Luna could admit it now. She very much missed her work.
Looking back on her original fall from grace, she really was a fool. She thought that ponies shunned her Night, but that wasn't it. They just appreciated it in a quieter, more dignified way. This suited her fine. She was a quieter, more dignified princess... For the most part at least. They would sleep soundly, happy in the welcome respite from the day. In their dreams, Luna could protect them from nightmares. That was her duty, her job, and her calling. And although modesty forbade her from saying it out loud, she was very very good at it.
That being said, tonight was a slow night. Which was good on a number of levels. Ponies apparently weren't having that many nightmares, and the ones they were having were fairly standard. Most ponies were having very pleasant dreams which were a joy to simply walk past. Plus, even the most dedicated and hard-working of ponies will never object to having less work to do. The problem was that things were very dull. She had been spending her time aimlessly wandering the dream realm, looking for something to do. Afraid to rest for even a moment in case a pony relived some horrible trauma in their dreams. A pain she knew all too well, and one she would have to ease immediately.
While she wouldn't rest, she did have a way to pass the time. Although, truth be told, she felt rather guilty doing it. Every so often she would peer in on the dreams of her subjects. She was worried that they would take it as an invasion of privacy, but it is unlikely any of them would have cared. The dreams she looked in on were hardly deep dark secrets. A CASTLE full.if I've cream, a perfect score on a test at school, going on a date with a popular celebrity, that sort of thing. It was interesting to see. Some stallions who put on fronts of being above all things romantic or "girly," had more dreams about finding true love than most of the mares she looked after. Fans of certain works of art imagined themselves inserted into the adventures of their heroes. Some of these dreams were quite exciting. Luna thought that if they were ever to put all of that imagination on paper, they could have fruitful careers as authors.
It was as she was making her rounds tonight that she came across a highly unusual dream. One that piqued her curiosity in a way that very few things had before that point.
She came across a little colt who was walking into a strange building. It was brightly lit, with large windows that let quite a bit of sun in. The furniture was entirely made of plastic, with metal supports. Plastic tables with a big metal pole attaching it to the ground, surrounded on all sides by plastic stools bolted to the floor, with some of them surrounded by plastic benches to make little booths. At the front of the building there was a long counter, behind which stood helpful looking people in black collared shirts and green visors. The entire place looked very sterile, but somehow inviting all.at the same time. There was a kind of industrial friendliness to this place that Luna found very attractive.
Apparently, so did the colt, as he looked happy as a clam to be there. He zipped around the room. Happily bouncing at everything he saw. Obviously wherever this was, this was a place he wanted to go for quite some time. His parents trotted in behind him, obviously very proud of their son. The colt ran up to his mother and excitedly jumped up and down. Excitedly, though very politely, asking for things. His mother simply nodded and the three ponies walked up to the counter. The colt excitedly repeated the instructions he had given his mother, who nodded and shushed him. She then calmly have the same instructions to the friendly ponies behind the counter. The friendly ponies then disappeared to a hitherto unseen back area behind the counter.
Some time passed, the colt happily bouncing with anticipation during the whole wait. Eventually the helpful ponies behind the counter returned. They were carrying a tray filled with little packages. Little paper pockets filled with odd golden brown sticks. Clamshell boxes of different colors. What looked to be a mixed green salad in a bubble package. Little round things wrapped in paper. This little colt was looking at all of these things like it was some kind of mana from heaven. Cylindrical packages with straws protruding out of the top of them. He thanked his mother profusely and sat down in one of the booths off to the side.
It was only when the colt sat down and began to open these packages the Luna realized what she was looking at. This was all food. Good she had heard of but never seen. Hayburgers, fries, milkshakes. What this place was was a restaurant. A very strange, very efficient restaurant. It didn't seem very intimate, and the food, while.looking delicious in its own way, hardly.looked very carefully prepared. If Luna had gone into this restaurant for some sort of royal visit, she very probably would have demanded to see the owner. This colt however, was happy as a lark. Eating away at the food as if he hadn't had a meal in six months.
