//------------------------------// // 3. Wine // Story: An Early Reunion // by RainbowDoubleDash //------------------------------// Celestia let out a slight gasp at the sight of the chambers that she had been led to. The marble and granite walls of this guest quarter had been covered by elegant tapestries, hiding their cold stone behind intricate, woven patterns, while the floor was covered with a carpet so thick that she was almost surprised that she was not given a machete to help her pass through. The ceiling overhead had been painted deep blue and was covered with swirls in yellow and gold of various sizes, suggesting brilliantly glowing stars. The room had its own fireplace, which was already alight as Celestia entered. Most impressive of all was the bed; it was ovular in shape and easily large enough to accommodate several ponies of Celestia’s size, and its sheets looked like they were woven from silk. Folded elegantly at the end of the bed were additional sheets and a comforter, though she doubted that they would be necessary given that it was late spring. Celestia turned to regard Luna’s majordomo, as Cartasole entered and had a chance to marvel at the room himself. “I thank thee,” she said, offering a gracious bow. “And I apologize, I do not remember thy name.” “That would be because I have not given it,” the majordomo replied, eyes still half-lidded. Celestia blinked. “I see no cause for thy hostility.” “Oh?” the majordomo asked. He let silence linger for a moment before turning around. “I must attend the Princess now. Good day.” In a moment, he was gone, trotting off through the halls of Canterlot. Celestia had no idea that Equestrian was so versatile a language that the phrase good day could come across as an insult. Celestia watched him go for a moment, before closing the door to her room and turning around, taking it all in once again, not just the room, but the situation, the fact that she was in the castle, Luna’s reaction upon seeing her… …she was not even conscious of the fact that she was on the bed, prancing in place upon its mattress and bouncing in joy, until she nearly hit her horn on the ceiling above. A squeal of delight escaped her throat, not that she tried particularly hard to keep it in. “Sono qui!” she called, forgetting her Equestrian for the moment. “Sono qui sono qui sono qui! Luna mi ha creduto ed ora sono nel Castello di Canterlot!” Celestia let out a long sigh as she stopped bouncing and just sank onto the bed, feeling its sheets glide beneath her hooves and her head. It felt right, to be surrounded by such luxury. It was what a princess deserved. Celestia supposed it was a bit spoiled of her to think so, but what was the point of being royalty reborn if she couldn’t indulge in it every now and then? Especially the now part. Cartasole watched her majesty with an amused chuckle. “What shall be thy first decree?” he asked idly. Celestia opened one eye, smiling at Cartasole from the bed. “No more peas!” she proclaimed without hesitation. “When the Exarch first told me who I was, that I would be Princess one day, I decided then and there that my first decree would be that I would never again have to eat peas.” She paused a moment in thought. “Well…actually, it was to destroy every pea farm in Cavallia and Equestria. But I have thought about that since, and I suppose that’s not very fair to the good pea farmers of the world. But I shall not eat peas, ever again.” Cartasole chuckled at her majesty’s proclamation, looking around. “I am surprised that Luna does not wish to speak to thee immediately.” Celestia sat up on the bed, shaking her head. “’Tis understandable. She needs time. After all, I have been preparing for this day for nearly a decade, but she hast had no warning – and further, hast had ponies trying to trick and deceive her.” Celestia nodded sagely. “No doubt she be now in her chambers, mulling the information and deciding what to do with it, how to react. She needs time, and she may have as much as she needs! “Now,” Celestia said, smiling to Cartasole. “Seek thee out the finest wine thou canst acquire, please. Princess Luna said that I was to have whatever I desired, and I desire a celebration!” --- The Princess regarded the pony before her with eyes that had seen countless moonrises. She scuffed a hoof that had lain low demons and dragons and creatures far more terrible than either. The stars themselves aligned at the command of the Shepherd of the Moon, and she turned the voice that spoke those commands upon the earth pony mare who stood between her and her destination. “Move,” she commanded. “N-nay, Princess,” the earth pony – not even a guard, but rather a cook, with a green coat, purple mane, and a ladybug cutie mark – said, keeping her hooves planted firmly on the ground and remaining between the Princess and her