//------------------------------//
// Chapter Five 
// Story: A Moon and World Together 
// by Evilhumour 
//------------------------------//



Chapter Five



It was later in the day cycle, with the lights of all the domes being dimmed to simulate a night-time atmosphere, when the two sisters made their way to the apartment complex where Twilight dwelled.

They had met up briefly with Fancy Pants and his wife on their way, the two heading back to the Lux Aeternam to be teleported back to Equuis. While all parties knew the couple wished to stay longer, the risk of having only one legislative head in the country while the other was away at the same time - and especially while the executive leader was also gone - was too great, especially considering what had just recently occurred.

As Luna and Celestia rode in the elevator to the top floor, they both went over the upcoming hurdles that lay before them.

There was so much Luna had to do to prepare her people to interact with the world below, so many years of customs and practices that she had to help either overcome or adjust. That wasn't even taking into consideration of the meeting of nations that would soon come to order after Tia introduced the Republic to the world. She had yet to broach the topic directly with her sister; she needed to learn more about how the council operated now before she could directly ask her. Luna was of mixed emotions and thoughts of the news that her sister was not Equestria's leading diplomat for them. It made sense that she could not be expected to do so with all her duties, and privately, Luna was glad she would not be present when Luna went to address them. It would give her and the Republic more legitimacy without her there as well as avoid any awkward implications of one sister ruler introducing her younger sister to them. Still, Luna knew her sister and her tells. Having some she could easily read would help as well as having a familiar face in a place that could easily deny her citizens a place in the world. Even putting the avengers to the side, the latest indications and information she had gathered told her that the world was not welcoming to Equestrians and it would only stand to be worse for her Republic. They had to make a good showcase of who they were, their values and beliefs, what they could offer to the denizens of Equuis. They needed to be open and kind but at the same time show that they were not a naive country that could be taken advantage of. It would be an incredibly difficult balance to achieve, and Luna could not afford to fail.

Celestia also had heavy matters that she was doing mental gymnastics over and over about. Her nation's capital had been attacked with some parts still being held by the enemy that had managed to convince a large number of well-meaning individuals to their cause. It spoke of great issues within Equestria that an act could happen so quickly and on such a large scale. It also told her the power these avengers had needed to be destroyed at the source, with their leaders imprisoned and their funds cut off permanently. Cadance's agents were starting to comb Blueblood's finances but she doubted they would find any clear connection with him and the avengers. Even if he wasn't a direct member, it would mean him giving away his own wealth to others and she knew he would never be that little altruistic to others that were a part of their organization. And even with the whole looming mess of finally squashing the avengers aside, there was the nightmare of issues that would come when she announced her abdication. She had already started to train Fancy and Claret and prepare them for the task of leading Equestria one day but she knew there would be issues and crisis that they would struggle to overcome in a country going through a regime change.

That was also ignoring the whole headache that her sister would soon face in the League of Nations. She understood why Luna had yet to ask for her help; along with this being meant as a time of healing and mending for them, her sister would want some time to gather information on her own before she came to her. She would do her best to prepare her sister for king Ganus as he was likely be her biggest obstacle to overcome but there was so little she truly offer to best some that just did not hold all the cards but rule book as well. That blasted accord had hamstrung Equestria to the point where they were treated little more than a semi-independent duchy instead of one of the largest and richest nations of Equuis. She longed to see what those accords fully entailed but of course, her and any Equestrian getting their hooves on a copy would be seen as a direct violation of said accords and allow the League to summon the entirety of its forces to invade. That point had been made clear countless times before when she and her fellow representatives had been ordered out of the chamber room when matters of the accords came up. It was embarrassing and humiliating to be treated in such a way but she could swallow her pride if the alternative was putting her ponies in grave danger, especially those who were outside Equestria. One of the few details that she had been allowed to know that if Equestria ever broke the accords, any Equestrian in foreign territory would automatically be considered an agent of hers and would legally be allowed to be detained as prisoners of war, with very few if any rights given to them.

Both sisters let out weary sighs; both had mountains left to climb with many a treacherous foothold waiting for them before the summit could even be seen. But for the moment, they had respite in the form of dear friends and students waiting for them.





Twilight smiled and embraced her teacher, happy to see her in general and to see her looking so calm and happy, especially after all the supposed fighting Director Luna and Princess Celestia had been doing. Even with the few snippets she had heard from here and there, she just couldn't see the two of them doing so, not with how calm and relaxed they seemed to be in each other's presence.