This has intrigued Luna in a way that very few things had since she returned from her banishment to the moon. She needed to finish her rounds for the night, but she would eventually have to ask her sister about what in Equestria this was.
"Luna, it was a fast food place," Celestia answered the next morning. "The colt probably just really wanted his parents to take him to Haybale's. Nothing unusual."
"Fast food," Luna said, stroking her chin. She had heard the term before, but has never bothered to find out what it meant. "Sister, tell me more. What is this 'fast food,' and why did this colt find it so appealing?"
"Oh, wow," Celestia said, coming to a realization. "I forgot, fast food restaurants became a thing while you were... Away... Well it started about... I think it was two centuries ago? Maybe three? When more and more ponies had to go to work on time, it became less important to get food that was well prepared and more important to get something to eat fast so you could get to work on time. So little restaurant chains popped up able to serve working ponies quickly and cheaply. The convenience became popular, and now there are fast food chains everywhere. Just a nice place to get a quick meal."
"Interesting," Luna said, the concept seeming clear enough to her. " You mentioned 'Haybale's?' What is that exactly?"
"One of the more popular fast food chains," Celestia explained. "Started around one hundred years ago. I met the founder, he was a very nice stallion. Gave me one of the first meals to come off the line. It's actually very tasty, if not the most healthy thing in the world. Though, I suppose it's healthier than not eating anything, which is why it's so good for ponies on a budget. Back when Twilight used to study with me I took her there all the time."
Luna raised an eyebrow. "Twilight Sparkle partakes in this 'fast food,' does she?" She said, incredulously.
"Oh absolutely." Celestia confirmed. "For some reason she always felt like the things prepared by the palace chefs was a bit too... Oh, what's the word... Expensive. Oh, don't misunderstand me, I didn't make her pay for it, it's just that she knew how much it would cost her if she wasn't my student and she was afraid of... Well, she said 'breaking' something that cost that much money. I tried to explain to her, that that really didn't matter with food, but you know Twilight."
"Yes, I do know Twilight," Luna laughed. She then looked down and contemplated something. It was a big plan, and she needed a little more information before she decided to proceed with it. "Sister, what have the chefs decided to prepare for lunch tonight."
"They haven't," Celestia said, shrugging. "I have them they day off, they've been working so hard lately. Figured we'd eat out or just scavenge what's around the house. Sorry I didn't let you know, I had to make the decision before breakfast, and you were still out like a light."
Luna nodded. This was perfect. It gave her the chance she needed to do what she wanted. "Sister, tonight I wish to dine on this 'fast food's for myself. That is what we shall have for lunch today."
Celestia was surprised, but not unhappy. "Okay," she said. "That's fine with me, let me just call up one of the royal guards and he'll pop over and get us some take out."
" Take out?" Luna asked.
"Yeah, they don't make you eat in the restaurant," Celestia explained. "They'll wrap everything up in a baggie and send you home with it. We've had take out before. Usually when we're travelling."
Luna remembered a few times when they were being escorted to new cities, or far corners of the kingdom that she was given good in travel packages, but it was nothing like the food she saw in the little colt's dream. "No," Luna said, standing up as if to give a vitally important royal address. "That would not appear to be the true fast food experience! Get ready for a journey sister! Tonight we dine at Haybale's!"
There was a short silence before Celestia spoke again. "I'm not sure what was so hilarious about the way you said that," she said, trying and failing to stifle a laugh. "But only say it that way from now on."
"Come sister, we must prepare!" Luna excitedly ran off to the back of the castle.
Celestia quickly followed her. "What preparations do you feel we need to make? It's a Haybale's run, not the Grand Galloping Gala," she said quickly. "Besides, I'm not sure we should make the trip anyway. Luna, if we all into that place, unannounced we're going to stop the place dead. Plus, I'm fairly certain that there is no physical way we'd have a peaceful lunch, with the employees falling all over themselves to make sure we were served."
"Indeed, you are right," Luna said, having not considered that possibility before. "If we are going to do this, it would probably be sound to travel in disguise."
