Harmony Unfurled

by Saturni_Rose

Prologue: Now that it's all over...

A lone pony was on a wistful stroll along a wooded path. Her coat was navy blue, and her body tall and lithe. Her name was Luna, and the truth of it was, she wasn’t entirely sure what she was doing out here. Town was a quick jog back in the other direction, through the thinning trees and down the rolling hills. But something compelled her to this spot, along the fringe of the Everfree.

Trees opened up into a clearing, and the last light of moon fizzled through their leaves. Sister’s sun would doubtless be rising soon; this memory made Luna wonder about her. They hadn’t exactly ended on the best of terms, despite the best efforts of either party. But this was a thought she pushed back down as she climbed deeper into the clearing.

Luna gingerly scraped her hoof along the edge of a decent divet in the earth. It occurred to her that this was the spot. It must be. This is where she landed when she fell back from the heavens. She cast her weary gaze over one shoulder, watching that moon which had been her prison fading beneath the horizon. And when she turned back, a thin orange light grew a bloom of blue to the eastern sky. It was dawn.

Nearby, she found the pool she’d used before. Over half a week later, and with no rain, it had shrunk significantly in width. Yet despite being no larger than a serving platter, she found it still held her longing reflection perfectly fine.

Luna considered herself for what felt like quite a long little while, silently pondering how things had gone. She scrutinized her dark coat, and blue hair that twinkled like the night’s sky. Her teal eyes frowned with the rest of her face, somehow unhappy.

With a blink and a whisper, she turned purple, with black hair, and red eyes. Perhaps things would have remained so much simpler, had she been able to remain Louise Moonshadow, some aloof unicorn who happened to know an awful lot about history, rather than somepony who had actually lived through it.

But that was all over, wasn’t it?

“It is over.” Luna announced to no-one in particular. She let her illusionary alter ego fade away with a sigh. “Then why doesn’t it feel over?”

Nightmare Moon had been defeated, and balance restored to Equestria along with her sunshine. She personally even had a hoof in felling the beast. And with that victory, she bade a glorious farewell to the past that had haunted her; the monster she had become was dead, with her on top in the end. And now the second chance at life she’d begged for every single cursed night in the moon as Equestria blurred past her unfocusing vision for this monumental, unfathomable amount of time… had finally come.

Luna drew a shaky breath and closed her eyes to the pool. She didn’t want to look at her own face any longer. It reminded her far too much of the past. Instead, her desperate eyes found the sky, as the heavens began to fade from dark into light. The sun was half-risen by now, though its rays struggled to find her through the trees.

“Can you ever truly escape the past, and the monsters therein?” she asked the rising sun. And as it offered no answer, she thought she felt a single tear welling up, and then another. But as she brushed her sad eyes, she found her shin dry. It seemed that if there was some limit to crying over one’s trauma, Luna might have actually reached it.

That, or, she was simply dehydrated.

Either way, she figured it was time to go. So she trudged back through the trees until Ponyville’s outskirts awaited her down that same hill. Only, this time, when she took off to fly in, she didn’t land to hide who she was. Not only was it known by now, but smallfolk by the dozen had lined up to clamor over their humble city having its very own princess. Mayor Mare made an official statement on her behalf yesterday morning, that for the time being, she’s not officially royalty. Not that it stopped most of the commoners.

Or, rather, citizens. It was still quite new to Luna that they didn’t like being called things like “peasant,” or “serf” anymore. A genuine effort had been made, but she’d slipped up once or twice. Missing so many entire generations of cultural shifts in society will do that to a pony, though.

Not to be misunderstood, though. It isn’t that Luna didn’t appreciate the gifts, or letters, or the odd free meal. In fact, loathe as she was to admit, she’d taken up that last offer at least once. Carrying her own money around was still a new concept to her, and she’d left it at home. And much to her chagrin, they wouldn’t accept her money the following day. So instead, she found the waiter, and gave him a generous tip.

It was nice! It’d all been so extremely kind, and generous, and sweet, and well-meant. But she wasn’t some special pony, who’d saved the day, or wore some crown. At least, she didn’t wear a crown in any official capacity. And even though, yes, she had technically saved the day, and brought back the sun, she definitely would have failed at best, and died at worst, had it not been for the help of her new friends.

Not to mention, the problem was all her fault in the first place…

She was grateful, how could she not be? But it was all so much more than she deserved. Even now, as she rounded a corner into that final glide home, some lavender dullard with no fashion sense at all was waiting outside the library, at least half an hour before business hours began. Luna braced herself to turn down a gift. Or worse, some suitor who thought he had a chance with a “fallen angel.” It had only been the one or two stallions, but Luna still reeled from the very notion.

“Yes, hello, welcome.” bade Luna as she landed with no attempt at grace, her hooves heavily thudding upon the cobbles. “I’ll have the library opened and ready in a moment. Still getting used to electric lighting.”

At a glance, the mare seemed a unicorn. But as she lowered her hood with a giggle, she gave Luna a most gracious and bubbly greeting. “Well it’s a bit more useful than using sconces and candles for everything, wouldn’t you say?”

“T-Twilight?” Luna’s telekinetic grasp on her keys surged, and she dropped them. Suddenly, she very much regretted insulting the princess in her head, as if she could hear those thoughts. She felt bad, even though she clearly couldn’t do that.

Twilight picked the keys up and passed them along. Their magic auras of pink and teal briefly overlapped, creating a rich and royal purple. “Here,” Twilight said, clearing her throat. “Sorry to drop by on you, so unexpected.”

“It's only been, what, a few days? It's beginning to feel plenty familiar.” With an inviting smile, she opened up. “Please, please, come in. Through the door, this time.” They shared a warm little laugh as they walked along together.

“Don't worry,” assured Twilight as she set down at a table nearby, “I don't have any bad news for you this morning. No awkward dealings about family, I swear.”

“To be honest, I’d almost welcome that.” As Luna turned on a lamp and sat across from Twilight, she noticed those big, concerned eyes. In return, she gave a nervous smile and a shrug. “Being a librarian is duller than I thought it’d be. But enough on that, tell me, please. To what do I owe the pleasure this time, princess?”

“Okay, so, and feel free to say no.” Twilight could scarcely cover her excitement up any longer.

“No to what?” Luna could already feel the grimace forming at the corners of her mouth.

“To my suggestion. Because I think I found a good way to generate interest in your newly reopened library, and intermingle you back into modern culture all at once.” She made a sweeping motion with her hoof, gleefully smearing all her proverbial eggs into one basket.

Luna narrowed her eyes, and her mouth opened a tiny bit to speak, even if the words took a moment. “I’m skeptical. What is it you’re suggesting?”

“It’s simple.” Twilight beamed, leaning across the table, touching her hooves to Luna’s. This spike in confidence felt wonderful. “We’re going to host a book club!”

---

Comments

[DavisSentoV5]

And we're off! Can't wait to see where thr sequel takes us this time!

[Zapper Frost]

“It’s simple.” Twilight beamed, leaning across the table, touching her hooves to Luna’s. This spike in confidence felt wonderful. “We’re going to host a book club!”

Hey its our favorite bookhorse

[Vael]

I can tell this is gonna be good.

[RegMoDII]

“It’s simple.” Twilight beamed, leaning across the table, touching her hooves to Luna’s. This spike in confidence felt wonderful. “We’re going to host a book club!”

This is a very elaborate ploy to get to know someone, i approve

[Gear_change]

9173355

Hey its our favorite bookhorse

I think you mean bookwhorse