20 - Night and Day
Chapter Twenty
Night and Day
⠀
⠀
As usual, Twilight was early. She would have been anyway, simply by virtue of being who she was, but she had extra reasons to show up early for this particular appointment. One was that Celestia had asked for her specifically, and it would not do to keep the princess waiting.
Raven, Celestia’s assistant, had offered to shuffle appointments to accommodate her, but Twilight wouldn’t allow it. It was certainly not the agricultural committee’s fault that she had decided to show up hours ahead of schedule, and there was no reason they should be made to wait because of it.
Besides, the other reason she had chosen to leave so early because it would give her time to think. So, she found herself wandering the royal gardens. The castle always put her in a logical mindset, which was just what she needed. Her parents’ house was one of the most welcoming places to her, especially with how readily everypony had accepted Fluttershy. But she couldn’t think like a princess around them – least of all Fluttershy.
When she left, her marefriend had been bundled up in their bed, writing to Sunset Shimmer about their adventures in Oubliettes and Ogres. Twilight had long since given up on the game, but she loved seeing Fluttershy so interested in it. The normally shy pony was surprisingly apt at getting into her character’s role.
Twilight shook her head. She was supposed to be thinking about her plans for the future, not Fluttershy’s roleplaying. She decided the palace gardens just reminded her too much of Fluttershy, and she would be better off with a change in scenery. She walked aimlessly in the general direction of the library, which did little to keep her mind from wandering back to her marefriend.
There was a lot more going on with her dad than Fluttershy would say. That much was obvious; Fluttershy wasn’t even trying to deny something bad had happened between them. What she couldn’t figure out was what could have possibly happened that Fluttershy, of all ponies, would hold against him years later. In the three and a half years that she’d known Fluttershy, she never so much as mentioned that he was still alive. What prompted the sudden change? Was it something to do with Twilight’s family?
It just didn’t make any sense. She always thought Fluttershy was an orphan, and whenever she did talk about her parents, it was always with love and respect.
‘For her mom,’ Twilight realized. Fluttershy talked so rarely about her life in Cloudsdale that Twilight had never even noticed that she only ever talked about her mom. Had she ever actually said her dad died, or had Twilight assumed that? She honestly couldn’t remember.
“Twilight Sparkle,” a voice cut through her thoughts.
“Huh?” Twilight looked around and saw she had wandered into the astronomy wing on her way to the library, and that Luna was right next to her. “Oh, Princess Luna, hi! Is everything okay? It’s the middle of the day.”
The Princess of the Night smiled the practiced smile of a mare who was tired of constantly answering the same question, but knew she’d be answering it for years to come. “You are aware there are more hours in the day than the night, I am sure? I do not need to sleep for all of them.”
“Oh, right, sorry. That was a dumb question.”
“ ‘Tis no matter. You are here to see Tia, correct?”
“Yes, but she’s in a meeting, so I was just killing some time”
“Perfect! Come, I am on my way to the kitchens for cake. Join me.”
Twilight’s stomach grumbled and she grinned sheepishly. “That sounds great, I’m starving.”
Luna nodded and led the way. “So how are things with Fluttershy?”
Twilight stopped in her tracks and gaped at the older princess. There was simply no way she could know anything about that. She knew none of her friends would spread the word about her and Fluttershy until they were ready to come out about it themselves, but even if that weren’t the case, the only ones with any reason to talk to Luna were her dad, Cadance, and maybe Shining Armor. Two of them had only found out a few days ago, and if Cadance could resist telling her husband, she certainly didn’t tell anypony else.
“But… I don’t understand. How did you know we’re…” Twilight trailed off as she looked around frantically, although the hallway was empty except for them.
Luna arched an eyebrow. “You are still friends, are you not? I was merely making conversation. I fear I don’t know your other friends very well, but Fluttershy was most helpful in… modernizing my mannerisms.” Luna smiled wickedly. “Although if there is something more than friendship, then by all means do tell.”
Twilight facehoofed. She couldn’t believe she had assumed that. Luna had simply asked a question, and Twilight’s outbreak had given her away.
“Oh, and your dreams were quite… informative.”
Twilight gave up all pretense of dignified behavior and dropped to the ground with her wings over her face. This wasn’t happening. Luna hadn’t seen… that.
