Sparkle in the Night

"Spike, please bring in the next petitioner," I instructed my draconic assistant coolly, cracking a small smile at his adorably loyal salute as he strode over to the throne room doors and nudged them open, allowing passage to the next pony who sought my counsel. The regal smile slid from my face as I recognized the unmistakable lanky stature and barbershop attire of the two stallions that Spike let in.

"These two have a lot of nerve showing up here..." I muttered under my breath, rolling my eyes as Flim - or maybe it was Flam? I could never tell the two apart - stepped forward, cleared his throat, and bowed so patronizingly towards me that it was practically palpable.

"Thanks for seein' us, Princess Twilight! It's reassuring to know you didn't just bar us from petitioning the moment you saw our names on the list. A sign of a just and fair ruler, wouldn't you say, brother?" The snake-oil salespony was certainly an enthusiastic brown-noser. Good grief, how did anyone ever believe these two? His painfully obvious facade of cheerfulness almost made me want to gag.

I also raised my eyebrow at Spike in disappointment, considering he was supposed to be screening the petitioners before they were allowed an audience...he merely grinned sheepishly and cautiously backed out of the room, leading me to sigh tiredly and shake my head.

"Indubitably, my good stallion! Y'know, a town with money's a little like mule with a spinning wheel..." Flam began, glancing meaningfully towards his brother.

"That's right, brother! Nobody knows how he got it, and darned if he knows how to use it!" Flim continued. I was near to the point of shoving my face in my hooves, but I had to stay professional even when petitioners were really starting to aggravate me...

"Yessir! There's nothin' on Equus like a genuine, bona-fide-" I could just feel the cheesy sales-pitch song starting to build up. No. No way was I letting them sucker this town into another hare-brained scheme of theirs.

Loudly stomping my hoof, the heavy clop of a horseshoe on stone immediately made the two brothers freeze up. "That's quite enough of that. You two should know better than to try such tricks on Ponyville a third time, Flim and Flam. Why, if I let you prattle on long enough, I bet you've got a bridge in Bucklyn to sell me, too! Guards, please escort these thieves out of my castle." My frown had exponentially deepened now, my displeasure clear and evident in a way that was obviously unsettling the two of them.

"Now, hey, that's not very - ah, watch where you put those hooves, buddy!" Flam said in a panic, hurriedly backing away from the pair of guards who quickly got between us and began ushering them back the way they came.

"I say, brother, maybe this new princess isn't the kind paragon of friendship she's cracked up to be!" Flim yelped, just before the doors slammed shut behind the two of them.

After a moment of awkward silence, Spike cautiously cleared his throat. "So, uhh..." He began to say, but quickly trailed off as I gave him an annoyed eyebrow raise. "Rrright. I'll just, uh, screen 'em better in the future, then..."

"Mooom! Sis won't let me have the Luna plushie!" A young colt hollered loudly as he charged into the throne room from a side entrance, his sister carrying an adorable little plush version of Princess Luna in her mouth as she followed him into the room with an annoyed, petulant look on her face. The two of them skidded to a stop at the foot of the throne, and the young filly was quick to drop the plush and defend herself.

"As if! He was trying to yank it out of my hooves!" The young filly yelped defensively. I was already on my last nerve from Flim and Flam's highly unwelcome appearance, so I was quick to nip this argument in the bud before it could devolve into a tiny wrestling match in the middle of my throne room.

"Dusk, Dawn, please settle down, the both of you! Honestly, what would your father say if he saw you two hollering and carrying on like this? Let alone interrupting important government time that I've specifically scheduled for petitioners!" I chastened firmly. The two of them recoiled sharply, looking like I'd kicked their puppy, but I held firm - it was important that they learn the necessity of conflict resolution without resorting to arguing. "Dusk, I thought we'd agreed that Dawn gets the Luna plushie on odd-numbered nights, and you get the plushie on even-numbered ones."

"Aww, I dunno, I guess..." Dusk whimpered, the little colt scuffing his hoof against the crystalline floor in defeat. "Sorry for snapping at you, sis."

"Apology accepted, Duskie." Dawn giggled, already waving off the conflict. It was famously hard for twins to hold a grudge against one another. "Momma, why are colts so silly?"

I held back a giggle behind my hoof as Dusk pouted cutely, looking indignant. My mind trailed off in thought as I stared at the Luna plushie held in Dawn's hooves, and a thought occurred to me as my eyes lit up. Gently, I guided the two of them to walk alongside me using a wing as the three of us left the throne room. "Hmm, well, I suppose it's getting late and I don't really want to hear any more petitioners after...those two showed up. Do you two want to hear how Princess Luna helped me set up my 5th anniversary with your father? I promise it's not too icky and full of Cutie Pox, haha."

Dusk rolled his eyes and made a face, but Dawn certainly seemed enthusiastic enough if the sparkles in her eyes were anything to go by...and so, the story began.

