//------------------------------// // 4: Following Our Goodbyes // Story: Good Morning, Twilight, Love the New Hairstyle! // by aquilerafroot //------------------------------// Twilight took a slow step back, tilting her head at Chronas, who now looked the same age as the lavender unicorn. “You invented it?” “Yes I did, all by myself too I might add.” The maroon mare sighed. “If only I'd known beforehoof that teleporting in a ‘different’ direction would lead to time travel…” The lavender unicorn looked at Chronas with interest. “When I read the scroll, I went over the equations… but I would never have thought about combining the Parallel Equation with the Kaleidoscope Law. How did you come up with it?” Chronas chuckled. “Like I said, teleportation in a ‘different’ direction… a lifetime of research had me thinking about how space inversion could be converted into time inversion.” The younger unicorn cast her memory back to when she had used the spell, though the details of the time stream were vague. “Now that I think about it – it kind of reminded me of once when I was so excited about my diploma in astronomy that I teleported directly from my room into the princess’ chambers… even though it wasn’t really within my sight.” “Frankly, I’m very impressed that you have the power to even make it work…” The mage trailed off, staring into the distance. “Even I only succeeded a few times, and that was with help, but each time left me so drained I felt like I was dying. I was simply unable to make any more improvements, and you know how dangerous an untested spell like that could be.” Chronas moved over to her desk, and lit another candle. “Now, is there anything else you want to know? There is some research I want to finish off.” Twilight nodded. “When I was outside, the world seemed to move around me…” The mage took out some writing tools from a drawer. “Well, that happens every now and then, but you’ll get used to it – it’s not very severe in this area, but I’d advise against venturing too far.” “Thank you for your help, Chronas-” Twilight’s stomach rumbled again, and Chronas looked up. “You don’t have to eat here, either. Though you’ll feel it at first, it’ll go away after a while.” The magus smiled. “Maybe you could visit me again sometime.” “I won’t take up more of your time then, see you!” Twilight smiled back and waved, trotting out the door. A young, maroon filly waved back at her, before turning to the bookshelf and frowning, muttering something about the inconveniences of age shifting. ------ ------ “Tia!” Luna stared at her sister’s limp form in her hooves, a pained expression upon her face, and then leaned in to nuzzle the unconscious alicorn. “Tia, wake up!” What is wrong with her? The lunar princess did the first thing she could think of – send a pulse of magic into her sister’s body to check her vital signs. She gathered from the results that nothing was out of the ordinary, and frowned in confusion. Why won’t she wake up? I need to wake her up! The younger princess gathered her magical energy into a bright ball, which reminded her of what her elder sister had told her about Twilight’s condition – “No! Luna, I used the Revivication Spell – even that did not work.” She let the spell peter out, wrapping a foreleg around Celestia’s shoulders and hugging her closer. Even if it did not work on Twilight… I still have to try! She created the ball of energy again, sinking it into Celestia’s chest. Then she waited for a few seconds, which drew into minutes, still not feeling the further, immense drain on her energy that would have followed if the spell had succeeded. Luna slumped down, utterly frustrated. Twilight used the time travel spell, and fell unconscious several hours later. Celestia said it had something to do with time travel, and then she used the spell as well… The blue alicorn gasped. And now she’s unconscious… She furrowed her brow in thought. The scant information I found corresponded with what Tia had said – a mage named Chronas tried to create a working time travel spell but failed, that was all. But with Tia and Twilight both in the same condition after using the same spell… what should I do? Luna got to her hooves and started pacing. Her eyes fell on her sister’s desk, and on a whim she started flipping through the piles of parchment arranged on top of it. The topmost parchment on the second stack she skimmed through yielded results – it bore the exact equations and steps on how to cast the time travel spell. I suppose I… The blue alicorn quickly pushed away the thought – from the evidence, time travel didn’t solve problems but rather caused them. She studied the glyphs for a few more minutes, and then put the parchment back on Celestia’s desk. She moved back to the bed, thinking hard. And the sun still hasn’t been raised… if Tia doesn’t wake up soon I shall have to- She gulped. – take over her duties… There