The Northern Lights
by darkcyan
The forest before her began to wake, first a handful of birds and then a small chorus as the first rays of dawn crept above the horizon at her back. She could not see them, yet, but by now she knew the particular shift in the darkness' hue and the feel of her sister's sun almost as well as the horn on her head and the wings on her back.
She let her moon fall below the horizon in its now-familiar dance, and turned away from the forest. Her bedchambers called her, after a long and fruitful night of watching over her little ponies' dreams.
"Sister!" Celestia stuck her head through Luna's bedroom door. "Starswirl wishes to speak with us."
Luna knew why her sister's countenance was so cheery at this time of morning, but knowing that failed to make it less trying. "Can it not wait until evening?"
"Nay, he said it was urgent; he feared delaying even until dawn."
Because of course a delay until dawn was right and natural. Certainly her sister couldn't be the one required to lose sleep.
Luna bit back a sigh, cast a longing look at her bed--only a hooflength away--and the novel she had been hoping to briefly wind down with, and reluctantly nodded. "Lead the way."
Hopefully he just wanted to brag about his latest invention and she would be back in bed soon enough.
"Had I known becoming a princess would involve quite so much flying about, I would have declined," Luna grumbled, squinting into the distance. She could see peaks there, now, although not yet the kingdom among them that she and her sister had been tasked to visit.
"You would not." Celestia cast her an amused look.
Despite her tiredeness, Luna smiled. Remembering--as she felt certain her sister was--the sense of rightness she felt the first time she raised the moon that now felt almost a part of her. "I would not," she agreed. "Though I would perhaps have complained about it more. Know you anything of the griffons? They are not a subject I have much studied." Diplomacy, she largely left to her sister, as the majority of their newly formed kingdom's potential allies also primarily preferred the day.
"Only that King Grant has recently ascended the throne--we sent him a coronation present, you remember?"
Luna did not.
"And that they, like we, are a new nation, as history measures such things; King Grant is their second sovereign, as we are Equestria's first." Celestia dipped briefly in Luna's direction, their in-flight equivalent of a gentle nudge, and smiled at her again. "Cheer up, sister; I hear Griffonstone has a bustling night market. Once we sort out King Grant's problem, I feel certain there will be time enough for you to partake in that merriment as well."
As a consolation prize, it didn't quite make up for being asked to fly for most of the day and sleep through most of her precious night for two days straight, but if these griffons had night markets, perhaps they wouldn't be so bad.
"You are who that old magician sent?" The griffon perched atop an ornate (and in Luna's opinion, gaudy) throne threw back his head and laughed derisively. "I asked for magical aid against an invasion, not sightseers." He waved a single clawed paw. "Go back and tell him to stop wasting my time."
"Thou art speaking to the Princ--"
Celestia raised a hoof, and Luna took a deep breath and stomped hard on her anger.
"I believe thou art operating under some misconceptions," Celestia said gently. "We are in fact the magical aid thou sought. Starswirl impressed on us the urgency of your plight, and we did not wish to risk the delicate situation you described deteriorating any further should more minor aid prove insufficient. We also thought it would provide a fine opportunity to introduce ourselves."
She inclined her head. "I am Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria, Princess of the Sun. And this is my sister, Princess Luna, of the Moon." Luna begrudgingly followed suit. Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Unless, of course, you do not desire our aid after all?"
"Hah! Fancy titles mean nothing." The griffon king tossed his head. "What can you actually do?"
Luna was too old for this. She was too tired for this. And she most certainly had not flown for two entire days just to be treated like an infant. With a twist of will, she drew the moon fully into the sky, hanging it just outside a the high window most directly in front of King Grant, and pointed backwards at it with a hoof. "Any questions?" she asked pointedly, and jiggled her moon up and down a few times for emphasis.
The griffon king at least looked like he was finally taking them seriously. "And you can--" he gestured towards Celestia's flank.
Her sister smiled. "I hope you will forgive me for refraining from engaging in a demonstration," she said. "Crops can be so delicate, you know."
A pause, as the griffon king considered that, and then he waved his claw again. "Very well, do what you like. They'll be here around nightfall. Unless--can you keep night from happening? That could also solve our problems."
Heh. Even outside Equestria, it appeared that nopony--nocreature--properly appreciated her night.
"And introduce more problems in its stead," Celestia said. "I am certain we can find some other way."
The night market had been canceled on account of the invading horde--a horde that only appeared at night, and engaged in what sounded to Luna more like mischief than invasion--according to the reports Celestia shared with Luna after she woke from a too-brief nap, almost sleepier than when she had turned in.
(Beds in Griffonstone reminded her more of nests. Nice nests, with pillows and blankets, but nests all the same. She missed her own bed, and her books, and not having been awake for most of the last three days.)
The two of them made their way to the outskirts of the bustling griffon town at dusk, and ... nothing happened.
A few hours in, Celestia begged off to go to bed, and Luna sat and watched the stars alone. Familiar, yet unfamiliar, everything at just a slight angle this far north. Perhaps she should travel more often; she would like to see more of her night.
And then she noticed stars where no stars should be. Stars that moved, faster than the stars that followed her moon.
Stars that clustered around her, glowing brightly. Glowing in a way that slowly resolved itself into words.
"Return it"
"Return it to us"
"Return our light"
"Return our glory"
Surrounded by vast multitudes, Luna felt somehow unafraid. She felt, for the first time in a long while, like she was at home. At peace, with others who understood.
