deserts, along with countless numbers of high-society mares and stallions. At the end of the table was Celestia and Luna, accompanied by a purple mare, none other than Celestia's star pupil, Twilight Sparkle.

A light green colored mare abruptly gets up from her seat, with an expression of pure pleasure.

"Mmhmmhm! This is simply... SCRUMPTIOUS!" The mare exclaimed with a mouthful as she melodramatically places a hoof over her forehead, while holding a doughnut with the other.

Celestia lets out a hearty giggle, trying her best to keep it civilized, and nods.

"I'm glad to see that you are having a wonderful time, Medley."

"Princess, you MUST tell me what this is! We've never tasted such a simple, yet sweet flavored ring of... baked goodness!" Said Medley, with very much delight.

Celestia giggles once more. "Well, if you want to know so badly..."

At this point, everpony went silent as Celestia slightly leaned in towards the table to add effect into her sentence, while everypony else, save for Twilight and Luna, followed the same action mindlessly.

"...They're called, doughnuts." She finished with a well-practiced mischievous smile.

Much to Celestia's amusement, everypony gasped in surprise, while others audibly gagged in the background, causing the white alicorn to stifle a chuckle.

"I hope my decision of bring a local food such as a doughnut in as one of the dishes doesn't bother you all?"

A stallion gets up from his chair with his hoof up in the air.

"Not at all pri-" He gagged in the middle of the sentence. "These doughnuts are simply marvelous! Would it be... much of a bother if I could ask for some of these for the way home?" He gave a half-hearted smile, mentally cursing himself for saying the last part.

Everypony instantly gets up from their seats, agreeing to what the stallion had just said.

"I'll buy them if I have to!"

"I'd buy a DOZEN of them!"

"I would purchase a BAKERS DOZEN!"

Oh how easy it was to mess with a bunch of kiss-ups. Of course, Celestia did it out of love, trying to get them to change their personalities a bit, to lighten up for once.

As the ponies continued to converse, Celestia leans in to her right, looking towards her servant, beckoning him to come over. He quickly trots over to the princess, and with an exchange of a few whispers, the servant instantly nodded. He gallops off into the kitchen, quickly bringing back a light brown coated stallion in a familiar royal chefs outfit.

He quickly took off his hat in respect for her, and clutched it anxiously with his forelegs.

"Oh, hello my p-princess. I-is something the m-matter? I hope this wasn't a b-bad decision for the theme?" The chef squeaked with a nervous smile. He then closed his eyes and bent down. "Oh please forgive me princess! It was an honest mistake, I didn't know that you invited the high cla-"

He suddenly stopped as Celestia silently giggled. She then signals the chef to come closer. He leans in slightly, Celestia doing the same.

"Oh, don't be silly Caramel Drop! This is purely genius! Bringing in local cuisines, I would have never thought of that, no matter how obvious it sounds!" She said with pride in her chef. She then waves her hoof across and rolls her eyes. "Oh, just don't mind their posh attitudes. They're simply overreacting. Your doughnuts are simply delicious Caramel, and they always will be." She finished with a warm smile.

He smiled back at Celestia's words of praise, and felt a huge wave of relief.

"In fact, let me share a little secret..." Celestia added. "Have you figured out who has been stealing that single donut from your batches?" The stallion shook his head. "Well, it's always been me!" She slightly blushed from embarrassment. Caramel Drop slightly hung his jaw.

"Oh my, princess, you-" He grew a blush of his own. "Oh goodness, you flatter me!" This caused Celestia to chuckle.

"Caramel, you are very modest, but take some pride in your work for once?" She gave a wink.

"Oh, I suppose they are.. fantastic." He gave a humble smile. An idea sparked in his mind, causing his smile to grow. "If you'd like, I can bake you some every week?" Celestia's eyes widened at the offer. It sounded very tempting, but she had to refuse.

"Oh dear Caramel, that sounds absolutely tempting, but I must refuse. You see, I would get incredibly fat, since i'm a complete sucker for your donuts." She then covered her mouth with her hoof, trying her best to keep in her laugh. This caused Caramel's blush to redden even more. After she finished her laughing fit, she sighed out of joy.

"Ah! I must ask you, Caramel. Where did you get such an idea for this 'donut' of yours? I haven't been introduced to such a snack in my entire life until... until the day you became my chef!" She asked with enthusiasm.

“Oh! Well, you see, I didn't really create these. When you gave me the opportunity to select the theme of the dinner party, I couldn't help but think about the wonderful meals I use to share with my family as a colt, and I instantly remembered all the delightful times we had together…”

As he rambled on, Celestia simply nodded and grinned, giggling at the humble chef. He was always a fun one to be around, and his stories about how he grew up from the 'not-so-classy towns' would always be a small fresh breath of air from the daily grind of Canterlot. It seemed like he had a story for almost everything, even the most smallest of things...

It always did hurt to hear his stories everytime he shared one, and at the same time, it made her happy. It hurt to hear his many stories about his life, and what went on about it. She envied it. But at the same time, she felt like a little filly listening to a storyteller, fascinated by every single word that he said, filling her mind with many images and thoughts of what it must've been like to experience those moments that he shared, and she loved it. It was both envy, and love. Most love.

An odd purple blur was passing by back and forth from the corner of Celestia's eye, which at first, she tried ignoring. She thought it must've been her imagination, but the chef suddenly stopped talking, releasing a prim chuckle.

"Ahh, princess? I think Ms. Sparkle is trying to get your attention." He pointed his hoof towards Twilight, who was gently waving her hoof to get her mentor's attention.

"Oh, yes my pupil?" Celestia switched her view to Twilight, followed by an embarrassed giggle.

The little purple mare smiles bashfully, slightly jittering as she laughs.

"S-sorry for interrupting Princess, but thank you very much for inviting me to stay here tonight! This was so very nice of you to-" Twilight was cut off by Celestia waving a hoof in dismissal.

"Just have fun, Twilight. A hardworking student like you definitely deserves it." Celestia chuckled, and affectionately nuzzled her to calm her down.

"Thank you princess." Twilight returned the affectionate gesture along with a smile. She then levitates a fork and knife with her magic, and returns to eating the content on her plate, as Celestia returns her view to the chef.

Meanwhile, Luna hadn't even bothered grabbing a plate. Instead, she has remained sitting upright in the same position, with an expression that seemed like something was bothering her, not even mumbling a single word. She stared as if she was looking through the wall, trying to find what was beyond the horizon. Twilight notices the odd silence Luna was in, and places the silverware down. The purple mare swallowed her food, and cleared her throat.

"Luna?" Twilight asked with a courteous smile.

Luna remains silent, causing Twilight's smile to drop slightly.

