//------------------------------// // Chapter Eight // Story: Eternal Nightmare // by Jgame //------------------------------// One day later, hours before my grand debut, the hairdresser in question was in my room while I patiently sat still on a chair. The hairdresser levitated her various brushes, gels and other tools of her profession while maintaining a rapid monologue. She talked at me, I noticed with some irritation, not withme. On the other hoof, the constant background noise helped put my mind at ease. I couldn't hear the whispers of doubt in my mind over her constant gossip-filled chatter. “...My little filly, Shining Star, she told me she was having problems with...” the hairdresser trailed off, “sorry, am I talking too much?” “Not at all,” I said dismissively. “Oh, all right then, so, as I was saying...” the hairdresser continued. Eventually, she finished. “I'm really flattered that you chose me of all ponies, I usually take clients in my salon but of course I hadto make an exception for you... but enough about me. Do you like your mane?” I gave the full size mirror in my room a critical eye. My mane was well done, and, as I noticed, my mane and coat had turned a slightly darker shade of blue, closer to Night Mare Moon's appearance, as well as being an inch or two taller now than the average pony... “Is there anything wrong with it?” the hairdresser asked plaintively. “Not at all,” I said by way of apology with as much patience as I could muster, “we had gotten lost in our thoughts. We are rather impressed at your efforts.” The hairdresser knelt in reverence of me. “Thank you, Princess Luna. It means a lot to me to hear that from you.” I got off the chair I had been situated on. “Rise.” The hairdresser nearly tripped over herself getting up. I restrained myself from biting the inside of my cheek. “We thank thee for thy excellent work. If we are ever in need of a hairdresser in future, we will consider you.” “Thank you,” the hairdresser said in awe. “Now, please, depart. We've some other preparations to make.” The hairdresser nodded. “Of course. My daughter and I are simply dying to see you at the new hospital.” I coughed. “Oh, yes. My apologies,” the hairdresser said, quickly leaving. When she had left, I took a moment to reflect on her actions. She had been overeager to please me, that much was readily apparent. Was that simply becasue she wanted to do business with the Princesses of Equestria, or because she truly supported me? My mind argued the former. Treating your customers with utmost kindness is an extremely wise business practice, especially for very rich and very important customers. My emotions argued the latter. The way she had sounded genuinely sad when she had thought I didn't like my mane couldn't have been anything but genuine. If that was the case, I had more of an effect on Equestria already than I imagined. I was going to have to pick my words and actions today with utmost caution. Any wrong action could turn today into disaster. Before I left, I took one last glance in the mirror. The hairdresser had done a far better job than I realized. Perhaps hairdressers weren't as useless as I had thought. I quickly left my room and joined with my sister, taking my place at her side on a wide chariot pulled by the castle guard. My sister and I were taken through the streets of Canterlot, which had a path from the castle onwards cleared simply for our usage alone. Adoring crowds shouted their appreciation from the sidelines. My big sister, smiled as wide as she could, waved whenever she could, and called out encouraging things to the crowd whenever possible. In contrast, I was expressionless, unmoving, and silent, simply watching the proceedings play out. As we reached the hospital, a orange unicorn in a muted blue scrub greeted us with a pair of scissors in front of a red ribbon strewn across the entrance to the hospital. “Princess Celestia-- And Princess Luna as well!” he said loudly as he bowed, “it would be my honour to allow you, Princess... es, to cut the ribbon for us!” “It would be my pleasure,” my sister said as she levitated the scissors, “however, I would like to give this honour to my sister, who has recently returned to Canterlot in order to help me rule the throne.” “Oh... erm, oh, of course, Princess Celestia. We are equally honoured to have Princess Luna... erm, do the honours,” the doctor said in a tone that made it clear that he was very clearly not honoured. I dutifully took the scissors and cut the ribbon, which was met with notably muted cheer. I glanced at my older sister, and her facial expression of disappointment was all I needed to confirm my suspicions. Canterlot did not adore me. Canterlot did not even like me. At best, Canterlot tolerated me. And if my sister was correct in her knowledge about those who opposed my return, I was quite a distance away from the best case scenario. As we headed back to the Canterlot Castle, the cheering had resumed its previous enthusiasm. All of it was for my sister. Once again, I was in Celestia's shadow. Nothing had changed from a thousand years before. Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it, I thought darkly, and I have demonstrated so far that I have learned nothing. As my sister and I headed back to the castle, I heard a small filly comment, “I wonder what she ate a thousand years ago.” My head turned to find a black filly watching me with curious eyes. “Same thing as you eat now, child. Hay, oats, and bread, although bread was much harder to find a millennium ago.” I told her. The filly lit up at hearing my response, her eyes beginning to twinkle like small stars. “Thanks, Miss Princess Luna!” the filly said eagerly, before visibly hesitating. “Um, Miss Luna, I mean, Miss Princess Luna,” the filly said, now rather shyly, “do you mind helping me with my project? Um, my teacher assigned my to write about the way ponies lived a thousand years ago and--” “The Princess has is busy, sweetheart. She has many things to do,” A stallion, presumably her father, interrupted gently. “On the contrary, we have much time on our hooves to spend on our subjects,” I said. “If thou doth not object, perhaps we could borrow the child? We remember what it was like a thousand years ago quite well,” I turned my attention back to the child, who leaned towards me, inexplicably glued to my words, “mayhaps we could aid thou in answering questions that thou may have.” The crowd was quiet, all eyes were intently focused on the father. The father took a nervous glance to the crowd that watched him. “I... I don't suppose why not.” “Are you sure about this?” my sister whispered. “I'm sure,” I whispered back. “What is thy name, child?” I asked. “My name's Shining Star! Although you can call me Star if you like,” Star said. I smiled, for the first time that day. “Then let's go to Canterlot Castle together, Star. We can talk in our room, unless you would prefer somewhere else?” Star thought for a moment. “Can we go to the Canterlot Gardens? Dad's always talking about how you can see the stars there!” “Do you like stars?” I asked. “I love stars!” Star said with abundant enthusiasm. “So do I,” I chuckled, “I think that we will have a wonderful chat when we reach Canterlot Castle.” I tapped my hoof onto the chariot I was on. Star excitedly bounded over and sat next to me. The crowd exploded into cheers. It took me a moment to realize that the crowd was cheering for me. So for the first time in the entire proceedings, I smiled back to the crowd and waved, while Star peeked over the front of the chariot with the largest smile that I had ever seen in the last one thousand years.