The celebration in Ponyville was going well enough. It was a joyous occasion for Luna's return and the supposed end of Nightmare Moon. It was also a celebration for the ponies who ended it. One pink pony in particular seemed to be having a good time. She bounced as if made of rubber and shot confetti out of a cannon. It was one of the more illogical things Celestia had seen, it was something more in line with Discord's magic. Maybe she was a distant cousin of the chaotic gremlin. Something to look into later she supposed.
The thought of Nightmare Moon back at the castle soured her mood. After the hug they had gone separate ways while Celestia caught up on her duties. On the day of the celebration, they left Nightmare Moon behind at the castle. It was not ideal, but the sight of a living nightmare so recently after Luna's return would surely scare the ponies. It was something that Celestia was going to have to think on how to handle. It was an unexpected variable to say the least. Who knew what she was doing at the castle while Celestia was away? Certainly nothing good.
Celestia waved and smiled to the ponies of Ponyville as she was pulled through the town on a golden carriage. Streamers covered her and Luna and the joyous cheering was a boon to her ears. It was a stark yet welcome difference to the monotonous governmental meetings she always attended.
"Are you alright Luna?" Celestia spoke through the side of her smile.
"We are glad for the joyous appreciation of our subjects." Luna stayed close to her. "We only wonder how they could forgive after such a short time; we do not deserve it."
"They know that you were not yourself. It is written in fairy tales that the Mare in the Moon was a threat- but also that she was in need of redemption and had a possibility for good."
"Thou did too much for us sister."
"I did not do nearly enough." Celestia said.
The celebration continued as they were pulled, as if following them through the town. Celestia wished that for once she wasn't the center of attention. Maybe then she could actually enjoy the festivities. That cake they were passing out looked delicious.
Alas, they were just passing through. The celebration was across all of Equestria and they had a few other key places to visit. All ponies must know that their second princess was back. Most of the celebrations in other towns and in Canterlot would take place at night. It was only fitting for the princess of the night after all.
It was far too soon that Celestia and Luna reached the end of their ride through Ponyville.
She could see Twilight and her friends at the end of the ride, waiting for them. Her student was dragging her hooves with her head down as she walked towards the carriage.
"I will be right back Luna." Celestia stepped off the carriage. "Twilight has something to say."
"We will be here sister." Luna edged towards the center of the carriage and sat with her back straight. Her gaze wandered to the surrounding ponies before snapping back to attention.
"Why do you look so glum my faithful student? Aren't you happy that you get to return to Canterlot and continue your studies?" Celestia strode towards Twilight.
"Princess... It's just... I made five amazing friends and now I have to leave them." Twilight's ears drooped.
"Spike, take a note." Celestia said. It seemed that Twilight had made true friends, just like she thought. Celestia had been waiting for this moment. The little dragon immediately whipped out a scroll and began to write. "I, princess Celestia, hear by decree that Twilight Sparkle shall take on a new mission. She must continue to study the magic of friendship and report to me her findings from her new home in Ponyville!"
"No." Twilight shook her head. "I can't, it just doesn't make any sense."
"What?" Celestia didn't believe the words she was hearing. "Do you not want to stay with your friends?"
"How can I just leave you behind? You have been teaching me since I was a filly!" Twilight hesitantly raised her eyes to meet her own. "Maybe we can bring my friends to Canterlot or- you can come here!"
"Twilight, you know that I have duties to take care of in the castle and I am sure that your friends have responsibilities as well." Celestia said.
"I see." Twilight deflated, her dark mane drooping.
"How about this..." Celestia paused as she considered her options. It was absolutely vital that Twilight continued to be amongst her friends for the good of Equestria. There were many forgotten evils about to surface, (many she had buried herself) and Equestria would not survive without the elements of harmony. "I have a secret code that I have never given anypony before."
"Really?" Twilight's eyes lit up. "A code to what? Is it magical?"
"Indeed. Remember, you must not tell anyone." Celestia said. "Are you ready to hear it?"
Twilight nodded.
"There is a teleportation circle in Canterlot castle." Celestia whispered.
"TELEPORTATION CIRCLE!?!" Twilight nearly jumped into the air. "The level of magic behind such a thing is nearly impossible! To simply begin to inscribe such a spell matrix is-"
Celestia made her displeasure very clear with a simple hard look.
"S-Sorry princess." Twilight rubbed the back of her head.
"I will send you the codes to it later through Spike. Make sure that you warn me in advance before you use it." Celestia said. "The first code will bring you to Canterlot, the second code will return you to where you teleported from. Remember, burn the codes once you memorize them."
"Thank you, princess, you don't know how much this means to me!" Twilight threw herself around Celestia. The surrounding ponies awed at the sight. Celestia knew that this was going to be in the news when she heard the click of a camera somewhere amongst the crowd. Twilight's friends crowded around the purple unicorn cheering all the while.
The sight caused Celestia to smile. It seemed that Twilight was in good hooves after all. Her attachment was a factor she had not considered but it seemed like everything was going to turn out okay.
