There was, perhaps, something ironic in the places Luna decided to spend her free hours. One might think the Princess would seek out the company of her people, enjoying the lively and colorful ways ponies celebrated her night. However, she was ultimately a pony out of time, and the awkwardness of her ignorance of the new age made most meetings with the public stressful and painful, and she had bitterly accepted that she still needed time to acclimate herself.
Then why not seek the life and green of the wilds? Enjoy the land around her? Even this was at times overwhelming, the colors, scents and light was sheer assault on her senses, and would at times bring her into a stupor, and so she kept mostly indoors or, as she had done this time, sought out barren and desolate climates where she could carefully curate her experiences.
Still, one might think the desolate and emptiness of a volcanic crater would be too much like the barren landscape of the moon. But quite contrary, Luna found the warm and rich colors just similar enough to her moon as to not feel to lost, yet different enough that it was a new and pleasant retreat.
She had spent several hours enjoying the sweeping vistas, exploring the geological oddities and collecting interesting souvenirs from the cliffs. And now she was lounging on a pleasantly warm rock, soaking up the heat of her sister’s sun.
She was mentally contemplating whenever to begin her return to Canterlot in a sedated manner, or to spend a few more hours napping to make up for the sleep she had lost by staying up in the day, when she heard the sound of flapping wings.
Lifting her head, she expected to spot one of the few guards that she knew was staying close by, but instead saw a flash of glinting red scales.
A dragon. Though a smaller one. Likely only a drake, and possibly only an adolescent.
Dragons could be prickly to deal with, and a youngling with plenty to prove even more so. However, Luna was feeling pleasantly lazy and content, and decided to try and avoid a heated confrontation if possible. After all, Pony-Dragon relations had improved these last few years, especially after the reign of Dragon Lord Ember has begun.
“Hey pony!” The dragon was making a beeline for her. Dark red scales and yellowish belly with wings oddly tattered. Could be the dragon had a tendency to get into scraps, or simply a natural feature. Dragon physiology did have a flair for intimidation.
“This is my spot!” He (at least Luna guessed at a he, based on the roughness of the voice), landed right in front of the rock Luna was resting on, putting them at equal eyesight as he jabbed a claw at her.
Luna merely raised an eyebrow. “Are thou referring to this boulder upon which We are resting? Or the crater in its entirety? We have spent some time here already, and found no sign of occupancy”
“Why are you talking weird like that? Is that some new pony thing?” The dragon placed his hands on his hips with an annoyed snort. “And obviously I’m talking about the whole volcano. This is a dragon place, widdle ponies don’t belong here, you are getting cutsie wutsie all over my new digs.” He lifted a claw and waved it at her, as if trying to shoo her off.
Luna sighed.
So much for easy diplomacy, but there was still room for a relative peaceful resolution.
She slowly rose to her hooves.
“Yeah scram you, you.” The dragon actually stepped back.
“Uhm, you are kinda big for a pony.”
Luna was not as tall as her sister, but even without the elevation lent from the rock she was standing on, she could still have easily looked the dragon right in the eye. But she would not miss this opportunity for leverage, and so stayed in place, looming above the dragon.
The dragon paused, his eyes momentary wide, and Luna watched him run his sight across her horn, her wings and her flowing mane. He seemed to collect himself, and averted his eyes in thought as he scratched himself behind his ears “Man, you are really tall, and that hair thing you got going on is so weird. Does that mean you are some kind of freak pony?”
He lightened up snapping his claws as he looked up at her with a grin, “Yeah! Freak pony! Go away freak pony.”
Luna took a deep breath. “We were having quite a pleasant day, and if thou had approached with even the slightest bit of tact, We would have been quite satisfied with retreating in peace, or perhaps even engage in some pleasant socializing, as We truly do se the appeal of this caldera. However, We do not respond well to base insults.” She lowered her head, pointing her horn straight at the dragon. “We are providing thee one chance of apologizing, and are willing to begin this encounter as from new.”
The dragon stared, and then began a spluttering laugh. “Oh scales, you ponies really are hilariously stupid, as if I would ever apologize to a prissy pony.” He wiped a tear from his eyes, a small colored flame escaping his jaw.
