“Sister, why are you awake? It is quite early.”

Celestia pulled her eyes away from the Moon hanging low in the sky, glancing back over her shoulder towards the small filly behind her. “I am sorry, Luna; I did not mean to wake you.”

Luna yawned, the small unicorn rubbing at her eye with the back of her hoof before she trotted forward. “You did not. I awoke, and you were gone.”

“Is that so?” Celestia smiled down at her little sister. “Well, mayhaps you should return to bed.”

“I am not tired.” Luna yawned again, before shaking her head, glancing up at Celestia, then at the sky, tilting her head. “What hath captured your gaze?”

Celestia laughed quietly. “The Moon, dear sister.”

“The Moon?” Luna glanced from Celestia to the orb hanging low in the sky before her eyes widened. “Are you going to lower it? May I watch?”

“Yes, once the others have awakened.”

Luna scowled. “Must we wait?”

Celestia shook her head. “It takes many unicorns to lower the Moon and raise the Sun. I cannot do it on mine own. This is the first time they have even allowed my aid.”

“Why not? You are the best at magic!”

“Oh?” Celestia chuckled. “And who told you that?”

“Miss Coruscate!”

“I see.” Celestia reached down to set a hoof over her sister’s shoulders, leaning down to whisper into her ear. “Well, do not tell anypony, but when we last spoke, she said you were a better student than I.”

Luna’s ears perked up. “Truly?”

“Would I lie?”

The little filly wrinkled her snout. “If you thought it was funny.”

“Mayhaps.” Celestia straightened up, her hoof moving to tussle her sister’s mane. “But I do not lie today.”

Luna grumbled, squirming away before lifting her hoof to smooth out her mane. “Humph.”

“You’re smiling.”

“I am not,” Luna protested, stamping her hoof even as her face gave her the lie.

“Then you are not, then. You would not like about such a thing.” Celestia pulled her eyes away from her sister, staring back up into the sky as the sound of crickets filled the space between them. A cool breeze blew over the hills, the grass rippling in the pale moonlight as the white orb above slowly sank towards the horizon.

“Why are ponies so rude?”

Celestia blinked, tearing her eyes away from the Moon. “Have the other students been troubling you, Luna?”

“None of the students say you. It is always thee and thou and thine,” Luna huffed. “They sometimes thou the teacher!”

Celestia laughed. “I do not think they understand how rude that can be.”

“But you are always polite! Even when the Circle thous you, you always say you!”

Celestia’s smile faded. “It is not wise to speak of them as rude.”

“But they are!”

Celestia nodded her head. “This is true. They have little respect for those they consider their lessers.”

“That is everyone, according to them.”

“Indeed.”

Luna looked up at her sister. “You did not laugh.”

“It is not funny.”

Luna’s snout crinkled up again as she scowled. “No, it is not. They are mean!”

Celestia sighed. “They are not all mean, and they mean well. They are simply jealous of their power and their ways.”

“Who died and left them in charge anyway?”

“Princess Platinum.”

Luna cast her hoof over her face. “You know what I mean.”

“I do.” Celestia shook her head. “It is not so simple. They are entrusted with the raising of the Sun and the Moon, and the course of the bodies through the heavens. It is difficult to say no to one who can throw you into eternal night.”

“Well, they should.”

“Mayhaps they should. Mayhaps they shouldn’t. You need not confront everypony who does not like you.”

A bird chirped somewhere as the pair sat in the darkness, Luna pawing at the ground with her hoof, glaring down at the grass as the older pony gazed serenely up at the stars.

“Why do they not call you ‘you’, sister?”

“Because I am not yet one of them.”

Luna shook her head. “They call Master Stone you!”

“He is a philosopher.”

Luna stamped her hoof. “But he isn’t one of them!”

“Be that as it may—”

“Nopony calls you ‘you’!”

“Sister…”

“No!” Luna paced. “They are all rude. You should thou them!”

“That would not make them any more polite, sister.”

“Then they would know how it feels!”

“Then they would believe they are right.”

Luna pouted. “It isn’t fair!”