was a knock on the door, interrupting her from her thoughts. She slowly lifted her hoof from Celestia’s shoulder before trotting to the door and opening it a crack. “Yes, what is it?” A guard stood outside, snapping a salute before he spoke. “There is a group of ponies in the Grand Hall seeking audience with Princess Celestia, Your Majesty.” “Show them to the throne room and tell them…” Luna glanced back to the bed at her sister, then back to the guard. “That Princess Celestia is currently indisposed, and that I will be granting them audience instead.” “Yes, Your Majesty!” The guard saluted again and turned to canter down the stairs. Luna sighed and closed the door, taking a few deep breaths. What should I tell them…? Although she had been relearning about the matters of state, she’d never had to deal with something as serious as this by herself. What would Tia do? She composed herself and walked out, making her way down the tower, through a few corridors and more flights of stairs to the throne room. Quite a large number of ponies had gathered there, and it finally clicked that she had spent hours in her sister’s room – the sun not having risen yet was sure to be noticed by ponies everywhere. She sat down on her throne, trying to maintain her composure. All those assembled bowed respectfully, and Luna inclined her head. “Please rise. It has come to my attention that you wished to speak to my sister. However, she is currently unavailable, so I will be granting you audience in her stead.” She gestured to the first pony in the queue. “You may speak.” “Y-Your Majesty, we...” the pony stammered, “we had concerns about the sun being late to rise.” The lunar goddess raised her voice so that she could be heard throughout the room. “For all of those inquiring on the sun-” All the ponies gathered raised their heads to look at her, and she suddenly felt very nervous. “The reason it has not risen yet is that my sister is feeling unwell and has been unable to do her duty.” When none of the ponies so much as budged, she waved a hoof exasperatedly. “If any of you have further questions, you may speak.” They looked up at her, some visibly trembling, and a silence hung in the room. Finally a mare made her way up to the front. “If I may ask, Your Majesty… for how long?” “I… I am not sure myself…” Most ponies in the crowd gasped, and muttering broke out amongst them, growing louder and louder. She furrowed her brow. “Are you certain that Princess Celestia is unable to speak to us?” A voice called out. “Yes! I have told you that she is feeling unwell!” Luna’s patience was running out, and she reined her temper back with an effort. Why don’t they listen? By then order had dissolved and many of the ponies were shaking their hooves, not bothering to keep their voices down. “What about the sun? You cannot expect us to go for an indefinite period of time without it! It’s bad for business!” “Is she truly sick?” The crowd was now in a state of havoc, shouts ringing out from everywhere. “Are you keeping her from performing her duties again?” “Did you poison your sister?” “Something dreadful has befallen the Princess of the Sun, and it was all due to her designs, I am sure of it!” "ENOUGH!" The lunar goddess leapt to her hooves, shouting in the volume of the Royal Canterlot Voice, something she had refrained from doing ever since meeting her sister’s talented protégé. “Court is dismissed!” The courtroom immediately fell silent, even the most agitated of ponies cowering down and trembling. Luna took a few breaths to calm herself, then turned to the guards. “Guards, show them out.” The guards saluted, though it seemed to the alicorn that some of them had doubts in their eyes, and started shepherding the ponies, now hushed, towards the entrance. She then raised her voice again. “If it will ease your mind, I shall address all citizens of Canterlot in two hours on this matter. Spread the word.” Finishing her announcement, Luna almost bolted out of the room, racing back to Celestia’s room. She flung open the door and slammed it, choking back a sob. “They – they hate me!” she shrieked, kicking a nearby cushion. “After last time… and after they finally started to trust me-” She didn’t notice that Spike was already awake and curled up next to Twilight’s side. “Whoa, princess, why’re you-” He scrambled up, startled. Luna ignored the purple dragon, sinking down on the ground next to the bed. “Why do you do this to me Tia?” she sobbed, holding her head in her hooves. She rolled around, tears streaming down her face. “I am alone again… just like when I-!” Her breathing ragged, she continued bawling. “You two, why did you leave me all by myself? You’re the only ponies I could rely on… And now everypony – everypony hates me again!” “I can’t, I can’t do this by myself…” She pounded her hooves on the ground. “Where did you go… come back… I need your help!” ------ ------ Twilight stepped gingerly into the undergrowth, pushing away the weeds that grew in her path. She had decided to take a look at the temple, and the going grew tougher as she entered the forest, shrubs and creepers growing so densely that there was almost no space to maneuver. Frowning, she used her magic to lift a large section of vines that hung before her like a heavy curtain. The eerie luminescence grew scarce, blocked by the plant growth as she went deeper, and she cast an illumination spell so that she could at least see her surroundings. Hoping she hadn’t lost her sense of direction, she made her way towards where she had seen the temple from the outskirts of the town. The forest was lusher and the plants resembled those from warmer regions in Equestria than the previous one near the opening of the valley, but they were similar in the lack of animal life. Twilight arduously pushed through the foliage, the snapping of twigs and rustle of leaves being the only sounds she could hear as she proceeded. Her efforts combining magic and physical exertion soon left her gasping for breath, but she couldn’t see if the temple was any closer due to the dense forest. She yelped, her unkempt mane having caught on a gnarled branch. Straining her neck she tried to pull herself free, but it was only after a hard tug that she succeeded, and she winced as a tuft of her mane was torn off. Cuts and bruises soon accumulated on her body as she forced her way through, but she tried to ignore them, gritting her teeth as her foreleg was nicked by yet another sharp object she hadn’t noticed. Just as she considered creating some sort of magical protection over herself, something solid sank deeply into her right hoof, sending pain rippling through her nerves like wildfire and causing her to cry out. She quickly lifted the hoof up to her chest and directed her light at it, flinching: a thorn was wedged firmly within and the injury was already starting to throb with an intensity that made her tremble. Staring at it dumbly for several excruciating moments she finally gathered up her courage, and clamped onto it with her magic. “ARRRGH!” she yelled, her eyes watering as she yanked the now crimson thorn out in a clean motion, sending it flying with such force that it went clean through a nearby tree. Gingerly raising her hoof and lowering her gaze to it, she grimaced; blood trickled out the split tissue, the mere contact with the air making the wound sting. She let out a shaky breath and carefully placed her hoof on the ground, but immediately pulled it up again, stumbling and crying out when the pain shot up her leg. It took her a few minutes of awkwardly hobbling around on her three good legs before she found a rhythm, and she looked before her despairingly. Moving on three hooves was challenging enough without having to navigate the thick undergrowth of the forest as well, and she had wanted to conserve her magical energy, but faced with this new dilemma she came to the conclusion that she was going to have to use her magic beyond just lighting her surroundings. Maybe I could just uproot the trees between here and the temple? No, that would take way too much energy… what about a blade? She remembered that her favorite fictional character, Daring Do, sometimes used a machete to cut through thick undergrowth in her jungle adventures, and decided that a thin magical blade would be a way to clear a path that was efficient enough. With a flash of her horn she created a thin crescent of magenta energy slightly longer than her leg, and lowered it until it was near the ground. Slicing it sideways and removing a thick cluster of bushes, she continued forwards. Limping after her magical construct, she soon discovered that she was able to keep her magic usage to a minimum because of the blade’s fine edge, cutting through the undergrowth with ease. Finally, as she started to think the trees were never-ending, she broke into a clearing. The silvery illumination of the Underworld returned in force and Twilight dispersed her light spell, only keeping hold of the magenta crescent, and looked around. The trees had grown in height deeper within the forest, the tallest about five to six stories high, and Twilight could see the temple. It was even larger than she had thought when she had seen it over the distance, the top of it towering over most of the trees. The unicorn paused for a while to catch her breath and check on her hurt hoof. She then braced herself and limped to the other end of the clearing, entering the plant growth again. The going became easier the closer she got to the structure, which she was both surprised at and grateful for. After a few minutes she could at last discern the rugged stone of the base of the temple, and then more of the building as she arrived in front of it. No longer needing the magical blade, she let it dissipate. Several crumbled