"Princess Luna?" She asked a little more loudly with a bit of concern.

The princess gets startled, jumping in her seat.

"Wha-? Oh, Twilight Sparkle! Yes, how are thou- Darn it! I mean, you?" The princess of the night finally spoke in a tone that was more aggressive than she meant it to be. Twilight was slightly taken aback, but continued.

"I-I'm fine princess, thank you for your concern. But, if I may ask, how are you?"

Luna tried to find some words, but simply faked a smile.

"I am... good?" She blurted what came to mind.

Twilight found the way she heightened the pitch of her voice at the end of the sentence made it seem she was unsure. Or maybe even lying.

"Princess, I don't think you’re being... truthful. Forgive me if i'm wrong."

"What? I am perfectly fine, as happy as a foal!" Luna kept her forced set smile.

Twilight simply looked at her, unconvinced. Luna strained her faux smile a little more, to the point where it seemed a little awkward, but then quickly gave up the act and sighed.

"Ok, listen... Celestia arranged for you to stay here tonight, correct?"

Twilight responds with a nod.

"Then come to me later on tonight after I finish some work I have to do, if you’re still interested to talk by then. Maybe we can discuss this later. It is a rather... delicate subject to talk about."

With a slight note of confusion, Twilight nods. She began to think to herself..

'Delicate....subject?.. What? Perhaps she is still struggling to fit in?...

Wait, no... She's been doing fine. Perfectly fine in fact. So that's not it... Oh no... What if... Chrysalis is planning her return?! No! Get a hold of yourself, now you’re just overreacting!'

Twilight continued thinking to herself, simultaneously making weird facial expressions. Luna cocked an eyebrow wondering if she did something wrong to cause the purple mare to act this way. She shook her head dismissing the thought, and looked out the window to observe what time of the day it was.

'Ah, it is getting near the time of dusk. We must- I MUST... go and prepare to bring the night in... AGH! This modern dialect is really getting on our- MY!! nerves.'

Her left eye notably twitched as she spoke in her mind.

The alicorn of the night slightly shook her head, and cleared her throat, preparing to speak to everpony. She makes a couple of mental notes to remember to say ‘I’ instead of ‘We’.

"Attention everypony!"

They all immediately halted in their exchange of words, and looked directly at Luna.

"I must go attend my duties now, so excuse me. The dinner party will go on, so enjoy it while it lasts."

As she got up from her seat and made her way out, the guests quickly jumped off and bowed as she passed them.

"Have a wonderful night, everypony. Carry on." With that, Luna left, and everyone proceeded to their conversations, and continued to enjoy the dinner party. As soon as she stepped out into the large corridor, she took a quick glance back into the dining room, then around the corridors to make sure no pony was watching, and pumped her hoof in the air.

“Yes! We have immaculately spoken the modern dialect successfully!”

After taking a few strides of pride down the giant hall, she suddenly halted into a complete solid stop as her last sentence finally processed itself into her mind.

Celestia was trying her best to keep her laugh as controlled as a princess could, while Caramel Drop shared his hilarious story of his encounter with Prince Blueblood. It was truly a funny story, one of accidental humiliation for the prince having an allergic reaction to the blueberry cake that Caramel Drop had baked, followed by an angry prince chasing the poor humble chef down the entire castle grounds. It was an honest mistake, for all Caramel wanted was to impress the prince by baking a cake that matched his name.

Everypony else was enjoying the party, Twilight herself astonished at the variety of food there was on the infinitely long table, even though this wasn’t the first time she was invited by Celestia to dine. As soon as Caramel Drop was about to get to the most hilarious part of his unintentional screw up, the ground shook as an extremely terrifying voice bellowed throughout the castle, startling everypony into complete silence as they clutched their chairs out of fear.

“MODERN DIALECT! BY MY TROTH, THOU WILT NOT HUMILIATE US ANYMORE!!!”

An Idea

The full moon beamed it's mild light through the windows of the castle, illuminating a room up high in the castle fit for only royalty itself from its darkness. In the corner next to a rather huge bed is the princess of the night sitting on a stool, with a neatly organized desk having a small pile of parchments, and a lit scented candle to give visual aid to the princess. The tantalizing aroma of the rose scented candle floated about as Luna levitated one more parchment onto the pile.

"Finished." Luna quietly said to herself. She looks at the clock on her nightstand as she got off the stool to stretch.

"With 5 minutes... to sssspare before... Lunarrrr courrrt!" Luna grunted loudly as she gave her rear left leg a final stretch.

"Ahh, that felt wonderful." She then gives a sigh of relief, and trots slowly over to the window, parting the curtains to observe the gardens.

Her thoughts started with how she always admired the beauty of the gardens as a filly, while running around with her beloved sister, playing a simple game of tag. As soon Celestia crossed her mind, her smile dropped slightly.

The saddened alicorn releases a heavy sigh, and gives the ground a doleful stare.

"...Oh sister... we are terribly, terribly sorry.."

She remained by the window for many minutes, in complete silence. It didn't take long for the sound of a tear drop to lightly fall onto the ground, being no louder than a pin being dropped.

"We regret it so much... and now we have to bear with watching thou struggle with emotional turmoil..." She wipes her tears, and smacks the tiled floor out of frustration, shortly followed with another heavy sigh.

"We deserve it... we deserve to suffer with her. It is what we deserve for causing such pain upon her…”

She looked upon her great creation up in the sky through the window, the moonlight reflecting off her tear-glazed eyes.

“I... was such a fool.”

An abrupt knocking on her door startled her, making her quickly reach for the edge of her bed blanket to wipe her tears with. She then swiftly sat back on the chair, and cleared her throat as she tried to regain her composure.

“Yes, come in!” She called to whoever it was on the other side of the door. It was most likely a royal guard just coming by to give her the security report for the night. The giant wooden door hinges gave a very whiny cry as it slowly swung forward.

“Princess?” A familiar voice of a mare sounded.

Luna being slightly caught off guard from the feminine voice, leans herself to a better position to see who could possibly be here at this time.

“Yes?” She replied with a hint of genuine curiosity.

A lavender colored face carefully peers beyond the side of the door, revealing Twilights unmistakable face. She held the same facial expression she would always show when greeting Celestia; innocent, humble, and precautious.

“Erm… I hope i’m not being bothersome or-“

“Nonsense! Please, take a seat.” Luna interjected as she levitated a wooden stool to just a few feet away from herself. Twilight, being humble as always, kindly thanked her and took her seat.

“So, I don’t mean to be brash, but what was it that you wanted to see me about?” Twilight asked as benevolent as possible. Luna was lost at first, not remembering her statement about wanting to see Twilight. She suddenly then closed her eyes tightly shut, lightly smacking her forehead with her hoof.

