A Drop of Fuel for a Nightmare

Chapters

Day One
Potential mistakes
Defrosting
Reheating
Dinner for one
A changed mare
An unexpected proposal
Epilogue

Day One

A drop of fuel for a Nightmare.

You opened your eyes. Then you closed them, and opened them again - they didn't seem to be working. It was still dark. A pained look outside told you the sun had already set.

Groaning, you awkwardly reached around for your lamp, swinging at random until your hand brushed against something you could use to find it. Hitting the button, the light sprung into life, illuminating the room.

It had been several days since your arrival, and you'd slowly become more acclimatised to a nocturnal sleeping pattern, in preparation for your new job as Princess Luna's manservant slash friend. As close to "friend" as you can get when you're being paid to do it, anyway.

Stumbling slightly as you arose from your warm, though still uncomfortable and absurdly undersized bed, you made your way to your wardrobe and pulled out a set of clothes at random. It was time to start the day - or rather, night.

Given the late hour of your awakening, your first order of business was to visit Celestia and tell her you were ready to begin, your schedule now as inverted as it was going to get.

"Oh, wonderful!" Celestia exclaimed, stifling a yawn and shifting her wings slightly under her thin yellow nightgown after you eventually found her preparing to sleep in her royal chambers. It took a lot of explaining for the guards to allow you access, but they seemed to know you were coming.

"Follow me and I'll introduce you both, then!" she continued, walking out of her chambers still wearing two pairs of soft, pink hoof slippers rather than her usual attire. Her hair, normally left to float freely in the air, was tied back and resting against her neck, much like anypony else's mane would be. The princess of the day looked far less intimidating during the night, looking more like an oversized unicorn than an indomitable goddess.

"Now, I should warn you, my sister is having a lot of trouble adjusting to all the changes. I trust you will be sensitive and try not to offend her," she warned as you walked, taking the short journey back to the hallway containing both your and Luna's accommodation. "Unfortunately, she and I disagree on a great many things, and without her influence the kingdom has strayed from many of her ideals. Please try and remember, she means well, even if she has difficulty showing it."

Celestia's words were worrying - when you'd been warned about her 'struggling to adapt', you'd assumed that meant shy and reclusive, but that description sounded like anything but. Celestia almost seemed concerned for your safety, though you were sure she would never put one of her subjects at undue risk.

Celestia knocked on Luna's door with a hoof, rapping against the wood three times. It was answered with silence.

"Luna? It's me, open up!" Celestia called through, banging on the door once more and trying to get her sister's attention.

A moment later, you heard the sound of metal grating against rock as the door was unlocked, and opened, by one of Luna's personal guard. Unlike Celestia's bright white pegasi, Luna's guard had a dark coat, and a pair of fragile, batlike wings. He - it? - stared at the two of you unemotionally, its attitude seeming every bit as unnatural as its body, filling you with a sense of dread. Some of the legends you'd read of Princess Luna's Night Guard, from back before her banishment, read like horror stories - you were shocked that such things could still happen now.

"My princess." it spoke, keeping its words curt and its voice level, "Princess Luna is occupied at present, though of course she will make an exception for you."

"Thank you, Shadow." Celestia replied, naming the pony and putting him at ease. He relaxed, and his wings folded back to his side as he bowed and retreated to let you pass. Without the unpleasant wings, he looked much like any other guard, just darker. Stepping back, he seemed to fade into the shadows as Celestia walked inside, tutting as she began to walk up the spiral staircase leading to Luna and lighting each dormant candle she found along the way, lighting up the path.

Bowing slightly to the guard as you passed - is that what you were meant to do? You supposed you were on about the same social level, now - you hurried after Celestia, not wanting to be alone in this unfamiliar area.

At the top of the staircase was another set of huge wooden doors, presumably leading into the main room of Luna's tower. Celestia's horn glowed, and the two doors smoothly swung open, slowly revealing the vast chamber that made up the majority of the tower. The far side of the room consisted of a huge pair of windows, currently open to the night. The two visible walls were adorned with bookshelves, the sheer quantity probably rivalling some small fraction of the main Canterlot library itself. Punctuating the bookshelves were several doors leading off into other rooms, and the centre of the hall was filled with a large table, surely capable of seating dozens of ponies with ease.

The one creature in the room was Luna herself, facing away from both of you as she hovered in the air, staring out into the night sky as she stretched her hooves around, moving and shifting areas of the starscape to better suit her mood. A few moments later, she nodded softly to herself and slowly dropped to the ground, seemingly pleased with her work. Her hooves struck the cold stone floor with a clink as she finally landed.

Her hair looked like an inverted parody of Celestia's daytime mane, the dark center bordered by a semitransparent strip as it flowed through the air, seemingly not caring for the direction of the wind as it waved around behind her. You quickly found yourself becoming lost in it - unlike Celestia's mane, which apart from its otherworldly glow and impossible flow seemed reasonable, Luna's seemed to go on forever. The more you stared, the more details became apparent to you, from pinpricks of light shining through it, to areas of colour and shape. Luna's mane reflected the night sky itself, and staring into it was like looking into the vast expanse of nothingness above the skies of Equestria, unmarred by clouds or your lack of a telescope. No wonder the legends spoke of Luna's terrifying appearance.

As she turned, her body was illuminated by a sudden bolt of lightning, silhouetting her against the moon as it rose behind her, completing her night. You found yourself cowering slightly behind Celestia, your bravery slipping away as you faced the princess of darkness at the height of her power.

"Lu!" Celestia scolded, shoving you out from behind her, "you know there's no need for such a display in private!"

Luna sighed, lowering her head as she walked into the chamber proper, closing the windows as she went. They were stained glass, and depicted the moon in its various stages, save for the lowest parts which were clear. "I know, sister. Forgive me, I simply wished to practice for when I show our subjects my power once more."

Luna spoke fairly softly, her voice like a chorus of angels. Her mane lowered, though it still continued to flow against an invisible wind, and grew foggier, disguising its depths and making her easier to view.

"I understand, I just wish you wouldn't do so when we had guests," she replied, pointing you out with a wave of her slippered hoof. "I have somebody I'd like you to meet, I think you'll find him quite useful. I thought you could use somebody to help you with whatever you need, so meet-"

Luna interrupted, her voice growing harder and louder as she began to shout. "Sister, you should have told us we were addressing a subject! Furthermore, it is unfitting of position to refer to us as 'Lu' while lesser ears listen!" she said, a curious mixture of her previously beautiful voice and a shout. The chorus of angels had turned to something less beautiful, but nonetheless awe-inspiring, terrifying, and commanding of respect. "We have no need of an exotic pet, as you and your student have taken, and are quite capable of looking after ourselves!"

Celestia visibly winced. She turned to face you, whispering "Could we please have a moment in private?" and motioning back towards the door. You were only too happy to be removed from Princess Luna's sight, and gladly took the opportunity to hide behind a set of huge wooden doors. Celestia closed them shut behind you, muffling their conversation too much for you to make out what they were saying.

Falling back against the door, you relaxed, slowly letting your body calm down. Celestia was probably right, Luna didn't actually mean any harm. Perhaps ponies were just less easy to scare 1000 years ago, or perhaps Luna just didn't care. Either way, you had serious doubts about your ability to fill your post.

"Hey, don't worry about it," the guard advised, appearing seemingly out of nowhere. "She's just like that, she wants us to respect her, but she still wants what's best for the kingdom and the rest of us."

You thanked him for his advice - you didn't catch his name earlier?

