CHAPTER 4
“Organics do not choose to fear us. It is a function of your hardware.”
There was a bright flash of light in the geth’s photoreceptor as it came back online and adjusted to the morning sun. As the rest of the programs came back online, Legion unfolded from its compact form and stood tall on the water tower, looking out over the small town. Quickly activating the tactical cloak, Legion surveyed the town, specifically paying attention to the clearing in the center.
It seemed that it had been right; whatever was happening, it was happening soon. Dozens of ponies filled the clearing, including the purple alicorn who now was wearing what appeared to be a crown upon its head. They all stood facing the same direction, looking up at something in the sky. Legion turned its head upward to follow their gaze, and saw a small dot in the sky, hovering a ways away from a mountain in the distance. Legion quickly deployed its M-98 Widow, then looked down the sight to get a closer look at the foreign object. It was still too far out, so the geth increased the zoom. While some image quality was lost, the object was made clearer.
It appeared to be a large chariot being pulled by several pegasi attached to reins in the front. Sitting in the back of the chariot were two more alicorns, one with a white coat and another with a very dark blue coat. Each pony had long, flowing manes that completely ignoring the winds caused by their velocity. As the object flew closer and closer to the town, Legion zoomed out until it was visible without the aid of a scope. The chariot swooped down and landed in a wide street connecting to the clearing, stopping right in front of the awaiting crowd of ponies. As the two alicorns stepped out of their chariot, Legion noticed that the white coated alicorn was the same as the alicorn statue in the center of the clearing. If Legion was right, then this was their leadership.
The two alicorns approached the crowd of ponies, and the lavender once ran through the crowd and up to the two. There was an exchange of words, which Legion could not pick up from this distance, and then the crowd parted and the three alicorns made their way to the long table set up by the statue, each of them taking a seat in a throne at the end. Five more ponies (including the yellow pegasus) and a lizard of some kind then all took seats along the sides of the table.
As soon as they sat down, dozens of ponies from the crowd all rushed forward and took seats. Those who were not quick enough to join their leaders in time instead took a seat at any number of smaller tables scattered around the clearing. Once everyone was seated, several ponies marched out of a building, each one carrying a covered tray on their back. Each tray was set on the main table and then uncovered, revealing a wide array of foods, from salads to pies to confectionaries. Legion curiously watched the ponies as they helped themselves to the food, wondering what the purpose of this celebration was…
2 HOURS EARLIER
Princess Luna sat at her desk in her dark bedroom, busily reading a book on more recent pony history. So much had happened in the thousand years that she had been gone, and there were dozens of massive history books for her to get caught up on. Even after three years of studying them she was only three-fourths of the way done, as she was being as thorough as possible.
Her reading was suddenly interrupted by a sharp knock on her door. Carefully setting her book aside, Luna stood from her desk and walked to the door, opening it wide. Standing there was the same guard who had awoken her the day before, though now he was joined by a second.
“Your highness,” he said. “It is time.”
“Very well,” Luna said, stepping out of her bedchambers and closing the door behind her. “Let us go.” The two guards turned around and began walking down to the end of the hallway, leading her to the castle courtyard where Celestia was no doubt waiting with a chariot to take them to Ponyville. As she was led through the castle, Luna began to second-guess her decision to visit the small town. It would be her first official public appearance in two years, and she was already out of practice from being gone for a thousand. She knew none of the ponies there, minus the Elements of Harmony, but she was aware that the ponies all knew her. After her last blunder of a public appearance in Ponyville, there was no way that nopony remembered.
Just as she was about to inform the guards to tell her sister that she would not be going, Luna suddenly realized that she could not keep hiding behind closed doors. If she allowed her fear of being disliked to keep her away from the public, then the suspicions towards her would only grow. There was only one way that she could gain the trust of her subjects, and that was by going out and working for it.
Finally they arrived at the main door to the castle, which opened wide into the massive courtyard. Her guards stepped aside and let her exit the warmth of the castle and enter the chilling morning air outside. In the middle of the courtyard was a large chariot, in front of which were several pegasus guards attaching themselves to the reins. As she expected, Celestia was already there, in the process of stepping into one of the seats of the chariot. Luna approached the chariot, and coughed to get her sister’s attention.
“Luna!” Celestia said happily, turning around to face her sister. “I am glad that you are here. Shall we be off then?” Luna stepped up into the chariot, taking a seat next to her sister. She then turned to face Celestia.