“Oh, of course of course! Yes, um… oh, hold on.” Luna quickly gave a glance to the small clock on her nightstand, and then returned her view to Twilight. Just as she was about to say her first word, her warm smile went from content, to distraught.

“Are… you alright princess?” Twilight asked with an unsure tone. Luna’s eyes were simply fixed on the wall behind Twilight; her facial expression being simply widened eyes, and a frown.

“Twilight. Are my eyes deceiving me, or is the time on that clock correct?” Luna muttered in a low tone. Twilight gave a simple look to the clock, and nodded.

“Yes princess, half past midnight-..” Twilight’s voice dropped, and soon both had the exact same facial expression.

“I cannot believe that I let a half an hour fly by me like that.” Luna stated with irritation as she shifted around her throne. Twilight simply sat on her haunches beside the dark alicorn, observing Luna's court room. The stained glass windows that she had never laid her eyes upon, the millennial year old decorations preserved perfectly as if time had not touched it ever since Luna’s banishment. The grey marble walls and floors, the blue rug that stretched from the large mahogany doors to Luna’s black marble throne, the dark blue colored satin curtains with white trim, the stained glass windows, all in mint condition. As if it all were just constructed and placed yesterday.

Her face was simply swallowed by awe. Twilight then noticed some swirls that were lightly engraved on the grey marble floor underneath her. They were so lightly engraved that they could not be noticed unless you bothered to admire the details of the large court. She carefully traced the swirls with her eye, and in a few moments, she realized that the entire room, from floor to ceiling, was engraved with these swirls.

Luna noticed the odd silence that Twilight was in, and followed her eye movements. She then grinned and chuckled warmly to herself.

“Ahh, an eye for detail. Impressive. Not many ponies even bother with details.”

Twilight snapped out of her trance-like state, and looked directly into Luna’s eyes.

“Princess, this is… magnificent. Did you design it all?”

Luna gave a more audible chuckle, and her grin grew into a smile.

“Oh, just partially. I wish I did though. But this was all pretty much designed by no one other than your mentor, Twilight. I’m surprised that you do not know of this, considering you are her star pupil?”

Twilight’s jaw just wanted to hit the ground. It would’ve fallen off if that was even possible.

“I… no… she never…” Twilight slightly shakes her head, and continues.

“No, not at all.”

Luna then chuckled even more loudly, fully being audible to all the guards that were in the large room.

“Well, she always had an amazing eye for detail, just like thou- I mean, you, in fact.” Luna rolled her eyes at her mistake, and shook her head out of annoyance.

“Really?” Twilight questioned.

“Princess Celestia never really… shared much about herself. But, I mean she’s a princess. I’m sure she’s more concerned about her royal duties, rather than to share a silly story.” Celestia never really revealed much about herself to her, but Twilight often left it as it was, common sense telling her that a ruler must always be too busy for such silly nonsense.

Luna’s smile then slightly dropped.

‘If only you knew, Twilight Sparkle..’ Luna thought to herself. ‘It’s actually… quite the opposite.’

Luna’s smile completely faded, as she slightly lowered her head.

“Twilight Sparkle. That is actually… why I wanted to see you.” She said in a low volume only loud enough for Twilight to hear.

“W-what?” She responded confused.

“Yes. You see… there is, far more to learn from my sister.” Luna continued in her low volume.

“D-do you mean as... a student?" Twilight asked with doubt. Her gut suddenly gave her a faint idea that maybe this conversation was going to steer deep into something, but maybe she was overreacting. She silently hoped for the latter.

“No… much more than that, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna deadpanned as she stared directly into Twilight’s eyes. Twilight mentally gasped. The feeling she had in her gut was right, which didn't help Twilight calm down at all.

“What do you… possibly mean?” Twilight tried to say as placidly as she could.

Luna continued to stare into her purple eyes, now feeling unsure if this was a right time to share, let alone if she should even talk about it anymore. Taking a long breath in, Luna closes her eyes and relaxes her slightly tense muscles.

“Sparkle, there is much that you do not know about…”

Twilight simply waited for her to continue, her eyes showing both curiosity, and doubt if she should further pry the conversation. Taking it as her queue to continue speaking, Luna does so.

“Celestia in a way, use to be just like you. Eye for detail, smart, diplomatic, perfectionist, and so on. She always took things too seriously, even up to points where she would stress out incredibly, leaving me to take over her duties for the rest of the day. Kind of like how you always… overreact to my sister when she summons you.”

Twilight slightly blushes, demurely smiling.

“I on the other hand, took things normally, and even wondered sometimes how she was the elder sister…” Luna placed her hoof under chin, but quickly dismissed the thought with her hoof.

“Anyway, as I took things normally, she would always somehow magnify a mere problem; sometimes exaggerating the situation to a ridiculous point where she would drown in a glass of water.” Luna chuckled. “But I guess being the younger sibling kind of gives you that sense of a lesser responsibility.” Her chuckle quickly died, as she moved on to the next sentence.

“But… there was a certain point in time where she… discovered… something. Being use to quite a few centuries of this behavior of hers, I didn’t pay much attention and passed it as another one of her overreactions. However, her perfectionism really… how do you ponies say it…” Luna thought for a moment. “Kicked in?”

Twilight nods.

“Right. Let’s just say this discovery was a theory of hers. She had the sudden urge to prove if this theory was correct. It was actually… both correct and incorrect.” Luna fixed her gaze to Twilight, hoping she would somehow understand what she was saying. Unfortunately, Twilight’s face said it all, and was struggling to comprehend.

“Oh dear… Twilight.” Luna said, sighing in frustration.

“What I am about to say will stay in these chambers, and will never be said to another ponies ears, is that clear?” She said with her most commanding tone that she could conjure without putting fear into Twilight.

Twilight immediately nodded, becoming even more worried about what she was getting herself into.

Luna thought no differently. Was it smart to even bring this up to anypony? Well, the wound was far too deep now, might aswell continue..

"Twilight Sparkle..." Luna said with a pause. "Only recently, has Celestia revealed this to me..."

Twilight nodded, completely unsure where she was heading with this.

"During those times, Celestia decided to observe our subjects more carefully. More specifically, she observed what they did with their lives during their free time." Luna looked again to Twilight's face, relieved to see that she was keeping up now. "It is a long story... but to make it short and understandable, I'll just explain this as simply as I can."

Luna shifted around her throne again, still feeling uneasy to the fact that she's sharing this to Celestia's own student. It somehow felt like she was going behind her back, but in her mind she reminded herself that it was for a good cause.

