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Overcoming The Day

by Spacecowboy

Chapter 1: Prologue

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Celestia’s sun announced the dawn of a new day all across Equestria. In the small town of Ponyville many of its inhabitants were already awake while others were beginning to stir as the warm, golden rays of the sun roused them. The sounds of the market setting up mingled with the various cries of the birds and nature, creating a mixed ambiance that brought the promise of another wonderful day.

However, the inhabitants of the Golden Oaks Library were still all soundly asleep, the sun failing to pierce the thick foliage of the odd structure. On the first floor the occasional snore broke the silence as Spike lay on the couch. Scattered on the ground around him were the last of the books that had yet to be sorted back to their proper places on the shelves after Twilight had violently blown them all to the floor with her impromptu teleport home.

Upstairs, Twilight and Luna lay resting in a small bed, their forms barely fitting onto the surface. Luna’s wing lay protectively draped over Twilight as if to physical safeguard her from a restless night, although the exhaustion incurred from the prior day’s revelations was more than enough to ensure Twilight a dreamless night of sleep.

On the nightstand next to the bed lay an ornate necklace, its attachment containing that of a crescent moon overlaying the sun, both overlooking a valley landscape. This particular pendant had been given to Twilight by her birth-mother, Celestia, just yesterday. It was particularly important, as it contained the anchors for Twilight’s Earth and Pegasus pony magics that had been removed from her at birth by Celestia. Given time, the anchors would reestablish themselves within Twilight, granting her the form she had upon birth; that of an alicorn.

Luna’s nose twitched, a light snort escaping from her nostrils as her eyes cracked open. She could not help but smile at the still form of Twilight partially hidden by her wing as she held back a yawn. Carefully she extricated herself from her lover’s limbs, doing her best to keep from waking Twilight. She froze as Twilight muttered something underneath her breath, a nearly whining sound. Only once Luna was certain that she had not woken her did she finish getting out of bed.

In the absence of Luna’s presence, Twilight’s hooves found the sheet and wrapped around them, a gentle snort rising from her as Luna readied to teleport downstairs. She disappeared from the bedroom and appeared directly in the center of the target room, her nose seeking out the stash of ground coffee beans. Only once the water was set to boil did Luna’s thoughts stray to the conversation she had held with Celestia overnight via their dreams.

”Luna, thank you for coming,” Celestia hesitantly began, for once the all-powerful Princess of the Day unsure of what to truly say. “I was hoping that you would come with the beacon I sent out, however I was uncertain…”

“What, uncertain that I would want to come and talk to my sister after finding out that not only did you have a child in my absence, but that same child is the one pony closest to my heart besides you? Or that you kept it a secret from everypony using a geas of all things to ensure you could hide the truth? Both are quite despicable, regardless of your misguided reasons.” Luna retorted, a simmering anger underlying each and every word.

Celestia shrunk from the verbal onslaught, every syllable making Luna appear larger and larger. After her sister finished talking, she took a few moments to collect her thoughts, the silence all the answer Luna needed.

“See? You know that you were in the wrong here. Even offering up our old home and restoring it in some vain attempt to curb favor with your ‘daughter,’” Luna said the word mockingly, “comes completely short of what you should have done.” She paused, shaking her head and began pacing. “To think, you thought hiding your daughter and passing her off as a unicorn was a good idea. You always were one to bury yourself in self-pity and false guilt with complete disregard as to how it would affect those around you… I had hoped you had grown out of that during my exile, I suppose not.”

“Luna,” Celestia began, her eyes misty as they began to tear up, “I thought it was a good idea at the time, I never once said it was the right choice though… And then once you came back to me, I told myself that I would tell her soon, I truly did. You know that I care dearly for both of you… that will never change.”

Luna just sighed and walked over to Celestia as the tears began to freely fall, resting a hoof on her shoulder as some of the anger bled from her eyes. “Sister of mine… you hurt many quite dearly, and this time there is no ‘quick fix’ for you to use. There is no evil that needs vanquishing, no letter of a lesson learned to be sent off, nothing.” Luna gently wrapped her hooves around Celestia’s neck, allowing her sister to cry to her heart’s content.

“’Twould appear that you are at least aware of some of what you have done at least, this much is obvious. Oh, to think if your subjects could see you now, weeping, sniveling Princess Celestia…” Luna chuckled as a forehoof gently connected with her shoulder. “While I do not forgive you just yet, nor will I for some time, you are still my sister, even if by adoption.” Luna pulled back from their embrace, the anger now completely gone from her eyes as she fixed her gaze on Celestia.