"Shadow Shield," he replied, puffing out his chest and standing to attention, "corny, I know, but I didn't choose it. I saw you staring earlier, by the way. No, the wings aren't real, though I can fly on them. The princess likes the look better, apparently. Anyway, just hang in there, you'll get used to her. That's really all I had to say, I'd better get back downstairs."

With that, he faded back into the shadows and you lost track of him. You'd have to get somebody to teach you how to do that one.

Feeling more sure of yourself now, you continued waiting, the muffled conversation dying down a few moments before the door slowly opened once more.

"Please, come." Celestia motioned, inviting you back inside. Luna looked far more sedate than before, her hair barely rippling in the air, and almost completely fogged to the point you couldn't see any deeper. She looked far more approachable, for sure.

"Subject," Luna half-shouted, her tone still controlled and demanding of attention and respect, but no longer terrifying, "we have agreed with our sister's plans, and you shall assist us in our night to night tasks. We trust you are ready to begin?"

You nodded - maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Celestia smiled as she saw the two of you begin to get along, and bid her farewell, retiring to her chambers for a much deserved night's rest. For you, and for Princess Luna, though, the night was only just starting. It couldn't be that bad, could it?

Potential mistakes

A drop of fuel for a Nightmare

Your head hit the rough pillowcase mere instants before Celestia's sun rose from beyond the horizon, signifying the end of your day, and the start of most everybody else's. Though your curtains were still open, and the full power of the beating sun shone freely into your room, you were asleep moments later, your body exhausted and your mind too tired to think.

That was one day down. It would surely get better after this, the day could hardly have gone worse. Though you didn't want to think about it, your dreams were filled with pointless recollection.

Your courage had almost failed you as you stood on the opposite end of the room to Luna, the princess of the night and the literal ruler of darkness. Even trying her best to not be terrifying, she was an intimidating sight, easily standing almost as tall as you were, but with a body that looked like it was built out of pure muscle, a mane that even disguised still clearly held unknowable depths, a horn that looked like it could be used as a deadly weapon, and worst of all, a piercing set of eyes that looked more like they were staring into your soul than merely looking at your body.

The day hadn't gotten much better after that. Princess Luna's first suggestion had been for her to begin your instruction immediately, and you had, of course, agreed. Most of the rest of the day - night? - from that point had been her impatiently walking you through various menial chores, from alphabetising bookshelves, to cleaning bathrooms (She had several. As far as you knew, nobody else was allowed inside the tower, and you weren't allowed to use any of them.), to making her bed, and everything inbetween. The upshot was that after your day's crash course in cleaning, you felt far more capable of taking that tower and making it spotless.

If only that had been all that had happened, though. Your first mistake of the day had come early, answering one of her questions with a meek "Yes, Luna".

"You shall refer to us as 'Princess', 'Princess Luna', 'My Lady', or any other sufficiently respectful name, subject." she had warned, her hair rising above her as she became angered, showing you the merest glimpse of her potential wrath. It wasn't surprising to you that ponies still remembered Nightmare Night even 1000 years after it had occurred, though it was amusing that generation after generation had turned it into more of a celebration than a reverence.

The night's conversations had been practical and to the point - Luna was terse and irritable, viewing your failures with disdain and your successes as barely acceptable, and was generally unresponsive to questioning, preferring instead to add yet more chores to your list of activities. By the time Luna said it was time to set the moon, you were having trouble staying awake, and she excused you so you could sleep while she performed the final task of her day.

You awoke the next evening to find the sun setting over the distant horizon, the last few rays of the dying day illuminating your room. You spent a few moments admiring the view before forcing yourself out of bed, begrudgingly ready to begin your night.

A few minutes later, you were greeting Shadow Shield once again as he opened the door to let you enter Luna's tower. The second time round he was far less intimidating, even with his wings outstretched you knew he was just as much a person as you were. You exchanged greetings and pleasantries as he walked upstairs by your side, holding up a candle to ensure you had a safe journey.

Setting down the candle, he started to push against the door, very slowly opening it. After you joined in, pressing all your weight against the huge wooden structure, it began to open more smoothly, allowing you access to Luna's main hall. He wished you good luck as the two of you closed the door, you pushing and him pulling, and then you were alone.

The hall looked completely different during the day, the light streaming through the stained glass window and painting brightly coloured patterns over the walls and floor. It was beautiful, and it was a shame Luna was about to wake up and rob you of the sight.

Right on cue, one of the princess' bedroom doors clicked open, and Luna walked out. She squinted against the harsh light and brought up a hoof to shield her eyes as she stared out through the window, completely missing you. Her footsteps were silent, as she was wearing a set of dark fuzzy slippers as opposed to her previous armoured shoes, and her body was covered not by her normal regalia, but by a thin black nightgown, adorned with a silver moon covering where her cutie mark would be. Her hair, much like her sister's was the night before, was tied back against her neck with a thin length of elastic.

She yawned as she walked through the room towards one of the doors on the far side, before stopping as she caught sight of you.

"I... We did not realise you were so prompt, subject." she spoke, harshly but not as loud as she had spoken the day before, "We congratulate you on your punctuality."

She began to step backwards as she hurried back into her room, and you could have sworn you almost saw a blush starting to form on her face. "We shall be preparing for the day if you need us. For now, we require breakfast, please prepare some."

The door swung shut considerably harder than it had opened, closing with a bang. Perhaps Luna hadn't remembered you were meant to be here.

That one moment gave you the word you'd use to define the rest of the day, "Awkward". You tried your best to not get in Luna's way, and do everything she asked, but most of the day was spent in silence, you filing and sorting and cleaning and searching and doing all the tasks Luna would normally have performed alone, while Luna performed her royal duties.

Luna's duties were, naturally, much lighter than Celestia's, which was filled with politics and ponies. Both of those things were hard to find in a sleeping kingdom, so Luna ended up merely looking after the stars, and watching over a silent land where nothing ever changed.

In her downtime, Luna seemed to be catching up on 1000 years of Equestrian history. It was a subject that fascinated you, and you'd learned a lot about the recent history of the world, but Luna tended not to appreciate you speaking without being spoken to, so you remained silent.

Come daybreak, you were exhausted once again. Luna opened the door as the two of you bid good day and went your separate ways, preparing to slumber. You were less tired than you had been the day before, and took the opportunity to examine the night sky from your bedroom window, staring out into the dark expanse. The beautiful rolling hills you'd seen so shortly before were gone, replaced with a black infinity. Cloudsdale, too, was invisible against the night sky. Against the horizon, you could slightly make out Manehatten, the sun hiding just beyond the curve and illuminating the city. You turned away in disappointment, looking towards the painting above your bed. It wasn't as good, but it was something, reminding you of the beauty this fair land could command.

Defrosting

A drop of fuel for a Nightmare

The next few weeks were much of the same. Wake up, make Luna some form of breakfast, then spend the rest of the day assisting her in whatever she felt appropriate. In many ways, it was a nice life - you were well paid, well fed, kept warm, were slowly making friends with Shadow Shield, and simply had to follow orders. If assisting your princess wasn't a fulfilling job, then what was?

You were fully aware, though, that you didn't seem to be making much progress on the other half of your job description. Cleaning Luna's bathroom wasn't getting you any close to "making friends" as Celestia had so simply put it. As if that was going to be easy.

Today had been a day like any other. You'd finished Luna's breakfast a little early (A simple meal that morning, dried hay and milk) and got to watch her reshape the sky to her whims. The night sky was becoming more interesting to you, though the sheer scale of it still proved impossible to comprehend.

