Hey!

Timeskip here. I won't say how much time passed, it's up to you~

I'm speeding up because I believe everything is already set for Luna's fall, or almost, with this chapter. Poor Staria completely fades in the background, and every small incident that happened in the previous chapters keep happening over and over over the years (this sentence is a bit overwhelming -alright, I'll stop), worsening everything until she snaps. And the main reason for this is both their inability to talk about it (If you don't speak of it then it doesn't exist, right?) and Celestia's obliviousness.

On another note, I don't quite like how I portrayed Celestia in this story. I painted her as a selfish, self-centered blind sister, but I believe she could have been this way before getting the harshest wake-up call. I can picture her loosing herself in their ponies's love and all, forgetting about the more important things, like her sister's feelings. In the show she's portrayed as a wise and great ruler, something she can't have been since the very beginning, in my opinion. She is wise because she's been foolish, and she's generous and kind because she's been selfish and cupid. I have a feeling if each sister had a peculiar sin, then Celestia would be Pride and Luna would be Envy. I'll let you guess as to what Staria is~

Oh, this is also the first chapter I wrote for this story, sooo...well. I'll let you judge.

Special inspiration by The Cost of the Crown by Shandeen O'Neill. Listen to it, it's absolutely fantastic.

That said...enjoy!

XxxX

…And that foolish pony did nothing to stop…

Weeks turned into months and months turned into years.

Luna grew into a beautiful, confident mare, fulfilling her duties with ease and grace, and greatly lightening Staria's burden. The three of them slowly grew with the years, watching as time changed and aged their ponies, but never changed them. Nothing could ease the pain of losing their loved ones, though they learned to deal with the pain each in their own way. Luna found a refuge in their ponies' dreams, helping them find peace and protecting them from harm; Celestia buried herself in ruling Equestria, taking on her shoulders as many duties as she could as to both spare her sisters and always staying busy. As for Staria, she found solace in solitude, in gazing at the midnight sky while recalling her fondest memories of the departed. The pain eventually lessened and the wounds closed somewhat, but the time it took created a distance between them, stronger than even before, and suddenly their priorities just weren't the same anymore.

Where before they had tried to spend always some time together, suddenly the kingdom took precedence, even for Luna, who'd fought so hard for them to stay close through ruling the kingdom. All three of them grew isolated in their own ways, not seeing the others as much as they once did; and though they'd do anything to protect each other, the complicity of the past, which had steadily started disappearing as they each grew absorbed with their own duties, wasn't quite there anymore.

And through this distance, the lack of communication and time, what once was a perfect harmony between the three rulers slowly began to shift into something darker, shakier –and bound to fail.

…

"Yet another thing you didn't ask our opinion about, Sister."

"It's just a painting, Luna. Smile for the artist."

"Are you commanding me to smile?"

"Luna…"

"Fine."

…

Thinking back on it, Staria guessed she should have seen it coming.

Celestia had always been a born leader, taking a strange pleasure in leading and having others depend on her. She had noticed it when they were fillies, but she had never thought it would go so far.

She was completely forgetting them!

"Does she even realise what she's doing?" Luna hissed by her side. There was a time where Staria would have reprimanded Luna for her tone, taken Celestia's defence, explain everything to her –but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not when she was half a mind away from giving the white alicorn a piece of her mind.

Watching Celestia bask so serenely in their ponies' adoration as though she was their sole ruler made her want to break something. It just negated both of their existence, negated their duties, their roles –everything they were. Her own sense of self had been shaken enough when Luna slowly drifted away from her to be with Celestia; she did not need another blow to her already shattered ego. Somewhere deep down, she knew Celestia wasn't doing it on purpose; she just loved the attention a tad too much, she probably didn't even realise how it made both of her sisters feel.

On that note, the problem had to be easy to solve. Her sister wouldn't hurt them both just for glory, her mind assured her. If they voiced their feelings on the matter, they could come to an agreement. She did not doubt it, and it eased her the slightest bit.

"We'll talk to her, Luna," she said after a short silence. "I'm pretty sure she doesn't realize."

"Oh, really?" Luna answered sarcastically. "It does look like she's fully aware of what she's doing to me." Staria sighed.

"If we want to solve this issue, Sister, please hold your tongue. We will achieve nothing if you antagonise her."

Luna scoffed, but thankfully kept quiet. She was angry, that much she could understand, but it was nothing that could not be cooled down. What worried her was that Luna had always been the type to hold a grudge –she hoped her sister wouldn't hold it against Celestia. Though these two had gotten a lot closer after Luna got her cutie mark and wings –somewhat sharing the same duty and all- there were still sore subjects between them. One of them being hugging all the attention to herself. Their mother had always spent more time with Celestia, being the eldest and thus responsible for them three, something Luna had never quite accepted as a filly, and this insecurity reared its ugly head whenever one of her sister got too much attention. But this time, Staria couldn't exactly blame her.

