> Celestia's Sick Day
>  by Smithawits
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Battle Begins
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	There was nothing; no light, no sound, no life. Darkness ruled over everything for several seconds. Suddenly, an entire facility embedded on a frozen mountain appeared out of nowhere. Almost immediately afterwards, a narrative voice shouted:

“Infinity Slayer!”

After the voice spoke, eight ponies wearing different variations of blue MJOLNIR armor spawned in a group, just outside of a building. The entirety of their bodies was covered in armor, except for their cutie marks, which were protected by bulletproof glass, and their tails. One such Spartan had a large, waving, night-like tail and a crescent moon for a cutie mark.

A sudden surge of adrenaline made its way through Princess Luna’s body as her HUD lit up inside her helmet. The top left portion of her visor displayed three grenade slots: one for frag grenades, another for plasma grenades, and the last for pulse grenades. The top middle of her visor held her energy shield meter, which was filled at 100%. The top right displayed her current weapon, which was a standard assault rifle, and the amount of ammo the gun had in the clip. The bottom left of her visor displayed the radar, which had seven green dots surrounding her central dot. Just above the radar was a picture of a pony, whose lower body was faded, surrounded in a circle; this was her current armor ability. Just above the armor ability was a three dimensional cube enclosed in a circle, her ordnance meter. On the bottom right were two bars: one red and one blue with both scores set to zero.

There were three types of armor in the game: an earth pony set, a pegasus set, and a unicorn set. The earth pony armor offered unlimited sprint and slightly better protection, however the heavy armor made the wearer slower than normal. The pegasus armor offered lengthy, yet temporary flight and better agility, but the thin, aerodynamic armor made the wearer more exposed to gunfire. The unicorn armor allowed the wearer to levitate their weapon next to them instead of carrying it on one their right foreleg. This enabled greater mobility, however the use of levitation made the energy shields on the wearer’s armor drain faster. Princess Luna used the unicorn armor almost every time.

For a few seconds, the ponies stood in their spots eager to move, yet unable to do so. Suddenly, several weapons in drop pods fell from the sky and crashed into the ground near the spawn area, and the voice shouted again:

“Eliminate the enemy team!”

After the voice spoke again, everypony could move. Some ran for the weapons drop, trying to improve their firepower; others ran towards the vehicles, itching to go on a splatter spree; while others ran straight to where their enemy spawned, eager to get the “first strike” medal. Luna was one of the ones who ran towards the enemy, except she hung back behind a few of her allies to provide fire support. Luna was in a small group that consisted of three other ponies: one earth and two pegasi. Together, they headed left for a central structure up on a hill; the rest went straight towards the frontline.

As the four made their way towards the building, the battle between the Red Team and the Blue Team violently began as multiple explosions and continuous gunfire echoed throughout the landscape. Suddenly, the score on Luna’s HUD changed. Red Team already had scored twenty points, while they still had zero. Not the best way to start a match. By the time the four reached the building, the score was 100 to 30 with Red Team leading. Just before they entered the building, one of the pegasi deployed their wings; two frames opened up on his back which generated two wings made entirely out of concentrated light. The pegasus effortlessly made his way to the top of the building, grabbed the sniper rifle that was leaning against a wall and opened fire on the Red Team, ducking in cover when needed. The remaining three rushed into the building, only to be met by a member of the Red Team. The score was now 100 to 80, and Red Team was still leading.

The three quickly and effortlessly disposed of the intruder. He was not welcome here, and they made that clear. After they reloaded, the other pegasus glided down the hill to join the battle on the frontline, and the earth pony started heading for the enemies spawn. Luna stayed inside the building and waited for her prize to spawn at the top of a ramp; she was waiting for a gun that would give her and her team a much needed edge in the battle. 

However, while she was waiting, she heard rather close gunfire and noticed that the earth pony’s dot on her radar suddenly vanished. Almost immediately afterwards, she heard a sniper rifle fire and noticed that pegasus’ dot, who was on the roof, vanished as well. She peeked outside and saw at least three Red Spartans, one carrying a smoking sniper rifle, coming straight for her. They opened fire on Luna; several bullets hit her, but the energy shields protected her long enough for her to dash back into the building. In that short amount of gunfire, her energy shields were down 50%, but they soon recharged. The intruders were almost here, and she was all alone. If only her prize would spawn in, she would be able to stand her ground and send the Red Team galloping away. The score was now 120 to 100 with Red Team maintaining the lead.

The three Spartans were so close that Luna could hear their hoofsteps outside. She thought about running outside for a tactical retreat but decided against it, for fear of the Red Team getting the gun. Acting fast, Luna ran to a corner, crouched and activated her armor’s ability: active camouflage. Slowly, Luna’s body began to fade away until all that was left was an abstract outline of her that was very easy to miss, unless one was looking for it. Luna had to stay still, or the active camouflage would fizzle trying to recalibrate, which would reveal her. The three enemies trotted into the building, assuming that their target had run away. All three wore pegasi armor. The score was now 130 to 120; Red Team was still desperately clinging to the lead.

Two of the three pegasi went up the ramp to the roof to provide sniper coverage, while the third pegasus walked over to where Luna’s gun was supposed to spawn. He wanted the gun too. 

“That’s not good,” Luna thought, “if Red Team got this weapon, they will have a huge advantage over us which would put them drastically ahead.” 

Luna could not let this happen. She had to act quickly, as her armor wasn’t exactly suited for one on one battles. The pegasus, still unaware of his audience, crouched by the doorway, ready to strike at whoever dared try to separate him from his goal. His back was turned to Luna.

An excited and sinister expression overtook Luna’s face as she realized that this was the perfect opportunity for an assassination. Quickly, yet silently, Luna made her way to the unsuspecting pegasus and unsheathed her knife. She didn’t get the ranking “Master Assassin” in this game for sitting around doing nothing. She was just a few feet away from the pegasus as she prepared to strike. The score was now 130 to 130; the game was tied.

There was a gentle knock at the door. "Princess Luna?"

