Solstice

Younger Days

Both Celestia and Luna look in this story, the way they do in Lullaby for a Princess, the animation by WarpOut.

Celestia stared out the window, watching her sister raise the moon. She sighed. "Oh Luna, do you know much you are loved?"

She moved down, away so her sister couldn't see her. As she lay down on her bed, she thought of her younger days. Her mind drifted back to a day only she remembered. The day she had banished a sister. The chaos had been terrible, and it left a listing mark on Luna, even if she didn't know it. She had lost many that day, her sister, her friends, and her good reputation. In a rage, she had taken the memories of them, and thrown them away. The existence of everyone who had lost was taken from the minds of her kingdom. 

After being lost in thought for some time, a quiet sneeze was heard outside her door. After that, the soft footsteps of her sister creeping to her room. She opened her door. Luna froze, highlighted by the bright glow of Celestia's horn. "Sister! Did, did I wake you?"

"No Luna, I was already awake. You should get some rest though, tomorrow we have a ceremony, we have to get ready for it before I even raise the sun."

 Luna nodded, then continued to her room. Celestia smiled and sat back on her bed.

Celestia woke to the bouncing filly on her bed. "Tia! Tia! Guess who came to do our manes!"

Celestia smiled at her excited sister. "I don't know, enlighten me."

"Spiral Flurries! Spiral Flurries came to do our manes!"

With that, she bounded off the bed and crashed down the stairs. Celestia followed suit.

After she reached the bottom of the stairs, she discovered her sister and twenty servants waiting for her. As she began to walk with Luna, they bolted into action, running to and fro. By the time she made it to her large dining hall, a large amount of food littered the table. As she sat in the large chair at one end, Luna fluttered down to the other. She sat down, waving. She looked rather small from so far away, not that she wasn't already. Celestia picked her up with magic and brought her back, laughing and nuzzling her. She placed Luna in the chair next to her own. After Celestia put her down, Luna grabbed mashed potatoes, some carrots, and some oats. Celestia grabbed two biscuits, some butter, and some tea. She poured a cup, and when she turned to offer Luna one, she almost dropped it. Luna had potatoes all over her face, and she was noisily chewing a carrot. Celestia grabbed a napkin and wiped the blue filly's face. Then she looked in her hair. The pale blue was littered with white from potatoes. "Luna! How did you get potatoes in the back of your hair?"

Luna giggled and grabbed another carrot.  Celestia sighed dramatically and bit into her biscuit.

After breakfast, Luna hurtled into the dressing room, racing to see the idolized mane stylist, potato bits flying behind her. By the time Celestia entered, Spiral had already started working on Luna's mane. The little pony had Night diamonds in her hair, black with red on the edges. It matched perfectly with her dress, a black one with red seams. After a few minutes, she finished, and Luna bounded after a servant to get her makeup. Celestia turned towards the room the filly had gone into. "Luna, I'm going to lower the moon for you, so you don't have to mess up your hair."

"Okay!"

Celestia opened a window and stood on the balcony, concentrating on the sun and the moon. Her short pink hair started flowing, and her eyes glowed. She rose up above the balcony, and as she did so, the sun rose, and the moon fell. She landed, and her hair stopped flowing, returning to its limp pink form. She trotted back into the room, and Spiral began on her hair.

Celestia stood behind Luna as the little mare admired herself in the mirror. She moved so the diamonds in her hair shimmered red deep inside. She smiled, and turned to her sister. "Whoa! You're so beautiful!" Then she slumped a little, "More beautiful than me..."

Celestia lifted her sister's chin. "Luna! You're more beautiful than anyone I have ever seen! Don't be silly!"

Luna perked up, then trotted out of the room. Celestia looked in the mirror herself. She had pale green diamonds in her hair, and the dress she wore was vibrant, blues and greens that shimmered and changed, making it look like her mother's hair used to. Her eye shadow was green, and at the ends it turned into a dark blue sparkle. She was pretty, but it didn't match her sisters raw beauty. Celestia smiled. Luna didn't know it, but she really was the most beautiful filly in all the land. She turned and walked out of the room, meeting Luna and then trotting to the court, her sister following suit.

When they got to the court, many ponies gathered around Celestia, pushing her sister out of the way. Luna tried to get through the crowd, but they kept pushing her back. Suddenly, a hoof landed in front of her. "Oh look! A princess wannabe! How lame."

The pony knocked Luna's crown off, and trotted back to the masses gathering around Celestia. After she sat down in her throne, she noticed her sister was nowhere to be seen. She sent a spell through the crowds, searching for the young pony. While she did so, two young fillies teased the blue pony. "Oh come on! You may look a little like Princess Luna, but your not. You probably wore that dress to cover up the fact you don't have wings."

 Luna glared, ready to prove to them that she did, when her sister's yellow magic picked her up, floating her gently above the crowd. One or two ponies looked up, but most didn't notice. She floated and landed on her throne, sulking. Celestia didn't notice, more ponies had trotted up to her. Luna put her hooves over the rest, and set her head on them, looking sullen and dull.