Chapter Thirteen: The Moon Kingdom
Equus, Somewhere, 06-11-05, 11:02 P.M. A.N.M. (After Nightmare Moon)
As Luna made her way down the rocky tunnel that started at the base of the stairs behind the hidden Gate in her private study rooms, she pondered all of the implications.
For starters, the nobility had more than a few things to say about her proposed week-long vacation with Celestia once Princess Rainbow Dash was fully trained in her duties. She smirked at the buffaloing that occurred when a certain cousin of her nephew’s filed a formal complaint against it. Never before had the nobility ever been caught that flat-hoofed.
Luna smiled at the memory, one that she would cherish for a long time.
Celestia stood patiently as the appointed spokes-pony for a delegation of nobles continued on the same vein that he had been waffling on for the last several minutes. Lord Oak Leaves was something of a bore as far as nobles were concerned. He was on of the late Lady Lemyre’s chief supporters, and in all likelihood knew about the greater conspiracy. He wasn’t directly involved for a number of reasons-- chief among those being that he was an earth pony.
“While I do understand that both you and your sister have the same rights to a sabbatical as does any other noble or royal, you do not have the right to take a week off of your duties; nor do you have the authority to pass said duties off to an untried alicorn of questionable lineage.” Oak Leaves stopped waffling on as his expression turned to shock. The reason was simple.
Celestia had broken character by rolling her eyes. She gave her customary Pony Lisa smile at the flabbergasted noble. “Lord Oak Leaves, I find the fact that you are questioning Princess Rainbow Dash’s suitability as a royal to be laughable. Not only is she a direct descendant of Commander Hurricane from both sides of her family, but her actions in the defense of this nation qualify her for her position several times over. She’s most certainly more qualified than yourself; the term of military service you served to gain the rights of your seat barely qualified as you did not see combat, and staffed a desk for the four years. You’re fortunate in that you’re only required to do so once; had I had greater cause, I would have made you serve on the Border in a scouting party. But this doesn’t have anything to do with you or Rainbow Dash; this is about you and your cronies trying to deny my sister and I our rights.”
Oak Leaves scowled a bit at Celestia’s reminder of his regrettable service record. “I am not questioning your right at all; I am merely stating that you have an obligation to fulfill; your sister has an even greater one, since she is claiming this sabbatical after being Sealed on the Moon for over one thousand years. She is right in suggesting that she and you can use time that you have saved up; however, there is very little of that, since it does not stack after five years.”
“We have decided that it is time that the Diarchy understand the true importance of your duties. You, Princess Celestia, have five weeks of time available; or would if your recent actions did not bring your suitability to rule in question. Your sister however, has none, nor will she until the end of the year.”
Lord Oak Leaves would have continued had not a member of that group of nobles chose that moment to interject. “My dear Lord, I do hope you understand that the ruling we just passed applies to us as well. If you insist on pressing this farce, I feel it is my duty to inform you of that salient fact.” Lady Sweet Rain smiled sweetly at the scowling earth pony noble.
“Milady, I have made it plain that this only applies to the Diarchy, as their duties place them a step above us. I proved that point this morning.”
Sweet Rain rolled her eyes. “You’re proving yourself to be every bit of the inbred earth pony noble my father always claimed you were. Have you forgotten that changing that Law requires more than our vote? It requires the vote of the High Council- which we don’t have and are likely to not get -and the vote of all six pony tribes.” Her smile returned as Lord Oak Leaves scowled at that reminder. “Oh yes Milord; the ruling that this Advisory Council made this morning has no weight. The only reason why I went along with this farce is so I could have the satisfaction of rubbing how much little power you and these other ingrates have in your snouts. Personal opinion on Princess Rainbow Dash aside, we nobles have a duty to the ponies of Equestria. Now that your mistress is a crystal statue, you don’t have a leg to stand on.”
Celestia took the cue that Sweet Rain gave her. “Indeed; what the Lady says is correct. The only reason why you all weren’t served the same punishment is because of your ineptitude; you were too stupid- excepting Lady Sweet Rain, who has once again proven herself a worthy noble -to realize that the late Lady Lemyre was using you just as much as she was anypony else. You never had any real authority, and should she have succeeded, you would have joined the rest of the earth ponies in slavery. That, of course, is the true place that she and her ilk believe where earth ponies should be.”
Luna couldn’t have been happier to see a noble get buffaloed by another noble. It reminded her for that all of the trouble the nobility caused, the vast majority were doing right by Equestria.