> The Lunar Assassin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Luna stood over the Red’s lifeless body, levitating her knife next to her. “Now for those two jokers upstairs,” she thought to herself. Luna went upstairs to see the two firing away at the battlefield. She decided to go for the one on the right since he was the closest. Luna tackled him, which knocked out his shields, and quickly stabbed him in the back of the head. She then turned to face the other one. The score was 140 to 150. Thanks to Luna, Blue Team was finally able to take the lead.

The other pegasus saw Luna just before she tackled him; he quickly ducked, just barely avoiding being assassinated. Luna landed on her side, and tumbled over before hopping to her hooves and sliding to a stop. Meanwhile, the pegasus got up, ran to the other side of the roof, aimed his Sniper Rifle at Luna and fired.

Luna quickly sidestepped to her right, dodging the bullet by mere inches, then charged at the Red who fired another shot. Luna dodged it again and slid into the Red, causing him to fall to the ground and to drop his gun. Luna picked it up and smacked him with the butt of the gun; the dazed Red stumbled over to the ledge of the roof. Luna quickly buck-kicked him in his helmet; the Red tumbled over the ledge and slammed into the ground. The score was 140 to 170 with Blue Team slowly pulling away.

Luna looked down at the unmoving Red, ready to fnish him off if he dared move an inch. After several seconds, she popped her neck and turned around. As she headed back to the ramp, the ordnance meter on her HUD lit up and a voice announced in her helmet: "Ordnance Ready!" Her HUD then displayed three choices: a damage boost, two plasma grenades, or an energy sword. Luna decided to not summon anything yet. "Better save the ordnance for later," she thought to herself. She then heard a noise downstairs. She walked to the top of the ramp just in time to see a drop pod materialize at the bottom of the ramp and then burst open, revealing a long, slender gun with orange lights decorating the side. The Binary Rifle had finally spawned.

Luna's eyes grew wide with excitement as she approached the gun. She had a "Daring-Do" moment as she slowly reached for her long-awaited prize, afraid that taking it might set off an ancient boobytrap. Just before she grabbed the gun, however, Luna felt an incredible pain in her chest that made her cringe and pull away from the Rifle. The score was now 150 to 180 with Blue Team staying ahead.

Luna looked down to see two blades made of concentrated plasma sticking out of her chest. Most of her body went limp as she was lifted in the air, then tossed to the ground near the doorway; her entire body tumbled like a ragdoll. She was able to turn her head slightly to see a Red pony wearing the unicorn armor, levitating an energy sword next to him. The spartan's armor however, looked more advanced than any other armor she's seen. Unlike her armor that was standard MJOLNIR armor, his looked like actual assassin armor; it looked sleeker, stronger, and more menacing looking, especially his helmet. The last thing Luna saw before respawning was the unicorn deactivating his sword, attaching it to his side, and then grabbing the Binary Rifle; Luna then spawned back at Blue Base. The score was 170 to 220 with Blue Team dominating.

There was another knock at the door; this time, a bit more firm, "Princess Luna."

Luna stood where she spawned, staring at the wall with her mouth hung open. "What the hay just happened!?" Luna thought to herself. "That Red, who does he think he is!? First, he has the nerve to kill me when I was about to get my rifle, then he has the audacity to steal it!” Luna walked on the roof of Blue Base and looked over the battlefield.

She saw a once beautiful landscape now stained with wrecked Warthogs, wrecked Ghosts, fires, and bodies of both the Red and Blue Team. She saw Red Spartans in the distance scurrying around like lost ants and Blue Spartans walking blindly into the front lines. As she was looking around, a small orange beam of light came from the building on the hill.

Almost as immediately as it appeared, a brighter orange light flashed and sped towards a Blue Spartan. The beam of light struck the Blue on his chest; the Blue then started disintegrating into burnt, orange ash until nothing of his body remained. Another orange light flashed and struck another Blue in the hoof; the Blue soon disintegrated like his ally. The rest of Blue Team took cover, trying to avoid the Binary Rifle. Luna watched helplessly from the roof.  "And now he decides to use the rifle against my OWN TEAM!?" -Luna gritted her teeth- "If I could, I would send him to the moon faster than a parasprite eats a bushel of apples!" She then remembered about her ordnance.

Luna brought up her ordnance menu; it still gave her the original three choices from earlier. "Fine then," Luna thought, "if that's the way he wants it-" she called for a drop pod that materialized next to her and then burst open, revealing a fresh energy sword "-that's the way it's going to be." She levitated the energy sword next to her and set out to find her killer. The score was 260 to 240. Red Team was now leading thanks to them possessing the Binary Rifle.

Luna remained in the shadows; she passed by many Red, but she didn't attack them. She wasn't concerned about them; she didn't even care if her team won the match. All she cared about was finding her killer and kicking his flank...hard. After a while, however, Luna started having second thoughts; it had been a long time since her and that Red's confrontation and, at this point in the game, it's more than likely that that Red died and lost both weapons. "Maybe I should just give up and help my team win," she thought to herself. After a few more minutes, she was about to yield to her thoughts, but then, she finally saw him. The unicorn was casually trotting down a road, still carrying the energy sword. The score was now 500 to 490 with Red Team just barely maintaining the lead.

Luna was on a rocky ledge, the unicorn was on a frozen, dirt road just below her. "Death from above," Luna thought to herself, "let’s see how he likes a taste of his own medicine." Luna waited until her target was right below her, and then leaped towards him. As she started to tackle him though, something strange happened; the unicorn fizzled and blinked on and off as Luna passed through his body. Luna slammed into the ground and slid for a few feet. Dazed, she sat up and tired to figure out what happened.

With a look of horror, it dawned on her that she had fallen for a hologram trick; Luna then noticed a red dot on her radar rapidly approaching her from behind. She watched as the red dot got closer and closer; she drew her sword, which was deactivated, and levitated it close to her chest so the Red couldn't see it.. She closed her eyes listening for his hoofsteps; trying to figure out when to strike.

The unicorn was right behind her, ready to give her another painful lesson about letting your guard down. Like a car wreck, everything went into slow motion as the unicorn started to thrust his energy sword towards Luna's head. Without another second to spare, Luna sidestepped and spun to her left, dodging her enemy’s attack and punching the unicorn dead in the face; or at least it would've been his face had his visor not been in the way. Everything went back to normal speed as the unicorn flew back several feet. Quickly, the unicorn got up and regained his bearings; he stood in an attack position, sword drawn out to his side. Luna shook her sword's handle which deployed her energy sword; the light from the sword on her side casted the perfect shadow against her armor; making her look stronger, and more menacing. Luna took a defensive stance.

