Chapter 43 (A Sisterly Meeting)
Chapter 43
Nighttime had descended on Canterlot, and many ponies were getting ready to go to sleep. However, there were just as many who were either waking up for their evening shifts or getting ready to go out and sample the city’s nightlife.
With its many late-night restaurants, bars, clubs, dancehalls, theaters, arcades, and other street venues, Canterlot, like many other major cities around Equestria rarely slept. The various advancements in magic and technology had also made the streets brighter and safer to be out in after sunset, and many ponies took full advantage of the cool, clear night to enjoy themselves after a long day of work.
Tis a far cry from a thousand years ago before We were imprisoned. Thought a melancholy mare as she gazed out at the bustling nightlife of the city beyond Canterlot Castle’s walls.
A soft knock on her bedroom doors made her tear her eyes away from the window. “Tis open,” she called out.
A golden aura surrounded the door’s handle and gently opened it as Princess Celestia carefully stepped inside, shutting the door softly behind her, the clicking of the latch sounding unnaturally loud in the quiet of the bedroom.
Trotting to stand next to the mare, she looked down and gave her a hug with her wings and asked, “How were your classes today, Luna?”
“Hmph, they were as they always are, annoying and humiliating,” grumped Luna, Princess of the Night, Guardian of Dreams, and Mistress of the Moon among many other titles. However, to Celestia, the most important one to her was the title of little sister.
“I’m sorry to hear that,” replied Celestia carefully. “I had hoped that your new teacher would be better than the last one.”
“They are not, if anything, they are even more insufferable,” replied Luna irritatedly, as she broke from her sister's hug and turned her gaze back to the window.
Her wings drooping slightly, Celestia looked out the window alongside her sister and said, “I know I haven’t had as much time to spend with you as I had wanted to, what with Discord’s recent return and the mess that has caused, along with the various politicking I have had to deal with after you were freed from the Nightmare. But, I want you to know that I love you.”
Luna sighed, her irritation fading away like smoke on a breeze. “We know sister, We know, and We love thee as well.”
“I see that you are doing better with modern Equish these days,” said Celestia.
Luna nodded. “Yea, though We still struggle with it at times. Reading is also still difficult, though at least Our skills with numbers art still sharp.”
Celestia nodded and smiled. She was glad to see her sister making progress, even though there were times when she would mix modern and old Equish grammar together in a confusing mixture of rules and pronunciations that often left modern ponies feeling lost. Such as she was doing now. However, that was happening less and less as time went on, except when Luna felt stressed or upset, and then she tended to fall back into the old ways of speaking to a degree as it was more comfortable for her. Celestia thought that it would take many more years before her sister fully transitioned to modern Equish full-time, and even then she still had her doubts.
“Have you had a chance to learn about the new mathematics systems they invented since you’ve been gone?” inquired Celestia.
Again Luna nodded. “We have, though Our teacher doth try Our patience. He claimth that We are not ready to learn them yet. He wilt not even allow Us to use Abigail!” she replied with an angry stomp of her hoof.
Celestia glanced over at a nearby table that had several doused candles, a quill and ink pot, several sheaves of parchment, and an old abacus that was propped up against several books.
“Well... there are easier ways to do math these days Luna, I’m afraid your old abacus is a bit... outdated, shall we say?”
“Outdated?! Sister how couldst thou sayest such things?! Abigail is one of the finest abacuses ever made! She hath helped Us to count for centuries! Apologize!” she declared, pointing a hoof at the table.
Celestia looked between her sister and the table and sighed. “Luna, I’m sorry for calling your abacus obsolete.”
“Nay sister, thou shouldst not apologize to Us, but to Abigail!” she retorted, pointing an emphatic hoof at her abacus.
Celestia felt a headache starting. I should have left that stupid thing back in Whinnysor with all the other junk when I moved to Canterlot.
