Luna is very excited to see all of her friends after returning from the moon. But where have they gone?
Luna, the princess of the night, has finally returned from the moon where she was banished. She is excited to see all of her old friends. But..... what happened to them?
Luna slowly walked into the castle, afraid of what Celestia would say.
Se had told her sister she was sorry so many times, during the reuinion party and before. Even if her sister has forgiven her, she felt different than when other ponies have been around. They were alone.
As she walked and admired the castle, Luna had noticed something. The castle looked much different. So did the ponies who represented the Elements of Harmony.
As she walked, she was soon stopped by a royal guard.
"HALT! Who goes there?" He asked, staring her down.
"WE ARE LUNA, THOU PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!" she said, in the royal Canterlot voice. But inside, she was unsure of where her hooves have taken her, and very confused. She was scared of what would happen to her.
The gaurd replied, "Last time I checked, Celestia controlled the night. And Nightmare Moon is just an old mare's tale. What are you doing, trying to get into her bedroom?"
Luna realized that her hooves have taken her to the door of Celestia's room. After all of those years, she couldn't believe she still remembered where everything was. She had no idea why she was there, as she has never been in Celestia's room. Even as a filly, she was afraid to go inside. Instead, Celestia would go into Luna's room.
She pondered the gaurd's question in her mind, rolling it around in her head. She sighed. Luna hoped that the answer she came up with would work, even if she knew it probably wouldn't.
"We- we don't really know," she said, in a voice much meeker than the one she had been using. She tried to sound bold, but it felt as if her voice was stuck in a choked whisper.
The young mare's suspicions were right. "SECURITY!" the gaurd bellowed.
"No, wait! You have to believe us!" Luna shouted desperately, as two other gaurds tried to carry Luna away. Luna felt warm tears going down her face, and went limp as they carried her away. She had to accept that she wasn't welcome there. She knew her sister would still be upset.
Celestia opened her bedroom door, and said, "What's going on in he-" She stopped in mid sentence and smiled a warm, welcoming smile. "Luna! What a nice surprise! Come in my room, I'll make some tea. You are always welcome here."
The gaurds unsurely let Luna go, and gave eachother strange looks.
Luna ran towards Celestia and hugged her. She let out a sob as her tears went into Celestia's white coat. She was crying tears of joy, as she thought she would never see her sister again.
Celestia gave the royal gaurds a gesture with her hoof that said they should give them some privacy. The gaurds were confused, but obeyed the princess and went to help gaurd the outside of the castle.
Celestia said, "Now, lets go inside."
Luna stared up at Celestia. "You really mean it?"
"Of course!" Celestia said, with a small smile. "I've never lied to you, now have I?"
Luna smiled a small, unsure smile and slowly trotted into Celestia's room. She looked around, and saw it was actually very casual. There were wrappers and laundry scattered on the floor. It was also very unorganized. She chuckled to herself, as she had never dared go in her sister's room before, and imagined it to be very grand and clean.
Celestia seemed to know where everything was, though. She took out two teabags, and boiled some water on a mini stove in her room. She let it be, and flopped down on her yellow bed. She tapped the spot next to her, and Luna slowly sat down.
Celestia asked, "So, Lulu, what is it you want to talk about?"
Luna was surprised. It has been a long time since she called her that nickname. "Well, I just wanted to say, I am truly sorr-"
Celestia cut her off. "Luna, you've told me this enough times already. We need to leave the past behind us sometimes."
Luna jumped up and exclaimed, "But Tia! I don't feel like I am really sorry enough for what I have done. It was simply horrible, envy is a horrible thing." She was surprised she had called Celestia that nickname. That was another instinct she had, along with knowing where everything in the castle was. She had remembered these things better than she thought.
Celestia just put her hoof up. "Lulu. You are sorry enough, I can tell. You have been punished for your actions. Now, lets change the subject."
Luna said with her eyes welling up a bit, "Okay. I'd like to know...why didn't those gaurds recognize me?"