blocks of stone and marble lay scattered around the once magnificent structure, moss and creepers giving them a new tinge of green. Lofty pillars inlaid with intricate designs, which were partly erased by erosion, lined a terrace in front, and Twilight slowly made her way through it, marveling despite herself at the carvings on the marble columns. A flight of stairs led her to a set of heavy double doors, one of which had collapsed, allowing her a way in. The hall she found herself in was quite spacious, with light shining through cracks in the walls and glinting off dust motes suspended in the still air. Damaged banisters lined the room, broken tiles and debris littering the floor, but there was a clear path through them indicating someone had been here before her. Twilight gulped, hobbling further in along the hall and through an archway which led to a half circular room. Two narrow staircases on each side of the room formed a mirror image, curving around and then meeting at a landing on the second level. Before her was a wide platform with a variety of bottles, tubes and other apparatus. The opposite wall was made up of three curved panes of glass; the two on the right and left were cracked and stained with dust and filth, but the one in the center was whole and clear. Twilight could see the forest that surrounded the temple through the glass, and she frowned. Shuffling forward to inspect the items on the platform, she discovered that most of them were free of dust and seemed functional. She glanced over her shoulder nervously, wary now that there was more than one sign that another being had been in the temple – possibly even visited frequently. She looked around again and then limped up the stairs, which were luckily still intact. The landing led to three doorways: two rooms side by side in the back, and one doorway that led to the front. She examined the two smaller rooms first, poking her head through the doorjambs; both of them held remains of statues shattered so completely that it was impossible to tell what they were of before except for the occasional limb here and there. The walls were dark and dingy, the marble stands of the statues smashed. Twilight shivered, backing away. The third door was in good condition, standing out against the state of ruin of the previous two. The unicorn stared at it suspiciously before pushing it with her magic. It swung open soundlessly, something which unnerved her even more, but she steeled herself and cautiously trotted inside. The brisk scent of wood pulp filled her nose, with a fresh tang like crushed pine leaves. She took a breath, deeply inhaling the smell of thousands of tomes and scrolls, a smell she had been familiar with, and loved, since fillyhood. A small, continuous sound made her flick her ears and she furrowed her brow. Tall mahogany shelves stood in neat rows, and as Twilight took a few paces towards them the faint wisps of sound grew more audible – it was music, long melancholy notes of organs. She tensed as the melody washed over her and glanced through the aisles around her, but the music was coming from further within. “H-hello? Anypony here…?” she called out. The music was suddenly cut off, leaving only silence in the room, which was broken again after a few seconds. “Urgh, another fool.” The voice came from the back of the expansive room, carrying through the aisles and shelves. Although Twilight had expected it, the reply still made her jump. What was more, the voice was somehow familiar… Before she could say anything else, a tall figure trotted out from behind a shelf. Twilight found herself locking gazes with an elegant mare whose coat was dark ebony, her catlike eyes a vivid turquoise. They stared at each other, recognition solidifying the very air around them like ice. Twilight gaped, her expression almost comical, while the dark mare looked down at her stonily. “Nightmare Moon?!” Twilight quickly put her injured hoof to the ground, trying to appear at least to be able to defend herself, but the motion only made her grimace in pain. “My, my, what a pleasant surprise,” the alicorn drawled, recovering from the initial surprise. “So, someone finally did you in. Who was it?” She noticed Twilight’s wince and scowled. “Don’t tell me you bled to death.” Twilight looked up at Nightmare Moon and shook her head, feeling her knees trembling. “Then who?” she prompted when Twilight did not speak, narrowing her eyes. “I swear, if some pitiful mortal succeeded in killing you I will scream loud enough to be heard in the mortal plane.” "I-I, well, it seems that I'm not exactly dead…" Twilight finally managed to stutter. “Then my pride remains intact… or as intact as it can be, considering I was split from my better half by a group of inept foals.” The alicorn suddenly advanced on the unicorn, her horn flaring with her dark aura. “But if you’re not dead, perhaps I could