“I suppose it’s now or never…” she said apprehensively. Celestia nodded, then turned to the guards, who by now were finished attaching themselves to the reins.
“We are ready,” she told them. The guards all nodded and flared their wings, then began sprinting down the courtyard. Just before they reached the thick stone and marble wall that surrounded the courtyard, the guards flared their wings and took off into the sky, soon leaving the mountains that housed Canterlot. At these speeds, and with this large of a chariot, the trip to Ponyville would take around two hours. Luna turned over to get in a comfortable position to rest, but was interrupted by Celestia putting a hoof on her shoulder.
“Luna…” she said. “I know you are nervous. But it will all be fine.” Luna paused before responding.
“We shall see, ‘Tia…” she said. “We shall see…”
“Everypony is aware that you are attending, and from what my student tells me, they are excited to see you,” Celestia said. Luna laughed at the obvious lie, then turned to face her sister.
“Tell me, sister,” she said. “Why do you do this?”
“Do what?” Celestia asked, feigning confusion.
“You know exactly what I mean,” Luna said accusingly. “Why do you wish for me to improve my relations with our subjects so much? I mean, before my return, you had everything going for you. You were the one in charge, you had all the power, and everypony adored you. Now I’m here, just weighing you down… So tell me. Why do you want me to be happy when you are already?” Celestia stared at Luna for a moment, deep in thought, before she turned her head and looked forward.
“Thousands of years ago, before your banishment…” she began. “Our subjects used to adore you. They would throw parades in your honor or make offerings to you. They even gave you a holiday… You were the happiest I had ever seen you. But then, as time went on, and ponies started staying inside during the night, that happiness disappeared.” Celestia turned her head and looked Luna in the eyes, her own magenta eyes flickering with sadness.
“The… the night I… banished you…” Celestia continued. “There was a celebration… Ponies from all around held a massive party, proclaiming ‘the death of Nightmare Moon’… I was forced to put on a happy face and attend this celebration. I was forced to be happy about banishing the pony closest to me. Luna… It was that day that I promised myself, once you returned, I would do everything in my power to make you as happy as you used to be.” Luna stared at her sister, wide-eyed and not knowing what to say. Finally she found the strength to speak.
“Sister, I…” she started. “I… I’m sorry. If I had known, I… I would have been more accepting. More grateful.” Celestia smiled, and patted Luna on the shoulder.
“Get some rest, Luna,” she said. “We will be there shortly.” Luna nodded, then turned back over and leaned against the back of the chariot. Her blue eyes closed, and she felt consciousness slipping away as she embraced sleep.
Princess Twilight Sparkle stood in the front lines of the large crowd that had congregated in the town center of Ponyville, constantly checking to make sure her crown was straight. She hardly ever wore the thing, and until now it had simply been collecting dust on a table in her bedroom. Her friends had convinced her to put it on, as they all believed the situation called for it. After all, the leaders of the nation were visiting.
As the crowd stared on, Twilight once again got the feeling that something was watching her. She curiously looked around, trying to find the pony responsible, and found that her eyes settled on the water tower some ways away. Squinting cautiously, Twilight tried to see if anypony was up there. But no matter how hard she strained her eyes, she could see nothing. Her curious search was interrupted as the noise that the crowd was making started to build up, and she felt somepony nudge her shoulder.
“There they are!” Pinkie Pie shouted excitedly. Twilight turned her head so that it was once again facing forward, and sure enough, there was a small speck in the distance, growing closer by the second. At almost the same time, Twilight felt the strange presence leave her, as though it too was distracted by the newcomers. A few minutes passed and the speck was finally close enough to make out details.
It was one of Princess Celestia’s golden chariots, the morning sun glinting off of it and threatening to blind the viewer. Twilight put her hoof over the top of her eyes to protect them, but still allow her to see some. Pulling the chariot were several pegasus guards, and in the chariot itself were Princesses Celestia and Luna. Twilight was honestly surprised at Luna’s appearance. While she was happy that the princess had decided to show up, she had half-expected her to cancel and stay in Canterlot. That Luna had decided to attend showed that she at least somewhat cared about other ponies liking her.
A moment later the chariot landed in one of the widest streets of Ponyville, and came to a stop just in front of the crowd of waiting ponies. Celestia and Luna each stepped out, then navigated to the front of the chariot so that all could see them. All of the ponies, Twilight’s friends included, bowed, while Twilight herself ran up to the princesses to greet them.