"I must depart for now my most faithful student. Make sure to send me reports whenever you learn a valuable lesson!" Celestia turned to the colorful cast of ponies around Twilight. "Make sure to take care of her for me, she tends to stay up past her bedtime."
"Yes princess!" The rainbow maned pony saluted while the others laughed.
"Princess!" Twilight blushed.
"Sorry Twilight, I couldn't resist." Celestia said. "Have fun my little ponies!"
Celestia boarded the carriage again and within moments they took off from Ponyville. The town vanished below them as they rose above the clouds. Hopefully Twilight would be okay. Now though, it was time to visit more towns and cities for the continued celebrations. The thought of it was draining, but it was so the citizens could see that the princess of the night had returned. It was necessary.
With a glance at Luna to give her strength, Celestia prepared for the long day ahead.
By the time they visited towns and cities across Equestria, it was the middle of the night. They had just finished moving through Canterlot and were on their way back to the castle. The night air was filled with fireworks, and even the Wonderbolts were flying, leaving behind glowing trails of white and blue to celebrate the night. It was a city-wide celebration that would leave the streets of Canterlot filled with streamers for days to come. Paper lanterns with cutouts of the moon and sun filled the sky. Unfortunately, some of them were blasted by the fireworks. Every time one of them was blown up there was a city-wide cheer. It was a rushed celebration to say the least, there was not much time to think of how the different pieces would go together. At least her little ponies seemed to be enjoying it.
"Did you enjoy the celebration, Luna?" Celestia asked as they walked towards the entrance to Canterlot castle.
"We did enjoy the celebration. We only wish that our subjects would not be so afraid of us." Luna glanced back at the city. "While our subjects seemed to relish in out arrival, some did seem to fear us still."
"They will come around in time." Celestia said. "They haven't seen the real you yet."
"We suppose you are right." Luna said.
Celestia yawned as the gates to the castle opened. The day had been long, and she felt exhausted.
"We will stay up longer, you should rest sister." Luna said. "You cannot put off day court forever."
"I guess you're right." Celestia sighed. "You did good today, Luna."
"To you as well." Luna looked as awake as ever. "We will watch over thee dreams tonight."
"Thank you, Luna." Celestia stood next to her sister in the hallway awkwardly. She really didn't want to leave.
"We will leave, rest well sister." Luna awkwardly stood there as well before shuffling away.
"Be safe." Celestia whispered as she stared at Luna walking away. In a few moments Luna vanished into the dark halls of the castle.
Celestia walked into her throne room. During the day this room was filled with brilliant light from the many stained-glass windows on both sides of the hall. During the night the throne room was much darker, but it held a unique beauty to it. Moonlight and starlight glinted off the stained-glass windows spreading a constellation of tiny silver lights across the red carpet leading to the throne. The throne itself, made of gold with two small trickling fountains next to it, almost appeared silver in the lighting.
Behind the throne were two massive banners. At the moment they were both of her sun, brilliant and bold, but in the future, she wanted to have one of them replaced for a moon. She also wanted a second throne for Luna, she should have done that before she returned now that she was thinking about it.
Each of her steps echoed in the empty hall. There was a pristine floral scent in the air that calmed her nerves. The carpet beneath her hoof was soft and supple. She found herself staring into one of the pools next to the throne. It had been a long day, that was clear from cracking makeup around her eyes. Using a bit of the water she wiped it off, revealing her racoon-like state. Then, a wicked smile graced her face.
Today had been a success. Celestia glanced around. For a rare moment, she was completely alone. A surge of relief and excitement filled her. It was done, she had successfully integrated Luna as a princess back into the eyes of the ponies of Equestria. It was only up from here.
With a subdued shriek of joy Celestia pranced back and forth in the throne room. She didn't expect it to go this well, but she was glad that it did. If only Luna could forgive herself, then things could truly go back to how they used to be. Two sisters, ruling together in harmony, bound by love and friendship.
Somepony coughed.
Celestia immediately froze in the middle of the throne room. In a moment she stopped prancing and held herself high once again. Her gaze slowly swept to the source of the intrusion. There was nothing.
"Got you there, didn't I?" Void laughed.
"Of course it was you." Celestia shook out the nervous jitters in her body. If somepony had seen her little outburst the news of it would be in every tavern across Equestria in a day. "You have been silent recently."
"My attention was elsewhere. So, how did you like my friend? Isn't she nice?" Void said.
"I was meaning to ask you about that." Celestia sat on her throne and leaned back into it with a groan. Her body ached from the long day. "What are you planning to do with her?"
"With who? What could I possibly be planning?"
"What are you planning with to do with Luna? You must have sent Nightmare Moon to her for a reason." Celestia leaned into the cushion on her throne and closed her eyes. Now there was just her, her thoughts, and the grating voice of Void.
"I already told you I wasn't going to harm Luna. What more do you want from me?" Void groaned, and she could imagine him reeling back in exasperation. "Nightmare Moon is her friend, nothing more."
"Even if that is true, Nightmare Moon is also your minion." Celestia said. "I just don't understand how her being here is going to help you break out of my head."
