It would be trite to start things with a sunrise over Canterlot, wouldn't it? Forgive me if I am tempted to sucuumb to one of the pitfalls that befall many a writer. It is ironic that this starts off not with a sunrise, but rather the lack of one. I am nocturnal by nature and was ready to go to be-

Okay, buck this.

I'm Princess Luna and sis has lost it.

She was supposed to raise the sun an hour ago and she hadn't and I was pissed off. I wanted to go to bed! I needed my beauty sleep!

I shoved my doors open with as much magical energy as I could muster, sending a gust of wind down the hall to where Celestia's room was. I took several steps out before I heard the sound of groaning.

"Nocturne! Apollo!" I shrieked.

I closed the great stone doors. My pegasus guards had been sandwiched between the walls and the doors. They were nearly impossible to tell apart. Their eyes rolled around in the head rather comically and their heads lolled about as they struggled to regain coordination.

I grabbed them in my hooves and held them, cooing. "Are you alright? Speak to me!" I shook them some more.

"We're o-okay, P-Princess," Nocturne stammered first, his voice mellow and low.

"Just give us a w-warning next time, please?" Apollo pleaded with a rasp. "And could you let us go?"

"Oh, goodness!" I dropped them immediately. "I'm so sorry!"

They fell to the floor with painful thuds, groaning.

"I'm sorry!"

"It's cool," Nocturne said.

I sighed. "Why hasn't sister risen the sun yet?"

I left my guards to their own devices, stomping my way towards the opposite end of the hall, trying to make as much noise as I could. Halfway through it was then I heard a horrible scream coming from her room.

"Sister!"

I wasted no time in bursting through her doors, faster than even her guards. I quickly scanned the room, looking for any threats or intruders.

"Celestia, are you alri-"

There she was, in all of her glory, standing without any of her regalia on at her vanity, squealing again while bouncing on her hooves. This was incredibly odd.

"Sis...ter?"

"I'm Princess Celestia!" she declared with a gasp.

I frowned. "Yes...you are?"

She turned around and faced me, and I swear her face lit up like the sun itself. She screamed again and in the blink of an eye, had me in her clutches, trying to crush the air out of my lungs.

"Princess Luna! Eeeeee!"

That should have been the first indicator that there was something wrong. 'Tia never called me Princess. We were sisters! There were so many things wrong with this. She was screaming, squealing for goodness' sake! She was naked, and hugging me and ugh! But alas, I did not heed these warnings and - I'm doing it again, aren't I?

"It's you, it's you, I can't believe it's you, Luna!"

"Sister," I gasped, feeling rather sorry for my guards who I had nearly strangled a few moments earlier. "I am glad that you are well, but perhaps could you release me?"

I was dropped unceremoniously on the carpet. "Oof!" I'd have to apologize to Nocturne and Apollo later.

"My bad, sis!"

Even as she said these words, I wanted to laugh. They sounded so juvenile coming from her, and it was such a polar contrast to her smooth, gentle, matronly voice that won the hearts and minds of our subjects.

Still, Celestia helped me up and I dusted myself off with a harrumph.

"You're supposed to be raising the sun right about now, 'Tia," I hissed menacingly.

Her eyes bulged and for a moment, I thought she had gone back to normal. "Oh no!"

"Oh yes!" I growled. "You're late! Now raise the sun so that I can go to bed!" I stomped a hoof for emphasis rather foalishly.

She cantered over to her balcony and pushed the doors open, gazing at the Canterlot skyline for a second.

"I forgot."

I sputtered. "You what?"

She shrugged. "I forgot how to raise the sun."

I stared at her. "Are you alright, sister?"

"Hay yeah! Cool as a cucumber!"

That did little to quell my worries.

Her fuschia eyes, sparkling and brimming with renewed life, suddenly lit up with understanding. "Wait, I get it!" She clopped her hooves together and ran over to the edge of her balcony, horn glowing.

I screamed. "Wait! Don't raise the sun yet! I still have to-"

The celestial body shot up into the sky, lacking finesse and grace, colliding with my moon and sending it to the opposite pole with a great collision that shook the earth.

