MLP: FiM: The Eclipse - Ch. 3

A soft snow began to fall as Celestia's carriage descended towards her castle. She had just returned from Cloudsdale, giving an official announcement for the Winter Moon Festival; just like Luna had done in Ponyville.

"Don't worry, your highness," said her royal guard Ronald. "I'm sure Princess Luna had much better luck with the citizens of Ponyville." he said with enthusiasm.

Celestia tried to smile at his optimism, however the situation in Cloudsdale had become quite a fiasco, resulting in a huge dispute between the citizens; it had almost become a physical fight. Celestia had been able to put a stop to the arguing before any violence broke out, however she still couldn't forget the group of ponies who had started it in the first place.

"Can you believe that there are still groups of ponies out there who don't believe that my sister is back for the better?" Celestia asked.

Ronald sighed. "Well, to be fairly honest, Your Majesty, I may not agree with them, but it does make sense. I mean, your sister, while I believe she is truly sorry for her actions in the past, was still a threat. Not to mention her actions caused her to be banished for 1,000 years."

"Yes, but that was fault on my part." Celestia sighed. "It was my own decision, so I am to blame for it. I'm not saying I want to be, and I am glad that time is over, but can they really blame Luna for being away for that long, when the decision is truly my fault?"

Ronald shrugged. "Everypony has their views, Your Majesty. I'm not saying it means that group of ponies have the right views, but I suppose it's going to take more than your word to change those views, unfortunately."

The carriage landed near the castle, and Celestia and the guards proceeded to enter the main hall. Before they could however, they were greeted by a familiar pony running towards them. The guards bowed, and Celestia smiled.

"Tia! You're back!" Luna shouted as she ran towards them.

Luna skidded to a stop and tried to catch her breath. From what Celestia could see, she had run quite a distance; almost all the way around the castle. "Come on, Luna. Let's head inside while you try to catch your breath, and you can tell me all about your experience in Ponyville." she said as they entered the castle.

--

*One less-than enthusiastic explanation later*

" And then me and Arnold returned to the castle. They told me you had just arrived, so I wanted to see you so I could explain everything." Luna said.

Celestia sighed and looked out the window. They were in Celestia's bedroom, and the soft snow that had started an hour ago had become a steady stream of white fluff. While Celestia preferred the summer, she had to admit that the winter came with its own unique beauty. She turned her attention to Luna, who was also looking out the window.

"Well, I certainly hope you had a much better time in Cloudsdale. At least all the ponies know and trust you." Luna mumbled. She looked away from Celestia and watched as the snow resumed outside the window. Celestia tried to comfort Luna, but Luna suddenly got up herself, tears in her eyes.

"It's not fair! It just isn't fair! I was the victim of Nightmare Moon; I had no choice in the matter! I would never betray the ponies of Equestria, no matter what! Why can't they all realize that?!" Luna shouted. She collapsed on Celestia's bed, right next to her sister.

Celestia had never felt so bad for anypony. She had thought perhaps the small celebration after her rescue would be enough, and everypony else would forgive Luna and forget about the past. But now, with these groups of ponies in Cloudsdale and Ponyville, all of that hope was lost. What Celestia didn't expect was the toll the negativity was having on her sister.

"Luna...they are only a small group. You can't tell me that everypony in Ponyville was in protest..." she said. Luna sniffed and started to compose herself.

"Well, no...many of them were very nice, and they seemed excited. There was even this one group of ponies that stood up for me when that group came up to me. I think they were the ones you told me about months ago; the ones who freed me from Nightmare Moon."

Celestia smiled. So Twilight and her friends were still doing what they did best. "Yes, I know those ponies. They are the friends of my prized student, Twilight Sparkle, and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony. I'm not at all surprised that they were there to help you out."

Luna continued "But still, Tia, something bugs me about that group. I can't put my hoof on it." She turned to her sister. "Why are we even doing this?"

