After Luna's return to Equsetria, both she and her sister must learn to adapt to each other again
Being isolated for 1000 years is quite damaging on the psychosis on man and pony alike. Princess Luna, now being freed of her former alter ego, must now learn to move on in a world that has left her behind, and deal with the scars of her past, as well as her damaged soul.
I am partially writing this as an experiment into a new style of writing, one that will hopefully make the reader feel more involved in the story without a "birds eye view" narrator.
This will be a sad/ dark fic, but still touching. I intend to have a resolution so the reader will cry in sadness, but shed tears of joy by the end. I am open to criticism as this is my first fic that I am ever uploading.
“And on the final night, the stars will aid in her escape...”
After a critical hit from the Elements of Harmony, Nightmare Moon was successfully pummeled back into our fair princess Luna, leaving her free of her lunar prison to walk the roads of Equestria once more. This is a story exploring the costs of her imprisonment, and the effects of being without love for 1000 years on any mind, human or pony.
I am writing this story partly as a My Little Pony centered piece of fiction, and partly as a psychological experiment. Being a huge fan of the show, I wanted to get involved in the community, while writing a work of fiction that will stick out on sites like fimfiction or deviantArt. I wanted to elaborate on the relationship between Celestia and Luna, and on the mental stability of Luna after one thousand years of imprisonment.
I am specifically going to write using two or three points of view, those being Luna, Celestia, and the Narrator. I have been told that it is unprofessional and an incorrect style of writing, but I like different. I believe this story will stick out in the readers hearts better if it has a unique style. And most importantly, in order for the aforementioned “experiment” to work, I need to provide the reader with views of the inner workings of the two princesses’ minds, and occasionally use the narrator to show events.
Furthermore, please forgive the volitile verb tense being used. Almost half of the text will be the current narrator’s mental musings and memories, and the other half consisting of actual dialogue and happenings. Trust me, the verb tense is always intentional ;)
The chapters will be a little on the short side, as combining two points of view into one chapter can get confusing for not only the readers, but my self as well. So expect many chapters that aren’t too long in length, as this also allows me to update more often ;)
What is all of this? Where am I? Am I dreaming again?
Just as I slumped down into myself, I felt someone pick me back up, as if I was propped against a pillow of some sort. I tried my eyes but the light burnt my pupils, why is it so bright here?
I buried my head in the pillow, only to discover that it was... alive? All I remember was some blast of warmth, and suddenly Tia was there, I forget what I said though...
Maybe if I flattered her, this isn’t the moon. Maybe some sort of internment... place... This could be a spellbound plush of some sort, an obvious attempt to keep me company. That was quite nice of her.
Well, I guess I should try my eyes again, plushies aren’t normally luminous anyways. It’s white; a polar bear maybe? No, it’s too skiny. And it has a mane, it must be a pony of some sort.
Hold on.
T-tia?
She smiled down on me with a grin of pure radiance that emanated affection. Surely I’m dreaming again, and I’ll wake up crying like I did during the first couple decades. Who am I kidding? I can’t cry anymore, the rest of the centuries I forgot how to, after wallowing in self pity for the first fraction of time. If I'm dead, maybe I could remember after all these years!
“I’m here, dear sister”,
She responded, mane flowing majestically. I still had my head hidden in her fluff, as it was still too bright in my dream. She wrapped her wings around me and drew me in, just like she used to when I was small. I never thought that after those years I could weep again, but I suppose this is too much. Quiet tears slid down my face and soaked into her mane, knowing full- well what would await me when I roused from my slumber.
“Why do you weep, my Luna?”
No matter how many times I see you in my dreams, you can never again materialize in my existence, Tia. how many more years do I have? Last time you told me 124”.
I used my dream encounters with my sister to keep track of how much time I had left on this rock. There was a long time when I stopped dreaming altogether. Thank the stars that didn’t last forever.
I sleep quite a lot here on the moon; when you wake up, there is literally nothing to do here except sleep. I won’t be afraid to admit that I’m completely disconnected from reality and live in a dream world. I really don’t like to think about that empty period though...
“My sister, whatever do you speak of?”
Is this not a dream, Tia?
“No, silly. I think it is time you opened your eyes”
She said that last bit with a motherly tone and with a wink- and- nudge type of attitude. I’ve heard this one before. Sure it’s not a dream, that’s what you said last time...
What is all of this?
Celestia's point of view
I have forgotten what it was like to hold my sister, my own flesh and blood. What a beautiful, innocent creature. The guilt I previously felt is now pure joy and affection for the loved one I have lost. Luna is my prodigal son. It makes me feel old just looking at her, she literally has not aged a day from my last sight of her so many years ago. It is as if my little Luna was paused and that nightmare filled in the void. She remains equally as soft and warm as she was, and as I draw her into my wings, she feels like my baby sister once more. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I think I’m glad she grew into Nightmare Moon during those thousand years, for if she hadn’t been transformed, I would be gazing at an adult alicorn and not the child I love. I feel as if I can relive my younger days once again, and be the big sister I once was, even though our parents no longer reside in the castle. I hope she can take to that change, as I may have to fill in for...
“T-Tia?”
Thank the gods, she’s awake. I was beginning to worry for her after she was hit with the elements of harmony.
I am here dear sister,
I say with a smile, ecstatic that I can once more converse with her. I cradle her with my wings, feeling as is some void has been filled. But something is wrong, the burrow she has made in my mane feels moist, as if she has started... crying? I look down and see silent droplets of water streak down her face and act as prisms in the morning sunlight. What could she be crying about, surely she doesn’t miss the moon.
Why do you weep, my Luna? She shifts uneasily and I bring her closer to me.
“No matter how many times I see you in my dreams, you can never again materialize in my existence, Tia. how many more years do I have? Last time you told me 124”.
What in Equestria is she talking about? Does she think she is dreaming? I don’t think I’ve been communicating with her through dreams, even my mages have trouble with that. Even if I was, I surely don’t remember anything from 124 years ago. Not that I can’t, it was just an uneventful year apart from the slight tax reduction.
My sister, whatever do you speak of?” “Is this not a dream, Tia?”
There’s that name again, how I love it. My sister really hasn’t changed after all these years. But I do think it is time to fill her in on reality.
No silly, I think it is time you opened your eyes.
My sister placed part of her mane in front of my eyes, as to shield them from the sunlight. I am looking at Equestria once more, could this actually be real life? Tia is here, my senses are with me, and surely if I knew I was dreaming, wouldn’t I wake up? All of this I remember, and even though we are flying above the clouds, it looks as if nothing has changed! Tia’s sun is breaking over the horizon, causing a rainbow to extend from Cloudsdale all the way to the ground. Through brief holes in the sky I can spot a new settlement, one of thatch roof buildings and a community of peasants perhaps? Ponies I should say, how rude of me. And in the very far distance, I can see the glimmering outline our castle. My castle.
My castle...
I guess I really am free, after all. I don’t have to live in my subconscious anymore. My body is free, that’s fine and all, but I don’t have to live with my guilt and lonesomeness any longer. My mind is liberated! A thousand years... it can’t be over, right?
My pupils began to dilate back to their normal state, and I gently brushed Tia’s mane out of my eyes. Through the clouds I could see that we were started to approach Canterlot, our home.
My home...
What exactly is happening? I woke up one morning next to my sister, I am mysteriously off of the moon, and we are flying back home? Is our home even still there? How could all of this be happening right now... not to sound ungrateful, I am ecstatic! I am finally going home! I just... I’m confused, that’s all. It feels like the past 1000 years didn’t even happen, and I am simply picking up where I left off.
I sincerely hope that there is no fan fare planned for my arrival. Well... interaction with other ponies would be nice, but everypony staring at me... Even if they are cheering, I’m not sure how I would feel. My fear has dissolved, and it looks like an average day in Canterlot. It seems that the arrival and departure of my sister is an everyday happening. But these ponies, they look as if 1000 year have...
Oh wait.
Their apparel, the storefronts, even the streets and guards have changed. Almost as if this isn’t the same Canterlot that I left. I guess it isn’t so bad, I mean, after living in Canterlot during my early years and exploring most of it, there was not much left that was new and exciting. A fresh start won’t be so bad.
As we land, a group of guards circles around as we traverse the road to our castle. My castle. After being away so long, the castle looks even more majestic than before, even though it is one of the few static buildings in the new Canterlot. We ride through the front gates and into the grand foyer, but as I stretch out my legs and start to descend, I feel myself being hoisted into the air by Tia’s magic.
“Please rest, Luna, you’ve been on your hooves for too long”, she said with a smile. I release the tension in my muscles and allow myself to just float along.
“Surely I can fly, Tia, it really is okay”, I politely protest, not wanting to ask the world of Tia, but she only retorted.
“Non- sense Luna, your job is just to rest and get readjusted to the castle. Mostly everything should be in it’s place; we’ve been preparing for you”.
She beams happiness, and emits these feelings without coming across as over- enthusiastic, she really has forgiven me!
“What do you mean ‘we’ve been preparing’”?
“Oh, you will see”, Tia winks, implying some sort of surprise. She always liked to surprise me, whether it was to her benefit or mine. She was always the charmer, the out- goer, and bright an and shining personality of the castle. And I was the baby of the royals, not only to my parents, but also to Tia. Together, the two of us walked the streets of Canterlot (always under the watch of the royal guard) and were seen as the sweethearts of the city. It almost feels as if I could of had another shot at childhood, why did I have to grow up on the mo... Wait a sec...
I look down as my eyes finally begin to clear and adjust fully to the light, and my black, dark mane is gone, my long, lanky legs had shrunk back into my now pudgier frame, and coat my much softer now. What’s happened to me? Have I not grown up into a monster?
“Tia?”
“Yes, Luna?”
“Can you float me over to that mirror, please?”
She hesitated, but halted in the midst of the guards, and glided me through the air to one of the tall mirrors that were set into the walls in between thick marble pillars.
Who... is that? This isn’t... me, is it? I have none of these features, there is no way this can be me. This is obviously an enchanted mirror of sorts.
AUTHORS NOTE: Luna should look like the season 1 version of the character, as seen in the second episode, not the mature season 2 counterpart.h
“Still playing pranks on me after all these years I see”, I tell her sarcastically, but she looks worried.
“L-Luna, that is you”.
What..?
“When you were sent to the moon, we think that the true Luna was, in a way, locked away, which allowed you to grow into Nightmare Moon. Now that balance has been restored, you’re back, as if you never aged a day”.
Then I do get another chance at childhood.
Warm tears rolled down my face, I beamed as I choked on my smile. I bawled aloud in my happiness. I couldn’t hear what Tia said, but the guards and some maids drew close to see what was the matter. It wasn’t until I looked up so they could see my face, did their worry disperse.
Tia brought me to her and held me tight. She stroked my mane and let me rest on her shoulders as she drew her wings and flew us to my chamber through the castle, through long corridors, tall marble ceilings, and into the familiar circular shaped tower spire. My old room.
My room.
I feel like I’m starting to fall asleep again, but I can feel Tia laying me down in what feels like my bed, and from the shift I feel, she sat down next to me. Yep, she must have, as now I feel her drawing the covers over me and a body laying down beside me and locking me in her soft wings.
As I carried Luna into bed and layed down next to her, I drew the covers over her as she began to drift off. I made certain to keep her bed made and her room in order over the past millennium in preparation for her imminent return. I can't quite express the joy I feel now that I know that her childhood space will once again be occupied.
Luna's bed housed a large, circular mattress and a golden rail that extended well above eye level, on which hung a navy blue curtain of stars and galaxies. I attempted to be sensitive and previously removed the moons from said curtain, thinking she wouldn't especially like to revisit her prison in her sleep.
