The Moon's Precious Little Star

Sitting upon her throne, Princess Luna, Alicorn, and ruler of the night looked across the empty throne room and sighed. Once again, her night court was devoid of anypony other than her and her night guards. I had been like this ever since she and her sister defeated the god of chaos Discord. Though many ponies came to the night princess often in the early period after the defeat of the chaotic being, now, there were none. No matter how hard Luna tried to think of a reason for it, none came to mind: and it was making the night princess furious. Just thinking about how her subjects taking her work for granted and wasting her time frustrated the princess to no end. No longer in the mood to sit here for the remainder of the night, Luna nodded to the captain of her guard. Seeing his princess' silent command, she saluted her and rounded up the assembled thestrals. Once her escort detail was ready, Luna stood up and walked across the large room towards the ornate double doors.

Exiting the throne room, Luna watched as the castle maids stopped what they were doing and backed away from her and bowing, fear evident in their eyes. Unable to understand what would cause this reaction of the castle staff, the princess ignored them and turned to her escort detail.

"Captain, Thou can dismiss thine men; we will not need their services for the remainder of the night," Luna stated, but before she could start walking, Captain Dark Lance took a step forward.

"I must apologize, princess, but I can't follow that order," the captain said in response, surprising the princess at the blatant disregard for her order. "We have to escort you everywhere you go, especially since the Celestia cults are becoming more and more violent as of late," Dark lance quickly added when he saw Luna's disapproving stare. Hearing her guard captain's explanation, Luna allowed herself to relax a little and smiled.

"Do not worry, Captian, we are in the capital of the kingdom with guards all over, in the middle of the Everfree forest. One would have to be insane to try something here." The princess said to alleviate Dark Lance's worries. "Besides, we are only going to the castle gardens." After a few minutes of silent arguing between the guard captain and princess, Dark Lance relented and bowed before dismissing the escort detail, Luna alone to her thoughts.

Luna rolled her eyes as she watched the guard disappear around the corner. While she liked that Dark Lance was resolute in his devotion, she would also appreciate it if he wasn't so stubborn about watching over her twenty-four-seven like she was a filly that would get her hooves into the cookie jar as soon as he wasn't looking. Being several hundred years older than the guard captain, Luna chuckled at how ridiculous it was that he tried to treat her like a filly before she headed off to the castle gardens.

As Luna walked through the halls of the castle, she passed by more of the castle staff, and while she tried to be open and friendly with them, not a single one of them talked to her and shook with fear, ruining her mood even further. Why do they keep backing away from out of fear? What did I do to deserve this treatment? Luna thought to herself as she walked, her thoughts occasionally turning dark. If they want to fear me, then perhaps I should oblige them and show what it truly means to fear the night! Reaching the gardens and stepping out of the castle into the cold night air broke luna of her dark thoughts. The feeling of serenity the area created gave her enough peace to push them to the back of her mind for the time being. Dismissing the guards, she watched each one of them salute and file out of the area, once again leaving the princess alone. Walking to the center of the garden, Luna sat down and looked up at her night sky, the twinkling stars and soft light of her moon calming the troubled princess. As Luna stared up at her sky, her ears picked up a sound she had not heard in a long time and found it hard to place. No longer caring about the night sky, the princess strained her ears to identify the sound, and after a few moments, Luna managed to recognize the sound of a crying foal. Reacting faster than she could think, Luna sprung up onto her hooves and started to search the gardens, tearing the well-kept rose bushes apart in the process, telling herself that her sister would forgive her when she explained to Celestia her reasoning.

