//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: Luna's Apprehension 
// Story: Legacy of the Sun 
// by IceColt 
//------------------------------//

	Canterlot Castle was brimming with activity. More nobles than usual wandered through the corridors and gardens of the royal palace, barely able to contain their excitement towards the Summer Sun Celebration. Even the ones that would not partake in the festivities in Ponyville couldn’t close off their hearts to the commotion that was going on around them. Some of them joined their friends in the gardens for a small, sophisticated chat, others accompanied their family members to the train station, from where they would depart towards the location of the festival.

Many of the nobles remained yet in Canterlot, waiting to depart from their homes a few days later. Ponyville was, after all, quite rural, and not a place in which someone of noble birth and status should spend their time for far too long, even if Celestia had decided to hold the festivities in such a location. Despite this, there was nopony in Canterlot who was not excited for the Summer Sun Celebration.

Thoughts of the festivity even kept up Princess Luna. It was uneasiness, however, that filled her, not excitement.

Having spent 1000 years imprisoned on the moon, there was nopony left except Celestia who remembered her as a royal princess. History books ensured that there would be nopony disputing her claim to royalty. Yet it had done little to ease the ponies’ worries. Hadn’t she been the wretched Nightmare Moon, who had threatened them with eternal night? Wasn’t she the monster from a 1001 bedtime stories and threats towards disobedient colts and fillies?

Nopony would directly say that to her, of course, and therein lay the problem. Luna couldn’t refute a problem if the others avoided it constantly, and her as well. It had taken Luna quite some time until the ponies in Canterlot wouldn’t flee at her mere sight, and it had taken her even longer to not have them cower in fear whenever she spoke. Those problems were of the past now, but ponies would still regard her with caution when she neared, often inventing excuses to avoid any interaction with her. Moreover, hardly anypony regarded her as their ruler. They’d call her princess and would show her respect, but in the end they turned to Celestia with their problems.

Not that Luna had any problems with playing the second fiddle. Her prior attempt to gain recognition had taught her that the second row was much more comfortable. Which is why she felt uneasy about Celestia’s decision to place her in the Summer Sun Celebration. The thought, to be dragged out of the comfy shadows and once more into the bright headlights, made unpleasant memories resurface.

Nightmare Night had nearly ended in a disaster and although the Princess of the Night had gained far more knowledge about how to treat her subjects and interpret their actions, her failures that night still haunted her.

On the other hoof, maybe this was the perfect opportunity to overcome her intimidation? Maybe she just needed one event of success to change her attitude. A success would be better for her position anyway. Luna knew of the suspicions some of the nobles harbored against her and having the Princess of the Night appear in this Summer Sun Celebration had probably riled up quite a few of them. For now, Luna could count on Celestia’s word as her protection from any open enmity, but she knew that this alone was not good enough. Her appearance at the Summer Sun Celebration had to be absolutely flawless!

Which was the very reason the Princess of the Night was wide awake in the middle of the day and wandering through the long corridors of the castle. Uneasiness had once more taken hold of her mind and led her on a desperate search for anything she could assist with, as it did so often these days.

Of course, today’s search was no more successful than yesterday or the day before that. It was the undeniable truth that there was no actual labor to be done in the castle. The Royal Guard had merely increased its presence in Canterlot and around the castle, since such festivities often brought out the strange, and sometimes dangerous, ponies out there. Anything that could be done for the Summer Sun Celebration was being done in Ponyville.

Luna sighed at this repeated realization as she kept wandering. She just could not stand this waiting! When were they gonna depart for Ponyville? She longed to prove herself, to show everypony that she was no longer the monster everyone had thought her to be for 1000 years. She had to do something, anything! Just how could she be helpful?

Then the realization hit her. She could help her sister! Such festivities were not only physical labour, they were also dependent on planning and overseeing. Celestia may have a 1000 years of a headstart in planning such an event, but she surely would be happy if Luna offered her help. One more pair of hooves was always welcome, was it not?

With this insight improving her mood and putting an end to her restlessness, Luna turned around and took course towards the observatory, her sister’s favourite room in the castle. She always went there when she needed to contemplate things or just wanted a quiet moment for herself. Since those came along seldom, the Princess of the Sun had to especially savor them. Ruling a nation had its demands on one’s private life.

Luckily, Luna’s stroll had taken her close to the observatory tower, so it didn’t take long for her until she saw the entrance to the stairs. As she approached, she noticed that it was the same guards as ever standing at the entrance. They were two of the very few ponies in Canterlot that held no fear towards Luna. If anything, they treated her in a much too familiar, almost chummy way, for guards. Luna enjoyed it very much. That’s why she gave the guards a friendly smile as a greeting.