Watching Luna create it, though, was something else entirely. The way she floated in the air, wings outstretched but not flapping, with her mane and tail flowing even stronger than usual as she concentrated, building the sky and bringing up the moon, was truly beautiful. Spellbinding, in fact. Not that you had any desire to look away - there wasn't a pony in the land who would deny that the two princesses were gorgeous. The moon slowly rose up, silhouetting her and exemplifying her form, showing you the way her body curved and turned.

You had to look away, worried the princess would notice your interest in her went beyond simple professional courtesy. It saddened you for a lot of reasons that Luna couldn't open up - not just because it meant you were failing at your job, but on a more personal level too. She seemed so alone.

Celestia had been right when she said that Luna didn't talk to many ponies. Nobody else ever came up into the tower, and Shadow had told you he was under instruction to deny access to everybody, with the only exception being you. Celestia, of course, was an implicit exception to every rule. Though you didn't mean to, you often surprised her as you moved around her tower between chores, finding her lost in reading, or inspecting treaties with other nations Celestia needed her approval for, or many other tasks. Sometimes, though, she was doing none of those things, and was just sitting there staring off into space. You'd have loved to ask her what she was thinking, but she wouldn't have appreciated it.

You looked at your list of chores. First up was reorganising the previous week's reading. Luna was slowly working her way through a millennia of history, literature, art, and culture, but she hadn't yet mastered cleaning up after herself. That meant you had a huge pile of books, each of which lived somewhere along the bookshelves. They were organised... in some manner, though not one you'd managed to figure out just yet. It was long, tiring work, involving a lot of climbing up and down ladders and staring at tiny print to figure out where things were best kept. You thought you had better get started earlier rather than later, then.

An hour or so, and a small fraction into the first pile later, you heard Luna quietly talking to herself. Straining your ears, you listened in.

"So... they named bad dreams after me? Is that what they think of me now? Am I a caricature of what I wanted, now?" she whispered, staring down at the book she was cradling in her hooves. From the way she was holding it, you could see the cover - you recognised it, you'd read it yourself. It was far from your favourite, but it had been the book that had first gotten you interested in the legend of Nightmare Moon, entirely because of it's biased and unfair portrayal of a historical figure as some kind of demon. It had seemed so damning it couldn't possibly have been true.

Most of that book was discredited ages ago, you told her, it's one of the least fair representations of the legend you'd read. You could recommend some others if she was interested, ones better written. It was only after a few moments that you realised you'd said all that out loud, without asking for permission to speak, and without ending your sentence with ", Princess." Curse your love of Equestrian history getting the better of you.

"Oh?" she exclaimed, raising her head, "You know of our tale?"

Of course, you admitted. It was a fascinating story, and one far less black and white than many sources made it out to be. While you certainly didn't agree with what Nightmare Moon had done, you thought Luna's reported downfall 1000 years prior was less cut and dry than too many ponies considered it. Though you were interested in all Equestrian history, her tale fascinated you the most.

"How fascinating, we are surprised a non-pony has taken such an interest in ancient politics. Come, tell us of these recommendations, we have yet to see an accurate depiction of events and have been considering writing a complaint to many of these authors." she exclaimed, turning to face you and inviting you to take a seat opposite her at the large stone table.

The next few hours were spent almost tutoring the princess, guiding her towards more balanced retellings and books generally accepted as factually correct. Her voice was as curt as ever, but this time she was using it to ask for your opinion, not give orders.

"So, subject. What does our kingdom really think of us?" she suddenly asked, midway through reading a chapter on the immediate political fallout of Nightmare Moon.

You knew that that was a difficult question to answer, especially so for you. Most of your knowledge came from books, and given that living in Manehatten was an exercise in avoiding others your knowledge of current popular opinion was limited. Regardless, everything you knew about it pointed to one thing: distrust. Not through malice, but through ignorance - Nightmare Moon was a tale used to scare fillies, so having even something tangentially related return to the kingdom was worrying for a lot of ponies. It was all made worse by Luna's lack of public appearances.

"We... can't." Luna slowly admitted. "Even within the castle, our presence is met with fear and suspicion. The kingdom is meant to love us, must we really enforce it upon them?"

You didn't have an answer to that. All you could advise was that it would probably get worse the longer she left it.

"We did not ask your opinion, subject." she snapped. And it was going so well, too.

The moon was high along its arc through the sky, and it was about time for lunch, so you apologised and excused yourself. Halfway through preparing the meal, however, you heard a knock on the kitchen door - highly unusual. Nobody else ever came into the tower, and Luna never knocked. Ever.

"Subject?" she called through. You wondered when, or indeed if, she'd finally learn your name. "What would you do in our hooves?"

That was as close to 'asking your opinion' as she was likely to get. So you told her, and the rest of the day was filled mostly with her picking your brains about all of the aspects of recent history she hadn't managed to catch up on - you'd never thought a passive fascination would turn out to be so useful, but Luna practically hung on every word.

By the time the night came to an end, both of you were stifling yawns, and she decided it was best to call it a night and begin again tomorrow, just like every night. Unlike every night, however, the door lingered a moment before shutting behind you as you left, giving Luna time to call through.

"Good night, subject"

Reheating

A drop of fuel for a Nightmare

After your initial breakthrough, finding a common fascination in local history, your and Luna's relationship began to grow and strengthen. Far from the shaky start, where each day would be held in silence, it was rare for an hour to go by now without a conversation on one thing or another. Though she still kept you busy, and still called you "Subject", she was very slowly warming up. She even said "Thank you" now when you brought her meals. Progress!

What wasn't progressing was getting her to leave the tower. She asked for, and generally respected, your opinion on many things now, from low-level politics to any number of things she was researching, whether you particularly knew about them or not. She never acted on your opinion she should get out more (Though of course, you expressed it more diplomatically than that - ', Princess'), despite hinting as heavily as you could without outright saying so.

You had a plan, though. One you'd kept secret from her, and one you needed help for. Though it'd been weeks since you'd last seen her, Celestia was glad for your visit, and even gladder when she heard your updates. Furthermore, she was more than happy to assist in your plan, and wanted to make the necessary arrangements herself.

"Sister, you have done WHAT to us?" she yelled, her voice reaching volumes you hadn't heard since your first few days and the winds pushing you back a step. Luna didn't notice your struggles. "The kingdom fears us, and you wish us to visit them on the very night that so symbolises that? We cannot!"

Your plan was simple. Luna thought she couldn't leave because the kingdom was too scared of what she'd been to trust who she was now. Nightmare Night was coming up, the 'celebration' of Nightmare Moon's arrival so very long ago. If Luna visited some small village on that night, and found the ponies were more receptive of her than she was expecting, it could only be a huge boost to her self-esteem, and maybe give her the chance she needed to get out there. Furthermore, it was one of the very few nights when a good percentage of the population would be awake at night, and so the easiest day to convince Luna to leave on. It was the perfect plan!

"Oh, but Luna, my dear sister, I assure you you'll find nothing but hospitality in Ponyville. Surely you wouldn't suggest that my dear student would give you anything but?" Celestia smiled, as infinitely patient as ever. "All I ask is that you consider it. I can make the necessary arrangements when you're ready."

"Very well, sister, I shall think on it further." Luna replied, her voice hard as if to say "No, I'm not going, but maybe if I don't say that you'll go away"

Celestia either didn't catch the tone of voice, or didn't want to press the issue, and bid her farewell, leaving the two of you once again alone.

Luna kicked a small pile of books, toppling it as she stormed over to her window to raise the night. Jumping into the air after a short gallop, she began. It wasn't often you got to see her doing this, but even given your inexperience this seemed wrong. Her body was sheathed with a blue glow, and her hair seemed almost aflame with energy as it whipped from side to side, Luna's horn pulsing and shuddering as she tore the day down in rough strips, not caring for the slow transition most nights called for.