However, she didn’t let slip her inner thoughts, and instead, with as much grace and dignity as she could muster, she turned and said, “I am sorry for calling you obsolete Abigail, that was rude of me.” Turning back to her sister, she asked, “Happy now?”
“Yea,” replied Luna, a cheeky-looking grin on her face as her sister gave her a deadpan look that lasted for all but a minute before it disappeared in a smile that quickly turned to laughter at the ridiculousness of the situation.
Joining in her sister’s laughter, Luna felt her spirits lift, if just a little bit. However, her uplifted mood quickly evaporated and she turned back to look out the window.
“So much hath changed since We were imprisoned,” she remarked quietly, “settlements that were barely a village are now grand cities, and grand cities that seemed as though they would last for millennia are naught but empty ruins. Everypony We knew, save for thee sister, is naught but dust on the wind. What is more, the mores of today’s society baffle Us and We fear as though We shall never understand it.”
“Luna, you have barely been back for a year, and need I remind you that you spent several months in the hospital getting your medical records up to date?” reminded Celestia in an attempt to head off the building cloud of depression that was forming over her sister.
It sort of worked as Luna shuddered, remembering the many, many needles that she had been poked with, alongside dealing with a rather nasty cold that she had caught shortly after her return.
“We prithee not to remind Us of that time, for it wast most unpleasant.”
“And yet my point still stands, you have made remarkable progress in readjusting to the modern world, and once this business with Discord is in hoof, I will spend more time with you,” declared Celestia firmly.
“Thou already spendest more time with Us now than thou ever didst before Our fall,” remarked Luna quietly.
Celestia winced at the reminder of her less than stellar record at being there for her little sister when she needed her.
Sensing her sister's embarrassment, Luna gave her a reassuring smile. “Please do not be upset sister,” comforted Luna, “We meant no ill will against thee. We art grateful that thou hast changed for the better in Our absence and We look forward to the day when this annoyance is behind us. In the meantime, We will savor what time We have with thee as it is far more than We had before.”
Celestia felt a tear well up at the corner of her eye and she pulled her little sister into a warm embrace, happy that she was willing to be patient and understanding.
Though I still intend to spend more time with you. I’ll just need to find a way to add some additional free time to my day is all.
Pulling away from her sister's embrace, Luna moved away from the window and deeper into her room. Lighting up her horn, she used her cobalt blue magic to turn on the lights before dimming them, leaving the room in a sort of twilight. Taking a seat at her study table, she moved several books from a nearby pillow and motioned for her sister to sit.
“We understand that thine student hath visited thee today,” remarked Luna as she continued to tidy up her table.
Taking the offered cushion, Celestia made herself comfortable. “She did, along with a former student of mine.”
“Ah yes, a Lyra Heartstrings, if We art not mistaken.”
Celestia nodded. “They came to me with an update regarding the situation in Ponyville.”
“Hast there been another incident?” asked Luna, a hint of worry in her voice.
Celestia shook her head. “Not as of yet. However, they did bring forth another theory for what Discord might have done before the Elements sealed him away again.”
“Oh?”
“It seems that Lyra came across Paradoxical Pendulum’s uncorrupted research in the Royal Archives, and using his work as a base, feels as though Discord might have been trying to create a portal to another world,” explained Celestia softly.
Luna’s ears fell flat against her mane at hearing Paradoxical’s name. “We wish that thou hadst done a better job defending his legacy than thou didst.”
“I’m sorry Luna, I know you and he were close, and I know that seeing his name besmirched like that didn’t help things, but you know as well as I do that we had much more pressing matters at the time or do I need to remind you about how Duke Pivot Pelt tried to kill me and blame it on you so that he could take the throne for himself?”
Luna sighed as the ancient memories replayed themselves in her mind. “Nay sister, We remember him quite well, his name was quite the appropriate fit for his actions, the traitorous rat. Though we are unsure of what happened to him after our fall. He obviously did not succeed in his plans.”
Celestia smirked. “Believe it or not, a common thief ended his life a week after your banishment.”
