As Twilight tried to revive a fainted Princess Luna, she was thinking back to what had brought on this series of events. Namely why Luna was doing all of the things that her sister usually did during the day.
It had all started when Twilight arrived in Canterlot, under the guise of looking for a friendship problem.
"The last thing any of us need at this important time, is for silly arguments to hold up progress and slow things to a crawl. Right, sister of mine?" Luna had questioned Celestia.
Celestia had not so subtly replied. "Oh yes indeed. We can't have that."
With the use of a locket Twilight communicated with Spike, Starlight, and Diamond Tiara back in Ponyville, informing them of her findings. "It seems my cover story about a friendship problem was more accurate than I might have anticipated."
Twilight had spent an entire day studying the royal sisters, who were busy preparing for the Summer Solstice and Summer Sun Celebration that was to take place in Manehattan. And she'd discovered that the two princess' quarrel was much worse than first impressions had given. Unknowingly she'd given the advice. "Maybe it would help if you both got the opportunity to walk a mile in each other's horseshoes, so to speak."
And that's exactly what the two sisters had done. They'd swapped cutie marks and responsibilities!
"When the sun comes up tomorrow all will be back to normal, and we'll see who truly has it easier." Luna had declared and thus threw down the gauntlet.
"I accept your challenge, Luna!" Celestia had firmly replied.
Luna then went about doing Celestia's duties for the day, starting with hosting day court. All went well until it was time for a photo shoot with some children from Las Pegasus. The princess had been smiling and waving so much that her cheeks hurt, and her big smile quickly drew attention for all the wrong reasons.
"That smile's too wide! It's obviously a lie!" The school children had chanted. And to make matters worse that image was what had graced the front page of the Canterlot Times.
Soon afterward, when Luna saw that she still had over half a list of responsibilities left to perform, she'd grown light headed and ultimately fainted!
All the while, Twilight had insisted on letting the princesses work things out and had refused any help. But she was starting to regret her decision. The young alicorn could only hope that Luna would survive until the end of the day, and that somehow all of this would help her and Celestia to resolve their differences.
"...Luna?!... Princess Luna?!" A faint but growing voice could be heard ringing in the night princess' ears. Slowly she began to stumble awake, lifting her head from its resting spot atop the dining room table.
"Huh? O-oh... I'm awake! I'm awake!" Luna called out as her eyes opened and she saw the worried form of Twilight Sparkle standing over her. "Oh I've just had the craziest dream," The princess mumbled. "I dreamt that my sister and I swapped cutie marks and roles to see who had it easier."
A nervous laugh escaped Twilight's lips as she confessed. "That... wasn't a dream. It actually happened. You passed out."
Luna felt the urge to slam her head down on the table again. "Then the children... and... and the photo, all of it was real?" When Twilight nodded in confirmation, Luna groaned anew. "Ugh. Can't we just cancel the rest of my sister's duties until nightfall? I can't go on like this. Those children were depending on me and I let them down."
"You sound just like Spike when he was dealing with the fact that he didn't light the torch at the Equestria Games," Twilight commented to the night princess. "But you're a princess, you have royal responsibilities. You can't just run and hide because of one mistake, no matter how big it might be," In a more gentle, reassuring tone of voice she added. "Kibitz is working as we speak to reschedule the photo shoot and give the kids another chance. The best you can do now is try to move on."
"Do I really have to do all these things on the list?" Luna complained. "How long have I been out?"
The young alicorn answered. "Not more than a few minutes, thankfully. Lunch is almost over though, so better grab something to eat while you still can."
"O...kay." Luna reluctantly consented. She quickly helped her to some stale pizza and a few cups of coffee (thankfully decaf), then she took a quick cold shower to snap her back to her senses. She could not afford to nod off or faint again. She'd already given the papers a story to spin out of proportion, she wasn't about to let them have another if she could help it. Her reputation wouldn't survive.
Kibitz returned just as Luna was seated in the throne room, trying her best to sit up straight and appear to be at attention. "Ah, Princess Luna. Good to see you've recovered from your fainting spell," He commented. "I take it you're ready to start hosting delegates again?"
"Have they been briefed on the arrangement between my sister and I?" The alicorn with a coat of dark blue inquired of her royal advisor.
