//------------------------------// // Twitch [Original Minific] // Story: Missing Pages & Scrawled Footnotes // by Ice Star //------------------------------// Swallow. Blink. A deep breathe - the loudest sound she'll make all day. The one that will never be heard. Well, only by her with the midnight coat. Every day continues. Nothing looks wrong to the average pony - and why would it? They aren't very observant to begin with. Celestia, with her bright white coat and harsh radiance chatters among them, as if she could lower herself to their level and call herself a pony, no longer content with what she is. She tries to forget and Luna tries to talk. It's simple, right? Think of what to say. Open her mouth. Speak. Only it wasn't simple. Don't talk became can't talk. Her mind swarmed with details of the everyday, all the little sorrows and joys that bathed in the air around her. Everything sparkled like glass, so obvious. Unlike her - noticeable. Each day was brighter, each night shunned even more. Each star a curse. Mouth open - that was Celestia. Talk, talk, talking. Smiling. Welcoming. Whatever they wanted her to be. She was the sun. And she burned. It wasn't that Luna didn't know what to say as hallways passed her eyes and another pony passed her like a ghost, or maybe more like furniture: present but unimportant. What need was there to pay any attention to her? She knew exactly what she wanted to say. Always, always when she had spoken she had spoken well. But she knew everything that had to be said. Each syllable that would sound like thunder to her own ears even if it were but a whisper. That is what made it difficult. She could see the road before her. Going in blind would be far, far easier. She sits next to Celestia on the forgotten throne. Half the room of stone - sharp angles and dull hues in a neat tomb, imperial beyond beleif, majestic, and properly suffocating - was gold. Sun-gold. She blinked in pain. Yellow flowers knew to keep soft. These banners bled. Her gaze dropped. Every crack on the floor swam in front of her, every speck of dust made itself noticeable. Luna drew a deep breath just quiet enough not to come across as bored. The noble droned on, ill-chosen words falling from his lips and cluttering the air with their meaninglessness. Each utterance was hollow. Everypony stood on the side of gold - the only one they could see. They nodded, jewels gaudy. Celestia gave the noble a smile - he must have said something she liked. Luna's mind dipped beyond noise. Her face a comforting stoic look. She was surrounded by ponies. Alone. Alone was but a different way to spell 'peace' for this dark mare. She shifted quietly in her seat, forehooves quietly in front of her, slouching slightly. Her mind screamed as she watched the mouth of the noble move. Each of his words was wasted, wasted, wasted... Celestia complimented his presentation, a mask of seriousness overtaking her pursed-lipped smile before she allowed it to widen again. Luna wanted to cut the strings her sister has burrowed into herself. Blue eyes went unnoticed as they watched the next noble enter, the cacophony and clinks of ill-spent phrases and practised greetings dropping to the ground before he even entered the room. The walls echo with their worthlessness. Luna's stare widens. She's completely forgotten now, eyes boring into Celestia. She does not hide their horror, raw and tearing. Celestia gives a kindly smile, veils of subject-centric thoughts narrowing her vision as she is unaware of her shadow's distress. Misery. Panic. After all, is it not the princess - pretty, loved, popular, following the cues - to make sacrifices? Luna watches as her sister bravely sacrifices the good of one for the mewling silk-clad idiots' attention before her. One over many - it's the sun's way. Speak, speak, speak, roars the thunder in her mind. Her vision swims. Every detail stands out, screaming and bright. The glitter of her sister's crown, the lace of her gown. The Everfree palace sparkles with the recent cleaning it has in honor of the new day. Slowly, Luna tears her gaze away from her sister. The far wall becomes her focus. Her heart is steady - this is everyday - and she tries to only listen to that. It doesn't work - all the sounds and stray vowels that drift through the air find her ears. Luna almost blinks, to her it feels like a slow movement but she knows it's far quicker. A faint tic, a twitch that passes the notice of others. Not a dream. She can't tap Celestia to catch her attention. They had made a silent treaty signed with bitterness, stubborn will, and everything between them. Luna still remembers the sound of the screams in their last fight that tore at the mere scraps their relationship had been in then. Sisters in name only. Celestia ruled and Luna... Luna's jaw twitches. One minute is over. Swallow. Blink. There's still many more to come.