Nyx Takes Charge

by Bronyxy

2 The Eternal Triangle

Mother and daughter held each other close through a night that seemed to be both without pity and without end.

Twilight felt awful. She had accepted Celestia’s proposal unquestioningly believing that she had gained the approval of her sister, but even if she had, such an answer had not been born of honesty, but from the desire to see her big sister happy even though that meant not just a lifetime, but an eternity of unhappiness for herself. She did not consider herself worth the two sisters becoming bitter rivals for her attentions, and was clear in her own mind that Luna should not have to sacrifice herself for her sister’s happiness. It was all a dreadful mess and she could see no way out without hurting one or both of the sisters, both of whom she loved dearly.

A gentle clip clopping of horseshoes approached from the castle. Few ponies were allowed on the Royal balcony, so this could only be somepony arriving to raise the sun, somepony neither felt ready to face at the moment.
“Twilight?” asked the familiar silky soft voice, “Nyx?”
Twilight heard the worried tones of her beloved Celestia, and a big lump rose in her throat. She wanted to fly away, just as Luna had done, but knew that if she did, then Nyx would be left to explain what had happened and she couldn’t allow that; it was her own mess and she couldn’t pitch somepony else to take the grief that would undoubtedly follow.

Nyx got up, feeling the cramp in her legs where she had been lain down all-night and stood between the two betrothed alicorns, adopting an assertive stance as Celestia approached.
“Nyx?” she enquired softly, looking down at her, “Whatever’s the matter?”
“My Mom needs some space at the moment” she replied a little stiffly, “She will talk when she is ready.”

Celestia moved to manoeuvre past her, but Nyx shifted to block her way, looking even more resolute.
“Nyx, I do not know what has happened, but I should like to comfort my Twilight …”
“She’s not your Twilight” interrupted Nyx, “She’s my Mom.”
Celestia had crushed more powerful ponies for far less, but did not push her request. Something was clearly badly wrong, and she recognised that antagonising Twilight’s daughter was unlikely to be a good move.

“Have you seen my sister?” she asked, changing subject into what she had come out for in the first place.
“She flew away” replied Nyx honestly.
Celestia looked startled at the revelation and then enquired, “Do you know when she will be back?”
“I’m sorry Princess, I don’t” she replied.
Celestia was quiet for a moment and then asked, “Nyx, would you be prepared to lower the moon please? The day is already late starting.”
“I could, but don’t you think you should give Princess Luna a chance first? She may be preparing to do it from wherever she is right now.”
“I can’t, Nyx. We’re already a half hour late – we owe it to the ponies of Equestria to allow them to start their day. I’m sorry to ask.”
Nyx pondered the request. Celestia was right; whilst it was her personal duty to raise the sun, it was equally Luna’s duty to lower the moon, and while Nyx could do it for her, she nonetheless felt a sense of betrayal in undertaking the duty herself without her mentor’s express consent.

Celestia sensed her inner conflict and backed up, as she could tell that invading her personal space would be unlikely to improve matters. She reminded herself that although Nyx looked younger than the other Princesses and indeed she was, but she had already been a full grown alicorn and run Equestria by herself as Nightmare Moon, and was blessed with all the power that being an alicorn entailed. Nyx was also the only one who could explain what had happened to both her sister and her betrothed, and whilst she was impatient to find out what had happened, appreciated all too clearly that she needed to play a waiting game.

Nyx reached up to the moon and lowered it gently to its slumber, watching the stars twinkle out one by one as they made way for the warm glow forming in the east. Celestia watched Nyx closely out of the corner of her eye, desperately seeking to read her, but without being seen doing it.

Once the sun had begun to climb its way up into the sky, Celestia turned to Nyx. She wanted to go straight to Twilight, but she had already been made aware that Nyx was acting as her gatekeeper, and although she could have pulled rank by virtue of being Sun Princess, thought better of it, especially as she was aiming to be her stepmother. Still, something horrible gnawed away at her inside and she was anxious to help in any way she could.

“Nyx, can you tell me what’s happened, please?”
Nyx looked straight back at her and thought carefully before answering, “I think it’s better coming from my Mom” before adding, “Sorry, Princess.”
Celestia was not used to being denied, and fought to suppress the frown that she knew was threatening to spread across her face and ruin her composure.

“Very well” she replied, “But I think it would be better sooner rather than later because I am worried what has happened to my sister.”
“I … I will try to explain” said Twilight, lifting her tear soaked muzzle. She had been crying all night, and it showed. Celestia’s immediate response was born of concern for anypony who looked so desperately sad, let alone Twilight and she rushed to her side.
“Twilight, my darling” she fussed, “What can be so badly wrong?”

“It’s all my fault” sobbed Twilight, desperate to cry, but finding it impossible as she had run out of tears hours before.
Celestia moved to wrap a protective wing over her, but she gently pushed it back and inched away, feeling no longer worthy of her love.
“Come, you can’t stay out here” coaxed Celestia, “Come inside with me, won’t you?”
Reluctantly, Twilight had to agree and struggled to hoist herself onto her forelegs, her back unenthusiastically dragging her hindlegs up to accept her weight once more.

