//------------------------------// // December // Story: Hiatus // by Vargras //------------------------------// Dear Twilight Sparkle, I wasn't expecting anypony to take much of an interest in my findings, much less ask for a copy. I don't get many letters to begin with, as most are typically addressed to my sister. I'll send you a copy when I can. In addition, I have something I'd like to ask you, and it's a subject that has been on my mind for quite a while - involves old mare tales and dreams, if you believe in such things. Care to listen? Sincerely, Princess Luna It was the letter that started it all. Initially, Twilight Sparkle had been slow to reply, and Luna was afraid she had managed to scare the mare off with talks of dreams and prophecies - she soon replied, however, and the two of them had begun communicating almost every weekend. Twilight had initially been skeptical, of course, especially after hearing that most of Luna's dreams had involved her. Still, she had been receptive, and gradually found such an idea interesting. The two would often discuss the meanings of the dreams, or would compare and contrast astronomical findings and book choices - the amount of interests they held in common was uncanny, and Celestia would often jokingly berate her sister for tying up so much of her protégée's time. Luna was in the midst of writing a letter back to Twilight when her sister made it a point to stop by. Celestia had quietly entered and was now silently watching over Luna's shoulder. A grin on her face, she leaned towards her sister's ear. "Boo." The young Princess yelped and quickly held the letter to her chest, her ears flapping with irritation as she turned to face her. "How long have you been there?!" "Oh, a while now. Whatcha writing about?" "Just comparing findings, is all." It was a total fib, of course - they had been discussing more dream analysis, but it was still something she preferred to keep private. "You wouldn't understand it anyways." "Very well then." Celestia stood to her full height and was about to leave when she turned once more to face her younger sister. "I know how often you and Twilight Sparkle have been talking - do you plan on inviting her here to celebrate your birthday later this month?" Truth be told, she hadn't even thought about that yet. Luna had actually forgotten her own birthday was later that month, and hadn't even remembered until her sister had mentioned it. "I don't know about that, 'Tia. We're just acquaintances, is all. I'd rather keep it kinda quiet anyways - just the two of us. It is my first birthday since I came back, remember?" The elder sister sighed and nodded. "So be it, Luna. It's your birthday, so it's ultimately your choice. I just wish you would make some friends." Luna scowled at her. "It's hard to make friends when you can't leave Canterlot, Celestia." "Ah, right." Celestia did her best to keep herself from blushing out of embarrassment, but her flattened ears gave it away. "Sorry, little sister. I forgot that you're not allowed to leave." The look on Luna's face made it clear that things would go over better if Celestia simply left, and without another word, she departed. The younger Princess huffed and put the letter back down onto her desk, picking up where she had last left off. At the very least, we can agree that you play a rather important role within the dreams. I'm having trouble deciphering exactly what that role might be, though. Another puzzling thing that we have yet to figure out is the mention of the prophecy regarding Night Mare Moon: "The stars will aid in her escape". I've already tried the Royal Library, but we're a bit lacking in the 'dream analysis book' department. Mind checking your stock to see if you have anything better? In addition, I've included some updated star charts with the letter. The ones they've been issuing to all the schools and hobby stores have been rather outdated, so I decided to rectify it myself. Put it to good use. I await your next letter. Sincerely, Princess Luna She carefully folded up the letter and placed it within an envelope, sealing it shut with a wax stamp befitting her name and title - a picture of the moon. Yawning, Luna slowly made her way over to her bed and fell onto it, crawling towards the center and laying her head on the pillow. "A nap sounds good right about now. I'll just mail it when I wake up. Just... twenty minutes, is all..." Celestia slowly nudged the door open and made her way back in. She wanted to apologize to Luna, but it could wait for later. A golden glow enveloped both Selene and Philomena, and the elder sister gently placed the stuffed toys on either side of the slumbering Princess. "Sweet dreams, little sister." ----- "Is this snow? I swear this is snow." It had been over a thousand years since Luna had last seen a winter, and after encountering it within her own dream, she was trying to remember just what winter really was - it sounded like a silly concept, of course. Everypony knew what the seasons were and what they were like, but none of them had ever spent a millennium banished to the moon, now did they? She slowly trotted about on the nondescript field, getting used to things all over