The Bright Equestrian Moon

The rest of the day becomes a bit of a blur. We have lunch after the tour, I have some disappointingly vegetarian sandwich, Luna has a different type of salad. The rest of the day passes without event or meaningful conversation. That’s until the time comes for night.

Luna takes me outside. “Remember about how I am the princess of the night?”

I nod, of course I remember. “Yeah, does that mean you have to go perform royal duties at night? Like, taking turns with Celestia?”

Luna smiles. “That is one way of putting it, but it isn’t the full explanation. Let me show you.” She looks up to the sky, spreading her wings. Her horn lights up brightly and she begins to levitate. What happens next is amazing. The moon slowly rises as the sun sets, the night sky coming into clear view. This is crazy, she seems to actually be bringing the night.

I watch in awe, my mouth hanging open. Magic might be common here, but this is on a whole different level. She’s either moving the moon and possibly the stars, or she’s rotating the planet. Either way, it must require an insane amount of magic power to perform something like that.

Luna gradually levitates back down to the ground, folding her wings as she touches down, her horn also dimming. “This is why I am known as the Princess of the Night. I raise the moon so that Equestria has night. Celestia as the Princess of the Day, raises the sun in the morning to bring day.”

I give Luna a wide smile. “I barely have any words to describe it, Luna. I can say amazing or awesome, but they don’t truly describe how brilliant it is.” I shake my head in wonder and laugh a bit. “I never thought something like that would be possible, the idea never even crossed my mind.”

She looks like she is pretty happy with my response. “I’m pleased that you think so, Travis. Nopony has complimented my power for a long time, and many prefer Celestia bringing day.”

I look up at the night sky. I’ve always loved the night, the light soft and sweet, and the moon and stars beautiful. “Well, I myself prefer night over day. The moon and stars are so beautiful, whilst the sun mainly blinds and overheats me. It is somewhat different here in Equestria, but in Australia, I would curse the sun pretty often.”

Luna smiles even more. “Do you really feel that way about the night?” This must mean a lot to her.

I look back down at her. “Of course, I do, the pale light is much sweeter than the rays of sunlight, and I don’t have to squint to protect my eyes. Not to mention that in the day the sky is just a plain old blue, whereas during the night, there is a variety of stars to see.”

Luna hugs me, for the third time today. Maybe hugs are just really common here. Or perhaps due to my lack of socialising I just don’t think hugs are meant to be common. Either way, I hug her back, careful not to accidentally brush up against anything intimate this time.

I slowly let go of her. “Uh, Luna, what was that for?”

She lets go of me as well. “It was as thanks, for enjoying night. It means a lot to me to hear that somepony- somebody actually prefers my night over my sister’s day.”

“Um, you’re welcome, I guess?” I look around and rub the back of my neck. “I didn’t know that it was such a big deal.”

“It is to me.” Luna smiles, blushing a little. “Would you like to walk through the garden with me now?”

I nod slowly, lost in thought. She’s blushing… I wonder if… No, never mind. I’m sure that it’s just out of happiness, I mean she said that it means a lot to her… If it does, perhaps she’s looking at me in a different light? No, that can’t be, it’s gotta just be out of happiness… Right?

“Travis?” Luna breaks my train of thought and brings me back to reality.

I don’t normally get so lost in thought around other people. I better try not to do it again; it is pretty embarrassing. “Oh, sorry, I spaced out. Anyway, a walk now sounds good.”

Luna gives me a soft smile. “Very good.” She then begins walking through the garden, still smiling.

Well, at least she seems to be happy, I mean, a happy princess of her calibre is better than a sad one. The other thoughts can wait. I walk with her and we pass the fountain that I saw when I first arrived here. The water in it is reflecting the moon and night sky nearly perfectly. This whole thing is so funny, it’s still strange being here. I can’t help but laugh.

Luna looks my way. “What is so funny?”

I look back at her and slowly stop laughing. “Oh, I’m just thinking about me being in Equestria. I’m still coming to terms with it. I don’t know why, but it seems really funny to me that this has actually happened.”

“I see… Would I be right in assuming that your laughter implies that you are actually rather happy with being here?”

I think she’s right with that, I don’t have to care about the past anymore, or about how things used to be. I nod and smile. “Yeah, I think I am. I don’t seem to have any major worries here, nor do I have any major responsibilities.” I laugh a bit more. “Now I’m sounding really lazy. I suppose when I’m comfortable I can try to get some sort of job or something here.”