"Disguise?" Celestia asked, suddenly seeming very panicked. "Luna, this is Haybale's, not Chrysalis's secret lair!"
"Changelings... Now that is a good thought," Luna thought aloud. "I think I'm the restricted section of the Canterlot library there are several books on Changeling magic. We should give them a thorough read through before we depart."
"Changeling magic?!" Celestia was now widening her eyes at the increasing complexity of Luna's plan. "Luna, I am not magically transforming every cell in my body so that I can go on a fast food binge!"
"Hmm, you're right," Luna said, reconsidering. "Perhaps the channeling magic was a tad excessive... After all, we have our own minor illusion spells, that should be more than enough to get us in there and eating without ponies acting to unnaturally around us."
"For Harmony's sake, Luna," Celestia put a good to her forehead. "I could just run out and have one of the guards pick us up a menu. Why is it so important that we go to the restaurant ourselves?"
"Because it would be one more thing I do to disconnect myself from our subjects!" Luna shouted, turning on Celestia. Celestia merely looked back at her, not realizing how important this was to her sister until. this very moment. "Sister, I've been gone for a millennium. I've been spending every day and night combing over old books and newspapers trying to catch up on everything I missed out on. I'm caught up on the events now. I would surely conquer any test of knowledge of the history of Equestria after my banishment, but it isn't enough. I don't know anything about the way ponies live anymore. So much has changed. I want to know more about the way my subjects live day to day. How they work, how they play, and yes, how they eat. So it is extremely important that I see this 'Haybale's' for myself. I may be the Princess of the Night, but I don't want to live in the dark anymore..." Luna looked down at the ground. "Please sister, I must go myself... And I would much prefer to go with you." For good measure, Luna added a little sniff at the end.
Celestia gave her a look that neither one of them had given in centuries. It was the look they gave to each other back when they were foals. When one of them tried to convince the other to do something dangerous, unwise, or downright stupid, this look would be the last vestige of their common sense dying. Luna smiled. There was something nostalgic about it after all of this time. Eventually Celestia closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Okay," she said finally, knowing she may very well regret those words later. "Alright, fine. Get a long coat, something with a hood, and cast a couple of minor illusion spells. Nothing drastic, just make sure we don't attract attention. I'll do the same and then we'll head out."
"Oh, thank you sister!" Luna said cheerfully, wrapping her sister in a tight hug. "I promise you, we'll have a wonderful time!"
"I'm sure we will," Celestia sighed, her voice filled with both a calm excitement and a creeping dread. "I'm going to lay a few ground rules before we start. Once we get there, you let me order. Also, we don't order until you've decided exactly what your ordering. I've heard horror stories about ponies taking forever thinking about what to order when they got up to the counter when they should have had it in their heads beforehand."
"I will make sure I know what I'm ordering, I promise," Luna said happily, breaking off the hug. "We should get to the place as soon as possible. I am quite hungry!"
The physical location of Haybale's Famous Hayburgers was far more intimidating than Luna had anticipated.
The shape of the building was the first off putting thing. It was a perfect square with a pyramid roof. It was the sort of thing that a child would present you with if you were to ask them to draw a house. There were Windows all around it, which made Luna wonder how the building was supporting itself. The next concerning thing was the roof. At first glance, Luna could have sworn that it was a thatched roof, but closer inspection revealed that it was simply plastic, concrete and steel painted over to look like a thatched roof. This was rather uncanny, and more than a little unsettling to look at, as Luna spent far more time than was necessary trying to comprehend why they would bother making that roof instead of using actual thatch. Luna then turned her attention to the sign, which was horrifying in its own right. Not the sign itself, that was fairly normal. A purple and gold design with "Haybale's Famous Hayburgers" printed across it in white print. It wasn't even all that strange that it was obviously more plastic, as Luna assumed it would light up at night to be more noticeable to travelers. The problem with the sign was that it obviously weighed a ton, and it was rotating on it's pole. Luna thought that it looked like it could come loose at any minute, dropping down and causing the untimely deaths of several ponies below. That was, if it managed to not crash into the restaurant proper and just hit the lot outside.
