//------------------------------// // A Sister's Concern // Story: A Damaged Sister // by RF and AG //------------------------------// The same routine each and every day. That was how Celestia lived her life; with a routine. Even after the events that had transpired last night and early this morning, Celestia would not break routine. It is a sign of stability to my little ponies so I must not show change, Celestia thought as she sat on the mock throne in the dining room. Luna was absent from this breakfast due to their previous argument. Many times over, a thought passed through Celestia’s head that she might not see her sister after this previous spat but they were quickly extinguished by a more logical part of her mind. Celestia took a bite of her omelette all the while dabbing her mouth with a napkin. She hated having to entertain guests during meals and the Gryphon Ambassadors sitting at the breakfast table were no exceptions. Entertaining would be considered a strong word for what she had to do though. Her only responsibilities in that field were to listen to conversation and look regal all the while trying to sate her hunger. That meant having to eat daintily and slowly. This was not one of the times she wanted to eat slowly for when she got nervous and anxious, she would eat. She had picked this up shortly after Luna’s exile as Nightmare Moon. It didn’t help that the royal chefs were at her beck and call, in fact it once made her destroy the entire kitchen so she would stop binge eating. That was many centuries ago; for now she had her weaknesses more or less under lock and key. She took another bite as her ears listened in on the Gryphon Ambassadors’ conversation. She quickly put it out of thought though for it held nothing of interest to her; just them speaking of the cooking and comparing it to some restaurant back in the Gryphon Isles capital, High Mile. it would be another 30 minutes before they would be ready to discuss what they wanted with Celestia so for the time being, she would be able to contemplate on a more important situation. How can I help Luna? Celestia began her train of thought, How can I help my sister become less introverted? I know it has been only two weeks and maybe I am just rushing things but it feels as though our relationship is just dissolving out from under our hooves. If I don’t repair it than she will most likely slip back into her fragile emotional state which cannot be allowed at any cost! She is too susceptible to the Nightmare’s influence. It was on this thought that Celestia flinched on the inside, sure it had been over a thousand years ago and now her sister was with her but the wounds of what happened still bore much pain. An alicorn’s life was extremely long lived and the memories of one would stick with them forever. That is one of the burdens of immortality. “Princess? Are you reading to begin talks?” The male Gryphon Ambassador spoke up. Celestia was snapped out of her thoughts as she turned her head towards him. Ambassador Markus Hardclaw was once a Captain among the Gryphon army and it still showed even on the 50 year old body. The colour of his feathers and fur had worn out a little as his black feathers held only slight traces of dulling while the fur was darkening from a silver colour to more dull grey. The size of Markus was what made him such a talented soldier for he would easily be the size of Luna if not slightly bigger. Not only that but he was extremely broad in all the right areas and had this aura of overwhelming power floating around him.  In fact only Celestia would be taller that the Ambassador and none of her guards could match his size. “Yes Princess, it would seem that lunch is over and the meal was quite savoury,” the female gryphon spoke up. Ambassador Tali Fleetwing was a stark contrast when compared to Markus. The more lithe and smaller female gryphon was by gryphon terms, attractive. Her colours were of a more common look, with her fur being brown while the feathers being a sparkling white. She was never a soldier for her family had always served the Gryphon Crown in the form of being the Ambassadors to Equestria. With her being the only child of her family’s latest generation, she would be the only Fleetwing serving as an Ambassador to Equestria. While she was in Equestria, her father and mother were working with the Zebra tribes in the Grasslands. Celestia gave a smile before rising from her seat, “it seems you are correct. Let us move to an unoccupied room and start the meeting there shall we? My assistant will join us later. The more formal talks will happen later this week.” Both of the gryphons nodded their heads before rising from their seats as well. The group of three moved from the dining room and down one of the many corridors. Behind them were a small detachment of both ponies and gryphons. This combined squad was made to help show a symbol of peace and support by both parties. It wasn’t the only one of its kind but it was the only one allowed to guard the Ambassadors and the Princess. All the while during the walk, Princess Celestia had her head in the clouds. Her mind swarmed with ideas on what to do with Luna, on how come her sister didn’t treat her the same anymore, what could have changed about her, and so on. It was obvious enough to the gryphons and the ponies that were near her that she was not fully there. She had in fact almost missed the turn in the hallway and walked straight into a wall. It was at this point that the gryphon ambassadors shared a quick look that spoke volumes about what they were going to do about Celestia. It wasn’t until they reached the room that they