“Hello, Princesses!” she said happily.
“Hello, my faithful student,” Celestia replied, affectionately wrapping a wing around the young alicorn.
“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, smiling weakly. “It is good to see you again.”
“And you as well, Luna,” Twilight replied.
“Shall we begin?” Celestia asked. Twilight nodded, then turned around to face the crowd. It parted for the three princesses, providing them with an easily traversable route to the long dining table that had been set up. On the far end, against the statue of Celestia, three thrones had been set up for the princesses. Twilight led the elder alicorns through the crowd and to the table, where they all took their seats. Celestia sat herself in the center throne, while Luna took the left and Twilight the right. As soon as they sat down, Twilight’s friends all took their own seats along the sides of the table.
“Please!” Celestia said, addressing the crowd. “Sit, and we shall begin!” As soon as the last syllable was uttered, the crowd launched itself at the table, each pony struggling to gain a seat with the princesses and the Elements of Harmony. The struggle was over as soon as it started, however, and those who did not make it in time had to settle for smaller tables that had been placed around the clearing, where usually market stalls were set up.
As soon as everypony was seated, several ponies marched out from Sugarcube Corner, where all of the food was being stored, each one carrying a closed tray on their back. Most of the trays were dedicated for the main table, though several platters were carried to the smaller ones as well. Once they had been placed, the tops were removed, revealing the delicious contents beneath. Among them were the foods prepared by Pinkie Pie and Applejack, with confectionaries from the party pony and apple products from the farmer.
All at once, ponies began grabbing for the food, the princesses included, and filled their plates to maximum capacity. In less than a minute the trays were empty, and ponies were digging in to the meal prepared for the event. The only sound filling the entire clearing was that of chewing and ponies enjoying themselves to the feast.
As she ate, Twilight felt the presence return to her, interrupting her mid-bite. Celestia seemed to notice, and turned to face the new princess.
“What is it, Twilight?” she asked. Twilight did not answer at first, instead choosing to finish chewing. Once she did, she turned to her mentor and smiled.
“Nothing, princess,” she replied. “Everything’s perfect.” Celestia smiled happily, then turned back to her meal. But Twilight knew that something was wrong. Somepony was watching her, that much she was sure about…
Legion continued to watch the ponies as they went about their celebration, which seemed to be some sort of feast. Legion never understood why organics decided that copious amounts of eating was a good idea, as it could only lead to a gain in weight or indigestion, but then again, there were a great many things that organics did that were not logical.
As time went by, the eating slowed to a standstill, until finally every one of the creatures seemed to be done. It was at this time that one of the alicorns, the white one with the long, colorful mane, stood up and tapped a fork against its glass. The din of conversation that once was able to reach Legion completely stopped as all of the heads turned to face the alicorn, and it began speaking.
No matter how sensitive Legion made its auditory sensors, it could not pick up the sound. However, whatever it was saying seemed to be directed at the purple alicorn next to it, who it kept gesturing towards. After a few moments the purple alicorn stood and the white one sat, and the purple one began to speak. Again, it was too far away for Legion to hear, but it generated a resounding applause which the geth could easily pick up. The pony then sat back down, and the ponies began to clean up.
As it watched the ponies at work, Legion figured that now would be a prime time to slip away. With all of the ponies busy in the town center, it would be no trouble for Legion to escape back to the woods, where it could then call for its ship to make backups of all data collected. Additionally, it could check the data that the ship had collected on element zero deposits. Quietly, Legion crept away from the spot it had occupied for the past almost twenty-four hours, then slid down the ladder to the ground. It also dropped the tactical cloak, deciding to put the extra power into the leg motors to escape quicker. Again, all of the ponies were in the town center. The odds of encountering any of them were slim to none.
Legion turned down one of the streets, quietly creeping through the rows of houses, trying to make as little noise as possible. Even though it did not think there were any ponies present that did not mean that there weren’t. Legion had to be careful if it was to get away. After a few more minutes of walking through the maze of houses and other buildings, Legion finally saw the exit to the forest, just a few hundred feet away. It began sprinting for the exit, now not caring about noise. None of the ponies had heard it so far, they were not likely to hear it now. The exit was not far off now. Only a few more feet and it would be in the clear.