They stared at her in shock.

Luna blinked confusedly. This was not their usual reaction. Normally, they’d smile back, greet them with friendly words. One time, they had even invited the Princess of the Night to a game of dice. So why this sudden change?

Determined to clear up this mystery, Luna stopped just in front of the guards and smiled one more time. The guards kept staring at her. Luna smiled even wider. The guards looked less scared and more confused now, but they still didn’t act like usual. Unwilling to just drop this, Luna stretched her smile to its maximal capacity, the corners of her mouth stretching in an almost impossible way. Finally, the two guards smiled as well, albeit very strained and still looking quite frightened, although it was probably more Luna’s smile then Luna itself that was the cause. Luna gave a satisfied no. That hadn’t been so hard now, had it?

“Greetings Swift Wing, Fire Ember. How does your shift fare?” she asked the two guards politely. The two guards, still grinning, exchanged a glance from the corners of their eyes. Then, the pegasus called Swift Wing answered.

“It’s been… splendid! Great! No disturbances, the nobles doing their nobly stuff and we’re here, just… erm…”

“Guarding,” Fire Ember, the unicorn, interjected.

“Yes, guarding, that’s it! Because, that’s what we do! We… guard,” Swift Wing finished lamely, giving Luna another wide smile, while his eyes were darting from left to right just as if he was looking for help.

Luna chose to ignore it. “I am happy to hear it! Now then, I shall be on my way, leaving you two to your duties—”

“Right! Your way! That wouldn’t just happen to be going up the stairs to the observatory?” Luna raised an eyebrow as she turned to Fire Ember, who sported the same uneasy smile as Swift Wing.

“Of course it would! Why else would I be here?” she replied, letting her gaze wander from Swift Wing to Fire Ember and back.

“Ermmm, well, maybe you should try to come back later? Princess Celestia is… busy,” Swift Wing explained, the timid tone of his voice would not quite fitting his words. “That’s what she is, right, Ember?”

“Wha— oh, right! Yeah, totally busy. Busy with being… busy. You know, all that stuff with, uh… with… er…” As the unicorn’s voice shrank to a mumbling, Luna’s expression turned all the more confused, and slightly annoyed. What were these guards playing at?

“The festival!” Luna gave a start as Swift Wing’s voice exploded from her left.

“Right, the festival! She’s busy with the stuff with the festival!” Fire Ember followed suit, as he pointed at his fellow guard in a gesture of confirmation.

“Yes, I am quite aware,” Luna answered impatiently, taking her steps towards the door, “that is why I have decided to come help my sister, to ease her burden.”

Luna reached towards the door with her left hoof, but just a split second before she reached it, the two guards desperately threw themselves in front of their princess, blocking the path to the door with their bodies.

“But, but you can’t! It’s erm… really important business!” Swift Wing cried.

“Right! Highly royal business! She needs to be perfectly alone for this,” Fire Ember added, his eyes wide in fearful desperation.

Luna furrowed her brow. This was starting to really annoy her. Forcefully, she brought her hoof down on the ground with a loud stomp, fixing the two, now obviously nervous, guards with a stern gaze.

“In case you have forgotten, I am royalty as well. Whatever secret business my sister may have to deal with in this tower, my help will be most certainly useful. Now, let me pass!” For a brief moment, Swift Wing and Fire Ember seemed to seriously consider blocking Luna’s path. As their anxiety passed, however, resignation filled their eyes and they stepped aside.

“Well, if you insist, Princess… ” sighed Fire Ember, opening the door with his magic, wearing an expression as if he was signing his own death sentence. Luna, on the other hoof, had completely regained her joviality and nodded, a large smile on her lips.

“Yes, I insist. Do not fret, my sister won’t be angry at you. Most certainly she will be happy that you let me up”

“Maybe, but somepony else won’t be so much... ” Swift Wing’s words were a soft murmur, barely more than a breeze and not audible for the Princess of the Night, who was already climbing the stairs.

All the same, Luna wondered about the guards’ behavior. Celestia would never sacrifice a link to the outside world for her privacy. Visitors were always allowed to come up to the observatory, though most of the nobles refrained from climbing those stairs, labelling the ascend ‘exhausting’. It was one of the reasons Celestia had selected this part of the castle as her refuge.

