//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: To Yield the Light // by RoyalPonySisters //------------------------------// When I woke up I had that odd feeling again, but only for a second. I remembered that Luna was raising the Sun this morning. I decided that, if Luna was taking care of it, I could go back to sleep, something I haven’t been able to do since… more than a millennium ago? I can’t even remember at this point. It seemed like a more pleasant idea than getting up, anyhow. “Squawk!” “Huh? Philomena?” “Squawk!” “Oh, no, how late is it?” Thankfully not that late. I only slept for an extra half hour, so I would only be a little late to breakfast. “And that’s why sleeping late is generally a bad idea,” I told Philomena. Another reason it’s a bad idea? It makes getting up much harder. I’ve never had a problem getting up quite literally before the crack of dawn, but getting up after it? I just wanted to crawl back into bed. Unfortunately, life doesn’t work like that, especially when you are a Princess. Perhaps this could be considered a “learning experience”. “Good morning, Sister,” I said when I arrived at the table. “Same to you, Sister,” Luna responded. “May I ask, why so late? I do not think I have ever arrived here before you.” I shrugged and stretched my wings a bit before sitting down. “I decided to sleep in today,” I said. “Really?” Luna asked. “How was it?” “I don’t know how ponies tolerate it,” I admitted, after taking a sip of my tea. “It made me more tired than before.” Luna laughed. “I would not say that is necessarily the case, but yes, that can happen.” Raven and I discussed the schedule, and Luna once again volunteered to perform some of the activities, which we gratefully accepted. “Luna seems a bit different these days, I noticed,” Raven told me as we go to perform the first item on the schedule. “Oh? How so?” I asked. Raven paused thoughtfully. “I guess she just seems a bit more… personable. Enthusiastic. Awake. I mean, before yesterday she never offered to help with royal duties before.” “Really?” I said. “I don’t know about that, Raven. She heard you talking about delegating and offered to help a bit. I wouldn’t read too much into it.” Raven looked at me oddly. “I don’t know, Your Highness. She seemed… well, she seemed a lot happier than usual.” My heart sank. “Did she?” “Definitely,” Raven said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her like this before yesterday. She is usually rather- how shall I say it- grouchy in the mornings.” “She must have discovered her inner morning pony,” I muttered, and we didn’t discuss the topic anymore. That night, I felt even more exhausted than yesterday. I barely made it to dinner. Luna recounted her day to me and I nodded along, but I just wanted to go to bed. Even walking up the stairs to my bedchambers felt like too much. Luckily, I have magic at my disposal, so I transported myself there and lay down with Philomena again until we fell asleep. When I got up that morning I did not sleep late. No need for a repeat of yesterday. Unfortunately, that didn’t make getting up any more pleasant. I managed to drag myself out of bed soon enough to make it to watch Luna’s last day of raising the Sun. “Beautiful,” I said. “I just want to say thank you again, Celestia,” Luna said wistfully. “This has been an amazing experience for me.” “I know,” I said. It was clear that Luna really had been enjoying the Sun; not just enjoying it but flourishing in it in a way that she was never been able to- in a way that I never allowed her to- before. I know what I have to do, but I try not to think about. “You should keep doing it,” I heard myself say. Luna’s ears perked up. “Really?” “Yes. For as long as you want to. You only did it for three days now. That’s not very long at all. Maybe you’d want to do it for, say, a month. How does that sound?” Luna said nothing, and then hugged me tightly. “A month! Thank you!” “My pleasure. A month it is.” I knew she was never going to give it back. I try not to think about what that means.