Luna’s thoughts came to an abrupt halt at a break in the path. She frowned for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction. “Princess Rainbow Dash was correct; the path does branch off. Which one leads in the right direction though?” Luna knocked her head with a hoof. “Dumb featherhead; ponies in the past always led to the left, as Sol rose in the east. That only changed because it was the night-side of Lune that I was sealed on, so the right path will lead to the day side.” So saying, Luna took the right path.
Less than ten minutes later, she found herself in a cavern with an ornate door in the center. She stared at said door in wonder; no matter how many times she had seen or created such doors, a Gate the the Realm of Dreams manifested was always a sight to behold.
Reverently, the midnight blue alicorn trotted up to the door. As she approached it, the door began to shimmer as it irised open. Moonlight shined from the path on the other side, letting Luna know that her assumption was correct. Luna took a brief moment to gather her wits about her before walking through the Gate. Once on the other side, it irised closed behind her. The midnight blue alicorn took a brief look back before making her way down the new path.
The next few moments was spent in comfort as the path bathed the Moon Princess in gentle moonlight. Luna smiled happily; even though she had spent so long sealed on Lune’s surface, she still had a great love and joy for that which had been part of her for so long.
Indeed, were Luna imprisoned in stone as Discord had been, she knew that she probably wouldn’t have held up as well. Because the power of the Moon was so integral to the Realm of Dreams, Luna wasn’t restricted from walking the Dream Ways.
Luna recalled the days shortly before she attempted to wrest the throne of Equestria from Celestia’s grasp. Many thought that Nightmare Moon was an evil entity that had possessed Luna; that was what her sister sealed away with the Elements of Harmony.
There was some truth to that; Luna wasn’t thinking as clearly as she should have been. Frowning, Luna thought back further, to her long past foal-hood. Even when they were fillies, Celestia garnered greater respect and even love from ponies. Few ever seemed to notice the midnight blue filly; it didn’t help that she had always preferred the night as opposed to the day, nor was she at all comfortable with ponies she didn’t know personally.
Luna’s frown deepened as she thought of those by-gone days. While what she told Twilight about envy towards her sister was true, Luna had always known that it wasn’t really Celestia’s fault that she made friends naturally and easily. That’s why the Element of Magic was most tuned to her, since Celestia’s skill in magic was nearly non existent when they were fillies.
Oh sure, she had power, lots of power. However, since Luna spent the first couple of decades of her life as a unicorn, she had gotten a greater level of training in unicorn-based spells. Celestia had gotten some- namely, unicorn runic from Clover -but even with that she was nowhere near Luna’s level of skill.
Luna’s envy had been present though. The thing was, she was aware of it; worse, she had been told by Clover the Clever of the risks of suppressing such emotion. It took years and extra effort by the traitorous Equestrian High Council of the time for her to fall to it. In fact, the reason why she had fallen so hard wasn’t because of their efforts, but because she had suppressed her envy of her older sister for so long.
“Pride, envy, greed, selfishness; these things are natural for all creatures who have a will of their own child. The trick is not to deny them, but to not let them control you. Suppression is never a good idea; it is far better to acknowledge them as a part of you, one that you do all to rise above.” The advice- sound advice -that Clover had given her came back to Luna.
Luna sighed. She wished now that she had heeded those words. Once she had become an alicorn- having ascended in a manner similar to Twilight Sparkle -she had thought she was above such a thing. Naturally, she wasn’t aware that such things were also present in alicorns. Not selfishness of course; that was impossible. However, for the other emotions often called the Seven Deadly Sins, it was all too common for alicorns to forget that they were doubly susceptible to them.
Luna’s expression soured. Would she have remembered that; she would have accepted the truth that her sister was more beloved than she- which wasn’t true -and moved on. Instead, she fought the emotions down, which became all the harder once a Lesser Demon of Envy latched onto her.
Which was why she found herself wandering down a tunnel that was both familiar and unfamiliar to her. She knew that her hooves had likely trod this path before; however, she had no recollection of ever having done so. She did know that the reason why she didn’t remember was because she had locked parts of her memories away from the Demon that tortured her.
Yet another teaching from Clover came to mind. “Demons are unlike other creatures that exist in our world. They come from another Plane of existence, and naturally would have nothing to do with us. However, these tortured souls are bound both by their hatred of those souls with a physical form, and by their Master’s will. If one finds oneself unable- or unwilling -to accept the emotion tied to a Demon, then one needs find another way to hide deep thoughts from them. Though ambivalent and angry to those who are alive, Demons only possess if forced to.”
Luna sighed. If only she had paid more heed to those lessons. She shook her head to end such maudlin thoughts. “Now is not the time to regret the past Luna,” she muttered. “Now is the time to figure if your returning memories can help in the now.”
