As The Sun Sets

by Noobblue

I don't have a good pun for sheep, so just pretend there's one here

Cadance was falling vertically down the slope of a mountain. Not on the mountain, just nearby.

Now, ordinarily that'd be an issue to the average, but Cadance was going somewhere. Plus, when you've conquered the skies time and time again, falling just becomes a means of faster and easier transit.

Nearing the bottom of the distance she could fall, Cadance snapped open her wings and landed in The Spire offices. She liked it here; this is where all of the paperwork and origination for The Empire was looked over before it went to her. Regulations, 'getting back to you's', public events and even new business models all started here.

"Hey Princess!"

"Hey Rim Shot." She heard herself, turning to the stallion. He was a pegasus, even though he was a Crystal Pony, but that's not strange nowadays is it? Her perspective shifted, like she wasn't behind her own eyes.

"Nothing much Cadance, we've been busy busy down here, as usual." The stallion was chipper, but was doing his best to hide his face behind a blur.

"Don't I know it." It's a good thing Shining Armor was here, she Loved him a lot. She felt him next to her, sleeping calmly, the pressure of his body up against her right wing, like usual. He always slept to her right.

She sat up in her bed and gave a yelp, "Silver? I thought I told you not to be in our bedroom." This was her bedroom, right? It was, even though it didn't look like it. It was her bed right? So it was her bedroom, simple as that. Silver was there, or as there as she could have been. Half of her was shrouded in the shadow that blocked the detail for the rest of the room, leaving a menacing outline of the silver mare with only her too wide grin and glimmering eyes visible.

Cadance sat up all the way with her heart pumping as she saw the shadows roil. She felt the indentation in the bedsheet she made with her hoof, and desperately tried not to change it so she wouldn't be seen, wouldn't be attacked by the monster sprouting Silver. She sat there with her eyes wide open, both trying to see the danger and trying to not blink with everything she had. Blinking was movement, movement was death. She wasn't sure how long the moment stretched on for b-

Luna landed on the tiles to the side. Suddenly everything took focus.

"Is this Dusk's now chosen form?"

Cadance flopped down onto her bed again, Shining now gone, and she rolled onto her side and rested a hoof on her chest to slow her breathing.

"Cadance?" Luna asked, a little worried

"I'm okay. That was quite the scare." She looked towards the menacing form of Silver. Not so striking now; now that she could see the visual faults with her mind's design of her, "What about her?"

"Ah, if she seemingly has you referring to her as 'her', then this must indeed be her new form."

"How could you tell she was... I mean, that Dusk was Quick Silver?" Cadance clambered out of the empty bedframe as she spoke

Luna smirked, "Who else would be giving you such a fright?"

Cadance rolled her eyes, "Thank you Auntie."

Luna's horn 'lit' and the scenery began twirling around them, "Think nothing of my duties Dear Niece, they are as they are. Although, I have come for more reasons than your nightmare, I was planning to see you tonight in spite of it." The scene eventually settled into the clearing of a forest glade, with a pond of into the distance, and the borders defined by the tree line. The grass was softer than it could have been, as was the 'dirt' beneath it.

"You just happened into a nightmare by accident?"

"It happens more times than you would first assume, Cadance." Luna ruffled her wings, "I came to... speak with you again."

Was there a little bit of anxiousness there?

"About?"

Luna scuffed a hoof on the ground. It was strange yet heartwarming seeing the Alicorn of the Night acting like an embarrassed filly. "I merely wished to... continue our other conversation. It was pleasant, vocalizing my past for you."

Ah

"I'd be happy to listen to more stories Luna." Cadance smiled, and laid down in the grass, where a pillow manifested itself for her. On the same beat, a trunk which 'was' always there, sprouted itself from the grass and on top, manifested a teapot, and a couple of cups and plates. Luna came to the table, manipulating the china from a distance and sat down opposite to Cadance. Somewhere off in the distance, a bird flew and tweeted just because it could.

