Author's Note
I'll give you another fair warning; this is Shakespeare: Horse edition. The dialogue is written to mimic middle English as accurately as possible. If you didn't like reading Shakespeare in school, turn back now.
Nº 1
"Nay... too much pollen."
The purple wildflower suspended by Princess Luna's blue magic was dropped to the grass as she moved to the next patch of flowers, both her nose and magic sniffing out which flowers would be the best ones for the hoof-made bouquet she was constructing. The high noon sun beat down her light blue fur as she continued on through the Everfree, songbirds singing their springtime tunes and the leaves above rustling from the occasional breeze. From where Luna stood, the impressive structure of her home castle stood like a beautiful monument, its stone walls and high towers being a true show of how far Equestria had come over the past years.
She continued searching, her nose digging into a patch of tiny white flowers as she inhaled through her nose and out through her mouth, her magic then surrounding the group as she scrutinized them, looking for any imperfections in their petals or stems.
"Perfection."
The bunch was pulled from its mother foliage and added to the eclectic bunch she had already gathered, which she held a little from her sight to examine it in totality. In her eyes, it was perfect.
"Thou hast gathered quite the wonderful bunch, sister!" Chimed the voice of Celestia, Luna's head flipping around to see her sister trotting in her direction.
"Aye, we hath been hard at work."
"Doth thou has't a special somepony in mind to begift such quite quaint bouquet? We both knoweth what title the day is adorned with." Celestia inquired, flicking her pink bangs from her eyes.
"Nay, tis for ourself." Lied Luna in return.
"Seemeth comical to expend such volumes of time meticulously preparing something for thyself as opposed to another."
Luna's eyes diverted to her bouquet, "Is't lacking valor to spoil ourselves?"
"Nay, nay, not at all, sister; we simply bethought 't to beest comical thee would wend through such labors for thy reward to beest eaten in mere moments."
Luna looked back to her sister's gentle smile, "What hast thou at each opportune moment proclaimed? 'Tis bout the journey and not the destination'?"
"Aye."
The bouquet floated to Celestia, "Then hither lies mine own proof of thy point."
As the fragrant scents wafted to her nostrils, Celestia dug her muzzle into the arrangement and took a deep breath, "We wish somepony would maketh such a wonderful arrangement for us..."
"Maybe thy wish shall cometh true yet."
Celestia brought her gaze up, looking into Luna's slit-pupil eyes, "Doth thee bethink somepony hast their eye on us this year?"
"Maybe..."
"Doth thee knoweth who hast their eye on us?" Smiled Celestia, cocking her head and leaning a little closer to Luna.
"We nev'r hath said aye 'r nay to thy inquiry about somepony having their eye on thee..."
"Aye, but thy tone and thy word choice was quite implying, doth thee not thinketh?"
Luna grinned, "We doth bethink, and thee may findeth thy suspicions to beest correct."
With an adorable giggle, Celestia bounced on her front hooves, "Oh, joyous! We shalt assume thou art sworn to silence by the one who hast lain their eye on me?" She spoke with a bright smile, Luna's heart nearly melting from the look her sister had given.
"Aye. Trust me, sister; thee shall nev'r guess who the pony is."
Her hooves gave a giddy prance, "I shan't wait for thy night to fall and the day's joyous occasions to beginneth! Oh, how wonderful..." Celestia chirped excitedly as she began back towards the castle, her hips swaying and pink tail bouncing happily.
"We meaneth to inquire, sister; how didst thee knoweth whither we stood?" Luna asked, her eyes landing upon her unfinished bouquet as she followed Celestia through the grassy field towards their castle home.
"Thy blue hue blendeth not with the lands around thee, dear Luna! Our eyes spied thee from quite some distance."
"We see..." Luna paused a moment, "Mindeth thee if we stay whilst thou continue? My gathering hath not fully concluded."
Celestia turned, stopping her happy prance, "We thinketh luncheon may halt for thee, wait not too long to returneth, dear Luna!"
And thus, she continued on; Luna's eyes following her wonderful figure for a moment before she turned back to her task.
"Aye, Celestia; we too shan't wait for our night to fall," Luna spoke to herself as she investigated the lands before her.
