“Are you sure of this, Luna?”
Celestia looked at her sister with a hint of concern on her face. They were in a secluded room, a surprisingly plain room with a long table surrounded by chairs in the center. Several banners hanging from the walls surrounded the empty chairs. The symbol of the two sisters was stamped on each one, a constant reminder to both the sisters themselves and their subjects. Luna had only recently asked her to a private meeting between the two of them. Normally the use of the council would involve several others, but this was different.
“Yes, Celestia,” Luna said, “I have to do this, he needs to know this now.”
“He’s only a child, Luna.” Celestia countered. She leaning tiredly on one of the ornate chairs. Today’s mess was finally over with, but the clean up coupled with all the royal dignitaries to contend with had been enough to wear even her. She just wanted to rest, but it seemed that there was one more matter left before she could retire.
“So were we, Celly, when we had to go through the same thing, and I know first hand what he is feeling about this.” Unlike her older sister, Luna was not leaning against anything rather she stood in a regal fashion. She thought it sloppy whenever she saw someone leaning against something out of fatigue, but she knew better when it came to her older sibling. Celestia had her take part in dealing with other dignitaries before and it proved a much more stressful job than it appeared.
Celestia pondered at that. She and Luna were both very young when they ascended to their thrones. It was not easy for either of them. Sure they had to somewhat learn on the fly, but they also had been taught by some of the greatest minds of their day. Besides, it’s not like Spike would one day rule over all of Equestria.
“I don’t want to hurt him, Celly,” Luna continued, “I never would mean any harm, but I am asking for you permission first.”
Celestia sighed. “Alright Luna. Do what you need to. Just…. be easy on him, and remember that he is only a child.”
“I promise Celestia.” Luna bowed her head to her elder sibling and turned to leave the room. She herself was a little uneasy about this, but she thought it had to be done.
Spike walked through the extravagant halls of the Canterlot Castle. Having lived in the Castle for his entire life until moving to Ponyville, he was no stranger to the sheer grandeur of it. Banners of the Diarchy of the sisters flowed freely of the towering arches. No matter which part of the castle, the ceiling itself reach incredible heights, enough room for even the tallest dragon. Many newcomers would often find it an almost terrifying experience. That though gave Spike a little bit of pride, that he could travel the castle with ease.
That didn’t help him now though. He had been personally requested by the Princess of the Night herself. He could never help but always be a little nervous about her, but now she wanted to speak with him personally, something that made his body feel several times heavier.
Spike found himself in front of a large door. An incredible carving of the night sky covered the dark blue frame from top to bottom. Along the crevice where the doors opened a full moon stared down at him. Two Thestral guards flanked the door. Not the typical golden armored guards that he had grown up seeing, but rather Luna’s own separate night guard. Their cat-like eyes watched him as he stopped in front of them.
“I’m uhh, here to see the princess,” Spike said hesitantly.
“Your name, please?” The guard on the right asked nonchalantly.
“Spike.”
The guards said nothing more, merely paving the way for him to enter. Taking a deep breath, he slowly walked his way through the door.
He had no idea on what to expect once inside. Total Darkness? Nightmarish monsters? Plans for world domination? Once inside, he was surprised to see that it actually rather beautiful in its’ own way. The architecture was not too dissimilar from the style of the door. It had an alien and otherworldly feel to it, but no monster or anything. The ceiling above resembled the night sky itself, stars and the moon peering down at him. He could almost swear that it looked like a perfect rendition of a the sky, straight down to the shape of the moon.
“Ah, you have arrived.”
The sudden voice awoke Spike from his stupor. To his right, sitting down on a simple desk, was Princess Luna. Levitating next to her was a small book illuminated by a nearby lamp. SPike couldn’t see any title on the book, perhaps it was a sort of journal of hers. She turned the light off and set the book down, resting it on a small of of two other books on her desk.
She beckoned him over with a hoof. It sapped Spikes strength to see her do that. He was half hoping she would change her mind and let him go back. He even briefly thought about taking off, but knew better than that. Bracing himself for whatever might come next, he stepped forward to the awaiting princess, almost shaking in his feet.
He was fairly comfortable around the other princesses (especially Twilight considering their long history) but Luna was a different matter. This was the same princesses who rebelled against Celestia in an attempt to plunge the world into eternal darkness. Even now, she had a reputation for being not quite as warm and open as the others.
Seeing what looked liked a welcoming smile on her face was already beginning to make him question that belief. Was Luna really as scary as he always thought her to be?
He followed her outside to her balcony. A dark blue table, matching the rest of her decor, sat in the middle with two chairs at its side. Two separate tea cups laid on opposite sides of the table with an assortment of treats in the middle, including some rather delicious looking gems specifically for Spike.
They took seats opposite of each other under the rising night sky. Celestia’s sun had only just gone down while Luna’s moon rose to take its place. Normally at this time, Spike would be winding down from the day’s work, reading the latest edition of Power Ponies or enjoying a late night snack. But today he had tried to run a summit in Twilight's stead and failed miserably. No, rather, he had nearly ruined it. It was definitely not one of his best memories, but he thought he learned his lesson. Now, all he wanted was to go back to his room and read his comics until he could go back to Ponyville and put this mess behind him.
Luna sat on her side of the table in a regal pose, sipping on her tea without so much as a word. She had done very little since he had entered. He was so nervous he could almost feel himself shaking when as he chew on some of the gems. Would she scold him or worse? That made him want to run back to his room with Twilight. Twilight did tell him though that Luna only now means to help others and told him to trust and so he would, even if it was a little difficult.
“You seem… tense, Spike,” Luna said. “Relax, I’m not having you here so I could torture you or anything, merely to talk.”
