Twilight and I sat in one of the palace’s salons. The afternoon sun poured through the big bay window. Across from us, Lady Luna sat, carefully filling three teacups from an antique teapot as we watched. She wore another one of her long dresses, slate-gray this time, with her little glasses perched on her nose and her mane in a bun. She looked like something out of an antique photo—except, here she sat in front of us, full-color and breathing.
I swallowed. This was the longest I’d spent in her presence since… well, since she’d returned. That was almost a month ago. We’d spoken a little while she was still in the infirmary, but she hadn’t been there for very long. As soon as she’d gotten out of bed, she’d demanded that an apartment in the Residential Tower be cleared out for her own use. As soon as that was done, she retreated there, claiming Frailty Of The Nerves; the doctors she’d allow to see her clarified that she was suffering exhaustion and hypersensitivity to light and sound. After being on the moon for a thousand years, well… she had a right to it, I guess.
She’d stayed in her room for almost two weeks, but she hadn’t been idle; nearly every morning, she had a list of requests: optometrists to fit her for a new pair of spectacles. Seamstresses to make her a new wardrobe, in styles that hadn’t been seen outside of textbooks in centuries. Needles and thread, when the seamstresses complained they weren't historians. Books from the library, on topics ranging from history to science to language. And every day, newspapers. Magazines. Gossip rags. Anything with so much as a whiff of “current events.”
It took me two days to notice she’d emerged. It would’ve been sooner, but she wasn’t exactly in a hurry to be noticed. I finally caught her out of the corner of my eye, lurking in a corner, watching me. She didn’t retreat, didn’t say anything—she just acknowledged my look with a nod and kept watching.
And she’d kept watching, for two weeks now. When I raised the sun. When I left for Band. When I held Court. When I wrote Twi. Always just… watching.
For a literal mare out of legend, she was actually turning out to be pretty creepy.
And now, she’d requested a private meeting between her, myself, and Twilight. For what reasons, I could only guess.
I snuck a glance at Twi, seated beside me. I’d hardly recognized her at first; Rarity had dolled her up in a pretty little blouse and skirt. Done her makeup, too. She even had a little bow in her hair. Twi was making me a little self-conscious, in fact; I was just wearing my crown and Peytral.
We still didn’t know what Luna was after, but dressing up just seemed… appropriate.
Luna set down the teapot, then added two lumps of sugar to her own cup.
“Princess Celestia? Twilight?” she asked, without looking up. “How do you take your tea?”
I leaned down to Twilight. “Uh… what’s good?” I muttered. “Does it work like coffee?”
Twilight glanced up at me, then back to Luna. “Two sugars and two creams,” she said, “for both of us.”
Luna nodded, dropped two sugarcubes into each of our teacups, then picked up the little pitcher of cream. The whole thing felt like some carefully-orchestrated ritual. I was about to make some snarky remark to Twi, when I noticed that the cream was trembling slightly as Luna held it.
Luna added the cream to our cups, set down the pitcher, then pushed our cups towards us. Twilight took a sip from hers, making a appreciative little noise as she set it down, but I gazed uneasily down at mine. I had never really been a fan of tea…
Luna took a sip from her cup, then set it down again.
“I was somewhat surprised to hear,” she said suddenly, “that you had moved to Ponyville, Twilight. I thought you enjoyed growing up in Canterlot?”
Twilight bowed her head. “Yes, Milady,” she said.
I glanced at her, but she said nothing more. In fact, her head stayed bowed, her eyes on the floor—and, like the cream, she was shaking a little too. I looked up and cleared my throat.
“She wanted to be closer to her friends,” I said. “And, since she has such a hard time making friends in the first place, I thought it would be good for her. Plus, I thought she should be close to the other Element Bearers, in case they’re needed again, for something like Nightma—”
Luna’s eyes flashed. Twilight kicked me under the table, and I snapped my mouth closed. The temperature in the room dropped by several degrees.
“I should appreciate,” Luna said, coldly, “If we did not discuss my past… indiscretions.”
I glanced up at her and saw something impenetrable in that gaze of hers… anger? Sorrow? Pain?
I just nodded, then took a sip of the tea to fill the silence. It wasn’t terrible...
Luna sighed, then adjusted her glasses—and, for just a moment, she reminded me very, very much of Twilight. “That… that seems a good decision, all things considered,” she admitted. “Though I hope that your mother is with you, at least…?”
Twilight looked up. “No, Milady,” she said quietly. “Princess Celestia appointed a guardian for me.”
Luna raised an eyebrow and looked at me. “The local schoolteacher,” I volunteered. “She’s responsible, and good with foals, so I thought she would be a good fit.” I swallowed nervously. “A-and I got a stipend for her. Them,” I corrected myself. “Twilight has a little something to live on, and Miss Cheerilee is getting a little something for watching her.”
Luna’s eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly, and I gulped. She’s going to see right through me, gonna see that Cheerilee is too busy to keep close watch on her, gonna see that I set it up so Twilight would be free, pay her back for everything Aunt Velvet’s done for me…
Luna looked away, and I tried not to gasp for breath. “Will she be your teacher in the fall, then?” she asked, turning back to Twilight.
“No,” Twilight replied. “I got my records moved to the local high school.” She looked down. “I-it’s not as good as CHS, but…”
Luna watched her for a moment longer, but she said nothing. After another moment, Luna sighed, then turned her gaze to me. I looked away.