“Really now, it’s perfectly natural. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I must say though, your subconscious mind certainly has quite the imagination. Unless, of course, all that was based on your real bedroom experiences.”
A purple streak flew from where a moment ago had been a ball of fur and feathers. Twilight was determined to fly all the way to her parents’ house, write to Celestia explaining that she was sorry but would be unable to make their meeting, and then never sleep again.
She didn’t get very far, however, as a blue aura encased her tail, preventing her from leaving. Luna clutched her sides in laughter, while Twilight gave up her escape and instead glared at her with as much malice as she could manage.
“Relax, I am only teasing you,” Luna said once she recomposed herself. “I value the privacy of dreams, and never enter one unless it is to fend off a nightmare. I have seen nothing of your dreams with Fluttershy.” Twilight sighed with relief but resumed blushing when Luna added, “Although, judging from your reaction, it would seem I missed quite the show.”
“I really think we should stop talking about this now!” Twilight looked around frantically, half checking to make sure the hallway was still empty, half looking for an excuse to change the subject.
“On second thought, perhaps it would be best if we could speak privately,” Luna suggested. “I’ll send for food and we can talk in my solar.” Twilight nodded. While she was wary of more teasing, she knew it would be better to stay out of the crowded cafeteria, and talking with Luna would have certain advantages.
Luna’s quarters weren’t far, being part of the astronomy wing. She stopped outside the doors to ask an attendant to bring them cake and, at Twilight’s insistence, some sort of ‘real’ food.
While they waited, Twilight took in her surroundings. Luna’s tower was closed off when Twilight was Celestia’s student, and she hadn’t ever had a reason to enter since Luna’s return, so this was her first time in the Princess of the Night’s private meeting hall. While there was ample light to see with, it mostly came from a fireplace and several large torches, which resulted in highly contrasting areas of light and dark throughout the room. There were windows, but the curtains were all drawn. The decor was practically medieval, with tapestries and decorative weapons hanging on the walls. Twilight wondered if the room had been unchanged since Luna’s banishment, or if she had chosen to decorate her quarters with what would be familiar to her.
Once Luna’s cake and Twilight’s salad had been brought up and the door closed, Twilight finally asked the question on her mind. “So how did you know about me and Fluttershy?” She wouldn’t accept that Luna really had been asking after Fluttershy coincidentally.
“Fluttershy told me, of course,” Luna said casually, in between bites of cake.
Twilight felt a range of emotions, none of which were pleasant. She was shocked that the shy pegasus had told anypony, let alone one of the royal sisters, surprised that Fluttershy and Luna were even in communication with each other at all, upset that her marefriend hadn’t told her about it sooner, and hurt that she had been outed by the one pony who most understood what that would feel like.
Luna smiled slightly. “Let me explain. It actually was in a dream, truthfully. I generally don’t like to reveal what a pony dreams about, even to her lover, but to put it simply she had a nightmare you would leave her. No, don’t look so worried. I do not believe this was a recurring dream, nor a deep fear of hers. ‘Tis nothing but a common nightmare amongst new lovers, and it was purely by chance I happened upon it. But you can imagine my curiosity when I did. The two of us talked for some time and much was learned.”
“I see.” Twilight considered what she felt while eating her salad. She supposed it was reasonable, and she was glad Luna had stopped Fluttershy’s nightmare. Still, she did wish Fluttershy had told her afterwards.
As her initial confusion faded away, it dawned on her that Luna knew. The first pony to find out from somepony other than Twilight herself, and it was Princess Luna. Potentially cataclysmic in and of itself, but what was even worse was that if Luna knew, then Celestia…
Luna cocked her head to the side. “Are you concerned I don’t approve?” she asked.
“No, it’s just…” Twilight sighed. “Yes, I am.”
Luna chuckled. “Twilight Sparkle, I have nothing but respect for you. Both of you, truly. I am happy you two have found each other. And you know, you’re not the first princess with an interest in mares.”
“What?” Twilight’s mouth fell open. This was huge news; possibly the answer to so many of her problems! “But I’ve read about every princess Equestria ever had! None of them were gay.”
