To clear her head and try to talk some sense into Luna, Celestia took Oxford's private spaceship to Luna City. Though she could make the jump, even with her absurd power, it would take just about everything she had to get from the highest point in Canterlot to the moon. At this hour, Luna city was about as far as it possibly could be too. Twilight certainly picked an annoying place to live, but at this point, she was Celestia’s only hope.
Only, convincing Luna was hard, but at least possible. Convincing Twilight, on the other hoof, was a monumental task. More often than not, Twilight could convince most everyone of whatever it is she believed, yet for as much as her heart was in the right place, reality had a habit of slapping her back down to Earth.
While watching the blue planet below grow smaller from Oxford’s chambers on his Meteorite, Celestia let out a deep sigh. Already she was feeling her own words bite back at her. You get to deal with it yourself. It wasn’t in the slightest bit true; Celestia would come to her sister’s side the moment she needed anything. If there was one thing she could take from her late husband, it would be his ability to remain calm in a heated argument, something none of his children inherited either.
“Knock, knock,” Oxford said as he entered his own room.
Celestia didn’t turn to look, but waved him over with her wing.
“You’ve been staring at the world for two hours, Aunt Celestia. Is something bothering you?”
Finally turning her attention to her violet-coated nephew, she sighed. He was such a good boy. It pained her to see him steeped in the corrupt world of governance and military power. He should be down in Equestria, teaching his father’s descendants how to run an apple farm, not here helping her with campaigns.
“I said some cruel things to your mother before I left. Things I didn’t mean, you know.”
Oxford stroked his beard, a bright orange thing taken directly from his father. Between his stature and his great bulk, in spite of being such a young alicorn, he’d almost outgrown Celestia and Luna. Eventually, he might. “Well, sometimes Mother needs to hear cruel things. She’s been the Queen for a long time, and she can get her head stuck in the clouds sometimes. Were I less of a coward, I might be able to tell her, but since I am…”
Celestia put a wing over her nephew and hugged the massive stallion. “Oh, sweet boy, this isn’t your fault. Don’t stop being good to your mother, you don’t want to end up in our situation.” She motioned toward the moon.
Oxford frowned. “Our situation? It is just Twilight you’re still fighting with, right?”
It was no secret that the last war had torn Celestia’s little unit apart. Luna City was subject to a great deal of scrutiny from the rest of the world; fighting broke out everywhere about it. Luna City was an untouchable stronghold and Equestria could send warships from there to all over the world in minutes with enough power to blow entire cities off the map. The Griffons and Hippogriffs eventually lost their will to fight, but the changelings went to extremes to take down Luna City. They’d gotten too close and taken out too many ponies for Celestia to not put an end to it all. Just as Twilight and Luna were arranging peace talks that Celestia knew would give Chrysalis I the upper hoof she wanted, Celestia cut the discussion prematurely.
“Surrender, or this will only be the first of many.”
And it was the first of many. The changelings wanted vengeance for the death of their queen, which led to more death. Twilight was so set on her diplomacy that she attempted to go alone to speak with the next changeling queen, Chrysalis II. The obvious trap that it was led to her being captured and Celestia having to come rescue her. For triggering the Sun Queen’s wrath, the war came to an end, simply because they had nothing left. Twilight nor Luna have forgiven her for it, and it has been almost seventy years since then. Dusk had a very low view of his sister now, a fervent belief in his mother, and might not balk at anything she decides to do, even if she’s wrong for it.
Traumatized but unwilling to give up on her ideals, Twilight hid in Luna City, keeping enough distance between them so that no one can come see her just whenever, and she could retreat into the past where those nice clouds seemed to be just so fluffy above her head.
“It’s not that Dusk and I are fighting, it’s just that… I feel he depends on me too much. Believes in me too much. He doesn’t realize that I can make mistakes. An alicorn I may be, but I am no goddess. I just don’t think he sees it that way. Have you spoken to him recently?”
Oxford shook his head. “No ma’am. Not since he gave us the pictures from the hives a week ago, anyways. We haven’t sat down and just talked in a while. A few months, maybe.”
Celestia took hold of his hoof. “I hate to keep putting things on you, but would you make time for it sometime soon? None of us are perfect, but I don’t think I could make him see that.”
“I understand. I’ll try to arrange something within the week.”
Celestia kissed his freckled cheek. “Thank you.”
The ship’s PA system came alive. “We will arrive at Port Luna in fifteen minutes. Entering docking procedures.”
“I had better go,” Celestia announced. “Thank you for bringing me all the way here on such short notice.”
“Oh, don’t’cha worry none, Auntie.” Oxford coughed into his hoof, coloring a little. Despite keeping up his image of the strong, upright Equestrian general, that warm southern accent sometimes slips out. “I have business in the city to tend to anyways. Just give me a heads-up whenever you want to go back.”
“Of course. I love you.” She hugged her nephew one more time, found Twilight within the city, and warped.