“I see you haven’t lost your touch, little sister,” grinned Celestia. The shimmer of pale moonlight gave the balcony a new hue in the eyes of the ageless goddess. For too long the moonlight had seemed dull and lacking the life portrayed on this night.
“Thank you, sis. It isn’t the first time I’ve raised it since being back but even a thousand years cannot remove that which is only natural.” Luna refused to move her gaze from the endless night sky that loomed overhead. She had been back two weeks yet Celestia had seemed content to continue to foal her. How she missed being able to arrange the stars; moving each one into its rightful place as though they were mere puzzle pieces.
Celestia’s grin never faltered even though the tone in Luna’s voice radiated concern of an unknown sort. Luna was always more emotional than her expressionless sister but that didn’t mean she bore her heart for all who would care to see. She hid her true feelings deep within the recesses of her being. There they would grow or drain out into nothing and it was there that the Nightmare took hold. A creation of magic so ancient that time had struck it from all records and from the physical plane. In the ethereal plane it had sought out those powerful and consumed by their negative emotions; Luna was its crowning moment and eventual downfall.
The Nightmare had been infected by Luna’s emotions and thus was no longer the perfect calculating being that it used to be. Its host was the most powerful that it ever controlled but that didn’t meant that the alicorn was without weakness. The weaknesses happened to be all of the emotions Luna had been dealing with and holding inside. Of course that had been the past and the Nightmare was no long within the Princess.
“I’m going to retire now Luna, day court was taxing as usual,” Celestia stated calmly as she started to trot towards the door leading out of the observatory. Her sister was still seated on the balcony, right where she had been since the moment the moon had risen to accompany the stars in the sky. Celestia turned back to the light blue alicorn. “Goodnight, Lulu.”
“Goodnight, Celestia,” Luna replied, lacking any emotion or even a glance towards her departing sister.
It was at those words that Celestia flinched as she withdrew from the observatory. Maybe she will open up one day, thought Celestia as she trotted down the stairwell. I do hope that day comes soon though. Celestia continued to move down the corridor towards her room; her mind was clouded with thoughts of her sister as of late. She failed to notice the many servants and guards that bowed to her as she passed. I overstepped myself didn’t I? Celestia thought, after all this time I should have known she would not forgive me for what happened. What can I do though if she refuses to open up?
It was at this thought that Celestia realized that she had unconsciously stopped in front of her room. After all those years of holding a routine it must have left a massive imprint in her mind, just like moving the moon and the sun. She had neglected to make it of any true importance and Luna had picked up on that; taking it more to heart than Celestia thought she would. A lengthy sigh escaped her lips as she closed her bedroom door behind her.
“Tomorrow I’ll do better for Luna. I’ll be a better sister tomorrow,” Celestia said aloud before moving to the washroom to clean up before bed.
****
A heavy sigh escaped blue lips and fled into the night sky. The Lunar Goddess had not moved from her perch on the balcony; eyes never leaving the multitude of sparkling stars that seemed to dance in the night. Behind those teal eyes held a vault of emotions and thoughts. Many threatened to escape in the form of tears which to Luna meant that there was a crack in her thought to be infallible mask. Once again a deep sigh escaped her lips but this one was filled with rage.
“Must Celestia have the nerve to call us such a childish name?! We are no mere child even if we have been gone for so long.” Luna almost shouted. Her rage brimmed at the thought of her sister taking such a bold liberty. “Does she not realize how that name cuts deep?!”
Her mind recalled the final moments before her sister imprisoned her.
-^^^^^-
“Lulu, don’t do this! This isn’t you!” Celestia screamed at her sister as the two stood on the flattened top that was the observatory in the Royal Palace. Luna, who was now fully taken over by the Nightmare, stood menacingly across the room. Her attempts to end her sister had failed up to this point and it was starting to show on her body. Lacerations, bruises, and blood covered her entire body.
“Do not call me that anymore! Luna is gone for she was weak, it is only Nightmare Moon now! I will rule this land and make night eternal!” Snarled Nightmare Moon as she breathed raggedly. At this point the damage to the castle was tremendous and dozens of bystanders had been killed. It was a last gamble for Nightmare to take on Celestia headlong with her being as weak as she was but the fury that blinded her kept her from seeing the downside to this.
Tears were at the corner of Celestia’s eyes; never had she wanted it to come to this but it was apparent that the conflict had to end there. Her horn gave off a brief glow before disappearing entirely with a blinding flash of light. Nightmare turned away to shield her eyes but when she turned back her pupils became mere pinpricks. Around Celestia’s neck was the 5 Elements of Harmony and on her head rested the sixth. “I didn’t want it to come to this Lulu but if it must sister than I will end it here.”
“You are a fool Celestia! There is no way you can wield them all!” Nightmare Moon’s eyes were darting around nervously as she spoke. It was a last ditch effort to buy her time but Celestia would have none of it.
Without hesitation, Celestia closed her eyes as her entire body was slowly encased in a white glow as she rose above the floor without the use of her wings. The Elements glowed with their respective colour before shooting individual white beams towards the tiara on her head. The build up took little more than 2 seconds before a massive Rainbow shot from the tiara through the air and towards Nightmare Moon.
Time seemed to slow down as the Rainbow started to surround the dark alicorn. Celestia’s eyes openly shed tears at the sight of her sister being banished. She knew what would happen to her sister since she wasn’t the right bearer of any of the Elements and this just caused her more pain.