"Celestia was a mare that really took knowledge seriously. The pressure of being a ruler of an entire land never really lifted itself from her, and this was really why she always took everything with such exaggerated austerity. She always had this illusion that our subjects would go nuts if we didn't exactly show that we were..." She pauses once more, tapping her hoof on the ground. "Oh, curse your society's modern tongue..."

"The sharpest tools in the shed?" Twilight added. Luna points her hoof at Twilight, smiling.

"That's it!" She said a bit too loudly, causing her to give a nervous cough. A few guards did toss a strange look, but quickly changed it to their usual stoic expression in respect for the princess.

"That's it." She said back in the previous volume they were speaking in.

"Celestia took her observations too seriously, and from that very moment things went downhill. She never payed much attention to the activities that our subjects always did; parties, picnics, and so on. Social events and such."

"What happened afterwards... is kind of difficult to understand, but please Twilight, put yourself in her perspective for this."

Twilight nodded understandably.

"Now... she knew very well from the start why they all did those activities. They we're always happy from doing them, and that always assured Celestia that if it made them happy, there was nothing to worry about. Although, when she found the meaning behind it all was something that she never had in her entire life before, it didn't help her at all.."

Twilight's previous feeling of doubt started to transition to worry. The mood of this conversation was definitely heading for a bad direction.

"Celestia in her entire life had only sat on her throne, settled politics, managed economy... you know, the royal duties, to keep the list short."

"Celestia did try to make the best of her life, and attempted countless times do so by spending time with her subjects, creating events of amusement, festivals, and so on. But it was always, always, cut short by her royal duties. It became frustrating over the years, and as the centuries passed, it didn't help at all that it slowly became her heart's desire to atleast... taste life."

Twilight's eyes widened as she suddenly realized what those social events that Celestia always tried to attend meant. All of it made sense now. The Summer Sun Celebration, the Grand Galloping Gala, the small dinner parties, the visits to Ponyville, everything. She always took it all as nothing more than casual, but it all had more meaning than that this entire time.

"So is that why Celestia always seem to have a celebration or festival around the corner?" Twilight asked.

Luna replied with the nod of her head. Twilight on the other hand, finished processing this new information, but as if it wasn't enough, Luna then took in a heavy breathe.

"But then... when I made my ignorant decision to rebel against Celestia..."

Twilights heart sunk. Secretly, she always wanted to know what really happened, because the old tale of Luna's jealousy getting the best of her did not sound like something she would do. It was simply not like her personality to be like that. Although, now was certainly not a time to pry such a delicate subject, so she left Luna to continue.

"Once I was banished, I left her with all of the responsibilities. She had to do everything. My work on top of her work, as if it wasn't enough. For one thousand years I was banished as a punishment. But if you think about it carefully, for a thousand years, she was punished aswell, for my actions. My ignorant decision..."

"...My selfish..."

"Stupid."

"IMMATURE ACTIONS!"

All the gaurds in the large room cringed, even the ones outside of the doors heard the shout. They all felt uncomfortable when it came to hearing about it, and Twilight no different. Luna turned her face away, attempting to hold back her tears. For many moments, silence was all there was in the court.

For many minutes Twilight stood there, feeling helpless as the princess of the night cried right in front of her. It suddenly hit her, that Luna, alicorn of the night, had summoned her... for help. She may have not said it, or admit it yet, but at this point it was clear. She was asking Twilight for help. After the many moments of silence, Luna finally spoke up.

"Twilight... you have helped me once. I can never be thankful enough for that... and now I feel embarrassed to ask that... I need your help again, Twilight. This time, to help Celestia." Luna mumbled as she hung her head, eyes closed to prevent any more tears to flow. Twilight felt incredibly overwhelmed with emotion, not sure how to handle that the princess was practically begging on her knees for her help.

"I-... Luna" Twilight stuttured. Her tongue was absolutely twisted. Such a huge responsibility would drive her mad in one hour. She wanted to refuse, but she felt that it would be wrong to do so. That was not something that a friend would do. Twilight's stomach felt tight, doubt filling her mind if she was able to handle such a huge weight on her shoulders.

"Twilight... please. From what Celestia has told me, you are truly gifted, and always find a way through anything..." Luna gave her a small smile. "Show her that she was right Twilight... You can help her, I know you can."

Twilight felt a surge of confidence in herself, and instantly beamed back a smile of her own.

"O-..ok, princess. I will help."

Luna's words were simple, yet they absolutely gave confidence to her. Twilight couldn't possibly refuse. Still, there was that voice deep in her head saying that this was going to make a huge, huge, huge impact somehow.

"But, where to start. How to start?" Twilight questioned with a hint of anxiety in her voice.

Luna wiped the last of her tears, and took a breathe to relax.

"Well... try to recall on your experiences? Anything similiar to this... situation."

"I- uh... that is very difficult, princess. I'm afraid i've never caused... anypony a thousand years of emotional pain."

"No, no not that drastic Twilight..."

Twilight chuckled nervously, smacking her face with her hoof in complete embarrassment.

"R-right... of course." She said with a nervous quiver in her breathe.

"Please, relax Twilight. Perhaps, tea would help?"

The sound of tea really did seem inviting at a moment of extreme tension like this. Twilight instantly nodded her head, already tasting the tranquil flavors.

"It would, greatly."

Instantly, Luna's horn glowed, and a small bright flash made a silver tray adorned with gold appear, a large tea pot and two cups on said tray. The tea was already hot and ready to be served, and Luna's inviting smile said it all.

"Go ahead, help yourself."

In a heartbeat, Twilight levitated the pot, pouring in a humble amount of steaming hot tea into her cup, and took a well practiced sip.

"Absolutely wonderful." said Twilight, releasing a genuine sigh of relaxation.

"It always helps me when i'm stressed."

"I'm glad." Luna spoke with a gentle smile while serving her own tea.

"Well... there was this one time where I promised my good friend, Rarity, that I was going to teach her an advanced crystal detection spell. She was getting ready for a huge scavenge to find as many crystals, for she was running short in all of types of jewels. I completely forgot about it, and by the time I remembered, she already left; reason being she was in dire need of crystals for a sudden large order..."

The pot was short of tea as Luna tipped the last of it into Twilight's cup with her magic. With the glow of her horn, all the content on the tray disappeared in a small flash.

"Thank you." Twilight said gratefully.

"My pleasure." Luna smiled. "As you were?"

"Oh, right! So, after searching for Rarity for countless days, Rainbow Dash and I couldn't find her at all. When we returned to ponyville, it turned out she returned early before us because she already consumed too much time searching for crystals. Thanks to the fact that I forgot to teach her the advanced spell, she burned through half of her valuable time of two weeks, and only had one week left. To make matters worse, she didn't even find enough crystals for the large order."

"Oh dear.." Luna sounded genuinly worried.

