The Moon's Precious Little Star

Sitting on her throne, Luna stared angrily at the newspaper that was suspended in the air a few inches from her face, and the longer she did so, the angrier she became. It had been about three days since she, her son and her sister addressed the kingdom regarding the out of control rumours, and now the princesses were practically besieged by their own subjects. While the nobles and about a quarter of the kingdom were on the princess' side, and though they did what they could to ease tensions, the remaining populace was against them. For whatever reason, the remaining public believed the Equestrian Gazette article published about them. A large group of particularly concerned citizens camped outside of the castle, demanding the princesses hand over Orion. What truly drove the lunar Alicoen insane, though, was the fact that it wasn't the only paper published about the address, and the other news outlets were either on her side or neutral and stuck to honest journalism. Most of them even published favourable articles about the princesses to alleviate the public's concerns, but the citizens couldn't be swayed no matter how many came out.

The article was absolute nonsense, the kind of tall tales that would make a colt or filly blush out of embarrassment, but not the Equestrian Gazette; they had no shame. With her anger reaching a boiling point, Luna could feel herself losing control to Nightmare Moon and tossed the source of her anger across the room and let out a long defeated sigh. It really does seem like the universe hates me! With that depressing thought now running through her head, Luna was no longer willing to sit on her throne in this empty room any longer and stood up to leave. She didn't manage to get all that far as her royal assistant, Magic Hour, walked into the throne room and called out to her.

"Princess Luna, there is a pony that requests an audience with you!" Usually, magic Hour displayed no emotion when she spoke, always speaking with a flat no-nonsense tone, but now she seemed genuinely excited. The princess's immediate thought was to tell her assistant to tune the pony away, that the look of excitement on Magic Hour's face reigned in her impulsive decision, allowing her rational side to come through. Sitting back down on her throne, Luna told the thestral to let the pony in, and she happily did as the princess commanded. A few seconds later, the throne room's double doors opened, and in stepped a pony that the lunar monarch would never have guessed, one with pristine white fur and blond mane. It was quite a shock to the princess when Blueblood, the ninth patriarch of the Blueblood household, and one of, if not the most influential pony in Equestria besides the princesses themselves, confidently walked up to the throne.

"Greetings, Princess Luna, may the gentle light of the moon forever find you," Blueblood stated, reciting the ancient greeting the thestrals used for her before they became the backbone of her night guard. Luna looked the noble up and down, looking for any sign that the noble was patronizing her, all the while wondering where he could have heard that greeting. "I've never said this to any pony due to it being... let's call it a social faux pas in my usual circle of acquaintances, but I actually prefer the night to the fat, and you have always been my princess." Caught utterly off guard by the noble's statement, Luna's royal facade broke. Her jaw hung open loosely and swayed a little, almost as if it was attached to a hinge. When Blueblood saw the expression on the lunar Alicorn's face, he couldn't help but chuckle, though he did try to hide it by covering his mouth with his leg. If only my associates were here, then maybe they would see the princess Luna is just like every other pony, and not some foal eating monster, Blueblood sadly thought to himself. As the night's princess continued to stare dumbly at the noble, he looked around the room and noticed the newspaper that Luna tossed across the room earlier. "I see that you've been enjoying, Tall Tale's 'stories' as much as I have," Blueblood stated, which managed to break the princess out of her shocked stupor.

"Is that really her name?" Luna asked with a hint of skepticism in her voice.

"I don't think it's her real name. All the... research I've done on her and her family suggests that she changed it some time ago; unfortunately, what t really was seemed to be lost to time," Blueblood said with a shake of his head. The princess slumped back into her throne with a sigh and looked at the newspaper with disgust before turning her attention back to Blueblood.

"Why are you here, Blueblood? You and the other nobles never so much as considered coming to night court, so why appear before me now, while claiming to be one of my subjects?" Luna asked with an unintentional edge to her tone. The acidity in her voice didn't go unnoticed by the noble patriarch; now, whether Blueblood felt intimidated by the lunar Alicorn or not, he did a remarkable job of not showing it, all the while keeping a cordial smile on his face.