“I’m sorry Lulu. I truly am,” choked out Celestia as her sister slowly disappeared. This makeshift goodbye happened to be the last thing Luna heard before finding herself imprisoned alone within the moon.
-^^^^^-
Now here she stood, fully redeemed from the Nightmare that took over her body. Her anger had fled her once the memory passed. She still was mad at her sister for using that name but another thought took its place.
“Have we truly been redeemed? Do we even deserve what we have been given?” asked Luna with a voice that brimmed with enough sorrow to fill the entire castle and cause the weak to weep. Her question fell upon the deaf ears of the night like every other time she asked it a question. At one time she had hoped the moon would reply to her for it seemed to be her only friend but of course it was not the case. For even though they were intertwined among the threads of time, it still was no more than a mere object.
“Why do we bother doing this every night. The answers never arrive and we are left feeling the same after each time,” huffed a frustrated Luna. “Must your deaf ears be our only confidant?!”
What had once been sorrow was now replaced with rage, a rage that burned brightly behind her eyes as she stood with an aggressive posture as if she intended to outright attack what could not be touched. Though her anger burned greatly within and felt as though she would tear down the castle, the outside view looked little more than a young filly throwing a silent temper tantrum. Her piercing blue eyes stared at the moon with all her fury before her brow fell and her glare ceased to be, fading from her face as her rage was fanned out.
“We are sorry moon. We do not mean to accuse you, it merely slipped once again. It seems that we are nothing more than a filly who cannot control our emotions,” Luna said as her voice trembled as if she was going to break down into tears. A quick intake of air and release followed by another deep breath ceased all possibilities of such a thing happening. We have to be strong. No more useless emotions, Luna thought to herself.
With her rage drained but her depression sinking in further Luna decided to leave the observatory and maybe grab her second meal of the night. The first was spent with her sister as Celestia had been adamant about them having as many meals as possible together. Of course Luna accepted, she enjoyed her time with her big sister, but she did still prefer to be alone most of the time.
Her light blue shoes made a light clopping sound on the floor as she made her way out of observatory and down the stairs towards the main part of castle. The descent down the stairs passed as she entered a hallway in the east wing; the part of the castle that contained the library as well. We much preferred the old castle, such a more accompanying design, Luna thought as she idly scanned the tapestries and artwork that was hung along the walls. They all were focused on the great ponies of Equestria’s past with her sister being in most of them. Of course none would feature us, we were imprisoned during that time. Luna stopped as she saw a painting of Star-Swirl the Bearded bowing before Celestia. At least he would have remembered me.
Her walk down the hallway seemed never ending for Luna, with all the constant turns she was sure that the castle was larger than Canterlot itself. Eventually she did find herself standing in front of the gold painted doors that she was sure led to the dining hall. She gave a small sigh before enveloping the door handle a glow of her blue magic and slowly pulled the door open. Luna stepped through the doorway as a small squeak escaped through hinges of the door when she closed it.
“Y-your majesty! What b-brings y-you here again?” asked a nervous waiter that had been removing silverware from the table. . This surprised Luna slightly but not even a slight twitch was given in response to her surprise.
“We desire a small snack...what is thou name?”
“F-first Order, your highness,” replied the waiter. The unicorn was a typical brown colour with a slightly off black mane. It wasn’t surprising that his cutie mark was a small note pad on top of a serving tray.
“Indeed. As we said we desire a small snack, First Order. It seems as though thy meal earlier was not enough,” stated Luna. “What would thou recommend?”
First Order gulped as he felt a twinge of trepidation creep into his mind, If I screw this up I’m going to the moon for sure! He cleared his throat before replying, “the chefs h-here make an excellent, um, Daisy Sandwich your highness. The bread itself is made from w-wheat shipped in from Appaloosa while the daisies are freshly grown in the royal gardens your highness. It is also topped with only the best seasoning from Neighpon. ”
“We shall have that then. As well fetch us a glass of thou’s finest wine!”
“Y-yes, your highness,” First Order replied before hurrying off to the kitchen and the closest washroom.
Luna adopted a rather large frown once the waiter left, once again another subject that is scared of us. She trotted over to the rather large dining table that was placed in the center of the large dining room. ‘A table fit for only the greatest of ponies’ was what the craftmare deemed it and indeed it was for it seemed to shimmer like pure gold and the jewels encrusted in the legs almost danced with how the light reflected off them. To the blue alicorn though, this meant nothing for it was just a table in which to eat upon. Luna had never been one to fancy over pretty decorations of unneeded items for that was Celestia’s job.
She moved to the head of the table where a mock throne was stationed and there she sat...and sat...and sat. To Luna time was of little importance now for after waiting a thousand years to be back home she could stand to wait an hour; which was just the case. It took an hour for the staff to bring out the food but luckily the wine arrived earlier. It seems that First Order was too scared to return. Just like every other pony that we meet, Luna thought to herself while giving a sigh. Her face turned down to the sandwich that now sat in front of her. For a moment she seemed to stare through it and if the sandwich had a soul than it would have been turned to ice.
