Chapter Twelve
Celestia had rarely felt this uncertain and nervous before as she did on this stage. She knew that it wasn't fate or destiny for her sister to attack her like it had happened in so many other dimensions but she couldn't help but feel concerned and worried on what was to happen next.
There was no point in wondering anymore; whatever was going to happen was going to happen and she knew she couldn't appeal to Extra Seconds to extend this moment out or even to rewind time for her.
The curtains finally pulled back and nothing happened beyond her ponies cheering and clapping against the floor for her. What was she planning...
"Hello my dear little ponies," she said, pushing her concerns of what her sister would do out of her mind for the moment. "It is good to see you all-" Celestia froze as she saw her.
Twilight Sparkle.
At long last, she'd finally found her. She would need time with Twilight to try and see if she was Magic but now that she finally had her here, Celestia might be able to convince her to stay and make bonds with the other Elements. She could have Harmony here and avoid having to listen to her sister's whims.
Wait, were Twilight and Sunset really close to each other?
"Princess Celestia?" Mayor Scroll asked. "Is there a problem?"
Shaking her head, Celestia felt herself blush at her lapse of concentration.
"No no, everything is just fine-"
"Hey, there is something going on outside," a pony shouted with everyone sharing a concerned look before they started to head outside, Celestia following behind them and frowning at what she saw.
In the clear night sky, her sister's moon was shining brightly down on them with a beam of light creating a perfect circle before them with the wind dying down to an unnatural stillness.
Suddenly the beam of light became stronger and a strong wind blew down the street, with her ponies needing to shield their eyes, Celestia included.
When the dust finally cleared, she was there, standing in a breathtaking, beautiful white dress, aligned with diamonds and gems that accented her form perfectly. Her coat was a darker blue than it had been previously been, though her mane was the same awe-inspiring spiral of stars and her eyes were still the bright green that Celestia remembered from all those years ago and she missed them deeply.
The pony in the moonlight flashed everypony a deep smile, though it did seem a bit mocking to Celestia, and with her wings unfurling, she spoke in a commanding, yet caring voice, "Greetings, my dear friends. After one thousand years, I have decided to return once more." She then did a short bow to show respect to the crowd of ponies who were all still as statues. She stood back, and gave them a curious look, with a piercing glare directed straight at Celestia. "Do you not know who I am? Are there no stories of me? Was I put to the dustbin of history?"
"No," Sunset said, walking towards the pony. "I know who you are; you are Princess Luna of the Night and Moon, the younger sister of Princess Celestia."
"You mean she's an alien?" a mare from a trio gasped loudly, causing all eyes to dart to the light yellow-coated mare with a red mane.
"She's coming to attack us!" the mare with a pink coat screamed.
"The horror, the horror!" the last of the trio screamed and both Luna and Celestia tensed at the prospect of a sudden panic going through the crowd.
"Calm down ya galoots," Applejack said, swatting at them with her hat before spinning back to face Luna and holding her hat to her chest. "Ah believe what mah friend said there; if yer the sister of Princess Celestia, that means yer also the princess of Equestria. Ah'm mighty sorry for what those fools said, yer highness."
"But why haven't we heard anything of her?" the first mare asked, still looking frightened.
"Well, not everypony mentions their siblings," Pinkie said to her, pronking over. "I mean, I've got three sisters and I bet you didn't know that."
"Yeah, and if this Princess was really dangerous, I doubt that Princess Celestia would let her just show up," Rainbow Dash said, floating in the air.
"My goodness," Rarity said suddenly, drawing attention to her as she directed her words towards Luna. "That is a fantastic design; who is your tailor?"
Luna glanced towards her, a slight curl of amusement at the back of her mouth. "Why, thank you," she said before her eyes went to Fluttershy, who was kneeling forward.
"Is there something the matter, miss?" she asked.
Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm bowing, your highness. You're one of our princesses..."
At that, every pony in the crowd began to follow suit, bowing before her, with Luna positively beaming at the ponies prostrating themselves for her. Luna grinned at Celestia now, truly grinned now that none were around to see her face before she marshaled her face and said, "Dear friends, please rise. You humble me by such actions but they are unwarranted and needless."
The ponies, in awe of Luna, rose up and started to crowd her. Celestia was about to say something when she felt a pony walk past, with a wave of pink going in front of her.
Luna was about to address her sister, when she noticed a pink alicorn stepping in front of Celestia.
She recognized her, of course. The time she had spent observing other dimensions made sure of that. But she didn't know how much this Cadance knew of such things, and she didn't want to give away too much, lest she break that can of worms wide open. So she waited as the other alicorn approached her, then bowed.
"It's good to finally meet you, Aunt Luna," she said.
Luna relaxed a little, inwardly. Outwardly though, she remained calm and asked, "Aunt?"
Cadance nodded. "My name is Cadance," she said. "When I became an alicorn, your sister adopted me as her niece. And I've been wanting to meet and get to know you, ever since I found out you existed."