Suddenly, there was a bloodcurdling scream from somewhere behind the geth. Legion quickly whipped around, deploying its M-98 Widow and aiming it at the source of the scream. When the source was located, Legion found it to be the yellow pegasus from its first visit to the town. She was staring at the geth, wide eyed and mouth agape. Legion froze as well, trying to come to a consensus on which action to take. Eliminating the pony would solve nothing, as she had already screamed. Legion also had no idea whether or not the creatures would be friendly to it, so staying also did not seem like a good idea. Just as more ponies began to round the corner, Legion settled on making a run for it. As the ponies behind it shouted, Legion spun around and sprinted the rest of the distance, soon disappearing into the forest.
5 MINUTES EARLIER
Twilight Sparkle dumped the remains of food on her plate into a massive trash bin that had been rolled out into the town center, then placed the plate itself onto a table to be cleaned. Her task done, she maneuvered through the crowd of ponies to where Princesses Celestia and Luna were standing. The solar princess was speaking to a small crowd that had gathered around her, engaging in casual conversation with her subjects, while Luna stood behind her, remaining quiet. As Twilight approached, the crowd disassembled and left, leaving the three princesses to speak with one another.
“The meal was delicious, Twilight,” Celestia said happily.
“I agree,” Twilight replied. “Everypony did a great job.” Celestia nodded, and the princesses looked out over the crowd.
“You seemed to enjoy yourself as well, Luna,” Twilight said with a smile. “I saw some ponies come to speak with you.”
“Yes, that was… a welcome surprise,” the nocturnal princess said, nodding. “I had forgotten how nice simple conversation could be… And you friends were very accommodating as well.”
“We’ve all been excited to see you again.” Twilight looked out over the crowd once again, searching for her friends. Applejack was helping ponies dispose of their trash in a large bin, while Rainbow Dash was lazily sleeping in her chair. Pinkie Pie and Rarity were going from table to table, working on removing any excess food that had been forgotten by their owners. But try as she might, Twilight could not spot Fluttershy.
That was, until a scream split the air, causing everypony in the area to freeze and cover their ears. Twilight’s eyes widened, and her head whipped in the direction of the cry. Celestia and Luna followed suit, each one defensively raising their wings. The scream persisted, and it did not take long for Twilight to recognize to whom it belonged.
“Fluttershy!”
The three princesses took off down the closest street, followed closely by the rest of the Elements of Harmony and a few other curious ponies. Twilight took the lead, as she knew the town better than Celestia did, and everypony else followed her. Rainbow Dash and a few other pegasi in the crowd took to the skies and followed behind Twilight, ready to render assistance. Twilight led them down several more of the tight Ponyville streets, until they came to the one Fluttershy was in. She stood at the end of the street, right in front of the entrance to another street. She stood, frozen with her mouth agape, staring at something down the street.
“Fluttershy!” Twilight called, rushing forward. Celestia and Luna was not far behind, nor were the other ponies in the group. Twilight stopped when she approached her friend, and placed a hoof on her shoulder.
“Fluttershy, are you alright?” she asked. The timid pegasus did not respond. Curiously, Twilight turned her head to follow Fluttershy’s gaze. Everypony else did as well, and soon they found just what had frightened the pegasus.
Standing at the end of the street was a… something. Twilight had never seen or heard of anything like it. It stood at least two meters tall on two backwards-bending legs, and was made of a dull gray material. It had two long arms, each of which ended with three claws. In one set of claws it held a long rod-like object menacingly towards the ponies. The top of it was curved forwards, with a bright blue light in the center. It stood completely frozen, staring unblinking at the ponies. Then, without warning, it whirled around and sprinted from the street, and not long after it disappeared into the Everfree Forest. As soon as it was out of sight, whatever trance Fluttershy had been in broke, and she collapsed to the ground in an exhausted heap. Breathing heavily, she slowly got back on her hooves, then turned to the rest of the ponies.
“Fluttershy?” Twilight asked quietly, trying not to scare her friend any more.
“Twilight…?” Fluttershy whispered. “I… I…”
“What was that?” Princess Luna asked, taking a few steps forward. She peered into the Everfree, searching for any signs of the creature.
“It is not a creature I am familiar with,” Celestia said, turning to her student. “Twilight, I don’t suppose you know what that was?”
“I… No, I don’t,” Twilight replied. “But Fluttershy… Is that what you saw two days ago?” The pegasus took a moment to respond. When she did, it was impossible to hear her. Twilight sighed, exasperated.
