When Two Are One

by Rigoo

Drown In Your Lies

Luna found herself hosting court with Celestia, for the first time in more years than even she could count. She sat in the throne room, on her own throne no less, next to Celestia's. Her throne was smaller, which brought Luna no shortage of ire, but Celestia had promised she would get a bigger one when they had more time to redesign the room.

Ponies had been constantly funneling inside for the last hour, and most of them had babbled on about things Luna had little understanding of. They referenced project names she had never heard of, debated laws and codes she couldn't remember making, and sometimes appeared to only be here to posture themselves about.

She did her best to pay attention. She'd never be able to run court by herself if she didn't understand how it all worked. But she found her thoughts constantly drifting away from the castle. She wanted to be in that field from her dream, where the banners were hung and the ponies played. She wanted to be on that stage, listening to the screaming and hollering of the crowd.

“We don't have time to wait, Princess!” shouted the current petitioner of the court, ripping Luna from her thoughts. “We need your permission to act! Every second we dally, the situation gets worse!”

Yet another arrogant little pony was throwing a tantrum. Luna was all too used to ponies like this by now, but that didn't make them any less infuriating. She would put this stallion in his place, just like she had done to all those before him.

“Watch your tongue, peasant!” she shouted, standing up from her throne. “You are privileged to be speaking in this court! My sister and I are not—!”

“Luna!” Celestia shouted. Her expression was of shock and disbelief. “Please, calm down!”

The nerve of Celestia! To interrupt her in front of their subjects like this! This humiliation was uncalled for! She turned to her sister, and opened her mouth.

Fighting with Celestia already? It's only the second day. Even I didn't think you would crack this quickly.

She wasn't supposed to fight with Celestia. She was supposed to be working with her. They weren't enemies anymore. They were supposed to be cooperating.

With great effort Luna forced herself to sit back down, a wave of embarrassment rushing in to accompany her frustration. “My apologies,” she grumbled. “It seems I forgot my manners.” She knew this was the right thing to do, but it sure didn't feel like it.

The ponies in court stared at her with shock and fear, which only angered her further. What right did that insolent little pony have to question the authority of the royal sisters? What in Equestria made Celestia think it was acceptable to let their subjects attempt to push them around?

“I'll assign someone to return to Trottingham with you, Green Hoof,” Celestia continued in the wake of Luna's outburst. “I'll also send a team to investigate the disposal company. If we find proof that they're dumping into the river, the consequences will be swift, I assure you.”

Green Hoof seemed satisfied with that. With a final wary glance at Luna, he left the throne room.

Court continued on. Ponies continued to enter and talk, but Luna couldn't hear their words anymore. Her mind was far too loud. She couldn't believe Celestia had done that to her. How was she supposed to establish herself as her sister's equal if Celestia was going to show her up like that without warning!

She so desperately wanted to do something, to shout at Celestia or storm out of the court room, anything at all. But the best option she had was to stay silent. If she left court, she would be admitting defeat. She needed to be here, she needed ponies to see her, and she needed to avoid embarrassing herself anymore. She could handle that, if only just barely.

Eventually court ended. Luna walked back to her chambers. There was no sense in doing anything else now, she was far too upset. She needed to rest and clear her mind.

Before she could make through the door, however, Celestia found her.

“Luna?” she asked. “Are you alright?”

“I'm fine,” Luna answered, keeping her expression neutral.

“Are you sure you're okay? I can't remember the last time I heard you shout like that.”

Luna stared at the worried face of her sister. The pony responsible for all her troubles and suffering. The reason for all her dreamless nights on the moon.

Your caring sibling, offering you a helping hoof in your time of need.

She sighed.

“The new court is strange to me,” Luna said ”We are the rulers, are we not? We are wise and experienced, and that is why ponies come to us. For our guidance.” Luna swept a hoof in front of herself. “And yet you allow them to boss us around, to tell us they know better.” She scowled at Celestia. “It doesn't help that you cut me off like you did. Being humiliated like that isn't going to help convince ponies that I'm your equal.”

