Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying

by l0x0r

Part 2c

tl&dr

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The next time Luna awoke, it was to the sensation of her hair being tugged upon. She tried to ignore the pull toward consciousness, safe and secure in her cocoon of warmth. However, just as she was settling back down into a deep sleep, the pulling sensation on her hair started up again. Luna resignedly opened her eyes and found herself staring into a pair of quite lovely but panicked purple ones. Twilight’s distraught face was mere inches away from hers, and their foreheads were nearly touching.

“O-oh, you’re awake. This isn’t what it looks like,” Twilight declared in a voice somewhat higher than normal.

“Um, good morning.” Luna wasn’t quite sure what was going on, and even less sure of what the appropriate thing to say was when you’ve woken up and your best friend is straddling you.

It was apparent from Twilight’s distressed expression that she was feeling even more uncomfortable with the situation than Luna was. With their faces so close, Luna could easily feel the other pony’s breath as she quickly explained, “Y-you see, last night my horn and your hair got tangled together somehow. I woke up this morning and we were sleeping really close together again, so I tried to get up without waking you, but my horn was caught in your hair. So I tried to untangle it, but then you woke up at the worst possible time” Twilight was babbling, her eyes dancing around the room, focusing on everything and anything other than Luna, an embarrassed blush bright on her cheeks.

“It’s alright,” Luna reassured her nervous bed partner. “I roll around a lot at night. That’s probably how I ended up ensnared by your horn. I’m sure that with both of us working on it, we’ll be able to quickly extricate ourselves.”

Luna looked upwards to gauge the severity of the hair snag. Unfortunately it was just out of her visual range and all she managed to accomplish was to nearly cross her eyes while looking up. Twilight let out an amused snort and Luna refocused her eyes to look at her friend enquiringly. “What?”

“Oh, nothing,” Twilight said with an innocent lilt while studying something across the room with a rather amused expression.

Luna mentally shrugged and tried looking up again, slowly tilting her head. She ignored Twilight’s stifled laugh and attempted to find the tangle. But it was of no use. Her view of Twilight’s horn was blocked by her own, and the sensations from the two horns brushing against one another weren’t conducive to helping her concentrate.

“Perhaps if we both stood up and simply tried to pull away from one another, the issue will resolve itself,” Luna proposed.

“Okay.” Twilight shifted to the side to give Luna enough room to carefully maneuver to her knees. A task made difficult not only because of her caught hair, but also because her right foreleg and wing were numb from where Twilight had slept on them.

Luna ignored the tingling sensation that was running through her limbs as she and Twilight faced one another across the rumpled blankets of the bed. Twilight lowered her head slightly, and the two ponies began to back away from each other. For several seconds it seemed that they were stuck fast, but with a sudden tearing sensation and a brief but sharp pain for Luna, she and Twilight flew apart.

Twilight crashed against the headboard loudly while Luna tumbled over the end of the bed and landed on Spike’s basket. It flew up into the air, flipping before landing upside down on her head. Her ungainly fall to the floor was more surprising then painful, so Luna was able to quickly recover and levitate the basket off her while she looked around to make sure that Twilight was alright.

The unicorn in question was gingerly rubbing the back of her head, but otherwise appeared unscathed. Wrapped tightly around her horn was a clump of long bluish hair, with several more strands lying on the rumpled bed sheet between the two ponies.

“Are you hurt?” Luna asked with concern.

“No, I think I’m okay.” Twilight stopped rubbing her head and rolled off the bed. “I didn’t think I was living in a hardwood though,” she joked as she walked around the bed toward Luna. She looked up at Luna, about to say something, but the words died on her lips as she noticed the state of Luna's hair. Her mouth curled into an involuntary smile and she tried to smother another amused snort.

Seeing her reaction, Luna lifted a hoof to her mane fearfully and asked, “It’s not that bad, is it?”

“It’s worse actually,” replied Twilight with a giggle permeating her voice. “What did you do last night to get it so messy?”

“Well, I have been known to move around in my sleep,” Luna admitted. “But I don’t recall being the pony to have their horn caught in somepony else’s mane.”

While Twilight was busy blushing at Luna’s reminder, Luna picked herself off the floor and turned to the nearby mirror to gauge the damage to her mane. It was extremely disorganized. Strands were sticking out in several directions they normally wouldn’t be, and it was obvious that it had been her bangs that Twilight’s horn had been caught in, thanks to the snag and curling tangle that had been left behind.

“It is a bit …” Luna trailed off, at a loss for quite the right description.

“Frizzy,” suggested Twilight, a playful smile bleeding through her tone.

“Yes, I suppose that sums it up best.” Luna levitated the nearby brush close to her, and began attacking her tangled mane. A few minutes later and she asked, “Twilight is there some spell you know concerning hair management? My mane is being rather uncooperative.”

“Sorry, Luna, but Trichology isn’t one of the areas that I’ve studied extensively yet.”

“Trichology?”

“The study of the mane, tail, and hair follicles in general,” Twilight explained as she walked to a nearby cupboard and began to rummage around in it.

Luna paused in brushing her hair and looked askance at the lavender unicorn for a moment. “Is there a field of study for everything these days? As I remember it, the few specialists who were around a thousand years ago were primarily mathematicians.”

Twilight replied in a thoughtful tone, her head still buried in the cupboard. “Hmm, well mathematics is still a popular field of study, but there are specialists in just about everything you can think of. Although I don’t think anypony has delved too deeply into space exploration just yet. But speaking of specialists, Rarity loaned me a few sprays and gels that are designed to hold and shape hair. Maybe one of these will help with your mane.” She stood up with a hoofful of jars and canisters hugged to her body.

After a rigorous round of brushing, combing, spraying, and rubbing pleasant smelling ointments into her hair, Luna’s mane appeared close to normal. Although her bangs were slightly thinner and a bit shorter than they had been last night, and the end had been radically curled thanks to Twilight’s impromptu curling iron horn technique.

As Twilight spent time in front of the mirror, fixing her own lightly disheveled mane, Luna ruffled her wings a few times, trying to shake out the last vestiges of the prickly feeling left over from last night's sleeping arrangements. But she knew that it would still be a while until her leg and wing felt completely normal. In addition she was feeling rather peckish. Thankfully, the smell of something delicious being made wafted up from the library below. “Now that we’ve gotten that all straightened out,” Luna allowed herself a small smile at her pun, “perhaps it’s time for breakfast.”

“Definitely. We can’t skip the most important meal of the day,” Twilight agreed. She set down the brush and the two ponies made their way downstairs and into the kitchen. There they found Spike in the midst of making waffles.

“Good morning,” he greeted them as he removed a waffle from the iron. He turned around and met Luna’s eyes for the briefest of moments before he quickly looked away in awkward embarrassment. “Er, afternoon. Whatever time it is.” He ladled batter into the waffle iron, then closed its hinged lid and breathed flame around it.

“Good morning, Spike,” Twilight greeted her assistant. “It’s surprising to see you up so early.” As she spoke, she and Luna took seats at the kitchen table opposite each other.

“I’m not up early; you’re just getting up late. In fact I think this week has been the first time I’ve gotten up before you in months, maybe even years.”

Spike didn’t appear too pleased with the new development, but Twilight seemed to ignore him as her magic surrounded the plate of waffles at his elbow and floated them over to the table.

“Sorry,” Luna apologized to both her and the small dragon.

Twilight flew a pair of empty plates through the air and halted them just in front herself and Luna. At the same time she was sorting several of the waffles into two hovering stacks. She spared enough attention in Luna’s direction to cluelessly ask, “What for?”

Luna’s face betrayed her surprise at Twilight’s not understanding of the simple matter. “For forcing you to keep such odd hours of course.”

“Oh don’t worry about it,” Twilight replied with a dismissive wave of her hoof. The plates landed and the stacks of waffles that had been placed on them had their edges perfectly aligned. “I’m actually a night owl by nature. Back when I was studying in Canterlot I stayed up late most nights. In fact I even tried to get the school to reschedule their classes to late afternoon and early evening instead of beginning so early in the morning.”

“You almost got them to do it too,” Spike added as he retrieved another waffle from the iron and ladled more batter onto the hot griddle. “That two hour presentation of yours on all the good things about late classes, and how waking up early was bad for learning was awesome. If I were in charge of the school, I totally would have done what you told them.” With another jet of flame, the final waffle was cooked, and Spike placed it with the rest of the short stack he had made. He set the iron out to cool then waddled over and sat at the table next to Twilight, still avoiding Luna’s eyes.

“Yeah,” Twilight said with a regretful sigh. She poured syrup over her waffles before setting the glass container in front of Luna. “I almost had the faculty and administration convinced to adopt my plan, until Princess Celestia put an end to it. ‘A pony shouldn’t force others to change simply to make her own life easier. Equestria doesn’t revolve around a single pony.’” Twilight made air quotes with her hooves as she repeated her mentor’s words.

Luna smiled, but was able to hold back her chuckle at Celestia’s ironic statement. “Still, I’m sorry that I’ve upset your schedule to such an extent, Twilight. I promise that from now on I shall attempt to have more respect toward the rhythm of your day.” Luna’s smile grew wider. “I promise to keep you up no later than two, two thirty.”

Twilight laughed lightly at Luna’s joke. “You promise?”

“To you, I will never be untrue.”

“Heh, you sound a bit like Zecora saying it like that,” commented Twilight as she finally began to eat her breakfast.

“Who?” Luna didn’t remember Twilight mentioning a pony named Zecora in her letters. Although admittedly their correspondence was still fairly young.

“She’s a friend of mine who lives in the Everfree Forest. Somehow everything she says rhymes. She knows so much about herbs, as well as almost everything in nature, it’s amazing. I often consult her when I have a question about something that I don’t understand, but isn’t important enough to bother Princess Celestia with.”

“I see,” Luna said curtly. The burst of jealousy she felt was irrational she knew. But just how many friends did Twilight Sparkle have? How many claims on her attention and time were there? And who was this strange pony that Twilight spoke of with such respect? “Well I hope that now that we’re friends, you’ll look to me on occasion when you need advice. I may not be up-to-date on all aspects of modern life, but I do have an extensive knowledge of the mystical arts.”

Twilight smiled eagerly at Luna’s offer. “Of course I will, Luna. Although I’m sure that your time is just as valuable as Princess Celestia’s. I wouldn’t want to bother you over every little thing.”

“Please, Twilight, you could never be a bother to me.”

Luna put aside her unaccountable irritability and bit into the perfectly prepared waffles in front of her. The remnants of her dark thoughts were wiped away by her surprise at how delicious they turned out to be. The breakfast treats were only lightly sweetened by a touch of syrup. They tasted of buckwheat and some other flavor Luna couldn’t readily identify, but rendered them light and fluffy.

“This is wonderful, Spike,” she exclaimed joyously.

The dragon in question puffed up pridefully at Luna’s complement. “Well, I have been practicing my cooking for a few years now. Someone around here needs to know how to boil water. Besides, a dragon has to have a lot of talents, be a real ‘re-nay-saunce’ man if he wants to impress a modern girl.”

“Renaissance, Spike,” Twilight absently corrected him.

“Yeah, that too.” The young dragon finally met Luna’s eyes again as he boasted. Although thanks to the red in his cheeks, it was plain to see that he felt uneasy with whatever he had thought he’d seen earlier. They shared an awkward moment of silence between them, Luna unsure of how to even start explaining the situation he had found her and Twilight in, or even if an explanation was necessary. It wasn’t as if they had been doing anything wrong after all. It had just been two friends sharing a bed, admittedly rather closely, but it had been wholly innocent.

