A gentle wind blew outside of Princess Celestia’s royal solarium as the snowfall kicked back into gear. While the standard annual weather for Hearth’s Warming called for complete cloud cover to support intermittent snowfalls, Celestia had broken tradition and ordered for clearer skies at sunset so Luna could enjoy her first Hearth’s Warming moonrise in a thousand years. The younger alicorn hadn’t minded her sister’s kind gift, but it somewhat irked her how adamant Celestia was about everything going just right for her first holiday season in Canterlot. There was keeping to a schedule, but she was being intolerable.
They had been going full gallop the entire holiday to ensure every moment was magical. Everything started the previous evening, which began with a teleportation tour of Equestria. From the Celestial Sea to the Lunar Oceans, they had spent the entire night seeing how their little ponies sparked life into the night through holiday lights and decorations. After returning to the castle at daybreak, Hearth’s Warming festivities began in earnest with gift exchanges, hearth-roasted marshmallows, snowball fights, ugly sweater contests, and a bunch more activities that felt made up. Luna barely had time to think before it was on to the next event.
“A perfect beginning to a perfect night, wouldn’t you say, Lulu?”
Luna suppressed rolling her eyes at Celestia’s phrasing. “Beginning indeed. We are surprised you are still awake.”
“Pronouns, Luna,” Celestia corrected with a flawless smile. Luna hated that pacifying face her sister almost instinctively plastered on at a moment’s notice. She wore it a lot more than the younger alicorn remembered before her ban—disappearance. Celestia had stopped using the b-word entirely, so she was slowly working it out of her lexicon as well.
“I do not care, Tia. I am only concerned for your well-being. You are not as accustomed to sleepless nights as I. Tell me, do you intend to stay up another night, sister?”
Celestia tapped her chin. “I guess it depends on what you would like to do, Luna.”
“I have yet to decide my next course of action. The holiday is over tomorrow.”
“Yes, but that is tomorrow. It doesn’t mean it has to end now. And we still have New Year’s Eve and Day to look forward to. What would you like to do next?”
“I would like you to go to sleep, sister. You have spent enough of Equestria’s time on me. She needs her first princess in commanding shape starting tomorrow morning.”
Celestia’s magic faltered around her teacup, which she barely caught with hooves before spilling the sun-kissed beverage. “No! We rule together, Luna! Please, don’t say it like that.”
“It was meant in order of birth, elder sister!” Luna straightened up and regarded Celestia with a stern scowl. “Gracious, must you always be cantering on eggshells around us? We are not a foal!”
“I’m sorry that I’ve been a little on edge. I just wanted what little time we take off during the… winter break to be perfect.”
Luna groaned at her sister’s mask. While she might be a better wordsmith in normal conversation, the solar alicorn was about as subtle as the sunrise when it came to subterfuge. Anypony else would agree that “during the holidays” would’ve been the far more natural fit. Now the sun was avoiding even mentioning the word day. At this rate, the night would last forever.
“It was, Tia. Truly.” Luna rested a reassuring hoof on her sister’s own. She tempered her frustration and smiled truthfully for the both of them. “It was the most wonderful time I’ve spent with you since my return. But this hesitation you have; I am unsure what you are so concerned about.”
The elder alicorn said nothing, only nodding her head to agree. She took another sip of her Sunset’s Jasmine tea and sighed as she looked out over the snow-covered garden. Luna could see traces of Celestia's strong desire for sleep tugging at her mask. She’d already been up for a day and a half without even a moment’s rest, while Luna had only been awake for twenty-four hours. The stubborn mare needed to sleep.
“Tia!” Luna shouted as she tightened her grip on Celestia’s hoof.
“You’re right, dear sister. You’re right. It seems the lack of sleep is clouding my judgment. I’ll act my age and be responsible this evening,” she acquiesced, still dodging the question. Luna let it slide, seeing as how fragile Celestia seemed to be tonight.
“Acting our ages would entail much less personal responsibility and more assisted living at this point.”