“And if I were to read about your life, what would I learn about your sexual orientation?” Luna asked. She had a point, but that didn’t shed any light on whom she was talking about. “There have been many princesses over the years. Statistically speaking, it would be near impossible to expect all of them had only eyes for stallions. Many had secret lovers their whole lives, which I can say with certainty, as I’ve met several.
“But I was not referring to any of them. Rather, I meant that you aren’t the only one of the current four.”
Twilight’s mind quickly went through the possibilities and rejected all of them. She knew the princesses. Surely she’d know if any of them were lesbians. “But that can’t be right. I mean… who?” She knew she shouldn’t ask, that it was rude and none of her business, but she couldn’t help herself. She needed to know.
Luna simply smiled. “I should think it easy enough, by process of elimination if by nothing else. Celestia is eternally straight and narrow in more ways than one, and for being the Princess of Love, Cadance is shockingly vanilla.” She inclined her head, inviting Twilight to finish the thought.
“You?” Twilight asked.
Luna smiled and helped herself to another bite of cake. “Me.”
“You’re gay?” Twilight asked, her mind trying to catch up with the idea. She wasn’t even sure why it was so shocking to her.
“Not exactly. I’ve been alive a long time, Twilight Sparkle. I honestly don’t know how Celestia does it. Not only has she only had six lovers, but they were all stallions. I don’t just mean male, but also always ponies too.” Luna shook her head at the idea, while Twilight felt oddly uncomfortable at the topic of Celestia’s sexuality. “Personally, I prefer variety. Mares, stallions, griffons, zebras, a dragon once, but that was a terrible idea. They live so long it seemed perfect, but while he was exceptionally nice, he was also very… large. Oh, come now, don’t look so squeamish. You are so like Tia.”
“Oh, it’s not that.” Twilight said as she did her best to fix her expression, even though it was very much ‘that’. “I’m just surprised is all. It seems like somepony would have said something and word would have gotten around.”
Luna’s eyes narrowed. “Twilight Sparkle, I don’t believe I like what you’re implying. I’ve had many lovers, yes, but I trusted them all completely.”
“No, wait, I didn’t mean it like that! I’m sorry, I just meant…” Twilight trailed off when she noticed Luna’s grin.
“Has anypony ever told you you’re far too easily flustered?”
Twilight looked at the ground. ‘Don’t blush,’ Twilight told herself, then did anyway.
“Honestly though, you are correct. While I may have trusted them all at the time, they were certainly not all trustworthy. Some told, others were simply bad at hiding it. At times, I was simply bad at hiding it. There were always rumors prior to Nightmare Moon, which I had to dispel. Then my absence made ponies forget.” Luna’s lighthearted expression faded to a frown as she looked off to the side. “I’m sure Celestia played her part in covering it up as well.”
Luna’s tone took Twilight by surprise. “She doesn’t approve?” Luna didn’t answer immediately and Twilight felt her chest tighten. She had been debating telling Celestia, but if she wouldn’t even accept her own sister…
When Luna did speak her voice was uncharacteristically quiet. “Would you think less of me if I told you I don’t remember them all?”
Taken off guard by the sudden subject change, Twilight took a moment to answer. “Of course not. I can’t even imagine what that must be like, I don’t think anypony can expect you to remember everypony in thousands of years.”
“One pony could. And whatever she may think, I truly did love them all.” Luna’s voice was so quiet that Twilight wasn’t sure if she had been meant to hear it at all.
Luna quietly stared into the fire. “Princess Luna?” Twilight prompted after a few minutes passed in silence.
Luna smiled again and turned to address Twilight. “In any event, Twilight Sparkle, you have nothing to worry about. Tia will be happy to hear of you and Fluttershy, I assure you. She has nothing against ponies finding love with somepony of the same gender.”
Twilight smiled at the assurance. “You know, you can just call me Twilight.”
Luna laughed. “And I do believe I’ve asked you to just call me Luna.”
“Point taken,” Twilight said, rubbing her neck. “So, Luna, is there anypony you’re interested in now?”
“No. Since my return I have been too preoccupied to look for love.”
“Really?” Twilight asked doubtfully. Unlike her sister, Luna was easy enough to read. While she said no her eyes had darted away and her smile seemed inauthentic. Twilight knew she should leave it alone, that if Luna had wanted to talk about it, she would have said so. But Twilight was also not about to let the chance for her revenge go after Luna had so thoroughly embarrassed her earlier. “Three and a half years and you’ve never had so much as a crush on anypony?”
