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// 1-3 
// Story: Never gone 
// by Kathangaroo 
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1.
From out of the bowels of Equestria’s least understood chambers out walked Princess Luna. Celestia greets her in the waning sun.
“Ah, Luna, you’re looking great as usual. Are you ready?
A nod. It was too early for conversation. In comfortable silence, as with every one of Luna’s mornings, they made their way to the roof of Canterlot castle to let the sun fall and the moon to rise. In the twilight, Celestia lowers the sun to allow Luna to bring out the light of the stars and bring the moon out of hiding. Satisfied, Celestia makes to go to bed. Luna turns away from the night to speak.
“We are ready to resume our Lunar Court.”
Celestia catches a hoof on the easy chair. Her response is quick.
“What? Are you sure?” Her surprise shows greatly on her relaxed features. “It’s been so long, why now?”
A look of serenity passes over Luna’s face.
“We have spent long enough getting caught up with current affairs, and now that Princess Twilight is with us, We can begin to act as Our formal self.”
Celestia moves to join back up with her and nuzzles necks with her younger sister.
“I knew you’d come around. You are even more fluent in the affairs of this world than any scholar I know.” Celestia eases off Luna and notices her face. Burning eyes lapse over her tightening face. “Is something the matter?”
“That is what I was hoping you’d say.” Celestia starts at her dropped honorific. “I understand now that I became so bitter of our ponies because no one would come see me. In that sense, I will now move the Court to the ponies and beyond. The world will see I have come back. They will love and respect me as they did for you in the Olden days. Starting tomorrow, I leave to represent Equestria to the nations of the world.”
To show any emotion outwardly that Celestia was thinking would doubtlessly cause an argument with Luna. Carefully, she picks her words.
“I am glad you want to take such an active role in the world, but-” Luna began to glare at her. “Ah, I wonder if such a long time away hasn’t made you less eloquent than you used to be. I know you wouldn’t want to misrepresent yourself.”
Luna barks a laugh. 
“Well alright. Maybe I am going a little too fast, but if We do not strike quickly, I fear the tides will be lost. I’ll not scour in obscurity like I did before.”
“Sister, you keep speaking in war terms, what exactly do you plan to do?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” She tilts her head. “I need to find all of Equestria’s enemies and convince them to ally with us, to promote harmony between all the races of Illustria, and unify ourselves against the looming threat.” 
The past years had seen Luna in her room reading. That a common pony would be shocked at hearing this from the moon princess was startling enough. Celestia, on the other hoof, was shocked into silence.
“If you’ll excuse me, I must meet my consort and discuss plans for your morn’s departure.”
Celestia, now wide awake, wonders how to stop this.  She looks at the moon. “Wait, Consort?” The sun princess flew down the stairs as a tennis ball would. At about halfway through the gauntlet of easily sloped stairs she had clipped the ceiling. Tumbling to the ground she saw her wide-eyed sister and another familiar pony.

Leaving the infirmary Luna meets up with her consort and begins to head through the castle to the chariots. As her consort continues to speak, Luna wonders if perchance she had made the wrong decision. Through the mail, she had seemed like such a well-organized pony. The parchment had smelled great as well, implying a chef. Her words were eloquent and forceful. When Luna had gotten the only response letter sent by any of the remaining elements of harmony, she had been delighted to know that the element of laughter would join her. A duo of Rivals, as it were. The bright and pink pony that hopped babbling in front of her was indeed laughing. Luna wasn’t, nor did she have time to talk to every castle guard who wouldn’t speak back to her anyway.  None of her previous, “friend-sublimating-techniques” had worked so far and they all seemed more afraid of her than when she got here. A sigh passed over her. Her privacy was instantly violated by her consort.
“Hey! What is that frown doing upside-down? Flip it right now! Do It!”
“Quiet. Now. We need it to wake Ourself. And you used a double-negative. You just asked me to frown. Which is not what We are doing. We are concentrating.”
The consort’s voice clicked up and she began chirping.
“Come on, we have to stay positive if anyone will want to hang out with us, I mean, what country will we head to first huh? Aren’t you excited? I know I would be if I got to go, and I’m going, so now I’m doubly excited. Hah! The excitement has been doubled!”
Her eyes refocused on Luna who was shaking with anger and was weeping. Her speech stopped and enveloped Luna into a whole body hug. 
“What’d I say? What’s wrong?”
Luna stopped to look at her with slanted, yellow eyes. 
“Oh, nothing young foal. Forgive my host’s emotional stability. She is mad that no one thinks of her as positive or optimistic. Even her own sister worries for her mental health. To think that the Element of happiness couldn’t see it in her is troublesome indeed.” 
She begins to laugh softly. After a minute or so she stops to open her clear blue eyes.
“We apologize for that outburst Ms. Pie. Forget that it happened. That is your first order as my consort. Meet me at the chariots out the Eagle gate.” 
Pinkie Pie watched in terrified silence as Luna’s tear stained face disappeared out of view down the hall. She turned to speak to a hallway plant.
“She’ll be a tough nut to crack, but at least she’s a great actor!”

