Hiatus

by Vargras

July

Luna's first order of business had been getting herself caught up on everything she had missed - a thousand years was an awfully long time to be away. The list of books she had sent to the Canterlot Royal Library was apparently so long, one of the librarians out-right fainted. Still, it was something that needed to be done and would likely be the most arduous task she would face. It was better to get it out of the way now, while she still had the enthusiasm for it. Luna surrounded herself with countless books and tomes, reading and learning all she could. Her hunger was insatiable, and the speed at which she finished each book was the stuff of legends - Twilight Sparkle would have been in awe of such a thing.

She read of events past and present, of the role her sister had taken on after she had been banished to the moon, and of all the noteworthy magic users who had lived and died during her exile. Day after day, little by little, Luna constantly tried to push the envelope on her magical abilities, but still found herself too weak to do anything besides the most menial of tasks. The nearly-godlike depths of power she and her sister were both capable of would have to wait until she had recovered - for now, she would simply have to bide her time and do what she could to pass it by.

During the days, she immersed herself in the history of Equestria, reading all that she could that would help her with her royal duties once she returned. During the nights, she spent her hours reading countless fairy tales in the moonlit halls of the Royal Library - though she often thought of herself being isolated, it wasn't uncommon for a guard or servant to hear her giggling and talking to herself as she read, though they would never know just who she was reading to. Luna's love for books came second to only one other thing - the heavens above. In between books, she would often sit within the Library, gazing out the towering windows with her telescope. She often found herself pondering the vast sea of stars, or the moon itself - to her, it was a cruel fate that such an object of beauty could also be something unspeakable and terrible.

There was another book in particular that she always found herself drawn to: "Predictions and Prophecies", and to a lesser extent, "The Mare in the Moon: Night Mare Moon and Other Ponyfolk Tales". Time and time again, she would end up reading the sections regarding the Elements of Harmony and Night Mare Moon. The Elements of Harmony were the most powerful form of magic known to exist, even moreso than what Luna and Celestia were capable of. It had been the Elements that had banished both Discord and Night Mare Moon, and had ultimately freed Luna from her curse.

"C'mon... Elements, Elements, Elements..." The pages flipped by in a rush as Luna frantically searched for more, and at last, she found it. "The Elements of Harmony... consists of Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic. Most recently used to banish..."

She slammed the book shut and threw it aside. It was still far too soon to be confronting that. From behind her, she heard the doors to the Library creak open. Luna turned on the spot and found her sister standing in the doorway.

"Luna, why are you still up?"

"I was reading. Um... a lot."

The elder sister laughed and shut the book, giving her sister a prod. "So I've noticed. I think it's time for someone to get some sleep."

"Oh c'mon, 'Tia! I'm the Princess of the Nigh- hey, no! Put me down!"

Celestia cackled with glee as she picked up Luna with her magic, carrying her off despite her protests. "Princess or not, you still need to get some rest. Your books won't be going anywhere."

"Yeah... fine." She did feel kinda sleepy anyways. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to close her eyes for a bit... just for a bit... Luna yawned aloud, and Celestia looked over her shoulder at her, a grin on her face.

"I knew you were tired."

"I am not."

"I know you far too well, little sister. Don't try lying to me."

"...fine, I'm tired."

"Good! Because we're here!" Celestia flung her sister towards the bed, causing Luna to squeal as she soared through the air - pillows flew every which way as she landed, and she had to stifle a laugh as she dove under the covers. Luna smiled as her elder sister gave her a nuzzle goodnight, and Celestia was about to depart for the night when she heard her sister call out.

"Wait 'Tia! Can you get Selene for me?"

"What's the magic word, Luna?"

"Please?"

Celestia smiled and picked up the stuffed purple dragon, throwing it towards her younger sister, who quickly caught it and pulled it under the covers with her. "Sweet dreams, Luna."

"G'night, sister."

-----

She ended up having a terribly vivid dream, one of the most colorful she had since her redemption. Luna found herself dwarfed by a simply massive copy of the book she had been reading earlier - with a deafening roar, it opened to the page regarding the prophecy of Night Mare Moon's return. The Princess whimpered and cowered before it, covering her ears as it opened up before her, yet suddenly found things strangely silent once it had arrived at the page. Cautiously, she approached it and stared at the page, not sure what to make of her dream.

