Celestia’s sleep was rudely interrupted as Luna burst through the doors to her sister’s bedroom. “Celestia! Get up! Now!” she angrily yelled, scanning the room to find her sister.
Celestia sat up, and responded drowsily, “Luna? What’s wrong?”
“It’s Harmony! She’s refusing to let me raise the moon!”
“Well, of course she is,” Celestia said, still drowsy. “It’s not even near nighttime yet.”
“But it is! The sun should have gone down hours ago!”
“What?!” Celestia yelled, suddenly wide awake.
“Exactly! Now would you please get out of bed and talk to her?!”
Celestia nodded, and got up. Not bothering to make sure her mane looked decent, Celestia instantly followed her sister, who had already galloped out of the room. The two sisters rushed straight for the tower they used to lower the sun and moon, but found that the doors had been locked, and the lock reinforced by magic. It would seem that Harmony was willing to take precautions to ensure that her daughters didn't do their jobs, for whatever reason.
Forgetting about the lock for the time being, the princesses headed straight for the throne room. When they arrived, Harmony was nowhere to be found. A nearby guard, after yelping in fright at the site of the angry sisters, told the princesses that Harmony hadn’t been in the throne room recently.
The two sisters shared a look of concern, both worrying about their mother's whereabouts.
“Where is she?” Celestia asked.
“Do you really think I’d know that?” Luna frowned, visibly annoyed.
“You’ve more of a chance than I do.”
“If I knew where Harmony was right now, I wouldn’t have us running around the castle looking for her," Luna snapped. "You left your bed a few minutes ago, Celestia. Perhaps it's about time your mind wakes up as well.”
Celestia smiled, despite the desperate situation. “You were always the nocturnal one, Luna; I'm tired. Now, come on,” she said. “We’ll see if she’s in her chambers. Why didn’t you warn me sooner, anyway?”
“I was researching in the library,” Luna said, as she began to walk.
“Again?” Celestia asked, not bothering to look her sister in the eye as the two of them picked up their pace.
“The librarian missed the book you found. Who knows what else he might have overlooked?”
“Point taken,” Celestia said, smiling slightly.
A few moments later, the two sisters arrived at the door to Harmony’s chambers. Luck was on their side, this time, as Harmony was there. Her door was locked, however.
“Harmony. Open the door, now,” Celestia said, her voice firm and with a hint of anger, although the princess herself was still trying to catch her breath.
No reply came, except for the sound of a key turning in a lock. The two sisters entered immediately.
Harmony was sitting on her haunches, in the middle of the room. On her desk lay the book Celestia had found, containing the only information she had found on her mother. Harmony gave the sisters each a stare, before speaking softly, “What is the meaning of this?”
“The sun. Why haven’t you woken me up to lower it?” Celestia asked.
“It’s not time yet.”
“Yes, it is. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it wasn’t time yet. Are we speaking a language you don’t understand, Celestia?”
Celestia angrily jerked her head in search for a clock, and found one on Harmony’s nightstand. She raised a hoof in a pointing gesture, and Harmony casually turned her head to see what her daughter was pointing at.
“Harmony, it is past nine 'o clock! The sun should have gone down hours ago!”
“Really, Celestia? Should it have?” Harmony answered, still calm as ever.
The question caught Celestia off guard, and she needed a moment to come up with an answer. “Of course it should have! Exactly what kind of question is that?”
“A serious one. Why must the sun rise, or be lowered, when you want it to? Or rather, when you claim it to be necessary. Why is the entire world’s schedule based on yours?”
“Because I’m the only one who can raise the sun!”
A smile twitched at the corners of Harmony's mouth. “Why would the sun need raising at all? Wouldn’t it make much more sense to let nature run its course?”
“How could you say that?! Of course we need to move the sun! If we don’t keep the sun and moon in rotation, we’ll be stuck in perpetual daylight!”
“We still don’t see the problem. Isn’t daylight exactly what you’re here for? Why are you complaining? Honestly, I'd have expected Luna to make a fuss, but not you.”
“Because we need nights!”
“Perpetual night, then? It wasn’t big success last time,” Harmony said, casually glancing at Luna, that same slight smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “But perhaps a second attempt might prove a little more rewarding?”
Luna glared at the remark.