Luna continued her way down the well-worn rocky tunnel. The moonlight that infused it was a comfort to her. As she slowly made her way forward, more and more of her sealed memories returned to her.
Some of it was the few silly pranks between her sister, and the far more frequent pranks she pulled on the Council in general. She had to stop a moment as her sides shook with silent laughter at the particularly clever prank involving marzipan and kittens that she pulled on Prince Blueblood the XVIII. More recently, a favorite pastime of hers had referenced a similar prank.
After a few moments, Luna continued her walk. She knew that she was getting close to the end of the tunnel. What was on the other side still eluded her however. As she walked, her mind once more returned to the plight of the homeless orphans that she swore to protect all those years ago.
Luna gasped as she suddenly remembered what she had done. The tunnel she was walking down went from familiar yet unfamiliar to completely familiar. Anxious to see if her memories rang true, Luna cantered down the rest of the tunnel.
She soon found herself at the end, and stared in shock. Instead of finding herself in a larger version of the small settlement that she had set up for the foals and their guardians, she found fields of grass that was blue-white in appearance.
“Moongrass! A field of moongrass!” Luna galloped through the field in delight. She had thought that the plant would have died without her care, yet here it looked as though it was being cultivated.
The midnight blue alicorn stopped to take a few bites-- after making sure that it was safe for consumption. She munched happily; it was as sweet and spicy as she remembered all those years ago.
Glancing up, Luna saw pegasus ponies bringing cumulous clouds in. Quickly realizing that her alicorn form would be a dead giveaway, Luna cast a series of quick charms to disguise her appearance. Now appearing as a dark azure unicorn, Luna made her way in the direction that the pegasi had been flying from.
Shortly thereafter, a trio of stallions landed nearby. “Are you loss miss?” the one in front asked. Luna nodded.
“I just came from a tunnel of some kind nearby. Pray tell, can you tell me where I currently find myself good sir?”
The stallion frowned. “You must be Lost then; most who find their way here know at least that much.” He pointed to the wall in the distance. “That is the Capital of the Moon Kingdom, where Her Royal Highness Princess Nightingale sits in Stewardship of the Moon Throne. Does that help?”
Luna nodded. She started a bit as she finally noticed that the stallion wasn’t a pegasus as she first thought. “Good sir, are you by chance a pegacorn?” she asked him. The stallion nodded.
“Yes, my name is Stern Gaze, Commander of the Moon Guard.” He frowned at one of the other stallions who had cleared his throat at that. “As I said, I am Commander of the Moon Guard; I do not have the right to call myself a Prince as I am NOT an alicorn.” The pegasus frowned before shrugging.
“In any case, I know that you are at least a little confused.” Stern Gaze fired off a spell that Luna was intimately familiar with. “I’ve just sent for a carriage for us. You’re fortunate in that I decided to patrol out here instead of letting the local Guard handle it. Too much of a stuffed shirt to handle a Newcomer, and no less but a Lost Newcomer. Been awhile since there was any too; not since the last attacks. Oh, here comes the chariot now!”
Luna looked on in surprise at what she saw; a chariot made out of a combination of wood and Moon Crystal. She gingerly climbed on, noticing that the scrollwork along the side glowed faintly as she did so. “Wonders of wonders!” she said, not needing to feign her wonder. “I’ve never seen the like in Manehattan or Filly! What’s it made of, crystal?”
“Yes miss, Crystal Heartwood and Moon Crystal. Veins of the crystal can be found throughout the kingdom. As for the Heartwood Forests, we’d be overrun with the trees if we didn’t use them for construction; they grow as fast as moongrass does.” Stern Gaze took a seat next to Luna. His horn glowed faintly as he cast a series of low-level scanning spells over what to him appeared as a young but cute unicorn. None worked as they should of course, but Gaze was unaware of the fact.
As the carriage made its way towards the distant city, Gaze continued to talk to the mare next to him. “Miss, I don’t mean to impose, but can I know your name?I I’ll need it for identification purposes.”
Luna allowed her cheeks to flush as if she was embarrassed. “Oh, I’m so sorry! Mum always told me that it was impolite to make a pony ask for your name. It’s Bright Moonlight sir; Mum had a thing for naming her kids after celestial objects.” Gaze chuckled at the face Luna made at her name.
“Well, I know that Mother will be pleased that such a bright young mare has made her way to our lands. However, I’m afraid that our hospitality is all that we can offer. All paths that lead here but one don’t lead away.”
