Nighttime's Begun

"Luna, where are you? You're not playing another game again, are you?" Celestia walked through the castle walls she and her aforementioned sister shared. She wore a small smile as she knew her sister's motives. "*Ya-a-wn!* Well, it's pretty late, I should get to my quarters. Oh, well," the Alicorn let out a faux-yawn and stretched out her back.

"Awww!" a majestic voice almost matching her older sister's whined.

Celestia swooshed open a silk curtain to find her sister, or what seemed to be her sister. Luna was sat on the velvet carpet holding an Ursa Major mask in her hooves. "Oops! Just pretend that thoust had not seen thy, Celestia," she smile sheepishly and pulled the curtain shut.

"Luna, thou art most amusing, but I had already caught you in the act!" Celestia swiped the curtain aside again, "Where did thou go?" The space where Luna had been was empty!

"Allon-sy!" Something knocked Celestia onto the floor.

Luna and Celestia laughed as they crashed on the floor together. The Sun rolled over on top of the Moon, squashing her with the unexpected weight. "Get thyself off! You are crushing me!"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic, Luna. Besides, you asked for it. What was it you said? 'Allonsy'?" Celestia rose from the floor and held out a hoof for her sister.

"Oh, just something thou had heard from an old friend," Luna smiled reassuringly to her sister.

"Princess Celestia! Princess Celestia! We need your assistance, immediately!" A young mare's voice echoed through the hall as a Cloppity-Clop-Clop became louder and louder. A Unicorn mare turned the corner of the long hall of the castle. She was average-build with a red-orange coat and green mane and tail.

Celestia and Luna met the mare halfway; the former spoke first. "What is wrong, Paperclip? *Gasp!* What happened with the treaty?!" Celestia popped Paperclip's 'space bubble' as she met her face-to-face.

The fight between the Saddle Arabic and Griffin races had been going on for over one hundred years. Equestria intervened in the last twenty to prevent a battle in their territory and to protect the ponies.