//------------------------------// // Setting Up // Story: Stuck In The Middle With You // by Vargras //------------------------------// Meet me in my chambers at noon. There's something I wish to discuss with you. Your sister, Celestia The letter itself seemed somewhat out of character for her sister. Typically, if Celestia wished to talk to Luna, she would just do it in-person. To send a letter seemed... impersonal. Cold. Not like Celestia at all. Luna carefully nudged open the door to her sister's room and made her way inside, shutting it behind herself. The blinds were shut, and the room was darker than what the Princess of the Night had expected - the only source of light from within was the fireplace, and in front of it sat Celestia herself. The white alicorn acknowledged her sister's presence, never once turning away from the fire. "Take a seat beside me, Luna. I need to tell you something." Slowly, Luna did as told, making her way to her sister's side and sitting beside her. The first thing the young Princess noticed was how dour her sister's expression was. At worst, Celestia often appeared expressionless or neutral - this, however, was a slight frown. It made Luna feel slightly uneasy, but she gradually worked up the courage to speak. "What did you want to tell me about, 'Tia?" "I have a warning for you. Before you panic, this doesn't concern Equestria itself. The kingdom and its citizens aren't in danger. This is something more... personal." Celestia briefly glanced away from the fire and sighed before continuing. "You have your list, and I know how eager you are to make some friends. But believe me when I say this - don't make the same mistake I have. Don't allow yourself to get too close." Luna stared blankly at her sister, her mouth agape. To hear Celestia, of all ponies, utter these words was a shock. After all, she loved all of her ponies, and yet she had just told her sister to keep her distance from others. "...mistake? Celestia, what are you talking about?" "Time and time again, I've allowed myself to get too close to my little ponies. I know I probably shouldn't, but I can't help it." "Celestia, you aren't making any sense." Luna slowly shook her head and gave her sister a gentle prod. "What's this all about?" "I'm trying to spare you from something I've had to endure over and over. Luna, over the past thousand years, I've had multiple apprentices, and by no means is Twilight Sparkle the first. I love her dearly - she's like a daughter to me. But I know that one day, the sun will set for her, and my faithful student will pass on. It'll break my heart, little sister. It always has. You'd think it would get easier over time, but... it doesn't." The elder sibling looked down at her with a pained expression, sighing once more before continuing. "To be honest, I'm still not sure how I managed to make it through your banishment. With you gone and my apprentices passing away throughout the years, I got lonely. Very lonely, in fact. Some days I wasn't sure if my own immortality was a blessing, or a curse. What's the point of living forever if you those you love continually pass away?" This was all new to Luna, who found herself eying her sister with a mixture of shock and awe - shocked that her sister would willingly keep such a thing bottled up, and awed at the fact that she had endured such emotional pain time and time again. "But... why tell me now, 'Tia? Why haven't you told me before?" "The time wasn't right. I needed to wait and see what you wanted to do with your life after you returned. I was overjoyed to know you wanted to make friends, but... I also knew I would have to eventually give you this speech. I'm not saying you can't make friends, just... don't get too close to them. I'm simply trying to help, Luna. Just promise me you won't make the same mistake I have." Mistake. Each and every time Celestia mentioned it, there was a hint of bitterness within her voice. She wasn't bitter over her 'mistake' itself, but rather over the fact that she had to refer to it as one. If anything, it was the opposite - it was clear that her elder sister still loved all of the ponies of Equestria dearly. She saw all of them as her children, and she would have done anything for them. She was simply trying to spare her own sister from what she had suffered through during Luna's absence, though by no means had Luna fared any better during that same period. Again and again, however, Celestia had tried to shoulder the burden herself. Always looking out for her dear sister, it would seem. The young Princess turned towards the fire and stared at the dancing flames within before replying. "You know I can't do that, Celestia. I can't make that promise." "I know, Luna. I don't think I'd be able to either." Celestia had already draped a wing over her little sister, her eyes focused upon the embers of the fireplace. "There's some days where I hate time itself. I feel like it's mocking me. Decades pass for my little ponies, and yet it feels like minutes for me. Just as I've gotten to truly know all of my children, they're taken from me by the sands of time, and I have to begin the process anew. It doesn't feel fair." Hate - now there was an especially strong word in Celestia's vocabulary. Her sister had never hated anything, and not even Discord had managed to earn such a thing. It was becoming increasingly clear that her elder sibling wasn't quite as serene as she often appeared to be, but was simply very good at hiding her troubles. Luna thought for a moment about what to do, and she quickly knew what had to be done. Just as Celestia had