//------------------------------//
// Interlude - Luna 
// Story: Twilight’s Doppelgänger 
// by black_arachnia 
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The moon shimmered in the night, bathing the lake in a white glow. Sitting on the grass looking out onto the lake, the moon princess was quiet. 

Celestia sent her to the moon for a thousand years, and she had spent those thousand years on the moon in a slumber, unaware of the passing of time. All her advisors and guards had passed on when she had awoken again as Nightmare Moon. She was in an unfamiliar world, alone. Even as the Nightmare, she just wanted somepony else to appreciate the night as she did. When she became Luna once again, she thought her sister had known what she wanted. She has been very accommodating to her, but she still hasn’t been as open with her as she’d like. 

When Celestia announced that she would retire, she was not as thrilled. She wanted to rule beside her, as an equal. However, she had to admit that Twilight was by far the better option in terms of diplomacy of non-ponies than she or her sister. Celestia always abided by whatever is the most harmonic option, even if it’s not an easy decision to make. So, for the good of Equestria, she retired with her. 

But now knowing Twilight on the throne was all a machination by her sister, and she knew of its implications, she had trouble forgiving her. Celestia had kept the entire thing a secret from her, probably thinking she would tell Twilight and jeopardize everything. And knowing herself, she would have done just that. Celestia probably saw it as more harmonious to sacrifice one pony to save a world. Still, Luna thought there could have been another way, Celestia didn’t have to become a villain. 

The night both Twilights left their home, Luna had told her sister she needed to be alone. She didn’t mean in the short term. The next day she talked a real estate agent and found a small home a few miles away, and moved her belongings to that new home the very same day. She needed to be away from Celestia for awhile, maybe indulge in some hobbies or meet new ponies. The retirement home they both had lived in was fine, but the ponies there treated them like royalty rather than normal ponies. Luna sometimes liked being treated as royalty, but not when she had retired. Nowadays she appreciated things more pedestrian like the post office and other new inventions that had been created that Celestia took for granted. 

This would be a new beginning for her, and she hoped Celestia could use the time away from her and Twilight to reflect. Twilight, despite now having higher authority than Celestia, decided not to charge her with any crimes despite the premeditated nature of what she had done. It was out of kindness, but Twilight has not spoken to Celestia since that night. The original Twilight was asked if she wanted to press charges, but she had the same opinion on the matter as her counterpart. Personally, Luna would have punished her if her sister attempted to murder her, but she wasn’t going to argue with Twilight over it. Perhaps that’s the last grace Twilight will grant to Celestia before shutting her out completely. 

Luna looked up and gazed at the moon, she no longer had to move it, but she still felt a connection to it. She didn’t perform that duty anymore, but she wished she did sometimes. She didn’t even interact with ponies’ dreams as much either, which she enjoyed, but ultimately it was a duty she performed as a princess. 

She was no longer a princess, and it felt like a part of her vanished as a result. Ponies often say once one retires, there may be a loss of purpose. Luna somewhat feels that way now. She knows her sister doesn’t, she may have left Equestria in Twilight’s hooves, but she had probably had enough ruling after over a thousand years of it. Anypony would. Her sister was an adrenaline junkie and wanted to do things all the time since retiring. 

“Sigh…”

Really, she wanted to forget thinking about her sister for now. She can lie in her bed that she made. Luna wanted to live life that wasn’t on her sister’s terms. Ever since they were both fillies, Celestia took on the role of deciding everything they would do together. She probably thought she was being a good big sister by doing that, but to Luna it felt like she wasn’t living her own life. And thinking on it now… who says she has to retire?

“I’ve got it!” Luna stood up and stomped a hoof on the ground. 

“I’ll get a job! Delivering mail! It could even be… fun.” Slowly, a smile made its way onto her muzzle.