//------------------------------// // Abandonment Issues // Story: Little Moon Princess // by Professor_Rising_Dawn //------------------------------// When Luna opened her eyes she found herself in the center of a bustling courtyard sitting beside Celestia. The sky was grey and the air was cold, a few snowflakes trickled down landing on her fur. She was still wearing her bed clothes from when she’d fallen asleep and a chill quickly crept into her bones from the cold cobblestones beneath her. Luna looked up at Celestia; they both were the only ponies sitting perfectly still, as wave after wave of bustling city ponies were making their daily rounds, seeming to ignore them. Luna felt small next to her sister from where she sat on the ground, and just as she was about to ask where they were and what was going on, Celestia stood with an emotionless gaze and began to walk slowly into the crowd. Luna attempted to follow her but felt bound to the ground, trapped in her seated position. “Tia wait!” She called to her sister as panic began to bubble up from her chest. The more she tried to move, the less she was able to make her legs budge. Celestia made no indication that she had heard Luna’s cry, as she continued to walk into the crowd, silent and stoic. The wind began to pick up and Luna tried to keep her eyes on her sister, as she struggled to stand. She became desperate and quickly lost sight of her. As soon as she did, whatever was keeping her down let up, and she bolted in the direction Celestia had gone. “Tia, Tia! Where are you?!” She called into the ocean of ponies whipping her head from side to side. Her panic quickly grew into an overwhelming fear that she would never find her sister again. Luna ran and ran all over the cobblestone path, and she could no longer see buildings anywhere just an endless swath of ponies. She stopped and begged ponies to help her, but each one continued on their path as if she did not exist. Her fear and panic grew and Luna felt like she was shrinking, getting smaller and smaller unable to find help and unable to escape the empty loneliness and fear. Celestia woke, hearing muffled cries from down the hall. Though she was still drowsy, hearing the distress which could only be coming from her sister sobered her from her fog of sleep. She lit her horn and climbed out of bed quickly, and traversed the dark hallway quietly as to not wake anyone else who’d managed to sleep through the whimpering cries of her sister. Once inside Luna’s room, Celestia closed the door and moved to her sister’s side. She was still crying and whimpering in her sleep, calling out for Tia in the most heart shattering sound the older sister had ever heard. “Luna, wake up, you’re having a bad dream” she said softly. With gentle hooves Celestia lifted Luna out of her bed and shook her. It took more than a few shakes but soon, Luna’s eyes opened, filled with sorrow and fear. Celestia’s heart broke to see that look in her sister’s eyes, and she hugged the young pony tightly. Upon waking, Luna felt terrified and completely alone. When it registered that she was being held by her Tia, she broke down again, pulling her sister into a tight hug. Neither of them said anything for a while, just stayed in a pile as Celestia rocked and gently stroked Luna’s mane as she cried. When Luna managed to pull herself together she squeaked out, “Can I please sleep with you tonight Tia?”. Celestia nodded. “Would you like to talk about it?” She asked softly. Luna shook her head, burying her muzzle into Celestias neck. Her heartbeat was finally slowing and she couldn’t bear to see her sister leave her alone, even though it had only been a nightmare. The idea of talking about her dream also sent shivers down her spine. She didn’t want to relive that fear Celestia yawned and gathered Luna up in her magic. She held her sister close as they walked to her room to finish sleeping for the night, and when they were safely inside, they curled up together and quickly fell asleep. Luna woke up with the sun shining brightly in her eyes. She let out a soft moan and rolled over, and accidentally off the bed. The thud and Luna’s startled yell caught Celestia’s attention, who had been preoccupied answering letters at her desk. “Are you alright?” She asked coming over with concern in her voice. Her mane was messy and she was still in her dressing gown, signaling that she hadn’t gotten up that much earlier. Luna smacked her head on the ground when she fell, giving her a hard bump on her noggin but she was otherwise unharmed. She was very relieved when she woke to feel that she was still dry though. She nodded to her sister while rubbing her head and looking around. With all the adventure of the previous day, she really hadn’t had a chance to look around. The walls were a bright white with a golden ivy mural painted on its edges. Paintings of their family, of the holders of the elements, and their friends hung on the walls. The room itself was warm and smelled slightly of warm vanilla and cloves, and all the furnishings were a polished birch. Everything seemed so light and inviting and Luna was almost jealous. Regardless of her assurance that she wasn’t hurt, Celestia still began to look over her sister to make sure that she was ok. Finding no major injuries, and because she was being pushed off by Luna with an annoyed, “I’m okay!” She backed off. “Fine, fine.” Celestia said with a roll of her eyes. She walked back to her desk and continued writing. “Today you’ll be spending the day with Silver Streak.” She said with a tone that conveyed that she wasn’t going to take any objections. Luna wanted to argue but she heard her sister’s tone and decided against it. Her dream from the previous night still lingered, and she didn’t like the idea of spending the day away from her. “Why can’t I spend it with you like we did yesterday?” She asked with wide eyes, hoping to play on her sister’s heart strings, rather than attempting to argue. Celestia turned and when she saw Luna with puppy dog eyes her own softened. “Though it’s been fun sharing you with the rest of Equestria, I have a large number of meetings to go to today. Since you’d not be allowed to participate, I figured you’d much rather enjoy the day doing things which are not sitting in a room drawing alone.” She explained softly. “But, if you really wanted to spend all day bored and alone in our meeting room then I can arrange it.” Celestia added with a sly dip in her tone The idea of being alone all day made Luna shutter. Today was not the day to seclude herself. “No no, I think I’ll be ok with Mr. Streak. What are we doing?” She asked curiously. He was so friendly before, she hoped he’d be just as friendly, especially if Celestia was going to make him her proxy. She also faintly hoped that maybe he’d let her bend the rules a bit. “I have no idea, although I trust him completely, so I’m sure he’ll find some appropriate activities for the two of you” She said with a small grin, still focused on her letters. They sat in relative silence for a while, and Luna had begun to occupy herself by playing with the bed covers boredly. She felt a twinge if pain in her bladder and knew she would be needing to relieve herself soon. After a few minutes there was a knock at the door. “Come in” Celestia chimed. The door to her room opened without hesitation and Silver Streak trotted In, surprisingly cheery. Luna was surprised to see him without his traditional uniform. Instead he wore light purple scarf and nothing more, a vastly different arrangement than the day before. “Good morning little one.” Silver said with a smile. He made brief eye contact with Celestia who nodded. “Let’s get you ready for the day.” He said helping Luna up and guiding her to the door. His voice seemed less formal today, and almost fatherly in its care and tone. With mixed feelings, Luna followed Silver Streak out of Celestia’s room and into the hall on the way to her bedroom.