“Her Royal Highness, Princess Luna of the Moon..and...her Royal Highness, Queen Lilith of the Succuponies.”
Princess Celestia managed to keep her face impassive as her sister walked in with Lilith. During the early days, once they had overthrown Discord, most of the ponies had joined with the new order of Equestria. There was still some minor conflict, and she had found that some species, like the Changelings, were unwilling to take part in the ideals of Harmony. It was an unfortunate day, when she had to banish their entire species from the land.

To be honest, she wasn’t sure she was up to the task of being the Sun Princess. Celestia and Luna…according to the legends, these were the first two ponies on the land, and every ruling pair since had taken the names for themselves. As long lived as Alicorns were, who knows how many times the names had been changed over. Despite her concerns, she was determined to prove herself worthy of the name she had taken upon herself.

Which is how she had arrived here. The Succuponies, like the Changelings, fed off the emotions of other ponies. Like the Changelings, they were capable of manipulating those emotions, however, they were much more powerful, and much more ambitious. As such, she had been seeking out Succuponies with Luna, catching them in the act and banishing them from the land one by one. She was still unable to get a confession from Lilith about her ultimate goal. Perhaps this is why Luna had-
“Sister, we need to talk.” Luna said, as they reached the throne. “I think we’re being a little bit hasty in our judgment of the Succuponies.” As Luna spoke, Lilith nuzzled her lightly; Celestia couldn’t help but narrow her eyes.

She rose from the throne, still unused to the flowing of her mane. “Sister, we have ruled together for many years. Together, we’ve defeated Discord, and brought peace to the land. You know that I have only your best interests at heart, and the best interests of all ponies. Surely you can see that Lilith and her kind do not. I’m not sure what kind of spell you’ve placed on Luna,” Celestia turned now to Lilith. “But I have faith in her. She will make the right decision.”

Luna started, about to speak, but Lilith’s tail, long and flexible and so alien to other ponies, pressed against her mouth.
“A spell, my dear Princess?” The succupony smirked. “Believe me, if I had enchanted Luna in some way, there would be no doubt in your mind. Luna choose to support me of her own free will.” Her smile grew only wider. “Your subjects enjoy the company of my sisters, and who are we, as rulers, to deny our subjects? I wonder if you’re becoming as much a tyrant as Discord was.”

“Lilith!” Luna said, moving between Celestia and the still smirking succupony. “That is…Celestia cares about all of her subjects! We’re here to address her concerns, remember?” she turned to her sister, her face apologetic. “Forgive her, please, sister. She’s concerned for her subjects, as am I. Can they not live in the Everfree Forest? Or perhaps to the north? So close to the Crystal Empire, their needs may not be as great.”

Celestia shook her head slowly, already seeing the answer on Liliths face. For the briefest moment, Lilith had flinched. Why is what was so plain to her not clear to Luna? She must be patient with her younger sister, allow her to learn, otherwise she may rebel, and what would the Sun be without the Moon to follow? “I’m afraid that is likely not an option. The area around the Crystal Empire is a frozen wasteland, and I would not send anypony to live there. As for the Everfree Forest, the magic there is still wild, and even ponies of their considerable skill would have a difficult time surviving. As long as the succuponies only…pair with the willing, they are welcome in our borders. However, any of them seen forcing their will upon any of my subjects will be dealt with swiftly.” She finished her statement with a hard glare to Lilith, who didn’t falter in her smile, merely bowed.

“I’m glad we had this talk, Princess Celestia. You’ve made much clear to me. Come, Luna, shall we spend some time together before the nightbreak?”

Celestia could only watch as her sister, the one most precious to her, walked out of the throne room with perhaps the greatest threat to Equestria since Discord himself…

Princess Celestia studied the letter, her brow furrowed. Cadence had left the Crystal Empire to help Twilights friends. While she felt that love would be an effective counter to the powers of lust, it left the Empire weakened. Shining Armor had remained, using his magic to shield the empire. Fortunately, it didn’t need to be a physical shield, like during the Changeling invasion, but merely strengthening the magical wards already in place. Despite this, for the Crystal Princess to leave the Empire during such a grave threat worried Celestia immensely.

Of course, the entire situation had her worried. She looked around the throne room, at the bustle of the day. The guard had offered to double shifts, but Celestia had assured them that such actions would not be necessary. Truthfully, she doubted any number of guards could protect against Lilith once she came for the capital. Her hopes laid in Rarity, Cadence, and Luna; if they could not find a way to rescue Twilight and stop Lilith, Celestia wouldn’t even have the benefit of the Elements of Harmony this time.

If Lilith did attack Canterlot, she would only do so once she was certain she could take the throne. Considering her actions so far, Lilith would likely come with Twilight and all of her friends bent to her will. That was something Celestia wasn’t sure she could face. As much as she hated to admit it, even to herself, she was even more afraid that Lilith would also turn her own sister against her…

The champion of Harmony would stand alone. Yes, Lilith would find that to be quite appropriate. Celestia left the throne room, headed towards her private library.

Author's Note

Finally, a new chapter, and I'm busily typing up Capture 9. It certainly was interesting writing from Celestias point of view, even for a little while...