"The great Celestia, dumbfounded? I thought I would never see the day." Void gasped.
"I should have never asked." Celestia shook her head.
"Wait just one moment. We were just having our first civil conversation in years and you're already going to throw it away?" Void said. "How about this, you indulge me, and I will give you a little hint."
"I won't play your games Void." Celestia said.
"Just listen to me. I have a juicy piece of information for you, you just have to do one tiny thing for me." Void said.
"...I will hear your request."
"Okay, are you ready?"
"Is this going to do something to me?" Celestia narrowed her eyes.
"No. I'm just asking if you're ready to hear the request."
"I am ready then."
"Look behind you."
Celestia nearly snapped her head at the speed she looked over her shoulder. She half expected Nightmare Moon to be standing there or for Void himself to somehow have found how to materialize himself, but there was nothing. It was just the back of her throne which she was sitting in. There was nothing above it, or to the sides of it. The tension in her body slowly relaxed.
"What am I supposed to be seeing?" Celestia asked.
"My brilliant sun, I didn't mean to look at the back of your throne," Void sighed. "I meant to look behind it!"
"What could possibly be behind my throne?" Celestia asked. "If it is Nightmare Moon then you should just tell me now."
"Just go look, trust me."
While the last thing Celestia would ever do is trust Void, she decided to get up. Carefully, she maneuvered around the side of the throne. After a brief moment to prepare for what may lie in store, Celestia took a look behind the throne. As she expected, the most she could see was a stray bit of dust.
"Look at the window." Void whispered.
On the wall behind her throne was a stained-glass window. It was not one that Celestia could recall she had ever seen before, which was strange because she was the one who had them installed. The window depicted two alicorns. One was clearly Celestia herself and the other Luna. They faced each other from the edges of the glass. In the middle of the two was... there was nothing in the middle.
"What do you see?" Void's voice was breathless.
"Something is missing." Celestia took a step closer to the window.
"Notice anything in particular?"
Celestia looked closer at the center of the window. At first, she didn't see anything. Yet, as she looked closer, she realized something. There were minute waves in the glass near the center, like it had been repaired after something had broken it. The nearly invisible line could be traced to nearly the entire center of the window. Whatever was once there had been shattered, and then repaired without it.
"The entire center of this window was shattered. Whatever was once there is gone." Celestia stepped back. "What is the purpose of this?"
"This window was from the old palace."
"It is? I would have remembered if I brought from a window from there." Celestia couldn't tear her eyes away from the window. It felt oddly familiar for some reason.
"Think. What belongs at the center of this window?"
Celestia tried to imagine what was at the window's center. Maybe a sun and moon to complement the rest of theme. Maybe it was a peaceful valley. Perhaps they were charging a spell to best a dark foe. Maybe there was-
Her head started to hurt. When she tried to think again it began to pound.
"I can't think of anything." Celestia turned away from the window and winced at the pain in her head. "I did as you asked, now fulfill your end of the bargain."
"You really are a hateful little thing, aren't you?" Void sighed. "Fine, I will give you a hint about Nightmare Moon."
Celestia listened closely. She wasn't sure exactly what Void would actually offer her, but she wasn't expecting much.
"I sent her there to act not only as a friend to Luna, but a friend to you. I want you to use her as you wish. Preferably as a friend, but feel free to use her as fodder or even fuel for spells if you must." Void said. "That is the unaltered truth. She was merely sent there to... shake things up a bit. You have so much on your plate that you don't have time to chase after all the little leads. I want you to use Nightmare Moon to do that."
"Why should I believe that? Why would you want to help me?" Celestia asked.
"Because it is the truth. Why don't you try it out, send her to fetch something and I am sure she will bring it back without fail." Void said. "Besides, wouldn't you prefer to befriend Nightmare over extinguishing your sister's only friend? Not including you of course."
"Nightmare Moon will stay in the castle where I can see her." Celestia said. "No words you say can convince me otherwise."
"I was only offering." Void said. "Well darling, it was a pleasure hearing your soothing voice again, but you look exhausted. Why don't you get some rest and ill wake you up in the morning?"
"Please keep your insufferable voice out of my mornings." Celestia could already imagine Void's sarcastic voice waking her up. It was not pleasant.
"As you wish my sun."
Void did not speak again after that.
Celestia walked back to her room. There was much to think about, but her mind was foggy from exhaustion. Long days on top of long-term exhaustion were not a good mix. Despite the scattered thoughts and worries racing through her mind Celestia soon found herself laying in her bed. It would be a while before she slept, the worry about Nightmare Moon and Luna was enough to keep her awake. Not to mention Void. In time though, she slipped into an uneasy sleep. Whatever nightmares that would have manifested were crushed by Luna. The princess of the night never rested.
That night Celestia dreamed of a window in an old castle room. Luna was there, and together they looked at the window. In the center of the window, framed by two alicorns, was a giant, gilded, horn lock.
When Celestia woke again, memory of the dream faded like stars before the sunrise.