Luna walked along her wing of the castle. The sun was beginning to peek through the windows, causing her to squint. Luckily she was only a few steps away from her room. Celestia really needed to work on her aim. Apparently fifteen hundred years wasn't enough time to learn how to raise the sun properly in a way not to annoy her. Then again Celestia had never not annoyed Luna in some way or other. But that's what happens with sisters.
"Twilight is lucky not to have a female sibling."
"Celestia still getting sunlight in your wing?"
Luna nodded to the guard in front of her door.
"Indeed. But it appears that it can't be helped. The usual orders Nightwing."
"No disruptions unless it concerns the fall of Equestria."
"Honestly, after the night I had, I might even ignore that."
Nightwing flinched involuntarily. Luna looked at the pony's face to realize that he hadn't understood.
"A joke Nightwing."
His shoulders relaxed.
"Of course Your Highness."
Luna walked past her faithful guard and entered her room. She'd been trying to be more relaxed in her speech with ponies. Hadn't she said her jest correctly? Or perhaps it was too sophisticated for him. She closed the door behind her and let the darkness consume her, letting out a sigh of relief as her body realized the night was over. It was time to rest.
The bed was a welcoming sight. Luna settled in under the sheets without a further thought. The blankets hugged her body and she smiled. As she began to drift off, her encounter with Nightwing replayed in her mind. He had seemed so tense.. Had he really thought that she didn't care if Equestria fell? No. That was preposterous. She may have only been back for a few years, but Equestrian was of the utmost importance to Luna. Her guards would know that.
Or would they?
Bloody Tartarus. This was the last thing she needed right now.
Do you really blame ponies for not trusting you?
"Ponies trust me. I'm just trying to be friendly. So he didn't get the joke. I'll try something simpler next time."
Humor isn't going to stop ponies from wondering when you'll snap next.
Luna turned over, closed her eyes, and tried her hardest to push It back into the corner of her mind. She felt her head numb and everything cleared away. Her vision began to return, signaling her entrance into the dream world. What would she see tonight?
Citizens of Ponyville!!
Was this...Nightmare Night?
Luna stood at the back of a crowd. It was Ponyville. All the ponies were bowing, no...cowering in front of a dark figure. Luna looked over at the center, where the figure stood. It was her, shrouded in cloak and shadow. She sat and watched as her past self tried to socialize with regular ponies. Luna recognized all too well the longing look in the eyes of her dream self. it was a look she had seen a lot of recently. She had been so entrenched in her duties that she hardly ever spoke to any pony besides Celestia and the guards.
"Why is it so hard to make friends?"
The image morphed, melting away Nightmare Night. It reformed to show Twilight Sparkle studying in her castle.
"Well I suppose I do have some friends.."
Twilight turned around and smiled.
"Luna! I haven't seen you in so long. How are you?"
Luna's eyes widened in shock.
"I apologize! I did not realize I had entered your dreams. I shall leave you in peace."
"Nonsense! You're not bothering me. It's just one of my study session dreams. I'll have plenty more like it. What brings you here?"
"In truth, I'm actually asleep myself. I was just thinking about..friends."
"Well that's always nice!"
"It would be. If I could actually be normal."
"What do you mean?"
Luna just looked at her. It slowly came to Twilight and she gave a knowing smile.
"I know you haven't had a ton of interaction with ponies, but that doesn't mean you can't have normal friendships."
"But I never have time to go interact with other ponies."
"Well there's plenty of other ways to interact."
The castle faded and the old library came into focus. Twilight pulled several books from shelves.
"There are lots of ways to meet new ponies. There are several prominent ways that reoccur constantly within stories. Taking into
consideration your time available and your current social skills, I would suggest that you start a letter correspondence!
"Letters? How do I meet new ponies through writing letters?"
"Well I happen to know of a service that helps you find a quill-pal! You get paired with another pony in the service and start
writing to each other."
"Really? They would find me somepony to talk..write to?"
"Yes! Here.."
Twilight summoned a quill and some parchment. She scribbled down an address and showed it to Luna.
"Remember this and you'll be all set."
Luna smiled as she memorized the address.
"Thank you Twilight."
Twilight and the library disappeared and Luna opened her eyes. She was back in bed. How long had she been asleep? She got up and trotted to the door.
"Nightwing?"
She cracked the door enough to reveal the stallion. He turned his head, looking at her with one eye.
"Is there a problem Your Highness?"
"How long has it been since I came in here?"
"You...you went in there fifteen minutes ago. Is there something you need before your sleep?"
Luna smiled, stepping back to shut the door.
"No. I will be fine."
She shut the door and summoned a quill and some parchment. She began writing:
Greetings Quill and Ink Correspondence,
I have need of your services. I find that it is hard to converse with other ponies. I hardly have the time to go out and meet others due to my duties. If you could please find somepony that I could become acquainted with, I would be most pleased. I should tell you now that this correspondence will be with me; Luna, Princess of the Night. Do not be alarmed and do not try to provide me with any special treatment. I wish to be like any of your other clients.
Luna paused for a moment. Perhaps she'd better take a precaution.
But if you could disguise my name as to not alarm my future quill-pal, that would be much appreciated. Perhaps, Moon Lily. I hope to hear from you or your choice of client soon.
Luna
She rolled the parchment and sent it off in a puff of smoke. A smile formed at the thought of finally being able to talk with a pony. Even if it was through letters, she would learn to adapt and converse normally.
With the letter on its way, Luna again realized just how tired she was. She returned to her bed and slipped under the blankets. Her smile still lingered as she drifted off into another dream.