Kibitz nodded. "They will not act with alarm and have been instructed to treat you no differently than they would your sister."
"Excellent," Luna appeared to smile and clapped her hooves. "Alright, let's get it over with. Bring in the delegates."
"Very well," Kibitz obliged and motioned for the guards to open up the throne room doors. He also took the opportunity to mention to the alicorn. "You'll be pleased to know I was able to convince the school to come back for a do over on the photo shoot. The fundraiser deadline isn't until the end of this week, so a proper photo and smile should be enough to erase the damage done by the earlier attempt."
At that Luna breathed a much needed sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. The first good news I've had all day."
"Hope you don't mind, princess," Twilight spoke up as she trotted up to Luna. "After what happened this morning I think it's best if I sit in on these meetings and help you out. I've dealt with delegates before."
"Funny," Luna smirked as she put a hoof to her face to suppress the giggles. "From what Cadence tells me it was your son, Spike, who tended to the delegates last time. You were busy resting for the ceremony and were already half asleep by the time Cadence brought you back to your room."
"Well you would've been so proud to see him then," Twilight beamed happily. "He managed better than I could've ever expected. He even turned down an offer from Fancy Pants to be Canterlot's delegate for all future meetings."
"No kidding?!" The night princess exclaimed. "My, it seems he has really grown a lot these past few years. I still remember the first time you agreed to let me dragonsit him. I wasn't sure he'd ever get to sleep, he kept talking about you and how much he worried about you."
Twilight continued to beam. "That's my son for you. He's even managed to make friends out of the likes of the dragons and the changelings, both of which are now valuable allies to Equestria."
"I'm well aware of that. I've made sure to monitor his dreams from time to time." Luna commented.
Twilight was about to ask Luna if the night princess had been monitoring Spike's dreams the past two nights, but was interrupted by the opening of the throne room doors. And in trotted a whole herd of delegates from all over Equestria, from big cities like Canterlot and Manehattan, to small towns like Ponyville and Appleloosa.
"Greetings, delegates," The night alicorn rose to greet the gathered crowd. "Please do not be alarmed by the presence of myself in my sister's place, and Twilight Sparkle in Kibitz's place. You have all surely been briefed by now on the situation, and rest assured that all is well."
"You're certain you can manage, princess?" Fancy Pants inquired. "We understand today has already been an exhausting day for you, many of us would be glad to wait until tomorrow and let you get some rest."
Luna shook her head firmly in protest. "Tomorrow my sister will be just as tired as I am today, better if we get it over with now rather than add more to my sister's already overwhelming plate of responsibilities," And she then insisted. "I can manage just fine. Now whatever you wish to discuss, please get in line. I intend to run things the way my sister does with you delegates. And she always starts by organizing a line."
The delegates formed a line with little hesitation and one by one they approached Princess Luna with their problems that they hoped she could solve.
Luna, for her part, did her best to concentrate and pay attention. But every so often her mind would still drift back to those school children from Las Pegasus. No matter how hard she tried she could not stop thinking about them. How despite what everyone else said she had let them down.
More than once she became so focused and fixated on them, that she lost track of whatever else was being discussed and had to be reminded. Each time she did so she could hear the hushed whispers of the delegates as they talked amongst themselves. It was hard not to pry and what she heard only further filled her heart with worry.
"She seems really out of it." One delegate whispered.
"Are we sure the princesses haven't secretly been replaced with changelings?" Another delegate murmured. "That would certainly explain their strange behavior the past few days."
A third delegate could be heard whispering. "I told you we shouldn't bother the princesses at this time of year. They're far too busy with the solstice and the Summer Sun Celebration to pay any attention to our needs."
"I think we'll just have to come back tomorrow or the next day," A fourth delegate softly suggested. "This seems to have been a mistake on our part. Princess Luna is clearly too tired to manage for an entire day."
Luna immediately shouted in protest. "No!" A little too loudly, as all the delegates in the room suddenly swung round to look at her! She attempted to cover her outburst as she coughed into a hoof and said. "Er I mean, there's no need to fret. Everything is under control. I'm wide awake and ready to listen!"
"You're absolutely sure?" One of the delegates commented. "We really don't want to be a burden to you, your majesty. Our needs aren't that important."