“I understand you’re taking summer courses, Your Highness,” she said. “I approve; that shows good initiative and responsibility on your part.”
I looked at Twilight, confused. Twilight glanced at me, then cleared her throat.
“Princess Celestia isn’t taking formal classes, Milady,” she said. “She’s in Band.”
Luna looked faintly alarmed. “Band?” she repeated. “W-what band?”
“It’s, uh…” I coughed. “The marching band. For school. We’re doing summer practice now, to keep in shape,” I added.
Luna nodded. “I… see. And what do you play?”
“I’m second trumpet,” I said proudly.
She raised an eyebrow. “Indeed,” she said. “Though, brass isn’t exactly ladylike, is it…?”
I pressed my lips into a thin line. Luna shot me a guilty look, then coughed politely. “Pray tell,” she said, “what exactly drew you to that instrument?”
The uniform—pretty blue-and-gold—turned any pony, no matter who they were, into a part of the whole, a thousand throats singing with a single voice, Princess and pauper together, all the same…
I shrugged. “My dad, I think,” I said. “He was big into swing music, and I think maybe I got his genes.”
Luna raised an eyebrow. “Was?” she repeated.
I nodded. “Died when I was little,” I said. “Never knew him.”
“Ah,” she replied, looking down. “Indeed; I should have remembered. My condolences…”
We sat there quietly for a long time. I took another sip of my tea. I think Luna was waiting for us to speak—but Twilight was shy at the best of times, and, despite her attempts at small talk, Luna still gave me the willies.
After a moment, she sighed. “I shall get to the point, then,” she said. She looked gravely across the table at us. “I have some rather weighty matters to discuss with the two of you.”
Twilight nodded. I glanced at her, then nodded as well.
“First,” Luna said, turning to me, “I wish to inform you that I shall be renewing my claim to the Lunar Throne.”
I stared at her blankly for several seconds. “Come again?” I said.
“The Lunar Throne,” she repeated. She lifted a hoof and tapped her chest with a metallic ring. I raised an eyebrow—she had her Peytral on under her dress. “I still possess the Moon Stone,” she said, “which makes me a Princess. The Lunar Throne, however, has been vacant since I…” she swallowed nervously. “...since I left. But, as far as my studies show,” she continued, “it is still a legal entity, despite long neglect.” She took a deep breath. “I do not need your permission to do this—historically, the Solar and Lunar Thrones have been independent, equally-powerful positions—but I wish to inform you of my design, as this will impact your office as well, Princess.”
I swallowed. “How so?”
Luna sighed. “Unless the laws have changed, I shall take over some of the responsibility of ruling. We shall have to consult with each other on certain matters. And…” she hesitated. “we shall have limited oversight of each other’s affairs.”
She shot me a sidelong glance, and I frowned. There was something in the way she’d said “oversight”... it felt almost like she was trying to tell me something, sending me a code I didn’t understand. But, even so, she’d just offered to help rule...
I nodded. “Sounds good to me,” I said.
A smile tugged at the corner of her lips, but her eyes remained hard. My answer had both pleased and irritated her. Had I said something wrong?
Before I could ask, she spoke up. “Very well,” she said. “I shall lodge my claim with the royal solicitors tomorrow. Now,” she said, turning to Twilight, “I have something to discuss with you.”
Twilight bowed. “Of course, Milady. What is it?”
Luna took a deep, trembling breath. “I understand that you have just gone to all the trouble of moving, and will begin attending a new school shortly. However…” She hesitated, then spoke slowly. “...when you feel it would be appropriate, I would ask you to return to Canterlot. I would like to begin instructing you in how to be a Princess.”
Her words hung there in the air. Nothing moved. No one spoke.
Finally, I glanced between them. “I’m sorry,” I said, “but, did I hear you right? You want Twi to become a Princess?”
She nodded. “Correct. I… I wish to name her my heir to the Moon Throne.”
“But why?” I blurted out.
“Three reasons,” Luna said quietly. “First, I wish to avoid any…” she hesitated. “...unpleasantness after I pass. Designating an heir now would make that process easier, when that time comes. Second, from what I understand, Twilight has proven herself to be intelligent and wise. Admirable qualities in any leader. Thirdly…” Luna hesitated again. “...I believe her to be my granddaughter.”
You could have cut the silence with a knife.
Luna bit her lip. “The records, insofar as I have been able to find them,” she said nervously, “indicate that Twilight is descended, mother-to-daughter, from my own daughter. By my count, I am your fifteenth-great-grandmother, which…” she smiled a little “...though it’s not much, is sufficient in this case.” She glanced over at me. “Incidentally,” she added, “I believe this would make you cousins. Exceedingly distant ones, to be sure—but cousins nonetheless.”
I stared stupidly at Luna. After a second or two, I turned to Twilight and slugged her gently on the shoulder.
“Hey, we’re cousins,” I said. “How’s it hangin’, cuz?”
I stared at her blankly for a second. “Twi?” I asked.
Twilight turned to stare back at me, her chest rising and falling in quick, fluttering gasps. Her glasses slipped from her face as her eyes filled with fear and horror.
“Twi?” I repeated. “Twi, breathe—”
Luna stared, eyes wide.