Luna is silent for a moment. “What if I don’t want you to get a job?”

I laugh yet again. “Are you encouraging me to be lazy? I would never have expected any sort of royalty to tell me that.”

“It’s not that… It’s that you told me that you would keep me company. If you got a job, then you will become busy too and I’ll be largely lonely once more…” Luna looks a little down, literally and figuratively.

Hmmm, she has a point, but how can I live without a job. What about an income? Something that I didn’t have in my previous life and seriously needed. “I understand that, Luna, but how could I make a living here without a job? Won’t I need a source of income for food, rent and that kind of stuff?”

She turns her gaze back up at me. “What if I hired you to keep me company, Travis?”

That would certainly provide me with a means of living… But it wouldn’t feel right. Being paid just to be friends, wouldn’t that cheapen the friendship? “I don’t know, that seems wrong. You shouldn’t pay me to be a friend and somebody to hang out with. I would feel dirty if I accepted such money.” Also, it’d make me feel like a ‘hired escort’ and I’m not really comfortable with that.

Luna looks down again. “Oh, very well…” A moment later she perks back up somewhat. “What if I don’t pay you, but I provide you with a permanent room and living essentials?”

That could work, although is having company really that important to her? “I think I can accept that, but I have to ask, is having somebody to be around you that vital?”

She slowly nods. “Yes. I need somebody to be there for me that I can talk to when I need to. Being the Princess of the Night is often sad and lonely… I don’t want to fall back into darkness like I did a thousand years ago… It is important not only for me, but for the wellbeing of Equestria.”

Well, who am I to deny her such a request of me? She does make it sound very important. “All right, I’ll accept your offer. I can see now that it really does mean a lot to you and I can’t just say no. Just know that I’m not the greatest at being very social, and I’m sure that by now you’ve seen how awkward I can be around others.”

Luna laughs softly and smiles. “I feel elated that you’ve accepted. Also, I don’t mind your awkwardness, after all it is rather funny, no offence intended.”

I laugh a little as well and blush. “Uh, none taken, I guess. I’ll take it as a form of compliment. Should we continue our walk?”

She nods and continues on her way through the garden. “Of course. We had better hurry too, if we are to make it to night court on time.”

I follow her and look around the garden as we walk. “So, what is court like?”

Luna rolls her eyes a little. “That depends on whether it is day court or night court. Day court usually has nobles asking various things of Celestia, and of course also various ponies asking for her to support their communities. She often pays more attention to those in need rather than the usually greedy nobles, as she should.

“Night court should in theory be the same as day court, but held during the night. In reality, it is most often just my night guards and I sitting in an empty throne room. Nopony bothers to go to court at night, other than the occasional thestral.”

Thestral? Sounds familiar, I’m guessing Jack may have mentioned them one time as some mythical creature. “Oh, okay… What is a thestral?”

Luna looks over at me as we reach a bend in the garden, turning around it. “They are somewhat of a minority tribe of pony. Most would know of earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi when they think of the pony tribes. Thestrals are similar to pegasi, except they have membranous wings and fangs like bats, and slit pupils in their eyes like felines.

“They are a mainly nocturnal tribe that largely reside within the town of Hollow Shades. My night guard are also comprised of thestrals, so you’ll see them when we arrive at night court.”

I smile and nod. I have to say, I love hearing about things in Equestria. It’s such a fascinating place. It seems like almost all of the mythical creatures in human folklore actually live here. “Very interesting, I can’t wait to see them. On a side note, are you also mainly nocturnal as the Princess of the Night?”

She shakes her head. “No, night court isn’t open for the entire night, but is it open rather late. Due to that, I rise later than my sister, Celestia. I am most definitely not a morning pony.”

I chuckle a bit. “I used to get up pretty early when I used to go to school, all the way from primary to high school. However, I did also go to bed earlier when I went to school. After finishing school though, I gradually got up later each day as I was also staying up later each night.”

We are now looping around and on our way back to the entrance of the garden as Luna continues the conversation. “What was school like for you?”

School. Why did I even mention it? I let out a sigh. “School was mainly boring, as well as stressful. Most of the people there were mean jerks who would bully me. I never got along with anybody there except for Jack. Jack and I were the outsiders, so we became friends.