"I'm glad you're willing to spare the time."

Cadance cut her off before she could continue the thought, "It's honestly a pleasure. I'm glad to help, you don't need to feel so self conscious."

Luna kept her trademark resting grumpy expression "I may not, but in your presence I still find myself humbled."

"Humbled?" Cadance 'levitated' the tea for herself. It may not be technically filling, but hey, it still tastes good.

"You have taken to your Alicorn nature far better than I had. I acknowledge that you had guidance, and a stable era of which to thrive in, unlike myself. Yet, it is not difficult to remind myself that you are my equal." Luna took a drink herself after the statement.

"Thank you Luna, that means a lot to me. Now; what did you wish to talk about?"

Luna rolled a gulp of tea around in her muzzle for a moment in thought before speaking. "I am not sure how I should phrase it."

"I've got time."

Luna waved a hoof, "I simply wish to be honest, without being unnecessarily rude." Luna had more to say, so Cadance kept quiet, "Last we spoke I... May have made it seem as though Dusk Swirl, or, Quick Silver now was the sole catalyst for my... Fall. The thought that my story was inaccurate has been plaguing my mind as of late."

"Why has it been bothering you?" Cadance led

"I know you are dealing with Quick Silver, and... Well once upon a time, Dusk was a friend to me, I simply felt as though I had done his memory a disservice."

"I don't see how any of that could be misconstrued as rude, Luna"

"I was getting there."

Cadance waved a hoof in a 'go on' gesture

"I wish to not be rude to my Sister, who was the... main cause of my loneliness, and the final nail in the coffin for my fall. Dusk may have set it up, but my Sister was the one who played along in all of his plans."

Oh. She wants to talk to you about Celestia. Okay, best listening attitude Cadance

"I..." Luna took a rather haphazard sip of tea, as haphazard as you can get when details fall away like flour in the wind. "Wish not to dwell on the mistakes of the past..."

"It's okay Luna, I understand."

"Do you? Really?" The question wasn't meant to be oppressive, there was a kind of hope in Luna's eyes, emphasizing that she was actually asking the question, rather than it being pure rhetoric.

Cadance maintained her calming presence through her description, "Dwelling on the past... Yes, I do. It's hard to let go of things that you haven't... Say, 'confronted.' I've always, at least for myself, felt okay engaging with my negative emotions, feeling them first, before letting them go."

Luna mulled over the wisdom for a moment. "Tis better to feel, rather than to let the pain fester. A lesson I have learned at a cost very dear to me." She said low, and melancholic.

Cadance simply stayed, and listened. At the moment, that was all Luna needed.

"To begin, at the beginning, as such is simply the most sensible." Luna nodded, "It began... When we ascended, suddenly there was responsibility; lessons we had to learn, ponies we had to lead. I spent a long time... trying. Celestia did not, she took to it slowly at first like I did, but ruling became simply another skill in her skill set. At the time I didn't understand, but Celestia had been taking on more and more to ease the pressure off of me."

"It didn't work, I'm guessing."

"It did, which was... Me and My Sister swore we'd do things together. Always. I was failing, and she let me. She figured it just didn't matter. It wasn't something either of wanted to do but..." Luna frowned, "We had to."

Cadance nodded along

"It was only when Equestria was founded, and the dreams of a united pony race became real did I start feeling alone. It was long after my older friends had passed, and even so, Celestia simply went deeper into being a 'Princess.' She took on more responsibility, lead more ponies, became more popular, and I... Didn't." Luna took a deep breath. "I was stuck in-between ages."

"That's when the Discordian era started? When you met Dusk?"

Luna nodded, "It was an age of strife which I hid myself away in. Behind the militias and fighting beasts. Keeping the nightmares away from my ponies. I ran away from my problems as did Celestia."