Luna didn’t seem bothered that Twilight had pressed for more. In fact, Twilight almost wondered if she’d been intentionally baited into doing so. “Well, if you really want to know, I shall tell you a story. I believe you are familiar with one version of its beginning.” Luna closed her eyes and smiled serenely.
“Once upon a time, there were two regal sisters who ruled together, and created harmony for all the land. But as time went on, the younger sister became lonely. The ponies relished and adored her elder sister, but shunned and laughed at her. Over time, the bitterness in the young one’s heart transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness, Nightmare Moon. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the Elements of Harmony and banished her to the moon, where she waited one thousand years, until she returned to spread darkness over the land.
“However, when hope seemed lost, a young unicorn took it upon herself to rise up against the darkness. Together with her friends, she faced down every challenge Nightmare Moon put in front of her. Although few still believed in the legends, she succeeded in finding the fabled Elements of Harmony. Along with her friends, she valiantly fought her way to Nightmare Moon and defeated her once more. But while she was certain her fate was to return to exile, they did not banish her. Instead, they used their newfound power to rid the darkness, and free the young princess from her long imprisonment.”
Luna opened her eyes to look at Twilight. “And as is often the case with fairy tales, the princess fell for her hero.”
“I, uh, but, well…” Twilight struggled to get her words to work. “You mean… me?”
Luna chuckled. “Yes. For a time, anyway,” she said, then her smile faltered a bit. “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, but –”
“Don’t be, I’m not. I’m flattered. But, well, why didn’t you ever say anything?” While Twilight had never had feelings for Luna, she couldn’t say what might have happened. Of course, she was happy with how things turned out, Fluttershy truly was the mare of her dreams, but Twilight had hardly known Fluttershy at the time.
“Partly because I did not yet know you. I was unsure of how you might react, or if you even were interested in mares at all. I was in no shape to deal with rejection and more rumors. But mostly, it was for Tia. She would not have liked it, her sister and her student. I’m sure you know, after all, that she considers you to be like a daughter of sorts.
Twilight blushed. It was true that Celestia had always been a maternal figure to her, and she suspected that feeling went both ways. But to hear it spoken so plainly was more than a little embarrassing, even after the numerous embarrassing things that had come up during the conversation.
Luna continued on unfazed. “There were a lot of conflicting emotions between us at the time, and I did not wish to add to the strain. No matter how many ponies I’ve loved, Tia will always be my one constant companion. And in any case, the feelings eventually subsided. You are very much like Tia, after all. I think we are too different to have ever worked out, so believe me when I say there was no ill will when Fluttershy told me you were taken.”
Twilight smiled as a thought occurred to her. “Could you imagine it, though? Two princesses, everypony would go crazy over that one.”
“I can. Exceptionally well, actually.”
“Really?” Twilight grinned. “Who was she?”
“Princess Scarlet, one of my longest relationships.”
“Princess Scarlet? But she had a husband!” Twilight said incredulously.
Luna simply smiled. “Don’t give me that look. Yes, she had a political marriage to a stallion. But really the prince had his own secret, namely a coltfriend. Who, as far as anypony else knew, was really my coltfriend. Despite some rumors, we four were actually quite popular, always double dating, switching off partners when nopony was looking. A few close calls, but it was great fun at times.”
Twilight shook her head. “Wow. Makes you wonder how much the history books got wrong.” She knew that there was plenty of important stuff that got left out of the history books, but to imagine that some of what was recorded was wrong didn’t really sit well with her.
“They record the official story, but the official story is seldom the true one. Has Tia never told you any real history stories? They certainly are more entertaining.”
“No, she’s always encouraged me to read about it.”
“I should have known. Well, I could tell you some things, if you’d like.”
Twilight was very tempted to agree, but she knew she was running out of time before her meeting with Celestia, and there was something she wanted to get Luna’s opinion on. “I’d love to, but actually I was wondering if you could give me some advice on something.”
“Anything at all, Twilight.”
“Well, what do you think would happen if Fluttershy and I came out? Publicly, I mean.”