"It's... it's just the prophecy. 'The stars will aid in her escape', I know. But what are you trying to show me?"

With another roar, as loud as the first, the gargantuan book opened to the page about the Elements of Harmony. Dumbfounded still, Luna looked around and begged whatever was driving the dream to tell her more.

"What? What are you trying to tell me? It's just the Elements, I've already seen this!"

The book vanished, and Luna suddenly felt very alone. Gradually, though, a figure appeared before her - a young unicorn mare with a lavender coat, her purple mane streaked by a single line of pink. She slowly approached the figure, wishing to study it further. There was a sense of familiarity about her, yet for the life of her, Luna couldn't name the figure or where she had even seen her. When the figure seemingly came to life, she jumped backwards in defense - slowly, it began to speak.

"The stars will aid in her escape."

"Yes, I know! But why? Why that line? What's so important about it?"

Over and over, the figure repeated the line, and Luna was no closer to the answer. Eventually, though, it changed. The figure stared straight at her - no, not at her. Through her - and spoke a new line.

"You must solve this yourself, young Princess, if you wish to have the answer."

Luna bolted awake, panting and gasping for breath. She nervously glanced about her room, and felt relieved to discover it was as safe as it had always been. Her face wet with sweat, the young Princess slipped out of her bed and went to the bathroom to splash her face with some cold water. The candles within flickered to life as she entered, enchanted to ignite when anypony was near. She felt herself fumble for the sink, and even as she splashed the cool waters onto her face, her hooves shook - why? It hadn't necessarily been a bad dream, so why was she shaking from it? Why had she been panting and gasping for breath?

She stared at her own reflection in the mirror, speaking to herself as she tried to calm herself down.

"I don't get it. That line is just the prophecy about Night Mare Moon's return. What makes it so special? And... who was that mare?"

The more she thought about it, the more haunting that image became - it felt as if she had stared straight into Luna's soul, and the very thought chilled her to the bone. Yet, she simply had to know who she was.

"Bah. I'll do it tomorrow."

Luna walked out of the bathroom and climbed back into bed, snuggling up to her stuffed dragon. At the very least, Selene would keep her company through the night.

-----

7/16

I can't get it out of my head. The prophecy, the elements, that purple-ish mare. It shouldn't even make any sense, and right now it doesn't, but I just feel like this is more important than I realize. I'll just use this diary to jot down anything that's relevant.

Luna let the quill fall to the table, and she stared at what she had just written. It was short, sure, but it got to the point. She glanced over at her unmade bed and sighed, hopping from the stool and grabbing one of the sheet corners with her teeth. This would have been so much easier with magic - this simply felt degrading. With a little time and effort however, she cleaned her bed up fairly well, and with plenty of time before lunch. Luna grabbed Selene by the arm and tossed the toy dragon onto the bed, the young princess rushing out the door before it had even landed.

She leaped and ran through the halls, her hoofsteps echoing off the marble pillars as she ran through the palace. Luna burst through the doors to the Royal Library and approached the first librarian she could find, an elderly mare whose mane had long since turned white. "Princess Luna, I do hope you remembered that this is a library. You shouldn't be making such a ruckus."

"Yes, I know, and I'm sorry! But this is really important! You see-"

"But nothing! You of all ponies should know better! This library may as well be your second home!"

Luna was staring at the ground at this point, her cheeks hot and ears flattened. "S-Sorry. I was wondering if I could borrow some of the recent copies of the Equestria Enquirer?"

"Bah, that rubbish? Ponies these days don't know how to write a decent newspaper. Which days do you need?"

"Um... every day over the past month?"

The librarian stared at her, her mouth agape. Slowly, she put in the order and mumbled something to herself - Luna couldn't quite catch it, but it certainly didn't sound happy. "That's an awful lot of papers, Princess."

"Oh, I know! But it's really important that I get these, so... thank you for putting in the order."

"Yeah, yeah. Have a nice day, Princess Luna."