rectify that, and salvage a bit of my pride in the process.” Twilight quickly stumbled back, tensing and preparing to cast a shield spell, when Nightmare Moon abruptly stopped, her horn losing its glow, and tilted her head. “Now, if you're not dead then why are you here?” “You can stop trying to distract me, Nightmare Moon, it’s not going to work!” Twilight stared at the dark mare, bracing herself for the attack she knew would be coming. The obsidian alicorn simply looked at her with a bored expression before pointing at her injured hoof. “You can stop trying to be brave, my little pony – with an injury like that I could snuff you out before you even had a chance to react, let alone fight back. You remember how our last fight went, do you not?” “Yes, I won!” Twilight replied, swallowing her fear. Nightmare Moon reared her head and laughed. “Yes, you did.” And with that she turned to walk away. Twilight stared at the ebony mare, nonplussed. “You mean… you’re not going to attack me?” she ventured uncertainly. The alicorn stopped and sighed. “I could… but what would be the point?” She glanced back at the unicorn over her shoulder. “You still haven’t answered my question.” “I,” Twilight started to say, but then faltered. “I don’t know.” “Then, how did you come here?” “I don’t know that either…” Nightmare Moon turned back, snorting impatiently. “Let me put it this way – what is the last thing you remember before coming here?” Twilight hesitated before saying miserably, “I… I was talking to Princess Celestia.” At the name of the Goddess of the Sun Nightmare Moon’s expression darkened, and she snarled, bristling. Twilight quickly tensed again, despite the pain in her hoof, eyeing the obsidian mare warily. Nightmare Moon took a few deep breaths before speaking, though she was still scowling deeply. “So it was she that sent you here.” “What, n-no!” Twilight stammered, her ears flicking in unease. “You are certainly not as bright as I thought you were when we last met – you say you don’t know how you got here, yet the last thing you remember is being by her side; it is obvious that she sent you here.” Twilight felt her legs go weak and slumped heavily on the floor, staring dully into space, finally uttering the thought that had been torturing her. “I… I think she banished me.” “Really?” The obsidian mare trotted forward a few steps and lay down in front of Twilight. “Pray tell, what did you do to deserve that?” “I used a dangerous spell in the archives…” “And you have obviously hurt many ponies with that spell.” Nightmare Moon chuckled, although there was no real mirth in it. “Wide scale destruction, perhaps?” Twilight took a shuddery breath. “I could have.” “What spell did you cast? How many ponies were affected by it?” “A time travel spell…” “I see. And did you try to take over the country?” “No.” “Then what did you do?” “I wanted to warn myself in the past.” The alicorn looked askance at her, her expression incredulous. “That does sound serious!” she exclaimed dramatically, her tone making it evident that she was mocking the unicorn. “What did you warn yourself about? Trying to avoid personal humiliation? Trying to save your parents from going on a terrible holiday? I’m sure she was so furious that she saw fit to banish you right away!” Twilight looked away, frowning miserably. “I don’t want to tell you.” “So I am just supposed to take your word for it that you did something bad which made her banish you?” “I don’t… need your word. I just did.” “But even then… she wouldn’t need a reason to send you here.” The alicorn sighed, and her expression grew morose. “I wonder how Luna is doing…” Twilight remained silent for a few moments. “Why would you-” She looked away, then at Nightmare Moon again. “She’s doing pretty well.” “Pffft. That’s what she kept telling herself over a thousand years ago. You do not really know how she’s doing, do you?” “I think she’s still unused to life in modern times, but the last time we met… she had a great time!” “Really?” The alicorn averted her eyes from Twilight’s, her expression torn between disbelief and hopefulness. “How can you be sure?” “I talked with her, and showed her around when she visited our town, Ponyville, during a festival.” “You’re lying!” Nightmare Moon stared at the unicorn for a few agonizing seconds, and then slumped. “You’re not lying…? She actually went out and visited another town?” “It’s true! And while the ponies weren’t… used to seeing her at first, everypony had fun in the end!” “They liked her…” The obsidian alicorn closed her eyes. “Maybe this was all for the best, then.” Twilight blinked. “What was for the best?” “That I was defeated, sent here. Tell me, do you know what I am?” the dark mare asked morosely. “I don’t know… but I’d like to.” Twilight looked up at Nightmare Moon. “I am – was a dream of Luna. She thought me up because she was lonely. I made it my purpose to help