“Thanks for taking the time to meet with me, Rainbow. I know you’ve been busy since your return to active duty,” Celestia said. The two were having lunch in the west gardens, and though it was a business lunch, the sisters royal were happy to spend time with one another.
Rainbow nodded. “Yeah. I need to appoint a new Air Force Chief of Staff to replace Spitfire. My obvious choice would be Soarin’, but I obviously can’t do that, so I have to sift through the other qualified candidates.” She then grinned. “But since you’re pickin’ up the tab for lunch and all, I figured I could spare a few moments for my sister royal.”
“You’re too modest,” Celestia chuckled.
“Hey, you know me, Tia, Element of Loyalty, not Humility. Anyways, I guess you called me up to talk about the report that came out of Nevada yesterday?”
The solar alicorn nodded. “Apparently Flash gave it the green light, saying that he and his squadron were able to best the US Navy’s best in mock dogfights as if they were flying hot air balloons. Scootaloo reported much the same, and I spoke with the Griffonican ambassador and he says their personnel out there also agree with that assessment. It looks like SixAxis is finally good to go.”
“Just in time, too – our fighter fleet is stretched thinner than an all-you-can-eat card for parasprites.” She took a drink of her cider, then added, “Fortunately, the US agreed to basing some of their units out here. Right now, we have construction crews working overtime to build a new base for them in Sunhillow, and the US 16th Expeditionary Air Force is just getting settled in. I’ve asked the US Embassy to arrange a meet and greet with you and Gen. Salazar. As for the town, Sunhillow’s welcomed them, especially with the boost it’ll bring to that town’s economy.”
“Oh, when did you become an economist, Rainbow?”
The pegasus mare shrugged. “Hey, sooner or later I gotta learn a few things, okay? Trying to be at least twenty percent smarter for my unborn foal. And speaking of which, we’re going to need some money moved from the treasury to the Defense budget – we’ve had to borrow from morale funds to offset the initial costs of the JHMSF, and so I want to make sure our troops are covered.” Rainbow pulled a folder out of her backpack and hoofed it over. “Document has cleared Blueblood’s office, so all I need is your signature.”
Celestia looked at it. “Actually, you’ll need Luna’s – I’ve delegated this to her. But no worries, I’ll have a courier run this over to her.” The solar princess signaled for an attendant, and as the pony arrived, Celestia passed her the folder and said, “Please have Princess Luna sign this and get it back to us soonest. In fact, we’d love for her to join us.”
The attendant looked at Princess Celestia as though she was more than a bit concerned. “Ummmm…that isn’t going to exactly happen, your majesty.” Both mares looked at the attendant and she suddenly very much wanted to crawl into the nearest crack and hoped Discord would unpetrify and find her before the princess did.
“Excuse me?” Celestia intoned, a fake smile coming onto her face. Rainbow, having known her sister royal for decades, immediately decided that maybe having the document signed immediately wasn’t as necessary as she thought it had been ten seconds ago.
“She…um…called out again?” The attendant suddenly realized, too late, that was likely the worst possible thing to say.
“Could you repeat that?”
The pony took it as a sign of her impending doom, but she complied with her sovereign nonetheless. “I, uh, well…my fillyfriend works in Princess Luna’s office and said she hasn’t been in all week.” Celestia gave the pony a glare, and the attendant immediately tried to cover herself with her forelegs, cowering on the ground as she attempted to do a credible imitation of Fluttershy in her initial youth.
Celestia looked at Rainbow, her sweet smile as plastic as could be. “Rainbow, I hate to end lunch so early, but I have to go kill my sister.” Nothing further to say, she summoned a teleport and a second later, Celestia’s secretary, Raven Quill, appeared before her. “Raven, notify Director Martinez to join me in my office in ten minutes.”
Raven, long used to this, nodded. “I’ll also signal the contingent of guar—”
“Won’t be necessary – we want to keep this low-key, so the director should suffice.” She looked at both mares and added, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go talk to my sister’s staff and find out why she hasn’t reported to work all damn week.” Before anypony could say anything, Celestia teleported away.
Raven looked at Rainbow. “Mind if I join you for lunch? Probably going to need it.”
Rainbow looked at the yellow puddle that contained a pony. “Um…get somepony to clean that up, and then let them know that we’ll be having lunch on the public balcony.”
Sam Martinez was not having the best of days. First there were the budget allocations that needed approving, then there was a meeting he had with the various sheriffs of major cities to figure out where REAL offices would be stationed. After that was approving various department regulations as well as going over where they would build the new headquarters, seeing as the facility they were going to be assigned had been leveled last week in the battle against the changelings.
