Chapter 37: Moonlight
Ranger
Chapter 37: Moonlight
By Wanderer D
Twilight followed the hallway to the end, then turned left. She walked a few more steps and found herself right in front of the staircase that would take her up to where she needed to be.
She glanced up the stairs warily, already regretting not waiting until the next morning, but, according to Dash and Elena, this was where she would most likely find the person she was looking for. And so, she began her climb.
Sure, she had more stamina than ever before, thanks to Galahad's training… except, thanks to Galahad's training—and later, hard hours of work at the lab—she was exhausted by now. Still, in the interest of safety for all involved, it was best that a warning was done tonight.
She eventually reached the top of the stairs and pressed the activation pad to open the Avenger's door to the infamous Lover's Aft, where her quarry awaited.
Laetitia was, again, staring off into the night, gazing at the moon from the aft of the ship, leaning over the rail, apparently lost in thought. It made sense to Twilight to want to be here. Outside of the rather, how would Rarity put it… scandalous… nature of the story behind its name, the place was very relaxing. There were no footsteps of people walking on metal walkways, no drills, equipment or even shots from the target-practice area echoing around.
The air was fresh and cool, in comparison to the stale artificiality of the air that circulated inside the Avenger itself, and since their base tended to fly and land far away from cities or any sort of civilization, the skyscape was absolutely stunning. Stars spread all over them, like silver-white specks in a black, velvet carpet, and the moon shone in its waning glory, like a watchful guardian high above them.
It gave Twilight a sense of peace that made her grateful she had not waited until the next day to find the Templar. It was so calm that she briefly considered not saying anything and just enjoying the quiet, but Laetitia seemed to have heard her.
"Twilight Sparkle," Laetitia said, turning her head to look at her. "I haven't seen much of you since just after I woke up from my coma."
"Um, yes! You helped me a lot when I got lost back then, thank you!"
Laetitia smiled. "That was my pleasure then, and now, to what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"
"Um," Twilight fidgeted. "I just wanted to tell you… I mean, Sunset told me you guys… Templars, I mean, know about how using psionic energy on her is a bad idea?"
The Templar nodded, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I happen to have the same energy as Sunset does. In fact, I've been working with Dr. Tygan on dealing with its effects on psionics, and our conclusions haven't been positive. There appears to be some sort of feedback loop that, if you tried to use me as an example for something tomorrow might just—"
"Blow my brains out?" Laetitia asked, smirking. "Yes, I've heard of that. Fortunately, Geist taught me a couple of tricks that work well despite that, so there are ways to use psionics and magic. You should ask Sunset about that, sometime, and I could also help you a little with the experiments if you need it."
Twilight's eyes went wide. "Really?! But how? Every time we've attempted to go around it, the calculations just… well, I guess weaponizing it was one of the objectives, even if I'm not too keen on it."
Laetitia laughed, turning around to look at the stars again, and motioning for Twilight to join her. "Never lose that, Twilight," she said after a few moments of comfortable stargazing. "Too often we forget that not everything should be planned or thought of with the intent to do harm. And kindness is put aside just as quickly as laughter, generosity, loyalty or honesty."
Twilight's mouth was open. "How did…"
"Some girls talk in their sleep," Laetitia said with a grin.
Twilight blinked. Then blinked again before her eyes went wide. "Oh… Oh. I-I see, um, I didn't know Sunset was aware of the Elements of Harmony."
Laetitia smirked and shrugged.
"Although I guess she's smart enough to figure them out, she was also Celestia's student, after all."
"Ah, the mysterious teacher Sunset sometimes swears over."
Twilight tilted her head. "What? She uses Celestia to swear?"
Laetitia nodded. "Not… regularly, but when she met Geist… let's just say she got frustrated enough to swear quite vocally, and one of the insults included the name of your esteemed teacher."
Twilight closed her eyes. "Um… what was it she said?"
Laetitia grinned and leaned over, whispering something into Twilight's ear. Twilight's face went beet-red. "Celestia's solar-flaring org—?!" She caught herself before she repeated the whole thing, staring at Laetitia, who had started laughing.