again. Luna may as well have been a filly again, considering how she was reacting - it was as if she had never seen a winter before in her entire life. The young Princess bounced about the area, giggling as she slowly became reacquainted with the sights and sounds of the season. Snow even had a smell and feeling, much to her surprise. It was much colder than she remembered. "Hm. What about..." The Princess of the Night slowly dipped her head down, her tongue giving the snow a cautionary lick. It... had a taste too? She certainly hadn't been expecting that. Regardless, winter had always been one of her favorite seasons, and she was glad she had returned in time to celebrate it. Luna took a seat upon the snow, hiding a smile as she heard it crunch beneath her - she'd have to get used to that. Looking up towards the night sky presented her with a sight she hadn't seen in a very long time. "A halo around the moon. I haven't seen one of those since I was little." She thought the moon was already beautiful. It was a bit biased, given that she was the one who was going to be raising it and lowering it in a few months, but the point still stood. To see it with a halo, though? She couldn't help but gaze in awe at it. Luna found herself interrupted, however, when she began to feel herself shake. It wasn't shivering, that much was for certain. It could only mean... ----- "...'Tia, why'd you have to go and wake me up. I was in the middle of a good dream." "No doubt dreaming about some handsome stallion, eh?" After a pillow smacked Celestia square in the face, it was quite clear what the answer was. "That's a resounding 'No', I suppose." Luna smirked and eyed her sister as she slowly sat up in bed. "So, you still didn't answer me. Why did you wake me up?" "Two reasons. One, you actually slept the entire night - it's the next day already." The elder sister bent down and grabbed the pillow in her teeth, flinging it up onto the bed. "And two, I wanted to apologize for how I acted last night. It was... very inconsiderate of me to say that." The younger sister reached out and lightly tapped her elder sibling's nose. "Apology accepted. You know I wouldn't have been mad at you anyways, right?" Celestia nodded at her. "I know - I know you far too well, little sister. Still, I felt bad about it. The least I could do was apologize." "Well..." Luna thought about it for the briefest of moments and smiled up at her sister. "Thanks anyways." "You're welcome, Luna." The elder sister smiled back and glanced out one of the windows in Luna's room. "I'm surprised you haven't noticed what we received last night." "Received? 'Tia, I'm afraid I don't quite..." The Princess looked out the window for herself and audibly gasped. Snow blanketed the ground, as far as the eye could see. The dream she had the previous night hardly seemed like a coincidence. "...follow. I'll get my things!" Luna quickly leaped out of bed and began digging through her dresser, eventually finding her favorite scarf and cap - the cap barely fit anymore, and much of her mane stuck out from beneath it, but at least it would keep her head warm. Before Celestia could ask for her sister's help in making the bed, Luna had already galloped out the door and was headed for the training yard. With a sigh, the elder sister slowly set about fixing the sheets. "Ah well. She deserves the fun." ----- Even in the midst of winter, the guards had no respite from their training. Despite the ground being covered in several inches of snow, the unlucky few that weren't at posts within the warm walls of the castle found themselves running drills. "Drill instructor?" The stallion's eyes shot open as he recognized the voice, and he immediately turned to face Luna, saluting her. "Good morning, your Majesty. What can I do for you?" "Assemble your men." She was acting as professionally as possible - anything less ran the risk of ruining the surprise she had in store. "I wish to run inspections." "As you wish, your Majesty. Attention! Form ranks!" The guardsmen scattered about the field assembled as quickly as they could, forming several rows of lines. Luna trotted up and down each line, doing her best to appear as if she were inspecting them - she could be a convincing actress when she wanted to be. Eventually, she made her way towards the front and center of the group, and began to address them all. "At ease, gentlemen. You're all no doubt wondering why you're running drills in such weather, or why I'm even doing inspections. Do you know why we do inspections?" A stallion in the back slowly raised a hoof. Luna nodded at him, permitting him to speak. "To... to make sure we're always prepared and in top condition?" "Well... yes." A grin slowly spread across her face. "However, I only do it because it makes you all easy targets." The drill instructor stared blankly at her. "I'm... I'm sorry, your Majesty?" Before he could say another word, a shadow slowly fell over them all. Most of them could scarcely believe what was even causing it - hundreds of snowballs, all floating in midair. As Luna reared up on her hindlegs, the first snowball was sent rocketing towards an unlucky guardsman, and the rest soon followed. "SNOWBALL