Chapter Text
“Twilight Sparkle, is something the matter?”
“Princess Luna.” Her head was bowed appropriately, her tone deferential, but her words were clipped. “My apologies, I couldn’t sleep.”
The Princess of Dreams raised a brow slightly. She had caught the mare pacing the halls of the castle, alone. Her words rang out of hollow truths.
“I have a solution for that, if it is of interest to you,” she said.
“No thank you, Princess.” Twilight’s head remained bowed, but her eyes darted out from beneath her bangs.
“Please, Twilight. We are alone. You have seen me at my worst, and allowed me to return to myself. There is no need for such formalities.”
“As you wish.” Twilight raised her head slightly, but did not meet Luna’s gaze.
Luna stepped forward suddenly, gaze trained on Twilight, who flinched away. The movement was small- almost imperceptible, but it was there.
“When you found me at my sister and I’s old castle,” Luna began, “the Elements were not as they are now. They were encased in stone orbs, which I shattered. Still, you found the spark to ignite them, and transformed them into their current state.” The details of the encounter with Nightmare Moon had never been released to the public. She smiled in what she hoped was a benign fashion- such expressions were still slightly foreign to her, after so long. “I assure you, I am who I appear to be.”
Twilight’s posture relaxed slightly, and she finally met the Moon’s eyes.
“I’m sorry, Princess,” she said. She was still stiff, but not quite as much. “After everything, I just- I couldn’t be sure.”
“I understand, Twilight. I have seen more than enough dreams to know the effect such things have on the mind.”
They were still.
“Twilight,” Luna said, “I’d like to know what happened. Before the wedding.”
“Did Princess Celestia not tell you?” Twilight asked bitterly.
“My sister gave me her account, but as I understand it, your experience was quite different,” she said carefully. “I will not repeat anything that is said.”
Twilight’s eyes grew glossy, and she turned away slightly.
“I’m not sure how much it matters, now,” she muttered. “Everything is fine. The wedding was perfect.”
“But you don’t seem fine.”
There was a moment of quiet, though Luna thought she felt an electricity crackling. Finally, Twilight nodded.
“Come. We shall discuss this somewhere more private.”
The Princess of the Night, unused to walls and ceilings after a thousand years of the Moon, had grown accustomed to sitting upon the rooftop and gazing at her former prison. While it was not quite the summer solstice she had returned to, it was still warm, and the breeze was refreshing rather than chilling. Luna led Twilight to one of her favorite spots, choosing one that didn’t require flight.
“It’s beautiful up here.”
“Yes.”
“And- and you won’t say anything?”
Luna looked at her gravely.
“I swear it, on all my honor as Princess of the Night and Dreams, that not a single soul will know of this.”
“Thank you,” Twilight whispered. She stared up at the constellations, ones Luna had crafted thousands of years ago. Her eyes landed upon one which the Princess had always thought rather amateur of herself, but it had apparently stayed within the astronomy books.
“I don’t really know where to start,” she said. She was an average height for a mare her age, but she sounded so small, so timid. Nothing like the Element of Magic who had freed Equestria of Nightmare Moon.
“Start from the beginning, then.”
“Cadance was my foalsitter. She’d always been so sweet, so kind- you’d hardly ever think she was a Princess, if it weren’t for her being an alicorn. I didn’t even know her full name was Mi Amore Cadenza,” Twilight laughed slightly. “And then I came here, and- and I hadn’t even known my brother was engaged, I’d heard nothing from either of them, and she looked like she didn’t know who I was. Like she didn’t care. We had this dance we used to do, but she didn’t recognize it. I thought something was wrong then, but- well. It took a few days for me to be sure.”
As Twilight recounted the last week, Luna felt a twinge of guilt rush through her. Her schedule meant she had neither witnessed nor heard of nearly any of these events until after everything had been resolved. She had never known Cadance as well as Celestia had, but the behaviors Twilight described were so out of character she was shocked nopony else had been suspicious.
“I know I probably sounded crazy, but- with the threat on Canterlot, and all that security, I guess I just can’t believe nopony thought anything was off. Nopony believed me, and I-” she cut herself off, exhaling harshly. “I’m sorry, Princess. I shouldn’t be saying this.”
“Twilight,” Luna spoke softly. “I spend my nights traveling through ponies’ subconscious, viewing the most personal and intimate parts of them. There is nothing you could tell me which will not be safe.”
Twilight looked at her with tears streaking down her cheeks, her purple coat tinged red around her eyes.
“I can’t believe everypony just- dismissed me like that. My friends, my brother, Princess Celestia… how can I trust them when I know now that they don’t trust me?” She spoke in a whisper, as if she were afraid of the words coming from her mouth.
