Sleepless Eternity

So I still dislike teleporting.

I really should have a talk with that with Luna. Actually if I did that I have a strange feeling that I would end up being teleported a lot more often.

I groaned and looked around the room we had appeared in. Judging by the various darkly shaded items, the large bed that was probably larger than a hoof boxing ring, and the large balcony with an amazing view of the city below I am going to go out on a limb and guess that this was Luna’s room. The full representation of the night sky on the ceiling may have given it away as well.

I was about to comment on the ceiling when I noticed that Luna was nowhere to be seen. I took another quick glance around the room to see if I had somehow missed a large alicorn in here somewhere. I noticed a desk in the far corner of the room that was covered in parchment and books, and there was an abacus lying on a pillow, but no Luna.

Then I heard a quite giggle from behind me.

I of course jumped around expecting to see Luna right behind me laughing at me, but all I found was a closed door that was probably a much more enjoyable way to enter the room compared to teleportation.

I heard the balcony doors slam shut behind me, and the room became much darker.

It was at that point that I realized that Luna had a few unexpected tricks up her horn. I didn’t know what game she was playing at, but if she wants to play I can make things interesting.

I noticed several candles placed around the room, and even better a chandelier ready to light this room up completely. I mean how she can hide in the shadows if I take away the shadows?

So I begin to concentrate. Lighting things on fire that aren’t part of my body requires a lot of concentration, and for this to work I would have to focus on all of the candles at the same time and light them at the same time. If I tried to light them one at a time Luna might catch on and change her tactics.

I took a deep breath, and just started imagining my power flowing in the form of heat energy out of my body. It spread around the wicks of each and every one of the candles waiting to ignite. I slowly exhaled, and then lit all of the candles which lit the room in a flare of light.

I quickly turned around to see a shocked Luna who seemed to have been merely seconds away from pouncing onto me from behind.

I just smile and stuck out my tongue at her for the second time today.

“How did you do that?” she asked me after recovering.

“Practice” I said with a perfect deadpan. “A lot of practice.”

“You keep breaking all the rules Sparky. You do know that right?” She asked with a smile.

“I wasn’t aware that there were any ‘rules’ I was supposed to be following” I said feigning innocence.

“Oh yes. You are one of a kind. You’re a thousand year old Pegasus preserved in the prime of his life, you appear to

have a mental control over fire, and you don’t seem to have any fear for the two supreme powers of this world.” She said that last part seductively leaning very close to my ear before continuing “you’ve even managed to seduce one of us.” After she had whispered that little tidbit she nibbled slightly on my ear. I shivered in enjoyment.

“I don’t really know if I seduced her.” I whispered back to her as I slowly nuzzled her “I honestly didn’t expect her to want somepony like me to be a romantic part of her life.”

She pulled back “Why would you assume that?”

“Well it’s not like I’m a regal noble stallion or some knight in shining armor. Believe me I look silly in armor, and well I didn't think a goddess would think of a Pegasus in a romantic way. I was quite resigned to enjoying your friendship, and I didn't want to jeopardize the most interesting thing that had happened to me over something I didn’t think was going to happen.

I looked up at Luna after I finished my little speech. Her eyes were wide and she looked like she was having trouble saying something.

Then she pulled me into a firm embrace with her beautiful wings. “I thought you already understood this.” She said as she increased the force of the embrace. “You aren’t just any normal pony. I don’t have to be Princess Luna with you. I can just be Luna. I don’t have to hide myself from you. I don’t have to think about you slowly growing older until you die and leave me alone.”

I pull away a little so that I could look at her.

“Don’t forget my dashing good looks, sharp wit, and the delightful charm” I responded with a large smile before kissing her quickly before she could stab me with her horn again.

After a moment she pulled back and said “So how does it feel to be the consort of a princess?” she was smiling so wide that it was infectious.

“Well it sounds like a much more regal title than Princess Luna’s coltfriend” replied sarcastically.

“Oh yes it is a very important role” she said with a devious smile “A princess’s consort has to do many important duties”

“What kind of duties Luna?” I asked cautiously.

