…
“Ouch!” “Sorry.” Celestia folded her ears guiltily. “I’m afraid that I lost my former skill…” “It’s nothing.” Luna smiled carelessly. “Please, keep on.” Enveloped in a golden glow, hair pick dove again into the blue mane and started to slide, lettings its strands between its teeth. Junior sister slightly turned her head for the sister’s comfort. It was so long ago… It seems before the times when they were running Equestria. In those times, when their manes hadn’t been fluttering in the air, demonstrating to the others their huge power, they usually set hairs to each other. But now, with Luna’s magic disturbed and weakened by the hasty alternation of surroundings, Celestia got her possibility to practice a little on sister’s appearance again, and Luna agreed with pleasure. It is so good to be back home, with the family… Blue alicorn closed her eyes blissfully, remembering the last few hours. She liked the shower very much, Celly didn’t fool. In the good old days it was mandatory to bath like a pegasus, from a cloud — the shower was something like this process, but the difference is that it gives not only cold water, but also warm. Moreover, as much as you want, and its hard jets massage skin nicely. And when her sister showed her how to change its utilization, Luna was as happy as a filly. After this, Tia brought a whole pile of flasks with different potions and have been explaining the purpose of these things for a while. All these gels, shampoos, lotions, masks for fur and feathers were merged in one solid wall of incomprehensible terms, but nevertheless, the feeling of cleanness, freshness and pleasant smells surely were liked by Luna and she reduced her original skepticism. Bathing with the help of water from a river, sand and magic maybe was easier and more practical, but by far less comfortable. However, the shower wasn’t the only thing in sight. Luna well appraised a sweating-room with pouring aromatic oils onto white-hot stones, creating thick fragrant steam, then a small fresh swimming pool and hot, boiling water in a hot tub. After hydrotherapeutic procedures, slightly drowsy Luna at first, has been mopped with a huge loop towel thoroughly, then, with a brush, a villus was put to a villus, setting the fur in place accurately. Finally, caring sister’s hooves were combing her tousled mane with a hair pick. “Let’s make sisterlocks?” Tia suggested playfully, moving down the hair pick. “It will suit you!” “No!” Luna leaped back in half-pretended fear. “I’m not a little one!” “Woona, don’t get fussy.” Celestia demanded it, composing her lips, but couldn’t withstand and tittered. Luna happily dissolved into laughter with her sister.…
Princesses passed by another post in a hallway and turned to the dinning room. Luna smiled with satisfying, when a guard followed her with a stunned gaze, even forgetting to salute to the ruling Princess by the book. Not a surprise — she looked at herself with the same gaze under a happy smile of her pleased sister. Tia has been performing a religious rite with her mane almost an hour, but Luna has forgot all the carried struggles and losses when she saw the result. Pompous and hard high head-dress, decorated in silver-plated fiber with pearl and flirtatiously knocking out spike of crimp hair looked really royally. There was a dinner already, awaiting for two persons. Luna was especially impressed by a large bowl with fruits, some of which she did not even know about. And everything smells utterly stupefying. If the Princess of the Night initially assumed sister’s idea of going to have a dinner without enthusiasm due the full absence of hunger, now she was lighted with a desire to taste everything on the table. But the smells were much better than during the party in Ponyville, it’s worlds different. For Luna, who literally didn’t have even a crumb in her mouth for a thousand years, even ordinary water still was so tasty beyond belief — and it’s going to be even more beyond her understanding with these pineapples, which she didn’t even know about. “I missed this so much! Trivial things one would think…” Luna divided a fruit in two, took out the stone and blissfully closed her eyes, eating the nectarine in her mouth entirely. Celestia has been looking at the little sister’s holiday with a soft smile at the start, but became quiet as gloomy thoughts started to haunt her again. No matter how Luna set up her comb and no matter how she assures her sister in the statement that everything is fine, but Tia still was consumed by the feeling of guilt. Now it sounds right that she had to give up back in the old times, to give sister everything that she wanted — just to make her happy… But what it could have led to? There’s no way to find out this anymore. Instead, she exiled her unfortunate, unappreciated and lone sister Woona to the Moon for a long millennium… Too long… Now it was clear why she was so shy on the party in Ponyville and why she was drinking tea without sugar, so hated by her, with such pleasure — she just wanted to be swallowed by long-forgotten feelings, which she didn’t feel all these ten centuries. And it demonstrated more and more to Tia how cruel and unforgiving her punishment was. It was not the right way! Fine, even an exile, if no other choice is given, but five hundred years! Three hundred! “What? Sorry, didn’t hear it.” Luna looked at the elder sister questioningly. “Sorry.” Celestia smiled shyly. “Just thoughts aloud, nothing serious.” She didn’t notice that she whispered the last words. Luna, based upon her hard look, didn’t trust Celestia’s smile at all, but decided to postpone the talk for the future. Princess of the Day decided to think over it later and finally joined her sister at the dinner, deserving from her an approving glance.…