"Yes, well, while I can't speak for my peers, I can apologize profusely for the disrespect I have shown you and even show my sincerity in that statement." Blueblood followed his apology with a gesture that Luna would never have expected. Blueblood bowed before the princess, but unlike the usual sign of fealty, the noble kept going until the tip of his horn was touching the ground. Each breed of pony carried its own set of traditions, and cultural practices sperate from greater pony society. For unicorns, especially those in the upper classes, bowing with your horn touching the ground was seen as s sign of deep respect, even submission in some circles. The gesture was usually performed when a grave insult was made between two unicorns, and the offending pony wanted to get across that they were deeply remorseful of the deed. So when Blueblood allowed his horn to touch the floor, it erased all doubts in Luna's mind and told her that he was sincere in his statements. Finishing his bow, the noble stood back up and looked the princess in the eye. "I'm confident that you and your sister a familiar with unicorn customs, so believe me when I say that I am sorry for not showing you the proper respect you deserve and that you are my princess." The remark Blueblood made snapped Luna out of her shock, and in an attempt to regain her regal composure, she coughed into her hoof.

"Yes, my sister and I are versed in the practices of all ponies; we don't show favouritism," the princess stated in her now regained regal tone. " I also highly doubt that this is the only reason you would mess up your sleep schedule to come tonight, court." Blueblood's smile fell as he let out a short sigh.

"You are correct, princess; I didn't just come here to apologize," he explained with s slight shake of his head. "There is a... matter of some importance to me that I need help with, and I believe that prince Orion can help, so I ask you, as your humble servant, to take me to where he is." When Blueblood finished making his request, Luna visibly recoiled as if he had slapped her. What possible reason could Blueblood have for making such a request? He may have said he was my 'humble servant,' but what if this is some kind of tick! Luna thought to herself as she racked her brain, trying to guess the reason for the request. The princess had half a mind to deny him outright, but her brain's more rational side kicked in and demanded to know what the noble had in mind.

"Before I grant the request to see my son, I need you to tell me why I should do so?" Luna told Blueblood, who nodded his head and let out a tired sigh.

"My son, Blueblood, the tenth is... let's say reclusive. He prefers to spend his hays holed up in his room with his nose buried in a book. Anytime my wife and I try to coax him out to behave like a normal colt, he goes on a long tangent about why he needs to stay inside, and it's like talking to a brick wall," Blueblood explained while absentmindedly kicking the floor. As the noble patriarch explained his reasoning, Luna couldn't help but wonder what this had to do with her son or why Blueblood had to meet him. " I know what your thinking, princess; I can see it in your eyes. Your thinking, 'how does this have anything to do with my son?'"

"I hate it when nobles do that," Luna muttered to herself before gesturing for Blueblood to continue.

"Well, I had hoped to introduce them to each other, seeing as your son has experience being cooped up against his will-"

"I had my reasoning to do so, and I don't need to explain myself to any pony!" Luna angrily stated, interrupting Blueblood, who quickly raised his hooves into the air apologetically.

"I understand, I wasn't accusing you of anything, nor would I disagree with your actions given recent events. I was simply going to say that because Orion was kept locked away in the castle, who better to tell my son how boring it is to stay copped up inside all the time." Once Blueblood finished his explanation, Luna hung her head low in shame and apologized for snapping at him, which the noble accepted without hesitation. A silence descended on the throne room as the princess of the night thought about what Blueblood said, and it definitely made sense as her son frequently broke the rules to find something to alleviate his boredom. She even once caught him trying to sneak out of the castle through one of the windows on the ground floor, and the only thing that stopped him was that he was too mall to reach and had to stack chairs. "It has also come to my attention that the young prince only has two friends about the same age as himself, correct?" Blueblood asked, interrupting the princess's musings. Now having a good idea of what Blueblood had in mind, Luna nodded her head. "Given that fact, I had hoped that after I introduce myself to him, I would then bring my son over, and we could see if the two of them could be friends. I mean, wouldn't that be the best for both of them?"

Leaning back into her throne, Luna looked up at the ceiling and thought about what Blueblood suggested. It was a solid plan, for what little it was, Because While Galatea acted like a typical griffoness, though Mabey a little more aggressive than most, she wasn't a colt. Both her and her sister believed that life was a balancing act that resulted in harmony, including the ratio of friends and acquaintances that a pony had. Of course, there were always exceptions to that rule, as it wasn't easy to have an equal amount of everything, especially the gender of your friends. There was only one problem with Bluebood's suggestion, though: Luna didn't entirely trust him. He may have performed a bow of fealty to her, but what guarantee did the lunar Alicorn have that this wasn't some sort of long con, and his true intentions were to get Orion away from her so that he and whatever pony was on his side could do whatever they wanted with him. The only way she could think of to know the truth was to violate his rights and use dark magic to force him to tell her the truth, and that wasn't a rout she wanted to go down, even if Nightmare Moon pleaded for her to do so. The Nobel patriarch must have known the princess's direction because what he said next erased her remaining doubts.