The mare had suspected it was because Celestia didn't want her coming in, even if she knew her kind and fair sister would never do that. But, she had to know.
Celestia sighed and closed her eyes. "Well, Luna, when you were Nightmare Moon, I knew you would come back one day, reformed from your evil state. I didn't tell many ponies about it, as I wanted to protect your reputation for when you came back. But, a greedy and nosy pony that found out about it wrote a book about it and published it for money. I told anyone who asked it was just an old mare's tale, and they believed me. Luna, I love you, and I always have. It tore me apart when I had to banish you, trust me," She said, welling up a bit herself.
Luna was shocked and a bit scared to see her sister on the brim of tears. She believed her to be a big, strong pony, and has never seen her cry before. Surprised, Luna just stared up at the princess with big eyes, the way she did when she admired her sister as a filly. and that admiration turned into envy, she thought to herself. But she decided to change to another question she wanted to ask Celestia. "Okay then. There's another question I've been dying to ask you."
"Yes?" Celestia asked, still recovering from her tears. She poured the water into cups and dipped the teabags in, listening to what she had to say.
Celestia's eyes grew very small. She levitated her tea over to her quickly, surprised by the question. She took a long sip.
After the long drink, she said, "Well, um, you see, Luna, uh... Let's change the subject, shall we?"
"Sister, I am not dumb. I can tell you are stalling, and I wish to know the truth. I am a grown mare, it isn't like you are trying to give a filly 'The Talk'."
Celestia closed her eyes, and put her cup down on the dresser next to her with a sigh. "I guess you are right, Luna," she whispered. "It is time you know the truth."
"Little sister, I know that I should have told you this a long time ago, but...." Celestia's eyes were clouded with pain, the same kind Luna saw before she had banished her. "Not everypony lives forever."
Luna felt as if she had been punched in the stomach. "But....dear sister....this can't be possible...."
Celestia turned her head away and said, "LuLu, it is. I know what the pain is like, not being able to make many friends. I have to avoid doing so myself, as they all...." Celestia started bawling after the last word. Even if Luna knew Celestia was in no state to answer such a question, she couldn't help but ask. "Tia... if you can't make many friends, then why did you bring yourself to be friends with Twilight?"
Celestia mustered up a small, watery smile and said, "Well, I knew that she would be an alicorn one day, ever since she came to my School of Magic. I was able to be friends with her."
The younger sibling smiled a bit at the thought too. "Yes, I knew she would become an alicorn as well, but I didn't make a big deal of it since I thought ponies could live forever anyway."
There was a long silence before Luna spoke again.
"Tia, when do you think we will have to tell Twilight about all of this?"
"I honestly don't know. We will have to see if she already knows or not. If she doesn't, then, well, we can go ahead and tell her when she's an alicorn. I know she won't like it, but it has to be done."
Luna sighed. "We might as well," she said, sipping her own tea.
Another silence.
"Tia?"
"Yes?"
"Can I sleep with you tonight?"
Bittersweet memories of when she slept in Luna's room when she had nightmares filled Celestia's head.
"Of course you can."
The two mares flopped onto Celestia's bed, already half asleep.
Weeks and months have passed, and all of the ponies have grown used to Luna. She felt right at home in the castle soon after she had spoken with Luna about why all of her friends were gone. On Nightmare Night, she avoided talking to many people personally unless they were to talk to her. She made the exception of Twilight, and was very impressed to see how could handle a situation like the one Luna was in. She will make a fine princess, Luna had thought.
But things were never still quite the same. She knew she would have to tell Twilight soon, and seriously doubted she knew that regular ponies don't live forever. There were never very many books on rhe subject, and if there were, they were extremely ancient and could be found in museums.
Months were like days. Before she knew it, it was time for Twilight to become an alicorn. She usually slept in the daytime, but Luna was wide awake, trying to think of what she would say to Twilight after her ritual of becoming a princess. She was pacing back and forth in her room, eating moon pies from her dresser. When she finally heard her big sister walking through the door of the castle, she brushed her mane and put on the appropriate accessories.
