Luna stood on the moonlit balcony, she let the night air blow past her, it chilled her to the bone but it felt nice. She watched as the ponies below began to retire to their beds and rest, it made her smile to know that her night was relaxing enough to calm their well-worked nerves. Luna closed her eyes as a familiar presence walked up behind her, "Why are thou awake so late, Sister? Shouldn't thou be resting for tomorrow's court? We hear it will be rather busy." Celestia hummed and stopped next to Luna, her eyes rested on the now darkened houses below. "That is actually why I am here, dear sister. I want to ask for your assistance in tomorrow's court, we've made some rather... taboo changes to the tax system, I do not doubt that many nobles will attempt to persuade us to change them back."
"We will be happy to assist you, Sister. Thy nobles are much like foals with their constant whining." Celestia snickered a bit at the comment, she knew that Luna was right, the nobles always managed to find something to complain about.
Celestia yawned and her eyes got heavier, Luna grinned, "Sleepy? Thou should rest, do not push yourself to stay awake longer. We bid you goodnight, Sister." Without argument, Celestia said goodnight and teleported to her room, leaving Luna to her wild thoughts.
Why are you still willing to help her? It may not be time to rebel, but why still submit to her requests? The tiny voice in Luna's mind spoke out, she smiled at its question. "We must only keep this facade a little longer. If I refuse her, then we cannot completely take her by surprise." I suppose so. We must rest later, in order to have the proper energy for tomorrow. Luna didn't deny that fact, "We will train then, we must be prepared."
The first part of the morning went as smooth as it could, only a few nobles had complained, only to be shut down by Celestia. Luna stood in the back of the room, just out of sight, she would take over the late afternoon and evening.
It wasn't until about noon that one noble walked in, his head held high and his suit was flashy, he looked like a complete fool. Celestia pasted her princess smile on and asked the noble stallion what his business was. "Why, it's on the matter of the night hours, I have come to ask you to shorten the night. It has no purpose but to give peasants an excuse to stop working, crops don't grow at night either. It's such an inconvenience to everypony, certainly that's premise to shorten it to only a few hours!" Celestia looked shocked, before she looked irritated,
Though nobody could see it, Luna's face had darkened, her eyes narrowed and her breathing had become angry. Her blood was boiling, it seared in her veins and burned her flesh with hate. How dare he. The creature in Luna's head said, its voice was dripping with venom, it poisoned her mind, made her enraged. She was about to snap when the creature spoke once more, Wait... do not show your anger, we must remain as the calm before the storm. Our power is not strong enough yet. Do not give any hints. Luna quickly quelled her anger, she stayed neutral.Now, make your presence known, frighten him, but do not threaten him.
Luna walked into view and the noble stallion quickly shut his mouth, his pupils becoming pinpricks and his face paling, many others began to look nervous. Say something to him. "We must say, Lord Amethyst, you certainly have a strong opinion on our night, surely you will elaborate for us, for we are very curious now." The noble stallion quickly stood down, he apologized for his ignorance and practically ran out of the throne room. "Why are you so quick to leave, Lord Amethyst? Are thou afraid of us? We take offense to that, we have done nothing wrong to thee." He stopped and turn quickly, "No, nothing like that, your highness! I am not afraid of you, I merely have an appointment with a client that I had forgotten about when I planned to come to court today. I must go quickly."
In order to avoid ripping the stallion's head clean off, Luna forced her angry magic through her own body. It felt like her entire body was on fire for a few seconds, it made her hiss in pain before it quickly subsided to a dull ache. She had gotten used to doing it at that point, her pent up anger often left her with a constant pain in her blood, like it was truly poisoned. The noble had already fled, leaving Luna in the hallway with the few guards that looked concerned. "Tell Celestia that I will return in a few minutes. I need some fresh air."
Luna walked out to the Lunar Gardens with an uncharacteristic calmness, her previous anger continued to boil, but it lurked just below the surface, not even seeping through the cracks in her nearly perfect facade. The warm air outside made her want to vomit, she could only think of the noble, how much he liked this weather. I can tell, you feel sickened, that noble has offended us already. Revenge is certainly in order when we finally rebel. Luna growled low in her throat before sending another wave of pure energy through her already damaged body, it was the only thing that made her feel any better these days. This time, it wasn't restrained, it was wild, and angry, and it hurt. More than anything else, it made Luna feel like she was being ripped apart with no mercy. It was liberating.
With another powerful jolt, Luna's body collapsed and her breathing became labored, blood dripped from her nose and mouth, leaving a metallic taste. She looked at the deep blue flowers next to her, they wilted slightly, seeming to feel the effects of her hatred. "Damned stallion trash, he will pay for mocking our night. We will make him suffer." Luna snarled and, with a small convulse, she let off the last bit of her anger on herself, it was nothing compared to the other waves.
A few minutes passed before Luna stood up shakily, her legs wanted to refuse so badly, but she pushed them to stand, using her magic to numb the pain. Are you done? We must return to the throne room, or else Celestia will suspect something is wrong. Luna walked back through the doors after wiping the blood off her face, "Yes, we are done."
For the rest of court, Luna kept up her lie without issues, she feigned content with a disturbing accuracy, even as ponies visibly paled in front of her, she pretended not to notice. Their voices stammered, they were shaky, and hurried to get their requests out and over with. That little voice in her head continued to whisper, "Soon, my dear Luna. Soon we will strike."
