Raising the Sun
“Celestia!” Luna called, rapping on her sister’s door. “Celestia, wake up! I need to speak with you!”
There was a rustling from inside and a sleepy voice grumbled something that sounded like “guhway.” Luna looked around at the mass of red plastic cups, half eaten cupcakes and empty pizza boxes bursting out of the trashcan outside Celestia’s dorm with a wrinkled nose. Ripped streamers and party signs dangled from peeling tape on the doorframe and half inflated balloons sagged pitifully from their strings tied to the streetlights. With all the streamers, confetti and smashed pastries smeared on the walls, it looked like Celestia's apartment picked a fight with a gang of clowns and lost miserably.
“Celestia! I need to talk to you immediately!” Luna yelled, pounding on the door again. “It’s-” Luna stopped short as the door to the townhouse flung open and a frazzled pair of fillies staggered out, wincing at the sunlight and mumbling half apologies as they bumped past Luna.
Luna rolled her eyes and trotted inside the flat that her sister shared with three other mares. It was completely dark save for a single beam of sunlight trickling in through a crack in the windows; enough light for Luna to see that the tiny apartment was in complete disarray. Empty cups and half empty bottles were stuffed in bags and piled in every corner. One of Celestia’s flatmates was curled up on the couch, rocking back and forth with her head buried in the trashcan and an unknown colt was passed out on the kitchen table with punchbowl on his head. In the middle of the living room floor, a pile of blankets stirred and groaned as Luna closed the door behind her with a soft thud.
“Celestia?” Luna called softly. The bundle of blankets groaned and shrunk in on itself. “Celestia is that you?”
“Guhway.” The blankets repeated.
“Celestia, I need to talk to you, this is-”
“Mmm…chumblacklatr…” The blankets moaned.
Luna prodded the bundle with her hoof. It hissed like a cat dropped in a bath and a single lavender eye glared at her from underneath the blankets.
“Celestia?” Luna said.
“Mnngh...Celestia's not here right now.” The bundle grumbled. “Come back…come back when the sun is warm.”
“The sun is always warm, Celestia.” Luna said, flicking back the curtains and flooding the room with sunlight, eliciting groans of pain and confusion from the passed out ponies in the living room. “That’s what makes it the sun.”
“Ugh…no! Why?!” The bundle moaned, shrinking away from the sunlight.
“Celestia, get up, I need to talk with you.” Luna said
“Nnnoooo…just leave me here to die.” The bundle sobbed.
“What on earth are you doing on the floor?” Luna said, lifting a corner of the blanket and peeking inside.
“Sleeping.” Celestia said, rising from her bundle with a great shake of her frizzled pink mane. “You know, the thing that most sane ponies do at-” Celestia glanced at the wall clock with a groan. “Six in the morning on a Saturday?! Are you kidding me right now Luna?!”
“Oooh…please don’t yell.” The mare on the couch moaned, burying her head in the trashcan. “Yelling makes my hair hurt.”
“I haven’t seen you since Hearth’s Warming Eve and you suddenly show up at six in the morning on a Saturday, no letter, no phonecall-”
“I know, I know.” Luna sighed. “I’m sorry, Celestia, I wouldn’t have come if it wasn’t absolutely urgent!”
“Awww, how nice.” Celestia cooed. “It makes me feel so warm and fuzzy to know that my little sister wouldn’t have visited me unless she absolutely had to.”
“N-no, that’s not what I meant!” Luna said. “That came out wrong, let me start over; Celestia, I need you to-hey, where are you going?”
Celestia shook off the blanket and extended her willowy white wings in a lazy stretch, trotting towards the room across from the kitchen. “Shower; back in five. Make yourself at home.” Celestia said, slamming the door to another fresh chorus of moans from the afflicted ponies.
Luna pulled a chair out from the kitchen table and scooted it as far away from the barely conscious stallion as she could. Her eyes wandered the room idly in her sister’s absence, passing over various concert posters, art prints, and pictures of her sister and her friends smiling and laughing and pushing each other around. A few of them even showed Celestia dressed up and posing with authors, artists, and (to Luna’s relief) members of the aristocracy.
Awards for aeroathletic excellence lined the ceiling displaying the names and cutie marks of the girls who lived there. Luna noted that her sister’s signature sun cutie mark gleamed back at her from most of them. A framed picture on the farthest wall labeled RY999 Varsity Mare’s Aerial Volleyball Club D1 Champions showed Celestia posing with a dozen of her teammates hoisting a huge golden trophy over their heads.
