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// 1 Lights in the Sky 
// Story: A Cuckoo in the Nest 
// by Bronyxy 
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“It happened again this morning” said Luna, casually sipping a perfectly infused cup of tea whilst staring absent-mindedly over its gently swirling aroma at her sister “At just the same time as before.”

The dark brown mahogany table was laid formally with a tasteful combination of bone china and silver, complemented with two candles aglow. Two places were set, one at each end, at one end a midnight blue alicorn at the end of her night’s duty while at the other end a white alicorn prepared for her busy day of engagements to start.

“How many times is that now, Luna?” asked the white mare returning her gaze.
“Every morning for the last week. It may even have been happening before, but it is faint and you have to know to look for it.”
“What do you propose to do about it?” asked the white mare helping herself to a sumptuous looking deep-filled frosted Danish, trying to convince herself that the healthy benefit of the fruit filling outweighed any calories that the delectable treat may contain.
“As it occurs at the cusp of dawn, I wondered if we should both go and take a closer look as I cannot say for certain whose domain it falls into.”
“An early morning stretch would be nice for once. Shall we say tomorrow?”

The blue mare gestured to one of the servants that she had finished with her plate and he trotted over obediently to take it from her, topping up her tea at the same time. She smiled her thanks, acknowledging his attentiveness and then returned her attention to her sister.
“Yes, that would fit in with me perfectly. I suggest that if we are prepared, say a half hour before, then we could fly up and take our rest on a cloud to get a better view when it appears.”

“If it appears, Luna. I suspect by the simple act of our concentrated observation it may decide not to show up.”
“Be that as it may, Sister, I remain intrigued as to what could cause a green flash to occur in the sky at such regularity. My research has yielded nothing.”

Celestia took another cake; they were especially tasty today she noticed, and it would be a great pity if some were left to be returned to the kitchen where the pastry chef could see his craftsmanship rejected. That, she thought, would be a crime, and eased her conscience by helping herself to just one more.

“Did you take the opportunity to look in my library?” she asked, brushing a few escaped flakes of pastry from her lips.
“Thank you, Sister, yes; your librarian was especially helpful, but we still turned up nothing.”
“How odd” commented the white mare, taking another deep bite, while trying hard not to betray any outward sign of the blissful delight that the crumbly delicacies were giving her.
The Royal Sisters enjoyed an unhurried meal during which the platter of cakes mysteriously emptied without Luna even trying one.

“You know Sister” said Luna delicately replacing the china cup on to its matching saucer “I fail to comprehend the delight you derive from tea.”
“It’s reviving, it stimulates the senses and it goes especially well with cake” replied Celestia.
“Perhaps I should try some cake, you know, to confirm your hypothesis for myself.”
“Well, of course” said Celestia, turning to look at the freshly emptied platter where the cakes used to be and halting suddenly “Or maybe tomorrow. It looks like we were short today …”

“Really?” teased Luna, shooting her sister an enquiring look that made a pink blush appear prominently on the pure white face.
“Um … I really don’t know where they could have gone …” she said sheepishly.
Luna stared at her levelly, one eyebrow raised and a smile forming on her face.
“Oh alright!” confessed Celestia begrudgingly “I ate them all!”
“I know” replied Luna with a gentle giggle “Maybe I can have one tomorrow then?”

Luna rose and the two sisters embraced tenderly, Luna wiping the last few pastry crumbs from Celestia’s lips.
“Well, at least it looks like they tasted nice” she teased gently, feeling the warmth of her sister’s blushing increase noticeably. Celestia flustered slightly before changing the subject to more serious matters, her voice becoming suddenly more assertive “I’ll meet you on the balcony at half an hour before dawn tomorrow morning then?”

“How will I recognise you?” joshed Luna.
“Oh, I’ll stand out in the crowd - I’ll be wearing a bowler hat and have a red carnation in my button hole!” responded Celestia joining in with the playful banter.
“Tomorrow then, Sister.”
“Love you, Lulu.”
“Love you too Celly.”


***


As she knew that her sister would be out with her to see the night sky, Luna made a special effort to find time and decorate it to its finest; the stars all had an extra added sparkle and a meteor shower just happened to be going on as well. Those who stayed out that night; the astronomers, the insomniac poets and those who had jobs that demanded their keeping hours that most would have found antisocial were all treated to the most wonderful display, one that made them feel just a cut above the regular sun-loving majority.

