It was another ending to Luna’s Sunday Day Court, as now it was time for her to turn it over to the Court Counsel of Advisors (CCA for short), one branch formed under the Representatives after the Crack in Royalty to assist with ruling and aiding Equestria, for the Night Court. She made the branch under the belief that if elected officials from the ponies were to have a say in major political issues, it would not only set their minds at ease after what had happened a decade or so ago, but also allow her to know how most if not all her ponies were feeling of how the nation should sway with only minor hiccups in the system. Those hiccups are why she wanted to stay in power. To make sure she had the final say if there ever came a problem within the system, and it was this that allowed her time to rest in short periods.

She and the CCA would run either the Day Court or the Night Court, swapping cycles when they agreed to, and that being after today’s Night Court. She had only two more subjects appear before her before the Chief Counselor, Silhouette, had let her know it was time to swap. She gave him a warm smile, always taking pleasure in talking to him as a friend in between shifts. “Ah, it is good to see you again, Sil,” Luna spoke with energy in her voice, yet still holding a somewhat Regal tone as according to Royals.

“Same can be said here, your Highness. I always enjoy this part of Court, it allows you, the Counselors, and myself to have a spare moment of happiness. That is, unless we are serving justice to some arrogant noble pushing his luck,” he finished with a light chuckle. His show of age had become more apparent to Luna nowadays. Even as he laughed, she could hear it in him, his soft and charismatic voice, now with a distant wheeze to it. His wrinkles, though not many, cracking and showing that his skin has been worn for quite some time, but still with plenty of life left. She quite liked it, it added a feeling of comfort to see him in a joyous mood. It almost felt like having a grandparent over for Thanksgiving while they sat in front of a fire on their rocking chair and told you a heroic, adventurous tale.

“Well, we must be going. Night Court isn’t going to run itself, nor would we want it to!”

“Yes, well it has been a long day. I shall be attending to my duties. Good night to you all,” Luna said with a hesitation in her steps as she whirled around to Silhouette again. “Oh, and please try not to have any…intimate Court sessions with mares again. You might be charming to others, but that doesn’t mean you should take all the fun,” Luna said with a smirk and a wink before quickly trotting out.

As she left, Silhouette let out a comment under his breath. “Sheesh, I swear that mare can be a tease at one moment, then a merciless monarch the next.”

Luna’s Quarters

Luna arrived back to her room, and felt absolutely exhausted. Doing Day Court usually left her day’s end like this, but today seemed to particularly wear her out. Not that she was complaining, or had anyone to complain to. Anytime she could find to rest, she would graciously take it. She always liked to wander amongst her ponies in their dreams, and even those who were daydreaming at the time as well. Her ponies always loved seeing her when she would greet them in her dream realm, especially when she came to their aid during nightmares.

After that day, they had taken to being more open when she appeared. Some only knew that she had defeated her corrupted sisters, but some believed that she only destroyed Nightmare after believing to have killed Celestia. No matter the reason, they would often want to know how the dreamscape worked and why they dreamt more than anything now, and looked fondly to her. She had become very close to them all, and cherished it dearly every waking and dreaming moment. Yes, while many of her ponies did still fear her, they also respected her rule and had become more open to her because she was not one to heavily sugarcoat things, nor one to be too bashful, less she felt it was right. While some don’t fully understand or are misled with rumors of her with the end of Celestia, many do still look to her as a Big Sister type, and have on many occasions in dreams comforted them as such.

She took her regalia off, putting it on the Mannepony in the corner of the room, before she walked close to the edge of her bed. She smiled, then in a foal like manner, flopped with her hooves wide and let herself bounce for a moment. She took this time to realize how very soft the silk sheets were. The maids have certainly outdone themselves lately, I’ll be sure to give them a small incentive pay this week for a job well done. She rolled onto her back, careful of her wings which had two tender spots from stress between them near the base. Getting comfortable, she put on her moon themed sleep mask, and fell into a calm sleep and into the dream realm.