decided to bring this to the princess’ attention. Tali was the one to speak first, “Princess, if I may? I think we should speak alone without the guards in the room.” This snapped Celestia out of her thoughts, “if you would like, ambassadors.” She nodded towards the guards who each gave a swift salute before leaving the room. Once the guards closed the door, Tali continued talking. “Princess, I think we should switch directions away from the trade routes and talk about something more personal.” Celestia raised an eyebrow at this. “Oh?” “You are not acting like yourself, Princess,” Markus cut in. “Usually you are focused and the most stoic among us and your subjects. Today it seems like you have barely even been here. Your head is drifting higher than you can!” This caught Celestia off guard but before she could get a hoofhold Tali spoke up again. “Markus is right, Princess. You have something bothering you right now don’t you?” Celestia failed to respond at all for she was still being caught off guard by the sudden bombardment. “Until you get this cleared up, Princess, I refuse to talk about our trade agreement.” With this Markus left the room abruptly. Tali and Celestia sat in silence for a moment before the gryphon spoke up. “What’s wrong, Princess?” Celestia paused for moment. She slowly reeled herself back as her mind finally ground into gear. “I-I do not know what you mean, Ambassador Tali.” Tali frowned as deep as her beak would allow. “Princess, I’m going to be straight-forward here. You are dodging the issue and the issue is preventing us from doing our jobs. I know I am out of line here but you need to let it out.” This bluntness from the ambassador caused Celestia to turn away and stare out of the window. She continue to look around the room as if to find a way to escape. This room of course was nothing more than a bedroom without the actual bedding within it. Finally she returned her attention to the gryphon in front of her. A deep sigh escaped her lips. “It’s Luna.” “Your sister?” Tali inquired. If this was a non-serious talk than Celestia’s humour would probably have pounced all over that opening. “Yes...she has been distant since her return. I-I don’t understand why she is acting like this.” Celestia drooped her head as she spoke. Tali nodded her head at this. She had met Luna once as part of her requirement with being an ambassador and it had been trying at best. The olden speak was annoying to say the least and the fact that Luna was so out of touch with modern Equestria made it tough to work with her. She seemed extremely introverted and tended to shy away from others so this made Tali more interested in what could possibly be wrong. “What happened?” “We had a big fight this morning. She had... just regained her powers last night which made me thrilled.” Celestia paused and took a rather shaky breath. “I was happy for her of course but so frightened when I heard she hadn’t returned the night before!” Another pause, this time a small sniffle was choked out,  “I was so a-angry with her for that. I started yelling at her and s-she shrugged it o-off and left. S-she left as if it was nothing! I was just trying to p-protect her and I failed her!” Celestia at this point started to sob deeply. Her legs giving out and forcing her to collapse on the cushion she was sitting on. The sudden breakdown by the Solar Princess surprised Tali extremely. The always stoic and insightful leader that ruled over Equestria had never shown a side like this to anypony let alone her. Her body instinctively brought itself over to Celestia’s right side and laid next to her, draping a wing over the Princess in the process. If Celestia didn’t tower over the gryphon, she would attempt to stroke her back but such an action would move her from her spot beside Celestia. As Tali sat beside the Solar Diarch, her mind swam with more questions about the Princesses. What had happened last night? Why is Princess Luna acting like she is? All of the oldest history books describe her as being rather playful before she became depressed and the Nightmare took her. Maybe Princess Celestia is just pushing too hard on her sister. It was at this thought that Tali noticed that the Princess was coming down from her much needed cry. Her withers were still shaking but she was no longer sobbing out right. In a shaky voice Celestia finally spoke up again, “what can I do Tali? I...I must fix this.” Tali’s brow furrowed a little at the what Celestia had said, fix what? Is there something wrong with Princess Luna or is Celestia just too naive when it comes to her sister? Tali let out a sigh before responding. “I don’t know exactly what to tell you Princess. I mean, I don’t know if there is anything that needs to be fixed to be honest. Princess Luna might just need more time to readjust to being back is all. She was gone for a thousand years so it would be likely she just isn’t readjusted yet. Maybe she just needs time.” Celestia nodded without looking at Tali. On shaky hooves she stood on her pillow and slowly made her way closer to the door. She collected a few breaths before turning her head to face the still prone gryphon. “Thank you Ambassador Tali for being here with me. I really needed to let all of that out. If it comes to it, can I ask for you help in the future?” Tali sat there with a slightly shocked expression plastered on her face; the Princess who had just been crying her eyes out was once again composed and collected as ever. This time though there was a small and meek smile on her face instead of the usual heartwarming and large one. Tali nodded her head dumbly as the Princess’ smile grew and left the room. Now the room only was playing host to an awestruck Tali. Soon enough she rose to her feet and proceeded to leave as well. The troop escort that waited outside followed her down the halls back to her own room in the castle. All the while during the walk, Tali couldn’t get one thought out of her head, What did I get myself into?  **** Celestia was also walking down the halls back to her room. Her head was centered on one thought as well; “Maybe she needs time.” What Tali had said struck something deep in her. Tali had been right. Maybe she was crowding Luna too much and should just give her time instead. This would be no simple feat for Celestia though. It would be going against many of the basic sibling instincts that she had held onto consistently. Even through that dark period of time where Luna was banished she held onto those instincts. Celestia had looked out for her sister in making sure that when she returned, few ponies would remember what truly happened. It’s better to be thought of as jealous and spiteful than weak...right? Celestia shook her head out of reflex at the thought. Her room’s door was just down the hall and so was her advisor. Standing in front of the door was the golden coated, and red maned mare, Royal Day Advisor Blanche. The 40 year old mare had been working with Celestia for roughly 15 years as of a month ago and ponies were still curious as to why that was her name. The reason for the short name was due to her parents having rather odd ideals on names and social views. That wasn’t important to Celestia though for she knew what Blanche would want and she definitely did not feel in the mood. “Princess, you have 10 minutes before the Day Court will start. I suggest hurrying, you Highness.” Celestia sighed inwardly as she knew she would receive flak from Blanche about cancelling Day Court but she could not hold herself in front of the masses after her breakdown in front of Tali. “Blanche, I’m cancelling Day Court today. I have other matters to attend to. More...personal matters; I’m sure you understand.” The golden furred mare stared at Celestia for a moment; her brow furrowing and eyes narrowing. Something was off about the Princess and she would find out, maybe not now but she would find out. “Of course Princess. Is there anything I can do to help?” The response by Blanche caught Celestia off guard as she ahd expected to be lectured by the mare but all she received was that simple reply. Once Celestia regained her senses, she shook her head at the question. “Unfortunately no Blanche but thank you for offering. I’ll be in my room if anything comes up.” With that Celestia strode through her doors which the guards closed behind her. Blanche continued to stand at the doors for a moment before trotting down the hall. Sure the Princess had cancelled the court many times in the past but this was the first time that Celestia looked hesitant about confronting her about it. Normally she would just specify a reason and continue on her way but today Blanche knew something was up. I will find out somehow, it is my job afterall. Even if it wasn’t within Blanche’s right to delve into this topic, she didn’t care. The Princess wasn’t acting right and probably needed help. This overrode all other protocols in her opinion. She knew the best place to start asking questions would be the gryphon ambassadors but they would only talk to her if Celestia had asked of it so that was out of the question. That only left 2 feasible options for Blanche; dig around the castle for information or sit back and watch what happens. The second choice would be more sensible and nopony would call Blanche an insensible pony. So for the moment Blanche put Celestia’s issue into the back of her mind and continued on with her tasks for the day. **** Celestia fell to her side on the massive sun decorated bed within her room. It was barely even noon and today had already been extremely taxing. Without a doubt a nap couldn’t hurt. Without Day Court, her day was actually free till she had to lower the sun. Whoever said that today was my off day should have mentioned me crying my eyes out for 30 minutes. Celestia gave a rather loud sigh at that thought. With the way her day had been going, she was surprised that she hadn’t sighed as much as she had. She slowly removed herself from her bed and moved to the door once again. She peeked her head out of the door, “please do not disturb me till it is supper time.” This was received with a quick salute by the guards standing in front of her doors. Celestia returned her head within the room and continued to prep herself for a nice nap. A quick flare of magic brought the drapes on the window to a close as well as turning off the lighting to the room. Another flare removed her shoes, chest piece, and crown. A few small strides and soon enough she found herself sprawled out on her bed. Finally,the one place I can relax in; my room. This thought was followed by another sigh but this one was more of a blissful love for the cushy bed instead of usual stressed out sigh. Tali was right I think. Luna just needs time to readjust is all. It took me over a hundred years to get over the incident so she just needs her time to get back to normal. Maybe I’ll try not to smother her as much, Celestia thought to herself as she magically snagged a pillow and brought it closer to her so she could rest her head. I’ll have to remind myself to thank Tali for what she has done for me. Properly this time of course. Maybe some theater tickets, and with that last thought Celestia was out like a light. Awaiting her was a blissful slumber from a quick but hectic day.