“However, this is your mess, and it is entirely up to you on how to resolve it. I shall remain in Ponyville for the immediate future; I can easily perform my duties there as I could from Canterlot. I am sure that you can come up with a reasonable reason as to why I am there and not in Canterlot.”

Celestia dried her eyes, a faint, sad smile on her face. “Very well, Luna… thank you for coming to talk to me.” She stood up, dropping her forehoof back to the ground. “I’m sure that I can come up with some reason… Also, when you next see Cadance and Shining Armor, could you please pass along a message from me?” At Luna’s nod, she continued. “I would appreciate it if at some point they came to see me in Canterlot. I know that they might not want to, but it is somewhat important, and might help Twilight in the future.”

“Very well, Sister. I’ll ensure they at least hear it, beyond that I cannot make any promises.” Luna’s ears swiveled to the side, catching some unknown sound. “Now, I must return to my guard over Twilight’s dreams, I am afraid that without my supervision her sleep would be filled with nightmares on this night. Goodbye.” Without another word or glance, Luna turned around and began to fade from view as she walked away, leaving Celestia alone in her dream.

“Princess? What are you doing up so early? Where’s Twilight?” Luna was jolted from her recollection by Spike, who was wiping his eyes before stretching, arms wide to the sides as he entered the kitchen.

“Oh, good morning, Spike. Twilight is still in her bed, asleep. I thought it best she sleep as long as possible. As for myself, I am making some coffee; it truly is the only thing that has helped me get used to being up during my sister’s days.” Luna closed her eyes and deeply breathed in the aroma of the freshly brewing coffee as its smell filled the kitchen.

“Oh, cool. I can make breakfast for us if you want. I have a feeling Twilight will want some of my special pick-me-up pancakes!” he happily exclaimed, punctuating it with a small spin. Luna let out a quiet laugh at the sight, gently shaking her head.

“While I appreciate your offer, I can handle making some pancakes.” Luna paused, trying to recall the recipe. Spike stood there with his arms crossed, impatiently tapping the claws on his foot in sequence, making a quick drumming sound. “Well, on second thought, I could use your help preparing breakfast.” She grinned, scratching the back of her neck with a forehoof.

Spike let out a small chuckle as he moved towards one of the pantries. “No problem at all, Luna, let me show you how a pro does it!” Spike cheerfully quipped, head partway inside a cabinet as he began collecting the various ingredients and utensils needed to make and mix the batter. “I know that these will guarantee to pick Twilight up, no doubt about it.”

Luna watched in amazement as Spike moved around the kitchen at a fast clip, showing just why he was the resident master of that particular room. In no time at all he was quietly whistling away while stirring a thick batter, a pan ready to receive its bounty.

“That was most impressive, Spike. I bow to your expertise in the kitchen.” Luna offered a small mock bow, a wide smile plastered on her face. After Spike acknowledged her with a short, barking laugh, she continued speaking, “After breakfast, I have a favor for you, if you do not mind.”

Spike poured the first pancake of the batch onto the hot pan, eyes focused on the task at hand as he replied. “Sure, so long as it’s nothing too crazy…” he muttered something about the Cutie Mark Crusaders underneath his breath, eliciting a laugh from Luna.

“Nay, I simply ask that you track down Twilight’s friends and family and meet up with them. While Twilight may not want to see anypony, it is best that they be nearby to lend their support.” Luna paused a moment, recalling the message from Celestia. “Additionally, once you find them, could you please let Cadance and Shining Armor know that I would like to talk to them, privately?”

“Sure thing, I’ll go chase them down after breakfast. Anything for Twilight,” Spike calmly replied, his full attention still on the golden circles of deliciousness that were forming under his expert claws. “If you want to, you can go ahead and wake up Twilight, Princess. It shouldn’t be too much longer until breakfast is ready.”

Luna chuckled, pouring herself a cup of coffee and taking a quick sip of it before setting it down at the table. “Very well, we shall be down shortly.”

Spike quickly glanced at the retreating form of Luna as she disappeared from view before turning back to the pancakes. “Like I’d want to be the one to wake her up after yesterday…” he muttered, shuddering slightly before beginning to whistle as he went back to cooking.

Author's Notes:

Short chapter to mostly recap important events from the prequel here, that way those of you who are just joining me can get a solid grasp of what's going on. Got some of the next chapter already written, and all of it planned out. I hope that those of you who are rejoining me enjoy the continuation of this story after an 8 month break, and I hope those of you just joining me enjoy what I have planned.

Cheers, all.

Next Chapter: Chapter 1 Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 2 Minutes
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