“I really don’t miss it one bit. It didn’t seem to do all that much for me anyway. A lot of the subjects were pretty pointless and irrelevant for actual life. The only good thing to come from it was my friendship with Jack.”

Luna looks away. “Oh, that doesn’t sound very nice, except for your friendship with Jack. I hope my question didn’t bother you, Travis.”

I smile slightly. “It’s fine, Luna. It was bound to come up some time, besides, it’s in the past now.”

She looks back and returns the smile as we arrive at the door to the castle. “Very well, thank you for walking with me and for the talking. Are you ready to see night court?”

I nod. “Yeah, as usual, lead the way.”

Luna takes me inside and to the throne room which is well lit, but not as bright as is during the day. I see what must be the night guards posted at the double doors. They both have a grey coat, have yellow golden eyes with slit pupils, and what seems to be dark purple or blue bat wings. The night guard are wearing pale purple armour as well, with dark purple highlights to match their wings. There are also another two night guards standing on either side of the throne at the back of the room.

I walk with Luna and stop at the foot of the throne as she goes to the top and sits down. The throne is set up on the top of a few platforms arranged in a step like manner. It looks like it is made of pure gold with the back made of a red material that appears as if it would belong on a couch. There is also a red carpet trailing from the door to the seat of the throne. I stand beside the night guard to the left of the throne, on Luna’s right.

Apart from Luna, the guards and I, the throne room is empty and silent. Luna then speaks. “Night court is now open, visitors are welcome.”

A night guard standing by the door salutes and leaves the room. Then there is silence once more. I guess he’s meant to bring in visitors. Another night guard walks into the throne room and brings some scrolls to Luna. “Here are the petitions not resolved during day court, Princess.”

She nods and levitates the scrolls from the guard to herself, unrolling and reading them one at a time. “Thank you, you may return to your post.”

The guard salutes and then leaves. Just Luna, a few guards and I the only ones in the throne room again. Luna is silent as she reads the scrolls, I wonder what they’re about. Are they all important? Or are there some whiny noble petitions?

Luna looks over to the guard standing beside me. “I require ink and a quill.”

The guard salutes, there seems to be a lot of that with these guards. He then leaves the throne room, making it even emptier than before. I look around the near empty room, before turning my attention to Luna. “Is it rude of me to ask what those petitions are about?”

She smiles and looks down at me from the large throne. “Not rude at all, in fact, it’s quite welcome. The guards aren’t exactly here to make conversation.”

I nod, it makes sense. “So then, what petitions are they?”

Luna quickly skims through the scrolls again. “There are a few selfish nobles asking for money that have no need for it. However, there are also some petitions from towns in need of things such as food, repair services and one for security.”

I nod again. “That’s fair enough. What do you do with the petitions from the towns making legitimate requests?”

Luna looks at the doors to the throne room. “I will write replies to each of the towns to let them know that something will be done. Then I will order the logistics branch to organise the services and supplies to be sent to the towns in need.”

I look at the doors as well. “That sounds pretty important.”

The doors open as the guard from before walks in with a pot of ink and a quill protruding from it. “The ink and quill as requested, Princess.”

“Thank you.” She levitates the ink and quill up to the top of the throne, beginning to write her answers on each of the scrolls. The guard salutes and then returns to his position beside me. The room is silent except for the sound of the quill on paper for a few minutes. Luna puts the quill and ink pot down, rolling up all of the scrolls. She then levitates the scrolls down to the foot of the throne. “Take these to the post room and come back with a blank scroll.”

The guard salutes and places the scrolls in a bag, before heading out again. I look around and sit down. This is pretty boring to watch. A few minutes pass in silence before the guard comes back with a blank scroll, routinely saluting yet again.

Luna thanks him again and writes on the scroll, rolling it up once she finishes, sending it to the bottom of the throne. “Bring this to the logistics office.” I probably don’t even need to say it, but the guard salutes again, leaving with the scroll.

I look up at Luna. “So… Is this royal night court business concluded?”

She shakes her head. “No, we must wait here until ten in case anypony comes to night court personally.”

Well, it seems things could get even more boring if we wait here and there are no visitors. “Do you do anything to pass the time in between visits or until night court ends?”

Luna gets up and walks down the throne, turning to the side of the hall and making her way to the windows. “I sometimes overlook Canterlot from here. There is not much else to do otherwise.”