"Indeed." Twilight agreed.

"What happened?" Luna asked before she took another sip of her tea. Twilight took a few sips aswell, savouring the pure flavor of the fantastic tea. With a sigh of bliss, she continued.

"I felt wrong. Guilty that she had to labor through an entire week of her time to find crystals, only to find little, almost nothing at all. So I did what a true friend would do. To fix my mistake, I set out myself to search for as many crystals as I could, and with my advanced crystal detection spell, I found the exact amount of crystals she needed along with enough crystals to last three more projects, all within six days. I went back to ponyville as fast as possible, the adventure taking almost an entire day alone to return; mainly because of the massive amounts of cystals that I had to pull on a wheelbarrow."

"I made it back with just about half of daylight to spare, and just in time for Rarity to finish her order which was due the next morning. Needless to say, she was extremely grateful, and after I apologized for all the chaos I stirred for my mistake, all was well, and we gathered with all of our friends for a small party the day after in Sugarcube Corner to celebrate Rarity's success in what seemed like was about to be the worst failed order of Rarity's year." Twilight finished with a nostalgic sigh and grin.

Luna levitated her finished tea cup onto the empty tray, and cleared her throat.

"A true friend you are, Twilight Sparkle... very." She said with wide eyes as she held an almost blank facial expression. There was definitely something going on in her mind.

'It has been obvious... this entire time' Luna mentally told herself.

Twilight blushed as she finished the last of her tea aswell, and levitated it onto the tray. She was oblivious to Luna's facial expression as she smacked her lips to get the aftertaste of the tea.

"Friendship is always important to me, princess. I would never fail my friends." She gave a warm smile, but then sighed.

"I just don't know... how i'm going to help you though. Don't worry, I'll find a way princess, but this might take quite a bit of time... weeks maybe."

"No... I've figured it out." Luna spoke softly as she nodded slowly.

"Already?" Twilight gave her a perplexed look. That was definitely unexpecting.

"Yes. It is settled... this is definitely my choice." Luna spoke more to herself as a sudden smile creeped upon her face.

"What?" Twilight asked, becoming more curious as to what was going on in Luna's head.

"Twilight, I thank thee very, very much!" Luna grasped Twilight in her forearms, giving her a hug.

"I'm... confused." Twilight said as she mindlessly hugged Luna.

"This will... finally end the countless nights and days of pain in my heart. The guilt will finally be gone." Luna quietly uttered.

"Luna, what are you sayi-"

Luna released her from the hug, and stared directly into her eyes. It was not in a menacing or threatening way, but one that said thanks from deep down in her heart. A giant weight was about to lifted from her heart. An unliftable weight that has been on her for far too long.

After a few moments of silence, Luna spoke softly.

"All is going to be revealed very soon, Twilight Sparkle. Do not worry.."

Twilight was still not sure what Luna had planned, but her worries faded as Luna's warm and gentle smile reassured her that it was surely going to be ok.

"Go get some well deserved rest, Twilight."

Twilight yawned as soon as she mentioned rest, and nodded sleepily.

"Thank you princess.. goodnight."

With that, she trotted down the blue rug, and as the huge mahogany doors opened, she turned around once more to see that same look Luna's eyes. Twilight felt good inside. Real good. Whatever was going to happen tomorrow morning, Twilight was going to know that it was thanks to her, that it was possible. Celestia and Luna were going to be closer than ever, and Twilight would learn another invaluable lesson on friendship.

Twilight turned back around and exited the large court into the equally large corridors, yawning as she continued to trot through the seemingly never ending corridor. The large mahogany doors slowly swung back in, as she took the next left and began walking up a spiral staircase to the room she was going to stay in. Her vision began to blur slightly as she entered her room. She fell straight onto the bed, and slid under the warm covers. A few final thoughts pondered around in her mind, thoughts about what exactly Luna had in mind. The grasp of sleep was too strong though, so she quickly sunk into the land of dreams, as a small smile crept onto her face.

If only she knew what Luna had planned in mind.

I Beg Your Pardon, Luna?

Luna wasn't exactly one hundred percent calm. Her muscles were tense. She could feel her breath had an ocassional quiver in it, but it was very faint. This wasn't the worst decision that she had made, that was certain...

But this wasn't certainly one that she could take easily. What she was getting herself into had no path for return... atleast, for Celestia knows how long. The idea itself was very daunting, but what managed to keep her calm was the reason why it was being done. She thought about what was going to happen afterwards, and it didn't fail to make her smile.

'Relax Luna... this is not a mistake at all. This is going to bring much, much happiness... to Celestia.' Luna told herself mentally. The quiver in her breath immediately vanished, and the tense feeling left as well. She could only imagine Celestia's true smile already. The smile that made many hearts shine, and uplifted many lives. The one that she hadn't seen... in over a millenia.

All what was heard, was the sound of both Celestia's and Luna's shoes clicking on the marble floor of the castle, as they walked through the final corridor of the highest floor. There were no windows. No swanky designs, no engravings. Simply, no nonsense. Just small white orbs of magical light that hovered above their placeholders on the wall, and the polished white marble floors. As they continued walking, the corridor seemed to never stop curving leftwards, until it finally stopped, and stretched straight forward for about thirty paces. At the end, there was a door. Nothing swanky either, it was simply a mere white iron door, with a round gilded door knob. Though, to the princesses... this wasn't just 'a' door.

It was 'the' door. The door that always led to ultimately life changing decisions. Not only for them, but for all of Equestria.

The same thought was going through the minds of both alicorns. This was going to be the third time that they ever had stepped into this room. Second time being when Luna declared her rebellion against her sister. First time being when... they were crowned as the royal princesses of Equestria. Celestia felt uneasy, mainly because of the last visit to this room. But it was a thing of the past, and all was well now. The negative thought left her mind as soon as it entered.

Both Luna and Celestia stopped a few feet away from the floor, their shoes simultaneously giving one last 'clack' which faintly echoed down the curvy corridor. They both stood there in front of the door for a few seemingly endless seconds, and felt the very same tension that was left since the last visit. It was incredible. Even after more than a thousand years, the tension that there was from that day... was still there, as if it was just the day before.

Luna was the first to get over it, and faced her sister.

"Now, dear sister... I know what you are feeling. I feel it too." She paused to swallow. "But it's of the past. You know very well that I am deeply-"

"Luna..." Celestia managed to cut her off, her own heart dropping as Luna spoke her words. "It hurts me... to see you still haven't forgave yourself-"

"And for that very reason, we are here, Celestia." Luna cut her back in midsentence, smiling as her eyes actually showed... true happiness.

Celestia hadn't seen it for so long, even when Luna had returned. Luna always smiled, but her eyes always gave it away. Although this time, it was the same smile she use to see many years before their feud. The one that she use to see when they were both truly happy.

