Looking For Luna

by CapriciousCapricorn

Chapter 5: The Meeting

Celestia could hear the sound of approaching hoof steps long before she could see the ponies making them. Her entire body was tense as she anticipated the arrival of the guests. As the door swung open and the placid face of the door pony met her gaze she relaxed.

“Announcing the arrival of Twilight Sparkle and her guests- ” a low, hearty voice called.

“That will be all, thank you,” Celestia called to the guard. Once she heard Twilight’s name, she knew the ponies who would come trotting through the door. As Celestia rose from her throne, Philomena flew from her perch and followed after her owner as she strode forward.

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight began, having only walked a short distance before falling forward and kneeling before her mentor. The five ponies and dragon behind Twilight followed suit, paying their respects to the powerful ruler. Celestia stopped at the bottom of the stairs leading to her throne.

“Please rise, my little ponies. Let us continue our discussion in the garden,” She walked between the ponies and led the way. The hallways were lined with long stretches of stained glass portraits and murals. The sunlight cast colors and light on the ponies as they walked through the tall corridors. The walk to the garden was awkward and silent, their echoing hoof steps doing nothing to ease the tension.

When they finally reached the castle’s rear garden, there was an almost an audible sigh of relief. There was a large circular table with nine seats, tea, and an assortment of small snacks waiting for them. Celestia took a seat first, levitating a cup of tea to her lips as the others uneasily took their seats.

“I know that you’ve all been very patient, waiting for an explanation of the events that took place within the Castle of the Two Sisters. I am sorry that I couldn’t offer an explanation sooner.” She lowered her cup and looked into the eyes of each pony at the table. “Please, while we sit here, don’t think of me as your princess or a mentor, but as another pony with answers. Don’t hesitate to ask me anything, regardless of how it might sound; I promise to answer truthfully.”

“Uhh, Princess-” Applejack broke the silence first.

“Please, call me Celestia.” Celestia interrupted, a gentle smile on her face.

“Umm, Celestia, I am glad to be getting answers and all but are we expecting company?” Applejack gestured to the two remaining seats at the table.

“Don’t worry about them for now. There were two other ponies who were intended to join us, however their work appears to be making them run a bit late. However, they know everything that I am going to share with you today,” The ponies’ ears perked up at the statement, “While late, I believe they will join us and hopefully provide information that even I am unaware of."

“Exactly, what is it they’ve been researching?” Rarity asked a bit nervously this time. The princess may have asked them to dispense with the formalities, but Rarity wanted to be cautious. After all, this was the princess of Equestria and she still should be treated with great respect.

“Why, the signs of Luna’s return of course,” At those words, Twilight practically choked on her tea, mid sip, a bit of the tepid brown fluid escaped via her nostrils.

“B-but you said,” she dabbed at her muzzle, “it was all an old pony tale.”

“I told you that you needed to make friends, nothing more. You alone did not see the signs of Nightmare Moon’s return. I had been waiting for this day to come for longer than any of you can imagine. When the first whispers of her return appeared I was quick to act. I prepared a party of ponies who began to study Luna-”

“Uhh, Celestia? I don’t mean to interrupt you or nothin’, but how could they study Luna if she’d been gone a thousand years?” Applejack asked nervously. The farm pony was aware she was using a lot of “uhhs” and at times stumbling over her own words. She was feeling a bit out of her element in the castle, and calling the princess by her first name felt strange. Despite being in the tranquil garden wasn't doing much for Applejack's nerves.

“Yeah, and how did you know she was going to appear in Ponyville?” Rainbow Dash added. The light blue pegasus had kept quiet for some time but she didn’t want to leave the meeting with more questions than answers. If things really had been getting as crazy as Twilight had mentioned earlier, then Rainbow had no idea when another opportunity like this would present itself.

“P-perhaps you could m-maybe start from the beginning?” Fluttershy added nervously “That is if you u-um wouldn’t mind talking about,” she seemed to slowly dip behind the table, her voice starting to get quieter and higher pitched, “exactly what happened to Luna to make her turn into…” her voice was little more than a squeak. Pinkie Pie, whose mouth was stuffed with an assortment of muffins, nodded her head in agreement.

“Of course, that might explaining things a bit easier,” Celestia smiled warmly at Fluttershy, attempting to ease her nervousness. “Since the defeat of Discord, my sister Luna and I ruled over Equestria. As alicorns, our magic made it easy to protect the kingdom and help it expand, but we were not infallible. Alicorns are powerful, and as a result our magic can be rather… sensitive to our emotions. As the princess of the day, I was beloved and celebrated by our ponies. However, as princess of the night, Luna was not celebrated in the same way. Many ponies back then feared the night.” Celestia paused. “Please don’t misunderstand,” she began to defend the subject who had long since passed, “they cared about her but they did not give her the love and appreciation she deserved… truthfully, neither had I,” Celestia sighed, her eyes glazing over as she stared intently at her tea, as if seeing something that nopony else could.