3. Past Eagle gate, Pinkie spies Luna loading up supplies into her saddlebags out of a pile of crates. Bouncing over, she sees that no one is helping her or even around, at all.

“Hey queen of the batponies, what’s shakin’?” 
Luna stops packing and looks past the crates to see Pinkie springboard off of a pile of wheels onto the tallest part of the stack. She begins to yell.
“The great Lunar Consort has climbed Mt. Crate within record time! All who are near come see this feat of athleticism! Stay there, Our consort and be the wonderment of Eagle gate in the early night!” 
There was no response or anyone around to hear her admittedly loud Canterlot Royal Voice. Luna looked up at Pinkie and frowned. 
“Now, hear Us my little pony. No royal guard to spoil our moonlit eve.” 
Her eyes began to lust after the obviously wearying Pinkie still handstanding on the crate. She gulped. Luna opened a soldier’s cot and laid it out on the grass. “
Now consort, jump unto our arms.”
Pinkie’s vision was blurring from being upside-down, but there was no way she was seeing what she was seeing. 
In her bemusement she began to tip over. As she began a fall down Mt. Crate she was picked up in Luna’s celestial magic and brought to her. 
“Ah you would sacrifice your life for Us Our consort? Truly, a more brave and loving pony never hath before this day exist!. Haha!”
PInkie, somehow even more pink than usual, began to hear some clapping behind her and Luna.
“Well well, quite a surprise interrupting your moonlit rendezvous with a lady no less.”
Pinkie attempts to break free of Luna’s grasp around her midsection but is stopped by her being hoisted up in the air by Luna’s hooves as she stands up to face the intruder. She sees Celestia there, flanked by two night guards. Luna begins to shout.
“Ho, my sister. We will fight to the death to protect our consort from your masterful wiles!”
Celestia is overly coy in her response.
“Oh, and how is that? I haven’t any idea what you mean.” Her right fore hoof drapes across the quickly stiffening back of a night guard.
Luna begins to cry. 
“Alack! You have even seduced Our own two trusted guards from Us! To think, all the memories we shared! Corporal Angel Dust and Corporal Molly Fear! How could you!” At this, she began to laugh. Celestia tried to get a word in but could not speak above Luna’s laugh. 
Pinkie finally got the joke and began to snort violently. Soon the two of them were curled up in a ball laughing hard enough that Celestia’s hair began to get sucked towards them for lack of air. Even the guards looked slightly less menacing.
Once the peak of the moment had passed Celestia began to talk to Luna.
“ I know you will succeed little sister. I love you.” 
Luna was now mostly out of the throes of laughter and kissed Celestia on the lips. Parting, she whispers. 
“I love you too.”
Jumping onto the chariot she begins to wave at the guards to pick up and leave. Celestia comes to once they are already leaving.
“Wait! Where are you going? You said you weren’t leaving until tomorrow!”
Luna yells back over the chariot and wind. 
“We are going to the Changeling Isles to make peace with Queen Chrysalis!”
Celestia’s chest tightens as her fear takes over her and the chariot bounces with a very loud and crisp “What!” comes from Pinkie. She just keeps on waving stiffly as her sister wobbles off into the moonlit night.