And then there was the clown.
At first, Luna didn't notice the clown. She was !merely looking at all of the stickers on the windows, pondering how ponies were supposed to look out of them when every inch was covered in advertisements. Then she looked at the advertisements, and saw the clown. He had a poofy yellow mane, a bright yellow nose, and a horrifying yellow grin smeared on his face. He was also trying to smile on his own, which looked horrifyingly unnatural and only served to make it look as if this clown had sinister intentions. He was wearing a purple and gold outfit, with white stripes on the sleeves that Luna was quickly becoming convinced was made out of the skin, if not the souls, of Ponies that were cool enough to trust this clown. Luna asked Celestia what on earth this abomination could possibly be, and was told it was "Happy Hayburger," a mascot for the restaurant chain that was apparently meant to advertise to children. Generally, Luna did not mind clowns, but she was absolutely sure that if she had seen this thing when she would was a child she would have nightmares about it for the next six months. Luna wasn't entirely convinced that this wouldn't happen now, while she was an adult.
It was at this point that Luna began to lose her nerve a bit. Maybe this was a terrible idea. Maybe she was risking too much by coming here personally. Maybe this was some sort of trap devised by the clown to find more children to make his hideous suit with. She thought about turning and leaving right then and there, but she steeled herself. No. There was something about this place that made that little colt so happy to dream about it. She wasn't going to turn tail and run until she found out exactly what.
Looking at her sister and nodding, Luna girded herself and entered the strange building.
The building was almost exactly like the little colt dreamed it, with a few obvious differences. Firstly, the staff behind the counter did not look nearly as helpful and friendly as they did in the dream. They hardly looked terse, or unhappy, they simply looked bored. Not even angrily bored, Just the kind of bored ponies normally were when they spent too long at work. They would sometimes joke to each other from behind the counter. Luna thought it was a very good thing she came when there were very few other customers around, because these ponies might have been very stressed if they had come during a rush hour.
The other customers were another thing that was very different. In the dream, the little colt has the restaurant all to himself. Here, there were a few other Ponies around eating their lunch. A mother and two sons were sitting by the corner, seemingly happily eating their food. The two boys were making the most noise, as they were both play fighting with Daring Do toys that they had apparently received from a children's meal (Celestia had informed her that this was common practice among fast food restaurants.) They would on occasion make too much noise which would cause their mother to scold them. They would apologize, and quiet down for a few moments before slowly ramping up the noise causing the cycle to begin again. The other pony was a business stallion. He was obviously working through his lunch break. There was a suitcase on the seat next to him that was open wide, with papers coming out of it, and then back on to the table. The stallion would look at the papers and mumble on occasion when he was eating his food. Every so often he would shoot a dirty look at the little children who were making all the noise. But he would swiftly phase them out and go back to his work. Entirely engrossed in whatever it was he was doing. Luna wondered if he even noticed the food, which was growing cold on the table.
The final thing that has changed, and probably the most important thing, was the menu on the wall. What it was there in the dream, it was wholly unrecognizable and illegible. This was far from abnormal. When ponies slept, the part of their brain that allows them to read is shut off, this making it impossible for anything written to be read in a dream. Now the menu was perfectly readable. Luna looked it over. There seemed to be twelve major options, each more confusing than the last. She could figure out what a Hayburger was, that seemed simple enough. There were, however, several different Hayburgers, each with there own different, very silly name. Haybale Deluxe, Haybale Triple, Ultimate Hayride. What did ANY of these mean? What was the difference between them? There seemed to be several, but there were no discriptions, only pictures of the food, and all that could help Luna determine was the relative sizes.
"Sister, I'm rather overwhelmed," Luna admitted, looking up at the strange menu. "I don't really know where to start with this menu... I find it rather intimidating. I don't really see the difference between any of these options...
"Don't Worry about that for right now, " Celestia said, reassuringly. "Just pick out something you think looks good. Or two or three things. Heaven knows money is no object for us."
