Hiatus

by Vargras

November

Luna wasn't sure why she had come to this spot - it was the middle of the night, and cold enough for her to see her own breath, but she simply felt she had to be out here. The young Princess stared expectantly up towards the night sky, smiling as she watched a meteor shower. Every time one went soaring through the atmosphere, she giggled with glee as she watched it ignite, illuminating the heavens as it made its descent. It was a cruel fate, she knew - in the last moments of their lives, those meteors became more beautiful than they had ever been before. Within seconds, they would burn out, and they would exist no more.

"Luna, what are you doing out here?"

She needn't turn to see who it was. "Watching the shower, 'Tia."

Celestia sighed and took a seat beside her sister, rolling onto her back so she could watch too. "You chose an interesting spot, you know - in front of mother's statue."

Luna nodded, the smile never leaving her face. "I did that on purpose, Celestia. I wanted her to watch too. She would have loved to see this."

"Yeah... she would have, wouldn't she?"

The two sisters lay in silence for a while, and Celestia found herself slowly beginning to enjoy it. She never really took the time to appreciate the nights - it was hard to forget just how beautiful they could be.

"Hey Celestia?"

"Yes, little sister?"

"Do you ever miss mother and father?"

"I..." Celestia sighed and stayed quiet as she thought about it. It was a painful subject for the both of them, even after all these years. "Of course I do, Luna. Everything we've worked for has been for them. We would want them to be proud of us, after all."

"Yeah." Luna squealed with delight as several meteors fell at once, clapping her hooves together as she watched. Celestia looked over at her sister, and she couldn't help but smile - it was rare, but it was nice to see her this happy, especially after all she had been through. "Luna?"

"Yes, 'Tia?"

"Love you."

"Love you too."

It didn't need to be said, but it still felt nice to hear.

-----

11/9

Ended up with a cold from going out for the meteor shower. Celestia didn't mention anything of it to the doctors - that will be our little secret. I'll have to give her a hug after I'm better.

My mane is about as long as Celestia's now. I'm kinda glad too. I've always envied how good hers looked, and short manes aren't that great anyways. Easy to take care of, sure, but it never looks as good. Speaking of manes, I've noticed mine actually getting lighter in color - odd, but not exactly unheard of. I'll have to wait and see what happens with it.

I think I've also narrowed down the identity of the mare from my dreams. I've asked around a bit, and all signs seem to point to it being my sister's protégée. Need to ask for her name later without making it overly suspicious.

She snuffled and set the quill down, turning as she heard a knock at the door. Her sister had nudged the door open and was carrying a bowl of vegetable soup - not physically, of course. It simply floated over to the younger Princess and gently sat itself down upon her desk. "The doctors would have thrown such a fuss if I had told them the truth."

Luna smiled and nodded. "Yeah, I know. Thanks for keep it a secret."

"I don't think I would have told them anyways. A beautiful night-time event, and in front of mother's statue no less? I think I can forget about that one." Celestia gave a wink to her sister, who was quick to return it. "Just do one thing for me to make up for it - get some rest today, no crazy antics or anything."

"I wasn't planning on it." Luna had already begun eating, and blew on a spoonful of soup to cool it before taking a sip. "Besides, it's hard to do much of anything when your nose is this runny."

"Fair enough, little sister. I'm stuck in meetings with gryphon diplomats all day, or I'd spend time with you." Celestia started to lean down towards her sister and suddenly halted, standing back up. "Ah, right... forgot you're sick. No hugs for you just yet. Hope you feel better, Luna."

The younger sister nodded appreciatively and returned to her soup, not wanting her lunch to get cold before she could finish it. It certainly didn't last long, and disappeared in just a few short minutes, but she soon found herself wondering what she could do next. Her options were relatively limited - there was the Royal Library, the observatory, and the old playroom. In her mind, she couldn't decide. In her heart, she already knew the answer. As quickly as she could, Luna took her bowl and spoon to the castle's kitchen and made her way towards the old playroom. She carefully made her way down the old stone steps, the candles within the room coming to life as she entered. Slowly, the young Princess looked around at both the room and toys alike, admiring her handy-work. It was nice to see the direct impact of her efforts, and the difference had already been drastic - every single toy had been lovingly mended to its best possible condition, and the bright hues of the painted walls stood in stark contrast to the white marble of the rest of the castle.

"Maybe... maybe we could turn this into a daycare or something."

Luna snuffled once more and made her way around the room, trying to decide what she would do first. An idea slowly began to form in her head, and the Princess ran about the room, gathering up the stuffed animals and placing them all in a circle around herself. Her eyes closed, and she began to imagine the scene - Equestria was in flames and under attack by all manner of animals. Celestia was missing and the Elements of Harmony were no where to be found - it was up to Luna to save the day! Upon opening her eyes, she leaped into action, hopping to and fro and firmly kicking each stuff animal square in the face with her hindlegs. The toys sat about in disarray, and she was about to kick the very last one when she felt a sneeze coming on. "Oh no... not now."