“Your servants are so calm.” Luna noticed when entrée and seconds on the table were changed swiftly to tea and desert by coherent acts of a few ponies. “Honestly, I was afraid of being welcome as the Mare in the Moon, of being feared. But no: everyone knows me, welcomes me with honor…” Junior sister stopped to talk, choosing a tuck for herself. “Do you remember when in the old good times you and I dreamed about what country we will create and how everything will be there? Back then, I remember, there was talk of news, sometimes very important, spreading very slowly?” Tia smiled with foretaste. “Maybe there was something like that… I don’t remember exactly.” Sister nodded to her with concern. “Here, I asked to bring it specially for you: a morning paper, and similar to it went off from a printing-office with the first rays of the Sun, and almost all of Equestria knows about what’s written in it!” Celestia handed over the last mentioned paper by telekineses with satisfied face — “Canterlot news” with a photo of Luna herself on the front page. The Princess of the Night, with a wreath made of flowers, smiled hesitatingly, looking aside just a little. The headline was below it, written in big letters: “Princess Luna, sister of Princess Celestia, has returned! Equestria will be diarchy once again!” “Fire your artist, sister!” Luna twisted her lips sulkily, examining with her gaze her representation. “A royalty on a portrait must look majestically and be with regalia, not like a lost filly! But similarity, of course, is strong… What’s going on with you?” The Princess of the Night asked her sister with bemusement, who has burst into laughter. The explanation of what a photo is has lasted around an hour, after that the talk smoothly drifted into other scientific and magical achievements of the country during all these years. It has changed so much… New cities, connected with railways, zeppelins, soaring in skies, on which earthponies and unicorns can be lifted, new genres of art, literature and music, cheap and mass printed books, accessible for every pony… Even the amount of ponies in Equestria wasn’t just a few dozens of thousands, but more than a million! Head is spinning……
After the dinner, Celestia decided to make a full excursion through the castle for her sister. Wandering in lavishly finished and decorated hallways and rooms, Luna was shocked once again how a relatively small, but serious fortress seriously changed in a thousand years, becoming a wealthy and great palace, a real center of a country. Princess was stunned by huge windows, glassed with enormous sheets of the clearest, absolutely transparent glass, omnipresent magic lamps instead of common torches, and seemingly endless library of the palace has nearly put her into awe. And also, the palace wasn’t empty and silent, as she liked in her home castle of Two Sisters — this one was boiling with life. Busy servants and attendants of the palace walked by, guards saluted the Princesses, nobles formally bowed to the sisters. Celestia slowed the pace, when doors of another hall opened, allowing a crowd of ponies into the hallway. They grouped in small teams and argued about something right on the hoof, someone grouped close by walls of the hallway. They bowed to the Princesses sincerely, but no one had the courage to tap into their talk. Idyll was stopped by a gray-blue stallion with red as fire mane in an official costume and glasses on his nose, who almost rushed to block sisters’ way. “Your Highness! Princess Celestia! Please, excuse me that I’m interrupting you, but the deal has to be done immediately!” Luna scowled discontentedly, looking at the stallion who lively, but without taking his voice up was telling something to the already came and now closely listening sister. However, the Princess of the Night instantly reprobated herself for egoism and returned a neutral-welcoming aspect on her face. Her sister is running a country, and the necessary of taking a decision sometimes can force you to turn away from other things, like now… “Excuse me, sister, but I have to digress for a little bit — the question is really important.” Celestia dropped her ears guiltily, coming to the junior Princess. “Don’t worry, I’ll wait.” Luna assured her, and in response Tia cheerfully nodded and went to the pony who had interrupted them — a minister probably — who still had a very worried look. This simple act warmed junior Princess’ soul: her sister didn’t leave her for the job without a warning, she cares about what Luna feels. Nevertheless, the Princess of the Night wasn’t given a moment to be bored: a handsome white unicorn with a golden mane and blue eyes has gone out from a quietly speaking group, which kept an eye on Luna and determinately came to her. “Your Majesty Princess Luna.” The stallion bowed suavely. “Allow me