A blue glow enveloped the sandwich as she levitated it towards her mouth. Before she took a bite however she did notice that the ponies who brought her the sandwich were looking expectantly towards her. It wasn’t a look that said ‘we want something’ but more of one that asked ‘did we do good?’ Mixed among that look was also fear and trepidation; the same feelings everypony had around Luna. A small frown almost crossed her muzzle but was fought back in order to keep the ponies from getting the wrong impression.
The Princess of the Night turned back to the Daisy Sandwich and took a small bite. Within a few chews Luna could definitely say that these chefs knew their jobs well. It was the simple things like this that caused Luna to smile for the first time that night. Just a simple sandwich to others was a form of stress relief to her for it helped to show herself that she too was just pony; be it an immortal goddess but still just a pony like the rest.The smile the sat on her muzzle instantly relieved the tensions of the staff nearby. As one collective sigh was let out they moved on back to their jobs and let the princess eat in relative peace.
No ill thoughts or emotions were brought to mind while eating that sandwich and to Luna it was the best sandwich she had eaten in a long time. We think that we should make a statue to celebrate this sandwich. A statue made of bread and more daisies of course, Luna chuckled inward. She never ate much before and still carried that habit now for once the sandwich was done she felt full. Maybe it was the idea that had been perpetuated that a Princess should never act in piggish fashion at a dining table. That idea was brought up long before the Nightmare incident so it would have been thought that maybe it would have been thrown away but Luna had found out that the opposite was true. Apparently the nobles have somehow evolved into even more insufferable ponies. She had been back for one week and that was all the time it took for Luna to find out that the nobles had become worse than back in the olden days.
It was then that Luna let out a slight belch. Nothing more than a dainty little one but still it caused her to blush under her fur. She knew that leaving then would be the preferable course. With a little hop she got off the seat and landed almost daintily on the carpet before trotting out the set of doors across the room from where she entered. Where to next we wonder. Maybe the library? We could use this night to help catch up on the changes in culture, Luna thought as she trotted down the carpet covered halls. Once again this hall was adorned with tapestries and paintings all focused around her sister. It seems vanity has taken hold of you sister. Luna’s thoughts were interrupted as it seemed somepony decided to talk to her.
“Your Highness. How are you tonight?” Shining Armor asked. His appearance had startled Luna to say the most. Normally one would think that the armor he wore would make him rather loud.
“We are well, Captain Armor. Thank thee for asking. May I ask what brings thou to our company?” asked a curious Luna. Not many ponies were willing to approach the Princess much less start a conversation with her.
“I had noticed you walking around by yourself without a guard patrol. Did they fall asleep on the job?” Shining chuckled at what he thought was a good humour joke.
Luna didn’t find this joke to be amusing nor did she enjoy the Captain’s little jab at her needing a set of guards to follow her. She glowered at the Guard Captain who visibly shrunk once he noticed the deepening glare. “We are not a little filly nor a prisoner in thy castle. Thou’s guards were dismissed for they have little use to us. Are we thought to be that pathetic as to be unable to walk the castle alone?”
“N-no, your highness. I was just doing as the Princess ordered!”
“We did not give thee an order to guard us,” Luna deadpanned without realizing who Captain Armor was talking about.
“I meant Princess Celestia your majesty,” Shining stated from behind a brave face. It was only through years of training was he able to master such a perfect visage to hide his true emotions. Even though Luna was rather small in stature and looked closer to a young timid mare, she still held an aura of power and dominance that seemed to radiated around her as though it was through the use of her magic.
“My sister order thou to have guards around us?” Luna raised a brow in mock amusement before lowering it and instead adopting a frown. “We shall have a word with our sister about this. As for you, you are forgiven and dismissed Captain.”
“Yes, your majesty,” Shining said all the while giving an inner sigh of relief. No moon for him tonight. He snapped up a salute before continuing down the hall and entering a set of doors Luna had just passed.
Luna on the other hoof stayed put and slowly boiled up with rage. That fire that once billowed behind her eyes returned again. How can Tia do that?! Does she think us a foal?! We are not some mere child! She is only a mere two decades older than us and she has the gall to do this to us?!
The light blue alicorn was shuddering with rage at this point. The inferno that burned within her slowly spread to how she acted as her front right hoof picked itself and slammed back down against the marble. The result was a resounding crack that could be heard from almost every part of the castle. The floor itself suffered the most damage as the marble was shattered around the hoof indent. Multiple fracture lines ran ragged from the spot of impact and continued onto the next tile.
At this point Luna had enough and needed to release some rage for if she let it keep burning inside of her she would be meeting the Nightmare again. For even though the Elements of Harmony purified her and rid the Nightmare of its physical form, the ethereal plane was one place that it could escape and hide.
Luna marched herself down the hallway and entered the first room she could find. It was nothing more than a guest room that was furbished to make anypony jealous of it. Luna of course paid no attention to the decorations but instead sought out the glass doors that led to the balcony. A flair of her magic shoved the balcony doors open and with a single hop Luna took off into the night in search of a safe haven. A place to let her rage out and calm herself down before she could act purely based on her emotions.
She flapped her wings hard as she aimed to gain altitude in order to seek out a place to let go of her rage. Clearing the clouds was an easy feat for her and of course she could land on them but they were not her destination but her eyes did catch a place that could be a refuge. For on the other side of the mountain were Canterlot lay, was a cave. Possibly large enough to house a dragon but Celestia did mention that no dragons were allowed this close to Equestrian cities so the cave would be empty.