The door behind her opened and Celestia stepped out of her room wearing a pink terrycloth bathrobe, her mane pulled back into a perky ponytail and the worst of her hangover washed away by a brisk shower. Standing a full head and shoulders above the tip of Luna’s horn, her sister was an impressive figure, especially for a pegasus. Despite her considerable size, she was hardly clumsy or awkward, exuding a natural physical grace in motion that made Luna absolutely loathe her just a tiny bit.
“So,” Celestia said, dumping half a bag of coffee into the coffee maker. “To what do I owe this extremely early visit?”
“I’m sorry to get you up so early and barge in unannounced but this is-” Luna shot a sidelong glance at the other occupants in the room. “A-actually, I think this is a conversation we should have in private.”
“Oh don’t mind them. Aerial Ace is still half drunk from yesterday and the stallion is just-” Celestia squinted at the stallion sprawled out on the kitchen table. “Actually, I have no idea who this guy is.”
“And you just let him into your apartment?!” Luna hissed, scooting further away from the groggy stallion.
“Probably came with one of the other girls.” Celestia mused. “People were in and out of here all night so he probably drifted in towards the end and just forgot to drift out again.”
“And you’re not bothered by the fact that there’s a strange stallion just lying on your kitchen table?!” Luna whispered.
“Meh, I’m used to it by now.” Celestia shrugged. “I’ve usually got some trash to clean up on Saturday mornings of one kind or another.”
“So I take it that the bags of garbage in every corner aren’t some kind of avant garde décor you're experimenting with and you had another one of your infamous parties last night?” Luna said.
“You know I did!” Celestia huffed. “I invited you, remember?”
“Y-you did?” Luna said. “S-sorry, must’ve got lost in the mail or-”
“I slid it under your door.” Celestia said flatly.
“R-really?” Luna squeaked. “W-well it must’ve gotten lost in the shuffle; you know how crazy my room gets around finals, right?”
“Uh huh.” Celestia said, pouring two mugs of coffee and sliding one over to Luna. “Look, Luna, I get that my idea of a fun night out doesn’t exactly match yours but it would be nice to see you more than once a term... preferably not first thing on a Saturday morning but-”
“I’m sorry, I really am.” Luna said. “But I’m here now and I need your help! This is a matter of-”
“National security?” Celestia said, raising an eyebrow.
“Uh…well, yeah.” Luna said. “How did you know?”
“Shot in the dark.” Celestia sighed, ducking down behind the counter and rummaging through the cabinets.
“What are you doing?” Luna asked as her sister returned with a bowl and a bag of pancake mix clutched between her teeth.
“Pancakes.” Celestia said simply, dumping the entire bag of pancake mix into the bowl followed by an entire bag of chocolate chips. “It’s Saturday morning, my head feels like the entire Canterlot University hoofball team ran it over, and my little sister just dropped by for the first time in months at six in the morning crying about national security. Times like these demand pancakes; you want some?”
“N-no thanks.” Luna said as Celestia dumped a basket of strawberries into the batter, stirring it idly with a spatula she clipped to the tip of her wing. “I don’t really have time for-”
“There is always time for pancakes.” Celestia said sternly, tipping the entire bowl of batter on the griddle to form one giant pancake. “Especially at six in the bucking morning.”
“Well…technically it’s six-thirty now and-” Celestia shot her sister a glare. “A-and that’s really not why you’re upset, is it?”
Celestia flipped the giant pancake with a flip of her wing spatula. “I’m upset because the only time I seem to see you anymore is over vacation or at some academic function or regarding matters of, ahem, “national security.” Every time I invite you anywhere you always have some lecture to attend or some private lesson to go to or some essay to write on magical mystery cures or whatnot. It feels like it’s been a thousand years since I’ve seen you last.”
“I’m…I’m taking a pretty full course this year.” Luna muttered. “I’m really busy.”
“And I’m not?” Celestia said. “Life in the Applied Meteorology department isn’t all rainbows and sunshine, you know.”
“I thought you were double majoring in Rainbows and Sunshine.” Luna said.
“We prefer to call it Visible Electromagnetic Artistry these days.” Celestia sniffed. “Rainbows and Sunshine” wasn’t the best name for our major; as descriptive as it is, you just don’t get taken seriously around the weather department. Visible Electromagnetic Artists are serious weather professionals responsible for managing daily light distribution; Rainbows and Sunshine Majors are unwashed hippies who braid each other’s manes and dance around on rainbows. You get what I'm saying?”
“Uh huh” Luna said, eyes glazing over as Celestia babbled on about her classwork. “Sounds like…rigorous schoolwork.”
“Please; I dream of rigorous schoolwork.” Celestia said. “If you had to do even half the calculations and prepwork we have to do to every day to make sure the sun rises and sets and lights all the places it should, your hair would curl…which might not be a bad look on you, now that I think about it.”