Luna frowned pensively. Using her extra senses, she Felt along the path that she had just recently walked. Her frown deepened a bit as she realized that the path bound all others to it. She noted with some small pleasure that she would be able to teleport back to where the entrance was. “Well, Mum always did say that I rush into things without paying attention. Guess this was one time I should have. Next time I’ll be sure to find out more about a magic portal spell before casting it.”
Gaze winced. “That seems to be the most common method by which Lost ponies end up here. Well, there’s nothing for it but to follow protocol.”
Luna smiled inwardly. Her efforts to divert her real entrance were working perfectly. Not only that, it seemed that she had tied all loose entrances up so that they were connected in some way to the path she had used. Staying in character, Luna sighed heavily. “The only thing that concerns me is that I can’t let Mum know where I am now. I don’t want her to worry.”
Stern Gaze frowned pensively. Though it went almost unmentioned, there were a few paths- two, to be precise -that a Lost pony could take to return to Equestria. Neither one had ever been used since he was alive however; the latter was last used some seventy years before his birth. “There are some options for that Miss Moonlight,” he said at last. “Mother will know of some way that we can contact your mother. We do have allies on the other side of the tunnel, and they can get a message to her. They can even arrange for her and any other family you have to join you here if that’s what’s wanted.”
‘Bright Moonlight’ brightened at that. “Truly? Wow, that’s nice of you! Why would you though?” She waved a hoof at the patrolling pegasi and nocturne that were escorting the carriage to the city. “Wouldn’t that be risky? I mean, if the wrong pony finds out, you might get an undesirable or three.”
Stern Gaze nodded, scowling. “Yes, though it can’t be helped. The Moon Princess made this a Kingdom of Exiles. She had to; it was the only way to secure the aid of both Hope and Princess Angela. Once they were of age, all of the first orphans- two which are my ancestors -declared themselves Exiles from Equestria. I don’t blame them to be honest; the then-Council of Lords wasn’t worth a pile of horseapples if history can be believed.”
The next few minutes were met with silence as the carriage made its approach to the city. Luna’s eyes widened at the splendor she was witnessing. ‘It’s grander in scale than even Canterlot,’ she thought to herself. “Wow, this city is beautiful! Look at the shine of crystal on the walls, and the spires! I’ve visited Canterlot, but I can say that this one is of far grander scale.”
Gaze nodded in agreement. “Yes, it is grand. That we’ve managed to keep it so despite this kingdom being under siege is a testament to our will.”
Luna frowned. “Under siege? You mean that there’s an army that attacks you of some kind?”
Gaze pointed to the left where the leading edge of the Rift barrier was just visible. “That wall you see there isn’t just for looks miss Moonlight. It separates the day side of Lune from the night side. Not only was the other side where the Nightmare was sealed, but that there was something worse between the two sides.” Gaze looked sheepish. “I really can’t say any more; I don’t want to usurp Mother’s prerogative.”
Luna looked at the young pegacorn stallion. “Your mother is this Princess Nightingale, am I right?” Gaze nodded.
“Yes. Her full title is Princess Nightingale, Alicorn of Shadows, Darkness, and Light; Steward of the Moon Kingdom and Guardian of the Path.” He smiled at the frown Luna had on her muzzle. “I can see that her alicorn title gives you a little pause. You’re not the first new Exile to have that reaction, though most are nonplussed to hear that there’s more than one alicorn.”
Luna grinned cheekily. “History was always one of my better subjects in school, so I’ve always known that there were other alicorns. I also always found pegacorns to be cool as well; you get the best of both flight and magic without having to sacrifice for either.” She sighed in not completely feigned envy. “Wish I could fly without use of the true Butterfly Wing charm.”
Gaze gazed- for lack of a better term -in shock at the ‘unicorn’ beside him. “You can actually cast that charm? I’d heard that it was difficult- if not impossible -for an ordinary unicorn to do so. There are a few in this kingdom that have the skill, but that’s only because moonlight is so plentiful here.”
Luna’s response was to conjure a blue flower in front of her. “Abjuration and conjuration are a number of my many talents. I’m no Twilight Sparkle, but I daresay that I can give her a run for her bits were we to duel.” She cancelled the conjured flower. “What sets ponies off about that spell is that they don’t take the time to learn how wings actually work. They just try to follow along with the form of the charm itself, not realizing that takes more power than most ponies can generate.” Her snout wrinkled a bit as she recalled something. “Even Princess Twilight admits that she cast the spell wrong the first time; it takes concentrated sunlight to cancel the spell out. If she had woven sunlight and moonlight into it as you’re supposed to, it wouldn’t have failed at all. That's why her version matched the Flutter-wing spell; that's the result when sunlight and moonlight are left out.”