By mutual silent consent they turned their attention to their plates and quietly continued breakfast. The remainder of the meal passed quickly, although Luna failed to finish her portion. She had been enjoying the meals in Ponyville perhaps a bit too much, and had resolved on cutting back. It would be insufferable to return to Canterlot and have her figure commented on by Celestia.

Noticing that both ponies had finished with their breakfast, Spike hopped down and began clearing the table without being asked. In fact, judging by Twilight’s non-reaction, it was expected of him. Soon the sounds of Spike washing the few dishes they had used filled the room.

In the warm and sedate atmosphere, Twilight leaned forward onto the table and asked, “So, study buddy, did you learn anything about love last night?”

There was a wet crash as a soapy dish fell through Spike’s claws into the sink. With a shocked expression he looked over his shoulder at Luna and Twilight, who were giving him questioning looks of concern.

“Are you alright, Spike?” Twilight asked.

“Heh, sorry,” he said while picking up the undamaged plate and turning back to clean it. “You know how dishes can be.”

Twilight seemed a bit off put by Spike’s attitude, but she turned back to Luna without asking the dragon why he was acting a bit strangely. Her eager expression shook Luna out of her own embarrassed silence.

“Yes and no,” Luna replied to her earlier question. “To be honest, what I read last night wasn’t so much a treatise on the subject as it was a collection of poems regarding the emotion. While they were quite entertaining, and provided an interesting insight into the subject, they weren’t the best source material to be hoped for. That being said, I’m not entirely certain just what it is about love that we're trying to learn.”

Twilight frowned contemplatively and looked off into the distance in thought. “Everything, I suppose. I want to know what love is, how it works, why it is, when and where it comes from. It’s easy to understand other emotions, like fear or anger, because whenever I feel them, it’s easy to point out just where they begin and where they end. But with love it’s different. Apparently it can creep up on you, slowly building overtime, or it can suddenly spring on you after meeting somepony for the first time.” Twilight looked back at Luna with a blush. “And then to complicate things, there are different kinds of love; for family, for friends, for … lovers.”

Luna thought deeply before she spoke. To be honest, her experience with the emotion wasn’t as extensive as she would have liked. Thus far the only ponies she had felt any truly deep feelings of affection for were Celestia and Twilight. Nonetheless, two heads were better than one, so she offered her opinion.

“I feel that love is such a subjective emotion, that it can’t be explained in the detail that you seem to be looking for. At least not by anypony other than yourself. All the poets, the artists, the novelists in Equestria can expound on love all they’d like, but in the end, all their words, all their forms of expression fall short of the actual emotion. For each pony love is different, so the only pony who can fully define love is the pony who feels it. At least that’s what I think.”

Twilight mulled over Luna’s words as the clink of dishes being washed continued in the background. Without meeting her eyes, Twilight quietly but insistently asked Luna, “Have you ever loved anypony?”

“Well, I love Celestia. But if you mean romantically, then I have to say that I’m not certain whether I have or haven’t.”

With a ruefully sad attempt at a chuckle, Twilight admitted, “I know what you mean.”

“There, I’m all done with the kitchen,” Spike loudly declared with no delicacy for the atmosphere that had settled between Luna and Twilight.

Luna looked up from her contemplation of Twilight’s face, and examined the room. She had to admit that it was immaculately cleaned. Perhaps she should look into getting a dragon as well.

Enjoying the warm and pleasant company, Luna was loath to get up from the table and truly start the day. Apparently Twilight in shared this sentiment since she roused herself enough to ask her assistant, “Spike, would you mind making us some tea? A cup or two would be wonderful now.”

The dragon let out a put upon sigh and shot a sharp glance in Twilight’s direction, but he replied, “Okay.” And immediately retrieved the teapot and other utensils to brew the tea.

As he was bringing the water to a boil, the sound of the library’s door opening and closing came to them, and a voice called out, “Twilight dear, are you in?” It took Luna a moment to place it as belonging to Twilight’s friend Rarity. At the sound of the voice, Spike nearly vaporized the water in the pot with a great blast of flame, and took a moment to check his scales for blemishes.

“We’re in the kitchen,” Twilight called out, sitting up a bit straighter.

“I was passing by and was wondering if you were finished with my copy of …” Rarity’s voice had grown louder as she had approached, and Luna turned in her seat to greet her friend’s friend. Upon seeing Luna, Rarity trailed off for a moment before she loudly and jubilantly exclaimed, “Good afternoon, Princess Luna! Why, I thought it would be far too early for you to be awake. From my understanding you seem to be a dusk to dawn sort of pony.”

“Good afternoon, Rarity. Usually I am,” Luna admitted with a smile. “But I didn’t feel right forcing Twilight to keep my hours, so I’ve been going to bed early this week. Or late, I suppose, depending on your perspective.” Luna shot a glance at Twilight’s still somewhat sleep muddled state before she wryly added, “That said, I’m afraid that I’ve had an adverse effect on Twilight’s sleeping schedule.”

“So I see,” commented Rarity as she walked deeper into the kitchen, revealing that she was sporting a pair of fetching saddlebags. “But both of you must be careful. If a pony changes their sleeping habits too much, too quickly, it can have all sorts of icky side effects. Like a limp mane, bad skin, or even worse, ugh, baggy eyes,” she said with a shiver.

Spike had placed steaming cups of tea in front of Luna and Twilight, and was fetching another cup for Rarity. Twilight had lifted her's to her lips and was sipping from it while Rarity spoke. She rolled her eyes at Luna, obviously not as concerned with the dire threat of baggy eyes as her friend was. She placed the cup back on its saucer and politely inquired, “Would you like to join us for breakfast, or lunch I guess, Rarity?”

“Yeah, these are my special Spike waffles,” Spike eagerly declared as he placed a cup and saucer in front of Rarity with all the practiced grace of a professional server. “They’re the best tasting waffles in all Equestria, as voted by the Canterlot Castle Newsletter. I can make you as many as you like.”

“Oh thank you, Spike, but I’ve already eaten. A cup of tea is more than enough for me.”

“Oh,” Spike said disappointedly. He had sprung across the room ready to make more waffles, but trudged back to the table without the spring in his step that had been there before.

“Actually, I just dropped by because I was planning on taking tomorrow off, and I was wondering if you’d finished with my copy of –“

“Your book!” Twilight hastily and loudly interrupted Rarity. She leapt up from the table with an energy that surprised and confused Luna. “Yes I, um, finished it. I’ll go get it. Right now.” Clearly but unaccountably flustered, Twilight left the room, her hooves loudly and rapidly crossing the library.

Luna and Rarity shared a questioning and slightly concerned expression as they looked after the rapidly retreating lavender unicorn. Luna had to wonder just what kind of book it was that made Twilight so obviously uncomfortable to talk about it in her company. Spike however seemed unfazed by Twilight’s behavior as he poured himself a small cup of tea. Apparently her excitability wasn’t anything new to the young dragon.

Deciding that Twilight was likely going to be a few minutes at least, Rarity sat down at the table and daintily lifted the teacup before her with a pale azure magic much lighter in color than either Luna’s or Twilight’s.

“So, Princess Luna, how are you finding our little town thus far,” she pleasantly asked after a few moments of companionable silence.

“Oh, it’s quite lovely.”

“Isn’t it? It’s quite a charming place really, but sadly it pales in comparison to a city like Canterlot or Manehatten, I’m sure. All the style, the sophistication, the glamour! It makes a pony feel so alive. Don’t get me wrong, Ponyville has its charms, it’s quite quaint. But for a pony to be anypony, I think that they need to spend some time in the city that never sleeps. Don’t you agree?”

Luna took a deep sip before she replied, “I suppose it depends upon the type of pony we're discussing. I'm sure that there a re plenty of ponies in Equestria who might view a city such as Manehatten or Canterlot as too stifling or constrictive, while there are those who would find Ponyville too rural and disconnected. That aside, personally speaking, I actually don’t spend too much time following the latest fashion trends. I'm afraid that I’m a bit out of step with the culture of places like Manehatten.”

Rarity seemed genuinely surprised by Luna’s admission. “But why ever not, my dear princess? A pony with your poise, your grace, could be a trendsetter with only the barest of effort. Why if you set your mind to it, I’m sure that you’d be the princess not only of Equestria, but of the fashion world as well.”

Not wanting to delve into the reasons why Luna purposely alienated herself from most other ponies, she attempted to divert the conversation. “You know, Rarity, you can just call me Luna. You don’t have to call me princess.”

“Of course, princess, of course,” Rarity said distractedly, her mind obviously envisioning the great fashion based future that Luna had before her. Strangely though, the sting of her title only lightly pricked Luna when Rarity said it. Coming from the fashionable unicorn, princess didn’t sound so much like a title, as a term of endearment.

Rarity abruptly turned to look more closely at Luna, her eyes full of fiery enthusiasm. “In fact, speaking of fashion, while you’re in town, perhaps you’d be willing to assist me with a small design issue.”

“Of course,” easily replied Luna, eager to help any of Twilight’s, and now her friends. “Although I hope it isn’t anything requiring too much skill. As I’ve said, I don’t have much experience with fashion.”

“Oh, I’m sure that you’ll do fine,” declared Rarity with a wave of her hoof. “I’m in the middle of coming up with a new line of clothing for winter, and I sorely need a pony of your refined taste to give me their opinion on it. And it would be wonderful if you’d agree to let me take your measurements for a new dress I’m in the midst of designing. I’m thinking of calling it, ‘Midnight Empress,’ and I need some pony with your natural elegance, your grace, your …” she twirled her hoof around for a moment as she searched for the proper description. “Your je ne sais quoi. You simply exude a regal air, and that’s precisely what I want this dress to do. The more I think on it, the more I simply must have you model for me and provide inspiration. Please say you’ll do it, princess. For me? Please?”

Faced with such a forceful appeal, Luna readily agreed, “Certainly, I’ll help you, Rarity.”

“I’ll help too,” Spike chimed in. “Who knows when you’ll need a mobile pincushion, or … something set on fire. I’m awesome at setting things on fire.”

“Oh, thank you!” Rarity said exuberantly, dramatically lunging over and embracing Luna for a few moments. “Thank you both,” she added as she settled back down and reached over to ruffle Spike’s spines.

Luna was unsure whether it was simply the modern age, or perhaps it was just Ponyville, but ponies were much more … physical than she remembered. Both Applejack and now Rarity had embraced her, not to mention how close she and Twilight had become. As Luna was busy musing, Twilight returned. She quickly levitated a book into Rarity’s saddlebag before Luna noticed she was even in the room.

“There you go, Rarity,” she said with obvious relief.

“Thank you, Twilight darling. I’ve been looking forward to reading this all week. But enough about pleasure, let’s get back to business. Although when talking about fashion it’s impossible to separate the two. Princess Luna has been kind enough to agree to help me this afternoon, so I’m afraid that I’ll be stealing her for a bit.”

“Oh,” replied Twilight, casting a confused gaze in Luna’s direction. “But I assumed that we were going to be spending today studying some more …”

Luna, not wanting to disappoint her friend, quickly reassured her, “We can do both.”

