Loyalties

by GJT_Productions

Lunar Debate

"Before we begin, I would like to thank all three of you for being here for this meeting. I know it can be tough, especially for Princess Luna..."

"Your Highness, I am curious as to why Luna was required to be here. None of the topics I am aware of are relevant..."

"Easy, Captain, I was just about to get to that."

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Captain of the Guard Shining Armor flushes slightly as Princess Celestia gives a confident smirk - even as fond as she was of the siblings Sparkle, she couldn't resist seeing their reactions when deliberately withholding some information. Princess Cadance, sitting beside Shining Armor, gives a concerned sidelong glance in his direction upon seeing her adoptive aunt's face.

The "roundtable meeting" - in which all the information in the closest level of confidence between the alicorns and the Captain of the Guard was relayed - had only just begun, and when Celestia's gaze turned to the quietly sitting Princess Luna beside her, all other eyes followed that gaze. Luna remained silent, almost seeming ready to curl up into a ball with her wings hiding her face at any moment.

"Well sister, you said you had made a very important decision." Celestia gently prods, breaking the awkward silence that had begun to form.

"Yes, we, meaning both of us sisters, had decided I would make my first public reappearance in Ponyville the following Nightmare Night." Luna pronounces, straightening herself up as she does so. "Sister believes it will be a chance to properly reunite with Twilight Sparkle and her fellow Element Bearers again, as well as to combat the threads of misinformation that have been building up around my public reputation."

Princess Cadance and Shining Armor exchange concerned glances - although it was doubtlessly true that there was a need to combat spreading misinformation about Luna and the batponies that served her, both of them worried about the appropriateness of doing it that way. Shining, in particular, was worried Celestia would ask too much of her younger sister still in Ponyville, only barely grasping the principles of "the magic of friendship".

When Cadance did not speak up any objection, Shining tried an approach based on what he thought would be a self-evident point of contention for Celestia's claim: "Your Highness, I am still not certain of Princess Luna's full recovery of her powers, as was an agreed-upon requirement before any public reintroduction can be performed."

"Oh, you mean the lock of her mane?" Celestia answers, Luna beside her using unicorn magic to pull back the bulk of her starry mane as Celestia is talking. Underneath the wavy "ethereal" mane that resembles the starry sky of night is a small lock that has retained the brighter blue color and solidity of Luna's depowered appearance.

"That is not an indication of still lacking in power." Luna comments to respond to Shining's concern. "It was a decision made personally to keep it this appearance. Whenever I wake up now and need to preen and tend the mane, that lock reminds me both of how far I fell before and how far I have come since the day of the return."

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Shining Armor looks over at Cadance, who gives a little bit of a shrug in response; after all, it was hard to argue with the logic Luna was using, and Celestia agreed with it, so trying to change her mind would be of little use at this point. Instead, he tries another approach: "Your Highness, if you intend to make this visitation in the manner of a thousand years ago, there are certain usages of magic that need to reach specific thresholds to be effective. How can it be made certain that those thresholds can be reached without displaying exhaustion or unease in public?"

"Don't you worry, Captain, I will give my sister specific 'tests' to determine if she can fulfill those duties. Whether she can move the clouds and generate lightning and burst forth the 'Royal Canterlot Voice' like was done in days of old." Princess Celestia reassuringly answers. "Before the big night, I will make sure that she can perform all the same tricks as she could one thousand years ago."

Princess Luna gives a hopeful smile, and Shining Armor and Princess Cadance exchange concerned looks in response to what they are seeing. However, all of them stay silent, an acknowledgement of Celestia's supremacy in the situation. The awkward silence passes for a few seconds, then a few more.

"Now then, if there are no more questions, the meeting is concluded. The tests will be performed shortly after the lowering of the sun and raising of the moon, to start tomorrow. The time for those things to be done today is rapidly approaching, so we shall not delay any longer." Princess Celestia confirms, quickly followed by both she and Luna beside her rising from the sitting position around the table to take leave of the meeting area.

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After the royal sisters are gone, Princess Cadance again gives a skeptical look to her now-fiancée, and Shining Armor's expression slowly changes to match it. A quiet conversation quickly follows, Cadance speaking first:

"Something about this doesn't feel right. I'm not even sure Aunt Celly's approach is the right one..."

"You know Luna likes the theatric element of the court. Besides, I've been seeing a lot of criticism lately for Celestia just showing up unannounced in certain places, maybe she just doesn't want the same thing said about Luna too?"

"But are all the theatrics even appropriate? Necessary? I know Luna has gotten the dream walking abilities back..."

"Celestia has said those are invasive and should only be used when a pony is in obvious distress. That won't substitute for a public introduction, and nopony has been able to come up with an acceptable alternative to 'the old ways'..."

"Have you messaged your sister? Asked her what she thinks should be done?"

"I'm not even sure my messages are getting through to her. Sure, the letters of friendship sent by Spike are arriving back here just fine, but I can't tell the same about anything sent in the regular post. She didn't show up for the promotion ceremony, and she hasn't responded to any of the other letters I've sent so far..."

"Should I discuss that with Aunt Celly?"

"No, don't do that! We had enough trouble with the EEA and Neighsay after Trailblazer's death, I don't want to suggest there's another governmental organization that has been compromised. The tabloids already have enough..."

"So, are we just gonna have to trust that Twilight will be able to fix any problems that might pop up?"

"That seems to be what Celestia is doing, and I don't want to say otherwise in public. I don't think it's right for her to be doing that, but at the same time I understand Twily needs to learn how to shoulder the public responsibilities of being so trusted by the princesses..."

Cadance sympathized with the contortions of expression and emotion Shining Armor was showing on his face - the Captain of the Guard was clearly torn between making a statement that would cast doubt on the ability of his beloved younger sister and standing up for what might be a serious mistake in approaching the situation in front of him...

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The opening of the doors into the meeting room again was a welcome, albeit brief, respite from the unease that had settled in the room after the royal sisters had left. Shining had half hoped it was one or both of those sisters again, and could not hide his disappointment when he saw one of his highest ranking subordinates - Lieutenant Captain Vesper - in the doorway instead.

"Vesper, I hope you are bringing some good news, because it would be really helpful to have some right now..." Shining Armor comments wearily as Vesper approaches closer to where he and Cadance are sitting.

"I'm afraid not, sir. There's been an incident in the batpony caves, it will take a few minutes to explain..." Vesper grimly replies, raising a forehoof in salute as he does so.

Comments

[Beff_Jezos]

"I'm not even sure my messages are getting through to her. Sure, the letters of friendship sent by Spike are arriving back here just fine, but I can't tell the same about anything sent in the regular post. She didn't show up for the promotion ceremony, and she hasn't responded to any of the other letters I've sent so far..."

That explains why we got pretty much no introduction of him by Twilight in the show, not until his actual reveal. Early season Twilight, who's currently obsessing with friendship tasks, pretty much never noticed.

[GJT_Productions]

11140690
Yep, it's the same kind of "tunnel vision" that eventually got Twilight in trouble a couple of times over the course of the series. And in this case, it would lead to her (and thus the other main cast of the show proper) being "completely left in the dark" about the Changeling infiltration and its effects until just before the wedding, at which point it was far too late to avert disaster.