Celestia’s dreams had never been quite like this. At first there was nothing but the blackness she floated in. When she blinked, the blackness was replaced by her chambers in the palace of the Royal Pony Sisters, but something felt off. She could see herself, looking into a large dressing mirror as groomsmares fussed with various bits of her. That in and of itself was odd, as most of her dreams were in the first-pony, but that was not the strangest thing about this particular dream.
Looking in the mirror she could see her sister standing behind the “dream” version of herself, the one being groomed and Luna was speaking to that other Celestia and it sounded like the words were coming out of her own mouth: “...you just me me handle these negotiations Celly?”
“I can’t Lulu, the situation is too delicate. If we she and change even the slightest detail now the Griffon delegation might decide to abandon these talks altogether.”
That was the strangest part: somehow, she was reliving events of her sister’s life! It was more than just watching them, every sensation was perfectly reproduced, including the exasperated tone of the response and twinges of anger and annoyance her sister felt at the brush-off. “But you’re always complaining about how busy you are and you’re always telling me that I need to start assuming more royal responsibilities-” a knock at the door cut her off.
“Enter!”
A guardscolt entered carrying a scroll baring the seal of one of the detachments that had been ordered to escort the Griffonite ambassador and his retainers to the palace. Using her magic, dream-Celestia opened the scroll and suspended it at eye level, careful not to disturb the work of the servants. Luna waited silently as the communiqué was read. ”It seems that there is now little point in discussing this further, as the delegation will be arriving within the hour.”
The abrupt change in the tone and manner of the conversation was jarring, Celestia could feel the hurt that her sibling kept out of her voice: “Very well, sister. The best of luck to you then.” With a slight bow of her head, she turned and left the room.
“Why doesn’t she trust me? I spent all that time reading up on the situation with the Griffons. I don’t see any reason why I wouldn’t be just as capable of handling this as my sister.” With a start, Celestia realized that there had been no words spoken as her sister made her way back to her own chambers. She was apparently also privy to her sister’s innermost thoughts. Dream or not, she couldn’t help but feel as though she were somehow violating a sacred trust. There was little time to consider this uncomfortable turn of events as more thoughts were coming through. As she examined them, she saw that they were Luna’s own proposed solution to the problems with the Griffons. Worse, they better than her own plans. She felt an odd bit of pride in the other mare - for mare she was despite her playful facade. Unfortunately, the pony in question was feeling anything but pride. Instead, she was discarding all of these thoughts the way one might throw out so much useless parchment. “All that time, all my effort, wasted! How long will it be before she sees me for the grown mare that I am?”
For the smallest fraction of a second, Celestia wondered if her sister was somehow able to read her own thoughts, then she realized that Luna had begun to weep, muffling the sobs with a pillow
How could I have been so blind?
---
Suddenly, there was blackness again. This time, there was a small kernel of...something, hanging next to her. She reached out to touch it and it skittered away. When she lowered her hoof it took up its position near her. She attempted to grasp whatever it was telekinetically, but her magic found no purchase, as if the thing wasn’t there at all, and yet there it hung. She wondered if whatever entity was doing this (she no longer believed that this was a mere dream) was taunting her.
“Show yourself! I demand to know why you torment me!” No reply was forthcoming. Sighing, Celestia steeled herself and closed her eyes which were moist with tears.
---
When she opened them again, she was greeted with sunlight. Just as before, she could see herself (although just barely) standing on a raised set of steps, surrounded a throng of ponies. She remembered this day very clearly. They had been asked by the mayor of Canterlot to give speeches during the opening ceremonies of a new school dedicated to the studies of magic. Never wanting to appear distant to their ponies, after the ceremonies had concluded, the two of them had decided to spend some time just being among their subjects, trying their best to answer questions and give words of encouragement where they could. They both had done this sort of thing before, but this time in particular seemed to really upset the other mare She had always meant to ask her sister what was bothering her, but she never had. Now she was going to find out, in a very real and personal way.
Luna stood there, looking on silently as her sister basked in the adoration of the ponies around her. A general melancholy had settled in, and it got worse as time progressed. “Look at them. They adore her. I am here also and yet she is the one who reaps all of their affections!” True enough, the Shepard of the Evening had made no attempt to remove herself from public view and yet she garnered none of the admiration that her sister always seemed to inspire wherever she went. As it was, most ponies offered her only a few words in greeting or the occasional inquiry after her health.
