“Why did you do it?”
Princess Celestia’s dainty ears flicked in the direction of the familiar voice that accompanied the echoing clip-clop of approaching hooves. She sighed and took a deep breath. Her mane, which had been a lovely shade of pink only moments earlier, was now ethereal and multicolored. Her coat had changed from pale pink to pure white. With another sigh that conveyed feelings that Opaline couldn’t quite read, Celestia turned to face the aubergine-colored alicorn.
“I had no choice,” the princess of the sun whispered, her hot pink eyes downcast. Opaline frowned, remembering all the times Celestia and Luna had belittled her, and in retrospect she realized that Celestia, who was closer in age to Opaline than Luna, was the ringleader of the bullying; Luna had always simply laughed along with her big sister, as if she wanted nothing more than to win Celestia’s approval, but every time the sisters walked away, she had cast an apologetic glance in Opaline’s direction, her turquoise eyes brimming with sympathy. Opaline’s stomach twisted with anger.
“She only wanted your love,” the younger alicorn growled. “You’re so cold-hearted that you couldn’t even love your own sister. You neglected her, just as you neglected me, yet you now want to turn around and play the victim again? How dare you,” Opaline snarled, fighting violently to conceal the tears that stung her eyes like a thousand wasps. Luna was as much a victim of Celestia’s narcissism as Opaline was.
“You don’t know the whole story,” Celestia murmured, still staring at the ground. Opaline gritted her teeth and took another deep breath in a weak attempt to rein in her anger.
“Please, Celestia,” she said, her voice clipped, “I know the story better than you do. What do you do when you’re tired of your old ‘friends’? You discard them. You think you’re so loved because you control the sun, but you’re nothing more than a delusional fool.”
“Silence!” Celestia’s voice thundered, shaking the ground. Opaline didn’t even flinch; instead, she stood her ground and battled the overwhelming urge to give up and just allow Celestia to live in her delusional little world in which nothing was ever her fault.
“You know, I wish Nightmare Moon had won,” Opaline spat. “I wish she had destroyed you and cloaked this wretched land in eternal darkness.” At least fire burns brightly in darkness. At least Luna’s night made me visible, she thought, but she bit back the words. Celestia trembled with rage, tears flooding her eyes as she spread her wings. Opaline let out a guttural, disgusted laugh. Celestia was still that arrogant little playground bully, rearing her ugly head once again. Opaline had never been able to understand why the princess was so adored by everypony, and as she thought about what Celestia had done to her own sister, she shook her head in revulsion.
“I need answers,“ Opaline demanded, returning her attention to Celestia. “Why did you treat me so terribly when we were fillies, Celestia? What did you gain from that?” Her voice shook ever so slightly, but she maintained her regal bearing, lifting her chin and rustling her wings to remind the princess before her that she was just as much of an alicorn as Celestia was, even if she wasn’t in charge of the sun or moon. Celestia waited for several minutes before she spoke.
“Now is not the time,” she murmured, hanging her head. Opaline laughed in disgust and disbelief once more.
“You’re pathetic,” Opaline hissed. “I hate you. You neglected your own sister, then you banished her when she was so starved for love and attention that she finally lashed out because she couldn’t stand going unnoticed by you anymore. You created Nightmare Moon, Celestia. You caused this. The only decent ruler of Equestria is gone, and it’s all your fault. You—“ She was suddenly lifted from the ground in a pink aura of magic. Opaline hovered, trapped in the aura, nose to nose with Celestia.
“You know nothing about me or my sister,” the princess snapped, “and if I had the energy, I would execute you for treason right now. You are a fool, Opaline. Luna did all of this to herself; I know that I hurt her, and I know I neglected her, but she could have kept herself from doing this.” Opaline’s face burned with her tears, and her mouth felt unbearably dry.
“You’re wrong, Celestia,” Opaline replied, keeping her voice level and calm. “You drove Luna to her breaking point because you are unbelievably self-centered and self-absorbed. Nopony matters to you. You walked all over Luna, just like you walked all over me, and you blamed Luna for acting out when she finally decided that she’d had enough. You made Luna snap, and though I hate her almost as much as I hate you, I still feel a strange sort of kinship with her because I’ve realized that we are more alike than I originally thought. We both had to deal with your negligence despite trying to prove ourselves to you over and over again. We will always be treated as lesser beings because you can raise the sun, and as soon as Luna decided she’d had enough of your disrespect and she stood up to you, you sent her away for a millennium because everything is always everypony else’s fault in your eyes. You believe with all your heart that you can do no wrong, so you feign shame as you deflect from your own poor decisions by acting all sanctimonious and innocent. You disgust me.”
Celestia’s pink eyes flashed neon blue for a second as she trembled with fury. For the briefest of moments, Opaline felt the urge to flee, just as she had always tried to run from Celestia. No, she thought, not this time. Celestia released Opaline from the aura, allowing her to settle gently on the ground.
“You should go,” the white alicorn said. “Go back to Skyros, Opaline, and never, ever show your face in Canterlot again. If you say one more word, I will strike you down where you stand. Get out of my sight.” Opaline chuckled again.
“No,” she said flatly. Celestia’s muscles tensed and her posture stiffened. The princess’ face conveyed genuine shock and confusion as she processed the word that had just passed from Opaline’s lips to her ears. Sighing, Opaline planted her hooves.
“I will leave when I have finished speaking,” she declared. “You will always be known as a tyrant, Celestia. Everypony knows that you had a choice in this. You can pretend as much as you like, but Equestria will eventually discover that you are responsible for Luna’s undoing. You created Nightmare Moon, and you have just ignited a fire that will never be extinguished. I will take you down one day.”
With that, Opaline turned and careened off into the forest, galloping until her coat was flecked with foamy sweat and her mane stuck to her neck and forehead like wet plaster. The full moon shone brightly above her, its pearlescent light cloaking the alicorn’s shoulders as she finally stopped at the top of a hill and gazed upward.
“Oh, Luna,” she whispered, her eyes brimming with tears once again, “this wasn’t your fault. I wish I could help you escape. I wish we had gotten to know each other better.”
After five minutes of staring at the night sky that Luna had so dutifully commanded only moments earlier, Opaline looked back up at the moon, which now bore the shadow of the disgraced princess, and released an exhausted sigh. Though her dreams were now unprotected, Opaline, along with the rest of Equestria, needed to recharge. She cast one more glance at the star-flecked sky, then turned and walked back to her bedchamber in silence.