She quickly shoved a hoof under her nose in an effort to keep herself from sneezing, but it wasn't doing much to slow it down. "Ah... ah..." Luna could feel it building up, yet she simply could not sneeze. For what seemed like a lifetime, she simply sat there with a hoof under her nose, waiting to either sneeze or for it to pass. At last, it finally disappeared, and she sighed with relief - then it came right back.

"ACHOO!"

Luna cringed and quickly dove for the floor, covering her ears as the Royal Canterlot Voice she unwittingly let loose bounced off the confined walls of the playroom. When it subsided, she looked around the room and sighed before making her way towards the stairs. "I... don't think I feel like playing anymore."

-----

11/18

Found a new star. I haven't seen any others near it, so I can't say with any certainty that it could form a constellation. Still, it's a new find. Those are always exciting.

"Luna, what are you still doing up?"

She glanced over to see her elder sister, though she was quick to return to her notes. "I couldn't sleep, 'Tia. I figured the time would be better spent actually doing something, instead of tossing and turning in bed and waiting for myself to fall asleep again.

Initial observations showed that the star was most likely a white dwarf, given the lack of luminosity and relative size compared to all other bodies around-

"You really should go to bed, little sister."

"I'll be fine, Celestia." Luna set the pencil down and turned to face her sibling. "I know I'm your little sister and all, but I'm not that little."

"Yes, I... suppose you have a point. Good night, Luna. Try not to be up too late."

"Good night, Celes-" She looked back over her shoulder at the sound of fading hoofsteps, and sighed before returning to her work. "-tia."

-all other bodies around it. The star will likely need further observation before it may be properly classified.

Okay, so maybe she had been losing sleep over the whole mane business. Luna had woken up one night and yelled loud enough to even wake her sister and send her running. Her mane had taken on the same constantly-billowing quality as Celestia's, but at an unwanted price - it was slowly becoming more and more transparent, and Luna hated that she was slowly losing the blue mane that had belonged to her since she was but a filly. Preliminary examinations yielded no solid answers, and the doctors were absolutely clueless as to what might be causing it. The only other case of a pony naturally changing mane colors after birth had been Celestia herself, but hers certainly hadn't turned transparent. Even she, despite all her years of wisdom, didn't know what to do - all she could do was simply tell Luna that things would get better.

"Your Majesty?"

She blinked, roused from her stupor, and turned to confront the guardsman. "Yes?"

"The Canterlot Post Office received a written request involving you, sent by one 'Twilight Sparkle'."

"And?" Luna was doing her best to contain her lack of interest, though it would become readily apparent if this went on for too long.

"She wanted to say that she saw your post within 'The Equestrian Astronomy Journal', and would like a copy of your notes as soon as possible."

"Well, you can tell her that she can kindly-" She stopped mid-sentence and thought over things once more. "Wait, you said that... she saw my post within 'The Equestrian Astronomy Journal'?"

"Yes, your Majesty."

"And she wanted... a copy of my notes?"

"Correct, your Majesty."

"I um... I don't mean to be rude, but..." Luna tapped the pencil against her chin as she looked for the most polite way to phrase her question, smiling as she found it. "Who is this 'Twilight Sparkle', again? I've been stuck within Canterlot, so I'm a bit out of the loop."

The guard almost seemed surprised by this. "She's your sister's protégée, your Majesty."

"I uh..." She could hardly believe that her mystery mare would personally contact her, especially about something she enjoyed so much. It saved her a lot of time and awkward conversations, that's for sure. "I'll just take the letter now and reply to it later, guardsman. Thank you."

The stallion passed the letter off to the Princess and excused himself, leaving the observatory. As soon as he had departed, Luna opened up the envelope and hastily withdrew the letter, eagerly reading it.

Dear Princess Luna,

I was reading 'The Equestrian Astronomy Journal' the other night and was surprised to see a mention of royalty within it, considering it's quite hard to even make it in. Your post mentioned several findings that I haven't personally seen, and I was wondering if you would be kind enough to send a copy of your notes to me when you could?

Thank you for your time, your Majesty.

Sincerely, Twilight Sparkle

This... this had to be her. Luna simply knew that this had to be her, but she found herself stuck with a difficult question - how was she supposed to tell this Twilight Sparkle that she had dreamt of her? Even as she thought of what she should say, she pulled out a fresh piece of parchment and set quill to paper.

Dear Twilight Sparkle...

Comments

[Vargras]

The December chapter is nearing completion, and should go up later today. It'll certainly be the biggest chapter to date.

I was reading a story like this once before. It involved a lot of disastrous comedic results and was an enjoyable story, but I think I like this one better.

[BestiaAuris]

Yay. Luna is again a really fun read.

The new star shouldn't be "that of a white dwarf" - just "a white dwarf".

[VelvetHeart]

"Dear Twilight Sparkle
Your legs must be tired, because you've been running through my dreams all month."

[naiad]

...colds don't work like that

[DerpyIsAlive]

Couldn't help but chuckle at the idea of a royal Canterlot sneeze, and the fact that it backfires on Luna makes it all the more entertaining