It took Twilight a moment to calm down, and then she shook her head. "I swear, that mare…"
"Mare?" Laetitia asked, raising her eyebrow.
"Um, nothing."
Laetitia turned away, still chuckling. "So," she said after Twilight had once more leaned on the rail. "Has Sunset talked to her?"
Twilight sighed. "No. Well, yes, she has reached out, of that I'm sure, but Celestia… she hasn't answered."
Laetitia frowned, looking once more up to the moon. "That's… unfortunate. I know that Sunset seeks her teacher's approval." She sighed. "One does not have to be psychic to see that."
Twilight nodded. "I don't understand. Prin—Celestia has always answered me when I reach out. She's never turned her back on me, or denied me a chance to at least talk… but with Sunset…"
The Templar seemed to ponder this for a moment. "Maybe your teacher doesn't really grasp how quickly a life can be snuffed out in this world," she said. "Maybe she's also, somehow afraid. I can't know what is in her mind." She smirked. "Especially if is she's like you two. My head would blow up."
"It's still very frustrating," Twilight admitted. "As you said… we don't know how Sunset is doing… even if she's still alive." Her voice turned into an almost-whisper, "And I can't believe Celestia won't even… write. Last night I asked her why… she hasn't replied to me since."
Laetitia nodded. "We can't guess what's on people's minds when they don't act like we expect them to, Twilight. But people are complicated. I'm sure, if your teacher is a good person, she'll get back to her… I just hope it doesn't happen to be too late."
She tilted her head when Twilight struggled to fight a yawn and smiled. "I believe it's time for us to go to rest. Tomorrow I'll tell you and the other students all you need to know about Templars. And if you want, I can stop by the lab to help you with your tests."
"Thank you," Twilight said, smiling tiredly. "I'll go ahead, I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Laetitia."
"Just Laetitia," the Templar replied, smiling back.
Princess Celestia walked tiredly through the castle after a long day in the court. Word had spread that the newest Princess had disappeared after an attack had taken place in the Crystal Empire, and the nobles were demanding answers. Answers she was more than willing to not give.
The entitlement of some of these ponies was beyond the pale. Not only was their information incorrect, they were also throwing off conspiracy theories based on nothing but shadows and fanciful thinking. She had issued a statement already explaining that Twilight was far off, doing her duty as Princess of Friendship and that Twilight was in regular communication with her.
She shook her head, walking up to the next level of the castle. Few times was she ever motivated enough after court to teleport anywhere. In fact, the last time she had even bothered was when Sunset and Twilight—
She sighed, wings drooping and head hanging low. Seeing her reflection on the window, she sighed. Maybe she'd be more convincing if she didn't look like someone had snuffed out Philomena for good.
Still, thinking about Twilight and Sunset brought her thoughts back to the diary. She had read Twilight's question the night before, and just couldn't find the words to answer her student.
It was true that her relationship with Sunset was complicated, but she shouldn't be paralyzed by this to the point of being unable to talk to her. After all, Sunset had reached out. But… whenever she re-read Sunset's letter… a dull pain would grip her heart.
Sunset's words were so… despondent. As if she had completely given up on Celestia, and that... hurt her a lot more than she was willing to admit to other ponies. She had awaited for years for a word, a sign from Sunset that she was okay… but she had also hidden her shame at losing a student from everypony, to the extent that Twilight probably had no idea at all that Celestia herself had another student just before her.
It had been easy to tell the nobles that Sunset had gone in search of adventure for her research, after all, Sunset was… forceful and proud and talented. She hadn't endeared herself with the nobles, with so complicated a personality as she had, as well as her stubbornness and wit. Half the nobility thought she was A.K. Yearling herself, publishing adventure books of her own exploits in the far reaches of the world, beyond the lands of griffins, dragons and ponies.
Celestia had endured those comments for several months, wondering what had happened to Sunset. And then, one day, the diary, which she had kept next to her, had vibrated and glowed with a brand new message.
Heart beating fast, Celestia had been fully awake mere seconds after the fact, and opened the pages, hoping, begging fate for Sunset's words to be a message of regret, or love, or even pride… just so she knew her Little Sun was safe.
I hate you.
The words she read that day had reminded her that Sunset Shimmer hadn't been her Little Sun for a long, long time by then.