And now, after finally having sat down with Potato Chip for a quick business lunch to go over some trivial issues that had been shoved to the back burner until now, he was quickly interrupted by an attendant from the palace and a minute later, was walking the halls of the palace right next to Celestia, wondering just what the hell was going on.
“Cel, you know I was in a meeting, right?” he told his marefriend/girlfriend/boss. Their relationship still hadn’t been made public, but due to DJ’s relations with what seemed to be two-thirds of all the movers and shakers in the country, it was commonly known that Sam and Celestia were on a first name basis.
“Whatever it was, I wouldn’t worry about it,” she assured him. “I’m sure Potato Chip can take care of things in our absence. Now, what do you know about Kuala Lumpur?”
He thought for a second. “Well, it’s the capital of Malaysia, one of the few Muslim nations that are friendly to ponydom. One of our largest embassies is located there, if I recall, and Malaysia’s actually gone so far as to tailor a part of their tourism campaign to get ponies to come.” He idly recalled a report from the other day that said that it was actually one of the more popular destination spots for ponies who wanted a tropical paradise that wasn’t as slickly-packaged as Hawaii or Hoofalulu. “Why?”
“We have to go home and pack. We’ve got a few days there,” the alicorn said with a smile.
“Uh, why?”
“Because Luna hasn’t reported to work at all this week and according to her office, she called from Kuala Lumpur this morning. Which means that she’s off playing jet-setting socialite and I need her back here to do her work!”
“Okay, so why do we need to pack? We can just take the portal through the Embass—”
“—y?” He suddenly found himself prone on the bed, with an all-too-familiar strawberry blonde leaning over him.
“I think I need a few days off,” she breathed before kissing him. “I also think I need a day or two of being a jet-setting socialite screwing my boyfriend.”
“Cel, could we at least wait until we get to Kuala Lumpur?” he asked her.
She started removing her clothing. “No,” she cooed.
A literal world away, two figures sat on a couch in a penthouse in the venerable Shangri-La hotel in Kuala Lumpur, the oversized quantum dot television broadcasting a panorama of lights towards the two females and beyond into the Malaysian midnight. A decent-sized bag of popcorn was completed, as well as a few bottles of Coke. And yet the two sat there, in matching pajamas, watching a classic of early 21st century filmmaking – the 2025 remake of Disney’s Bambi.
“I always hated this part about the movie,” Sterling said sadly, adjusting her glasses. “I always knew I didn’t have a real mom, and Lori tried her best, don’t get me wrong, but we both knew that in the end she was just a stepmom. And we watched in third grade and Becky Carlisle – yeah, she was a brat back then, too – told me that since I didn’t have a real mom, clearly someone took her out behind the shed and shot her.” She frowned, thinking about the memory and the sorrow back then. “Took me a long time to get over that.”
Luna put an arm around her daughter and brought her close. “Well, you have me now, my little Starlight,” she said, kissing her daughter’s cheek. “And you have nothing to fear from this Becky Carlisle – you are a princess of Equestria, and that is something she will never be.”
Sterling leaned closer to her mother. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Well, is there anything else you want to watch?” the lunar alicorn asked, wanting to spare her daughter any further pain. And to some degree, that had been the order of the day in the week they were spending together, a mother and daughter getting to know one another. Robin had opted to stay out, saying they needed the time alone together and he had been right. By the third day, Luna felt that Sterling was starting to feel much more comfortable around her without worrying that she was going to go away. It was mutual: Sterling had also gone a long way to assuaging Luna’s worries that she was an impending failure as a parent.
“Naaah, I think I’m just going to call it a night. We still have to go see the Batu Caves before we leave tomorrow night?”
Luna nodded. “Yes. And we have plenty of time to depart to Vietnam, dear – we just teleport.”
Sterling yawned. “Yeah, kinda forgot that.” She got up and kissed her mother on the cheek. “Love ya, mom.”
Luna felt the overswelling of emotions in her heart. “I love you too, my little Starlight.” As Sterling made her way back to her bedroom, Luna reached over and grabbed her phone, sending a text. Everything’s going great, though I miss you.
Robin’s answer came a split-second later. And I miss you both. But I’ll see you two once you arrive in London, okay?
Luna smiled when she read his response. Count on it. Maybe then we can work on a sibling for Sterling?
She could practically hear his laughter as he responded back with, Maybe we should get married first?
Where are you?