Luna squinted at the menu again, examining each option carefully. Truth be told, they all looked somewhat appetizing. As a matter of fact some of them looked downright delicious. Before making any decisions however, there was an important thing she needed to ask. "Sister, I'm not allergic to anything on this menu, am I?" she asked sincerely.
"I seriously doubt they would be putting shooting stardust on a hayburger," Celestia sighed. "No, that's the kind of stupidity you would only find from the really high end Canterlot places."
Luna nodded in agreement. She had never needed to worry about money, but she did understand a shakedown when she heard one, and she heard one every time she saw the prices on a Canterlot Gourmet menu. She wasn't exactly an expert in finances, or how to cover costs, but one hundred bits for three oysters? "Tia, what will you be having?" Luna asked, hoping that would help her make a decision.
"Same thing I always have when I come here," Celestia smiled, ready to recite her order from memory. "Large Double Hayride, no pickles, a large onion rings and large cola, a regular hayburger on the side, and a blueberry pie. Like I said, not the healthiest lunch in the world, but I really enjoy it."
Luna was confused at the remark about the blueberry pie until she examined the menu further and found a printed list of deserts. She then remembered what Celestia said about requesting that pickles be taken off her sandwich. That made sense, Celestia couldn't abide pickles. Then Luna thought of something truly horrifying and felt she needed to ask her sister, then cower behind her for protection of necessary. "Celesta, none of these sandwiches have..." Luna swallowed hard, almost unable to say the next word. " Mayonnaise on them, do they?"I
"A few," Celestia laughed. "Don't worry about it though, you can ask them to remove any condiment you want from anything. We can all pretend that the mayonnaise never even existed."
"I don't want to pretend like it never existed, I want every ounce of it destroyed before it can do more harm to our kingdom," Luna grumbled. She had always been convinced that mayonnaise was some hideous plot to destroy Equestria. She had actually researched it after the horrible first experience she had with the condiment, and although everything seemed above board, she would always remain suspicious.
Luna sighed and looked over the menu once more. She was almost ready to make her order, she just needed to finalize it. She was going to get a similar order to her sisters, with a few changes. She took a deep breath, and made her final decision. "Alright," she said. "I know what I want to order. I'll let you do the talking to the restaurant employees, as agreed."
"Okay, good!" Celestia smiled happily, eager to help Luna out. "What is it that you think you'll be wanting?"
"Well, first things first, I'm going to want a triple hayride," Luna said thoughtfully, looking at the menu. "This is the only thing I will be eating until dinner, so I would like it to be filling."
"Hold the mayonnaise, I assume," Celestia guessed.
"Preferably in a dank cell to await execution," Luna confirmed. " For the beverage, I will also be wanting a cola. I'm second thought, make it a diet I think I've been having too much sugar lately. Now... For the side dish... You mentioned onion rings, what are my options?"
"Those, fried potatoes, or fried sweet potatoes," Celestia listed off quickly.
"Fried sweet potatoes sounds absolutely wonderful. I'll try those," Luna smiled. She always liked sweet potatoes and had never had them fried, so she was more than a little curious. "Now, these hayburgers, I assume there is an option for them to come with cheese?"
"We call that a cheeseburger, Luna," Celestia said, rolling her eyes.
"Then I shall have one cheeseburger!" Luna said proudly. She felt like she was finally getting a handle on this whole thing. "And now, looking at the desert menu I see there is an option for a hot fudge sundae!"
"Yeah! Those are actually pretty decent," Celestia explained. "Though, fair warning they are rather small."
"That's quite alright, I probably am not going to want anything large, " Luna nodded. "Well, if I've got everything down that should do it! That is the order I wish to place! Let us take a seat and order!"
"Luna, remember the dream you saw," Celestia reminded her. "We order at the counter and they give us the food. Then we take a seat."
"Oh, yes, quite," Luna said, a little embarrassed that she had forgotten that detail until now. "Isn't that a little unusual for a restaurant not to wait tables?"