Luna could see the honest truth in Cadance's eyes, and smiled, then beckoned, and Cadance didn't hesitate to approach. When they were close enough, Luna raised her foreleg, and wrapped it around the younger alicorn, pulling her into an embrace with the ponies behind them clapping their hooves.
"It is good to know you, my niece," she whispered.
"Thank you, Aunt Luna," Cadance said with a smile, returning the hug. "Perhaps afterwards, we can start to catch up."
"Afterwards?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow at this Cadance.
"Yes, I do suppose there will be talk between you and Aunt Celestia, though I would insist that I be part of it," the mare said with a confident grin that she didn't see on that many Cadances this young. "As a potential mediator; Princess Celestia can confirm that I rarely bend to any pony's whims, right?"
Celestia's wing twitched, if only for a brief second. For most, it would be completely unnoticeable but Luna was able to spot and tell it for what it was. This Cadance was no pawn of the Day but instead a force of her own right, which pleased her.
"I would love to spend time catching up with you," she said. "I have missed far too much of your life, and now that I know of you, I intend to remedy that as soon as possible. But first," she turned to her sister, giving her a firm look.
And there she was. Just as noble and pure as she was a thousand years ago, her mane still a swirl of those beautiful colours. She still radiated a sense of security and protection from her entire being, her body strong and tall. She looked untouched from all those years ago, and she undoubtedly looked at the same to her as well. Only time would tell how much she had changed internally, if at all.
"Princess Celestia," Luna said at last, staring at her sister.
"Princess Luna," her sister said back with Luna shaking her head.
"Head Director Luna," she corrected her. "I lead a republic, not a monarchy."
Celestia made no comment on that, simply looking over her instead. "You seem to be well and healthy, sister," she said.
"I do my best to take care of myself," Luna acknowledged. "Even with less gravity involved, the moon walks do me good. And I do believe I have a well balanced life and work schedule, with a team of ponies I can trust."
"That is good to hear, Luna," Celestia said, giving her one of those cryptic smiles. "Would that I have such time to indulge in such actions but running Equestria leaves me very little time for myself."
Luna did her best not to frown, not to show her sister was getting to her. "Such as stretching your hooves it seems, Celestia," she said with Cadance and ponies starting to look worried. "A proper ruler would know that they must be well themselves if they care to rule their nation as well. It is a reflection of themselves, wouldn't you say?"
Celestia's eye twitched, but before she could say anything, Cadance had stepped forward again once more. "Aunt Luna, Aunt Celestia," she said. "I understand it has been some time since you two have last met. Perhaps we could continue this conversation later on? I am sure there are more pleasant stories to share of your ponies with your ponies."
"Wise words, dear niece," Luna said, conceding the fight for the moment.
"Indeed," Celestia said, giving Luna a sharp look. "Such as why some of your followers are here tonight."
Luna did her best not to glare at her, and instead opted for a calm reply. "I had simply asked some of my ponies if they could see the nature of the current Equestria, considering how the previous one required my departure to safeguard their ancestors from an oppressive, narrow minded, superstitious and ignorant populace."
Luna could hear the uncomfortable muttering of the Ponyvilleans and see Cadance groan but her eyes were focused on the eyes of her sister who was doing her best not to grit her teeth.
"I see," she said. "Reading the mood, as it were. Though why you did not simply tell me so makes me curious, as well the fact you chose to hide the fact of their origins."
"Answers of how one acts often rings the truth when they are unaware they are being watched or when you bring their color to the surface," Luna replied hotly. "My dear ponies, if you would be so kind?"
There was a moment of silence, and then Twilight (and there was that twitch in Celestia's eye again), Shining Armor, Onyx and Vinyl all walked up to her.
Luna took a minute to study the reactions of the ponies in the crowd. She saw Sunset look a little surprised, but then relax, which relieved her. Cadance was perfectly calm, and the gray mare who'd been next to Vinyl looked a little surprised too, but not negatively. Then her eyes swept over the other five ponies whom she recognized as being Twilight's friends in most worlds. They seemed surprised but before anypony could speak, Twilight cleared her throat.
"Director Luna, in the time we had to spend with the locals here, what I saw was kind, honest and caring ponies, with no true maliciousness in any of them," Twilight said, looking at her and then at the crowd again. "There were some subjects that they weren't aware of but nothing anypony could fault them on; I didn't even know about it until my friend Sunset spoke of it."
"Agreed," Onyx said in a brisk tone. "There are some grumblings of an anti-moon/night group but that is an aggressive minority and not the majority. These are decent ponies, a far cry from the ancestors."
"And there are ponies in power currently working to not only put a permanent end to their work but also help change the mindset of distant villages to be more accepting of others," Shining said, looking straight at Cadance.
By the Creators, Luna thought to herself with amusement, only a day and they've already found each other.