“Oh, well about what?” He was starting to dread about she was about to say.
“Your brief moment of power.”
Spike visibly shrunk down into his seat upon hearing that. He had already received a scolding from both Twilight and Cadance. Celestia seemed to have thought that he didn’t need to hear about it anymore. Now he had to sit through yet another one, and one coming from the one who was known for being a little more… militant.
“If you think I’m going to scold you, you are mistaken then.” Luna stated before taking a sip of her tea.
Spike shot back up then. “You, you’re not?”
“No, Spike. I merely wanted to have a little... heart to heart with you about the subject of power.” She leaned forward in her seat. “Now tell me something, Spike. When you were confronted by the two governors, what did it feel like?”
Spike remembered that moment. The two bickering ponies came to him fighting over which would be allowed to make their speech first. In the end, without disturbing Twilight, he had them share the room, only for that to come to disaster. “I was scared really. I just wanted to make everypony happy, not turn it into a big mess.”
“I understand how you feel. Speaking of which, do you know how young my sister and I were when we had to lead?”
Spike shook his head. “No, princess—”
“No need for formality here, Spike. Just Luna if you please.”
“Ok, prin-, I mean, Luna.”
Luna gave a slight chuckle at that before getting back on track. “Anyway, Celestia and I were… quite young when we first became the rulers of Equestria. In fact, we were younger than Cadance or even Twilight.”
Spike looked at Luna with wide eyes. Celestia had been in power that long? What in Equestria could have forced them into such a role at such an age? He could barely manage a bunch of bickering diplomats while they had to manage an entire Kingdom.
Luna got up from her seat and walked over to the balcony, to which Spike followed her. “Of course we didn’t have to do it alone. We had excellent tutors and advisors to help guide us. High Wind of Cloudsdale taught us both how to fly and was always there for us every step of the way. Iron Hoof was the best military commander of his time and went out of his to teach us what it meant to lead, both on and off the field. Finally, there was Starswirl the Bearded. He taught us everything we knew about magic, science, economics. In fact, he even taught us how to properly make tea.” She giggled at that memory. They effectively became her and Celestia’s family after the death of their parents. The two sisters always did what they could to take their teachings to heart and honor their memory when they passed. At least for a time. “Still, we made a few mistakes here and there. Not everything we ever did was flawless. We had a few failures along the way. We even had a few moments like yours earlier.”
“I didn’t mean for everything to go so badly. I was just trying to let Twilight get her rest,” Spike looked down at the ground, his hands fidgeting with each other. “and then I got wrapped up in doing whatever I wanted instead of what I should have done.”
Luna looked at him as he spoke. She understood better than most about what he meant. She looked out to the sky, to the moon. Only a few short years earlier, her shadow was stamped right in the middle of it. Half the time whenever she looked at it, she couldn’t help but remember her terrible mistake over a millennia ago. “I did the same too, Spike. “
Spike looked up at her as she gazed at the night sky. Her face that was smiling just a few minutes ago had began to show strain as she looked away. Following her eyes, he realized what she was looking at and what she meant, her time as Nightmare Moon.
Luna spoke again, her voice having a tone of pain in it. “In those days, I just wanted the affection of those I worked so hard for. More than once my life had to be on the line to protect them. I thought Celestia was taking it all for herself. I now know that to be false, but…” A single tear went down her cheek. “I began to want the power for myself, to be loved and feared. And yet I only ended up becoming no better than those I fought for Equestria, Tirek, Sombra and all the others.”
She turned back to look at Spike, who showed not fear, but rather a new sense of understanding for who who standing before him. “Since then, I have dedicated my life to helping those in fear,” she said. “I never want to see another go down the same path that I did. That, Spike, is why I go into the dreams of others and why I asked you to be here, so I can pay for my mistake.”
Luna sat down and put a hoof on Spike’s shoulder. “I can’t say if you will ever hold power in the future, but I can tell you this. Being in power should never be about power for the sake of power or even to be loved by all. It should about serving others by making choices that you may not like and by being willing to defend them with your life if necessary.”
Spike realized what she was talking about. She wasn’t trying to scare him, but rather to help him. She was trying to prepare him in a way should he ever have to make those kind of choices again. He was able to tell also by the increasing stain and hesitation in her voice that she was still hurt by her own choices a thousand years ago. Perhaps there was a way for him help, like she just taught him?
Spike moved closer to her and wrapped his arms around her other hoof. Luna looked down at him in surprise, but warmed up to it. Slowly, she wrapped her other hoof around the dragon. With the exception of her sister and Twilight, no one has really done this for her since her return. Ironically, in her attempt to help Spike, he had turned around and given her help in return.
Spike pulled away, realizing the time. “I have to head on to my room now, Luna. Twilight wants us to leave early tomorrow.” The young dragon waved goodbye and made his way out of her room.
Luna nodded at the dragon with a smile on her face. “Have a good night, Spike.” She turned back to the sky. By now the moon was high in the sky and the stars were all out. Somehow, she felt rather excited to start her work for the night. It was funny to her about how with as much as she helped the citizens of Equestria, they helped her just as much.
Author's Note
Before I say anything else, I would like to say that this story was written with the episode "Princess Spike" in mind, so there are some inconsistencies with the newest episode. But please try to bear with me on that.
The idea behind this story revolved around a few things. First, I wanted to try a story with more focus on dialogue and development. Second, I figured that perhaps due to the lack of interaction between Spike and Luna, maybe he is still nervous around her, so this fic is partially about trying to 'Humanize" Luna in Spike's eyes. Lastly, I felt that if any of the princesses could somehow relate to how Spike felt, it'd be Luna.
Anyway, please tell me what you thought.
