Unfinished Mentions

by Rose Quill

Not Really Sure What I'm Doing

“So, I guess,” I stammered. “In a way, this is a good thing?”

Celestia rubbed her temples, her hair pulled back in a tail and a pencil ticked through the mass of hair. She looked like someone running on too many hours with nowhere near enough coffee.

“In what way, precisely,” she slowly asked. “Is it a good thing that you just totaled my car?”

“It’s better that it happened on a deserted road,” I said, struggling a little. “So could you possibly help me out here?”

She sighed and leveled a look at me, and then at the officers standing behind me.

“Take her,” she said, turning away.

“Tia,” I exclaimed in my shock. “Tia, I said I was sorry…”

“To the moon with your apology, Luna!” she snarled, whipping around. “Ever since you moved in, if you haven’t been coming back drunk or stoned, you’ve been stretching the limits of my generosity. You are my sister, and I love you, but I can’t cover for you anymore. I can’t afford to, not now.”

As the policeman started dragging me back outside, I felt a sharp pain stab through me. I had seen the pain in her eyes behind her anger. I hadn’t known how strained her patience was until now.

“Tia,” I cried as the door started to swing shut. “Tia. Celestia!”

And the door closed with a soft click. I had trouble focusing on anything that followed afterward, mechanically following directions as I was fingerprinted, photographed, and led to a cold room with a single table and a few chairs to sit on.

“I really messed up this time,” I whispered to myself.

---

The officer sat me at the table, my sister standing across the room from me, arms crossed. The fact that she wasn’t facing me was not a good sign. She only hid her face when her patience had been pressed past the breaking point.

Meanwhile, I couldn’t sit up. I don’t remember what all I had been on, but I was coming down hard. I was sweating, and I wished to crawl into a hole so I could die. I could see my reflection in the single window: hair wild and unkempt from constantly running my hands through it, face pale, a few slow-forming bruises from the crash. I could see the dark circles starting to form under my eyes. I looked like a madwoman.

In some ways, I suppose I was. Withdrawal is hell.

“Luna,” Celestia started softly. “I did some thinking last night.”

“Yay,” I rasped. My throat was dry, even with the water I had drunk most of the morning.

She turned to me and her glare burned into me. “Don’t be glib,” she said in a cold tone. “This is the last time I’m going to bail you out, and there are some very big strings attached.”

I leaned back in the chair and held up my cuffed wrists.

“I don’t appear to be going anywhere,” I deadpanned.

“I have spoken with the DA,” she continued as though nothing had been said. “I’m going to drop the charges and this arrest will be expunged from your record on the following conditions.”

She sat in front of me, leaning forward. “One, you will be voluntarily checking into a rehab program.” Her eyes were hard, but the fatigue was evident. “Two, upon your release from rehab, you will be given into my custody. Three, instead of the standard rent I asked prior to this, you will enroll in classes at the local university.”

“I’m not much for school,” I returned.

“Those are the terms, Luna,” she shook her head slowly. “The alternative is going to court and being tried for DUI, and God only knows what else even if they didn’t try to push for grand theft auto. I don’t want you to go through that, but you have to show me that you want to change.”

We locked eyes for a long moment before I closed my eyes and sighed.

“Fine,” I agreed. “But I’m not going into education, like you. I couldn’t stand dealing with kids all day. It sounds boring.”

---

I slumped over on the table, the book in front of me cushioning my head.

“How did you make it through history?” I grumbled under my breath.

Celestia glanced up from the stack of papers she was grading.

“I happen to love history, sister,” she replied. “Or did you forget I’m a history teacher?”

I looked at her, not lifting my head from its literary pillow. “Then you wouldn’t mind offering me a little help?”

She looked at me with an odd look. “You’re actually asking for help?” she inquired. “That’s new.”

“It’s not funny,” I growled.

“No, that’s not what I mean,” my sister insisted, a smile growing. “It’s a good thing. You used to be too stubborn to ask for help.”

“I usually didn’t need your help,” I reminded her.

“Shall I remind you of your attempt at poetry?” she said calmly. My face burned immediately with the reminder.

“No, that’s quite -“

“I thought your stage name was rather unique,” Celestia murmured. “What was it again?”

“You enjoy this, don’t you?” I lamented, rolling my face so my nose rested in the spine of the book, hiding my red cheeks.

“Nightmare Moon? Is that right? Or was it something else?” She giggled.

“Daybreaker wasn’t much better,” I shot back.

“I beg your pardon?” Celestia huffed. “I wasn’t trying for slam poetry.”

I grinned at her. “No, but I’m sure I can still dig up those old fanfictions of yours.” I tilted my head a little, my hair slipping forward a little. “I wonder what that gentleman friend of yours would think of some of your better-written ones.”

“Luna, I swear by whatever is holy -“

“Isn’t that what the brave princess told the monster?” I couldn’t resist the opening. “‘By the holy sun, I shall punish you for your predations?’”

She threw an eraser at me, giggling as well.

“Just ask me the questions, already!”

---

“So, did you declare a major yet?” she asked as she slid a mug of coffee over to me.

“I’ve got it narrowed down to three.” I took a sip from the brew in front of me and immediately recoiled. “What in the heavens is this?”

Celestia smiled weakly. “Sugar replacement. I’m trying to cut back on calories and I drink way too much of that stuff.”

I smacked my lips, trying to erase the taste of the artificial sweetener. “So you decide to subject me to it, too?”

She shrugged. “It’s all we got,” she sighed. “And we both know you hate it straight from the pot.”

“It might be preferable,” I grumbled.

“Agreed,” my sister said, sipping from her own mug and grimacing a touch.

“You could just stop getting dessert when we got out for dinner,” I suggested.

“Heresy,” she cried in mock horror. “The very nerve!”

“Indeed,” I said, taking another sip and trying to ignore the strange aftertaste. “This is truly heresy of the highest degree.”

“Speaking of,” she grinned. “Majors?”

I suppressed a yawn and nodded, my wavy hair slipping free of my headband.

“Creative Writing, Counseling, or Education.”

“I seem to recall you saying you wanted nothing to do with teaching?”

I smiled at her.

“Maybe not history, but a writing course might be ok. Theatre for sure.”

Celestia tsked for a moment.

“Alright,” she decided. “If you choose education, I’ll help you out in the courses and placement.”

I perked up. “Promise?”

“Promise.” She held her mug out to me.

I raised mine and tapped it to hers. “One condition,” I hedged.

“What’s that?” Tia asked, setting her now empty mug in the sink.

I indicated my coffee by raising my mug.

“Let me have sugar in my coffee?”

We both laughed.

Author's Note:

I had always wondered how Nightmare Moon might have happened in EQG.

Here's the madness that followed that thought.

Comments

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

This kinda reminds me a bit of what a friend of mine did for his own au in regards to Luna in eqg.

[Eurvos Morgenbrise]

This was a good story.