Working at home right now, why?
A second later, there was a flash as Luna teleported out. A second later, Sterling came out of her bedroom, wandering over to the minibar and reaching for a water. “Hey, Mom, why don’t we…?” She smelled a scent in the room that she hadn’t been expecting, that of wild honey and chocolate and she blushed. Since the day she found out she was an alicorn, she’d read up on ponies and as much as was publicly available about alicorns. The chocolate scent she knew – she had to admit, there were a few uncomfortable times when she’d radiated that scent herself. But the wild honey?
Sterling immediately blocked the thought from her mind. She’ll be back in the morning, I guess. And I guess she and Dad do deserve some time together. Still…ick.
She was just about to walk back to her room when there was a flash of golden light and the scent of flowers, followed by the flash turning into a scroll. Curious, Sterling picked up the scroll and undid it.
Luna,
We have to talk. This is non-negotiable.
The letter was unsigned and Sterling suddenly felt her stomach bottom out.
The following morning, breakfasts were occurring all over the city. But only one could be classified as “pre-battle engagement briefing”. Fortunately for Sterling and Luna, theirs was not it.
“Sterling, don’t worry about it,” Luna told her as they dined at a Sugarcube Corner restaurant, the first one in Malaysia. At the moment, Sterling was eating “The Pinkie Pancake Special”, a large stack of pink pancakes, each with a different flavor, covered in two different types of whipped cream, chocolate, sprinkles, maraschino cherries and an edible ganache miniature of Pinkie Pie. Luna opted for a spinach and mushroom omelet.
“But Mom, what if that was a threat?” Sterling asked.
“Oh, it was a threat all right,” Luna said in a disinterested tone. “But it’s one I’m used to.”
“Mom, I’m being serious!” Sterling told her. “What if something happened to you?”
“Well, if you were that worried, why didn’t you send me a text?” The response to that was Sterling’s cheeks threatening to turn redder than the cherries, and Luna giggled. “We’ll be fine. I promise. Now just eat your breakfast, and then we can catch a taxi to the Caves.”
Meanwhile, not far away, at the Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur, in the hotel’s restaurant, a woman with strawberry blonde hair scarfed down a large seafood omelet, hashbrowns, a side of pancakes, several of the breakfast muffins, and was debating on grabbing Sam’s pancakes as well.
A waitress came by to refill his coffee. “Eating for two?” she asked lightly. When Sam looked at her, the waitress laughed and said, “I was just as bad in the first couple of months. In any case, congratulations to the both of you.”
Sam diplomatically said nothing and watched as the woman walked off before saying, “Dear, you can come up for air now.”
Celestia looked embarrassed as she finally disengaged from her morningtime food massacre. “Sorry,” she blushed. “I kinda stress eat. Bad habit, I know.”
He smiled. “You know, that’s probably the first time you haven’t bothered to hide your bad side.”
“Of course not. You’re my boyfriend, Sam, why would I?”
“Because a Princess of Equestria should be poised and perfect at all times?” he said with a grin.
“I see Rarity’s been talking again, hasn’t she?”
“Her latest scheme to annoy DJ is to try to fix me up with her secretary, Cerise, who she claims ‘has the grace and poise of an alicorn’. I keep telling her I’m not interested, but she’s not listening.”
Celestia looked down at her perfectly toned stomach, hidden behind a Gucci t-shirt. “You know, there is a way to solve that….”
He knew what she was implying in an instant. “No. I don’t need that heat and neither do you.”
She pouted. “It’s not fair, you know. Luna gets to have a kid with her fiancé, so why can’t we?”
“Well, for one, we’re not engaged. Plus, it is way too early in the morning to be drinking, but you might make me reconsider that.”
“It’s okay, I’m kidding, actually. Besides, I want a nice expensive wedding that will nearly bankrupt the country first before we consider children.” The look in her eyes said she was half serious and Sam immediately reached for the breakfast cocktail menu as a result. She then broke out the industrial grade pout. “Are you saying you wouldn’t want to have children with me?”
Sam never looked away from his menu. “Does a double Kahlua coffee pair well with steak and eggs? I’m wondering.”
“Sam, I’m kidding, really.”
He set the menu down. “Yes, and I know. Besides, I can’t look at that industrial pout of yours for too long; my heart would just melt into a thousand pieces.” She swooned as he said that and she idly wondered if they had time to head back to their hotel room.
He knew that look as well, so he asked, “Do you know what you’re going to say to Luna?”