“Uh-huh.” Luna said. “Look, Celestia, we can talk about your courseload and catch up later while we curl each other’s manes, but right now I need you to-”
“Ooh…where am I?” The nameless stallion on the table groaned suddenly, stirring from his slumber and sending the punchbowl on his head clattering to the kitchen floor.
“Looks like somepony is finally coming around.” Celestia said.
“Nngh…is this…am I in Salt Lick City?” The stallion asked, sitting up and looking around.
“Why would you be in Salt Lick City?” Celestia said, pouring another mug of coffee and passing it across the table to the ailing stallion.
“Long story.” The stallion mumbled, glancing across the table at Luna. “Have…have we met before?”
“N-no, I don’t think so.” Luna said, shifting uncomfortably under the stallion’s gaze.
“You look…really familiar.” The stallion said.
“Is he an ex-boyfriend you never told me about, Luna?” Celestia teased.
“Shut up!” Luna hissed, turning red. “I’ve never seen this colt before in my life!”
“Wait…wait, you’re…you’re the one who tackled that kid at the Canterlot Mall!” The stallion laughed.
“I-I’m sorry, sir, I-I think you’re mistaking me for somepony else.” Luna said, trying to sink into her kitchen chair.
“No, that was definitely you!” The stallion said. “My roommate’s cousin was the guy in the suit! You actually thought Cerberus was loose in the Canterlot Mall!”
“It…it was a very convincing costume.” Luna mumbled sheepishly. "I didn't have my contacts in at the time so it was kind of hard to see..."
“Oh my gods…you’re Loony Luna!” The stallion laughed. Luna winced at her least favorite nickname that had haunted her ever since the Canterlot Mall incident had hit the press. As somepony who hated the limelight in the best of circumstances, Luna locked herself in her dorm room until the tabloids with her arrest photo stopped circulating around campus.
“Oh man, wait til the bronies back at Kappa Theta Phi hear about this!” The stallion laughed, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Let me get a picture really quick; the guys need proof that I found Loony Luna in the flesh!”
The stallion snapped picture after picture of Luna rendered mute by mortification. She shot her sister a pleading look and Celestia made her way over to the kitchen table.
“Excuse me.” Celestia said sweetly. “What was your name again?”
“Huh?” The stallion said. “Oh, I’m Frisbee Golf.”
“Uh huh.” Celestia said. “And that phone of yours, is it terribly expensive?”
“Tch, duh!” Frisbee Golf said, rolling his eyes. “It’s only the Gjallarhorn 5 Platinum Edition. They only made about five hundred of these babies before the factory they were built in closed due to "equestrian rights violations" or some stupid crap like that. But my dad knows a guy who totally hooked me up.”
“And it’s top of the line?” Celestia asked.
“Well, yeah.” Frisbee Golf said. “This puppy can hold more than five hundred gigabytes of data and record over one hundred hours of high def video. It’s got web surfing, unlimited data streaming, wireless connectivity, Monkey Ninja 5-”
“Ooh, sounds exciting.” Celestia said, feigning interest. “Do you think I could see it for a second?”
“Uh…” Frisbee Golf said, looking down at his phone with a look on his face like a father asked to give up his only foal. “Okay…”
“Wow, you weren’t kidding.” Celestia said, turning the phone over in her hooves. “This is top of the line.”
“Like I said, it’s the best phone on the market today.” Frisbee Golf bragged.
“And all these features!” Celestia squealed. “Camera, flash drive, music player…I bet it’s even waterproof too!”
“Uh, well, not really.” Frisbee Golf chuckled nervously.
“It isn’t?” Celestia said.
“No, actually the smallest bit of moisture completely fries the circuits.” Frisbee Golf said. "One of the design bugs they never worked out before the feds shut them down."
“So if you dropped it in, say, a cup of coffee it would be completely ruined beyond hope of repair?” Celestia asked innocently.
“Of course it would be, why do you-”
Before Frisbee Golf could finish his thought Celestia picked up her coffee cup and dunked the phone under the bubbling black brew as he looked on in horror.
“Oh, shoot, would you look at that.” Celestia said flatly as the phone sparked, spluttered and died.
“NO!” Frisbee Golf cried, fishing his ruined technology out of the coffee and cradling it in his hooves. “What the hell is your problem?!”
“My problem?!” Celestia laughed bitterly. “What the hell is your problem?! You pass out on my kitchen table, three sheets to the wind, and the first thing you do when you wake up is insult the first mare you see?! Who even does that?! You have the gall to make fun of my sister in my house. You have the nerve to take pictures of her like she’s a circus freak for your dudebronies to ogle at back at your frathouse and then you ask what my problem is?!”