The winds picked up again, this time more natural winds blowing in from the open window, scattering papers and blowing over piles as the night sky darkened and clouded over, a storm brewing over the city. Luna's hooves waved from side to side as she forcibly brought about night, each hoof swing changing another swathe of sky from dim evening daylight to the darkest night.

Though the winds fought you every step of the way, you struggled, climbed, and forced your way over to the window, grabbing hold of a stone pillar and shouting up at her. It didn't really matter what you were saying, she almost certainly wouldn't be able to make it out anyway, you just needed to get her attention - this wasn't going to do her image any good.

After what seemed like entire minutes of shouting, she finally looked down at you. Her eyes were pure white, unblinking and terrifying. As soon as she saw you, hugging the pillar and holding on for dear life as the winds threatened to pull you away and fling you down the room, though, her demeanour calmed and the winds began to subside as her eyes dimmed, fading back into her normal dark blue eyes.

As if the winds had been knocked out of her body, she dropped to the floor, raising the moon almost as an afterthought and cleaning up the rest of the sky in a smooth motion.

"We're sorry. We did not mean to take it out on you, it is not your fault." she admitted, closing the window behind her as you struggled to your feet. The room was a mess, bookshelves had been knocked to one side, and important papers were nowhere to be found.

"We do not understand how our sister considers this a good plan. How is proving to the population their misconceptions are correct going to solve our problems?" she asked you, sitting down at her table and looking particularly downtrodden. Vulnerable, even. Not a look you'd come to expect from the princess of darkness.

Of course, you had no choice but to make it worse, and admit that the idea wasn't Celestia's - it was yours.

"What? Why would you do this to us?" she snapped, narrowing her eyes as she rose.

Because, you explained, you thought she could do it. Nothing more, nothing less - you believed in her.

"But... we cannot. We are not ready. We have not been seen for 1000 years, how could they accept us now? We do not wish to enforce love for us onto them, and yet we must. Even now, nopony truly appreciates my night, too busy in slumber to look upwards."

You did. Of course, you hadn't at first, but as time had gone by and you'd been left with no choice but to stare through your window at the darkness, you'd slowly began to understand more and more of it. At first it had been daunting, and terrifying, and impossible to understand, but then you had begun to realise that there was as much beauty in the tiniest fraction of the night as there had been in the entirety of the day - and you could appreciate that little bit of night without becoming overwhelmed.

Luna calmed down, and sat at the table in silence. "You think we should?" she asked, as if wanting confirmation it wasn't just a cruel trick.

You thought she should.

"Very well then. We shall take your word on it, though be warned, if the townsponies run in fear from us you shall be severely punished."

A few moments later, she broke into a grin. She was joking. Hopefully. It was nice to see her smile, it didn't happen often. The closest you ever got was in the middle of a particularly energetic conversation on ancient history - or, Luna's immediate history. No book you'd ever read could challenge her for detail, but most importantly, no book had every gotten that excited that it had somebody to explain something that, by all rights, should have been incredibly dull. The logistics of the first Equestrian-Griffon trade agreement weren't exactly riveting, but the way Luna told them was.

You laughed, hoping to lighten the mood and clear the air. You also thought you'd better get started on cleaning up this mess.

"Oh! We shall assist, if you don't mind. Truly it's the least we can do."

You didn't mind at all - in fact, you were glad for the help. You weren't sure you could even lift some of the displaced bookshelves, much less push them back into place, but Luna shouldn't have a problem.

The first few minutes were in silence - not through awkwardness, but through breathlessness. Luna, for whatever reason, elected not to simply use magic, and was by your side pushing herself against the bookshelves and using her strong body to shift things around, putting the heavy objects back where they belonged. Every so often, you found an important looking paper or scroll, and put them all in a pile in the middle of the table.

"Ha! We do believe that's all of them!" Luna exclaimed as the last bookshelf slid into place, lining the walls once more. "Come, let us begin on this pile."

The work of sorting through what seemed like hundreds of pages and papers was far less physically exerting, and conversation began to spring up while you worked. After a few minutes, Luna grew silent and somewhat distant, as if lost deep in thought.

"Subject, we have a confession to make. Our sister and us disagree on a great many things." she started. Some confession so far, they were practically polar opposites. "However, we find ourselves tempted to change our opinion on one thing. My sister was always the more personal of us, thinking that it was better to make friends with our subjects in the time they had. We thought that could only bring pain upon us, and sought to avoid it, being more distant. Soon, the population flocked to our sister over us, but still we persisted, simply hoping that our sister would not take their deaths too harshly."

You nodded - you couldn't hope to understand the difficulties an immortal being faced, but coping with loss was something every living creature had to contend with.

"We may have been wrong on this front. We - I think I would like to change that." Luna said, her voice falling to more of a whisper than her normal half-shout as she reached across the table and touched your cheek with a glass-clod hoof.

You smiled - you'd like that.

Dinner for one

A drop of fuel for a Nightmare

You woke up. You didn't want to, and you'd rather go back to sleep, but you couldn't. The bed was still too small, the duvet was still too scratchy, and the only way you could ever get a decent night's sleep was to exhaust yourself the night before.

Tonight, though, was going to be different. Luna was out. Outside. Not within the confines of her tower. Elsewhere. You had no princess to serve. In fact, you had absolutely nothing to do, so you'd planned to sleep through most of the night. You weren't sure at what point you'd become so dependant on Luna's company just to function, but you supposed that was just something that came with spending all night with one person for weeks and weeks.

You hoped she was enjoying herself. It was Nightmare Night, and the one night when most of the kingdom would be awake, celebrating Nightmare Moon in... some manner. You weren't sure why these ponies decided to celebrate what was effectively the most evil creature in their history, but if there's one thing you'd learned about ponies, it was that they almost never turned down a party.

20 minutes later, you'd casually gotten dressed, actually paying attention to what clothes you were putting on, and had a leisurely breakfast of cheese on toast. Bread wasn't usually easy to acquire, but being the personal assistant to a princess did have some advantages. After learning of the sorry state your morning meals were usually in, Luna had ensured the kitchens would be better stocked, and you were now reaping the benefits of that.

So, 20 minutes in, and you had the entire rest of the night ahead of you. With absolutely nothing to do. As if Luna had known you wouldn't be able to sleep, she'd ensured that her tower was left spotless at the end of the previous night, so you couldn't even busy yourself with meaningless chores. It was almost as if she WANTED you to go outside and do something new, but that didn't sound much like Luna.

Though you'd already been somewhat reclusive before you began, spending so much time relatively alone hadn't left you very willing to go out and party, especially not a party that celebrated all the bits you didn't like about the mare you liked rather a lot. Maybe rather too much.

"Hey!" a voice shouted across the hall as you left your room, coming out into the corridor to meet who else but Shadow Shield. "You too, huh? I couldn't sleep either. Shame, I'd been looking forward to getting out and stretching my wings, but it's been so long that as soon as I tried, I crashed."

He held out one of his thin papery wings, now bent in two along one of the "bones" and appearing quite useless. Didn't that hurt?

"Nah, it's just an enchantment." he replied, pulling the wing back and letting the broken bit rest against his side. "She'll fix it up when she gets back, probably. Can't have her guard looking battered, eh?"

You supposed not. Sensing a chance to find something to do for the rest of the night, you asked him what his plans were.

"Oh, nothing much. Never been one for parties. Hey, we should get a drink, trade war stories!" he suggested. That sounded good to you, too, it wasn't like you had anything better to do.