“Fluttershy!” she shouted. “This is important! Is that the ‘monster’ you saw two days ago!?” Fluttershy, now with more courage, stood up despite all of the stares, and turned to face the princesses.
“Yes…” she said quietly. “That’s what I saw…”
“You have seen this creature before?” Celestia asked, stepping forward.
“Yes…” Fluttershy replied. “Just once… A couple of days ago, it came to me at my cottage… It did something, then left…”
“Something?” Luna asked. “What did it do?”
“I don’t really know,” Fluttershy said helplessly. “It shot beams of light at me… But it didn’t hurt, though… I think it was just curious…”
“Enough talk!” Rainbow Dash yelled, annoyed. “It’s getting away! Let’s go after it!”
“Rainbow Dash,” Celestia said in a commanding voice. “I believe that that would be a foolish decision. We know absolutely nothing about this creature. However, most creatures native to the Everfree tend to stay there. That this one has ventured out is troubling. We must be as cautious as possible.”
“What do you suggest, Princess?” Twilight asked.
“I will station a contingent of royal guards here,” Celestia said. “They shall remain here for as long as is necessary, and keep a constant lookout for this creature. If it is sighted, they will attempt to make peaceful contact with it.” Twilight nodded.
“I can help coordinate the guards, Celestia,” she said. “Just say the word.”
“Very well,” Celestia replied. “In the meantime, Luna and I will return to Canterlot. There are other issues we must deal with.” The two princesses turned and began walking back down the street. Twilight trotted behind them to keep up.
“Princess,” Twilight began. “What if the guards get another sighting of it, and it’s not friendly? What if it attacks Ponyville?” Celestia turned her head to face Twilight as she walked.
“More guards will be sent,” she said. “And we will make an attempt to capture or kill the creature.”
“Kill it?” Twilight asked, surprised. “Are you sure that’s necessary?”
“Twilight, I have a very bad feeling about this creature,” Celestia responded. “It is not something I can fully comprehend. I just know that it is not natural, and it is disrupting the flow of harmony.” By now the trio had reached the bright golden chariot, which the guards were in the process of hitching themselves up to. Celestia and Luna each stepped into it and sat down, then turned to face Twilight.
“You will be fine, I believe,” Celestia said. “But I am not willing to jeopardize Ponyville, or anypony in it. This is what must be done.” Twilight nodded and sighed.
“I understand, Princess…” she said. “As soon as the guards arrive, I’ll coordinate them.” Celestia nodded, then turned to face forward. Before she could give the command to take off, Luna held up a hoof.
“Wait a moment, sister,” she said. She then turned to face Twilight. “Twilight Sparkle. Thank you for having me. Apart from the last few minutes… I had a wonderful time.” She smiled weakly, and Twilight grinned back. She then turned her head forward, and Celestia called for the guards to take off. They ran forwards for several meters before flaring their wings and taking off into the sky. Twilight watched as the chariot disappeared from view. Once it was too far away to see, she became aware of the presence of her friends surrounding her. Slowly, she turned to face them.
“Well…” she began. “I guess we should finish cleaning up…”
Legion sprinted through the forest at speeds no organic could ever reach, not bothering to turn around and check to see if it was being followed. The only objective that Legion had was to escape to the other side of the forest, and call for the transport. The ponies had become prematurely aware of it, and Legion did not know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand, they could try to seek the geth out and attempt peaceful contact. On the other, they could perceive the machine as a threat and try to destroy it.
Based on what it had observed while in the small town, Legion guessed that the species was still pre-spaceflight, or even still pre-flight of any kind (minus the natural ability of the pegasi to fly). Though it had not left the water tower, Legion had failed to notice any kind of advanced technology whatsoever. It seemed to be a fairly primitive culture in comparison to the species of the Citadel, similar to humanity only a few hundred years ago, or the quarians several hundred years before that. Because of their technological primitiveness, it was highly likely that they had never seen anything even remotely like the geth. That combined with the heavily damaged relay on the edge of the system… For the hundreds of thousands of years that it had taken these ponies to evolve, it was likely that not even the Reapers had come here.
After another few minutes of sprinting, Legion finally came to the opposite edge of the forest. It had already called for the transport to land, and so Legion was not surprised to see it hovering a few feet off the ground just a few dozen meters from its position. Legion jogged the rest of the distance, then hopped into the open doorway of the ship, navigating to the cockpit. It interfaced with the computer and began an exchange of data.