Memories of events like this flashed in Luna’s mind, each one carrying with it feelings of sadness and jealousy. Celestia was amazed at just how little their ponies seemed to notice her sister. She hadn’t realized how firmly the limelight had remained on her and how little room there was for them to stand beneath it together.
Why didn’t you tell me? Why hadn’t I asked?
---
She was once more suspended in darkness. That nameless thing had grown however, to about the size of an apple. As before, it fled when she reached for it. When she tried her magic this time however, the energy from the telekinetic spell rebounded into her, causing her to recoil from the impact.
Celestia knew the key to whatever reality this was lay within that floating oddity but for the time being there was nothing else for it but to close her eyes and see what her invisible persecutor had in store for her.
---
Now she was in the grand hall of the castle. All of Equestria and its surrounding neighbors were represented here. Missives had gone out to all major cities within Equestria and the capitals of the surrounding nations calling for a summit to discuss opening up trade routes amongst them all. Tonight was to celebrate the resounding success of those talks. They had all gathered here to unwind. Wine and food were lavish at dinner, but that had wound down, and the rest of the evening’s festivities were in full swing.
No... please... not this! Once was enough!
This night would forever be burned into Celestia’s memory. She and Luna had had such words that her sister left the castle shaking with rage. With her had gone all of the Lunar Guard.
Two days later, on the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration, they would return, bringing rebellion in their wake.
---
Instead of joining in the merrymaking, Luna lurked near the edges of the crowd. Anger seethed within her as she watched her sister laughing and talking to a small group of beings around her. Celestia could feel the heat of her sister’s emotions and the strain of her self-control as she fought to keep them in check.
All of that vanished when one of the servants approached. “Would you care for some refreshment my lady?” Celestia half expected the other pony to burst into flames from the look he received from her sister. “Neigh! Begone from Our sight peasant and trouble Us no longer!”
The butler disappeared quickly through a nearby door. Only then did Luna realize she had been shouting at him. The room was completely silent now and every eye was focused on her. She glared at them all and then she spoke, her voice somewhat lowered: “Look at you all, groveling before Our sister, so pathetically eager to lick the dirt from her hooves! Disgusting.”
Celestia’s double was there in seconds, whispering angrily into her ear: “Return to your chambers at once Luna, and we shall discuss this little... outburst.” The Moon Goddess’s face was the image of calm as she turned to leave. Inside however, there was nothing but unadulterated rage.
Moments later Luna arrived outside the door to her private chambers. “Gather the rest of the Guard, Silver Gaze. If I am right in my reckoning, will have great need you all before too long. Wait for me at the edge of the fields behind the castle, I will join you as soon as I am able.” With that the guardscolt saluted and quick-trotted off to carry out his orders. Stepping into her apartments, all she had to do now was wait, and all Celestia could do was look on in despair
Presently, the doors to Luna’s private chambers burst open and the Ruler of Days strode in radiating fury fit to set the room aflame.
“What in the name of Equestria was that all about? Do you want to destroy all the progress we’ve made?”
“ ‘We’ve made’ sister?” Luna’s tone was calm, hiding the intense anger that threatened every second to erupt “I certainly do not recall having a hoof in creating your little paradise. As with all things in your realm, you are solely responsible.”
The white alicorn stood there in a stunned silence for a full minute before she spoke: “That is a lie and you know it! You’ve-”
“I HAVE DONE NOTHING!” Luna’s outburst shoved her sister’s words back down her throat. Taking a quick breath, she lowered her voice somewhat “Do you not see? You do not trust me to do anything. It feels as though most of the time you do not even see me and when you do happen to grace me with a glance or two, you see a filly instead of the adult mare and equal diarch of Equestria. I suppose that is to be expected as you have never been one to share much of anything.”
“You think me selfish, sister? All of the years I sheltered you and protected you and gave you the chance to live, free of the weight and responsibility of royal life-”
“Please. Do not tell me that this was all for my benefit! We are alone sister, you can at least admit the truth of it here, can you not?”
“And what truth would that be, exactly?” the white alicorn demanded, keeping her indignation under control.
“That, secretly, some part of you enjoys the way you are treated! All of the subservience, the groveling, the way that you are gawked at as you go about your day, the reverence of your subjects... all of it! In some perverse way you crave the attention and are loathe to give it up!”