Surely her sister would see these creatures as she did.
"Tell me more," she said. "And I'll see what I can do."
She let her moon fall below the horizon in its now-familiar dance, and turned away from the forest. Her bedchambers called her, after a long and fruitful night of watching over her little ponies' dreams.
"Sister!" Celestia stuck her head through Luna's bedroom door. "Starswirl wishes to speak with us."
Luna knew why her sister's countenance was so cheery at this time of morning, but knowing that failed to make it less trying. "Can it not wait until evening?"
"Nay, he said it was urgent; he feared delaying even until dawn."
Because of course a delay until dawn was right and natural. Certainly her sister couldn't be the one required to lose sleep.
Luna bit back a sigh, cast a longing look at her bed--only a hooflength away--and the novel she had been hoping to briefly wind down with, and reluctantly nodded. "Lead the way."
Hopefully he just wanted to brag about his latest invention and she would be back in bed soon enough.
"Had I known becoming a princess would involve quite so much flying about, I would have declined," Luna grumbled, squinting into the distance. She could see peaks there, now, although not yet the kingdom among them that she and her sister had been tasked to visit.
"You would not." Celestia cast her an amused look.
Despite her tiredeness, Luna smiled. Remembering--as she felt certain her sister was--the sense of rightness she felt the first time she raised the moon that now felt almost a part of her. "I would not," she agreed. "Though I would perhaps have complained about it more. Know you anything of the griffons? They are not a subject I have much studied." Diplomacy, she largely left to her sister, as the majority of their newly formed kingdom's potential allies also primarily preferred the day.
"Only that King Grant has recently ascended the throne--we sent him a coronation present, you remember?"
Luna did not.
"And that they, like we, are a new nation, as history measures such things; King Grant is their second sovereign, as we are Equestria's first." Celestia dipped briefly in Luna's direction, their in-flight equivalent of a gentle nudge, and smiled at her again. "Cheer up, sister; I hear Griffonstone has a bustling night market. Once we sort out King Grant's problem, I feel certain there will be time enough for you to partake in that merriment as well."
As a consolation prize, it didn't quite make up for being asked to fly for most of the day and sleep through most of her precious night for two days straight, but if these griffons had night markets, perhaps they wouldn't be so bad.
"You are who that old magician sent?" The griffon perched atop an ornate (and in Luna's opinion, gaudy) throne threw back his head and laughed derisively. "I asked for magical aid against an invasion, not sightseers." He waved a single clawed paw. "Go back and tell him to stop wasting my time."
"Thou art speaking to the Princ--"
Celestia raised a hoof, and Luna took a deep breath and stomped hard on her anger.
"I believe thou art operating under some misconceptions," Celestia said gently. "We are in fact the magical aid thou sought. Starswirl impressed on us the urgency of your plight, and we did not wish to risk the delicate situation you described deteriorating any further should more minor aid prove insufficient. We also thought it would provide a fine opportunity to introduce ourselves."
She inclined her head. "I am Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria, Princess of the Sun. And this is my sister, Princess Luna, of the Moon." Luna begrudgingly followed suit. Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Unless, of course, you do not desire our aid after all?"
"Hah! Fancy titles mean nothing." The griffon king tossed his head. "What can you actually do?"
Luna was too old for this. She was too tired for this. And she most certainly had not flown for two entire days just to be treated like an infant. With a twist of will, she drew the moon fully into the sky, hanging it just outside a the high window most directly in front of King Grant, and pointed backwards at it with a hoof. "Any questions?" she asked pointedly, and jiggled her moon up and down a few times for emphasis.
The griffon king at least looked like he was finally taking them seriously. "And you can--" he gestured towards Celestia's flank.
Her sister smiled. "I hope you will forgive me for refraining from engaging in a demonstration," she said. "Crops can be so delicate, you know."
A pause, as the griffon king considered that, and then he waved his claw again. "Very well, do what you like. They'll be here around nightfall. Unless--can you keep night from happening? That could also solve our problems."
Heh. Even outside Equestria, it appeared that nopony--nocreature--properly appreciated her night.
"And introduce more problems in its stead," Celestia said. "I am certain we can find some other way."
The night market had been canceled on account of the invading horde--a horde that only appeared at night, and engaged in what sounded to Luna more like mischief than invasion--according to the reports Celestia shared with Luna after she woke from a too-brief nap, almost sleepier than when she had turned in.
(Beds in Griffonstone reminded her more of nests. Nice nests, with pillows and blankets, but nests all the same. She missed her own bed, and her books, and not having been awake for most of the last three days.)
The two of them made their way to the outskirts of the bustling griffon town at dusk, and ... nothing happened.
A few hours in, Celestia begged off to go to bed, and Luna sat and watched the stars alone. Familiar, yet unfamiliar, everything at just a slight angle this far north. Perhaps she should travel more often; she would like to see more of her night.
And then she noticed stars where no stars should be. Stars that moved, faster than the stars that followed her moon.
Stars that clustered around her, glowing brightly. Glowing in a way that slowly resolved itself into words.
"Return it"
"Return it to us"
"Return our light"
"Return our glory"
Surrounded by vast multitudes, Luna felt somehow unafraid. She felt, for the first time in a long while, like she was at home. At peace, with others who understood.
Surely her sister would see these creatures as she did.
"Tell me more," she said. "And I'll see what I can do."