Celestia giggled and ruffled Luna’s nebulous mane with her magic. “Still the bearer of laughter and honesty, I see.” The elder alicorn craned her head and kissed her sister on the forehead. “Have a wonderful night, Lulu. I love you.”
“Pleasant dreams, dear sister.”
“With you around, I’m sure that won’t be too difficult to manage.” Celestia took her tea in her magic and lifted herself from the table with the grace befitting of her sunrise. As she turned towards the door, she stopped and looked back at her sister. “Actually, how would you like to sleep in my room tonight? I can’t remember the last time we had a proper sleepover.”
“Barring the nights you spent with me as I recovered from the Nightmare? It was a few years ago… I mean, a thousand and a few years ago in the Everfree Castle. However, aren’t we too big for such things now, in both senses of the word? Perhaps if you slowed down on your sweet consumption…”
“I do not take kindly to blasphemy,” Celestia laughed politely. “But in all seriousness, Luna, you have more than earned the full holiday experience. I can always have Raven look over the schedule if you want to take it easy until the new year.”
Luna tilted her head quizzically. “You have a trained raven now?”
“Of course not, Lulu. Raven Inkwell, my assistant.” Luna shook her head slowly. “Brown eyes and mane? Wears glasses? Pen and inkpot cutie mark? She is almost always close at hoof.”
“Ah, yes. Now we remember. The meek one sent in secret to monitor us during Nightmare Night in Ponyville.” She had forgotten the name, but not the sentiment it had set once she had found out about her sister’s little spy.
Celestia smiled warmly, but said nothing regarding the accusation. She gave one last look to Luna, her smile finally shifting to genuine kindness. “If you need me, you know where to find me. Please, have a lovely night.”
Princess Celestia quietly left the garden’s solarium, leaving Luna alone with her hot cocoa. Truthfully, she was still deciding if she wanted to sleep tonight or not. Now would be a good time to reset the internal clock for nocturnal duties like she said, but her sister had run her ragged physically, mentally, and magically. The teleportation tour had exhausted a fair bit of her still-recovering magical reserves, along with the holiday itself being so draining. It had been a little less than half a year since her return, and the lunar princess was still getting used to all the changes both in Equestria and in herself.
For one, Hearth’s Warming itself had changed dramatically. Luna found it strange that the day before was also celebrated these days with most of the parties happening later. In fact, many holidays now had an “Eve” leading up to the day celebrated after dark, and more still had been changed or added to completely take place at night. The most egregious in her mind being the Summer Sun Celebration becoming one long night party that ended after Celestia rose the sun. How were ponies supposed to properly enjoy the longest day of the year while sleep-deprived?
She pawed at her drink with her hooves as she looked out at the snow silently drifting past the window. Even though she couldn’t see the night sky behind the clouds, she could still enjoy the lights of the royal garden. Beyond the windows, the frosted topiaries and flowerless bushes glowed with festive fairy lights wrapped around their branches. Colorful ones had even been strung about little sculptures of metal wires, forming the images of prancing ponies, vibrant presents, and joyful stars atop the traditional fir trees. Despite spending all of last night looking at far grander displays, she still marveled at what modern ponies could do in her backyard.
Ponies could light the night themselves, making luminous works that rivaled her own starlight. She had seen such wonders last night from sea to shining sea. These days, ponies chased away the shadows and remove all the fears that the dark could hold.
‘If all of this light had existed a thousand years ago, then perhaps…’
Luna banished the thought immediately. She drowned the idea in the last of her hot chocolate and zapped the empty mug to the kitchen. There was no point in dwelling upon impossible hypotheticals. The princess drew herself from her cushion and trotted into the hallway. She was met by a nocturne lunar guard who saluted with his leathery wing in the presence of his princess.
“I wish to take a flight this evening,” she stated evenly. The cold air would help clear her head.
“Your highness, there is a winter storm advisory tonight.”
“Thank you.” Luna paused momentarily as she regarded the stallion. Deep violet fur, dirty amber mane, brown eyes; she looked over him several times while remaining silent. His minor regalia meant he was a first lieutenant, so it was clear he had worked his way up the ranks somewhat. So why…
“Your highness?” Luna blinked, realizing she had been intensely staring at the guard.
