A Song of Night and Fire

Luna squints as she looks through a telescope on Canterlot Castle's highest balcony.

She zooms in on a twinkling yellow dot in the night sky. "...Strange. There is a star that I do not know."

The dot grows. "...Wait. That is no star. I see wings... Is that Captain Spitfire?"

The Pegasus heads for the balcony, and lands next to Luna.

"Captain Spitfire!" Luna exclaims. "What is the emergency??"

Spitfire blinks. "There's no emergency. Why'd you think there was?"

"You look exhausted," Luna replies.

The Pegasus's bloodshot eyes look up at her messy mane. "Oh, I've just been having trouble sleeping."

"Is that why you came all the way here?" the princess asks.

"Sort of. I had a day off, and I wanted to see you." Spitfire sighs. "I've been thinking a lot about last week. I feel like I was rude when I dismissed your ideas about what my dream meant. So I brought you a gift to say sorry."

She reaches into her saddlebag and pulls out a clear glass bottle with a cork in it. Inside the bottle is a thick, black cloud. Every few seconds, a flash of light illuminates the cloud.

"This is a piece of a stormcloud that I got from Cloudsdale's weather factory as a filly," the Pegasus explains. "Sometimes, when I feel overwhelmed, I look at it, and I imagine that the stormcloud represents all my problems, safely bottled up."

"Thank you, Captain Spitfire," Luna smiles. "Though, are you certain you wish to part with this? I would hate to deprive you of a tool for dealing with stress."

"I'll be fine," Spitfire replies. "Plus, maybe it'll help you. I imagine my problems are nothing compared to a princess's."

Luna grins. "Perhaps. Thank you kindly." She levitates the bottle into her bedchamber.

"Sure thing," the Pegasus says. "Anyway, flying all day has left me famished. Wanna grab a bite?"

"I would like that," the Princess smiles.

The two mares fly to Restaurant Row and enter an eatery. Once seated, they order tea and grass sandwiches.

"So... if you do not mind my asking, have you reconsidered your stance on life partners?" Luna asks.

Spitfire shakes her head. "Nah. I still don't think they're for me. I mean, I do feel like I was rude to you -- not because of what I said, but because of how I said it."

"Understood." The princess sips her tea. "How goes your job? If I am not mistaken, it is recruitment season."

"Yeah. Also known as headache season." The Pegasus rubs her forehead. "I love yelling and blowing my whistle. But sometimes the stress gets to me.

"I made this one young mare a lead pony, and she ended up making tornadoes to bust clouds. It was so dangerous -- somepony could've ended up in a full-body wing-and-hoof cast drinking through a straw.

"Understandably, the mare's wingpony wanted to quit. Luckily, I realized my mistake, and talked her into staying."

"You feel guilty for not realizing your mistake sooner," Luna says.

"Yeah, exactly." Spitfire sighs. "I put everypony at risk because I didn't figure out how reckless that mare was. I should've known."

"Were there any clues that you did not pick up on?" the princess asks.

"Hmm..." The Pegasus purses her lips. "Well, she pushed herself harder than anypony else during the first day of training. I took that as a good thing. Maybe I shouldn't have. I dunno."

"Hindsight is 20/20," Luna says. "Do you truly think that her eagerness during training gave you reason to believe that she would engage in dangerous behavior?"

"I... I guess not." Spitfire rubs her forehead again. "But it doesn't matter whether or not I should've seen her behavior coming. Either way, as the captain, I'm responsible for what happened. Leaders take responsibility, even if something's not their fault."

"Spoken like a true leader," the princess replies. "The hardest part of leading is taking the blame for a problem that you did not cause."

"Kinda like you did, with the whole Nightmare Moon thing?" Spitfire asks.

Luna frowns. "No, Nightmare Moon was my fault. My own choices left me vulnerable to corruption. I regret that every day."

"All that guilt might bite you in the flank someday," the Pegasus says.

The princess sighs. "If it does, I will deserve it."

Spitfire opens her mouth to reply, but she's interrupted when their food is served. The two mares begin eating in silence.

By the time their plates are clean, they're smiling and talking again.

"Are you certain that it works?" Luna asks.

"Positive. A hot bath is the perfect cure for sore wings." Spitfire smirks. "I'm surprised you didn't know that already, given your age."

The princess smiles. "Well, I spent much of my life on the moon... And, before I was banished, biology was not as advanced as it is today. I was always told that rest is the only treatment for sore wings."

"Rest isn't a bad idea, but sometimes, you just don't have the time. I know I usually don't." The Pegasus yawns. "Speaking of which, I'd better head back to the academy soon. Gotta run more drills in the morning."

Luna nods and leaves a pile of bits on the table. The two mares walk outside, then take to the air.

"Thanks for the meal," Spitfire says as they fly toward Canterlot Castle. "And for letting me vent. You're a really good listener."

"My pleasure," Luna smiles. "I have enjoyed your company."

"Maybe we could hang out again sometime? Like, on a date?" the Pegasus asks.

The princess raises an eyebrow. "I thought you were not interested in dating?"

"I wasn't. I mean, I'm not. I just..." Spitfire sighs. "I like spending time with you."

Luna blushes. "I... I enjoy spending time with you, too. But I do not think that dating would be a good idea."

The Pegasus frowns. "What? Why not?"

"I do not date," the princess explains. "Even if I found somepony who was perfect for me, and we spent many happy years together... she would pass away in a matter of decades, and I would be forced to live on, heartbroken, for thousands of years."

"...So what?" Spitfire retorts. "Why choose to be lonely your whole life, when you could at least spend a little bit of it happy?"

Luna frowns. "I do not mean to sound rude, but you do not understand what it is like to be an Alicorn. Longevity is a curse that I would not wish on anypony."

"Oh, gee, I'm sorry," the Pegasus replies in a sarcastic tone. "I had no idea how -terrible- it is to live a long time. I'm -so- lucky that I'm gonna die soon."

The princess's brow furrows. "How dare you speak to me that way?! You forget your place -- you are a mere captain, not a royal!"

"MERE captain?!" Spitfire grits her teeth. "I may not be helping run the country, but at least -I- never tried to take it over!!"

Luna's nostrils flare. "That was beyond the pale!!"

"And another thing!!" the Pegasus yells. "I'd much rather be a MERE captain than a hypocrite like you!! You chide me for regretting my mistakes, yet you feel so guilty for your own. You encourage me to find a life partner, yet you refuse to do the same. What's the point of giving advice that you don't even follow?!"

The princess's cheeks redden. "You compare apples and oranges!! Your failure to realize a trainee's recklessness was nothing compared to my betrayal of my sister and my country! And, unless I marry another Alicorn, I cannot have a true 'life partner,' because nopony else will even come close to living as long as I will!!"

Spitfire frowns. "You know what? On second thought, maybe it's a good thing you don't date. Your negativity would make anypony's life feel like an eternity!!"

The mares arrive at Canterlot Castle's highest balcony. Luna glares at Spitfire. "At last, our time together is at an end. I am glad to part ways."

"Me too!" the Pegasus fumes. "Good riddance, Princess."

She flies away.

Luna watches her fly for a few moments, then storms into her bedchamber. The bottle with a piece of a stormcloud sits on top of her dresser.

The princess glares at the stormcloud as lightning sporadically flashes within it.

Then she bursts into tears, jumps onto her bed, and buries her face in a pillow.

"I-I need nopony," she says to her empty bedchamber.