Luncheon could certainly wait; she wasn't all that hungry, and her mind was too focused on creating the most beautiful bouquet for the one being she could ever consider truly close to her heart; Celestia. As she browsed over the eclectic patches of wildflowers, occasionally eating ones that held a wonderful scent, but did not make the high standard of perfection she searched for, Luna's mind couldn't help but wander to that adorably tall and warm mare she had the honor of calling a sister. For some time now, she had felt a flutter of love different to any she had felt when placing her gaze upon Celestia, and up until recently, she knew not what it meant. It had taken time for that realization to finally strike her, but there was that problem she knew to plague any pony in love with another; how to tell the other, or even to tell them in the first place.
There was that little tinge of fear when thinking about how her sister might react once all of the day's festivities had ended and she put forth her little plan to make the night for the two special. Her mind hoped Celestia would accept the invitation into Luna's heart with the warmth she was so known for, but Luna knew better than to not think of every possibility; therefore, she wondered what would happen if Celestia didn't take her planned gesture with the warmth she was so known for. It seemed quite unlikely, but who was to know?
Looking up from her investigation to add several new, stunning flowers to her perfectly arranged, and quite delicious looking bouquet, her eyes fell to a single incredibly tall and large yellow flower with a circular, brown center. She knew that much of the Everfree still remained unexplored, but this flower was a mere moment's walk from the castle; how had she never seen such a plant before? Curiously, Luna stepped closer, her eyes tracing a bumble bee as it buzzed from the eccentric center of this radiant plant. It was more stunning than any flower gathered by her spells, and for who she planned to gift it to, it was more than perfect.
"Sunflower..." Luna spoke to herself, investigating the flower closer.
Indeed, sunflower. The title fit better than her crown to her temple. Its bright pedals spread from its center just how the rays of the sun would spread from the sun. Unlike the sun; however, its center was darker than its outer portions, but it made up for it by being a wonderfully ornate craft of nature. The strange, seed-like dots formed an amazing pattern, one that her eyes failed to move from. With a spell, the flower was broken from its stock, leaving a single rough, almost spiny leaf and a fair hoof length of stem so the flower could still take in water once she placed it and her bouquet in a vase.
"Sun flower, thy name is chosen. Now, shalt mine sun see thee with the same love I see her with?"
"Ah, and thus, thy bluely hued flanks now show! What taketh thee such lengths of time to appear, dear Luna?" Celestia's voice called over the gentle chat of the dining hall, which had dropped to a near silence as the Sun's Highness had spoken.
"We wast taking our own time, and we hadn't been all too fill'd with pangs of hunger since mere moments ago." Returned Luna as she approached the head of the table, her tall wooden chair beside Celestia's vacant of her being.
"Being fill'd with pangs of hunger wouldn't beest much an issue for somepony who is't hadst just did craft thyself a wonderful bouquet to snack on."
"Aye, consumed t, we didst," Luna lied, sliding her haunches back on the chair as she took her seat, looking over the group of nobles and staff sat at before their meals for a moment before using her magic to gather food from the center of the long rectangular table for herself.
"We bethink thee shouldst has't hath kept t for a while. T would has't madeth a wonderful display upon the table," Celestia suggested as she floated a spoonful of potato soup to her lips.
"Wherefore would we worry about preserving simple flower herds at which hour we has't something of far ranker beauty beside us to lie eyes upon?" Returned Luna with a smile, Celestia dipping her head and looking to Luna from the corner of her vision with a smile.
"Too kind, thee very much art."
"We thinketh nay, dear Celestia."
A waving hoof of dismissal was raised, the sun pouring in from the behind windows gleaming off Celestia's gold shoe, "Doth not flatter us, sister! Thy words should maketh seem you art the pony who hath held us in their gaze!"
The little giggle coming through Celestia's speech and the rosy-cheeked smile she gave were enough to turn a heart of stone to one of lava, "Haply we shouldst hold mine own tongue, we shouldst not steal thy heart ere the pony who hast their eye on thee can."
"We suspect he shall strike at us tonight during the festivities did hold within the castle; art we at least a dram correct?"
"I shan't say."
"Been helping this stallion, hast thee? Thee knoweth most particulars of yond stallion's plan."
Luna smiled, pausing for a moment to leave Celestia in anticipation, "I shan't say."
"Alas!" Celestia threw her head back, "Thou art of nay holp."
"Surprises aren't meanteth to beest spoiled, dear Celestia."
"We knoweth thee forswear not tell, but anticipation doth express itself in our mind."
Luna took a bite from a buttered biscuit held by her magic, "What doest t feeleth like?"
"What doth thee mean?" Returned Celestia with a raised brow.
"To has't somepony after thy heart? We assume t is exciting."