FIGHT!" Those that managed to escape the initial salvo quickly split themselves into two teams, and hastily made snow forts and snowballs of their own, taking cover and returning fire when they could. Luna had a bit of an unfair advantage, given her magical talents - she had quickly made a fort of her own, and was making snowballs faster than five stallions could. For most of the guards, it was one of the few times they actually smiled while on-duty. Events such as these were rare, but at the very least, it beat running drills over and over. Luna was about to throw another snowball when a voice from behind sent her diving for cover. "How's it going, little sister?" The young Princess slowly moved her hooves away from her head and looked up at her sister. "Celestia? What are you doing here." "Oh, you know." The elder sister's horn began to softly glow as she threw some snowballs of her own. "Joining the fight." "I thought you didn't like the winter?" "Things change, Lu- oof!" A snowball caught Celestia right in the face, and she quickly shook it off to return one of her own. "Oh, now you're gonna get it!" The fight carried on for a while longer, but sadly had to end once the guards had to rotate shifts. They all took the time to thank Princess Luna for the change of pace, and the drill instructor had actually pulled her aside to ask her to do it again some other time. She happily obliged. The Princess returned to her room not long after, eager for a nap. ----- She groaned and rolled over in bed, reaching feebly out into the darkness for... what? Luna wasn't entirely sure herself. Slowly, she sat up and yawned, hopping out from under the covers. For some reason, she found herself wondering what day it was - a quick check, thanks to a little illumination from her horn, told her all she needed to know. "Huh, December 21st. Well then, happy birthday to me... water first though, then back to bed." It was still the middle of the night, but she was another year older, as if such a thing mattered. The Princess gradually made her way to the bathroom and was about to take a drink of water when she looked in the mirror. Her eyes widened greatly, and she stammered over and over before finally letting out a shriek loud enough to even send Celestia running. The elder sister opened the door as fast as she could, looking around for any sign of her sister. "Luna? Luna, what's wrong? I heard screaming, is everything al-" She had made her way over to the bathroom and stopped upon seeing her sister. "Oh my goodness. Luna, your mane... it's full of stars." The young Princess was positively giddy, hopping up and down within the bathroom and giving her mane a hug. "I know! I woke up in the middle of the night and was going to get a drink of water, and then I saw this!" She watched her own mane move about in the non-existent wind before looking up at her sister. "I swear the stars are twinkling, 'Tia. I mean, maybe they aren't, but it looks like it." "Well, it does kinda... wait." Celestia watched it a bit herself, and smiled as she looked back at Luna. "Yeah, they definitely twinkle." "This is the best birthday present ever!" She gave her mane another hug and looked back up to see her sister staring at her with a raised eyebrow. "I mean... aside from being free and being back here with you." The elder sister smirked at that and lifted up her sister, carrying her back to bed. "Go back to sleep, little sister. We've got a party to celebrate in the morning." She leaned down and gave Luna a quick nuzzle before departing. "Good night, Luna. And happy birthday." Luna didn't hear, though - she was already fast asleep. ----- She thought it rather fitting that all of this should happen on her birthday. Her new mane had been a wonderful surprise and certainly had heads turning - she had even received a few anonymous love letters, having no doubt set tongues wagging amongst the younger guardsmen. The cake that had been sent was apparently made by a baker within Ponyville, and reportedly made by a lone pink mare. That didn't make it any less delicious, of course, and there had been enough cake to feed both Princesses and almost all of the staff that bustled about Canterlot on a daily basis. The rest of the month was fairly low-key. Her sister had diplomatic meetings, and Luna herself orchestrated more snowball fights and received yet another letter from Twilight Sparkle - she had included some cookies made by one of her friends, as a show of thanks for the star charts. It had been awfully thoughtful of her, and the young Princess began to consider if maybe they could be more than just acquaintances. New Years Eve was, like the birthday party, a very quiet event. Celestia and Luna sat alone within the observatory, leaning against one another as fireworks lit up the night sky shortly after the stroke of midnight. She found it hard to believe that it had already been six months since she had first been told she would have to stay within Canterlot to regain her strength - what had initially seemed like a curse had proved to be a blessing in disguise, one that would continue to unfold before her over the course of the remaining six months or so. And that was just fine with her.