The instant the sun was raised in the morning, Luna was out out of her room and knocking impatiently on Celestia’s door.
Inside, Celestia yawned. “I’ll be out in a moment,” she called out sleepily as she absentmindedly brushed her mane. She had slept well, yes, but that didn’t mean she was particularly eager to get the day started.
Luna grumbled. “Sister, we need to talk.”
“And we’ll do so in a moment,” Celestia replied. She made no effort to hurry herself as she prepared for the day to come.
Eventually, Luna stopped knocking and sat grumpily in her throne. As she sat there, tapping a hoof on the arm of the chair, Vim trotted up to her with a brush and started trying to manage her mane.
“Princess, you really must get yourself ready in the morning,” Vim scolded. “It shows Equestria that you care.”
Luna sighed and took the brush from Vim so she could do it herself. “Yes, alright, I understand. I was just in a hurry today because I have something very important to discuss with my sister.”
“Is it about the research you have me doing?”
“Not directly.”
“That’s not very reassuring.”
Luna frowned. “I know you’re worried, but please, just look for me. It’s still entirely up to your discretion what you show me.”
“Yes, I know... “ Vim sighed. “Okay, here I have your schedules for the day.” She gave a scroll to Luna, then placed a similar one in Celestia’s throne. “I’ll be in the library for most of the day if you need my assistance, but I can’t imagine you will. Most of your duties today are your own projects.”
Luna opened the scroll and skimmed through it. “You’ve left quite a bit of space in here.”
“I don’t really know how long it’ll take you to interview the guards,” Vim explained. “If you finish early, come find me and I can give you some of tomorrow’s work.”
“No promises.”
Vim smiled. “Alright, well I’m off, then.”
Luna nodded, then addressed the guards. “Dusk, Seabeam, could you keep watch from the hallway for a bit? I’d like some privacy with my sister.”
“Of course, Princess,” Dusk said. Seabeam nodded, and they left with Vim.
The air grew still after the door shut behind them, and Luna leaned back lazily in her throne. “Ugh,” she groaned. With nothing else to do, she stared up at the ceiling and waited.
It took Celestia another ten minutes to get ready, although to Luna it felt like an hour. Finally, though, her door creaked open and she stepped out in all her royal glory. She took a deep breath, basking in the fresh air, and trotted over to her throne to take a seat.
Once she was settled, Celestia smiled warmly at Luna. “I’m sorry for the wait,” she said. “I didn’t want to be grumpy when I came out to talk.”
Luna sighed. “It’s alright. I’m just worried about your dream last night.”
“So that was the real you. I was holding out hope that she had been a spectre of my own mind.”
“I’m afraid not,” Luna said, “and what I said was true. I was there to gauge your reaction in a place I thought would be free from danger.”
Celestia’s smile faded. “Luna, I told you I wouldn’t be able to put aside my feelings about Nightmare Moon. If I could, I would do so in a heartbeat. The last thing I want is for you to feel hated.”
“I understand that, but what happened in your dream was above and beyond anything I could have expected.”
“It was a dream. You know emotions run high in the subconscious.”
“Not that high,” Luna said.
“Nightmare Moon has always been just as severe in dreams,” Celestia argued.
“Yes, because she’s Nightmare Moon. She doesn’t just feel emotions, she is emotions, and she flourishes in dreams. That isn’t a bar you should even be capable of meeting.”
“Well, I don’t know what to tell you.” Celestia sighed. “I can’t exactly control how she makes me feel.”
“That’s what I’m worried about,” Luna told her.
“I can’t imagine I’ll ever come near that point outside of my dreams, though.”
“But what if you do?”
“What are you scared of? That ridiculous vision from Starlight’s dream?”
“Yes!” Luna stuck her hooves out in a pleading gesture. “Nightmare Moon visited my dreams long before you ever knew her, and seeing the same signs in your dreams is terrifying.”
“Luna, I’m trying to control my feelings surrounding Nightmare Moon. I have no intention of letting them control me.”
“I just…” Luna shook her head and looked down at the floor. “I just worry.”
Celestia frowned, then got up and walked over to put a hoof on Luna’s shoulder. “I promise, it’ll be alright. After all, I have something you didn’t have to help against Nightmare Moon.”
“What’s that?”
“I have my sister’s help.”
Luna looked up and locked eyes with Celestia, who smiled kindly down on her, and she smiled in kind.
Celestia patted Luna’s shoulder. “It would help to know what you’re planning on doing, though.”