Gaze chuckled. “It’s nice to know that Princess Twilight is as self-effacing as they say. You sound as though you know her personally miss Moonlight.” Luna actually blushed a bit at that.
“W-well, I have met her a few times. She’s the Princess of Friendship, so she makes friends easily. She got to talking about some of the things she and her friends did, and I admitted that I knew how to properly cast the Butterfly Wing charm.”
This statement was actually true. Luna had indeed demonstrated the proper way to cast that charm, then blasted the Equestrian Literary Association for endorsing a book that contained the flawed version. It was yet another example of so-called ‘magic experts’ getting the particulars of a spell wrong.
“There’s been a rush of that charm in schools recently actually. Princess Luna threatened to remove royal endorsement of the Equestrian Literary Association for endorsing that and a number of other flawed works. She and her sister ended up doing so anyway when they made it plain that the Diarchy doesn’t get to decide what is worthy of endorsement or not. Ponies ignore the ELA now; it’s really funny.” Both ponies chuckled.
A few minutes later, the carriage landed in front of the palace. “Miss Moonlight, I would ask that you remain here,” Stern Gaze said. “It shouldn’t take long to get mother here. Normally I’d take you to Immigration, but they don’t open until ten in the morning. Plus, mother would like to know that the Path is still open; she’s been concerned about that of late for some reason.”
Luna nodded in compliance. As the pegacorn flew off, she smiled to herself. “I finally get to meet a pony that I’ve missed so,” she said softly to herself.
“Here’s hoping that our reunion is joyful; even though we seldom met, I know that we are Kindred Spirits.”
Stern Gaze frowned to himself as he flew to find his mother. When he had been alerted late last evening that Nightingale wanted to increase patrols ‘just in case’, he had little idea that anything was going to come of it.
There was something very odd about that young unicorn. Her story had the ring of truth to it, yet he got the impression that she was hiding something. Also, the path she came out of was nowhere near a common one. Exiles usually found their way to the Gate to the south of the city; it was situated farther away from the Rift a-purpose, since every new arrival could bring unwanted attention from the Dark One.
Even her claim to know an advanced version of the Butterfly Wing charm was suspect. Only four out of every ten unicorns were even capable to cast a temporary version of that spell. Even knowing the proper form wasn’t enough; it took a considerable amount of will to bend sunlight and moonlight to work together in such a manner.
Then there was her name. Bright Moonlight wasn’t a totally unheard of name for a unicorn to have, but something about the way she said the name was off. It was almost as if there was some sort of joke involved that he wasn’t getting.
Gaze landed on the balcony outside of his office. As he thought, his mother was still there. “Mother, we have a new arrival. A Lost Exile; my patrol found her in the Moongrass Fields. The northwestern side of the Fields in fact.”
Nightingale looked up at that, frowning. “Did this Lost Exile give you a name?” she asked, concerned. If it wasn’t Luna, then it could be worse than she thought.
“She calls herself Bright Moonlight; she’s a dark azure-coated unicorn with a cutie mark of a wand with a crescent moon-and-star combination on the top of it. Indigo mane.”
Nightingale blinked for a moment. Then she started to giggle; before too long, the regal alicorn was rolling on the floor, laughing. Gaze looked on in utter bafflement at his mother.
After a couple of minutes, Nightingale executed some control over herself; she was unable to stop giggling like a loon however. “Care to let me in on the joke mother?” Gaze asked, a little huffily.
“Nothing at all; the name just reminded me of somepony, that’s all. Come, let’s go meet this Lost Exile. I think her and I have a lot in common.” Nightingale followed her son to where he had left the unicorn.
As the disguised Luna saw both Stern Gaze and what she recognized as Nightingale approach where she had been waiting, it was taking all she had to maintain her composure. Everything about the alicorn was as she remembered.
“Bright Moonlight, is it?” the light purple alicorn said once she and her son had landed. “Let me be the first to welcome you to the Moon Kingdom. Follow us please.” Luna did so, slightly baffled as to what was going on.
Nightingale led the way to a smallish audience chamber. Before they entered it, she turned to her son. “The West Wing needs to be made ready for our new guest. Can I get you to handle that before you return to the task I interrupted earlier?” Gaze frowned before nodding.
The two mares passed through the door. Luna’s wings itched as she Felt them pass from one room to another. Nightingale closed the door with her magic and made her way to the simple table. After a moment, Luna joined her. “You can drop the disguise Princess; nopony save those close to me can enter this chamber.”