Perfect, Luna thought before tipping her left wing down and beginning her descent towards the cave. After doing a quick fly by she circled around and glided down to entrance of the cave. Metal covered hooves hit the hard ground as Luna came to a quick stop after touchdown. Without a pause after landing, Luna strode angrily into the cave all the while giving it a quick once over with narrowed eyes as if to intimidate the surrounding walls.
It was dark but Luna was the Princess of the Night and there was nothing that darkness could hold in which she didn’t know about or could face. It was the reward with the position but the reward paled in comparison to the negatives that being who she was brought. As she came to a stop her horn started to flare up with magic again but there was no quick release. This spell was powered by her emotions and her emotions were flowing freely and quickly into it. Quickly another layer of her aura overlapped her first, and then another, and another.
Her face contorted in agony and hatred at the spell she was casting as well as her own thoughts. Thoughts that focused solely on the thought of her sister betraying her trust, her subjects rejecting her love, and her own inadequacies. Luna let forth a guttural scream. One brought up from the depths of the soul and given life by the pain and sorrow of one’s heart.
It was at the peak of this scream that Luna finally cast the spell into the cave. As she released her magic the cave lit up in a lit that could only be compared to the sun. The light quickly came back into a small condensed dot before exploding back into the entirety of the cave almost as if a star had just exploded. The sheer power of the spell shattered the initial rock that the cave was formed on. Layers upon layers of rock disintegrated in mere milliseconds as the depths of the cave expanded only because the previous dimensions were destroyed. Finally when the light died down the entirety of the cave had changed. No longer had the walls been jagged with the shape of natural erosion and building but instead they were smooth. Where once the simple flooring of the cave was, was now a crater; charred and maimed by Luna’s magic. IN the center of that crater lay the unconscious form of the other Diarch of Equestria.
Her form had changed. No longer did she have a small and lithe body that would be closer to a teenage mare but instead her body had become stronger and larger. What once was light blue was now a dark blue which could be called indigo if one so desired. Her mane had become ethereal just like her sisters but instead of the vibrant colours that shown with Celestia’s hair, Luna’s was more akin to the night sky. Even while she was unconscious it seemed to move with an invisible and seemingly non-existent wind. Having what seemed to be little stars moving slowly within it. None of this was known to her at the time for her unconscious form craved sleep, craved a state in which she could relax after letting her emotions be expunged.
So Luna slept in the crater of the cave and not a soul in the whole of Equestria could wake her. At that moment she was at peace.
****
Celestia’s internal clock turned on its alarm forcing her to open her eyes to a dark night sky. It was always at this time she woke up; 6am. The routine was simple and easy for her now: wake up, groom herself in the bathroom, raise the sun, eat breakfast, then finally court. With her little sister being back though, she would meet up with her and raise the sun before sharing a meal with her before they headed off to their own schedule. This morning would be no different for her as she woke up and made her way to the bathroom in a groggy state.
It only took her 30 minutes now for her to perfect the look she had to maintain in front of the whole nation. The look of pure serenity and calmness no matter the situation. It would be akin to putting on a mask, a mask that had taken her nearly 400 years to perfect during the time that Luna had been banished. For those 400 years prior to having that perfected look, she was a mess; holding onto her emotions by a thin thread that was visible to all her subjects. Now though it was tough to get any emotions out of the Solar Diarch when she didn’t want to show them. It hurt her inside a little when teaching Twilight for it was tough not to invest much emotion into her student but she had succeeded and now with Luna back she had a source of dumping her emotions.
With her grooming done, Celestia proceeded to gracefully stride out of her room and down the halls towards the observatory. Now that Luna was back Celestia was eager to see her sister during their little time they had together on the weekdays. Once the weekend came they would have more time since courts were not held but during the workweek they barely saw each other.
An almost silly grin was plastered on Celestia’s face as she made her way through the first set of doors that preceded the stairway to the observatory. Though she was more composed in the public eye, in private, the alabaster alicorn was often extremely giddy about being with her sister. I need to start being more sister like to Luna, start removing my mask perhaps, Celestia thought with a little chuckle. Even she realized that the mask was less metaphorical that one would think.
Celestia paused as she reached the main doors to the observatory. “Hope Luna had a good night. She is lucky that night court hasn’t be reinstated yet,” Celestia sighed before pushing the doors open with her golden magic.
The observatory held a massive telescope that peeked out of the top of the dome that encased the tower. Along the walls were bookshelves filled with papyruses and books that dealt with only astronomy and star charts. The decorations were lacking aside from a rather larger rug on the ground that imitated the night sky. A set of deep red curtains blocked off the balcony in which the sister would stand while rising and lowering their respective solar bodies together. Usually Luna would be the first to be sitting out there and enjoy the last little bits of her night sky before the sun rose; today that wasn’t the case though. Celestia was first and it was awfully close to the time which the sun rose(7am).
Celestia frowned, “Where are you Lulu? You are usually extremely punctual. I hope you are just running late.”
A few minutes passed to prove that that wasn’t the case though. It was right at the time where the sun and moon changed places in the sky. Celestia stood with slightly shaky legs fearing that something happened to Luna. Never had her sister missed this time except where she succumed to the Nightmare. Sweat began to fall down Celestia’s brow as panic mode started to kick in. Luna couldn’t have relapsed could she? No! She seemed fine last night...didn’t she? She was so distant last night as if something was on her mind. I should have pressed her to open up, we are sisters after all. I should have tried harder! Celestia’s mind raced a mile an hour trying to comprehend what was going on. Finally she came to a decision, If I can’t lower the moon than all is lost again.
