There was a frantic clatter of hooves as Twilight Sparkle rushed to answer the knock on her door. The slightly frazzled look on her face lasted only a second when she saw who was on her doorstep.
“Oh. You’re not the guest I was expecting.”
The grey pegasus in front of her laughed lightly. “Well then, surprise.”
“What are you doing here at this hour, Ditzy?”
“I have a special delivery for you from Zecora. She thought it was too important to wait until morning.” She pulled a small parcel, with a scroll attached, from her saddlebag.
Twilight gratefully relieved her of the package, taking it in her magic to inspect the note on the front. “Ah! Thank you so much, it was really important I get this tonight.”
“No problem, just doing my job.” Ditzy mock-saluted with a grin.
“Really though, thank you for taking the trouble to come out here so late.”
“Oh, it’s no trouble at all. I like stretching my wings with a nighttime flight now and then. Especially on a beautiful night like tonight.”
“I suppose it is a nice night out, isn’t it?” Twilight glanced at the cloudless, starry sky, smiling slightly at the calming sight. “The moon is shining so bright.”
Ditzy looked up at the moon as well, a smile on her face as the light sparked off her misaligned eyes. “I always sort of liked the moon better than the sun,” she commented quietly.
Twilight had to smile at the peaceful joy in her voice. “Really? Why’s that?” Ditzy tended to get picked on by some ponies for her uncoordinated nature, but whenever Twilight had talked to her, she found her to be a rather insightful and pleasant mare. She really didn't understand how anypony could be mean to her, and was always curious to hear the optimistic pegasus’ unique outlook on things.
“Hmm, I’m not quite sure how to explain.” She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. “I guess it’s because it’s so pretty. But then, that doesn't really cover it either.” She laughed and stared at the moon while she decided how to phrase it. She was so deep in thought that she failed to notice the fluttering of wings behind her as two other ponies arrived. “I’m not saying that the sun isn't pretty too,” She soon continued. “It’s just, you can actually look at the moon. All bright and glowing, and covered in little spots, like it’s got freckles or something. If you try to really look at the sun, you’ll just hurt your eyes. And the last thing I need is to do anything else to my eyes.” Ditzy laughed softly at her own joke.
Her expression softened as she continued to stare at the glowing surface of the moon. “When I was a filly, and I couldn’t sleep, I would lay in my bed and just stare at the moon for hours, memorizing every single little spot on it‘s surface. I remember, the bright half of the moon always looked so pretty, it made me smile. But, the darker half, with the Mare in the Moon, it always made me feel sad. Not even because of the stories or anything, it just looked sad to me. Less bright and pleasant.” She smiled again before continuing. “Ever since Princess Luna came back, though, the moon’s been more beautiful than I ever remember seeing it. It glows extra bright, like it’s happy to have the Princess back down here where she belongs.”
Ditzy bashfully ran a hoof through her mane. “Sorry, I’m rambling now. I guess my point is, I always liked the moon, but I like it even better since Princess Luna has been taking care of it. She makes it extra beautiful.”
A voice responded to her, but it was quite distinctly not Twilight’s. “She is very good at what she does. Even after a thousand years, I was never especially good with controlling her moon. There is a reason we each earned our cutie marks, after all.”
Ditzy whipped around in surprise to find probably the last thing she had been expecting to see that night. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were standing behind her. Celestia was smiling warmly down at her. Luna, on the other hand, had a look of disbelieving joy on her face, and it almost seemed like she was about to cry.
“W-wha? When did you-? How long have you been-?” Ditzy stumbled over her words in horrified shock, then let out a squeak of terror as she realized exactly who was standing before her, and quickly dropped into a bow.
Celestia laughed gently. “That’s not necessary. Please, stand up.”
Ditzy did as she was told, simultaneously attempting to flatten down her feathers which had fluffed out with surprise. She quickly glanced to her left, to see Twilight trying very hard not to laugh. Gauging by this, she assumed her expression at the moment must have been rather absurd. She tried to calm herself down, but instead froze up when Princess Luna met her gaze.
The Princess’s face was a sea of emotion. Heartache and joy, disbelief and wonder, sorrow and relief. Ditzy was surprised to hear her voice come out so steady considering how she looked. “I cannot begin to express what your words mean to me. 'Tis very rare that I receive such praise. Rarer still that it should sound so sincere. Tell me, what is your name?”
“Um, Ditzy Doo, your highness.” She could barely get her words above a whisper. She never thought she was anypony special, but here was the Princess of the Night asking to know her name.
Luna nodded gratefully, almost bowing to the startled pegasus. “Then, thank you, Ditzy Doo, for your truly kind words. I am deeply grateful to know there are ponies like you, who care so for my night. For one who would show me such kindness, titles like highness are unneeded. Luna will be more than sufficient form of address.”
“O-okay, Luna then.” This was proving a bit too much for Ditzy to handle all at once. Realizing she should probably respond properly, she took a steadying breath and smiled awkwardly. “Um, I wasn't really trying to, but I‘m happy I was able to make you so happy. I wouldn't think the opinions of somepony like me would even matter to royalty. I mean, I’m not anypony important.”
“Miss Ditzy Doo,” Celestia spoke in an almost reprimanding tone. “I have been around for millennia, and I can I assure you, I have never met a pony who was unimportant.”
Ditzy blinked in surprise. Having encountered members of the Canterlot elite a few times, she hadn't been expecting the Princesses to be so kind and down to earth. It was certainly a pleasant surprise, though. “Well, thank you, Princess,” she finally managed to stutter out. “Regardless of how important I may or may not be though, it’s really such an honor to be able to meet you both.” Hoping she wasn't making a fool of herself, Ditzy glanced at Twilight again. Looking at Clestia's personal student, she suddenly realized why the Princesses were likely in Ponyville in the first place.
“Oh!” she near shouted in embarrassment. “You probably have something important you need to talk to Twilight about, don’t you? I’ll just go ahead and go then. If that’s okay. I don‘t want to take up all your time.”
“Of course,” Celestia said with a polite nod. “I’m sure you must have things to do as well. It was very nice meeting you, miss Ditzy Doo.”
“Indeed,” Luna chimed in with her own farewell. “Twas a pleasure. What you have said means more to me than you could ever know. Thank you, again, and I hope you have a pleasant night, miss.”
“Heh, thanks. I hope you have a good night too. Bye, Twilight. Goodbye, Princess Celestia, Luna.” Ditzy backed away, bowing repeatedly, and nearly tripping over her own hooves before quickly trotting off. This was definitely a night to walk home. She didn't trust herself to fly straight after a surprise like that. It would be at least another hour before she could convince herself that encounter had actually happened.
Author's Note
This is just an aimless little thing I wrote a couple months back. Not meant to be anything special, but I hope you got some enjoyment out of it.
