Chapter 18: Keep Calm and Carry On
Dinner remained generally quiet. Looking around the dining room, I saw that everypony had something on their minds. Trixie made a point of avoiding eye contact with Lightwing, who would repeatedly glance at her and smile, then he would think about something and his happiness would fade to something akin to depression. Smith seemed upset, just poking at his food, probably because Luna hadn’t shown up for dinner.
When Tia asked one of Luna’s usual servants about her, she said that Luna wished to remain in her room until it came time for her duties. I am really worried about her, though. I mean, she’s had tantrums before for things as small as who ate the last slice of cake… but that whispering I heard… I hope she’s alright. I looked at Tia right next to me and could tell we were both thinking the same thing.
Even though we were next to each other, Tia and I remembered to keep some distance. We really need to figure something out for this, I rolled my eyes. I finally have a fillyfriend, and I can’t even get too close to her.
Pinkie sat across from me and seemed blissfully unaware of the inner turmoil everypony had. She was just glad she could help Light start to find himself. And the endless royal buffet in front of her probably helps as well.
Overall, dinner remained uneventful… at least, until Tia brought up something I had completely forgotten about until now.
I started choking on my drink. “The-” *cough* “-Summer Sun Celebration is tomorrow?!”
“Yes,” Tia nodded. “As I just said, I will be preparing to leave later tonight to ensure that I will arrive at Vanhoover in time for the sunrise.”
“Ooo! Can I come?” Pinkie asked, bouncing in her chair. “I missed last year’s celebration you had in Baltimare because the Cakes wanted me to stay and help clean up Sugarcube corner after the incident when my Party Cannon misfired so I was really hoping to catch this year’s because I just know this one will be extra special, but then again every Summer Sun Celebration is extra special but I-” Smith stuck his grey hoof over Pinkie’s mouth.
“What’s the Summer Sun Celebration?” He asked. I could tell Light was thinking the same thing.
“It’s a tradition I started shortly after Nightmare Moon’s banishment,” Tia explained. “I used it to improve my little ponies’ morale and to show that Nightmare Moon’s threat of eternal night will never come to pass. Every year on the Summer Solstice, a random town is picked to host said celebration. Everypony stays up all night until it’s time for sunrise. Then I come out and raise the sun in front of everypony, to show that I will never let them down.”
I decided to give my take on it. “As the years passed, the story of Nightmare Moon became nothing more than an old mare’s tale, so I assume the Summer Sun Celebration became more of a symbol of peace here in Equestria than anything else, right?” I looked at Tia for confirmation and she nodded.
“It saddened me how everypony but the history scholars did not believe in my sister’s existence, but I am happy that she’s returned.” Tia’s smile began to fade and she looked out the window towards the tower Luna stays in. “Although I am worried about her right now.”
“My thought exactly,” I said. “Maybe we should go check on her before you leave.”
Tia nodded. “Speaking of leaving,” she looked at everypony else at the table, “Does anypony else wish to accompany me to Vanhoover?” Pinkie quickly raised her hoof excitedly. “Yes, Pinkie. I am aware that you want to come. Anypony else? Smith?”
Smith looked up from his half eaten food. “Huh? Oh! No thanks. I need to train and prepare myself for this Friday.” He waved a hoof in the air dismissively. “Like I could really get any better than I already am, but it doesn’t hurt to try, you know?” Tia smiled and nodded at him.
“I guess I could go,” Light said. “There may be somepony there who might recognize me.”
I thought about it for a moment. “I’ll probably stay,” I told her. “Somepony needs to start preparing in case a certain black and grey nutcase shows up.”
“Hey!” Smith yelled.
“Not you, genius! Sombra!”
“…Oh.”
“Anyways,” I continued, “Unless Trixie wants to see you raise the sun for the…” I did some quick math in my head, “…174th time this year, we might even begin her lessons tomorrow!”
Trixie grinned ear to ear. “Really?” I nodded. “Ooo, Twilight’ll be so jealous.” I started laughing. “What?”
