Half-Hour Horses

by HoofAndQuill

It Had Happened Before [General]

(Prompt: The four phases of the moon)

Luna remembered this part.

She remembered the thrill of power, the wonder of the new body and the new senses. Everything was new, the world was an unmarked slate and all things seemed possible. She remembered this, despite the endless time in between. She watched as the violet mare pranced about the castle halls, nervous about the changes in her life but thrilled at her new abilities. She smiled as she watched Twilight take her first few flights, learning slowly as all new pegasus ponies must.

Luna remembered those hesitating first steps toward princesshood, toward godhood. She remembered the paralyzing vastness of the future ahead of her and the looming weight of the world soon to be on her shoulders.

Luna remembered this part as well.

She watched as Princess Twilight Sparkle wove her way through foreign delegates. She watched the mare as she flexed her power, as her horn glowed with more force than even the sun before her. She allowed a tight smile as her elder sister was entirely unable to match the skill and expertise of the young princess' waxing power. This was the best part, she thought.

The first few steps into true adulthood were thrilling, but it was truly pushing yourself past all the previously held limitations that truly gave the first glimpses of your true future. She saw that gleam in Twilight's eye when a spell previously thought impossible just fell together under her practiced casting. She could not miss the little shiver of guilty pleasure that shook through her body when Celestia showed her relative ignorance and weakness, in that one field. Celestia still held more power, politically and physically, but Twilight... Twilight had always been an excellent student.

She was learning, and there was always more to discover, more to explore.

Luna feared what was coming.

She knew the pits and the foibles of the fullness of her power. What was the saying? Power corrupts?

What then about absolute power?

She knew that part all too well. After all, if she had not been able to overpower her elder sister, how could she have kept the sun from rising, all those centuries ago? If she hadn't had the presence to sway ponies, how could her rebellion have ever taken hold?

She knew the anger she saw in Twilight's eyes, whenever Princess Celestia overrode her decisions. She also knew the guilt that always seemed to follow directly after. Twilight's adoration of her sister would only last so long. It was eroding with each denial, like water washing over a stone. It would take time, perhaps longer than Twilight even knew, but it would happen.

It had happened before, after all.

But Luna remembered the following time as well.

The first strike had been satisfying. Throwing down the gauntlet, as it were, was always satisfying. There was a certain freedom in throwing off the yoke of the elder power. Seeing the confusion, the fear, and the fury in her sister's eyes had brought such an amazing mixture of power and exhilaration.

But, just as all new powers rise, they all must wane.

The old power, her elder sister's reign, had been in power for centuries before her rebellion. Celestia had maintained her rule in the millennium since. Twilight was powerful; in time, she would be shockingly so. But the foundations of Celestia's supremacy were well laid, and raw power wasn't everything.

Luna would not enjoy watching the first strike, this time. She would not take pleasure in seeing Celestia humbled, and she would not hesitate in assisting her older sister when needed. She would try, she would do her best not to enjoy striking back. She would do everything she could to treat the reclaiming of Equestria as a dire task that simply must be done.

She would not take pleasure in seeing the new star, the brilliant Twilight Sparkle, fall from grace.

But it was inevitable.

She remembered that part as well.

But as always, as with the Everfree, as with the Crystal Empire, there would be a time of darkness, a long, bleak night. But in time, a new star would rise, and their family would continue to grow. There was a rhythm to these things.

It had happened before, after all.