“I was hoping you wouldn’t ask me that.” Her flirtatious smile went away and thus Cel became Celestia once more. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’m angry – she’s all but abdicating her duties and it’s unfair to all of us. Did you know that she told me that if I forbade the marriage she was going to publicly announce her abdication? I was considering talking to Robin about all this, but that’s hardly fair to him.”
“You need to. She’s not only your right-hoof mare in running the country, she’s your sister as well.”
“Yes, and I remember the last time one of our arguments got out of hand,” the sun alicorn said sadly, remembering a time that she wished had never happened. “In any case, she has to take this seriously. I have yet to formally give my blessing to her and Robin as the ruler of Equestria, and I have yet to meet my niece.”
“And what do you think about that? Twilight told me what she said.”
“I’m still wrapping my mind around it. The Tantabus, given a life of its own? What does that make little Luna? She could either be the sweetest girl ever, or she could be a threat to Equestria on par with the Nightmare.”
He gave her an odd look. “This is your niece you’re talking about, Cel.”
“And I’m the mare that exiled my sister for a thousand years. I don’t like to think in those terms, but my ponies don’t deserve to suffer pain and misery just because I didn’t comprehend what a family member was capable of at their worst.” She sighed. “Do you know what I dream of most?” She reached her hand out and he took it. “In my most private moments I daydream that I could give this all up and you and I can just go settle somewhere on Human-Earth. I can open a bookstore or a coffeeshop and we can just settle down and raise a family – something that I wonder would mean more than all my accomplishments as princess.”
He grinned. “Oh, I dunno – personally, I think I’d make for a hot prince consort.”
“And yet you keep tempting me, Sam,” she smiled. “You keep that up and we’ll see how that works out, shall we?”
He would’ve said something, except that his phone went off. “Yes, this is Director Martinez. Oh, yes, hello, Inspector-General, so nice to speak to you!” He talked on for a few minutes and then grinned. “No, thank you for the assistance and I look forward to our meeting on Thursday. Thank you.” Celestia looked at him oddly and he said, “That was Inspector-General Ahmad bin Yusef of the Royal Malaysian Police. I told him I was in town on vacation, but that we had two agents pretending to be human spending time here in Malaysia building an alibi before they conducted an investigation in Indonesia. I gave him the descriptions and said he would keep an eye out for them and his office would give me a twice-daily briefing on where they were before they headed out. According to one of his undercover agents, they’ll be heading to some place called the Batu Caves today.”
She gave him a wide smile, genuinely impressed. “Sam, that’s brilliant! I could just kiss you right now, you know that?”
“You do already.”
“Well, make a list, and we’ll do that instead, tonight,” she said with a grin, then signaled for the check.
One of the most beautiful places in all of Malaysia was the Batu Caves, a series of idyllic limestone caves adjacent to a flowing river. A holy temple of Hinduism, it was also home to a diverse biosphere and some of the most gorgeous vistas in the kingdom. Both religious pilgrims and sightseers came daily and the location always held a serene, revered atmosphere.
Today, three beings at the center of an entirely different religion were about to show up.
Today, that serene, revered atmosphere was about to head out the window.
“Wow, this place is beautiful!” Sterling said, having an appreciation. “I’ve always had an interest in this sort of thing.”
“That’s to be expected,” Luna commented as they stood before a statue of Vishnu on a chariot being led by twelve horses. “We are gods, dear.”
That short-circuited Sterling’s mind. “What?”
“Well, in a matter of speaking: we are actually avatars, a representation of a natural power. But we are revered as gods as much as my mother didn’t care for that, and as you’ll discover, ponies have a hard time distinguishing between a ruler and a theocrat. Personally, I think the exposure to humanity has been good, because it’s brought vastly different beliefs to our world, including the concept of no belief at all.”
“I’m a goddess?”
Luna smiled. “No, you’re my daughter and you are whatever you want to be, dear. If you want to live as an alicorn? Or as a human? It’s your choice.”
Sterling looked at her mother worriedly. “Does Dad know about this?”
“No, but I’m looking forward to telling him that he’s on the verge of immortality.” Sterling’s eyes grew wide at that and Luna led her daughter to a nearby bench. “There’s a condition that alicorns go through: when they meet their truest love, they soulbond and share the lifespan of each other. We don’t age, we don’t grow old and we share our love forever…” A sad look crossed the older alicorn’s face. “…but those we love can be killed.”
“Mom? Are you okay?”
“It’s a long story. I’ll let your cousin tell you. It’s her story to tell.”