"I can tell by the look on your face what your thinking, princess Luna, and I can assure you that I have no intention of betraying your trust. In fact, as a show of goodwill, I had my will changed so that upon my death at your hooves, all my worldly possessions and wealth shall be transferred over to you to do with as you please, leaving my family with nothing." This night was full of surprises, and for the second time tonight, Luna sat on her throne and stared at Blueblood with her mouth hanging open. It was almost unheard of for a noble to change the conditions of his or her will of their own accord, given that many of them thought they were always in control, so it was quite a shock when he made it, so she got everything instead of his son. If anything would convince the princess that his loyalty was one hundred percent genuine, that was it.

"Alright, Blueblood, I'll grant your request. Let's go and introduce you to Orion."

The princess and the noble walked through the castle halls in silence, neither of them feeling the need to fill the void with idle chatter. Blueblood was too focused on looking at how the decor was framed in the moonlight to talk. Like every other noble, he regularly attended day court, so he was rather familiar with how the decor looked in the sunlight. Unlike every other noble, though, he didn't come to complain, at least most of the time, but to instead come and see how Celestia was doing, treating her as if she were family. Luna wondered if that meant he felt that she was family as well; she was going to ask; however, due in part to her own pride as a severely independent pony and the thought of embarrassing herself with such a question, the princess refrained form asking.

Eventually, the two ponies made it to Orion's room, where the prince was currently in the middle of a lesson from his private teacher. Given that her son was a secret not all that long ago and that there were ponies out to get him, Luna didn't feel comfortable sending him to school, even with an armed escort. So she and her sister scoured the entire kingdom to find the best private tutor they could find, one who was willing to risk their lives and deal with constant verbal abuse to teach the prince. Stopping in front of her son's room, Luna was about to open the door when she heard a thumping from the other side, followed by the tutor's chastising voice.

"Young colt, stop banging your head in the table this instant, your going to hurt yourself!" The banging didn't stop and, in fact, increased in speed and volume. Knowing what her son was doing, the princess threw open the doors and rushed to her son's side.

"Orion, that's enough; banging your head won't make things easier for you," Luna stated as she wrapped her front legs around her son. Immediately the prince stopped slamming his head on the table and looked up at his mother.

"Princess Luna, thank the stars that you're here!" Right Lesson said, even using the proper expression when addressing the night's princess, once again proving the level of professionalism she had. "No matter how many times I tell him to stop, the prince keeps banging his head on the table, and I'm worried he's going to give himself a concussion." Luna knowingly nodded her head as this wasn't the first time that Orion had done this. For whatever reason, whenever Orion got upset, even a little, or overstimulated and confused, he would bang his head on the nearest object, whether that be a table or the wall. The princesses asked doctor Gabriel what could be wrong with him, and not even he could say what it was, so they went to a few of Equestria's best doctors; unfortunately, they didn't have an answer either. Some of them suggested dark magic, but Luna dismissed those diagnoses out of hoof since there was no way for her son to be exposed to such dangerous magic. Luna let go of her son and rubbed his back for a few moments before looking up at Right Lesson and telling her to take a short break, explaining that she had something important to discuss with Orion. The mare was about to argue that it wasn't necessary when she noticed Blueblood standing in the doorway. Quickly feeling out of place, Right Lesson bowed to the princess and swiftly but calmly exited the room, leaving the noble and two royals to converse. As soon as the tutor was gone, Blueblood stepped into the room and closed the doors behind him.

Feeling some pony come up behind him, Orion lifted his head off of the table and turned around to see the noble staring at him. Instantly recognizing him from a few weeks ago, the prince's eyes widened in surprise, and he looked between his mother and Blueblood. Seeing the fear in her son's face, Luna opened her mouth to reassure him that nothing would happen with her here when she was interrupted y Blueblood's laughter.

"It seems your memory is pretty sharp of a young colt," Blueblood stated with a chuckle. "Please be assured, young prince, I have no intention of harming you, not that the princess would allow me to do so." Out o the corner of his eye, the noble could see the lunar Alicorn sternly shaking her head. "No, young Orion, crown prince of the night, I don't come here to harm, but to ask, no plead for your help," Blueblood the ninth overdramatically stated with a bow, which earned him a confused look from the prince, and an eye roll from Luna.

