5: Caught in the Middle
Princess Luna was torn from her peaceful slumber by an almost frantic knocking on the door to her bedchamber.
“Enter,” she said sleepily.
The door opened, revealing a gold armored guard who stepped inside the room and immediately came to attention. Despite his training, he was unable to completely disguise his anxiety. “Princess Luna,” he said quickly. “Something has happened that I believe warrants your immediate attention.”
Still feeling groggy, she could only manage an uncertain, “o- of course... what is it?”
“It’s approximately 2:30 in the morning, your highness, yet the sun rose not more than a minute ago. If you will take a look outside, ma’am, you will see.” His message delivered, he seemed to relax slightly.
This news jolted her awake, and she leapt from her bed while using magic to part the curtains that covered the glass doors leading to her balcony. Discord! What have you done, she almost screamed when the sunlight started to pour into her room through the newly uncovered window. “Fetch Prince Concord,” she called to the guard as she galloped through the magically opening doors. What she saw once outside sent her mind reeling. The sun had indeed risen, and yet from what she could see, it was on the verge of setting again. The moon hung stationary high in the sky, yet the sun was already starting to sink beyond the western horizon.
The only things falling faster than the sun at that moment were her spirits. Celestia had managed to convince her earlier that day to hold off on elevating Concord, but they simply couldn't allow Discord to play with the sun and the moon. So long as he had only been threatening Equestria, they might have been able to work around him, fixing damage as he caused it, but to change day and night... .
How will our neighbors react, she wondered uneasily. Equestria was surrounded on all sides by creatures who were, at best, ambivalent towards them, and at worst, outright hostile. The griffon tribes to the north were the worst since each individual tribe, of which there were hundreds, had its own policy towards Equestria. Some of the leaders may be convinced that they were not responsible for Discord’s antics, and some others may be bribed or otherwise persuaded, but she knew for certain that there would be some tribes who would want to fight regardless of the reason. This wasn’t unusual, and there were frequent border skirmishes, but with Discord wreaking havoc across Equestria, there was no guarantee that they would be able to beat the griffons this time.
Her eyes were fixed on the point where the sun had disappeared from view, but she did not fail to notice the white blur that was Celestia as she flew rapidly towards her. “‘Tia, did you see what happened for yourself?”
“Unfortunately, I did,” she said somberly as she alighted delicately upon the marble terrace. Either she hadn’t slept, or she had taken the time to don her royal regalia and brush her mane, since she didn’t look nearly as disheveled as Luna did.
“I don’t thi-,” Luna started to say, but was interrupted when the sun suddenly reappeared on the western horizon. It started to move with incredible speed through the sky, only it was going in the wrong direction. It took a great deal of effort, but she managed to divert her attention from the solar spectacle. “I don’t think we can avoid it, ‘Tia. Discord isn’t just our problem anymore.”
To her great surprise, Celestia nodded slowly and with great resignation. “I know, it’s just that... .” It pained her to see Celestia so downtrodden and upset.
“It isn’t your fault, ‘Tia,” she hazarded cautiously. “You have done everything you could, but Discord is simply more than we can handle on our own.”
Celestia refused to meet her eye, preferring to look at the city where the streets were starting to show signs of activity. “Have you sent for him,” she asked morosely.
“Yes. He should be here soon.” Luna turned her gaze to the streets as well.
“Luna...,” Celestia started in a subdued, hesitant tone. “Do you really think we can trust him?” Almost apologetically she said, “I believed that I could trust Discord, but... you see how that turned out. Why should Concord be any different?” She thought she could see tears forming in Celestia’s eyes.
The sight of her sister struggling not to cry made her realize something. When their parents had died, she had turned to Concord for support, and he had provided comfort, of a sort. The closest being to Celestia, besides Luna, was Discord, who was responsible for the mess, and Luna had been too upset about Celestia’s behavior towards Concord to consider Celestia’s reasons for being hostile. These realizations made her consider another possibility. Celestia had left that very morning in search of Discord, and Luna doubted that Celestia had gotten much, if any rest since she returned less than 12 hours ago. There was an excellent chance that Celestia had, unlike Luna herself, gone nearly the three full days without sleep. Luna felt guilty that it had taken her this long to realize the toll that these events were taking on her sister.
She had just started to speak when a politely inquisitive voice said, “excuse me. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Concord stepped onto the balcony.
“Yes, you are,” Luna said hurriedly. “Please wait in the solar, it shouldn’t be long.”
If he was upset or surprised, he hid it well. His response was as polite and even as ever. “Of course, Princess,” he said, and with a dim grey flash, he disappeared.
Celestia looked surprised by her decision to dismiss Concord. “Luna, we need him to fix the-,” she started mildly.
“- No. We need to talk, just the two of us.” Her voice was clear and brooked no argument.
Growing increasingly confused, Celestia said, “we have talked together, Luna, several times. We spoke just this evening.”
“We talked about Equestria, about Discord, about Concord, and the future. We need to talk about eachother.” Celestia still seemed nonplussed. “Have you slept since they died ‘Tia?”
“That doesn’t matter,” she objected fiercely. “Our subjects are more important than my comfort.”
“True, but it isn’t just your comfort that is at stake.” She didn’t quite know how to continue, but it had to be said. “‘Tia, your behavior, especially towards Concord, has been very erratic, and in some ways harmful.” Celestia looked shocked, but Luna hurried on. “I don’t think it’s your fault, or that you are doing it on purpose, ‘Tia, but you have... ,” she hesitated. “hurt his feelings, and that isn’t helping.”