Without warning, the unicorn lunged at Luna and swung his sword at her. Luna quickly lifted her sword and blocked the swing. The force from the two swords colliding sent sparks flying and created a small explosion. This explosion knocked out both of their energy shields and forced the swords away from each other. However this did not discourage the unicorn in the slightest; he kept swinging, trying from many different angles and positions to break through Luna's defensive stance. However, Luna didn't break. She matched and blocked every move the unicorn had up his sleeve.

After a while though, Luna was starting to get disoriented. The flash from the swords colliding was starting to blind Luna and make her forget where she was. "I need just a few seconds to gather myself," she thought. Finally, she saw an opening; the unicorn backed up a little to deliver a devastating blow, this allowed Luna to quickly grab a plasma grenade; she activated it and threw it on the ground in between them. They both quickly scrambled away from the grenade, which went off a few seconds later; sending dirt, dust, and snow into the air. It was the perfect, temporary smoke grenade.

With energy shields back at 100 percent, Luna quickly jumped through the dust cloud and out the other side; tackling the unicorn and hoping to let her knife say a few words to his skull. However, the unicorn was able to kick her off. The two got back up, still levitating their energy swords, and charged each other.

They both met and clashed their swords, but this time, instead of allowing the swords to push away, the two forced the swords to stay together. A fountain of sparks erupted in all directions and an orb of energy started glowing from the swords as the two put more and more pressure on them. Eventually, the two Spartans gave up on using levitation and instead, used their forehooves to hold their swords; their hind hooves started digging into the ground as they pressed their helmets together glaring swords, knives, daggers, and other sharp objects into each other's helmet. However, they were directly in between the crossed swords; one wrong slip and they would both lose their heads. The orb of energy grew bigger and brighter and it was becoming harder and harder keep parrying the swords the longer they stayed together.

Luna started to panic as multiple alarms sounded inside her helmet; her energy shields were depleted, and multiple systems in her armor were failing. Luna collapsed on one knee, yet she was still able to parry her opponent’s sword. The unicorn leaned in and put all of his body weight onto the swords, forcing them to move closer and closer to Luna. The blades were now mere inches away from Luna's visor, ready to slice through her helmet like a hot knife through butter.

Suddenly, the energy behind the swords became too much for the Spartans. The orb burst with incredible force, sending the two Spartans flying in opposite directions of each other. Luna was thrown against a rock wall, and then fell to the ground; she got up a few seconds later, dazed and completely exhausted. She looked up to see the enraged unicorn, once again, charging at her; Luna took another defensive stance and closed her eyes as she braced herself for the worst.

There was a firm knock at the door, "Princess Luna?"

"Huh?" Luna said as she opened her eyes and snapped back to reality. She looked at the door to her game room, then back at her projection screen just in time to watch her character get sliced with the unicorn's energy sword. Her character respawned a few seconds afterwards.

Luna breathed a sigh of frustration and annoyance as she levitated her controller and headset down onto the floor. She then got up and headed for the door, being careful not to trip over any wires on the dark floor. The blacklight that illuminated the room made Luna's eyes, and crescent moon on her necklace and cutie mark glow in the dark.

She cleared her throat and opened the door to find two pegasus guards standing on the other side. "Yes, what is it?" she said trying to not sound too upset.

"Forgive the intrusion your highness" -one of the guards said as they bowed- "but Princess Celestia has asked to see you in her room immediately."

"Of course she does," Luna said with an eye roll, "Tia always needs to see me right when I'm in the middle of doing something-" she looked back at her screen "-important." Then, something dawned on her. "Wait a minute," Luna said with a worried tone. She looked at a clock which read 1:38 a.m. " It's 1:30 in the morning! What is Tia still doing awake!?"

"That's why we're here ma'am," the other guard said. "It's urgent."

'It's urgent,' one of the many phrases a princess never wants to hear. Luna immediately headed for Celestia's room at a brisk pace, leaving the two guards where they were and her game character to the mercy of the Red Team.

"What could be so urgent?" Luna thought to herself as she walked. "Maybe she's having trouble sleeping again? No, can't be that. Tia's had trouble sleeping before and it's never been urgent. Besides, if she was having trouble sleeping, she would've asked for my help hours ago. Did she have a nightmare? Possibly, but she knows how to deal with nightmares. Even if she didn't, that's still not an emergency. Could she need my help with something?" -Luna paused for a second before she continued walking- "Oh please Luna, you've been gone for 1,000 years. What could Tia possibly need your help with?"

Luna glanced out one of a window as she made her way to Celestia's room. A fresh blanket of snow had just finished falling over the landscape; a full moon shone bright in the clear, night sky; making everything seem new and untouched. "A beautiful night if I do say so myself."

She finally made it to Celestia's room where Shining Armor and several other guards were silently talking to each other outside in the hallway. As Luna got closer, they all suddenly noticed her, turned around, and bowed. 

"Your highness," Shining Armor said, "please allow me to explain. Celestia-" Shining was cut off by Luna pushing her way through and reaching for Celestia's door.

"Princess Luna, wait!" Shining said.

Luna didn't wait. She opened the door and stepped inside.
> Nights Are Darkest...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Luna walked into Celestia’s room with Shining Armor following close behind. Celestia lay in her bed under some blankets trying to sleep; the only part of her body that showed was her head which lay on several pillows. Luna tried making her way to her sister’s bedside but was stopped by Shining.

“Princess Luna,” Shining whispered, “I would be careful getting too close.”

“Why?” Luna whispered back, “What’s wrong?”

“She is very sick with a rare virus,” a voice quietly said around the corner. Luna soon discovered the origin of the voice as Nurse Redheart walked around the corner, holding a bottle of medicine in her hoof.

“A virus? What virus?” Luna asked.