“So be it. Do not claim We did not warn thee, dragon.” Luna said coldly.
The dragon howled with laughter once more. “Ha! And what exactly are you gonna do about it freak po – GlUrK!”
Luna did not completely squash the drake, but merely kept her magic tightly wound around him, giving him just enough space to breathe.
She lifted him up towards herself, staring him right in the eyes. “We are Princess Luna Invictus, Shepard of the Moon, Mistress of the Night, Sister-Ruler of Equestria. We do not make light of Our words.” She hissed. And then she swung her horn, hurling the dragon across the sky and off the side of the mountain.
Luna watched the small red speck disappear, before stretching herself and settling back onto the rock. At this height the dragon would have plenty of time right himself before he hit the ground, and hopefully find some other creature to bother.
She had only been resting for a few moments when she once again heard the sound of wings. Though this time it was in fact one of her guards.
He quickly bowed in front of her. “I apologize we didn’t interfere before your majesty.”
Luna shook her head. “It is all fine, We did instruct you to not interfere with any locals approaching us, and the intentions of the dragon were not clear.”
“And if he returns?” The guard looked toward the sky. “We haven’t seen him leave the mountain yet.”
Luna hummed quietly. “No, should he attempt to seek us out once more, he does so at his own risk. Keep you distance unless We call on you, and focus on keeping thy selves and others out of harms way. Though We do not think it will be necessary.”
“As you wish your majesty.”
Luna had hoped the dragon would simply leave, but alas, youth were always brash, and admittedly, she knew she was tempting fate by staying in place. She could already hear Celestia berating her for it.
Still, she was equally disappointed and amused when a flash of red appeared above the cliffs.
“Hey freak pony! Thought you got rid of me? No way I’m just gonna stand still and let you do the same thing again.” He flew across the crater, looping in the air. “I bet you can’t catch a moving target! I’ll burn that weirdo hairdo right o- HEY?!”
Luna didn’t even bother getting up, merely grasping an edge of his wings, and gripping him tightly as he swung off course.
This time she flung him off the northern side of the mountain.
The next time the dragon appeared he actually tried to think. Luna only just spotted him out the corner of her eye, crawling slowly from behind her back. He had even dulled his colors with mud and sand.
She allowed him to get nearly to the edge of the rock, before she simply flattened him with a magical field, pressing him onto the rocky silt.
“Were thee aware that ponykind have quite excellent peripheral vision?” She conversationally stated as she wrapped him in a cocoon of magic.
“No?” He managed to squeak out.
“Tis’ true, it can be quite difficult to approach a pony without making us quite well aware of your presence. But We applaud you for the attempt.”
“Uh, thanks?”
“Much obliged.” Luna even smiled at him before she flung him towards the horizon.
With both agility and stealth out of the question, the dragon ended up resorting to brute force. Or at least, an attempt was made.
He came from afar, at high speed, drifting low across the crater, finally letting out an impressive bout of fire as he strafed Luna.
However it was all in vain, as Luna merely erected a standard magical shield, lowering it after a moment, which inevitably lured the dragon into another attack.
Through it all, she stayed comfortably on her rock, wings at rest and legs crossed, dangling slightly over the edge. Only flickering her ears as the dragon flew back and forth, trying again and again to break through her shield.
“Go ahead freak pony, no way you are gonna be able to keep that up.” The dragon wheezed eventually, hovering at a distance he thought safe. “Dragons are tough!” He coughed and belched a cloud of smoke. “I’m not going anywhere!”
Luna rolled her eyes and grabbed him once again as he dove for another attack.
“Thou are indeed correct.” She said as she squeezed his jaws closed. “Dragons are quite a resilient species; it is among your finest traits.” She narrowed her eyes. “And quite convenient, for We are running out of patience with thou
foolishness. Cease or apologize thou rudeness, or We will put this to the test.” She eased her grip enough for the dragon to speak.
For a moment the dragon was quiet, working his jaw.
“Yeah no, no namby pamy pony princess is going to order me around.” He said.