The moon, full and bright, shone down on them. Luna gazed at it forlornly. On some nights, when she had seen ponies watch the sunrise and those same ponies exclaimed at the sunset, not caring for the moonrise, simply going inside and turning on their lights to shun the darkness she ruled- those nights, she ached for the familiar feeling of moon dust on her coat and the quiet of her “kingdom”.
“I, too, have felt abandoned by my sister. It is…unpleasant, to realize that the Princess of Light makes mistakes. I have always thought it illuminating, that when we discovered the Elements to wield against Discord, Loyalty did not take to her.”
Twilight blinked. She had likely never heard true critiques of the Sun, growing up without the Night to cut through their subjects’ adoration of her.
“Twilight Sparkle, please remember this. My sister and I may be old, but we are not immune to misjudgement. Our power is a blessing, but also a curse, for it is easy for us to forget that we are not the only ones who may contribute. As for the other Elements, I do not know why they did not believe you. Perhaps they, as most of Equestria, are too trusting in Celestia’s wisdom, and have forgotten the value of others.”
“But how do I move forward? I don’t- I don’t know if I can keep being Princess Celestia’s student,” she admitted quietly. “I’ve always looked up to her so much, but…”
“She cannot hear us,” Luna reassured her.
“Now, I’m just- I’m disappointed in her.” Twilight whispered, eyes darting around as if she thought the headspony was about to cleave her in two.
“It is understandable. She, and the other Elements, made a grave error. You are not required to remain her student,” Luna said simply. “You may continue on your own path, without Celestia’s involvement. You are a powerful unicorn, and I have no doubt that you could do great things. Or, you may change teachers. I have just as much knowledge as my sister, and I would be happy to share it with my savior. I believe you have much to teach me, as well.”
“Is- is that allowed?” Twilight asked, hushed.
Luna nodded.
“It is allowed if I say it is allowed, and I do. The decision is yours, of course. Continue to trust your instincts, and take as much time as you need. Should you accept, do not worry about my sister. I shall handle her.”
Twilight chewed on her bottom lip, staring up at the sky. A meteor twinkled as it shot through the black.
“I think I could learn a lot from you, Princess.” she said finally. She looked at Luna with a determined gaze, and the Moon felt something she hadn’t in a long time. Excitement. “When do we start?”
-
Twilight bit her lip anxiously. She hadn’t quite decided what she was going to tell her- friends? The word felt wrong, now, but she wasn’t sure what else to call them. She also didn’t know what to say to Spike- or what to do about him, for that matter. He had always stuck by her side in the past, but he’d known Cadance almost as well as her, and the sting of betrayal was there. Not quite as bad as with everypony else, but still present.
Perhaps it would be best, for now, if nothing was said to anyone. It wouldn’t do to have them writing a letter to Princess Celestia before Princess Luna could tell her.
She returned to her room, shutting the door quietly. The Princess had offered to help her get to bed with a spell, but she’d politely refused. Quite frankly, she was too excited to sleep. The familiar buzz of a new venture had settled within her core, and she was itching to make a plan or twenty.
Twilight was grateful that Spike had opted to have adjoining rooms rather than sleeping in the same one, for once. She lit a candle and pulled a parchment, ink, and quill from her luggage. Better make it more than one parchment- she had a lot of lists to make, maybe even a list of all the lists she wanted.
She sat, but immediately got up, frowning. She had far too much energy for that. She quickly cast a silencing spell around her room before pacing, trotting in circles as her horn controlled the quill. Much better.
Since Princess Luna’s return, she’d had questions. Quite a lot of them, in fact, but she’d hardly seen her aside from Nightmare Night, and she didn’t like the idea of bothering Princess Celestia with things meant for her sister. This, however, was the perfect opportunity to ask them.
She scribbled furiously, hardly stopping to think. The words just poured out of her, leaping onto the page like they wanted to be there. She paused only a few times, stopping to look out of the window. The moonlight beamed into her room, gradually changing its angle until it vanished beneath the horizon. Streaks of red, orange, and yellow began to show through the sky and she hurriedly wrapped up the scrolls, burying them in the most hidden part of her bag that wouldn’t crush them. She adjusted the blankets until they looked slept in, but neat- like she had made the bed after waking.
With a twist of her magic she removed the silencing spell and went about her usual morning routine, grateful that there was no trace of her sleepless night on her face.
As usual, she and Applejack were the first ones awake out of their…friends.
“Mornin’ Twi,” she’d said, nursing a mug of coffee in the nearest dining room.
“Good morning.” She attempted a smile, but it felt a bit stiff. She forced her face to relax, hoping she wasn’t being obvious about avoiding eye contact. A sharp pain ripped through her chest and she turned away, grateful for the distraction of her own mug being brought to her seat. It seemed the palace staff were still attuned to her schedule, even after months of her being away.