“Listen you little-” Frisbee Golf snarled, rising from the table only to come up to the middle of Celestia’s neck at his full height. “You better…uh…y-you better-”
“Here’s the deal, dude.” Celestia said in a deceptively sweet voice as she looked down at the shorter stallion. “You’re either leaving this apartment through that door or out that window. Your call, broski, but if I were you I’d opt for the door; its two stories down either way but at least the door leads to some stairs. I figured that might be a more pleasant way to go, given your lack of wings.”
“Y-you can’t just talk to me like that!” Frisbee Golf said.
“Just did.” Celestia said. “I’ll do worse than just talk to you if you don’t get your lousy flank out of my apartment and out of my sight in the next ten seconds.”
Frisbee Golf started to say something nasty but quickly quailed under Celestia’s glare. He stumbled out the door mumbling dark curses under his breath and slammed it childishly behind him.
“Make sure he doesn’t come to any more of our parties, won’t you Ace?” Celestia said to her roommate as she stumbled past her on the way to her room. “I know the Party Ban List is long enough as it is but I really don’t want to see that smug mug darken my doorway ever again.”
“Mnn…kay.” Aerial Ace groaned, slumping into her room.
“Well, now that that’s over-” Celestia said, turning back to Luna.
“Hey, listen…about that-” Luna said.
“Don’t mention it.” Celestia said. “No greasy haired frat-brony washout gets to smack talk my baby sister without getting put in his place.”
“…thank you.” Luna said. She had forgotten how nice it felt to have somepony stick up for her.
“Anytime.” Celestia said, slicing her giant chocolate fruit pancake in half and passing a slice to Luna drizzled in maple syrup. “Now, if I remember correctly you had something you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Right.” Luna said, fishing her notes out of her bag. “How much do you remember from your Classical Equestrian History class?”
“Considering it was more than two semesters ago and completely unrelated to my major?” Celestia said. “Nothing.”
“Seriously, Celestia?” Luna sighed. “Do you at least remember why we’re having that gigantic party tomorrow?”
“One thousand years of peaceful rule.” Celestia said. “Tomorrow marks Their Majesties’ coronation and the beginning of Equestrian history as we know it.”
“Yes, but before that the Princesses overthrew the tyrant Tirek.” Luna said, taking her book out and passing it across the table. “Tomorrow is the anniversary of the day Tirek was destroyed.”
“What’s this?” Celestia said, examining the book before her. “Is this a book of fairy tales?”
“Legends.” Luna insisted. “Fairy tales are stories mothers invent to scare their children; legends have foundations in actual history. Here, read this part.”
“Hm…blah blah blah…shadow of fear…blah blah blah…clever unicorn…blah blah blah…Elements of Harmony…” Celestia finished reading the passage and looked back up at Luna. “Okay, what’s the problem?”
“What’s the problem?!” Luna spluttered incredulously. “Did you even read it?! "For one thousand years he vowed to wait, biding his time in his underground prison. On the longest day of the thousandth year, he would return to reclaim the land stolen from him by the clever unicorn and her friends!”
“And?” Celestia said.
“And tomorrow is the longest day of the thousandth year!” Luna said. “Don’t you see what this means?!”
“Oh my gods, I think I do.” Celestia gasped. “It means that…you woke me up at six in the morning over a freaking fairy tale!”
“Exactly!” Luna said. “We need to act fast before...wait, what?”
Celestia slumped back over to the couch, flopping down on the cushions and pulled a blanket over her head.
“Celestia!” Luna said, running over to her sister.
“Going back to sleep now.” Celestia said, closing her eyes. “Come back when you’re not talking crazy.”
“I’m not 'talking crazy', Celestia, I’m completely serious!” Luna said.
“Are you?!” Celestia said. “Because the way you’re talking, it sounds like Pinkie Day came early this year and you’re trying-and failing-to prank me!”
“Okay, two things.” Luna said. “Number one; when have I ever been one to celebrate Princess Pinkamena’s favorite holiday?”
“I don’t know, maybe you grew a sense of humor in the time since I’ve seen you last.” Celestia said. "Stranger things have happened."
“Number Two,” Luna said, barreling on. “I’m not just basing this on a legend; I have actual proof something big is happening! We’ve got monster sightings all over Equestria! Earthquakes under Canterlot are stronger and happening more often! Thunder and windstorms are tearing across-”
“Did you sleep at all last night?” Celestia said suddenly, squinting at her sister’s bloodshot eyes.
“Oh heavens, Celestia, is that really important right-”
“When was the last time you got any sleep?” Celestia said, sitting up to look at Luna.