“As thou wish.” She hardened the magical shell slightly and flung the dragon right through a nearby cliff, leaving a most peculiar shape in the rock.
Luna stood, somewhat admiring her work, rolling her shoulders. While she hoped the dragon would finally get the hint, she had a feeling this would not be the last geological redecoration.
She was right.
An hour later the crater had gotten quite a perforated look, and Luna was vaguely wondering if there was a future in dragon shaped windows and rocky architecture, when she was approached by a guard.
“You majesty? It is getting rather late, and if we are to return to Canterlot in time for sundown we will need to leave soon.”
Luna sighed and looked at the dipping sun. “That is correct. We likely should have set out some time ago, thank you for reminding Us. Gather the rest of Our guard, we shall leave shortly.”
“Giving up already?” From a fresh hole the dragon weakly crawled out. “I knew it.” He wheezed. “Ponies, ponies are *cough* so pathetic.” And then he fell directly onto his face.
“Thou may tell thyself such, if it shall aid you in sleeping this night.” Luna shook her head and took off, leaving the dragon in the dust.
It had been a reasonably pleasant day, even if the end of it had been vexing. Or, mostly vexing. Luna somewhat had to admit there was something cathartic in being able to throw her problems to the sky. Perhaps she would suggest that as a means of dealing with persistent nobles. Obviously Celestia would never agree to it, but it was a rather pleasant fantasy.
Brinner wasn’t really a thing, nor dinfast. Brunch had conquered the nation, and was a staple at every cafe worth its coffee. Linner was still nothing more than an idea in the minds of imaginative restaurant owners who desperately tried to bring something new to the table.
But dinner and breakfast were not really meals that could plausibly be united. Unless of course, you happened to be a family with conflicting sleeping patterns.
Technically it was simply Luna having her breakfast while Celestia ate her evening meal near sunset, and reversed at moonrise. But both staff and the sisters were having a lowkey internal feud of what exactly to call the shared meals between the sisters.
Brinner was winning territory as the meal at sunrise, but dinfast was not content to be confined to nightfall, and its followers were gearing up an attempt to become the sole word.
Still, these semantic issues aside, the sharing of time and bread was perhaps the most sacred hours for the sisters.
It was also the time of gossip and friendly ribbing, as is the nature of siblings.
“The strangest thing happened in Day court today.” Celestia began as she spread garlic butter across her bread.
“Indeed?” Luna mimicked the act with her own breakfast roll.
“A dragon turned up, and he was quite insistent to speak with the princess.”
“Oh? An emissary from the Dragon Lord?”
“Not at all, in fact he was quite upset once he stood before me. He made it quite clear I was the - ah ‘wrong freaky pony’” Celestia took a bite of her creamed potatoes and smirked at Luna.
Luna stopped perusing the selection of jams, and slowly meet Celestia’s eyes.
“Say, what was it you said that young drake who bothered you on your day off looked like? Red scales correct? With yellow and orange features? Wings seemingly tattered?” Celestia casually reached for the bowl of bean salat.
“That. Is correct. Sister.” Luna bit through her teeth. “Did he clarify his reasons for seeking Us out?”
“Oh, he didn’t get that far, practically stormed out when I told him that the princess he wanted would not be available until Night Court.”
“I see. Thank you for the warning.” Luna grasped the pitcher of apple juice with her magic, managing to only coat the glass with a slim layer of frost.
“Please don’t throw him through any of the walls, most of our reconstruction budget have already been used in Ponyville this quarter.”
“I will make an effort to remember.”
The dragon didn’t waste any time, Majordomo Kibitz had barely announced the opening of Night Court before the dragon muscled himself in through the doors.
“So this is where you hide yourself uh?” He pushed aside a small bureaucrat, causing the poor pegasus to spill an impressive stack of papers piled on her back all across the floor.
“Really fancy digs you got Pony Princess.”
“Excuse me young dragon.” Kibitz stood forward, flanked by two night guard – “I understand you may not be familiar with Equestrian court, but there is a procedure you must follo-“
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever. “ The dragon simply pushed Kibitz away, only stopping when the two guards barred his way with crossed wings.