Luna nodded. “I have wondered myself many times. You’re afraid of what other ponies will think. Believe me when I say nopony understands better than I do. The idea of being so much in the public eye is daunting, and yes, ponies can be cruel. If you do decide to come out, there will be many who don’t like it.
“And yet, nopony knows what hiding it away can mean more than I do. You may not become a monster as I did, but you will feel the same emotions I have. The fear, the regret. I would not wish it on anypony, least of all you. I do not know how many lovers I’ve lost because I wanted to stay secret, and even when they stayed, things never seemed to work out for the best. Whatever may come, I believe your best course of action is to come out.”
Twilight thought about Luna’s words. Could she really expect to be happy living her whole life with Fluttershy as a secret? Luna’s advice made sense, but it left her wondering. “But then, why haven’t you?”
Luna sighed. “Because I too was afraid. Times were different, opinions harsher. Ponies now are more accepting than they’ve ever been. Who knows, if I were to find a mare, I feel it may well be time. Past time, really.” Luna shook her head. “My apologies. I did invite you here so I might help you with your dilemma, and yet we spent most of our time talking about me. And now it seems our time is at its end.” Before Twilight could ask what she meant, there was a knock on the door. “Enter.”
“Pardon the intrusion, Princesses.” One of Celestia’s royal guards bowed deeply. “Princess Celestia is ready to meet with you now, Princess Twilight.”
Twilight nodded and stood up. Luna walked her to the door. “Think on my words, Twilight,” Luna said. “And know that if you ever need to speak to me, about this or anything else, I am always available.”
“Thank you, Luna.” Twilight gave her a quick hug. “And you know, the same goes for me, if you ever want to talk about anything.”
“I shall remember it. Give my best to your family, and fare thee well.”
Twilight followed the guard out of the room, and the two of them continued in silence. The Celestial Guard were not known for their conversational skills, and Twilight was feeling particularly contemplative. Still, she was glad for his presence, or else she might find herself wandering the castle aimlessly some more.
The guard led her not to the audience chamber, but instead to Celestia’s private reception. He knocked on the door and Celestia called out, “Please, come in.”
As the guard pushed open the door and Twilight walked in, she was reminded of the differences between the sisters, not the least of which was that Celestia’s solar was actually lit properly. In the center was a table with a fine tea set on it, and cushions placed around it. The decorations were sparse, but elegant, drawing attention to her signature stained glass windows, easily the most colorful thing in the room.
“Twilight, it’s so nice to see you.” Celestia bent down to hug her former student. She nodded to the guard as he saluted and made his exit, leaving the two alone. Returning to her cushion Celestia gestured to the table. “Tea?”
“Of course,” Twilight said, her mind wandering back to all the times over the years the two of them had talked over tea in this room. As usual, Celestia put more than a healthy serving of sugar in Twilight’s cup. If there was one thing Twilight would always count on to be consistent, it was Celestia.
“I trust you had a nice Hearth’s Warming?” Celestia asked, sipping her tea.
“Yes. Actually though, there was something… unexpected this year.” With Luna’s assurance that Celestia would accept them, Twilight was prepared to tell her about Fluttershy. She wanted Celestia’s advice on whether they should come out. Cadance had told her that the public reaction wouldn’t be too bad, and Luna had told her even if it was, she would still be better off not living in secret. She trusted both princesses, but there was no pony she trusted to guide her more than Celestia.
“Yes, that is why I asked you here today.” Celestia frowned, and her voice was full of concern. Twilight’s heart sank and she felt like she was going to have a panic attack. Somehow, Celestia already knew and she was disappointed. Twilight might have run away if she could move at all.
“There have been many trials against Equestria in recent times. While I know that we shall endure as always, I fear for the public well-being. Panic is a dangerous thing, and I feel it’s inevitable should word get out.”
Even through her own panic, some part of her mind argued that sounded a little far. Sure, some ponies wouldn’t approve, maybe she’d lose some of her authorial presence, but she hardly thought her relationship was reason enough to cause panic.
“Which is why until we have confirmation that the changelings are mobilizing, it’s important that all the princesses are on the same page. That there is no threat to Equestria, and these are all isolated instances.”