Celestia knocked Luna's door.
"It's unlocked," she said, struggling to get those tight boots on her feet. She really has grown.
When her big sister opened the door, she chuckled a bit and widened the boots with her magic.
"How did you do that?!" Luna exclaimed, seeing that the boots fit perfectly.
"You get strong after a while of raising and lowering the sun." Celstia turned and looked at the cresent moon shaped clock in Luna's room. "Now come on, it's time to go."
The sisters walked out of the castle together, getting into the pegasus-drawn carraige.
The younger sibling looked down and saw many ponies piling up into the other castle where the ritual would take place.
The carraige landed, and the two sisters walked behind the doors they should walk out of when it started.
Along all of the chatter, Luna said, "Oh, sister. I feel horrible for Twilight, it won't be as easy on her as she thinks.
"I know, dear sister," Celestia murmured, looking at a smiling Twilight with her friends oohing and aahing over her wings through the keyhole. "But it must be done. We can not change destiny."
The two sisters heard their que, and walked through the doors.
All of the chatter stopped at once, all eyes on the two goddesses.
Celstia smiled, and said excitedly, "May I present to you for the very first time, princess, Twilight Sparkle!"
After they all sung, Celestia sadly walked into the carraige with Luna and Twilight.
"Oh Celestia!" Twilight giggled. "This is so wonderful!"
Celestia just smiled at Twilight, and quickly looked away again. She was face to face with Luna, and they both shared a glance.
Twilight gasped, "Oh my...uh...you! I'm going to be staying in there?" Twilight pointed at the castle.
Celestia laughed. "Well, for a few days. The gaurds need to build a sheild for your house and help protect it."
When they got home, Celestia sighed. "Twilight? Please sit in the living room. I will show you the way. There's something we need to discuss."
Twilight sat, lowering her wings a bit to her side. "Um....yes?" She seemed a bit nervous.
"Twilight, I've just given Luna this talk, and..."
"Um, Princess? I've had this talk long ago when I was a filly. And I do NOT really want to hear it again." She laughed nervously, while blushing a bit.
The princess let out a small, stale chuckle. "Well, this isn't that kind of talk. This is more of a talk only alicorns get. I really should have told Luna long ago, but I didn't want her to worry...." She looked up a bit, her eyes clouded with pain.
Twilight listened respectfully, and waited for Celestia to speak again.
"Twilight....please. Do not worry too much, but.... Alicorns do live forever."
Twilight didn't know where it was going, but she said, "Well, of course. I have many books on the study."
Celestia carried on. "Yes, I know you know that. But this is different, something that no ordinary book has the study on. I didn't want to scare my little ponies, so I put such books in the depths of the castle..."
Luna smirked, "Which is really just the back of Celestia's closet."
Celestia rolled her eyes, but smiled when she saw her sister was back to her old self again.
"ANYWAY," she said, flashing a glance at Luna, " This is something I must say. Regular ponies....don't live forever."
Twilight looked shocked. She said, "Not even....the Elements?"
Celestia's eyes clouded. "No. Starswirl the Bearded was the first Element of Magic before he died, and another took his place." she sighed, remembering her old friend. "More elements were added on, and it made them more and more powerful. Although they do live about three times as long as regular ponies," she added, trying to make Twilight more enthusiastic.
But Twilight did not look enthusiastic. "I...I gotta go." Twilight ran out the doors of the castles, tears streaming behind her.
Twilight ran, unsure of where she was going or where her hooves would take her.
But she didn't care where she ended up. Right now, she was focused on her friends, the ones she loved and cared for, gone....
As of instinct, she ran to Golden Oak library. She bursted through the gaurds and plummeted through the door and into the library.
Spike, who had been helping the gaurds, was knocked over by Twilight. Slowly standing up, he murmured, "Twilight?"