“Haha, you just remind me of Rainbow Dash, always trying to make a competition out of everything.”
“Wha- I do not!” she exclaimed.
“Really now?” I said. “I seem to recall how your show used to be nothing but you trying to prove to the members of the audience how you were so much better than them.”
“That was the old Trixie!” she defended. “My new show contains nothing of the sort! Now it’s mostly fireworks and storytelling through illusions.”
“Her performance is really breathtaking,” Light said. “The way she uses her magic to conjure images and how they move really bring the story of her adventures to life!” Trixie blushed and rubbed her foreleg, smiling.
“That sounds delightful,” Tia said. “I would love to attend one of your shows sometime.”
Trixie looked shocked. “Y-you want to see one of my shows?” Tia nodded.
“Sure!” I chuckled. “I’ll probably go too, just to see some of these ‘Adventures’,” I said using airquotes, “you supposedly went on.”
Trixie chuckled nervously. “Hehe, right…”
I laughed a little. “In all seriousness, though, from what I’ve seen and heard, while I am primarily skilled in Transformations, you, ma’am, are incredibly gifted in Illusion magic.” I shrugged. “Who knows, maybe you’ll even be able to teach me a thing or two,” I smiled.
I walked down the hallway leading from my room to Tia’s. The sun outside was already below the horizon and Luna’s moon was climbing ever higher. I still can’t believe it. I’ve been here for about four months and I’ve done more than I thought was possible. Maybe Tia was right. I don’t give myself enough credit. I turned the corner that had Tia’s bedroom door around it and I stood there with a huge grin on my face. I’ve done so much, not only for Equestria, but for these mares as well. It was currently New Years Eve and the council saw fit to hold Tia and Luna’s official coronation on New Years Day. Tomorrow… They’ll be princesses… Because of me.
I stepped closer to the door and could only imagine how excited they must both be. I knocked on her door, only for it to open on its own. The door hadn’t been shut all the way for some reason. I slowly cracked it open some more. “Hello? Tia?” I called. I peaked inside to see Tia’s fireplace lit up and both Alicorns were just sitting there, staring at it gloomily. “Tia? Luna? Are you two alright?” I stepped closer to them and Tia turned to look at me. She briefly smiled before turning back to Luna and putting a comforting hoof around her.
“Hey, Zack,” Tia said, surprising me. That was the first time since I revealed my past to them a few weeks ago she’s called me by my real name.
I slowly trotted next to them and sat down. “What’s the matter?”
Luna kept staring at the dancing flames in front of her and Tia sighed. “Luna came to see me a little while ago. She was holding doubts about whether or not she’d make a good ruler.”
“What?” I said, surprised. “That’s crazy talk!”
Tia nodded. “That’s what I told her, but she got me thinking.” Tia looked me in the eye. “What if we really aren’t ready to lead these little ponies? What if somewhere down the line, maybe a few months from now, or even a year or two, it turns out we were not meant to rule and the ponies of Equestria resent us for it?” Her eyes were slightly watery.
“Oh, come on,” I said as I stepped in front of them and hugged Tia. “Both of you.” I hugged Luna as well. “Listen to yourselves. It’s the day before your coronation and you two become Princesses, and you’re sitting here panicking. It’s just last-minute jitters.” I put a hoof on each of them. “I’ll have you know, you two are the fairest and kindest ponies I have ever met. Not to mention the two most beautiful.” They both blushed. “No rule is meant to last forever, and you’re not immortal…” I paused. “You’re not immortal, are you?” I softly asked Tia. She giggled and shook her head. “Anyways, you’re not immortal. I’ll admit, eventually, whether it’s a year from now or millennia from now, you may not be in charge of your little ponies, but I promise, based off your trial period as rulers a few weeks ago, you will always be held on high as the greatest leaders this world has ever seen.”
Tia and Luna both smiled a little and hugged me right back. “Thank you, Zack,” Tia said. “That’s exactly what we wanted to hear.”