Legion uploaded everything that had occurred since it last left the ship, all the way until the exact moment it reentered. At the same time, Legion viewed the data collected by the ship for element zero deposits. Unfortunately, it had found nothing. However, the craft had only begun scanning the northern section of the continent a few days before, and the landmass was quite large. As it had expected, the process could take months.
Legion disconnected from the computer, and the programs within began considering possible courses of action. It could simply wait for the computer to find deposits, but by the time it did, the creator attack, or even the Reaper invasion, could be well underway. It could wait for the ponies to make peaceful contact, but their sighting earlier could have jeopardized that. Therefore, Legion could only come to one conclusion: it had to make peaceful contact, and soon. The entire future of the geth hung in the balance…
Twilight Sparkle paced back and forth in front of the long lines of royal guards, maintaining an air of authority that she usually did not have to hold. The guards had arrived only minutes before; there were three hundred them, one hundred of each pony race, and all of them were armed to the teeth. They stared forward, unblinking, holding their weapons at the ready. Twilight decided that it was time to inform the soldiers of her plan, so she stepped back from the large group and stepped up to a podium, coughing to gain their attention. All at once, their eyes all shifted to the young princess.
“Royal guards,” Twilight began. “As Princesses Celestia and Luna have no doubt already told you, Ponyville is at risk from a potentially dangerous new creature from the Everfree Forest. It is the responsibility of all of you to keep this town, and its inhabitants, safe. Now, here is the plan: pegasi, find high up perches to keep an eye on the ground. Towers, clouds, anything will work. Unicorns, I want you all patrolling the border, especially around the Everfree. Your life detection spells will be able to detect it if it comes near. Earth ponies, reinforce the unicorns. If that thing comes back, and it’s violent, your strength will be needed. Any questions?” Nopony raised a hoof. Rather, they all continued staring at the princess.
“Good,” she said. “Now, move out.” Everypony immediately cleared the area, leaving it totally void of life a few moments later. As she scanned the area, Twilight caught glimpses of the pegasi moving through the sky, finding perches to keep a lookout. Further away, the unicorns and earth ponies were forming up into small squads and patrolling the border of the town.
Satisfied, Twilight sighed and removed her crown. She had decided to wear it in front of the guards to give her a more authoritarian look, and to help better get her orders across. In reality, Twilight didn’t much like the crown. She felt that it put far too much responsibility on her, one for which she did not know if she was ready. Ready or not, however, she needed to do her best. The citizens of Ponyville were relying on her to keep this town safe. And she would do just that to her dying breath.
Princess Celestia paced back and forth in her private study, her brow furrowed in thought. Luna sat on a chair in the corner of the room, equally as troubled as her sister.
“Today has certainly taken a strange turn of events, sister,” she said to the solar princess, who briefly paused her pacing.
“Agreed, Luna,” she replied. “First the incursions and the disease, and now this? These are troubling times…”
“Indeed…” Luna said. “You will be pleased to know, however, that one of my best teams of Nighthawks has been dispatched to Westrock, along with a medical team. They shall arrive in a few days.”
“That is good,” Celestia said. “I am sorry that today did not go as planned.” Luna stared at her sister, puzzled.
“Sister,” she said. “You could never have guessed that… that was going to happen.” Celestia nodded.
“I suppose.”
“Besides,” Luna continued. “I did have a good time. Ponies were speaking with me, rather than avoiding me.”
“See, Luna?” Celestia said. “Ponies do like you, and do want to get to know you.”
“Yes, well, I suppose that your student may have had something to do with it,” Luna said, emotionless. Celestia smiled slyly.
“Perhaps,” she said. “But it is progress nonetheless.” The solar princess stifled a yawn, covering her mouth with a hoof.
“Sister, you should get some sleep,” Luna said, standing from her chair. “It has been a long day, and the new turn of events has not helped your fatigue. I shall take watch over the night.” Celestia moved for the door, then stopped and turned to look at her sister.
“Thank you, Luna,” she said. “I will see you in the morning.” Luna nodded good night, and the white alicorn exited the room, her hoofsteps echoing down the hallway as she moved through the castle to her bedroom. Luna then exited the room and began walking to the throne room, ready for yet another uneventful Night Court.