her… and make sure that she was loved.” “Well she is, now…” “I twisted Luna. She did not want to be lonely, so she made me up, gave me life. I told her, promised her that other ponies should love her as well…” The alicorn took a shuddery breath. “But after a century of listening to her, her crying… whining, I had had enough – and I became her Nightmare. Nightmare Moon.” She almost spat out the words. “Do you know why that – that tyrant banished not only me, but also Luna, her own sister?” “She… she did that because you refused to lower the moon!” “That was my idea, and Luna disagreed with it. I could tell she regretted it, fighting me to take control of her body again, but by then it was too late.” The alicorn clenched her teeth. Twilight shuddered, clutching her hooves to her body as Nightmare Moon moved closer and lowered her head to gaze into the unicorn’s eyes. “Celestia didn’t even care about Luna. And this brings us back to what I said… she wouldn’t need an excuse to send you here.” Nightmare Moon looked down at the smaller mare, her eyes glinting. “As soon as she has no more use for you, or when you disagree with her, she simply forgets about you – or banishes you.” “But, but… she wouldn’t do that!” The lilac unicorn almost choked on her words. “I did do something wrong… that’s why she banished me!” “And I did something wrong as well. But Luna was innocent. And yet Celestia still banished her!” “That’s – I don’t believe you…” “I didn’t think you would.” The alicorn snorted. “You have long been brainwashed by her. Do you really think Luna was guilty of the things I did for her? Do you really think she should have been punished for things that she didn’t do?” “Princess Celestia wouldn’t do that!” At the continued accusations of her mentor, tears started to well up in Twilight’s eyes, and she hid her face with her good hoof. Princess Celestia isn’t like that! “Tell me then!” Nightmare leaned forward, almost pressing her muzzle to Twilight’s. “You banished me here, yet you saved Luna, without even being sure of her existence. Why did Celestia not do that a millennium ago?” Twilight shook her head, sobbing, unable to find the words to speak. “Luna didn’t even know of most of the things I planned to do. Do you think a pony should be condemned for something they didn’t know?” “Well… I should be… I’m her student, I should know much more than I do, but I don’t! That’s also something I did wrong… I’m a failure!” Twilight pressed her face close to the alicorn and bawled into Nightmare’s chest. The alicorn glared at the smaller mare, but then draped a wing over the sobbing unicorn’s back. “You don’t get to say that. You beat me more easily than I would ever have thought possible… I did not lose to a ‘failure.’” “But that was – my friends helped.” “Your friends did not beat me,” Nightmare growled. “You did.” “Urgh! Why does everypony think it was me? They always forget my friends…” “You did something nopony managed to do for over a millennium – you unlocked the Elements.” “I suppose…” Twilight trailed off. “But I was lucky.” “Lucky?” the dark mare repeated incredulously. “Lucky? How do you manage to come up with nonsense like that? In what part of our encounter were you lucky?” Twilight looked down. “Look, I’m just a unicorn… a banished unicorn. I…” She pulled herself from under the alicorn’s wing, onto her three good hooves, and trudged to the shelves. “It’s not really important anymore. Even if I’m not dead yet, I’ll die soon enough… and there’s no way out… so I’ll be spending all my time here, which means I should probably find something to do.” Nightmare looked at the retreating unicorn, opening her mouth then closing it again, her ears flicking in every direction. “Twilight Sparkle?” she finally said hesitantly. Twilight turned back to face the alicorn, and Nightmare continued after taking a deep breath: “Truth be told… there is a way out for you… you are not dead.” “How?” The lilac mare asked hopefully, but then her expression grew more subdued. “But I’d be defying the princess if I…” She paused. “Why are you telling me this?” “I just thought…” Nightmare Moon shook her head. “Never mind.” She trotted past the aisles and disappeared. Twilight stood there, confused, and then followed the alicorn’s path to the back of the room, where she found the dark mare curled up on a cushion. A record player stood nearby, which Twilight realized was the source of the music she had heard upon entering. “Nightmare Moon?” she asked cautiously. “Could you please… tell me more about it?” “Well… obviously you will have to find your way to the mortal plane.” The ebony mare waved a hoof. “You should have noticed that the lack of ponies here apart from myself and another – this is, in truth, more or less a limbo plane of the Underworld… but due to its inconsistent nature even I have yet to find where we meet with the mortal plane, not to mention the rest