“That’s what everypony needs to hear every now and then.” I said, still hugging them. “That somepony else has full confidence in their abilities.” We all held our embrace for a while longer until Luna let out a small yawn. I let go of them and saw that they were both exhausted. “I think it’s time you two got to bed. Big day tomorrow,” I smiled.
Tia nodded while Luna looked pleadingly at her. “Sister… do you mind if… We sleep here with you tonight?”
Tia smiled softly and nodded. “Of course I don't mind, Luna.” They both turned to Tia’s bed, but before either of them could move, they were both lifted from the ground in a cyan glow. I smirked at their surprised glances as I carried them over to the bed to tuck them in. I want to be a good friend and help them out as much as I can. It’s not like they’re the heaviest things I’ve ever picked up. Now if they were the full sized alicorns from the show, that might be different…
As I tucked them in, they smiled at me and I started humming. Living in this world, what’s the first song to pop in my head? The ‘My Little Pony’ theme, of course. Not the newer one, the original. As girly as the show and lyrics were, the tune was still relaxing and beautiful if sung at nearly half tempo. I mentally sang the words as I hummed.
My little pony, my little pony.
Isn’t the world a lovely place?
My little pony, my little pony.
Everywhere you go, a smiley face!
I stopped humming when I looked up from the blankets to see Luna and Tia both shocked and in tears. What’d I do?
“H-how… how do you know that song?” Tia asked as she sat up.
I shrugged a little, concerned. “It’s… just a tune from my world,” I said, trying to figure out what the big deal was. “Why?”
Tia took a deep breath and looked away. “Our... mother… used to sing that song to us every night before we’d go to sleep.” I was shocked. This was the first time either one of them mentioned their parents since I got here.
“Oh, I-I’m sorry,” I said, using my best Fluttershy impression. “I won’t hum it i-if you don’t want me to.”
Tia smiled a little. “Thank you.” They both looked at each other for a moment while I carefully started to tuck them in again.
“Wouldst thou…” Luna started, “…sing it, instead?”
“What?” I looked up in surprise at the two mares, who were both smiling warmly my way.
“You do know the words, correct?” Tia asked.
I returned their smiles, “Of course,” and I began to sing as much of the song as I could remember, of course in more the style of a slow lullaby than the normally giddy and energetic style. After I finished tucking them in and extinguished the fireplace, I saw that they were both sound asleep with smiles still on their faces, so I let the rest of the song fade until I was silent and stepped out the front door.
That was interesting. I started walking down the hall back to my room and chuckled. Maybe singing them to sleep will end up becoming a regular routine.
The light from the setting sun faded through the windows as Tia and I approached her sister’s room. Trixie and Smith had both left for their guest rooms after dinner, and Light and Pinkie were waiting for Tia in her study. After a couple more twists and turns, and way too many stairs, we finally came to a large double door that was a very dark blue with the night sky accurately painted on it. Luna’s done some serious work after I left. It used to be a bunch of random five-pointed starts and generic crescent moon on her door. She’s always loved to paint.
Tia and I looked at each other to see who should knock. We came to a mental agreement that Tia should, since technically I also kept Smith’s secret from them. She took a few steps and raised her hoof to knock.
*knock knock knock* “Luna?” Tia said, concern in her voice. “It’s your sister and Zack. We were concerned after you left earlier.”
The room remained silent for a few moments. After a while, Tia was about to knock again, when we heard shuffling behind the door. About ten seconds later, Luna’s aura coated the door handle and slowly opened to reveal a disheveled Princess of the Night… And she was upset about something. She gestured us into the room and shut the door behind us. Luna slowly walked back to her bed and sat down on it, Tia and myself carefully following.
Glancing around the room, I noticed how dark it was, except for the moonlight coming through the windows, but I could still make out some details. The entire room was round, with miscellaneous bookshelves and framed paintings scattered around the edge. Just off the back wall was Luna’s bed. It didn’t have any frame so it looked like a giant pillow with blankets and smaller pillows on top. To the right were the doors that led to Luna’s balcony, and on the left was a small desk. All of her painting materials were kept in a mid-sized chest next to her bed. She never saw a need for a personal study so everything she could need was stuffed somewhere in this room.
