For Equestria’s sibling sovereigns afternoon tea was long ago a treasured treat, a private weekly ritual in which they could both let their hair down and catch up. With Luna’s banishment however this of course came to an end. Even long after her return though this remained so, with every malevolent force on Equis (as well as quite a few benevolent ones too unintentionally) seeming to conspire against them sharing in cake and conversation. Finally though, following the chaos of Cadence and Shining’s wedding, they’ve managed to steal some time for themselves, and both are determined to make the most of it. For the Princess of the Night in particular there’s something of her sister that she’s been desperate to ask.
Thank you to anyone who reads my stuff.
Notes:
• Sketch quote: Elizabeth Fishel
• I use the word pegasus with both a singular and plural meaning, rather than pegasi, due to personal preference. Apologies if it is an annoyance
• I welcome any and all feedback
Hope you don't mind, I added this to a few groups to help it get more exposure. I'd read your "Bound by Moonlight" and hoped you'd come back to TwiLuna again. I'd skipped Lucidity, but now I'll go back and give it a read too. "Afternoon Tea" takes a bit to get started - lots of atmosphere and introspection by Luna - and when it does, it's clear fairly quickly what Luna wants to ask Celestia. The kicker of course comes at the end, and sets an ominous tone. At first I thought Cadance would ask about Shining Armor, or take action for Shining without asking the others; the reveal of what she'd actually done was unexpected and hard hitting. You've definitely improved since "Bound"!
7976531 Thank you so much on all counts, it really means a lot
First off, this is probably not how these two things happened. And quite honestly, the Flurry Heart bit feels just like an excuse to keep the story going.
When its confirmed she was born an alicorn.
My brain's all gooey from 'd'aaaawwww'ing so much. I'll try to write something coherent nonetheless.
So, first impression is: Adorable. I can understand Lunas reasoning, just as much as I saw Tias coming a mile away. (Which isn't a bad thing. Just shows that your interpretation of her character fits with what was shown.) I don't agree with morion87, the last part doesn't feel tacked on - at least not for me -, but rather as a humorous snippet to tie things up and end on a high note. To show what consequences Lulus and Tias decision had.
Now, to dive a little deeper: The show always strongly hinted at Tia guiding Twilight towards ascension, but it never outright said it. What big and powerful change does it bring, now that Luna is responsible for Twilights change? Not that much, really. I think Tia would've considered it and, probably, done it anyway at some point. As you pointed out: At some point, she would've to consider the thought of losing what essentially became her daughter. And with motherly instincts as strong as hers, I don't think she could've brought herself to let her die of old age. Not if a better solution was at hoof.
Luna asking for it just sped the process up, I think.
Now, the funny thing about this change is: Within the lore of your story, we now know that alicorns can be made, somehow. Apparently, you've got to fulfil certain criteria, but how hard can those be if Flurry was made one, too. (Then again, her mother might just have botched those anyway...)
That does open up the possibility of the elements of harmony all becoming alicorns at some point, thanks to Twilight. (Just rambling at this point.) Fluttershy could at some point become some sort of mother nature-spirit-thingy, oh the possibilities...!
Aaanyway, back to the topic. I very much liked the idea of them having this little tea time ritual. It fits perfectly.
Thank you for writing!
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Actually, this story confirms in canon that she was a unicorn at first
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I mean in show canon, Flurry was born an alicorn. Not story canon. Which are not the same things.
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No but this story confirms she is unicorn in MLP canon
In all seriousness, I think about the ending to this a lot for some reason. I'm struggling to put this into words rn, but the idea of a story that exists as a twist for another story, and the details of this particular setup, are really really cool imo.