Rarity quickly spoke up as well. “Yes, of course you can. It’s not as if I were planning on monopolizing all the princess’ time today. You two will have ample opportunity to be cooped up together reading musty old books I assure you, darling. I just need the princess for a few short minutes so she can help me realize my vision!” Rarity said with a dramatic wave of her hoof.

“Well I suppose we could put off our studying for a while,” Twilight said contemplatively.

“Just for a very little while,” Rarity quickly agreed. “And if it makes you feel any better, you are more than welcome to come along and help too. The more the merrier I always say!”

Twilight seemed reenergized by Rarity’s invitation and happily said, “Okay then. Let’s just clean up the kitchen and we can go.”

“Already on it,” Spike called out from the sink. Luna looked down in surprise at the table the dragon had quickly and stealthily cleared. Apparently he was quite eager to go. In a matter of minutes the kitchen was once again spotless and the tea service had been put away. Spike hopped onto Twilight’s back and then she and Luna followed Rarity out of the library.

As they walked through the bustling streets of Ponyville, Rarity called out greetings to several of the ponies they passed.

“Good afternoon, Buttercup, that saddle looks absolutely stunning on you. Hello, Medley, that taffeta finally came in so I’ll be able to put the finishing touches on little Orange Blossom’s dress. Daisy, so good to see you! I just received a new shipment of velvet just perfect for your coloration. Come by later and we can pick something out for you.”

“You’re quite the popular pony,” Luna observed.

Rarity finished waving at a mare just beyond earshot and with a rather rakish smile in Luna’s direction replied, “Well, last year during one of my near brushes with fame, I realized that I wasn’t as well known in Ponyville as I thought I was. So I’ve been working on my ‘social networking,’ as it were. After all, how could I possibly become famous throughout Equestria if there are ponies right here in town who’ve never heard of me?”

Spike eagerly piped up, “You’ll always be popular with me, Rarity.”

“Why thank you, Spike. But while I appreciate your unflagging adoration, it will take more than a simple dragon to spread my name and designs far and near. Speaking of which, we’ve arrived.”

They had come to a rather splendidly decorated building which wouldn’t have seemed out of place in Canterlot. Rarity opened the door for them, causing a bell to tinkle inside the shop.

“Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique, and magnifique,” Rarity announced as she led them inside. Spike leapt off Twilight and as they stepped further into the store, artificial lights sprang to life, revealing an interior decorated in a dizzying array of fabrics. Between the tubs and mirrors for mane care and makeup, the partially dressed ponyquins spread everywhere, and the heavy drapes separating the room and giving it a certain air of stylish mystery, Luna wasn’t quite sure where she was supposed to be looking.

“This is quite an impressive shop, Rarity,” she commented.

“Oh yes, well I do try. It’s amazing what a little paint and a bit of sateen will do. But what I’d like your help with is up here.”

Spike closed the boutique’s door as Rarity preceded them up a staircase tucked behind a curtain Luna had missed during her initial assessment of the store. Soon she found herself in an open room, brightly lit by large windows. There were tables and ponyquins scattered about, as well as bolts of cloth and bobbins upon bobbins of thread. But they seemed to have been categorized more or less, and if there was any chaos in the room, it was organized.

As Rarity approached the largest of the tables, up from which sprouted an elegant sewing machine, Luna took the opportunity to browse through a selection of outfits hanging from a nearby rack. Familiar with the room, Twilight headed over to a small table upon which was an assortment of glossy magazines.

Luna would be the first pony to admit that she had no head for fashion. Even before her banishment to the moon other ponies were finding her taste in togas a bit dated. But Luna did know what she liked, and as she browsed through the many outfits on display, the word which kept coming back to her to describe them was gaudy.

She truly wanted to be able to compliment Rarity’s designs, but it appeared that most of them had been made in white or a pastel color, and while the layouts of the outfits were by no means offensive, the myriad of jewels that had been sewn into them seemed to detract greatly from their overall appeal. The jewels sparkled prettily in the afternoon sunlight, and if there had been one or two, they would likely have made the outfits somewhat fetching. But there were simply too many precious and semi-precious stones crowding each suit and dress, attempting to outshine one another in a mass of conflicting colors. The outfits were far too busy in Luna’s untrained opinion.

“How do you like my summer collection, princess?” Rarity called from across the room.

Luna let the clothes fall back against each other with a clink, and faced Rarity with a nervous smile. “They’re very … colorful. Although perhaps not in quite the style I would have chosen.”

“Oh no, of course not. Those are meant for the midmorning tea parties that are all the rage this season. They’re supposed to capture and beautify the light of the sun, dazzling everypony with the delicate interplay between the ethereal sunlight and the earthly energy of the gemstones. Nopony would be caught dead wearing them after noon.”

She bent back over the table, moving about several colored grease pencils heavily across a sheet of paper. “No. For you, I see something simple, but elegant. Not something that blinds with rays of sunlight, but is closer to a cool whisper of a late autumn breeze stealing through the room. A dress reminiscent of the shiver of night air, of the moon and stars made tangible. Something beautiful, something subtle, something simple, something, like this!”

Rarity pressed down hard enough with the pencils that Luna could hear their scribbling from across the room, then with a final flourish, she ripped the paper off the table and floated it over toward Luna. It was a fairly stark and quickly drawn sketch which nevertheless easily displayed Rarity’s artistic talent. Its bold lines showed a figure obviously representing Luna clothed in a sable dress made up of sharply defined lines and colored in dark blue and deep purples. It was both subtle and deceptively complex. In lieu of a riot of gemstones, its dazzling brilliance was in the cut and interplay of the dress’ lines. It was a dress that Luna would not only feel proud to wear; it was a dress she yearned to wear.

“It’s lovely,” she simply said.

“Wow, Rarity, that looks just as good, maybe even better, then our Gala dresses,” commented Twilight who had joined Luna to appraise the sketch.

“Isn’t it? It’s only a very rough idea of course, but I think it’s a step in the right direction, wouldn’t you agree?”

Twilight turned her head to Luna and narrowly regarded the princess for a few long seconds, causing Luna to begin to blush under the scrutiny, before she declared, “I think you’d look lovely in it.”

“I think so too,” gushed Rarity. “In fact, Princess Luna, I demand that you let me make this dress for you. Oh, I can see it now. You sweeping down the stairs into the ballroom at Canterlot, floating along the brilliantly polished marble, causing everypony’s head to turn in your direction asking, ‘who is she?’ for of course it will be a masquerade.” Rarity mimicked her day dream by draping herself with a loose piece of cloth and bowing to Spike, who played along by offering his claw and bowing to her like a perfect little gentleman. “And the only clue they’ll have will be your natural elegance and the Rarity original you’ll be wearing. With the whole room whispering about how stunning you look, you’ll find the stallion of your dreams standing there in awe of your fabulosity and you’ll sweep him off his hooves for a night full of dancing and enchantment.” Rarity lifted Spike with her magic, and the two began to twirl around the middle of the room.

Luna raised an eyebrow at the odd sight, and tried to speak up to correct a few of the white unicorn’s fallacies. For one thing, there were no stairs leading into the main ballroom back in the palace.

“Actually –“

But Twilight put out a forestalling hoof in front of Luna. “Just let her go with it. She gets like this sometimes.”

Rarity abruptly stopped twirling across the room and hastily dropped Spike, who continued to spin for a few seconds looking a bit dizzy. She rushed back over to Twilight and Luna and loudly said, “So therefore I must insist that you let me make this dress for you. I simply won’t take no for an answer.”

Faced with such an intense pony, Luna attempted to demure, “Well, I wouldn’t want to impose …”

“It wouldn’t be any imposition at all, dear. In fact it would be a greater imposition to not allow me to do this. All I ask is that you wear it with the natural pride and dignity that you’ll certainly feel for it when it’s completed.”

Luna shot a quick glance to Twilight, whose casually interested expression was of little help. She turned back to Rarity and decided, “If you feel so strongly about it, then of course I’ll wear your dress, Rarity.”

Rarity let out an excited squeal and hopped up and down gleefully. “Oh I always knew that I’d be royalty someday, or at least design for them. Princess Celestia hasn’t worn a dress since the fabulous designer Piscola nearly five hundred years ago. Just imagine me, little old Rarity, designer for the royal family. Oh, I’m so excited! Now you just stand right there and I’ll take a few quick measurements, princess.”

As Rarity raced around the room pulling various tapes, papers, and bolts of cloth off the shelves, Luna exchanged a slightly nervous glance with Twilight. Perhaps she’d inadvertently gotten over her head with the agreement she’d just made. “She certainly seems excited.”

“That’s our Rarity, she’s always happiest when she’s working on some monumental project, usually with an imminent deadline.”

Recovered from his earlier ordeal, Spike spoke up, “Don’t worry, Princess Luna, Rarity’s the best designer in Equestria. Whatever she makes for you will look great.”

Not very reassured by Spike’s blind faith in the frantic unicorn, Luna had to admit that it was somewhat gratifying to see somepony who was so excited to be doing something for her. Although as Rarity rushed back toward her with several items floating beside her, Luna amended her thoughts to gratifying and a bit frightening as well.

In a matter of moments she found herself in the midst of a storm of cloth, paper, and measuring tapes. She gave a little yelp and a slight jump as one of the tape measures ran up her leg and into an unexpected spot.

“Nothing to worry about, dear, just getting your inseam,” Rarity explained. The unicorn was engrossed with a floating sheet of paper upon which she was rapidly recording Luna’s various measurements. Far too engaged to spare Luna anything but the briefest of glances.

Luna was somewhat awed by just how quickly Rarity was able to switch from being a pleasant socialite to laser focused designer. She looked over to Twilight to see if she had noticed the abrupt change, but found the lavender unicorn too busy being amused by Luna’s discomfiture at Rarity’s invasive measurement devices to notice much else.

Her amusement was short lived however. Without turning away from Luna, Rarity called out, “Twilight, would you be a dear and hold these for me?” She didn’t wait for an answer before dropping an avalanche of cloth onto Twilight, literally driving the unicorn to the floor.

A few of the smaller cloths atop the pile floated off and toward Luna as Twilight shakily struggled to stand back up. Rarity held up a parade of fabric swatches next to Luna’s eyes as a dark bluish violet cloth was wrapped around her withers.

“Hmm, glaucous, azure, navy, palatinate, no, royal? Spike dear, could you go and fetch my glasses from the other room? The good ones, not the ones with the old frames, you know the pair. Oh, and can you bring back a few more pins too? Thanks,” Rarity less asked and more demanded distractedly.

Instead of protesting, Spike smartly saluted and cheerfully announced, “On it!”

More fabrics were draped over Luna and Rarity pinned them in some places, and marked other areas with a thick piece of chalk. Spike quickly returned with a pair of glasses carefully cradled in his claws and a multitude of pins stuck amongst his scales. Rarity used her magic to relieve him of both the glasses and the pins without as much as a thank you. But judging by his blissful expression, the dragon didn’t seem to mind the somewhat harsh treatment. Perhaps being Twilight’s assistant for so many years had acclimated him to the whims of bossy unicorns.

The next hour or so passed in a blur of cloth being thrown about the room, scissors cutting, chalk marking, and Rarity making comments such as, “Please keep still, princess, I need to pin this in my mind just right so that it doesn’t ride too high.” Or, “Yes, yes, yes! No! Oh how can I work under these conditions?!” and “Oh yes, I am the mare! If I do say so myself.” All the while she kept a rather unnervingly single-minded focus on Luna and the cloth around her that was slowly but surely forming into a rough approximation of the sketch Rarity had drawn earlier.

