Forgotten Dawn

When Luna looked up at the night sky for the first time, the sight of the blanket of stars and the glowing moon had filler her with awe and curiosity. They still did, but she understood them better now, if the picture on her flank was any indication. Her night was the time when ponies rested from a taxing day of work and spent times with their families. It was also a time for healing, philosophy, entertainment and love. Luna adored her night, and the ponies were grateful for the respite it brought. The day, however...

Celestia coaxed the sun over the horizon and gently nudged it along its proper course. She was the first one up, as always, and she raised the sun alone, as always, and she watched as another beautiful dawn spread across the sky. Not a single pony saw it, and she snorted softly to herself. No, the ponies would grudgingly haul themselves out of their beds and groan as they prepared for another long day of work. Some would even complain that it was too bright, or came too early. Those were laziest sort of pony. If only she could make them see...

Celestia's musings were cut off as a member of staff approached her, bowed quickly, and cleared her throat.

"Princess. You have been summoned by Princess Luna to attend this morning's breakfast. Apparently she has a few important agenda items that need to be discussed."

"We thank thee, Scarlet Letter. You may return to your duties."

Celestia sighed as the pegasus trotted away. She knew what this breakfast was going to be about.

"Then We said, tis not a beautiful sea mare that is your wife, but a timberwolf! And he vowed never to touch the hard cider again!"

The dining room filled with roaring laughter as Luna told yet another thrilling tale about some stallion she got drunk and played tricks on. Luna, always center of attention. Luna, getting to spend the night drinking and being merry, sleeping with whoever she likes and disobeying every rule she ever put into practice. She followed her own rules and nothing Celestia did could control her. The Alicorn was growing wild, staying up all night and wandering the streets drunk. Celestia would hate it if anything at all happened to her, even if it did mean being overprotective and a little controlling. A little loss of privacy was a small price to pay for the younger sibling if it meant her safety. She was also quite boastful.

"Dear sister! Did thou see the lovely meteor shower I put on last night? It was quite splendid, all the noble thought so." She giggled and turned to the ponies around her. They eagerly nodded in agreement.

"Well I would have if you hadn't shirked your duties again! How many times have I had to take over Night Court? Three times this month? Your habits are becoming unbearable, and its going to affect the country soon. You need a little structure, sister..."

"Tia! How many times have I told you to BUTT OUT of my life and give me some space? I am almost a full grown mare and my ethereal mane is about to grow in. I can look after myself and I certainly don't need you hovering around, dictating everything I do and being a control freak!"

Luna took a deep breath to calm herself and flounced out of the room, which had emptied quite quickly as soon as the shouting had started. Celestia was left alone in the room, fuming. Why couldn't she see that she needed to be kept safe? Why could no-one ever see what she saw, and instead ran around causing problems instead of fixing them? Something needed to be done, and soon, otherwise Equestria would crumble. The ponies needed their Sun princess to give light and life to the land, otherwise they would have starved or frozen eons ago. All of the ponies needed to do their duties without complaint because it was necessary to their survival. They needed to be controlled-

TAKE THEIR WILL MAKE THEM YOURS YOU ARE LIFE ITSELF CONTROL THEIR LIVES TAKE THEIR DESTINIES

Celestia's head shot up and her eyes widened. Where had that voice come from? Why was it saying those things? Fear replaced anger as she hastily left the room, trying to leave the violent and angry thoughts behind her. She had work to do, after all. Stopping a war with the Griffon Empire wasn't going to happen if she let herself get distracted by petty thoughts. There was also managing the countries food supply, because it had to be closely monitored to ensure there was enough left over to get the ponies through the winter. After that would be all the meetings with various nobleponies she had to keep in check, or they'll siphon funds from the Treasury. If only Luna would help out sometimes and shoulder some of the work load, Especially after her big speech about being a big pony. Princess of the Night wasn't just a title- it had responsibilities that went with it. When they had defeated Discord with the Elements of Harmony about a hundred years ago, she had gladly taken up the role the three tribes had given her and had taken all of her Princess of the Night duties seriously. Now the ponies would be lucky if she turned up to a Nightmare Night more than once a decade or so, instead she would be drinking it up with the nobles trying to gain her favor. It was like every pony in the whole of Equestria was a foal, and she were the only adult. None of them just seemed to understand what she had to do in order to keep her country from falling into rubble. She just wanted her sister to share some of the burden. Is that too much to ask?

Celestia shook her head and continued down the hallway. Her stomach grumbled, a reminder she hadn't actually eaten anything at breakfast. Now she had to do everything on an empty stomach. today was going to be one of those days.

-*-*-***-*-*-

As Celestia set the sun there was an almost audible sigh of relief from the staff at the palace as they packed up and got ready to swap with the night staff. Not a single one glanced up at the reds or oranges that painted the clouds or sky, they were much too focused on getting home and resting up. There would be no rest for Celestia- Luna had not organised her annual meeting with the Astrology Division or balanced the palace's expenditures, which meant that the Sun princess had to.

Great.

When Celestia first looked up into the dusk for the first time, and seen all the colors in the clouds and around the mountains, she had been filled with awe and curiosity. If the picture on her flank was any indication, she knew it better than any other pony. It used to make her feel special. Now she just wished that ponies looked forward to her sunrise as much as they looked forward to sunset, and Luna's night. It wasn't fair- she was the older sibling and was therefore stronger and deserved more respect. If they couldn't give her what she deserved, then she would make them see, and force them to understand.

How she loathed the night.

The thoughts swirling around in the back of her head didn't seem so dark right now.