Desperate to take her mind off the existential horror lite that her mother had inadvertently taken her on, Sterling pulled her pamphlet out of her pocket. “Aw man, I got the Malay version.” She started to look at it.
Luna pulled out her copy. “I have an English one.”
“No, Mom, I….” Sterling concentrated and her eyes flickered violet. “Tapak kuil Hindu dan kuil, Batu Caves menarik ribuan penyembah dan pelancong, terutama semasa perayaan Hindu tahunan, Thaipusam. Batu gamping yang terletak di utara Kuala Lumpur, Batu Caves mempunyai tiga gua utama yang memaparkan kuil dan kuil Hindu. Daya tarikan utamanya adalah patung besar Tuhan Hindu di pintu masuk, selain 272 yang curam naik tangga untuk akhirnya melihat pemandangan langit pusat bandar yang menakjubkan. Monyet bermain-main di sekitar gua-gua, dan ia adalah tempat yang popular untuk penggemar memanjat batu. Lukisan dan adegan Tugu Hindu juga dapat dilihat di Gua Ramayana.”
Luna looked at Sterling. “You…can read that?”
“The site of a Hindu temple and shrine, the Batu Caves attract thousands of worshippers and tourists, especially during the annual Hindu festival, Thaipusam. A limestone outcrop located just north of Kuala Lumpur, the Batu Caves has three main caves featuring temples and Hindu shrines. Its main attraction is the large statue of the Hindu god at the entrance, besides a steep 272-step climb to finally view the stunning skyline of the city’s downtown. Monkeys frolic around the caves, and it is a popular spot for rock climbing enthusiasts, and paintings and scenes of Hindu gods can also be seen in the Ramayana Cave.” Sterling looked at her mother in shock, then dropped the pamphlet and started to shiver. “What…what the hell was that?”
Luna put her arm around Sterling. “You read that. I didn’t know you knew Malaysian.”
“I don’t! I mean, sure, I can speak English, Latin, Spanish, French and I’m working on German, but….” Her eyes widened. “I…was able to comprehend a language I’ve never read before. One I hadn’t even seen before we got here!”
A huge grin appeared on Luna’s face. “You’ve found your domain!”
“Domain?”
“Yes, the natural force that you are in charge of. You’re the Alicorn of Language!” Luna hugged her daughter close. “I’m so proud of you! Do you know what this means?”
“Yes – it means that you two are making a scene and I am not happy with you, Luna.” Both looked up to see an angry strawberry-blonde woman standing there, her arms crossed. Behind her, trying to look discreet and not at all succeeding, was a man in his twenties.
“Tia,” Luna whispered, and Sterling looked at the unsteady emotions in her mother’s eyes, and the calm fury in the other woman’s eyes. She knew whatever was going on, it wasn’t going to be good at all.
Celestia bowed slightly to the temple priest, her hands posed in the traditional añjali mudrā gesture. “My thanks for the use of your private space, pandita. You honor us with your generosity.”
The head priest, an old ascetic with thick glasses and a reedy frame his attire barely seemed to hang on, returned the gesture. “No thanks are necessary, Divinity; you honor me just with your presence. I have prayed many times to my gods, but I never thought I would see three of another belief come to my door. Please, make yourselves at home, and if you need anything, I will have one of my subordinates on standby.” He then looked at the others. “Namaste,” he said, before departing and shutting the door behind him.
Celestia waited for a few more seconds before starting, then changed back to her natural form. “You had better explain yourself, Luna,” the solar alicorn demanded.
Luna did what she often did best – pick the worst hill to decide to die on. Changing back to her own form, Luna looked her sister right in the eyes. “Explain what? I check with my staff for the most important documents and then delegate the rest! It’s not as though the nation has come to a standstill, Tia!”
“You have a job to do, Luna! We’re royals – we don’t have the luxury of concepts like telework!”
“And yet we have flamefaxes and we always used to get things done when we were off on foreign junkets long before anypony had ever heard of humanity. Fancy that.”
“You know what I mean! You have responsibilities back home!”
“I have responsibilities here!” Luna shouted, sweeping a wing in Sterling’s direction. “She is my most important responsibility!”
At that moment, Celestia’s thought process was, You have responsibilities to the nation, not just the Tantabus! As bad as that was, what she actually ended up voicing was, “What, and I thought you wanted the Tantabus gone after all that?”
Luna’s eyes took on a dangerous cast. “What did you say?” she said in a quiet, enraged tone.
“Oh no she didn’t,” Sterling whispered to herself, and said, “I think I’ll go wait outside. My sanity depends on that.”