Vinyl nodded in agreement. "Most of the populace where I was were pretty indifferent on the subject of us moonponies," she said. "It seemed to me like they didn't much think either way about us, and the few who did and were vocal about it were... well, just jerks looking for an excuse to bug individuals and labeling them under a rather broad definition that they may not have even fit. Haters gonna hate, you know?" She then gulped and looked at the crowd. "But if the ponies they'd been bugging had been born a thousand years ago, I doubt we would have needed to found the Lunar Republic."
Luna had not been expecting that, not completely. She had expected some positive changes but not to this extent.
"That is very good to hear, all of you," she said. "It touches my heart to hear such words and such growth from your people. Perhaps our two nations can begin to heal their old wounds." Luna said softly, watching Sunset and the other Elements approach Twilight.
"So... you're really from the moon?" Sunset asked with Twilight hesitantly nodding her head.
"I am," she said, blushing and looking away. "I'm sorry that I couldn't tell you the whole truth from the beginning but we simply didn't know how ponies felt about us and it was felt best that we didn't tell anypony."
"Well shucks, Ah can get that," Applejack said. "When Ah was a little filly, Ah went ta the big city and Ah pretended like Ah was from there because Ah didn't want no trouble."
"And it's not like you really lied to us," Pinkie said. "You said you were from far away, and that it was really different from here, and that was the truth, right?" She gestured. "I mean, it's not like you can get much further away than the moon."
"The view must be simply exquisite up there," Rarity said, gazing up at the moon.
Twilight smiled. "It is," she said. "The stars... they're so bright, and wonderful to look at."
Sunset smiled deeply at Twilight. "It must have been different, looking at them from down here," she said. "I would have loved to see how they looked from your home."
"Perhaps that could be arranged," Luna offered, seizing the opportunity before her sister could step in. "As friends of my dear student, I would gladly offer you some time to visit the Lunar Republic, if you so wished and Princess Celestia does not mind." She gave her sister the nicest smile she could muster, enjoying the frustration that was building up under the surface of Celestia's calm face.
Fluttershy made a soft squeaking noise, and Luna looked down at her, her expression shifting to a softer one. She was not part of this feud, after all, and as Luna recalled, a more gentle touch was required with her in particular. "Yes?" she asked.
Fluttershy hesitated a bit, then looked at her and asked, "Are there any animals up there?"
"Sadly, no," Luna shook her head. "We have a few bees to help pollinate our crops and other beneficial insects, but during the Night of Departure, it was one of the few extraneous additions we could not afford to bring with us. Perhaps in time, that could change. I know that Director Honey Spice is eager to purchase more crop seeds, for one."
Applejack's ears perked up, and Luna, anticipating her question, answered. "Honey Spice is our Director of Agriculture," she said. "Her department manages all matters relating to farming, forestry, and overseeing the production and distribution of food and water to our ponies."
"Whoo-ee." Applejack sounded impressed. "Sounds lahk mah kind of pony then. Be interestin' to check out yer farmin' methods up there."
"And I'd guess you've got your own weather systems too, huh?" Rainbow Dash asked, speaking up for the first time since she'd approached Twilight.
"A necessary tool for survival," Luna said. "For the most part, everything we have, except certain metals and minerals we gained from the moon itself, has to be produced by hoof or magic or was brought with us from Equestria when we left a thousand years ago. Luckily, we have begun to have the means to acquire harder to obtain metals now from sources above and possibly down below now."
Rainbow Dash nodded. "Makes sense."
Luna smiled, then noted that Shining Armor had gone to stand by Cadance again, making her smile. Ah, young love.
Luna then turned to look at Celestia, though she addressed Twilight's group. "I would be delighted to host you all on the moon, though as Princess Celestia has noted honest actions ring true. So with her blessing, I would like to invite you to the Lunar Republic."
Celestia must have been cross at being forced into this corner, with her options being so few now. She could either consent to letting Luna take all of the Elements into the Republic or try and find a way to say no to the request that all the mares in question seemed so eager to accept without appearing as the villain.
"But of course sister," Celestia said, tipping her head. "Far be it for me to deny others the right to see what you and followers have done."
Luna frowned internally, wondering where the insult was buried but she had to put it out of her mind for now. "Then it is settled," Luna said, smiling to the ponies before her. "Though I suggest we go talk in private; this is supposed to be a celebration for my sister after all and I wouldn't dream of overshadowing her."
If she kept this up, Celestia wasn't going to be able to hide her eye-twitches for very much longer, but she managed. "Very well then," the older mare said. "Luna, I will see you later for I believe we have much to talk about. If you will excuse me for a moment," she said, walking back to the stage as she prepared to raise her sun.
After all the excitement, the sun rising must have been somewhat anticlimactic for the ponies present, Luna thought as she watched the sight she hadn't seen in a thousand years with a mixture of glee and awe. Then she looked at Twilight and all her companions.
"Is there someplace that we could all gather together?" she asked.
Twilight nodded. "Come on," she said. "I'll show you to the library."
Five unicorns, three Earth ponies, two pegasi, two alicorns and one little dragon followed after her as she led the way, the rest of the ponies giving them space with the other alicorn watching her leave once more.