For several minutes the princess continued to search for the source of the crying. Feeling long since forgotten instincts swell up within her, driving the dark blue alicorn to a nearly feverish pace in her search. Finally, after tearing the garden to shreds, Luna managed to find the rose bush where the crying was the loudest. Pulling the flowers, leaves and branches aside, Luna peered into the rose bush to locate the foal, but instead of a pony, she found something else. The being lying in the rose bush was some strange hairless monkey; the only hair it had was a small tuft of dark brown hair on top of its head. The princess was brought out of her stupor when she heard the strange creature start to cry again. Shaking her head, Luna realized that the infant must be cold, having no coat to protect it from the elements. Lighting her horn, the princess performed a simple levitation spell and started the delicate process of removing the infant from the rose bush, careful not to cut its skin on the sharp thorns. Once the young being was free from the rose bush, Luna noticed several scratches and cuts all over its body. Worried that the wounds would become infected, Luna unfurled one of her wings and gently placed the infant into it, cradling the small creature close to her chest. Having most likely felt the contact from the lunar alicorn, the infant looked up at Luna and stared.

"What is it, little one? You have nothing to fear from us; we will not allow any harm to befall thou," Luna plainly stated to the infant. Luna thought that it didn't understand her for a few moments, but soon it started laughing and tried to reach up and grab her snout. It was a simple interaction between the two, but it was all Luna needed to feel the motherly instincts of a mare protecting her child, even if that child wasn't hers. "Come now; little one, let's get thou out of this cold," The princess said before heading back into the castle.

Much to Luna's surprise and resentment, the trek from the gardens was w relatively uninterrupted one. Not a single castle staff member stopped to ask the princess what she was carrying was. Not a single one of them stopped to ask her if she needed any assistance. She expected this of her guards, who knew she needed no help nor wanted any, but the castle staff were different and didn't know her as well. On the few occasions that Luna was unable to sleep, she would walk around the castle, sometimes conversing with her sister when she had the time. Whenever Celestia had something in her magic or wing, the maids wouldn't hesitate to ask her if she wanted them to carry it for her. It seemed as if the lunar alicorn was unworthy of the same sort of devotion as her sister, once again fanning the embers of her anger.

Reaching the ornate blue and silver doors of her room, Luna nodded to the two earth ponies who adorned the armour of her night guard, Saluting the two earth ponies turned and pushed open the massive double doors. Stepping inside her room, Luna had to question whoever made the doors to her and her sister's rooms so large. Indeed there was little reason to make them so dense that it took two earth ponies using all their strength to get them open. Even she and her sister had a hard time opening them, and they were the two most powerful beings in the kingdom. Rolling her eyes at the ridiculousness of it all, Luna pushed those thoughts aside to focus on the task at hoof. As she approached her bed, she used her magic to create a makeshift cradle out of her blanket and carefully placed the infant within it. Once she was sure it was secure, Luna stomped her hoof times to summon one of the guards. One of the two earth ponies immediately rounded the corner and saluted.

"Guardstallion, we require thou to go and fetch us a healing salve from the infirmary, oh and send up a maid on your way as well." Hearing the princess' command, the guard saluted and galloped off. Once the earth pony had left, Luna refocused her attention on the infant who was crawling out of the makeshift cradle and towards her. "where dost thou think thee are going?" The princess asked as she watched the young creature crawl towards her. With a wing, she scooped up the infant and made her way to the center of her bed, laying on her legs so she could watch her newest charge explore his surroundings. A knock on her door drew the princess' attention, and standing there shaking was one of the castle maids.

"y-you as-asked for one of us, your majesty?" The maid hesitantly asked, resulting in Luna rolling her eyes at her fear.

"Yes, we did. We have a guest in the castle," Luna said, gesturing to the infant with a wing. "As thou can see, it is a foal and will most likely defecate at some point; dost thou know if there are any diapers in the castle?" Hearing the princess' strange request, the maid stared blankly at her for a moment before bringing herself back to reality. Tappin her chin, she looked up at the ceiling and thought for a moment before looking at the princess and nodding.

"Yes, we do, your majesty. Would you like me to go and get you some?" The maid asked, her fear seemingly vanished. A little caught off by the maid's enthusiasm, Luna absentmindedly nodded and watched as the maid trotted off to get the diapers. The earth pony guard returned not long after the maid had left, a healing salve held firmly in his teeth. Regaining her composure somewhat, the princess took the ointment in her magic and thanked the guard before once again turning her attention to the infant, not noticing the scowl the guard was directing towards it. Popping the cork on the vial, Luna floated a small glob of it towards the infant's face, but much to her annoyance, it wouldn't stay still long enough to apply it.