“Oh well he or she would have to be seen in public with the princess on all formal occasions, they would have to act as the princess’s chief confidant, and of course they would have to attend to other various needs or wants she may have.” She said while her smile deepened and licked her lips

She then proceeded to levitate me with her magic and throw me onto her bed. She quickly joined me on the bed and leaned in again before she whispered “basically you are in charge of keeping your princess happy.”

Then we kissed again.

As we lay on her bed I had many thoughts creep into the back of my mind like ‘I have a feeling that Luna won’t be making this easy for me’ or ‘I wonder why Luna needs a bed in her chambers if she doesn’t sleep?’ and ‘I wonder why that abacus has its own pillow?’ that last one really intrigued me for some reason.

Luna noticed that I was deep in thought and ended the kiss. “I haven’t put too much pressure on you have I?” she asked quickly “I don’t really expect you to be on my beck and call or anything. That was just a joke”

I laughed “It’s not that Luna. I think I can handle public appearances if you actually want me by your side, and I will always be there if you need someone to talk to that’s not an issue at all.”

“Of course I want you by my side. Although we may have to have one of the royal beauticians do something to tame that wild mane of yours.” She said with a smirk before asking “what had you so lost in thought if those weren’t the issues.

“Well I was wondering why you have such a large bed in your room if you don’t sleep.” I replied simply.

For once Luna appeared flustered and she had a rather large blush showing underneath her dark coat.

“Well er you see we—I mean I require a bed for…” her blush intensified she fell silent. It was around that point that I understood the need for a bed.

I decided to avoid an awkward conversation that was best saved for the future by asking about the other interesting object inhabiting this room.

“I was also wondering why there was an abacus lying on a pillow over there.” I said quickly hoping this would take her mind off of its current line of thought.

It worked.

Her blush immediately faded to the point where she actually became slightly pale. She quickly used her magic to shove the abacus carefully under her bed. She then looked back at me sheepishly.

“Is there any particular reason you feel the need to hide your abacus?” I asked now more confused than ever.

“I can’t let her find it” She said in one of the most serious tones I had ever heard her utter.

“Who? Celestia?” I asked wondering why Luna would be so afraid of her sister discovering such a small thing.

“Yes, of course celestia” She said now checking the corners of the room making sure that nopony was hiding there.

“Luna, why would celestia care if you used an abacus?” I asked.

She just stared at the floor and mumbled something.

“What?” I asked trying to figure out what was going on here.

“I named it…” she said.

“…” I couldn’t really think of anything to say to that.

She sighed and made to explain “Well after my return to the castle I was quite reclusive, and I didn’t really know how to interact with other ponies anymore.” She took a deep breath “so I immersed myself in reading about all that I had missed in my absence. So while I was in the library I discovered an abacus and I was overjoyed because it was something that hadn’t changed after a thousand years.”

“And you found comfort in its normalcy” I guessed quickly

She nodded and continued “So after a while I may have become a little bit attached to this particular abacus… okay maybe a little more than attached to it. I would have one sided conversations with it and tuck it in to sleep at night…”

“Well why would that make you afraid of celestia?” I asked

“She found out about my… attachment to it.” She groaned “She began to use it as a way to pull her small pranks and jokes. Eventually I was able to convince her that it was just a phase of coping with the loneliness of my return”

“Was it just a phase?” I asked awkwardly.

“Well I can definitely tell you that I don’t feel lonely anymore” she said while her smile returned to her face.

"I’m glad I can help you with that. I don’t feel lonely anymore either, and I am extremely thankful for that.” I said while leaning into her warm body and giving her a quick nuzzle.

She just leaned back into me and returned to nuzzle.

“I could always help you prank celestia back if you want. I’m pretty proficient with fireworks and other interesting things.” I said with a smirk.

She turned to look at me with a smile that seemed to be filled with thoughts of revenge and said “Oh I would enjoy that greatly, I have some Ideas that should work quite well.”

I quickly reminded myself to never do anything to incur the wrath of Luna. Then I smiled at my now co-conspirator and laughed.

Elsewhere in the castle celestia felt a foreboding feeling rush through her.