Mirror's Image

Chapter 10

This day had been just perfect for Celestia. She had just had a very relaxing bath and a very filling dinner, and now she was on her way to her chambers, to prepare for bed. The sun had already set and the moon was raised to its spot in the sky. It was still rather awkward for her to handle it. She was so used to the sun and its massive weight, that she had almost launched the much lighter moon into deep space the first time she brought it up above the horizon.

Her guards, ever vigilant, escorted her to her room. After the incident earlier that day, they were ready to draw their swords at the first sign of a threat. Fortunately that wretched creature had quickly learned its place and left with tears in its eyes, or so Celestia was told by the guards stationed at the gate.

Celestia made a mental note to give those two a bonus this month. If they hadn't alerted her, that thing might've made it up to her palace.

The princess was no fool, nor was she blind. She recognized that creature, she would always recognize her former student, no matter what form she had.

It was just a convenient opportunity to get rid of her without raising too much suspicion. The guards had already been informed of this and were bound by honor and magic to never speak a word about what happened today.

"Good night, princess," one of her guards said, his left front hoof raised to salute her.

"Thank you," Celestia said as she walked into her room. She quickly closed the doors behind her, sealing them with a minor locking charm. She knew that, even if Starlight was foolish enough to come back, that she couldn't break a lock to save her life.

"Poor Starlight," she said to herself as she shed her golden boots and set them at her bed's end. "All alone. Just like her." Celestia walked up to the window. The moon was full tonight, making the shadow of Nightmare Moon clearly visible.

Where had it all gone wrong? Celestia wondered. Her ex-student was the Element of Magic, so why had she failed? Nightmare Moon wasn't defeated, she was merely banished.

Celestia knew the Elements of Harmony like the back of her hoof. Over the many millennia of her life, she had seen their use quite often: Tirek, Scorpan, the Smooze, Discord. Each time, the Elements had chosen their bearers and, under Celestia's and Luna's guidance, they would save Equestria from certain destruction.

So why not this time? Celestia just didn't understand what went wrong. Discord had been turned to stone, Scorpan had been turned back into the prince he once was and the Smooze had dried up. They would never prove a threat to Equestria again. Except Discord, perhaps. He was still alive inside the statue and could break free if she were to lose her own connection to the Elements. But the chances of that happening were minimal. Though Celestia was afraid of what the years of solitude might do to the already insane and violent Draconequus.

But Nightmare Moon hadn't been destroyed. Luna hadn't been freed. Instead, she was now sealed within the moon. She was still a threat to Equestria, one that was only stopped momentarily . The Mare in the Moon could break free at any moment.

"Ha, 'Mare in the Moon,' what a ridiculous title," Celestia said, though no one was around to hear her complaints.

Her magic latched onto the book on her desk. A 'gift' from her former student, telling of how Princess Celestia defeated Nightmare Moon.

"How funny that you forgot to mention your own part in this," Celestia said as she opened the book. The drawings were nice though. One of Starlight's friends had made them for her, to illustrate what happened when Luna snapped. Starlight had given her a copy of the book, hoping for the princess's approval before having it printed.