She slept like an angel, a completely pure and innocent cherub. Just like the days of old, she was deeply curled into her thick layers of sheets and blankets, resting on several velvet pillows, with several plushes at her side.
I couldn't resist retrieving her brush and softly combing her unkempt mane, getting it back in order. As I shook the moon dust, a strange feeling of guilt crept over me like an infection. While looking at her beautiful face, I tried to fathom just how I could have banished my own sister to the moon for a thousand years. Looking back, I could have just given her a one hundred year sentence, or even just a ten- year- time- out! What kind of pony am I...
The sun began to filter through the tall windows in Luna's chamber, shining light into each of its corners. Her room, like her bed, was also circular with a large, regal- red floor rug with golden trim conquering a large part marble floor. Being in one of the castle spires, the square footage wasn't large, but certainly comfortable and cozy.
What the room lacked in length and width, it made up in height. The ceiling, like the rest of the castle, extended far into the sky and was topped with one of the cone shaped roof tops. Winding around the tall marble walls was a seemingly endless staircase that wound its way into the ceiling, and eventually to Luna's observatory at the top. She received the celestial observation chamber as a gift for her tenth birthday, to much enthusiasm.
The sections of the walls were defined by the eight pillars that stood stoically around the room. In in between the masonry were objects like her tall, ornate mirror, a dresser, her desk, and a large box that had written in scribbled writing, “Luna's Thingz”.
Before she left, we had quite the fight. Most of these things were overturned, abused, and... I don't really want to think back to that confrontation, but it was pretty bad. The next couple days I spent with the maids tidying her mess, cleaning stains, and wiping up her...
Blood.
My thoughts are interrupted by a sudden, gentle pushing feeling. I look back down and see Luna smiling and her sheets moving where her legs were. She's always been a sleep kicker, and I blush at the though of how extraordinarily adorable she is. Maybe she's dreaming about snuggling with me? Getting tickled, perhaps? I hate to think about the kind of things she must of dreamed about.
What did she mean about seeing me in her dreams? Was I actually able to communicate with her telepathically in my sleep? I highly doubt that I could, but how was she able to pull out such an exact number of years, like 124 years, from her dreams? Did she get to the point where her subconscious started to warp her reality?
“Welcome back, Lulu. Welcome back”, I say lovingly as my eyes begin to feel the fatigue of my body. I took off my crown, necklace, and hoof- guards and wrapped myself in one of Luna's blankets and curled in next to her, my horn crossing hers.
I think I'll take the rest of the day off. Equestrian politics can wait.
/Luna’s Point of View\
Perpetual light, warmth. Is this Heaven? Was my previous experience just a trial of some sort? I think I’m just dreaming again.
All I saw was pure light, nothing else. Not even silhouettes. And as far as dreams go, this one was pretty boring. I’ve got to say though, it was quite comfortable and relaxing, and I could feel the presence of Tia close by.
Then, out of the light, came Tia galloping towards me at full speed, but in a slow- motion type of manner, as if she was made up of a series of photographs being flipped past each other. I ran to her, beaming, and she opened her mouth to laugh, and an entire choir’s voice exited her vocal cavity. She embraced me and tackled me to the soft, cloud- like ground, with me laughing the whole way down. She nuzzled me and held me in her wings, and I closed my eyes and let the euphoria flow. Tia laid me in the clouds and laid down next to me, holding me close. She rubbed my tummy and nuzzled my neck in pure affection, showing me that I really was forgiven. When I wake up, I get to actually live this moment.
Blood. Everywhere.
I felt a sharp piercing go into my belly and exit again.
“Wake up, Lulu”. My eyes shoot open to discover that my stomach had been ruptured, and Tia was gone. My blood was spilling across the land scape, painting it an ungodly red. Then as quickly as I slipped into the dream, the light disappeared, and the only illumination was coming from the edges of a fully eclipsed sun.
Where is Tia?!
“TIAAA!! Tia PLEASE! It hurts...”
No- one. I was alone. The sun pulsed, and I heart my heart pound once again my rib cage. I fell to the ground writhing is pain. The sun pulsed again, this time with a shock wave that caused a migrane so severe, it blurred my vision and caused a whining frequency in my ear.
I screamed.
Something black materialized in the distance, something that gave off the absolute opposite of the aura that Tia emanates. I tried to get up, but with each pulsation of the eclipsed sun threw me back down to the ground and left me bleeding from the ears and...
My eyes.
The perversion of a being approached me, and through my hazy vision, I could make out a dark pony wearing a thick black cloak. It walked up to me and applied her forehoof to my face with a great amount of force. It must have been the least bit magical, as it picked me up with her horn glowing, and brought me within two inches of her face. Though I still couldn’t see her horrid figures, I could make out two luminous red eyes spying me behind its cloak.
“Not even Celestia can save you now, Luna”.
Who is this, and why is she doing this to me? I can’t even talk properly with the tears rolling down my face.
“W-why? What have I d-done to...”
It cut me off by squelching the words out of my throat as it threw back the cloak.
It can’t be you.
Her black mane flew freely in the invisible wind, had reptilian eyes that conveyed evil, and awful black wings the size of her entire body. Nightmare Moon...
She tossed me to the ground, the sounds of one thousand screams in my ears, still bleeding.
“WHAT HAVEN’T YOU DONE. AS YOU WERE STUCK IN ME, NOW I WILL ABIDE IN YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS, TORTURING YOU EVERY HOUR OF EVERYDAY.”
She reared back on her hind hooves and with a demonic scream, jabbed her horn straight through my skull, while my mind was being filled with her rage and anger. As grey matter was removed from my skull, I felt myself getting shaken violently.
“TTTIIIAAAAAA”, I awoke screaming into my sister’s mane as she held me tighter than she ever had before.
I didn’t want to open my eyes to see the gore around me, I don’t want to know if I was dreaming again or not.
As Luna’s tears and screams flow freely into my embrace, I myself find that I am on the verge of tears. I cradle her gently and stroke her mane, rocking her and whispering the sorts of things one would sooth a filly with.
I had heard her yelling out in pain and shouting my name from across the castle, and frankly, I was afraid she accidentally lopped off one of her hooves or something. Her anguish attracted not only myself, but a fair number of maids, and a considerable amount of royal guards, thinking that their fair princess was being assaulted.
When they saw that it was just a nightmare, they were more than relieved, but kept their distance when they saw me galloping full speed through the door, diving into her bed and shaking her vigorously in an attempt to wake her from her dream. Many of them still remained to make sure she was okay, and the guards went on a temporary high alert in an attempt to make Luna feel a bit more safe.
Luna is starting to quiet down a couple of notches, but is still crying a considerable amount, saying things like, “Tia... please don’t let her get me”, and “it hurts, Tia, it hurts...”
“What hurts, Lulu?”
She flinched at the name, which surprises me. Hasn’t that always been our childhood nickname for her? What exactly just happened in her dream?
“My... my, eyes...m-my head, t-tummy, and...”
I bring her closer with a calming “shhhh”, and continue rocking her. As the maids walk in and ask if there is anything she needs, I request a glass of warm milk and Luna’s security blanket; a relic from years of old.
I decide to spend the rest of the night with Luna since we had already slept through the entire day after her arrival, but also since I believe she needs me in this moment. I figure it would be best to lance the blister now and ask her what happened in her dream, rather than bring it up tomorrow and make her literally relive a nightmare. Through her sobs, I ask, “Why do they hurt, sister?”, careful not to say ‘Lulu’. With speach broken by sobs, she replies,
“S-she took her, her horn and, and s-stabbed me in m” “WHO did?” I ask hastily.
“The... the other me...” she responds, but her eyes begin to well up again as she starts crying again. She finds comfort in my embrace as I encircle her in my wings. She couldn't possibly mean Nightmare Moon, could she? I can see why she would appear in her dreams, but still...
What did she mean when she said she was stabbed?
“Why did she want to stab you?”
“She's mad at me...”, I give her an inquisitive look, and she continues sobbing.
“She, she held me up, with... with her m-magic, and she...”
I cut her off because I'm crying now too, I've always hated when she had nightmares, or to be honest, whenever anything scared her. I've always been motherly to Luna, without sacrificing the identity and attitude of a big sister.
“You're safe here Lulu”, I say as I nuzzle her softly, “between my magic, the guards, and all the ponies of Equestria, no- one is going to let anyone get you”, I say with a reassuring smile as a few tears drop from my eyes.
The maid I sent out earlier returned with a glass of milk and Luna's blanket, and I quietly thank her as I take the things from her with my magic. Luna looks up, her face damp, and as I hand her the navy blue, moon- and- star adorned piece of soft fabric, she becomes noticeably more calm. I lay down and let her sit up against me while she drinks from the glass.
In a strange way, this makes me very happy, definitely not because of the circumstance, but because of the bonding we are able to have. Luna is back to being my little Lulu, and I get to be a mischievous big sister all over again.
But just how young has she been regressed? Judging from her fright, her size, and how quickly she took to her object of security alone, I would guess that this was the age where the jealousy start to come over her. Was she really this young when she first started feeling resentment? How could I have been so blind! She’s only a filly...
She’s my filly.
I ignite the torches littering her walls to shed more light onto the room than the moonlight alone. I could see that she was starting to calm down, as her sobbing had ceased, and was deeply cuddled into me, with her eyes still damp, but producing far less tear than before.
“Why is she mad at me?”, she asks innocently.
“I think she’s just angry because of how pure and incorruptible you are, Lulu”. I say, gazing at her with a motherly look.
“What does in... incer... in, that word mean?”
My goodness, she really has regressed back to her years as a filly.
“Incorruptible means that somepony is pure of heart, and innocent, and kind and fair to all ponies, just like you”, I reply with a warm nuzzle.
“Are you mad at me?”
“My dear sister, nothing you could do would ever make me mad”, I say comfortingly as I draw her into a deep hug. I help her finish off her milk and I tell the entourage of ponies outside (looking longingly at the adorable scene unfolding) that I have everything under control, and they can go back to sleep. I lay her back down while she takes a corner of her blanket in her muzzle, and within short order, she drifts into a much more peaceful and pleasant dream.
After tonight’s incident, I think it would be beneficial for her to meet her caretaker and the royal psychologist, as I have an inkling that she will be spending a considerable amount of time with both. The caretaker was a hoary with age unicorn named Busy Body, a hard working butler who was my personal aide for quite some time. He had a white mane with a dark grey coat, and deep set eyes with age lines and wrinkles extending down his face. Covering most of his lower face was a thick mustache that one may expect to find on the muzzle of an old chocolatier or Santa Hooves. He was a kindly old pony, but I don’t wish to use the word ‘old’. He continues to prove his youthfulness, and I fully expect him to have gone grey early in his years, while obtaining the wisdom of an older mage. I expect Luna would take to him in a heartbeat, and vice versa. The psychologist was also a unicorn, but much skinnier, and had a burnt orange coat with a messy, unkempt mane of dark brown. He went by the name of Doctor Sigmund, although his given name was Sigmund Von Smarty Pants. Apart from being an extremely intelligent pony, he spoke with a thick foreign accent (Author’s note: GERMAN), and attracted patients from across the whole land. He was very good with fillies, and knew what makes them tick and how their precious minds work. Out of all the doctors in Equestria, I would trust none more than he to take care of my little Luna.
Cradling Luna in my hooves, watching her sleep, I realize once again how fragile and small she was, and is once again. I get to do it all over again, all the years we lost, they’re mine once again. I wipe the remnants of dried tears from her little face, now noticing that as she peacefully slumbers, a slime is forming around the fabric in her mouth.