Luna shook her head. “If only I could, Princess Nightingale. Once I do so, all will know that I was using a disguise. A disadvantage of using the variety of perception filter I used. I will have to return in another fashion to keep up appearances.”
Nightingale frowned at that. “Hmm, well, that does make things more difficult. In any case, do you plan on staying?” She laid a hoof alongside Luna’s right foreleg. “I only ask because this Kingdom has been waiting for your return for a long time Princess Luna. It would make them happy.”
Luna shook her head. “I’ll have to leave for a short time to set a few things in motion, then I’ll return for a time at least. However, I won’t be returning to take the throne of this Kingdom. I left it open for one that was worthy of it.”
Nightingale sighed heavily. “I knew that you would say something like that. How long do you think you will need?”
Luna frowned thoughtfully. “Much has already been done to prepare for my sabbatical. I only need to let my sister know what has changed, then I’ll be able to return. I still have yet to figure out why I Sealed even the memory of this Kingdom away; until I have done so, the ponies must be kept out of the loop. It’s unfair to them, as I’m sure there are many who are waiting for my return.”
“Well, yes; the common pony at least. I’m sure the nobles are absolutely dreading it,” Nightingale chuckled evilly. “You do remember the Charter you wrote?”
Luna facehoofed. “Indeed, and now I wish I hadn’t wrote it. It seems my flair for the dramatic got the better of me. In any case, it shouldn’t take long. Is there an easy way for me to return to the tunnel I used?”
Nightingale nodded. “The door we passed through will let you out into the conference room; from there, just ask a Moon Guard to lead you to the West Wing. I tied one of the portals that lead to the Path to the wardrobe in there. The West Wing is as secure as mine own chambers; I’ve held it in trust for you ever since you were freed. That hasn’t been easy.”
“I thank you.” Luna gave Nightingale a hug. “Don’t worry dear heart; I shan’t be too long.” She then walked to the door, using her magic to close it and the portal behind her.
“Let’s just hope that the Dark One remains clueless; I don’t know how long that will last.” Nightingale said softly to the now empty room.
As soon as Luna got to the West Wing, she made right for the most unobtrusive wardrobe- one that looked like it was made out of apple-wood -and opened the door.
“Coats? Why is it full of coats? It doesn’t snow on Lune. Must be Nightingale’s idea of a prank or something. Whatever.” Luna shut the wardrobe door. Concentrating briefly on her destination, she opened it again to see the entrance to the path she had came on behind the coats. “Definitely Nightingale’s idea of a joke,” she said. Shrugging, she entered the path, making sure the door was closed behind her.
Luna made her way down the path in a less meandering fashion on her return trip. Once back in her private quarters, she flew quickly to her sister’s rooms.
Celestia was up as she had been for the past couple of days. She was using the extra time to get through as much of the backlog of work before the both of them were to go on their sabbatical. It didn’t help that the nobility was only adding to the pile with their shenanigans. She looked up in surprised pleasure as Luna alighted on her balcony. “Hello Lu’! I wasn’t honestly expecting you back so soon! Did you find out what you were looking for?”
“That and more ‘Tia,” Luna said in response. She sat down at the portable desk Celestia used whenever paperwork carried late. “This is only a flying visit; I’ll have to return for a time at least. We must needs to contrive of a way for me to be in two places at once for a little while. I’ll have to go on part of my sabbatical soon.”
Celestia smirked playfully. “I figured as much, which is why I’m handling this paperwork. In case you hadn’t noticed, it’s not actually mine.” Luna blushed prettily as she realized that the paperwork sitting on the desk was last month’s end-of-the-month reports.
“Now I feel like a filly who has found out that her big sister has done her homework,” Luna snarked. The two giggled a bit.
“So, what have you found out Lu’?” Celestia asked.
Luna didn’t respond right away. “Remember that you asked me what I had done with the ponies I swore to protect?” Celestia nodded. “Well, I did what you expressly forbade me to do, what I didn’t have your blessing to do so.”
Luna started to twiddle her hooves, a sign that her nerves were showing. “I used my personal alicorn magic and pulled them into the Realm of Dreams. I then sealed that Realm in such a way that one could only enter through set paths. I took those foals- and the stallions and mares that had sworn themselves to this endeavor -and formed a Kingdom of Exiles on the far side of Lune’s surface. That’s all I wanted to do ‘Tia; to take them to a place wherein I could protect them. I wasn’t even planning to rule them.”
