Of Moon and Sun

by Curious Mew

Order and Harmony

“Your majesty,” Celestia said, dropping into a bow before the tall, dark purple alicorn before her.

He regarded her with his eyes, inky pools of unfathomable darkness. Leisurely, he gestured for her to rise and, as if inquiring about the weather, asked, “What is thy report?”

“Queen Dawn has fallen.” Her eyes stared into his, searching desperately for a sign.

He nodded. “So the citadel has been breached. We suppose it is only a matter of time before the enemy reaches us here.”

That was what she had always hated more than anything; he always seemed so unconcerned with the world, though she was never sure if it was an act or if he truly was nearly devoid of emotion.

---

Celestia nodded as the reports came in. It had been a freak accident, a miscommunication between two squads of Fillydelphia’s weather team that had coincided with a storm of non-equine nature blowing in from the sea. The result had been a hurricane. Half of the city was underwater, thirteen ponies were confirmed dead, and dozens more were missing. Such events were rare, but not entirely unknown. The last had been nearly three centuries ago. “Of course, I’ll need to schedule a press conference. Would you mind setting one up for two hours from now? Thank you. Disaster relief will be necessary. How much is currently in our dedicated fund? Two hundred million bits? I doubt that will be enough.”

Celestia made a mental note to increase its size. There would be no issue with obtaining the money from elsewhere in the budget, but it would mean less paperwork the next time a disaster of this sort happened. “The treasurer is still in Manehatten, is he not? Good; he should be able to make the necessary arrangements swiftly.” She sent off ten forms, all in duplicate. “Now, before I have to go talk to the press, what else was on the agenda? Do we need to reschedule, or can those of you in the Equestrian Weather Administration and the Equestrian Emergency Response Administration handle things from here? Excellent. So, does anypony have anything they would like to share regarding the public comments on the new railway proposal?”

---

Luna barged into the room, tears glistening in the young alicorn’s eyes. “What dost thou mean, Mommy fell? Is she okay, ‘Tia?”

“Luna,” Dusk said, the slightest hint of a frown creeping into his face. “Talk to thy sister with the respect she is due. She is thy elder. And We would imagine that the General meaneth to say that the Queen is dead. Wouldst thou like to confirm?”

Celestia looked into her sister’s wide eyes, already overflowing with tears, and hesitated for a moment. Then she looked to her father, face as unreadable as ever. “Yes. Queen Dawn is dead. She died well, though; it took four draconequi and the Traitor himself to kill her. Only he survived.”

Luna stared at her sister for a moment before turning and running from the room with a sob.

“Let her go. The young often get so emotional over such matters, though she will find her composure in due time. We have actually important things we must discuss, however, and time is growing quite short,” came her father’s voice from behind her as she watched her sister leave.

---

“Princess, it’s time for the press conference.”

“Of course, thank you. Well, then, this meeting is adjourned.”

The press conference was a simple affair. Celestia confirmed the reports of the latest figures regarding the loss of life and property and discussed the basics of the disaster relief plan. Then, she took questions, most of which centered around how she planned to reduce the risk of another such tragedy. Then the allotted time was up. It had been a simple affair, really, so very much like all the other press conferences she had held. “Thank you. That will be all for now. I would just like to assure everypony once again that this issue is our top priority for the moment.”

Then, she walked away, ignoring the last questions the reporters shouted out after her.

---

“May I speak freely, your majesty?”

“Very well. What is it?”

“Do you even care that your wife is dead and that your youngest daughter is likely curled up on her bed crying uncontrollably, likely muffling her sobs in her pillow with none to comfort her?”

“Watch thyself, Celestia,” he growled. Then, almost imperceptibly, his face softened. “Of course I care. Whatever thou thinkest, I was fond of Dawn, and I feel the same toward thee and thy sister. But we have other concerns; such matters are trivial in comparison and we cannot allow petty sentiment to cloud our judgment. Moving the sun alone every day may yet prove to be beyond thee when combined with the demands of war, and Luna certainly cannot yet control the moon, if that even is her destiny.”

Celestia stiffened at the implications of that statement. “Father–”

Dusk held up a hoof. “Peace, Celestia. My place is here, and I know I will not survive. Thou must take thy sister and flee. The unicorns can move the sun and moon should it prove necessary, though I suspect that Chaos will reign for a time, making the matter moot. Ah, I never told thee? Once, before thy birth, Dawn and I were otherwise engaged, fighting in a previous war between Order and Chaos, and we left the matter in their hooves.”