I could stay like this forever. I don’t know where I am, but it is where I want to be. I feel a slight shifting and a mumbling around me, and I decide it is about time to start stirring. As I wake up, I can see that Tia and I are still curled up from last night, and she is already awake. My door is wide open, with torch light coming in from the outside.
She is talking with some pony that I can’t quite make out through my still blurry sleep- vision, but I can tell he means well.
“...and I think our little princess has finally awoken”, Tia says with a smile, nuzzling me gently.
“Ah yes”, the pony says with a old but kind voice, “that I can see, your highness” he has slowly.
“And you must be princess Luna, the filly I’ve heard so much fuss about last night”, he says kindly as he walks in farther. I like this pony, he certainly doesn’t come across as a good for nothing.
“I’m sorry if I was... a little loud last night, sir...”, I state sincerely.
“Oh nonsense!”, he replies. He has quite a regal accent in his voice. “Everypony has a bad dream every now and again. And there is no need for formality! I am Busy Body, and I have been appointed by your dear sister to be your caretaker”.
He seems very happy to meet me, and if my sister knew him as well as he claimed, I think I really like Mr. Busy Body.
I rise groggily from the bed, stretching out my forehooves and neck while sleepily greeting him.
“Hello, Mr. Busy Body!”, I say as Celestia begins to respond.
“I’m glad you two have hit it off so well, I will be back shortly, as Equestria needs a sun at about this hour” she says in between a large yawn. As she gets up to leave, she nuzzles me softly and plants a kiss on my forehead.
“So Miss Luna, seeing that you are coming back to Equestria, our first order of business is to go over some of the changes you may notice.”
What does he mean by that? Surely my country hasn’t moved on too far without me, right? And what became of mom and dad? What about the war with the dragon clans? And did Zebrica declare independence yet? All of these things Tia did her best to shield me from, which looking back, was for the best. But at the time, I quickly became jealous that she and our parents got to discuss such heavy matters, just because they were older. I only I would have seen that they just wanted me to stay their innocent little girl...
“Is.. is it of pertinent importance, Mr. Busy Body?”
“Well, only a tad. Was there anything you wanted to do beforehand, Miss Luna?”
“Shower for one, is that okay? And maybe grab some breakfast?”
“Of course, your highness”, he replied obediently, why was everyponytreating me like the queen? Not that it is a bad thing, but maybe Mr. Busy Body could be my friend more than a butler.
He obediently grabbed a towel and beckoned me in, leaving me to wonder why I wasn’t being so independent. But as I happily trotted in front of the mirror, I quickly remembered. I know that my body has kind of rewound itself, but why can’t I remember anything past this? Oh well, I get to make things right this time!
I try to turn the knob with my magic, but strangely, my spell fizzles. Have I lost some of my magic as well? Well, it can be relearned with ease, no matter. I definitely turn the knob with my mouth, and through the white, regal curtain, I could see the silhouette of Mr. Busy Body making straightening my bed in the other room.
I made special note of how gingerly he treated my plushies while quelling the chaos of my bed from last night. Tia did say he was a caretaker and not a butler... I kind of like the sound of that, but does that mean that I am just going to live as a filly, or will I have my old responsibilities?
“Hey Mr. Busy Body?” I call from the shower.
“Yes, Miss Luna?” comes a reply from my room.
“When Tia said you are my caretaker, what does that mean?”, I ask.
“Well, your sister had originally appointed me to be her assistant many years ago, and while I may not have ever met you before, she shared with me her love and mourning for you”.
“Did she really?” I ask, simply shocked that my sister was in mourning.
“Oh yes, like you wouldn’t believe, Miss Luna. There About once a week, your sister would have to have a chat with me about you, simply an attempt to keep your memory still alive in her head. And I must say, what an honor it is to meet such a spectacular filly”, he says regally.
I almost retaliated at the filly remark, but I could tell that he was simply being sincere. Perhaps my current state of being isn’t as bad as I initially thought. Not to say that I would like to willingly give up all responsibility and have my hooves carried about on a velvet pillow, but I guess a little spoiling never hurt anypony.
As I dry off, I take a little extra time to appreciate the simple, yet soft and nice things in life on a planet with gravity and an atmosphere. I trot happily over to Busy Body, who floats a pillow in my direction and beckons me to sit down, lying down himself. He retrieves a brush and begins brushing my unkempt mane from the night before. Noticing the tangled mess in it’s full... perfection... he comments. “I heard you had quite the dream last night, Miss Luna”.
“Y-yeah, I guess so”, I respond sheepishly, not wanting to go back to that place.
“I won’t make you talk about it if the wound is still fresh, my lady. After breakfast, your sister has asked me to take you to see the Canterlot pediatrician”.
“Is he a nice pony?”
“Oh of course, my lady. Doctor Sigmund Von Smarty Pants is very good with fillies your age. Quite intelligent too!”
“Okay, it’s just that there are so many new ponies that I have to meet. I barely even know you Mr. Busy Body”.
“That’s quite alright, I can assure you that this old, grey stallion will be one of your closest friends in this castle”.
“Really?”, this whole ‘reacquaintance’ thing isn’t so hard after all! I curl up into a tight little ball as I enjoy the brushing. It’s been quite a while since Tia used to snuggle with me and brush my mane, and this pony has certainly earned my friendship.
Busy Body broke his classy tone and replied "yeah really", with a smirk. "But try not to fall back asleep on me, Miss Luna".
I quickly sit back up on my haunches with a giggle.
"Can we go visit Tia after eating breakfast and seeing the doctor?", I ask sweetly.
"We'll see, but Princess Celestia is quite the busy pony, as she now rules over all of Equestria".
"What about mommy and daddy?"
Busy Body donned a serious an stoic expression on his face.
"They are still away to the war, aren't they?" I ask saddly. This isn't much of a big deal, as I had gotten used to the idea before I left. I knew that they wouldn't be killed, so it was fine.
The grey, hoary pony nodded his head in confirmation.
"No big deal, it's okay", I say assuringly.
As Busy Body finishes, he pats my belly, cueing me to get up. While he gently tosses the pillow back on my bed, I prance in front of the mirror to the sight of the pretty pony princess I see in the reflection.
"You made me so pretty, Mr. Busy Body! Can we do this every day?"
"Well, that is my job, Miss Luna" he says winking. I trot over to him, and share a nuzzle with my caretaker.
Busy Body beckons me to follow him as he starts walking out of my room, I’m guessing we’re heading to breakfast now. Walking through the castle, past all the portraits and marble seems odd, but the there is some that feels so right at the same time, I can’t really explain it. Past the various corridors, I can see the maids, government officials, and other worker ponies looking at me with a sense of either shock or happiness. Many of them I can hear letting out a squee or two as I pass. Arriving in the kitchen, all the cooks turn a give an expression of awe, the master chef looking as if he was going to faint where he stood. He had a peach colored coat with a jet black mane and a thin little moustache that curled far off of his face.
“Can we set this fair lady up with some porridge or something of the sort? Perhaps juice and pastries as well? Our little princess is quite famished.”, Busy Body asks in a whimsical tone. The chefs are set in a scramble, procuring ingredients from every known cabinet in the kitchen . Busy Body and I walk back into the main dining room, a long chamber with high ceilings and a massive chandelier hanging majestically overhead. Taking a seat, I play with my silverware as my caretaker retrieves the latest issue of the Canterlot Herald.
“They wrote a piece about your return, Miss Luna”, he says, not looking up from the paper. “Did they really?”, I ask, not showing my fear of the press. Even if the article was praising my sister and I, we still didn’t like the idea of people writing about us. We grew comfortable with the idea however when we realized that such articles were inevitable.
“Oh yes, they have a whole story on the front page. They say that many ponies were caused much fear until your sister issued a statement early this morning. So the press is on you and your sister’s side”.
“Well that’s a relief!” I say as a whole masquerade of cooks burst out of the kitchen, carrying plates of bagels, waffles, jelly covered breads, pastries of many types, a steaming bowl of oatmeal, a piping cup of coffee for busy body, and a tall glass of apple juice.
I observe all the things that seemingly appeared before my eyes, and marvel at how fast the chefs can bake.
“Will there be anything else for our fair princess?” asks the master chef.
“Just one more thing...” says Busy Body, motioning for the chef to come over. He slowly walks over with a confused look on his face. He leans down and has something whispered in his ear. After a few seconds, he gallops back to the kitchen and shouts “OF COURSE! Right away, sir!”
He returns within moments with a long bendy straw that in plunked into my drink. The chefs leave us with the plethora of food, and me with a confused expression.
“Can’t have you drinking without a command of magic, Miss Luna” Busy Body says with a loving smirk. I chuckle as I apply my face to the plate and inhale as much food as I can, as I am more than starving. But looking up, I see my new friend simply sipping his coffee and watching.
“I wouldn’t mind if you stole some of this, Mr. Busy Body. There is no way I could finish this all”, I say quietly, taken back by my manners. He smiles, politely takes a turnover, and goes back to his paper. There is an awkward silence, but I could practically hear the stares that I was getting from not only the kitchen, but bypassers that were trekking through the grand hall.
“Why is everypony looking at me funny?” I ask innocently.
“Well, Miss Luna, you are more or less of a celebrity here in the castle at the moment. You see, everypony thought that you would never return, or if you did, you would be some sort of evil pony. But now that they see what a sweet filly you are, it is literally making headlines.”
“I see...” I respond. A celebrity? But what did I do? It’s not like I’m a musician or anything, I’m just a pony, a princess, but still. Just a pony.
“What is Tia doing right now? Is she too busy to even have breakfast?”
“I’m afraid so, Miss Luna. It’s nothing against you, in fact, she feels quite guilty. But she needs to speak with press ponies, the royal guard, your pediatrician, and she is preparing a public statement about your return. You are her first priority, you see”.
I scrape the bottom of my bowl, and notice that I am also about halfway through my second bagel, and I am already starting to fill up. Surprised, I ask Busy Body,
“Is it okay if I can’t handle the rest of this?”
“More than okay, Miss Luna. I never understood why the cooks prepare such generous portions, especially just for a filly like yourself”.
I hop down from my seat as I softly thud against the floor. Using his magic, Busy Body wipes the crumbs from my lips and starts off in the direction of the clinic.
The clinic was in one of the public parts of the castle, and served as the main hospital of this region of Equestria, serving the royals as well as the citizens. Many skilled ponies went to work there, serving the most grievous of diseases to the most concerned of mothers. It’s construction was very similar to that of the castle, but had lower ceilings, and much wider hallways, to accommodate the patients.
As we walk in the main foyer a nurse directs us to ‘pediatrics’, what Busy Body describes as the “filly doctor”, after he assures me that there won’t be any shots involved in my visit.
We walk into the waiting room, a large room with countless chairs, and an equal amount of parents with their fillies occupying them, each one with velvet backed seating and fine woodwork legs. It was clear that not many of these ponies actually wanted to be here, especially the parents. But I spied a group of fillies in the corner building with an endless supply of blocks.
“I need to check you in, Miss Luna. Why don’t you go play with the other fillies?”
“I’m not sure if they’ll like me very much, Mr. Busy Body...”
“Oh, hogwash. Who wouldn't like you, Miss Luna?” he said, with a reassuring nudge.
It seemed as if in that one moment, everypony in the entire world to stare at me. Most of them remained speechless, with stone- like expressions, others with obvious distaste, some even with fear. As I walked over the the other fillies, they killed their laughter and playfulness and follow the suit of their parents.
“What exactly are you?”
“Do you really wanna kill us? That’s what dad said.”
“Are you some kind of princess? You don’t look like one”
“Can you leave us alone, please?”