to introduce myself: Prince Blueblood, nephew of your respected sister, Her Highness Princess Celestia. It’s a big honor to meet with you personally.” “We share your happiness, Your Highness Prince Blueblood. Will you not mind in a small amiability to appease Our curiosity?” “I ask you to forgive me that I didn’t explain it right away, Your Highness: I’m not a reigning Prince, and moreover, not an alicorn. It’s customary to name me as: “Your Grace.” The unicorn marked his smile. “And I’ll appease your curiosity with pleasure, if I can. “Addressing had changed as well.” Princess marked it for herself fleetly. “It’s a need to clarify everything.” “Supposing that is not a secret, Your Grace, by what right you have the title of Prince?” Princess Luna eyed the dandy from head to foot. “By the right of inheritance, of course.” He was slightly surprised. “My ancestry is almost seven hundred years old, and it’s going back all the way to Her Highness Princess Celestia. Honestly, it’s not exactly right to call me a nephew of Her Highness technically, it’s only a fixed appealing. Did I satisfy with my answer, Your Highness?” “It’s all going back to Tia?! Well, sister… You have to tell a lo-ot to me!” “Definitely, Your Grace. Won’t you narrate an answer on one another question?” “Anything, Your Highness.” “What’s your post at the court?” “I lead the ministry of cartography and land cadastre of Equestria, Your Highness. Tasks of my ministry are management of lands, their categorization, accounting and mapping, and some other questions that are related to it.” “It’s all We wanted to know.” Luna decided to round out the talk. It’s enough for the first meeting. “Your Highness!” Prince decided to address, slightly hesitating in the beginning, seeing that Princess is going to cut the talk off. “Allow me to… Wouldn’t it be too big assuredness from my side… If…” “We’re listening!” The Princess of the Night decided to focus on the somehow sharply nervous unicorn anyhow. “I’d like to acknowledge my respect and admiration to you, Your Highness!” Blueblood gathered his thoughts. “I’m very interested in ancient history of our country, and, of course, couldn’t pass by your unexampled deed — saving Equestria from the Mare in the Moon. Huge thanks to you for your sacrifice, Your Highness!” Prince bowed deeply and with huge respect. Luna has stunned, like a statue, painfully biting her lips. All the thoughts went out the window, leaving clicking void there. “Wouldn’t it be an indelicate act from my side to ask you a few questions about these times? I, of course, addressed with these to Her Highness Princess Celestia, but sadly got no answers…” Unicorn sighed. “Sometimes I get feeling, that the auntie tries to avoid answering these…” He growled, lowering voice. “U-um… Yes, We meant no, We mean…” Stunned and perturbed Princess absolutely lost her tongue. “Thanks, Your Highness!” To the Princess Luna’s utmost panic, Blueblood decided to count the answer as a positive one. “History literature doesn’t give any answers from where the Mare in the Moon had came from. For sure you know more about it?” He addressed to the Princess of the Night with a gaze with burning expectation. The pause is growing on. Prince, knowing only the official version of history, truly thought that it is her, Princess Luna saved Equestria from Nightmare Moon, and deeply respected her for it… Respected for what never happened even remotely! Luna, losing scraps of her composure, didn’t know what to do under the unicorn’s prying glance, when she was finally saved by Princess Celestia. “Good morning, Blueblood.” She said it warmly. Prince, not expecting a voice right behind his back, has shivered and hastily turned to the Princess of the Sun, who conspiratorially winked at the dazed sister. “Good morning, auntie!” Unicorn emphasized a bow swiftly. Luna was stunned by their clear similarity — the unicorn was strangely lengthy for a pony, had a greatly long spiky horn, and his sharply white fur was the same as Tia’s fur. Most likely that the stallion didn’t make it up about kindred… “I see that you’ve already acquainted with my sister? I hope that you didn’t have time to wear her out with your question about your favorite historic period?” The white alicorn narrowed her eyes archly. “Did not have.” Blueblood confirmed disappointedly and made a questioning gaze to Luna, asking with eyes, did he created a problem or not? “Did not have.” Nodding, the junior Princess repeated to him it, deciding to not make needless troubles for a pony who really respected her. “Well… I hope that you would not mind if I and my sister will continue our way?” Semi-interrogatively — semi-affirmatively said the Princess of the Sun. “Of course not, auntie.” Unicorn tried to hide disappointment in his voice. “Your Highness Princess Luna, it’s a big honor to meet with you personally. I hope that we will be able to end this talk, if you are not against it.” He exchange bows with Luna. “Don’t have any right to take more of your time. Good day to you, Your Highness. Goodbye, auntie.” The unicorn bowed with respect and moved away, integrating in a group of other ponies. “Thanks.” Luna exhaled with unbelievable relief only now, looking at the sister with gratefulness. She only sighed sadly in response. The official version of what had happened a thousand years ago, as it turned out, can bring problems not only with living Nightmare Moon, what was obvious and understandable since the start, but also with sister Luna, and honestly — Tia absolutely didn’t think about it……