It was no secret to them that Celestia just loved basking in their ponies' attention, often forgetting she wasn't Equestria's only ruler. True, she had taken up most of the crown's duties and appeared in public a lot more than the two of them, who preferred the peacefulness of the night to the enthusiastic chatter of the day. The natural result of this being that the ponies knew and trusted the Sun princess much more than the Moon and Star princesses, and they felt left out.

The heavy doors to the throne room slammed shut behind the last ponies. Celestia closed her eyes and stretched with a content sigh, before slowly going down the few steps which raised the throne above the ground. And once her hooves safely touched the beautiful purple carpet in the middle of the chamber –she noticed her sisters' presence.

"Star, Luna," she said, surprised. "Did you need something? I didn't see either of you."

"Oh, really," Luna muttered under her breath, though Celestia didn't hear her. Staria gave her a warning glance, before turning to the Sun princess.

"Actually, sister, we wanted to speak with you."

"Really? What is it?"

"Well…It's just that…How should I put it…" She fumbled with her words, unsure as to how she could straight out tell Celestia that she was taking credit for everything they did together.

"You're always out there, speaking to our ponies, and we…they don't know us. They know and they trust you, but not us, because…" Luna's aura was slowly darkening with each passing second, and Staria feared what would happen if she didn't neutralize the living bomb. Quickly.

"It feels as though you're the sole ruler of Equestria, Tia. Our ponies are assuming you do everything while we just raise the Stars and the Moon." Celestia arched a brow.

"What are you talking about? We're the three rulers of Equestria. They know this." Staria shook her head ruefully.

"You're holding precedence over us. I know you don't do it on purpose, but-"

"I'm not, Staria. You both feel insecure and I understand that, but you don't have to worry. Our ponies know Luna raises the Moon and you raise the Stars, so you don't have to-"

"Are you kidding me?"

Both sisters turned to the youngest. Luna glared at Celestia with the coldest expression they'd ever seen on her face.

"Are you so self-centred that you don't even see the problem? The ponies don't give a damn about us, because all they see is you! We're just background figures with little to no meaning, little to no importance!"

"Sister-"

"But you don't care, do you? As long as you can bask in the glory of our kingdom alone, you couldn't care less if they shunned the Night, because you deem it less important than the day, and they follow you on this judgement!"

"Luna, you're not-"

"I AM! They don't see me, Tia! They only see you! But you don't understand, do you? You don't know what it's like and you never will. Coming here was a complete waste of time."

Luna whirled around and marched out of the room, slamming the door as she went. Celestia did not even flinch at the loud sound. The oldest of the three merely shook her head, sighing. Luna had always been the most temperamental of them –or maybe it was because she was the youngest. She wasn't as mature as they were; her cutie mark was still fairly recent compared to them both. They could not expect the same dedication, the same strength from her that they both had. The Sun princess turned to her sister, completely missing her misty eyes and shaking limbs. Her dark mane hid it all, and Celestia had always been slightly oblivious to others' feelings. A flaw she had never quite managed to correct, even with several years of ruling under her belt. A flaw that would eventually be their downfall.

Celestia was oblivious, Luna was resentful, and Staria was powerless to stop it all.

Celestia sighed.

"I hope she will not sulk all day, she can't miss the ball tonight." She made to leave, and Staria stiffened.

"Tia," She started uneasily, "You can't just dismiss us like that."

"She'll come around eventually, Star. Don't worry about her. She's younger, so she doesn't understand the true weight of the crown yet, but it will come." Staria did not answer, and the pink-maned alicorn merely brushed her nose against hers, wishing her a good day before leaving the throne room. Staria stayed behind, and the tears she'd been holding back slowly rolled down her cheeks, falling to the ground with a softness that did not match the bitterness in her soul.

Both Luna and she had come to Celestia, because they both felt wronged by the elder. Both of them had decided to attend the issue, because both of them were victims of Celestia's way of ruling. But in the end…

In the end, Luna had unknowingly pushed her out of the picture. As though she did not matter. As though she wasn't affected by this. And Celestia hadn't understood it, either. Were they both blind? Selfish? Or just oblivious? Was she so easily forgettable? Celestia and Luna had grown closer due to the similarities between their powers, the Moon and the Sun. The greatest celestial beings in the universe; who was she, with her meagre stars, to compare to the both of them? It had started plaguing her when Luna got her cutie mark –when she had slowly started to turn away from her to be at Celestia's side. Luna might ignore it, but she knew that the ponies knew Staria even less than they knew her. She wasn't important. There already was a Night ruler; there was no need for two.

But she was stuck here, with her sisters. Stuck until something changed. Something that was soon to happen, that she could not stop –that she wouldn't be a part of, no matter how hard she wished she was. Everything had already been set into motion, and Celestia was in for a rude awakening once it started.

In the now empty room, Staria's whisper echoed like a death sentence.

"Looks to me that you don't understand the true weight of the crown either, Sister..."

XxxX

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