She waited for Sunset to break off her own embrace of Princess Celestia before she turned to greet the other mare. Dipping her head in a short bow as she said her name, Twilight saw she had made the right decision in how she greeted the ruler of Equestria, with her own experience with Director Luna and Sunset's own advice.

"And a hello to you as well, Twilight Sparkle," the mare said with a genuine smile on her face as she stepped inside. "What a lovely decorated home you have here."

Before she could respond, her mother chimed in. "The mare you should be thanking is Miss Belle here," she said from the dining table with everyone trying not to laugh, some more than others. Her mom gave Vinyl a mom look as she stepped away from Cadance and Shiny, with Octavia shaking her head at the nose wincing unicorn. Placing a hoof on Twilight's side so she couldn't wiggle away, her mom continued on to say. "So many years I've tried to get my little Twi to spruce up the place."

Twilight groaned at that comment, her face heating up in a blush as there were more light hearted giggles at her reaction with Luna tutting as she walked over to the table to take the open chair that had been set aside for and her sister. "Would that you be staying here longer so you could ensure that my beloved student does not backslide too much but I suspect that you all will be wishing to return to your families and homes soon."

Twilight's heart skipped a beat at this and even more so with her friends nodding their heads. "Ah'm having a blast gettin' to know mah kin and all but Ah am missing the farm," Applejack said.

"And I am getting a bit farther behind in my orders than I am normally comfortable with," Rarity said as she lifted a fork of the salad Spike had made for all of them, the rest of her Equestrian friends echoing similar sentiments.

"And now that we have a moment of peace, coming and going should become a far easier task," Princess Celestia said as she happily took a second serving, surprising Twilight as she hadn't even her touched her food. "Though travel from Canterlot and Ponyville will still take some time."

"About that Princess," Sunset said next to Twilight, pausing in her meal. "I have been thinking. I know that Ponyville is looking for a replacement librarian and I am considering applying for the position so I can be closer to my friends in Equestria." She gave a look to Twilight that she couldn't understand, which for some reason caused both of them to blush. "I can continue my studies and it has enough room for guests to stay for a while."

"I think it is a lovely idea Sunset," Princess Celestia said with a wide smile. "One should always strive to carve out their own path in life and I do think that this will do wonders for you."

"And we can continue to work on our project Twilight," Sunset said quickly before blinking and with a sheepish and embarrassed look on her face, she amended the offer. "I mean, if you want to be with me." Sunset squeaked as her face was tinged with a blush that seemed to be similar to Twilight's own face. "I mean work with me, work with me." she stammered while Twilight couldn't seem to get her thoughts in order; idly noticing most of her guests were snickering for some reason.

"I think that would be a lovely idea," Director Luna said, a sly grin on her face. "With all the work needed to be done in the Sextus dome, it will be some time before your normal services will be required." She lifted a fork to her lips, pausing to continue. "Though if this is what you want to do, my dear student." She then grinned hawkishly at her sister. "And if my sister can convince your mom that everything will be okay."

There were some light laughter at her mom's protective tendencies with Princess Celestia stating that she should be okay if she chose to travel to Equestria for a short while.

"That's good to hear," her mom said, staring at the oldest alicorn in the room. "Though, to be honest, Princess, if anything does happen, I will be coming to have a few choice words with you."

Her mom ignored her squeak of embarrassment as the two sisters chuckled to each other. "I offer great caution, sister, if you dare tussle with Velvet."

Princess Celestia's grin turned into a playful smirk. "Are you saying I have lost my edge?"

"Nothing of sort," Luna replied. "Hence the urge of caution that comes from daring to cross paths with Velvet when you have incurred her wrath being very important. And if you should cross horns with her, it would fall onto me to avenge you by going after her." Luna gave a mock shudder as well as shaking her head. "No thank you."

"Your compassion and concern is truly endless, dear sister," Celestia said dryly, though her eyes said how amused she truly was. The Princess then turned to face her. "In all seriousness the final decision is yours Twilight."

"I would very much like to be down in Equestria with Sunset and the girls," Twilight answered. "We can continue our project in the library as well as do so much other research with all those books there."

Twilight's ear flicked as she heard Shiny snicker but before she could glare at him, Luna craned her head around the table.

"It occurs to me that we are short one guest," she said, looking at the pegasus couple near the end of the table where Scootaloo and her family were clustered.

"Our Dashie told us there was a group that she wanted to try and attend," Windy Whistles said, sharing a look with her husband. Even with the little exposure she had with Rainbow Dash's parents, Twilight could tell how nervous and unsure they were about this topic, especially with the young filly present.

