Celestia’s chambers were quiet as she sat alone with her sister for the first time in a thousand years. It had been nearly a week since her sister’s return and it wasn’t going as smoothly as Celestia had hoped.
The elements' power was great but not always very precise, for when they unleashed their powers on Nightmare Moon they restored not only Luna but her innocence as well. This was a bittersweet victory. On one hand, nothing was more precious than innocence, but the effects also left Luna in a much younger state, both body and mind.
The problem Celestia faced was a big one; the nobles of the city were trying to take advantage of her sister. Luna was young and easily influenced, the nobles planned to use this to take advantage of her authority. While it was apparent that Luna was being restored to her natural state at a rapid rate it would still be at least a year, more likely than not three or four, before Luna would be able to handle the pressures of the nobles without it affecting her. It was also to be considered being around the nobles might leave a lasting mark on poor Luna. The best solution Celestia had come up with so far was to keep Luna away from everypony, but that was neither fair nor practical. It would be like taking her from her prison on the moon to keep her locked away in the castle, besides if there were lasting effects from the nobles there too could be lasting effects from the solitude. No, that solution was just as counterproductive as letting Luna be around the nobles.
Luna sat on the bed sketching a picture of the night sky as her sister paced around the room aimlessly. It troubled her to see her sister in such disarray. A part of Luna wished she had never been freed from her prison on the moon, as nothing could cause her more grief than to see her beloved sister in such turmoil. Luna tried to find an answer to her sister’s problem but she was not fully certain she understood the problem, to begin with. All Luna knew was the problem concerned herself and the nobles of Canterlot. Celestia always seemed on edge when the nobles spoke of their concerns, especially when they seemed focused on winning Luna’s favor. At first, Luna merely thought her sister to be jealous, a thousand years of ruling Equestria on her own now sharing the spotlight, but as she stole more glances at her sister’s reactions it seemed more a worrying look than petty envy. Luna sighed and returned to her drawing, she didn’t have the answer to this problem.
Celestia paced back and forth hoping an answer would magically appear out of thin air and just smack her in the face. With a hasty turn of her head and puff of smoke that was exactly what happened. As she turned around to resume her pacing a letter from her faithful student Twilight Sparkle appeared and because she hadn’t been paying attention hit her right in the face. The scene caused Luna to giggle like a filly, clearly amused by the slight embarrassment she had literally walked into.
Ponyville was the perfect answer to everything. Luna would be away from the corrupt nature of the nobles and around kindhearted ponies with whom she could interact. Celestia sat Twilight’s letter on her desk; too eager about her budding plan to focus on her student’s letter at this particular moment as preparations had to be made and accommodations had to be found.
It took two days for everything to be arranged but it seemed to Celestia it looked like everything would begin first thing in the morning. Celestia had no problem contacting the mayor of Ponyville to discuss her plans. The first day was spent discussing possible living arrangements and she was a little uneasy that the only place available was an arcade that had recently been closed down when the owner decided to move shop to Manehatten. The owner of the establishment was contacted and purchasing the property was discussed but he was adamantly against selling it at the time. It seemed that it housed some very rare machines he wasn’t ready to move just yet due to the vandalism of kids in the bigger city. Surprisingly it was Luna who had the winning solution.
“Sister we do not know what this, how did you say it, ark-aid is, but what if we were to open the shop again and take care of these treasures until a time when they are ready to be reclaimed?”
Celestia was unsure how Luna would react to the digital games that didn’t exist until only a few decades ago. The suggestion did seem mighty appealing because it could be months before anyplace else could be arranged and that’s if they were lucky.
The mayor had agreed to not tell anypony about Luna’s arrival. Celestia thought it would be best if Luna was at least a little settled in before the citizens of Ponyville learned of her presence. The shock of having a princess move to town was likely to cause some excitement amongst the townsfolk and Luna would handle it better if she was at least somewhat comfortable in her new setting.
The second day was spent having Joysticks brought in to escort Luna to her new residence. When they arrived he would spend a few days making sure she knew how everything worked and how to fix simpler problems with the machines like fixing ticket jams or replacing some of the lights that frequently burnt out.
The princesses spent most of the second day with Celestia explaining the basics of an arcade to Luna who was very excited to learn that she would be taking part in the upkeep of games for foals.
“An arcade is an establishment that houses many games like those you would find at street fair or carnival. Ponies, often foals spend bits to play games some of these give out tickets which can be traded in for a variety of prizes. Other games are simply there to entertain the player, usually by engrossing them in a story where the player takes control of a character in the game and tries to advance to the end. If they lose before finishing they can spend more bits to continue where they left off. Do you understand what I mean dear sister?”
Luna gave a small nod. “We think we get it and if we don’t I’m sure when we arrive there Mr. Joysticks can show us and we will understand then. When shall we depart?”
Celestia smiled at her sister’s eagerness. “Joysticks should be arriving any minute now, but his trip was a long one, it would be best to give him the night to rest. You shall depart for Ponyville in the morning.”
* * * * *
Luna and Joysticks sat on the edge of Ponyville. The area housed a few trees and some small shrubs to give them some cover. Celestia had planned a diversion, but she didn’t tell them what it was. They were told to wait for a big commotion and then sneak into the arcade. The distraction was taking forever. Luna was growing restless. She had already drawn over a hundred doodles in the dirt with a stick. She needed something more. Luna took the stick in her mouth and began poking Joysticks’ flank pleading to go already. The older-looking pony gained an expression of annoyance but maintained his vigil. Luna kept this up for several minutes before dropping the stick and falling to the ground with a groan of annoyance.
* * * * *
Princess Celestia had just seen her sister off. A chariot was used to deliver the duo to the outskirts of Ponyville. This was to avoid the chance they would be seen exiting a train. Celestia needed to distract the town long enough for her sister and her companion to sneak in without a fuss. The idea she came up with was mischievous, to say the least, but she was fairly certain it would work. The princess went to her desk where seven tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala and two scrolls lie. “Forgive me Twilight Sparkle.” With a heavy heart, she took one of the scrolls and inserted two of the tickets. With a small burst of magic, the scroll and its contents were on their way to her student in Ponyville. If not for the stress the young unicorn would have to endure from this situation she might have found it amusing. With that thought in mind, a wicked smile crossed the princess’s face.