"I thought it was weird too, at first," Celestia admitted. "But it's actually a check of a lot easier this way. For one thing, the wait for the food feels weirdly shorter when your standing up by the counter. I can't explain why, it just does. For another thing, and I have considered making all Restaurants do this by royal decree, you pay up front. No asking for the check. It's great, I just pay, and I can eat without doing a whole bunch of math in my head. Or trying to argue with overzealous serving ponies about me paying at all."
Luna nodded, it made sense. Besides, she didn't mind standing up and waiting for a little while.
Thankfully there was no line and Celestia was able to walk straight up to the counter. Apparently, the hooded sweatshirt and minor disguising spell was enough to completely throw off the ponies behind the counter, as they took no notice of the fact that the ruler of Equestria was standing not two feet away from them. A nice young made walked up to the counter. This was obviously her first day on the job, as she looked very nervous. Despite this, she did her best to out on a chipper and professional attitude.
"Welcome to Haybale's Famous Hayburgers," the young made said cheerfully, in a voice that made it seem like she had been practicing this speech for quite some time. "My name is Amber Moon, how can I help you today?"
Luna have a little smile at that. A server named "Moon?" Her coming here must have been fate.
"Good afternoon Amber," Celestia said with her customary non condescending sweetness. If there was anything that Luna was still jSirius of when it came to her sister, it was that. Her undeniable ability to talk to ponies, without talking down to them. Luna had always had trouble with that. It may have been that separation that caused her initial downfall in the first place. "I'd like to place an order for here, and I'm sorry, but it's going to be a rather large one.
"That's perfectly alright ma'am, we get large orders all the time, " Amber said, although it was clear that she had gotten a bit more nervous after hearing that from Celestia. She needn't have worried, however. Celestia was very calm and patient with her, and Ms. Moon was very good at her job. Taking down all of Celestia's instructions on her machine and asking only the necessary questions. When Celestia was all done with the order, Amber Moon went over it all again to make sure she had gotten it all right. Celestia smiled and nodded to confirm that she had. Now a lot less nervous, Amber Moon asked one final question. "Will that be all ma'am?"
"Yes, that will be all, thank you," Celestia smiled. "How much do I owe you?"
"Forty give bits," Amber Moon said, proud of her handling of the customer. "Who should I say the order is for?"
"Tia," Celestia said calmly.
Amber nodded and handed Celestia two large cups. "Here are your drink cups. It might take a little bit, so if you want to have a seat you can. We'll call you when your food is ready."
Celestia nodded. "Thank you very much," Celestia turned to Luna. "Sis, if you could get us a table by the window, that would be perfect. I'll get the drinks."
Two questions popped into Luna's head at the same time, and both of them were answered in seconds when she put a little thought of observation into them. The first question dealt with why in the world Celestia had referred to her as Sis, when she had never done so before. This one was easily answered. It was to maintain their cover. The second question was answered almost as quickly. Why did Amber Moon hand Celestia empty drink cups?
The answer came in the form of one of the most beautiful things that Luna had ever seen.
The machine was glowing with a light that made it friendly to look at. It was the size and shape of a refrigerator with a little screen in front of it. When Celestia walked up to it, like magic it dispensed beverages. It all did this with the use of one button. Luna would have to make a note of getting one of these "soda fountains," for back home.
Soda... Fountains. Even the name sounded like something out of a fairy tale.
Luna picked a seat nearby one of the large advertisement laden windows, and soon Celestia came back with the drinks. She handed Luna one. "This is your Diet." Luna took the drink and took a sip from the straw. It was her diet cola, colder than she had ever had the drink before in her life. This was delightful! If this was what the prepackaged drinks were link, the food must have been mind blowing!
"I must say, so far so good!" Luna said cheerfully. "I don't know what it is, but this soda tastes delicious."
"I'm convinced they put some kind of mind control chemicals in those machines," Celestia said, looking back at the soda fountain. "Soda doesn't ever taste as good as when it's coming out of those fountains. I don't know what it is. We have a fridge at home, I put soda in there. I've put ice in that soda. How do I never get it that cold. They don't have some kind of Alison magic working on those things we're unaware of, right?"