goal. This proved her to be, quite possibly, the bravest pony in Equestria, or perhaps even the world, for she dared stand between the eldest alicorn remaining on the planet and that alicorn’s goal: the wine cellar of Canterlot Castle. Luna leaned forward a little. “By my royal command, thou shalt remove thyself from my sight!” she ordered. The earth pony – her name was Bitta Luck – swallowed. She and the Princess were standing in a narrow hallway, door to the wine cellar behind Bitta Luck, and stairs leading up to the Castle behind Luna. The hallway was lit by candles set into sconces, but the majority of those were behind the Princess, and Luna’s own body and slightly flared wings obscured most of the light, casting her face in shadow. “B-by thy royal command,” Bitta Luck said, “I…I must remain.” At the sound of the earth pony’s words, the Princess performed a very un-royal action: she pouted. “I rescind that order,” she decreed. “By the same command, it m-must never be rescinded,” the earth pony said. “B-begging thy pardon, Majesty, b-but thy decree that thou were to be restricted to no more than a single goblet, a-and only at formal gatherings.” “I remember my own decree, thank thee very much,” Luna responded blithely, scuffing her hoof once more. “But my nerves are shot right now and I need a tonic.” “The Royal Apothecary, then,” a voice suggested. Luna visibly sagged as Starlight Shine clambered down the steps behind Luna, approaching the Princess and bowing. Bitta Luck notably relaxed at the sight of the majordomo. “If I might be so bold, Majesty, I am certain that Green Charm would be far better at creating a tonic for what ails thee than any vitner.” “Thou wouldst not say such things if thou had ever tasted Old Unicorn conditum paradoxum,” Luna mumbled under her breath. “Pardon, Majesty?” “I said,” Luna stated, turning to regard her majordomo, “that I have gazed upon this world since time immemorial. I know what I need to steady my nerves, and it lies beyond that door,” she pointed at the wooden door that Bitta Luck guarded beyond reason. The earth pony flinched at her gesture, despite Luna’s outstretched hoof being several feet from Bitta Luck’s muzzle. Starlight regarded his princess coolly for a moment. “With all due respect and deference, Majesty,” he said, “if thou really desired wine, we both know that poor Bitta Luck here could not impair thy progress through that door in the slightest.” The Princess and her majordomo had a staring match for several moments, before Luna’s horn glowed slightly, and her body broke apart into starry mist that flowed away, past Bitta Luck – who cried out in surprise – and through the cracks in the door’s frame, into the wine cellar. Starlight let out an immense sigh, as he looked to Bitta Luck. “Excellent attempt, goodlady. Thou canst return to thy normal duties now.” “F-forgive me, I tried, I – ” “Oh, calm down,” Starlight interrupted the pony’s tirade, before it could begin. “Thou might as well have tried to align the stars. Which I am about to attempt, incidentally, so wish me luck.” The ghost of a smile appeared on Bitta Luck’s face at that, and she bowed slightly as the majordomo made his way to the door and opened it, heading into the wine cellar. The cellar was dark, of course, but it was a simple enough matter for Starlight Shine to set his horn alight, casting a violet glow across the chamber. It was large, he knew, not that this was easy to discern given that all sight was obscured by rows upon rows of casks containing the finest wine from across Equestria. Most of the wine was quite old, predating Celestia’s fall and the twelve-year virtual abandonment of Canterlot Castle by her sister, but the wine was well protected against degradation by a combination of the wine casks themselves and lingering enchantments meant to preserve the wine inside against just about anything. One major exception being, of course, a determined alicorn. Starlight wandered through the wine cellar, looking around as he did so. Canterlot was not often host to the grand gatherings of nobles that it had once been, so the Princess had quite a glut of choices for her palette down here. Still, he was able to find her before too long, standing in front of a particularly large cask of wine from Califurlong, two conjured goblets held in her telekinetic grasp. She had just finished pouring out the second one as Starlight arrived, and she turned around as he stopped trotting. “Majesty, I am here to stop you,” the unicorn informed the alicorn. In response, the alicorn completely drained the contents of her goblet, some of the wine dribbling down her chin as she did so. Starlight could do little but watch impassively as she finished and regarded her majordomo with an arch look. “Thou hast failed in thy quest,” she said, then held forward the other