With sheer determination, Celestia willed herself to test the moon. Her golden aura encased her horn as her wings gave a few hard beats to rise her into the sky. Her eyes closed as she reached out towards the moon and surrounded it with that golden aura she possessed. At the same time she split her magic and encased the sun in her aura. There was a moment of hesitation as Celestia braced herself for the worst.
It never came. The moon lowered at her will until it was beyond the horizon while the sun rose and graced the sky with its luminous presence. A large sigh escaped the Solar Alicorn’s lips as she glided back down to the balcony. Her mind eased up and became calm for a few moment before another realization occurred. Luna was still nowhere to be seen.
Without a moment of pause, Celestia conjured up a teleportation spell and blinked out of existence in the observatory only to reappear in the office of the Captain Armor. The sudden appearance of her royal highness caused the Captain to fall out of his chair in alarm.
“P-princess! What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at breakfast,” Shining Armor asked as he used the desk to bring himself back to his hooves.
“Captain Armor, assemble a platoon of your finest guards! Luna failed to lower the moon this morning let alone show up. I fear that something has happened to her,” Celestia stated with an air of urgency to her voice.
Panic struck Shining’s face as she glanced around nervously. “Should we get the Elements? If Princess Luna has relapsed that we need them to-” Before he could finish, a golden hoof was placed on his lips.
“No she has not relapsed for I lowered the moon. I fear that she may be in danger of some sort,” Celestia said as she motioned for the Captain to follow her out the doors.
With luck Shining’s night guard Lieutenant, Strong Hoof, happened to be making his way to him to state his nightly report. Upon seeing the Solar Princess, the pony disguised as a bat pony bowed deeply. “Your Majesty, Captain Armor, I have my report of the night ready.”
“Thank you Lieutenant but at the moment we are in a serious crisis. Princess Luna is missing. Now I need you to round up the Clover Platoon and send the-” Once again Shining was cut off mid sentence.
“Umm sir, the Princess went for a midnight flight shortly after her snack. Has she not returned? All she did was fly to the other side of the mountain according to one of my sergeants. She might be in her room now though,” Strong Hoof said with a curious tone. This caused both the Princess and the Guard Captain to share confused looks.
“Are you sure?” They both asked in unison. To which the guard gave a hesitant nod.
Once again the Captain and the Princess shared a look. This time though it led to them galloping down the hall in hurry leaving the confused Lieutenant standing in front of Shining’s office.
Celestia and Shining raced through the halls narrowly missing a servant here and there. To an outside spectator it would look as though the two of them were racing each other through the halls. Celestia’s long gait proved to give her a slight edge over Shining but the white unicorn wasn’t made Guard Captain for sitting around all day. Door were flung open with magic as the two paused for nopony. After climbing numerous sets of stairs and moving through the seemingly endless halls of the castle, the two reached a dead halt outside the Night Princesses room.
Before Shining could ask whether to knock of not, Celestia gently pushed the doors open and peered into the room. There was practically no light at all as Luna preferred the darkness. The overall decor was dark blue to dark purple as it conveyed the night and how Luna saw it. Aside from the many night themed objects in the room, it was empty. She lit the main candles in the room with her magic before marching in. The fact that her sister was not in her room baffled Celestia to no end.
“How is she not here? My sister couldn’t just up and disappear!” Celestia was almost hysterical now. She marched into her sister’s room while Shining followed behind her in a more calm manner. Celestia’s mask had cracked obviously as she was almost throwing a complete fit at the fact she couldn’t find her sister.
“I saw her last night before going to bed! She has barely been back two weeks and already she is gone! This makes no sense at all! How can she just disappear like that?! Why weren’t the guards following her?! I will have them all reprimanded for this! How can a light Blue Alicorn go missing?!” Celestia was almost screaming at this point, barely holding back from using the Royal Canterlot Voice. It was during these hysterics that she failed to notice a third party enter the room.
“We don’t think light blue is much our colour anymore sis.”
Celestia froze in place as if her mind just ground to a halt. She slowly shifted around until the pony came into view. The sight brought surprise to her face as Luna stood before her, no longer in her smaller and more diminutive form but instead looking rather regal in her new form. She had grown greatly with the changes; not only her height but her horn and wingspan had also increased. Much like Celestia’s mane, Luna’s seemed to move with a non-existent wind. In reality this form was not new to Luna nor Celestia since it was how she had looked before the Nightmare incident.
Celestia was by all mean shocked but a smile couldn’t stop from gracing her face, “Lulu, I was so worried about you when you didn’t come to lower the moon but look at you! Your powers are fully back.”
“Indeed they are. We awoke to this form. It must have happened overnight.” Luna’s face held a faint smile as to assure her sister that she was happy and persuade her that what she spoke was truth. Celestia wasn’t convinced though for even after a thousand years she could still read her sister like an open book. Before Celestia could inquire about her sister’s night, Shining interjected first.
“Princess, may I ask where you were last night. I was about ready to send out a search party,” Shining said in a rather worried tone. One usually reserved for his marefriend or his sister.
