It soon became time for the ponies to leave the throne room, in order to watch Princess Celestia raise the sun. As they stood, stretching, a thought occurred to Luna. “Girls, would you like to watch my sister raise the sun from my balcony? I believe we would have a clear view of her as she raises the sun, and a much clearer view of the horizon.” I truth, Luna merely wanted to delay venturing out into the crowd as long as possible. The ponies thought for only a moment before nodding, following Luna out of the room.

They quickly made their way through the castle, arriving at Luna’s room. She silently opened the door, trotting inside happily. All of the girls except Twilight oohed and ahhed as they entered. Twilight remained calm, smiling knowingly at her friends. She remembered her first time in Princess Celestia’s room. Rarity especially seemed taken aback by the simple elegance of the chambers. Twilight followed Luna over to her balcony, motioning for the others to follow. They sat, gazing out over the garden where Celestia would raise the sun. The garden was full of ponies waiting, milling about as they waited for the yearly celebration to begin.

“Thank you for giving us such a view Princess.” Rarity spoke, amazed at what she was able to see from the balcony. The others nodded as well. They happily gazed down upon the festivities, waiting for their princess.

They didn’t have to wait long as Celestia soon strolled out onto the dais. The garden was silenced by her mere presence, all eyes turning to watch. The princess of the sun strolled calmly to the center of her dais, flashing a quick smile to Luna’s balcony. Unseen by the others, Luna silently lowered the moon on the far side of the horizon. Stretching her wings out, the princess leapt into the air, her wings pushing her up steadily, the sun raising over the horizon behind her. A cheer went out among the crowd as the ponies began their celebrations.

Luna’s balcony however remained silent. The six friends gazed in awe at the raising of the sun. The lone alicorn smiled sadly, wishing such a cheer would go out as she raised the moon. Her smile was quickly replaced with a look of confusion as she saw her sister walk off and disappear in a small flash of light.

“Why hello there everypony. I hope you enjoyed the show.” The seven girls spun around, surprised to have been greeted by Celestia. The alicorn walked over and sat across from them, smiling warmly. “I assume you will be joining in the festivities?” The girls smiled. “Well, I don’t want to keep you from them.” The girls quickly stood, making to leave. “However,” all seven stopped, turning to face Celestia. “I must speak with Twilight, alone.”

Luna, though the most surprised, recovered first. “Well, Twilight, why don’t you meet us at the castle gates?” Twilight nodded, watching as the others left the room.

The six remaining made their way through the grand halls of the castle. Though it was a long walk, the eventually made it to the front gates. The remaining Elements sat down, waiting for their friend, chatting amongst themselves. Luna stood a ways away, concentrating. Slowly her coat began changing from light blue to a silvery gray. Her wings disappeared in a small flash of light as her cutie mark changed from her crescent moon to the Orion constellation. Her coat finishing its change, she shook herself out, removing the lingering feeling of magic.

Twilight raced around the corner moments later, skidding to a halt at her friends. “Hello Selene,” she called in Luna’s direction.

Luna nodded as she strode forward, joining the rest. “Why hello Twilight. I hope this will allow me to go unnoticed.” The other five stared at Luna, confusion etched onto their faces. Noticing their confusion, Luna sighed. “If I went out looking like myself I would either be mobbed by fans, or attacked by those who still fear me. It does not sound at all pleasant.”

When the girls confusion didn’t abate, Twilight spoke up. “Ms. Selene here is Princess Luna. As she said she needs a cover so she can go out in public.” Finally understanding, the girls nodded. “So, Ms. Selene, what is your cover?”

“I am one of the royal librarians.” Luna began, very matter-of-factly. “I am in my early thirties, and have been happily working in the palace for ten years now. I got my cutie mark when I was six, staring up at the night sky and seeing all the different constellations. Though I love the night sky, I work as a librarian so I can spend time in the library. It is always full of knowledge, with whole sections dedicated to the stars.”

The Elements blinked. Luna sounded so mechanical to them, as if she was reading her little explanation off a notecard. Nodding slowly, Rarity responded. “Well, Ms. Selene, shall we make our way to the celebrations?”

Luna nodded quickly, following the Elements out the door. Though the streets were packed they were able to quickly make their way to the center of the festivities. Good, Luna thought to herself. Now I can observe my subjects and determine what it is they like. This shall be of great benefit as I rule alongside my sister.

Mare sighed in the back of Luna’s mind. “Luna, you’re not here to work. You’re here to have fun. Just enjoy the time with the others.”

As a princess of Equestria I have no time for fun Mare. There is also no reason for me to be having fun. Luna quipped back in her mind.

“Please Luna.” Mare hung her head as she realized Luna was set on her plan. As an idea occurred to her, she spoke back up. “Luna. What better way to find out how your subjects have fun than to have fun yourself? Since fun isn’t something you can quantify, you need to experience it yourself.”

Luna stopped for a moment as she considered. You do have a point Mare, she responded. I shall try this fun. Mare smiled happily, relaxing back in Luna’s mind. Realizing she was falling behind, Luna quickened her pace, quickly returning to the others.

The group reached the festivities soon after. Staring out across the streets lined with games and shops, Luna found herself amazed at the sheer size of the spectacle. She slowly turned in place, taking in everything she could from her location. “Come on Selene. The fun’s that way!” Pinkie exclaimed, bounding off.