done for her when she had dreamt of her childhood, Luna placed her head underneath Celestia's, giving her sister a brief nuzzle before speaking. "Because it isn't fair, 'Tia. We can't let that change us though, or we become bitter and uncaring. I guess... if we can't love all the ponies for the rest of time, we'll simply have to love them lots while they're still here." "It scares me how much you remind me of mother sometimes." Celestia looked down at her younger sister, her expression softening, and she softly laughed. "To think, I brought you here hoping to teach you something, and I was the one being taught instead. Sometimes we need the perspective of another to push us along, which... you seem to have done today, little sister. Thank you. And... sorry for being so mopey around you." "We all have our 'off' days, 'Tia. It's okay. Do you need a tissue?" "I think I'll be fine, Luna. Thanks for asking." The elder sibling had already proceeded over to her windows, opening the blinds and letting the light of day into her room once more. She snuffled slightly and continued. "I'm just... tired of it, I suppose. Of mourning them time and time again. Generation after generation of happy and hopeful ponies, starting out as sparks and becoming bright and roaring flames, only to slowly fizzle out. Some days, I simply wish none of them would grow old, just so I could spend time amongst them and love them as they deserve to be loved. That's not... selfish of me or anything, is it?" "Not at all, Celestia." Luna slowly approached her older sister and leaned up to give her another nuzzle. "I think maybe we should change subjects, though. You're starting to tear up a bit. Do you at least feel any better?" Celestia snuffled and nodded, gently rubbing at her eyes to clear away any of the tears that had started to accumulate. "I do. I'm feeling much better now that I've told somepony else about it. But yes, let's change subjects before things get too dreary - what would you like to discuss, little sister?" The young Princess glanced over at the easels that had since been moved to a corner of her sister's room, and she grinned upon remembering the art lesson from earlier that week. "About those paints..." ----- Today had been fairly eventful, to say the least. She had helped her sister get something off her chest, and now she was overseeing final preparations for her camp. Her guards weren't exactly enthusiastic that they had to help with such a thing, but it wasn't as if they could say 'No' - she was their Princess, after all. After much deliberation, Luna had decided to simply hold the camp within the castle itself. It was an odd choice upon initial observation, but made sense after one considered the activities the Princess of the Night had planned. With the observatory and library nearby, as well as her own art supplies, everything the young Princess needed was already here. A set of barracks that had gone unused over the past few years would be the sleeping quarters for the campers, and with everything set inside the castle, security would hardly be an issue. This night, Luna had decided against creating another star, and was instead spending more time with her guards. She was doing something different this time around, opting to play Blackjack instead of Go Fish. They weren't betting, of course - this was strictly for fun. "So everything's taken care of? The barracks have been cleaned up, the kitchen staff notified, that sort of thing? Oh, and do you want me to deal or are you gonna stay? "Deal." The Princess dealt one of her guards another card, flipping it over and revealing a Jack. The stallion grumbled and shook his head, shoving his hand towards the deck. "Bust... should've stayed. To answer your question, however, yes. Everything's set up to the best of our abilities. The library staff have also been told about your plans. They didn't exactly seem pleased, but it's not as if they have much of a say in the matter." Luna giggled and shook her head as she reshuffled the deck, passing it back to the guard. "Your turn to deal. I swear, it's impossible to make those ponies happy. I reorganized all of the books yesterday into their proper places, and they almost threw a fit because I didn't fill out the appropriate paperwork. I'm a Princess! I shouldn't have to fill out paperwork just so I can shuffle books around!" "They're just trying to do their job, your Majesty. Can't exactly fault 'em for that." The stallion dealt the cards out to her, and Luna quickly picked up the two cards with her magic, holding them in front of herself - an Ace and an eight. A good hand, but a risky one. The guard didn't seem to fare any better, a faint scowl appearing upon his face. "Hm... I'll stay." She placed both her cards down, eying the guard sitting across from her. His scowl had been a very slight hint, and either he had ended up with a bad set of cards or he was bluffing. Luna wasn't entirely sure which it could be. "I know they're just trying to do their jobs, but it'd be nice for them to loosen up a bit sometimes. There's maybe one or two librarians that relax around me, and the rest are always completely serious." "They might loosen up a bit once they see Miss Sparkle's back. They always did like her." The guard drew another card, grinning to himself. "I'll stay. Whatcha got?" Luna flipped over her cards - nineteen. "Wasn't sure if I should have dealt or stayed, so I played it safe. And how did you know that Twilight Sparkle would be coming back? I've kept that list private." "Princess Celestia let it slip that the Elements of Harmony were gonna be coming