Luna had braved a few attempts at casual conversation, but Rarity’s intense concentration had caused them to quickly fade into silence. She was apparently in the “zone,” wherever that was, and refused to be disturbed. Compounding the problem, Luna was slightly frightened to breathe too hard and adversely affect the dress making process. Rarity was so focused, so tied up in creating the outfit, that Luna was certain that even minor distraction was sure to cause something untoward to happen.

As the amount of fabric on Luna increased, the pile atop Twilight had decreased, and she’d returned to the small table she’d been at earlier. She appeared good naturedly bored, and had picked up a magazine to peruse. Its cover read, “Cosmoponytan, 19 ways to please your mare.”

Spike was roaming around the room doing anything that Rarity asked of him through her brief bursts of orders which broke out suddenly from time to time. Though there were only a few times when she made use of the small dragon. It seemed like nearly everything Rarity needed was in the room, and everything in the room was within her magic’s reach.

Finally though, Rarity gently lifted the patchwork of pinned together pieces of cloth off of Luna and softly set them down on a nearby ponyquin. “There, that should be a good starting point, I think. Though I’ll probably tear it all to pieces and start again later,” commented the fashion designer pony.

Luna felt physically drained from simply standing there under Rarity’s ministrations for so long, and had a nearly physical pang at Rarity’s words. “You won’t need me to come back and model for you again when you do, will you?” she anxiously asked.

“Oh no,” Rarity said with a dismissive wave of her hoof as she began to float her materials back to their designated areas. “Now that I’ve got a … a feel for your build, I’ll be able to do most of the work myself. I’ll just need you for the final fitting. Although I have to ask, are you planning on wearing you mane that way with this dress?”

“Why? Does it look bad?” Luna asked anxiously. Perhaps she’d missed a spot earlier in the morning and had gone around all day with a cowlick or something equally embarrassing.

“Not at all. In fact I think it’s quite elegant, especially with that wonderful little curl you’ve adopted. I do so enjoy finely coifed manes,” Rarity replied with a toss of her head, causing her own tightly curled hair to bounce. “I was simply asking because someponies like to wear a different hairstyle when they wear formal attire. A change in the way you wear your mane changes the lines of the dress, which is something that I need to take into consideration.

“It would be a good excuse to try something different with your mane,” Twilight said over the top of her magazine. “I think that you would look wonderful with your mane up.”

Rarity looked over at Twilight and agreed, “Yes, formal occasions are excellent excuses for us to step out of the styles we normally wear. Which is why I wish you’d of allowed me to fix your hair a bit more for the Grand Galloping Gala.”

“My mane looks fine just the way it is,” Twilight protested, reaching up a hoof to protectively stroke it. “There’s nothing wrong with it.”

“Of course there isn’t, dear, that simple, no-nonsense style just screams librarian. But perhaps it would be nice to experiment a bit from time to time.”

Twilight angrily set down the magazine and stubbornly lifted her head high. “I’ll have you know that Princess Celestia herself complimented my hairstyle.”

Spike chuckled and in a stage whisper said, “Yeah, when she was ten.”

Luna could barely contain her laughter, it was probably true. But seeing the hurt on Twilight’s face caused her to sober quite quickly. “You’re right, Twilight, your mane does suit you. It’s quite becoming, and gives you a classical sort of beauty which transcends trends.”

Twilight began to appear a bit mollified, and Luna was prepared to say more to make her friend feel better, but Rarity took up the attempt to soothe the upset unicorn.

“Really, Twilight, we didn’t mean to make you feel self-conscious about your mane. I, more than anypony perhaps, can appreciate finding that perfect style that just screams you, and keeping it because it’s so fetching. However that doesn’t mean that you should immediately dismiss all other manestyles out of hoof. I’ve always thought that your bangs were a bit on the short side, and I think you would look positively delightful with a chignon.”

Twilight seemed calmer and less ready to combust in anger, and looked down a bit at the carpet as she only slightly resentfully replied, “Maybe. If Luna agrees to wear her hair up, then I’ll think about doing it too.”

Rarity turned to Luna with excitement making her eyes sparkle, and she was on the verge of saying something, but was interrupted by the sound of the door downstairs being thrown open, its tiny bell jingling with a frenzied energy. Moments later several hoofs were heard loudly pounding upon the stairs. Suddenly three small fillies burst into the room, and after scanning the inhabitants for a moment, their leader, an orange pegasus, cried out, “There she is.” Pointing a hoof straight at the princess.

“Oh no, school must be out,” Rarity said with a sigh and a defeated mutter.

The three fillies, one of whom Luna recognized as Applebloom, noisily stormed into the room and raced to Luna, peppering her with questions.

“Are you really a for real princess, like for real?”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were a princess yesterday?”

“How’d you turn into a princess? Were you a unicorn or a pegasus first?”

Overwhelmed, Luna began to back up to give her a little space as she attempted to answer the questions as best as she was able. “Yes, I am a real princess, like my sister Celestia. I’m sorry, Applebloom, but I thought that you knew. I was born this way; I’ve always been an alicorn.”

“Are you sure you’re a princess? You don’t have a crown or anything like that,” observed the group’s little unicorn who had narrowed her eyes as she closely examined Luna.

“Girls!” Rarity called out hotly. “Leave Princess Luna alone. We were having an adult conversation, and you know it’s rude to interrupt other ponies when they’re talking. Now if you’d all please quiet down and stop bothering Princess Luna, I’m sure that we can discuss whatever it is you want after we’re finished with our own conversation.”

“Aw, but this is important, sis,” complained the younger unicorn.

“Yeah,” piped up the tiny pegasus. “We’re here to get official royal cutie marks. If anypony can give us our cutie marks, it’d be a princess.”

“I want a cool one like the rising sun or something,” Applebloom said excitedly.

“I want one with stars and lightning, like a lightning storm in space. That’d be so awesome,” the pegasus declared.

“I want one that’s a bunch of emeralds.”

Her two friends looked over at the unicorn with flat expressions.

“Emeralds?” Applebloom asked, “Sweetie Belle, what are you thinking? That sounds so boring.”

“What? Emeralds are pretty, and you know, regal”

“You mean royalily. Regal isn’t a word.”

“It is so!”

“Girls,” Twilight broke in. “I’ve already told you that magic can’t make cutie marks appear before their time. They’ll come when they’re ready, when you’ve found that one special thing that you love to do.”

“No offense, Twilight,” The orange pegasus said. “But your magic might not be enough to give us cutie marks, but a princess is powerful enough to do whatever she wants. I bet she can give ponies really cool cutie marks nopony’s ever even seen before.”

Twilight’s distress at the rebuff was easy to see, and it wounded Luna, but still these were simple fillies, they probably didn’t know better. “I’m sorry girls, but Twilight’s right. Even though I’m a princess, not even I can give you your cutie marks before you’re time. Nor should I. A cutie mark is something special to everypony. It’s a symbol of what they enjoy, what they’re good at, what makes them special and unique. If a cutie mark could be given, or taken, that would cheapen your special talents. Or worse, cause you to try and live up to a cutie mark that you don’t like. You just have to be patient and figure out what it is that makes you happy and what you’re good at. Even I had to wait for what seemed like forever to receive mine.”

Applebloom and the little white unicorn, Sweetie Belle, seemed to be hanging on Luna’s words, but the small pegasus seemed doubtful.

Before she could continue her assault on the princess though, Rarity spoke up. “Girls, if you leave Princess Luna alone, I’ll let you help me make a few dresses for an upcoming order. How does that sound?” she offered.

Applebloom turned to Sweetie Belle and excitedly said, “Maybe we can get a fashionista cutie mark!”

Together the three fillies shouted quite loudly, “Cutie Mark Crusader fashion designers yay!”

Their attention successfully diverted, the three excited fillies began racing around the room knocking over and unrolling bolts of cloth, unwinding spools of thread, and somehow getting a long piece of ribbon wound through the inner workings of the sewing machine. Rarity simply stood still staring at the destruction which was being wreaked upon her shop, her eye involuntarily twitching.

Luna’s heart went out to the obviously shocked unicorn, and though she was unsure of how to help, she was more than willing to offer her services. However she was intercepted by Twilight.

“Well, it looks like you have you hooves full,” the lavender unicorn observed. “We’ll just see ourselves out, Rarity.” She began pushing Luna toward the stairs, herding her out of the store.

Rarity’s only reply was a pained groan as the three young ponies knocked over a ponyquin which caused a chain reaction somehow resulting in the curtains of the window being pulled down with a long and loud rip.

“You coming, Spike?” Twilight called over her shoulder as she continued to push Luna out of the room.

“Nah, I’m going to stick around here for a while, just in case Rarity needs something.”

“Suit yourself, Romeo.”

As they left the shop, Luna could clearly hear Rarity finally finding her voice. “Sweetie Belle, what have I told you about touching my things?! Scootaloo, put down those scissors this instant and … good heavens, what have you done?!”

Luna shot Twilight a concerned glance, but Twilight just smiled reassuringly. “I’m sure that she’ll be able to handle them.” Quite honestly, Luna was a bit glad that Twilight had gotten them out of that chaos. She was still feeling positively drained from modeling for Rarity, and didn’t think she had the energy to keep up with three exuberant fillies.

The two ponies walked down the street leading from Carousel Boutique, turned a corner, and found themselves in the midst of a still busy Ponyville market. The bright afternoon sunlight rained down upon the many stalls and shops lining the market, causing them and the ponies gathered around to appear vibrant and full of life. Few of the ponies took special notice of Luna, and the ones who did merely smiled or waved in her direction. Luna warmly returned their greetings, and in happy excitement perused the many carts and stalls of the market, her earlier fatigue quickly dropping away.

But, as she was browsing through rows of artfully crafted pony dolls on display atop a small cart, Luna noticed that Twilight was watching her closely, and her expression had transformed from cheerful gaiety to a thoughtful frown.

“What’s the matter, Twilight?” Luna lightly asked, her voice easily betraying just how great she was feeling spending time window shopping with her friend. “You’re not still upset over what Rarity and I said about your mane are you? We didn’t really mean it. You’re beautiful the way you are, and I’m sure your hair would be lovely no matter how you wore it.”

“No, it’s not about that,” Twilight quickly replied. Although she did reach up a hoof and tucked a bit of her bangs behind her ear. When they fell back to their normal place a moment later, Twilight didn’t seem to notice. “I was just thinking about things.”

“Oh, like what?”

“You. And me.” She said unguardedly. But upon realizing just what she’d said, Twilight hastily explained, “You’re just so happy right now, smiling and making jokes, even laughing a little. I want to see you like that more often. But most of this visit it seems like you’ve had something on your mind, something that makes you frown and sigh.”

Knowing exactly what Twilight was alluding to, Luna’s face fell and Twilight quickly spoke up.

“There, you see, you’re thinking about whatever it is right now.” She softly sighed, then moved closer to Luna and laid a comforting hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Luna, I know that there’s probably a lot on your mind. Things you’re not comfortable talking about. But I don’t like seeing you like this. I want to see you enjoying yourself. I know what it’s like to be so lost in your own thoughts that they begin to eat away at you. But no matter what it is that’s weighing on your mind, just know that I’m always here for you. You can tell me anything and maybe if you shared your burden, it will feel lighter and you’ll feel better.”