“I get my sleep.” Luna said, yawning in spite of herself. “I was just...up late last night reading, that’s all.”
“Are you still having those nightmares?” Celestia asked. “You promised me that you were going to talk to Princess Twilight if they didn't stop!”
“I'm not having nightmares anymore!” Luna lied. “I was just doing some late night reading and had a hunch about this Tirek business and I wanted to follow up on it.”
“A hunch?” Celestia asked. “You want to go to Princess Twilight with a hunch? On the evening of the Millennial Celebration when literally every single important pony, gryphon, dragon and seapony are scrambling over each other for a minute of her time, you want her to indulge a hunch based on a fairy tale and born out of sleep deprivation?”
“It’s not just a hunch anymore and it’s not based on a fairy tale!” Luna said firmly. “I can prove it! I know I can! I just need to find Princess Twilight and get two minutes of her time!”
“So what do you need me for?” Celestia said. “Why don’t you just go to Princess Twilight and talk to her?”
“I tried.” Luna said. “She wasn’t in.”
“Shocker.” Celestia said flatly. “The busiest pony in Equestria has a full schedule on the eve of a nationwide gala honoring her and her friends. Do you know when she’ll be back?”
“She’s all over the place today.” Luna said. “Blinking between a hundred different locations getting her party plans in order. Shining Armor said she wouldn’t be back until tomorrow and it might be too late by then!”
“So you want me to help you track her down?” Celestia said. “Canvas the city from the skies?”
“No…not yet anyway.” Luna said. “That was my original plan but after talking to you and Shining Armor I’ve come to the conclusion that I may not be as…credible as I think I am. I need somepony to back me and my story up.”
“And that’s me?” Celestia said. “Why?”
“You’re popular.” Luna said. “You’re well liked and sociable in a way that I’m just…not. And I could use a little of that likability when I present my theory to the others.”
“The others?” Celestia said. “What others…oh.”
“Princess Twilight can write me off easily enough and it’s not like I haven’t given her reason to doubt me in the past. But if I can get just one other princess to listen to me and talk to Princess Twilight with me-”
“Then you stand a better chance of convincing Princess Twilight to listen to you.” Celestia finished. “That's not a bad idea but I still don't know what good I'll be to you."
“You know the other princesses!” Luna said.
“I’ve met the other princesses a couple of times.” Celestia corrected. “We’re hardly poker buddies...although I did play cards with Princess Applejack at a party in Trottingham once.”
“That’s better than I know them then!” Luna chuckled. “You can at least break the ice when I go to talk to them; you can help me convince them to go to Princess Twilight with me!”
“How am I supposed to do that?” Celestia said. “I’m not sure if I believe you yet.”
“I know it’s out there.” Luna said. “And it sounds completely crazy...but I’m right, Celestia, I know I am. Tirek is coming back tomorrow night and gods help us all if we’re not ready for him.”
“And if you’re wrong?” Celestia said.
“I’m not.” Luna said firmly.
“But if you are then-” Celestia said.
“Then we’ll spoil a party.” Luna said.
“The biggest party in the history of Equestria.” Celestia corrected. “A celebration one thousand years in the making will get ruined for nothing and-”
“And the guards do a little extra work.” Luna said. “I think I’ll take that chance.”
“It's not just that;you do realize you’re also running the risk of Princess Twilight never believing another word you say?” Celestia said. “Your line of credit with your mentor is dangerously close to running out.”
“You’re exaggerating, Celestia.” Luna said. “There hasn't been that many-”
“June 11, RY998.” Celestia rattled off. “You overheard a researcher at the chemistry lab saying that he had a “big kaboom” planned for Princess Applejack’s 1026th birthday celebration. You scrambled the city watch, the Royal Dragoons, the Dusk Patrol and the Green Marines and locked the campus down for half the day.”
“I thought there was going to be an assassination attempt!” Luna said.
“And was there?” Celestia asked.
“N-no.” Luna said, sheepishly.
“What were they doing?” Celestia said.
“They…they were developing a new kind of firework to show off at the party.” Luna admitted. “But that was-”
“March 18th, RY998.” Celestia continued. “The Seapony Condense arrives in Canterlot to solidify a trade agreement between the kingdoms of Equestria and Alternia. As per sacred seapony tradition, Her Imperial Condensation bakes Their Highnesses an extravagant cake to sanctify their new treaty. Everypony would have eaten it and concluded the deal…if you hadn’t dropped down from the rafters and splattered the cake all over everyone in the conference room.”
“Okay, that was a little crazy, but in my defense, one of the Condense’s guards made a pretty sketchy remark about how Princess Twilight was “really going to enjoy the special ingredient." I thought the special ingredient was some kind of poison!” Luna insisted.
