Understudy

by Pony-Berserker

Rating: everyone
Tags: Other, Princess Luna, Spike, Comedy, Random, Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle, Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 9094

Celestia goes on vacation, leaving Luna in charge of... everything.

Celestia is tired of being a ruler. She decides to go on vacation, leaving Luna in charge of... pretty much everything. Celestia expects her sister to take care of such things like raising the sun every morning or receiving letters from Twilight.

However, Luna is not happy about her new duties. She never really wanted to be the ruler of Equestria. To make the matter worse, Luna is actually clueless what to do... Will somepony help her? Will she find the way to make Celestia return to Canterlot?

Published 2012-10-21 09:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2012-11-11 20:09:49 UTC

Luna's New Role

Celestia slowly opened her royal eyelids. She really hated that moment when she needed to wake up before the sunrise and make the sun appear in the sky. She was the Princess but everypony in Equestria could sleep a little bit longer than her!

She scrambled out of the bed and continued her usual morning routine.

“Hey, sister. Have a nice day,” Princess Luna greeted her and then entered her chamber without waiting for a response. Luna was sleepy as well.

“A day indeed, but nice? I doubt it,” Celestia murmured and then raised the sun effortlessly. “What a boring job, really. I think I need some vacation.”

Suddenly, as the realization struck her, she brightened up. She was the Princess. She could do everything she wanted. Therefore, she could go on vacation.

After she had been done with make-up, mane brushing, hoof cleaning and 'and went through her morning routine, aided by her maids, she went to Luna’s chamber.

Celestia didn’t even bother to be quiet. She actually stormed into the room, waking her sister up.

“Are you crazy, sister!? We thought we’d agreed not to wake each other unless a war is about to erupt!” Luna shouted angrily at her sister. It was the first time Celestia woke her up intentionally.

“Forgive me my sister, but this is a matter of greatest importance,” Celestia said grimly, making her sister look scared and confused at the same time.

“We hope it’s important enough to wake us up.” Luna frowned, waiting for her sister’s response.

“I just wanted to inform you that I have decided to go on vacation, therefore making you responsible for my daily duties,” Celestia explained, no expression appearing on her face. “You will be the acting ruler of Equestria for the time being.”

“What!? You can’t be serious, sister! You can’t leave us here and make us do all work!” Luna was outraged, expressing it with every bit of her body. “We have a great time being a Princess, who has nearly no duties!”

“I’m sorry Luna but I really need vacation,” Celestia said firmly.

“But what about us!?” Luna shouted.

“I believe that both of you will be fine,” Celestia answered, going out of the room.

“Ha ha ha,” Luna laughed sarcastically at her sister’s joke.

The Princess of the Night glared angrily at the door for a few seconds and then used a ray of magic to destroy a nearby flowerpot. She was still angry after that but felt better nonetheless.

***

A few hours later Celestia was almost ready to leave Canterlot.

“Haven’t you changed your mind, sister?” Luna asked coldly.

“No. I am already expected by the griffons. I simply cannot disappoint them now,” Celestia remarked. She looked much happier than before.

Luna gave her sister a murderous look. “How long are you going to stay there?”

“Oh, I haven’t decided yet.” Celestia smiled. “But I will surely let you know about that.”

“This is not happening...” Luna facehoofed. “And what do you actually expect us to do here, while you are away?

“All of my duties. You need to attend all the royal ceremonies, meet all the royal visitors, wave to our subjects from the royal balcony at least twice a day, you know, the usual royal stuff,” Celestia explained to her sister.

Luna groaned in answer. “Is that everything?”

“You also need to raise the sun,” Celestia smiled sheepishly.

The Princess of the Night rolled her eyes. “Do you expect us to raise the sun? How are we going to do that?”

“Luna, sometimes you seem to be so helpless.” Celestia laughed loudly. “Raising the sun is as simple as raising the Moon! I had been raising the Moon for a thousand years until you returned!”

“Let us not speak of this again...” Luna murmured, trying not to look at her sister.

“Oh, I would forgot! You are also obliged to act as a substitute mentor for my protege, Twilight Sparkle. I think you have already met her.”

“Yes, we have...” Luna sighed. “Are we even qualified enough to be her mentor?” Luna asked, hoping to be exempted from performing this duty.

“I do not have the slightest doubt that you are probably the least competent pony to be her mentor but I only ask you to read her reports on friendship and send her answers that you read them,” Celestia explained and added ironically: “I believe it ought to be easy enough for you?”

“Meh, just go, we’ll take care of everything,” Luna mumbled, frowning. “When you get back, WE will go on vacation.”

Celestia laughed heartily. “Oh, Luna. You had a thousand-year vacation recently!”

“Vacation?” Luna gave her sister a puzzled look.

Celestia got on the royal chariot and waved to her sister “Have a good time, Luna! I will send you a postcard!”

Luna was so angry at Celestia that her head began turning red. When her sister had finally been gone from her sight, she shouted loudly, trying to relieve herself this way.

Princess of the Night decided she would think of everything later and then went back to her bed.

***

Citizens of Equestria were quite confused by the evening events. Namely, the Moon was raised as usual. However, the sun was still high on the sky.

“By Celestia’s beard!” Spike shouted, running into the library. “Twilight, do you have idea what time is it!?”

Twilight hesitated for a moment. “Hm... It should be dark already. What’s going on, Spike?”

“I don’t know! The sun is not going down!” Spike seemed to be terrified. “Maybe it’s Discord again!?