Luna gazed into Twilight’s trusting eyes, and could feel the cold knife of guilt turning inside her. How could she ever tell Twilight what was bothering her without driving the unicorn away in anger, hatred, and disgust?

She shrugged off her friend’s hoof and offered her a wan smile. “Thank you, Twilight. You really are the best friend a pony could ask for. I’m sorry that my troubles have been so transparent, and I appreciate your offer to share them. But I’m afraid that it’s best that I carry them alone for a little while longer. I promise that I’ll share them with you, but please let me be the judge of when I do so.”

Twilight broke eye contact and looked down at the ground as she replied, “Oh, of course, Luna. I didn’t mean to press you on something you didn’t feel comfortable talking about. Please, take all the time that you need. I’ll be here whenever you feel ready.”

Luna smiled a small, real smile at Twilight’s generosity. “Anyway, let’s make the most of the time left to us. I promise to keep my sighs away and my thoughts happy for the remainder of our time together.”

Twilight smiled in reply and decided to play along with Luna’s attempt at lightening the mood. “Then let’s grab something to eat and head back to the library so that we can get some studying done, study buddy.”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea.”

The two mares continued on through the market, their delicate happiness quickly transforming into real joy as they delighted in the sights and sounds of Ponyville on such a charming day and in such charming company.

As they were approaching the town’s library, and the market’s stalls were beginning to thin out, they came across Applejack who was in the midst of folding up an apple themed cart.

“Good afternoon, Applejack,” Luna hailed her.

“Howdy, Luna, Twilight.”

“Are you already done for the day?” Twilight inquired.

“Yep, just about sold my entire stock and Applebloom should be here any minute to help me pack up and head on back to the farm.”

“Actually, we just left Applebloom and her friends over at Rarity’s store, and they seemed a bit preoccupied.”

Applejack tilted her hat up contemplatively. “All three of ‘em at Rarity’s huh? Ah guess ah’d better head over there and give her a hoof. Those three can be a bit rambunctious, and Rarity’s not the most patient of ponies.”

“Before you go,” Luna spoke up, “are you certain that you sold out of everything? Twilight and I were looking for something nourishing before we returned to the library and it would be delightful to sample your baked goods again.”

“Well shoot, ah can’t let two ponies go hungry. ‘Specially when they’re my friends.” Applejack kicked the side of her cart and a latched lid popped open revealing a pair of apple pies. “There we go two pies for two hungry ponies. Now if y’all’ll excuse me, ah’d better get over to Rarity's before those fillies tear the place down, or Rarity blows a fuse.”

Luna and Twilight each levitated a pie toward them, and Twilight called out after the retreating orange earth pony, “But we haven’t paid for the pies yet.”

Applejack didn’t stop, but replied over her shoulder, “Ah’ll just put ‘em on your tab.”

Twilight turned to Luna and guilelessly asked, “I have a tab?”

Luna chuckled at Twilight’s befuddled expression. “I suppose so. Now let’s get these home and get back to studying.” It was only minutes later, as they were approaching the tree house, that Luna realized she’d called it home. And what’s more she had meant it. Unsure of how exactly that made her feel, but fairly sure it was mostly good; Luna eagerly stepped into the library, confident that she would enjoy her fragile happiness with Twilight for as long as possible.

--
Amare et sapere vix deo conceditur
--

Celestia hid her disinterest behind a mask of pleasant inquiry that she had perfected over the centuries. Even if she'd been feeling more upbeat and less troubled, she probably would have been soundly bored by the final audience of the day.

“… So, as you can see from my ninety-eight point briefing, it’s my conclusion that the previously unregulated apple market should have a price floor put into place. Currently the near monopoly the Apple family has on the supply of apples allows them to flood the market with low cost fruit, which creates an environment toxic to competition.”

Celestia smiled patiently and wisely down at the young pegasus supplicant. She’d labeled that particular smile number 17 a few centuries earlier, and it was her go to expression when dealing with ponies who’d strayed a bit too far into the absurd. “You present a very convincing argument. Although I must ask, do you truly believe that it’s the cost difference alone which prevents farmers from growing produce in the clouds?”

The sandy coated pegasus appeared stunned at his princess’ question. “What else could it be? The current apple market is geared toward apples produced terrestrially. We need to radically alter our current system in order to promote alternative apple sources. Some ponies believe we can accomplish this simply through subsidies for the cloud farmers, but I believe increasing the price of apples to the point that aero-grown fruit is comparably priced is the best course of action.”

It was almost physically painful to Celestia to hold in her sigh and to keep herself from simply asking the well educated and well intentioned foal to leave. Instead she attempted a different tact. “And how many apple trees are there currently growing in these ‘aero-environments?’”

“Well, none so far,” the pegasus admitted. “But once other ponies see that the market is ready for alternative apples, investors will be lining up, and we’ll be able to establish our first fully cloud based farm. After all, who could pass up an opportunity based on such a simple yet effective premise? Why wait for the rain to water your trees, when they’ll have all the water they need already in the clouds they’re growing in?”

Celestia could feel her smile slipping and a slight headache beginning, as she politely answered, “Yes. Well, thank you for bringing this issue to my attention, and I assure you that it will be given all the attention that it merits. Feel free to leave any supporting materials you’d like with the steward on your way out.”

Seemingly confident in how well his application went, the young stallion bowed deeply to Celestia before he jauntily exited the throne room, his head held high.

Celestia allowed herself a small sigh through the nose, quiet enough to not reach the guards at the foot of her throne. She loved her subjects, truly she did. But sometimes, on occasion, their petty and somewhat shortsighted concerns grew tiresome.

“I believe that was the last of the petitioners scheduled for today,” Celestia half asked, half stated to the attendant hovering just past the guards.

The courtier hastily checked a sheaf of papers on the small table near her before answering, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Excellent. Then, if there’s nothing else…” Celestia paused, but nopony spoke up. “We’re done for the day. Have a wonderful evening everypony, and I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow.”

Normally Celestia would wait for the throne room to empty before making her own exit. But she just didn’t feel like sitting up on the throne any longer then she absolutely had to that day. In a matter of moments she gracefully descended the daises and swept out of the room through the royal entrance leading to the private areas of the palace.

She passed several courtiers and guards who respectfully bowed to her, and she smiled and nodded her acknowledgement of their existence. Celestia was able to keep the smile on her face until she reached her private study, where it slipped away in the security of solitude. She paused only briefly in the anteroom before continuing on to her personal office, firmly shutting the door behind her.

Safe in her sanctum, Celestia settled down behind her large desk, whose top was covered by a slew of reports and petitions awaiting her perusal. Finally she allowed herself a weary sigh. She leaned heavily over the desk and looked toward the only corner kept carefully clear. It was occupied by a small horn painting that Twilight had made years ago when she had been learning how to control her magic with some semblance of finesse. It was a simple picture really, stylized and brightly colored representations of Twilight and Celestia standing close together on a green hill with a childishly yellow sun high in the sky above them. Twilight had been so proud when she’d shown it to Celestia, and had been speechless with happiness when Celestia had asked to keep it.

The picture’s frame was a silvery wood, well aged, and around which was wrapped a grey silk ribbon. It had belonged to Luna a millennium ago, though Celestia could only remember her sister having worn it once. She had found it stuck in-between the cushions of their old throne months after Nightmare Moon’s banishment, and had kept it ever since, as a reminder of the little sister she had failed.

Celestia pushed aside a report emblazoned with an impressively noble seal and rested her head in her hooves, massaging her temples. In truth, she didn’t know why she was so sad, but it wearied her. It was troubling not only that she didn’t know how she’d come by it, but that it revealed how much she had yet to learn of herself.

She turned her head to look out the nearby window. It was late afternoon, with perhaps an hour left until her sun was scheduled to set. Its low position in the sky flooded the room with its rays, the windows creating columns of shadow and light stretching the breadth of the room.

Usually at this time of afternoon, Celestia would visit her school for gifted unicorns, but that day she simply didn’t feel like it. Normally, she would sit in on some of the last classes of the day, observing both the students, as well as the instructors, to make sure that they were following the lessons which would allow them to tap into their true potential. She had established the school in order to have a facility to train and mold the most powerful unicorns in Equestria, so that they would be able to learn to live with their gifts rather than be controlled by them.

At first it had been a wonderful and engaging project. Each new day bringing fresh and interesting challenges. It had been about experimentation and learning from mistakes, of forging an institution the likes of which Equestria had never seen before.

However, as the centuries passed, the vivacity and excitement of those nascent years slowed and transformed into a rigid curriculum where ponies learned by rote more often than by experimentation. Not that such a turn of events was necessarily bad. An ambitious pony with a curiosity unbridled by morals was a very dangerous thing. Thankfully though the Rainbow of Darkness had been defeated and buried in the sands of time.

Over the years the school had become an institution, and the institution had become prestigious. For the last few hundred years, her school had come to be regarded as little more than a finishing school for the older unicorn families. Most of the students attended not so much to refine their own abilities, but rather to make their parents proud, and to have an educational resume that would allow them into the coveted administrative roles in Canterlot.

It was only once in a very long while that a student attended her school who caught her attention. Even more seldom did that unicorn show enough promise to merit becoming her personal student. That was why it had been so wonderful to teach and nurture Twilight Sparkle, slowly molding her into the mare she had become.

Celestia unconsciously smiled warmly as her thoughts turned to her protégé. She could still clearly remember the awesome display of power that had attracted her attention to the young filly, as well as Twilight’s energetic celebration of her acceptance and the appearance of her cutie mark which had followed. It hadn’t been long after that when Celestia had begun to learn just how special Twilight really was.

It was rare to find a pony who was so intelligent, determined, curious, innocent, and passionate, not to mention powerful. Celestia had quickly come to care for the young pony, and had looked forward to their lessons together. She had always been somewhat surprised and impressed with just how quickly the unicorn learned and progressed through her studies, always thirsty for the next bit of knowledge, the next piece to the puzzle that was life.

Sadly, when Twilight had left for Ponyville, she had taken away the shining star of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. The other students were capable and nice unicorns, but they weren’t her Twilight. Even the most promising student, Bay Breeze, lacked that certain something that nopony, save Twilight, had possessed in what seemed like centuries.

With her head still lightly resting on her propped up hooves, and staring out the windows at the reflection of the sun off the roofs and spires of Canterlot, Celestia frowned slightly. She had just been discussing Bay Breeze with somepony, and a nagging part of her brain was telling her that the conversation had been important. But who had it been? There were so many ponies that she spoke with each day, that sometimes it was difficult to remember … Luna. It came to her in a flash. It had been with Luna.

But what could be important about a conversation she’d had with her sister about one of the many students who attend her school? As far as Celestia could recall, Luna had made the mistake of believing that Bay Breeze was her new personal student, but Celestia had quickly corrected her.

Celestia sat up straighter, a thoughtful and questioning light coming to her eyes. How did Luna know about Bay Breeze, and how had she come to the conclusion that she was Celestia’s new star pupil? Luna had never shown anything more than a casual interest in Celestia’s school, at least to her knowledge.

With a flick of her magic, Celestia rang the bells magically connected throughout the palace. Before the last quiet chime tinkled away into silence, there was a polite knock on her office’s door. “You many enter,” she called out loudly enough to carry through the thick wood.

By the time the fuchsia earth pony had opened the door; Celestia had straightened her posture and cloaked herself in the regal air of a princess. The attendant bowed low to the ground and respectfully observed, “You rang, Your Majesty?”

