//------------------------------// // Chapter Twelve - Congregation // Story: A Dance Between the Sun and the Voice in Her Head // by MistOverMoon //------------------------------// The pen rose then fell. It rose as if with the tide then fell to the page with each lull. Every cycle a new page was shifted to the front of the pile. Her eyes scanned over it, reading at a speed that would make a librarian jealous, before moving to the next paper. Celestia was signing documents, again. A dragon had appeared near Ponyville some time ago and now the deluge of documents about it were coming in. Thankfully Celestia knew the dragon and that it wasn't hostile, just old and grumpy. She had sent Twilight and her friends to deal with that one. Her head was throbbing fiercely. Ever since drawing blood last night, she had felt woozy and nauseous all day. Somehow Celestia had made it through day court and now she was signing documents. The words almost seemed to blur as she read, but she was able to keep them clear enough in her mind to perform her duties properly. If she skipped any of this, it would pile up rapidly. She wrote until she felt like she was going to fall over. Groaning, she laid her head on her newly repaired desk and stared at the wall. The pen she had been holding dropped onto the floor with a clack. Her strained eyes closed, and a pleasant darkness shrouded her vision. Then her stomach growled. With an exaggerated groan she pulled herself out of her seat. She was starving. She had opted to skip breakfast in favor of catching up on sleep from a late night. Now, she needed something good to eat. Preferably something hearty like hay... and cake. Cake and hay, that sounded like a blessing. Celestia limped over to the door. Before she exited, she straightened her posture and poise. With mane flowing and little to no apparent sign of inner state, Celestia walked out of the door. Guards saluted her as she walked past them to the dining room. The dining room was a large pristine room with a massive rectangular table. There were plenty of large windows here that illuminated the whole room with natural light. The entire room was empty other than a single attendant. "Excuse me, could you place an order?" Celestia asked. She told the attendant what she wanted from the kitchen. Then, she sat at the end of the long empty dining table. The chair she was in was comfortable, it was cushioned nearly to the point of her throne. On the other hoof, the white and gold tables and chairs nearly blinded her in the light. Her eyes at the moment were sensitive, this must be how Luna felt during the day. Luna, what was she going to do about her? Once she got rid of Nightmare Moon then what? Would her relationship with her sister would magically fix itself? If anything, it would get worse. There had to be something she could leverage to show her sister the issue. Celestia got her food a short time later much to her delight. There was a healthy serving of hay fries, some daffodil salad, and a slice of cake. For a drink she had a simple glass of water. While not a popular or ideal combination, it was all the foods she wanted at the moment. Without waiting any longer, she grabbed her fork with magic and dug in. Half-awake she barely noticed a trio enter the dining room. To her shock she saw Cadence, Nightmare Moon, and Luna enter while chatting to each other. her gaze immediately went to the pink coated Cadance. When did she get back? "Auntie!" Cadance smiled as she spotted Celestia. Her multicolored purple, magenta, and cream-colored mane bounced as she approached. "Cadance! You didn't tell me you were back." Celestia smiled even through her nausea. Cadance was always a blessing to see. "How as your trip to Silver Shoals?" "It was great auntie! The coasts were so romantic, it was something out of a fairy tale." Cadance sat at the table and folded her wings. "I don't know why you sent me on that vacation but I'm glad you did." "I'm glad you enjoyed it." Celestia didn't mention that she had sent Cadence there to get her out of a possible Nightmare Moon's vengeful path. Especially since there was a shadow that called herself Nightmare Moon currently in the room. Celestia avoided making eye contact with Luna who was staring directly at her. No sense in letting her see her probably bloodshot eyes. "Your majesty, this is a table of princesses, if I am not welcome..." Nightmare Moon began to say. "Nonsense, you can sit where you please." Luna said as she sat at the table as well. "Isn't that right dear sister?" "Of course." Celestia focused on her food. "Nightmare Moon can sit wherever she wants to." "That sounds excellent, wouldn't thou agree Cadance?" Luna asked. "I agree. After all, she was your friend on the moon. Why would I want to reject her?" Cadance said. "I couldn't see why anypony would be upset with that." "Exactly our point. Cadance, you are an inspiration akin to the likes of poets of old." Luna sent a pointed glare towards Celestia. Celestia said nothing and continued to eat her food. Luna continued to stare at her while Nightmare Moon sat next to her. Cadance sat next to Celestia. There was a massive thirty pony table and everypony was sitting directly around her as if she was some kind of heater in winter. The attendant came and went, taking their orders. Their food was then delivered all without anypony saying a word. The tension was so thick in the air it was palpable. "Is everything alright?" Cadance hesitantly asked. "Everything is quite alright." Luna instantly said. Nightmare Moon sipped her glass of water. Celestia held in a sigh. Her food was almost done and then she could get out of this situation. Luna clearly wasn't going to see sense right now, and she just wanted to get away. Cadance was a welcome sight though; her little niece always brought her joy. She didn't want her to get involved in this conflict. Nightmare Moon and Luna began to whisper to each other from across the table. Occasionally Luna sent a glance her way. Celestia pretended not to notice. Her head was throbbing, and she felt sick, she didn't want to start anything right now. "Are you alright auntie?" Cadance asked. "I'm alright, Cadance. Thank you for asking." Celestia said with a smile. Another section of food on her plate disappeared. One half was left. "Your eyes are bloodshot." Cadance had a worried look on her face. "Are you getting enough sleep?" "I am getting as much as I can." Celestia said. "You should get more." Cadance ran a hoof through Celestia's mane which was flowing behind her chair. "Your mane looks a bit limp, are you