“Right now, we are calling it the 4N4S virus.” Nurse Redheart set the medicine down on the counter, took out a syringe from her first aid case and walked to Luna, who was looking at her sister. “Please hold still.”

“What do you-ow!” Luna looked down at the syringe in her left foreleg held firm by Nurse Redheart’s hoof. “What’s this?”

“I’m giving you some medicine that should make you immune to 4N4S, at least temporarily.”

“Well, if you can do this, you should be able to heal Tia right?”

Nurse Redheart emptied the contents of the syringe into Luna’s bloodstream, took it out, and quickly covered up the wound. “I’m sorry,” Nurse Redheart continued, “But the only thing I can do is to make her as comfortable as I can. Once the 4N4S virus has fully infected its host, it cannot be cured. It has to run its course until it goes away.”

“Well, what about magic? Can’t she, I don’t know, banish it or something?”

“Normally yes, magic does work against viruses and bacteria, however this virus is so strong, it has affected her magic. She can barely do the simple task of levitating an item. Besides, 4N4S is a special virus, the only thing magic will be able to do is delay it, even if it’s still weak.

“You say that as if this has happened before,” Luna said.

“That’s because this has happened before. Sometimes, not very often, a pony will get infected with 4N4S; it completely drains its victims of their energy and strength. It is extremely hard to detect because, at first, it doesn't really have any symptoms, other than minor things like a cough or a sneeze. Somehow, it can infect the entire body unnoticed, and then, once it has reached full strength, it strikes relentlessly.”

“At full effect, its symptoms are exactly like the common flu: with nausea, vomiting, headaches, and lack of strength. We’ve tried many times to magically cure it, but in a few months, the virus comes back usually stronger than before. If that happens, and if the victims are not medically treated right away, there is a very high chance of the victim dying.”

Luna looked at Celestia, who was shivering even though she was laying under several heavy blankets. Her hair wasn’t waving as it usually was, but instead was messily spread out on her bed; some of her hair was drenched with sweat and plastered to her forehead. Her face was extremely pale, almost like a ghost, as if something had sucked out all of her color. Luna started to get scared at the grim sight. Seeing her sister like this was almost too much for her.

“No, this isn’t right,” Luna thought, “Celestia is the strong one; the one who never gets sick or lets anything set her back. She’s supposed to overcome anything. It’s not fair. Why did this have to happen to her? What’s going to happen to her? Is she going to die? No, no, no, no, no; that can’t happen. What is Equestria going to do if we lose her? What am I going to do if I lose her?” Luna felt tears start to fill her eyes.

“Is…is she going to be ok?” Luna asked, finally finding her shaky voice.

“Yes, I have given her some herbal medicine and it has helped. I will stay here and do what I can; however, she will still need to stay in bed for at least another twenty-four hours.”

Luna breathed a sigh of relief, but then looked at Nurse Redheart, “Twenty-four hours? But-but she has her duties to perform tomorrow.”

“That’s why Celestia wanted to see you,” Shining Armor said. “She has something she needs you to do. We will leave you two alone.” Shining and Nurse Readheart walked out of the room and shut the door behind them.

Luna suddenly felt very nervous as she walked towards her sister’s bedside. As she approached, Celestia violently coughed and slowly opened her heavy eyes.

When Celestia saw her younger sister, her eyes instantly brightened with joy and she slowly lifted her head up.

“H-hello Luna,” Celestia said with a weak smile.

“Hello sister,” Luna said with a teardrop making its way down her cheek.

“Now don’t-” Celestia swallowed a lump in her throat “-don’t worry about me dear sister. Thanks to the nurse, I will be fine.”

“I know you will be; you always will be in the end.” Luna finally smiled.

“Luna, I’m sorry if I took you away from anything important-”

“It was nothing Tia,” Luna interrupted, “you are more important than anything I could’ve been doing.”

“Thank you Luna, but let me guess-” Celestia cleared her throat “-you were playing Haylo right?”

Luna blushed, “How did you know?”

Celestia laid her head back onto her pillows and closed her eyes, “there have been several times when you’ve walked out of your game room with a certain gleam in your eyes-” Celestia cleared her throat again “-and whenever I peeked into your game room, it was always Haylo on the screen.” Celestia opened her eyes slightly and looked at Luna, “You have that same gleam in your eye right now.”

Luna looked at her sister with amazement, “I've always been impressed on how observant you are.”

Celestia smiled and closed her eyes again. There was several seconds of silence before Luna spoke.

“Um…Tia, Shining Armor said you have something you need me to do?”

“Yes-” Celestia swallowed another lump “-Luna, because of this illness, I won’t be able to perform any of my duties as princess tomorrow.”

“O-okay…” Luna said, nervous about where this conversation was going.

“I need somepony to take my place for tomorrow.”

Luna’s heart began to beat faster.

Celestia opened her eyes as much as she could and looked at her younger sister. “I need you to rule in my place tomorrow.”

Luna took a few steps back and stared at her sister, wide-eyed and mouth agape. Several seconds passed before Luna could find any words to speak. “Tia…I…you…this…” Luna shook her head to try to regain her composure. “Sister, I…I can’t. Surely there is somepony else who can take your place. What about Princess Cadence?”

“Princess Cadence is away in her hometown. She’s not due back for a few more days.”

Luna looked at Celestia with a terrified expression on her face. “W-well, w-what about Twilight Sparkle, can’t she do it? She’s your student after all.”

Celestia gave her sister a stern look, “you know she’s not ready for that yet. Maybe someday, but not right now.”

“B-but...but…but I…” Luna’s jaw was trembling, “S-s-s-sister, really…I-I-know you think I can, but-but-but I’ve been gone 1,000 years and-”

“About that,” Celestia interrupted, “you know, while you were gone, I had to raise the moon as well as the sun. It wasn’t easy at first, but I eventually got the hang of it.”

“Yeah but you had years to learn and adapt; I only have a few hours to learn what to do!”

“Don’t worry; I am going to have Shining Armor shadow you all day. He knows a good deal about what I do, so he will be able to help you if you have questions.”

“But what if somepony decides to attack Canterlot?”

“Shining Armor has all of the guards working on overtime until this whole thing blows over. Right now, Canterlot is on a silent ‘Red Alert.’