“I know,” Celestia said softly, stepping over to wrap her leg around her sister’s shoulders to pull her into a hug, the smaller pony tucking her face up into Celestia’s chest.

“It is because you don’t have a mark, isn’t it?”

Celestia glanced back at her flank, her white coat smooth and unblemished “Sister…”

“It is true!”

Celestia sighed. “Who told you that?”

Luna stiffened. “Who told me?” Luna shook her head. “Everypony told me! They told me you are not special because you have no mark. That you have no destiny!”

Celestia laughed.

“You think this is funny, sister?” Luna scowled, pushing out of the hug before whirling around to face her sister.

“Nay.”

“Then why do you laugh?”

“Because, Luna, it is better than to cry.”

Luna’s eyes fell as she began to awkwardly shift from hoof to hoof. “Why do you never speak of it, sister?”

“Because most ponies do not understand.”

“I do not understand.”

Celestia lifted her head towards the sky. “Tell me, sister, what is the mark of Master Helianthus?”

“A sunflower.”

“And why does he have that mark?”

Luna snorted. “Because he helps raise the sun.”

“Does he now?” Celestia looked down at her sister. “Are you so certain?”

The filly looked away, biting her lip. “I am supposed to say no.”

Celestia chuckled. “He trained me in the ways of the heavens, as he had trained many others before.”

Luna tilted her head, then blinked. “Oh! It is to teach others to raise the Sun!”

“And if I told you he has a garden behind his house that is full of sunflowers?”

Luna frowned. “You think his destiny is to grow sunflowers?”

“I do not think we have a destiny, Luna.”

“What?” Luna furrowed her brow. “But, the mark of one’s destiny— “

“And what if a pony did not like their destiny? What if Master Helianthus did not wish to be a gardener?”

“You can’t escape destiny, sister. They teach you that in school.”

“Not everything they say in school is true, Luna,” Celestia said softly. “Some unicorns claim that earth ponies are naught but unicorns who married donkeys, long ago, and that pegasi are the same, save with griffins, and that neither line is pure. Do you believe that to be true?”

“Uhm…” Luna scratched her hoof at the grass.

Celestia placed a hoof on her sister’s withers. “Did you know that the earth ponies say the same thing about unicorns?”

“They say we are half-donkey?”

“Nay, half caribou.”

Luna squinted her eyes. “We do not look like caribou.”

“Indeed. Nor do pegasi look like griffins, nor earth ponies donkeys. Just because they have wings, or lack horns, does not mean they are not ponies.”

“So? Old ponies are stupid.” Luna shook her head. “That does not mean that there is no such thing as destiny!”

“Do you think it is your destiny to do your homework?”

Luna recoiled slightly. “I do not understand.”

“You have no mark, same as I. So why is it that you do your homework? Must you? What if it is not your destiny?”

“You would yell at me if I did not do my homework.”

Celestia chuckled. “I would scold you, yes, but is that destiny? Or is that because I love you, and want you to do well?”

Luna tilted her head away from her older sister, drawing a giggle from the larger pony.

“Do you think it is destiny that you are here, now, and not asleep in your bed?”

“Maybe.”

Celestia leaned down towards her sister, kneeling to look her in the eye. “Do you truly? Do you think you have no choice?”

Luna shrugged. “Nay, but...”

“But?”

Luna sighed. “Nay. You are right, sister.” She paused, biting her lip. “But, does that not mean that not every pony is special? Miss Coruscate said that when everypony finds the magic that makes them special, their mark of destiny appears!”

“Do you truly believe everypony is special?”

Luna staggered. “Sister, surely you do not mean that!”

“I do.”

“That is… abom… abomin…”

“Abominable?”

“Yes! Why do you say this, sister?”

“Because it is true.” Celestia rose, her gaze returning to the moon as a cool breeze swept over the hilltop, her mane rippling behind her in the darkness. “Do you believe everypony on the council is as special as Clover the Clever, or Star Swirl the Bearded, or Princess Platnium?”

“No! Of course not!”

“Do you believe that everypony in Canterlot is as special as the members of the Circle?”

“Many of them are!”

