//------------------------------// // The question // Story: The Princesses' Secret // by Sleepy Panda //------------------------------// Luna burst into Celestia's chambers, rudely awakening the older alicorn as the door slammed loudly into the wall. "Celestia, we need to do something about this! I can't keep evading all of the questions from the nobles and the reporters!" Luna cried. "Luna, what could possibly be so important that you would wake me up in the middle of the night?" Celestia groggily demanded, sitting up in her bed and using her magic to remove her blindfold and place it on the bedside table. "The questions! Ever since that cursed author published his book speculating on our origins, the questions have been flowing in nonstop. And they're all being directed at me because they assume I'm younger and more gullible. It's not fair," Luna grumbled, walking across the room and sitting on the bed next to her sister. Celestia put a wing around Luna, comforting the stressed pony. "Easy there. What's so bad about answering the questions? Are there too many for you to handle?" "Yes, but that's not the problem. They're digging a bit too deep into our past," Luna vaguely explained. "Too deep into our past? What exactly do you mean by that?" Celestia pressed. "Well, a lot of things, but there's one thing that concerns me the most: I'm being asked why we're princesses instead of queens." "Oh. I see why you're so stressed," Celestia said, withdrawing her wing and standing up to pace around the room. She paced back and forth for a few minutes, pondering over the situation in her head, but then she realized Luna was looking expectantly at her. She stopped pacing. "This is bad," she declared. Luna rolled her eyes and stood up to join her sister. "Of course it is! That's why I woke you up in the middle of the night." "Yes, well, right," Celestia said. "I'm not sure what to do. Do we tell ponies about her or make up a story?" "I don't know," Luna admitted. "I was hoping that you would know what to do." "I'm not entirely sure. But before we even consider making a revelation, we should probably check on her first," Celestia suggested. "Yes," Luna agreed, even though she wasn't particularly keen on the idea. Celestia nodded, then raised her voice and ordered, "Please clear the hallways from here to vault 201. My sister and I have private business to attend to." "Yes, Your Highness," the two royal guards at the door said in unison, bowing before turning around and barking orders at the others. Soon, there was not a guard in sight, and the two alicorn sisters walked out into the hallway. "If she's dead..." Luna started, but Celestia cut her off. "No, she won't be. She's immortal like us, remember?" "Yes, that may be so, but not even the most immortal of beings could survive being trapped that long. Even I could barely withstand the thousand-year imprisonment you so kindly imposed upon me. Has she not lost yet the will to live? It doesn't seem possible," Luna said doubtfully. "It is very possible. I made renovations during your banishment to make her accommodations more bearable. I removed the chains and exchanged the pillows for fresh ones," Celestia informed the blue alicorn. "Oh, I see. We're here," Luna announced, having arrived at their destination. "I can see that," Celestia said plainly. They stood in front of a large wooden door, tucked away in a corner of the dungeons. Vault 201. She unlocked the door and slowly, carefully opened it. "Hello mother," she greeted the pony inside. "Celestia?!" the pony screeched, lunging towards the door, only to crash into an invisible barrier, "'Tis been four hundred years since thou last visited us!" "Yes, mother, I'm aware of that," Celestia sighed, "and I apologize. My kingdom has been getting rather out of hoof lately. This whole "freedom of speech" thing is turning out to be a terrible idea." "Ha! We toldeth thou so!" the mare said triumphantly. Then she noticed Luna. "Oh, thou hast finally returned from banishment? Congratulations." "Thank you, mother," Luna said nervously, stepping into the room. Mother hadn't tried to kill them yet, so that was good. Normally it took her much quicker to remember that they had imprisoned her just because she banned dessert and loud singing from the castle. Luna's mother scowled. "Thou art an embarrassment to us. As of now, we disown you, and thou may no longer address us as 'mother.'" "Yes, Queen Gaea," Luna said, uncaring. Her mother had disowned her no less than twenty times before, and had always forgotten about it. "Much better!" Queen Gaea declared happily. "Now, where were we... oh, yes. That. CELESTIA, RELEASE US AT ONCE!" "Mother, I have already gone over this with you. I'm not handing over my rule to you, and certainly not freeing you. You'd ground us and ban us from desserts again," Celestia sighed. "Thou art no longer worthy of being a daughter of mine!" Queen Gaea yelled. "Whatever, mother." Celestia rolled her eyes and turned to Luna. "She looks perfectly healthy to me, so we can leave now. But next time, you're doing the talking. " "Am not!" Luna protested, but Celestia ignored her as they exited the vault and shut it behind them, cutting off cries of, "Get back here at once, ungrateful peasants!" The two alicorns walked quietly upstairs for about a minute, then Luna broke the silence. "So," she said, "what do we tell the press?" "I have absolutely no idea," Celestia admitted. Luna groaned. "Well that's just great."