“And was the cake poisoned?” Celestia said.
“N-no.” Luna said.
“What was the special ingredient?” Celestia said.
“C-cream custard.” Luna mumbled.
“Cream custard.” Celestia said. “There would have been a diplomatic incident if you weren’t so covered in cake that Princess Twilight could pass you off as a giant raccoon that accidentally scampered in through the ventilation shaft.”
“N-not one of my finer moments, I’ll admit.” Luna chuckled nervously. “But it’s not like I do this kind of thing every-”
“And lest we forget the Great Banana Stand Incident last summer when you-”
“You swore you would never speak of that again!” Luna cried, blushing furiously.
“I’m still picking walnuts out of my bathing suits!” Celestia said. “The beach has completely banned the sale of frozen bananas within a two mile radius! Sales of Mr. Bananagrabber merchandise plummeted to the point where the company who made them went out of business! And that's not even counting what happened to Aerial Ace!"
"What happened to Aerial Ace?" Luna asked.
"Hey Ace!" Celestia called.
The door across from the kitchen opened and Celestia’s beleaguered roommate stuck her head out. “Yeah, Tia?”
“Bananas.” Celestia said simply.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!” Aerial Ace dashed out the front door as fast as she could, flying down the block screaming bloody murder
“So…she still does that?” Luna said.
“Ever since last summer.” Celestia said, eyes glazing over as she was lost in memory. "I...I never knew a frozen banana could do that to a person..."
“Okay, okay, you made your point!” Luna said. “I understand what little credibility I have left is on the line here but…I have to risk it. This is too important not to.”
“How noble; my little sister willing to risk being a social pariah to stand up for her beliefs.” Celestia swooned.
“I’m already a social pariah.” Luna chuckled. “I’ve got nothing to lose.”
“Alright.” Celestia said. "If you're really committed to seeing this through...I'll help you out."
“Really?!” Luna said.
“You’re going to do this whether I join you or not, aren’t you?” Celestia said. “I might as well come along to make sure you don’t assault any more teenagers.”
“One time that happened!” Luna cried. “And hopefully, with your help, we can get this nasty business sorted out before things go sour.”
“If you’re sure then.” Celestia sighed.
“I’m sure.” Luna said.
“I just hope you know what you’re doing.” Celestia said, retreating to her room for a moment to return dressed in sweatpants and her volleyball hoodie. “I don’t want to waste any of Their Highnesses’ time.”
“Afraid people are going to start calling you ‘loony’ as well?” Luna teased. “Worried that your reputation is going to take a hit just by associating with me?”
“Hey, don’t knock my reputation; it’s what’s getting you your little sitdown with the princesses.” Celestia said.
“I know…thanks for sticking up for me, Celestia.” Luna said.
“What are big sisters for?” Celestia said with a wink. “You owe me one though; you’re coming to my Millennial Anniversary Party tomorrow night.”
“O-oh…okay.” Luna said.
“Come on, it’ll be fun!” Celestia said. “We can play a few games, have a few drinks, hit on some good looking ponies together.”
“Celestia!” Luna gasped.
“Oh I’m sure we can find somepony small and bookish to seduce you with talk of old bearded wizards and those romantic fantasy novels you pretend not to read.” Celestia ribbed.
“Celestia!” Luna blushed.
“Alright, alright, keep your shirt on.” Celestia laughed. “So…where do we start?”
this story sounds great.... want more.
I want to know the entirety of the Banana stand incident, please
now i feel bad for using "broski" unironically
Oh wow, this chapter is amazing and I really love how you've got their personalities; Celestia's got a really cool "popular chick with brains and heart" vibe going on. And Luna really seems like what Twilight would have been like if we had been given more of her backstory in Canterlot in the pilot episodes, which I love a lot. Seriously it's just so good wow man dude and that "brony = dudebro" thing is beautiful.
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This is probably going to remain a Noodle Incident. As it should.
I know, but there is no harm in asking
Pegasi in charge of the rising of celestial bodies?
Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah not sure how you're going to jump through that hoop, but on a scale of 1-10, I'd say it'd be somewhere around <1. So no biggie.
No real gripes about grammar, and I'm rather liking your characterizations of the sisters; Luna's freakin' adorable!
What I'm curious about is how you're going to connect the two plot-lines you've got going. From where I stand, both could stand on their own as a reasonably good story. But, for better or for worse, this is your story, you've hooked me, and that's all that really needs to be said
I guess.
Here's looking forward to the next chapter!
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Which two plotlines?
All of this is good, but I have to admit that I particularly liked
Hmmmm...