“Sister, don’t you want to tell me something?” Luna addressed to Tia when they left alone. “You want to ask about my nephew, don’t you?” Celestia guessed right. “He noted that his family came from you, notably — seven hundred years ago.” The Princess of the Night nodded. “I thought we left our attempts to conceive and to give birth long time ago as fruitless and meaningless.” She sighed sorrowfully. “And wasn’t it you who discourage me from serious relationships when your beloved one died because of age, Silver Wind, about whom you slop tears for a few years after? “I couldn’t accept his death for eight years… I still remember this reckless stallion, for whom I wasn’t a wealthy and constituent Queen, but “Tia, my sunshine.” The senior sister smiled sadly. “It’s painful that we hadn’t successors…” Luna walked through the hall with thoughtfulness, remembering the times and wondering about not so desirable faith of alicorns. Back in their youth they didn’t think about themselves as someones who were special. They lived as they could, dreamed about what other ponies did, about family and kids as well… But there weren’t any kids, and then their loved ones just died of age at the eyes of the immortal sisters. They spent not a dozen of years, trying to puzzle out the possibility of an alicorn having descendants. Verdict — they can. With a slight chance, since common ponies endued with magic, but they do not consist of it for the biggest part as alicorns do. Search for a male alicorn wasn’t successful, as the attempts to fix the situation with all manner of means. “About the Prince…” Celestia shook her head, being in thoughts herself. “Blueblood made a mistake: his family is six hundred fifty two years old, not “almost seven hundred.” Tia noted with a slight reproach in the way of her ambitious descendant, looking thoughtfully into a window. “From where did he occur… Honestly, it was cry from the heart. I missed you so much… As I did for at least someone who thought of me more than an immortal and powerful ruler… In the middle of capital boiling life, in full halls of ponies, I felt absolutely alone.” It feels familiar… Luna sighed and came closer to Tia looking into the distance and encouragingly hugged her, earning a swift thankful gaze from her. “There were no serious planes about these relationships, I didn’t have them, nor the noble bombshell unicorn by the name Pure Gold, with whom we worked together a lot back in days about an education reform. The smartest pony, strong and capable magician, he was associate deputy of Secretary of Education — and was going to replace her very soon. During the collaborative work, somehow without noticing, we bonded up very close…” Celestia cut her gaze from the window, made an inviting gesture and started to move to the exit. Luna followed her, pondering about sister’s story. “The result of this bonding was a shock for both of us. Nevertheless, our relationships had never transformed into intimate ones, and he, with all the will in the world, couldn’t cross the distance between “Princess Celestia” and “Tia” until his death, and he constantly blamed himself for this and had been asking for a forgiveness. It’s a surprise, but the birth of our filly didn’t help at all.” The Princess of the Day pushed the doors open and stepped forward with Luna to a front porch, grades of which came down to a garden. The sisters stepped to a grassy way and started to slowly head in the way of a small arbor. “At first, I thought that my daughter is the whole world.” Celestia continued her story. “But a few years later I suddenly realized that when she, this little cute unicorn, dies at my hooves of age — I will not survive this. Painfully, bitterly, contrary, against my better judgment, I had to put some distance between us. I tried to convince myself through my own tears: “I can’t be attached to her!” Tia sighed heartbreakingly, looking into the clear sky with an unduly concentrated gaze. “Well, I succeeded.” The Princess of the Sun summarized sadly, being able to control her own emotions. “Sun Beam’s death of age didn’t kill me… But the fact of her addressing to me as “Your Majesty” badly hurt me for a long period of time.” In an awkward pause, Luna thought that maybe it was easier for her on the Moon than for her sister here, doomed to loneliness among ponies, whose century, alas, is a very short one… “The end.” Tia smiled exhaustedly and somehow sadly. “You know, for all these years I have never been realizing so clearly that you’re the only one for me, and it seems, no other would come. I waited for your return so much…” Celestia hugged her sister in a long cuddle. Luna, not being able to find a word, just hugged her in response. “A little later, however, I got a new hope that we will not be the only ones, seeing the generations passing by.” Tia continued quietly. “I will acquaint you with Mi Amore Cadenza soon. I think you’ll be very surprised.” “You intrigued me.” Luna chuckled. “So.” After a few minutes, the senior sister broke the hugs unwillingly. “It’s time