Celestia’s shocked expression changed to one of incredulity. She chuckled lightly and said, “really Luna? I’ve hurt his feelings?” Celestia seemed to find it funny. “How exactly can you tell, Lulu, for I see no difference.”
With a snort of annoyance she responded, “then you aren’t paying much attention, Celly. Perhaps if you had slept in the last three days you would have noticed that he has been addressing both of us as either Princess or your Highness.”
“He’s always been a stickler for formality, Luna, and now we actually have the authority those titles imply.”
“In public, sure, but rarely in private. That morning, after you blamed him for our parents’ deaths and said they wouldn’t want his respects, I found him in the darkest mood I’ve ever seen. ‘Tia, he expected us to arrest him for their murder just because it was possible that he might have done it. Even then he didn’t refuse to use our names.”
Celestia actually looked somewhat pleased by this revelation. “I’m honored, Luna, that you think I could pierce his stony hide.”
Luna was getting angry now. “You shouldn’t be, Celestia! You should be ashamed! He didn’t just expect us to arrest him, he was going to let us do it. He later agreed to help preserve those same parents who you declared would be ashamed of him without hesitation so you could both find Discord and attend a proper funeral. And during the days you were gone, he never left my side, doing almost anything requested of him and foregoing sleep so that he could respond to anything while I rested.”
Celestia clearly hadn’t expected such a forceful response from Luna, for she took a few steps back and her bemused grin turned into a frown. “You speak as if he has actually exerted himself for us, Luna. Preserving their bodies costs him nothing, but it apparently earns your trust. I know that he refuses to do magic beyond that of the strongest unicorns, despite his tremendous reserves, so nothing he would have agreed to do during those days could be considered difficult for him. And you know as well as I that he does not need sleep anymore than Discord did, so keeping watch for you was hardly some big sacrifice.”
Luna stomped her hoof in frustration. “That isn’t the point, ‘Tia! It isn’t the difficulty of the task, it’s that he did them at all. You said that you were worried about what he would do if he were put in charge because you doubt that he will keep any promises he makes, but you seem to be ignoring one very important thing.”
Celestia had been growing increasingly defensive, and she both looked and sounded uncertain when she replied. “And what’s that?”
“That the only thing keeping him from being at least as destructive as Discord is that very same word that you seem so willing to dismiss. If it weren’t for his sense of duty, and whatever friendship he feels towards us, then he could be just as bad as Discord, and yet your behavior has done much to damage those already fragile bonds. If you continue to treat him as an enemy and accuse him of treason, then you might soon find yourself with an actual reason to do so.” Celestia didn’t seem to know how to react to this. In an effort to soften her words, she walked over to her sister and nuzzled her gently.
She spoke sympathetically, saying, “I understand that you are angry at Discord, and that you don’t want to trust Concord, or need his help. I’m not upset with you, and I think Concord is more uncertain than angry. So what I would like is for you to do me, and Equestria, a favor.” Celestia just looked back numbly. Taking this as tacit permission to continue, she said, “What I want for you to do is to go lie down and sleep for a few hours. I will try to explain things to Concord, and with any luck, we can just move on and do what’s best for everypony.”
Celestia still didn’t react, so Luna put a wing over her sister and started to lead her inside. “And you don’t need to worry. Concord and I can handle things while you rest, and hopefully, we will be able to come up with an arrangement that we can all agree to when you wake up. Does that sound acceptable,” she asked tentatively.
Celestia nodded meekly and allowed herself to be led into Luna’s bedroom, where Luna magically drew back the blankets and encouraged her weary sister to lie down. It felt strange to be tucking Celestia into her own bed. It made her uneasy to know that she was the one looking out for Celestia at that moment, and not the other way around. It was just another way that everything had changed now that Discord was gone.
She reflected on that for a moment, as she carefully covered Celestia with the dark blue covers. Discord had, with the murder of their parents, succeeded in causing far more chaos than she had initially given him credit for. The physical disorder was one thing, but the internal turmoil was another. Celestia, normally calm, patient, thoughtful, and responsible, was lying exhausted in Luna’s bed, and had done a great deal to undermine their relationship with the only being both willing and able to help them. Concord, who took great pride in doing his duty well, was moping around the castle, despondent because Celestia was accusing him of being an untrustworthy parricide. And now Luna found herself in the uncomfortable position of caring for Celestia, while trying to mend any wounds, real or imagined, that had been created between Celestia and Concord, all while having to worry about what new disaster Discord had planned. In just three days, her entire world had been turned completely upside down.
She leant down and kissed Celestia on the cheek, but when she turned to leave, Celestia finally spoke in a brittle voice. “Please... tell him that I’m sorry. I-” she said through a sob. “I know it wasn’t his fault.”
Luna nodded and said, “I’ll tell him, ‘Tia. Now please get some rest.” As she passed through the door that led to the stairs, she magically pulled shut the curtains that covered the door to the balcony, plunging the room into darkness. Even as she started to close the door behind her, she could hear the quiet, regular breathing of Celestia, who was already fast asleep.
Stats
Page generated in 0.029 seconds
Total duration
608 users online
1,353,498 hits today, 2,139,894 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
The Holy Roman(e) Empire is neither Holy, nor Roman(e), nor an Empire.
2224556
Not yet it isn't. Just wait until the lettuce deity invades, crushing all creatures under its nutritiously oppressive leaves, and ushering in a new era of healthy lifestyles.
Hey guy, don't worry. I really dig what you're doing so far and I trust you to continue the story as you see fit.