"Good," Luna said a bit too deeply, instantly looking sheepish at the glares she was receiving from that side of the table. Scootaloo had not been told what kind of meeting her surrogate sister was attending yet, and they were all respecting Dash's request that she explain the matter to her. The last thing the pegasus wanted was for the filly to worry about her. "I hope that she finds it most helpful."

"As do we all aunt Luna," Cadance said. "I have already been in touch with similar groups in Equestria that she might find useful."

Both of the other alicorns beamed at that and soon the topic changed to other stuff, Sunset and Twilight explaining their goal to their teachers while everyone hoped that Dash was doing okay.





Rainbow Dash grumbled as she walked along the pathway. The meeting had been a complete bust. She wished they had acted like they were mad or disappointed or something like that but no, they were so understanding.

They told her that it was okay that she didn't feel like talking or being there yet; it'd only work when she was ready for it.

All that did was make her feel even worse about everything; she wanted to scream or shout or buck a cloud or something! She did want to get over this stupid stuff but how was she supposed to do that if they wouldn't push her as 'cause she couldn't bring herself to do it? It was so freaking annoy-

"Whoa, you okay there?" a voice caused Dash to snap her head around to see a griffon looking at her, giving her a sideways look.

"Er yeah, I guess," Dash said awkwardly, rubbing the back of her head with her metal wing. She had almost walked into her because she had been all caught up in her head junk. "Sorry about that. Got a lot on my mind." 

"I can see that," the griffon grinned at her before holding out a talon. "The name's Gilda." 

“Dash,” Rainbow Dash answered, shaking the talon. "Nice to meet ya. "She was about to ask her what brought her here but the griffon asked first.

She blinked at that, unsure in how she could answer that, though her mouth seemed to be doing fine without her input.

"Came here because my doc thought it'd do me some good," she replied with the griffon going ah.

"I get yah," she said, nodding her head a bit. "Everyone's been advised to see help over what happened but 'cause it ain't being forced, a lot are just ducking out."

Rainbow Dash squinted her eyes in suspicion, studying the mare across her. Or whatever female griffons were called. "How do you know this? You work for the docs?"

Gilda just squawked in laughter at that, shaking her head. "I'm a baker, not a psychologist," she grinned to herself, clearly amused by it. "As much as my folks had hoped otherwise, my passion is baking. Didn't have the luck to have a cooking Cutie Mark to prove them otherwise, just how good my scones tasted." She snorted,  sounding a bit annoyed before she focused back onto Dash. "And it's basic sense, really. You can go to all the meetings and sessions and group therapy in the Republic but unless you're ready for it, it's just a waste of time."

"You know a lot for someone that ain't a doc," Dash pointed out.

"Kinda happens when both your parents are doctors, along with the rest of your entire family," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh, that makes sense," she said before the other bit dropped and she got why Gilda was annoyed. "Oh."

"Yup; lots of fun discussions," -the sarcasm was so heavy that Dash had to bite back a snort of laughter- "over what I wanted to do with my life." She paused to give her another grin. "Never have two shrinks as parents, trust me, it's not fun."

"Well if my Dad or Mom retire from the weather and cloud factory, I'll steer them away from a medical job," she joked back, feeling lighter than she had for a while.

"Good job, though if my folks ever ask, I never said that," Gilda pleded with Dash snorting and nodding her head. "Or any of my siblings. They'll never say a word about who they help but they have no issue on squealing to Mom or Dad about me."

Dash snorted again, trying her best not to laugh too loudly, but she wasn't doing a good job at it. "I guess I'm lucky that I don't have any siblings to snitch on me," she stopped herself as she recalled Scootaloo. "Well surrogate sister, but Scoots isn't in a position to rat on me. I think."

"She might find a way, even by accident," Gilda mused. "Older or younger?"

"Younger; she's still just a little squirt."

"Oh she'll definitely sell you out by accident," Gilda snorted. "Been on that end when Long Rest or Careful Inquiry asked some stupid question that my folks saw through and got me in trouble so many times." She groaned at that but Dash could hear the affection she had for her siblings and she found herself smiling again, the knot in her stomach really loose now. The griffon tilted her head, a smile on her beak. "I've got some good grub at my store if you want to keep chatting."

Dash smiled at that; she was kinda hungry. Nodding her head, she followed the griffon as the two continued to talk about anything and nothing long into the night.