"No, we'd have sensed something," Luna reassured her sister. Just to make sure however she gave the soda fountain a light magical scan. It was completely clean. The mystery deepened.
Eventually Amber Moo n came up.to the counter with two trays, their food arranged upon it neatly. "Order up for 'Tia?" she called.
"That's the food!" Celestia smiled, making a move to get up.
Luna stood up faster than her sister, raising one hoof to calm her down. "Sister, you were kind enough to not only take me out, but I also noticed you paid for the meal. The very least I can do is retrieve the meal," Luna said.
Celestia shrugfed, and Luna made her way to the counter. She faintly took.the trays from Amber and nodded politely. "Thank you for choosing Haybale's! I hope you enjoy!"
"I'm sure we will," Luna smiled. "And thank you for the wonderful service. " As Luna was walking back to the table she could feel Amber Moon's warm smile of accomplishment. It was nice to make some pony feel good every so often.
She handed one tray to her sister, and then put her tray on the table.
This was it, the moment of truth. This was when she found out why on earth that little col was so happy to be here that he dreamed of this place. She untapped one of her sandwiches, took a deep breath, and bit into it.
After chewing for a few moments she realized something. She was a little disappointed.
Just a little. She wasn't angry, or diasgusted. She was enjoying the sandwich well enough. It tasted fine. That was all, however. It was fine. Not astounding, not mind blowing, certainly not the kind of thing That Luna would have blissful dreams about.
She sat pondering for a moment. Trying all.if the other items that she had ordered. Hoping for some clue as to the ever growing mystery. No such luck. If all the things she ordered, the closest any of it came to providing her with that feeling was the Sweet Potato fries. Even then, those were merely delicious and far from life atering.
"What's the matter?" Celestia Asked, noticing the puzzled look on Luna's face. "Do you not like it?"
"No, that's not it," Luna said. "Actually, this is all rather good. Good enough to keep eating even though I know it is going to give me a stomach ache later... But I honestly can't understand why the little colt felt so elated to be here in his dream. He had to have been here before, as his depiction of the inside of the building was too accurate. If he were embellishing from a friend's description, it would have surely looked like a palace... Going here might be a pleasant experience,but with that much joy, I was expecting something more."
Celestia nodded, and seemed to ponder the question too. "You said he was with his parents in the dream right?" she asked.
"That's right," Luna confirmed.
"Then it may not have been the Food," Celestia suggested. "Maybe he was just happy to spend time with his family in a place where he remembered having lost of fun. Less to do with the place, more to do with the ponies."
Luna thought about it, it made sense . In fact, it didn't take her long to think of a parallel. "You mean when we used to sneak into Star Saudi's store room and mess with the voice changing potions?"
" Exactly like that! " Celestia said happily. "It wasn't that I was making my voice funny that made those some of my best memories, it was that I was spending time with you! That was the important thing! That was what mattered... I was spending time with my sister!"
Luna nodded and went back to her food, touched by the sengiment, but not thinking much of it. That is until she looked up and saw a year rolling down her sister's cheek. "Celestia, What's wrong?"
" Nothing, its--" Celestia took her napkin and wiped her years away. "It's just... Have you ever had a very dull pain? Something that's there with you constantly so it becomes a part of your life? You learn to ignore it, and you don't realize how bad it hurts until.it finally goes away? That's... That's what it felt like being without you all of this time. Until I saw you again... I never realized how much I missed you... Luna I'm just so happy you're home."
Luna put her good on her sister's, smiling softly. What Celestia was describing was the same feeling she had when she was at last free of Nightmare Moon. Something that was only possible through her sister and her student.
Then and there, a memory was made. Two Sisters finally understood in full the love they held for one another, and the family bond they would always
share.
And suddenly, this little place seemed like something worth dreaming about.
Author's Note
This was a Commission for Fossil-Dragon-Messiah. Thanks for the work dude, it was very needed.
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