“Our apologies. We thank thee for reporting the weather, but we have faced far greater than this winter flurry.”
“Of course, Princess Luna. I will prepare the escorts at once.”
“Neigh—” Luna bit her tongue. Dusk Dew? Fell Winds? Purple Rain? Why couldn’t she remember his name? She’d been relying on his service for the past three months, and she couldn’t remember the name of one of her personal guards. “We shall take to the skies alone.”
“Very well, your highness. By your command.” He offered another wing salute.
“In fact, you are dismissed for the evening, lieutenant…” The princess hoped that saying his rank would stir her memory, but she’d have better luck starting a fire under Whitetail Falls. At least she felt she had an excuse for not remembering Celestia’s personal assistant. Letting one of her lunar guard’s name slip away was nothing short of egregious. “Please enjoy the holiday with your fellow ponies.”
The usually stoic officer couldn’t help but flash his fangs in a wide grin at the command. “Thank you, Princess Luna!”
Luna broke into a swift, controlled trot away from the guard. She forced a deep scowl on her face. It was all she could do to hide her mortified blushing. This never happened in the old days. She had assembled the best warriors in the realm and hoof-picked them personally to protect and serve the nation. She used to be able to name every soldier in a platoon, but now she couldn’t even remember the name of a guard she saw almost every day.
Not wanting to run into anypony else that might be wandering the cold halls of the castle, she threw open the nearest window and shot into the skies above Canterlot. The wind and snow buffeted her side, but she barely felt it under the heat of her frustration. This hadn’t been the first time she struggled to remember something so basic. Her thoughts felt slow and muddled these days around other ponies, and she couldn’t figure out what was wrong. It could be another side-effect of the Nightmare, but the ancient villain didn’t have a memory problem.
Luna pumped her wings and burst through the thick, snow-filled clouds. Rolling through the fluffy expanse, she breached the top and gazed up to her sea of stars. The Princess of the Night desperately needed to see her sky.
Finding a comfortable patch to rest on, she laid on her back and gazed up at the heavens. Luna’s eyes searched the stars until she spotted a familiar cluster. They had shifted over the millennia, but she still knew her old hoof-work well.
“Solemn Soliloquy: the godfather of Equestrian theater,” the princess recounted, pointing to a group of five stars she had set in the shape of his quill cutie mark. Her hoof shifted to another ancient innovator. “Rosen Aria: legendary bard of Unicornia and inventor of the lyre.”
As Luna sought out her old constellations, she recalled the memories that had inspired her to organize the stars into the celestial shapes in the first place. Important figures, major historical events, and even a long forgotten inside joke she had made at the expense of ancient astronomers. They always asked her why the cockatrice seemed to traverse the Andromareda pathway at the beginning of every month.
“To get to the other side, you foals,” Luna snickered in reply to the ageless unanswered question. Perhaps she should revive the old game. The joke might be lost on somepony as rigid as Twilight Sparkle, but perhaps the idiocy of such humor wouldn’t be lost on her stargazing father at the Royal Observatory, Mister… Mister…
Luna slammed a hoof on the clouds she rested on, causing a momentary burst of unscheduled thundersnow. “Vexations! What was his name? He is the progenitor of the Element of Magic, for pity’s sake!” She pressed her hooves firmly into her face and bemoaned her failure.
Righting herself from the cloud, Luna stood up straight and prepared a modified version of an ancient spell she hadn’t used in a millennium. Flashing her horn to life, she whipped her hair along her magic, brushing a wall of pure cosmic energy in front of her, and bucked it with all her might. It sped away, leaving a trailing aurora of wisping starlight shining in every color. The light formed bundles of threads that began weaving themselves together into familiar outlines. From the spectacle, guards, soldiers, phalanxes, and everypony in between stood at attention, saluting and ready to be counted by their princess.
It was her Aurora of Attendance; the lunar roll call spell used to speed through the irritating task of head counting during their defensive campaigns in early Equestria.