Everypony really has forgotten about me...
I slump my head, and slowly trudge back over to the desk where Busy Body was filling out papers. I expect to hear some sort of scolding in the direction of the other fillies, but their parents either agreed with them, or let them get away with their accusations.
“No, once again I state that she has not returned with malicious intentions!”
I’ve been at this since the moment I woke. My sister returns, and every pony in all of Equestria is up in an uproar. Most of them, simply out of fear, are causing this pandemonium, stating that it is the end of our country as we know it. Trying to assure them that she had changed is proving to be a difficult task. Even an interview with the Canterlot Herald, known for its loyalty to the royals, is proving to be skeptical.
“How well do we know that, Princess? How has Princess Luna proven herself as innocent to you?”
“You want to know how I know she is the cherub she is? She is my sister! The faint, trembling flower that I held in my own wings after a nightmare last night. The sister that I have lost two days worth of sleep over!”
“You seem very dedicated to your cause, princess. What is your motive here? You have already conducted several interviews with various press outlets today, and we have heard about the public address you are preparing”.
“My motive is simple, honestly. I want Equestria to know that the Luna that they knew on thousand years ago has returned, and the child that we all fell in love with is back. Nightmare Moon exists only in the minds of ponies who are prejudiced against the crown.”
“When do you think we could speak with Princess Luna?”
“Even if she wanted to come out and talk with the press, I highly doubt I would let a little filly into that kind of a spotlight”.
There was a noticeable pause after my statement. Perhaps I shouldn’t have let that slip.
“...did you say... a filly, your highness?”
“Yes, yes I did. You know the legend, correct? Luna turned into Nightmare Moon through her jealousy. My mages and I theorize that she has turned back into the age right before her jealousy started to take root, giving her another chance to live her life.”
“That is... astounding, Princess. Are there any chances we could see her?”
“I assume she will be out and about in Canterlot within a few days or weeks with her caretaker. When she advances to a proper ruling age, she will take to my side as co-ruler of Equestria. But right now, her main task is to enjoy her childhood, and cameras and interviewers are not part of that intention”.
“Alright then. Thank you for your time Princess”.
“Yes, thank you for another shot at setting things straight”.
I hate being assaulted by the press. All I wanted was to sit down for a Sweet Apple Acres cider and a sweet or two, and half of Canterlot is at my side, with a pads and pencils to boot. The media of Equestria has always been highly divided, fierce loyalists and independent zealots stumbling over each other, quite literally sometimes.
The royal guards push the remaining talking heads out of the store, and I slump my head onto the table. I feel like I lost my cool a tad there. That’ll be all over tomorrow’s headlines for sure. A guard comes to me with a paper with Luna plastered all over the cover.
“Your highness, you may want to see this”
“What now? … I didn’t mean to sound short, I’m not having the greatest of days”.
“Perfectly understandable, your highness” he reassures me.
I unfold the newsprint to see an article detailing yesterday’s event of Luna and I flying back to the castle. Complete with a full color picture of the sleeping Luna laying next to me, the article was calling me out for some sort of... conspiracy?
What sort of conspiracy would I be planning with Luna.
...seen early yesterday morning, soaring above the clouds. An obvious attempt to keep her agenda a secret safe from the prying eyes of us regular ponies. What is she planning to do with her sister? Is she conspiring to black out the sky once again? Whatever the reason, why should we harbor such a possible threat? - Editor, Dirt Digger
What a nuisance, while I support all schools of thought when it comes to politics, these young, progressive, semi- anarchists are seriously starting to get the best of me. I can accept an attack on myself, but on a filly! That takes a certain lack of class, Luna really has changed... and to judge her as a fully grown mare is not even remotely fair to her. I just want her to be happy...
“We should make our leave, gentlecolts”, I say to the guards as I finish the last bites of my well deserved break. Walking out, and as ponies start to notice me, a couple start galloping my way, questions foaming off their lips. We take to the skies, making full haste back to the castle. I need to speak with my mages about that statement I’m giving later today, hopefully the subjects will listen to reason and science and not what the propaganda that alternative news sources spout.
I wonder how Luna is doing right now, I hope she likes Busy Body...
What am I so worried about, she’ll love him like a father. I just pray that she stays far away from the outside, though I trust him to follow through on my request.
“Your highness, shall we quell the paparazzis below?” asks a guard.
“No, unfortunately, it is their right. I can’t sacrifice our ponies freedom for the sake of my convenience”.
“A- as you wish... your highness”.
“What’s the matter, soldier?”
“Do you not want tabloid articles written about you? The less press about you and your sister I thought would be better”.
“I appreciate your concern soldier, you have just intentions, but the subjects’ freedom must be upheld”.
I fly above the main wall and towards the wizard’s tower of the castle. Looking down, I can’t see any press ponies that have infiltrated my walls, only guards, maids, and various citizens trotting towards the hospital. At least we have one safe haven.
I fly into the tower at a terminal velocity, scattering several scrolls, tomes, and manes on my way in.
“Gentlecoats, greetings”, I tell the mages in a defeated tone.
“Your highness! Welcome!” the archmage greets excitedly, without bowing and in a very casual manner. Mages and scholars around here have a tendency of letting their manes grow out and their clothes become undone, as they are fully entranced in their studies. And keeping themselves in proper order while practicing advanced magic is a very tall order.
The archmage’s name is Arcane Showers, and has a long unkempt grey mane, with a purple coat, and a constellation for a cutie mark. His eyes were always filled with an excited
“Long day already, Princess?”
“Most certainly, Showers”, I replies. Arcane Showers has been the pony to keep me sane for the past decades. He was the old, crazy scientists type, but at the same time, he provided a grandfatherly like attitude and wisdom. He was usually the first pony I would turn to the the midst of a complex political decision.
“Dealing with those damn reporters again I see?” he says with a chuckle, but a guard flinches and announces quite loudly,
“How DARE you use such unsophisticated speech around our fair...”
A string of expletives left my mouth in an annoyed fashion, causing Showers to roar with laughter. The guard replied with a quite “yes, your highness...” and fell back into his ranks.
“You all can head back to your posts now, I suppose”, I say with much exasperation. The guards fly off obediently, as I let out a massive sigh. Around me the other mages and students bustle around, researching alicorn lore and different again effects and spells.
“Anywho, my dear, we think that our previous theory is quite correct, the whole jealousy- taking- over- our- sweet- Luna- thingmawhut. In fact! We believe that Nightmare Moon acted more like a possession than an infection, trapping Luna within her own mind for all those years.” Showers proclaims hastily.
“So Luna, has been innocent this whole time? Was she conscious through all those thousand years, or was it like a coma?”
“WELL, we assume that it was, as you said, like coma. But, you know how someponies can fight their way out of a coma? Of course you do. We think that Luna would fall asleep for centuries on end, then wake up and try to tight to regain herself, but was supressed by the superior magic of Nightmare Moon.”
“So it wasn’t like she was fully awake for those thousand years?”
“Our research says not!”
“Oh thank goodness...” I say as I slump down on my haunches.
“So we plan on delivering this information to the inhabitants of Canterlot later this evening, will you kindly join me in presenting this information, Showers?”
“Of COURSE my lady, I would be honored!”
“I figured you don’t get out of the tower much... no offense.”
Arcane Showers reared up on his hind legs and let out a bellowing laugh, that extinguishes some of the candles as he falls back over himself.
“I MAY be an old, senile, pony, but dear princess! It will take MUCH more to insult me!” he shouts happily.
“Thank for your help, Showers. As always, I am in your debt. But on a brighter note, how are the new students at the CATP?”
The Canterlot Academy of Talented Ponies was an institute I set up many years ago and put my previous archmages in charge of. One could say it was my baby, and those fillies were my children. Arcane Showers, I believe, is the best headmaster the school has ever known. I frequently made visits during the students’ recess periods, much to their pleasure. I would trot into Shower’s office with fillies hanging off of me, and would be greeted with his traditional roar of laughter at the site.
“OH GOODNESS. The students this year are some of the MOST promising we’ve seen yet, my dear! I still remember that ONE student that you took in a while ago... Twilight was her name!”
“Yes, she is in Ponyville now... I couldn’t bear to see her buried in books without many friends to speak of.”
Arcane Showers looked around his hooves, to discover that he was up to his knees in tomes and scrolls.
“And what do you make of ME?!”, he shouted through a massive smile, as he followed with another hearty laugh. I could tell that one or two of the newer mages who weren’t used to his style were starting to become annoyed.
“I didn’t mean...”
“OH IT’S FINE, my dear! You take many things too seriously!”
“I’ve been trying to take your advice on loosening up, lately.” I retort quickly, trying to regain my footing in this discussion.
“And the pranks have been going well, I assume?”
A massive smirk plasters my face, dripping in mischievousness.
“I will take that as a yes, my dear” he responds with an evil grin.
“I should really get out of your mane, Showers” I say as I stand up to leave.
“As always, fly by anytime, my dear!” “Oh, and one more thing, Showers!” I say quickly before I take off.
“ANYTHING, JUST NAME IT!”
“Do you think you could take in Lulu within the next couple weeks? I assume she will need to relearn her magical abilities. And if you could contact the flying coach as well, that would be fantastic.”
“That can be done!”
“Alright, thank you Showers, and good day mages.” I say as I launch myself away from the tower.
After we get Luna back into the swing of things, I will need to get Luna back up to snuff when it comes to basic knowledge of magic and flying. And as much as I fear the word, she will have to go back to...
School.
Even under the guidance and protection of myself, the royal guard, and Arcane Showers, I still worry for her. I don’t want her to go through the torment of her peers, but being the responsible pony I am, I know that she must learn that lesson most of all if she wants to rule at my side.
AUTHORS NOTE: Basic German with pronunciations mein (mine)= my nein (nine)= no wunderbar (vun der bar)= wonderful Kind (Kynd)= child
A couple of words have had their spellings changed to reflect a heavy German accent
/Luna’s Point of View\
I nuzzle a bit more into Busy Body, after the other fillies’ comments, as he tries to comfort me.
“What’s the matter, Miss Luna?”
“All the other fillies think I’m a monster...” I answer, sadly pouting. I just don’t understand what I did wrong. I’ve never even touched another filly, I mean, Tia and I have gotten in tussles before, but nothing serious!
“The ponies these days just need to get used to you, they aren’t especially adjusted to sharing a city with a sweetheart from the past” he says reassuringly.
“I guess so...”. He rustles my mane lovingly as a nurse appears from the corridor leading further into the facility.
“Princess Luna? Dr. Sigmund is ready for you”. But as the words leave her mouth, there is a nervous murmur that traverses the room, and for the second time within ten minutes, everypony turns to stare at me, this time with much more worry in their eyes.
The parents collect their fillies from where I was trying to play earlier and shelter themselves behind their newspapers. I follow Busy Body tentatively as we walk out of the waiting room.
“It is a pleasure, your highness”, the nurse says as we pass by her. “Just head in the last room on the right, my lady”.
I thank her and wonder why so many ponies are acting so formally with me, they really don’t have to. Tia and I have never been very serious when it came to formalities.
I trot warily into a very childish medical room, complete with bright, vivid colors on the walls, several toys strewn about, and a paper bedliner, printed with happy fillies galloping across its surface. Busy Body gently helps me up on to the examination bed when a grim thought pops into my head.
“I’m not going to get shots today, right?”, I ask in a fearful tone.
“I wouldn’t think so, you’ve only just arrived. I believe you are going to wait a little before the doctors get down to the nitty gritty of caring for you”.