She opened her eyes to see all of her subjects’ doors line a nightly themed hall. It was very atmospheric, with the dark abyss beyond the hall’s fathomed path, accompanied by dimly lit stars. Upon seeing them dimmed she flashed her horn, showing its deep navy blue aura, and the stars brightened enough to allow her to safely traverse the dream realm. She walked to each door, looking to see if she could find one that had any signs of nightmares. None had caught her eye or gave her the usual gut feeling, but she noticed something different once she got to the end of the hall. Usually, it took her what would normally feel like 30 minutes to walk to the end, however tonight, she came across a new part of the hall. It was a door that was a simple oak door. It had a square window at the top half and it was split into four panes. She looked through said window and noticed a house-no, a mansion of sorts inside. She turned the bronze knob and was greeted with a warm, humid flow of air as she stepped in. It had the temperatures of North Appleloosa, but the humidity made it feel like the Amaponian Jungles. She was starting to build up a sweat, so she quickly cast a spell to ward off the heat from her while focusing on the condition of the mansion she was in.

She was very impressed with whoever's mind this was, for she could take in many minute details without it becoming hazy from concentration. Sharp minded to details, interesting pony indeed. She saw that the manor was mainly made of polished wood materials, brass, tiny bits of silver lining on door knobs emblazoned with an SP upon the upper part of the knob frame. It seemed to her that this was Scaredy Pants’ dream, but she swore his door was two down from this one. This only brought the same question back to her mind. Whose dream is this, and why the fancy decor?

Luna did not have the will to search up the grand, polished wood stairs. Her decision led her to walk to what she assumed was a back room leading to the backyard area. As she passed the stairs going left of it to a white and thin wooden swing door, she pushed it open to see it was the kitchen with one inhabitant. She could not distinguish what it was, just that it stood on hind legs and was attending the sink with some dirty dishes inside. The form was a blur, meaning it must not have been of much importance to whomever was dreaming. Seems this person may be one to neglect others, or they might be a captive. That shall not due if they reside within our borders.

The thought of slavery within her subjects' minds had shown its ugly head only once to her hooves three years ago. She had put a stop to it then, but was paranoid that some still took practice in it where she wasn’t able to spy on. Faust be with her if this is one such individual, for she will have no mercy upon their minds till they are brought to her dungeon for imprisonment. She held a deep grudge, and zero tolerance towards anypony on the subject, having experienced being a Prisoner of War a few times and sadly, once upon a time, slavery.

She spotted a door similar to the one she entered the dream from in the back. As she walked to it and went to exit through it to the outside, she was forced out of the dream, and the door slammed in her face. Luna blinked, and blinked again. She had not expected to be forced from a dream like that, but it does happen sometimes when the pony is either killed or awakens suddenly so it wasn’t without reason. She was hoping it was not the first, but bad things do happen she supposed. She had noticed that the door was now a heavier looking iron door with a slidable slit hatch that was eye level with her. Luna gave the door a stern look, and saw that the individual in there did not want to be disturbed again. She gave it one last look, turned around and promptly restarted her sentry-like pattern down the hall in search of ponies to help in their slumber. For the rest of the night, she never saw the door again, and it only fueled her frustration and curiosity.

Luna awoke with a small yawn. She had a somewhat bad case of bed head and was feeling as though she should be remembering something. It didn’t seem to dawn on her nor was it of great importance if she couldn’t think of it at the moment, so she arose from her very comfortable bed with a groan. She despised mornings. Every. One. Of. Them. She begrudgingly got up, putting on her fuzzy shark styled slippers and fixed up her bed, making it neat and tight that anyone could flip a republic coin on it. She took pride in doing so every time she woke as it would serve a purpose later, and also presently. That being that now she had one task complete at the minimum, and she would later have a readied bed for her to sleep in when she returned to her quarters. After this act, she smiled and went towards the bathroom to do the essentials. Brush teeth, get a good wash in, brush hair, preen her feathers, and do any makeup if needed, which wasn’t often.