Luna pursed her lips. “I swear, I know what I’m doing. It’ll be fine. I’m just hesitant to tell you because…”
“Because it has to do with Nightmare Moon?”
Luna nodded apprehensively. “Sort of.”
“I understand.” Celestia tried to give her a reassuring smile. “I told you I’d trust you over my feelings when it comes to Nightmare Moon, and if that means not knowing some things, then I’ll deal with it.”
“Thank you, Tia.”
“Of course.” Celestia playfully ruffled her sister’s mane, then grabbed her schedule with her magic and started walking towards the hallway as she read it. “Now, I should start my day. As should you!”
“I know, I know.”
Luna left the throne room with a smile on her face, and nodded to the guards. “Good morning,” she said, and they greeted her back.
“Should we go back inside?” Seabeam asked.
“Probably,” Celestia said, “although it doesn’t look like I’ll be around much. In fact, go ask Luna if she’ll be in her throne room this morning. If not, you two can take the rest of the day off.”
The guards thanked her and trotted back into the throne room, and Celestia hummed cheerily to herself as she headed off into the day ahead.
Most of her day was fairly standard. She opened a school, she awarded some medals, she had lunch with the mayor. Everywhere she went, ponies greeted her ecstatically, thrilled to have her back. She made an effort to remind them how Luna had stepped up, but it was nice to know she had been missed.
After lunch she held a town hall so that she could catch up on the feelings of the ponies living in Canterlot. She held it in a theater, as they were the only places in the city with enough seating, and even then the building was filled to the brim. Every seat held at least one pony, and after that they had filled the aisles and lined up against the back wall. It got so crowded that they had to stop letting ponies in just because it would become a fire hazard.
The only space that wasn’t crowded was around the front row. There, much to Celestia’s surprise, sat a large number of Canterlot’s elite, and their influence had clearly been used to afford them some privacy. Even then, the row was filled, and a couple stallions were in a huff at being forced to stand off to the side.
It surprised Celestia because normally, ponies of that stature would never attend such a meeting. After all, if they had something to say to the Princess, they could just do so directly. There was no need to visit such a crowded, boorish place.
Of course, Princess Celestia would never say no to any pony that wanted to speak to her directly. It was just that most ponies didn’t consider themselves highly enough to even think of doing so.
A guard walked up to Celestia and informed her that the theater was full, and so she nodded and cleared her throat. The meeting wasn’t scheduled to start for a while, but she saw no reason to wait if nopony else could join. She walked up to the humble podium set up on stage with a microphone, and as she did so the crowd erupted into applause.
She let them continue for a minute, refreshed by the reminder of how beloved she was. It’s hard not to feel good when ponies are that happy to see you. She wasn’t vain, though, so soon enough she held up a hoof and called for quiet. A minute later, once she was confident she would be heard, she started to speak.
“Ponies, it is my great pleasure to return to you all. It is my greater pleasure, however, to see how phenomenally my sister ruled in my absence. There’s no need for a grand speech or preamble. I’m just happy to see that you’re happy.”
“That said,” she continued, “I know that my perspective can be skewed from atop my perch, and so I’m here to take questions and comments. Anything you may have to relay to me regarding my time away, or questions about the future. Raise your hooves if you’d like to speak, please.”
All over the audience, hooves shot up. Most of the nobles stayed put, though, which surprised Celestia once more.
“Alright, well, let’s begin with the front row. Madame Showstopper, would you like to lead us off?”
The owner of the theatre, a ritzy mare in an extravagant red dress and matching hat, stood up in the front row. A black veil hung from her hat, covering her face. “Yes, thank you Princess. Would you happen to know if Nightmare Moon is going to continue working with the nobility?”
“Ah, no, there’s no need to worry about that. I’ll resume my full responsibilities with regards to public relations.”
“Actually,” Showstopper said, “I quite liked having her as a liaison. I found her to be quite expedient.”
“Oh.” Celestia’s eyes went wide. “Well, I suppose if you actually desire an audience with her, you can try to set one up. I can’t guarantee she’ll say yes, but she will still be around.”
“Thank you.” She sat back down, and the rest of the nobles dropped their hooves. Apparently, they had all wanted the same information.
So, Celestia started to work her way back. She pointed to the next closest pony, a burly stallion. “You, um… Tunnel Bore, I believe it was?”
He grinned and stood up. “That’d be me, Princess. I, uh, just wanted to ask you to come get me or one of my crew if you’re gonna stop some of the construction Nightmare Moon started up, cuz some of it’s actually real good, y’know?”
