Celestia’s hoof was on her alarm the instant it began to ring. Since her nightmare, she had failed to get any more than a wink of sleep the whole rest of the night. Her eyes were bloodshot with clearly visible bags underneath. As usual, the alarm had left Celestia enough time to get through the usual morning rituals before willing the sun to rise in the east.
As Celestia turned on the shower in her private bath chamber, she relished the feel of the water heating up as it ran over her hoof. When she stepped into the shower, Celestia could practically feel the fatigue washing away as the hot water cascaded over her. She knew it wouldn’t last, but she planned to enjoy it while she could.
After her shower, Celestia felt significantly more alert. “Time to raise the sun, I suppose.” She sighed to herself as she walked out onto her balcony. She focused all of her thoughts on the sun. It’s warmth, its beauty, and its light. As she concentrated, Celestia felt a sharp pain as if being struck by a sudden migraine.
As the headache worsened and worsened, Celestia began to hear a familiar high-pitched buzzing sound. It sounded to her as if she were being surrounded by a swarm of mosquitoes. She shook her head in an effort to quiet the dreadful noise, but her struggle only seemed to make it worse as Celestia fell to the floor.
The buzzing sound grew even more intense as Celestia began writhing on the ground in pain. “No…” Celestia groaned as the pain intensified several times over. “Please just make it stop!” She exclaimed as she put her hooves over her head. Just as her head felt like it was about to explode, the buzzing and the pain simply stopped. It was as if they were never there to begin.
“Sister, are you in there?” Luna called through the door. “Are you coming to breakfast?”
“Yes.” Celestia said as she stood up. “I don’t want to worry Luna.” She thought as she walked over and opened the door.
“Tia, there you are.” Luna said as she greeted her sister. “Is everything alright? You usually raise the sun from the throne room.”
“Oh, yes. I’m quite alright.” Celestia said with a smile. “I’m afraid I must have lost track of time in the shower.”
“Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter.” Luna said. “The sun is up either way. Now come on down to breakfast. The royal chef has prepared a marvelous spread for us today.” She said as she went to the royal dining hall ahead of her sister.
Breakfast came and went uneventfully that morning, although feeling as well rested as she did certainly helped Celestia enjoy the food much more than she had been lately. The whole time though, the sun princess couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. She had slept far worse than usual, and yet she felt better than she had in days. Seeing Celestia so consumed in thought as she ate concerned Luna a bit, especially from what her sister’s night guard had reported at the end of his shift.
“Sister, I’d like to have a brief word with you.” Luna said as she let her levitated spoon fall into her half-full bowl.
“You know, I had never really thought of oatmeal as a particularly royal meal.” Celestia said as her spoon also drifted into her bowl. However, the light clink of metal on china made it clear that her bowl was already empty. “But if Bon Appetit keeps making it like she did today, I could eat it for every meal from now on.” She said, laughing a little bit.
“Sister, could I ask you a question?” Luna asked.
“Oh, of course, Luna.” Celestia said as if having been addressed for the first time this morning. “What’s on your mind?”
“I received a report from your night guard that worries me slightly.” Luna said, causing Celestia to frown ever so slightly. “His report stated that you had been awoken in the middle of the night by a bad dream.”
“Yes, I suppose I was.” Celestia said. “It isn’t that serious though. Everypony has bad dreams every so often.”
“This is true.” Luna nodded. “But I would not expect you, of all ponies, to allow something like that to keep you up at night.”
“Luna, whatever are you talking about?”
“Sister, I am the princess of the night.” Luna said, her expression deadpan. “I would be remiss if I were to become unaware of my own sister’s sleeping habits. And I know you haven’t been getting a healthy amount of sleep lately.”
“Now Luna, I assure you that it is nothing to be concerned about.” Celestia said with a smile.
“Horsefeathers.” Luna said with a shake of her head. “I happen to know that you did not return to sleep last night after your dream. If only I had known that that was what was causing your erratic sleeping I-”
“Princess Luna, we’ve been over this before.” Celestia said, interrupting her sister. “You have more important tasks than making sure my dreams are safe. I have lived long enough to handle a nightmare or two. All of the young fillies and colts in Equestria need your dream tending abilities far more than I.”
“Is that really why?” Luna asked. “Seeing one more pony’s dreams each night would be no trouble at all. If you would just allow me to-”
“Luna, we will not speak of this right now.” Celestia said, her voice stern and resolute. “Suffice to say that my dreams will remain off limits, and you will focus your attentions on our subjects.” She said as she stood up and began walking towards the door. “Now if you’ll kindly excuse me, I have matters that need to be attended to. Have a pleasant sleep, dear sister.” She said as she left the dining hall and made her way towards the throne room.
“Tia, just let me in for once.” Luna whispered to herself as she looked down at her half-empty bowl of oatmeal. “What are you hiding from me?”