"Wh-what do you need my h-help for?" Orion asked. Raising from his bow, Blueblood immediately laid on his stomach to look the prince in the eyes.

"Do you like being cooped up here in the palace?" The noble pony asked, which caught Orion off guard. Confused, he looked up at his mother for some kind of answer, and all she did was gesture for him to keep his attention n Blueblood. To Orion, that was a stupid question; of course, he hated being stuck in the castle all the time; there was nothing to do. Even if there was something fun for him to do, his mother forbade him from leaving the lunar wing to after for fear that some pony would sneak into the castle to hir him. So when he explained all this to the noble patriarch, he smiled and nodded his head. "That is what I thought. I ask this of you because my own son would rather stay cooped up in his room all day and night instead of going outside." The prince asked Blueblood what that was, and all he could do was shake his head. "I don't know, but I believe if you met him and explained what it would be like to be cooped up against his will, I would forever be in your debt." Once again, Orion looked to his mother for what to do, and she silently signalled that it was up to him by shrugging her shoulders. Turning his attention back to Blueblood, the young prince could see the desperation in his eyes.

Finding that he couldn't say no to the noble patriarch, Orion nodded his head and agreed to meet with Blueblood's son. Unable to contain his excitement, Blueblood sprang up and furiously shook the prince's hand, thanking him repeatedly for his help. When he finished thanking the prince, he turned to Luna and thanked her as well for her time and excused himself before quickly exiting the room, leaving the bewildered mother and child to stare at each other for a few moments before they burst into laughter.

Blueblood didn't return to the castle for the rest of the night, nor the night after, which left the prince confused and concerned. The noble left the castle so fast that she was he would have been back the very same night. Luna paced back and forth in the throne room, wondering if something had happened to Blueblood. It was a weird feeling for the princess of the night to care about a noble's well-being, but considering she and her family were in the public's crosshairs, she couldn't stop worrying. Luna feared that some pony saw Blueblood exiting the castle and decided to "press" him for information, likely foalnapping him and holding the noble in some secret location so he couldn't;t be found. The more she thought about it, the more the lunar Alicorn believed she had the right train of thought, convincing herself that she was right. Luna stopped pacing and was about to order the night guard to start a search for the missing noble when the doors to the throne room flew open. Startled by the sudden intrusion, Luna faced the doors and readied a spell that would instantly vaporize any attacked but calmed down when she heard the petulant whining the came from Blueblood the tenth. The young noble was his father's near spitting image; the only difference that Luns could see that would allow a pony to tell them apart was their eye colour. It was a testament to Blueblood's strong genetics that his son looked so much like him as most foals took after their mother, regardless of whether they were a filly or a colt. The older Blueblood dragged his son across the room by his tail, he would have used magic, but as Luna would later learn, the younger Blueblood was rather adept at disrupting levitation spells.

"I don't want to be out here; I want to keep reading!" The little noble cried out in vain as his father ignored him; he even seemed to have corks in his ears. When he stopped in front of the princess, Blueblood pulled his son forward and stepped on his tail to keep him in place. "Please, help me, princess Luna; I just want to stay in my room and read," Blueblood the tenth pleaded when he looked up at the lunar Alicorn.

"Alright, I finally managed to convince my son to come out of his room," Blueblood the ninth said as he pulled the corks out of his ears. Luna looked up at the stallion and shook her head disapprovingly. "You may disagree with my methods, princess Luna, but you have no idea how defiant my son can be when he puts him mind to it, which is most of the time." The little Blueblood spoke a quick retort that didn't paint his father in the best light, compared him to a tyrant like Sombra, and immediately went quiet. "You see what I mean!" Luna chuckled at the father and son antics as they continued to trade verbal barbs until she felt like it was getting out of hoof.

"Ok, I think you two have verbally assaulted each other enough for one night," Luna stated with an annoyed tone that was like a mother disciplining a couple of colts. Realizing how much like a foal he was acting, the older Blueblood stepped away from his son and coughed into his hoof.

"Yes, right, well, I apologize for wasting your time, princess. Perhaps we should get on with what we are here to do." Nodding her head, Luna turned and led the Bluebloods out of the throne room and through the castle.