“Commander Clear Skies, Corporal Mustard Seed, Lieutenant Commander Nightingale, Captain Steel Saddle.” One by one, Luna listed the names of the ancient officers. It was so simple for her. She wondered if Celestia even remembered them. Mercifully, the Elements’ seal placed upon her had passed the time like a dream. A thousand years for her sister felt like less than one for herself. The high-ranking officials weren’t even a challenge. She leapt into the skies and fell in with the lower ranks.
“Custard Cream, an unflinching cadet that baked the sweetest cakes. Beige Blitz, a dull color that disguised a cunning, tactical mind. Landmaster, a powerful earth pony brimming with potential. One wonders if he ever figured out how to joust without breaking his lance. Rattled Regalia, a noble who felt his place was among his brothers in arms and refused to let his birthright determine his rank. He was quite taken with Commander Nightingale, if memory serves correctly.
“Did he ever tell her outside of his dreams?”
Luna kept walking through the endless rows and columns of familiar faces, unmoving and unblinking, as the princess recalled bits and pieces about the lives they led. To her, it was mere child’s play. She had gotten to know them over their years of service as soldiers came and went, either face-to-face or when guarding their sleep.
“Amber Gust, she was a weather mare who made sure the pegasi were always in formation during storm combat drills. Daisy Plains, a florist who served in order to protect her family instead of tending her beautiful gardens. Jolly Jasper, that butter ball was always the life of the mess hall. She was one of the last ones she tried to reach out in friendship just before the Nightmare started.”
Luna broke into a brisk trot as she passed the lines, names, desires, dreams, and lives, glittering and motionless. Her throat ran raw as she named everypony she passed. She didn't even need to stop and see their faces.
“Stars above… we remember. We remember all of them!”
Their position in the line-up was enough to recall who they were. All of her little ponies were still just as fresh in her mind as they were her last year with them a millennium ago. The resolute outlines of starlight stood as still as the tombs they hopefully resided in now. A thousand tales of a thousand ponies that had been cut from her life. No, that wasn’t right. It was she who had viciously turned away from them.
And they were all just… gone.
After being struck by the Elements and waking from the Nightmare, Celestia had immediately thrown Luna into a whirlwind of activities. Every waking moment demanded her attention with a ceaseless onslaught of random duties or studies. It sometimes felt needless, but everypony assured her that it was all critically important before resuming her full station. They hadn’t been wrong either. So much had changed. It was only in the past month when she had recovered enough of her strength, magic, and confidence that she tried holding Night Court or relieving the nightmares of her subjects.
Through all of it, Celestia always kept Luna’s eyes fixated on the future, never allowing her a single moment to look back.
All the precious moments, all those special ponies, Princess Luna could see all of their faces in the shadowy visages she had summoned. A legion of discarded friends forgotten to time, but still burning in her memory. It hurt. It hurt so terribly, and the searing pain wouldn’t stop.
Luna fled, running as fast as her hooves would carry her through the summoned specters. It wouldn’t be difficult to dispel them in a second, but she couldn’t bring herself to wipe them away, not after the years had done it once already. She dashed through the sea of faded rainbows, catching the cold, glassy gaze of the lifeless ponies around her periphery. She sank below the waves, and the world began to spin.
It took her a moment to snap back to reality and realize she had run out of cloud cover to cross in her panic and was hurtling towards the ground. She flared her wings open, but her tumbling was too erratic to regain any semblance of control. Her vision was a blurred tempest of the sky and snow speeding past each other as she plummeted towards the ground. With no time to calm herself for a proper spell, she poured every ounce of magic into a surging burst to hopefully cushion her fall.
After a midnight flash of pure magic, everything went white.
Cold, wet, and sore. That was all Luna felt as she blinked the stars out of her eyes. “We regret rejecting an escort,” Luna cursed as she shook the snow from around her head, just enough to poke out of the snowdrift she was buried under.