“Of course,” Celestia said with a smile. “I’ll be sure to look those over as soon as possible for you.”
“Much appreciated,” he said as he sat back down.
“Alright, next, um… Oh!” She pointed to a sour looking stallion wearing a cheap suit. “Is that you, Mr. Evergreen? I would have expected to see you up front.”
He stood up and scoffed. “Yeah, well, they aren’t exactly playing nice after your sister dragged my name through the mud.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow. “Care to explain what happened?”
“Yeah, I’ll tell you what happened,” he said. “She ruined me is what happened! The whole city thinks I hate sunshine or whatever lie it was that she fed to them.”
Celestia took a deep breath. “I’m assuming this is about the parks? I was told the matter had been closed.”
“Hah! Only if by ‘closed’ you mean ‘blackmailed away by Princess Luna.’”
Celestia narrowed her eyes. “Now hang on, I’m sure Nightmare Moon wasn’t pleasant, but—”
She cut herself off, realizing she shouldn’t have said that. She didn’t know Nightmare Moon had been rude. She needed to keep better control, she couldn’t slip up every time somepony said something she thought was wrong.
Celestia took another deep breath. “Sir, whatever happened, I’m sure we can sort it out without resorting to rudeness.”
“Fine then, sort it out,” he said. “Tell everypony that your sister lied about me.”
“I don’t even know what she said,” Celestia told him. “How could I possibly know if she lied?”
“‘Cuz I’m telling you she did! What, are you putting your sister above your citizens now?”
Celestia rubbed her forehead. “Mr. Evergreen, I cannot wholeheartedly believe every outlandish thing said about my sister just because there may be a conflict of interest. There are still ponies with a grudge against her, after all.”
He huffed defiantly. “Fine, then you say good things about my business to balance it out. And give me the permits to build on my land, while you’re at it!”
“As I have told you many times,” Celestia said, slowly and carefully enunciating every syllable, “I have no intention of providing you permits unless I am assured you will replace the value they bring to the community.”
“Well, then I guess I’ll just have to take my business elsewhere,” he told her, “and I’ll be sure to tell the ponies there all about how Princess Celestia is putting Nightmare Moon above ponies like me.”
Celestia sighed and closed her eyes. She leaned forward, her head in her hooves, and massaged her temples. She breathed slowly and deeply, in and out over and over for several seconds.
Then she snapped her eyes back open and stared straight down at the stallion. A few ponies around the audience let out quiet gasps when they saw her, because her pupils had turned a stark, burning white.
“Mr. Evergreen,” she said, “I do not appreciate being threatened. You should choose your next words very carefully.”
“Yeah, right.” He waved a hoof dismissively. “Like I’d be scared of Celestia. I’m out of here.”
He turned to start working his way out of the building, but just as he did a blinding flash of light filled the room for just an instant, and when it cleared both he and Celestia were gone.
Far away, in a secluded field few ponies had ever set foot in, another light flashed. A flock of birds took off into flight and fled as Celestia and Evergreen appeared out of thin air.
Evergreen spun around in shock, then paled when he locked eyes with Princess Celestia. Up close the white hot fire in her eyes was far clearer, and he could see the flames of her pupils starting to creep further out in branches of white. He took a step back, unsure of what to do, and couldn’t seem to take his eyes off of hers.
“You know, Mr. Evergreen, threatening the Princesses could very well make you seem like a danger to Equestria.”
He swallowed hard and stepped back again.
“I imagine you’re well aware of what’s happened to others who were a danger to Equestria.”
He tried to step away again, but tripped and fell onto the ground.
Celestia held a hoof in front of her face, and a ball of light formed in it, morphing and shifting endlessly. She never took her eyes off of his, but eventually her horn flashed and the light solidified into a little stone figure of a stallion. She dropped it on the ground in front of him.
Then, without another word she teleported away, leaving him alone in the middle of the field.
She had meant to head back to the theater, but somehow she missed. Instead, when the light cleared, Celestia was in a dark alley behind the building, and she was breathing hard. In and out, quicker and quicker, and a second later her world spun as she started to hyperventilate.
“Wh-” She stumbled and almost fell, but just barely managed to catch herself on a wall. She stood there for a long time, just breathing with no perception of the world around her, until eventually her breathing started to slow down. As it did her vision cleared and, steadily, her eyes returned to normal.
Finally, she was just standing in the alleyway, panting in exhaustion. “What did I just do?”