Celestia remembered that night, how confused and hurt she had felt. How her hopes had been smashed like a glass of wine falling onto the marble floor. She hadn't known what to do. She hadn't even realized she was crying until she had stumbled out of bed to look for her quill and ink.
She had sat down all night, staring at the page, not knowing what to write. A rebuttal? A question? A lesson? What could she say to sompony she loved who hated her so? At the time, she had glanced out of the window at the shape of Nightmare Moon, embedded on the face of the moon, and it had been a second stab to the heart.
She had written the only thing in reply she could muster the willpower to say, and then had cried herself to sleep.
But now, now Sunset was back, in a manner of speaking, and she was clearly not the same mare that had written those words. She had grown… in mettle, and spirit and honor and loyalty. Things that Celestia had wanted so much to teach her… but her loyalty wasn't with Equestria anymore, and her objectives included no plans to returning to her teacher, apparently.
Celestia knew Sunset wanted something from her. The wording of the last letter begged for her to respond. But for the life of her, Celestia had no clue what to say. Did she want to assure her that she was missed? Loved? Did she want Celestia to acknowledge her independence? What did Sunset want? And why couldn't she figure it out?
The feel of ancient magic nearby drew Celestia's attention, and she stopped. Somehow, she had made her way to Luna's chambers.
She smiled. Perhaps, it was a sign of what her next step should be. She knocked on the door. "Luna? May I come in?"
"Please do, sister," came the reply from within, a bit muffled.
Celestia entered Luna's chambers, closing the door behind her and looked around. The room was decorated with plenty of dark curtains bearing Luna's cutie mark, a desk, with old-fashioned candle lamps on it, and several stacks of papers.
Treatises on the effect of Blood Magic, Mind Magic and other dark arts were piled up next to it, from Starswirl to Clover to more esoteric and ancient magicians, such as Void Star, it was as comprehensive a collection of sources as could be assembled. None—she was thankful to see—were actual spell books, but rather studies on the effects such magics had on the users.
Celestia smiled, amused at how much of a liking Luna had taken to Sunset. Perhaps she saw something of herself on her wayward student.
"A moment, sister," Luna said from the balcony, and Celestia could see her sister was performing some sort of Moonlight Magic. A specialization that Celestia herself would never truly be able to master.
After a few seconds more, Luna nodded and turned, smiling amiably at Celestia. "I assume, dear sister, that you visit me at this late hour because of your student's latest letter?"
Celestia raised an eyebrow, taking a seat on one of the sofas that Luna had strewn around the room, seemingly at random. "I don't recall mentioning Twilight's letter?"
"Of course not," Luna snorted. "I was referring to the one from Sunset, which you never replied to."
Celestia's eyelids lowered. "Luna. How would you know that?"
Luna rolled her eyes. "One does not need be a psychic to see that." She cantered over to the sofa across from Celestia and took a seat. "I simply know you well, sister."
Celestia snorted and smiled, looking down a bit sadly. "I am conflicted, Luna… the Sunset I remember is not the one that writes to me now. The Sunset I remember… stopped being the Sunset I wanted her to be some time before she left. The Sunset I wanted her to be… is suddenly right there, after years of silence. I don't know this mare anymore… her letters read as reports, rather than letters from a normal pony to another."
Luna shook her head. "When I returned from the moon, sister, I knew you not." She looked up. "You looked as I remembered, but you were suddenly wiser, more forgiving and dare I say, warmer. Making sense of that took some time, and I still find myself second-guessing and re-learning."
She smiled encouragingly. "And I am learning who you are, what you believe and what you understand now that I thought back then you never would. I… also have learned things that I had no comprehension of, and it is truly an effort well spent.
"But there is a key element that you and I have shared, that has made our reconnection successful so far." Luna locked her eyes with Celestia. "You made an effort to get to know me again."
Celestia blinked. "Surely you can't be seriously suggesting that it's as simple as—"
"I am," Luna stated. "And 'tis something you should know well enough, given your lessons of friendship to dear Twilight: the best way to know somepony, is to start talking to them."