I'm really loving this, great writing and dialogue.
That Celestia was very nice, at first I tought you were going to portray her too much as a party animal, but really we see a very tridimensional character here. That is great, and she really feels like our dear princess.
Luna is cute, and I love her being over the top in her own way, but I feel that she still needs some part of her to be a bit more like Princess Luna besides that. Maybe she is not afraid of darkness nor your usual scary stuff?
About pegasi rising the sun... maybe you shouldn't go there because it really brakes the balance of the pony races What if what pegasi do is control how bright the sun is, and can control its light and how it reaches Equestria, just saying.
Also, phones? I'm going to assume that this AU Equestria is more technologically advanced that canon Equestria, yes?
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Ah, those would be the dreams of what you could call the "Mane" universe with Nightmare Moon and the whole "ancient enemy is going to return, mobilize the Elements of Harmony".
Most likely, it's just me reading it wrong, but I'm not exactly sure how the two'll be able to successfuly mesh.
Not that I'm saying it's a bad thing, believe me. I suppose I'm just curious about how both of these will fit together.
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Ah, that.
The main universe is only manifesting itself in Luna's dreams for a reason. I don't want to give away too much but the main universe and this universe are going to intersect in larger ways
This is looking good, I wonder if Princess Applejack's castle is in the middle of a vast apple orchard?
Very nice! I especially liked... pretty much every single line of Celestia's.
Cannot wait for the next chapter.
I would also love to go to one of Celestia's parties.
10000 word prologue? Sign me the Fuck up!
I think Celestia should definitely be the Party Girl. It works, and her and Luna's personalities make a nice contrast.
2588575 Might be due to having Twily as their High Princess.
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The pegasi control the sun, true, but it's strictly overseen by the Departments of Weather, Nature, and Agriculture and no individual pegasus can manage it alone. It's a very precise artform that requires intense calculations. The slightest miscalculation could roast half the world while freezing the other so any whiff of unauthorized solar manipulation brings the Chair of the Department of Weather down like a (literal) thunderbolt on the offender.
Technology is more advanced in this setting because Pinkie Pie. Given her love of gadgets and gizmos, she invests in new technology and encourages non-magical technical advancements wherever she can. There's still a bit of Earth Pony pride in her and she likes to see what ponies can do without wings or magic to help them.
Luna is going to develop more as I get her into her element. Right now, she's reacting to a lot so she's in over the top business mode. Once things slow down a little bit I hope to bring a little more of her to the forefront. I tried to slip in the bit about her enjoying sci-fi and fantasy (a trait she shares with one of her future teammates) and she's generally more imaginative than Celestia (which leads to her overreacting)
But, I shouldn't be telling you this; I should be showing you!
Interesting idea, I'll tell you the same thing i told the other guy,
Although I'm not in a reading mood right now, i will get around to reading yours, and hay, if i like it I'll drop a like and a favourite, if i love it then your going to be seeing quite alot. If i dont like it... well it isn't time wasted when it is reading anything Non-clop
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Fair enough
2593836 yeah, it's a bit odd though. for some reason I'm just not up for reading, usually around this time (2:22 am) i'm plowing through a 400k pluser but right now i dont think i could read even your story.... oh well i will just have to wait till tomorrow, i have full faith that i will like it though
I really, really, like the concept of this story. Never thought I'd like fanfics that have the roles of the main characters reversed.
You have definitely continued the strong start from your first chapter, and also rid yourself of the plague of typos (I noticed ~5 in the last chapter, and none here). There are a lot of small things I liked about this chapter. There's the title, the "Rainbows and Sunshine" line, and the part where Celestia towers over the brony who was trying to intimidate her.
My most silly nitpick is with Celestia. I can believe that this talking pegasus in a world of magical ponies is a star athlete, a hard-core partier, and also taking serious classes, but not that she ALSO hangs out with royalty/nobility on a regular basis. Yeah, it sounds silly, but that's what did it for me. However, its not such an important story detail, and if anypony would overachieve like that, I would expect it to be Celestia.
Besides that I really like how you portrayed Celestia. She seems smart and competent and has some killer lines like "leaving through the window or the door". I got a strong sense of character from her when she sprung to Luna's defense, and line right after that, "She had forgotten how nice it felt to have somepony stick up for her", was worth its weight in gold. If you are going for the standard trope of Lead Pony Assembles Five Friends To Be The Elements Of Harmony, then I would have Celestia pegged as the element of Loyalty for that.