of the Underworld. You will need to find that place, and it will definitely be a long journey… that’s all I know.” Twilight nodded slightly. “So then I might not be able to find it either… but I’m going to try.” The obsidian alicorn looked up at her forlornly. “If… you do manage to get out…” She sighed. “Will you tell Luna I’m happy for her?” Twilight was a bit shocked by the vulnerability in the alicorn’s voice, but then she smiled hesitantly. “Yes, yes of course.” “I am glad.” The dark mare glanced up. “If you want to get out while you’re still alive, you had better get going.” “Thank you, it was… nice… meeting you.” “Good luck, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight nodded then slowly limped back out, but not before looking back at the alicorn one last time, as the ebony mare lit up her horn to turn on the record player, mournful notes floating into the air like the sighs of lost dreams. ------ ------ Celestia’s room was silent, Luna’s sobs having long since ceased. The lunar princess sat by her sister’s side, her eyes red and puffy. She silently stared at the alabaster alicorn for a while before placing a hoof on her shoulder. “I’m…” She gulped. “I’m going to go out, Tia… you come back safely.” She rose to her hooves, finally addressing Spike. “Take care of them while I’m gone, would you?” she said softly. “Of course, princess, you can count on me!” The baby dragon nodded and waved as Luna trotted out the door. The younger princess made her way up to the lofty balcony from which she would address her subjects. She steeled herself and trotted onto it, out under the still starry sky. Gazing out at the veritable herd of ponies assembled, she cleared her throat. “Citizens of Canterlot! It is with regret that I inform you that my sister has fallen ill and will not be able to perform her duties this day. I will be taking over her responsibilities until she is well again.” She watched the ponies for their reactions, and saw some of them nodding, but others were murmuring amongst themselves, looking up at her with distrust. Suddenly a shriek rang out, followed by commotion. “Usurper!” Shouting and trampling started in the crowd, and Luna felt the hiss of angry voices like daggers in her chest. “It’s Nightmare Moon!” “Don’t believe her! How could Princess Celestia be unwell? Isn’t she a goddess?” The alicorn shook her head, and she could feel beads of sweat gathering on her brow. “No, dear citizens! Do not panic! I am no longer-” “You’ve always been planning to hurt the princess ever since you came back, haven’t you?” “Run for your lives!” “No, no! I…” Luna looked down, and suddenly she was shaking, tears welling up in her eyes again. They don’t trust me, they never have… and they’re still the same! Sun lovers! “You should never have come back from the moon!” With that, something snapped in Luna, like her heart had been ripped out by dozens of barbed hooks. She reared up, her eyes glowing in her midnight blue aura. “SILENCE!” She cast her astral magic to the cosmos, searching, almost desperately, for the sun. She had never been attuned to her sister’s celestial object, and had never been able to imagine what it had been like for her sister to raise the both of them. The sun was a dazzling blaze in her magical senses, almost blinding her with the intensity of its glow. She reached out with her magic – and immediately pulled back as if scalded. It was too scorching for her to bear, and the contact alone made her feel as if her horn were singed, damaged to the point she would not be able to use magic again. I – I can’t do this! It’s too large, it’s impossible… Images of her sister lying on the bed with Twilight resurfaced in her mind, and she clenched her jaw, a tendon standing out on her neck from the strain. If she could do it for a thousand years… She poured her magic steadily out into the sun, so much that she felt she was losing her hold on her physical body and even her mind, with what little energy that remained inside. Tears streamed down her face but she ignored the pain, every muscle in her body tensing as she pushed, with every drop of strength that she had. It should be just like the moon… it should be just like the moon… she repeated to herself urgently. With one last, colossal heave of her energy, the sun slowly started to budge. Luna held the connection, hoping, trying to have faith in herself. She cracked an eye open, looking to the horizon. Rays of light were shining into the night sky, dark purple merging with a lighter lilac, then a deep crimson as she raised the fiery globe. Its ascent was steady as Luna’s link with it grew stronger, and although she was unsure if she would be able to do it again, she knew she would keep trying until Celestia came back. The last thing she heard before she slumped down on the floor with her eyes closed, was the cheering of the crowd, and the chanting of her name.