Little loony Luna and crazy caffeinated Celestia's life in Canterlot

by Vidhwansak

Let's break it, Lulu!

Let's break it, Lulu!

It's quiet. It's barren. It's where I was once locked up inside of, for eight-hundred years. It's the moon.

Luna looked around the landscape, though there was nothing to see that would have interested a pony (unless they held a profession that was related to rocks, and even then, they would not enjoy the landscape very much because they would be struggling to breathe in an airless environment). Yet, for it being void of life and any material other than dirt, rock, and the few ice crystals given by comets passing by, this was where Luna made her home, once she broke free of Celestia's bonds.

I wonder what would have happened if I had simply gone down and confronted my sister the moment I broke free from the bonds holding me inside the moon. Contrary to what everypony believed about what happened, Luna was not held within her moon for the exact one-thousand years her sister sentenced her to; magical bonds weaken over time if they are not renewed, and she was an immensely powerful alicorn, so very few bonds could be made to hold her for any length of time, no matter the source of the magic even if it was boosted by the Elements of Harmony. Even so, Luna was weak, so very weak; to attack Celestia directly after freeing herself was just suicidal, and she needed to train herself to become stronger than her sister, who, despite not having thrown a single attack at her sister, was so much stronger than her, which Luna had only realized when she was first imprisoned in the moon. It said much about Celestia, who could have an entire mountain drop upon her, and only feel a little winded after such an impact.

There was nothing to do on the moon, as it was devoid of, well, everything. Having nothing else to do to occupy her time, she figured that if her sister bested her in combat once she returned, she could retreat to the moon and hide under a shelter of some sorts until she regained her strength to challenge her again. Luna did just that, and it took only a week to dig out a small bunker which was carefully well hidden. Luna was satisfied with that little bunker.

For two days.

Luna thought such a small bunker could be located by her sister's ever-sharp eyes and bombarded with her sister's exploding lances of light (or some other spell to force her out from that bunker), so in order to counter such an attack, Luna set off on making more bunkers, as a way to distract her sister for a few more seconds. Again, once finished, she was satisfied for a little while.

Eventually, however, Luna got the feeling that it still wasn't enough. Constantly, Luna thought more about what her sister could do, the possibilities that she had, the magic that could rain down upon her fortifications. Countless years went by as Luna toiled on the moon's surface, gathering what few materials she had to improve her defense system for one as best she could. The passage of time blurred as building materials were shaped, placed, and reinforced with magic, safe areas to hide in were carefully hidden, an underground tunnel system was made, connecting between bunker to bunker, and even an arena to face off against her sister in, in the case that she could no longer run and had to fight to the bitter end. Once she felt she was satisfied with her work, she took to the skies to observe her work, and she was shocked by what she made.

With a slight smile, Luna walked up into the palace she made, one that she thought could rival the castle she was currently living in, if the moon could support life. As it could not, she knew it was forced to take second place, but surely her work of art could be considered very grand, if also very old in terms of design; being forced away from civilization, she had to use old building techniques and designs that weren't exactly the best, and upon returning to her palace, she knew that there was a lot she could have done better. Still, this was her masterpiece; a shame that it's intended purpose was merely as a shelter against magic, because it could have looked so much better.

Reaching out, Luna placed a hoof upon a wall of her palace, feeling the cold, hard rock and dust that made up the wall. Suddenly, she spoke; she had always felt better when admitting things out loud. She wasn't sure why, but it just made things easier for her. "There's...Nothing, just rocks and dust. That's all I used, with some ice crystals scattered around. Regardless, that's what I used to make you from day one. From simple bunker to gigantic palace, every little thing I made was from dust and rock. Would you look much better if I had more resources? Would you still be the large, cold palace upon which I looked down upon Equestria with disdain and hatred?"

Despite having been all she knew for years until her return, even she could not answer the questions that she asked, and the wall wasn't going to speak its mind anytime soon. Looking around the area, Luna spread her hooves out wide, with a slight smile on her face. "Even though I have only intended you as a shelter against magical bombardment, you were home. You became what I temporarily lost, and for that, I thank you. I've spent years, thinking, training, and most of all, longing to return home. I have not given you the kind treatment that I should have, often punching through walls and causing half my fortifications to crumble from my rage, after which I would then panic and then re-do all the fortifications, making them stronger so that they would not so easily break next time. None of that concern was on making it look a pretty, appealing place to live in. Perhaps if I tried...I would have calmed down, and realized just how folly my actions were."