Celestia's previous curiosity grew tenfold in a heartbeat, now knowing that Luna was behind this. Celestia wanted to smile. She hadn't seen that smile for so long. But she couldn't. The reason that they were about to step into this room for a third time in the total accumulated time of thousands of years didn't let her. Celestia had no idea at all why they were about to step into this room. Luna then held her hoof forward to the door, gesturing Celestia to open it.

"Go ahead, Celestia." Luna was still holding her same smile as Celestia stood there, her face clearly showing curiosity and confusion.

Too many questions were pounding Celestia's head, but she then began to slowly lift her hoof towards the door knob. Contact was made, and she could feel the cold metal giving a small chill up her arm. Celestia didn't know why she was holding back, so with the slight shake of her head, she closed her eyes, rotated the door knob, and pushed the door gently enough to just stop a few inches short from hitting the wall.

She knew what to expect, just like the last few times. The tradition behind these very rare meetings was that four different ponies would be there. There would always be one zebra, one earth pony, one unicorn, and one pegasus; but what mattered most was their wisdom and honesty. The four ponies would represent the eyes and the ears of the meeting for all of Equestria, and were expected to speak nothing but the truth of the meeting to those who were in their homeland.

She opened her eyes, and as expected, there they were. Of course, since many years have passed since the last meeting, the ponies were different. There was a fairly small round oak table, and six matching chairs that were no further from each other than two feet. On the oak chairs were a female zebra, a male earth pony, a male unicorn, and a female pegasus, sitting on four chairs; leaving two for the princesses.

Luna and Celestia took their seats, and everypony in the room exchanged looks. They all shared looks as Luna whispered to Celestia.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

Luna cleared her throat, and recited the traditional words.

"Before we begin, listen. Each of you have been chosen to be the ears and eyes for all of Equestria to keep the integrity of what is to happen here in this room strong and intact, reason being you all have been deemed wise and mature enough to do so. Understood?"

They all nodded. Celestia then continued the other portion of the age-less speech.

"You are all being trusted to speak the truth to others of what is going to be spoken in this meeting. This is anything but an ordinary meeting; life altering decisions may be and most likely will be made by us today, and you all are going to be responsible for the truth and only the truth to be spread among the land of Equestria. Please, state your names."

The group of ponies exchanged quick glances at each other, all of them now fully aware of the extremity of the situation. In the following order, the zebra, the earth pony, the unicorn, and the pegasus spoke.

"Zecora."

"Big Macintosh."

"Fancy Pants."

"Spitfire."

They were all wearing their casual attire. Fancy Pants in his favorite tuxedo, Zecora wearing her native apparel, Spitfire in her vintage pilot coat, and Big Mac wearing nothing but his working yoke.

"Welcome, to you all. This meeting has now begun." She cleared her throat once more, and started the first words for the meeting. "Now, I believe this meeting was brought together by my sister Luna. Is that correct?" Celestia looked at her; the curiosity from before beginning to creep back into her mind.

Luna nodded in reply. "Yes, it has."

Everypony in the room remained silent, waiting for Luna to continue. The four ponies alone were confused as it was, and now that Celestia appeared to not know of the situation either, the tension continued to build.

"I have brought us all together mainly for... one reason." Luna eyed each and every one of them carefully. "Before I make my statement, I must know something. You are all aware of my history from... the last millenia, correct?"

The four subjects nodded slowly.

"Very well then..." Luna readjusted her position on the chair, and formed a bridge with her hooves that she could lay her chin on. "Could you... imagine?" She simply stated. They all remained silent. Fancy Pants then decided to pry the conversation.

"Do you mean... the banishment, your highness?"

"Partially."

"If you would care to elaborate, princess?"

"Of course."

The tension was definitely felt in the air now. Although Celestia knew that Luna's intentions for this meeting were not negative, the curiosity was what was building Celestia's tension.

"Now mind you, I am not angry. Not one bit, actually. I know of the many rumors that float around Equestria, claiming that i'm still holding a grudge to this day for my sister's actions. I'd like to end all of those rumors by saying... it's actually completely contrary."

Fancy Pants gave a small smile, his good heart knowing all along that the princess of the night was surely better than what those rumors stated. Spitfire nodded in approval, knowing the same, along with Big Mac and Zecora.

"Yes... i'm not angry at my sister. In fact, I regret it. Everything. All that I have done, I regret with all my heart." Luna took a deep breath. "To rebel against my sister for such ridiculous, selfish reasons was horrible enough to start with..."

Silence.

"It was wrongful." Luna stated. She took a few seconds to regain her composure.

"So, as I asked... could you imagine?"

Zecora spoke up this time. "The guilt must have been eating you everyday. Day by day, getting worse to your dismay."

Luna replied with a nod.

"Now, I must ask, where is this all going?" Fancy Pants asked as he gave a genuine smile. He was very enlightened to see that all the rumors were dead wrong. The princess of the night truly had a heart.

Everypony felt the tension slowly dissipating. Fancy Pants and his attitude toward the situation definitely helped. However, Celestia still remained curious. She still wondered just where was she going with this. All she felt was that there was no need for 'justice', if that was where Luna was going. All she wanted was for Luna to simply forgive herself and be happy. That was one of the many reasons why Celestia never really felt happy with her sister. If Luna wasn't happy, then she wasn't happy.

"I should just tell you all what I have to say right now, so enough with the suspense." Luna clears her throat.

"-Pardon, princess." Spitfire, who was next to the princess of night, interjected as delicately as possible. Everypony gave their attention to her. "Uh... I know this isn't exactly a time for me to share something."

"No, it's quite fine. Please, tell us what you have in mind. It's not like we will be doing this tomorrow." Luna gave a slight chuckle at the end.

"Well... the truth is, i'm almost positive that I know what you're going to say." She stared at Luna to see if she would give a reaction. The only reaction she got was a slight cock of the eyebrow from the dark alicorn. It was a more of a look of curiosity. "The thing is, I had a similiar situation as yours when I was much younger. One that... ended with great with regret."

"At the end, I did make things right. But, what I did since then, has changed things. It changed me in a good way, but the damage I did was already permanent. My life completely turned around..." Spitfire held herself together pretty well, even though it seemed to be a very sensitive memory to talk about. "What I want to say is... you don't have to do what you think is right. I'm positive that your sister still loves you as much as she had before your mistake, and that she has forgiven you."

Luna nodded in agreement.

"I'm well aware of all that, Spitfire. I know that my sister loves me, and has forgiven me. Although, you forgot one thing." Luna gave a very subtle grin. It was a grin of admiration. She admired how Spitfire thought about how others felt but herself. There weren't ever many ponies like her, even from the start of her reign with her sister. Luna already liked this pony. In her heart, she knew they'd get along well. Ponies like her have always been much needed.