The dragon narrowed his eyes and snorted a small flame. “You puny baby birds better get out of my way unless you want those feathers singed.”
The guards however stood their ground, only one of them carefully turning his head to meet Luna’s eyes.
Luna sighed, and tossed her head. “Let the dragon approach, We will allow him to voice his grievances.”
Slowly the guards lowered their wings, stepping ever so slightly to the side, but never dropping their tense stances.
“Hah, you really got these pathetic widdle ponys on a leash huh?” The dragon walked all the way up to the throne, crossing his arms as he glared at Luna.
“We have allowed a bending of the laws in thy favor this once, speak thy piece.” Luna sternly addressed him.
The dragon shrugged, “Nah, nothing that complicated, typical you ponies to want to blab about everything.” He then stepped slightly to the side and dropped onto the stairs, leaning back in a lazy lounge. “I just figured that if you could show up and hang out in my spot, it was only fair that I got to do the same.”
Luna closed her eyes, and silently counted to three. This was her throne room, she was in front of her ponies, simply letting loose was not the best of ideas. As she had bitterly learned.
“Dragon –“
“Garble, Garble the dragon. You better remember it freak pony.” He lazily snapped his claws.
A hushed gasp passed through the throne room. Majordomo Kibitz looked as if he was going to right-out faint, and the poor bureaucrat dropped all the papers she had finally managed to collect once more.
“I see thou have learned nothing dragon.” Luna’s voice was positively frosty, and around her the guards took a cautious step away from the drake.
“Bla, bla. You should really figure out how to do things the right way, you know? Like dragons. See?” Garble lifted a clawed hand and looked back at Luna “I even got you a hosting gift, like a proper dragon.” He held up a small rock, which he promptly threw in Luna’s direction.
Luna ignored the rock as if flew towards her, partly through her mane, and landed with a clatter at her hooves. She stood up, grasped the dragon in her magic and addressed the room. “Please excuse Us, We shall return shortly.” And then she teleported them both high above Canterlot.
“We.” Luna moved the dragon so that she could stare him directly in the eyes. “Are. Not. Amused. If thou think this will commence in any way different than our last meeting, thou are terrible, tragically mistaken.
“Grlk?” The dragon squirmed weakly in her grip. But for some strange reason there seemed to be a glimmer of victory in his eyes.
Luna tried to ignore it, likely triumph at having made her lose her temper in front of court. She snorted.
“We strongly suggest you do not return.”
And once again the drake sailed across the sky.
Luna watched Garble disappear from her vision, and then returned to the throne room. Here she took a deep breath and exhaled a small cloud of glimmering rime, before sedately sitting down, turning towards the Majordomo.
“We apologize for the delay, please allow the next petitionerer approach Us.”
“Really Luna? Ponyville?”
“I was aiming for the Everfree Forrest.”
“Obviously, and letting Twilight and the Bearers deal with it did not cross you mind at all.”
“Obviously. Though they do have quite the knack for dealing with troublesome pests. It is not as if you have not done the same Tia.”
“I have no idea what you are talking about Lulu.”
Both sisters returned to their meal.
Celestia had opted for a simple potato omelet for her morning meal. While Luna was trying another culinary stable of the new age. Though the hay burger and fries the palace kitchen had cooked up was likely far to well made for an authentic experience. Luna found herself liking it, but had already decided to make ask Twilight Sparkle for help with trying it in true fashion.
“What about the rock?” Celestia asked after a while.
“The rock?”
“The one he threw at you, the supposed gift.”
“It is honestly not a mere rock from any quarry, I asked around, and it appears to be something called a flameagate. I do not understand the significance of it, but I am keeping it for further study.”
“You could ask Spike, he might know. Or know who to ask.”
“No, if the foolish drake has some message he is trying to convey, he must say out loud. I have no time for cultural games.”
“If you say so. But I do think you are just making it harder for yourself.”
“Bah, We threw him quite far, it would be needless self-torture to even think of coming back for more.”
“He did fly all the way to Canterlot already.”
“We know, unfortunately he may be a glutton for punishment.”