She could see the moon, so it was still night. Looking at its position among the stars, it couldn’t have been later than eight o’ clock. There was a little comfort knowing she hadn’t been out long enough to warrant a search. She craned her head towards the slope of the mountain. In her delirium, the princess had run across the whole of Canterlot on the clouds, thrown herself off the edge, and tumbled down the side of Canterhorn. A trail of broken trees and plowed snow led up to a blast crater from her magic. Luna thanked her stars; nopony had gotten hurt because of her mistakes again.
Grumbling from the pile of snow she had burrowed herself into, she tried to teleport, but a throbbing pain sputtered the spell at the tip of her horn. A few measly sparkles fell to the snowy ground in front of her face.
“Right, magical surge.” Luna settled for an easier spell and slowly levitated a nearby branch to her mouth. The princess bit down on it like a mutt and pulled the stick with her magic, dragging her soggy body out of the snow.
Free of her frosty bindings, she started to shiver from the sharp, icy winds on her withers. The temperature hadn’t dropped considerably, but hers had somehow. Curious, she looked down her side, only to see her fur had taken on a lighter shade of blue once again. She flicked her tail up to see it had returned to its natural light azure hair instead of the ethereal embodiment of her celestial magic.
“Wonderful. We cannot wait to explain this to dear sister on the morrow.” The weakened ruler slumped over in the snow. Perhaps if she laid there for long enough, the cold would mercifully take her. It seemed preferable to listening to one of Celestia’s lectures again. Plus, maybe she’d get the chance to apologize for abandoning her post.
“Neigh, we learned long ago not to toy with such dark thoughts.” Luna forced herself to her hooves and shook off the rest of the snow. Her magic might’ve been near depletion, but she figured her wings should still work. She gave them a few experimental beats, and, ignoring the strain in her left wing from the impact, she felt flight-ready. With large, careful flaps, the injured princess slowly ascended the side of the mountain. She knew not to press her luck with a quicker pace, as she was already running on magical fumes.
Approaching the walls of Canterlot, Luna grabbed for the parapet and pulled herself up with her hooves. Before her sprawled Canterlot’s beautiful lower districts, sparkling with holiday cheer. The innumerable houses glowed with gentle warmth from the fires of lit hearths and toasty ponies enjoying the evening as the snow fell all around. Every home and street corner was lined with little lights of their own that chased away the shadows like the stars in her sky. In the distance, she could hear carolers singing joyous seasonal melodies unfamiliar to her ears. It was a perfect night to spend tucked under a blanket with close friends.
But Luna didn’t belong there. She didn’t have any of those anymore.
The Element bearers had pledged their friendship, and she was slowly becoming acquainted with other Canterlot ponies like Fancy Pants thanks to Celestia’s meddling, but… she didn’t really know any of them. Even her sister seemed to be a stranger at times. Growing up together, she’d always been as steady as the sun, but even celestial bodies changed a little in a thousand years. They had spent the entire holiday together as a family, taking as much time as they could together, but it left her feeling strangely empty. The unconditional love of her sister just wasn’t enough. Luna wanted more.
But that was the problem. She had always wanted more. That cursed, burning desire had sent her spiraling out of control, down a path blacker than the depths of space. Still, why was wanting more so wrong? More attention. More appreciation. More friends. More love. More time. Time…
“That’s the answer, isn’t it?” Luna whimpered with a bitter chuckle. It was too ironic not to laugh at herself between her choked breaths. All the dark little promises the Nightmare had offered, and it took the only thing that truly mattered away.
There was nothing wrong with her memory. She simply hadn’t taken the time to invest in special ponies around her. It only took a second to ask somepony about their day, to witness a special talent at work, or to simply learn a new name, but she hadn’t spared a single one for them.
Luna didn’t know anything anymore, nothing deeper than the surface. What was the point of taking the time to adapt to a modern Equestria if she had none left to share with anypony else? The petty princess had taken all of her ageless years for granted and thrown away countless friendships in a jealous rage, and now she couldn’t get a spare moment to catch up. This was what she deserved, and she thought she had made her peace with her lot in life.
But still, was it so wrong to want just a little more?