"-lower the moon."

"I did it! Yay!" Celestia cheered, skipping around in a circle.

Yay?

Her guards scratched their heads. With a glare that struck fear into their hearts, they disappeared in the blink of an eye as I slammed the doors behind them. I trotted over to Celestia and gazed at her with my head cocked.

"Sister, are you sure you're alright?"

"Oh, absolutely!"

She had a smile bigger than Twilight Sparkle's pink pony party friend from Ponyville that stretched from ear to ear. She could barely contain a giggle as she hugged me again, nuzzling me. I was taken aback, but accepted her affections and hugged her back. It had been so long since the last time she had hugged me. I heard her whisper,

"If this is a dream, I hope I'll never wake up."

---

And so the day began. Which meant I was supposed to be asleep. That was how it worked. But today was going to be different. I needed to keep an eye on her. It was clear all her faculties weren't in place. She had forgotten to raise the sun!

As I put on my royal regalia, I could hear Celestia's voice carrying from her shower. It was faint, but clear. She was singing, neigh, belting out Sapphire Shores!

"E-ques-tria girls, we're kinda ma-gi-cal! Boots on hooves, bikinis on top!"

Not to say that she wasn't a good singer...

...but she couldn't sing for her life.

I knocked on her bedroom door and let myself in before I was treated to the sight of her standing in the doorway of her bathroom.

Things couldn't get any worse.

"Celestia!" I shrieked. "What happened to your mane?"

Indeed, things had gotten worse.

She was soaking wet and dripping.

"Have you seen the bathtub? It's Olympic sized!" she cackled, whipping her mane around, sending droplets of water everywhere.

"Did you go for a bath or a swim?"

"Both!"

"What in Equestria happened to your mane?"

"Oh! Isn't it sick?"

"Your mane looks healthy as ever, sister!" I exclaimed in shock. "Are you ill?"

"Nah, nah! It's awesome!"

"It is good that your mane is diseased?"

'Tia snorted and burst into laughter. She snorted. It was unbecoming. Indeed, it was pretty. But it was no longer undulating, as our manes usually did! Instead, her tri-colored pastel-colored mane had become, well, mortal, in a sense. No longer did it billow in the ethereal wind, but rather fell over her face and neck in silky strands.

"But why did you change your mane?"

"So I can do this!"

She spread her hooves out and began to shake and bob her head manically, her mane following suit.

"I whip my hair back and forth, I whip my hair back and forth!"

"Ack!" I spat, tasting her shampoo. "Sister, stop! You're being silly!"

She grabbed a scrunchie from her vanity and tied her mane, waving it in my face.

"What?"

"It's a ponytail!" she grinned.

"And?"

"I have two ponytails! Get it? Hah!"

"You are truly something."

"Let's go," she giggled, trotting out the door after toweling herself off.

"'Tia, aren't you forgetting something?" I coughed.

She put a hoof to her chin and thought. "Mmm, nah."

"Your regalia, sister!" I snapped, levitating her crown, boots, and crest over. "It's like I'm the older sister!"

"Who needs 'em?" Celestia whisked them away, tossing them carelessly on her bed. "Let's go and see Canterlot!"

This was impulsive. This was ridiculous. This was wrong.

My eyes bulged, enraged. "You want to go sightseeing? Why in Equestria would you want to go sightseeing? You're Princess Celestia, you have responsibilities!"

"Such as?"

"Raising the sun!"

"Ahem." She gestured outside her window, where the sun was hanging, shining over Equestria. The proud smirk on her face was insufferable.

"The royal court!" I nearly shouted. "It is imperative-"

"I had no idea you used such big words."

"'Imperative' is sophisticated vocabulary?"

She skipped along on her merry way while I gritted my teeth in frustration.

Sister did not skip. Ever.

---

She was like a foal. Celestia was running all over the place in the most undignified manner, studying paintings and vases and stained glass windows that she had walked by every single day of her life as if she had never seen them before. By now I was sure she was going senile. 'Tia needed some breakfast. Yes, that was the problem.