"Speak for yourself!" A Trottingham delegate rudely snapped. "I for one want to hear it straight from the princess' mouth that there are no timberwolves in the Whitetail Woods! And I'm not going anywhere until I hear exactly that!"
"Oh, is that all?" The night alicorn chuckled briefly to herself. "Well I can safely assure you THERE ARE NO TIMBERWOLVES IN THE WHITETAIL WOODS!" Then she let out a gasp and covered her mouth as she realized that she'd unintentionally slipped into her "Royal Canterlot Voice".
The Trottingham delegate blinked and rubbed his eyes, feeling around for the thick black glasses that had been blown off his face when Luna had spoken just a minute ago. At last, he found them and used his magic to place them firmly back on his face. "Er, I'm sorry, your majesty," He spoke. "I thought you were saying something, but I couldn't quite make it out. Felt like something blew right past just as you spoke. Could you maybe repeat that?"
"Y-yes yes, of course," Luna nodded. But she seemed to briefly hesitate, as though afraid to speak. At last, in a more normal tone she declared. "There are no timberwolves in the Whitetail Woods. You can tell the good citizens of Trottingham not to worry. Any reports of timberwolves in the vicinity of the surrounding wilderness are naught but unfounded rumors."
"T-thank you, princess... I think." The Trottingham delegate blinked and departed without saying a word.
The alicorn with a coat of dark blue sank deep in her sister's throne, wishing nothing more than to be able to turn invisible. By chance her eyes happened to glance up at a small clock that rested out of sight of wandering eyes. It seemed like the clock had barely moved at all since she'd gotten here. But that couldn't be! Time HAD to have passed!
"Maker have mercy. This is going to be a long day." Luna thought to herself as she reluctantly returned her attention to the delegates.
Hours ticked by agonizingly slowly for the exhausted Princess Luna. No amount of decaf in the world could compensate for her lack of sleep and overall boredom. She tried her hardest to pay attention to the delegates, to listen to what they had to say. But this wasn't like that one time she'd briefly held day court for her sister, back then she'd been given the freedom to manage on her own and do things the way she wanted. Now she was hamstrung by the fact that it was expected of her to do things the way her sister would.
And try as she might, Luna knew she was no Celestia. If this was the kind of stuff her sister had to put up with on a daily basis, maybe she could be forgiven for overlooking a few flower arrangements that were admittedly hung in hard to notice spots. A small pang of guilt began to work its way into the younger sister's conscience. Despite putting up with all these things and probably more, her elder sister still found the time every morning to make breakfast. And what had Luna done to show appreciation for that? She'd just ignored it and gone back to bed, or tended to something that was nowhere near as important.
Well the first thing tomorrow, when everything was back to normal, Luna made it a mental vow to apologize to Celestia.
At last, evening came and the delegates all dispersed, many of them feeling chipper and cheerful. "My, that didn't take long at all." One delegate was heard to be saying to himself.
"I know, right?" Another delegate laughed. "Things have never been so eventful with Princess Celestia, she's way too serious. Princess Luna seems to be much more lively. A shame she doesn't seem to be around during the day as often."
But for Princess Luna, the day had not at all gone by quickly. It had ticked by agonizingly slow from one hour to another. Never in all her life had she felt so utterly exhausted. Still, she managed to somehow will herself to lower the sun when the time came. But when she returned from the balcony overlooking Canterlot, it was easy to see the bags under her eyes as she yawned. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'm gonna call it an early night," She spoke to Twilight. "But tell my sister, if she thinks my nightly duties will be any easier for her than what I've had to put up with today, she's sorely mistaken. And of course, I trust she knows I can't help her."
Twilight nodded. "Of course she knows. And I'm sure Princess Celestia will not underestimate the weight of your responsibilities," She reassured Luna. "Should I tell her what happened today?"
Luna shook her head in protest. "I'd rather not give my sister any more reason to mock me, I imagine she'll be rightfully ribbing me about all of this for the next week and a half," And she yawned again. "Be sure to tell Spike his dragonsitter says hello. Feels like it's been ages since I last saw him." And with that, the night alicorn departed to her bed chambers in the hopes of getting a good night's sleep.