“Thank goodness...” I exclaim as I lay back. As a soft *pmf* sound comes from the crinkling of the paper beneath me, a tall pony with a stethoscope around his neck walks in and shuts the door behind him.
“Ah... you must be ze princess! Vhat an honor it is to meet you face to face, your highness.” he says with a deep bow.
I blush out of embarrassment, and say “Please, call me Luna”, with a small giggle.
“Very well, mein little Luna. Your sister has asked me specifically to analyze your mental und physical well-being. She fears how you are faring after many years of confinement”.
“I’m sorry, mister, I don’t I’m following very well...” I say quietly.
“Oh nein, nein! I am ze one who should be sorry, mein Kind. Basically, Celestia wants me to act as your personal pediatrician.”
“Oh! Okay... no shots right?”
He chuckles heartily, and responds “Not today, mein little Luna. Today, I just need some simple numbers. Could you step on ze scale please?”
He lifts me with his magic and places me softly on the floor while he adjusts his instruments. I hop on the surprisingly cold scale, and let a shiver out as my hooves become used to the cold metal.
“Ja, very good. Hold still for a moment...”
He measures my height, horn size, and wingspan. Afterwards, he worked with my hoofprints, shined something really bright in my eyes, and listened to my heartbeat for quite some time.
Was this pony a foreigner? I know that the Zebras came from Zebrica a thousand years ago, but he must be from Germaney or somewhere else up north... Whoever he was and wherever he came from, I liked him. Tia had a way of selecting nice ponies to work with me, and hecertainly have a way of working with fillies.
“Dr. Sigmund?”
“Ja, mein Kind?”
“What kind of doctor are you?”
“Vell, like I said earlier, I am a pediatrician. Now, zat is a big und fancy word that means ‘filly doctor’. I vent to medical school and studied for many years specifically to take care of ze little ponies, like you, mein Kind!”
Busy Body then adds on, and I turn my head to him,
“Dr. Sigmund Von Smarty Pants is among the brightest of doctors that Equestria has to offer, Miss Luna. While his main focus is on fillies, he is also called to work with older patients as well.
“Well, in that case, could you be my doctor, forever?” I ask innocently.
“Forever is a long time, mein Kind. Von’t you be embarrassed when you come see me as a teenager, or a fully grown mare?”
“Never!”
“Vell then, I suppose zat is settled!”
Dr. Sigmund continued crunching his fancy numbers for a while, while I peered over his shoulder to see what sorts of papers he was filling out. After quite a while, and seemingly every square inch of my body had be measured and calculated, he was finally done.
“It was great meeting you, Dr...”
“Oh nein! Ve are only half way done, mein Kind! We still need to examine...”, he suddenly snapped off the lights, and shown a very bright one right in my face.
“YOUR MIND.”
“...o-okay, Dr. Sigmund...”
Busy Body leaned very close to my ear as Dr. Sigmund was rustling his papers, and said,
“As with many intellectuals, Dr. Sigmund is very eccentric, as you can see, Miss Luna”.
“I can tell, Mr. Busy Body, but I really like him” I say with a smile.
Dr. Sigmund flipped the lights back on, and sat down next to me on the examination bed.
“Now...” he said as he hoisted himself up, “Vhat I need to learn about you, mein Kind, is simply your feelings. How did those thousand years affect your psychosis. This is vhat your sister and I are most concerned about.”
“I- I really don’t know... what do you mean?”
“Think of it this vay. Were you very lonely while on ze moon?”
“Very...” I say, suddenly filled with some kind of sadness. I haven’t had the chance yet to recollect such things. He scribbles on his notepad in unintelligible chickenscratch.
“Good, vhat else did you feel?”
I don’t have a very good feeling about this. I can’t see exactly where this is going, but I think I may know where it will end up. I don’t want to start crying again...
“Cold, very cold.”
More scribbles. “Okay, good...”
“I slept a lot of the time, there wasn’t very much to do, so I slept.”
His pencil ceased writing, and after the pause, began making marks again.
“But, but when I would wake up... all I felt was just, anger... Not me, I wasn’t angry. But it was very dark, and I felt... a cloud of frustration around me. And sometimes I could hear somepony shouting. I could never hear them directly, but as is the sound was coming through a stone wall. Very... garbled.”
“Most intriguing, mein Kind... where do you think you were?”
“I don’t know. It was very dark, and I could feel those emotional... aura things, kind of flow through me, like I was a thought interacting with others.”
Dr. Sigmund’s pencil broke against the surface of his legal pad and stood up in a fit of excitement.
“Zen the mages vere right after all!” he exclaimed aloud, startling me. He clears his throat and apologizes quietly as he returns to his seat next to me.
“I apologize, mein Kind. I get very excited vhen we have a breakthrough with mein fillies.”
“No, it’s okay, Dr. Sigmund. But, the mages you referred to... Are those Tia’s scholars that live in that tower?” I ask as I point out the window with my hoof.
“Zat is correct. They think that during your time on ze moon, Nightmare Moon had, in a way, made a copy of you! Und ze real you, lived inside of her mind, vhile she performed ze nasty deeds on Equestria.”
“I think I get it, but does... the other me still live in my thoughts?”
Dr. Sigmund let out a tired sigh as he puts a hoof around my shoulder.
“Zat is something zat ve will have to discover in due time. But what we fear is ze psychological effects, IF the Nightmare does indeed persist.”
He gives me a pat, and helps me down from the table, while I trot back over to Busy Body’s side.
“You did very vell today, mein Kind! I hope to see you again!”
“It has been grand, Doctor”, Busy Body replies. “We shall indeed see you in about a week. Let us make for home, Miss Luna”.
I say my goodbyes and trot happily out of the room, quite proud of myself for making two friends in one day. I could really get used to the shower of love that I’m receiving right now!
THERE SHE WAS
HELLO LULU
please, not again...
She had materialized in the waiting room, casually sitting in one of the chairs, reading the article about me that Busy Body was reading over breakfast, and wearing a smug grin on her face. What she was smiling about was the once filled waiting room, how littered with bloodied ponies, their dead eyes staring into me.
“NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!! I DON’T WANT TO GO BACK”
She charged at me, and all I can remember was falling over, my eyes wide open but my mind dead asleep.
I awoke in that place. The place from my dreams. The dark, angry place...
“Get her in that gurney, stat! Where the hay are my syringes?! Can somepony please call for her sister?!”
“I’m right here”, I reply hastily to the rushing nurse.
I had come by to check on Luna and the doctor, only to witness her falling into a spasm right in the waiting room. The ponies waiting to be called back to the medical offices didn’t know whether to bow to me, cry in shock at the sight of Luna, or simply panic at the situation.
I galloped through the room and headed straight through the door, in close pursuit to the doctors currently strapping Luna down to a wheeled stretcher. I’ve never seen her like this, never once have I seen her have a seizure, especially one this violent.
I saw her as she hit the ground, and began twitching violently, shouting unintelligible thing in a frightened tone. Was she having another nightmare, this one while she was awake? This most certainly proves the theory that Showers presented earlier.
I shakily approach my sister, afraid of what I might see. Her eyes are wide open, but it is clear that she is hallucinating. Trying to comfort her, I stroke her mane, but she shrieks in pain and draws back.
“We can’t have her thrashing about, she’s going to hurt herself!” I hear somepony say.
“Everypony out of ze way, NOW!”, I hear a familiar voice shout. I see Dr. Sigmund galloping full speed down the hallway, with a tranquilizer in his magical grasp.
“Doctor, are you sure that won’t make her more scared?” I ask, quite fearful myself by the sight of the needle.
“It von’t matter, dear princess! We can’t risk having her break a wing, or worse, snapping her neck!”.
“Do as you must then...”
He seizes one of Luna’s flailing hooves and slips the needle into one of her veins. She stops instantly, and her eyes shrink to the size of pin pricks. Her limbs fall flat onto the gurney, completely immobilized, but her mouth keeps moving as if murmuring some silent incantation.
“Get her in an examination room now. She is ze first priority!”, Dr. Sigmund yells as he receives five or six ‘yes sir’ responses. He turns to the frozen Busy Body and asks,
“Vhat is the hay happened here?!”
“I can assure you... it wasn’t me...”
“I am vell aware of zat! You aren’t ze type to do such an act, but surely something must have happened!”
“She just walked over the threshold into the waiting room, and... this started”, he replies in a sincere tone.
“This couldn’t be Nightmare Moon fighting against her, could it?” I ask with a distinct tone of worry in my voice.
“Zat is vhat I fear, dear princess. Mein little Luna und I vere just discussing zat possibility in her appointment”.
Walking away quickly, he beckons, "Come, princess. Zere are things we must attend to...", as I follow closely behind him. The nurses rush Luna into the emergency wing, past the main doors. I can see a large commotion going outside the doors, with the royal guards blocking several news ponies from bursting in.
Rushing her quickly into an emergency room, Dr. Sigmund leans over Luna, and takes her in his hooves.
"Mein little Luna! I know you can hear me, it is Sigmund!”, he states very seriously.
But Luna responds in a way that... scares me...
“I KNOW NOT WHO YOU ARE!!” she shrieks in a shrill voice that splits our eyes. I jump out of the shock, and a strange motherly instinct comes over me. I bend down close to Luna and she does her best to wriggle away from me while under the sedatives. She gives me a deathly stare.
“Luna... I’m here...”, I try saying.
I HAVE NO SISTER
I turn to Dr. Sigmund and ask,
“What kind of black magic is this? There is no way this is my Lulu, something is controlling her. Is she trancing or something?”
“Zere is a high possibility of zat being ze case, in fact, this could even be Nightmare Moon speaking...”
“YES IT IS”, she barks out as she inhales sharply, “WHO ELSE DO YOU THINK I AM?!”
LUNA IS MINE NOW
“That’s enough!” I shout as my horn glows with golden radiance. I shoot a beam of light into Luna’s bloodshot eyes, to the sound of her, or that monster, writhing in pain.
“I command thee awake!”
Luna’s eyes roll back into her head, and as they come back around, I see that they have returned to their normal, large, adorable state. Her eyelids snap shut, and starts breathing deeply and heavily.
Dr. Sigmund checks her pulse and tells me, “She is sleeping, no need to worry. Nurse, undo ze straps please”, as he and two other nurses remove the bindings over Luna’s tiny hooves. I sit back on my haunches, pick her up with my forehooves, and cradle her gently.
I start to cry silently at the agony that this child is going to have to live with. Is there nothing I can do?
“What course of action would you like to take, mein princess?”, Sigmund asks quietly.
I sit and contemplate the question for a while, focusing more on the sleeping filly in my hooves. Again, what could I possibly do?
“How much were you able to collect from that episode, doctor?”, I ask.
“To put it frankly, I think we learned quite a lot from zis instance. Now that we know zat Nightmare Moon is acting as a second conscious in Luna, we could try to combat ze monster if she rears her head once again.”
This unsettles me to some degree, but I know that for Luna’s sake, it must be done.
“How exactly do you plan on fighting this partition of Luna’s mind without damaging the other?”
“Your mages are more talented at introspection magics than I am, und vhen it comes to editing somepony’s mind, I am not as qualified as zey are. I deal with ze physical und mental sciences, not as much of possessions. I am sorry, mein Princess...”, he says sadly, drooping his head a little bit.
“Oh no, it’s fine doctor. In fact, you been a huge help today. There is nothing to apologize for”, I reply.
“I just wish zere was more I could do to help...”
“Believe me, I feel the same way...”, I admit, defeatedly.
Armed with the knowledge of how to deal with the possibility of future... issues... I fly through the castle itself, not wanting to travel directly to Luna’s bedroom and risk letting the paparazzis get a shot or two.