"Great! I know a place not far from here, they do a mean donut!" he cheered. One day, maybe, you'd get used to the absurd pony sensibilities, where it was even possible for a donut to be "mean".

He wasn't lying about the distance, though, and you quickly found yourself walking into Pony Joe's, the only bar in town that advertised night time service. Looking at the menu, you saw why - they served coffee, and donuts, and literally nothing else. You'll have a coffee and a donut, please!

"Man, I wish I was out there." Shadow lamented, staring out into the night sky. "Ain't often I get to fly, much less with the sort of theatrics Luna had planned."

Theatrics? She hadn't mentioned any theatrics to you, else you would have strongly advised against it. Was that really a good idea? Was she serious?

"Sure, she said she wanted to make an entrance nobody would miss. Said that she'd been assured everypony would love her. I dunno about that, but it's not my place to judge her."

Oh, Celestia damn it all. If tonight didn't go well for Luna, it'd probably take months to get her outside again.

"Nah, I don't think so. I see more than you think, that's my job," he replied, sipping his coffee in-between sentences. "The princess was just getting worse and worse. She'd stopped talking, never wanted to let even Celestia in, not that I had any way to keep her out even if I was ordered to, she was falling apart, badly. I told Celestia, but I couldn't bring myself to tell her just how bad it was getting."

He took a bite of his donut, savouring the taste. "Mm, they do good donuts here. You should try yours. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, so then you come along. Months of her getting worse and worse just turn around, and now she's doing better than ever. I dunno what the hay you're doing to her, man, but keep it up. Y'know what she was doing before she left this evening? Smiling. I ain't seen that since she very first got here."

You knew things had been bad, Celestia had told you as much, but had you really made that much of a difference? Was it just having company, or...? No, even in your wildest dreams, you never allowed yourself to think that it could become anything more than what it was. A relationship between a complete alien to the land, and a princess, would be unthinkable. So why were you thinking it?

Though you hadn't explicitly told Shadow of any of your inner turmoil, he responded anyway. "Like I say, I see a lot more than you'd think. Those shadows aren't always empty, and sometimes even the princess doesn't notice me. I've seen the way she looks at you when your back's turned, go for it man. You'll regret it if you don't, for sure."

Huh. That wasn't what you were expecting at all. Absent mindedly, now lost in thought, you thanked him. Before either of you could say another word, the Nightmare Night fireworks began, and his attentions were drawn, as most anypony's are wont to be, to the shiny lights.

Your attentions were elsewhere. A giant shining silver moon floating in the sky was nice, but it only reminded you of one thing - Luna. If you were going to make a move and finally admit your interest in her, you'd have to do it right. Take it slow, she wouldn't want to be surprised or shocked, and she certainly wouldn't want to be pushed into anything she didn't want. You found you had plans for the rest of the night, now - planning how to get yourself Luna.

A changed mare

A drop of fuel for a Nightmare

Luna's carriage, pulled by two of her night guard, curved down onto the landing pad as she returned. She looked happy. It looked good on her.

You had a plan. The sun was starting to peek over the horizon, and Luna would be shattered from her night's exertions, and probably quite stressed. Hopefully, she'd like to talk about what happened, too. Your plan was simple - offer to run her a bath, bring her a hot cocoa, and hope she takes the hint. It wasn't the most forward plan in the world, but it was one that Luna could choose to turn down without being too cruel about it.

She shattered your plan in an instant as she jumped down off of the carriage, thanked her guards, and walked over to you with a purposeful look in her eyes. The moment she was close enough you could almost feel her breath against your body, you felt a magical force overwhelm you as she forced you to your knees, bringing your heads to the same level.

Then, without questioning, nor waiting for your obvious approval, she kissed you. Right there, on the landing pad, with guards and a few scattered ponies alike watching. It was glorious. Screw the plan, who needs the plan? You had everything you needed right here. Her tongue shied away from actually entering your mouth, but that wasn't important - the way her eyes closed as she tilted her head, holding you steady with a magical glow was. The way her lip lingered for just a moment, sucking lightly on your lower lip before she moved further upwards once again, grinding your two lips together, mattered more than anything else.

Far, far too soon, she broke off, stepping back. "Thank you." she whispered. "We should return inside, we have much to tell you!" she insisted, before taking off at a fast walk towards the castle, and her tower. You had no choice, of course, but to follow her.

You caught up to find her waiting for you, holding the great wooden doors of her tower open so you could enter. As soon as you were inside, she was off at a gallop up the stairs, and you lost sight of her after a second as she ascended the spiral staircase.

Before you could go any further, you noticed Shadow Shield hiding, appropriately, in the shadows. "Good luck!" he whispered as he made sure you saw him sneaking out of the door, closing it behind him. You and Luna were alone.

"We request you make haste, subject!" she yelled from the top of the stairs, reminding you why being alone with her was a good thing. Though, again, you wondered whether she would ever stop calling you "Subject".

"Oh, it was wonderful!" Luna exclaimed as you joined her in the main hall. She, too, looked wonderful. Her hair flowed even freer than you'd ever seen it, and her voice seemed different somehow. Kinder, like a chorus of angels. You realised you'd heard it before - the first time you met her, when she was talking with Celestia. When she'd noticed you then, she'd shouted, but now? How far she'd come.

"You were right, you were completely right. They don't hate me at all! A little concerned, at first, and there was some running, but with the help of the young Twilight Sparkle we solved all of that!" she grinned, almost breaking out into a dance.

You were happy for her, she looked good smiling.

"I feel good, too." she agreed, "And I owe it all to you."

The last few words hung in the air for a moment as the sun finally broke over the horizon and flooded the room with brightly coloured lights. Both of you shielded your eyes - the day was just too... colourful for you now.

"May we retire to the bedroom, perhaps?" Luna asked.

Of course, you'll see her in the morning.

"Ahem, I did not mean the royal we." Luna insisted.

Oh. Oh, right. Most certainly.

Once the thick bedroom door was closed, and Luna lit a few candles, it was just like being in the comfortable dead of night once more, except in a much smaller room. A much smaller room mostly filled with a large, silken looking bed. It looked gorgeous, you thought it might actually be able to give you a decent night's sleep.

"It is perhaps a little cramped in here. Perhaps we should lie together?" Luna innocently suggested, jumping up onto the bed and patting the side of the bed next to her with a hoof. You complied, lying next to her as you both stared up at the roof.

"Subject, I have another confession to make." Luna quietly whispered, still staring quite pointedly at the ceiling. "My sister and I differ on another thing. She would often, when she found the right stallion, take a lover from the population. I, of course, never saw the point."

You nodded, pretending to at least sort of understand - but you feared this was one of the issues an immortal simply had to deal with in their own way. Or make out with their sister. You mentally slapped yourself - that wasn't the sort of mental image you could cope with right now.

"I see the point now." she whispered. "I... perhaps you needn't retire to your own chambers this morning?"

That sounded like an invitation. You looked to your side, and saw her staring very intently at the ceiling, as if it were the most interesting thing in the room, when everything she was saying said the exact opposite.

You'd like that', Princess'. Again, however, you had to wonder if she was ever going to stop calling you 'Subject'.

She rolled onto her side, falling much closer to you. The end of her muzzle brushed against your face as she landed, staring into your eyes. With a delicious grin, and a devious stare, she asked "Is that really what you want me to do, Subject? Do you not wish to serve your princess?"

You didn't have an answer to that one. Not because you didn't know what to say, but because seeing the normally aloof, even while she was being vulnerable, Princess Luna try to be seductive was distracting. Very very distracting.