“Silent?” Luna asked.

“Yes, we-” Celestia cleared her throat “-we need to keep this whole thing as quiet as we can; the more ponies who know what’s happening, the more likely panic will spread throughout Canterlot; and the more likely a villain might hear and get the idea to strike. Right now, only the guards, Shining Armor, Nurse Redheart, and a few ponies who will meet tomorrow, know about what is going on.”

“I…I just don’t know Tia…”

“Luna, look at me,” Celestia’s expression dramatically changed. “I know you have what it takes to lead. I wouldn’t have asked you to do this if I didn’t think you could.”

Luna felt a chill creep down her spine as she looked into her sister’s eyes. They seemed to be unaffected by this illness. They were filled with so much power and love; it always terrified Luna, but also comforted her at the same time. After a few seconds, Luna sighed and looked at the floor.

“Alright Tia, I…I will do as you ask.” Celestia breathed a sigh of relief and laid her head back on her pillows.

“You should get some sleep,” Celestia suggested. “Sunrise will need to happen in a few hours. I assume you've checked on the ponies of Equestria to make sure they are sleeping well?”

Luna nodded, “Yes, nearly everypony is sleeping comfortably; those who aren’t, are awake and enjoying the nightlife.”

“Very good; will you please send the nurse back in?”

Luna nodded and opened the door. Nurse Redheart walked in, bowed to the two princesses and then walked to her first aid kit.

“Sister, do you need any help sleeping?” Luna asked.

“No thank you Luna, I will be fine.”

Luna nodded, then walked towards the door to leave, but was stopped by Celestia calling to her. 

“Luna, good luck; if you ever feel as though you need me, do not hesitate to come to me for help. I'm not going anywhere anytime soon. I love you Luna.”

“Thank you Tia. I love you too.”

Luna walked out of the room, shut the door behind her with her magic, and headed for her room; Shining Armor walked beside her. The two walked in silence; the only noise coming from their hooves and the occasional guard saluting in their armor. The two eventually walked into a big hallway, where Luna’s doorway to her room stood at the end; finally, Luna spoke.

“So, I understand that you will be with me tomorrow if I need your help.”

Shining Armor nodded, “yes ma’am. I will be able to give you advice throughout the day.”

“Alright, sounds good.” The two walked closer to Luna’s room. When they were about halfway down the hall, Luna spoke again.

“You and Princess Cadence are getting pretty serious huh?”

Shining armor blushed at the random question. “Uh…yes ma’am, I-I suppose we are.”

“Have you told your sister about you two yet?”

“No not yet, I haven’t had much time.”

“Understandable, but you better tell her soon. I hear she can overreact a lot.”

“Oh believe me Princess, I know. I had to live with her.”

Luna laughed lightly as she opened the door with her magic, and walked into her room.

“I will have two guards stationed outside your room later tonight; I will wait out here until then if you need me.”

Luna nodded and made her way to her bed. Shining shut the door and stood attentive outside Luna’s room.
Luna took off her crown, necklace and shoes; she levitated them on her nightstand and crawled into bed. She looked at her alarm clock which read 2:00 a.m. Sunrise was in four hours; there was no way she could get a good night’s sleep, especially with her mind racing the way it was. Thankfully, Luna knew a spell that puts ponies straight to sleep and makes two hours of sleep feel like eight.

As she lay in her bed, her horn glowed with a beautiful blue color that slightly illuminated the room as she casted the sleeping spell on herself. After a few seconds, her vision blurred and faded into darkness as Luna shut her eyes; her body sank into the bed as she relaxed, and the glow of her horn slowly faded away. After a few seconds, Luna was asleep; silently snoring in her bed.
>  ...Just Before the Dawn
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luna was sleeping peacefully; she was bundled up in a blanket, when one of her worst enemies made it's presence known in her room-

BEEEP!.....BEEEP!.....BEEEP!

-her alarm clock.

Luna grunted and put her pillow over of her head, trying to drown out her enemies shouts. 

"Why is this stupid thing going off!?" she thought to herself; she suddenly remembered her conversation with her sister just a few hours before. "Oh yeah...gotta raise the sun..."

BEEEP!....BEEEP!...BEEEP!

"Be quiet will you!?" she hissed. "Just five more minutes! Please!" yet despite her pleas, her alarm clock continued its shouts, which seemed to get louder as the seconds went by. Finally, Luna stuck a hoof out of her blanket cocoon, and smacked the top of her nightstand hoping to knock out her most hated object in Equestria; she missed.

She swung again, but this time she missed the nightstand completely. She swung a third time and hit the top of her alarm clock; now all she had to do was turn it off, or at least hit the snooze button.

After what seemed like an eternity of feeling around, her hoof finally found the snooze button; she pressed it but her clock refused to yield. She pressed again, but harder; still the clock continued its awful noise. Luna was eventually pounding on the clock to get it to shut off, but for some reason, her enemy was invincible and absorbed every blow. Finally, enough was enough.

Luna sat up and growled at the object of her torment. She levitated it and, with a swing of the head, threw it against the wall shattering her foe into tiny pieces and finally shutting that accursed thing off.

Luna was never a morning pony.

Luna sighed and crawled out of bed. After stretching, which was completed by popping some of her joints, she slowly dragged herself to her shower. Hopefully a nice warm shower would wake her up.

She stepped in and shut the curtain behind her with her magic. She went to turn the 'warm' nozzle, but mistakenly turned the 'cold' instead. Water as cold as ice cubes shot out and began to freeze Luna.

"Ahhhh!! Too cold! TOO COLD!" she shouted. She scrambled to turn on the warm water, but, in her panic, she turned the warm all the way up and turned the cold all the way down. Water as hot as molten lava shot out and began to burn her.

"TOO HOT! TOO HOT!!!" she finally shut off the water. She stood panting and wide-eyed. At least she was awake now.
After taking a proper shower, she walked over to her nightstand. She put her shoes, necklace, and crown on and stepped out of her room, only to find herself on the balcony where she was supposed to raise the sun.