“More would follow later on thanks to those insufferable nobles. They were part of a three-pronged attack against me that forced me to lock up my own memories. The reason for that eludes me except for flashes.” Luna sighed, still fidgeting. “Even after I feel to that damnable Demon of Envy, I still did all I could to protect them.”
“The Kingdom is still there, rivaling that which has been built here. They’ve survived not because I was there to protect them, but because of another alicorn. One that I call friend, and one that was a comfort to me during the madness that was Nightmare Moon.”
Luna poured herself a cup of tea to organize her thoughts before continuing. “Her name is Nightingale, and according to her son, she is the Alicorn of Shadows, Darkness, and Light.”
Celestia frowned in confusion. “I can see being the Alicorn of Shadows, or even Darkness; neither of those forces are truly evil. But Rainbow Dash is the Alicorn of Light; I don’t see how she can claim the title as well.”
“I don’t know that’s she’s an alicorn of those forces in the same manner as we are. She can Call on them of course, but she’s not directly tied to them in the same manner. Angela never did give us any details on that particular aspect of ascension.” Luna took a sip of the sweet black tea before continuing. “But I know she wasn’t always an alicorn. In fact, when we first met each other, she was a very young pegacorn.”
Celestia blinked in shock. “She actually visited you during your banishment? How?”
Luna smiled. “Astral Projection. Apparently it’s one of her many talents. In any case, we found in each other Kindred Spirits.” Luna sighed sadly. “It’s truly unfortunate that the seal on my memories extended to our meetings. I could remember nothing of each visit until I heard her name and saw her kind eyes. Such sadness for one so young.”
Celestia looked at her sister’s sad, lonely expression. “There’s more than just friendship between you and this Nightingale, isn’t there Lu’.” It wasn’t a question. Luna sighed.
“Wishes mostly, ‘Tia. Though I remember her now, we seldom met. It was always risky for her, and I was seldom lucid enough to respond were she to make the effort.”
Celestia looked at her sister. “Luna, the Nightmare wasn’t an entity, was it?” she asked delicately. Luna shook her head.
“Not strictly, no. Nightmare was little more or less my suppressed envy towards you given form by a Lesser Demon of Envy. I was not able to fight back against it because I rejected the quite natural envy I had towards you ‘Tia.” Luna sighed. “Dear Clover was correct; one can admit to the more negative emotions without letting them control you. Burying them is the same as giving up.”
“Well, I’m glad that you came and told me what you had discovered Lu’,” Celestia said. “There shouldn’t be any secrets between sisters.”
Luna nodded, then frowned. “You’re not angry that I went behind your wings on that issue, sister?” she asked hesitatingly. Celestia shook her head at that.
“You are your own mare, and a Princess in your own right. You weren’t truly more answerable to me then any more than you are now. Plus, my own reasons for saying no in the first place were a combination of pride, and a desire to keep Equestria together. I’m not dwelling on my regrets Luna,” she said when she saw that her sister was about to berate her once again for her self-deprecation, “I’m simply acknowledging that I have pride. That includes being able to realize that the wisdom of a mortal pony has bearing even on an alicorn.”
Luna smiled in relief. She took a glance at the water-clock on the wall and gave a light ‘eep’ when she saw how long she’d been there. “It’s that late already?? I’m overdue for dreamwalking!” She would have left had Celestia not stopped her.
“I assume that you plan on leaving afterwards?” Celestia asked Luna. The midnight blue alicorn shook her head.
“Later this evening I’ll return for a short time to formally announce the beginning of my sabbatical. I just hope that you and Twilight will be able to handle things without me; I don’t know how long I’m going to be in Nightingale’s Kingdom.”
“You mean your Kingdom Luna. No, don’t deny it; though you may not rule them as such, you are still their Guardian,” Celestia said kindly. “Don’t worry too much about me; I’m still able to handle the business of rule as well as I ever did. Better now since I’m now working far more closely with the High Council.”
The two hugged one another in passing. Luna then quickly left to discharge her duties. Celestia soon finished the rest of Luna’s paperwork, then went to sleep herself to prepare for the next day.
Neither one were at all aware that these next few days would be the last of the peaceful days that they would have; a storm was about to crest, and there was a strong chance that Equestria as it was might not survive…
So Luna and Nightingale have finally met each other. This chapter was kind of odd, as it's mostly filler.
Filler is such a pain; a pain to write, and a pain to figure out what to write.
In any case, this might or might not be the last chapter for this one for awhile. I have a much clearer idea of where I'm going with it; however, I might need a couple of chapters in LRSF to nail down the particulars.
Starting to think that I should just finish LRSF before doing anything more on this one.