The palace gardens were quite beautiful, and many parts where open for the public. Luna did enjoy the occasional stroll, as well as the opportunity to meet her subjects in small doses, that still gave her an opening for leaving if things became uncomfortable. This evening she was purveying a relatively new part of the gardens, one lovingly dedicated to herself. One of the many gifts her sister had presented at her return, now years ago. In the following years this garden had grown into its full splendor. Each flower and plant chosen for their looks and scents that only came to full in the night.
She had just stopped to admire an evening primrose, when an all to familiar voice shouted from above.
“Hey freaky moon pony! Catch!”
Luna barely had the time to turn when a rock larger than her head impacted the path near her hooves.
Above her the dragon whooped in delight, and swooped upwards in the sky before the multiple guards around the garden all rose in the air to hunt him down.
“You majesty!” One guard came running towards her. “Are you alright?”
Luna studied the rock. It had cracked on impact, revealing a hollow interior filled with dark amethysts, almost black in color. It might possibly have managed to hit her, yet again, she wasn’t sure.
“We are unharmed, We suspect the drake may have purposely aimed badly.”
“Don’t worry Princess, we will get him.” The unicorn guard looked to the sky where his pegasi brethren were chasing an erratic red spot.
“No.” Luna shook her head.
“No?” The guard turned back to her in surprise. “But your majesty, this was an all-out assault. And on palace ground even.”
“Whatever is going on, it is between the dragon and Us. The guard may prevent him from attending court, and interfere if he tries to harm others. But when he comes for Us, stay your hoof. We will appreciate a warning, but nothing else.”
The guard opened and close his mouth a few times, before slowly bowing, brows furrowed. “As your majesty wishes.”
Most of the Wonderbolt shows were too early in the day for Luna to see them. But when they did schedule a late performance Luna was a faithful viewer. As was so may others. Though this evening a complete new audience had shown up.
“Seriously? This is what you ponies think of as fun? Watching each other do silly loop-de-loops? I could totally do that five times better and more impressive. If I wanted to.”
The royal viewing box was kept somewhat apart, but it did not fully prevent other beings from getting within view, and for those with wings, the separation was more an unspoken courtesy. Which the red dragon was utterly ignoring. Having planted himself right on the railing of the box, he was obnoxiously chewing on the contents of a rather massive box of popcorn.
Luna tried to ignore him. Since flat out confrontation did not seem to deter him, not giving in might have a chance of working. And this was an official event open to all paying customers. Though Luna did wonder if the drake had actually provided any form of payment.
“Seriously, and those costumes, they look so stupid.” The dragon derisively snorted. “Did their mommies make them?”
Luna silently counted to ten. For the hundred time.
The dragon paused. “Hey, are you even listening freak pony? Are you.?” He threw a handful of popcorn at Luna. “Hey pony. Pony. Freak Pony. Moon pony. Pampy princess pony? Ignoring me isn’t going to work, I could do this all day.” Once again he threw a handful, one of the kernels managing to get lodged into Luna’s ear.
She lost count, and decided to cut her losses.
Without even looking at him, she grabbed at whatever limb she could reach with her magic, and flung him across the field.
Unfortunately breaking up a rather complicated maneuver, causing the Bolts to scatter across the evening sky.
Red-faced, Luna grabbed her own refreshments, and promptly teleported home to go scream in a pillow.
It wasn’t until a few screams later, and at least two concerned maids knocking on her door, that Luna realized she had also grabbed the dragon’s bag.
At the bottom was a rock wrapped in paper, the words “To the freakiest pony in the land” scrawled across.
It was a hefty sized moonstone, blue light shimmering across it when held to the light.
Luna felt positively giddy.
Most of the public displays of the Sister-Rulers fell to her sister, as she was still the one with the most experience in diplomacy and social meddle. But as time passed on, more and more ponies saw parts of their society as belonging within the light of the moon, and so preferred to invoke Luna for such events as ceremonies, celebrations and new grand openings.
This night a new dancing hall was opening it’s doors, and the owners had asked Luna to officiate.
She wasn’t sure if she truly enjoyed neither the new ways of dancing, nor the new popular tunes. But seeing how they reveled in the shades of the night warmed her to the core.