“Surely thou jest,” replied Luna in disbelief.
Celestia shook her head. “Honest truth, the arrogant fool was apparently on his way to meet with some of his co-conspirators to come up with another plan when a griffon rogue got the drop on him. Rather than surrender his bit bag, the fool tried to fight the griffon tom off while said griffon had him in a headlock with a knife at his throat. Long story short, Gerald dispatched him with minimal effort.”
“Hmmm... wait, how doth thou knowest this rogue’s name? Surely he would not have gotten himself caught after slaying a noble as powerful and well connected as Pivot,” wondered Luna.
Celestia’s smile shifted to one that a cat would have after having eaten the canary. “He didn’t mean to, a pair of guards happened upon the scene and gave chase, poor Gerald ended up getting tangled in a clothesline as he tried to escape. The two guards brought him straight to me, as I am sure you are aware, the murder of a noble is seen as quite a serious event.”
“Yea, though it would depend on the noble in question about whether thou wouldst reward or punish the ne’er do well, and We believe that We know which option thou picked,” replied Luna dryly.
Celestia giggled, her face turning a hint of red at the memory. “Well, naturally I... rewarded him for his service, after which I kept him around doing odd jobs for me, before eventually making him my spymaster, while also swearing the two guards that caught him to secrecy.”
“It appears that thou also saw him as a good companion to share thine bed with if thine blush is to be believed,” remarked Luna, a teasing smile on her face.
Celestia’s blush deepened and after clearing her throat, she replied, “Yes well, what I get up to in my bedroom is my business sister. Besides, don’t think that I didn’t know about your midnight rendezvous with Pendulum when he was still alive. Though considering how... loud you two could get at times, I’m surprised that the whole castle didn’t know about it.”
Now it was Luna’s turn to blush, and she wisely decided to change the subject to something less risque.
“Yes well, We fear that this conversation hast gotten onto the wrong path, thou wast speaking on what Lady Heartstrings hast found?”
Celestia allowed herself a small smirk of victory as Luna hastily worked to back peddle from the proverbial mess she had found herself in, and deciding to be merciful, Celestia replied, “Yes, Lyra believes that Discord attempted to open a portal to another world, either to pull upon the chaotic magic between worlds to bolster his power and fight off the Elements with it or in an attempt to escape when things went south for him. In either case, it doesn’t really matter, what matters is that Discord’s spell is still active to a certain degree, as there have been strange occurrences around Ponyville since his defeat.”
“Thou speakest of the sunflower that appeared behind the schoolhouse,” said Luna.
“Among other things, such as various cloud formations disappearing or appearing in the skies around Ponyville. I have had several other teams quietly observing the surrounding area since Discord’s defeat independent of Twilight and Lyra’s efforts and they have reported random spikes in chaos magic followed by odd effects happening beyond the sunflower and random disappearing cloud.”
“What other effects hath been observed?” asked Luna with a curious raise of her eyebrow.
“Strange noises, smells, visual effects, static playing from radios when they are playing, the feeling of being watched, among other things. Unfortunately, the research teams haven’t found anything concrete yet, the sunflower has been the first solid piece of evidence that we’ve had that something strange is going on around Ponyville. Up until now, most of these mysterious phenomena have happened on the edges of the Everfree Forest or just slightly inside, and as you know, the Everfree is hazardous to travel in if one is unfamiliar or unprepared.”
“What doth thou intend to do, sister?” asked Luna curiously.
“I have already put my secretary, Raven Inkwell in charge of working to better coordinate the various team's efforts. Many hooves make light work as they say.”
“Forsooth, however, they also warn about having too many hooves in the kitchen as well,” cautioned Luna.
Celestia nodded in agreement. “I trust that Raven will keep things moving forward smoothly. None of the teams have become overly concerned with the situation in Ponyville yet, and as such, I will trust that things will work out in the end. In the worst-case scenario, we could always release Discord and beat the answers we need out of him.”