I stand to follow her and look out over the city. There are lamps lighting the streets and some buildings have light pouring out from their windows. The architecture throughout looks very clean and gives off a fancy atmosphere. I’m guessing that it would be very expensive to live here. I then look at Luna. “Why don’t you bring in a book or some form of entertainment before you start each session of night court?”

Luna turns back to face me. “I always thought that it may seem improper. Do you really think I should bring something to pass the time from now on?”

I smile and laugh a little. “Of course, Luna. No offence, but it’s pretty silly that you haven’t done so already.”

She laughs a bit too. “Very well, I’ll be sure to come prepared with entertainment next time.”

“That’s good to hear, but what do we do for now? Wait?”

Luna shakes her head. “We do have time to play a game.”

I raise an eyebrow. The mention of games is pretty appealing to me, but I’m guessing she doesn’t mean a video game. “What game would that be?”

She smiles. “Do you know about chess?”

As I thought, not a video game, but at least it’s something that I’m familiar with. “Yeah, I used to play it at school with Jack sometimes during breaks. Are you good?”

“I’d like to believe so.” Luna walks back towards the base of the throne and looks at the last remaining guard at the throne. “Could you bring us a table and a chess set?”

“Of course, Princess, right away.” Just like the other guard he salutes and leaves the room.

I walk over to Luna. “So, just in case chess is different between our worlds, can you tell me what the pieces are?”

She nods. “Yes, that is a wise question. Each side has eight pawns, two rooks, two knights, two wizards, a prince, and a princess. Is it the same on Earth?”

I shake my head. It’s largely similar, but I suppose it makes sense that they would have a princess instead of a king due to their apparent matriarchal society. That would leave the prince to replace the queen. Also, the lack of bishops could indicate a difference in or lack of religion in Equestria. “Not completely, there are some differences. Instead of wizards, a prince, and a princess we have bishops, a queen, and a king.”

Luna nods again. “I would suppose that the different names are due to pony and human societies being different from each other.”

She pretty much hit the nail on the head with that statement. “That’s along the lines of what I was thinking.”

The throne room doors open and two guards walk in carrying a table and chess set between each other. They set the table down in front of the bottom of the throne, one of them speaking. “Here are the table and chess set as asked, princess.”

The other guard then speaks. “And the scroll has been delivered to the logistics office.”

Luna thanks them and they both salute, going to stand at either side of the throne dutifully. I sit on the floor at one end of the table, facing the throne. The table is low enough to accommodate for sitting on the floor and the chess board is already set up. My side has white pieces, whilst the other side matches Luna’s coat. Luna sits down at the opposite side of the table.

We quickly verify the moves of the pieces and play. The rest of the night passes quickly as we enjoy it. Luna is indeed very good at this; she ends up beating me several times. After a few more matches in Luna’s favour, we decide to finish as ten approaches. The guards pack up the chess and the table. It seems that nobody came to night court in person.

Luna appears to be happy, although a little tired. She then leads the way out from the throne room. “Would you like to have dinner now?”

I nod enthusiastically, I’m so damn hungry. “Definitely, it’s been so long since lunch. May I suggest that perhaps we have our dinners before night court from now on?”

She giggles a bit. “That can easily be sorted. Are you not used to dinner at ten?”

I shake my head and chuckle a bit as well. “No, I usually have dinner sometime between six and eight.”

Luna smiles and takes us to the dining hall, requesting for waiters. Before long, the waiters turn up. They’re both unicorn mares. Huh, I must be getting better at telling between male and female ponies. They are carrying note pads and pencils with telekinesis. One of them addresses Luna first. “What would you like to order, Princess?”

She thinks for a moment, before replying. “I would like to have a roasted parsnip soup, with a glass of water.”

The waitress in front of her nods and writes down Luna’s order on her notepad. The second waitress standing nearby then addresses me. “And what would you have?”

I smile. “I think that a lasagne would be great, and a glass of water as well.”

She nervously smiles back and records my order too. Both of the waitresses look between us, the first one checking if that’s all. Luna and I nod in confirmation. They then leave the dining hall so that we are left alone. I look towards Luna. “So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?”

Luna looks back at me. “I am unsure. You could perhaps just try to settle in here at the castle, make yourself at home. We may also talk with Twilight Sparkle if she is finished with what may be keeping her busy.”

That sounds like a pretty relaxing day, although I wonder what could be done for fun to pass the time. If Twilight comes, then talking to her could at least be something to do. I nod. “All right, do you have any duties apart from petitions, night court, and raising the moon?”