to change day to night already. Are you going to rise the Moon?” She smiled at her sister. “Me?!” Luna was stunned. “But… I thought… After everything that’s happened…” She hesitated. “That I will not allow you to do so?” Celestia cocked her eyebrow sarcastically, but the temperature in the garden went down for a few degrees because of her voice. “Luna, you can do anything. Absolutely anything. If you want, I can abdicate from the throne for you, to rule Equestria yourself. I will do it.” She said it to her sister while being dead serious. Luna, at first, wanted to fiercely oppose Tia, that “she’s crossing the line and everything is an unnecessary and…” She understood it: the Princess of the Sun was ready for anything, in an effort to not lose her little sister again. But she herself, Princess Luna, in her turn, will do anything to not lose Tia, so her variant will not be anything more than words. “Thanks for trusting me, Tia.” The Princess of the Night dropped it silently. “Anything for you, Woona.” Her sister said it in the same way. “So, are you going to raise the Moon?” Cheered up, she asked more loudly. “I think no.” The blue alicorn said slightly embarrassed. “I fear that my magic is not in the best condition to do so.”…
“So unusual to see it in that form.” Celestia said thoughtfully, looking at the smooth surface of the Moon, hanging on the horizon. Sisters slowly walked through a night garden, planning to not go back into the palace so fast and enjoying being alone. “It was different?” Luna asked her sister slightly surprised. “It was. No more than three days ago there was your profile, made of craters. I barely remember that it was like this now…” Tia said absently. The Princess of the Night didn’t say a word, having no clue what to say — any answer at this point seemed out of place. “You know… I suppose, that only today, at the dinner, looking at your reaction to all these basic things, which you had lost there.” Tia nodded at the Moon. “I absolutely understood how wrong I was to you, banishing for such an enormous duration… It’s hard to me to even imagine how you survived this… Excuse me, sister.” How she survived… Thanks to her black side that had been fueling her rage and revenge, that had been forcing to clench teeth and to try more — to find a way out, to create a plan of war, to get ready for the battle with her sister, for the battle, after which only one will be left standing. Her own hate gradually went silent, only the realization of what she did came to her, the realization of what happened… The feeling of a mistake that is not possible to fix. But the darkness was close by, fueled the hate, called upon revenge, demanded blood! And then, Luna was scared. Scared that her dark side can take the lead, that her repentance will not be full and would turn into apathetic anticipation at first, and then into animosity, that will say to her that the waiting was too long and undeserved. Nightmare Moon, looking for new tactics of fighting, also brought a topic about the magic of dream walking, but the primitive mind of the dark ghost didn’t saw a piece in a dozens of well-weighed variants, and this became the salvation for Luna. A few dozens of years of thorough work, gradual nervous tension, fear before the fact that what could have happened if the idea didn’t work… It worked. It worked as intended. Six hundred years buzzed by, like there weren’t there, and the pink eyes of her sister arose before her gaze, and she was anxious about her health, standing on the background of the time-worn walls of the ancient castle of Two Sisters. There was no place to be concerned… But the last thoughts of the being, in whom Luna saw only her dark reflexion in a mirror, somehow, burnt her soul and bothered her during her sleep. What if she made a mistake? “Think nothing of it, Ti.” Luna shook her head in response. “What you said to me, honestly, makes me think that you punished yourself a way harder than me. It should have been the other way around, I deserved it at least, compared to you…” The junior sister sulked, looking dully at the grass that tramples down under her hooves with every step. “Luna…” Celestia tried to argue, but silenced, failing to find words. A silence hanged amid the sisters. Alicorns walked through a night garden in a slow pace, listening to crickets and looking at fireflies, which are spinning like glowing dots over night flowers, which opened in the Moon light. The Princesses made a circle and went back to the road, that is leading to the side of the Moon, radiating on the horizon. “And… What was there, on the Moon?” Celestia decided to ask at last. Luna darkened, looking away from Tia. This is it, the question, which she feared and waited simultaneously. There was a desperate desire to not tell the details to anyone. “Luna, what happened between you and Nightmare?” The senior Princess asked quietly in response to the dour silence of her sister. The Princess of the Night shivered, throwing off the pace. How could she forget! Tia, as recently as yesterday, was going to attend Nightmare Moon that was kept alive for some reason. And the sister’s question meant only one: the visit ended in a talk, not in a fight. Tia wouldn’t have found a common language with the ghost of hate. And it can mean only one thing…