Oh, right, changelings. Twilight couldn’t believe she had forgotten about Shining Armor’s news. She had to stop herself from sighing in relief as her muscles unwound. This was still an official meeting. “Isolated instances? How many have there been?”
“Officially three: in the Crystal Empire, Manehattan, and Fillydelphia. Two more have been found, in Canterlot and Las Pegasus, but there is no public knowledge of them. We are also trailing several suspicious ponies in Cloudsdale and Appleloosa.”
Twilight thought about the list of cities. “They all only have one changeling?”
“Very astute, Twilight. Yes, there has been a single changeling found in half of Equestria’s major cities, all within a matter of months. It’s not unheard of for stray changelings to turn up, but usually they do so years apart. I do not truly believe these events are unrelated, considering that there is definitely a bizarre pattern at work here.”
“So shouldn’t we put out an alert? The more ponies that are aware of them the harder it’ll be for the changelings to hide.”
“Against any other foe, I would agree. Changelings, however, are an exception. If we ask every citizen to keep watch on their neighbors we will breed distrust and panic. While we may indeed catch any changelings still in hiding the cost could be too high.
“For example, imagine if a mare were to suspect a stallion was a changeling. She could voice her concerns to the appropriate channels, and we would investigate the situation. But even if it was decided the stallion was not a changeling, the mare may not be satisfied. She could spread rumors, and eventually, if enough ponies came to believe this innocent stallion was a changeling, they might decide to take matters in their own hooves. Once a mob is formed it is difficult to reason with, and they might not even stop at just the one stallion. Even if we were to stop the mob before things became violent, there would be those who said the government was already infiltrated. Once the seeds of doubt are sown, they are nearly impossible to eradicate. I suspect this is exactly what the hive wants.”
Of course Twilight could see the importance of keeping this secret, but she didn’t like hiding the truth. ‘The official story is seldom the true one,’ she reflected. “So what should we do?”
“I have vigils set up in every city, great and small. While the general population shall remain unaware, we will not blindly allow this to happen. For Ponyville, I trust the task to you. It is your discretion who should be made aware, although of course I think the bearers of the Elements of Harmony are a given.”
Twilight nodded. Between all her friends, they had connections throughout all of Ponyville. “We’ll take care of it, Princess.”
“I’m sure you will. Still, be careful. The changelings have been a constant threat for thousands of years, always slipping through the cracks and avoiding capture. I know them, I know their tactics. This is something I’ve never seen them do. I can only speculate what brought this change, but I fear it can’t be good.”
They sipped their tea quietly for a few minutes. In light of the changelings, Twilight felt her news was less important.
Eventually, Celestia smiled. “Now then, enough of that. It is always too long between our visits. Tell me, what’s new in your life?”
“Well…” Twilight took a deep breath to brace herself. “I started dating somepony.”
As always Celestia’s change in expression was subtle. Most ponies would read it as polite interest. But Twilight knew her better than most ponies, so she noticed how the curve of her smile was slightly different than when she asked after nobility at formal get-togethers. It was the smile Twilight would see as a filly whenever she would make some breakthrough in her studies, or as a young mare, when she’d tell her mentor about her latest lessons in friendship. “I see. And have I met this pony?”
Twilight couldn’t tell if Celestia had intentionally left the gender out of her question, but she appreciated it nonetheless. “Yes, actually. It’s, well, Fluttershy.”
Twilight didn’t even have time to look nervous before Celestia’s smile broadened. “That’s wonderful. I trust you two are happy together?”
“Yes. I’ve never been happier, and everypony’s accepted us so far. We’ve told our friends and my family. I even just talked to Luna about it.” As Twilight mentioned Luna she thought she saw Celestia’s smile twitch ever so slightly, but she wasn’t positive.
“I’m glad to hear it. It is always important to have the support of those we love,” Celestia said.
“There is something I wanted your advice on. I think Fluttershy wants to come out publicly. She hasn’t said it outright, but she has been hinting at it. I know some ponies won’t approve, and I’m worried they might even lose respect. Not so much about me personally, but as a princess. How can I be a leader when the ponies I’m leading don’t respect me?”
Celestia solemnly inclined her head. “That is a big decision, and of course I will support you in whatever you decide. I am glad to hear you’re thinking it through. I suspect Luna may have already told you, but you’re not the first princess to have a marefriend.”