A gentle winter wind blew over Luna as she stood staring at the horizon. She finally closed her eyes and focused her magic on the sun hiding below the horizon. It was tough and took a few minutes, but slowly, the sun began to rise into the sky. Luna stopped channeling her magic when she saw the sun separate from the horizon.

"Well that was easier than I thought," she thought to herself. She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief; when she opened them, she found herself in Celestia's throne room with Shining Armor next to her.

"Alright Luna," Shining said. "It is 8am now. At 9am, you need to look over and sign some laws that are yet to get passed; at 10am, you have a meeting with the Canterlot City Council; and then at noon, you need to adjust the sun so that it enters its cooling phase. Then you have another meeting with the Council at 1:30, followed by-"

"I'm sorry Shining" -Luna interrupted- "but I don't ever remember Tia's schedule being this busy."


"It's usually busier."

"You're kidding..."

"No ma'am."

"Alright then-" Luna sighed "-let's get started," Luna turned and suddenly found herself standing on the balcony again, except this time, it was noon. It was time to put the sun on 'cool down' for the afternoon and evening.

Luna stood straight and shot a blue beam of magic straight at the sun. Afterwards, she had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach, like something didn't feel right. 

"I did set the correct temperature right?" she thought.  She didn't have time to think it through, because almost immediately afterwards, Luna heard her name being called from back inside the castle.

Luna turned to find herself sitting in a large room around a table with other high class ponies.

"Princess Luna?" a stallion called out. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes, I am fine. I was just thinking about something else. What were you asking?"

"We were discussing this bill. Did you get the chance to read it?"

"Oh I'm...I'm sorry I haven't yet.It's been a hectic day."

"I understand, but the quicker you can read it over, the better. We need to make a decision soon."

"Alright. I will read it over later today," the other ponies in the room nodded in approval. Suddenly, Luna heard a scream behind her.

She turned and found herself standing in the middle of a burning Ponyville. Panicking ponies covered in ash ran around the town; as several building were on fire and were quickly being consumed by the flames. The river was boiling and several volcanoes could be seen rising up in the distance. If that wasn't bad enough, the sky was covered with ash clouds and raining hail-fire.

"How did this happen!?" Luna thought. "Wait...the sun's adjustment. I must've accidentally raised the temperature instead of lowering it! But how did raising the temperature slightly make all of this happen!?"

The area around Luna suddenly glowed a bright orange. She looked up to see a massive, burning hailstone heading straight for her. Luna could do nothing but stare at the hailstone, frozen in fear.

The burning stone finally smacked into her.

Luna gasped and shot up in her bed in a cold sweat. She looked around trying to figure out where she was; eventually, her eyes adjusted to the darkness and she saw that she was in her room. 

When she realized where she was, she fell back into her bed.

"Just a dream...it was just a dream..." she whispered to herself, trying to steady her breathing.

"Wow...I...I normally have...more control over my dreams. This...this rule-for-a-day-thing...must have me on a bigger...edge than I thought."

Luna was finally able to steady her breathing and relax by taking a deep breath. She looked over to her alarm clock which read 5:00 a.m.

"One hour until sunrise...no point in going back to bed now I guess," Luna got out of bed and went to take a shower, making sure to turn the right nozzles. When she was done, she walked towards one of her bedroom windows.

She could see a faint glow on the horizon; it was the glow of Ponyville at night.

"Ponyville," Luna thought. "One of the few towns in Equestria where one can relax. I still remember Nightmare Night, where Twilight Sparkle helped me fit in with the rest of the town," Luna's ears suddenly perked up as an idea popped in her head.

"Twilight Sparkle...one of the most knowledgeable ponies I know. I bet she can help with this situation, or at least have a book about Celestia's virus. Plus, she was still awake when I did my nightly rounds, I'm sure she can help!" Luna quickly turned and put on her normal princess wear,  and her favorite black cloak.

"Wait...what about Shining; what if he comes back early to check up on me," Luna levitated a quill and paper; she wrote a quick note explaining where she was, in case Shining did come back early, and set it on her pillow.

Luna closed her eyes, and activated her horn. Her horn glowed brighter the harder she concentrated, but when the spell hit its climax, it backfired and slightly shocked Luna.

"Ouch..." she said as she rubbed her forehead. "I guess it has been awhile since I've used the teleportation spell. Let's try this again."

Luna once again charged her horn and, this time, succeeded in teleporting to Ponyville.

Luna opened her eyes to see that she had appeared behind a building; unfortunately, she looked down to see that she was a few feet above the ground. Gravity took over and pushed her towards the ground; thankfully, a blanket of snow was there to cushion her fall.

Luna lifted her head from the snow to reveal her cheeks had a slight shade of red. Even though nopony was there to see her mistake, she still felt embarrassed for messing up on a simple teleportation spell.

She stood up and walked down the alley into the main street. One stallion who had a bit too much to drink looked over at Luna as he passed by.

"Yo-your Luna coshtume looksh horrible!" he said with slurred speech. "Luna doesh not have that weirdly shaped of a head..y-you sh-should be ashamed...." the stallion turned and stumbled his way down the street. "Oh, and by the way," the stallion called back. "Ish not Nightmare Night anymore, ish Winter and Hoovesh Day...or somethin..."

Luna just simply rolled her eyes, she would've done something to teach him not to drink so much, but his hangover in the morning would be more than appropriate punishment. 

"Still though," Luna thought. "He was able to recognize me. If a drunk pony was able to recognize me, theres no telling what a sober pony would do; the questions they would ask and the rumors they would start," she then pulled her hood over her head and quickly made her way to The Golden Oaks Library. A few ponies were out and about, but thanks to Luna's cloak and her quick movements, nopony gave her a second glance.

Luna finally arrived at the library, and to her relief, saw that the lights were still on. She walked up to the door and knocked.


^^^^


Spike was curled up into a ball as he slept soundly in his bed. Every now and then, his eyelids would flinch as his subconscious reacted to the dream he was having.

Without warning, Spike slowly opened his eyes and yawned; after he refilled his little lungs with fresh air, he looked at the bedroom clock which read 4:45 am. As he turned over in bed, he looked at the doorway that led to the stairs and saw that the light on the other side was on.

"Is she really.." he said as he looked over to Twilight's bed, which had almost everything a bed should have at this time at night, except its owner was missing.

