The Folly of a Distant Mind

Luna yawned as she glided back towards Canterlot Castle. Yet again, the night had been entirely uneventful, monsters and other unsavory beings far too few and far between to cause any ruckus. With no small amount of guilt, the night princess wished the era of prosperity Celestia had managed to bring about was a little less prosperous and a little more violent - not that she had anything against prosperity! She just wished there was a bit more excitement in her nights. She was her sister's opposite in many ways, and thus while Celestia was perfectly content with ruling from afar, solving the nobles' petty squabbles and sending others to take care of the few dangers that popped up now and then, Luna much preferred getting her hooves dirty, something she was finding increasingly difficult as even the few dangerous beasts that still stalked the night wised up and avoided her presence. With a sigh, she touched down on her landing balcony and stalked through the halls, not even trying to hide her unrest.

By the time she reached the dining hall, it was time for the moon to be lowered, which she did with a robotic flick if her horn, not even slowing down to acknowledge her sister, who was doing the same. Plopping down on her cushion, she surveyed the pile of pancakes before her, a spark of life flickering back into her eyes. Modern food, as with all of modern culture, was certainly strange and different, but one thing that was absolutely an improvement was the invention of pancakes. Pouring a liberal amount of syrup over the stack, she dug in with undisguised gusto.

Celestia eyed her sister with bemusement. "Would it hurt for you to eat with some manners for once, sister?"

Luna just glared at the other princess, crouching defensively over the mutilated pile of pure pancakey pleasure like a dog over his favorite bone, continuing to devour the sugary goodness with reckless abandon.

Raising an eyebrow and sipping her morning tea, the immortal alicorn of the sun continued with a touch of concern in her voice, "Is everything all right, Luna? You seem irritated."

Luna groaned and bit back a scathing remark about her sister's large, pointy nose. "I'm bored, Tia!" she whined, resting her head next to her now-empty plate. "Nothing ever happens in this stupid country."

Celestia smiled warmly, the motherly smile she had come to adopt when listening to her subjects' problems. To Luna, it just looked patronizing. "What exactly do you want to 'happen,' Luna?" she asked, a hint of laughter in her voice.

"Something, anything! It's just so uneventful nowadays, it's driving me crazy!"

The sun princess, done with her tea, busied herself straightening her tangled mane, distractedly continuing the conversation, "Well, what do you want me to do about that? Release a pack of Hellhounds for you to hunt down?"

Luna's ears perked up, and she glanced at her sister with an innocent, hopeful expression. Celestia froze, realizing what she had said a second too late.

"That... was a joke, Luna." Luna affixed the other alicorn with her best impression of a puppy dog, but Celestia was unswayed. "No, Luna. We are not releasing dangerous and destructive beasts from Tartarus on our subjects."

Luna moaned in disappointment. "You're no fun anymore," she grumbled, back to her previous surly mood.

Celestia sighed. "I'm sorry, Lulu. I'm doing my best, but I've got to keep the needs of Equestria in mind. The Day Court is starting. I'll see you at dinner."

Luna said nothing, determinedly staring at the wall opposite her sister. Once she heard Celestia's hooves fade down the hallway, she let out another sigh. Quietly, she asked the empty room, "Do the needs of Equestria come before the needs of your family, Tia?"

Luna was still moping by the time she entered her bedchambers, the jovial light of the rising sun taunting her as she shut the curtains tight across the windows. Tossing her regalia unceremoniously in a corner, she flopped tiredly on her bed, entertaining herself by vigorously bemoaning her truly detestable fate. After a few moments of this, however, she couldn't keep it up, and, giggling a bit, let all the negative emotions roll off her back like a satisfied lover after a long night. She knew she was truly lucky that things worked out as well as they had.

Extending her consciousness outwards, Luna could feel her little ponies slowly waking up, content after a good night's sleep, and ready to take on the day ahead. Her heart swelled with pride knowing it was she who kept their homes safe from the creatures that roamed in the darkness, who brought peace to their turbulent dreams and who vanquished even the most terrifying of nightmares. She smiled, and snuggled further into her bed, surrounded by contentedness as she drifted off to sleep.

Suddenly, just as the night princess was about to fall asleep, a deep thrumming sound reverberated through her room, jarring her violently awake. She started up in a panic, looking around wildly for the source of the disturbance. It was not difficult to find - there, in the corner furthest from the door, a blue glow seemed to bend space into itself, warping dimensions in a way that would make a lesser pony go insane. Luna simply stared in astonishment, frozen in place as she watched the blue glow twist and bend, reality being dragged unwillingly along with it. Presently the glow solidified into a tall cylinder of light, stretching from the floor upwards nearly to the ceiling of her room. It slowly mounted in intensity, the omnipresent hum building in tandem. Finally it reached a peak and, with a bright flash, the humming ceased and the blue glow began to fade. Blinking away the afterimage seared in her retinas, Luna tried to see what lay inside the light's circle of influence, only for fear to snake its way in among the confusion once she saw it.

It was a human. A male, tall with short brown hair and brooding black eyes. His mouth was set in an almost disdainful frown, and he scanned the room with clinical efficiency before resting his gaze on the astonished pony. If he was surprised by her appearance, he showed not a single sign. He simply stared, unnervingly and unblinkingly, as if into her very soul.

Luna, shaking herself out of her state of frozen shock, quickly jumped backwards and erected a powerful shield around the strange intruder, heart beating fast as adrenaline rushed to replace the initial surprise. Almost reflexively, her horn flared to establish a connection with her sister, informing the other mare of the strange occurrence and requesting her to come in due haste. That finished, Luna simply sat on her bed, staring intently at the human, confusion and fear still running rampant in her head. For his part, the human simply took a seat, sitting patiently and emotionlessly on the floor within the bubble that trapped him. However, on closer inspection it was clear that his nonchalance was only on the surface. His eyes continued to rove restlessly around the room, drinking in every detail.

There was a knock at the door. In spite of every precaution, there was a knock on the door.

Octavia placed her bow down gently, lovingly returning it to its place in her cello's case. Her instrument, too, was lowered with the utmost of care. Even in the midst of growing irritation, she was not a mare to lose her temper. She would stay calm, especially around her pride and joy.

Composing herself, as any gentlemare should, she trotted daintily downstairs and to the front door of her house, taking a small breath in preparation before opening it.

"I have made it abundantly clear to that I do not wish to be disturbed during my practice sessions. Why   di-"

It was at this moment that the irked cellist lowered her nose far enough to see who it was she was talking to, and suddenly the blood drained from her face, mouth going dry as sandpaper. Later, she would swear she saw the life flash before her eyes at that exact moment.

"Very sorry, dear," Lyra said with a gentle smile. "I was simply wondering if you knew where your roommate was. I would very much like if we all could get together sometime."

Octavia swallowed, working her mouth for a few moments before she was able to respond. "Vinyl just went out to grab some food. I will see if she's available."

"That would be lovely, 'Tavi. Come to my place sometime, would you? I'll get my other friend's head out of the clouds and we can have some tea, hmm?"

Octavia nodded furiously. "Oh, yes that would be lovely! I simply cannot wait."

Lyra gave the other pony a magnanimous smile and began to trot off. "Take care, hon. I'm glad we had this chat, and say hi to Vinyl for me, would you? I do so miss her antics."

Once the pale green mare had left, Octavia slowly let out the breath she had been holding, closing the door and panting, trying to get her heart back under control. Shaking the feeling aside, she hastened to grab her saddlebags and rushed out the door, not even stopping to properly put away her cello. She had to find Vinyl, and fast.