Luna soared up the palace staircase in a few strong wing-beats, her hoof-coverings muffling the sound of her landing on the stone floor. She didn't want to wake any sleeping ponies.
She'd missed the Element-bearers during the Gala. And by the time she'd returned from checking her night sky for stray stars, those confounded ponies had already bolted from the devastation they'd caused.
She needed to see them, to thank them for freeing her mind and body. And, as if her sister had known, Celestia had corralled the six fillies and coaxed them into staying the night.
She pawed softly at a door. Then she nudged the latch up with her nose and sidled inside. “Hello?”
“Oh dear. Am I in your room?” A yellow Pegasus moved restlessly in bed. “I'm sorry. I didn't realize.”
“Shh,” Luna whispered, moving to extend a calming wing over her. “It's okay. Fluttershy, right? I heard you had a trying day. Can't sleep?”
A whimper and a frightened glimmer in her eyes said it all. The Element of Kindness needed some right now.
Smiling, Luna brushed her muzzle against Fluttershy's cheek. “Why don't you tell me about it?”
Rarity was sleeping the sleep of the emotionally exhausted. It was a state Luna herself knew well. She dipped her muzzle into the bag she had strapped beneath her wing and gingerly picked up a glass hoof-slipper with her teeth.
Quietly, she laid it with the other three. The shards had been scattered and she'd had to use her magic to draw them all back together and restore the slipper.
Pausing only to affectionately touch horn-tips and muzzles with the slumbering unicorn, Luna slipped out again. It was the very least gift she could offer to the Element of Generosity.
“I am sorry about this. Perhaps the kitchens could preserve your apple dishes?”
“T'aint your fault, Princess.” Applejack gently butted foreheads with her. “And the cart can keep things fresh on its own. Ah won't lose too much on this trip, just a little pride. And I got enough of that to last me.”
Luna smiled and tucked her back into bed. “Most ponies would have been grateful to have the palace pay. There's a reason the Element of Honesty chose you, I guess. Just save me an apple fritter or two for breakfast tomorrow, mmkay?”
Luna angled her glowing horn down Pinkie Pie's splayed body, checking that she wasn't hurt. Earth Ponies were often the last to know they'd been injured. But no, it seemed that Pinkie just slept with her limbs all askew.
“You're fine, aren't you?” Luna murmured in her ear, nuzzling her and causing Pinkie to giggle-snort in her sleep. She was obviously having pleasant dreams. The night's problems hadn't affected her too adversely.
Lowering her head, she picked the ragged party dress up in her teeth and replaced it on its hook. “Sweet dreams, Element of Laughter.”
She nuzzled the base of Twilight Sparkle's horn, then licked her softly, coaxing the worried crease out of her forehead. The opposite of Pinkie Pie in sleep, tense and curled tightly, the unicorn seemed to finally relax beneath the grooming, softening and looking much more her own age.
Luna tugged a loose feather out of her wing and left it on the pillow to let Twilight know that she'd been there. The young pony needed to know that she was noticed, especially by the one she'd set free. She needed to know she was loved, too, but that would come in time.
Rainbow Dash had taken to the clouds instead of her room, her disappointment evident even as she let Luna check her. “I'm fine!”
Her hooves pattered down the filly's spine. “You were foolish.”
“I was getting noticed! Besides, that statue would have crushed ponies!”
"It almost crushed you.”
“I'm okay.” Rainbow grumbled. Then her wings flared indignantly. “Ow!”
Luna set a patch of thick, cool cloud on her hindquarters. “Keep that there for a bit. You're bruised.”
“And you're crazy.” But she sighed and subsided, gently resting her head against Luna's slender neck.
By the time Celestia was ready to raise the sun, Luna was quite ready for bed. She was a mare of the night and enjoyed being awake while other ponies were asleep. But she had really talked more in the last eight hours than she had in ages.
“Did you get to do what you wanted?” Celestia asked softly, standing side-by-side with her on the Raising dais.
Luna nodded, smiling as she faded the moon down, making room for her sister's sun. “It was good to see them all.”
Her own Best Night Ever was at an end.