“Our flight last night tired us out more than we thought. We settled down in a small cave in one of the nearby mountains to sleep. It was more preferable than those overly soft beds,” Luna stated simply without leaving her normal monotone speech. She succeeded in not slipping back to Older Equestria speech. Almost as if her sister’s presence prevented it from happening.
“I will take my leave your Highnesses,” Shining said before making his way to the room’s door. Without hesitation he was gone from the room. This left the two sister in awkward silence though. Celestia was rather cheery at the thought of her sister regaining her powers but now that Captain Armor left, her mood shifted.
“Where were you Luna?! Don’t lie to me lil’ sis. I know when you lie,” Celestia snapped at her sister. “You had me beyond worried this morning!”
“It is none of your concern sister. We told no lie to the Captain. We fail to see why we must explain ourselves.”
“Because I’m your sister! I’m supposed to help you and make sure you’re okay. What good of a sister am I if I fail that?” Celestia had slipped into her hysterics again.
You are a fine sister. We just do not need you hovering over us all the time. Now if you may excuse us, we are rather awake and would prefer to do some reading in the Royal Library,” stated Luna as she began to leave.
“Stop Luna! Stop hiding your emotions from me! You can’t keep bottling up your emotions like this, I know something is wrong,” Celestia pleaded to Luna, causing the blue alicorn to stop in her tracks.
Without turning around to look at her sister, “We do not bottle our emotions. You just haven’t gained the right to hear our thoughts. Good day Celestia.”
With that Luna left her room and proceeded to the library, leaving Celestia to sit in the room stunned and hurt. Her mane drooped over her withers as she dropped her haunches heavily on the floor. I’m failing you again aren’t I little sis? Celestia thought as a tear slowly cascaded down her cheek before falling hard onto the floor. More tears began to fall as Celestia silently cried at the thought of her sister hating her again. Her withers shook almost violently as she forced herself up onto all fours.
“I-I must be strong. For Luna,” Celestia choked out before bring her left foreleg across eyes in an effort to wipe away the remnants of the tears she had wept. She gave a light snort and a deep breath in order to steel herself for the coming day. She couldn’t lose composure in front of the Gryphon ambassadors today, even if her little sister was the cause. She slowly made her way to door and opened it slowly as if to make the day come slower. Another sigh escaped her lips before she extinguished the candles in the room and exited it on one final thought.
One day I will be the sister she needs so maybe one day she will no longer hate me.
The same routine each and every day. That was how Celestia lived her life; with a routine. Even after the events that had transpired last night and early this morning, Celestia would not break routine. It is a sign of stability to my little ponies so I must not show change, Celestia thought as she sat on the mock throne in the dining room. Luna was absent from this breakfast due to their previous argument. Many times over, a thought passed through Celestia’s head that she might not see her sister after this previous spat but they were quickly extinguished by a more logical part of her mind.
Celestia took a bite of her omelette all the while dabbing her mouth with a napkin. She hated having to entertain guests during meals and the Gryphon Ambassadors sitting at the breakfast table were no exceptions. Entertaining would be considered a strong word for what she had to do though. Her only responsibilities in that field were to listen to conversation and look regal all the while trying to sate her hunger. That meant having to eat daintily and slowly.
This was not one of the times she wanted to eat slowly for when she got nervous and anxious, she would eat. She had picked this up shortly after Luna’s exile as Nightmare Moon. It didn’t help that the royal chefs were at her beck and call, in fact it once made her destroy the entire kitchen so she would stop binge eating. That was many centuries ago; for now she had her weaknesses more or less under lock and key.
She took another bite as her ears listened in on the Gryphon Ambassadors’ conversation. She quickly put it out of thought though for it held nothing of interest to her; just them speaking of the cooking and comparing it to some restaurant back in the Gryphon Isles capital, High Mile. it would be another 30 minutes before they would be ready to discuss what they wanted with Celestia so for the time being, she would be able to contemplate on a more important situation.
How can I help Luna? Celestia began her train of thought, How can I help my sister become less introverted? I know it has been only two weeks and maybe I am just rushing things but it feels as though our relationship is just dissolving out from under our hooves. If I don’t repair it than she will most likely slip back into her fragile emotional state which cannot be allowed at any cost! She is too susceptible to the Nightmare’s influence. It was on this thought that Celestia flinched on the inside, sure it had been over a thousand years ago and now her sister was with her but the wounds of what happened still bore much pain. An alicorn’s life was extremely long lived and the memories of one would stick with them forever. That is one of the burdens of immortality.
“Princess? Are you reading to begin talks?” The male Gryphon Ambassador spoke up. Celestia was snapped out of her thoughts as she turned her head towards him. Ambassador Markus Hardclaw was once a Captain among the Gryphon army and it still showed even on the 50 year old body. The colour of his feathers and fur had worn out a little as his black feathers held only slight traces of dulling while the fur was darkening from a silver colour to more dull grey. The size of Markus was what made him such a talented soldier for he would easily be the size of Luna if not slightly bigger. Not only that but he was extremely broad in all the right areas and had this aura of overwhelming power floating around him. In fact only Celestia would be taller that the Ambassador and none of her guards could match his size.