You uh... no, Subject was fine.

"We thought as much. Thou should not want to disappoint us, we would hope." she whispered, running a hoof over your shirt. Had she fallen back to the royal Canterlot voice? Was that intentional? Most importantly, did you care?

"Ah, my loyal servant. Much as you have brought light to my life, I made a promise to you several nights ago. Should the populace of Ponyville run in fear, you should be punished. Though their fear was well meaning and light of spirit, they ran." she whispered, the kindness in her voice the only hint that she hadn't suddenly become a tyrannical ruler.

"Remove your clothing, subject. Your punishment is at hoof." she commanded, giving you a light shove and forcing you out of bed. If she wanted to play tyrant, you were going to play tyrant.

You begged her to reconsider - you were too young to die!

"What? No, no! I was just... pretending! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that!" she immediately apologised, her voice becoming softer as her eyes softened and she sat up.

You sighed - no, you were pretending too.

"I... oh! You... want to? Oh my. I must warn you, I've never actually done any of these things." she admitted, as if she had to tell you she wasn't actually a tyrannical ruler of evil. Though, given her history, it was unsurprising she felt the need.

"Well then." she whispered, before returning to her royal yelling. "You consider yourselves better than us? Should your deeds go unpunished simply because you do not wish to be held accountable? Unacceptable."

Taking her make-believe very seriously, Luna's horn began to glow and you felt yourself being picked up, before she thrust you into the wall and pinned you, getting up from the bed and walking behind you.

"Regardless of what you have done, you are my subject. You shall obey, or your punishment shall be worsened. Remove your clothing. Now." she commanded, the winds from her voice blowing through your hair and pushing you even harder into the wall.

Unceremoniously, she removed the magic and let you drop to the floor, falling to your knees. A few moments later you'd almost gotten your wits back together enough to realise you should be undressing.

"Now!" Luna commanded, lightly striking your face with her hoof and causing you to wince. She was taking this very seriously. Hurriedly, you began to undress, pulling off your clothes and throwing them into a small pile at the side of the room. The air was much colder when you were naked, though the lack of underwear relieved a great pressure from your loins as your erection was allowed to roam free.

"I... oh my, that's larger than I was expecting from the anatomy diagrams," Luna exclaimed, dropping character for a moment to lean down and inspect your shaft. She probably hadn't seen one in 1000 years, you felt she was excused. After a few moments, you coughed. Princess?

"Oh, of course. For your crime of treason, we sentence you to punishment by our own hoof. Stand." she demanded.

You struggled to your feet, her intimidating nature somewhat lessened by your standing a good foot taller than her.

Luna's hair began to sway in an unseen breeze as she rose into the air, rising above you as her eyes began to gloss over. Her voice was joined with what sounded like a chorus of herself as she almost screamed at you, "Position yourself on the bed, criminal. We shall have our way with you."

She somehow grabbed you with a hoof and pushed you down onto the bed, your face squashed into the gorgeous silken sheets. You thought you could sleep on these quite comfortably, were it not for the circumstances.

Princess, you have done nothing wrong! It was a mistake!

"Be silent. We did not command you to speak." Luna snapped, bring down a hoof to strike across your backside with an audible snap. That actually really hurt, and your unprepared body let out a quiet gasp. "I commanded silence, in all forms! Speak again at your peril."

Luna hovered over you, and landed on the bed in front, your head still pushed into the duvet by an unseen force. You could barely move, as if your body was ten times heavier than usual. Luna stretched out a hoof towards your face, resting it a few inches away on the soft material.

"Lick." she demanded, a single word spoken with as much malice as she could manage.

You struggled, attempting to comply - you knew what would happen if you didn't - but your body refused to answer. Every centimetre towards your target felt like a marathon, your tongue straining outwards lest your princess become impatient and decide to punish you further. Just one more millimetre.

Luna moved her hoof back another centimetre. "Do you not wish to appease your goddess? We can punish you more traditionally, should you wish. We hear the dungeons are awful this time of year."

Grunting, you reached up with your arms, trying to claw your way along the bed. She wasn't making this easy for you. Putting all your effort into it, you finally reached your goal, and, panting heavily, laid your tongue against her hoof, happily tracing a lick over it with a sense of intense achievement.

After a few moments of work, Luna retrieved her hoof and inspected it. "Acceptable." she admitted.

You thanked her, struggling upwards as you felt the weight on your body begin to subside as Luna seemed happy with your progress.

"We should think so, too, subject." she scoffed, pushing you back down onto the bed with her now clean hoof. "Though we did not give you permission to rise. We trust you shall be more respectful in future."

You apologised reflexively. You weren't sure whether that one came from pretending or actually just having become quite subservient over the past few months. You didn't care.

"Now, subject. Crawl upwards, I want you on the bed." Luna demanded, jumping off and giving your rear a light-hearted push, and a bit of a squeeze. Not entirely in-character.

Without the force weighing you down, your journey was short and painless and you quickly reached the end of the bed, lying flat against it with your legs slightly bent to accommodate your manliness.

"Flip."

You turned over, resting against the soft and smooth bed. Lying on it was incredibly comfortable, it had great support. You looked forward to using it properly later.

Luna snapped you out of your fantasy with a wave of her horn, black magic tendrils snaking out from below the bed and binding your limbs, pulling them taught and holding you in place.

"Now, subject, you are completely within our power." Luna grinned, half-dropping character as she realised she didn't even need the tyrant act to drive you crazy any more. Floating past you, she ran a hoof down your leg, watching the way your body shivered with every touch and your light gasps as she neared particularly sensitive areas.

With a smack, she slapped her hoof down onto your side. "We did not give you permission to speak, did we?" she reminded you, grinning as she began to really, really enjoy her activities.

Landing on top of you, Luna rested her forelegs against your chest as she swooped down, meeting your lips once more for a kiss. This time, she was more dominant, forcing her tongue into your mouth and wrestling for just a moment until your mouth submitted, letting her inside completely. She took over, driving the kiss as she pushed harder, somehow managing to find the angle that let your mouths lock as if they were made for each other, forming a perfect seal.

Luna's tail rippled and waved around behind her, the edge occasionally tickling over your shaft, the semitransparent hair blowing around it almost (but not entirely) like it wasn't there at all. The minute sensation was, nonetheless, enough to drive your teased and abused body wild as you moaned helplessly into her mouth.

She pulled back, shifting her body and leaning against you, her tail now wafting against you far more often. "You want this, don't you, subject?"

Yes.

"Yes what?" she hissed.

Yes, Princess.

"Not good enough. Call me mistress. And beg." Luna commanded, falling back into her tyrannical act and speaking with a completely serious face. Even if you had wanted to deny her, the light brushing against your length was undeniable, each minor tickle driving you towards the edge. You couldn't help yourself, and the words left your mouth before you'd even had a chance to let your tongue know you were okay with saying them.

Please, you begged. Please, mistress, you needed this.

"Not good enough. This is a punishment." Luna denied you. "I require a sacrifice first."

She turned around, presenting herself to you. "Lick." was her only command, holding herself a few inches away from your head. You reached forward, struggling against your binds and arching your back, trying to bring her into reach. Stretching to your limits, you could just about make it.

Bringing your face as close to her as you could, you took a deep breath, taking in the scents of a goddess in heat. Your heart began to beat faster and you closed your eyes as the smells overwhelmed you, like a gorgeous and arousing nectar. You had to know how it tasted.

Reaching out with a tongue, you laid a slow, deliberate lick all from the bottom of her thin slit, which was a dark pink against her dark blue coat, to the top, taking in the flavour the whole way. It was like honey, but more soothing. You wanted - needed - more.