“No, sweetheart, I’d rather you stay here.” She gave her daughter a sympathetic look. “In fact, if you would change, please?”
“Sure thing.” Sterling’s eyes flickered violet as amethyst flame surrounded her, and a second later, she assumed her alicorn form. “Better?”
Sam put his hands up. “Ladies, before you two start slinging magical bolts at each other, I would like to remind you we are in a place sacred to humans; goddesses or not, doing something stupid is going to start an international incident with one of the very few friendly Muslim nations. Lastly, as possibly the only mortal in the room, I’d really rather not die.” Celestia just gave him a look, and he shut up.
“So, you haven’t told him yet, have you?” Luna asked cattily.
Celestia’s response was cool. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Really? Do you think me that stupid, sister? Especially after you’ve insulted my daughter?” Luna was now angry. “I note that you’re here without an REG escort, yet you’ve spent a lot of time with him, which is odd, given that he’s supposed to report to me?” Luna walked over to him and said, “And I’m disappointed in you, Sam. Does your family know?”
He shook his head. “Luna, you’re a friend and my boss, but this is my choice. I care about your sister greatly, and she does about me.”
“Yet you managed to get Cadance to keep confidence – she didn’t tell me; I figured it out myself – and you haven’t told your family, especially your sister, that you’re sleeping with her aunt?”
“Well, she’s not my aunt.”
“Sophistry, and you know it.” She gave him a sad look. “Honestly? I don’t know if I should ask for your resignation. The nepotism of your appointment was bad enough, but I approved it because we know you.” She glanced briefly at Celestia, then turned back to him. “Apparently, I was wrong.”
“Leave him alone, Luna.”
She reached over and patted him with her wing. “I wouldn’t hurt him. After all, I seem to be the only elder alicorn in the room that knows what family means.” She looked at him. “Take my daughter and head over to the restaurant across the street. We’ll be there shortly.”
He looked over at Celestia and she gave him a kind look. “Go ahead, we’ll be there shortly.”
“You know, I really don’t get paid enough for this,” he told them, in an attempt to try to make things lighter.
“You’re fucking your boss,” Luna said cattily. “I think that’s enough benefits.”
Sam’s jaw tightened at the insult, but he chose not to say anything, except to the teen alicorn. “You coming?”
“I’ll be out there shortly,” she told him in a saccharine-sweet tone. She then walked up to Celestia and said, “I don’t know who you think you are and I don’t care. I don’t appreciate you treating my mother like some lackey.” She then walked over to her mother and kissed her on the cheek. “Kick her ass, Mom.”
“Language,” Luna began to say, but then added, “but we’ll let this one slide.”
Giving her mother a whimsical smile, Sterling then transformed back to her human form before strolling out of the room.
Once they were alone, Celestia glared at Luna. “Your…foal…has a mouth on her and I don’t appreciate that.”
“Oh, so now she’s my foal? A second ago you were saying she was just a magical construct. Tell me, did you think Robin’s sperm suddenly conferred personhood on her?” Luna’s eyes narrowed. “Or are you just pissed you got caught in the act with your boytoy?”
The older alicorn was unfazed. “And I don’t appreciate you being a harridelle.”
Luna got in her sister’s face. “I’ll just quote something someone once told me: ‘Harridelle. It’s French, I think, means nag. Sorry, the term you’re looking for is bitch – and yes, that’s me.’” Hard lapis glared into stony lilac. “Don’t you ever refer to my daughter – your niece – as a thing again, do I make myself clear?”
“Stand down, Luna! I am your older sister and your princess!” Celestia thundered.
“I’m about one second from abdicating – so you’d best stand down,” Luna hissed. “I don’t care what you have to say about me – I’m long used to it. And I even backed off about your illicit relationship with Sam, even though common sense told me otherwise. But I draw the line at my daughter…a line you should have the damnable common sense not to cross in the first place.”
“Back off! I’m warning you!” Celestia ordered.
“MAKE ME!” Luna shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice, shattering every window in the building and making the walls shake.
Sam looked at the girl, who was breezily chatting away in Malay. “You know the local language?”
Sterling looked back at him. “Um…not really,” she told him. “I…just…Mom said I’m the Alicorn of Languages, whatever that means.”
“Languages? Not Tongues?” Sam asked.
“Ew! Do you know how bad that would sound?” Sterling asked. “You may as well call me the Alicorn of Porn Stars with that kind of name!” She shuddered and picked up her phone. “Anyways, I gotta tell my friend Athena about this!”