“Yes. Please inform my sister’s steward that I would like to speak with her,” Celestia ordered in her ‘I’m not angry, but please do what I tell you as quickly as possible’ voice.

“Right away, Princess Celestia!”

Celestia would have felt bad for intimidating the poor pony, but her mind was racing too fast with other concerns. If there was anypony who knew the habits and interests of her sister, it would be the pony who had been firmly asked to be as close to Luna as possible. It had been Celestia’s idea that if Luna where never alone, she couldn’t be lonely again, and the past wouldn’t be repeated. So Gimlet Lime should be able to shed some light on the mystery that was eating at Celestia.

Almost before the door closed after the retreating earth pony, it was rapped upon sharply. There was only one pony who used such a heavy hoof on Celestia’s door.

“Come in, Captain Blazer.”

The captain of her guard entered with a clipboard tucked under his wing. He saluted her smartly before picking up the clipboard with his mouth and placing it on her already cluttered desk.

“I’ve brought the list of this year’s graduates from the Equestrian Military Academy, Your Majesty.”

Thoughts about her sister were foremost in her mind, but Celestia feigned interest as she politely asked, “And how are this year’s recruits?”

Blue Blazer huffed in annoyance. “As usual, the Wonderbolts stole the best pegasi candidates, while the unicorn and earth ponies were picked over by the Special Forces. But still, you won’t find a braver, more loyal bunch of ponies in all Equestria,” he finished with pride.

“I’m sure they are.” They always had been; every year since the military academy had been established seven hundred years earlier. However, Blue Blazer’s appearance afforded Celestia with another possible source of information on her sister. Albeit one she wished she didn’t have to use. “So, Captain, how has Princess Luna been these past few days?”

The scarred pegasus had the decency to look not only surprised but clueless as well. “I-I’m not sure what you mean, Your Majesty.”

“I’m simply asking about how my sister is doing. Surely your spies have reported back by now. I’d think that you’d want to be kept abreast of her actions in as timely a manner as possible.”

Blue Blazer laughed nervously before he hastily replied, “But, Your Majesty, you expressly disapproved the decision to continue surveillance on Princes Luna with Royal Guard ponies while she was in Ponyville.”

Celestia smiled a bit condescendingly. “Yes, I did. Which is why you used ponies from other parts of the government instead, I believe.”

His attempt at ignorance exposed, Blue Blazer decided to try and explain himself. “Your Majesty, I assure you that I only have your interests in mind. I did set a watch upon your sister, but only because I feared she is engaged in a plot against you.”

Celestia arched an enquiring eyebrow. “And what subversive acts has she been engaging in?”

Blue Blazer appeared rather uncomfortable as he replied, “Well, none. So far. At least from what my observers can tell.” He met Celestia’s eyes with renewed energy as he added, “But she has been acting in a manner unfitting for a princess! She could be attempting to discredit the royal house of Equestria!”

“I believe Prince Blueblood beat her to that plan by about ten years or so,” A small smile of amused disbelief appeared on Celestia’s face as she humored the captain. “And how is my sister going about discrediting the noble monarchy?”

“For one thing, she was openly intoxicated in public,” replied the captain hotly.

Celestia had to fight to keep her face relatively stoic. But the mental image of Luna being drunk made her want to laugh out loud. She supposed that Luna technically was over the physical legal drinking age, if not the emotional. She could easily picture her sister intoxicated, and it was very cute. She made a mental note to come up with an excuse to celebrate something in the near future that would be an appropriate occasion to combine Luna and alcohol.

Sadly, Celestia’s thoughts had to return to less pleasant matters as Blue Blazer continued, “She’s also attempted to connect with the more … common ponies by going so far as to engage in physical labor unbefitting a pony of her station.”

That was something Celestia wished she could have seen. Her sister was by no means lazy, but at the same time Luna was one of the most powerful magical creatures in all Equestria. Celestia had never seen her do anything more physically straining then fly for a few hours without rest. For her to do manual labor, she must have had an important reason. Perhaps there was some truth to what Blue Blazer was saying. Perhaps Luna was trying to engage with other ponies. Although not necessarily for the reason the pegasus had suggested, but rather perhaps because Luna wanted to make friends.

With a sigh, Celestia stated, “Captain Blazer, if that’s the extent of my sister’s crimes against Equestria, I feel confident that my reign will last at least another day or two.”

Blue Blazer flapped his wings in a burst of frustration as he replied, “You Majesty, she’s not –“

However, he was interrupted by his monarch. “She’s not the pony you think she is, Captain. I’m disappointed that you can’t seem to trust her, and even more disappointed that you went so far as to attempt to countermand my decision in secret …” There was much more that Celestia wished to say, but they were interrupted by a hesitant knock. “Come in,” Celestia loudly called out, her eyes informing Blue Blazer that their conversation wasn’t over.

A tan unicorn with puffy eyes and a hastily brushed mane entered and dropped into a low bow. “You sent for me, Your Highness?”

Celestia smiled warmly, attempting to put the young unicorn at ease. “Ah yes, Gimlet Lime. Thank you for coming so quickly. I had a question that I wished to ask my sister, but since she isn’t here, I was hoping that you could answer it for me in her stead.”

“Of course. If I can,” quickly replied Gimlet, eager to help.

“Recently my sister asked after one of the students of the School for Gifted Unicorns. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but I was wondering if she’d spoken to you about her interest in the school at all. I think it would be wonderful if she felt willing to perhaps help teach there.” It wasn’t technically a lie, Celestia would love it if Luna took a more active role around Canterlot, and she believed her sister would benefit a lot from being exposed to the youth of the nation.

Gimlet scrunched up her face in thought. “No,” she said with a hint of confusion. “I don’t think that the subject’s ever come up before.”

“Oh, I see,” Celestia said with a slight disappointment that was only partially feigned. “Do you think perhaps she spoke about it with somepony else, one of the guards perhaps?”

Gimlet cast a disapproving glance in Blue Blazer’s direction, which he answered with his normal friendly scowl, before she answered. “I don’t think so. I’ve been following your ‘suggestion’ and I’ve spent nearly every minute of the night with Princess Luna. She’s never spoken to me about the School for Gifted Unicorns, much less anything about a particular student. Besides which, Princess Luna is a bit withdrawn, and it’s hard for her to build a repartee with the guards since the ones assigned to her are changed so frequently.”

Blue Blazer gruffly interrupted to defend himself, “I have to constantly change the guard roster assigned to Princess Luna because after a few nights of her ‘woe is me’ routine, they start getting soft and feeling sympathy for her. I don’t need any of my colts with divided loyalties the next time the princess has a temper tantrum and tries to destroy Equestria.”

Gimlet Lime was obviously shocked, and stared at the captain of the guard for a moment incredulously before she hotly replied, “Well perhaps Princess Luna would be happier and less moody if somepony wasn’t trying to turn her palace into a prison, and all of us into her jailors.”

Blue Blazer was about to retort when Celestia gently interrupted, “My little ponies, please stop arguing. I’m sure that we all want what’s best for Princess Luna.” Blue Blazer rolled his eyes and sulked. Celestia had much to say to him about his attitude toward her sister. But it would be unprofessional to dress him down in front of Gimlet Lime. She turned to her sister’s steward and asked, “So, are you certain that you’re with Luna all the time when she’s not resting?”

“Yes. Well, mostly. Princess Luna prefers to be by herself when she goes to the library. She says my ‘hovering’ disturbs her reading.”

The mention of the library caused several nebulous thoughts in the back of Celestia’s mind to begin to coalesce. There was another pony close to her heart who was fond of the library. Who had been with Luna shortly after having mentioned her planned trip to visit her friends the books.

“Tell me, Gimlet Lime, when was the last time that Luna visited the library?”

Gimlet uncertainly answered, “About two weeks ago, I think.”

“It was the day Twilight Sparkle came to visit the palace,” Blue Blazer said with certainty. “Princess Luna was escorted to the library by my stallions. Half an hour later, Miss Sparkle entered the library. The guards on duty noted that she seemed upset. Two hours later and they escorted both Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle from the library to the private area of the palace.”

Gimlet Lime appeared scandalized by Blue Blazer’s statement. Whether because he seemed to have an encyclopedic knowledge of Luna’s movements or because he had kept a better track of Luna then she had, Celestia was unsure. It didn’t matter to her though. Celestia had discovered the information she had wanted. The pony who had told Luna about Bay Breeze had obviously been Twilight Sparkle.

“Thank you, Gimlet Lime,” Celestia said pleasantly. “You’ve answered my questions very well. I’m afraid that I disturbed your rest. I know that many of my sister’s attendants are still asleep this time of day. Feel free to go back to bed.”

Luna’s steward appeared as confused at her obvious and abrupt dismissal as she had been at her abrupt summons. “Thank you, Princess Celestia. I’m glad I was able to be of service.” She dropped into another low bow as she spoke. When she stood, she shot a final contemptuous glance at Blue Blazer before silently leaving Celestia’s office.

Blue Blazer waited a few moments after the door had closed behind Gimlet Lime, to make sure that the other pony was safely away, before he turned back to Celestia. “If that’s all, Your Highness…”

Celestia’s mind was nagging her that there was something important in the information she’d just heard, and she’d long ago learned to heed her gut feelings. She desperately wished to be alone so she could turn her full attention to the situation between her, Luna, and Twilight.

But first things first. She looked down at Blue Blazer with a neutral, yet stern expression. It was a look that had cowed dragons and wyverns in the past. The few ponies who had earned it either had cowered in fright, begged for her forgiveness, or in rare cases, had begun to cry. Blue Blazer did none of these. Instead he looked up at her, his face impassive, though there was a slight tremor in his wings and rear legs.

“Captain Blazer, how long have you been a member of the Royal Guard?”

“Forty years, Your Highness. Twelve as captain,” he answered immediately and proudly.

“I see. That’s quite an impressive record,” Celestia mused. “Your predecessor, Captain Blenheim, was in the guard for only thirty years before he retired. Perhaps it’s time that you considered retirement yourself.”

Shock and dismay played out over Blue Blazer’s face as he sputtered out, “Y-your Majesty?!”

Celestia placed her elbows on her desk and contemplated Blue Blazer over her crossed hooves. “You see, Captain, I fear that you’ve been in the service for too long. I think that you’ve become blinded by your devotion to your duty. While in most cases that is commendable, I have made it clear on multiple occasions that my sister is not to be judged on her past actions, but is to be treated as my equal. In fact I’ve had several conversations about that subject with you specifically. Yet despite this, you seem to have not only regarded Princess Luna with continued suspicion, but you’ve deliberately created a hostile environment for her in the palace. A place which she should think of as her home, her sanctuary. In addition you’ve circumvented my direct orders about keeping watch on her.”

“But, Your Majesty, Princess Celestia, I only thought of your well being,” explained a panicky Blue Blazer. “Princess Luna tried to destroy Equestria once. She tried to usurp your place, what makes you think that she won’t try again?”

“I trust her. She’s learned from the mistakes of the past. We both have. And neither of us will let them happen again I assure you.” Celestia sighed and looked down at Twilight’s picture and Luna’s ribbon for strength before she turned again to Blazer.