Her misted vision drifted over the multitude of homes in front of her, but Luna didn’t recognize a single one of them. There were hundreds of ponies just beyond the wall she stood upon. Any one of those doors would open if she knocked. They’d welcome her, but only as their princess; out of obligation. That wasn’t enough before, and it wasn’t enough now.
Though she commanded the heavens, Luna found herself staring at a little star atop of the tallest tree in the district. Even though she had graced Equestria with hundreds of meteor showers before, none of them would have the power to grant the wish she desperately wanted more than anything.
“Please,” Luna begged the beautiful, silver light. “If it is not too much to ask, could we… could I have one friend? I’m sorry. I-I don’t mean to be greedy, just one would be enough. One that would remember me tonight? One to welcome me to their hearth openly in friendship, not as a princess or a sister, just me? It is more than I deserve, but… please.”
The lonely alicorn collapsed in an exhausted heap at the top of the cold city walls. Tears flowed freely and vanished into the snow falling around her. “Just one.”
Luna bit down on her frozen hooves, hiding her cries from anypony who might hear. She didn’t want to let her misery ruin any night other than her own. She’d let the winter weather take her before she selfishly stole the light from a single one of her subjects’ happy holidays. It was the least she could do for trying twice before.
Between her hoof-muffled dry heaves, Luna felt a familiar spark start pulling at her horn. An errant spell wove itself into being, further exhausting what little magical reserves she had. The princess watched, spellbound, as a silver and cyan light wrapped around the grooves of her horn and then dripped into a moondrop to the ground in front of her.
The little tear-shaped mote flowed down a slope of snow as the magic struggled to find a suitable surface to complete its spellwork. The princess seized the little drop using the last of her magic and began frantically shoveling snow off the nearest parapet with her wings and hooves. When the stonework was visible, she carefully released the drop. It splashed in front of her, forming a sigil bearing her cutie mark surrounded by a magic circle with criss-crossing lines similar to the weave of a dreamcatcher.
The drop rebounded and materialized into a cup of the blackest coffee she knew of in all of Canterlot.
Luna blinked. She hadn’t scheduled an order of coffee to be delivered tonight. The fluffy minotaur from the Labyrithiyum should have been taking the night off from her duties at her restaurant. Hearth’s Warming was a national holiday of Equestria, after all. With reverence, the princess lifted the mug with her hooves, the heat from the brew almost burning her from the temperature difference between them. Out of all the new, wondrous inventions and magical creations over the last thousand years, none of them matched the simple pleasure she enjoyed from a cup of this coffee before she started her nights.
Athena Cypriel’s special blend from the faraway island of Minossos, the River Styx, bubbled in her hooves. The acidic elixir was intense enough to melt the scales of a dragon, but it had quickly become a staple of her evening routine. She lifted the rim to her lips, pouring the rich and scalding flavor into her mouth to savor its burning anger that could tame a million groggy mornings. Even the most devoted coffee addict blanched from its bitterness. Her sister had to gargle an entire jar of zap apple jam to cleanse her taste buds after a single sip. However, Luna loved it. It was her new favorite.
The nutty hint of roasted Minossan amaranth turned her thoughts back to that night she had met the minotaur. She remembered how awkward they had been with Fancy Pants trying to smooth over their terrible first impressions. It had turned out they were both afraid of upsetting each other. Athena feared revealing her meat-substitute menu to an Equestrian princess and Luna feared her presence alone had scared the poor creature. As it turned out, the centuries had cleansed the collective memory of the princess' brutal campaign against the minotaurs, and the corruption of Luna’s soul had left a carnivorous desire in her flavor palate that Athena's meat-like menu could safely satisfy.
They were kindred spirits of a sort: one, a forgotten pony from an age lost to silence, and the other, a vegan minotaur who couldn’t connect with the rest of her kind. Luna didn’t know if they were very close by modern standards, but at least they understood each other. That was enough for her.
The coffee didn’t last long as Luna quickly gulped it down. She had asked for more, and there was no time to waste.
