There was something wrong with Celestia.

        Luna didn’t know what it was, and it bothered her immensely. Celestia would not talk about it, basically acting as if nothing were wrong at all. Any time Luna brought her behavior up, she seemed to dodge the question or change the topic. Luna had reports from the servants about her sister’s strange behavior, but rarely experienced it herself, as if Celestia were guarding herself more carefully when Luna was around.

        The first time Luna experienced Celestia’s odd behavior firsthoof was two weeks prior. Luna stepped out onto her balcony, which rested directly across from Celestia’s own, to raise the moon and bring about the stars for the night. Celestia had just dipped her namesake below the horizon for the evening and was turning to re-enter her chambers, not even bothering to offer a greeting to her sister. Luna, thinking Celestia had simply not seen her, called out to her sister.

        “Good evening, Tia!” she called, loud enough so she was sure Celestia would hear. Celestia didn’t even acknowledge the greeting, instead using her unicorn magic to slam the door to the balcony rather violently. Luna was confused by her sister’s behavior, but wrote it off as the product of a bad day. Luna would have to be sure to have the servants send up an extra special treat for the troubled princess. After setting the moon on its path through the night sky and filling the dark ocean of the night with its glittering inhabitants, Luna made her way to the kitchens for her breakfast.

        Luna pushed open the doors to the royal kitchens, allowing the scents of various dishes to wash over her. Her mouth began to water at the delicious smell, but she quickly snapped out of her stupor, finding it unbecoming of a princess to drool in front of her subjects. Princess Luna made her way through the maze of utensils and chef ponies, each bowing as she passed; Luna’s head tipped slightly in the direction of every pony who bowed, acknowledging the gesture as she had seen Celestia do. She was glad that these ponies no longer feared her as the dreaded Nightmare Moon, but instead embraced her as their princess. Luna quickly sought out the head chef, a young earth pony mare by the name of Fine Dining, whose cutie mark was of a fork, a spoon, and a knife, all covered in sparkles. The alicorn always preferred to deal directly with the pony in charge, so as to minimize any possible mess-ups.

        “Good evening, Princess Luna,” the pony said after a quick bow. “What can I get you for breakfast this evening?”

        “Good evening, Fine Dining. I think I shall like three eggs, over easy, some wheat toast with butter, and a pot of coffee, black. Also, I believe Princess Celestia has had a rather rough day, so it would be much appreciated if you would send up some treats for her, to put her in better spirits.”

        At the mention of Princess Celestia, all of the color seemed to drain from Fine Dining’s normally aqua colored coat.

        “What is wrong, my little pony?” Luna said, concern evident in her voice at Fine Dining’s sudden reaction. “Has something I said upset you?”

        Fine Dining seemed to regain her composure. “No, princess, it’s nothing you said. It’s just…” she trailed off.

        “Yes?” Luna questioned.

        “Well, you know Princess Celestia better than anypony, so you must have noticed how she’s been treating the serving staff lately,” Fine Dining said.

        Luna raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean by that?” she asked.

        Fine Dining scoffed. “You mean you haven’t noticed!?” she immediately cringed, regretting raising her voice to the princess, whose face had transformed into a scowl. She let out a small “sorry,” which seemed to placate the alicorn for the time being.

        “My sister and I do not spend as much time together as I would like,” she began, “due to our conflicting schedules, but no, I have not noticed anything abnormal about her behavior. How has she been treating the royal servers?” Fine Dining seemed reluctant to speak, but eventually began.

        “Well, it started a week ago when I sent Soup and Salad up to serve Princess Celestia her lunch. She wanted it brought up to her, which was a little strange, but hey, I’m just the cook. They came back with horror stories about the princess being rude and ungrateful and eventually refusing the meal altogether. Soup and Salad refused to serve her meal the next day, I told the numbskulls they were overreacting, but they still wouldn’t go, so I decided to send my best server, Parsley Garnish up to cater to the princess. When she came back, she was covered from head to hoof in tomato soup. Poor mare still hasn’t been able to wash it all out. Things like this keep happenin’ until I finally decide to go up to her room myself and serve the princess the most elaborate meal I could manage, sorta’ as a peace offering. I’m talkin’ seven courses, cooked to perfection, probably the best meal I have ever had the honor of preparing, and do you know what she does? Princess Celestia, without sayin’ a word, uses her magic to flip the serving table, all the food I made, and me right out the door. It took the entire cleaning staff six hours to clean up that mess.” When she got to the end of her tale, Fine Dining shed a single tear in memory of the great meal lost that day.

        Luna just sat, listening to the story with increasing distress. This did not sound like Celestia at all. If Celestia had been acting this strange for a week, how had Luna not noticed?

        We may not see each other as often as I would like, but that is no excuse. How could I not see that something is wrong with my own sister? What if it is serious? Oh, I feel so stupid! I must resolve to spend more time with Tia in the future.