Thinking over all of this, the more I remember the sight of NIghtmare Moon being defeated, so regardless of what my ponies are telling me, I think I’m starting to believe that the monster is actually dead, and perhaps, left Luna with some sort of residual impairment.
The word schizophrenia chills my thoughts, bipolar disorder ices it over. These are simply scary things, but it is entirely possible that Luna cannot let go of some of the things she has endured...
All I know is that she is back to being mine for now... and how I hope she remains that way for the next few hours or days. She looks physically exhausted, and sleeps heavily in my hooves as I fly somewhat awkwardly without my forehooves.
Arriving in her room, I curl the both of us in tightly with my wings encircling her, watching her silently rest on a plethora of velvet pillows and plushes. This is the Luna I remember...
AUTHOR’S NOTE: I am sorry for the long break in chapters, as hurricane Sandy knocked out my power for a week, leaving me unable to write and edit :( In this chapter, I am going to try to display Luna’s pure innocence. Save your “D-AAAWWWW”s for the comments section ;)
I slowly stir, and once again, I feel the warmth. Hopefully this isn’t another dream...
No, Tia is here, and my plushies, and the sun is still shining brightly outside... we must have just taken a nap or something. As much as I love Tia, I thought I had told her that I don’t need naps anymore... even without a cutie mark, I’m still a big pony!
Tia’s wings are nice and soft though, and it never hurt me to curl up with her, so why not? I snuggle deeper into Tia’s embrace and I can feel her holding me tighter, even while she sleeps. Which is odd, Tia rarely ever shared naps with me, even when she was a filly. Only if it was storming outside did she ever pull me in bed with her, and I have to admit, I’ve always really enjoyed it.
A lot of the time, we spent our sleeping hours tucked underneath the wings of mommy and daddy, and after they left for the war against the dragon legions... I never could really sleep the same way. Tia acted as the mother figure for me, being the one to tuck me in and read me a story, things that the maids could do, but she really wanted to help me out for some reason.
I miss mommy and daddy... surely there can’t be many dragons left... could there be? I know for a fact that they can’t be dead, nothing will ever best my parents! But still, can’t they just hurry up and get home? I just hope they aren’t mad at Tia... I’m not.
I guess Tia will just have to play mommy for a little while longer, and I guess since she’s bigger now, she’ll certainly have an easier job doing so. I think I like that.
But the question still remains, how did I get here? My last memory before blacking out was when I was in the doctor’s office. Maybe I passed out or something, probably nothing serious.
Well, whatever the reason, this gives me more quality plush time. I reach out and retrieve my stuffed snow leopard, Snowy, and my dearly beloved.
A navy blue sheet of fleece, bordered in more lightly hued silk, with velvet moons and stars attached. A gift from one of Daddy’s wizards to me when I was still very small. The old, grey pony bent down and whispered in my ear that the cloth that I was holding had been enchanted especially for me, guarding the user against bad dreams. And it really worked too! Despite light teasing from Tia when we started to grow a little older, it still kept its magic.
I drew the relics in tight against my chest, and dug my snout into my bundle of softness. As I nested, I felt Tia begin to wake lazily, the fatigue from her work quite noticeably displayed. She had removed her crown, pendant, and hoof guards, and to my surprise, was under the covers as deeply as me. She nuzzled me affectionately as I kicked my hooves playfully. She sat up against the headboard of my bed, and placed me on her lap while she busied herself with stroking my mane and animating Snowy for my amusement.
“Why do you look so sleepy, Tia?”
She responds slowly and thoughtfully, “Well Luna, I’ve been up since very early, making sure that the ponies around Canterlot get the facts straight when it comes to your return”.
I slant my head to the side inquisitively, and she rustles my mane.
“Did you see the newspaper at breakfast?” she asks, with a nod in response.
“Well, let’s just say that some ponies aren’t exactly used to the old Luna that once graced Equestria”, she says with a loving smile. I collect my blanket once more and cuddle my way into Tia’s lap arms again. She holds me gently and gazes into my eyes, in the way that mommy used to so many years ago.
“When are mommy and daddy coming home?”
“As long as there are dragons to fight, I assume they’ll be gone, Lulu.”, she says sadly.
“It’s okay, I know they won’t be gone forever”, I state reassuringly, which puts a smile back on Tia’s face. She draws me into a hug and says, “You were always the positive one, Lulu”, lovingly.
“But, back to the topic at hand. The reason why I’ve kept you closed up in the castle thus far was because of how... things have changed.”
“How so, Tia?”
“Well, for one... the press, as you saw, is much more livid and aggressive than before. Back in our day, I remember that you would trot right up to press members, and for the remainder of their questions, you would be their little sweetheart.”, she says, nuzzling my nose at the word ‘sweetheart’.
“After you left, the media become rather vicious, very scathing and unmerciful. And since then, they’ve been digging for gossip. Now that you’re back, everyone wants to break your story first.”
I shudder a little out of fear. I don’t want those ponies to get me, I don’t like the sound of the mean ones...
“But I won’t let them get you, Lulu”, she assures me, holding me close again, quelling my worry. “Your job is just to be safe and out of range of any cameras that make snap a photo of you”.
“Tia, what’s a camera?”, was this some sort of invention that came about after my departure?
“Oh, right”, she chuckles. “A camera is a little box that captures still images, and puts them on a piece of paper. And as you can predict, not every photograph can be as flattering as the others.”
I think I get what she means, cameras are like little time capturers that hold a moment still on paper forever, no matter how embarrassing. I’ve got to stay away from those. Something tells me that Tia has had more than a few bad experiences with this time capture... box... things.
“Don’t worry, Tia, I’ll be safe”, I say with a smile.
“I know you will, Lulu”, she responds as she reinitiates the hug. “Alright, now that we have that taken care of, it is now the late afternoon, and I have some ponies to address.”
“Isn’t that the speech thing that daddy used to give whenever something big happened?” I ask.
“That’s exactly what it is, Lulu. I think the public needs to know that the real Luna is back”.
“Sounds good to me, I guess. Can I watch?”
She pauses, and appears to be in deep thought. I can tell she doesn’t want me to be seen outside, but at the same time, she wants to respect my wishes. After a while, she states,
“I suppose you could head upstairs to your observatory, the maids have kept your telescopes in working order, so I think you’ll get a pretty good view of the speech”.
I had almost forgotten about that place! Even though it was suspended directly above my head, via a long staircase that wound up the edges of my walls, I had neglected to look up in my first twenty four hours back in Equestria.
“I will watch every moment, Tia”, I say happily.
As she picks herself up to leave, Tia plants a gentle kiss on my forehead and bids me farewell. As she leaves, I can see her beckoning Mr. Busy Body back in to make sure I didn’t fall from the full height of the stairs up to my telescopes.
EDITED, sorry for the embarrassing mistakes with the previous release. Editing at 12 AM does not work very well :P
I climb to the top of my tower, and trot happily through the observatory, excited to watch Tia deliver her speech. Looking down, I can see that someponies have already began gathering is the castle courtyard, a lush, open space full of grass and furnished with more marble architecture. Whoever built this place really like his marble columns...
Towards the back of the courtyard sits a tall stage with a regal podium, that must be where Tia will be speaking from. Down below, the ponies are looking a little unsettled, maybe even nervous. What are they all so anxious about?
Time passes as Busy Body aids me in setting up and calibrating one of my smaller telescopes, training it on the podium as Tia climbs the stage. The ponies all bow for her, and her arrival is punctuated by the sound of trumpets.
Her horn glows, and when she speaks, she uses the Royal Canterlot Voice to ensure that everypony can hear her. Even I can hear her voice reverberating through my windows.
"Good afternoon everypony, distinguished members of the press, and Canterlot citizens. I have organized this event in order to elaborate on a current event that so many of you have already heard about."
Busy Body put a hoof around me, and even he seems a tad nervous.
"What is everyone so scared about, Mr. Busy Body?", I ask innocently.
"Well, Miss Luna, as you can expect, whenever the Princess or another royal calls an official event after a big event, there are certain... political repercussions that come afterwards."
"What does that mean?"
"In recent history, there have been a couple of separate political parties that have sprung up in an attempt to remove your family from power. Such as the Equestrian Democratic Party, the Libertarian Equines, the Anarchist Party, the Socialist Union... the list goes on and on, Miss Luna."
"Do they hate us?"
"Well, some of them do. They don't believe in the merciful monarchy that your sister currently runs. Personally, I think we are better off with one central leader, but a huge burden is put on her shoulders."
I turn back to my telescope to watch Tia a bit more, and I notice the ponies are starting to get restless. Then she began to break off from the words on her podium, reassuringly saying
"Mares, gentle stallions, please! Everything will be alright! I assure you that Nightmare Moon is no mo...", and then something flew on stage.
I can't get a good view of what it was, but the packed crowd is now writhing, and three royal guards tackled the object, which began smoking profusely, and...
Oh sweet Celestia, it exploded.
Tia is being pulled off of the stage by three more guards, while she protests her need to help the injured guards. The one that had dove in first is now bleeding profusely from his stomach, lying on the stage in agonizing pain, and yet another with a leg twisted the wrong way...
I can hear their shouts from up here, all attacking my sister,
“YOU MONSTER!”
“You brought back Nightmare Moon!”
“That’s what you get!!”
“This is what our government gives us!”
A frantic voice tells me "Come Miss Luna, it is no longer safe here", as I am picked up by magic.
"NO!", I protest. "NO, TIAA!"
We gallop down the stairs back into my room, and charge out the door, nearly running over a couple of maids on the way out. A few guards gallops along side us as Busy Body transfers control of me to another unicorn guard.
"What's going on?! I don't understand!", I cry, but the guards remain stoic in attitude, forever resolute in their duty.
“Hurry Quintius, the Princess is already in the crisis room”, one of the guards say as the he passes the one carrying me.
“Have you secured the courtyard, commander?”, he asks as he receives a grunt in response. He gallops at his full speed as he reaches the end of a dark corridor, covered in painting of the Equestrian ruling class. What in the hay... where did this door come from? And a staircase? Are we going to some bunker or something?
I continue my screaming, and I still don’t know what is happening. Why would somepony lob a bomb at Tia? What has she ever done in malice? Wait.
Are they mad at me?
We reach the end of the long staircase, and continue trotting a narrow, dark hallway, with walls alight with torches.
“Where are we?”, I blubber through my tears.
“The catacombs, your highness. Also the location of the crisis room”.
“What is a cry-sal, crystal room?”
“Crisis room, your highness, it is where you are your sister are placed in the event of an emergency”, he grunts back.
“Tia will be there?! Is she okay?”
“I pray that she is your highness.”
We arrive at a door the size of the hallway itself, and as we approach it, it glows with blue magic as it opens, revealing a unicorn inside acting as a gatekeeper. Inside this cry- something room much like the castle, only poorly lit. Marble architecture, a tall ceiling that reveals stalactites, and a whole host of nurses, doctors, and soldiers bustling by at a fevered pace. Rushing past us is a group of nurses with one of the injured guards being pulled behind them. His wounds look even more grievous up close. His cadaver had been blown open, ribs exposed, blood staining his white coat. The guard transfers my to a unicorn, who rushes me through the cavern to a thick metal door labeled ‘royalty’. The lock she is now fiddling with is one of arcane nature, and as she completes the sequence, the door slowly creaks open to reveal a blindingly bright, white washed room.
TIA!
I make a mad dash over to her and bury my face in her coat. It is noticeable that she has also been crying for an amount of time as well. She sits down on her haunches the the sterile white, blank room, and takes me in her hooves.
“Tia... I was so sc...”, I start to say, but she quells my speech.