goblet even as she refilled her own. “Thou might as well drink with me and mourn thy failure.” Starlight considered a moment, then decided that her majesty was correct. He grasped the offered goblet of wine with his own telekinesis, bringing it to his muzzle and taking in the aroma before taking a considerably more measured drink from it. Even as he did, Luna brought her own goblet to her lips, and surprised Starlight by also refraining from inhaling the beverage. “There are degrees of success, Majesty,” Starlight said. “Dost thou intend to get drunk?” “I wish to,” Luna said, absolutely seriously as she considered the wine in front of her. Behind her, however, the cask sealed itself. “But no. I shall not.” “Then I count this as at least a partial success, Majesty.” “To success, then,” Luna said, raising her goblet. Starlight did likewise, and each took another drink. As the two finished, Luna regarded Starlight, this time with concern written all over her eternally-youthful face. “Am I walking down my sister’s path?” she asked. Starlight considered his Princess, pressing his lips tightly together. “What dost thou mean, Majesty?” he asked. Luna stared at her drink. “The impersonators,” she answered. “Is it right, what I did? No crime was committed, none that I know of. I suppose ‘tis possible that one cruel law of my sister’s or another yet lingers in our books, but I did not consider that. I felt insulted, I felt angry, and so I lashed out. I darkened the sky in as sure a display of power as anything Celes…as anything Corona did.” Starlight grimaced. Luna insisted that Celestia was long gone, that the mare she had banished into the heart of the sun was only a twisted reflection called Corona, a name pulled from the elder alicorn’s attempt to crown herself as the high Queen of all Equestria, subservient to nopony and controlling everypony, even as all of Equestria rose against her when Luna had stolen the Elements of Harmony from her. Starlight knew, however, that it was a psychological crutch – and attempt on Luna’s part to rationalize what she did to herself, to try and forgive herself sending her sister away forever. He severely hoped that Luna’s self-imposed delusion would not catch on amongst the populace, nor remain with her for long. “Some of those ponies wished to take advantage of me for wealth and power,” Luna continued. “No doubt they still imagine me the inebriate I was for twelve years…easily fooled, at least long enough to get to Canterlot’s treasure vaults. But some of those ponies were merely desperate…Equestria has become a poor nation, and it is my fault, because I abandoned her for so long when she needed me most. The desperate ponies perhaps only wished for a warm roof over their heads, a full meal… “And then there were the last. The disturbed ponies. The ones who truly believed themselves to be Celestia…many of them were manipulated by others, the delusions played into. Some simply reached them on their own.” She regarded Starlight with a pained expression. “I have seen insanity. I have seen what delusion can drive a pony to do, and I know – I know – that they do not mean to harm. They simply do not understand what they are doing. “But did I consider any of that? No. I summoned blackness and thunder and lightning and made them fear the Night. I blamed them for faults that I, directly or indirectly, allowed. And have had them all thrown in dungeons like common criminals.” Luna paused a moment in thought, taking the time to sip her wine once more. “I can only imagine the fear that my lightning storm and my voice caused the rest of Canterlot…” Luna looked to Starlight. “So, Starlight Shine. Answer me: am I walking down the same path that transformed my sister into Corona?” “No,” Starlight answered immediately. Luna seemed taken aback, as though she had expected – wanted – to be told that she was becoming some kind of black twin to Celestia in her final years. “Think thee carefully on this matter, Starlight.” “I have, Majesty,” Starlight said. “Thou art no counterpart to the Tyrant Sun, no…no Nightmare Moon, if thou wouldst allow me to coin a phrase. That should be obvious to anypony and everypony who speaks to thee.” “But the impersonators…” “Were attempting to deceive thee,” Starlight said. “I cannot speak as to whether there are specific laws against insulting the Crown. But there are laws against fraud, which the desperate and deceptive ponies who were impersonating thy sister were most certainly attempting. Thou art entirely justified, there is full legal recourse.” Luna looked unconvinced. “And the mad ones?” “They are insane. They believe themselves to be Celestia. Perhaps prison is not where they belong, but certainly neither should they be out and about on the street. They could hurt themselves, or others. Thou hast six months to decide