Pausing in her monologue, Luna walked out of the current room she was in to enter her own throne room (which was incredibly bland in appearance), and frowned slightly at the sight of her throne. "Many hours I've spent, sitting on that throne, plotting my revenge and expressing my desire to take over Equestria to myself that I lost sight of what was truly important to me. I thought of destruction and violence, submission from my sister and total power over Equestria. I did not remember that first and foremost, I was plotting revenge on my sister. My sister. To think that I was once so eager to fight her, to best her over a stupid throne that we both shared anyway is...So barbaric. I only hope that Tia can forgive me for what I've attempted to do."

The short silence that came after Luna's words was shattered by slow clapping, coming from behind her. Nothing approaches me in my domain without my consent! Whirling around, Luna prepared to take down the intruder that dared approach her, only to lower the haymaker she was about to throw once she saw that the intruder was none other than Nightmare Moon, who smiled slightly. ...Unless it's with the entity that I shared a body with, once upon a time. Luna stared blankly at Nightmare Moon, who returned the gaze back with a slight smile. One of the stares from the alicorns was filled with conflicting ideas of what to do with the other, who she had shared a body and a palace together, and the other was simply regarding her counterpart with a level gaze, as if daring her to speak.

Luna was the first to break off the stare, and sighed as she looked around the throne room, trying to avoid meeting Nightmare Moon's eyes. "Why are you here, Moonie?"

"I lived here too, once upon a time, you know. I have as much right to be here as you do, Lulu."

Such an answer does not answer my question. Ugh...I swear, you're worse than Tia, and she dodges so many questions. With a groan, Luna frowned flatly, trying to convey the idea that she was extremely displeased to the other lunar alicorn. "You know what I mean, Moonie. How long were you listening to my monologue?"

Thankfully, if one thing could be said about Nightmare Moon, it was that she was very truthful if asked very bluntly. "I've been here long before you came by, and so I have been listening in on you, as you grabbed at my curiosity very quickly, having not visited the moon ever since I was purged from you; forgive me if it troubles you."

With a grunt, Luna shook her head. "It's...Fine, I guess." With slow steps, she walked up to the throne, followed closely by Nightmare Moon. Hesitantly, Luna added, "I...Have to say, your presence somewhat comforts me here, and...I do need advice."

"On how to simply let go of all those memories you've had here?" Nightmare Moon was also very quick to guess at what was troubling a pony. Unfortunately she was also very correct, most of the time.

Luna grimaced as she sat down in front of the throne, and nodded once. "Yes. Though, of course, I can't completely let go of all these memories...That would require a thorough purge of my memories, and even then, I doubt I'd be able to fully forget everything that's happened here. No; I just want to...bury some of these memories behind, to give myself a sense of peace. This place haunts me sometimes...It's like a pyramid, standing tall even after all the years pass by, serving as a reminder of the time period they were built in, and built for a specific purpose. This palace is like this pyramids, only...There is no purpose to this palace, the reminder it gives hurts me deeply, and it has not suffered from erosion like the pyramids have, so it still stands tall after all these years, a sharp reminder of who I once was."

"...Ever thought about writing poetry?"

The look given by Luna told Nightmare Moon that she was close to getting her rump booted off the moon, which would hurt, and Nightmare Moon didn't like hurt. She also wanted her dignity intact. "Okay, I'm sorry! ...Mostly. Anyway, what is it exactly that hurts the most for you, Lulu? I think I can guess based on your monologue, but humor me."

What...Hurts the most? Many things hurt for me on the moon, but...If I had to chose something... Luna looked up at the throne, and a rush of nostalgia came back to her as she remembered all the time she spent sitting on the throne. "The throne, no question about it, Moonie. There's nothing more that hurts more than this throne I've sat on, plotting day in, day out, never realizing how blind I was."

I guessed as much. I just hope she likes the solution that I know is almost absolutely foul-proof and is sure to guarantee instant relief for Lulu. Probably. I've been wrong before. "I see. It also holds a lot of pain for me, and so...Let's break it, Lulu!"

Break...It? The throne...? The very violent and sudden thought appealed to Luna very much, and Nightmare Moon did not have to wait long before Luna sat up, and smiled at her. "I think I'd like that, Moonie. Can I...Say something first, though, before we crush it? I mean, even though it only really has bad memories, I can't help but think I'm losing a large part of myself by doing this."

With a slight nod, Nightmare Moon stepped back, giving her counterpart some room. "Go ahead, Lulu; I've said my goodbyes more than enough on my past few visits, so I have nothing more that I could possibly say."

I must remember to ask you about your visits...You've interested me in whatever you might have said. Filing away Nightmare Moon's visits away carefully, Luna took a good, hard look at her throne, before whispering five words.

"So long, this is goodbye..."

Author's Note:

Moon palace!

Luna and Nightmare Moon are quite the builders

Luna and Nightmare Moon bonding

Except it's not because they're breaking glorified chairs made of rock

Comments

[Lorthalis of Crows]

Damnit! The feels, while subdued, are still there!

[Razzy]

Them feels...