Princess Celestia came trotting out not even a moment after Luna had retired for the night. Compared to her sister, she looked noticeably more lively and energetic (helped by having an entire day to sleep in). "Ah," She faintly yawned and shook the last of sleep from her system. "Refreshed and wide awake. Where's Luna?"
"Probably asleep. She's had a very rough day." Twilight explained to Celestia.
"Oh dear," Celestia briefly commented with concern, but then she found herself snickering. "Well I guess my royal duties were a little more than she could handle. Oh well, I tried to warn her. But a deal's a deal, I'll manage her chores for tonight and then tomorrow she can go back to doing what she does best."
In no time at all the moon was raised into the night sky, casting its soft and beautiful glow on the landscape below. Celestia smiled. "Moon raised right on schedule," She told herself and then turned to Twilight. "Now then, Twilight, why don't you and I..."
But Twilight had fallen asleep on the balcony next to Princess Celestia, her snores registering quite audibly in her former mentor's ears. The sun princess let out a sigh. "Oh, Twilight. I was hoping you'd stay up for a little longer. There was so much I wanted to talk to you about. But then again you never were much of a night pony, except for when you had a nightmare or storms were passing through."
The sun princess lit up her horn and effortlessly lifted her exhausted fellow alicorn, depositing her gently on the bed that Celestia usually occupied. She made sure to tuck her former student in nice and comfortably, ensuring that the sheets weren't wrinkled. It really felt like old times, the princess recalling many fond memories of her student as a filly. She'd always insist "I can stay up late, princess.", only to doze off right at Celestia's hooves before the first hour of night had passed.
Celestia wished nothing more than to just be by her sleeping former student's side and watch over her, but alas she had to tend to Luna's royal duties and thus had to leave her former prized pupil to get a good night's sleep.
Before Celestia left her bedroom though, she made sure to re-examine the checklist Kibitz had given her. "Okay, all I have to do now is watch over the dream realm and protect ponies in their sleep," She noticed and then tossed the list aside as she boasted. "Ha! My list was three times as long! This'll be a piece of cake." Had anyone been watching they might have seen the mighty alicorn lick her lips, but if you'd asked her she would've denied ever doing such a thing. Her fondness for cake was something she didn't like to admit to.
Stepping out onto the balcony that overlooked the city below, Celestia took notice of the fact that all the lights in the houses below were switching off. "Alright, everypony's asleep," She said out loud and soon took notice of that fact. "Oh, you're talking to yourself, princess. But... there's no one else to talk to out here!" Biting her hoof the sun princess briefly worried about how she was going to survive a night of solitude with no one to confide in, before she remembered a very important detail. "Duh, you're so silly sometimes, Celestia. I can talk to ponies in their dreams. If Luna can do it then so can I!"
Lighting up her horn with the greatest of ease, Princess Celestia left the waking world behind and quickly entered into the dream realm. All around her various bubbles whooshed past, each representing the dream of a different pony. A few in particular caught her eye: Applejack was dreaming of herself as a foal, being held in the loving embrace of her parents. Discord (surprisingly enough) was dreaming about having a pillow fight with The Smooze in a noticeably normal fashion. Either Princess Cadence or Flurry Heart herself dreamt of the infant alicorn being a DJ, decked out in shades and sitting atop a turntable as Cadence bobbed her head to the beat of the music. And Gummy appeared to be dreaming of himself as a king, perched atop a pile of gold and holding a royal scepter in his mouth.
Even though it had been decades since she'd last visited the dream realm the sun princess felt right at home in it. And she smiled as she observed countless dreams fly past her. "This is great! Now I just need to help ponies with their nightmares. And they're not actually real so that shouldn't be a problem!" She boasted before noticing. "Oh, you're talking to yourself again, princess. You really must curb that bad habit of yours or ponies will start to think you're crazy."
Suddenly, a scream of fright reached the alicorn's ears and she knew what that meant! Somewhere out there, somepony was having a terrible dream! And since she was the only one who could access the dream realm it was her responsibility to help the pony in it. Without even a second's hesitation, the princess leaped into action, zeroing in on the source of the scream. She was prepared for anything!