My opinions on Luna are far more mixed. You tell us a bunch of things she did, such as the overreactions, and you tell us some kind of choices she makes, like not getting drunk. But its basically all telling, not showing (you may find this useful). It might be helpful to contrast with Celestia at this point. We see that Celestia likes to get drunk by wading through her trashed room. We see that she is competent and protective with the way she handles the brony. We can see that she has concern for Luna when she asks about her sleeping and having nightmares. In contrast, you simply tell us that Luna did X, Y, and Z. Referring to past events is halfway to showing, but you should let the reader understand why these things happened these ways. For instance, we see that Luna freaks out at the slightest danger to Princess Twilight, and there has to be some important motivation behind that. If someone behaves that predictably even after it turns out disastrously, they must have a reason for doing so, even if they don't realize it. But you don't let us see that reason. Does Luna secretly love Twilight? Is Twilight like a mother figure for her? If you let us us glimpse that reason (and it should only be a glimpse), we can understand part of her character. Also, if they have reasons they aren't admitting to themselves, that's a place for character growth.
I'm not bringing up these flaws because I hate your story. To the contrary, I only mention them because there are so many things that are already great about this story, and I want it to be even better! I eagerly await chapter 3!
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Thanks for your feedback! I definitely agree that I could be doing a better job of characterizing Luna and I hope to incorporate some more of her characterization in the next chapter. I've struggled with balancing character development with plot advancement because we're still in prologue territory and we need to get the ball rolling. At the same time, I agree that building Luna as a character is important to make people care about her. So I'm definitely taking your words to heart as I go forward with this story!
Me? i prefer to sit outside the window with a video camera
Dammit murphy! Why you always have to ruin everything!!!!!
Also i hath passed my judgement and clicked that little star button and the little thumb button, up ofc.
Now to do what ive been doing to other stories for as long as i have been registered....
Wait...
Also, I WAS THE 100th LIKE :O WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN
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CONGRATULATIONS
You win a creepy dancing gif
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i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/5730537216/h9059C17A/
Okay, this is a very interesting start.
Assuming that we're going to be getting a "Mane Six" in this universe and not completing the reversal by just having the "Mane Sisters", I'm rather curious who the other four might be. Cadance is a fairly safe bet, but then we run out of Princesses. Hmm.
I wouldn't worry too much about the "hows" of pegasi sun-raising unless you plan to show it onscreen. I'm reasonably certain that if the actual show ever wanted to do that, they'd just animate the pegasi flying up and pushing the sun around. :)
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2597806
We run out of princesses...but not royalty
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Hmm. True, but the other royalty is kind of hard to imagine wielding Elements. I mean, Blueblood!
...well, ok, Sombra is kind of difficult too.
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The original Bearers of the Elements of Harmony
Magic Princess Celestia
Loyalty Princess Luna
Kindness Princess Cadance
Laughter Discord
Honesty Queen Chrysalis
Generousity King Sombra
Just my headcanon. Read how that all works here.
'Spooky' Luna? I approve.
I really like your writing for this. Looking forward to seeing more of the former princesses in the coming chapters.
What makes me curious, is if any of the ascended six will be tagging along with Loony, or if she's stuck with a team of mundanes.
Take a fave and a thumb.
I'm really, really liking this version of Celestia!
And Luna, too, with all of her social awkwardness and tendency towards paranoid overreaction.
Rereading this chapter with the prologue in mind, I wondered if Luna's dreams didn't play a role in her isolating herself from Celestia. Especially if she'd dreamed about hurting Celestia before.
I don't think that's the case, though, since this chapter emphasizes their personality conflicts and what seems to be some jealousy on Luna's part, and if I recall correctly the narration in the prologue didn't address Luna's thoughts about the contents of her dreams. Made it seem like she was more upset that they were scary and she couldn't stop them, not what specifically happens, and she dwelled on the banishment dreams more than the fight dream.
I really like the relationship between the sisters. It's very solid and loving, but I can see how a stressful situation that sets their differences against each other could bring out the worst in both of them and lead to prolonged argument and Nightmare Moon.
And that phone of yours is it terribly expensive?
you need a comma in there
“I thought you were double majoring in Rainbows and Sunshine.”
that made my day. Thanks.
In Luna's defense, it really does seem that events conspire to regularly give her the justified impression of impending assassination.
... I like that sentence. It has a good rhythm to it.
Hmmmmm. Based off of character tags I am going to put my guess in for
Luna=Magic
Celestia=Laughter
Cadance=Kindness
Shining=Loyalty(Come on, you all know canon Shiny is perfect for this one)
Sombra=Generosity
and a wild swing at our mysterious #6...
Chrysalis=Honesty. Because Irony.
Also. The sunshine and rainbows gag. Oh my god so funny.
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you're right, Chrysalis being honesty is VERY ironic