So why Swift Wing’s and Fire Ember’s strange behavior? They knew Luna well enough to know that she was never unwelcome to Celestia. Even if her sister had desired to be alone, the two guards would have most certainly brought up more convincing arguments than that the Ruler of Equestria had to do “stuff”. In fact, their entire conduct had been unusually high-strung, as if their lives had been dependant on them fulfilling their orders and Luna knew that Celestia would never cause such fear in her subjects.

After a while, Luna just abandoned those thoughts with a shrug of her shoulders. Surely Celestia would have answers to all those questions and in the end, everything was sure to be a silly misunderstanding. Swift Wing and Fire Ember were, after all, famous among their colleagues and in the castle for being the two unluckiest stallions the Royal Guard had ever hired.

Contemplating the two guards’ luck in life, Luna did not realize she had already reached the top of the stairs until she stood in front of the observatory’s door. It was not an undesired contact between door and head that took Luna out of her thoughts, it were voices. Voices that were coming from beyond the door.

Luna raised an eyebrow. Several voices? Strange, Fire Ember and Swift Wing had not mentioned any visitors, although that would’ve been one of the more understandable reasons to keep her from entering the tower. Who could it be? She heard the voice of her sister, but could not recognize the other one. It sounded very familiar.

Luna hesitated. Should she disturb? Maybe this discussion was important. She didn’t want to bother her sister if she was in the middle of something. They had been apart for 1000 years, but Luna was Celestia’s sister and knew that she tended to overwork herself, without regard for her own well-being. If Luna came in now, maybe that would only add more stress to the huge pile of work her sister already had.

As she pondered, Luna’s stubbornness spoke up. She had come all the way up here, why shouldn’t she enter? It’s not like she was planning to do any serious harm. In fact, she was here to help! There was nothing that could possibly go wrong!

Her enthusiasm renewed, Luna raised her front hoof and knocked on the door, before letting herself in without awaiting an answer. As soon as the door had swung open under the influence of her magic, she sent a bright smile into the room.

“Greetings, sister. I was wondering if—” The next few words stayed stuck in her throat as she actually perceived the room. Her eyes widened in disbelief and shock, as her brain started to work feverishly to regain control of her senses and shake off the rigidity that had taken hold of her body.

The observatory was as she knew it. The room itself was small and its walls hidden behind several bookshelves, which contained numerous works about the stars and the movement of celestial bodies. There was a simple, sturdy table in the middle of it, on which several books were stacked, most of them pushed to the side right now. On the other end of the room was a large exit to the actual ‘attraction’ of the observatory: a large balcony, reaching out into the sky, a fine example of unicornian architecture. On the very edge of it stood Celestia’s telescope.

The telescope was another thing to behold entirely. It had been a collaboration of the finest of unicorns’ glassblowers and earth ponies’ smiths, its lenses finely crafted while the hull was without any flaws, filigrane engravings on its sides. the mechanisms were, even after all these years, smooth and resulted in absolutely no noise when redirected or the altitude corrected. The view through it could be truly breathtaking if placed in the hand of a professional, and Celestia had had quite enough time to master its use.

These were all familiar sights for Luna, who had been up here quite often. Yet one thing was entirely alien to this room and the very source of her shock, a pony. One very specific pony, whose presence in this castle she had almost forgotten. Yet there he was, in the flesh, returning Luna’s confused look with a gaze of mild curiosity, before turning his attention to the countless documents that covered the bookless rest of the table’s surface.

It was a sight so shocking for Luna that she completely forgot that her sister’s presence, who stood on the other side of the table. As Luna had entered, Celestia had raised her head, looking directly at the door to see who had just come in.

confusion briefly lingered on her expression, replaced by joy when she recognized her younger sister. “Luna!” she exclaimed joyfully. “Come on in. We were just—”

“About to discuss the security measures for the Summer Sun Celebration, which should have your undivided attention, Your Highness,” Stone Quill cut off Celestia, reprimanding the ruler of Equestria with a stern look.

What followed these words was a reaction from Celestia, which nopony outside of this room had ever seen: the Ruler of all of Equestria, Raiser of the Sun, rolled her eyes like an impatient school filly and sighed. “Once more? I already told you last time and I will tell you for the fifth time: I have no intentions to raise the level of security during the celebration,” she replied, an impatient tone in her voice that was very unbecoming of a princess.

Whereas most other ponies would have just caved right there, too afraid to talk back against their ruler, Stone Quill didn’t even bat an eyelid. “Then I will tell you for the fifth time as well, such lax security measures are not appropriate for such a huge event. The fair is inadequately protected and there is no possibility to keep check of the wandering ponies, who will undoubtedly be there. It’s an open gate for disloyalists or other violent maniacs.”