Celestia was alert to the warning signs from both Twilight and Nyx’s body language to know to keep a respectful distance and allow Twilight to make her way inside without fussing over her. In the dining room, breakfast had been set for Celestia and dinner for Luna, but this well-established routine was being broken for the first time since Luna had returned from her exile in the moon.

Celestia ordered coffee, black coffee for both of them and paid no attention as a waiter disappeared to relay the order to the kitchen staff. The couple sat at table, half a pony’s width between them, but for Celestia it was a gulf as wide as the Equestrian Sea. Twilight sat in silence, face downcast as the waiter returned and placed a cup of the finest china in front of her, the dark brown contents steaming obliviously.

After a few minutes of unnatural silence during which Twilight did not move a muscle, she reached out and picked up the cup, turned towards Celestia, but couldn’t bring herself to look her in the eye. She took a sip and lifted her head slowly until she caught a glimpse of her mentor’s concerned lilac eyes through the tousled mat of her fringe.
“I can’t go through with it. I’m so, so, sorry.”
“Go through with what?” whispered Celestia hoarsely, fearing the worst but still praying she was mistaken.
“I have always looked up to you as the kindest pony in Equestria; my tutor, my guide and my lover, but I just wish none of this had ever happened. I am so much less than you, so much less than you will ever be and you deserve better than me …”

“What has happened since last night, Twilight?” asked Celestia, the pit in her stomach now a yawning chasm waiting to swallow her whole and bury her under the entire guilt of Equestria.
“You have a relationship far more important than with me, Celestia, and that is with your sister. For the good of both of you and the good of Equestria, I have to refuse you.”
“You mean …?”
“Yes, Celestia, I’m sorry but I believe Luna loves me too, and I must not ever come between you. I’m so, so, sorry; if I had known sooner I would never have accepted your offer and led you on.”

A large ball formed in Celestia’s throat. Could this be true? If so, why hadn’t Luna said something?
The sincerity in Twilight’s voice told her she was telling the truth and she slumped down, suddenly feeling her full age, her world collapsing around her. She wanted to speak, but couldn’t; instead she just stared straight ahead, a glassy faraway look in her eyes.
“Don’t be cross with her, please Princess” begged Twilight, “None of this is her fault.”
Celestia barely recognised that she had spoken. She just stared straight ahead into the middle distance where there was nothing, a place she now wanted to live forever.

Nyx watched the whole sorry saga play out in front of her. She had been there to protect her Mom and played her part well, but had not expected to see the Sun Princess deflate so completely at her words. Even though she could never entirely trust her, given her past actions, Nyx couldn’t but help feeling a little sympathy for Celestia.

She cast her eye over the two Princesses in front of her; one with her chin on the table staring straight ahead and the other with her head in her forehooves, and realised that aside from Cadence who was faraway in the Crystal Empire, that she was now the most senior alicorn in Equestria. She knew what she had to do and left word with the Maître d’ who bowed deeply and wished her a safe and fruitful journey before leaving the dining room to disseminate her message; she was going after Princess Luna.

Nyx stepped out onto the balcony, feeling the warming rays of early morning sun on her fur and fluttered her feathers to prepare them for flight. She forced herself into a light trance and focused on her livery collar, which through the moon, connected to Luna’s livery collar. Although the moon had passed out of the sky, it had sensed unease betwixt its mistresses and had been unable to rest, so was able to respond, although weakly. Had it been night and the moon high in the sky, then it would have been able to direct her to the Princess, but given that the sun was currently in the ascendant, its power was weak. It was prepared to do what it could, but its power was fading as the sun took control of the sky.

There was no time to lose, so she sprang into the air and headed east on the assumption that she would have most likely headed out over the unpopulated Badlands, just to make sure she did not have to meet any other pony. It was a gamble, but it seemed to make sense and he prayed she was right.

She left the waking metropolis of Canterlot behind, none of those she had seen innocently milling about on the streets she had passed over having any idea of the crisis that was unfolding; a crisis that only she was in a position to resolve. The responsibility weighed heavily on her as she cleared the sprawling suburbs and passed over the few last outlying farms, and into desolation, the further she went, the more she came to realise what a large area she had to cover to have any chance of finding Princess Luna.

Nyx reached out to her livery collar, feeling for some indication that she was on the right track, but had no idea what to expect; would it glow, would it pulsate or perhaps even vibrate? She knew only that it would give her some sign, and she just hoped she would recognise it when it came. Below, the scenery was barren and repetitive, affording precious little in the way of landmarks, just mile after mile of inhospitable terrain counterpointing the hopelessness of her quest.

The morning wore on without success and so Nyx turned south before turning back west, flying a grid pattern to cover most ground. Once the sun was getting near to being overhead, she realised that any influence the moon may have had was now gone and that without its help, further searching was pointless. She gave a deep sigh and resigned herself to resting until evening, looking around for a cloud to land on.

With her focus shifted away from further searching for the time being, she alighted gently on a soft looking white puffy cloud that took her eye. With the weight finally off her wings, she suddenly felt very tired, which coupled with having been up all night and the emotional toll of the night’s events had left her exhausted.

She wrapped herself up in the seductive softness of the cloud and closed her eyes.

Comments

[Love able chaos]

Well you're in charge now kid.

[Bronyxy]

9636688
It's not going to be easy with the main Princesses out of the picture ...