"Please, little one, we need to apply the salve before thine cuts become infected," Luna unsuccessfully pleaded with the infant as, at the moment, it was more interested in catching the tip of her ethereal mane. Sighing, Luna used her magic to pick up the infant and sit him down in front of her so she could apply the salve. "This might sting a little; we apologize for any discomfort thou might feel." Carefully Luna applied the ointment to the infant's cuts, and the effect was immediate. The injury healed as if it wasn't even there, and much to Luna's surprise, the infant, didn't make a sound the whole time. Full-grown ponies were known to grumble and seeth once the salve was applied, but this strange infant just stared at the princess as she used it again and again. As the princess finished applying the ointment, she placed the cork back in the vile and floated it over to her dresser when a loud grumble startled her. "Are thou hungry little one?" Luna asked the infant, and almost as if to answer her made an unintelligible noise, making the alicorn giggle. "Very well, come, let's give thou a full belly."

Once again lighting her horn, Luna lifted the infant and brought him towards her lower half. Laying down on her side, she opened her back legs, exposing the two small mounds that were her breasts. Without even the faintest hint of hesitation, the infant wrapped his lips around the nipple of her teat and started to suck vigorously. With its little brain running on instinct, the infant didn't seem to care that Luna wasn't the same species as itself. As Luna watched the infant feed, she felt a strong sense of ease and relief wash over her. It was as if all her worries and anger were completely inconsequential, almost as if Faust herself sent this tiny infant. With one final suck, the infant dislodged himself from Luna's teat, happy and full. No longer feeling the infant's lips on her nipple, the princess levitated the young being over to her front and gave it an affectionate nuzzle before lifting him over her shoulder and lightly patting it on the back. After a few moments, a loud belch echoed throughout the room. Hearing the two guards outside her door jump Luna giggled at the ridiculous situation, her fears and worries fading away even more.

Recreating the makeshift cradle, Luna placed the infant back in it and watched as it yawned and rubbed its eyes. The long-dormant motherly instincts took effect; she leaned forward and placed a kiss upon the infant's head before closing her eyes and humming a lullaby to help it sleep. After about a minute of humming, Luna opened her eyes looked down at the sleeping infant, its peaceful expression sending another wave of happiness through the alicorn. Her joy soon faded when she realized that she had a duty to inform her sister about the infant. Sliding off of the bed slowly so she wouldn't wake the infant, she turned and looked at it one last time, feeling like this would be the last time she would see it before somberly exiting her room.

To the casual observer, Luna's journey from her room to her sister's might have seemed peaceful, but in her mind, a battle was currently underway by three different sides of her psyche: Altruism, selfishness, and one other that Luna couldn't place. Her altruistic side argued that it was her duty as a princess of Equestria to find the infants' parents and return it to them. The selfish side countered by citing the infant's happiness and how it wasn't right. She had to suffer just because some irresponsible creature lost her child in the Everfree, not to mention that its parents were most likely dead anyway. Finally, coming to the last, the one Luna couldn't place laughed at the notions of altruism and happiness. It plainly stated that if Luna wanted to keep the infant, she could do whatever she wanted because she was practically a god. It also noted that the citizens of Equestria were the cause for her unhappiness and that to feel better, she should take out her frustrations on them. Not raise some hairless monkey, out of all the voices this one was she tried to ignore the most.

After what felt like an eternity of self-reflection and possible insanity, Luna reached the massive golden doors of her Celestia's room — nodding to the two guards, the princess watched as they gave a short bow before turning and opening the doors. Stepping inside the sight in front of her would have shocked the lunar alicorn if she wasn't already used to it. They're sprawled out haphazardly on her bed was the revered princess of the day, her flowing rainbow coloured mane was static and deep pink, with knots and split ends all over the place — the pristine and well-kept white fur, stained with massive amounts of frosting from all the cake she consumed once no pony was watching. Though Luna was more than familiar with this sight, she didn't understand why Celestia didn't just put in a little effort to keep the charade up. Instead, she decides to go through a long and arduous routine every single morning before the sun rises to look like she usually does to the masses.