Bonus points for anypony that figures out the reference to another series that I snuck into this chapter. Anypony that reads fantasy- or has watched one of the more recent popular fantasy-based movies -will get it. 
Edit, August 21st, 2016: Added more to the scene where Luna talks about the Futterwing spell Twilight cast. In my head canon, there's actually two different versions of the same spell. The one that Twilight cast works fine, but has a limit to its usefulness. Debates rage as to whether or not the spell is safe due to the risks involved. Of course, it's mostly just there to help teach conjuration. Also, they don't teach it to unicorns Sweetie Belle's age; it's mostly university students.
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Narnia!!!!
7250219
Yes, but which book?
7250495 why, the Lion. the Witch, and the Wardrobe of course. And I agree by the way, working on both at the same time will only potentially spoil things that happened in the prequel and twist your arm to not making LRSF as interesting as it could be.
7250655
Yeah, that's perhaps the biggest issue I run into with these fics. I've been solving it by writing a few chapters in LRSF until I reach a certain point, then switch points. I'm kind of at that point now actually.
By the way, what tipped it off? Was it the coats, or was it the fact that it was an apple-wood wardrobe?
7250810 both. I watched the original movie, which was way closer to the actual book. Plus, Luna's dialogue mimics Lucy's dialogue when she first went through the wardrobe. And in Prince Caspian, they were sucked through via train not the wardrobe.
7251072
Yep. the wardrobe was actually made from the apple Digory used to heal his mother. They stopped after Voyage of the Dawn Treader with the movies.
Hmm, I wasn't aware that I matched the dialogue. I do love the Narnia books though.
So Luna and Nightingale meet again... Too bad there's not time for a happy reunion, with The Dark One plotting.
7267218
That's all he ever does; plots to fix plots that fell through because the plots before failed.
In other words, he doesn't have much of a life outside of plots; he should just give up making plots and go chase a few
Hmm, I wonder if anybody caught the other reference I sneaked into this chapter.
It passed by me actually, which is bloody strange. If you all know popular games involving costumed heroes, you'll likely catch it.
Narnia wants it's beginners wardrobe to adventure back. They're running out of convenient paintings and gates.
7416550
Is that a reference to one of the many minor OC's I've created for the two fics I'm working on? I honestly can't remember; some are starting to sound an awful lot alike.
Wait, Silent Belle; now I remember. Her name was originally going to be Sweet Belle, but that's far too close to Sweetie Belle. Since that name is a confirmed baseline character that I'm not using in any way, I wasn't willing to use it in any fashion.
7416590
Actually, I think they're having a special on Lost Summoning Horns and Doors That Go Nowhere in another part of the Moon Kingdom. They're right next to the stuffed Luna and Artemis plushies. Nightingale isn't about to part with any of her furniture; besides, the wardrobe doesn't go to Narnia anyway.
Unless you count the time that Nightingale accidentally linked it to Jadis' third wine cellar. Don't ask me how, I just know that it happened.
7416982
You know my pain. Writing filler is never easy, it feels like it's forced on me and I don't want to do it and it ends up making it hard and making it feel wrong. It's been a while since I've written any filler, so I can't remember much about it. It's painful, but I think you solve it by making it not filler, and changing how you think about.
So... The "Dark One" is the witch, the path is, almost quite literally, the wardrobe... which makes me wonder... Who is the Lion? Luna? Celestia? Twilight? My bet, if I were to bet, would be on Luna or Twilight's Lover, Rainbow Dash.
8305205
Huh; never thought of it that way. The idea was little more than a homage to one of my favorite series.
Now that I think on it, it's one of those that's more than a little odd, as the characters are not ponies. Virtually everything is the same as far as the identity of the characters. The only thing different is the fact that it's Canterlot instead of London, and Santa Hooves instead of Santa Claus.
Everything else is the same as it is for us.
Lots of things in Equestria is like that. There's an entire subculture that features humans as protagonists. Twilight's shock when she went through the mirror to CHS was because- at that time -she hadn't been exposed to said subculture. The only fiction she ever read was Daring Do, and she never really played video games all that much.
Still, I wonder if there was some sort of underpinning with that reference. Considering that it was the first book, there are parallels that weren't completely obvious to me. Maybe I did choose it for some subconscious reason. Rather freaky that.
I was a bit hesitant to this fanfic at first, but its becoming among my favorite fanfic on this site
8740520
Thank you for the unsolicited praise; you've validated all the effort that went into writing this fic.
Not that I needed any, mind, but it does help to know that there are those that like my stories. Imperfect creations that they are anyway...