The pony suffering the bad dream was none other than Twilight, who was screaming as she appeared to be falling down an endless hole of some sort. All the while pancake faces not unlike the ones Princess Celestia had made yesterday were staring at her, repeating over and over again, "I care." in a way that sounded more menacing in the dream than it had ever sounded in the waking world. She continued to fall for what seemed like forever, until at last she landed on a bed of lavender flowers. But the world around her suddenly flipped on its side, and poor Twilight fell through the flowers as if they were the surface of a pond or a lake.
When at last she stopped falling, Twilight found herself staring at a huge golden locket, unable to move or look away. The locket opened up and inside it were the worried faces of Diamond Tiara, Starlight Glimmer, and Spike. "Help us, Twilight!" They all cried at once! But when Twilight reached out a hoof the locket suddenly slammed shut and disappeared! "No!" Twilight gasped! "My student! My former student! My son! They can't be... there's no way they could be..." Her words trailed off as the princess of friendship was reduced to tears, sobbing into the empty darkness.
Princess Celestia had seen enough! She entered the dream and landed in front of Twilight, seemingly unaware that the environment had changed to resemble the throne room of Canterlot. "Twilight!" She exclaimed with noticeable worry. "It's okay, I'm here! You're just having a bad dream!"
But Twilight just continued to sob as she looked up at Princess Celestia. "No, t-this can't be! My suggestion was meant to help you two come together and find common ground, not drive you further apart! Starlight was right, I needed her help! Oh, why didn't I listen?! Why did I let myself be blinded by how much I looked up to you?!"
"Twilight, what are you talking about?!" Celestia nervously inquired. "None of this is real, it's all a bad dream! Any minute now, you're going to wake up in your bed and you'll see that everything is just fine!"
Twilight didn't appear to be listening, her sobs only grew louder. To her it was as if Princess Celestia didn't even exist outside the dream. "If you and Princess Luna can't see why you need each other then..." She gulped, trailing off.
"Then I am back!" A familiar wicked voice cackled as a brilliant cyan with light violet sparks colored aura suddenly ripped a hole through the dream. And from it emerged an instantly recognizable pony, one that Celestia had hoped never to see again! It was a tall and slender very dark cornflower blue coated alicorn (almost as black as the night itself) with a flowing mane and tail a two shaded blue that resembled the night sky, moderate cyan eyes coldly shaded by moderate blue violet eyebrows, and sharp fangs. "At last, free again!"
Celestia threw up a wing to shield Twilight. "Stay back, Twilight!" She cautioned to her former student. "I know how to handle the likes of Nightmare Moon! I've defeated her once and I will defeat her again!"
But just then a voice that sounded like an evil version of Celestia's called out. "So you say, but can you handle the likes of me?!" And from the shadows emerged a version of Princess Celestia that looked like a copy of Nightmare Moon, except her colors consisted of whites, reds, and oranges, and her mane and tail looked like fire.
Princess Celestia jumped back in surprise and a look of horror crossed her eyes! "No, it can't be!" She shuddered.
The evil Celestia just cackled as she approached her good counterpart. "Oh come now, don't act so surprised. Even you have a dark side, princess," She taunted. "Deep down you know that if Princess Luna can turn into Nightmare Moon, you can most certainly turn into me, Daybreaker. The better, stronger, and if I'm being completely honest, much prettier version of you."
"This can't be!" The good Celestia remarked. "You were just a figment of my imagination!"
Daybreaker cackled with fiendish glee. "Oh please, why do you delude yourself so? You rule over your subjects so kindly when you have the power to rule them by force. You don't need Luna or anypony else. All you have to do is get rid of anyone who stands in your way," And with that she turned her attention to Nightmare Moon. "I never should've banished you, oh sister of mine. I should've destroyed you when I had the chance!"
"Then destroy me if you can!" Nightmare Moon taunted. "But I sure hope you don't plan on smiling me into submission! You may look like me, but I know you're nothing but a pale imitation! You're hardly even worthy of being my equal! I have no clue why you would choose to imitate me, sister. Is it because you fear my power? Or maybe you're secretly jealous of my natural good looks?" Then she began to charge up her horn, a sickly black surge of magic began to appear. "This time it is you who will be defeated! And I who shall reign triumphant!"
Daybreaker merely rolled her eyes as Nightmare Moon began to charge up power. "Ugh, so much black. We get it, you're upset," She sarcastically teased. "You know what I think, I think you could really use some SUN! Here, have some!" And she proceeded to effortlessly fire off a magic blast of her own to counter Nightmare Moon's! Surprisingly, the two proved to be evenly matched.
