//------------------------------// // One Side of the Coin // Story: A Royal Problem // by Wearin Hat //------------------------------// Having become accustomed to a life of peace, the ponies of Equestria had become very used to starting their mornings later than their ancestors would’ve dared. The vast majority of the population was still snuggly asleep and running playfully through their lovely dreams; a group that included the Element of Loyalty, a mare well known for her sleeping habits. Many others were enjoying a sizable breakfast that would hold their hunger at bay until noon had come to pass; including Ponyville’s very own party planner extraordinaire who casually satisfied her hunger every morning only to continue snacking for the rest of the day regardless of the early feast. Few were active and in the process of getting through the morning’s chores; a daily habit of the Apple family. However, there only existed one pony in the entirety of the world who, by this point of the early morning, had set the Sun on its course for the day, settled five different territory disputes, indulged herself in a delicious meal that did nothing to help the diet she tried to stay faithful to, and worried herself ill over the state of her relationship with her sister. Absentmindedly watching the morning progress further and further from her balcony that looked over the valley in which Ponyville was nestled safely, Princess Celestia mulled over the plan for the day. There were at least nine or so territory issues to dispel, trade talks to be had with those few ponies living outside the reach of her country, her typical morning flight, and many other mundane tasks that she busied herself with every day. Though genuinely interested in the affairs of the ponies she ruled over, the Princess was far from attentive on even her thoughts of the matters. The only thoughts that managed to captivate her attention for long periods of time were those of her dear sister. Sitting in a tower adjacent to her own, one that bad long been uninhabited until recently, was the very sister that the ruler was worried for. She still loved Luna, no matter what the silly mare was fussing over that causing this pain. Never had Celestia abandoned her best friend. There was never a day that passed by that she didn’t regret what had to be done and there will never be a day where the ruler can become comfortable with the choice she made. The chirping of birds from the gardens below brought the Sun Princess out of her thoughts as a robin hit a particularly high note. A happy smile forced its way onto her face as the Princess thought over how the garden had stood since her youth. She and Luna had both had gardens planted in their honor. The only problem was that the Moon Princess’ plants died once the gardeners refused to tend to them for fear of being seen as traitors by the citizens of Canterlot. Eventually vandals forced the Sun Princess to close the once beautiful land and thus doom it to becoming an eyesore. Never having been skilled in the arts of gardening, the royal sisters had taken great pride in the shrines planted for them. Which added onto the heartbreak that the Sun Princess felt as she couldn’t imagine how much her dear sister must’ve felt seeing the empty land that had once been dedicated to her glory. Then again, Celestia had been having trouble thinking about which part of this was supposed to be easy in any way. One thousand years is a long time for any pony, even longer when it is spent in banishment into the moon. Luna had spoken at length with her sister about this whole situation on the night of her return and subsequent defeat at the hooves of the Elements of Harmony. Not wanting to dampen the return of the only pony that the she could confidently say she truly loved like no other, Celestia had wanted to focus on enjoying their time together. The Princess of the Night, however, rejected her sister in favor of the discussion. It had been a very emotional night for the two as Luna apologized for several hours on end. No progress was really made that night as Celestia had been overwhelmed by her sister’s words. It never occurred to the Sun Princess that would be the only chance she would have to talk this over in truth. Sighing sadly, Princess Celestia watched a bird flutter away into the horizon as she contemplated the whole situation carefully. As could be expected, Luna had not made any friends and the only connections she had managed to make on her own had been with her loyal guards. Sure, eventually the Lunar Princess ventured into Ponyville and managed to make some shaky friendships, but it wasn’t at all what Celestia knew her sister wanted. Before the nightmares had corrupted her sister with envy, the younger alicorn had collected a circle of friends that she loved dearly. This group of ponies had been subjects that did not sleep the precious night away and instead marveled at its beauty and cherished its creator’s personality. These ponies had regrettably died during the absence of the Lunar Princess and Celestia was sure that her sister’s heart ached for them every second of every day. Oddly, this heartache didn’t seem to be the source of the problem plaguing their relationship. The few times Celestia had gotten a true conversation out of her sister, the younger alicorn had admitted that she held no hard feelings for being banished away from the life she loved. Most surprisingly, Luna had claimed that she didn’t blame anypony but herself for being sent away. This confused the Solar Princess as she could sense the resentment and hidden hatred boiling within her sibling’s heart. Worst yet was that she could tell that Luna spoke the truth in regards to her feelings. If not rage over her punishment, then what was hurting the Lunar Princess so much that she refused to even join her sister for a nice dinner for the two of them? Luna had always been the more romantic and poetic of the two royal sisters and such only served to feed the storm of confusion that Celestia felt. What was taking her sister from her? Luna’s initial rejection of dinner invites had been expected by the Solar Princess, but the cold rebuttals she received whenever she greeted her younger sister had begun to seriously worry the older alicorn. Though nothing mean spirited was ever spoken and no insult was ever muttered, it was the absolute lack of love in her sister’s