"But—"
"I understand," Luna interrupted again, "that your wayward foal being a stranger now... confuses, scares, and hurts you. But that is also true of her. Look at her words. She knows not what to expect from you. Her idea of you has changed over the period of time she has been in the human world. She understands you more now than she ever did, in a way."
Celestia was quiet for a moment. She closed her eyes and took a deep, slow breath. When she was done, she opened her eyes and locked them with Luna, who was waiting patiently for her. "Luna… would you terribly mind… sitting next to me for this?"
Luna smiled. "Of course not, sister, it would be my pleasure."
Celestia smiled in thanks, then summoned her magic. A moment later, Sunset's diary appeared, hovering above them.
"Allow me," Luna said, summoning a small table, ink and quills for Celestia, who sat the book down there with a nod of thanks.
It took her a moment to sort her thoughts.
Dear Sunset…
o.0.o End Chapter 37 o.0.o
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CLIFFHANGERRRRRRRRRRRRRR
I hate you and love you for this.
Coma
8805180
I dunno, recently I woke up from a semi colon and boy that was a doozie
8805209
Just wait until you wake up from a full stop, those are always interesting.
You are the master of cliffhangers.
I both love you and hate you for this...... 
Please write more. 
I think you meant "woke up from my coma."
Dealing with such Feelings is never easy. But i know celestia can get over it.
This here seems odd... can you see why?
I'm glad you're writing this daily, with cliffhangers like that.
8805389
In before wanderer waits a week then uploads 7 at once just to troll us.
8805237
Try waking g up from a parenthesis, you'll have the urge to write about your family.
The nefarious villain Cliff Hanger strikes again! Will his reign of terror never end? And where is our hero, Mare do Well?! Find out next time! Or not...
8805209
I think you made the right call; no one wants comma spliced dreams.
8805237
You want interesting? Try waking up from an interrobang.
8805509
What is that?
8805523
This is an interrobang: '‽'.
You see, when a question mark and an exclamation point love each other very much...
Finally Celestia gets the courage to respond. Better late than never to start reciprocating...
Laetitia has no hesitation calling magic for what it is. Interesting...
Well, sleep well everyone, it's getting just a little more real eminently...
Keep going! ;)
8805525
They do magical things and give everyone the mystical why boner?
It appears that Sunset swears like Littlepip.
So... who wants to bet that Sunset is actually Celestia’s daughter? It tends to be a common headcanon
8805209
8805180 Fixed! Thank you!
8805364 Fixed! Thanks!
8805784
Celestia's solar-flaring org—?
You are a dirty filly Sunset.
Even Celestia sometimes needs a kick in her proverbial pants. Thank goodness she has a sister to talk to.
As for Sunset... well, she has other, more pressing concerns at the moment. Odds are she'll survive to see that letter, but the question is how.
8805894
My only question is how did the entire curse go?
8805987
First I need to ask how old you are.
8805993
19
The moment we all waited for so long.
Sunset, you better come back from that mission and read this message.
8805541
There are those who would argue that bravery only when supported is no bravery at all.
Your thoughts?
8806216
As remarked online, bravery isn't exactly the same as courage. To quote "Dan":
> Courage is the resolution to do something despite feeling read or having reservations. Bravery is ignoring read or lacking fear in situations where others might be afraid.
8805784
It still says comma
The scandal and shame!
Ooooo.
Geeze, poor Celestia. That must have been a rough time after that message.
But it's good to see that she now has a variety of ponies available for support, such as Luna.
8806594
Indeed.
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
You know...
In hindsight, this chapter makes a lot more sense.
That's why I enjoy looking back on things at a later date, so much that I missed, that are now clear, with the knowledge I now have.
And of course there is an intermission chapter of things happening elsewhere right after one of the worst cliffhangers of the story thus far ...
You are evil, I say, evil!
That being said:
if
there you go again ... 'in'
AHhahahaha damnit littlepip.
minor typo:
orig:
fix:
Can't wait to read Celestias message and Sunset reaction. So mutch pain... Scars over old wounds and wounds that bleed still to this day ...
Damn, I guess the friendship reports of Twilight are not so silly anymore, with a mare like Celestia having to relearning social interactions with emotional bonding behind it.