And so it was that she happily cut the dark blue ribbon in front of the tall doors, and eagerly placed herself at one of the beautiful tables set along the walls, enjoying both the sight of happy ponies dancing across the sparkling floor, as well as a delicious beverage that the ponies at the tastefully decorated bar had given her, telling her that it was even named in her honor.
She still wasn’t sure about the music, but the rhythm was somewhat intoxicating. She sipped at her SuperPrincess Moon, enjoying the mixture of sour citrus and sweet coconut, when she became aware of a faint acrid smell. Fearful of fire she whipped her head around, catching the sight of a small flame dancing near her tail. As well as the red dragon crouched underneath the neighboring table, nearly hidden in the dark.
“Huh.” He said, blowing another small flame at her quietly billowing hair. “I can’t set it on fire? That super weird, but also kinda cool.” He meet her eyes with a slight smirk.
This time Luna remembered to walk away from the establishment before hurling the drake all the way across the top of Canter Mountain.
She had to admit it was somewhat impressive that the dragon had managed to drop yet another rock into her drink before she had dragged him away.
This time it was a dark red tourmaline.
”Your majesty?”
A pegasus guard silently slipped up to the table.
“The dragon has returned; he is hiding just above your balcony.”
Luna sighed into her happy pancakes, “Thank you. Maintain observation, but let me handle it myself.”
The guard nodded and retreated, as Luna tried to ignore Celestia’s concerned look, stabbing at a strawberry trying to escape the plate.
“Sister, this has gone on for quite some time now, are you sure you don’t want assistance? We could contact Dragon Lord Ember, or at least let Spike talk with the drake.”
“For as long as he has done no further harm but to vex Us, We find no reason to invoke politics into the situation.” Luna growled as the strawberry somehow managed to evade her.
“I would make the argument that he is disrupting your work, and is therefore interfering with the affairs of the nation”
Luna finally managed to skewer the strawberry. “It is between him and I, and I am handling it Tia.”
“Hmm,” Celestia carefully took a sip of sparkling cider, and picked at her roasted asparagus. “And your secret delight in a challenge has nothing to do with it, I am sure.”
“Hrm” Luna simply chewed on her slain berry.
She could not see or hear him, but there was a very faint scent of sulfur in the air.
Walking as slowly as she could Luna stepped out on the balcony, feigning nonchalance as she moved towards the looking glass she tended to use at this time of night.
Her senses were all alert and she had to focus hard on not twisting her ears in every direction.
It didn’t take long for the dragon to reveal himself, however Luna was not prepared for what he had planned.
It began as a low thrumming sound, and it took Luna a few seconds to realize it was the sound of drums.
She carefully turned.
The red dragon was sitting cross-legged at a corner of the balcony. And he was, quite bizarrely, wearing clothes.
There was a hat, and an ascot.
“Pony.” Garble began, his voice following a strange disjointed rhythm.
“Freak pony, tall pony, Moon pony.
“Ponies are cute and –“
He drummed rapidly.
“- Cuddly
I don’t like cute
Freak Pony
You are
Not Cute.
You are tall
Dark”
He lifted his claws up and framed his own face.
“Night
The Night is –“
Another drum solo
“Cool”
He snapped his claws and stopped, looking straight at Luna with half lidded eyes.
Luna stared back. A million conflicting thoughts and feelings ran through her mind, but most of her energy was used on not letting her jaw drop like a fool.
“Sooo.” Garble drummed his claws on the bongo drums in his lap nervously. It sounded like a question.
And Luna finally moved.
Spreading her wings she rose to the air, and with a subtle bend of her primary feathers she summoned whatever moisture that was present in the air, shaping it into a small but dense cloud. A slight push with a wingtip placed the cloud above the young dragon, who was not moving, but warily watching her every move. He rose carefully as the cloud settled above him, reaching up a claw, apprehensively poking it.
“And what is that supposed to – Hey!“ the cloud released a torrent of rain as his claw disturbed it. Luna ignited her horn as she wove a spell into the vapor.