“Captain, the main reason I feel that it’s time for you to retire is because of the length of your service. As the saying goes, ‘familiarity breeds contempt.’ By disobeying me, by continuing your vendetta against my sister, no matter how well intentioned, you’ve put your own ideas and opinions above mine. A good royal guard pony must always remember that I am your princess and my orders are final. While I welcome feedback and differing points of view from all of my subjects, I need to know that when I give an order, it’s followed. When I tell a pony to forgive my sister and to treat her as a princess, equal in power to me, I expect them to forgive her and treat her as they would treat me. I do not want them to suspect her of treason, and I certainly don’t want them to spread that point of view to the rest of the guards. Especially after I’ve made myself clear on the point on multiple occasions. Do you understand?”

Blue Blazer was sullen as he replied, “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“You’re a good guard pony, and a great captain. One of the best I’ve ever had. But I simply can’t allow anypony in such an influential position to question the legitimacy of Princess Luna’s reform and current status as co-regent of Equestria.” Celestia paused as she saw how bent and pained Blue Blazer had become. As if she had just robbed him of his most important possession, but he couldn’t get angry about it. “Cheer up, Blue Blazer, most ponies look forward to retirement. Just think, you’ll be able to take up hobbies, travel the world, see, smell, and taste things few other ponies ever have.”

In a sullen grumble Blue Blazer replied, “But I won’t be serving you.”

Celestia stood up and walked around her desk to place a delicate hoof on Blazer’s shoulder. “So long as you keep the sun in your heart, you will always serve me, just as faithfully and dutifully as you have in the past. I believe in you.” Blue Blazer looked up at her with tears in his eyes, and Celestia smiled down benevolently at him. “I’ll give you a few weeks to announce your retirement, and to find your replacement. Never forget though, you were always one of the best.”

Blue Blazer stepped away from her, and bowed. “Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you. ...It’s been an honor.” As he straightened, Celestia bowed her head regally, and with tears threatening to fall, the captain of her guard quietly left her office.

Finally alone with her thoughts once more, Celestia sank down onto a nearby cushion as she mulled over what she’d learned, quickly dismissing the soon to be former captain out of her thoughts.

Her sister had no prior interest in her school or its students. Her sister had met with Twilight in the library, and soon afterward had revealed that she thought that Celestia had taken Bay Breeze on as her new personal student. The simplest and therefore most likely scenario was that Twilight had been the one to tell Luna about Bay Breeze. But why? And for that matter, why had the guards thought that Twilight had been upset?

Celestia thought back to the day in question. She had been a bit distracted. The griffon ambassador had found an addendum in the treaty that hadn’t been worded as clearly as he had liked. So he had been threatening to throw away the entire document unless he had his way. Celestia had spent practically the whole day trying to smooth down the feathers on both sides.

She had allowed herself a short break from the negotiations only because she had promised the dean of her school much earlier that she would spend time with the students. So she had spent her short free time observing Bay Breeze perform an elementary magical lesson that Twilight Sparkle had mastered in a fraction of the time, and at an earlier age. She remembered that it had been around that time that her favorite and most faithful student had appeared.

Celestia had felt revitalized by meeting and speaking with Twilight Sparkle. In fact, she had gone back to the negotiations and had shortly forged an agreement between the dragons and the griffons that very night.

Although, thinking back on it, it did occur to Celestia that Twilight had seemed a bit more … awkward than normal. Later in the evening she had seemed much more relaxed around Luna, and there had been a bit of distance between her and her student. In fact, that was about the time that Twilight’s letters had become less heartfelt and animated. And it had been shortly after that when Luna had asked about Bay Breeze taking Twilight’s place…

Celestia chuckled disbelievingly at her epiphany. Twilight had been the one to tell Luna about Bay Breeze, and she probably was the one who had given Luna the idea that the filly was Celestia’s new student. Twilight wasn’t distancing herself from Celestia because she was growing up. It was because she thought that she’d been replaced.

Celestia’s happiness for such a simple problem with an equally simple solution was short lived. Luna had known what Twilight had thought, and how Celestia felt. Yet she hadn’t done anything to solve the problem. In fact, it appeared to Celestia that the gulf between her and Twilight was only growing wider. Why would Luna allow something which hurt both her sister and her friend to go on? Celestia could think of several reasons, but few of them were pleasant.

Perhaps Blue Blazer’s suspicions were still lingering in the air. Her first thought was that Luna might be deliberately trying to break apart Celestia and Twilight because Twilight was the key to the elements of harmony, the power that had defeated Nightmare Moon twice before. It could be an attempt to subvert the elements, to take them out of the equation. If that happened, then there was little else in Equestria which could be used to thwart any bid for power Luna made.

Such a sly and subtle scheme was at odds with what Celestia knew about her sister. But then again, she hadn’t been aware of the depths of Luna’s feelings a millennium ago until Nightmare Moon had appeared. There had been a time when she had understood the workings of her sister’s mind intimately. But now, Luna was more often than not a mystery to Celestia. Gone was the happy, carefree alicorn she had known. In her place was a moody and somber pony that had the entire palace walking on eggshells.

Another, less alarmist reason behind Luna’s silence was that perhaps Twilight Sparkle had forbidden her from telling Celestia. Celestia smiled fondly at the thought. In many ways Twilight was still a filly, and she could easily see her student swearing Luna to secrecy for reasons clear only to herself.

Or perhaps Luna was simply taking her time to gather information to fully understand both sides of the issue. She had never been one to leap into things, preferring to study and think things over before choosing a course of action.

Or possibly Luna was feeling resentful that Celestia wasn’t paying as much attention to her as she thought she deserved. Maybe she was deliberately trying to steal Twilight Sparkle away from Celestia in order to hurt her older sister.

As the scenarios running through her mind became ever more outlandish, Celestia reigned in her thoughts and fears. The simple facts were, Twilight had seen her with Bay Breeze, and for one reason or another had come to the conclusion that she had been replaced as Celestia’s favored pupil. Twilight had gone to the place she felt safest in, the library, where she had met Luna and had told her about Bay Breeze and her presumed new position. Luna had calmed the unicorn down and apparently had established a rapport with Twilight which had blossomed into a friendship. Luna had then found out the truth of the matter from Celestia, but had failed to clear up the misunderstanding, and instead had left for Ponyville to deepen her friendship with Twilight Sparkle.

The possible reasons for Luna’s actions were endless, but they fell into three broad groups. Either she was plotting to eliminate the elements of harmony as a possible enemy, or she was deliberately trying to hurt either Celestia or Twilight, or there was some benign reason which made sense to somepony.

The first option was the most dire. The two times that Nightmare Moon had been defeated, it had been because of the elements of harmony. Celestia was arguably more powerful than her sister, and undeniably more experienced. But Nightmare Moon was much more powerful than either Luna or Celestia. Besides which, Celestia wasn’t sure that she had the heart to fight Nightmare Moon or Luna again. She reflected on the battle they had waged against each other a thousand years ago. The blows that had been struck, the wounds that had been inflicted, the oaths and curses made which could never be unsaid. They all reverberated through time and their sharp pain still pierced Celestia’s heart. No. While Celestia loved Equestria and all her little ponies, if Luna was planning on resurrecting Nightmare Moon, and bringing about eternal night, Celestia wasn’t sure if she would be able to stand up against her again.

Celestia sighed and lowered the sun. In the brief minutes between sunset and moonrise, when the sky was rainbowed in red, purple, and black, Celestia mulled over the second possibility. That Luna was deliberately sabotaging Celestia’s relationship with Twilight not because she was planning on usurping Celestia’s place, but simply out of spite.

The Luna Celestia had once known would never act so pettily. But perhaps being treated simply as the “other” princess for so long had caused the resentment in Luna to build up and change her. Certainly Celestia could understand how grating the way other ponies treated her must be. Few if any supplicants during the night, a staff afraid of you, guards suspicious of you, and the only pony who could truly understand you only having a few hours of each day at best to meet with you. Exacerbating the problem was the fact that Luna was a bit less outgoing than Celestia, and that shyness meant some ponies took liberties with Luna that they would never have thought of taking with her older sister.

Celestia shook her head ruefully as she realized that she’d been as guilty as the other ponies. On multiple occasions she’d dumped simple but tedious administrative asks on Luna’s lap simply because she didn’t feel like doing them. Could Luna’s actions be her passive-aggressive way of getting back at Celestia? Or maybe it was a cry for help?

The moon’s silvery light stole over Canterlot, breaking the city of towers into columns of black and grey.

Finally, Celestia considered the last possibility; the one she hoped was the truth. The one where Luna was remaining silent not out of hatred or spite, but because of a reason more innocent in nature. Something that Celestia was unaware of, but made sense to Luna.

With all her heart Celestia hoped that the third possibility was the actual case. If Luna’s actions were born out of some benign but mistaken emotion, then it would be a simple matter to rekindle Celestia’s relationship with Twilight. And with Luna’s newfound friendship with the young unicorn, perhaps between them, the princesses would be able to coax the wayward scholar to visit Canterlot more often.

Twilight’s experiences in Ponyville had been wonderful for the once somewhat antisocial pony. With help from her friends, Twilight had learned many invaluable lessons in friendship and of life in general. She had grown as a pony in new and exciting ways, blossoming from a bookish filly into an intelligent, beautiful young mare.

But while her pupil had grown as a pony, freed from the structured world of the magical academy, Celestia couldn’t help but miss Twilight’s eager and excited energy. Certainly the princess had sycophants aplenty, innumerable servants, guards, attendants, nobles, and countless other ponies at her beck and call. But none of them were Twilight Sparkle. None of them had shown the talent, personality, power, dedication, or charming innocence that had made her apprentice unique. Without Twilight, Canterlot seemed a duller place, Luna’s presence notwithstanding.

Celestia almost smacked herself in the face with her hoof. How had she allowed herself to get so far afield? She still had to determine what Luna’s actual intentions were. Luckily, Celestia knew an excellent way to do just that.

If there was one thing about Luna that had remained constant, it was that she was a poor liar. Unless she simply omitted a fact, it was usually fairly obvious to Celestia when her sister wasn’t telling the truth. If Celestia were to send Luna a message that came just short of outright stating her conclusions about Luna’s silence, she would probably be able to determine Luna’s thoughts based upon her reply.

So Celestia flexed her magic and lit several of the nearby lamps. She also opened her writing desk across the room and levitated a quill, inkpot, and several pieces of parchment to where she sat. After only a few moments of thought, she dipped the quill in the ink, and began to write:

“Dearest sister,

I hope that this letter finds you well, and that you’re enjoying your vacation. I also hope that you are finding Ponyville and its residents as pleasant as I know them to be. Please give my regards to Twilight Sparkle and all of her friends. Although I’m certain that they’re all doing well.

Things are much the same here in Canterlot as when you left. Of course sometimes it seems like things never really change that much here. Not that such consistency is a bad thing. But watching over a nation of such peaceful ponies allows one considerable time to reflect, and feel lonely. I must admit that though you’ve been gone for only a few days, I miss you terribly, and look forward to your return.

But enough about me. I’m sure you don’t want to hear about your sister’s loneliness. How are you and Twilight getting along? I’m certain that by now you’ve come to recognize how special and talented she is. In fact, she was the first pony in centuries to capture my attention so thoroughly. She was such a joy to teach, and it was both exciting and entertaining to watch her explore her powers and to grow into the young mare she is today.

I know that as everypony grows, they must leave some of their relationships from the past behind. But I also know that while I’ve lost a student, you’ve gained a valuable friend. And nopony could ask for one finer.

