//------------------------------// // Mistakes of the Past: Awakening // Story: Equestria Without Harmony: Mistakes // by EclipseSight //------------------------------// Equestria Without Harmony:Mistakes Mistakes of the Past: Awakening Princess Celestia could not rest herself. Despite being at the stage in her long life when sleep was much more of a luxury than a necessity, resting was still essential to keep her thoughts and actions sharp. Now that Luna was back from her banishment, Celestia was able to get that rest. Until tonight that is. Something was making her uneasy, something she could not place. Getting to her hooves, the princess of the sun opened the heavy ornate door that separated her chambers to the rest of the castle. Luna would be watching over the ponies atop the viewing tower using the telescope mounted there. The telescope was a magical viewing device which could be used to view the whole of Equestria. Taking care not to disturb any of the sleeping residents of the castle, Celestia slowly made her way up to the tall tower. Before she even reached the top the elder sister could hear her younger muttering softly to herself, voicing aloud her inner thoughts. It was a habit that she had picked up during her one thousand year banishment, and she was having trouble stopping herself from doing so whenever she was alone. Hearing her voice gave her thoughts clarity, was her reasoning for the practice. The night princess was swiftly pulled out of whatever thought she had been having aloud when Celestia gave a small cough. Luna turned her head at the sound, and her teal eyes widened for a moment when she saw her sister standing behind her. Celestia usually used this time of the night to rest, before the two sisters would get together. The night was inherently much more quiet than the day, and while it was a fact that part of Luna still resented, there were always merits to just about everything. The quietness of the night allowed the two sisters time away from ruling over their lands and to have some time together. Like right now for example. “Sister, you are here earlier than usual,” Luna said gently, her voice keeping the usual formal tone she had decided not to lose from the old times. Everything else was just about gone however, though she could still cause the castle walls to tremble with a shout if so tested. “Is everything alright?” the princess of the night continued, her teal gaze narrowing slightly as she scrutinized her elder. Celestia was one who could seem fine and well to her subjects but Luna was always able to see past the facade. Tonight there was something big troubling her. A small smile flickered across Celestia’s features, “Luna, I do not know why you still ask me that. You have been able to read my emotions since you were Twilight’s age.” “Yes, but it is more polite to ask,” Luna noted. “Is it something about Twilight Sparkle?” The purple unicorn turned alicorn was still adjusting to life as a princess of Equestria. Her tendency to overreact made even the simplest of royal duties delegated to her turn into something of a nightmare for the younger mare. Though now most of her time was spent renovating the old castle that Luna and Celestia had shared before that fateful night one thousand years, enjoying herself with her friends, and trying to unravel the mystery of the box presented to them by the Tree of Harmony. That had the fortunate effect of taking her mind off of her status for the most part. Though there was also the unfortunate effect of ridding Equestria of a vital defence until the mystery was solved. Luna was interrupted from her musings by Celestia shaking her head. “No… there is something else… Though I cannot quite place what… It’s like a mistake that I made in the past… but there have been so many of those…” the solar princess replied gently. “For both of us…” Luna murmured, her lips barely moving as she turned her head to the moon, gazing into her former prison. Following her sister’s gaze Celestia extended a snowy white wing and drew the younger alicorn close to her side. Luna started for just a moment, before snuggling into the warmth of her sister’s pristine white coat. “That mistake is past Luna, you need not dwell on it.” “Perhaps that is so, but it is a mistake that I must live with for the rest of my life. It is as I deserve. Though it is now not my fate to live with the mistake alone… in the company of that monster I created. Now I have you dear sister… just as you have me. If you are worried… then I am here.” “Thank you,” Celestia smiled. “Though for now, all we can do is wait, and hope that I am simply getting a little paranoid in my old age.” “Or maybe it is all the cake,” Luna suggested with a light snort, causing the two sisters to share a quiet chuckle. The sound of their mirth carried a long way into the still night, floating over their slumbering subjects. The two of them were reunited after one thousand years of solitude, and now nothing would part them. Though many would try… The newest princess of Equestria was having trouble sleeping as well. While Spike, her number one assistant, slept peacefully in the basket that made his bed, Twilight was staring out the window. The air felt heavy and oppressing, the way it did during an awkward moment or right after a heated argument. The lavender alicorn idly pushed some indigo strands of mane from her eyes, wishing it would be as easy to push away her thoughts. More than once this night, Twilight had thought about writing a letter to Celestia. However, with Spike asleep, sending it would be a much more difficult task than usual, and she did not want to disturb the princess simply because of a sleepless night. That was something she had done for the last time at the age of six. To do so now would just feel silly. Instead Twilight started mapping out Luna’s constellations. She knew them all off by heart, but it still never failed to calm her, simply taking a few moments out of her schedule to do nothing more than watch the stars. Luna may have thought that no one appreciated her night but Twilight, and now hopefully Luna too, knew otherwise. There were ponies out there that enjoyed the night for its serenity, and escape from the bustling energy of the day. With a heavy sigh, Twilight flopped back down onto her bed, sinking into the soft mattress. Despite protests and prodding from Rarity, she had kept the library just as is. Going to Canterlot and sleeping in one of the royal rooms every so often when one of her duties was in need of attending to was more than enough for her. Ponyville was finally getting over her ascension, and people no longer acted any differently than they had when she had first arrived. Using magic to pull the bed covers over herself again, Twilight started to snuggle back into the warmth. Her head was still swimming with worry, but she needed to at least try and get some sleep this night. Turning away from the window, Twilight closed her eyes, a single moon beam falling gently on her cheek. Tomorrow was scheduled to be rather normal, though only time would really tell. Far from the peace of Equestria, yet so close that one could almost touch the land, a figure was hunched over a small puddle of water. The substance was abundant in this cold misty land, floating all around in heavy blankets. The figure scrutinized the pool, shifting slightly in place as the forms of Celestia and Luna became visible, talking together on a balcony that was vaguely familiar to him. “It has been six hundred years Celestia,”the watcher snarled, his voice as cold as his surroundings and dripping with malice. Small ripples appeared in the viewing pool which at this moment depicted the two royal sister’s laughing at Luna’s small joke. With a flash of steely talons the pool was disturbed and the image destroyed. Fragments of colour swirled around before the water settled, dark and glassy. “Six hundred years to prepare myself. Let us see how much one thousand years of peace and eating cake has prepared you for me. You say you do not which mistake I am, well tomorrow it will be abundantly clear. Too long I have watched them suffer; too long I have been unable to act. No longer, and soon the wrongs of the past will be righted.” Here the voice took on a more bitter tone. “It has been a thousand years Luna, and while you did not have a hand in your sister’s mistake, you will undoubtedly stand in my way. So I must sweep you aside also, this is just the way it has to be. Nothing can, and nothing will stop me from what I must do.”