“It is my belief that over time Luna began to feel unloved, possibly even hated. In turn, her magic began to respond to her dark feelings and transformed her into something, no, somepony who couldn’t be ignored. After it happened, I attempted to reason with her, but there was no point. She was already consumed by the magic; I had no choice but to use the Elements of Harmony against her and banish her to the moon for a thousand years.” Celestia sighed. “When Luna was banished, I couldn’t bear to part with anything that had belonged to her. When I left our former home I took everything of hers with me. I placed it in a special room and placed a spell on it that has kept everything preserved all these years.”

Celestia levitated a black berry scone onto her plate. “When I first saw the signs of her return, I had the assembled ponies study everything that belonged to her: her journal, her scent, anything she touched, and even the magic that sent her away. I hoped it would give them an edge if Luna didn’t appear somewhere near Ponyville. We didn’t know exactly what the Elements had done to banish Luna. However, all spells, hexes, curses, and enchantments with similar effects had their targets appear within a relatively short distance from where the spell was cast.”

It was Pinkie Pie who spoke this time, licking some crumbs around her muzzle away. “Wait, if you have her journal, can’t you read it and see what caused the transformation?” Twilight bit her lip a bit nervously, she had been thinking the same thing but hadn’t dared to ask. How could she?

“I will admit that might have been easiest. However, I haven’t been able to bring myself to read it. A transformation like Luna’s… it takes more than one night to happen. I was afraid to read it for the longest time - afraid to see all the signs I had failed to recognize and the sister I had failed to be. Even now, the only ones who have read it are those who I assigned to locating Luna.” Celestia replied, her smile appearing pained.

“So what happens now?” Twilight asked. “Do you want us to assist with the search for Luna or-” Celestia shook her head before Twilight could finish her sentence.

Staring fondly down at her prize pupil, Celestia responded, “I believe now, more than ever, the magic of friendship is needed in Equestria. That is why I would like you to continue your studies in Ponyville. Continue to study the magic of friendship and report your findings to me from your new home.” Twilight’s eyes widened as smiles spread across all their faces. “As for Luna, I would like you to keep your eyes open for anything suspicious. While I doubt that Luna would return to Ponyville so soon, we can’t be certain." she said firmly.

“So does that mean Luna is our enemy now?” Applejack asked earnestly. Everypony's happy faces were replaced with uncertainty.

“I am not sure. At this time, I don’t believe Luna is evil or corrupted by her powers. However, I don’t know what she is thinking or feeling, and it is imperative we find her. If you see her, please don’t hurt her, but we can’t be sure what her next move will be.” The ponies nodded.

“If there are no other questions, I believe it is in our best interest to conclude this meeting.” Her words were met with silence. Celestia walked towards Twilight. “After all, some pony needs to get settled in and be shown around Ponyville,” the white alicorn said with a smile and a wink to her student. With that, the meeting ended and the ponies returned home.

⊰ ★ ⊱ ❈ ⊰ ★ ⊱ ❈ ⊰ ★ ⊱

With a sigh, Celestia sat on her bed. It had been just as hard to send Twilight away as she had imagined. She had wanted to cry letting her student leave. However, in her heart, she knew that it was best not only for Equestria but for Twilight as well. She was beginning to get comfortable, knowing that she may have cleared her duties temporarily but that there would be a price to pay come tomorrow morning.

Unfortunately for the princess, tomorrow was getting a head start. Just as she started to drift into a deep sleep, the sound of rapidly approaching hoof steps began to stir her. As she sat up the door to her bedroom was thrown open.

“Princess Celestia, I come bearing urgent news!” a familiar husky voice had her leaping “We’ve found traces of Princess Luna!”

“Speak Vermillion” Celestia replied, her tri-colored hair appearing a bit more disheveled than usual. Her chest tightened as she sat down to listen to the last piece of news she wanted to hear.

Comments

[Doolally Loop]

That moment where a story you enjoy updates, and leaves you gibbering on floor for a couple of minutes.

[MoonlightEclipsed]

I came running to read this story as soon as I logged back in and saw it was updated. Want to see waat happens next so bad!!

[ZodiacalComet]

“Princess Celestia, I come bearing urgent news!” a familiar husky voice had her leaping “We’ve found traces of Princess Luna!”

Maybe it's whatever that Luna had done with Trixie, I think they detected it.
We have to wait and see...

[RainbowSparkle3]

C'mon! That cliffhanger is too much...

[Magnus Orion]

Wrapped around its slender limbs were three strands of sapphire blue hair.

it's

Near the bed, Lovelace was spreading out a delicate-looking quilt and tossing a couple of pillows on top.

Love Lace

The ponies’ ears perked up at the statement,

ponies

We were 3 friends and a stranger.

three

What if Luna had decided to not accept Celestias friendship after being stripped of the magic that had turned her into Nightmare Moon and defeated by the Mane Six?

Celestia's

In a house with three ponies, who might be a bit too giving for their own good.

generous

[Emperor]

If Luna really does stick around with Trixie, which is doubtful, it'd be interesting to see them finally collide with the Mane 6 in Ponyville. Still, Luna's likely to ditch Trixie after a while.