Forgiven, Forgotten

by Astraia Cantata

Four

In Canterlot, the new capitol city, things had begun to settle into normalcy. Homes were built, families were made, and foals were born. Those who chose to remember the days of The City of the Royal Pony Sisters learned to not speak of them; too many had lost all that was dear to them on the Night of Nightmares, preferring to leave the memories in the lost city.

It was on a particularly sushiney day in this shining new era of ponykind that Dike received a royal summons. Her fifteenth, to be exact.

Her aunt could not have had worse timing. The night before was supposed to be the occlusion of Libra and Virgo , the first viewing of the "Star Maiden" since Luna had left, and more importantly, Dike's seventeenth birthday. It wasn't that it went forgotten, Celestia had sent her a lovely gift; a silver and hematite compact mirror, encrusted with black diamonds and white sapphires in the shape of the moon and stars, that had belonged to her mother. But Celestia's attempt to create her niece's namesake were... lackluster to say the least. It could easily have been forgiven, had the night not been, again, too bright for the astronomers to even take note that after all this time things were starting to return to normal. And even worse, her best friend had gone to an uppity royal party, supposedly in the honor of the new princess's birthday, that she had not been invited to. He didn't know she wasn't invited, he had even come to take her, always the gentlecolt escort. But when she told him to go ahead and go without her, he did not hesitate. And to add insult to injury, it had been organized by her old rival, Silver Steps, who had, no doubt, met him at the door.

Her father, by contrast, handled the situation more delicately. Dike had to smile at the thought. He alone was the reason she had not broken down completely. He had foregone the traditional mulled cider, and instead opted for a new discovery from the far south, the home of the wild Azteca ponies. Cacao beans, pressed and scraped together, then dissolved in hot water. It was a little bitter, and adding honey had little effect on it, but the drink itself was comforting. They did, however, watch the skies that evening, which was how she discovered her aunt's grievous mistake.

The royal messenger had found her sitting in a darkened corner of the study of her new, opulent home, far from the familiar comfort of palace walls, nursing a headache. He had to flee the scene when he opened the window, as she began to levitate several heavy objects in his general direction. Dike groaned. All she had succeeded in was making her headache worse, and scaring a young colt, and making the worst of a bad situation. Grumbling, she levitated the note off the desk in front of her, put down the various geologic oddities she had nearly wasted on the poor colt, and forced herself downstairs.

She really tried not to think what her birthday might have been with her mother there. But it came, unbidden, with the force of the migraine she was trying hard to shake off. She remembered perfectly starry nights, swirling smudges of light onto a navy canvas of night. Everything her mother did, before, had been a work of art, perfect and glorious. The glassy, spotless form of the moon would illuminate the streets below, making a night slightly brighter than usual, so that other little foals might enjoy the handiwork of the Princess on the most important night of her year. And Virgo would close her eyes, and lift the scales of justice, weighing the sins of ponykind against the good they had done, and found them perfectly balanced. Smiling, the ponies would be saved from the wrath of the heavens once more. (This was, at least, the story she had heard from both of her parents. No other ponies she knew, save Celestia herself, had even heard of the tales of the night.)

Before she reached the bottom of the stairs, she noticed her eyes were wet. No time for tears, she thought, as she brushed them away with her knee. She quickly scribbled a note for her father, rather than waking him to let him know she was going out.

Papa,

Received summons. More than likely the same old question. Will be back soon, don't worry.

Love, Dike

-----

The walk to the palace was lonely. It was almost noon, and ponies were bustling out in the markets and in the new restaurants. Everywhere was crowded, full of life, and yet, so empty.

Well, she could be philosophical another time. The palace walls were nearing. She would have to show her summons at the gate, or they would not let her in. None of the new guards could remember her, and all of the lunar guards had been dismissed. Some of the old solar guards may have a flicker of recognition, but orders were orders, and all must have a good reason to enter the castle. No exceptions, especially for new royals.

Again, she tried not to flashback to the time when the lunar guards were the most trusted figures in her life, beyond her mother, father and best friend. They knew who she was, and would protect her family with their dying breaths. Unfortunately, that was exactly what happened to many of them as they tried to protect their beloved Princess from herself.

No, no, she had to remind herself. No more tears.

As was routine, she placed her summons in the slot of the front gate, where the new Captain of the Guard reviewed it and finally allowed her inside. You would think they would remember the Princess's niece, after the whole ceremony was given.

To her surprise, she was met not only by Asphodel, Celestia's secretary and instigator of all the new policies, but also Brilliance, and the Arch-Historian, Afterthought.

"Dike! I was wondering when you would get here."

She wilted under his enthusiasm and the glares of the older, grayer, pair. "Here I am." She managed to break a small grin onto her face, for Brillance's sake, but it was quickly extinguished by Asphodel's announcement.

"Your audience with her Majesty, Princess Celestia, will begin. Follow me."

Author's Note:

Hello readers! I finally got another one up, as you have probably already seen. There is no telling when I'm going to get around to the next chapter, let alone finishing. Just bear with me, and enjoy the ride!
As for the timeline, Canterlot has been the capitol for two years at this point.