Celestia nodded. “Yes, I agree. But are all of them? Are there not ponies who are less special than the Circle?”

Luna set her mouth in a line, the small filly pacing back and forth a few times before sighing loudly. “Mayhaps, sister. But…”

“And why are they less special?”

Luna blinked. “Why?”

“Do you believe it is because they got a flower on their flank, and not a star, that they cannot move the Sun or the Moon? Do you think that they are not special because it is their destiny?”

“But Master Helianthus has a flower on his flank and is part of the Circle!”

“Yes. But that is not because he has a flower on his flank. He is a member of the Circle because he worked hard to achieve what he desired. He could have said that it was his destiny to grow sunflowers, but he did not.”

“I do not understand.”

“How many of your classmates have their marks?”

Luna sat back, lifting a hoof and staring down at it for a moment. “Six?”

“Did any of them stop doing things after they got their mark?”

“Uhm… well, Glint does not bring cake anymore.”

“Forgive me, I do not know your classmates well. What is his mark?”

“A crown.”

Celestia nodded her head. “Why do you think he stopped bringing cake?”

“Uhm… well, Gleam asked him why, and he said that he need not spend time making cake, because it was his destiny to tell others what to do.”

“Was his cake good?”

“Of course it was good, sister. It was cake.”

“So he chose not to do something he could, because his mark was not a cake?”

Luna frowned.

“You see, Luna,” Celestia said, sighing, “It is not your mark that makes you special. It is you who makes your mark. He could have chosen to say that his mark meant he could be king of the bakers.”

Luna snorted.

“You may laugh, but I have heard very silly stories about such things. I have asked many ponies, and many ponies forget that it is they who choose what their mark means. Fewer still remember that they may do other things besides, even without pretending that it is their destiny; they may do such things, but if they think of it, they may not.” Celestia lifted her hoof, pointing it up at the Moon that nearly touched the horizon. “If Glint chose, he may have worked to join the Circle and lead it. He could have chosen many things. But he will never touch the Moon, because he believes it is not his destiny to do so.”

The smaller unicorn sat down, chewing on the inside of her cheek. “I understand. But… that does not explain why you do not have your mark.”

Celestia shook her head. “It is the pony that makes the mark. What is it that makes me special?”

“Of course you’re special!” Luna jumped to her hooves. “You are smart, you are the best at magic, you know all these things-“

“But many ponies are smart, and good at magic, and know many things. What is it that makes myself a special pony?”

“Everything!”

Celestia laughed. “I do not believe everything would fit on my flank.”

“Maybe it would be that funny sideways eight?”

“I do not think other ponies would appreciate that much,” Celestia said, though she still smiled.

“They would stop thouing you, at least.”

“At least.” Celestia bobbed her head, glancing up towards the horizon. “It is nearly time to meet the Circle.”

“May I come?”

Celestia paused, tilting her head. “The others may not appreciate your presence…” Her eyes fell down upon her sister. “But you are right. They are very rude. Mayhaps a little rudeness of my own would not hurt.” Her eyes twinkled. “Come.”

Luna bounced on her hooves, trotting alongside her older sister as Celestia’s long legs took one step for every three the younger unicorn required.

“How do you raise the sun?”

“It is a special spell which requires a great deal of magic; that is why so many unicorns are needed.”

“Can you not do it on your own?”

Celestia shook her head. “I do not think so. Do you truly think I am so strong in magic that I can do that which tires the entire Circle?”

“Yes.”

The older unicorn laughed. “I am glad for your vote of confidence. I am merely hoping that I do not disrupt the Circle when I join them.”

“Can you show me how?”

Celestia stopped, the filly trotting on ahead before turning around.

“Sister?”

“I suppose I could,” Celestia said slowly. “But only if you promise not to try it on your own.”

Luna looked up at her older sister with wide, innocent eyes. “I promise.”

Celestia chuckled. “I hope you keep your word. I do not think the Circle would be happy if my sister misplaced the Sun.”

“I won’t!”

“And you will not tell your friends?”

Luna nodded her head.