Twilight nodded. “I was surprised, but glad. It’s nice to know that there were others before me.”
“You would, however, be the first to be open about it. I would imagine the reactions would be mixed, and yes, some ponies may lose faith in your role as princess. But while I’d hate to see you cast as anything other than the amazing mare I know that you are, I would also hate to see you hide away a part of yourself. In the end, this is a decision only you and Fluttershy can make.”
Twilight couldn’t help but be disappointed. She had expected Celestia to have all the answers. “What would you do if you were me?”
“I’m sorry to say, but I don’t know,” Celestia said. “It’s difficult for me to place myself in your position because I have the luxury of time. If I were to have a mare as a lover, I could come out and know that no matter what ponies thought of my love life, their children would grow up with that always being a part of their knowledge of me. Within a hundred years, nopony would care because that would be the only me they ever knew. I’m afraid I’ve lost the ability to think in the perspective of a normal pony’s lifespan, if I ever had it to begin with.”
In many ways, Twilight was glad becoming an alicorn hadn’t made her immortal. She couldn’t imagine living her life without her friends or family. But she also couldn’t help but envy Celestia and Luna at times. She was still back where she started, with no idea what to do.
“I have faith in you to make the right decision, whatever that may be,” Celestia said. She stood up and a sly smile crept on her face as an idea occurred to her. “Fluttershy is at your parents’ house now?”
“Yes,” Twilight answered, standing up herself. She was pretty sure she knew where this was going already.
“Do you think anypony would mind if I accompanied you back unannounced? I have fulfilled all my obligations for the day and would like to give my seasons greetings to your family, after all.”
“I think that sounds like a great idea,” Twilight said. As Celestia led them to the royal chariot, Twilight tried not to worry so much. She would try to focus on life’s small pleasures, like getting a picture of the expression on her dad’s face when he saw the that Sun Princess had dropped in unannounced. They were still on vacation, after all, and they could worry about everything else once they were back in Ponyville. She would hold a meeting to discuss the changelings and talk to Fluttershy about what they would do next.
As the chariot lifted into the air, Twilight could feel her troubles slipping away behind them.
Stats
Page generated in 0.031 seconds
Total duration
813 users online
700,613 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Such an iinteresting chapter, Luna is almost sisterly with her teasing and advice and Celestia made a good point about perspective.
6192410
Thanks, glad you liked it. Luna was a lot of fun to write
The happynes wehn you come back from your class trip from Rimini and one of your favorite storys had been updatet
Great chapter :D
6192993
Glad you enjoyed it
Calling it now. Fluttershy is Changeling.
6193181
pre12.deviantart.net/0363/th/pre/i/2012/121/2/3/queen_chrysalis_shrug_by_ultimateultimate-d4xdame.png
I think the fact that Luna can't even remember all the lovers she had is reason enough for Celestia to want to be careful with that. Luna doesn't seem like she had true loves, but more like ephemeral temporary lovers, to be replaced when they weren't around for long enough, or even when Luna became bored enough.
It's not like it's not love, but it doesn't feel anything like the kind of enduring love you give to someone you want to be part of your life forever. Luna is basically the princess who has a series of boy and girlfriends, but nothing that was really that serious. Because that's what having that many spouses becomes.
And if her lovers are fine being what is, to Luna, a temporary part of an immortal's life, of which there will be dozens more, that's fine. You can experience lots of love in that time, and have a lot of intimate moments.
But as far as the highly-romanticized "you have found your true partner, that you are going to devote your whole live to" style love? Yeah it's not... really what Luna has.
7021728
Luna had had many lovers of different sorts. Some lasted for only a short while, others lasted the entirety of her partner's life. She doesn't remember all of them, but she does remember the more ensuring ones, such as Princess Scarlet, who's only role in this story is to show that Luna does remember those she loved most dearly. If she had the choice, she would have gladly spent her entire life with several of them.
It also comes down to different types of love, as you say. She may not remember everyone she's loved, but that's because love can mean many different things.
Both sisters were very well written here, but the whole 'Luna is more immoral and loose, while Celestia being straight/faithful/etc. is frowned upon intentionally or not' is a trope I really dislike.
