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// Prologue 
// Story: The Rise of the Sun 
// by TheFlamingShark 
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The Rise of the Sun by TheFlamingShark


Princess Celestia stood at her balcony and watched as the majestic sun lowered and gave up its place in the sky for its little sister. A few minutes later, it was nighttime. From a few paces behind her, the soft clatter of delicate hooves against the floor could be heard. Princess Celestia’s younger sister raised the moon up to its appropriate place in the night sky. Princess Luna joined her sister on that balcony once she was done and looked down on the land that the two sisters collectively ruled over.

"Hello Tia, I presume your evening has been fine?" The younger of the two alicorns spoke, she was a tall mare with a dark figure and a mane that swirled with the sparkles of the sky in such detail that would make just about anypony think that a separate universe existed within it.

The larger of the two mares sighed, and gave off a clear sense of depression in that sigh. "What have I told you about being so formal Luna? You insist on calling me by a nickname yet you speak as if I am your superior? It makes me feel rather uncomfortable." Of course, things weren't always this way. Celestia had ruled the land of Equestria unopposed for a millennium and peace was maintained throughout that time. It was her very sister's return that was the first in a chain reaction of chaotic events that had occurred over the last few years. 

“It has been a lot longer than a thousand years since we have seen eye to eye sister.” Luna started, clearly not wanting to start an argument yet more than ready to get this off of her chest. It had been five years since she returned from her banishment, yet the relationship of the royal pony sisters had been limited to eating breakfast and dinner together, as well as the occasional greeting and farewell. Splitting up the rule by day and night left Celestia to sleep through much of the night and Luna to sleep through much of the day.

“Before the rift in our country and my… revolt of sorts, before Nightmare Moon, I was always seeing things differently than you. I would always suggest to never give up any ground in bargaining just to ensure peace. I felt that we could win any battle, and I didn’t want to ever give in to pressure. You never were like that, you tried to avoid violence at all costs, only pushing us into war if the opposition was being completely unreasonable in our peace talks. The only thing we ever really shared besides blood after Discord fell was our love of Equestria. I would never think of trying something stupid like I once did, but perhaps we should try to actually interact with each other on a more intimate level than what we usually do.” The lunar alicorn looked up at her fellow princess and wondered if she thought anything of her stupid idea. Surprisingly enough for Luna, Celestia had a small smile across her face.

“Of course I would love to spend more time with you Luna. I know things are not as busy around here at night, so how about we have the chefs send us dinner to your room and just spend some time together? We can do whatever comes to mind and enjoy each other’s company like we used to do, back before these crowns and Discord, back when life was so much simpler.” Both mares seemed a bit excited at the prospect, and Luna wasted no time taking Celestia to her living quarters, which were in the wing of the castle that the solar princess almost never stepped hooves in. 

Once they got to Luna’s room, Celestia was surprised to find it to be as dark as it was. Perhaps it was just some cliché curse that the sun and moon goddesses were bound to have. Just as how Celestia enjoyed the bright beams of the sun and the warm colors, Luna enjoyed the dark mysteries of the night and the cool colors.

For a few moments, things were awkward as neither Celestia or Luna were all that accustomed to such circumstances. The solar princess made the first attempt to break the silence as she spoke about her day. "I heard that Twilight is finally getting used to her castle, I know she had been struggling with the loss of the library she lived at prior to her battle with Tirek, but I was glad to hear that she is getting past it and is not emotionally scarred from the whole incident." Celestia didn't exactly have that many interesting aspects of her life anymore, and found more joy hearing from the Princess of Friendship and her journeys than most of the events that took place in the life of the main ruler of Equestria. 

Luna nodded and continued the conversation as if to join her sister in the effort of finding common ground to talk about in order to avoid anymore of that awkward silence that had been piercing through the air like a knife pierces through butter. "Twilight Sparkle has succeeded in even the most extreme tests you have given her, do you ever plan on telling her the truth?" The mare asked with a slight hesitation, never entirely sure what Celestia's intentions really were. Especially since Luna herself knew so little about Twilight.

A solemn expression was returned to the lunar princess by her elder sister. It was not one of fear or anger, nor one of joy or relief, but rather an expression as stoic and resolute as the very sun in the sky. After a few moments of pure stillness in the room, Celestia gently breaks her stoic face for a soft smile. "You know, I am pretty sure we were going to enjoy each other's company, not drill each other on things that are of no concern to the other." While the solar princess said these words with grace, they were very firm. Almost as if a warning to Luna telling her not to pry. 

The rest of the night was as the two had originally hoped for. They spent much of the night reminiscing on the days of old. The two co-rulers of Equestria were not just crowns tonight, they were two mares, two sisters, enjoying the smallest pleasures of life as time sat still for those who did not see it like your ordinary pony. 

Princess Luna was many things, but obedient was never one of those things. After seeing Celestia off to bed, she began to mull over the secrets she knew, and the secrets that only Celestia knew, and wondered what exactly could it all mean. "She used me as a scapegoat to unlock her potential, she only gave her a nudge when Discord got to her and insisted we stayed out of it. She purposely lost a duel to the changeling queen just to see if Twilight could save the day, she then kept me back again when the Crystal Empire returned. After all of that, she gave her the task of fixing an impossible spell. Once she did all of these things, Celestia finally unlocked her true potential, but why? Why ever lock it in the first place? If she really thinks that the Tree of Harmony is right, why would she so rigorously test her to find out?" The mare realized she had started rambling on to herself and sighed. "I really should just let things sort themselves out...just because Tia is a genius, doesn't mean she has some sort of ulterior motive, after all, what could she gain that she doesn't already have?" 

With those words, the lunar princess drifted to sleep. The citizens of Equestria would have to fend off their nightmares for the night, because the Princess of the Night wasn't going to dream tonight.