//------------------------------//
// The Sun Room 
// Story: The story book villain 
// by CtrlAltElite 
//------------------------------//

	Luna awoke to a soft knocking at her door. The sudden rush of noise as the silencing spell broke was deafening after so long in complete silence. It was quite strange trying to re adapt to all the everyday noises. This morning Luna had spent three hours trying to fall asleep before Crescent finally got fed up with the tossing, and turning, and set a silencing spell on the whole room. After a bit of thought Luna set it to break if someone came banging on the door. This it seemed was a mistake.
"Um, Ms. Nigh- er, Ms. Luna? I-I have been sent to wake you. Princess Celestia wishes to see you." Luna groaned softly into her pillow. She was exhausted after last night, even if most of the power used was not hers it was far too early for this. The sun hadn't even gone down yet. Maybe if she didn't reply the mare would just leave. After all she seemed so terrified it probably wouldn't take much of an excuse for her to just walk away. Deciding this was a solid plan, Luna sunk back into her pillows. 	That's when she felt it. There was a dark amusement coming from Crescent. She got this nagging feeling that something was wrong, but she was just so tired. Still she knew better then to simply dismiss such feelings. By the time Luna had rallied together enough brain cells to understand what her instincts already knew, it was too late. The creature living inside her had already taken control of her body. All she could do was watch in horror as it called out using her stolen voice.
"Just a minute dear, I need to make myself presentable." The voice was calming and gentle, but Luna knew better. This thing had no compassion, no empathy. All that lay beneath those eyes was a heartless monster. Then in a moment of sudden realization Luna understood what was about to happen to her. She threw herself against the mind that now held her body, determined to if not stop, at least stall the inevitable for as long as possible. But even as she struggled, she knew her efforts were in vain. She was forced to watch as her own hoof reached out, pulling the curtains aside.
As the light hit Luna's eyes for a moment there was nothing but pain. Ahhhhh, I'm blind! As Crescent gave up control of her body Luna tried to squint  against the sunlight. It did nothing. She silently cursed that sun, and all who enjoyed it.
Your such a child. Crescent said, amused, as Luna mumbled vows of eternal night. Do we really have to do this?
You know nothing of my pain.
Ya, sure, whatever. Go get ready. We're finally home, why would u want to just sleep all day.
Luna looked affronted. It's a bed! Can you even remember  the last time we slept on a bed? Just the thought of those wonderfully soft pillows, and the fuzzy blankets made Luna want to crawl back in.`
No. Go take a bath, and get ready. I can force you if I have to. Grumbling, Luna did as she was told.
A few minutes later the bed was completely forgotten in favor of this new, and wonderful comfort. A hot bath, just on the edge of scalding. Mmm. It's the little things. Luna said, sliding farther into the water.
We should get out soon. Your sister's waiting for us.
Suddenly all Luna wanted to do was slip under the water, and hide in that wonderful heat. She loved her sister, but didn't want to face her. She had always planned to take the cowards way out. The thought of banishment had never occurred to her. How was she supposed to look her sister in the eye after what she had done? We have served our sentence. She's already forgiven you.
"She's made a mistake." Luna whispered. Crescent was silent. They had done so many horrible deeds.
Slowly Luna got out of the tub, and glanced at the huge mirror covering the entire back wall of the room. The mare that looked back seemed so much less then the princess she was supposed to be. She was a mess of scars, and burns crisscrossing her entire body. The water making each imperfection stand out. Her horn was covered in chips, and cracks from overusing magic far beyond her limit. The worst though was her milky white eye. The left one was completely blank. The price of entry for the Moonlit Library. All of this sitting on such a gaunt frame. Like a pony who had been starving on the moon for the last thousand years. There was a strange mix of disgust, and curiosity as she stared into the mirror. It had been a long time since Luna had thought about want she had actually done to herself.
The sight of Crescents magic wrapping her in the familiar illusion of the clean, regal princess of the night pulled Luna back from her dark thoughts. It's fine Lulu, don't dwell on it. Just be glad that you're still here.
Luna took one more glance at the mirror with the beautiful mare looking back. Then with a Loud crack, the whole thing shattered into tiny peaces, flowing like sand over her hooves, and across the floor. It's already forgotten. And with that she strolled back into her bedroom.
She found a nervous looking white pegusus, with a green mane. As she walked in the mare straightened, trying to look professional. "Ms. Luna, is everything OK? I heard a crash"
"Everything's fine" Luna said, walking past her. "Lets get going. If I procrastinate any longer they are going to think I've eaten you."
Luna walked down the hall to what she assumed was the throne room. She did not need a guide. Celestia emanated an absurd amount of magic. There were very few things alive that could match her sister in power, and sadly, even in her prime Luna had never been part of that group. Now, she did not know if she was even the equal of Celestias protege. That's what I'm here for. That was a comfort.
Eventually they arrived at two huge wooden doors with a sun burned into the front. Luna looked at her companion who seemed a bit unsure of what to do with herself, seeing how the princess clearly did not need a guide. She realized that she had never bothered to ask the mares name.  
"I'm sorry, what do they call you?"
The question after such a long silent walk caught her off guard. "I. Umm. Snow Wreath mam."
Look at the poor dear. She is so nervous after you blew up a mirror, then gave the the silent treatment.
Hey, I'm nervous too.
Ya, but you're a few thousand years older then her. You need to be more empathetic.