"Why am I not surprised," he said as he sighed mentally.

Spike got up and made his way downstairs where he saw Twilight sitting in a corner reading a book, with a candle almost burnt completely away.

"Twilight, are you still reading?"

Twilight looked over to him and nodded with a sleepy, yet loving smile.

"Why? It's nearly five in the morning, you should be asleep."

"Well," Twilight replied. "I realized that I don't have anything planned for tomorrow, so I thought I'd do a little reading."

"A little?"

"Well, I may have gotten a little carried away."

"A little?"

Twilight smiled, "Tell you what. I'll finish this section, and then go to bed. Okay?"

"Well...alright. Just don't make a habit of these 'all nighters'."

"I promise."

Pinkie Pie promise?"

Twilight giggled and went through the motions of a Pinkie Pie Promise, "I promise."

Spike nodded and walked into the kitchen. "What are you reading?" he called back.

"I'm reading up on Hearth's Warming Eve for the upcoming play."

Spike walked back into the main room with a glass of water in his claw, "Isn't that still a week away?"

"Yes, but I thought I would read ahead and get prepared."

Spike drank some of his water and headed for the bedroom. "Well, I'm going back to bed. Goodnight...or rather, good morning."

Twilight giggled, "Good morning, Spike."

 Spike was soon back in his bed and fast asleep, leaving Twilight alone downstairs. After a several minutes, Twilight heard a knock at the front door.

Twilight turned with a surprised look "Who in the wide world of Equestria is knocking on doors at this hour?" she thought as she approached the door.

Twilight opened the door to reveal Princess Luna standing on the other side.

It took all of two seconds for Twilight to realize that royalty has visited her unexpectedly. 

"Hello Twilight, may I-" Luna started to say, but was interrupted by Twilight slamming the door in her face. Twilight leaned her back against the door and started to hyperventilate.

"What is Princess Luna doing here!?" she thought to herself. 

"Spike, get down here!" she whispered loudly up the steps. Her call was answered by an annoyed groan.

Twilight growled and quickly ran upstairs into her room.

"Spike! Wake up!" she continued to 'shout-whisper.'

Spike simply grunted and turned over. Thinking that he was getting up, Twilight began to pace and think out loud. 

"Why is Princess Luna here!? Why at this time of night...or rather, morning...or rather-oh who cares! She's royalty! Royalty can visit whomever they want, whenever they desire! But why is she here? Did I do something wrong? Oh no, oh no oh no oh no, I bet I did do something wrong. I bet it was something so wrong, that Celestia herself can't bare to look at me; I bet that is why Luna is here! I bet she's here to tell me I failed, and that I need to move back to Canterlot, or that I'm being banished for being such a failure and...and-" Twilight stopped pacing and looked at Spike who was still curled up in his bed.

"AND WILL YOU GET OUT OF BED ALREADY!?!?" She then immediately ran over and flipped Spike's bed, sending the baby dragon tumbling onto the floor.

"Hey! What was that for!?" Spike snapped as he rubbed his head.

"Spike, we've got an emergency. Princess Luna is here!"

"What? Why?"

"I don't know! All I know is that while I was reading, there was a knock at the door; I opened it, and there she was! I then slammed the door and ran up here! Now, here is what I need you to do, Spike. I need you to quickly clean up-"

"Woah woah woah, hold on, Twilight," Spike interrupted with a concerned look. "Repeat that last part."

"Which part?"

"Right after the part where you opened the door."

Twilight thought for a moment, "I then slammed the door and ran up here. What's the problem?"

Spike's concerned look grew more and more desperate with each passing second. Finally, Twilight gasped and her pupils shrank to little dots.

"OH MY GOSH!" -she yelled as she ran downstairs- "I JUST SLAMMED THE DOOR ON PRINCESS LUNA!!!!"

Spike sighed and facepalmed, "This can't end well."

Twilight nearly crashed into the door as she slid to a stop; after fumbling with the door handle she was finally able to get it open, completely forgetting that she could've used her magic.

"Princess.....Luna," Twilight said gasping for air. "I.....I am...so sorry..."

"It's alright um....is this a bad time? I can come back later in the day if-"

"NO!" Twilight shouted which made Luna jump. "I mean uh...no, p-please come in."

Luna walked inside and sat near the fire which was crackling in the fireplace. Twilight shut the door and looked up the steps to see Spike poking his head out of the doorway; she quickly nodded her head towards the kitchen, hinting to Spike that he needs to prepare a beverage of some kind.

Spike got the hint and quickly made his way down the steps.

"Hello, Spike," Luna said as he passed.

"H-hello Princess Luna," he nervously replied before disappearing into the kitchen. Luna turned back to the fire and continued to warm herself. Twilight, who by now was shaking in her horseshoes, sat a few feet behind Luna.

"Alright, Twilight," she thought to herself. "You've got royalty in your house. No big deal, this is probably just a test. Just don't panic, don't mess up and whatever you do, please please PLEASE don't ask a stupid question."

"So um...Princess Luna," Twilight shakily said. "What are you doing here?" "NO, TWILIGHT!" she instantly thought to herself as she grimaced. "That was a stupid question!"

"Oh yes, I was looking for a book," she said as she turned to Twilight.

"Well you came to the right place!" Twilight said with a nervous laugh. "But doesn't the Canterlot library have what you're looking for?" "Twilight you imbecile, that was another stupid question!"

"Well, I came here for the book, and personal advice."

"Um...ok. How can I help you?" Twilight said. "What!? Advice!? What could she need my advice for!? This is a bigger test than I thought."

"I was wondering," -Luna began- "if you had a book on viruses."

"Viruses? You mean things like the flu?"

Luna nodded.

"Well um...I'm sure we do somewhere. Just uh...just give me a few minutes." Luna smiled and turned back to the entrancing fire; Twilight quickly ran into the kitchen.

"Spike!" Twilight 'shout-whispered.' "What is taking so long!?"

"I'm sorry, Twilight but the stove won't turn on so I can't heat up the tea kettle!"

Twilight facehoofed, "Spike, you are a dragon, a dragon! Just breath fire to make it heat up."

