//------------------------------// // Truths about the Night // Story: Celestial Bodies // by Davesknd //------------------------------// It was a bright sunny day in Canterlot and all was well. Princess Celestia, the godprincess of ponydom for centuries was in her private study, scrutinizing a bill concerning a reform in the health care sector. New studies had discovered ways to improve the general life of elderly ponies in retirement homes and this demanded careful consideration. This could, after all, improve the lives of ponies who had spent their lifetime improving Equestria and they deserved respect! She was about halfway done, when the door slammed open. "CELESTIA!" the royal Canterlot voice boomed through the room. And Canterlot. And parts of the Everfree Forest. And probably outer space. "Yes, Luna?" the sun princess asked with some worry. Luna was clearly well, but highly upset. "HAVE YOU SEEN THIS?" the moon princess asked angrily and levitated a book over to her sister. Celestia took a close look. "Children of the Night." she read out loud and raised her eyebrows. "No, I have not heard of it. What is it!" "IT IS SLANDER!" Luna screamed and smashed her hoof into the ground with rage "HORRIBLE AND DISGUSTING SLANDER! VERLEUMDUNG! Calumny! Rufmord!" "At least your German has not suffered." Celestia sighed loudly and opened the book. She quickly looked over a few pages. There was a song: Something about foals, a garden and darkness. "This! This drivel!" the moon princess growled and began to pace. "It is about me! I, or rather the Luna in this book, went to you after the defeat of Discord and asked to found a new colony! Can you imagine this?" "You founding a new colony or you asking first?" The sun princess replied flatly. "Oh, keep your cynicism to yourself!" Luna spat back "And then, after I, or rather the silly little mare in there, gets denied, she doesn't veto or simply go and do as she sees fit. Do you know what I apparently did?" Celestia sighed. "Enlighten me, dear sister." "SHE GOES AND FOALNAPS FOALS!" the moon princess yelled, the windows cracking and the ground shaking. "Apparently, I am a siren, because I sing some mystical melody, float them out of their beds and take them to my garden of shadows!" Luna shook her head "Can you believe that?" "Well... there was this misconception about you eating foals..." the sun princess offered diplomatically. "Yes, yes, but that was just ponies being irrational!" the dark sister commented, waving her hoof "But this! This is preposterous!" "And how is this worse than eating them?" Celestia asked neutrally. "Building a new colony with FOALS? Uneducated, emotionally unstable, weak, little foals? THEY CAN'T EVEN SPELL YET! HOW ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO BUILD A BUCKING HOUSE?" The lunar sister yelled "And stealing them from orphanages? I FINANCED THOSE ORPHANAGES! I SIGNED THE DECREE! WE WERE THERE WHEN THEY SET THE FIRST STONE! WHY WOULD I STEAL FOALS FROM ORPHANAGES THAT I BUILT?" "So, you are not exactly angry that they call you evil-" Celestia began. "NO! I can deal with them thinking me evil! I was evil! But I shall not tolerate them thinking me to be stupid!" Luna roared "Do they really think that I, the former Nightmare Moon, the dark deceiver, gets a bunch of snot nosed brats, cuts off all ties to support from her home city and then demands that they build a new society?" The alabaster princess sighed and took one last look at the book. "Yes, Luna, it falls apart when you take a closer look, but you have to admit, it is rather well written, the song is melodically and it has quite a bit of affection for the mystery of the night. In a way you almost seem benevolent." "I prefer being evil to being idiotic, thank you very much, sister!" The night princess answered and threw her head back. "Can I expect you to support me, when we ban this?" "Ban it?" Celestia deadpanned. "Of course! This is vile slander!" "It's clearly fiction." "What does that matter?" The sun princess sighed and got up. She walked over to a bookshelf with a glass door and opened it. Her magic grabbed the entire content and dumped it in front of Luna. There was another row of books behind the first. "Corona Blaze, the Tyrant Sun." Celestia said calmly and pointed to the first book "It became a trilogy, devoted to me turning the world into a desert. Here we have "The Sexy Adventures of Princess Molestia", a tale about me, sexually assaulting ponies, donkeys, gryphons, minotaurs, trees, flowers, cakes, minerals and a few forms of basic energy. Fifteen sequels. Another book about my tyranny: "Fall of the Lunar Republic.", because that is what Nightmare Moon wanted, right? Oh! And don't forget the "Chronicles of Princess Trollestia". A wonderful series, in which I play mean pranks on ponies and generally enjoy the suffering of others. It's still going on." The sun princess gave Luna a stare "And I only keep the good ones.We have free speech and artistic licence. Sister dear: Get over it! I doubt that you will ever have as many horrible books written about you, as I have about me!" Luna closed her eyes for a moment and nodded. "You are right, sister!" she said after a few moments "My ire is clearly misplaced. Ponies treat you far worse than they treat me." Celestia was about to say something, but a flash of magic had already consumed the lunar princess. The white alicorn sighed and returned to her work. *In the Crystal Empire* "CADENCE!"