running low on magic?" "I had Twilight visit yesterday. Teleporting her here used a fair share of magical energy." Celestia failed to mention the teleportation circle. It was her personal secret after all. There were few things she didn't share with her fellow princesses, that was one of them. For security reasons of course. She loved Cadance but her ability to keep secrets was... questionable. "I just missed Twilight?! A shame." Cadance sighed. "I was looking forward to seeing her again." "Indeed, she arrived through the teleportation circle in the throne room." Luna sipped on a red wine. Celestia paused halfway through a bite before forcing herself to finish it. In a moment she had regained her composure. Of course, it would make sense that Luna knew about it. She had used it to teleport her here after all. "Teleportation circle?" Cadance asked. "I have never heard of one of those before." "Our apologies Cadance, we thought thou would have been told by our sister." Luna said. "It is for specific uses. It just never came up." Celestia took another bite of her food. There was only a sliver of food left on her plate. "Is there anything else you want to share?" Luna asked. "Whatever do you mean?" Celestia finished her plate. She didn't like where this was going. "Do not be coy with us sister, thou know what we speak of." Luna said. "Spying, dear sister?" Celestia pushed away from the table. "Nay, we were doing no more than you were doing." Luna set down her glass and glared. "I have duties to attend to. Thank you all for the pleasant lunch." Celestia turned to a particular pink pony. "And welcome back to the castle Cadence." "T-Thank you auntie." Cadance glanced around the table as a bead of sweat formed on her forehead. "Leaving the table before everypony is done? That would have counted as rude in our time, perhaps things have changed?" Luna said. "Apologies, but I must be going." Celestia quickened her pace. "Tia, stop!" Luna jumped to her hooves. "Do not run from us!" "I am not running." Celestia said. "I have duties to attend to." "They can wait. We are solving this issue right here, right now!" Luna started to speak in the royal Canterlot voice, a booming voice. "What issue?" Celestia turned to face her sister. "There are no issues here." "No issues? You know exactly what issues we speak of." Luna said. "We do not wish to choose between our friend and sister. Today is the last day this argument persists." "Do not raise your voice at me Luna." Celestia felt a swell of rage ignite in her chest. Her frayed nerves and growing nausea and headache only added fuel to the fire. "We will raise our voice as we please. Why can't you be happy for us?! We finally found a friend, isn't that what you wanted?" "That is all I ever wanted. I only wanted to protect you from danger!" "The only danger to us is YOU!" Luna pointed a hoof in her direction, her face twisted in anger as tears welled in her eyes. "So be it, enjoy yourselves. Enjoy yourselves all you want without-" Celestia's yelling stopped as her vision swayed. The whole world seemed to spin in one impossibly long second. A blur of colors passed her by. Her legs threatened to crumble beneath her. She staggered on her hooves. Had she... had she almost just fallen over? A little blood loss shouldn't have been enough to affect her so much. "Auntie!" Cadance called out. "Tia? We did not mean to-" "Enough. You have... made your point clear. Now, I will be departing and nopony will stop me." Celestia spat. "Is that clear?" The ponies she called family were silent. Nightmare Moon in the back of the crowd met her scathing eyes and immediately looked to the floor. From that brief glimpse of Nightmare Moon's eyes, she could see sorrow and tears starting to form. She looked guilty, tortured, repentant. Celestia felt a sucking feeling deep in her chest. Those were not the eyes of a monster. Nopony stopped her as she left the dining room and slammed the door shut behind her. Her body felt light as blood rushed to her head. A faint ringing sounded in the back of her head that slowly began to grow to a crescendo. She made her way to the secluded tower. She went to the balcony then flew up into the tower, all the while fighting through a fog in her mind. She felt weak and all she wanted to do was be alone. Nopony could be allowed to see her in this state. She locked the balcony door with a simple spell. Then, she collapsed onto the cold stone floor. Her body was numb, and her ears were ringing. Emotions tried to flow through her but found no purchase in her body. One moment she could feel, and then she couldn't. The last thing she saw was the amulet in the center of the tower room before her consciousness faded. Celestia awoke again moments later. She focused on the rise and fall of her chest, and she breathed. Slowly, feeling and thought returned to her mind and body. Nerves reconnected like the threads of a spell matrix. Out of the fog a voice sounded. She heard it over and over again until finally she got some semblance of meaning. "Celestia? Are you okay?" It was Void. "Why do you care?" Celestia stared across the stone floor from her prone position. "We may have had a little argument, but I still love you." Void said. "You need to stop pushing yourself, you're falling apart." "Thats what you want isn't it?" Celestia said. "Well forget it, I won't stop until I get you out of my mind. I don't care about Nightmare Moon anymore. I saw the look on her face, she isn't a threat, you are. All I want is for this game to end." "What happened to your fighting spirit? Your unending resolve?" A wicked tinge touched Void's voice. "Gone just like that?" "It's not gone; it will never be. You don't know what's coming for you Void. You don't know just how brightly I can burn." Celestia thought back to her dream from last night. The dream of flame. A dream she barely understood. She focused on that feeling of power she had from it, the unstoppable power. "When I get my hooves on you, all that is going to be left is cinder." "No more Tartarus? Looks like I'm moving up in the world then." Void chuckled. "You have to admit though, I never lied to you about anything, and that includes Nightmare Moon. Wasn't she just the sweetest friend?" "You drove my sister and I apart." Celestia growled. "No. I don't think that's quite true, is it?" Void hummed. "Make sure to keep yourself safe my darling sun, I will be back later. These shadows of mine need strict management every once in a while." Celestia laid on the floor and closed her eyes. She would never let Void beat her. No matter the cost.