Luna climbed up onto the bed and placed a hoof on her sister's shoulder before lightly shaking, hoping to have caught her just as she fell asleep. Unfortunately for the night princess, it seemed that luck wasn't on her side as Celestia was in a deep sleep. Her sister was perhaps the heaviest sleeper in all of Equestria. Once she had fallen asleep, it was nigh impossible to wake her. The only thing harder to do was wake the dead, and a unicorn had figured out how to do that some time ago. Seeing no other option, Luna placed her other hoof on her other shoulder and started to shake Celestia vigorously, all to no avail. With her efforts beating no fruit, the princess of the night sat down and stared at the sleeping form of her sister, and as she stared at her, Luna felt her anger once again rear its ugly head. Without even thinking, the lunar alicorn stood back up and raised her hoof high above her head before bringing it down hard on her sister's cheek. From the force of the blow, Celestia's head snapped to the side, but she still didn't wake up. Again and again, Luna slapped her sister as hard as she could, growing more and more frustrated with her until she was so mad she wanted to murder her sister.

"Why won't you wake up, you stupid, disgusting slob of a whorse!" Luna screamed into her sister's ear, and even then, she still didn't wake up. Hearing the yelling on the other side of the door, but unable to make it out, the two guards burst into the room, swords drawn to defend their princess.

"Princess, are you all" Both guards stopped dead in their tracks at what they were seeing. Standing above the sleeping form of Princess Celestia was her little sister Luna glaring at them, her eyes like that of a dragon's. Even to these veteran guatdstallions, the sheer anger and promise of violence shook them to the core.

Seeing the look of utter fear on the two guard ponies' faces calmed Luna down enough for her to reason and see what she had just done, making her feel a tremendous amount of shame. Without a single word, the night princess got off of her sister's bed and exited the room, fleeing to the seclusion and safety of her chambers.

Reaching her room, Luna threw open the doors, not even bothering to acknowledge the two guards before slamming it closed. Now in the safety of her chamber, the princess allowed herself to calm down and catch her breath. I can't believe I just did that! What is wrong with me? Luna thought to herself as she paced back and forth in front of her door until a cry and smell tore attention back to reality. Frantically looking around, the princess noticed a pack of diapers sitting on her dresser, remembering that she had asked a maid to bring her some. Letting out a relieved breath, Luna lifted the infant off the bed and onto the floor before removing the diaper and revealing that the infant was male. Quickly wiping away the deification, Luna pulled out one of the new diapers and only now realized that the male infant didn't have a tail. The princess concentrated on the diaper, and using her magic, she filled in the hole for the tail and placed it on the infant. Now that he was changed, Luna gave the male an affectionate nuzzle. Feeling the princess' loving touch, the infant smiled and giggled at her, once again eroding the lunar alicorn's worries and making her feel like all was right in the world. Picking him up with a wing, Luna hopped back into her bed and gave the infant another nuzzle. I think I've come to a decision. I no longer want to feel angry at the world, and this strange foal makes me feel like everything is fine, so I'm going to raise him as my own and hope that his birth parents can forgive me, wherever they are. As the princess finished her thought, she came to a realization she didn't know his name.

"We don't suppose thou can tell us thine name?" Luna asked the infant, who only responded by giggling at her strange sounds. "We thought not." Tapping her a hoof against her chin, the princess tried to come up with a name that suited him, but nothing was coming to mind when she had a sudden epiphany. "We know, we shall call thou Orion. How does that sound?" Almost as if answering the princess's question, Orion reached up and grabbed Luna's snout. "We shall take that as a yes." With the naming out of the way, Luna cradled Orion in her front legs and cuddled with him for the remainder of the night.