Directly teleporting everywhere she went was coming back to bite her in the flank. The princess had no idea where the Labyrithiyum was without the use of her magic. In fact, she didn’t know where she was in relation to anything but the castle shining in the distance. She silently cursed her home-pony self for neglecting to take a few moments to explore the whole of Canterlot since her return. The princess had too little magic to trace the familiar source of the spell.
Refocusing on the task at hoof, she recalled Fancy Pants guiding her from the castle to the Labyrithiyum, but she had taken so many winding detours on their way across the city that she couldn’t even begin to recall their steps. Luckily, the magical night hadn’t ended there. Resolutely, she hung the mug on her horn by the handle and launched off the wall. Luna didn’t know where she was in Canterlot, but thanks to last night’s tour, she did know what it looked like from overhead.
Risking a higher altitude, Luna surveyed the twinkling streets below until she caught one completely darkened strip from the sky. It was the commoner’s street of spectacles, Dressage Drive, still covered with a familiar tarp to hide what the nobility considered an eyesore. Luna dove straight for her north star, landing with an unceremonious thud, which caused her cup to rattle in circles around her horn. She glanced around and cursed her luck. She didn’t recognize any of the buildings around her, but that was okay. It just meant she needed to gallop straight inside to find familiarity.
While the Drive was closed for the holidays, the quiet clubs and shuttered shops had left their festive lights on for anypony wishing to enjoy their Hearth’s Warming-themed exteriors on the chilly evening. Plenty of families and couples were taking advantage of the rare silence to enjoy the peaceful street, at least until a ceramic-wearing alicorn barrelled past them at a blinding pace. The princess galloped as fast as her earth pony strength would take her towards the other side of the Drive. Upon seeing the nightclub, Cantrips, she began retracing her steps from the memorable night she had first seen the beauty her little ponies could create with their terrestrial lights. Even if she had been a little tipsy that evening, if she took it slow, she’d be able to find her way back to where that one friend lived.
For the first time since her return, Luna cursed the lights of Hearth’s Warming. After getting lost in the maze of festive streets, she had finally found the Labyrithiyum. Though imposing, the darkened stone doors were practically invisible thanks to the blinding glow of everything else. She couldn’t tell how much later it had gotten since receiving her gift, but she fretted knowing she had run past it several times in her haste to find the entrance. By chance, someone had opened the doors on Luna's last pass, revealing its familiar torch light flickering from the lower levels.
The princess stepped forward, but hesitated as she heard raucous laughter from the entrance. After making a hasty retreat, a flock of griffons stumbled out from the restaurant, along with several goats and an unfamiliar minotaur boasting in the third person. She couldn’t see the night sky, but perhaps the hour had grown too late and Athena had closed for the evening. Luna was cold, miserable, and lonely, but more than anything, she was scared to impose. Athena was probably tired from the day and deserved her rest. The last thing the princess needed to do was jeopardize their budding friendship by bothering the girl so late.
Luna tried to lift the cup from her head with her magic, but even basic levitation was causing her a headache. She grumbled in irritation as she tilted her head and caught the cup in her hooves. Taking a moment to ensure she hadn’t broken it, the princess smiled sadly at her dim reflection on its polished surface. She was an absolute mess of frozen fur, red scratches, and tangled mane, but at least the cup was okay. The princess began her quick trot across the street, looking both ways to make sure the coast was clear. She’d leave the mug at the top of the stairs for Athena to hopefully find and then thank her for the unexpected gift next time they met. It was enough to know somepony, or somebody rather, was thinking of her tonight.
“Luna?” a husky, yet tender voice quietly called from the top of the stairs.
Said princess stopped dead in her tracks, her body framed by the light shining from the open doors like a spotlight. Between the stone slab doorways stood Athena, fluffy white, wearing her restaurant’s signature apron and face filled with worry. How could such a large creature sneak up on her? At the very least, there would’ve been a clop of hooves from the minotaur as she ascended the stone stairs. It was then Luna noticed that, despite having a face more closely resembling a goat, the minotaur’s feet appeared soft and rabbit-like. “Variants and subspecies of non-equines” was going on her studying list right next to “modern Prench”.
