Those Distant Sisters

by Rettro

Chapter 14

Canterlot castle was at times a very divided place. By far, the largest and most quickly dissipating divide regarded the returned ruler, Princess Luna. By all accounts Luna has been reformed, freed of the influence that caused her thousand year exile; and everypony who had spent any length of time with her agreed. Canterlot however was a large town, and even in the castle there was a significant portion of the staff that had yet to meet the new ruler. Two such ponies, members of Celestia’s personal guard, were standing guard over the grand hall, denying entrance to anypony who passed.

Luna had awoken from a pleasant day’s sleep, and was casually trotting the halls of the castle, searching for her sister. They spent the twilight hours together usually, catching up on the lost years or simply playing in the garden like when they were younger. When she was younger anyway Luna noted mentally, well aware that she had not aged a day while entrapped on the moon. Having not found her sister in any of her usual post-duty spots, Luna happened by the grand hall, noticing the two tired and confused looking guards. She walked casually up to them, noting with some disdain that they cringed at her appearance.

“Am I to assume that my sister is hiding away in there?” Luna asked. A logical question, since it was Celestia’s personal guard who kept the doors shut. One of the guards stepped in front of the princess, whom had begun to reach for the door.

“No, Princess Luna. Princess Celestia is in Ponyville on business. I cannot allow you into this room.” The colt trembled slightly before the imposing figure. Noting this, Luna knelt down, trying to put her and the guard on equal ground while still maintaining her authority.

“I am the co-ruler of this land, my little pony. I can go where I wish, especially now that the sun has set upon this land and the night rules the sky. Now, should I bother the captain of the guard to relay my authority or will you simply let me pass?” Luna kept a smile through the entire exchange, taking care to seem kind to the clearly uneasy ponies. She did not want to make enemies of anypony at the castle, but her curiosity was as ravenous as ever.

“Shining Armor is in Ponyville, with Princess Celestia.” The other guard spoke, giving the first a reprieve from Luna’s immediate presence. Luna was surprised. She knew that her sister had left the castle before dawn, bound for Ponyville, but did not think she had taken the captain of the guard with her. She did not know why her sister had left so abruptly, but it was not unusual for Celestia to leave on business with little to no warning. Luna asked the guard why Celestia felt the need to bring Shining Armor with her. The guard shook his head and replied “The captain did not go with her, he went later. Family business.” Luna pounced, unintentionally, right up next to the second guard. She knew Shining Armor only had one family member in Ponyville, and if both he and her sister were together there, it must have meant…

“Has something happened to Twilight Sparkle?” The colt jumped back, accidentally knocking the door to the grand hall open. Despite there being only two entrances to the room, one of which being locked and one under guard, the room seemed empty. The guards quickly ran into the room, stopping halfway through the room with a sigh of relief, noticing their ‘guests’ had simply chosen, for some reason, to hide behind a curtain hanging before one of the great windows in the room.

“Could you not hide behind that, you three? We’re supposed to be keeping an eye on you and it’s not that easy if you hide.” One of the guards said, drawing the curtains and revealing the three ponies, who squinted in the light of the many hanging chandeliers.

“Well it’s entirely too bright in here to see the night sky properly, and you haven’t exactly given us much to do all day. We’re supposed to be important foreign dignitaries, right? How long is this Princess Celestia planning on keeping us waiting?” The azure mare complained, earning her a supporting (if not a bit too friendly) hug from the cream colored colt, and a harsh glare from the steely gray mare. Luna assessed the situation with the same cold calculation she had put toward first designing the night sky. The azure mare and the colt were likely dating, if not married, since she did not seem to even notice his embrace. The other mare glared at the azure mare, not the colt, so she was annoyed at her for speaking out of turn, not for him for his actions. They were clearly friends, but the gray mare had more of a caretaker position. Judging by their colors, they may have even been related; sisters. All three seemed interested in her sky, and – as cruel as it sounds – typically ponies annoyed at her sister were kinder to her. To Luna, it was clear these three could make good friends.

“If you wish to see the stars, I can oblige you.” Luna spoke before the guard could reply to the slight against Celestia that was just delivered. Satisfied that all eyes were on her, Luna continued as she slowly extinguished the lights in the room by magic. “My name is Princess Luna, goddess of the moon and co-ruler of the land of Equestria. Thousands and thousands of years ago, my sister and I created the sun and the moon to aid our parent’s land and sea.” As the final lights went out, Luna led the group to the window, drawing the curtains back to reveal the starry sky. “Since then, my sister has focused her attention on growing the ponies and the nation of Equestria during the day, and I have focused on maintaining the natural world; designing the seasons, teaching early pegasus how to control the weather, and plotting the stars at night.”

Luna had kept her eyes trained on the night sky while she spoke; only turning towards the other ponies when she had finished. The three potential friends in the group were all sitting a tad too close to her, staring intently at her and following the flow of the stars in her mane. After a slightly awkward moment, the azure mare spoke up.

“My name is Resonance. This is my husband, Sonority, and my sister Evanescence.” She did not gesture towards the other ponies as she spoke, instead mesmerized by the princess’s flowing mane. It made Luna uncomfortable, which made the following silence feel even longer. Evanescence spoke next, breaking the silence.

“Our nation tells stories of a mare, centuries old, dark as the night and warm as the earth. She rules the night and set every guiding star in place, first with the whimsy of a foal, then with the wisdom of an old mare. Some say she is real, but hasn’t been seen among the stars for a thousand years, instead her visage laid across the moon.” The gray mare looked Luna dead in the eye, demanding an answer to the next question. “That visage disappeared nearly two years ago, at the height of the summer season. Nothing has changed except that, and… you?”

Luna thought a moment, preparing an answer, but was interrupted by a puff of smoke and a letter falling at her hooves. Excusing herself briefly, Luna opened the letter which bore her sister’s seal.
My sister,

Odd things have begun in our land, and I am afraid I must stay in Ponyville to care for my student, Twilight Sparkle. I know you will worry for her, as she is your first true friend since your return, but I and her brother are here to care for her and you have more pressing duties. I realize you have only just begun to study modern politics, but there is a trio of ponies from a foreign land called Hearth in the grand hall that I have kept waiting entirely too long already. I need for you to meet with them, apologize for my absence, and tell them the history of our land. Leave nothing out, complete truth is necessary in such things. I hope that the truth does not scare them, but I believe in your ability to make friends.

I will return to Canterlot as soon as I can, but for now my sister, you are the face of Equestria.

-P.C.

Luna sent the letter away to her study with a soft blue flash, and turned again to her guests.

“I am that mare in the moon, and the story seems true. My sister apologizes for keeping you waiting, but I should be able to keep you entertained until her return.” Luna laid before the grand window, getting comfortable and gazing at the stars, unsure how she or her guests would react to her recounting of the tale of Nightmare Moon. “Let me begin before my time, at the creation of Equestria…”