Luna let out a happy moan as you got to work, enjoying the feeling of another tracing across her body for the first time in so many years. She let her head slowly drop as your tongue began to probe inside, seeking out new sources of her ambrosia as you strained forward in your attempts to please your princess ever more.

Her head slowly dropped downwards as each enthusiastic lick drove her a little crazier, her mane starting to be affected by gravity as she stopped caring about her appearance, abandoning herself to the feeling of your tongue delving inside of her. As her head fell, and her eyes slid closed, her worldview began to collapse to only include you and her, and this room. Damn politics, damn what anypony else thought, that was all that mattered.

She was brought back into the present quite rudely as her falling nose poked against your shaft, wetting it slightly with a few beads of precum. "Oh my", she whispered - not that you noticed, being too preoccupied burying your nose in her behind - viewing your length close up once more, her fallen mane surrounding it and the twinkling starlight within providing the only illumination for her. You hadn't quite given her what she wanted yet, but she didn't really care.

Gingerly tasting it with the tip of her tongue, Luna tested the waters to see how nice it was going to be. It tasted salty. Not distasteful, but salty. Reaching forward, she took the very tip between her lips, gasping slightly as the sensation caused your shaft to bob around and move, scraping it against her lips and splattering the edge of her coat with a little more fluid.

You barely noticed, still preoccupied with servicing your princess. For every few straight licks, you would add a long, deep kiss to her nether lips, and for every few kisses, you would give her exposed clitoris a teasing scrape, bringing Luna to new heights of pleasure each cycle.

Taking your diligent actions as an inspiration, Luna began to slowly push down, letting your length slowly squeeze between her lips. Every few moments she had to take a break to helplessly groan around it, scrunching her eyes shut as the pleasure overwhelmed her body. She was a goddess, but that didn't mean she was used to such intimate treatment.

Eventually, Luna felt her lips reach your skin, and realised she had your entire penis sticking down her muzzle. The thought was enough to make her giggle - there she was, goddess of the night and co-ruler of an entire kingdom, lying sprawled in bed with somebody's cock down her throat. She would have been quite sure Celestia never saw that one coming. She loved it.

After her gigglefit was over, Luna returned to her task, slowly raising her head and doing her best to try and lick at it, as she'd seen in uncouth magazines that she'd never really read. Or read the articles in, anyway - some of the pictures were too interesting to pass up.

Slowly and awkwardly, she found a cycle that seemed to work. Pull up, dragging her tongue along one side; Wait for a moment as the pleasure from behind her overwhelmed her body and assaulted her mind, driving all thought from her form and leaving her a groaning wreck; Push down, sucking all the way; Repeat. It worked quite well, she thought.

As time went on, she felt her body begin to tingle. Your attentions were doing more than driving her mind wild, they were building up across her body and pulling her closer to her first orgasm for over 1000 years. It had been a long time coming, so what was another few minutes. She pulled up, forgetting to stop sucking and leaving the head of your penis to wobble back and forth as it escaped from her mouth with a pop.

"Stop!" she demanded. You didn't hear.

"Stop it, subject! Now!" she commanded. You didn't hear.

Her mind melted once more as you gave her clit a light suck, and her head fell back forward, landing to the side of your crotch. "Oh, we do like that..." she whispered to nobody in particular as she tried to recover. Gathering what strength she could, she crawled forward, pulling herself away from you.

"We did say stop, I hope you realise. You're lucky we're feeling generous, lest that be cast as treasonous." Luna playfully reprimanded you as you blushed, realising just how far into that you'd gotten.

Luna turned to face you, sitting upwards on your stomach. "Hold still." she said, as if the ropes holding your limbs gave you a choice.

"Do you want us?" she asked, unable to resist one last chance at teasing. "Will you be-" she began, before being interrupted by your pleas.

Please, prin- mistress. Are you not a good servant? Have you not earned this?

"You have." she agreed, raising her body and moving slightly back, aligning the slick head of your shaft with the wet and well licked, now slightly parted lips of her slit. Slowly, she lowered, impaling herself on your rod and groaning every inch of the way as she slowly fell. Her walls squeezed against you, and every heartbeat was reflected through your body as it caused them to squeeze and tense, the red hot heat from inside of her seeping through.

Luna's cheeks flushed red as she began to blush, her mane now completely at the whims of gravity as it fell over her body, bouncing up and down as she pushed and pulled herself around you, looking for a moment like she was doing a perverse imitation of somebody riding a bull. All she was missing was the hat - though with that horn, she probably couldn't wear one. Never mind.

Again slowly finding an awkward rhythm, Luna began to ride you with all the enthusiasm she could muster. Your legs were bound so tightly you couldn't even thrust back, much as you tried, so it was all on her. Every bounce brought both of you a little closer to release, every drop ending in a wet squelch and a moaning pony as she commanded the both of you to orgasm.

"Don't - unf" she spoke, or at least tried, "not before me."

You nodded, you'd do your best. Not that you'd have much say in it at this rate, every second bringing you closer to an explosive release you doubted you could hold back for long.

Luna's face began to twitch as her body underwent the same experience, the tingling returning harder than before as it began to concentrate around her loins, each thrust intensifying it harder than she thought possible as it started to blank her mind and fill her body with white-hot pleasure.

Unbeknown to both of you, a storm was brewing outside, lightning striking the tower and being safely redirected elsewhere by the magical lightning rods with every few moments, as yet another spike of unstoppable pleasure raced through Luna's horn, discharging into the atmosphere.

Luna gave in first, her face contorting in pleasure as her mouth hung open while she came, her mind and body whiting out as every muscle in her body spasmed, twitching and writhing against you and telling you you didn't need to hold on any more. Without the threat of not pleasing your princess, your time came immediately as you joined her in mindless bliss, ejaculating shots of sticky semen inside of her and adding to her pleasure as she felt the sensation of being filled with another's seed, something she hadn't felt for a very long time.

What felt like minutes later, both of you were spent, and she collapsed on top of you as the magical restraints disintegrated - not that you had enough strength left to struggle, now. Luna fell forward and landed on your chest, her mane draped over the both of you as she panted heavily into your shoulder.

Luna recovered quickly, using her unfair metabolism to her advantage. "We are impressed. Consider yourself pardoned." she whispered, closing her eyes and shifting around until she was resting by your side. "One last request for tonight?" she asked in a low whisper.

Anything, princess.

"Don't leave me."

You wouldn't dream of it. Using all the strength you could muster, you pushed an arm underneath her and rolled over slightly, resting against her body and holding her close. Her head was tilted, and her horn rested against your cheek, but you didn't mind when she began to nuzzle your chest, and squeeze back in response.

Luna using the last of her strength, she picked the both of you up and pulled the duvet aside, letting you fall before she tucked the pair of you in. Hers was more impressive. You had the better hug. She had the better happy sigh, and you couldn't even compete with the way she wiggled slightly as she tried to get closer to you.

After months of sleeping in a normal pony bed, though, you knew for certain who was going to have the most fulfilling sleep.

An unexpected proposal

A drop of fuel for a Nightmare

"and, of course, you will be granted full citizenship should you accept," Princess Celestia finished, sitting back on her throne and awaiting your reply.

Princess Luna was apparently having some trouble adjusting after her return some few months prior, and Celestia was worried about her. It was a sensible worry - according to all the legends you'd read, Nightmare Moon was little but a product of Luna and loneliness, and Celestia didn't think Luna had talked to anybody outside of her assigned guards in days.

