A Tale of Luster and Dawn

Chapter 4 - Rachel, Luna, and the Old Abandoned Castle

Rachel was overwhelmed and tired from the heavy magical spell performed on her. She slept for two days straight, breathing heavily and occasionally mumbling in her sleep. Luna didn't leave Rachel's side for more than five minutes. She wanted to be near her when she woke up. When it finally happened on the third day, Luna and Rachel were alone and had a heart-to-heart talk. 

By then, the public knew about Rachel's existence. Somepony had leaked the news. At first, the residents of Canterlot, Ponyville and other towns and cities were shocked, since everypony though Grogar was long gone and never knew he socialized with Nightmare Moon during her long exile in space. 

Many journalists and photographers wanted to be present when Rachel awoke, but Luna's wishes were not to be disobeyed. Rachel woke up on the third day. She didn't let go of the hourglass the whole time. When Rachel was strong enough to leave her bed, she and Luna went on a long walk through the Canterlot Gardens. Many paparazzi tried to photograph them over the hedge, but Celestia cast a spell preventing any photography from working in the Canterlot Castle. 

As Luna and Rachel strolled through the gardens and talked, Rachel was torn. On one hand, she thought, she loved Luna. She was after all, her mother. She was also loving, kind, and comforting. However, she wasn't exactly like Rachel imagined. 

Rachel had hoped that Luna wouldn't be too different from Nightmare Moon. Nightmare was, after all, the ideal mother for Rachel. She was cunning, decisive and somewhat private, like Rachel, and the two shared similar interests. 

"I love Luna," said Rachel in the privacy of her room in the Canterlot Castle. "She makes a great mother. She has a personal touch. She soothes and comforts. I'm sure she's the ideal mother for many ponies, but not for me. My ideal mother is Nightmare Moon. She gave birth to me. She raised me. She played with me when Father was gone. She is the only mother I could ever have."

Still, Rachel couldn't bring herself to leave Luna. She understood Luna would be devastated to lose her. Luna wanted her to grow up kind and loving, caring and sincere with her family and friends. But Rachel wasn't that kind of pony. 

She was alone, and used to hiding her emotions from everyone. She belonged with her own kind, and she could never fit in with the rest of pony society. She noticed that many maids and butlers around the palace tried to avoid her, afraid that she, as a daughter of Grogar, could hurt them. She didn't mind, but deep down, her subconscious wanted love from her own mother. Love from her own kind. She didn't want to burden Equestria. 

As Rachel was having these thoughts, an urgent message arrived at Canterlot. It was from Starlight Glimmer, who had to return to her headmare duties at the School of Friendship soon after Rachel's return. 

Starlight wrote that Mirage's Talisman, a cultural relic of the changelings, had been stolen from the school. Detectives were already on the scene of the crime, but they couldn't find any clues. It seemed to be a cold case. 

Luster Dawn, who came to the school as soon as she found out, also looked around the scene of the crime. Mirage's Talisman was kept with five different artifacts from different cultures. Cozy Glow had used them to drain all magic from Equestria. The glass case where the artifacts were kept was opened with a key, not broken, and that was the only lead the detectives had: the criminal was someone with access to the keys. 

Every teacher at the School of Friendship had one, so it wasn't a very helpful clue. Interestingly, the only item taken from the case was Mirage's Talisman, though all the other artifacts were perfectly available for the taking. 

Meanwhile, in the old abandoned castle, a band of changelings was hiding throughout the long corridors and massive halls. As unnoticeable as they were, they would play a big role in the upcoming events. Their leader was an old unreformed changeling named Cricket.