Where the father had already seen the castle at night a few days ago and was now familiar with how it looked, the son was a stranger to these alls and kept his head on a swivel at all times. He also vigorously express how much he loved the decor, especially how it looked in the candle and moonlight. Luna thanked the young noble and asked him if he liked the night, and without hesitation, he began expositing all the things he enjoyed about the night, which was pretty much everything. Caught a little off guard by the colt's enthusiasm, the princess stopped walking and listened to Blueblood the tenth as he went on and on. It ha been a long time since any pony had complimented her night so thoroughly; the last pony to do so was her mentor, star swirl, the bearded, and given his relation to her, he never showed true reverence for her night, only ever explaining that he thought the night sky looked beautiful. So when this young colt, who was apart of a class of pony, she thought hated her with all their being, showed such enthusiasm for the night and moon, Luna found she was unable to hold back her emotions. As soon as the two Bluebloods heard the princess's sobs, they turned around, and immediately, the youngest was in front of her asking her what was wrong and if he had said something to make her upset. Springing forward, the princess of the night wrapped the young colt in a hug and thanked him over and over for his kind words. The elder Blueblood stood and watched with a smile on his face as his son returned the princess's hug without a second thought. It's about time something started going, princess Luna's way, he thought to himself. After a few minutes, to which the older Blueblood began to think was too long, Luna let go of his sone and led them the rest of the way with a slight bounce in her step.

When the three of them turned the corner that connected the all to Orion's room, they were surprised to find that Celestia was awake and standing in front of the prince's room like she was waiting for something. Out of the corner of her eye, the solar monarch noticed their approach and turned her head to face them with a smile.

"Greetings, Lulu; I'm glad to see you," Celestia said with an almost motherly tone. Walking up to the door, Luna stopped next to her sister and nodded.

"Hello, dear sister, to what do we owe the pleasure?" Luna asked her older sister, whose smiled widened just a little.

"Whatever do you mean?" The fanned innocence in Celestia's tone, which wasn't fooling the lunar monarch one bit, made Luna roll her eyes.

"Please, sister, I know that there is no way you would stay up past your bedtime without telling me and making preparations to sleep in." Celestia chuckled at her sister's remark and shook her head jovially.

"Alright, Lulu. I'm here because I heard about your deal with Blueblood, and I wanted to be here to see Orion make a new friend." Having heard the full context, Luna nodded her head and beckoned the to Bluebloods, who have been standing at the end of the hall, waiting to be acknowledged. When the two nobles stopped in front of the door, the elder Blueblood exchanged a few quick pleasantries with Celestia. On the other hand, his son stared at the door as a sudden bout of nervousness overcame him. Noticing the young colt shaking, Celestia knelt and reassured him he had nothing to worry about, and when he looked up at the two other adults for confirmation, they nodded their heads in agreement. Though his apprehension wasn't entirely gone, Blueblood, the tenth, felt a surge of new determination to see this through. After a few seconds to compose himself, he told the princesses that he was ready and followed behind them as they opened the door and entered the room.

Sitting in the middle of his bed, Orion watched as the door to his room slowly opened. While he was expecting his mother and two other ponies, he wasn't expecting to see his aunt enter along with them. For a brief moment, Orion thought that he was in trouble; thankfully, though, that thought passed quickly, and he felt ridiculous for even thinking it.

"Hello, Orion. Have you been having a good night so far?" Celestia asked, and the prince nodded his head. With a smile, the solar monarch crossed the room and nuzzled her nephew. "There's no need to be nervous; I'm sure the two of you are going to be the best of friends." Once again, Orion nodded his head when his aunt took a step back.

"It's good to see you again, my prince," Blueblood said with a deep bow when he stepped forward. Luna rolled her eyes and told the elder noble to knock off the theatrics. With a chuckle, the senior noble took a step back and allowed his son to take his place. The younger Blueblood finally managed to get a good look at the prince when he stepped out from behind his father, and he was surprised at how different he looked. When his father told him that the prince was another species, Blueblood, the tenth, thought that meant he was a pony breed from across the sea, not something utterly alien to him.

"H-hello, it... it's nice to meet you," Blueblood tenth nervously said.

"It's nice to mee you too," Orion said with a little more confidence, but not by much as Luna could hear the slight waver n his tone. After their brief greeting, the older ponies told the two to play together to get used to each other. As the two of them moved from the bed to the other side of the room where Orion's toys were, Luna couldn't help but think that this wasn't going to work, a sentiment silently held by Orion and the younger Blueblood.