So she found you, and requested an audience. You had little choice but to accept, and travelled to Canterlot, finding yourself alone with Celestia in a smallish, nondescript room. Certainly not the throne room, which one would assume most royal business was taken care of in. She wanted this kept quiet.

Why you, you inquired while still mulling over the decision of whether to accept her offer - Princess Luna needed companionship right now, above all else. Unfortunately, Celestia knew from experience that she was too proud to accept it being pushed upon her, so your official job title would be "Manservant", assisting your princess in whatever she felt necessary.

"Due to your unique physiology," Celestia answered, after taking a moment to compose her words, "most ponies are completely diurnal - that is, they're awake during the day, and sleep during the night - and it's hard for them to change that. The royal guard manage it, but only through their training, and that leaves them unsuitable for the more personal connection I wish my dear sister to have. You, of course, should have a much easier time becoming nocturnal, as she is."

So, the only reason you had the offer was because you could be awake at night. Always nice to feel wanted. It was a tempting offer, though - as a relative newcomer to Equestria, and unfortunately still not a creature granted full citizenship and the same rights as any native, the chance to directly assist one of the rulers of the land you'd so come to adore was something you could never have predicted.

You really had nothing tying you to your home, back in Manehatten - a rotten city in a sea of diamonds - and the work did sound fulfilling, though being on a constant night shift would be problematic. As Celestia had said, the streets and pathways grew silent in Equestria's night, as the populace slumbered. Unlike back where you came from, ponies had no concept of a "city that never slept", and indeed save for a very few exceptions, ponies would rather be tucked away in bed than working once the sun went down. Must be a nice life, you thought, having things that clear cut.

Tentatively, you agreed to Celestia's terms and asked what would happen next, when would you start? All of those questions that were just practicalities, things you had to know but made no real bearing on the decision. It's not like you'd be locked into it forever, or anything, you could always quit if it wasn't worthwhile.

"Excellent, I'll have a guard make up a room for you. Take a few days to try and get used to your new sleeping pattern, and then come talk to me and I'll introduce you to my sister properly. While you're here, feel free to make use of the royal kitchens, the cooks will make you anything they can. The night cooks are less imaginative, but simple meals aren't beyond them."

That seemed straightforward enough. Better yet, it would give you plenty of time to get used to the local culture, and hopefully get along with the princess better. Not that the promise of free food went unthanked, though, and you promised Celestia you'd make good use of it.

Though she hadn't noticeably called one in, a guard opened the door and stood to attention, as stoic and silent as guards are wont to be.

"Could you organise a room for this gentleman, please? He shall be with us for quite some time, and I would like it to be as near to my sister as possible, thank you."

The guard nodded, grunted "Follow me, sir" in a gruff, gravelled voice, and turned to walk away. You said your thanks and goodbyes to the princess, and quickly hurried after the guard.

On your way, you tried your best to make small talk. How was the weather?

"Within acceptable tolerances."

Seen any good hoofball games lately?

"I don't have much time for sport."

Any plans for tonight?

"I am assigned to the throne room, as on most nights."

You stopped trying after that, following on in silence. No wonder Celestia didn't think the guards would make suitable companions, they were drier than a pegasus-starved desert.

"This room is free, sir. Will that be all?" he asked, pointing his hoof at a closed door across the hall. The doorway to the right of it was about 4 times the size, a relative monolith set into the grey stone walls barred with metal and adorned with a silver moon. That was Princess Luna's room, you assumed.

"Correct."

Then that would be all.

You walked over to the door and opened it with a tentative hand, ducking under the low doorframe and silently thanking the two princesses for being so tall, resulting in them living in a building that was actually reasonably sane for you to walk around in. You wondered why the guards seemed unconcerned by your presence - though ponies were naturally pacifistic and fairly docile, unless provoked, you'd received your fair share of suspicion.

Much as you disliked your old home in Manehatten, it was the only city in Equestria you'd found where you could walk down the street and not get stared at. Partially because everybody was more concerned with going about their own lives than poking about in others', something which certainly wasn't the case in most smaller settlements, but mostly because you weren't the strangest thing roaming the city - you'd seen buffalo in ties, running and clearly late to work, griffons soaring through the skies delivering mail, large dog-like creatures strutting around performing city maintenance, and too many other strange encounters to count. A human in Manehatten simply wasn't notably strange.

Your room was very much a blank slate. You had: a bed (Made for ponies - that'll have to be replaced); a table and two chairs (Made for ponies - they'll have to be replaced); a chest of drawers (Made for ponies, but large enough to store your meagre quantity of possessions) and a bedside table. There were also several picture frames, though all but one were empty. The one above your bed contained a painting of the vista visible through the window on the far side of the room.

Dropping your depressingly small bag of worldly possessions next to your bed as you walked across the room, you made your way to the window and looked outside. Canterlot was, you'd always thought, a gorgeous city. Hung from the side of a mountain, it was like something out of a fairy tale - an ancient city wrought from rock and wood, yet one suspended as high as the pegasus capitol of Cloudsdale, one of the few cities you'd never visited. The landscape in front of you was breathtaking, your height combined with Equestria's rolling hills making for an impressive sight.

Staring out, you could see small towns dotted around seemingly at random. Just on the horizon, you could catch a glimpse of Manehatten, the smog visible even here. In the other direction, you could see a huge lump of dense clouds. You were no cloud technician, but that was either Cloudsdale or an unparalleled feat in storm engineering - either way, the way the sun reflected off of its puffy surface at a low angle was incredible. Evening was your favourite part of the day.

You had things to do. Pulling away, you turned back into your room and moved to leave it, grabbing the key that was hooked on the wall next to the door as you left and stuffing it into a pocket. After much searching, you found a guard - you didn't know which, they seemed visually indistinguishable to you. You supposed that was the point.

After a short conversation, he agreed to negotiate with the royal carpenter about getting you a more suitable bed, and left. You returned to your room and began to sort away your things, trying to make the place feel a little more like "home".

It was late, and you were still tired from your journey. Tomorrow would be another day, and the start of a new chapter of your life. The carpenter, like almost everybody else, wouldn't work at night, and your chances of getting a more appropriate place to rest were slim, so you decided to cut your losses, lock your door, and try your best to get a good night's sleep. It was awkward, uncomfortable, and the low-quality bedding was scratchy, but it was a start.

Tomorrow would be another day.

Epilogue

A drop of fuel for a Nightmare

"This is it?" Luna asked, incredulously, as you showed her your room. "No, this won't do. You're moving upstairs."

You were okay with that.

"We should think so, too!" she agreed in a faux-commanding tone. She'd been doing that all evening, since the two of you woke up still entangled in each other's arms. She knew it made you blush. That was probably why she did it.

"We cannot believe we didn't make you do this earlier," she remarked as she started to pull open your drawers, arranging your things in an easy to carry pile. "Even had we not planned to spend the day with you in our bed, it would have been far more convenient. You should have suggested it."

You laughed, maybe you should have. You wouldn't have gotten to talk to Shadow Shield anywhere near as much, if you had, though. She ought to give him a reward, or a gift, or a raise, or something - it was his encouragement that made you so open to her advances.

"Perhaps we shall, he has been a loyal guard since our return. We noticed his convenient disappearance last night, also."

Shadow Shield poked his head around the door. "I assure you, Ma'am, had I known of your return I would have been at my post." he lied through his teeth, winking at you the moment Luna's back was turned.

"We think that's everything." Luna said, inspecting the pile of belongings. "Do you wish us to carry anything else?"

You looked at the painting on the wall. Your one last reminder of life as it used to be. A normal life, through the day. The beauty of a sunrise, and the brilliance of a sunset.

No. No, there was nothing else.