“Happy Hearth’s Warming, fair Athena. We wished to thank thee for thy unexpected, but refreshing beverage!” Luna offered with her best Celestia smile. “Sorry for disturbing thee so late. We… we do not wish to impose upon you if you need rest. We were simply in the neighborhood and—”
Before she could continue weaving her tale, Athena bolted from her cozy doorway into the cold street, kicking up snow as she went. Luna’s grip on the coffee cup failed as she backed away on instinct from the charging minotaur, but she was stopped when Athena’s powerful arms wrapped around her. The Princess was jostled close to Athena’s side as she fell to her knees to pull Luna into a crushing, but warm hug.
“It’s okay,” Athena assured her friend. “I’m here.”
“No. Y-you are mistaken. We simply wanted… We wanted…” A thousand excuses ran through Luna’s mind, but they were stopped by a thousand years with a thousand voices that had gone silent too soon. “We… I…
“I never got to say goodbye!” Luna wailed and desperately wrapped her forelegs around her friend, grabbing the only thing keeping her together.
Athena didn’t ask for clarification. She just held tight and remained silent as the ancient princess mourned her loss in the middle of the lonely street. The royal sisters were no strangers to the deaths of their little ponies, but they usually had time to spend before their friends passed into their last dreamless sleeps. Even in times of trouble, they always had the time to share with others that remained after the dust settled.
But this. Never all at once. It was too cruel. Too much for anyone to bear, even for a mighty alicorn princess.
Luna cried loudly as she buried her face into the minotaur’s soft shoulder. It had been so long since someone other than her sister had held her. Athena began stroking Luna’s unpowered mane with her fingers. The alicorn nearly protested at the intrusion, but the princess had never been petted by a creature with digits before, and it felt nice. It made her feel warm. It made her feel welcome. It made her feel loved.
“It’s okay, right? It’s okay to ask for more, even when I don’t deserve it? After all I’ve done?”
“Isn’t that what the holiday is about?” Athena asked in reply, her gentle words tinged with genuine confusion by the question.
Luna sniffled and nodded, finding a laugh amid her tears. It was blubbery and had a cough or two, but it was there. Athena released her vice grip on the smaller princess, smiled with a toothy grin, and stood up to her full height. If not for the minotaur’s warm heart, she might’ve been intimidating, since she was even taller than Celestia.
“Well,” Athena started as she scratched the back of her neck, “I don’t have much in the way of Hearth’s Warming stuff, but I do have a fireplace. It’s better than freezing out here, at least.” The chef reached her hand out. Luna puzzled over the gesture until Athena made a grabbing motion with her fingers.
“Oh… right, of course.” Luna brushed her runny muzzle with her foreleg, retrieved the dropped coffee cup with her teeth, and put it in the minotaur’s hands. Athena regarded the cup with a bemused frown and tossed it over her shoulder, letting the unimportant little thing shatter on the side of the stone door.
Again, Athena offered her hand and smiled warmly as she invited her friend to act a little foalish for the holiday. So, her royal highness, Princess Luna, stalwart defender of dreams and mistress of the moon, slowly raised her hoof. The caring minotaur took it in her grasp and gently led the princess towards the doors like a filly.
“I have some festive ingredients for some holiday staples, but that’s about it.”
“Thank you, Athena,” Luna whispered.
“Hey, what are friends for, right?”
Luna wiped her face with her wing and smiled in relief. It was just one friend, but one was more than enough. She could ask for more, and maybe she would in the future, but right now, she was going to make the most of what time she had left on Hearth’s Warming. Luna wouldn’t waste a second more in the present with the greatest gift of friendship she had received in a thousand years.
Author's Note
This story is dedicated to the ever important "Audience of One". The one whose life may be made better with a momentary escape from reality. Whoever that one happens to be, I hope you enjoy this story. I will do my best to tell it. - Lord Regulus
If you find a simple mistake in the GSP (Grammar, Spelling, or Punctuation), please let me know through a private message rather than leaving it in the comment section. Leave the discussions to discussions. Thank you for reading.