tone of voice that had thrown the ruler into restless sleep. Had they not spent every day and night together in foalhood? Was it not their love that fueled the Elements of Harmony during the battle with Discord? If indeed something had stolen the love in her sister’s heart, then the Sun Princess was determined to determine the culprit. A light breeze picked up and carried the scent of the morning dew adorning the ground to the face of the royal mare. Quietly the alicorn allowed a quivering moan to escape her lips at the delightful feeling of the shiver running down her back and across her sensitive flight muscles. Knowing she could not put off her duties for much longer, Celestia turned to reenter her bedroom with a forlorn look in her eyes. It wasn’t exactly her idea of fun to deal with many annoyances of her position whilst constantly worrying over her sister’s well being. She would much rather assign her duties to several different ponies of varying specialties in order to see to the matter herself. That had been what Luna and Celestia used to do in their youth. Give their specialists the orders of taking care of royal business so that the royal sisters could frolic across Equestria in bliss. However, mortals proved themselves far too dangerous to trust with the fate of the empire. That’s why she had assigned the task of soling this mystery to her star pupil Twilight Sparkle. Before she could venture through her quarters, Celestia caught a glimpse of something out of place. Lying on the pillow of her bed was a scroll that had not been there when the Princess had last been in her room. A knowing smile stretched across her visage as she levitated the parchment before her. Taking care to calm her nerves so as not to accidentally rip the message to pieces before reading it, the Sun Princess carefully unrolled the much awaited response to her call for help. Dear Princess Celestia, It is unfortunate that I must confirm that I have received your letter about Luna. Please accept my condolences for the pain you two must be going through. I can assure you that we’ll do everything within our abilities to help in any way possible. On that note, I’m afraid that your initial letter did not include details that would be most helpful in discerning what problem is weighing on Luna’s mind. If you wouldn’t mind, could you please include detailed descriptions of the actions or inactions that she has partaken of that have worried you? Without that information the help we can offer is minimal at best. As for who will be assisting me in my work on this issue, I’m saddened that few of my friends will be of any real use. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash will be of little help as they do not have experience in sibling problems. At first I thought that Applejack would be ideal to offer some insight into this situation, but her relationships with Big Macintosh and Apple Bloom have never been on the negative side and thus she would have very little knowledge of what problem could be causing a rift between two sisters. It was obvious to me from the start that Pinkie would be incapable of offering useful insight here as she has never had a lasting issue with anypony. In fact, I don’t know if it is even possible for her to have conflict of any sort not related to parties or baking. Rarity was supposed to be my ace in the hole. She and Sweetie Belle, her younger sister if you recall correctly, are always having an issue of some sort and even temporarily denounced their sisterhood over their quarrels. However, much to my disappointment, Rarity claims that she and her sister’s problems have never been anything relatable to the scale of the cataclysm plaguing you and Luna. And, as you surely know, Shining Armor and I have never really had a real fight before so I have little experience in sibling squabbles personally. There is hope though! Rarity introduced to me to a friend of hers that you might remember meeting at some point. His name is Chrome Prism and he was the playwright that you hired to do revisions on the Hearth’s Warming Eve play. According to Rarity, he has a brother with whom he has an incredibly negative relationship with. I met with Chrome this morning and I can personally attest that even mistakenly hinting towards his brother caused a…disturbance for him. So I really think he’ll be the key to your problem. He even agreed to assist in any way he could! Best yet he doesn’t know that is you and Luna that are having the problem. So far only Spike, Rarity, and Sweetie Belle are aware of the struggle you two are going through. From what I’ve discussed so far with Spike and Chrome with the limited details you provided me with originally, I’ve surmised that whatever is troubling Luna is the same conflict that turned her into Nightmare Moon. I can’t be sure of that, but it seems as likely as anything at this point. Though I know the legend in and out, could you please tell me what happened to cause her to change? None of the books I have detail anything specific. Of the things we’ll (Spike, Rarity, Chrome, and myself) need to know to help, that’s the most important. Later today I plan on confronting Chrome’s older brother to get his take on the situation. Who knows, I might just be able to settle this whole issue before days end if he can be of true help! You’ll have to exscuse me for not taking care of this now rather than later as I am planning; your letter arrived when Spike and I were flank-deep in putting books back on the shelves from all my studying last night. I’ve decided to get some much needed sleep so that I’ll be at my peak when I go looking for Chrome’s brother. OH! About the garden, I believe that the Lunar Nova grass species would be most fitting for Luna’s new garden. I can send you more details about that tomorrow though. Don’t worry Princess; I won’t let you and Luna drift apart. As Faust as my witness there will not be another civil war! Not while I’m here to stop it! Love, Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle Taking a moment to allow the letter to soak in, Celestia’s first reaction was to sigh in good humor towards her student’s trademark tendency to over think things. Though allowing a questionable glare to focus on the mention of a civil war, the Sun Princess couldn’t help but smile. If there was one pony in the entirety of Equestria that the ruler could rely on it was Twilight.