Princess Celestia tried in vain to break up the fight between the two evil alicorns. In fact it seemed that, much like Twilight they didn't even acknowledge her. Were they just figments of the dream? Manifestations of Twilight's guilt? Or were they real?
Well the sun princess didn't know, but what she did know was that she could not dispel this nightmare alone. "I hare to admit it but I need help," She said to herself. "And there's only one pony who can help me now."
Inside her own dream Princess Luna found herself posing and smiling in front of a mirror. But every time she did so it was the same big smile she'd given for the photo shoot with the Las Pegasus children. And they would always appear behind her, pointing a hoof and taunting over and over again. "That smile's too wide. It's obviously a lie."
When at last Luna was able to turn around she found herself face to face with the children, all of them looking at her with the saddest set of eyes the night princess had ever seen. The filly Luna had sat next to even asked in a sad tone of voice. "Princess, why don't you want us to go on our field trip? Don't you want us to be happy?"
"I don't!" Luna protested and then gasped in horror as she saw two of her front teeth fall out! She quickly corrected herself even as more teeth start to fall out one by one! "I mean, I do! Believe me, children, I do want you to be happy!"
But the children didn't appear to be convinced for they just encircled and surrounded Luna, drawing closer as they continued to chant. "That smile's too wide. It's obviously a lie."
Suddenly, from the mirror who should emerge but Princess Celestia in all her glory?! Luna forgot all about their quarrel as she hugged her sister and exclaimed! "Celestia, I'm so glad you're here!" She almost didn't notice when she was pulled through the mirror and into Twilight's dream (regaining all of her teeth in the process). It took her but a minute to see the ongoing fight between Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker, and when she did she let out an audible gasp! "Is this Twilight's dream?!"
Celestia nodded. "This is what she fears most right now, what she fears will happen if we can't put aside our differences. But try as I might I can't seem to dispel any part of this dream or get her to wake up."
"She's far too deeply embedded in the dream to be talked out of it or woken up," Luna observed with worry. "If you don't dispel the dream soon though, it could have an irreversible effect on Twilight's psyche. This puts anything I've seen in Spike's dreams to shame."
"I can't do it, Luna! Try as I might I don't have the same touch that you do when it comes to dreams! That's why I gave up on entering the dream realm after you were banished!" Celestia tearfully confessed. "I was wrong, sister! Your job is so much harder than mine! You have to face nightmares and all sorts of horror every night, and you have to do it all alone!"
"Your duties are hardly any easier," Luna confessed in reply. "I greatly admire your ability not to crack under the sheer weight of all that you must do," Then she changed the subject. "But I can't help you here, this isn't like me filling in for you on day court. Remember, I still have your magic. It won't work in the dream realm. You must be the one to end this nightmare."
"I already said I can't do it!" The sun princess cried in defeat.
The night princess shook her head and pressed a hoof to her sister's chest. "I know you can do it, sister. You must simply believe in yourself, like I believe in you. Look inside yourself and I know you'll find the strength and courage you need," She then observed as Daybreaker appeared to land a crippling blow to Nightmare Moon, leaving the evil dark coated alicorn on the floor and struggling just to get to her hooves. "You'd better hurry. It seems things are about to take a turn for the worse!"
"This is the end of the road, ex-sister!" Daybreaker coldly taunted to Nightmare Moon. "Nothing will save you from oblivion!"
But just as Daybreaker fired off a blast of magic and Nightmare Moon countered with a blast of her own, Celestia stepped between the two and used her wings to block the powerful beams! "That's enough!" She bellowed! "Both of you are out of line and must be punished! Be gone from this dream and never show your faces in my presence again!"
Daybreaker defiantly snapped back. "You're a fool, Celestia! You can't destroy me! I'm everything you've ever wanted to be!"
"No, you are NOT me, Daybreaker!" Celestia defiantly roared at her evil counterpart. "And you will never exist again!" At that she used her wings to push the magic blasts back towards their respective senders, dispelling both Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker in the blink of an eye.