“You’re missing the point, Harmony!” Celestia yelled, now growing panicked.
Harmony regarded Celestia once again, this time with a look of contempt. “No, Celestia. You are missing the point. For far too long this kingdom has been at your mercy. No more, we say. It’s time we bring some peace to this kingdom. Some real... harmony.”
“What on Equestria are you talking about?! The kingdom has been at peace for centuries! If anything, helping me lower the sun on time would’ve been the best thing you’ve done so far!”
Harmony scoffed. “You will not address us like that! We are the queen of Equestria, and you will behave yourself accordingly! We strongly suggest you follow your sister’s example!”
“And why shouldn’t I address you like that? You’re making a huge mistake, and you haven’t even bothered to tell us why!”
Harmony turned away from her daughters. “It must be done,” she muttered, suddenly barely audible.
“What?”
“The sun is to remain where it is,” Harmony said, still facing away, her voice now loud and commanding. “Move it, and we will have you taken into custody. You will do as we say, and that’s final. Now, leave.”
Celestia shook her head. “No. Luna and I aren’t going anywhere until you allow me to lower the sun, and her to raise the moon! This has already gone on for far too long, Harmony.”
Harmony turned to regard her daughters once again. “Indeed it has, Celestia,” she smiled. “As we said, your so-called balance has been going on for far too long. It’s time we show you just how wrong you’ve been, all these years.”
“Time we... what? Exactly why are you doing this, anyway?! Why didn’t you tell us sooner? We could have discussed this!”
“Because you wouldn’t have believed me.”
“Explain yourself!” Celestia yelled, stomping a hoof in rage.
“If I had told you about my plans, you wouldn’t have let me execute them. It was for your own good, really.”
“How could this possibly be good? Keeping the sun raised means that crops will die, and ponies won’t be able to sleep! This can only end badly! Are you so deranged that you can’t see the consequences of your actions?!”
Harmony shook her head, her horn lighting up with magic. The restraint visible on her face, Harmony was doing her best to keep herself from releasing the energy building up in her horn. “You will not speak to us like that!” she yelled. “One more word in such a tone and we’ll have you removed from castle grounds, by force!”
“Go ahead! Do so! Luna will be right there to take my place!”
Harmony took a deep breath, exhaled, and apparently regained some of her composure. “Will she, now? She seems awfully compliant, so far," she said, a slight quiver in her voice. "Really, you’re the only one making a fuss, Celestia.”
“And with good reason! You’re upsetting the balance of the entire world, Harmony!”
“Are we? Because last we checked, you were the ones moving the sun and moon around like they were but toys, hanging in the sky for you to play with!”
“You know what I mean!”
This time, Harmony smiled. “Yes, we do, but we don’t agree with it.”
“This isn’t a matter of agreeing or not! You’re causing irreparable damage!”
“Nonsense, and don’t make us tell you again. We won’t hesitate to act upon the threat we’ve made. One more word from you, and you will be escorted off of the castle grounds!”
Celestia bit her lip, trying her very best to restrain herself. Harmony was wrong, anypony could see that, but getting herself banished wouldn’t exactly do Celestia any good.
Harmony smiled upon noticing Celestia’s restraint, nodding once. “Good. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we’d like to go and enjoy the sunlight, while it lasts.”
This last little jest proved too much for Celestia. “Enough! You’re going to let me lower the sun, and let Luna raise the moon! You will not upset over a thousand years of balance!” she roared, forfeiting all previous notion of patience she had tried to hold herself to.
“Balance?” Harmony laughed. “Stop lying to yourself, Celestia. You can’t seriously believe that what you’ve been maintaining all these years was balance.”
The question took Celestia by surprise, and she once again didn’t fully understand what her mother was trying to say. “Of course it’s balance!” she rebutted. “Keeping the sun and moon in rotation is what allows us to live!”
“We still don’t see how that’s related to balance.”
The sheer ignorance Harmony was displaying was too much for Celestia to bear. The princess frantically tried to think of examples, of things to change Harmony’s opinion, but nothing came to mind. Nothing more important than the survival of life on Equestria, at least.
“Are you really so blind, Celestia?” Harmony asked upon seeing her daughter’s confusion. “Do you truly not see what we’re implying?”
“No,” Celestia admitted, getting desperate. “I don’t.”