“Yes Princess, it would seem that lunch is over and the meal was quite savoury,” the female gryphon spoke up. Ambassador Tali Fleetwing was a stark contrast when compared to Markus. The more lithe and smaller female gryphon was by gryphon terms, attractive. Her colours were of a more common look, with her fur being brown while the feathers being a sparkling white. She was never a soldier for her family had always served the Gryphon Crown in the form of being the Ambassadors to Equestria. With her being the only child of her family’s latest generation, she would be the only Fleetwing serving as an Ambassador to Equestria. While she was in Equestria, her father and mother were working with the Zebra tribes in the Grasslands.
Celestia gave a smile before rising from her seat, “it seems you are correct. Let us move to an unoccupied room and start the meeting there shall we? My assistant will join us later. The more formal talks will happen later this week.”
Both of the gryphons nodded their heads before rising from their seats as well. The group of three moved from the dining room and down one of the many corridors. Behind them were a small detachment of both ponies and gryphons. This combined squad was made to help show a symbol of peace and support by both parties. It wasn’t the only one of its kind but it was the only one allowed to guard the Ambassadors and the Princess.
All the while during the walk, Princess Celestia had her head in the clouds. Her mind swarmed with ideas on what to do with Luna, on how come her sister didn’t treat her the same anymore, what could have changed about her, and so on. It was obvious enough to the gryphons and the ponies that were near her that she was not fully there. She had in fact almost missed the turn in the hallway and walked straight into a wall. It was at this point that the gryphon ambassadors shared a quick look that spoke volumes about what they were going to do about Celestia.
It wasn’t until they reached the room that they decided to bring this to the princess’ attention. Tali was the one to speak first, “Princess, if I may? I think we should speak alone without the guards in the room.”
This snapped Celestia out of her thoughts, “if you would like, ambassadors.”
She nodded towards the guards who each gave a swift salute before leaving the room. Once the guards closed the door, Tali continued talking. “Princess, I think we should switch directions away from the trade routes and talk about something more personal.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow at this. “Oh?”
“You are not acting like yourself, Princess,” Markus cut in. “Usually you are focused and the most stoic among us and your subjects. Today it seems like you have barely even been here. Your head is drifting higher than you can!”
This caught Celestia off guard but before she could get a hoofhold Tali spoke up again. “Markus is right, Princess. You have something bothering you right now don’t you?”
Celestia failed to respond at all for she was still being caught off guard by the sudden bombardment.
“Until you get this cleared up, Princess, I refuse to talk about our trade agreement.” With this Markus left the room abruptly.
Tali and Celestia sat in silence for a moment before the gryphon spoke up. “What’s wrong, Princess?”
Celestia paused for moment. She slowly reeled herself back as her mind finally ground into gear. “I-I do not know what you mean, Ambassador Tali.”
Tali frowned as deep as her beak would allow. “Princess, I’m going to be straight-forward here. You are dodging the issue and the issue is preventing us from doing our jobs. I know I am out of line here but you need to let it out.”
This bluntness from the ambassador caused Celestia to turn away and stare out of the window. She continue to look around the room as if to find a way to escape. This room of course was nothing more than a bedroom without the actual bedding within it. Finally she returned her attention to the gryphon in front of her. A deep sigh escaped her lips.
“It’s Luna.”
“Your sister?” Tali inquired. If this was a non-serious talk than Celestia’s humour would probably have pounced all over that opening.
“Yes...she has been distant since her return. I-I don’t understand why she is acting like this.” Celestia drooped her head as she spoke.
Tali nodded her head at this. She had met Luna once as part of her requirement with being an ambassador and it had been trying at best. The olden speak was annoying to say the least and the fact that Luna was so out of touch with modern Equestria made it tough to work with her. She seemed extremely introverted and tended to shy away from others so this made Tali more interested in what could possibly be wrong. “What happened?”
“We had a big fight this morning. She had... just regained her powers last night which made me thrilled.” Celestia paused and took a rather shaky breath. “I was happy for her of course but so frightened when I heard she hadn’t returned the night before!” Another pause, this time a small sniffle was choked out, “I was so a-angry with her for that. I started yelling at her and s-she shrugged it o-off and left. S-she left as if it was nothing! I was just trying to p-protect her and I failed her!” Celestia at this point started to sob deeply. Her legs giving out and forcing her to collapse on the cushion she was sitting on.
The sudden breakdown by the Solar Princess surprised Tali extremely. The always stoic and insightful leader that ruled over Equestria had never shown a side like this to anypony let alone her. Her body instinctively brought itself over to Celestia’s right side and laid next to her, draping a wing over the Princess in the process. If Celestia didn’t tower over the gryphon, she would attempt to stroke her back but such an action would move her from her spot beside Celestia.
As Tali sat beside the Solar Diarch, her mind swam with more questions about the Princesses. What had happened last night? Why is Princess Luna acting like she is? All of the oldest history books describe her as being rather playful before she became depressed and the Nightmare took her. Maybe Princess Celestia is just pushing too hard on her sister. It was at this thought that Tali noticed that the Princess was coming down from her much needed cry. Her withers were still shaking but she was no longer sobbing out right.
In a shaky voice Celestia finally spoke up again, “what can I do Tali? I...I must fix this.”