“Um, princess, are you ok?” Fine Dining’s voice snapped Luna back to reality.

        “Yes, yes, I’m fine,” Luna replied. “I must ask: why did nopony approach me with concerns about Celestia?”

        Instantly, all the cooks within earshot looked down in embarrassment, including Fine Dining. It was her who broke the silence first.

        “Well, we didn’t want to somehow disrespect Princess Celestia or cause you distress, we just figured that you had noticed by now and were plannin’ on doing something about it.” Fine Dining looked as if she were preparing to be struck. It pained Luna to see her subjects so fearful of her, but she supposed some fear was always to be expected.

“Do not worry, my little ponies,” Luna began, smiling benevolently down at Fine Dining, “I am not upset with you, merely curious as to your motives. Please, next time anything appears to be wrong, with either of the princesses, with the castle, anything, please do not hesitate to bring it to our attention. Is that clear?”

A chorus of conformation rose from the group of ponies who were now listening to the princess.

“In addition, please do not concern yourself with the princess’s behavior. I will have a talk with her tomorrow morning at din-, er, breakfast. Please enjoy the rest of your evening.” With that, Luna turned and strode away, making her way back through the kitchen and to her chambers. Just as she reached the door, Fine Dining called out.

        “Princess Luna, wait, what about your breakfast?” But the ruler of the night was already gone.

(*)
(*)

        The royal dining room was a sight to behold. The windows lining the side of the room faced South, allowing sunlight in at all hours of the day without forcing the diners to squint in the direct rays of the sun. Sparkling silverware lined the dining table, which allowed seating for more than twenty ponies, should the occasion arise, but on this particular morning, there was only one pony seated at the table. Or rather, one alicorn.

        Princess Celestia was sitting on her royal cushion at the head of the table, levitating a coffee cup with her magic and sipping from it occasionally, and reading a book on modern Equestrian history, when her sister and fellow ruler entered from the far end. Princess Luna looked exhausted, as she always did after night court. There were never very many ponies there, but the few that did show up always seemed to have problems of a more…sinister nature than those that showed up for day court. Squabbles among thieves, one pony accusing another of some heinous crime. Sometimes solutions were difficult to come by.

        “Good morning, sister,” Celestia looked up from her book as Luna took a seat at the far end of the table. They were each sitting at the two spots at each end of the table that were reserved for royalty, as was customary, but it always made conversation a bit difficult.

        “Good morning to you as well, Celestia,” Luna responded. Then noticing the book, she added, “Getting a little light reading done?”

        Celestia smiled and said, “What, this? Just brushing up on my history. You can never know too much, after all.”

        Luna found it a bit strange that her sister was reading a history book when she had lived through it all, but her thoughts on the matter were interrupted by one of the servants bringing out a plate of steamed vegetables in a thick cheese sauce and setting it in front of Luna, who eyed it hungrily.

        “Dinner is served, your majesty,” Luna recognized the voice, and looked up to see Fine Dining looking back at her. Without saying a word, the earth pony chef simply glanced at Celestia and hurried away back to the kitchens. Luna remembered the conversation she had with the cook the night before and leveled her gaze at Celestia.

        “Tia,” she began, suddenly serious, “I must speak to you about something. Something important.”

        “Oh?” Princess Celestia looked intrigued.

        “Yes, it is about your behavior over the past week. It has been brought to my attention that you have been treating our subjects poorly in regards to your meals, and you appear to be distant, even from me. Pray tell, what is wrong?”

        Celestia simply sighed and closed her book. “So you heard about that, hm?”

        “Yes. Please, tell me what is troubling you.”

        “I’m just a little tired, that’s all. You know how stressful ruling can be. I ruled Equestria alone for a thousand years, and I feel as if it’s finally catching up to me. I didn’t want to burden you with this, I know you already have a lot on your plate, so to speak,” Celestia said.

        Luna had no reason to disbelieve her sister, but something felt…off about her excuse. She pushed it away as being overly cautious and instead smiled a sympathetic smile at her sister.

        “Tia, you know I will always be there for you. No matter what is troubling you, I will listen, and lighten your burden if I can,” Luna said.

        Celestia smiled weakly, prompting Luna to get up from her meal and go comfort her sister. Luna gave Celestia a sisterly nuzzle to lift her spirits, which Celestia returned in kind, and then returned to her seat to finish her meal. The rest of breakfast/dinner was enjoyed in peaceful silence.

(*)
(*)

        Luna did not notice any more odd behavior from Celestia, nor was any more brought to her attention, until two weeks later. It was late afternoon, and Luna had just woken up to a harsh clanging noise. She quickly realized that it was coming from the direction of her door, and reluctantly dragged herself from her bed to answer. Her horn was enveloped in a deep blue glow as she flung the door aside with her magic, giving an irritated glare to the pony that had interrupted her slumber. It was one of the two guards stationed outside her door, but she couldn’t recall the old colt’s name.

