"Luna?" Celestia's voice sounded from outside Luna's chamber. The princess of the night forced herself not to groan at the sound.
"Yes, my sister?" Luna answered, using her magic to open the door.
"I've barely seen your face since Twilight's coronation," Celestia said, gazing at her sister with a motherly look of worry.
"And thou hast barely left Twilight's side," Luna said, bitterness creeping into her voice. Celestia was taken aback.
"She is a brand new princess," Celestia said softly, willing her sister to understand. "She needs guidance."
"I was banished to the moon for one thousand years. I was not given this 'guidance' when I returned," Luna snapped.
"Sister, what has gotten into you?" An astonished Celestia asked.
"Art thou not ashamed of what thou hast put me through?" Luna growled, straightening to her full height. Though Celestia was much taller, she shrunk back.
"Uhm... Luna, Celestia?" Another, softer voice called. The two older princess' eyes snapped towards the new voice. Princess Cadence appeared, looking nervous. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes," Luna said tightly. "Everything is fine."
"Luna-," Celestia began.
"Everything is fine," Luna repeated forcefully. Celestia lowered her gaze.
"Did you need something, Cadence?" Celestia asked.
"Oh! No, I was just coming to tell you that Shining Armor and I are leaving tomorrow morning," Cadence said quickly.
"Back to the Crystal Empire, I assume?" Celestia questioned, earning a nod from Cadence. Luna turned away from them and walked out to her balcony that overlooked Canterlot. She gazed at the sky, an array of oranges and reds, purples and blues. The sun was setting. Within the hour, Luna would raise the moon in all of its glory. Even after a thousand years, ponykind had not changed. They still reveled in the light of the sun, but slept under the glow of the moon. Their dreams were still just as trivial and shallow as they once were. Ponies dreaming of wealth, fame, or fortune. Never once thinking of others.
Luna, however, had seen ponies risk everything just to help a friend. Twilight Sparkle and her friends were prime examples of this. Love and friendship did still exist, but it was fading. Equestria, begun on the foundations of compassion and selflessness, had become a corrupt country of material wishes and power-hungry nobles.
"Luna, the sun has set," Celestia said from across the room. Luna rolled her eyes when she realized her elder sister was still there.
"Yes, Celestia, I've noticed," Luna said through gritted teeth. Unfurling her midnight-blue wings, she launched herself into the sky. She sighed to herself and landed on a cloud not far above the castle. Closing her eyes, she let her magic course from her mind, through her horn, and out into the night. An opaque blue glow enveloped her horn as her spell set the moon into motion.
Normally, as soon as she was through with her spell, Luna would return to the castle and attend meetings with her sister, or relax in her bedchamber. Tonight, she needed to think. She folded her hooves beneath her, and let her small cloud drift wherever the light breeze took it. Luna's mane waved around her, as it always did.
Even after the coronation of Twilight Sparkle, and everything the young mare had done to put their fear to rest, Luna's subjects still cowered under her gaze. They still closed their shutters and locked their doors on Nightmare Night, and they still believed she was Nightmare Moon. Luna's head drooped as these thoughts plagued her mind. When would her kingdom learn to overlook her past?
Jovial laughter interrupted Luna's calm thought process. Peering over the edge of her cloud, Luna looked down into the courtyard far below her. Celestia and Twilight Sparkle were walking slowly through the willow grove, talking and laughing over something Luna had not heard. The blood running in Luna's veins boiled. She had not been invited to this impromptu tour of the castle grounds. It seemed as though she was never included anymore. Canterlot -and all of Equestria for that matter- was smitten with Princess Twilight Sparkle. Luna had not received a welcome so glorifying as Twilight's.
It hit Luna with the force of a thousand spells. She was being replaced. She was no longer needed. Equestria had only ever needed two princesses. When Cadence came to power, she was sent with her husband to the Crystal Empire to rule in place of King Sombre. Where would they send Luna? A pony could not rule over zebras or gryffins, so surely Celestia would not send her to those empires.
By now, Twilight Sparkle's name left a bitter taste on Luna's tongue. Angrily, Luna pushed herself into the air and violently kicked at the cloud. The cloud dissapated, leaving Luna feeling bitter and lonely. Glancing up at her beautiful moon one last time, Luna began her short journey back to the castle, and the comfort of her bedchamber.
As of late, Luna had been thinking of adopting a personal student, as Celestia had done with Twilight Sparkle. Bright young Unicorns were not hard to come by, but the filly or colt that Luna took in would have to be a very special young pony. Luna now wanted nothing better than to make her older sister look bad. Perhaps Luna could take in an orphan, invite them to live at the castle. Yes, she would do just that. Luna would no longer be seen as the weak, introverted younger sister of the great Princess Celestia. She would make a new name for herself that neither Celestia nor Twilight Sparkle could ever hope to match.
"Heart Song!" Luna called out to her Lady in Waiting.
"Yes, Your Higness?" The light blue Pegasus answered, bowing deeply.
"Contact the Canterlot Orphanage. I request an audience with the pony in charge as soon as possible," Luna said firmly.
Heart Song looked puzzled, but replied anyway. "Of course, M'lady." The Pegasus' red and black mane blew behind her as she fluttered out of the room. Smiling to herself, Luna looked down at her sister in the willow grove. She would not let the corrupt hoof of Celestia rule over Canterlot any longer. The Solar Empire would fall, and the New Lunar Republic would rise from the ashes, the Phoenix of Equestria.