//------------------------------//
// 05 - Exiled 
// Story: Curtain Call 
// by lunabrony 
//------------------------------//

	A few days had passed since Princess Luna first visited the Canterlot Theater, and had promised to return in a few days to check up on its progress. In the meantime, she had business at Canterlot Castle to attend to. But first, there was the issue of food.
Breakfast in Canterlot Castle was always a frenzy of activity. Waiters, servers and cooks were all doing their jobs, streaming in and out of the doors of the kitchen. They had plenty of staff to cater to, and unusually that did not include the princesses. The majority of food went towards the royal guards, who were known (and frequently parodied) for their enormous appetites which rivaled that of the Apple family. The princesses tended to take care of themselves when it came to food, although it was unknown if that was because of paranoia, personal security or other reasons. 
At this particular moment, Luna and Celestia were out on the upper balcony of the highest tower. Celestia was just completing the sunrise, and pegasi swooped in every direction through the sky to put the final clouds of the day into place. Luna watched her sister do the same thing she had done for centuries now, silent at first so as not to ruin her concentration. Having seen her sister raise the moon several times, Luna had in turn attempted to raise the sun under Celestia's guidance, but found herself frustratingly unable to do so.
The glow of Celestia's horn eventually faded as its routine spell was completed, the sun hung fairly low in the sky and was now rising gradually higher by itself like a generator that had been kickstarted. She turned to face Luna, an expression of concern and sympathy on her face. 
"When are we going to talk about it, Lulu?" She asked softly.
Luna felt her cheeks sting. The pet name that Celestia had for her didn't help matters any. It felt forced, almost condescending. Luna knew the name was meant to strike a nostalgia reaction within her, and she didn't appreciate it.
"Talk about what?" There was a tone to her voice. Not quite harsh, but stubborn.
"You know what," Celestia said, and her gaze lifted towards the ceiling, then back down again. "I'm proud of you for finding a hobby to entertain yourself, I think it's wonderful you've been helping out that little theater for the last few weeks. But we can't just ignore what happened. Ignorance caused us such heartache the first time."
Luna looked at the floor. "I don't want to talk about it. It happened, it's over. We can move on."
"It's not over!" Celestia snapped with such ferocity that the guards stationed outside the door jumped several inches.   "Every night for a thousand years I rose the moon and said goodnight to you, knowing that you weren't there to say goodnight back. Every star reminded me of you, and that wasn't even the worst part. The worst part was the looks that I got. From everyone. You may have been the one who tried to take over Canterlot, but you weren't the villain. I WAS."
Luna looked stunned, it was so incredibly rare for Celestia to lose her temper like that. "I'm sorry... but that wasn't me... it was-"
"The dark forces of the moon, I know. But you let it happen. No..." She took it back. That didn't sound right. "We let it happen. We pushed our emotions and feelings away, life went on as if everything was alright. But it wasn't. I ignored you." There were tears in the eyes of the elder sister now.
"I won't let that happen again, Lulu. I can't imagine what it's like for you, now. Being back after a thousand years, a stranger in your own home. In your own time. I want to help you and I don't know how. You separate yourself from the truth by keeping yourself busy with the theater, I understand that. But if you don't open up to me, we're going to be right back where we were, that last night together a thousand years ago."
Luna looked upset, her heart was racing and she was struggling to keep herself composed. She didn't want to talk about this any more than she wanted to think about it, but she knew if she didn't that Celestia would never give up the subject until she relented. One could only steal so much honey before getting stung.
Sighing, Luna's resistance collapsed, and words came pouring out. "Nothing is the same, Celestia! Everywhere you go, you receive awe and admiration. Respect and authority. I am nothing but legend. I'm not even needed. You raised the moon without me for a thousand years, and as the generations passed that became normality. If you can rule and survive and function without me, why am I even here? Maybe I was better off on-"
Luna was suddenly cut off by a sudden strike to the back of the head by a golden plated hoof. Celestia towered over her, liquid pride spilling down her face. "Don't you say that. Don't you ever say that. I need you. I functioned alone because there was no other choice. You know all about how theater works, Luna. I put on a mask every day and I played my part until the curtain went down. No longer a loving sister but a caricature of one. And at night... at night I cried for you, and sang to you. And very moment of every day I thought about what I'd done and wished you were here."
There was no response that Luna could come up with. She had lost the battle against her tears, and now they fell down her face as well. She knew the heartache all too well. Both sisters had been separated by such distance and magic, and it taken its toll on the both of them.
"I did the same, Celly..." she said quietly. "But at least you had Canterlot to keep you going. I had nothing up there. I had my own memories, I had rocks and dirt and the stars to count. I had the endless tauntings of the dark creatures of the moon. Voices in my head that wouldn't go away, voices telling me to do all sorts of things that I knew I'd never want to do. But there was no escape from them. The only way to break out of that prison was love, and how could I love while being possessed by jealousy?" She asked.
Luna turned to look out at the sunrise. "You did what you had to do, I understand that. But it doesn't make it any less painful. I was jealous then, yes, but I thought perhaps if I ignored it, it would go away. But it didn't. It fed on my ignorance. It fed, and it grew."
Celestia was quiet. "How did you pass a thousand years by yourself? I can't imagine you were very keen to make friends with the dark creatures of the moon, especially considering the sorts of things they were trying to persuade you to do."
Luna cracked a weak smile. "I slept a lot. I honed my skills at dreamwalking, after a while I became able to not just traverse the dreamscape, but create my own. I created fantasies in my mind. Beaches, cities, mountains. Just wandering, creating, waiting. But even then, even after hundreds of years, I still couldn't create the one thing I desperately wanted more than anything."	
Celestia looked conflicted. "And what was...?"
Luna didn't look back, just continued gazing out into the sunrise.
"You."