Knowing there was no point in trying to control the party pony, the others let her bound off. She would no doubt find them all at some point, and would definitely join them for lunch. “Alright girls. Let’s stay together. We have to make sure to show Ms. Selene here a good time.” Twilight called to her friends over the roar of the crowd. Nodding the six set off.

They rode the rides, from the massive roller coasters to the smaller train rides. They played the games, which ranged from stall games involving tossing rings onto bottles to the larger ones, including the bell buck. They ate the food, though none of it could be called healthy in any way, and saw the performances, all of which depicted some point in Equestria's history. Soon lunch rolled around and the girls decided to have a nice meal together. Just as the six of them were sitting down to eat, Pinkie bounded over. She landed in an open seat by her friends and immediately launched into her tale of what she had done. Luna calmly ate her food as she listened to the party pony regale them with her exploits. Somehow the pink mare had managed to engage in every activity the girls had, which had taken all of their time, along with quite a few more rides and games.

Slightly confused, Luna looked down, trying to sort things out in her mind. As she did, she noticed that Pinkie had managed to eat her entire meal as she told her tale. Looking back up Luna opened her mouth to speak, only to find Applejacks hoof on hers. Looking over at her, Applejack simply shook her head, silently telling her not to bother.

“Well girls, lunch was wonderful.” Rarity interjected into the short silence. “However, there are a few shops with designs from Hoity Toity that I simply must browse.”

“That’s sounds like nice, safe fun Rarity.” Fluttershy’s quiet voice interjected. “I’d like to join you. If that’s okay with you that is.” Rarity smiled at her shy friend, nodding.

Both Rainbow and Applejack shuddered. “Well, there are a few games I need to challenge AJ to.” Rainbow responded.

“Ohh, is that so RD? You’re on.” Applejack quickly responded, flashing her friend a challenging smile.

“And there’s still so many rides and games and shows for me to try out.” Pinkie exclaimed.

“Well then girls.” Twilight calmly pulled her friends attention to her. “Let’s split up for the afternoon. Let’s meet up back at the castle at before sunset.” They all nodded, smiling at their friends before going their separate ways. “Well Ms. Selene. How are you enjoying the festival so far?”

“I must admit, I am not finding it all that enjoyable.” Twilight and Mare groaned in unison. Both, though unbeknownst to the other, simply stared at Luna. “I can understand why you all would derive pleasure from this, but I do not myself. It seems trite and inconsequential.”

“Well, in a way, I must agree with you Selene.” Luna looked up, puzzled by Twilight’s response. “This whole thing is a celebration of Celestia raising the sun. She does it every day. What makes today so special?”

Luna nodded in agreement. “I agree. However, I do believe I know why this festival was started, a thousand years ago.” Twilight looked up expectantly, the prospect of knowledge causing her eyes to glow. “But I will not explain here. Follow me please.”

Twilight hopped up and followed Luna as she slowly made her way through the crowd. Though it took them awhile, they were eventually able to find a quiet, secluded place, away from the roar of the crowd. “So, Ms. Selene,”

“Please Twilight, call me Luna. There are no other ponies to disturb us.” Luna replied somewhat sadly.

Twilight blinked a moment before continuing. “Well, Luna, why was this festival started? And how do you know? It was started after your, umm…”

“After my banishment, I know. The reason I know is simple. I know how ponies act.” Twilight nodded, noticing the slight hint of sadness in Luna’s voice. “I will tell you a secret Twilight.” The unicorn’s ears popped up at this, her eyes growing wide. “It was no small battle between my sister and I. It was a war. And I waged it over the course of years.” Twilight’s jaw dropped at the revelation.

“Princess,” She began.

“No Twilight. I will not tell you the tale. It is something I would rather put behind me.” Luna interrupted, her voice heavy with regret. The young unicorn slowly nodded, her mind abuzz as she tried to understand this revelation. “During the beginning of this war Twilight, I fought daily with my sister for control over the sun and moon. I pushed to have my moon grace the skies as she fought to keep the cycle normal. Near the end I finally gave in, allowing the pattern to flow as normal.”

Twilight simply stared at Luna. The idea of such a war astounded her, and that the daily cycle would be so chaotic scared her. “So, what does this have to do with the Summer Sun Celebration?”

“Everything. The war ended the day before the longest day of the year, a thousand years ago. I was defeated, and banished to the moon. I can only assume that the next day, after news spread of Celestia’s victory, a celebration was held, one that would eventually become the Summer Sun Celebration as it is today. I can only thank my sister for eradicating the original meaning of the festival.”

Twilight stared a while longer, her mind slowly processing what she had just heard. After a minute she nodded. “I assume you wish me to keep this a secret?”

“Please Twilight.” Luna hung her head in shame. “It happened in the past, a very long time ago. I want ponies to remember me for what I have done since my return, not the acts of my past.” Twilight nodded solemnly. Standing, Luna walked off, Twilight following close behind her. “So, is there any fun you still wish to have today Twilight?” Twilight nodded, and the two set off.

“I’m proud of you Luna.” The calm voice of mare drifted from the recesses of Luna’s mind. “You opened up to somepony. That’s an important first step.”

You and your plan Mare. What if I don’t want my emotions back? Luna quipped back. What if I want to stay like this?

“You and I both know you can’t Luna. To do such a thing would destroy you.”

Luna sighed. Fine. I’ll agree with that. What do you want me to work on next? What’s the next step?

“You promised me something Luna. I’m holding you to it.”

Yes, of course.

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