The room shook; Celestia jumped slightly, but Dusk was unmoved.

“There are still several ponies from that time; it seems that they were exposed to some energies on the campaign that extended their lives far beyond the limits of most mortals. Still, I think the time of the eldest especially may be drawing to a close. Regardless, they are powerful mages and a stalwart allies. Seek out the unicorns Star Swirl and Clover.”

The room shook again. This time, Celestia was prepared and merely nodded, ignoring the signs of impending destruction.

---

“Princess? May I, um, may I ask a question?”

Celestia turned to regard her secretary, who had lingered as the last of the Day Court’s business was concluded. “Of course you may, Raven.”

“It’s just that, well, with everything today,” the mare fidgeted. “Um, what I mean is...”

“You want to know how I stayed so calm in light of the news and even addressed the rest of the royal business for today. You are wondering if I even care about the lives lost today.” It was a statement, not a question, and Celestia kept her voice calm and level.

She looked mortified, but slowly nodded. “I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t wonder. Of course you do and–”

Celestia held up a hoof. “You are correct, I do care. I care deeply. Today was hard, but I have had much practice dealing with tragedy over the course of my life. However, we did have other concerns today, and other ponies expect me to be strong, to be in control in a crisis.” She sighed. “Truly, I wish that I could have set aside many of them, but some of what seems trivial actually is important. The new railway could, for instance, could greatly speed the delivery of supplies to the site of a disaster should another one occur.

“I… I actually knew two of the ponies who died today. They were former students of mine, yet I cannot grieve publicly, at least not yet. Perhaps at a funeral, but even then I must carefully balance emotion with control.” She looked her in the eyes. “Tell me, what would you think if you saw me break down sobbing?”

“I… well…” She broke eye contact and looked at the ground.

“Goodnight, Raven Inkwell. Tomorrow, we have to work on scheduling a meeting with the loved ones of the victims. You did well today.”

---

Luna ran back into the throne room. Her eyes were red from crying, but now also wide with panic. “Celly! What’s happening?”

This time, Dusk did not bother to correct the informal manner of her speech. Instead, he cast a critical eye at the door, which was beginning to show cracks from the continuing assault. With a flash of magic, he was clad in glorious silver and ebony barding, his spear, Gungnir, floating by his side. “Celestia, take thy sister and go now.”

Luna looked at him with a start. “F-father?”

“Is there truly nothing else you wish to say?” Celestia asked, her gaze torn between Dusk and the door.

“We leave everything to you. Only thou canst defeat Chaos after Our inevitable fall.”

“Y-your fall!?” Luna squeaked.

The room shuddered again, and Luna clung to Celestia. The door was likely only one solid hit away from breaking.

“That is all?” Celestia asked.

“Celestia! That is enough! Go!” Dusk shouted, his composure finally shattering.

Celestia never knew if it was because she had failed to comply immediately with a direct order or if there was something else that made him snap. She gathered Luna in her magic and, without another word, teleported to safety. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of the door shattering and an alicorn, flanked by draconequi, entering the room.

---

Celestia passed by Luna’s room just as the door opened. Her sister strode out, blinking wearily, floating a cup of coffee beside her, an opossum scampering out after her. “Good evening, Sister. I was just on my way to lower the sun.”

“Indeed.” Luna yawned. “Time for me to raise the moon, then.” She absentmindedly stroked the opossum and took a drink, some of the coffee spilling out of her mouth and onto the floor. She sighed and cleaned it up with a flash from her horn.

Celestia smiled. “I’m glad you’re my sister.”

Luna blinked. “The feeling is, of course, mutual, but what brings about this comment?”

Celestia shook her head. “Memories, and a rough day. Without you, well, I’m just afraid I would have ended up too much like them.”

Luna gave her sister an uncertain look, but managed a half smile. “Perhaps you can fill me in as we change the day to night?”

“Yes, let’s do that. Together.”

Author's Note:

Luna's pet opossum comes from the comics and is named Tiberius. While the comics are not canon to this fic and you do not need any degree of familiarity with them to understand it, that was something from them I found cute and decided to include.

Also, AestheticB's The Immortal Game (rated Mature) almost certainly had some influence on at least my conception of alicorns other than Luna and Celestia.