“This shall follow thou as long as thee remains near the castle. We suggest thou vacate the premises unless thou wish to become utterly soaked.”
Then she landed back on the balcony and walk back indoors, not sparing the dragon a second look as she closed the doors and drew the curtains.
After a short while, and some rather impressive cursing, she heard the sound of both leathery wings and rain taking off.
Stiff legged she walked to her own rooms, and found herself in front of the shelf where she kept the various rocks and gems the dragon had “gifted” her over the previous days.
Her eyes rested momentarily on each one. Minerals and gemstones all sparkling in shades of cool blues and blacks or flaming reds and yellows.
“Horseapples.”
Shortly afterwards her guards found an enormous chunk of fire opal at the spot where the dragon had played his drums.
The stone was rough yet exquisite, the colors playing across it like a contained bonfire.
Luna gave it a prominent spot on the shelf.
“Sarding horseapples”
The young dragon was spinning through the air, dodging the few wisps of clouds with an unnecessarily complicated flair that even Rainbow Dash might have found overkill. Luna wondered if he had actually noticed the absolute lack of defenses this evening, watching him as she sat on her balcony, waiting.
The drake was quick to notice her however, and with a theatrical back-flip he spun towards her, cackling loudly.
“Oh? Just sitting readily this time? Not gonna hide or do some other cowardly pony tricks this time?” He suddenly stopped in the air, a few lengths from the balcony, eying her warily. “or is this a new kinda trick?”
“Garble,” Luna began, “We need to talk.”
“Talk?” the dragon sneered at her, trying to covertly keep his right hand behind his back.
“Indeed, a simple conversation. Though We must admit the topic may be of a serious nature.” Luna gestured to a pillow placed at her side.
Garble nearly froze in the air, falling slightly forward before he regained his balance
“Oh. Oh, that’s,” he began stammering, before visibly swallowing. “Give me just a moment alright?”
He then turned and tried to furtively dig something out of the pie he had tried to keep hidden. Luna watched as he carefully dipped just below the edge of the balcony, obviously dropping the pie tin. Luna hoped one of hidden guards would prevent it from ruining somepony’s night.
Very slowly Garble approached, carefully watching Luna’s every move has he stiffly sat on the pillow. And Luna was graceful enough to pretend she did not see him try to wipe the pie filling of his claws in the fabric.
“So, right, talking huh?”
“Yes,” Luna focused her eyes on her Moon, as maintaining eye contact was clearly flustering the dragon.
“Firstly, and We must admit this is not an easy thing for Us, you shall receive an apology.”
“Wait, what?”
“We, We admit that We do now know as much about dragons as We ought to, and some important cultural aspects are unknown to Us, as such We may have behaved unintended in a situation that ought to have demanded a different approach.”
Garble just stared. “What kind of stupid pony mumble jumble are you talking about, can’t you ponies talk straight about stuff?”
Luna snorted rather undignified. “And that sayest thou? We find dragon courtship equally lacking.”
“Court-whatchating? Come on moonpony, just spill it.”
Luna turned and looked him right in the eyes. “Ponies, as least, will at some point directly declare their interest in a potential future partner, not antagonize them into madness.”
Garble opened his mouth, closed it, and opened it again as he turned away from Luna’s gaze, crossing his arms with a face burning with color.
“It’s not my fault ponies do things such a stupid way.” He grumbled, “That sounds way to boring anyway, how are you even gonna figure out if the other dragon is worth it?” He stopped, and then awkwardly scratched his left ear membrane. “Or pony or whatever.”
Luna turned back to the Moon, letting out a soft sigh.
“There will always be difficulty when beings from different cultures interact, the best we can do is move on once misunderstandings have been cleared. Which in our case, means actually talking. The pony way, as you may call it. Besides, We could make the argument that we have already gone through the dragon way.”
“Pff, whatever you say moonpony.” He grinned openly at her, yet kept his arms tightly tugged at his sides.
Luna closed her eyes.
Now for the hard part.
“Garble, thou are quite young, so very very young.”
She opened her eyes, and looked at him.
