“Luna?” Celestia asked through the door of her sisters room. She knocked on the door and asked again. “Luna, you awake?”
There was no answer so she let herself into the bedroom, now illuminated by the open door. The room was decorated with dark colors and the night sky theme that her sister is so fond of. Celestia found a set of thick curtains covering the only window in the room and used her magic to spread them apart, flooding the room with the morning sun. She found her sister sleeping on an elaborate bed and walked up right next to her. “Wake up. I need you to do something for me.”
Luna responded with a sleepy moan and used her own magic to close the curtains returning the bedroom to near darkness. “Go away Tia.”
Celestia strongly opened the curtains again. “I’m sorry to wake you but this is important.” Her normally sweet voice had hardened into a serious tone and she looked down at her sister. Luna opened an eye to meet Celestia’s piercing gaze. She had an impatient look to her and her carefree demeanor was replaced with that of worry. It was clear that something serious was happening and this was no time to play around.
In a single breath Luna raised herself and stood at attention. Her usual getup appeared in a flash of magic. “What’s wong? Is there trouble?” She asked, instantly awake and fully aware.
“No, no trouble. At least... not yet.”
Luna had visibly relaxed upon hearing this. “That is reassuring, yet still troubling. What’s the problem?”
Celestia turned towards the door and took a step forward. “Come, walk with me; we don’t have much time.” Luna joined her sister and they walked side by side towards the main castle entrance. ”The problem is the Crystal Empire.
Luna raised an eyebrow. “The Empire? King Sombra was defeated was he not?”
Celestia nodded. “Yes but this is an indirect result of its return. The Crystal Empire was frozen in time for a thousand years, including the Crystal Archive. Now that it’s back the Archive, filled with ancient and dangerous knowledge, is open to all. Our subjects don’t understand that some things are forgotten for a reason. The struggle against King Somber prevented me from censoring it properly.”
Luna was surprised with herself not even considering this. She had been away from the world for nearly as long as the Crystal Empire has. She still often forgets that many things that were once well known are now long forgotten and Equestria had been made much safer for it.
“How could I have forgotten?” Luna angrily glared at her sister. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? We must take the proper action right away."
"It's too late for that. Equestria's intellectual community has already flocked to the Archive. They now know the nature of the secrets within. If we try to keep them from it they'll label us as tyrants trying to keep the world in ignorance."
"Then let us be called tyrants! We must protect them from themselves."
"That would only hasten their demise. Equestria doesn't need us like they used to Luna. We could easily lose our right to rule and they'll just unlock the Archive anyways."
The two finally reached the main entrance where a chariot was waiting to take them away. “There’s perfection in simplicity. I’ve spent the last thousand years holding the world back. I kept it simple, kept it safe. But nothing lasts forever. The best we can do for equestria is to be here to catch it when it falls.We have our work cut out for us sister.”
Celestia made her way towards her ride. "There’s a situation in Hoofington that requires my attention. It seems they recovered an ancient power that I suspect isn’t being handled with the care and respect it deserves. Take care of things in Canterlot while I’m away.”
“What power?” She ignored the question, intending to fly off without answering it. Luna would have none of it and flew over to face her sister and looked her right in the eyes.
She expected to see all manner of things reflected in those eyes. The one thing she didn’t expect to see was fear. True fear, the kind that you get when you think you’re gonna die. The kind that comes from experiencing things so vile and twisted it would break lesser beings. There was only one time either of them experienced that kind of fear and Luna eyes widened with the realization.
“No, thats impossible. We killed them. Burned their bodies! We made sure they were all dead and gone forever!” All sound cut out in an instant. The wind fell silent, the trees froze as if afraid to sway, all the sound of Canterlot vanished - a moment frozen in time. Luna only dared to speak in a whisper, “Dead is dead.”
Time resumed when Celestia gave her sister a gentle smile. “The world’s only truth, nothing can change that. The remains of two have survived, hidden away this whole time - only bones remain. I’ll get closure for both of us.”
Celestia signaled the pegasi to take her away to the intellectual capital that is Hoofington. Luna stood and watched her sister shrink into the distant sky.