//------------------------------//
// The Burden of Rule 
// Story: From the Eternal Love of a Sister 
// by Scootareader 
//------------------------------//

I lay upon the cold floor of the throne room, my tears streaming unabated as I come to terms with what I’ve done. I used the Elements of Harmony on my sister.

Maybe I should have let her rule alongside me long ago. It’s too late now. Rather than give Luna the life she deserved, I sent her away. That alone is deserving of centuries of punishment. Yet, I get the feeling that I just did exactly that to her.

It matters not; I will find a way to make it up to her... somehow.





I know not how long I slept for—only that when I awoke, the world was bathed in an ethereal hazy light. My body hurts from sleeping on the hard stone floor, so my first instinct is to stretch my achy limbs. As I perform my stretches, my gaze ventures up to where two thrones oversee their kingdom together.

Luna.

I shake the misery from my eyes. Equestria needs a ruler now more than ever. Luna will be back someday, and she can help then, but until she returns, I need to keep Equestria in as pristine a state as possible.

I can start by lowering the Moon.

I wrap the Moon in a yellow aura, giving a gentle yet meaningful tug to beckon it below the horizon, yet it remains stationary. I next cast my magic below the horizon like a fishing lure, tempting the Moon to chase it. Still, there is nothing.

Sighing, I muster my strength and pull. Still, the Moon doesn’t budge. It refuses my command.

Sun and Moon in the sky... this cannot bode well for the citizens of Equestria. Perhaps it’s better if the Sun were to retire for now. I give it the same tug I first gave the Moon, and it lowers without objection.

Well, Luna... it’s night during the daytime. I guess this is what you wanted. I once again muster my magic to coerce the Moon away, but it refuses my advances every single time. My sister’s sole duty is proving to be more stubborn than I am. How did she ever convince this thing to lower itself?

My concentration on the Moon is frayed as a resounding knock comes to the door of the throne room. I call, “Come in!”

The door opens, revealing a muted grey stallion in guard regalia, who salutes me swiftly. “Princess, your presence is requested by a townspony.”

I nod my head. “I take audience here, in the throne room. Are they awaiting me outside?”

The guard seems somewhat uneasy. “Well... no. We heard the fight last night and found you collapsed upon the floor. We did not know if you had awoken, and when you did, it was decided to give you some time to yourself.” He gulps uneasily. “It was my judgment call, my Princess; if anyone need be punished, it is I.”

This is confusing. Why would I punish him? “There is no need for that. Why did you not bring the townspony for an audience in the throne room?”

The guard looks up, my gaze following his to where two very large holes in the ceiling allow the pale strands of moonlight to reach in and grasp us. Rubble covers the floor, creating something of a maze in order to get to my throne. I nod in understanding. “Then I shall meet the townspony in the study.”





“Princess, my crop already withers; the Moon is not supposed to be out right now, and nothing I grow is prepared for abnormalities in the sunlight or moonlight cycles.”

I determinedly show no emotion in my face. This is the sixth farmer earth pony to come to me with his problems on the crops. “I am aware of this issue, and am doing everything I can to remedy it.”

The townspony looks confused. “Isn’t Princess Luna the pony in charge of raising and lowering the Moon?”

“It was. Now it is mine.”

The farmer realizes that he has stumbled onto something big, hastily taking his leave before whatever imagined punishment he expects me to exact upon him is realized. It is not meant to be a secret; I know the entire upper district of Canterlot will be gossiping about Luna’s disappearance and the bizarre solar and lunar cycles approximately 23 minutes from now. I have my spies, and I know what Equestria is doing—most of the time.

What is more troubling to me is the potential crop loss we face. Equestria hasn’t faced a famine since a few months after Discord was locked in stone. The moment the ground was returned to normal, earth ponies set to work preparing it for crops.

Discord’s toppling is still in the memories of some of the more elderly ponies; they are the only citizens that I can count on to rally behind my rule because they remember the last real crisis. If things go wrong now, the people of Equestria may call for a new ruler.

I’m not sure I have the heart to deny them somepony new.