Luna could feel her chest tightening as her mother and Tia trotted side by side out of the castle, heads bent close, their voices hushed. She felt as if the lives of half of her family was a complete secret to her, shrouded by a light that her darkness could not penetrate. Over the last few days, her sister and mother had grown ever so close, and she couldn't help but feel herself and King Artemis drifting apart.
She rarely sighted her mother, always attending meetings and festivals and royal banquets. She was the true heir, and she was a queen of all queens, her hierarchy stretching far above that of her husband. While Artemis did orderly things about the castle, Solaris was a queen of talking and boasting, being proper and royal and flaunting it about herself like it was some big show.
The way both of her parents threw their weight about got down to the nerve of Luna, and she turned away as the two white Alicorns disappeared through the open doors, and trotted solemnly back into the shadows. Through the glinting stained glass windows, she could just see their shapes rising into the sky.
"Father!" She cried out, storming down the halls, tossing her head back as she had often seen Celestia do in a dramatic attempt to get what she wanted.
"Yes, love?" King Artemis spend a great deal of his time in the study chambers, mostly in the Starswirl the Bearded wing. She knew that her father had been close with the wizard, and he had given himself to studying every loose scroll and parchment.
She took a deep breath and stepped sheepishly through into the dusty library, eyes drawing along the books, then resting on the large hour glass centerpiece. She reached forward until her muzzle almost touched the cold glass, staring at her misshapen reflection. For a long moment she stared back into her own eyes, then leaned away, glancing at her father's sparkling shape.
Envy curled within her as she stared at his glorious fur. She longed deep within for a coat with such darkness, such coldness and night. The stars that swirled through his fur almost twinkled and gleamed.
"Why must our family be driven apart? Why can't we treat each other as equals?" She moaned quietly, settling beside him and drawing her gaze over what he was reading.
He bend down and ruffled her short cropped mane, hooding his eyes. "I told you, dear Luna, night is important as day. Nopony wants the light of the sun here forever."
"But I never see mama, and Tia's too important for me." She sighed, staring at the maps of the stars. "They are always so busy with Canterlot. I never get to meet my people, or see them smile at me. I never get to see their faces when they look upon the night..."
His cold nose pressed to her neck, his contrasting warm breath bouncing off her fur. "Duty calls, dear. Soon Equestria will be in your and Celestia's hooves. You must be prepared for hardship, between you and your sister, or between those of your land." He paused, getting heavily to his feet. "Let me show you something..."
She stared up with awe, stumbling to find her footing and follow him past the shelves again, back towards the hour glass mounted in the center of the room. Her father spread out one of his wings and stroked the black feathers across the glass, a few grains of sand floating against the glass where he touched it, as if attracted to his closeness.
"These times will be the hardest for you, Luna. Your sister will be very important to the ponies of Equestria, but you will be too. Never forget that. You may not of seen her much of late, but both her and your mother are there. They are just busy, having the majority of the day to complete their duties rather than the solace of the night. Now stare into the glass, tell me what you see."
Luna took a shaking breath and leaned forward, eyes staring into the glass, tracing the borders of its edges, staring at Artemis' reflection, then the sloping glass that pinched in the middle. The space within seemed to change rapidly, but it was obvious this was for her eyes only, as the King only saw sand on the bottom, and empty air. To Luna, she saw small dark clouds floating near the top.
Down on the base, the mound of sand suddenly appeared grassy, the thin wisps moving with an omniscient wind. A small house was planted on the peak of the hill, looking old but well looked after. She leaned closer until her breath seemed to make more clouds. Through the fogged windows, she could see an exhausted pale mare leaning over a crib, a darker stallion at her side for her to lean on.
A sudden shadow befell behind them, slowly looking taller and taller, strange arms reaching out for them. They turned around and gasped, the image of many ponies reflected in their eyes. Their screams rang in Luna's ears, and she gasped, trying to pull away, but her gaze was locked with the vision. The shadow wavered in the flickering light of the fire inside, but suddenly there was burst of light, magic light.
There was a roar of anger, and the shadow was shattered by the sudden light, and the creature that cast it reeled back towards the fire, which was now rising from the logs like the sun. The tiny foal had leaned out of her crib, eyes glowing bright white, six bright lights surrounding her. The creature disappeared with a cruel laugh, then everything went black as night.
"Luna!"
The young Princess snapped awake, looking around wildly, sliding a few lengths down the roof. She pushed out her hooves to halt herself, then blinked the wariness away and looked around.
"Fall asleep waiting, did you?" Discord purred, floating down beside her and placing his mismatched feet on the roofing tiles of the castle.
She smiled and blinking warmly at him. "I was just thinking about something my father showed me today, and I must of dozed off."
"Must of been pretty boring," He teased, letting out a hoarse giggle as she pecked his cheek, swooping in and planting his own kiss on her lips.
She leaned against him, enjoying the down-soft feeling of his fur against hers. He stroked her short mane with one clawed hand very softly, eyes hooded. The bliss inside of her was a warmth that not even the afternoon sun could compare to. Whatever her sister had feared in Discord, she was wrong. Though he was cunning and at some times a recipe for disaster, his loving and protective side wasn't easy to find under his rough mask.
Leaning up, she met his golden gaze, eyes glittering as she pressed her snout to his. "What would I do without you?"
"Life would make too much sense," He chuckled, pressing his bottom lip to her top lip.
The night wore on, full of laughter and star-watching, and gossip over the cocoa Luna had snuck from the kitchens. As the air grew thick and cold, they pressed closer together, and wariness started to hang at each of their limbs.
Rubbing against Discord, she stared up at him, eyes half shut. "They'll be raising the sun soon." She breathed.
He looked up abruptly, eyes on the horizon. The moon was sinking from sight, a sign that King Artemis had descended his magic to make way for Queen Solaris. He narrowed his eyes and leaned away from Luna, slithering down to the edge of the roof and gripping the edge, peering over and thrashing his tail.
Luna slid in beside him, beating her wings the slightest bit to keep herself from rolling forward. She followed his gaze down to the ground. His yellow and orange eyes were set on the doors of the castle, which were wide open. King Artemis and Queen Solaris were disappearing inside, but out on the marble steps up to the entrance, Celestia still stood, staring out into the night.
What is she doing? Luna thought, eyes widening as she watched her sister's horn glow with swirling light.
The dusk sky was suddenly opened by the bright dazzling light rising from the horizon, The clouds seemed to part to create a path for the sun to glide up, then it rested right on the edge, yellow and blue light stretching out on each side of it. Celestia lowered her head finally, taking a deep breath and smiling.
"One step at a time, Celestia." She said to herself, soft pink mane flowing over her shoulders. "And you'll be ready to be the next Queen in no time."
"Mother let her raise the sun..." Luna mumbled, leaning back.
She noticed with a stabbing feeling in her heard that Discord was leaving up the roof, eyes blank. She turned around, pulling her lips back in an angry snarl.
"Suddenly decided that Celestia is better because she's almost taking my mother's place?" She hissed through the burning tears.
He halted, then looking over his shoulder with a mix of love and grief in his eyes. "She will never be you, Luna. And I love you." He turned away, rising onto his hind legs, then disappeared over the other side of the roof.
She stared at the spot he had been for a long while, then slowly blinked. The sun had cast his shadow tall and lanky across the roof as he had left, and it resembled the one in front of the fire from her vision like a mirror image.