        “What!?” she said, a little more harshly then she intended, causing the guard to flinch at the sudden outburst. Luna noticed this and repeated herself, a little more calmly this time.

        “Your majesty, this pony brings news of odd behavior from Princess Celestia.” He said sternly, his face returning from one of shock to a mask of professionalism.

        The guard stepped aside and it was then that Luna noticed the pony standing behind him. He had a dark brown coat with a tousled blonde mane and short cropped tail, and a mop and bucket for a cutie mark. His dress was that of the cleaning staff, only the area around the neck was stained with sweat, and he was out of breath, eyes darting around fearfully, as if he were expecting something to jump out and grab him at any moment. This pony looked as if he had been running for his life. Luna eyed him with concern.

        “Well?” she asked gently, for fear of frightening the pony away “What is so important that I am to be disturbed in the middle of my slumber?”

        The pony gulped and approached slowly, refusing to look Luna in the eye.

        “W-well, i-it’s, I mean, I, um, I didn’t know w-what to d-do, so I ran as f-fast as I could, and I was scared, and-“ Luna cut him off, quickly growing impatient.

        “Spit it out,” she commanded. She felt sympathy for whatever this pony had gone through, but her mood was still foul from having been woken up so early. He jumped at her outburst, but then took a deep breath to collect himself.

        “Princess Celestia’s gone crazy!” he shouted suddenly, immediately covering his mouth with his hooves afterward.

        This got Luna’s attention. She had noticed a bit more of Celestia’s odd behavior, but nothing that was harsh enough to prompt her to act and certainly nothing that could be described as “crazy.” Luna had already ruled out another changeling invasion, deciding that Chrysalis would be far too weak and her hive too disorganized to try again so soon.

        “What do you mean?” she questioned, “What has happened?”

        The pony, deciding that it was safe to speak again, began his story.

        “Well, I had just finished cleaning the floors in the royal throne room, just like I do every day before day court is held. The guardsponies let all the ponies in who had a plea, just like every day, and they waited for Princess Celestia to show up. When the princess came in, one of the ponies in the crown accidentally dropped a bunch of papers he had brought with him, and didn’t notice the princess while he was pickin’ ‘em up, and he didn’t bow like the rest of us. I guess the princess sees this and she freaks out on him, yelling and screaming and gettin’ real angry, and everypony in the room is just sittin’ there, stunned, mouths hangin’ open, including me. I mean, nopony had ever seen the princess act like this, she was actin’ crazy! She finally tells the guards to take him to the dungeon. The dungeon! Can you believe it? Then this fella’s wife starts pleadin’ with the princess to let him go, and she tells the guards to throw her in with him! Then it got really bad. One of the guards refused, said it went against what he stood for, and I’m sittin’ here thinkin’ she’s gonna throw him in the dungeon too, but she just picks him up with her magic and flings him against the far wall as hard as she can! Then I remembered you tellin’ the staffponies to come to you if Princess Celestia ever started actin’ funny, so I ran here as fast as I could.”

        The pony had barely finished his story when Luna blew past him and sprinted down the hallway. She took the stairs down the tower three at a time, her body racing almost as fast as her mind.

        What is happening!? I have to get to the throne room.

        Luna made her way through the twists and turns of the royal palace with ease, having committed nearly all of it to memory. When she arrived at the throne room where court was held, she stopped, listening for any sounds that might prepare her for what she would encounter on the other side of the door. When she finally pushed the door open, a wave of confusion spread over her. Bodies lay everywhere, lifeless ponies lying on top of one another in small heaps. All of them were dead.

        No, Luna thought, not dead.

        As the princess of the night made her way further into the room, she realized that the ponies were simply unconscious, not dead. Her sigh of relief was caught in her throat as a voice rang out.

        “It is about time you showed up.” It was Celestia. She was sitting in one her throne at the far end of the room, leaning back in a disturbingly relaxed position.

        “Sister,” Luna regarded, advancing cautiously toward the throne.

        “Not quite,” Celestia said. Her voice was playful, like she was enjoying what was going on around her.

        Luna ventured another guess, creeping ever closer to the creature on the throne. “Chrysalis?” she asked. Not-Celestia threw her head back and let out a short laugh.

        “Do you really thing that pathetic excuse for evil could do something like this? Imitating Celestia!? I can barely do that. She’s so demure, so proper, so nice that it make me sick.” The Not-Celestia seemed to spit out her words as if they were venomous.

        “Who are you, then? Are you in league with Discord?” Luna just had to keep the creature talking until she could get close enough to get a knockout spell off. What she failed to notice were the legions of unconscious ponies around her that would rise as she passed them, their eyes blank and expressionless. They silently soldiered toward her from behind in a zombie-like state.