“You’re being paranoid. The Royal Guard and the Night Watch are perfectly capable to keep order with this amount of presence,” Celestia answered, waving her hoof as if to shoo away an annoying fly.

“You’re being naive, if that’s what you think. Only one madpony is necessary to endanger everypony at the celebration and I assure you that there is quite a number of ponies out there who would love to take their shot at the royal sisters, literally. We need absolute control over this festival if we are to—”

“What is he doing here?!”

Luna’s question cut through Stone Quill’s argumentation like an ice shard through a summer wind. The stallion froze mid-sentence, his muzzle remaining open as if somepony had pulled the plug from a very lifelike pony-doll. Celestia turned her head towards her sister, shock clearly visible in her expression as she stared at Luna.

Luna didn’t pay any heed towards her sister. The only thing she was aware of, could be aware of, was Stone Quill. Her eyes, which were fixed upon him, were ablaze with anger and the air around her was crackling with magical energy, ready to strike down in an offensive spell if she only willed it so. The only thing keeping her from doing so was apparently nothing except the certainty that it would be Stone Quill who’d attack first.

Stone Quill seemed completely unfazed. He sighed silently before arranging his documents with his magic, completely ignoring the violent flare that illuminated Luna’s horn when she saw him casting a spell. He just looked over to Celestia and nodded slightly. “We will discuss this later. It seems like you have more important tasks at hoof.”

Celestia silently nodded in agreement, though her worried expression told a different story of her thoughts. If Stone Quill noticed this, he chose to ignore it. He turned around and walked towards the door. Luna immediately sidestepped, carefully observing his every step while she kept their distance constant. Her eyes did not sway from him and even when he exited through the door, she just kept staring at it as his steps faded away.

An icy silence spread between the two sisters. The atmosphere crackled with tension, sure to drive any other unnecessary witnesses away in discomfort. Even the sun seemed unwilling to intrude into this family situation, as the warm light receded from the observatory, casting it in a shadowy grey. The silence persisted until Celestia cleared her throat loudly and hesitantly move around the table.

“Luna?” Her sister didn’t react, keeping her eyes focused on the door. Celestia sighed deeply and took another step closer, continuing to talk. “Please, Lulu, don’t be like that. I know what you’re thinking—”

“Then why did you do it?” Immediately, Celestia stopped in her step. Though she could still not see Luna’s expression, the tone of her voice made all too clear what kind of emotions were boiling inside the Princess of the Night right now.

“Why did I do what?” Celestia asked, though she knew perfectly well what her sister meant.

No longer able to restrain her anger, Luna spun around upon this question and looked directly into Celestia’s eyes, the blazing anger now a burning rage. “You know what I mean!,” she accusingly yelled at her as she raised her left front hoof and pointed towards the door. “Why is this, this monster out of his tower during the day?! What was he doing here?!”

For a while, Celestia didn’t say anything, she just looked deep into the eyes of her sister, countless possibilities of what she could say swirling inside her head. None of them were the reply Luna wanted. Celestia closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then answered. “He was here to help me plan the Summer Sun Celebration. I put him in charge of” but Celestia didn’t come further, because Luna exploded.

“In charge? In charge?! Have you completely forgotten who he is? What he is?!”

“I have not forgotten, Luna, but it seems you have.” Luna stared at her sister, at a complete loss of words over her infuriation. Yet this loss was not of a permanent nature.

“I have forgotten?! Oh, I think I remember what he did quite clearly! You, on the other hoof, dear sister, don’t seem to remember. Do I need to remind you of what he did to us?! What he did to Equestria?!” Luna’s voice almost cracked at the fury with which she shot out these words while she almost spat out every time she referred to Stone Quill as ‘he’. Celestia, on the other hoof, just stood there, regarding her younger sister with a sorrowful expression.

Finally, she sighed deeply, and then answered. “Yes, I do remember Lulu. But I also remember who he was before that. Yes, what he did to Equestria was terrible, but don’t you remember what he was like before that? How he helped us? How he saved our lives?”

For the first time since the anger had taken hold of Luna’s heart, she hesitated. Her mouth opened, but no words came out. Her eyes started to stray, evading her sister’s gaze, as she began to wander about the room, anxiety now taking the helm of her mind as the anger inside her receded.

Once again, neither one said anything. Celestia just stood there, observing Luna’s wandering about, her restlessness only a symptom of the struggle waging inside her. Seeing her sister troubled pained Celestia, but she could not give in now. If she wanted all of this to end during this Summer Sun Celebration, she had to make Luna see. She had to free her from the demons of their past.