"Aye, very. We wonder wherefore t hast taken so long for a stallion to gain enow courage to attempt courting either thee 'r us. Art we not but ponies, too?"
"We art ponies, too, but we art far from being ingraft. Those 'round us see us as Goddesses and not ones of their kind, for yond, we assume many bethink we doth not wish to love somepony of mortal being."
"If such is the case, we feel almost insulted. Wherefore would thee or us not seek love like a ingraft being?"
"We thinketh yond they see us as too high of a podium to reacheth the top of. Our power and immortality somehow raises us above those folk. We thinketh not that they feel we do not love, but we wish to love another of higher power."
Celestia held her silence for a moment, pondering on her sister's incredibly wise words.
"Doth thy heart pine for love?" She finally spoke, looking to Luna.
That pause of silence was now Luna's. She thought on her words carefully, the eye-contact between the two never breaking.
"Pines for companionship, not for love. We doth has't love."
Celestia couldn't help but smile, "Love we doth has't, dear Luna."
The tall walls and high ceiling of the Castle's throne hall echoed with many calmly chatting voices, the occasional laugh of a mare being flirted with or a group of ponies sharing a joke punctuating the air. Since the Castle's completion, Celestia had the idea for social events to be held in the throne hall since it was the largest indoor space in all of Equestria. For tonight; a feast of sugary fruits and pastry were strewn about in a most decorative fashion on the two large dining tables that had been moved into the hall, though no chairs had been placed around them. Some seating was provided in the form of casual benches, tonight's festivities were held while those attending stood up.
"Doth thee spy what mine own eyes spy?" Inquired Celestia as she aimed her hoof towards the crowd, their elevated position atop the platform of their thrones giving a view over all within the hall.
"Nay..." Luna's eyes scanned around the direction her sister's hoof pointed, her words slurred by her mouthful of cantaloupe, "what shouldst we beest looking for?"
"The guard who is't standeth but mere steps from the window, t shouldst behold to us yond a young mare hast gather'd the courage to tryeth and court him."
Now seeing what her sister spoke of, Luna saw that indeed a brown mare was casually chatting up a rigidly stood guard, his head still aimed perfectly forward but his lips held a smile, "Aye, we doth spy t now. We bethink his training is failing him."
"The present day is such a joyous day, wherefore shouldst our guard not has't the opportunity to speak and meet with other ponies? We thinketh such an occurrence to beest travesty."
"The guard hast their code, and they followeth t by heart, however; we concur."
Celestia's magic carried the polished aluminum plate covered with sugary sweets with her as she stood, Luna watching as her sister stepped over to the Royal guard's chief commander, Captain Cloud Fall, who stood at attention some distance behind their thrones with his cohorts. His silver armor shined brighter than the steel worn by the other guards, and he held his figure straight and proud as any proper Captain should.
"We two has't cometh to an agreeance on this subject, mine own Captain; giveth the guards relief of their duties for the time. T is a day to giveth and taketh love, and we bethink t most unfair for our guard to wend without participation in the festivities."
Cloud Fall's armor-adorned left hoof clapped to the stone, his right coming up to his brow in salute, "Aye, thy Highness."
Both Celestia and Luna watched as the proud Captain walked forward, standing at the fringe of the carpeted platform as the gray horn poking from his helmet glowed yellow, an Officer's whistle floating from beneath his chest plate to his lips. A piercing tone, one that began low, climaxed at its highest pitch, then fell to a low tone, broke the chat of the room, nearly all in the room looking up to the Captain.
"Thy guard hast been relieved of their duty by the Sun's Highness!" He proclaimed, placing the whistle back in his plate.
The chatter slowly resumed, the many guards posted throughout the expansive hall relaxing their stances and beginning to trickle into the crowd, both Luna and Celestia smiling as they watched them begin to speak with those around them or move to the tables to take a treat.
"Yond is what we wish to see, Luna. Nopony shalt beest without companion on this day, even ourself, as thee hath so hinted to."
Luna smiled as Celestia returned to her throne, "Aye, we doth nay lack companionship."
"To speaketh of companions, we thinketh of some within the walls who may beest our eyeing stallion."
Luna raised a brow, "Pray tell. I shalt measure thy estimates."
"Captain Cloud Fall, perhaps? We hath been his chief and friend for years now. Before the castle stood, we knoweth him."
"Nay, shan't beest he."
"Perhaps t is Ink Scroll? Our fair adjutant beest a friend."