"Let me ask you something, Spitfire. Whatever your mistake was, even though you fixed it and made all well... have you ever looked upon yourself... and asked if you, fixed yourself?" Luna asked in a low voice, her facial expression being serious.

Spitfire was perplexed for a moment. She held her usual easy-stern look as Luna gave the pegasus time to think. Her patience then paid off. It didn't take long for Spitfire's eyes to become glazed. There were tears that wanted to escape her eyes, but she didn't let them go. She formed a bridge with her hooves to cover her mouth with, as she simply stared into the middle of the table with the same look she had earlier. Regardless, Luna could see right through her poker face .

'Spitfire... have you forgiven yourself?...' Luna asked mentally.

Then, as if Spitfire heard, she swallowed and closed her eyes as she shook her head. Luna gently placed her hoof on her shoulder, and smiled. She then lowered her head to the troubled mare.

"It's alright Spitifire, there is always a way to forgive yourself. You just need to think."

"How." Spitfire responded with a whisper.

"...Well." Luna made sure Spitfire was in a calm enough mood. "You already took care of the big step... You made things better, but, don't forget the small steps. Those are really important too, Spitfire."

The pegasus finally broke her stern look. Luna simply smiled. The princess of the night lifted her head up, and gave everyone a brief look.

"Now... as I was. Enough with the suspense, and onward to the reason why I brought us together." She gets up from her chair, and takes a deep breath.

"Celestia."

"Yes, Luna?" Celestia replied a bit too quickly.

"I hereby suspend your power over Equestria for a period of time which you deem suitable. You are now independent of your power and responsibility, as I will fill in as substitute; this includes being responsible for all of your duties, along with mine. Reason of suspension has been accepted by the counsel, and the terms have been made official. Beginning tomorrow, once Celestia raises the sun, I will be the only ruler of Equestria for a time given by Celestia. All four of you are to spread this to your homelands. That is all, the meeting is now over."

Luna then proceeded to the door, casually opening it, and after a few moments, disappeared around the curve of the corridor. Celestia, along with the others, remained seated. All but Spitfire held an expression of surprise. Eventually, they all looked at Celestia. The princess of the sun herself didn't know how to process what just happened.

"Princess?.." Zecora spoke gently.

"I must go speak with her, t-this is... she doesn't know what she's getting herself into. I for one know what she is getting herself into though, nopony should ever deal with such a burden. I never thought of all the things she would do... it would be this drastic."

With that, she got up and trotted quickly after her sister. Celestia may have been overreacting, but all she could think of was the massive stress through the millenia she had to deal with during her rule alone. Sleeping once a week, the duties being doubled as if it weren't enough, the constant sweat being shed in keeping all the lands together from falling apart, the list never ended. There never was an end. It was a tunnel that never had a light in the end until Luna returned from banishment and regained her position. It was the type of stress that couldn't be lifted until someone helped you. It was a type of stress that wasn't afraid of crushing you if you weren't strong enough.

Luna knew that though.

Last Chance

"Luna!" Called Celestia as she galloped down the corridors of the castle. She goes through the last few libraries and rooms in the upper levels, and looks for the stairwell to the middle levels of the castle.

'Luna, what in EQUESTRIA are you thinking?! This land is not meant to be ruled by only one! It just isn't! My sister, why would you wish for such a thing to be brought upon you!? I just can't let it happen! I can't!' Celestia fumbled mentally. She finds the flight of stairs, and floats down; knocking a few guards on the way with her massive wings in the process.

"Terribly sorry! I will explain later!" She shouted over her shoulder.

"Wait! What's the matter?!" Cried one of them as the other guard picks himself up and trots down behind the princess as quickly as possible. He stops, and looks up the stairs behind him, beckoning aggressively to the other guard to follow. The sound of wings flapping along with hooves shuffling down the polished stone staircase echo throughout the stairwell.

"Luna!" Celestia bellowed once again, anxiety seeping in her tone a little. The guards, although formally, follow in suite.

"Princess Luna!"

They all reach the bottom in lightspeed, the guards right behind Celestia.

"Where now your highness?" One of them spoke up. Celestia ignores them, galloping off to search for her sister. The guards hastily try to catch up, the leading officer gesturing more guards to follow as they run along.

"What's going on?!" One of the privates piped up.

"We're looking for princess Luna!" The leading guard grunted between breaths. The sun god was oblivious to the stampeding guards behind her. She wasn't losing her composure, but her concern for her sister grew as every month she remembered ruling alone played back in her mind like a slideshow. Celestia felt like crying just for thinking about it. To let such a punishment be given to her beloved younger sister. It was as if Luna was oblivious to the past thousand years she spent in isolation. That alone was her punishment.

"Luna!" A distant echo, followed by the sound of a dozen or more heavy hooves reverberated in the corridor outside the royal kitchen. Luna's ears immediately perked up, her eyes aimlessly looking around.

"...Strange, I thought I heard my name being called." She mumbles to herself. Her ears scanned for more sounds, but after a short moment, she shrugs, and levitates her spoon from one of the cabinets again. Another short moment passes as she begins to feel a subtle vibration shake the polished marble under her hooves. She pauses once more, and leaves her spoon on top of the counter in front of her. At the very same moment, it all ceased.

"Are my senses deceiving me?" She wondered outloud.

The smell of the bread warming up in the toaster fills her nostrils, bringing her attention back to the task at hoof.

"Mmm. I can taste that sandwich already." She licks her lips as she rubs her hooves together. The toaster gave it's cliché metallic popping noise, bouncing the toasted slices of bread up. She grins, and prepares her well practiced spell.

"First time after quite a while now that I think of it." She scratches her chin with her hoof. She dismisses the thought, and focuses on the spell once more. As her horn glows a dim hue of blue, she takes a few suspicious glances around the massive kitchen, then peeks out the kitchen doors to make sure nopony was around. With a final quick scan around the kitchen, she rubs her hooves together, and launches the spell.

All the ingredients began to levitate by themselves.

"PB and J! Be made, I say!"

The jars of peanut butter and jelly open, the spoon swiftly scooping the peanut butter, then the jelly onto the two slices of bread, spreading the contents evenly allover. The lid of the jars screw themselves shut as the jars themselves float effortlessly back into their rightful cabinets. The spoon then uses it's opposite end to pull the handle on the sink, washes the residue off itself, and floats back into it's rightful place aswell. Luna then pushes the sink handle back off, the handle giving a typical squeak as she does.

"Success!" She threw her hooves up in the air. Luna then giggles to herself, a thought reoccurring.