My attention turned back to Luna, who had her head hanging down. “Lulu, what’s wrong?” I asked. “I can tell this is more than just Smith bothering you.” I hopped up on the bed next to her and put a hoof on her back. Have I ever mentioned how awkward it is to comfort somepony nearly twice your size? Tia sat on the floor in front of me, looking at her sister with worry in her eyes. Luna continued staring down at her hooves and shifted a little. “Come on, Lulu,” I said. “Tia and I can’t help if you’re not willing to talk.”
She adjusted her hooves some more and then I heard her sniffle. I was prepared to ask again until she looked up at the two of us with tears in her eyes. “I… I heard it again,” she choked out.
Tia flinched in shock. “Heard what?” I asked. “Luna, what’s going on?”
Then she said something I wasn’t entirely prepared for. “The… the Nightmare…”
I reeled back in surprise and Tia nearly leapt to hug her sister. “Oh, Luna,” Tia said sympathetically. Luna let some more tears free as my mind struggled to process exactly what this meant.
The Nightmare… Was that the whispering I heard in Tia’s room? If that’s the case, why was I the only one able to hear it? How did it get here in the first place? And why is she not affected by it here? I came out of my thoughts to see Luna and Tia still in the same place. “If I may ask,” I said carefully, “can you not hear it in here?”
Luna let go of Tia and shook her head. Tia looked at me sorrowfully. “Not long after she had returned and the Elements of Harmony saved her, she was still plagued by nightmares of The Nightmare,” Tia explained. Nightmare-ception, much? “I told her I would do everything in my power to prevent such an event from happening again, and after months of research, I managed to create a spell to keep such evil things at bay when she enters her room.” Tia managed a small smile. “I am very glad to see it works,” she frowned again and looked at her sister, “but there is no telling what could happen if Luna were to leave here.”
I put a hoof to my chin in thought. Where could it have come from? My thought’s immediately turned to Sombra, since he was the current villainous nutbag on most our minds, but shoved to the side for later. “Are you absolutely sure it was Nightmare, Luna?” I asked.
She still looked a little shaken up, but Luna managed a nod. “I am positive. One does not forget such a foul voice,” she said.
I nodded. “I understand. It’s hard to forget somepony with bad breath,” I joked. I expected Luna to glare at me like Tia currently was, but she giggled instead. That’s what we need to do, raise her spirits.
Luna smiled softly at me for a moment before continuing. “We were not aware of its presence until We had returned to Our room,” She said, slipping back into her usual old English speech. At least it shows that she’s calmed down quite a bit. “It began shortly after you four arrived. We had managed to ignore it for the most part until you revealed Smith and the red pegasus to us.” Luna slowly shook her head and frowned. “We wish to apologize for Our behavior earlier. Even if We were not in direct control of Ourself, We still feel like it is Our responsibility to make up for Our actions.” Luna sighed. “I just hope I didn’t upset Silver,” she fell back into normal speech. “I honestly don’t care about his past. Not back then, and not now. I know he truly cares for me.”
“That is wonderful to hear, sister,” Tia said with a warm smile on her face.
I nodded. “Yeah, and don’t worry. Smith is fine. He was only upset that he upset you. Anypony can see how much he cares for you.” Luna smiled at me. “He actually went to see Shining about becoming a guard again. Who knows, maybe this time, he can be your own personal body guard,” I smirked and poked her side, “if you know what I mean.”
Luna’s cheeks turned a little red but she and Tia both giggled anyways. “So what are We to do about the Nightmare?” Luna asked, her mood beginning to drop again.
I shrugged. “Truthfully, there isn’t much we can do until after the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow and Tia returns from her trip,” I said. “Since I wasn’t here, you two know more about this thing than I do. Although, there is one thing that stands out to me.”
“What is that?” Tia asked.
“The whispering,” I said. “Back in your study, I could actually hear it whispering to Luna. Not enough to make out what it said, but still enough to know it was there.” Tia and Luna seemed mildly shocked by this. “Since I can apparently detect it somehow, I can keep an eye on things until you get back Tia.”