Harmony sighed. “It was only to be expected.”
“Go ahead then, explain yourself!”
“Always so dramatic, Celestia. Just accept that it’s for your own good and move along, now. You’re embarrassing yourself.”
“This has nothing to do with embarrassment, or doing good! You’re hurting ponies, Harmony!”
“We suppose it would look like that, to you," Harmony said, nodding once.
“Stop this! Celestia yelled. “I’ve worked a thousand years to uphold the balance we can still enjoy today! I’m not going to stand idly while somepony else destroys it in a matter of minutes! You’re going to let me lower the sun, now!”
Harmony sighed. “Guards?” she mused.
“What?” Celestia asked.
Harmony simply stared at her. “We warned you.”
One of the nearby guards trotted up to Harmony, a confused look on his face. “Yes, Your Highness?”
“Escort Princess Celestia off of the castle grounds, please. If she resists, feel free to use force. We won’t mind.”
The guard seemed reluctant, but a deadpan stare from Harmony convinced him to do as she said. He walked up to the princess, gesturing for two more guards to join him as he walked.
“So... Princess,” he said. “Are you going to come along quietly?”
Celestia eyed him as though she was about to attack him, and it took some effort for the guard to remain steadfast. A few seconds later, Celestia realized that the guard was only doing as he was told.
The princess sighed, and walked along with the guards quietly, eyes downcast. As she made her way out of the room, Luna moved to follow her.
Harmony raised a hoof to stop her daughter, but Luna kept on walking, disregarding her mother’s presence entirely. “Celestia? I’ll see if I can talk some sense into her,” she said, as soon as they’d put some distance between themselves and Harmony.
“She’ll need a lot more than some sense,” Celestia barked, frowning. “If she seriously thinks that keeping the sun and moon in place is doing good, we’re in trouble.”
“Again, I’ll talk to her. She can’t possibly be serious about this. No opposite of Discord’s would do something like this.”
“That's hard to believe, Luna. Try to keep in mind that she banished me from the castle ground no more than a minute ago. Me, her own daughter, banished for disagreeing with her on something so basic. What's gotten into her?”
"I don't know, Celestia. But I'm going to find out. One way or another, this is going to end."
Celestia nodded once. "True, but as you said, she wouldn't have done this if she really were Discord's opposite. She'd realize that what she's doing right now is upsetting balance, not upholding it."
"As I said, Celestia; I'll talk to her. This could be a simple misunderstanding."
"Simple, Luna? Nothing about this is simple. If we don't fix this soon, ponies will get hurt. I hope this is all a misunderstanding, but considering the lock and now this... I don't think it is."
"What else could it be?"
"I don't know," Celestia said, eyes downcast. She bowed her head as she continued to walk. "I just... please, Luna, fix this."
"I can only try, Celestia."
The rest of the walk was finished in silence, as both sisters contemplated what had just happened.
“Celestia?” Luna asked, as they walked up to the castle’s gates.
“What is it, Luna?”
“Where are you going to go?”
“I don’t know. Perhaps I’ll stay at my student’s, for now.”
Luna nodded. “I was just about to suggest that.”
“Don’t worry about me, Luna. I’ll be fine. Worry about Harmony.”
Luna’s turn to nod. “Let’s just hope this doesn’t last too long. Harmony will come to her senses, I’m sure.”
“Let’s just hope she does. Until then, I’ll be living in Ponyville, I suppose.”
Celestia turned to leave, but jerked her head back as she remembered something.
“Luna?” she asked.
“Celestia?”
“Keep me informed?”
“I will. One of these guards will be at your student's doorstep within a day, perhaps two. I'll make sure to provide him a letter with the details on Harmony's... state of mind.”
“I’m sorry, Princess,” one of the guards interrupted, shaking on his legs. “But we were ordered to escort you off of castle grounds. I’m afraid that you have to leave.”
Celestia broke her eye contact with her sister, and turned to face the guard. “That’s alright,” Celestia told him, trying her very best to smile. “You’re only doing as you’ve been told. No harm done.”
With that, Celestia turned to leave. “Goodbye, Luna,” she said over her shoulder. “I'll be back before long, I promise," she said, spreading her wings.
Luna simply watched her sister fly away, her silhouette slowly fading as she approached the horizon.
“Goodbye, Celestia.”