“Don’t talk. Everything is going to be fine, Lulu”, she attempts to say, but she starts audibly crying over her words. Feelings helpless, I try nuzzling her affectionately, which I can tell she appreciates, but doesn’t do much good. Silent tears start rolling down my own face now, not because I’m sad, but because I can’t do anything to help Tia... Where is mom and d-
Oh yeah.
My own sadness climaxes at this point at the thought of our parents. Where are they? How could the war against the dragons still be going on?
Why me...
I nuzzle further into to Tia’s fluff, trying to comfort myself in her coat. She draws herself around me, and holds me like she would her own daughter. Tia curls into a tight ball with me in the center, and wraps her wings around us, completely covering me. Lastly, she uses her magic to create a warm golden aura around us, and lights the gem in her necklace, giving me some light.
Her sobbing still continues, but I know there is nothing more I can do to help her...
“I want mom and daddy...”, I blubber honestly. There is literally nothing I can do to make this situation better. Some strange pony is going to come down here and try to kill us, just like what they tried to do to Tia, and I’m going to be left alone in a barren Equestria, having to fend for myself without anypony to help me. Or hold me. Or call me Lulu...
“F-Father told me to lead with bravery... how could I have failed such a simple task, Lulu?”, she cries to me, noticing the dark smears underneath her eyelids.
“I don’t think you’re a failure, Tia... who said you weren’t brave?”
“Myself, the pony who ran off the stage while three guards were killed by some MADPONY!”
She bursts again, and this time, it feels like I’m the one responsible. I shouldn’t have brought that up. I.. w-was only t-trying to help...
I hear the door’s mechanism start to twist, and I bunch up, knowing that the end was about to come. Oh for sun’s sake, please let them take me, and not Tia!
Why can't I protect them anymore? Why have I lost my grip over my empire?
What have I ever done in malice to my subjects? They were fully aware that Luna would eventually return, and now that she is purified, what is there to fear? One thing has made itself amazingly clear however, she is no longer safe. Because of her, no... because of me, somepony wants us dead. And because of me, two guards are dead, and another one is dying.
This was my doing, this was all my doing. I allowed these radical cells to remain in Equestria for far too long, and now they are finally starting to mobilize against the crown. They have a right to form their parties, that is just a given, but endangering other ponies, especially, my own sister is far out of the question. I have no choice but to order them to disband. If they wanted social change, their leaders could have just asked for a hearing...
I feel disgusted with myself. I have indirectly killed two for three of my guards, and now I am stripping the rights of my citizens down to the barest of freedoms... what is this land coming to? No matter what kinds of revolutionary feelings were stirring, it is obvious that Luna's return was the climax that these radicals have been waiting for.
I hold the crying form of Luna, failing to stifle my own cries against this rising anarchy. I can feel her nuzzle against me, guessing that it is an attempt to comfort me. She isn't crying for herself, she is sad because of my own anguish, she knows she can't do anything to improve our situation... another injustice done by my own hooves.
How could I have been so foolish, I brought all of this upon her by trying to sway the public in her favor. How could they perceive us as the terrorists? What am I saying... of course I can see how they view us this way, but why? If anything positive is to come out of this attack, hopefully it will change the public opinion on the crown, and prove that we aren't corrupted after all. They the real terrorists; the anarchist radicals brooding elsewhere in Equestria.
My tears continue to flow against the little strength I can muster. I have to stay strong for Luna, I can’t let her see me like this... I have to be strong for her. I have to be play the big sister role once more.
“I want mom and daddy...”, I hear her mumble sadly.
Whatever resolve I had left was shattered. I want them too, Lulu. I’ve missed them as well. I know the war on the dragons is a noble cause, but we can’t send for them in their ongoing struggle. Their problems are infinitely more troublesome than ours’ at this juncture. My tears reach a new level of intensity when I realize that I can’t see mom and dad. Who knows when and if they’ll ever come home...
“F-Father told me to lead with bravery... how could I have failed such a simple task, Lulu?”
I have failed Luna, my own sister. In this moment, when I can could have been the one she reached out to, her trust has given way to her own idea of guardianship. I sent her away, and as much as I resent what I have done, she resents me equally...
“I don’t think you’re a failure, Tia... who said you weren’t brave?”
I’m just falling into a pit of self doubt again, Luna isn’t mad at me... I long for mom and dad as much as she does. Still, Father’s warm fatherly tone reverberates in my ears...
“Our duty to the nation calls us to fight, Celestia. But you know that your mother and I will always remain right here...”. At the time, I refused to let him go, tears (similar to the ones I am currently spilling) flowed freely from my eyes.
“Protect Luna, my dear. She is as much my daughter as you are, and as dear to you as she is to me. Make sure no evil befalls her, and help her grow into the proud young mare that you are.”
“I have complete faith in you, Tia.”
“I love you...”
I had one task.
Who said you weren’t brave, Tia?
“I DO! The pony who ran off the stage while three guards were killed by some MADPONY!”
The colors of the world around me are now draining to black like water streaking down a foggy window during a storm. The last scrap of hope that still resided in my soul had left me. We were alone. I have failed you, daddy.
Luna starts crying more audibly, and I am positive that I am the one to blame for that. Even if I am innocent of everything that has happened today, I am guilty of making a little filly cry. My outburst pushed Lulu over her breaking point, how could I convey my feelings towards such a sweet and innocent child? And now she believes that I am angry with her...
“I... I’m so sorry, Luna...”, I stutter quietly, not sure how I could possibly make this right.
“WHY WOULD SOMEPONY DO SUCH A THING, TIA?! THAT’S NOT FAIR!” Luna yells in anguish before letting her confusion get the better of her emotions.
The poor child... she is right. It is unfair that a filly has to be introduced to the harsh world of politics and war. It is unfair that the ponies had to die, but I will never let Luna’s childhood die, especially since she another another chance at it.
I guess all good things do come to an end...
The white solitude of the panic room is breached by a mechanical shifting in the door, and a loud creaking announces the arrival of royal guard flanking another unicorn wearing a black suit and sunglasses. I can feel Luna bunch up out of fear, and begin to whimper.
“It’s okay Lulu, he is one of my advisors.” I reassure her in a motherly tone.
The pony in black speaks up.
“Your highness, there are matters that need immediate attention. Please come with me.”
I try my legs, but find them still unstable from my agony. The guard aids me up as I carry Luna alongside me with my magic. It hurts to see her in this state of pain, things are moving much too quickly for her to understand.
“We must make haste, your highness” the suited pony reiterates, shiftily glancing around the bunker.
We begin to make our way out, and as I cross the threshold, I am suddenly flanked by six guards, all of whom are darting their ears at the slightest disturbance. We trot quickly down the hallway, the mysterious agent leading the way a couple of feet ahead of us. It’s strange, I would have thought we would be able to hear yelling or explosions from down here, no such luck... or misfortune to be more precise.
As we approach a stone door marked ‘Emergency Operations’, the etched slabs slowly move back at the command of the agent’s magic. He ushers the entourage inside quickly, as he lets the doors slowly slide back into place. The inside of this room is far larger than the vault that Luna and I were placed in, and in fact, this is the backup command room that I ordered to be build down here just in case of a situation like this.
Many carbon copies of the agent who led us here are buzzing throughout this hive of activity scribing documents, hunching over tactical maps and blueprints of the castle and Canterlot, and many more sending desperate messages over morse code. The whole room seems livid, and their pace didn’t even falter the moment I entered the room.
“Your highness, I have new developments on your situation” shouts a brawny pony over the din of the room. The pony in question was a middle aged pegasus with a short grey mane, a thick five- o'clock shadow and a peach colored coat, with visible combat scars and bruises. This was Admiral Buzzcut, the pony in charge of the Royal Equestrian Army and Navy, and not the type of character one plays around with.
Walked around the other side of a large table with a blueprint of the castle laid out upon it and began speaking with a deep bow.
“What an honor it is to see you alive, my liege”
“At ease, Admiral, the honor is mine knowing that you are the pony in charge of this operation. What is the latest?”
He points out the location of where I delivered my speech.
“Your highness, while you were delivering you address to the ponies of Canterlot, an audience member, thought to be here; given the trajectory” he said, pointing out another location, “lobbed a smoke based explosive onto the stage, which exploded upon its destination. The resulting blow left two guards out of commission permanently and one more in a serious condition. After barricading the audience in the courtyard, we were able to locate a sus...”
“You barricaded the audience in the courtyard while an attacker was among them?!”
This admiral is starting to show signs mental deterioration...
“You must understand, your highness. We needed to find the culprit. And believe me, the way the crowd was pushing to get away from this terrorist, it took us mere moments.”
“But... aside from that, how did that pony stick out so easily?”
“Let’s just say, me liege, that it wasn’t exactly a pony who lobbed the grenade at you...”
“What... could you possibly mean?”
“I think you should take a look at this.”
He walked away from the table and beckoned me over the the side of the room, and continued down a long, dark hallway with a very low ceiling and the back drafting wind that one could expect from a cave of this sort.
Buzzcut rapped on a set of metal bars as I lit my horn to get a better view of what he was hitting. Do my eyes deceive me? A jail cell all the way down here, and the inmate...
Why is there a gryffin in the cell?
Luna flinched at the sight, the male gryffin has many misplaced white feathers over a black coat, and he would have looked even more intimidating had he not been chained to the wall. He had muscular legs, sharpened claws, and cracks and scratches criss-crossed the entire length of his beak.
This wasn’t a normal gryffin... this is a war gryffin.
“What say you in your defense, gryffin?” I say tentatively, not sure what to make of all of this.
He raises his head slowly, and reveals an absolutely twisted look in his eyes. He is visibly exhausted, but still manages to twisted his mouth into a smirk, causing Luna to flinch and whimper in fear. I pick her up and hold her to my bosom in an attempt to calm her, but this psychopath is giving me a strange feeling as well.
He started with a groan, “Ehhh... what say I? Death to Equestria...”
“Do you mean to declare war?!” Buzzcut yells, causing me to jump.
“Mark my words, horse, this day marks the beginning of the end of your precious empire. The day will come when the Gryffin Kingdoms will overtake this land, and the ponies in it.”
He passed out, his head hanging limp between his shoulders. War... why now? Why ever? What have I done to offend the gryffins?
“We are done here, Admiral.” I state.
“At your command, your highness. What actions shall we take, given these circumstances?” Buzzcut replies as we start walking back down the long hallway.
“Call a meeting with the Gryffin Kingdoms’ ambassador, this needs to be resolved by negotiation. Equestria is not ready for another war.”
“It will be arranged by nightfall, your highness. What else shall be done?”
“Put the guard on high alert in case of any other infiltrators. Furthermore, send a missive to Zebrica in case we need to raise an army on short notice. Oh, and one more thing...”
“Anything, your highness.”
I pause before my next words, a message to them will never reach its destination, and what if it gets intercepted... but still...
“Send a message to mother and father...”
“E- excuse me?”
“Send a message to the King and Queen of Equestria. I’m aware that they are still on the front lines of the war against the dragons, but we need their guidance at this moment...”
There is a noticeable silence from Buzzcut, contemplating the strange request. He knows as well as I do that communication with my parents hadn’t been established for many years. And as much as I hate to think about it, one or both of them may have been killed...
I am so sorry this chapter took so long to write, as I had finals to worry about when I started writing. After words, I thought I would be home free, until a 20 page business paper reared its ugly head, and commanded most of my time. I’ve been working my butt off trying to catch up with this story, and I promise to update more often now that school is less hectic :)
/Luna’s point of view\
How did I get back in my room? The last thing I remember was that scary gryffin, but I don’t think it was another dream. And why is it dark outside? Was I taking a second nap before dinner?