Finally, Luna stopped, the table standing between the two sisters once more. She looked towards the ground, but Celestia could see that the blazing fury had vanished from her eyes. In its stead, a deep sadness had appeared.

It cut deep inside Celestia’s heart to see her sister like this, but there was nothing she could do or say that would make it better. The scars in Luna’s heart were too deep to be healed by mere words, even if they were coming from her sister. All Celestia could do was stand and watch, and carry her own burden by herself, so as to not strain her sister any more than it was necessary.

A slight shiver ran through the younger princess’s body as she deeply inhaled, her eyes closed while she was trying to regain control over her emotions that now ran wild inside of her. One, two, three times she breathed deeply, each time the shudder in her voice receding just a little bit more, the tremble slowly fading from her legs as well. Then, after the third breath, she opened her eyes again and looked up, gazing out of the balcony, into the clear, blue sky.

For a moment, Celestia feared that more silence would stand between them, but before she could attempt anything to reach out to her sister once more, Luna spoke up. Her voice was calm and the shudder in her words was minimal, but her tone bore evidence for the shadows that were haunting her mind.

“I just… don’t want him to hurt you again…”

Celestia smiled softly at those words. How could anypony suspect her sister of once more transforming into Nightmare Moon? Even in her most precarious time she still thought only of others and of herself second.

“Don’t worry about me, Lulu. I can manage for myself. And Stone Quill means no harm, far from it. He is actually willing to help us.” Celestia’s gentle voice was filled with care for her younger sister as she passed the table with soft steps and stood herself behind the younger princess.

If those words reached Luna, she showed no reaction to it. She just kept staring right out onto the balcony, her face still turned away from her sister. At last, Celestia sighed. Maybe it was too early to try and convince Luna of Stone Quill’s sincerity. Perhaps she just needed to see him work with her own eyes. They both hadn’t talked to each other since… well, for a long time.

As she turned around to focus at least part of her attention towards the documents on the table, she spoke up once again. “Very well, if it calms you, I will talk to Shining Armor and have him delegate two of his best stallions to watch over Stone Quill. I’ll tell Stone Quill right after I—”

“No.”

Celestia looked back at Luna with a quizzical look. The Princess of the Night had turned around, her expression once again calm and collected, though nowhere near her previous cheerful mood.

“No?” Celestia repeated, her left eyebrow slowly rising. Luna nodded.

“Don’t tell Stone Quill. I want to tell him myself. After all, I am the one who thinks he should be kept under surveillance.”

Celestia was honestly at a loss of words. Luna, talking to Stone Quill? She didn’t know what to even think of this! On one hoof it was foreseeable that this would not be remotely comparable to a nice chat between friends. The last time the two of them had had a talk without Celestia being there, it had ended very badly. On the other hoof, it was also for the first time since ages that Luna actively desired to take up contact with Stone Quill.

When Celestia looked into her sister’s eyes, she could not bring herself to say no. A small flame of conviction had been lit inside Luna and what kind of older sister would she be if she stopped her from facing her inner demons? Celestia couldn’t protect her from getting hurt. It was 1000 years too late for acting like this.


A resigned sigh escaped the lips of the Princess of the Sun, but was closely followed by a smile as finally, Celestia nodded. “Alright, I will leave it to you.”

Luna hadn’t realized she had held her breath until she released it, all the tension escaping her body upon hearing those words, while a smile of relief appeared on her face. “Thank you, Tia! I promise, you won’t regret it!” she exclaimed, her relief turning into joy as she happily beamed at her sister before turning towards the door and galloping down the stairs, eager to fulfill her promise.

Staying behind, Celestia listened to the hoofsteps of her sister grow more and more quiet until they vanished completely, leaving the Ruler of Equestria alone in her tower. The smile she had given her sister, had disappeared out of the room along with Luna and had been replaced by an entirely different expression. No pony had ever laid eyes on their princess in such a state, and no one ever would. What ruler would allow their subjects to see a sorrowful and weary expression on their face? One had to be strong as a leader, flawless and inexhaustible. Still, Celestia was just another pony. Even as a princess.

“Regret,” she murmured absently, as if trying the taste of this word, the one thing she as a ruler would never be allowed to admit. A light chuckle escaped Celestia, closely followed by a deep, exhausted sigh, before she turned her gaze onto the balcony, towards the endless sky. “Unfortunately, I’m far too old to not feel regret. “