Exhausted but triumphant, the sun princess collapsed on the floor of the dream throne room. Her younger sister smiled and cheered. "Well done, sister! I must say, for somepony who hasn't been in the dream realm for almost a thousand years, you handled that situation like a pro."
"Only because you were here to help me, Luna," The day alicorn sighed. "I really don't know how you manage it night after night, and make it look so easy."
Luna just winked. "I have my ways," And then she asked. "So, did you... talk to yourself?"
Celestia tried in vain not to blush as she admitted. "Yes... But you do it too, I'll bet."
"Guilty as charged." Luna chuckled.
Meanwhile Twilight finally lifted her head and her eyes fell upon the two sisters hugging each other warmly. "Is this... real?" She pondered aloud. "Or is this all a dream?"
The two sisters turned to the one whose dream they were still in. Luna was the first to speak. "This is indeed a dream, Twilight Sparkle. Those you care about are still alive and well, waiting for you to come back. But the bond you are witnessing between my sister and I, it's as real as real can be."
Celestia then added. "But why didn't you say something sooner, Twilight? Then all of this could've been avoided. Had you just mentioned why you were really here, Luna and I would've gladly listened to your advice and tried to work to sort out our differences. And we wouldn't have had to swap places and duties to do so after you unknowingly planted the idea in our head."
Ashamed, Twilight looked down at the ground. "I'm so sorry, I never thought any of this would ever happen, honest!" She profusely apologized. "But Princess Celestia," Gulping and swallowing a huge lump in her throat the young alicorn reluctantly confessed. "Ever since I was a filly I've looked up to you, you were my idol and my inspiration. Even Starswirl the Bearded never topped the admiration I had for you. And that's something that never changed. I let that blind me, I convinced myself that you were aware of what happened the last time you and Luna fought so fiercely. And then I convinced myself that I could just help the two of you get through this day, and you would understand how much you need each other. I let things get out of control."
"Twilight," Celestia softly but sternly sighed. "You may have had good intentions, but even if you believed what you believed you should know that a princess can't make such rash judgements. It's dangerous to ever put anypony on a pedestal, because even I am not perfect. My sister and I can fight sometimes, even if we may not realize or want to admit to it. But fight we do, and it's important for ponies like you to be honest with us when that's happening. That way, we can correct it before it gets to this point."
Twilight sniffled a tiny bit. "Believe me, princess. I know that now more than ever. Please forgive me for being so blind. I didn't mean to make you and Princess Luna have to confront dark versions of yourself. That was never my intention."
"It's quite alright, Twilight," Luna gently reassured the troubled alicorn. "Now we all know for next time what not to do in a situation like this. But for now it's getting late, the sun will need to rise soon. We must all return to the waking world at once."
In a flash of light Princess Celestia found herself back in the real world, feeling rather groggy and exhausted. "My kingdom for a coffee." She thought to herself.
A cheerful Princess Luna was the first sight that greeted the sun princess as she came to her senses. "Welcome back, dear sister," She smiled. "I know you had a long night, so I thought I'd return the favor and make breakfast for you to enjoy." She then offered up a plate of rather stale and crusty looking pancakes.
Celestia reluctantly took a bite from the stack as it was offered to her. The pancakes tasted awful, but she forced herself to swallow them and smile as she told her sister. "They're... delicious."
Luna saw through the ruse immediately and laughed. "I know that face. What did you just get through telling Twilight about not keeping the truth hidden?" And then she added. "They're not delicious at all, are they? I know you have to put on a face and pretend to be interested in what those stuffy delegates have to say day in and day out, but you don't have to do it for me."
The sun princess smiled. "In that case, these are terrible," She tossed the bad pancakes over the balcony, plate and all. "I'm signing you up for cooking lessons first thing tomorrow, sister," She said firmly. "I can't believe it's been over a thousand years, and you still don't know how to cook."
"Never found the time. But I suppose I can make room in my schedule to learn," The alicorn with a coat of dark blue replied and then yawned. "But for now I really must be going. I need to get some rest before that do over photo shoot with the Las Pegasus children. They'll be expecting me, and you know I never disappoint children." She flew off just seconds after she and Celestia had their cuties marks return to normal.
An exhausted Princess Celestia just groaned. "I'm going to need more coffee," She said to herself. "A lot more coffee! Honestly, how can anypony survive on so few hours of sleep?"