Regardless, I’m happy to be back in my sanctuary and away from that monster... I grab hold of my sheets and curl back into bed, letting the fabrics caress my midnight blue coat. My room, and my bed specifically, has always been a place of refuge in my little world, shielding my thoughts from the political problems that have always caused me anxiety.
I guess that’s where Tia is right now, dealing with the gryffins. From what I remember, our alliance with the Gryffin Kingdoms has stood since before my time on the moon, and I highly doubt that Tia would have done anything to provoke them.
“Miss Luna, are you awake yet?” I hear Busy Body quietly ask, one of his hooves now opening the door.
“Yes, Mr. Busy Body. Where is Tia?”
“Your sister is currently communicating with the gryffin royalty, who are currently denying any relation to the terrorist.”
“I knew it!” I state happily, jumping out of my covers. “I knew the gryffins weren’t against us!”
“It is indeed wonderful news, Miss Luna, but one mustn’t be so quick to judge. The investigation will still continue, but I have faith in our feathered allies” he says, trotting over to my bed and taking taking a seat next to me.
“Mr. Busy Body, why has the world changed so much?” I ask innocently as I am answered with a look of deep bewilderment. He stammers for a little while, searching for the correct words, before finally answering.
“Well, I, uh- Miss Luna, I personally believe that with time comes change. And since you’ve been... away... things have just passed by. Now, when it comes to our current state in politics, much of the changed can find its root in the absence of your parents, and your sister’s rise to power. Many ponies took the change as a surprise and many long standing policies were altered."
“Like what?”
“Well... let me try to remember my Equestrian History... For starters, Equestrian Citizens had many freedoms during your parents reign, but under Celestia, they were expanded upon. This is the exact reason why you saw the articles written about you, and all the journalists earlier. The press industry exploded soon after the new legislation.”
“But what if they print something about Tia, wouldn’t it backfire on her?”
“Not necessarily, Miss Luna. Even though news sources can print more offensive articles, your sister was willing to take the hit at the expense of her people. Their rights are more important to her than her own image.”
“Wow... I wanna be just like my sister...”
“I know you do Miss Luna”, he says, putting a hoof over my shoulder, “and you will be one day”.
I really like Mr. Busy Body. I know he isn’t my dad or even a family member, but he really is starting to feel like one. More importantly, why am I so hungry all of a sudden? Have I been out for very long?
“What time is it, Mr. Busy Body?”
“Far past your dinner time, and for that matter, your bedtime as well. The princess will be joining you shortly though.”
“Is she still talking to the gryffins?”
In our conversation, I didn’t notice that Tia came in.
“No, I am not, and I’m happy to report that everything is fine and as it should be!”
I bound out of bed, and gallop to her, embracing one of her legs.
“TIA! You’re alright!”
“Of course I am, silly” she responds in a motherly tone, as she bends down to nuzzle me. She picks me up with her magic and starts to walk back over to my bed, sending Busy Body away for the night. I say my goodbyes as he walks out of the room and closes the door, refocusing on my sister.
“Are the gryffins really mad at us, Tia?”
“Of course not, Lulu. Both parties eventually realized that the attack was an isolated incident. The terrorist is most likely a mentally unstable citizen, nothing more.”
“Thats good. I’m just glad you’re okay, Tia” I state lovingly. There is nothing I love more in this world than my sister, and if anything were to happen to her... If she were to be killed, I really don’t know what I would do. The first thousand years without her love was hard enough, but living for the rest of eternity without her...
Tia scoops me up gently, guiding my fatigued body into her soft fluff. Nuzzling me gently, she lays a kiss on my forehead. She snakes her hooves around me, and embraces me in a tight hug, the affection practically dripping out of her pores. In this moment, I feel safe. Nightmare Moon has no ability to appear before me while Tia is here to protect me.
“I bet I know a filly who still needs their dinner” she muses.
“Oh right! I completely forgot!” I exclaim, wriggling out of her hooves, causing her to grin. “I’m completely starved, Tia! What is there to eat?”
“That is a question for the cooks, Lulu. Let us head down to the dining hall, there are some things we need to go over.”
Tia nuzzles me once more before I start to climb down from the bed. But before I make my first hoof- fall, I feel her magic raising me once more, as she places me on her back. She rears back on her hind hooves, and with a loud “Tally Ho!”, I respond with a “Giddy up!”, as she charges out of my room in a full gallop.
I giggle wildly as she weaves in between esteemed nobles, maids, and guards, most of whom are wearing expressions of pure shock, or annoyment. Her laughs match my own while she rounds a corner and narrowly misses another maid, this one pushing a cart precariously stacked with an assortment of fancy desserts.
I hear a guard shouting from behind, “Your highness! Please slow down in the castle!”
“Now why would I do that?!” she responds irrelevantly. This is the Tia I remember, the carefree filly that I became so close to! How I longed to be back in her arms, ride around on her back, and have her call me "Lulu".
There are multiple guards galloping behind us now, trying their best to calm Tia, as they obviously don't feel comfortable taking her down physically.
"Your highness, what if the press were to see you?!"
"Just imagine the headlines!"
Their words fall on deaf ears as she rounds another corner and continues to her throne, where she comes to a screeching halt. I hold on to her mane as I nearly fall off, but Tia catches me with her magic just in time.
She levitates me above the seat and gently sets me down, as the guards that were chasing us try their best to avoid my sister. She removes her crown, and places it on my head, causing a gasp from the many guards lining the throne chamber.
"One day, you'll be the one on the throne, Lulu", she coos lovingly, as I try to hold my head up under the immense size and weight of her crown. Regardless, I can finally feel the love that has eluded me for such a long time.
"I love you, Tia", I stammer. I really know how else to respond, given my current feelings, except with such a basic complement. She is my sister, and I adore more than anything else in Equestria!
She gives me a playful nip on the ear as she fixes the crown behind my horn and lifts me back down, this time to my feet.
I stay close to her hooves as we walk, feeling a sort of motherly comfort emanating from her. We trot into the grand dining hall, the crown gently bouncing in my mane in beat with my canter. To my side, I notice multiple mares poking their heads out of the kitchen, making stifled "awws" at the sight of me.
How am I cute and "aww" worthy? I'm just a filly, not even trying to be adorable. I swear, grown ups can be so weird sometimes. I could lightly protest to a food I don't want to eat, and they would call it 'pouting', or 'puppy eyed'. Isn't saying 'no' to a grown up a bad thing? They're all silly...
I clamor up on the chair next to the head of the table, where Tia is currently seated. Within short order, plates holding many types of greens fly out of the kitchen. Daffodils, fine hay, dandelions (for me), and a large selection of breads.
How I have longed to fill my stomach with one of the castle's feasts. On the moon, there was obviously nothing to consume, save the more powdery rocks which I had to eat the last 300 years. No matter how hungry I was, and how deprived I may have looked, some inexplicable force kept me alive all those years.
I happily filled my entire mouth initially, trying to take in as much of the food as possible. Tia shot me a smirk as she ate her meal in a much more dignified manner.
"So, here we are. The first real time we've had to sit down and talk to each other again" she starts. "As sisters".
I look up with a stalk of hay sticking out of my muzzle and smile stupidly, overjoyed to sit down to a family dinner once again.
"As happy as I am to have you within my arms again, there are some things that seriously need to be addressed. I am still a little dazzled after the events that have unfolded earlier, and I expect that you are too. Equestria is still a relatively safe place, but times have certainly changed, Lulu".
"How so?" I answer, not exactly sure what she means. Canterlot has always been safe to walk around in, even at night! I'm pretty sure Tia was telling the truth when she said that the bomber was only a one-time incident.
"Oh Luna... Where to begin. Lets put it this way, every time you leave the castle, I want you to have at least to guards with you, at all times."
"TWO? Why?! Canterlot is safe!" I protest, still not sure what Tia is getting at. But some of the earliest memories of my childhood include being flanked by guards every time I left the castle. Only when I got older did I only have to have one follow me around, but even then I protested.
"Yes, Luna. As much as I hate to do it, you are going to need at least two guards everything you go out. And unfortunately... there is only so much I can do to keep the streets safe."
"What could possibly be so bad these days? I don't understand..." I admit depressingly.
"Well, you saw what happened earlier. While nothing has ever been that extreme, there are multiple conflicting political parties now that would love to use you... for a ransom."
Her words ring in my ears, and the words she then tries to force out turn to mumbles before they can hit my ears. A ransom? On me? By the sun, is this still Equestria, or the dragon kingdoms?! What is wrong with these ponies?
She notices my shock, and quickly amends her statement.
"Maybe that example was a little extreme, I'm sorry Luna" she says somberly.
"No, it's okay, but is Equestria in that much turmoil?"
"Well, there are some parts of the region that I would not recommend traveling to at night, no offense."
I try to grunt "none taken" through another mouthful of dandelions at Tia's polite gesture, but all that comes out is a mess of food. Tia chuckles as she wipes off my muzzle with her napkin.
"But you understand where I'm coming from, right Lulu? You aren't in any immediate danger, but because of the political climate, I just want you to play it safe."
"Don't worry Tia, I'll be just fine!" I offer assuredly, but Tia still seems uneasy.
"I know you will be Luna, I'm just worried, that's all. Could I bring another concern to your attention?"
"Anything for you, Tia" is what I say, but what I'm really thinking is closer to "what else could POSSIBLY be on your mind?!"
"When you were watching me on the stage earlier, who did you see in the audience?" She asks. Ponies obviously, but I'm guessing she means something specific about them.
"Well, there were a lot of ponies in these silly hats with scraps of paper tucked into the fabric... and... uh, they had strange boxes hanging around their necks".
"Very good observation, Luna. Those are called 'cameras'. Did Busy Body tell you about those yet?"
"I think so" I respond, but I'm still pretty lost as to their nature.
"The camera is a fantastic device, it captures a moment in time, and puts it on to a picture. Do you remember when the family portrait was painted all those years ago?" She asks, motioning to the large painting hanging proudly behind her.
"How could I forget? The artist probably took ten hours to finish!"
"And ten hours was a miraculous time time finish a painting that detailed. But imagine an image as detailed as a painting, being made instantaneously"
"Insta- what?"
"Well... Let's put it this way, a camera is a little box that produces an image through the use of that flash you see, and puts it on special paper, from which it can be copied" she explains.
"Ooohhhhhh. But why is it so important for the picture to be copied?"
"That question is related to the silly hats the ponies you saw we're wearing. They were ALL from the press, trying to get the latest scoop or gossip on the government, or the royals. They use camera's to capture images they deem important."
"They don't print embarrassing ones, do they?"
"How I wish that was the case, Lulu, but unfortunately, there is a special type of news, called 'tabloids'. The only purpose they serve is to embarrass ponies and spread gossip. And that is why I am being so protective of you, I don't want one of the bad reporters to get any dirt on you."
"But how do I tell the good ones from the mean ones?"
"My rule of thumb is to just avoid them all, because you can never really know who they are working for" she said, her tone obviously revealing that has had more than a few run ins with these ponies with the flash boxes.
"I'll be safe, Tia. I'll be sure to look around for the... What do you call them?"
"Paparazzis. Never get mixed up with them, Lulu. You are just too precious to me", a worried tone now taking over her voice.
I originally thought that I was going to miss mommy and daddy even more now that I'm home, but since Tia has grown up, and I was left a filly, she really feels like the mommy I don't have right now.
After finishing up my meal, I carefully climb down from my chair, and trot over to Tia's legs, putting my fore hooves on her seat. Smiling sweetly, she helps me up with her magic and cradles me...