Luna stood on the balcony feeling a gentle pre-dawn breeze ruffle her feathers slightly. She shook her head to settle her mane but without making any snort or whinny that may detract from the perfect beauty unfolded across the sky in every direction; she was proud of her work.

A subdued clop of hooves on the stone announced the arrival of her sister long before any words were exchanged. She stayed looking down the bearing where the meteor shower was coming from and was shortly rewarded by another brilliant flash leaving a long bright streak across the sky. She nodded her head in silent approval and listened as the perfect quiet was punctuated by a soft voice beside her.

“That was particularly beautiful” commented Celestia.
“Yes, one of many such tonight. Sometimes you may look up and just see a long flash but without observing a trail; this more often than not is a meteor burning up as it comes straight towards you.”
Celestia gasped “Is it safe to be out when this is happening?”
“Actually” giggled Luna softly “They still come during the daytime, but nopony sees them against the brightness of the sunlit sky.”
“Oh” said Celestia, a little uncertainly.
“Do not worry Sister, there are no records of ponies ever having been injured by them.”

Celestia untensed imperceptibly; probably betrayed by the smallest movement that only her sister, who had known her for hundreds of years, would ever pick up on. She had moved closer during their conversation but still kept a respectful gap between them; this was Luna’s domain, after all. She was the conductor of an orchestra comprising myriad individual sparkling lights that danced at her command all across the rich dark tapestry of the night sky until she laid them to rest in the morning.

Celestia immersed herself in the night’s embrace, appreciating the subtle mix of bold and finely detailed tableaux subtly knitted together seamlessly above and around her. Each glittering gem was so close and yet so distant should one try to reach out and capture it; a compete jewellery box filled with treasures shared freely with anypony who had only to look up.

“You have outdone yourself tonight Luna” said Celestia with deep respect in her voice “I could never manage to create such splendour while it was under my stewardship.”

“I’m sure you did an admirable job, but my talent has always been to express myself through artistry where you express yourself through the power of words in all their infinite forms. I should struggle to master your talents of diplomacy and writing in much the same way as I expect the finer points of the visual aesthetic will remain beyond your grasp.”

After a pause Luna continued “But we are not here to provide each other with mutual admiration, moreover we have a more urgent task at hand. We have time to reach a good vantage point if you are ready?”

Celestia nodded and the two most impressive ponies in Equestria lifted into the early morning air side by side, climbing up over the magical city of Canterlot and banking gently as they set course for a few scattered clouds left by the weather ponies.

Luna flew significantly more than her sister, while Celestia ate significantly more cake, the combination of which soon found Luna having to moderate her speed for her sister to keep up. Soon they approached the clouds and Celestia plomped down gratefully while Luna executed a slow and graceful descent to alight on a little cloud nearby, whereupon she tucked her forelegs neatly underneath her and watched expectantly in a specific well-rehearsed direction. The time was drawing near now.

Celestia followed her sister’s lead and faced the same way, unsure of what to expect, but looking forward to tea and cake afterwards.

“Any … second … now …” said Luna.

As if having waited for her cue, there was a sudden flash and a translucent green orb appeared, yellow fingers of electricity crackling around its surface. Luna had judged their position well; it was only a matter of a few hundred yards away and slightly below them.
”Come on!” she urged, springing off her cloud and gliding down to orbit round the conspicuous new arrival.
“Celly, look!” she cried “There’s a pony inside – no, wait – it’s an alicorn!”
“It’s seen us!” called back Celestia “Look it’s shouting something!”
“It looks like a cry for help!” shouted Luna over the electrical crackling of the orb “We haven’t got much time if we’re going for a rescue!”

“Come to me” shouted Celestia and Luna obliged, both alicorns pointing their horns at the orb as each summoned their power and a yellow and a blue stream of energy shot forth. The captive alicorn inside flapped its wings while it continued shouting and scrambling to get out, but in a flash both the orb and its prisoner had disappeared.

The stunned sisters looked at each other.

“Home?” suggested Celestia.

“Home” agreed Luna.