“While I am old, so much older than you might think. You are a dragon, yes, and longevity is a trait of your kin, but right now? In this moment? You are but a shooting star in comparison to my lifetime.”
Garble opened his mouth, clearly going to protest, when Luna quickly silenced him with a tip of her wing, which caused his eyes to widen in sudden panicked surprise and yet another violent blush to spread across his face.
“You still have so much to see, so much to experience, so much life to live. I do not wish to stifle what potential you have.”
She carefully removed her wing.
The dragon had gone quiet, his yellow eyes fully focused on her, his figure still and his scales reflecting the moonlight like a steel rod. Quite shiny in fact. Luna almost lost her thread upon the realization that he had buffed his scales to a high shine, and this close she could even detect a hint of wax in the air.
She turned, only slightly awkwardly, back towards the sky.
“Because you do have great potential, I can see that. And I would be curious to see what manner of dragon you will eventually grow into.”
“Really?” Garble whispered hoarsely.
“But you will need the time and experience for that, and I am sorry, but as you are now, I cannot see you as anything but a mere child.”
“Hey! I am not some baby hatchling without wings, I am real mature dragon!” Garble yelled and rose to his feet, claws tightened into fists and chest puffed high.
“And how long ago did you gain your wings?”
Garble stopped, crossed his arms once more, returned to his seat and looked to the side, grumbling something unintelligible out the corner of his jaw.
“My point, young drake, is this. As you are now, I cannot view you as a potential partner. But I acknowledge that this might change with age. And time is something both of us do have.”
“So wait, what exactly are you trying to pull here? I know this is some nampy-pampy pony way of saying no, but you are sending really sending mixed messages here.” Garble threw his hands in the air with a disgusted expression, but Luna did not have to look too hard to see the dejection creeping into his frame.
“What I am saying is that you should return in a few decades. For now? Go out in the world and grow, experience, learn and live. And if, once time as spanned, you still harbor these feelings, then seek me out, and we shall talk once more.”
There was a moment of silence, Garble staring at her with a puzzling look.
“So, like a date?”
“In three or four decennia? It could be, yes.”
The dragon looked at her silently for a moment, then he turned towards the moon, and Luna graciously overlooked the way he was carefully tapping his claws together and quietly counting under his breath, until his face changed from concentrated contemplation's to elated realization.
“Hah!” Garble sprung to his feet and then continued to rise into the nightly air. “So that is a deal then! You just wait freaky pony princess! Once I come back and rock your world you will regret waiting so long to really get to know Garble the Dragon!”
He flew in front of her, letting the moon frame his shining red figure as he pointed dramatically towards her.
Then he faltered slightly, awkwardly scratching his neck and flew a bit closer.
“Uh, and ah, this is for you.” He held out a surprisingly small stone. “to like, um, remember this promise. Right? Right!” He said, confidence slowly rising again.
Luna carefully accepted the gift with her magic. “I shall. I promise I will remember this, Garble.”
“Cool!” Garble snapped his claws a few times, winking at her as he rose back into air, hovering a few moments, simply looking at her.
“So, uh see you around. Uhm, Luna.”
And then, with a noticeable blush, he turned and flew away in the moonlight.
Luna watched his form disappear, before casting her attention towards his gift.
It was the smallest so far, the dark blue of the twilight hour, smooth as a river pebble. But the most curious part was how the moonlight created a small star of light, dancing endlessly across the stone’s surface no matter how it was turned.
A star sapphire.
“So, do you think this is the end of it your Majesty? He’s not going to come back?”
Luna looked at the guard who had revealed themselves from their hiding place.
“I believe so.” She answered as she walked off the balcony and into her rooms, towards the shelves where the other gemstone gifts resided.
“And the whole, come back years from now? Do you think he will just forget?” The guard quietly followed.
“A few decades from now, this will simply be an embarrassing, or perhaps even an entertaining memory for him, likely he will find a partner among his own kind that is much more suitable for him. “
“So, you don’t think he will be back.”
“It would be for the best, would it not?”
Luna gently placed the sapphire on the shelf, settling it close to the hunk of fire opal and turning it so the little star shined perfectly in the moonlight.
“It really would be for the best.”
