Strengthening the Moon
Cadence, Shining Armor, and Luna sat together in silence, tension thickening the air to the point that it was hard to breathe. At least, that's how it felt for Luna. Her heart was heavy and her mind full of doubt. They were in the crystal throne room, the walls sparkling brilliantly in the afternoon sunlight, pink crystal floors shining as if they had just been polished. A red carpet from the door to the base of the large thrones. It was beautiful, perfect even.
It made Luna sick.
She couldn't stand seeing everything run so smoothly and everypony being so happy, going about their lives like everything was okay. Secretly, she wished she could do the same. But everything wasn't okay.
"Princess?" My sister isn't here. Come back later, Luna thought bitterly. "Luna?" Luna blinked and squinted. She hadn't realized she was staring blankly out the window. She wondered how she looked while doing it. Had she said something out loud?
Cadence put a soft, pedicured hoof on Luna's shoulder. It was supposed to be comforting. But it made her flinch. "Are you alright?"
"Of course," Luna lied. Everything was wrong. Look at her hooves. Their even shinier than the floor! "I was thinking. I didn't mean to get so wrapped up in my thoughts."
"If you need help with anything or you just need to talk, I'm here." Cadence said. "We are both here."
"Noted," Luna said a bit too harshly. She softened her tone. "Thank you."
Shining was looking at her, sympathy filling his eyes. "When are you going to start construction? Eclipse sent out a few of her forces to scope out the damage and give us an idea of the work that needs to be done. I know it's a little soon to be talking about this . . ."
Luna turned her head slightly, looking at Shining out of the corner of her eyes. "We'll return in a week."
Cadence's hoof went rigid on Luna's shoulder. "So soon?"
"More than half of Canterlot is in ruins and who knows how many ponies are dead." Luna turned fully and looked Cadence square in the eyes.
"I know that she was your aunt as well as my sister. But she would not have wanted our once beautiful capital to stay in its current state for so long." She would've been half done by now, I bet.
"I understand, but you don't need to rush into anything, princess. Cadence and I can offer our own assistance to Equestria and I can even come along to help in person-"
"That won't be necessary, Shining Armor. You are needed here. I will inform the element bearers and they, as well as their loved ones will come back to Equestria."
Cadence nodded, tears forming in her eyes. She sniffed and smiled. "Please remember that if you want to talk I'm here for you."
"Of course." Luna bowed her head and walked to the gigantic gold and crystal doors, opening them with her magic and walking through, leaving the royal married couple to themselves. Luna could still hear Cadence sniffling softly. She always was an emotional one.
"I've already informed Twilight and the rest that we'll be leaving for Equestria in a week. They've gone out to settle any businesses or other loose ends and have already started to pack valuables." Eclipse said, standing at attention in front of Luna.
"Good. And have your pegasi scanned the damaged areas of Canterlot?"
"Yes, and it appears that the civilians have already begun making their own repairs. Also, it seems that damage to surrounding towns and cities are minimal. Just airborne rubble and sparks."
"At least she concentrated it to one area," Luna mumbled. That area being more than half of Canterlot, our once beautiful capital! "We'll fix it."
"We certainly will, your highness." Eclipse nodded, a determined look on her face. She bowed and trotted out, leaving Luna by herself. It was quiet for a moment before Luna sighed.
"I know you're here." Silence. Hearing things? Luna shook her head and frowned. "Don't make me have to find you."
"You're no fun." Discord appeared in a flash in front of Luna. He had a grin on his muzzle and a cup of chocolate milk in his claws. Jasmine appeared behind Luna with a familiar brown earth pony in her clutches.
"Aw, you were right, Willy. She knew we were here the whole time." Jasmine put the mare down and pouted. Discord chuckled.
"Quit calling me that." Willow Tree scowled.
"Why are you three spying on me?" Luna asked, not even sure if she wanted to hear the answer.
"Simple. We wanted to check on you." Jasmine fluttered over the dark alicorn. "We haven't had some fun time in a while."
"I figured you would've went mad by now." Discord yawned and flashed Willow a smile. Willow's scowl deepened. "Careful, you'll ruin that pretty face of yours."
Willow turned beet red, but Luna couldn't tell if it was due to embarrassment or anger. "Why I outa club you upside your head!" Willow waved her hoof to express her annoyance and Luna couldn't help but chuckle.
"I assure you that I'm very sane. But I wouldn't mind relaxing for the rest of the day. We have a lot of work to do once we go back home."
"Oh yea, in a week, right?" Willow asked, her expression softening. Discord embraced her.
"Missing me already?" he cooed. Willow responded with a growl.
Jasmine clasped her claws together. "I'm so glad you're coming with us! You definitely need a break!"
Luna sighed and let herself be led by the three. After this, we won't be able to just hang out. Willow Tree trotted beside her to her left, glaring at Discord, who was covering above and enjoying bugging the mare. Jasmine was to her right and was humming some jolly tune.
Leave it to my friends to bring me back to sanity.