Luna smirked. “Temper, temper, dear sister. What happened to thy desire to try for the diplomatic course first?”
“Yes well, that desire tends to lose its appeal in the face of Discord. Especially when dealing with his shenanigans,” muttered Celestia, an annoyed expression on her face.
“He did something to thee didn’t he?” asked Luna, a knowing smile on her face.
“I will neither confirm nor deny that he did,” replied Celestia, an unhappy look on her face.
Deciding to let the matter be, Luna instead remarked, “We to have been busy lately.”
One of Celestia’s ears twitched and she asked, “Oh, in what way?”
“We have resumed Our duties as the Guardian of Dreams,” replied Luna regally with a hoof laid against her chest and her chin lifted into the air, a proud smile on her face.
“That’s wonderful news, Luna!” exclaimed Celestia excitedly as she reached across the table and pulled her sister into a surprise hug. “What about the moon? I haven’t felt you attempt to move it since you have returned.”
Luna broke the embrace and replied, “Dream walking is not as energy-intensive as lifting and lowering the moon each evening and morning. However, We believe that We should be able to resume that part of our duties within the next fortnight. Though We would ask that thou stand by our side the first few times in case We... slip,” she added quietly at the end as if worried that somepony might hear her and make fun of her insecurities, it had happened before.
Celestia softly replied, “Of course Luna, I will stand by your side as many nights and mornings as you want me to. Hmmm, perhaps we could make that a morning and evening ritual going forward, what do you think?”
Luna nodded, a happy smile on her face. “We would like that very much.”
“Then it’s decided, we’ll need to make a few minor adjustments to our schedules, but I believe that we can make this work. Perhaps we could have our respective first and last meals of the day together right after we move our celestial charges and have some personal time together.”
“That sounds nice,” agreed Luna after a few moments of thought.
“Alright then, I’ll let Wisteria know and get that taken care of on my end,” replied Celestia with a nod as she made a mental note for herself.
“And We... will just make a personal note We suppose,” said Luna, as she realized that she still didn’t have a personal assistant of her own yet.
“You haven’t hired any staff yet have you, Luna?” asked Celestia with a deadpan expression.
Nervously touching her hoof tips together like a foal who had just been asked by their parent if they had finished their chores when they hadn’t, Luna sheepishly replied, “We... are still working on that.”
Rolling her eyes, Celestia said, “Seriously Luna, you’ve been back for nearly a year, and you haven’t even hired one pony yet? What happened to all of those recommendations I gave you?”
“Well it is not as if We have that much to do yet, sister,” snarked Luna in reply. “Nor do We need to hire any staff for our respective wing of the castle, as thine staff is more than sufficient to maintain it. Besides, none of thy Solar Guards nor staff wish to transfer to Our Lunar Guard and staff positions.”
“They don’t?” asked Celestia, surprised at hearing that. “When Cadence formed her Heart Guard she had ponies falling all over themselves trying to get in, I would have thought the same would happen with you. Have you put out a notice among the castle guards and staff of the open positions beyond my recommendations?”
Luna rolled her eyes and nodded. “Of course We did, Tia, and so far We have had a total of three ponies show any kind of interest since.”
“Oh... well at least you have three ponies working for you, so that’s a start. What positions did they fill?” replied Celestia with a forced smile.
Luna however did not return the smile. “Nay sister, you misunderstand, We said that they merely ‘showed interest’ not that they decided to join. Of the three, one refused to work nights, another got a better offer from one of thy staff, and the third got hit by a runaway cart before they even made it to the first interview,” she sighed, “We are trying not to lose faith, Tia, but it seems that old habits die hard with thy ponies.”
“No Luna, they are just as much your ponies as they are mine,” corrected Celestia sternly, determined not to let the conversation return to that well-worn rut.
“And yet they prefer thee to We still, though We are happy to see that at least they no longer shun the night as they once did,” replied Luna wearily.