Already many of the castle servants were giving sister strange looks, as if she was naked, and in a sense, she was! She almost looked like a commoner herself, if she had not had both wings and a horn. To make matters worse, she was still singing.

"My little pon-y, my little pon-y..."

Where had she learned that song?

"Sister, we are here."

"Ooh! Breakfast, I'm starving!"

The kitchen was state-of-the-art, with only the finest ingredients and equipment and chefs to prepare us our meals.

"The usual, Princess Luna?" the master chef asked.

"Of course."

"And what may I get for you today, Princess Celestia?"

"Mmm, how about a banana?"

The chef's face fell. He tried to keep the scorn out of his voice. "A banana, Princess?"

"No need to grab it, I've got it."

Celestia levitated a banana from a fruit bowel meant for the servants and took a bite. "I think I'm getting the hang of this."

"Hang of what?" I asked.

"Oh, nothing, never mind."

It seemed Celestia was absentminded as well. She couldn't stop grabbing things at the table, levitating them and setting them down.

"Sister!"

"What?" Celestia laughed as she hung a spoon on her nose and chin.

"What is the matter with you? Not only is that rude, it is very foalish!"

For the first time, I saw her deflate slightly.

"Sorry," she mumbled, and continued munching on her banana.

I had never snapped at her like that. Maybe because she wasn't always this...irritating. I continued to munch on my salad.

She said quietly, "I really like your mane."

I blinked. "Thank you?"

"But it was so much prettier back then."

I blushed. "No it wasn't. It was immature."

"No it wasn't!" she insisted. "It was cute. You should change it back."

"I worked for weeks trying to get like this, sister."

Celestia pouted.

I sighed. "But if it makes you happy..."

With a flash of magic, my hair was short and cropped once again. It felt strange having strands get in my face. I blew the offending blue locks away. Celestia squealed and hugged me, petting my mane.

"I love it!"

"I'm glad, sister," I said with a hint of sarcasm.

---

So she was a little touchy-feely. I certainly didn't mind the nuzzles or hugs. They were a warm welcome, much warmer than the one she had given me after I had been released from the curse of Nightmare Moon. She did her best to accommodate me and help me transition back into society (barring the Nightmare Night incident, which I would never forgive her for). But now I felt...close to her. Perhaps not as close as before. But it was nice.

I felt her drape her wing over my back and pull me closer. Celestia grinned and pulled me along, trying to get me to skip along.

She was certainly more animated than before. 'Tia was practically bouncing all over the place. She couldn't keep her head still.

We were getting strange looks from everypony, already beginning to whisper and murmur. I looked to Celestia, who knew better than anypony how to deal with ponies. She didn't even seem to care! It was as if she wasn't even concerned for her public image.

"Wow, the floor is really slippery here," she noted.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, sister. Which is why I insisted you wear your boots." I continued trotting along when I realized she wasn't by my side.

"Wheeeee!"

---

"Now will you listen to me?"

"Nope!"

I groaned. "'Tia, act your age!"

"How old am I again?"

"Ugh! You!" I turned to the doctor. "Is she going to be alright?"

"She vill make a full recovery. Don't worry, Princess Luna!"

"I just slipped!" 'Tia muttered. "You should've seen everybo - pony's faces when I hit the wall! It was like the world was ending or something!"

"I'm worried more about her mental health than anything, doctor," I whispered.

I glanced over at Celestia, who was currently making faces in the mirror. She pouted her lips and fluttered her eyes and began to snort something about ducks.

"I must admit, this is highly erratic behavior for ze princess, if what you tell me is true." He shrugged. "It is probably nothing."

"She was singing today. Singing!" I hissed.

"And I must admit, she has a beautiful voice!"

Was this pony tone deaf?

I sighed. "If nothing can be done."

"It is probably a phase."

"Are you saying I should indulge her?"

"It would not be detrimental. She has been working hard as of late. Perhaps this is a sign she needs some time off."

I mused over that for a bit. 'Tia had seemed stressed lately. Maybe this was her way of unwinding in a more...creative manner.