how to deal with them.” “And the desperate? The ones who merely wanted somewhere warm to sleep?” “Dungeons are warm, or can be . Meals are regular there. Crime is still crime, Majesty, regardless of the reasons – but if it troubles thee so, you once more have some months to come up with a solution, and until then the ponies you worry for are better off. This, finally, leaves only the ones who wished to intentionally deceive thee, when they had no reason for it. Charlatan tricksters such as they belong in prison.” “After a fair trial,” Luna lamented, taking another swig of wine. “All these ponies require a fair trial. They shall be held and charged, but trials must be properly carried out. I charge thee to arrange this, Starlight.” Starlight stared at Luna, rather than agreeing. The alicorn stared back, her look of concern over the course of a fair legal process dropping as she saw the look on Starlight’s face. “Don’t ask – ” she began. “Why is there a winged unicorn in Canterlot Castle?” Starlight asked, ignoring her majesty’s wishes. Luna ground her teeth together as she considered the question. “She is not a winged unicorn,” she answered. “Oh?” Starlight asked, brow raising slightly. “A true unicorn, then? I must say, Majesty, that she is an exceptional spellcaster, then; even I cannot detect the magic creating her wings.” He considered. “I think I understand thee now. Such a powerful sorceress should be properly trained and nurtured – ” “She is not a unicorn.” Starlight blinked at that, staring at Luna. The alicorn downed what remained of her wine, considered the empty goblet, and turned back to the cask, opening it once more and pouring herself a fresh goblet. When she turned around, she found herself treated to the rare sight of Starlight’s mouth hanging open in utter shock. It comforted Luna to know that it was still possible to surprise her fairly cynical majordomo. “Sh…bu….wh…” he stammered, setting his goblet down on the ground less he drop it in shock as the gears turned in his head, and he considered the possibilities that lay before him, or at least attempted to. Luna grimaced. “She is an alicorn.” “Impossible.” “Having seen my reflection quite often, Starlight, I must inform thee that I am quite familiar with alicorns. I know one when I see one. She is an alicorn.” Starlight stood and backed away several paces, looking like he wanted to charge up to the guest room, if only to look at the alicorn with his own eyes once more. “Is she…is she really Celes…who she claims to be?” Luna opened her mouth to respond – whether positively or negatively, Starlight didn’t know – but then paused. She looked past Starlight, to the rows and rows of casks that were behind him, and the entrance to the wine cellar. A pony was approaching, although his calm gait made it fairly clear that he likely had not heard any of the conversation that had just gone on between Luna and Starlight. As he reached the periphery of Starlight’s horn-light, Luna saw that it was the brown-coated retainer of the alicorn from before. The pegasus, for his part, dropped to his knees and hocks as soon as he saw the Princess. “P-Princess Luna!” the retainer exclaimed. “I am sorry, I did not mean to disturb thee!” Luna walked over to the retainer, looking down at him for a moment. “What brings thee here?” “My mistress bid me to bring her wine! She wishes to celebrate her arrival in Canterlot!” Luna nodded, unsurprised, before turning around, focusing on the cask of wine that she had Starlight had been drinking from. A glass bottle materialized from nothingness, and wine began to drift from the cask into the bottle, filling it to capacity before a cork appeared and stoppered the wine. Luna then turned back to the pegasus, putting the bottle down before him. “This is an excellent vintage,” she told the pegasus. “Please bring it to thy mistress with my compliments. I also invite her to join me for the raising of the moon tonight.” If it was possible, the brown pegasus bowed more before cautiously standing. “O-of course, Your Highness!” he exclaimed. “I am certain that Celestia shall be delighted to attend! With thy leave…” at an affirming nod from Luna, the pegasus picked the bottle up with his teeth, and turned quickly, leaving the wine cellar as fast as his hooves could carry him. Luna watched him go impassively, before turning around, regarding Starlight, who was still in a state of shock over Luna’s revelation. “When thou art finished,” she said, “please see to arranging those trials, Starlight.” “Y-yes, Majesty,” the unicorn said absentmindedly, probably more out of reflex then having actually heard his Princess. Luna didn’t wait for him to recover, instead finishing her final goblet of wine and letting herself dissolve into mist, heading to her chambers atop the tallest tower of Canterlot Castle.