Celestia sighed. “Just... give them some more time Luna, they’ll come around... eventually.”
“Hmmm, perhaps, perhaps not, we shall see. Regardless, our talk has once again wandered, let us return to the matter at hoof.”
“What about the thestrals? Surely they would love to come and work for you again,” asked Celestia quickly, hoping that maybe her sister had overlooked them and that bringing them up would lift her spirits.
Luna’s expression however dashed those hopes, and her icy reply buried them deep, “They also have shown little interest in returning to the mainland following Our banishment, something about angry day ponies chasing them from their homes with pitchforks and torches with murder in their hearts tends to leave a sour impression on a people.”
Celestia’s head dipped in shame. “I tried to help them... but I wasn’t strong enough... I’m sorry.”
Luna let her anger subside. “We know, Tia. The thestral council spoke very highly of thee in their letters with Us. However, the prejudice still remains, and nothing hast changed for them beyond the fact that they are no longer outright hunted by their fellow ponies in a fear-induced rage. We understand that there are a few thestrals here on the mainland, but they tend to keep to themselves and are very careful to avoid drawing attention to themselves.”
“I’ve passed anti-discrimination laws,” replied Celestia weakly.
“And yet if nopony follows or enforces them, they are worse than useless,” countered Luna a tad heatedly. “Though at least thou tried to do the right thing, even if nopony else wants to,” she sighed, the heat disappearing from her voice. Shaking her head, she continued, “Alas, we have wandered again in our conversation. Let us not dwell on that which we cannot change at the present.”
Celestia sadly nodded. “Very well,” she said before taking a deep breath and forcefully changing the subject to one less emotional, “So tell me how have your first few dream patrols been?”
Luna smiled softly, glad for the change of topic, and replied, “They have been uneventful save for a strange dream portal that We have found near Ponyville.”
Celestia cocked her head to one side. “Oh, weird in what way?”
Luna’s face scrunched up in thought as she tried to describe to her sister what she saw. “We are unsure of how to describe it, pray tell, doth thou remember what a normal dream portal looks like?”
Celestia shook her head. “It’s been so long since you last told me, Luna, I’m afraid I don’t.”
“Very well, We shall remind thee then,” replied Luna as she shifted a bit on her pillow. “As thou knowest, the dream realm is made up of the energy created by all living creatures that can dream. This means that much of the waking world bleeds into the dream realm. Rules that apply out here, will also apply there. Things such as gravity, light and darkness, the various elements and how they react to the environment around them, and so on. Doth that make sense to thee, sister?”
Celestia nodded as her mind dredged up the old memories of her sister excitedly telling a younger Celestia about her adventures in the dream realm. “I think it’s slowly coming back to me.”
“Good, then thou might remember how each dreaming creature connects to the dream realm when they sleep. These connections may take on many forms. Some of them are as humble as a cloth over an opening to a hut or as grandiose as a castle gate. Furthermore, the dreamer may subconsciously add defenses to the portal to their mind, these often take on forms such as locks or even deep moats that attempt to bar access. There have even been the rare few dreamers that have consciously created guardians that will defend the portal from attack, however they are very rare and We have only found a few individuals capable of such feats over the years,” explained Luna.
“So what is different about this one then?” asked Celestia.
“We can not interact with it. We can see it and feel its connection to the dream realm, however, We are unable to enter it. It is most vexing. What is even more frustrating is that it changes forms each night.”
“What do you mean?” asked Celestia curiously.
Luna grunted in frustration. “Every night the portal looks different. The first night We came across it, it was a humble wooden door, the second night however it appeared as a much larger door made out of metal and painted white that would slide to one side when it opened.”
“I thought you said that you could not open them?”
“We can not,” replied Luna, “however that doesn’t mean that the doors will not open on their accord occasionally. We are most curious as to why they do that as the only other time we have seen that occur is when a pony gains the ability to dream walk, however that happens very rarely. We have only ever come across a few individuals in our lifetime so far that can enter the dreamscape unaided by Us.”
