Rocinante and the Wedding at Canterlot

by Charliemane

Chapter 7

The cool night air was invigorating as it left Princess Luna's nostrils in the form of a light fog. She felt the best she had in weeks as she turned her wings and banked left towards the magical sphere that surrounded the city,

In contrast, her sister looked to be almost as tired as she had been. Princess Celestia's posture had stooped as she pulled her tired eyes from the telescope. Taking a quick breath and popping her stiff shoulders, Celestia scanned the city so closely that she didn't even notice her sister's approach until Luna called out to her.

“Rest my sister! As always I will guard the night.”

Celestia smiled as Luna landed and went straight for the telescope perched over the city. Her sister's voice spoke volumes just through its regained regal tone. As Celestia began to walk inside the castle tower, she stopped to look back over her shoulder.

“Sleep well?”

Luna swung the telescope over the city below.

“Quite. I must thank thee, Sister. For now I can think with far greater clarity than before. Has the day gone well?”

Celestia chuckled quietly as she turned back towards the tower and to bed. She had wished Luna would be more relaxed after getting a good nap, but she knew better than to expect it.

“Quite. Luna?”

“Yes Sister?”

“...Be careful.”

Luna's smile warmed Celestia's heart. They were simple words that had very little literal bearing on their situation from the safety of the tall observation tower high above the great city below them. But they told Luna that she was taking her concerns seriously, which was exactly what Celestia had hoped to tell her little sister before she left her with the night.

“Tia?”

Celestia stopped suddenly before turning to face her sister. There was a strange tone in Luna's voice that chilled her warming heart like a cold breeze over a candle flame.

“What's wrong?”

Luna looked over the balcony to the city lights, her lip was bitten and immediately Celestia knew something was making her sister exceptionally anxious.

“Did...”

Luna stopped, gathered herself, and faced her sister with a sudden resolve.

“Didst thou order Sir Rocinante to guard the granary instead of Princess Cadenza?”

Celestia looked at her sister for a moment as she thought about the various orders she had given that day while Luna patiently waited for an answer. At last, Celestia shook her head.

“No... No I would have remembered giving such an order. Why? What happened?”

“I found Sir Rocinante and his squire defending the granary from the kitchen staff this afternoon instead of defending Princess Cadance. When I inquired about their task, they said their new orders had come from thee.”

Celestia began to frown as the implications of Luna's words began to fill her mind.

“What did Princess Cadenza say?”

“She was asleep in her room at the time the order was given. When she awoke, her guards were gone and she was left, stricken with fear and alone.”

“Do you think I gave the order, Little Sister?”

Luna broke eye contact with her, looking back down towards the city lights.

“Had the change in orders originated from the enemy, then surely they would have used such an opportune moment to strike the young Princess while she was not only undefended, but helpless as well. Yet she was untouched by the foe during this great moment of complete vulnerability.”

“Luna. I did not give any orders to them. They are your retainers.”

Luna's eyes slowly remade contact with Celestia's. Celestia could see the concern in her sister's eyes, but she wasn't certain how best to help.

“Are you certain Rocinante did not head towards the granary in order to get something to eat?”

Luna frowned as her eyes narrowed towards her sister.

“I am certain Sister.”

“Luna... I know you don't want to consider the possibility, but he isn't a trained-”

“Prithee, wherefore dost thou and thy great guard captain put so much doubt upon one who has proven himself so consistently to thee? Hast thou forgotten what he did for us the night of the Gala? Hast thou forgotten that upon thy recommendation, he stood before the unstoppable might of the draconequus Discord? Hast thou-”

Celestia's nostrils flared at the sudden accusation. The long day's toil of scrutinizing every angle of the castle grounds had caught up to her as she stamped the floor.

“Have you forgotten who he is? Luna he is not a real knight-errant, he is a pony of the gentry who has stepped into a world that is not his own, a world that never existed outside of old pony tales! You cannot expect him to act with the discipline of a guardspony just because he put on some ancient breastplate and parades around-”

“He IS the Knight of the Restored Moon, a title that was granted to him-”

“By you! Not by me! I played along with it because I knew he couldn't hurt anypony!”

Luna glared at her sister as tears began to well up in her eyes.

“I thought that thou had respect for my choice in champions. I see now that I was mistaken.”

Celestia felt tears beginning to well up in her own eyes as she turned and walked inside the tower. There would be no reasoning with her sister tonight. Despite her constant writing that she had wanted Luna to enjoy her time out in the country, in truth she had been eagerly counting down the days to Luna's return. Now her sister had not even been back for a full day and they were at each other's throats.

As Celestia flopped onto her bed she pressed her face into her pillow and screamed. What sort of cruel joke was this? Could she and her sister not share the kingdom without fighting? Could they not even enjoy a pure occasion such as a wedding without some sort of conflict?

Atop the balcony, Luna glared at the city below her when movement below caught her eye. Raising her voice she called down below forcefully.

“Who goes there?!”

The purple unicorn didn't answer, but instead ran towards the castle doors at full speed. Luna gritted her teeth at this inconsequential act of defiance, but swiftly pushed it from her mind. Twilight Sparkle was not the kind of pony who would openly ignore her.

“Stay indoors Twilight Sparkle!”

As Twilight disappeared from her field of view, Luna sat down and contemplated the previous argument. She swore she wouldn't ever argue with her sister like that since her banishment to the moon, yet here she was, already in a shouting match with her. She wasn't even certain how the fight began. One moment they were happy to see each other and the next they were furious.

Luna wiped a tear from her eye and shuddered with the night's breeze. A small fear of this fight had crept into her mind. But she wasn't afraid of being sent back to the moon, she was afraid of losing her sister again.