“No, you don’t.” Sam looked at her. “We’ve been trying to keep your human identity a secret, Luna—”
“Sterling – my mother is Luna, but I go by my middle name for obvious reasons.”
“Well, that’s easier to say than Luna the Younger, which is what we’ve been calling you in the Equestriani press.”
She sighed, then put away her phone. “I know, and it’s annoying, but it’s better than Junior, I guess.” She then looked at him. “So, what are you, my uncle or something?”
“No, just your aunt’s boyfriend,” Sam replied. “I’m completely human.” He offered his hand. “Sam Martinez. I’m the director of the Royal Equestriani Agency for Law.”
She took and shook. “Luna Kirkland, but like I said, I go by Sterling. Although I guess I have to start calling myself Princess Luna II, don’t I?”
“Only if you want to keep some semblance of normalcy. And trust me, when you’re human – or at least spend most of your time as such – you’ll want that normalcy—”
“MAKE ME!”
The shout was loud, not ear-splitting, but they both knew Luna’s voice from afar. The faint sound of shattering glass in the distance didn’t help matters, though.
“I guess I gotta go break up a fight,” Sterling said.
“No, you don’t. This is between two alicorns who do this all the time, or so I’m told,” Sam told her. “Leave it be. Besides, I’ll need you here, because I promised to keep you safe and besides, I don’t speak Malay.”
A thought came over Sterling and a small ball of white formed in her hand. She reached over and tapped Sam on the forehead and added, “Well, now you do. Be right back!” She teleported before he even knew she was gone.
“What the hell?”
At that point, the waitress came back. “Do you know what you would like, sir?” she asked in Malay.
“Um…bring three beers and then a Coke.”
“Wow, I didn’t know you spoke Malay,” she told him in English. “You do know that Malay and English are the official languages, right? We’re required to know both. But I’ll be right back with your drinks.”
“I am definitely not getting paid enough for this.”
Both alicorns had their horns lit in a Griffonican standoff. “Don’t make me do this, Luna,” Celestia said, an angry look on her face, though her heart was breaking inside, a painful reminder of a thousand years ago. “What has gotten into you, Luna? You’ve never been like this.”
“What, have never been in love with the same man for nearly twenty years? To find out that I missed out on the first decade of my child’s life?” The look in Luna’s eyes was sad, yet she still held her combat spell at the ready. “I remember the sister who told me she would’ve done anything to see me happy. What happened to her?” The night alicorn turned away. “Are you truly that jealous of the relationships that Cadance and I have had that you’d throw yourself into the arms of the first male that paid attention to you?”
“Do you think me that much a lovesick filly?” Celestia asked, hurt. “I turned him down at first – quite a few times. I….” The white mare opted not to mention her temporary infatuation with Mike, as that would’ve put more fuel on the fire. Instead, she tried a different tack. “You know what happened when I lost Argent Lance so long ago, Luna. Do you think I would put myself at such risk again?” She gave a fillyish smile. “And then he came along. Wouldn’t take no for an answer. Said he’s had a thing for me since he was a teenager. And then….” She blushed. “And then it happened, and I haven’t been this happy in a long time.”
“Then why would you begrudge me my desires? I have Robin, and he is my special somepony, the one I was always destined for. And it doesn’t matter to me how she was born, I love Sterling—”
“I thought her name was Luna, too?” Celestia asked and Luna’s heart nearly leapt out. Was Celestia…accepting her?
“I said the same thing as well. Apparently she prefers her middle name so we aren’t confused,” Luna said with a chuckle. “But it doesn’t matter to me how she came about or what she’s made of. She’s my child, and I would love her whether or not she was an alicorn or even a pony.”
“I see.” Celestia banished her spell, then returned to her human form. “I’m…sorry. I said some things I shouldn’t have.”
Luna did the same. “As did I, and I owe both of you an apology. But are you sure?”
Celestia held up her hand. “Look and see.” Luna closed her eyes, and opened them again. There, around Celestia’s wrist, was a red line of fate that stretched out the door. It was thin, but they all were at the beginning. Celestia applied the same spell and two long lines, thick as hawser, headed out the door. But it was the third line, tied to them both, that shocked them: a massive cable, also headed out the door, burning with a vital energy and thick as a bridge suspension line.
Luna and Celestia looked at each other. “Mother?” Luna asked.
And then the spell ended, and the lines were no longer visible. And though the two cast the spell several times, neither saw it again.