"Shan't beest he, either. Thou shalt rattle name upon name of stallions thee knowest, and thou shalt never overturn the stone that holdeth the truth."
"Then a stallion we know less hath seeketh our hoof?"
"Thou seemeth to not spy details. Our tongue did'st n'ver tell of a stallion."
Celestia's thoughtful and bemused expression slowly changed to shock, "Doth thee insist a mare hath placed their eye on us."
"Aye."
Luna worked to contain her amusement at her sister's shock, "N'ver in a millennium wouldest we has't estimated. But, we knoweth nay of a mare who is't shouldst beest looking to us. Aye, we know many and art friendly with many..."
"For thy age and thy insight, thou art much blind today, sister. Thou hast been anticipating your somepony to attempt courting thee since noon, but thou fail to see she hath been advancing since noon."
The blushing smile from Luna finally clicked every piece into Celestia's mind.
"Tis thee...?" She inquired anxiously.
"Aye, our most dear Celestia," Luna leaned over, "tis us."
Luna's horn came to life with a bright blue aurora as she teleported a vase of flowers between the two, Celestia instantly noticing that it was the same arrangement Luna had said she had built for herself and eaten, though one thing stuck out quite literally. High above the other flowers protruded a big, circular yellow flower with a strange seedy center, her eyes resting on the flower as her jaw dropped.
"We named t the sunflower, for only a plant of such beauty and colour shouldst bear the name of thy orb."
Celestia's wide eyes moved from the bouquet to Luna's gentle smile, her smile telling everything about how she felt.
"At noon thee did inquire if't be true mine own bouquet wast meaneth for another, we didst forswear t'wast for ourself, "The vase floated closer to Celestia, who still had not taken her gaze from Luna's, "T'was fabrication."
"Thee wish for mine own companionship rather than a stallions?"
"Aye. We doth wish yond thee shall share our humour."
"Luna, thou leaveth us with nay speech..."
"Is yond valorous?" Luna inquired, seeing a tear roll across the fur of Celestia's gently pink cheek.
"A-Aye, yond is valorous! We shalt beest thy special somepony, till times end!"
With a little cry of glee, Celestia quickly dismounted her throne and went to Luna, wrapping her forelegs around her blue figure and nuzzling her cheek into her neck, her feathery wings giving a little flutter of excitement. Now Luna was the one who sat speechless, her blush only growing and her smile spreading, her forelegs not being able to return the embrace as Celestia had inadvertently trapped them.
The two sat side-by-side within Celestia's quarter tower, their gaze mutually aimed out across the Everfree's midnight landscape. A fire burned healthily in the place to their left, casting an orange glow of warmth into the room and onto their cuddled figures, Celestia's wing being draped over Luna's back like a silky blanket. Their cheeks were pressed together, and Celestia's left hoof intertwined with Luna's right beneath them. The vase of flowers, or now flower, sat a short distance from the pair, Luna's sun flower being the only flower uneaten by the two, who had shared the bouquet. Celestia let out a stifled yawn, her cheek coming from Luna's as she rolled her head back.
"Art thee nay restful, sister?" Luna asked as she turned her head to look at Celestia.
"Aye, lengthy day for us, and for thee, nay?" She returned in a croaky, tired tone.
"Aye... lengthy day. Doth thou desire for retirement?"
Celestia looked to her circular, pillow-like bed, "Perhaps," She turned back, "Only if thou shalt retire with us."
Luna smiled brightly, "We doubt mine own tower shall miss mine own presence for tonight."
With that, Celestia stood from beside her sister and loftily made her way towards her bed, the only sound within the room being her naked hooves on the hardwood. As Luna too stood, she watched Celestia fall sideways onto the bed, her hooves hanging lazily from the bed's edge as she stretched, yawning once more. Luna dropped herself behind her sister, placing a hoof over Celestia's fuzzy chest to pull her close. As Luna nuzzled herself into Celestia's figure, she craned her head up to plant a kiss on her cheek, eliciting a little giggle from her.
"Useth us as a pillow, art thee?"
"Aye, thy softness art too great t beest left unheld."
Unexpectedly, Celestia brought her head from the sheets to return Luna's favor by meeting her sister's lips with her own. The two shared a loving smile for a moment before lowering their heads, Celestia sighing as she placed her hoof across the one Luna had draped over her.
"Craft us joyous dreams, Luna." Celestia spoke as she closed her eyes.
"Till time itself stops, Celestia.”
