Luna huffed angrily as she slammed the massive door to her chambers. Four hours of petitioners would make anypony at least a little annoyed, but today had been especially vexing. One of the earliest subjects had the audacity to actually say he was only there because he had awoken too late to bring his problem to Celestia. For the rest of the time she’d been in the throne room, she’d had to endure the nobles looking down at her while sharing jokes at her expense as the rumor circulated. They always thought she couldn’t hear them; she continued letting them believe this.
She didn’t bother talking to her sister about it this time. Luna knew exactly what Celestia would say if it was brought to her attention, because it would be the same thing Celestia said the last time they’d had this discussion. She’d say something to the effect that demanding they stop would display weakness they couldn’t afford to show the public. “Your composure needs to be as unshakable as your armor,” she would often say. “If either fails you, it will be your end.”
The most infuriating part of all of it was Luna understood exactly why her sister would say that. She’d seen countless nobles over the years lose their composure for just a moment, and then immediately lose whatever influence they held. But did that really apply to her? No matter how important the nobility might think they were, they didn’t actively control the heavens like Luna did. Celestia insisted that she care about public opinion, however.
Unfortunately, that left Luna with a problem. She could drop her mask and lose face with the public now. Or she could bottle it up until such a time as she couldn’t take any more, likely cause a bigger spectacle, and be even worse off.
As Luna climbed into bed, all these thoughts swirling in her head, she mumbled to herself as the sun began to rise. “It’s enough to make a pony go mad.”
________________________
“It’s enough to make a pony go mad,” Celestia said to her advisor as she examined a written petition demanding the repeal of a recent tax increase. “‘Celestia has gone too far with this egregiously high increase?’ Do they even read the news? My hooves never touched it! Luna brought it before the parliament, campaigned for it, and signed it before I could so much as tell her I thought it was a bad idea. I swear, every time Luna or the nobility gets some idea into their heads that could never work, I somehow always end up with the public backlash.”
Celestia leafed through the papers on her desk, eventually finding another example in a newspaper column. “‘Dragon hunts claiming too many lives?’ Apparently, according to the article, that was my decision alone, and not parliament’s. If I could bring the hunts to an end, I would, but the dragons are a serious threat to Equestria. Everypony’s just reacting badly to losing Captain Armor. I miss him as much as anypony else.” She sighed as she moved the papers around her desk in frustration. Her advisor made to speak, but was cut off as Celestia continued.
“‘Celestia favoring the northwest with pleasant weather patterns.’ I’m sorry, but the northwest is mostly urban areas that don’t need rain for crops. ‘Celestia considering a draft’ is an outright lie; I personally vetoed the draft when parliament proposed it.” Celestia deflated a little as she shifted to a more comfortable position on her chair and buried her face in a hoof. “I just don’t know how to get through to Equestria that I am not some kind of tyrant.”
Finally having an opportunity to speak, Celestia’s advisor cleared her throat. “Princess, I think that your subjects sometimes forget that you are not the sole executive power in Equestria. Perhaps make an effort to point out that these policies are coming from other ponies?”
Celestia sighed. “I would, but Luna frequently loses her head when trying to deal with the public. She seems to take every little jest or jab far too personally, and pointing out her mistakes will bring more of the wrong sort of public scrutiny onto her. No, for now I’ll just have to deal with the fact that sometimes my little ponies don’t quite understand that I always have their best interest at heart.” As the advisor took her leave, Celestia couldn’t help but mumble to herself. “Even if dealing with those little ponies can be a chore.”
"Perhaps allow Luna to take over Equestria in its entirety for a short time to alleviate some of your stress?"
________________________
“Absolutely not,” Twilight Velvet yelled. “This isn’t up for discussion!”
Twilight Sparkle sighed. She had expected it to be almost exactly like this, although maybe a little angrier. “Mom, this is my decision.”
“Twilight, you don’t need to follow Shining’s hoofsteps,” Nightlight said in a much calmer tone than his wife had taken. “Your mother and I would both sleep easier knowing you haven’t.”
“I’ve just been feeling like my talent is being wasted. My burst channel is ten thousand vortices, and all I’m doing with that is lifting things, for princesses’ sakes! I thought working in that bookstore would be fun, but all I ever do is move giant stacks. You keep saying I’ll find a job that fits my special talent, and I think the Guard is a great fit.”
“Twilight, I know how much magic you can throw around. Being able to move that much energy doesn’t make you good at using it,” Twilight Velvet said as she rubbed a hoof against her forehead.
“Shining always said he wished he had more unicorns that could learn more than a couple advanced spells.” Twilight’s voice cracked a little as she spoke, but she managed to be firm. She’d actually assumed when she was practicing this in her head that she wouldn’t be able to do so. She supposed things were actually going a little better than expected, then. “I am absolutely sure he’d agree with me on this decision if he were here right now.”
Twilight Sparkle couldn’t help but glance across her parents’ kitchen at the wall with all the family photos. Her brother smiled back from several of the frames. As she did so, her mother reared up, slamming her forehooves on the table and snapping Twilight’s attention back to the conversation. Twilight Sparkle noticed there were tears beginning to form in her mother’s eyes. “But Shining Armor is not here, and he will never be coming back! Making yourself a dragon’s dinner won’t change that!”
Nightlight placed a hoof on Twilight Sparkle’s shoulder gently. “We’ve already buried one of our children, Twilight. Please don’t make it two.”
“Mom, dad. I was just coming to tell you that this is happening. I’ve already made my choice,” Twilight Sparkle said in as even a tone as she could manage while she telekinetically dug through her saddlebags to retrieve a piece of paper bearing the Royal Diarchal Seal. “I signed the last of the paperwork earlier today. If I don’t report for training in a couple of days, it’s desertion.”
A light blue aura fought with a dark blue one for dominance of the paper. Eventually, light blue won out, and the document floated its way towards Twilight Velvet. She examined it, and the tears began to flow in earnest. A few moments later, her daughter wrapped her up in an embrace. “I know you don’t want me to do this, but I had to do something with this talent. I love you both, and I’ll be back from training by the New Year.”
Twilight Velvet’s expression softened somewhat. “I hate this idea, Twilight. But what’s done is done. I’d rather have to worry about you while you’re away than visit you in prison.”
“Promise to write whenever you can?” Nightlight asked her daughter as he brought her and Twilight Velvet into a hug.
“All the time, dad,” Twilight Sparkle replied.
The conversation stopped for a few minutes after that. Nopony wanted to be the one to break the moment. Once the three broke apart from their embrace, Twilight Sparkle went about packing what belongings she could bring with her to training. All the while, her parents peppered her with more questions. By the fourth time she confirmed the address they could send letters to, everypony’s tears had stopped. By the end of the night, Twilight Sparkle could tell her parents were still not completely comfortable with her decision, but they were trying to be supportive. After giving both of her parents one more hug, she went to bed early. Tomorrow was going to be a big day.