At this point Sterling jumped through one of the broken windows and changed, standing in front of her mother. “No! I’m not going to let you hurt her!” she yelled at Celestia.
Luna went over and hugged Sterling. “It’s okay, dear. Your aunt and I just had an argument.”
Sterling changed back. “You sure?”
Celestia looked at her niece, then at her sister. “As sure as we’re probably going to have to repair all the damage we’ve just done,” she said with a weak smile.
The three alicorns quickly repaired the building they were in, much to the surprise of those who had been gathered to see the presence of three alicorns; Celestia quickly gave an improvised speech as to how they were interested in many of Earth’s other religions and that they felt looking at one in an allied nation would be the best way to start. It was clearly absolute bullshit to anyone versed in politics, but the public didn’t know that and, unsurprisingly, they accepted that as well as the unannounced presence of foreign leaders.
To Luna and Celestia’s surprise, the priests of the temple requested the group attend a dinner prepared especially for them. Since there was no way to back out of it, the two accepted and they were given special tours of the complex, including places that were only available to the holiest of holies – and as alicorns, they were certainly entitled, according to the ascetics. The hours passed and the quartet were treated to a veritable banquet of Malay and Hindi foods, and entertainment, something they all truly appreciated.
Now, as night fell and they stood on the overlook, gazing at the crystal-clear night, the moon and its melodies in a stellar dance that gently rained down silvery shafts of light upon all it touched; even though she had nothing to do with this night, Luna kept it in mind for something to reproduce back on Alter-Earth.
But it was more than that: it also gave Luna a chance to apologize to Sam. “I was out of line, Sam. I’m sorry.” The look on her face was both contrite and if the slight pout was anything, he knew where she got it from.
“It’s okay,” he told her. “I know you really didn’t mean it – it was the anger talking and we’ve all blown steam at one time or another. Besides, our relationship….”
“May I offer some advice? Tell your family. They deserve to know, even as awkward as it will be.”
“Yeah, tell me about it. You know my sister’s going to spool like no tomorrow.”
Luna gave him a smile. “DJ’s strong and you know it. I’m sure she’ll adjust. You and Tia might be in the doghouse for a while, but she’ll adjust.”
“Yeah, I know. Big sis always tends to be overprotective.”
Luna laughed. “They are, aren’t they?”
Up in the air, Celestia soared in the night sky. “You’ll be fine, Sterling, I promise.”
“Easy for you to say! How do you fly without everyone seeing your ladybits?” the younger alicorn asked, flapping her wings for all she was worth and trying not to turn a massive shade of red.
“Part etiquette and part biology,” Celestia explained. “Nopony’s going to see anything unless you want them to.”
“NO THANKS!”
A second later, they were joined by Luna. “Completely mortifying your niece, sister?”
The oldest alicorn grinned. “I taught you how to fly, I can teach her how to fly, too.”
“If I don’t die of embarrassment first,” Sterling groaned.
“You’ll be fine, dear,” Celestia told her. “Now let’s fly.” Luna came alongside her and Celestia looked at her sister. “You were right. She is a treasure and you have my blessing as your sister.”
“Well, that’s a relief.”
“Now, you need to get Robin here so I can give my blessing as the princess, not to mention that you have yet to formally present your intended before the populace.”
“I have reservations on that,” Luna admitted. “I want our lives to be as normal as possible.”
“Luna, we’re alicorns,” Celestia reminded her. “We have never really known what normal is.”
“I suppose…but changing the topic a bit, you and Sam, huh? Honestly never would’ve expected that one.” Luna told her.
“Could we talk about that later? We have to contact the Embassy and schedule an official state meeting between us and King Iskandar. It’s not going to do for us to be here in his country and not meet with the king.” She looked at her sister. “Sorry, but your vacation’s over, Luna.”
Luna sighed. “I suppose so.”
A whimsical smile came across Celestia’s face. “But…maybe I can do it alone. The king has responsibilities like us…I’m sure he’ll understand.”
Luna’s face lit up. “Really?”
“Of course. You two should get to know each other as a mother and daughter. Trust me,” Celestia replied, thinking of her own mother and the times they shared before Luna was born. But then she remembered the Nightmare’s words and how it tainted those thoughts. “Nothing is more important than the bond between mother and daughter,” she said sadly.
“Our own mother’s out there, sister. We just saw proof. All we have to do is find her.”
Celestia nodded. “But that is for another day, Luna. For now, let’s just spend it with family, okay?”
Flying closer, Luna nuzzled her sister. “Yes, let’s.”