"Now I remember! I haven't done that spell ever since I created it back when I was a... filly." She looked mindlessly into the air, her jaw slacked a little.

"My my... how time flies."

She swore she could hear her laughs as a filly in the very same kitchen, as a second laugh came from a youthful Celestia. A grin crept onto the face of Luna.

"Well now... Time to reward myself for a spell well done!" She levitates the two slices of bread together, and prepares to take a bite.

"L-...Luna?" Celestia uttered in a tone of confusion.

"BAH!!" Luna turns around, her shout muffled by her mouthful of the sandwich. A few crumbs tumbled out of her mouth as she held an expression of terror and shock when her eyes laid upon her sister, along with the mob of guards behind her.

The guards behind the sun god simply sit still, feeling uneasy. One of the privates whispers to another. Shortly after, most guards begin whispering as silently as they can.

'I have a feeling we're not suppose to be here..'

'Should we go?'

'No, stay put.'

'I think this is a personal thing, sir.'

'Guys, hush!'

'What if this is important?'

'The kingdom could be in danger!'

"How, Luna." Celestia deadpanned. Absolute silence came from the guards the moment Celestia opened her mouth.

"What?" Luna questioned innocently.

"Luna, how can you be eating a sandwich while knowing that in about 24 hours you are about to receive the entire weight of the crown on your shoulders? The entire land of Equestria, all of the responsibilities, all the lives, on you? Not to mention that I can barely scratch the surface if I even bother explaining everything else for the rest of the day."

"Sister, you act as if i'm not aware." Luna tries to respond in her most understanding tone.

"The stress will eat you alive within weeks if your lucky."

"Sister.."

"-And right now, we're in the middle of a massive dispute with the Gryphon nation, Luna."

"Tia."

"-Las Pegasus is also expecting us to help them soon with their issue of the drought that is becoming progressively troublesome."

"Celestia, liste-"

"The citizens of Cloudsdale have also been complaining about the trade routes being thrown off track due to the lack of staff in the weather team."

"Sister, please listen."

"Luna, I just-I just can't. I won't let you inflict such a horrid punishment on yourself." Celestia began to go into a world of her own. "I can't. You-You will... you won't. You just won't. You'd regret it." Her voice began to fade out.

"...Tia."

"Do you have any idea how miserable you would be?!" Celestia snapped, her voice cracking.

Luna's eyes shot wide, and with a swift motion she grabbed Celestia's face, and pulled it toward her own. That, struck a nerve.

"CELESTIA!" Luna cried in an angered and demanding tone, many gasps were heard. Celestia, being caught off guard, looked into Luna's eyes, not many inches away. She stared not in fear, but in shock.

"Do you see it?.." Luna asked rhetorically. She could feel her heart pounding now. The sheer silence that was in the enormous kitchen filled the air with tension. The guards felt it. Everypony was holding their breath. A maid who was curiously peering through the door of the kitchen, enters slowly, not making a sound.

"I know what's going on with the kingdom, sister. Do not speak to me as if i'm a filly." Luna calmed her tone.

"We've talked for days now. It's no secret between us anymore."

A few maids were now listening, along with the guards. All completely mute.

"You forget too much. That you are simply a pony, like I, like these guards, and like our subjects." Luna lightened her grip on her sister's face a little, being more gentle.

A chef comes in as quiet as a mouse, holding his gold trimmed hat humble as always in one of his forelegs. Caramel Drop simply watches, along with the rest. In silence.

"You've told me your stories, Tia. I've heard your heart speak of it's desires out loud. Only to feel helpless by your side, as you shed tears on my shoulder. It felt like a dagger to my heart." Luna swallowed. The two royal alicorns hadn't broken eye contact at all yet, as the kitchen slowly filled with another guard, another maid, another chef, accountants, secretaries, scholars, one by one. The tension was gone, but the words being spoken out of Luna's mouth were personal. There was a deep level the conversation had struck now, and most were considering leaving the two to be.

But they all felt compelled to listen.

"But now, sister... Now, i'm giving you a chance." The dark alicorn releases her hooves from Celestia's face, but their eyes still locked into one another.

"Luna, no- I can't let you-"

"No." Luna silenced her.

"You don't understand do you." She spoke in a low tone. It wasn't one of intimidation though. It was more of the opposite.

It felt...

Heartbroken.

Luna felt a heavy weight inside her chest, as her emotions began to pry its way into her.

"Everything use to be perfect, sister. We depended on each other our entire lives because in the end, we only had each other." The princess of the night inhales through her nose, audibly quivering.

"No other pony can raise and set the sun and moon every single day of the year. No other pony can live long enough to be by our side as we run the kingdom so the gears of the land can continue to spin. No other pony can help protect the entire land from the evil and chaos that inevitably attacks us in the worst of times. No other pony can hold in generations, centuries of wisdom and knowledge."

Luna pauses, looking deep into Celestia's pale magenta eyes, as if she was speaking into her mind. Her throat begins to form a knot.

"But most importantly... No, other pony can replace you, or I."

The kitchen was full.

"Then. I took off, with the most selfish desires in my heart. Just like that, I left."

Half the staff of the castle must've been in the enormous room.

"I left you heartbroken, and with salt in your wound."

Shoulder to shoulder, they all listened.

"For a millennia." Luna spoke slowly.

Silence.

Celestia, for once, was beginning to feel the pain of Luna. She could feel the dagger making it's way into her heart.

"I love you, sister... But for once... feel my pain." She pleaded with a soft voice.

"I'd rather go through a millennia with the stress of the entire kingdom on my shoulders, than to go through another millennia watching you tremble under it in misery." Luna choked in the end of the sentence, her eyes building water. She wipes one of her eyes with her hoof, forcing in a sharp, small breath at the same time.

"It's never been the same anymore, Celestia... I c-can't watch you suffer. It hurts... so b-bad." The dark alicorn began to whimper, trying to hold herself together.

"So don't you t-try and ask me... about how miserable I'd be." Her voice died out in the end.

Within seconds, she fell into her sister, and broke down into tears. Among the sea of ponies, and immense silence, all that was heard was the sound of the princess of the night sobbing into the shoulder of her sister. Echoing.

Celestia slowly reached her hoof around Luna, mindlessly looking into the distance with a blurred vision. Spitfire watched from afar in silence. Her jaw visibly clenched as she felt a tear form in the corner of her eye. She brought a hoof halfway up to her face, but slowly placed it back down. The teardrop rolled down her cheek slowly, and eventually hung from her jaw, dropping onto the ground.

Everypony slowly shuffled their way out of the room, trying their best to do so in silence. Everypony except Caramel Drop, who sat all the way by the door, looking at the ground with his eyes closed.