"We, growing, rarely argued; and even then it was only ever such to discuss. As more of our kingdom fell to chaos, we began arguing more and more. Celestia began to detest me and my influence, and I began to believe the things she said about me behind my back."

"I heard from the nobles and townsfolk that she refused to speak of me or ignored questions of my presence; if she didn't, then it was verbally separating herself from... 'that mare'. Celestia willfully pushed me out of public view. A political tactic that I now understood gave me less power and influence. She was embarrassed of me, of my failures."

"You were very young, you can't blame yourself for everything can you?"

"I suppose not. I was only a couple decades older than you, at the time."

"Sorry for interrupting, please continue."

"It is okay." Luna did just that, "After Discord was defeated. I thought that... maybe things would change, which they did. Celestia no longer bothered me, for a time, that was enough. What had happened was she began to avoid me, making excuses about... ruling. It doesn't matter. Our relationship festered. I didn't confront her... I couldn't. She avoided me and... well..."

"Nightmare Moon happened."

Luna to her credit, didn't cringe away at the statement. "Yes. You know the rest of the story from here, ponies began to detest me, nobles scoffed at my presence in the capital. I... Lost my way, and confronted my Sister. She broke me down, sent me away. In the throws of my grief at... having felt as though I had nothing left... I summoned the Nightmare and formed a pact for power, Celestia forced the Elements upon me, and the rest is well known history."

"She forced them upon you?"

"The Elements are physical embodiments of what they represent. Brought from Eternity into material form. When she used them on me, she forced them to go against everything they were. Tis why they... broke, for a lack of better description."

"Have you talked to Celestia about this? About how it makes you feel."

Luna looked away, and her ears folded down. "I have tried. She always listens, but..."

Hmmm?

"I fear that I do not know her anymore." Luna continued looking hurt, "I have lost the years in which she grew up; became the mare she is now. When she speaks, I do not hear my sister. In her eyes lie the mind of somepony alien to me. I do not know what to make of it... of her. I do not know where I stand now."

"You're still stuck."

Luna perked up, "Yes! Exactly! Oh Cadance you do understand!"

"It's just the same as before, except of course." Cadance, trying to take advantage of the 'non' space, slipped next to Luna and wrapped her in her wing, "You definitively have ponies in this age who Love you."

"Ah." Luna settled into the hug, "Thank you Cadance. Do the words really flow to you so easily?"

"Not always. For this? Yes, you very much have a family here Luna."

Luna smiled, "Oh yes! I have heard the news of your insemination."

"Maybe don't call it that." Cadance said carefully while cringing.

"I jest, nonetheless, congratulations my Niece."

"Did you know my little one is going to be an Alicorn?"

Luna mentally choked, which transferred into visually choking on tea, "Chhurrkk- FPhat? Surely not?"

"Silver confirmed it."

Luna grasped Cadance in her wing and stood, posing, "Huzzah! Another pony to add to us in immortality! I cannot believe such a thing was possible, but if Silver claimed it, then it must be true!" Luna spun her around a couple of times before setting her down. Cadance, since her perspective wasn't locked into her own body, watched the scene with a smile.

"What, pray tell, is the little one's connection to Eternity?"

"I don't know, Silver never said."

Luna pranced in place, "Oh, Cadance, this is most exciting! An Alicorn foal? How could such a thing even be possible!?"

"I don't know anything about the subject, and I don't particularly care to be honest." Cadance truly didn't, why question the perfect outcome?

"You must tell me everything."

She did. Cadance brought Luna up to speed with Silver and the events of the Gala throughout the rest of the dream. Cadance filed away in the back of her mind that she really needed to stop avoiding Celestia, something which slipped away as her dream fell away. Eventually the phase of waking up slipped Cadance away from her conversation and into the hours just before waking proper. Regardless, it was a very pleasant night.

Comments

[des-pair-2]

Great chapter as always! Keep it up!

[Noobblue]

11881053
Awww, thanks for making my day :D