        “Discord? That buffoon couldn’t hold this kingdom down for a week without destroying everything. Come on, Luny, do you really not remember me? I’m hurt,” the creature flashed big, watery eyes at Luna, the words drenched in mock pain. Luna resented the use of her sister’s pet name for her in such a way, especially when the words came from Celestia’s mouth but were clearly not her own.

        Just a little closer…

        All of Luna’s plans were dashed by the feeling of rough hooves seizing her hind legs. She reared up in surprise, and two more sets of hooves lunged forward and grabbed her now exposed forelegs, forcing her to the ground and holding her there. Her horn ignited, but before she could even think of a spell to cast, the Non-Celestia was on her. Non-Celestia’s horn was aglow, but not with its usual golden aura. Now, the ethereal light was colored blood red. Luna had seen it before, but she couldn’t recall where, the memory just barely tugging at the edges of her consciousness. The Non-Celestia touched her horn to Luna’s, and the princess of the night immediately felt her magic go dormant. She looked up at her horn in horror as she tried in vain to ignite it, her face twisted into a scowl of concentration. The Mock-Celestia laughed at the sight.

        “What’s wrong Luny, can’t cast spells?” It’s tone was harsh and mocking. Even though it was Celestia’s voice, Luna knew that it was not her sister. Then, the Mock-Celestia smiled and gestured to the ponies holding her down. “Like ‘em? I designed the spell myself. Doesn’t last as long as I would like, but it serves its purpose.”

        “What have you done to me!?” She shouted, “What have you done with Celestia!? WHO ARE YOU!?” Luna was screaming now, allowing the full strength of the Royal Canterlot Voice to come forth. Now, other zombie-like ponies had piled up around her and were holding her down as well. Luna couldn’t move, no matter how much she wanted to give the thing in front of her a taste of her hoof. She would never lay a hoof on her sister, but that thing was not her sister.

        “Calm down,” the thing said, now sitting comfortably three feet away from Luna, “it’s just a magic block. It should wear off in, oh, I don’t know, half an hour maybe? I’m not quite up to full strength yet, so I couldn’t face you head on. Not yet, at least. I’m not going to answer your second question, because the answer is currently staring you in the face. As for question number three, I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out yet. Here let me give you a hint: remember dear ol’ mom and dad?”

        Luna stopped struggling against the ponies that bound her. Suddenly, all the memories came rushing back to her. The Mock-Celestia’s grin grew wider and wider as Luna showed more and more recognition on her face.

        “Azzini,” she said, so quietly the thing in front of her almost didn’t hear. A large smile spread across its face as the name reached its ears.

        “So,” it said, “you do remember me. I’m glad you finally figured it out. I was so tired of keeping up this charade.”

        “But, but,” she stammered, “You’re supposed to be-“

        “Imprisoned in Tartarus, I know, believe me do I know. But I’m not. I got out, and here I am, back in business, ready to bring the kingdom to its knees once again.” The creature known as Azzini made a grand sweeping gesture with her hooves. “And what a kingdom it is! I’ll have to change a few things, like, say, all the décor, but all-in-all, I think Celestia did a fine job with this place. It looks much better than the first time around, when it was your parents who ruled. I just still can’t believe I managed to kill both of them before they stopped me!”

        Azzini glanced at Luna after it said this, waiting to see what kind of reaction he would get. He was not disappointed. Luna was furiously struggling against the ponies that bound her, trying with all her might to break free, once again futilely attempting to ignite her horn to cast a spell, any spell, but it was all useless. Angry tears were streaming down her face. She was facing the creature that robbed her and Celestia of their parents, and it was laughing at her. She knew that if she checked the back of Celestia’s neck, she would find a small black insect with its mandibles sunk into the flesh, connecting itself directly into the brainstem. It was controlling her every move, completely overpowering her will and dictating her actions. Luna eventually stopped struggling and simply stared at the beast in front of her, her eyes full of the hate and rage felt by a child confronting her parents’ killer.

        “Sheesh, if looks could kill,” Azzini said, looking away. “Anyway,” he continued, “I think I best be going.” Luna looked up at what used to be her sister (no, don’t think like that, you can still save her), her look changing from anger to confusion for a short moment. “I know, I know,” Azzini went on, “I wish I could stick around, but, you know how it is, a princess never rests.” He leaned Celestia’s head down and whispered the next words directly into Luna’s ear.

        “Besides, I have a faithful student to see.”

        Luna gasped and struggled against the ponies even harder, her grief temporarily forgotten in her worry for Twilight Sparkle. It was no use, though, as she still couldn’t get free. She sighed and slumped her shoulders, consigned to wait for the magical block to wear off. Azzini trotted away toward the exit, laughing in Celestia’s voice all the way there.
        

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