Luna did not feel like being empathetic. She felt like running off, and hiding in her room. Thousands of years, and the thought of disappointing Celestia still made her feel so small. Still she tryed her best for a warm smile, and spoke in as gentle a tone as she could. "Thank you for escorting me here Ms. Wreath. You can take the rest of the day off, It wont me long 'till sunset after all."
That was all the convincing she needed. With a rushed thank you, and a bow she was gone. Luna turned back to the doors, took a deep breath, and pushed them both open.
Celestia was sitting on a huge red pillow next to a table laid out with tea cups, and a steaming pot. She smiled, and gestured to the other pillows around the table. "Have a seat. Lets talk over some tea." Her smile got even bigger as she looked back to Luna. "I have wanted to say that for a long time."
Luna felt a knot in her stomach as she sat down. She desperately hoped it did not show on her face. It's not that she didn't love her sister. She just didn't want to talk about the same things she knew Celestia wanted to talk about. A golden aura enveloped the teapot, as a glass was pored for Luna. The silence between them was  uncomfortable. Luna could see that Celestia was looking for a nice way to ask, and coming up blank. "You can just ask." Luna said, staring at the dark tea in her cup. 
Celestia was silent for a second longer. Then with a sad smile she said "Luna all day I have been getting letters. Some are confused, some are aggressive, but they all end up on the same question. How dose somepony survive a thousand years without food, water, or air?" Realizing how that sounded she was quick to continue. "Not that I'm not happy to see you. Not that I wasn't hoping you would come home... It's just, we all thought you were dead." 
On those last words Luna could see some old wounds open back up. Celestia's eyes were far in the past. Say somthing. 
What? That dead things don't need to breath?
Maybe it's about time. You're not going to be able to hide anything after this anyway. Just get it over with.
Luna knew she was right. It was a miracle she had made it last as long as she had. The silence was becoming awkward again, so Luna cleared her throat. "That's kind of a funny story. You see. Well. It's like when you." She had no idea where to start. Let me give it a shot.
Sighing Crescent started over. "You see 'alive' is kind of a strange word. It looks so clear from far away, But when you look close at when exactly it starts and stops the lines get a bit blurry. Maybe a better word to use is 'animate'." 
Celestia looked up sharply at this. "Your dead?" She asked, worry starting to come over her face. "Who did this? Who thought reanimating my sister was something that would not carry consequences?!" Celestia was half way to her feet when Crescent teleported to the other side of the table. Draping a wing over her sister she gently pulled her back into her seat.
"Shhh. Shhh. It's nothing like that. No one reanimated me." This was going worse then she had hoped. "I didn't die on the moon. I've  been dead for nearly as long as I've known you."
"What!" Celestia stared at her in horror. What are you doing? You're making it even worse.  
Luna smothered the flames  on the candles, which were now nearly five feet tall, while Crescent struggled to explain as fast as she could. "OK, so maybe dead was not the right word there. It's less that I'm dead, more that I'm not completely 'alive'."
"Luna! What did you do?" Celestia was trying, and failing to keep her tone calm, and gentle.
"Do you remember when you bound your soul to the sun?" 
Celestia simply nodded, not saying a word.  "Well I did the same thing with the moon you see. Thing about the moon though, is that it's not alive." Crescent giggled nervously. "The sun may not be sentient, but it is very alive." Celestia seemed like she was starting to understand where this was going. "Now when you bind to something dead It can have some side effects. Like killing the host. But the spell was meant to create something that could live forever, so it... found a balance."
There was a long silence after that. Celestia was the one to finally break it. "Why did you never tell me? How long were you planning to keep it a secret?"
Luna looked down at her hooves. "Forever, maybe. I don't know, it never came up."
Celestia was still leaning up against her under her wing. "But I can feel your heartbeat."
Luna sighed. "Just a few layers of illusions. They cover all the senses." With that she peeled away all but the visual. The heartbeat, and the warmth faded. 
To her sisters credit she did not so much as flinch. She just sat there leaning against Luna's side. All the tension had drained out of her. "You know you could have just told me. When I told you I was your family I meant it, now and forever."
Celestia was quiet then. thinking over everything in this new light. Luna sat next to her. Looking down she noticed the steaming cup of 'tea' that was sitting in front of her sister was nothing but clear water. Luna started laughing as she held the cup up to see. "Are you still doing this? Sipping steaming water and trying to pass it off as tea."	
Celestia looked up, and started giggling herself. "You know I never had much of a taste for tea. I do love the idea of drinking it though. Everypony always looks so calm, and content when they drink tea." 
They sat there like that for a long time, in comfortable silence. Eventually Luna spoke in a soft tone. "You know I missed you the most. When I was up there the first thing I did was wrap my memories in a spell to keep them from fading . When you're alone on the moon there's not much to do other then ruminate on past crimes. But I just thought-" Luna's throat closed around her next words. Taking a deep breath she tried to steady her voice. "I thought, as long as I have our memories together, perfect, and complete. Then even if I come back, and you hate me I would still be OK, ya know? I would still-" This time when her throat closed she did not try to speak again. She just sat there, tears rolling silently down her face.
Celestia pulled her sister into a tight hug, and held her there. "Don't ever think that Luna. We're family, I could never hate you. If I did half the castle wouldn't be painted in your colors. This kingdom wouldn't be a diarchy even though it has only had one ruler for the past thousand years." Celestia gave her sister a smile. "Your my little sister no matter how old you get. That is never going to change."