Tia nodded and looked up at the night-themed clock hanging on the wall. “Maybe I shouldn’t go,” she said reluctantly.
I reached over and gave her a hug, surprising her for a moment. “It’s not like you to cancel an event, especially one as important to your little ponies as this one,” I said. “I told you I’d keep watch and that’s exactly what I’ll do. Nothing is getting to your sister.” I loosened up a bit to look her in the eye. “If it’ll make you feel better, I won’t leave her side until you return.”
Tia smiled and nuzzled me as she returned the hug. “Thank you, Zack. I know I can always count on you.”
“Except with recipes,” Luna giggled, making me remember a botched cake I tried to make for everypony once.
Tia giggled as I suppressed a groan and released me. “I will try to be back shortly after lunch tomorrow,” she said to the both of us. We nodded and she stepped out of the room to get ready to leave.
Luna turned to me, worry still in her eyes. “Everything will be fine, Lulu,” I said. “Nothing can get you here. Remember what I told you when you were younger? This room is your personal safehaven from all the baddies out there.” I chuckled. “Though that’s a bit more true now given our current situation.” Luna smiled and giggled as I scooted toward the center of the bed. “Come on,” I motioned her toward me. “Do you remember what Tia and I used to do to keep those nightmares at bay?”
Luna giggled and came closer. “Thou do remember that We are the Princess of the Night and Keeper of Dreams, correct?”
I continued smiling and shrugged. “Doesn’t mean you’re immune to bad dreams.” Luna seemed to think about it for a moment, still smiling, before she laid her head down on my lap. Then I began to sing a familiar tune while gently rubbing her mane, letting her drift to sleep.
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FINALLY there isn't a cliffhanger!
Since he is so good at transformations, could he turn into a human for a duration if he wanted to?
3333587
Ah! That is a good point that I had planned to bring up next chapter, but I don't see the harm in telling here.
That is actually the very reason he started studying Transformation magic, to see if he could revert back to a human. You can see how good he's gotten at it, and yet he is still a pony, so that should tell you how successful he was.
3333550
But seriously, I figured a slightly more relaxed ending was more appropriate here.
3333622 Well considering he just told that he had all that crazy knowledge, I just assumed he was putting off the transformation for the right moment, or if it was too taxing to use for any prolonged duration.
3333667
A valid assumption.
Maybe a future story or my prequel (if I ever put some serious effort in it) could delve more into that aspect.
Nightmare Rarity incoming?
3333796
No. My story will stick specifically to the canon of the show. Anything about the comics or anything else (aside for one or two canon FanFics) will be entirely left out.
Oh and thanks for catching that typo.
I proofread and edit it myself, so i can't catch everything. I'll write it, edit it the way I want, proofread six times, transfer to FimFiction, proofread 4 more times, Publish it, then proofread about 2 or 3 more times. Those last few proofreads typically catch the most mistakes, like "Still
edlooking" or "wereare"If anypony catches anything in any chapter, do not hesitate to tell me.
Dude honestly take as much time as you want.
You should pay attention to that episode where Twilight goes batshit about the letter to Celestia.
Just keep up the good work, and good luck with getting settled in! (y)
Hey your doing a great job don't ruin it by rushing yourself
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3335951
I'm not forcing myself to work faster, per-say. I'm bringing myself to quit procrastinating! Huge difference. For example, instead of sitting around and playing games all day like I normally do, I will actually take the time to write everything I've planned for the next chapter so far! It's a win-win if I get off my lazy flank.
The amount of adorable luna is to the dam high! Our defense can only last so long.
3333796
oh shit
One of the most adorable Luna scenes I've read. Just wanna give her a hug.
also, HUZZAH!!! for updates
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I'm so sorry! I underestimated her power! ABORT! ABORT!
3339106
“Hold up, something big’s coming up...”
*
ScarabLuna steps over a building*“
Scarab!Luna! Everyone, get clear!”