Everypony else filed in slowly, taking seats at the long table. The chatter was quiet at first, until the room seemed to wake up. Twilight remained as silent as she could. The more the room filled, the more she hurt.
One of the staff came in to announce that Princess Celestia was sorry, but she would not be able to bid them goodbye before the train. Apparently she needed to address the public and reassure them after the changeling invasion. Twilight had never been so grateful not to see somepony.
She and Princess Luna had agreed that she would need to return to Ponyville, at least temporarily, so she boarded the train with everypony else. Thankfully, they accepted her excuse of being tired from the wedding as a reason for not joining in the conversation.
When she was finally back in her bedroom, she spent as little time as possible unpacking before leaving the library.
“Maybe a walk will wake me up a bit,” she’d told Spike. He didn’t need to know that she was teleporting to the castle within the Everfree Forest, where she and Princess Luna had agreed on meeting after she broke the news. “Don’t wait up for me- if I’m not back soon, I probably just got lost in a book.”
He also didn’t need to know that her saddlebags weren’t full of books, just her scrolls of questions and fresh parchment in case she needed to take notes.
She swung her bags off her back and onto the stone floor, sneezing at the dust they kicked up. She wondered, idly, when the castle had been abandoned. Perhaps the Princess would know. Twilight could ask when she arrived- if she arrived, that is. If things didn’t go well with Celestia any number of things could happen, to both her and Twilight. Maybe they would both be banished to the moon, or imprisoned, or executed for plotting against Equestria. Did they still execute ponies? Twilight had never heard of it, but it had been centuries since treason had been uncovered. The practice might be brought back just for them.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the Princess’s arrival.
“Princess Luna!” She bowed her head quickly, kneeling her front legs down.
“Please, Twilight Sparkle. Simply ‘Luna’ is fine.”
“Right, sorry,” she stammered. She’d never even tried calling her former mentor anything other than ‘Princess’, but she got the feeling that if she had, her response would not be so casual. “So, um- how did it go?” she asked nervously.
Luna’s lips pressed together, and she felt her stomach sink.
“She did not understand our reasons, and I did not explain fully. As far as she is aware, I offered a change of pace, and you accepted. She does not need to know more than that.”
“But- everything’s okay?”
Luna sighed.
“She is upset. Please, though, do not worry. My sister’s emotions are not yours to deal with, and you are under my protection. There will be no consequences against you.”
“I never thought I’d be…wary, I suppose, of Princess Celestia,” Twilight murmured. “Nothing feels real right now.”
“I know. Trust, though, that this is not a dream.” Luna smiled sadly. “These effects are only natural, after a week such as yours. They will fade with time.”
“Right,” Twilight trailed off. “Anyway, how will we get started? Will I be staying in Ponyville, or would you like me to move back to Canterlot? How will we communicate? Spike normally gave me Princess Celestia’s letters, but-”
“Patience, Twilight.” Luna held up a hoof and sat on the stone floor. Twilight followed her lead, plopping herself down onto the cold stone. “You may ask as many questions as you wish, provided you allow me to answer them.”
“Sorry, Pri- Luna.”
“Unfortunately, the answer to most of them for now shall have to me that I do not know. This is a matter I have little experience with, and we shall be crafting answers and solutions together.”
It was surreal, the difference between Luna and her former teacher. Luna had no qualms about admitting when she didn’t know something, or had miscalculated. She was forthright about everything in a way that rivalled Applejack, and regularly asked Twilight whether she had anything to add. She acted less like a royal teacher, warm but distant, and more like…a friend.
When Twilight allowed herself to feel the pangs in her chest that had started days ago, Luna commiserated, citing how ponies in Canterlot would avoid her, or how she overheard the guards referring to Celestia always fondly as “the” Princess. Luna was never spoken about unless necessary. There was no night court, no midnight meals prepared for her, no requests from dignitaries to speak with the lesser ruler.
“I fear that I no longer belong at my sister’s side,” Luna had said. “My purpose has changed. It is part of why I am pleased to share with you what I can.”
Hours went by as they discussed logistics. The castle, which Twilight learned had formerly belonged to the two sisters, was to be their classroom. Twilight would assist Luna in catching up with the rest of the world, while Luna would teach Twilight everything she could about the past. They both would work together on magic.
“I’m not sure how much I have to teach you,” Twilight frowned. “I mean, you’re an alicorn- my talent is magic, I guess, but that doesn’t mean much compared to what you can do.”
“Do not underestimate your abilities. You have much to share, particularly about the magic of friendship. That is an art which I am not practiced in.”
The time came for Luna to raise the moon. They sat in one of the higher portions of the castle, and Twilight watched raptly as the Night focused, bringing her moon just over the horizon.
“Someday, perhaps I will show you how to do this.”
“I would be honored, Luna.”
Twilight returned home with a spring in her step.