here. Didn't take long for it to spread after that." The stallion flipped over his own set of cards, still grinning. "Blackjack. No win for ya this time, your Majesty." "Maybe next time. Invite one of your comrades over if you want, I need to go talk to my sister about this." She huffed, though it was more because of her sister and less because of her losing hand. The Princess stood up and made her way out of the throne room as she headed towards her sister's quarters. She had purposely kept the list private because she wanted it to be a low-key event, and because the sign-up list had only been posted in one town. If news of her camp reached the rest of Canterlot, she'd never hear the end of it. As she neared the door to her sister's room, however, she heard something odd inside - laughter. Celestia normally wasn't up this late, nor would she be laughing even if she was. Then she heard another laugh, deeper than the first. Much deeper, in fact. Luna clamped her hooves over her mouth to stifle a gasp as her thoughts ran rampant. Had Celestia's own admittance to being lonely caused her to find a stallion for companionship? She was pleased that her sister wouldn't be quite as lonely now, but such a thing would be downright scandalous if the media ever caught wind of it. The young Princess cautiously knocked upon the door, barely raising her voice above what was necessary. "Um... Celestia? I don't mean to interrupt or anything, but could I talk to you?" Celestia soon replied, though it wasn't quite what the Princess of the Night was hoping to hear. "Oh, Luna! C'mon in!" Luna stared in horror at the door, already feeling her face grow hot. If it weren't for her dark coat, she was fairly certain her face would be as red as one of the apples from Sweet Apple Acres. So she had inadvertently stumbled upon her sister likely being intimate with a stallion - that's normal. Okay, maybe not normal, considering that her sister was essentially immortal and extremely powerful, but these things still happened... maybe. But now Celestia wanted her to come inside? She knew her elder sister didn't hide much from her subjects, but this was certainly pushing it. There was so much Luna owed to her sister, though. As traumatizing as this might be, she had to go inside. She simply had to. Reluctantly, Luna opened the door and quickly stepped inside, shutting it behind herself... ...only to find Celestia and one of her own guards simply sitting on the floor, talking with one another and sharing a cup of tea. Her elder sibling stared at her quizzically, an eyebrow raised as she eyed her sister. "Luna, are you... blushing?" "I... um... maybe?" The young Princess sheepishly grinned and quickly rubbed at her face, hoping to make the blush go away. It didn't seem to have much success, however. She had forgotten just how flustered she could be whenever she was embarrassed by something. "Look, I... just wanted to ask why you um... mentioned my list." Celestia couldn't hide her grin, even if she tried. "You're so cute when you're embarrassed, little sister. It's rather endearing. As for the list, well... I saw no harm in letting word slip out about it. I'm aware you wanted to keep it secret, but it'll be awfully hard to do that when we've got the Elements of Harmony spending a week here. You understand, don't you?" Luna slowly nodded, her blush finally beginning to dissipate. Okay, so her sister wasn't being intimate with a stallion. But if she had managed to misinterpret something like this so severely, what did that say about her? It provided her with more questions than answers, some of which were beginning to make her blush once more. She quickly fought it off and replied. "Yeah, I... I think I do. Though, I have to ask... why is he here?" "Oh! Well, his wife is pretty far along in her pregnancy, so he stopped by to tell me that he'll be on leave for a few weeks so he can be there when the foal arrives. We started swapping stories, and we may have lost track of time." "May have lost track of time? Celestia, it's three in the morning." "Ah, right. You should probably get going then. Give your wife my regards, will you?" The guardsman wordlessly stood up and nodded, saluting both Celestia and Luna before departing. After he had left, the elder sibling looked over at her sister, the grin on her face once more. "So, little sister... just what were you blushing about?" "I'd... rather not talk about it. 'tis embarrassing." Luna was idly pawing at the floor with a hoof, doing everything she could to keep from looking directly at her sister. "Using 'tis'? My, you must be embarrassed if you're slipping back into the old language." The elder sibling giggled and stood up, making her way over to Luna and giving her a nuzzle. "I need to go to sleep, though. Have to raise the sun in a few hours and all!" "Right! Yeah. I... need to finish up final preparations for my camp anyways. Good night, 'Tia. See you in a few hours." The young Princess worked up the nerve to look at her sister once more, leaning up to return to the nuzzle. She quietly excused herself from her sister's presence, shutting the door behind her as she left. Once out of Celestia's sight, Luna let out a sigh of relief - she had thought of the entire situation as being much worse than what it actually was, and it made her question just how much her mind truly wandered. Did her own thoughts really deviate that much? It was a question for another time. The camp began in just a few days, and she needed to make sure everything was fully prepared. For now, however, she simply wanted a cup of coffee. Coffee sounded nice.