~SMACK~
Celestia’s dream self backhoofed her sister, and Celestia could feel the bruise beginning to form already beneath the deep blue of her sister’s coat. All semblance of restraint evaporated in an instant. “Leave this place at once! You are no longer welcome here! I do not understand what has happened to you, but you are no longer the sister I knew!” With that, the other alicorn turned and left the room, slamming the door shut behind her.
As quickly as she could, Luna packed her saddlebags and stepped out onto her balcony. Closing her eyes, she began working a spell that enveloped her in a magical aura. Seconds later, the spell’s effect took hold and Celestia gasped. Every trace of her sweet, innocent little sister had been wiped away, the anger and jealousy Luna had kept buried for so long was now given form and substance.
Nightmare Moon lept into the night and flew off to join with her forces.
---
The darkness again. As ever, that nameless gap in this reality hung next to her, having grown now to roughly her size. Instead of reaching for it, she shrank from it. That last memory had broken her heart and so she feared what lay beyond its unseen boundary. It moved closer to her in response, and Celestia could feel herself, ever so slowly, being absorbed by whatever this was. Eventually, despite all of her struggling, she was enveloped by it. There was little difference between where she had been and where was now, save for a chill that seemed to come from everywhere all at once. She could also feel another presence here with her.
“Who’s there?”
A faint chuckle was her only audible reply, but she did see a figure approaching from out of the nothingness that surrounded her. Moments later, Nightmare Moon was there before her. “What are you doing here? Oh Luna, I’m so sorry! You were absolutely right, I have grown far too accustomed to the brilliance of my own glory and it blinded me to your suffering!” As she spoke, tears had begun to flow and she cried uncontrollably.
Peels of cruel laughter, then: “Ah, sister! It is good to see that my scheme was successful!”
“S-scheme? What trickery is this?”
“Though I desired your throne above all else, as any wise ruler does I prepared for for the possibility of my failure and so I devised this enchantment, that you might know the depth of my pain. Its effects were to be triggered if my own magical presence vanished from Equestria. And now, though I do not have your rulership, I can at least have my recompense knowing that you understand the full measure of that pain and your role in its creation and nurturing. The blame and self-recrimination you will inflict upon yourself for that simple fact will be enough for me!” Nightmare Moon laughed again, reveling in her sister’s misery.
The weight of her despair drove Celestia to her knees, the sounds of her wailing, mixed with the laughter of Nightmare Moon filled her consciousness for a time, but eventually even that faded and her grief subsided enough to permit logical thought, but even that was no comfort because she could find no way to disprove her sister’s assertions. Certainly her sister’s actions were her own, but Celestia’s own hoof in them was painfully obvious.
Presently Celestia became aware of the fact that Nightmare Moon’s spell had faded and that she was now in a real dream. She was standing in one of the towers of her castle and just beyond the window she could see part of what looked like a massively overgrown forest. Before her was a young mare with a lavender coat charging toward...Nightmare Moon? As she looked on in bewilderment, the former disappeared and reappeared behind the latter apparently trying to magically charge several small spherical objects. Her sister was too cunning to fall for such a ploy and quickly positioned herself in front of the younger pony once more.
Now that she had a clearer view, Celestia saw that they were... the calcified husks of the Elements of Harmony! She watched as Nightmare Moon stomped the ground, shattering the husks and taunted the little pony. Behind her, Celestia heard the sounds of several other ponies as they barreled into the room to rescue their friend. Sudden realization struck: These must be the future wielders of the Elements!
Awestruck, she could only watch as each Element reformed for its barer and the six ponies now stood in opposition to Nightmare Moon. She committed each of them to memory: An orange earth pony wearing a strange hat, a sky-blue pegasus with prismatic mane and tail, another completely pink earth pony, a white unicorn with dark purple mane and tail, a butter-yellow pegasus with a pink mane and tail, and lastly the lavender unicorn. Each of the elements let out a blast of magical energy that coalesced into a beam of rainbow light...
---
Celestia bolted awake, panting
“Was that... a vision? Some sort of prophecy?” she asked nopony, her voice barely a whisper.
Though that last dream had brought utter confusion, it also gave her a very small glimmer of hope. Something told her that she would be able to apologize to her sister for what she had done someday. That day however, was far off and she still had the rest of today and many more days that she must face alone, burdened with the knowledge that this was almost entirely her doing.
And it was time she faced them.
~*~