Luna spent the rest of the day running various errands around Canterlot for Celestia - she was largely waiting for those newspapers so she could try to find the identity of her mystery mare. It took days for her to finally get them, and the time between sped by. At last, however, she had the newspapers - pages lay scattered about her room as she frantically searched each and every picture, searching for any pony that might bear the slightest resemblance to the one from her dream. A pencil in her mouth, she circled each and every one that looked the least bit like the figure.

"Luna? What's going on in here?"

The Princess yelped, pencil flying across the room. "Uh... nothing, Celestia! Just... looking for inspiration! I'm picking up drawing, you know!"

"Ah, wonderful! I'm so glad you're finding things to keep yourself busy, little sister. I'd stay and ask more about it, but I'm afraid that I have some nobles that wish to talk with me. Terribly sorry, Luna."

"Oh no, that's... that's quite alright!" Luna sat on her stool, still facing away from the door. She nervously chewed on her lip, sighing and shaking her head as she heard her sister leave.

"If Celestia knew what was really going on, she'd think I was going crazy! I mean, it's just a dream! Dreams don't really mean anything, right?

...Right?"

-----

7/30

I'm no closer to learning anything new. I've checked both old copies and new copies of the Equestria Enquirer, and that mare never shows up in any of the pictures. Maybe she's not real? Oh goodness, it's like I'm a filly all over again - making up ponies and creatures in my head. Still, I'll keep checking until I find out who she is.

I'm not about to let some books stump me. I just wish it were fall. It's been way too hot this summer.

Comments

[Vargras]

The July chapter is still a work in progress, and I'm gradually adding more and more to it. By no means is it finished.

Keep that in mind when reviewing and commenting.

[Phantom Ghost]

Promising. I'll keep an eye on this and see where you take it.

[Vargras]

29884
Appreciate it. It's surprisingly difficult to come up with things a Princess could do for an entire year - still, I have some things in mind.

[Meta Knight]

♫♥I look forward to reading what happens next in your story♥♪

[Niklashg]

so now luna tries to find twilight XD

[Luna4Prez]

you have my attention. I hope you have somewhere good to go here.

This story might even Steal My precious sleeptime, dangit, Must, Read. More

[masukaze]

at first i was like Discord ? then i remembered that he was defeated by celestia using em

[preaplanes]

Ooh, 400 comments, that's a nice big round number and I love seeing them!

And of course, the irony being, I'm messing it up!

[Mally]

"Oh c'mon, 'Tia! I'm the Princess of the Nigh- hey, no! Put me down!"

th04.deviantart.net/fs70/PRE/i/2013/024/4/6/stop_touching_me__i_am_the_night__by_alexander93-d5sl144.png

[LucarioFan2066]

49820 270-week-old comment, I know.
In actuality, both Celestia and Luna defeated Discord - that's how the kingdom (wait, no kings or queens...principality?) of Equestria got started. The two sisters ascended to alicorn, and therefore 'princess', status after very literally stoning the Chaos Lord.
Old Luna might've gotten a bit upset if you neglected her role in the 'war' against Discord, especially since Celestia never did have control over all six Elements of Harmony.

About that...how come the two Alicorn Sisters had control over three Elements each, but Twilight and co. can only bear one each? The show's never really explained this anomaly. Is the show also saying that, for one millennium, there were absolutely zero world-threatening enemies that would require the Elements? Just because Nightmare Moon, Discord, Sombra and Tirek had all been sealed away, there were no other big-name baddies? That seems...a bit bizarre. I could get it if it were, say, a century, but ten centuries? That's a lot of time for Equestria to not be massively threatened.
Also, how did Celestia and Luna beat Tirek the first time? I get he's a returning character from a previous MLP line, but it's never actually revealed how two ponies could best him, when he can effortlessly suck the magic out of alicorns - why do you think Celestia, Luna and Cadence told Twilight to hide, even though they stupidly forgot to smash the stained-glass windows depicting a purple alicorn and thus jeopardised her safety? Because the three elder alicorns knew Tirek could beat them easily. So how did Celestia and Luna beat him? There was no 'rainbow 60s disco power' - that had to be unlocked by Twilight and co. Just the basic Elemental Rainbow? Can Tirek absorb Elemental magic?