After Luna’s routine was done, she walked out of her bathroom and back into her room towards the mirror that stood a foot taller than her. She looked over herself to make sure she was presentable to the public eye, and stopped in astonishment when she took in how her appearance looked for once. She had grown another hoof or so, and her starry night hair she once had after her return now had a Dark Nebula in it with a splash of amaranth color. Her eyes gleamed a wonderful and round turquoise, and her feathers had grown a darker shade on the underside. “Why did we question our beauty all those years ago,” Luna mused to herself. What happened next is something she usually forgets about. The thoughts.

“My my, Lulu. Taking to actually complimenting yourself today, or just as a way to hide what everypony sees in you. The monster was you all along,” Tiny black, green, and purple wisp say in unison tauntingly behind Luna. She laughs a little at herself. “Finally, after all these years you hear me out?” The green one says slowly hovering closer to Luna. Luna did nothing more but give a thousand yard stare. Not wanting to acknowledge them anymore, she flicks the mirror with a hoof and lets it spin. The wisp laugh and say,”Oh, darling. You of all people should know you can’t run or walk away from situations such as this,” with that, the mirror slowly spun back to her, and a mangled form of Celestia jumped out of the mirror. It hobbles over to Luna’s side as Luna tries to leave the room. She stops and looks at it. “There, much better now that I’m not just a thought, or picture in your head, right? Well do go on, not like I won’t still be trapped inside your memory for you to try and escape from.”

“No…STOP! I wish not to deal with this right now. Your little spiel can wait till other matters are dealt with,” Luna ended with a bit of a harsh tone. The abomination looked at her with anger.

“Like you ever gave me a chance when you killed me that night. Have a pleasant day, Queen Luna,” and with the hissed end the ‘Celestia’ was gone.

Their words still hurt Luna. She took a moment, and composed herself. She had other issues to be bothered with than skeletons in her closet, and so continued out of the doors leading to the halls of the Royal Wing. The four batponies outside greeted her pleasantly and tailed after her with two moving ahead to complete the formation around her. Her thoughts were a drift while she walked, trying to come back to her time within the dreamscape. Darn those thoughts earlier! They’re making my train of thought on the dreamscape just that much more difficult! If only I could remember what I saw that has my mind all wound up. Her thoughts had left her daydreaming to where she bumped into someone in front of her.

“Oh, excuse me. I am terribly sorry,” she quickly apologized. When she looked at who was in front of her, she saw it was simply the door. One of her guards was trying not to laugh, and was almost failing to at least hold back a snicker. She glared at him, and huffed. ”Anything to say, Pipsqueak? Or shall I have you tickled in the dungeon till you pass out? I wonder which seems more amusing,” she finished, internally chuckling as Pipsqueak shuffled nervously at the comment.

“N-no, your Majesty, nothing else,” he said in a quick manner that reminded her of his younger days. Oh, what a foal he was growing up. Always so enthusiastic in those dark times, and it made her wish that most ponies held that kind of enthusiasm. Quick to do with initiative, and happy to help others.

“Good, then you don’t mind getting the door for a mare, do you, or have you also lost manners over the years?”

Luna ‘attempted’ to hold back a smile at his adorably flustered expression. He jumped a little, and all but snapped over to the door. “Ye-yes, my Queen. Terribly sorry.” Luna thanked him and continued on into another hall that led to the Galley. Hopefully some breakfast would allow her to still some of her thoughts. Maybe it would leave her in a better mood for a walk in the Canterlot Garden, or tour around the castle grounds. Hmm, that does sound good. I wonder how Court is going.

Silhouette’s Perspective

Faust, why hath thou forsaken me? This was the only thought that ran through Silhouette's mind as a boastful griffin tried to quite literally buy the ground from under them. Also not to mention he was refusing to leave, saying,"There will be consequences!" It didn't help that he smelled of something far worse than the trash pile of a waste center. Why today?

Back to Luna

It's probably going well for the Counsel, not many subjects come in on this day.

Author's Note

Looks like I'm back! Anyways, hopefully you all are doing well, and enjoy the chapter!

Also, made this rather quickly, if there are typos/mistakes in my spelling or grammar, please feel free to point them out! Have nice day/night to all! More to come when possible!