I’m afraid that I must cut my letter short, the day is over and the night is quickly passing. I still need to begin on the paperwork for Captain Blazer’s retirement. After many years of valuable service, the good captain has decided that his work for Equestria is finished. When you return to Canterlot, we can discuss his replacement, as well as perhaps a new organization for the palace guard. I like to mix things up every few decades to keep them on their hooves.

Please don’t forget to give my love to Twilight, and I’m counting the days to your return.

Celestia”

Celestia looked over her the letter for a few minutes, hoping that her play to send Luna on a guilt trip wasn’t too obvious. She knew it wasn’t the finest piece of writing she’d ever produced, but she hoped that its slight awkwardness would give it an authentic feel. Deciding that it was good enough to draw out Luna’s true feelings, Celestia rolled the paper into a scroll and sealed it with her crest. She concentrated slightly and in a bright flash of white hot light, the scroll disappeared.

It was getting late, at least for Celestia. While most ponies would be awake for hours to come, the early rising Celestia’s self imposed bed time was fast approaching. She did actually need to get started on the paperwork for Blue Blazer’s retirement, but resolved to see to it first thing in the morning.

She turned off the lights spread across her office and left the darkened room behind, locking the door after her. She trusted her ponies implicitly, but Celestia knew that sometimes curiosity could overcome common sense.

The hallways of the palace were empty as she passed through them on her way to her bedchamber. The change between the day and night shifts had taken place nearly an hour previously. Even though Celestia had increased the palace’s night staff threefold since the return of her sister, it was still a fraction of the size of the day staff. The hallways which saw so much bustling activity during the day, were eerily still at night.

Celestia didn’t want to unfairly force some of her subjects to go against their circadian rhythm, but perhaps she should look into hiring more night owlish ponies to augment the number of ponies awake during the night hours. While it seemed few ponies took advantage of Luna’s court, it would be nice for the palace to appear as busy for her sister as it did for Celestia. She filed the idea away as she reached the hallway leading to the royal sister’s private apartments. Celestia cast a lingering glance at Luna’s star strewn door before sighing and entering her own bedroom.

It was a room only lightly touched by the passing centuries. A large and nearly garishly decorated vanity constructed when mirrors and gilding were the height of fashion, four hundred years previously, stood next to a plain but substantial bookcase she had brought from their last castle. One end of the room was dominated by a large and luxurious bed only fifty or so years old. Across from it were a large fireplace and a cushion specially made for a pony of her size. Scattered throughout the room were various knickknacks of days and adventures long past.

There was an intricately engraved drinking horn that had once been the tooth of the largest, most terrible dragon to ever plague Equestria. A golden apple from a tree long lost to myth. A portrait of her by Leonardo da Pony; his last piece in fact before his unfortunate end. These and other priceless treasures littered the room.

But perhaps the feature which Celestia enjoyed the most were the walls. The ones on which had the door leading to the palace, and led over to the fireplace, were of the close fitting stone as the rest of the palace. But the others had been enchanted to be transparent, from the inside of the room at least. Celestia had transformed them a few centuries earlier in a fit of boredom, and couldn’t be happier with the result.

From her vantage, it seemed as if all of Canterlot, as well as all of Equestria were spread out at her hooves. Every night she went to bed her vision full of the star painted night, and every morning she awoke and welcomed the colorful beauty of her sun. The illusion was so well done, it was difficult to tell where the wall ended, and the tall rounded window which led out onto a small balcony attached to her room began.

Celestia’s hoofmaidens had been through her room. The bed’s cheerful white and yellow sheets had been turned down, the scrolls she had left strewn across the floor had been placed in a neat stack, and despite it being a summer night, there was a roaring fire in the fireplace. It’s well intentioned heat was actually somewhat stifling, so Celestia rearranged the logs to reduce the size of the fire, then stepped out onto her balcony to enjoy the night air while waiting for her bedroom to cool down a bit.

Far below, the lights in the streets of Canterlot created a small sea of warm illumination. But the towers which stretched into the night sky were dark columns of inky blackness, only made slightly lighter by the cold moonlight. A few of their windows were lit, and the small squares and circles of artificial light were beacons in the dark sky.

There was something pretty about the night that had only returned when Luna had taken her duties over again. Celestia wasn’t sure what it was, couldn’t quite name it, but she knew it had been lacking when she had been responsible for both the day and the night. For a thousand years Celestia had simply copied what Luna had once done, propelling her sister’s moon across the unchanging night sky, and it had been enough. But ever since Luna’s return, the night felt more … alive. The stars wheeled and danced far above, while the moon made its slow circuit full of pale fire and dark shadow. Yes, Celestia mused to herself, something had changed.

She had spent several long minutes outside admiring not only the night, but the city before her, when a dark wisp of magical smoke, only slightly brighter than the dark night, curled up around the edge of the balcony. It stopped just in front of Celestia and began to rapidly twirl, compacting in on itself. There was a faintly audible pop, and the smoke transformed into a scroll bearing Luna’s dark blue seal. With a heart full of nervous apprehension, Celestia levitated the scroll up before it could fall to the ground, and broke the seal.

Luna’s normal hoofwriting was an elegant calligraphy incorporating many flourishes and artful decorations absent in most modern writing. It was a beautiful script which seemed more suited for an illuminated manuscript than a simple note. While Celestia could see a similarity between Luna’s normal hoofwriting and that in the letter she received, it was difficult.

Usually Luna wrote neat and evenly, each word crafted to be passed down through the ages. This letter though had been written very poorly. Some lines were thin and slanted together, as if Luna had been racing to get them onto the paper. Others were wide and shaky, the ink blotted, as if Luna had been reluctant to write and had rested the pen against the paper for several long moments. There was even a spot near the end of the letter where Luna had pressed down so forcefully that the nib of the pen had broken and sent out a spray of ink.

Even before she began to read, Celestia knew that her sister had written while under an emotional strain.

“Dear Celestia,

I was surprised to receive your letter. To be honest, I hadn’t thought our separation to be long enough to necessitate correspondence. That being said, I must admit that I have often found my thoughts with you in Canterlot during this journey, and was most delighted to receive your letter. I’m glad you felt the urge to write me, your letter allowed me to organize my own thoughts. Things are much clearer for me now.

I’m sorry that you’re feeling so isolated and despondent, but know that I miss you very much. Upon my return, I have a -- some news to share with you which hopefully will alleviate the reasons behind your melancholy. It will likely be something of a bittersweet revelation, but ultimately a pleasant one I -- believe.

Twilight is doing well. --She is as talented and knowledgeable as you’ve informed me in the past, and it’s quite apparent why you chose her as your pupil. Her power is only surpassed by her intellect, yet what little hubris she has is charming in its innocence. She often frets about appearing mature and capable in front of everypony, and myself in particular, but I readily admit that I enjoy her unguarded moments. The ones in which she reveals herself as normal as any other pony, perhaps more so.

I find that Twilight lacks the protective emotional shell most other ponies have. Even the most off the cuff remark or unintended slight can wound her deeply. She’s so very strong, yet at the same time quite fragile. Anypony would be lucky to have her as a friend, no matter how much or how little time they spend with her.

As I already wrote, I have something of great importance to discuss with you upon my return. But -- I believe that it can wait until then.

I look forward to returning to Canterlot and relieving you of your sadness,

Luna.”

Despite the relative brevity of the letter and the jumble of emotions behind it, Celestia smiled. Whatever Luna’s reasons behind her actions, they weren’t malevolent. If her sister had been attempting to negate the elements of harmony and try to claim the throne for herself, her letter would have been calm and collected. It would have reassured Celestia, insincerely soothing her into widening the rift between her and her student.

If Luna had been merely attempting to separate them from spite, her letter would have been triumphant and aggravating. However, Luna’s tone had been almost apologetic. Her mind and emotions were unsettled, enough so that she seemed to have missed the section in Celestia’s letter about Blue Blazer, or had thought it not important enough to address.

Instead, Luna had focused her attention entirely on Twilight, and to a lesser extent Celestia. She had alluded to news she felt Celestia should know which could only be the revelation about Twilight’s true feelings. She had even gone so far as hint at Twilight’s sensitivity and how easy it was for there to be a misunderstanding with the young unicorn.

It was obvious that Luna was aware of the state of affairs between Celestia and Twilight, and was upset over her part in it. So Celestia smiled because Twilight still loved her, and as soon as Luna worked up the courage to face her fears, Celestia could show her that they had been entirely groundless, whatever they were. Celestia loved Luna, and could forgive her anything.

With a bounce in her step, Celestia walked back into her room. Her sleep that night was easy and full of wonderful dreams about the future. A future with her, Luna, and Twilight in that endless summer field from the picture on her desk.

---

A/N
Thanks to Dawning the Mask and Labrotrist for pre-reading and not blocking my e-mail address.

Comments

[Ehrlichkeit]

Rarity tilted her hat up contemplatively. “All three of ‘em at Rarity’s huh? Ah guess ah’d better head over there and give her a hoof. Those three can be a bit rambunctious, and Rarity’s not the most patient of ponies.”

I think you mean Applejack.

[dlazerous]

T His is a wonderful story. Each chapter is a bit on the long side and I can't stop reading them... Damn you for making me loose sleep!

[Tyek]

"Is my writing really as pretentious as I think it is?" Maybe. But I think it's just the right amount of 'pretentiousness'. For example, I found myself almost struggling to finish device heretic's Eternal. Nothing in it was ever completely explained until the end and the way each character thought about things did not seem 'intuitive' to me. The story tried to be complex and 'mysterious', but to me it was just confusing and mostly annoying.

You on the other hand, have written things well. Although the story has been fairly slow so far, I can see how each characters mind works, etc. Can't wait to read more.

[Snakebite]

I've been enjoying your story, even if you originally intended it to be a one-shot, I still think you've done a wonderful job.

Especially that you have made each character believable enough to where I can expect certain reactions, while still keep them deep and interesting. That I feel I understand the minor characters situations as well as the main ones and the emotions they carry mean a lot to stories personally.

But I suppose that'll mean more when I've finished the whole story.

Hope I communicated that alright, I'm kinda tired...

[Reader Wolf]

I just want to say that this is wonderful work.
The story is beautifully written, and the pacing is just right. It really takes its time telling the story and getting into the minds of the characters.
Speaking of characters, that has to be the best part. Truly great characterization, and the interaction is lively. It brings a smile to my face.

I am enjoying every minute of this. Keep up the good work.

[Chiruno]

Going to arrive too late at school because I have been reading too long

[Raven Flight]

Wait...this was supposed to be a one shot??!?? I'm glad you were talked into expanding it! This is my second time reading this story, and I love it more this time through. Is that weird? Anyway, keep up the amazing work, I can't wait to see where you're taking us!

[juter4397]

I can certainly see where the one shot would have stopped if it had stayed one.

[sorathecrow]

Really liking the story so far! I like that this whole "Celestia doesn't love me anymore!" thing is on the verge of being resolved, and I really hope something else doesn't come along to horribly set them back. /tempting fate

[Misago]

I finally had to say it.

Your predecessor, Captain Blenheim

I see what you did there.

[Wild Strikes]

I want to know what love is

I want you to show me!
If it wasn't said already. Someone had to say it!

[FireAlphaWolf]

Oh, I can see it now. You sweeping down the stairs into the ballroom at Canterlot, floating along the brilliantly polished marble, causing everypony’s head to turn in your direction asking, ‘who is she?’.

Yeah, 'who is she?' If not the second tallest pony in the room and with a long horn and giant wings, giant compared to others...

Plus you can't hide those wings and horn!!!