"Oh yeah! I guess I can do that, can't I?"

Twilight rolled her eyes and walked back into the main room; by now, Luna had moved to the window.

"Alright," Twilight said as she walked to the center of the room, "let's see what I have." Twilight's horn glowed with a faint magenta color; almost immediately afterwards, many books from different parts of the library moved out of their spots and floated towards Twilight. One by one, they floated and moved past in front of her.

"Hmm...The History of Colds, no. How A Virus Works, maybe...here, I think these two will help," Twilight levitated the two books and set them on top of each other in front of Luna.

Luna looked down at the books; the top was entitled: 'A Field Guide to Recognizing Viruses.'

"This one could be useful," Luna said to herself as she scanned through it.

"Um, Princess Luna, Spike is preparing some beverages. Would you like one?"

"Yes please." Luna did not look up at Twilight, but instead kept glancing through the book. Twilight breathed a small sigh of relief as she turned towards the kitchen.

"Just no tea please," Luna said. "I have to be in the right mood for it and tonight is not the night."

"Oh sure, we don't have any...wait a minute," Twilight then started to whisper to herself. "Didn't Spike say he was trying to heat up the tea kettle!?"

"What did you say?"

"Oh nothing, Princess! Um...don't worry I'll make sure Spike doesn't bring out any tea." Just as she said this, Spike backed out of the kitchen carrying a platter with two cups of hot tea.

Twilight stood in front of Luna so she couldn't see him and frantically moved her hoof across her neck, signaling to abort the mission; Spike got the message, and immediately reversed back into the kitchen, almost spilling his delicate load. Twilight grimaced expecting to hear a crash coming from the kitchen, but instead heard Luna speak.

"Supernaturals?" Luna said in confusion. "Doesn't that word refer to ghosts and zombies and things like that?"

"Normally yes, however in this case..." Twilight nodded towards the book.

Luna looked down and the opened book and read aloud, "natural cures and remedies that are simply...super." The amusing description made Luna laugh slightly. "This should do nicely. May I borrow this book?"

"A-absolutely, Princess!"

"Thank you." 

Spike returned from the kitchen with two small cups filled with warm milk.

"Oh! Thank you, Spike," Luna said with a smile. Twilight felt a huge amount of tension drop when she saw Luna's reaction to the milk. Spike bowed and made his way upstairs.

"So you said you needed some advice from me, Princess?"

"Yes. There is an illness at Canterlot; nothing too severe, but I would like to know, what do you do personally to overcome an illness."

"Oh, well, when Spike gets sick, I have him get lots of bed rest. I also try keep him cool with a cold washcloth on his forehead and I have a bucket next to his bed, just in case."

"I see."

"Um, Princess, if you don't mind me asking, who's sick?"

"My sissssnake. Yes, my pet snake is ill," Luna lied.

"Oh, I didn't know your majesty had a pet snake. Well then, if your pet is ill, I recommend you talk to my friend Fluttershy, she is the expert when it comes to pet care."

Luna finished her milk, "alright then. Thank you very much."

"You're welcome. What is he sick with?" Twilight asked.

"Beg pardon?"

"Your pet snake. What is he sick with?'

"It's called 4N4S."

"Oh 4N4S well I hope things work-wait a minute. I've read about that virus. I thought it only affected ponies."

Luna became uneasy as she felt her lie start to unravel, "m-maybe this is a different form?"

"If it is, this is a wonderful opportunity to study it! Is it ok if I go with you and observe?"

Luna's pupils shrank at Twilight's request, "I-I'm sorry?"

"Is it ok if I go with you back to Canterlot and observe your snake?" Twilight was now in full scientist mode. She had already started packing her things for the trip to Canterlot. "If the virus has mutated, then scientists all over Equestria need to know right away so they can try and make medicine for it."

"Twilight, stop."

Twilight froze in place and her heart skipped several beats. She expected Luna to become angry for inviting herself to Canterlot, but what she heard next almost made Twilight fall over.

"I'm sorry, Twilight. I lied."

"Y-you lied?"

"Yes. I don't have a pet snake. I don't even like snakes all that much."

"Then why did you lie?"

Luna breathed a heavy sigh, and looked around just to make sure that nopony else was around. She then motioned for Twilight to come closer.

Twilight cautiously made her way to Luna and sat down right in front of her.

"The real reason" -Luna whispered- "why I need these books is because..." Luna glanced around one more time. "My sister is sick."

"PRINCESS CELESTIAL IS-mmph!" Twilight started to say, but was interrupted by Luna shoving her hoof into her mouth.

"Yes," Luna continued to whisper. "Celestia is sick; so sick, in fact, that she can't perform her duties tomorrow."

"MMPH!?"

"Don't worry though, Celestia has planned out everything and she is going to have me substitute in her place for tomorrow," Luna brought her hoof back down to the floor.

"Can I do anything to help?" Twilight whispered. Although she had no idea why they were whispering, considering they were the only two in the room.

"Actually, yes. Even though Shining Armor will be helping me tomorrow, I'm still worried that I'll...mess up-" Luna then thought about her dream "-if you can try to stifle any rumors that you hear that would be very helpful."

"O-of course, Princess."

"Thank you, Twilight." After a few seconds of silence, a grandfather clock chimed. Luna looked at the clock which read 5:45 am.

"Alright then. I guess I'll get going," Luna said as she walked towards the door.  "Thank you again, Twilight."

"Oh um...anytime, Princess!"

Without another word, Luna trotted out of the door and into the shadows; a second later, Twilight could hear the burst of a teleportation spell. She then closed her front door and sighed.

She slowly walked up the steps as exhaustion took hold of her; the initial excitement from Luna's visit was gone. She reached her bedroom door, but instead of opening it, she gently banged her head against it.

After a few bangs, she rested her head against the door, only to fall on the ground a few seconds later. Spike, thinking somepony was knocking, opened the door to see Twilight fall in and land on her back.

Twilight groaned as she lay on the floor.

"Um...Twilight?"

"Yeah, Spike?"

"Did Luna like the milk?"

"Yes, Spike," Twilight said with a smile. "Princess Luna enjoyed the milk. Thank you for your help."