The setting sister reported to the rising one. She gave her summary, took criticisms and advice, and asked for permissions for future business. There was dawn and there was dusk, but this happened only once a day. She was loving, but her dominance was unquestioned.
“Alright, well, here's your schedule for tomorrow. They'll want you at your sharpest so be sure to get a big breakfast, but not too much carbs, okay?”
The waning mare nodded meekly. She took the assignment. It was the same ending to every day for Celestia, and it always would be. Luna’s command: constant as the stars, precise and coordinated like the orbits of the planets.
She was the decider. It was easier for her, of course. She had never seen what transpired in the moments of an alicorn's birth. It was something Luna could never know and would never be burdened with understanding.
Maybe it was better this way. Luna’s naïvety gave her confidence to lead. The older sister would serve her, and in turn Luna’s assurance kept Celestia from breaking under the weight of her own wisdom.
_____
She watched the setting sun. It was automatic, now. It didn't need her anymore. If anything it was better without her; this was a beauty never seen midday. The orange shone against the sea of the sky in brilliant contrast, and purple watercolor tones embraced the sun as it slipped under into a green flash.
Her part was done. All that was left was to wait until Luna needed her again. And so she lay in her queen-sized bed, wondering if the job could be better done by one princess. The light, luxurious linen chafed, that night. The room was intolerably warm. Duckling yellow was such a cloying color, baby blue such a cliché.
_____
Celestia woke to the tapping on her stained glass window. The light of dawn struggled through the thick colors, and she shuddered with dread and shame. The job really would be better done by one princess.
She opened the window, and she found herself mere inches from a pair of red and yellow eyes. Discord’s face, charming with its quirky mismatched features, was not handsome, but it had character.
“Rise and shine, your highness. Sweat stains and crumpled sheets don’t befit a beautiful princess like yourself,” he said.
Celestia hastily pulled her pink mane back into something more presentable. His smug smile was kinder than it seemed, she knew that. He greeted her at the window, every day, whether she was on time or not. Such constancy from a creature like Discord didn’t come lightly.
He slithered in behind her, and he pushed her to face the brightening sky as it shifted into a hopeful shade of blue. “I should really get you an alarm clock. Ooh! How about a phoenix? Light therapy. And I hear they have a sense of humor.”
“But where would you be, dear, if you didn’t have me to wake up every morning?”
That came out wrong.
Her breath froze mid-inhale. Discord only smiled. Before she could blink, he disappeared, leaving glitter and party streamers in his wake. When the giggling and confetti cleared, a bouquet of tulips lay on the windowsill. White flowers with pink stems.
_____
The meeting droned on. Celestia couldn’t keep herself from revisiting that one damning word: dear. She hoped the courtiers couldn’t notice how she flinched every time the thought intruded. Not that she didn’t have a reputation for being twitchy already.
There would be time enough for that later. Stick to Luna’s schedule, follow her guidelines. She made the manilla folder her world. She couldn’t disappoint the ponies who looked up to her, regardless of her insecurities.
“Oranges, I think we can find a better solution than that. Didn’t Cerulean Mind mention something about the acres of old warehouse land north of Detrot? Can’t we put the perennial saplings in greenhouses there while they harvest the seasonal crop?”
Three Oranges looked up at the princess as a smile of inspiration crossed his face. I never even considered that! he thought. It needs refinement from me of course—after all she's a princess, not a farmer—but with Celestia’s suggestion, I think we might make it through winter without shortages!
_____
Celestia’s heart raced, even after the meeting concluded. She excused herself to her private office for the fifteen minute recess. The posh hallway was a dark and endless tunnel. The ponies were gone. She saw only sharks. Was she red? Could they see her stumble?
Locking the door brought some relief, though now she felt stifled, trapped in the dark room. Dust had collected since the last time she had been here.
Trembling, she crossed out “Approve Three Oranges’s land use proposal. (Don’t worry, it’s just a rubber stamp.)” from Luna’s agenda.
She opened her eyes with a yelp as she felt a pair of clawed hands massage the back of her neck. “You’re so tense,” Discord said, batting his eyelashes. “Why don’t you take a moment to savor this victory?”
“I’m sorry!” she stammered. “I didn’t mean to, I just thought—”
He pulled open the curtains, and sunlight turned the office gold.
“Shh, shh, shh. Would you rather be stuffy and wrong, or take a risk and be right? Besides, we both know how dreadfully mistaken Luna is about the nature of our little universe.”
Luna’s agenda was now a bouquet of tulips. Blue, green, and purple.
Her eyes dropped to her hooves. That was something she didn’t want to remember.
He lifted up her head by the chin. “Oh, silly, just because things don’t make sense doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun along the way.”
What does he—
Did he just—
Kiss?!
Celestia rushed into his embrace. They slid to the floor, and she felt as free as the motes of dust that drifted in the sunbeam.