Tali’s brow furrowed a little at the what Celestia had said, fix what? Is there something wrong with Princess Luna or is Celestia just too naive when it comes to her sister? Tali let out a sigh before responding. “I don’t know exactly what to tell you Princess. I mean, I don’t know if there is anything that needs to be fixed to be honest. Princess Luna might just need more time to readjust to being back is all. She was gone for a thousand years so it would be likely she just isn’t readjusted yet. Maybe she just needs time.”
Celestia nodded without looking at Tali. On shaky hooves she stood on her pillow and slowly made her way closer to the door. She collected a few breaths before turning her head to face the still prone gryphon. “Thank you Ambassador Tali for being here with me. I really needed to let all of that out. If it comes to it, can I ask for you help in the future?”
Tali sat there with a slightly shocked expression plastered on her face; the Princess who had just been crying her eyes out was once again composed and collected as ever. This time though there was a small and meek smile on her face instead of the usual heartwarming and large one. Tali nodded her head dumbly as the Princess’ smile grew and left the room. Now the room only was playing host to an awestruck Tali. Soon enough she rose to her feet and proceeded to leave as well.
The troop escort that waited outside followed her down the halls back to her own room in the castle. All the while during the walk, Tali couldn’t get one thought out of her head, What did I get myself into?
****
Celestia was also walking down the halls back to her room. Her head was centered on one thought as well; “Maybe she needs time.” What Tali had said struck something deep in her. Tali had been right. Maybe she was crowding Luna too much and should just give her time instead. This would be no simple feat for Celestia though. It would be going against many of the basic sibling instincts that she had held onto consistently. Even through that dark period of time where Luna was banished she held onto those instincts. Celestia had looked out for her sister in making sure that when she returned, few ponies would remember what truly happened. It’s better to be thought of as jealous and spiteful than weak...right?
Celestia shook her head out of reflex at the thought. Her room’s door was just down the hall and so was her advisor. Standing in front of the door was the golden coated, and red maned mare, Royal Day Advisor Blanche. The 40 year old mare had been working with Celestia for roughly 15 years as of a month ago and ponies were still curious as to why that was her name. The reason for the short name was due to her parents having rather odd ideals on names and social views. That wasn’t important to Celestia though for she knew what Blanche would want and she definitely did not feel in the mood.
“Princess, you have 10 minutes before the Day Court will start. I suggest hurrying, you Highness.”
Celestia sighed inwardly as she knew she would receive flak from Blanche about cancelling Day Court but she could not hold herself in front of the masses after her breakdown in front of Tali. “Blanche, I’m cancelling Day Court today. I have other matters to attend to. More...personal matters; I’m sure you understand.”
The golden furred mare stared at Celestia for a moment; her brow furrowing and eyes narrowing. Something was off about the Princess and she would find out, maybe not now but she would find out. “Of course Princess. Is there anything I can do to help?”
The response by Blanche caught Celestia off guard as she ahd expected to be lectured by the mare but all she received was that simple reply. Once Celestia regained her senses, she shook her head at the question. “Unfortunately no Blanche but thank you for offering. I’ll be in my room if anything comes up.” With that Celestia strode through her doors which the guards closed behind her.
Blanche continued to stand at the doors for a moment before trotting down the hall. Sure the Princess had cancelled the court many times in the past but this was the first time that Celestia looked hesitant about confronting her about it. Normally she would just specify a reason and continue on her way but today Blanche knew something was up. I will find out somehow, it is my job afterall. Even if it wasn’t within Blanche’s right to delve into this topic, she didn’t care. The Princess wasn’t acting right and probably needed help. This overrode all other protocols in her opinion.
She knew the best place to start asking questions would be the gryphon ambassadors but they would only talk to her if Celestia had asked of it so that was out of the question. That only left 2 feasible options for Blanche; dig around the castle for information or sit back and watch what happens. The second choice would be more sensible and nopony would call Blanche an insensible pony. So for the moment Blanche put Celestia’s issue into the back of her mind and continued on with her tasks for the day.
****
Celestia fell to her side on the massive sun decorated bed within her room. It was barely even noon and today had already been extremely taxing. Without a doubt a nap couldn’t hurt. Without Day Court, her day was actually free till she had to lower the sun. Whoever said that today was my off day should have mentioned me crying my eyes out for 30 minutes. Celestia gave a rather loud sigh at that thought. With the way her day had been going, she was surprised that she hadn’t sighed as much as she had.
She slowly removed herself from her bed and moved to the door once again. She peeked her head out of the door, “please do not disturb me till it is supper time.”
This was received with a quick salute by the guards standing in front of her doors. Celestia returned her head within the room and continued to prep herself for a nice nap. A quick flare of magic brought the drapes on the window to a close as well as turning off the lighting to the room. Another flare removed her shoes, chest piece, and crown. A few small strides and soon enough she found herself sprawled out on her bed. Finally,the one place I can relax in; my room. This thought was followed by another sigh but this one was more of a blissful love for the cushy bed instead of usual stressed out sigh.
Tali was right I think. Luna just needs time to readjust is all. It took me over a hundred years to get over the incident so she just needs her time to get back to normal. Maybe I’ll try not to smother her as much, Celestia thought to herself as she magically snagged a pillow and brought it closer to her so she could rest her head. I’ll have to remind myself to thank Tali for what she has done for me. Properly this time of course. Maybe some theater tickets, and with that last thought Celestia was out like a light. Awaiting her was a blissful slumber from a quick but hectic day.