A pulse of magic rippled across Luna's dreamscape, giving the Princess of the Night pause as she glided through the shimmering blackness of the unconscious realm. Lighting her finely-manicured horn, the night-mare honed in on the source of the magical disturbance she felt. A genteel smile grew on her regal lips as she recognized the magical signature, and with a quick flutter of movement from her wings, she propelled herself towards the dreamscape-version of Ponyville Castle.

Pushing herself through the dream-castle's shimmering crystalline walls, she arrived at the bedside of her fellow Princess, Twilight Sparkle, without delay.

The mare closed her eyes, lit her horn once more, and dove deep into the young alicorn's subconscious.

I felt the Night Princess's arrival as an electric tingle surged through my mind, making my hooves jitter anxiously. I wormed my way out of my dreamscape's bed to properly greet the incoming mare, briefly shuffling my wings nervously as I contemplated the request I was about to make of my fellow Princess.

As Luna phased through her bedroom's exterior wall, I greeted her with a small smile of familiar, friendly affection - one which she wholeheartedly returned.

"Luna! I'm so glad you're here." I greeted, sounding a little more excited than I'd have liked.

"Well met, Twilight Sparkle. We come when we are called. What may we do for you?"

"Uhm..." A blush lit up my face as I averted my eyes from her questioning gaze, which turned inquisitive as her brow crept up her forehead, and an impish, patient, knowing smile graced her dark complexion.

"We think we know what thou wisheth to ask of us, Twilight Sparkle. This is in regard to thy consort and my protege, Shooting Star, is it not?" Luna replied knowingly, a hit of mirth tickling her proper tone.

"Wha- buh- how did you...?" I sputtered, my face turning a deep shade of red as my wings rustled at my sides. I was thoroughly flustered at the ease with which Luna had seen through my request...was I really so easy to read?

"Do not act so shocked, fair Twilight. Be as it may that our imprisonment hath stymied us in matters of the heart, we are no spring filly. When you have been around as long as we have, one develops a sense for such things. In addition, that colt is also not as good at keeping secrets as he thinks he is..." Blinking for a moment as she remembered herself, Luna inclined her head apologetically towards me, a half-bow that seemed out-of-place on a pony so regal and experienced. "But we digress, and most rudely at that. What would you have us do for you, Twilight Sparkle?"

"I...really want to do something special for him. He's the first stallion I've ever felt this strongly for, and our anniversary deserves to be one to remember! Do you think you could create a meteor shower on the night of the full moon?"

"We would be delighted to brighten up our sky with a celebration of your blossoming love for one another, fair Twilight. We find it flattering that ponies appreciate our nights so strongly following our return, especially as we consider both of you to be very close friends of ours. It is most endearing," Luna smiled wide as she inclined her head towards me appreciatively. "You shall have your shooting stars for Shooting Star, hmmhmm!"

"Heehee! Oh, thank you, Luna, thank you! I just know he's going to love it!" I responded eagerly, giggling good-naturedly at her clever wordplay.

"Alas, much as we would love to 'hang out', as the foals of today would say, we must bid thee farewell to address our fair subjects' nightly specters." Bowing once more, Luna spread her large, curvaceous wings, fluttering them as she readied for takeoff. As quiet as the owls that prowled through her sky, Luna took wing. As she glided upwards into the cold evening air of my dreamscape, she continued to speak, "Noctem quiétam dulce somnium, Twilight Sparkle! May you have the best of luck with your romantic endeavors under mine fine sky. Shooting Star is a blessed stallion to have as doting and thoughtful a mare as thee."

As the distance between us increased, I did my best to call back a reply, "Thank you so much, Luna! Noctem quiétam dulce somnium!" My lips were clumsy, unfamiliar with the strange Old Equish phrases that Luna still used from time to time, but I was sure Luna still appreciated the thought behind it. They certainly had an exotic, ancient charm to them. "I'll be sure to pay you back for this soon!" I exclaimed as Luna began to disappear into the far edges of the shuddering, unraveling dreamscape's night sky.

The Night Princess's reply was nearly lost in the fog of my deepening sleep, though I caught its whispers on my fading semi-consciousness nonetheless. 'Your success shall be all the almsgiving that we need, dear Twilight. Be certain to invite us to your wedding, for we are sure it will be a joyous affair!'

"Well, what did you two think of that?" I asked at the end of the dream-retelling, finally coming out of storyteller mode long enough to check on the two of them...predictably, they'd fallen asleep, probably somewhere around the time Luna started talking in ostentatiously long phrases...

With an amused giggle, I gently tucked the two of them into their beds, quietly shutting the door behind me as I left the room.

Even though my retelling had stopped short there, there was still more to be told...more that wasn't exactly foal-friendly...

I surged into wakefulness with an embarrassed squeak, sitting bolt upright in my bed as I thought about the last thing Luna had said to me.

"W-wedding?!" I squeaked out, feeling flush. It was a little early to be talking about something like that...but my mind began to wander nonetheless...

My wings drew stiff as my blush deepened, and I rapidly shook myself to banish the butterfly-inducing thoughts that flooded my head whenever I thought of "Shooting Star" and "wedding" together. The wait for the next full moon would be long, to be sure...but it would be oh-so worth the anticipation!