“So do you think the owner of this dream portal is doing that?”
Luna shook her head. “Nay, we believe that they are lucid dreaming instead as We have yet to see anything exit the dream portal. Lucid dreamers may occasionally come close to leaving their dreams, but it only happens rarely, and never multiple nights in a row as this one has done. We shall be keeping a closer eye on them in the coming nights.”
Celestia nodded as she quietly digested this new information. Finally, she asked, “Do you think this is something to be concerned about?”
“Nay, We believe whatever is creating this dream portal is harmless as there have been no disturbed dreams from the ponies in the area. Nor do We think the dreamer themselves are in any danger from nightmares and the like entering and feasting upon their dreams as they slumber. Though, as We have said, we will keep a close watch for anything amiss in the coming nights. We might even attempt to discern who they are so that We may meet with them in the waking world or at least in their dreams. A being with this sort of potential talent would greatly aid Us in our efforts to keep the realm of dreams in check”
Celestia quietly nodded before glancing at a nearby clock on the wall, and seeing that it was getting late, she arose in preparation to leave. “Very well, if you believe there is no cause for concern, then I will leave that in your capable hooves, though please let me know if there is anything that I can help you with sister.”
Luna, seeing her sister getting ready to leave, also got up and walked around the table to give her sister a goodbye hug. “We will sister, of that thou canst be assured of.”
Returning her sister's hug with one of her own, Celestia softly replied, “Goodnight Luna, I’ll see you in the morning when it is time to lower the moon, and then we can have some breakfast for me and dinner for you.”
Breaking the hug, Luna said, “Very well, We look forward to the morning supper, goodnight sister, and pleasant dreams.”
“Goodnight, and may your patrols be both uneventful and successful,” said Celestia as she turned to leave, Luna following her to the door.
Stepping into the hallway, the two guards to either side of the door stiffening to attention, Celestia gave Luna one last smile, and wave goodnight before she began the quiet walk to her room on the other side of the castle.
Shutting the door softly, Luna returned to her spot at the window and looked out over Canterlot, her spirits higher than they were, as a small smile formed on her lips as she looked forward to the morning and the time she would spend with her sister.
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If you need an OC later, let me know via PM.
11297903
I'll keep your offer in mind. Coming up with unique OCs can be a real pain sometimes.
Rogue.
11297987
Fixed, thanks.
My god. Is the world ending are we all going to die? Two chapters in less than two weeks is surely a sign of the apocalypse. Joking aside this is a great chapter.😁
Nicely done chapter.^^
Oh dear, the breakfast/dinner thing.
Well, you had good intentions Celestia.
It looks like Allen is smarter than your average bear at sleeping.
Glad to see this story updating again so soon. Now I wonder how Luna would react if she actually entered his dreams and they are completely chaotic.
11298099
Haha, yeah I felt the same way when I finished this chapter so quickly. I'll have to slow down again or risk causing some kind of singularity to occur or something.
11298409
Yeah. Take all the time you need. I have a cousin who works on a farm so I know how hard I t can be to have free time.
O a vary fun chapter and it gives us a small clue about thing that may happen.
11298465
Luna's going to either rudely barge through the strange portal into Allen's dream or she will eventually piece together it's his and contact him while he's awake (the far more diplomatic option). I thought it was already established he's not going to let her near his mind with a 10-foot pole because mind-control rays and all that. He really doesn't understand that nightmares can turn real in a most deadly way when your whole world is suffused with magic. Once he accepts this difficult fact (for a human from a non-magic world) he might allow Luna to visit one night, under very strict restrictions of course.
Seriously, if he's gonna be living here, he better start learning the deeper mechanics of Equis or it's gonna come back to bite him-- perhaps literally. Owch!
I noticed that subtle Progress shoutout.
I sleep
REAL SHIT