Celestia and Luna traversed the narrow corridor of the Council's chambers, carefully moving from hoof to hoof around the booby trapped tiles. "We'll never make it at this rate," Celestia complained, "I hate having to hop around like a rabbit!"
"I know it's a little obstructive, but we'll be safer this way," Luna consoled her older sister. It seemed like, the further they got into the chamber, the worse Celestia's attitude got. She complained about everything, and it was getting on Luna's nerves. She loved her sister, but she still hadn't gotten over the small bouts of selfishness that she possessed when they were fillies.
Celestia rolled her eyes and groaned. She didn't see why they couldn't just go barging ahead, traps or not. After all, they couldn't be that horrible. Ponies still had to come to the Council with their concerns and not be frightened off. She didn't understand the extensive amount of research Luna had done on both the history and the design of the castle. If she had bothered to ask her, she would have found out that every trapped tile contained a different lethal trap. The ponies who visited the Council were guided in by chamber experts. One wrong hoof step, and their blood would stain the floor.
"How much further?" She asked.
"Just a little bit, but for Equestria's sake, be careful! You almost planted your hoof on that tile!" She pointed to a small tile with a picture of a beautiful mare on it. "How is this a trap?" Celestia asked. "If the tiles contain pictures of attractive ponies, then it's always a trap. It was set up this way so that thieves who broke in would be killed, no matter what gender they were. They would be distracted by the nice looking ponies in the engravings and stomp their hooves on them. Then, they could be burned or shot with sharp arrows or sliced right down the middle with an axe! Some legends even purport that there was a hammer that would swing down out of the ceiling and smash the face of one of the ponies."
"Wouldn't it be odd if somepony wrote a song about a hammer smashed face?" Celestia asked.
"I guess so," Luna said, "but what pony would do that?"
Celestia shrugged and the conversation ended. They continued hopping from tile to tile until they got to the end of the corridor. Then, they turned the corner and found their next obstacle. "See that rope bridge?" Luna asked, pointing her hoof at it. Celestia nodded. "Yeah, I see it. But it looks so rickety and frayed."
"That's because it is. We can only cross one at a time, as the bridge will only hold that much weight. It was purposely built poorly so that, if anypony crossed it unauthorized, it would snap and hurtle them down there." She pointed to the deep chasm under the bridge that led directly into a field of sharp spikes. Celestia cringed as she imagined either herself or Luna plummeting to their deaths, their bodies mangled on the salient stalagmites.
"Look, I'll go first and show you how to do it," Luna said as she began her crossing. Her nervous sister watched from the other side, trying not to think about the horrible fate that awaited Luna if the bridge gave way. But her attempts to avoid such thought were futile, and her brain ran wild with blood soaked imagery. She wanted to scream, but she forced herself to keep her mouth shut. Screaming might cause Luna to teeter off balance and fall to her death.
Meanwhile, on the bridge, Luna kept a rigid composure as she placed her hooves slowly and deliberately. Don't look down, she told herself, keep your eyes on the other side. You can do this, Luna! As she walked along, she thought about her sister. She loved Celestia very much, but it seemed that she wasn't confident in her new role as a princess. They could raise the sun and the moon, but a dark shadow seemed to loom over Celestia's heart. Maybe she's taken the realization of our father's corruption too hard. Oh, gosh! I hope she doesn't lose faith in us and what we can accomplish! By that time, she had made it to the other side and she called back to her sister. "Alright, Tia! Come on! You can do this! I believe in you!"
Celestia looked up and she felt reinvigorated by her sister's encouragement. So she leapt onto the bridge and caused it to wobble severely. "Celestia!" Luna yelled and ran over to steady the crossing. For a few moments, both sisters held their breath, hoping and willing the bridge to remain intact. After they got it back under control, Luna gave Celestia a stern look. "What the hay was that?!"
"I don't know! You told me that you believed in me, and that made me excited, so I just took a leap of faith!"
"It was blind luck, and you know it! Faith is all well and good, Celestia, but you've gotta look before planting your hooves somewhere!"
Celestia once again realized the wisdom in her sister's biting rebuke, and kept quiet as she made her way across the bridge. When she got to Luna's side, she wrapped the surprised blue pony up in a tight hug. "Thank you, Luna," she said, "you saved my life."
Luna smiled up at Celestia, but then frowned a bit. "No, I didn't save anything. You did this all yourself. I realize that I've been a terribly bossy pony over the past few days, and I apologize for that."
"No, don't," Celestia said, "I need to grow up. You have, and it's benefitted you so much. I need to learn to be a strong willed and determined princess."
The two sisters smiled and joined hooves in a show of unity. Just then, a flash of magic emanated throughout the room. They felt their hooves lift off the floor, as magic coursed throughout their bodies. Luna felt a searing pain on her flank. She wanted to scream, but managed to keep everything internal. By contrast, Celestia felt a soothing heat on her flank. When they got put back down and the magic disseminated, they both turned and looked. "Our cutie marks!" They breathed in one voice. Celestia's was a beautiful and radiant sun, and Luna's was a mysterious crescent moon.
"Hm…" Celestia pondered, "these each have something to do with our power over celestial bodies. I wonder why we didn't receive them before now?"
"Maybe it's because we didn't understand the power of our sisterhood," Luna remarked, "there must be a magic so deep and so unbelievable in the bond we share. We didn't get that until we joined hooves just now. We truly have left our fillyhood behind, and now nothing can stop us!"
Celestia nodded, and the princesses turned and raced ahead, fearless of what might befall them. After all, they had each other and they knew they could face any trial, as long as they did it together. They dove through thorny bushes, swung across rivers, and solved various puzzles as they made their way towards the inner chamber and the Council's meeting area. But one final test awaited them, and it was a test that would cause anypony's stomach to churn. They turned a corner and arrived at a certain pit. Luna gulped as she remembered reading about the final test. "I…forgot about this one," she said.
"What is it, dear sister?" Celestia asked.
"It's…the insect pit."