//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Only Every Time // by Ice Star //------------------------------// Luna knew where Celestia kept things by way of guessing. Living with Celestia meant that one's intuition could slumber during the day-to-day matters of things, and if one was not careful, it could dull with time. Creatures of predictability like Tia lived according to the winding of their own machinery, free of normal disruptions. That was how Luna knew Celestia would create a place to keep the Elements of Harmony in the castle that only a god could open — at least before sending them off to stay with Twilight Sparkle — or that she would insist on presiding over Cadance's wedding. There were a hundred little predictabilities to pick up on in living with Celestia, and those were only a few of them. Finding out that Celestia placed the two Waterhorse dresses back in their box and in in a parlor was not an especially atypical thing to predict. To know that she placed them in one of the castle's many parlors in a section of the castle between the Solar Wing's residence and the residential chambers of Luna's own aptly-named Lunar Wing was a doubly, painfully obvious stroke of more than habit. Perhaps unoriginality was a better word? Luna slipped into the room, not bothering to shut in the door as the parlor's coziness of purple, white, and gold pulled her into its relaxing atmosphere. The decidedly Canterlotian colors glowed merrily under hearth-light were she to choose to stay awhile. Not having to close doors was just another thing that made Luna feel like she had more room to breathe. Too many times, the very presence of the servants was a cause of discomfort to Luna. With enough effort and a fair bit of magic, there could one day be a substitute for them. Then Luna would be able to be at peace in her own home, but Celestia craved company over inventiveness, though they had survived without servants at their old castle. But as often as the thought crossed Luna's mind, she knew it was better to enjoy the chances of everyday privacy she was afforded than to become too deeply caught up in how to fix the problem of ponies. She glided noiselessly across the spacious room, soaring low enough with her leap past the doorway that her hooves could nearly brush the fresh vase of flowers atop the table. A few petals were stirred by her motions, but did not fall. This meant two things. The first was that Luna's motions were as delicate as ever, and her skill in flight as unearthly as was expected for an Alicorn. Secondly, if the petals were that strong and healthy, it meant that the flowers were fresh. That was a sure sign as any that Celestia had been here recently, and Celestia was not somepony who entered spaces for idle purposeless fun. Right atop a large cabinet was the box that Luna sought. The bow was just as obvious as ever too. Only Celestia would leave something that she deemed a surprise to be squirreled away for when it was needed atop a cabinet filled with knickknacks. The objects of the display were specifically dishes, all done in the kitsch style that Celestia was desperately overfond of, mostly gaudy dishes — yes, of all the things in the world to show off, dishes! — with chipped paint and rosy-cheeked minotaur calves that were sculpted in the most uncanny ways. Truthfully, Luna wouldn't have been surprised if the whole aesthetic was cultivated by a league of diabolical grandmothers who needed a bit-making scheme to last for generations. And what would be a more lasting trend than to pawn off what even flea markets would forsake? Smiling, Luna landed with a sound equal to what a small bird would make. Her hooves touched down and as soon as they did, she slung her saddlebags from her back with the nonchalance of a schoolcolt. She plopped the bag on to the table without care, humming as she did so. Then, Luna lowered the box from the top of the cabinet, her turquoise aura shining in the glass panels of its display as she did so. Out floated her dress, and thus started Luna's careful examination of the piece. She had spent the past couple of days thinking about the best kind of solution to her dilemma. Certainly, it wasn't a dilemma that should even be, but Celestia seemed to have forgotten that not everypony around her was a servant or Faithful Student to supervise every choice of. It wasn't that Luna didn't know how to tell Celestia that she shouldn't act that way which was difficult, it was how Luna could think of so many ways to do so. They pulled her mind in every direction and swarmed one another with each possibility, like a burlap sack of butterflies. Luna was just bursting with too many of them, and every time she was certain the best way had come to mind, another six or seven had floated into place. Talking to those who thought they were the center of the world would always be infinitely easier than those who did not know that they acted so. That was part of why Luna asked for no compromise. She was as much of an adult as Celestia, in need of no foalsitter or parent to hold her hoof like the little filly she wasn't. Over the past two days, Luna had woven a careful plan in her mind — she wouldn't break Celestia's desire for them to match their outfits at all. Instead, she would capitalize on how wonderful the Waterhorse dress would look in her vision of it as a Waterhorse blouse! Already, the thought of the finished project was dancing in Luna's head, so tangible and caught in that fantastic half-a-dream state. She was already giddily imagining the rest of her own touches she would add: the color of the flowers she would pick for a wreath around her head, the pattern she would attempt for the hem, if she should shorten the sleeves some... A pair of wickedly sharpened shears levitated out of Luna's saddlebags, carefully cradled within the grasp of her magic. She poked her tongue out, the last few notes of the song she had been humming fading away as she concentrated on the project before her. A few snips would be rid of the troublesome skirt, but then the real work would begin. Luna hadn't the faintest idea how to sew anything that was not a wound — though, surely now was as good a time as any to pick up a skill as useful as learning how to hem. Oh, she was sure Celestia would be pleased to see Luna take up the task — maybe Tia would even let Luna in on a few of her sewing secrets! So busy was she that it took a few snips for Luna to recognize the sound of metal horseshoes in the distance, and by the time she was startled upright she had snipped more than half of the skirt away so that it hung only by a few threads after all of Luna's ragged cuts. Turning, Luna saw the door being pulled further ajar and the expression of her older sister transform from placid cheer to abject hurt. "LUNA!" Celestia shrieked, shocked, and as wounded as the two halves of the dress that fell to the ground, completely severed.