She shakes her head. “No, that is all I have to do on a regular day. On the occasion of a diplomatic visit, I must be present there, but it isn’t common. I must be the princess with the least time consuming duties, and therefore less things to occupy myself with.”

That doesn’t sound very healthy, she clearly needs things to do, not just a companion. I should know, I mean, that’s what my life was like back on Earth. “Look, I think that you need to go out and do more things. Maybe tomorrow I’ll try to think of fun things that we could do together. For example, we could go to the library and you could teach me about the history of Equestria.”

Luna smiles. “That sounds delightful, Travis. I’m glad to have found you in the garden last night. I’ve always needed a friend that wasn’t bogged down in duties or work.”

I return the smile. “You’re welcome, Luna. I’m pretty sure that I always needed to get a break from Earth. I don’t think I was ever meant to permanently live there.”

Luna gives me a more serious look. “And what do you think of Equestria?”

What do I think? It is better than Earth so far. “I think that it’s a clean slate to me. I don’t know much about Equestria, and apart from a few, the inhabitants don’t know about me at all. So far from what I’ve seen and heard, it’s better than Earth. I would like to give it a proper chance.”

Luna relaxes, seemingly all right with my answer. “I hope that you feel more comfortable and at home here in Equestria than you were on Earth.”

I give her a friendly smile. “Thanks, I hope so too. Besides, things are looking pretty good here at the moment.” I then lean back in my chair and let out a sigh of tiredness, closing my eyes. As nice as things have been so far, they’ve also been pretty crazy, I feel so exhausted. We both sit in silence, neither of us speaking. Maybe Luna is allowing me to enjoy a peaceful moment of quiet as I relax in the chair.

I don’t know how much time passes, but the double doors to the hall open. The two waitresses from earlier walk in, each pushing a trolley with plates and cutlery on them. The plates have those large dome lids on top of them until the moment they are placed on the table in front of us.

I barely notice the waitresses announcing our meals as I watch the lids lifted from the plates. The lasagne in front of me is really big, and it smells amazing. It’s a vegetarian one of course, but I’m so hungry that I don’t feel like I could complain. I thank the waitress in an absent minded manner, before grabbing the fork and knife, and digging into it.

The lasagne is unbelievably good, all of the vegetables creating an amazing fusion of flavour. Even better is that the cheese in it only further enhances the beautiful palate. I am brought back to reality as I hear giggling across from me. I look up to see the waitresses gone, but Luna is enjoying my reaction to my meal. This causes me to blush a little. “What? It’s good.”

She giggles a little more and then calms herself. “It’s fine, I just found your reaction to the lasagne rather entertaining.” Luna then continues eating her soup.

I blush a bit more. “Um, all right…” I take a sip from my water and get back to finishing off my delicious lasagne, although in a more reserved way. That was pretty embarrassing, after all, she is royalty, I ought to be politer.

We then eat our dinners in silence until we finish. Luna speaking up first. “Do you remember where you slept last night?”

That is an important question… This castle is so big; do I remember where I slept last night? I don’t think so, I’m just so tired. I shake my head. “No, I think I’ve forgotten. Do I need to sleep in the same room as before?”

Luna responds after some thought. “Not exactly, but you will need to stay in a guest room. There is one near my chambers, is that acceptable?”

I yawn and nod, standing from the chair. “Fine by me.”

She smiles and gets up as well. “Follow me.” Luna then takes me down a few halls and to a door beside a set of double doors. “This can be your room from now on, if you wish.” She opens the single door, revealing a bedroom similar in style to the one I stayed in last night, but a little bigger.

I step into the room and look around, noticing that there also seems to be an ensuite bathroom towards the corner of the room. I turn back around to face Luna. “This is a great bedroom. I’d love to have it as my permanent dwelling place.”

Luna nods happily. “If you need anything, the double doors out here lead to my chambers.”

I smile. “All right, thanks. Good night, Luna.”

She gives me a hug. “You are welcome. Good night, Travis.”

I hug her back, being careful again, before we let go and Luna heads to her room. I close the door and walk to the bed, undressing myself down to my underwear and leaving my clothes on a set of drawers. Finally, I climb into bed and pull the covers over myself. I’ve never been in such a comfortable bed before. It isn’t long until I drift off to sleep.