Celestia's worry deepened. “I'm sorry for treating you like that, Luna. But, you're right. The way I rule ponies has changed. I've learned much while you were gone.” Her eyes grew distant as she spoke.

“We may be wise and experienced compared to any single pony, but their collective knowledge outpaces ours by a considerable margin. A few thousand years of looking down from on high is nothing compared to several decades of first hoof experience. There's no reason to pretend I know their lives better than they do, and if they're upset about something, they deserve the right to express it to me. Knowing how they feel is important to ensuring I can rule them effectively.

“Besides," Celestia nearly sighed. "Being an absolute ruler is exhausting. It can be effective, but only as long as you can maintain your diligence. Micromanaging ponies all day long, week after week, year after year... It gets very tiring. The more I let ponies make their own decisions, the less slack I have to make up for. It takes a great deal of the burden off of my back.”

Luna felt her brow pressing down on her face. While she had suffered on the moon, her sister had taken for granted her privileged place among ponies. Nay, she had grown bored of it! She was planning on giving it up entirely!

“Does being a princess mean nothing to you?” she accused. “Has it all just become a tiresome game, being the icon of a nation?”

Celestia was taken aback. “I didn't say anything like that! I am still a Princess of Equestria and I take great care to treat the position with the respect it deserves!” She closed her eyes and heaved a quiet sigh. “The world has changed since you last ruled, Luna, and I have changed with it. I am not the same pony I used to be. I've grown.”

“Growth, you call it?” Luna snarled. “That's your name for your abandonment of our principles? That you've simply 'outgrown' your responsibility?” She shook her head. “What I wouldn't give for a slice of the life you've thrown away.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Perhaps you have grown tired of basking in the affection of ponykind, but I have never desired it more! I spent a thousand years on the moon planning how to gain their respect, and now that I have returned to finally claim it, you have decided it is too much work to be bothered with!”

“That's not what I meant at all!”

“Then what? What is your excuse?”

Celestia stared at her in shock. Luna's glare didn't waver.

“We don't rule ponies to please ourselves, Luna,” Celestia spoke slowly. “We rule to help them. If we could teach ponies to help themselves, wouldn't that be the greatest gift we could give?”

Luna had never hated Celestia more than she did right now. She despised the words her sister had just spoken and she wanted nothing more than to deride her for it. But she couldn't find a way to disagree. Teaching ponies to take care of themselves would be the greatest gift they could give, it would undoubtedly be the most princessly thing they could do. And yet it would rob Luna of everything she had wanted.

Now do you see? the wretch whispered in her ear. Your pride is a relic of a bygone age. There is no place for old fashioned royalty in this modern world. Your dream died a thousand years ago.

The rage boiled through her every vein. She gritted her teeth so hard she felt they might break.

“You won't take this from me,” she growled. “I'm not giving up. I will never give up.”

“Luna?”

“Don't talk to me, wretched sibling of mine!” she screamed at Celestia. “I have no need for your false sympathies! You have made your choice, as I have made mine!”

Before her sister could respond, she threw open the door to her chambers and promptly slammed it behind her. She swept through the darkness to her bed and flung her self upon it without a care how she landed. Her horn lit to lift a pillow tightly over her face, and she screamed into it as loud as she could.

Her throat grew sore and her voice fractured, but the pain barely dulled. The hours passed slowly as she lay in bed, and they took pieces of her sanity with it. Her mind ran itself in circles, leaving her more delirious after every cycle. She couldn't find the answer, she didn't know what was wrong. She only knew she had lost to her sister once again, and there was no sign of hope.

Comments

[sirenc0re]

i love this take on nightmare moon and i love the charaterizations so far!!

[Theresa]

Well I don't blame her Celestia has given up most of their power and yet Luna still doesn't have a spotlight. The people look at Celestia to handle their problems. Celestia acts like no big deal but if nobody bothered to notice her she probably would be upset. Luna needs to feel like someone cares.