Celestia shot a double take. "What do you mean, Luna? This festival is in celebration of your return as a ruler of Equestria...and as my sister after 1,000 years."

"I know THAT, but why can't I just help you with the Summer Sun Celebration next year?  We could do a cooperative thing. Like, I would lower the moon, while you lower the sun. Wouldn't that be better than to have all this controversy?" Luna asked.

Celestia thought for a moment, but quickly dismissed the thought. "Luna, I want to ask you something. Do you remember, when you were a young filly, how you were so anxious to get your cutie mark?"

Luna was taken aback by the unexpected question. "Um...well, yes. I remember it. I was just a young filly, but yeah, I remember it. But what does that have to-"

"Really?" Celestia asked. "Because I don't remember much about it. It's been such a long time." Celestia smiled at her sister. "Why don't you tell me about it, from what you remember."

Now Luna was confused. What did her immature impatience for a cutie mark have to do with the Winter Moon Celebration, or the group of ponies who still didn't trust her? She started at her sister, trying to find any hint of sarcasm in her eyes. But it seemed as though her sister was serious. Luna sighed and sat down on the bed, next to Celestia.

--

"Well, you're right; it has been such a long time, and it is hard to remember. I'm actually surprised you have trouble remembering it, considering my imprisonment for 1,000 years. I would think you would remember it a lot more than me. But from what I can remember...I was always anxious to get mine before you, and when I didn't, I thought I would never get it."

"And you were proved wrong shortly after, correct?" Celestia said.

Luna smiled. "I may forget many things from the past, but I will never forget that night. You were in the middle of the process for lowering the sun, and I was still bitter about you getting your cutie mark before mine. So I....well, tried to lower the sun myself."

"But instead, something else happened." Celestia added.

"Yup. I raised the moon instead. And when I realized what I had just done, my cutie mark appeared. And I remember that you were smiling at me, as if you knew it was all going to happen. I never figured to ask; I was too excited over my cutie mark."

Celestia smiled. "You could say that. You could also say that you were jumping with so much joy that you almost fell off the balcony we were on."

Luna chuckled. "Oh yeah, that kind of scar-" Then it hit Luna. Why would Celestia remember something like that? "Why am I telling you this story, Tia? You seem to already know it."

Celestia got up from her bed and walked towards the window. From the color change in the clouds, she could tell the sun was beginning to set. "Because I wanted to see if you remembered the most important thing I told you when you were grumpy about my cutie mark. Do you remember that?"

Luna thought for a while, but couldn't remember. Celestia continued. "I said 'Don't worry about it Luna. You will get your cutie mark eventually, I know it. You just...have to trust me.'" Celestia turned towards her sister. "Remember that, Luna? I just wanted you to trust me. And in a way, even all the way back then, you did. You trusted me, and you tried to find out who you were."

She grinned. "Granted, it probably wasn't the best way, trying to imitate my special ability, but it still worked out for the best, right?"

Luna looked down and pondered. Celestia put a hoof around her. "Luna, all I ask for you now is to do the same thing you did so long ago. Just trust me with this. I know there are some ponies out there who don't trust you, but the important thing is I do. I know you are back for good and I know who you are. You're still my sister, after all. And all I ask is that you trust me and please participate in the Winter Moon Festival."

Luna looked outside. The sun was beginning to sink lower, and the snow continued to fall. While she trusted her sister, she still had a nagging doubt in her mind that going to the Winter Moon Festival was a very bad idea.

"It's almost time to raise the moon...I will think about it." replied Luna. She proceeded to head for the royal gardens. Celestia, deeply disappointed, decided to stay behind and watch her sister's work from her room.    

"Why can't she just trust me?" she thought.

--

Luna flew high into the cloud filled sky and used her magic to raise the moon from the horizon. With the could cover, the castle seemed to have an eerie grey glow. "What is the point of raising the moon if it's only going to be covered anyway?" she thought to herself.