8400006
Is your distaste more for Luna, Celestia, or the combination of this portrayal.
As for the combination of having them juxtaposed like this, I can’t contest that. It’s been done time and again, and I’m certainly not claiming to be breaking any new ground by portraying them the way they are here. I could have thought of something more clever to do with their personalities, but for the roles each of them play in this series, I found this to work best (and still do, two years after I initially decided on their portrayal).
But if it’s either sister specifically that you dislike, I’d have to say that I actually disagree with the way you described each of them. Luna is mostly a matter of opinion, but it’s a highly important opinion to me. I would strongly argue against the labelling of her love life as “immoral” simply because she has adopted a more fluid outlook on what love and relationships can be. I also wouldn’t use the term “loose”, which holds highly negative connotation. Defining her more clearly would spoil the story to come, though, so I’ll leave it at that.
And for Celestia, I don’t actually understand where the idea that her being straight and monogamous is frowned upon by anyway. Luna does at times seem to be off-put by her, but it’s always in relation to Celestia being the one to frown on Luna’s views of relationship, not because Luna (or any other character) frowns on Celestia’s.
In any event, this is something that will be explored in more detail in this story and others in this series. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing for you, however. It means you’ll be seeing more of this interpretation for these characters, but hopefully you’ll find that they are more well thought out than the cliché suggests.
Luna awesome.
Changellings intriguing.
I absolutely love Princess Luna
>tfw you could've been writing Tuna all this time D: why must you tease me with other ships?
omg, the Momlestia feels :D
10678990
>tfw I chose the best ships and just low-key tease some other ones
This chapter is very important for so many reasons, and maybe it's just me seeing it this way, but its how I see it.
Spoils for future events:
Luna being into whatever she wants is such a good thing to mention, especially seeing how prevalent Luna is in the future of this series. As well as Celestia giving her support. Makes it hurt a tiny bit more when Sunset comes into play, but hey it all works out..
Back to this chapter, though. I love the notion that the "official story isn't always the true story" (paraphrased bc i forgot the exact wording) cause its... well its true! History books are written by the winners, the survivors. They can try to be objective, but they simply aren't.
And being an immortal princess must be hard, especially if youre looking for love. You'll always outlive them. I really especially loved Luna here, and the curiosity of her having fallen for Twilight, and yet being so supportive of Fluttershy and Twilight. What a good pony.
And Celestia's casual diplomacy is so fun to read. She definitely isn't one to be all showy about how she feels ninety percent of the time, which is why I think she's spot on here.
Okay, I’m loving this Luna.
11151843
She's a treat, I do love her
Hmmm… new headcanon alert: Celestia is some flavor of aro/ace in WWB, and only took the lovers because she felt like se needed to live up to her pony’s expectations for her to have a lover.
11395615
So I don't mind answering this if you'd like to hear, because my plans were disrupted by myself so the hints are inconsistent. I'll put the answer in spoilers in case you'd rather not know the official story.
My idea is that Celestia is aro, but not ace. This influences how she feels a pony should form relationships and sees Luna's romantic attractions (which are fairly normal to my mind) as deviant because she's taking many different lovers. Celestia, who doesn't fully understand that her sister and other ponies are different than her, thinks that it's a disservice to past lovers to constantly be finding new relationships. Get marriages were largely political, but she liked her husbands well enough and was sexually active with them and didn't understand that the feeling of deep friendship with her political husband might be different than what another pony feels when I'm love.
got a bit disrupted because I counted the comic Reflections as canon to this series, in which Celestia has a romantic relationship spanning a millennia with the King Sombra in another dimension. Arguing that Celestia is aro when we see how she feels and acts towards Sombra seems strange, so that shot down my idea there. Instead, and still going with my original idea as much possible, I think Celestia is demiromantic and doesn't understand romance for alloromantic ponies.
Im surprised none of the other Princesses brought up what Twilight being out publically would mean for Equestria's LGBT community. Yeah plenty of Ponies would be outraged, but many others would be overjoyed. It'd mean so much for ponies like Twilight to see a Princess that's proud of an identity they share.
Maybe it comes up later, better keep going and find out
Loved the conversation between Luna and Twilight. Not enough stories of them just being friends.