Celestia looked back and forth conspiratorially before laughing quietly. “Very well. The spell is not so difficult to understand, simply to power. That is why the Circle does not wish to speak of it; should enough capable unicorns group together, anyone could raise the Sun and lower the Moon. They do not want ponies to move the Sun just to give them shade.”

Luna laughed quietly.

“You laugh, sister. It is said that Star Swirl the Bearded once moved the sun by a minute because the sun was in his eye.”

“So how does one cast the spell?”

Celestia smiled. “The first step is to reach out to the heavens.” Celestia tipped her head back, her horn gleaming with the light of the sun as she gazed up into the sky. “It is said to be difficult, but… I have never had trouble feeling the Sun.” She frowned slightly, narrowing her eyes. “The Moon is… harder.”

“Why is that, sister?”

Celestia shook her head slightly, her horn still glowing. “I do not know. But…” her eyes widened slightly. “There.”

Luna looked from her sister to the Moon, then back. “I see nothing.”

Celestia nodded her head. “You cannot. But I can feel them. It is… very unlike lifting a rock.”

“Can you move them?”

Celestia glanced at Luna, then back at the Moon. “I should not.”

“Please? Just a little?”

Celestia licked her lips. “They would be most unpleased if I was too tired to help them when we gather.”

Luna sighed, hanging her head. “But I wanted to see. You said Star Swirl moved it.”

“I…”

“I think you’re way better than Star Swirl!”

Celestia laughed. “Alright. Just… let me…”

The unicorn closed her eyes, lowering her head slightly as the golden light intensified around her. “They... want to move… all we must do… is shift them… like…”

Luna gasped. “The Moon! It moved!”

“It… is not so hard… once you touch it…”

Luna bounced up and down on her hooves. “You are moving it! It is almost gone!” She kept bouncing up and down for several more seconds before bending her knees as she landed, looking back at Celestia. “Sister?”

The older unicorn’s eyes were clenched shut as blazing golden light shone from her horn, illuminating the entire hillside. Sweat shone on her coat from the effort as her legs shook, but, somehow, the light only seemed to get brighter as Luna watched.

“Sister?” Luna glanced back over her shoulder at the now-empty sky behind her. “You have set the Moon. That is enough.” She paused. “Sister?”

The light only continued to grow brighter, almost enveloping Celestia, burning bright light bursting out from behind her forcing Luna to raise a hoof to shield her eyes.

“Sister!” she shouted, but to no avail; Celestia said nothing, legs trembling, muttering to herself.

“And… you can pull… the Sun…”

“Celestia!” Luna grabbed onto the larger unicorn’s leg. She yelped as Celestia’s knees gave out, the filly’s horn lighting up as Celestia fell, only narrowly keeping her upright, but the light did not fade.

“Sister, you can stop!” she shouted.

“I… have…” came the breathless reply.

“No, you have not! You…” Luna blinked, backing up. Her sister’s horn did not glow, her body did not shine with powerful magic. “You… have?”

Celestia nodded her head slowly. “I have.”

“Then, where…” Luna’s mouth fell open.

“Indeed, sister.” Celestia slowly pushed herself back up to her hooves.

“You raised the Sun!” Luna’s shout made Celestia wince slightly, but the larger unicorn’s grin never faltered.

“It is… easier than I thought,” Celestia said, catching her breath. “But I do not think the Circle is nearly so tired once they are finished.”

Luna ran in circles around her older sister, shouting and laughing, while Celestia peered off towards the hillside below, where the other unicorns had gathered, the Circle milling about in their robes in confusion.

“I must apologize.”

“For what?” Luna stopped.

“For raising the Sun without them.”

Luna grinned. “Mayhaps they will call you ‘you’.”

“Mayhaps.” Celestia began walking again, slowly making her way down the hillside, before another gasp from her sister stopped her. “What is it, Luna?”

“Your mark!”

Celestia blinked, then gazed back upon herself; where once naught but white coat had stood, now blazed a golden sun, radiant as the brightest star in the sky.

“Do you still not believe in destiny?” Luna said all too cheerfully.

It was Celestia’s turn to cast her hoof over her eyes.