As she landed on the ground in the center of the royal gardens, Lily returned from the main hall. She immediately noticed Luna and was caught off guard. She bowed, and Luna smiled. "You know, you don't have to do that every time you see me, Lily. I'm completely fine with talking to you as a normal pony."

Lily seemed even more flustered as she raised her head. "I know, but...you know, I like to do it anyway. Respect for royalty and all that." Luna giggled and looked up into the sky. So many thoughts rushed through her head, and her sister's look of disappointment wouldn't leave her head. What was the point of going, if all that she would be faced with is negative reactions from the citizens? Was it all worth it?

"Is there something wrong, your majesty?" Lily asked.

Luna forced a smile. "Nothing important really, Lily. I...just have many things on my mind." Luna noticed Lily was carrying bags filled with materials for planting new flowers; pots, soil, seeds, the whole nine yards. Luna gave Lily a confused look, and couldn't help but wonder...

"Lily, why are you planting all of those flowers if it's the middle of winter? Won't they just die because of the lack of heat?"

Lily placed her materials on the ground in front of a piece of grass that had been fertilized and prepared for planting. "Yes, I suppose some of them will die along the line, but I also know that some of these flowers will be able to last the winter if I give them proper care."

Luna continued. "But only for a few flowers? Why waste all the seeds and materials for only a few flowers?"

Lily smiled. "Well, because I don't really know how many will actually survive. Therefore, it could be none, some, a lot, or all of them. And for me, even if I waste materials and some flowers die out, at least I was able to plant at least some flowers to give beauty to my gardens." She paused, then continued, "Why do you ask?"

Luna thought hard of Lily's words, and suppressed a small smile. "Well, to be honest Lily, I did have a lot on my mind, but I think you've cleared up quite a bit for me. Thank you." Lily became flustered, and as if on instinct, she bowed. Luna smiled warmly, and went off to find Celestia.

--

It didn't take long. Celestia was also strolling through the gardens. She was in the outskirts, near the entrance to the main hall.

Luna approached Celestia. "Tia, I've been thinking about it, and...I've decided that I'm going to take part in the Winter Moon Festival. I've decided that I don't care about this one little group of ponies. If I can just get some support from anypony in town, I think it will be worth it."

Celestia smiled. "I'm glad to hear that Luna. To be honest, I was afraid I would have to come up with some kind of speech to explain your absence. Good to know that we can now focus on what really matters in this festival."

"What do you mean, Tia? I thought the festival was simply to celebrate my return to Equestria." Luna said with a puzzled look.

"Of course, Luna. I could never forget that. But with your return also comes the opportunity for the people of Equestria to see something they haven't seen in centuries. Something I'm sure they will be proud to see. I won't go into detail about it here; let's go inside, and I will tell you all about it"

Luna was still confused. What exactly was her sister planning for this festival? Did she have some kind of ulterior motive or plan in her head that she planned to carry out without telling her? She couldn't help but be curious.

"Tia...are you still thinking about that dream I had a couple months ago? I know it has been a while, but I still remember it vividly." Luna asked.

Celestia stopped and looked at Luna with a concerned face. "You aren't still getting those kinds of dreams, are you? Because if you are, I'd like to think you could tell me about them." she said.

"No, no!" Luna said quickly. "I haven't had a dream like that since...well, since it became such a big deal between you and me a couple of months ago. In fact, I've been having a lot of dreams that are nice and positive and friendly now. Which confuses me, but it can't be anything to be worried about, right?"

Celestia continued walking. "I suppose it's not. And to answer your question, yes, I'm still thinking about your dream, even now, but I don't think it makes a big difference as of this point. If everything goes right with the Winter Moon Festival, then I think we can expect some very bright days ahead of us."

Luna didn't share in her sister's optimism, especially when it came to the dream she had months ago. But regardless, she brushed the topic from her mind and followed Celestia into the main hall.

"I guess I will just have to trust you, right?" Luna asked. Celestia smiled.



==END Chapter 3==