Twilight did not pay the least bit attention to the dragon calling her name. She instead ran into her room and sprawled across her bed, bawling into her pillow. She felt like a little scared filly. But there was nothing she could do to fix this- she needed to remain loyal to the princess and keep her wings, but she would miss her friends so much...
Spike knocked gently on her door, and called out in a worried tone, "Twilight? What are you doing here? What's wrong?"
She answered with a loud sob. "Leave me alone!"
He opened the door and sat next to Twilight, awkwardly patting her back. "Twi, what's going on?"
She looked up at Spike with a flash of sadness and confusion in her eyes, and she said, "Oh, Spike! What can I do? I love my friends so, so much, and I would miss them so bad, but I have to remain loyal to Celestia and Luna. Equestria needs me, Spike, but so do my friends."
The young drake gave her a look of sympathy, and said, "Well, Twi, this is something you need to talk to the princesses and your friends about. I can't help you much with this."
Twilight looked dissapointed, but she quickly regained posture. "You're right Spike. I'm going to talk to my friends about this."
Twilight had agreed with the girls to meet at Sugarcube Corner tommorrow at 2:00. The rest had been excited for Twilight, but as for her? Not so much.
She had hardly gotten sleep that night, for the horrible depression had washed her out and seemed to be slowly drowning her. She wanted Spike, and so badly, to comfort her, to tell her it would be all right. But he was helping to barricade her already safe house. She wished that it could be simple, like when she was a unicorn. But it wasn't at all.
Twilight slipped out of bed, guided by the assurance of her glowing horn. She walked very silently through the halls, staring at the tainted glass paintings that told stories passed for generations. She light hoofedly had walked to the kitchen.
She went into the pantry and took out a small cinnamon roll along with a coffee. She hurredly carried both over to the satin encovered tableset and sat down. Maybe a small morsel would get her mind off of things.
"You're up early."
Twilight dropped the coffee, and the mug shattered to smithereens. Cursing bitterly, she used her magic to pick up the small pieces and put them in the trash. "Who is it?" she asked, hastily cleaning up the coffee mess. She was obviously upset with the stranger, whoever they were.
Luna shook her head. "No," she said. "It's my own fault."
Twilight was very puzzled. "Why are you up?" she sat down by the table reluctantly, as though she expected an answer that would be a new mission, a reason to save ponyki-
"Hello? Princess of the Night?" Luna used hoof gestured toward the window that was draped by the night sky.
"Oh." Twilight blushed. Maybe not everything meant saving the earth from monsters. But she knew she was glad, as she already had many weights on her shoulders.
Luna stirred her own cup if coffee and set it back down. She put her hooves up and rested her flat chin on her hooves, like a young filly at a sleep over about to gossip. But her expression was serious. "Sparkle, I want to warn you- your friends will not understand as much as you think."
Twilight bit her lip. "But Luna, they're my friends! Of course they'll understand me, especially Fluttershy or Pinkie Pie. They'll understand me!"
The blue mare sighed. "Twilight Sparkle, maybe the kind Fluttershy and understanding Pinkie Pie will, but think. Rainbow Dash, she's rumbunctious, not so understanding, a sore loser. How would she react, Sparkle?"
The new alicorn sighed and looked away.
Luna stirred her coffee again. "I thought so."
Twilight put her head in her hooves. "I...I don't know what I'll do."
She placed her coffee down and stared intently at Twilight. "Explain it. If they do not understand, try to defend yourself. If it doesn't work, just give up." she looked back down at her coffee. "Simple."
Twilight had become enraged. "No, not simple! You don't know what it's like to have friends!" Too late.
Luna's expression turned from serious to emotional. She whispered hoarse with anger, "Go back to the guest room. Now."
"But I'm so-"
"GET OUT!"
Twilight looked at her, about to cry herself. She walked out of the room, her wings low. If she had already sis this to an ever patient and respectable princess, what would she do to her friends?