“I doubt it,” said Twilight calmly. “Besides, Celestia doesn’t have a beard.”

“Look closely next time,” Spike said, shivering.

Twilight and Spike went outside. It was late evening but the sun suggested it was around noon.

“That’s weird...” Twilight said, rubbing her chin.

***

Luna was walking nervously in circles. “We have no idea what to do! Celestia didn’t tell us how to move the sun!” She walked up to the window. “I thought that raising the Moon would work!”

She looked around nervously as if she expected to find the solution lying somewhere around. She spotted parchment crumpled in the corner of the chamber.

“Hah! We’ll write a letter to Celestia!” Luna exclaimed happily, smoothing out the parchment.

My Dearest Sister,

We are in trouble as we do not know how to control the sun. Please, help us, make your sun go down or the day will last forever!

Yours truly,
Princess Luna

Luna looked at the parchment, feeling ashamed of the fact she had to send it. It was only the first day of her being the ruler of Equestria and she couldn’t even do the simplest task.

She rolled the scroll up and then began to wonder how Celestia actually sent the letters. It had something to do with fire.

After giving it some thought, she found some matches. She carefully lit one and then watched her letter burn.

Luna smiled at her own cunningess, but her mood quickly worsened as she sawthe royal carpet catch the fire.

Fortunately, the fire was quickly put out by guards. She should be pleased with the fact that the room had not been ruined. But instead, she commented: “We are glad you came here, our loyal subjects, but we the Princess would have extinguished the flame by ourselves.” Guards nodded. When they were about to leave her room, Luna shouted, “You shall not speak to anypony about that!” Luna knew she had to keep up the facade of a ruler who controls everything. What would her subjects think of her if she weren’t able to keep her room safe.

After checking the ashes of the burnt letter, Luna figured out that the letter had not been sent. There had to be another way to contact her sister.

Meanwhile in Ponyville, everypony was wondering what was going on. Even Granny Smith couldn’t remember any sunny night and she was one of the oldest living denizens of the town.

“Something terrible must have happened to the Princess!” Fluttershy cried.

“Maybe she is just overworked and forgot about sunset?” Twilight tried to find a reasonable explanation.

“I really don’t care what time it is. I often nap during day anyway.” Rainbow Dash didn’t seem to be concerned by the sun at all. “Besides, now I’ll be able to perform my tricks any time I want.”

“I think I’d better write a letter to the Princess,” Twilight said to her friends and hurried to the library.

***

Princess Luna entered her sister’s room. She remembered seeing her reading some letters next to the fireplace. Maybe that fireplace was some kind of a portal that let her send the letters.

Luna gazed at the fire for a while, trying to figure out, if it actually worked the way she thought. Suddenly, magical smoke appeared in the room. After a gray cloud was formed, it changed into a scroll, which fell on Luna’s head.

“What kind of sorcery is that!?” Luna shouted angrily, opening the letter.

That was the letter from Twilight. “Dear Princess Celestia,” Luna read aloud. That was the letter to her sister from her lowly apprentice, Twilight Sparkle. “How dare she ask the acting ruler of Equestria to lower the sun!” she shouted in anger. “How dare she ask the acting ruler of Equestria to do anything!?”

And, more importantly, how could she ask her to do something apparently impossible? For Luna, it felt like an insult.

“Well, maybe this peon can help us?” Luna wondered and then wrote a quick note.

Unsure what to do with it, she simply threw the parchment into flames and hoped for the best. The scroll magically burst and disappeared.

“Yay! It worked!” Luna exclaimed happily.

***

Meanwhile in Ponyville, Twilight was waiting for Princess Celestia’s response.

“Ohmygosh, ohmygosh! Maybe Fluttershy was right after all? Maybe something happened to Princess? Why isn’t she sending the answer?” Twilight was trotting nervously around the room.

Spike wanted to say something but belched instead, spitting out the scroll. “You see? Everything is fine. If the Princess has time to send a letter, nothing can actually be wrong,” Spike said, trying to calm Twilight down. “Maybe it’s a brand new holiday or holinight in this case? Night of the Day or something like that?” Spike chuckled at his own joke.

Twilight rolled her eyes, opening the letter and then read it aloud:

To our subject Twilight Sparkle,

We have no idea what to do.
The day will last a bit longer until we find out how to move the sun.
Please, help us!

The acting ruler of Equestria, Princess Luna.

“Princess Luna!?” Twilight gasped. “Something terrible must have happened to Princess Celestia!” she cried. “Why would Luna be in charge of receiving my letters!?”

Spike shrugged. “I agree with Rainbow Dash. I usually sleep most of the day anyway. I don’t mind having the sun up all the time. Besides, Princess Luna is the best princess.”

“Spike! It’s not about the sun! It’s about Princess Celestia! We need to take a train to Canterlot and see what happened!” Twilight was hysterical.

“Twilight, do we always have to check everything out? I mean, don’t you think that there are competent ponies in Canterlot who can solve the problem?” Spike asked, hoping they won’t have to go to Canterlot.

Twilight frowned and then grabbed Spike with her magic aura. “We’re going there, mister,” she said firmly, trotting out of the library.

TO BE CONTINUED

Playing with the Moon

Author's note: Thanks to PrettyPartyPony for proofreading!

After quite a long journey, Princess Celestia finally arrived in the Griffin Kingdom. She was welcomed cordially by the proud griffin nation. Many griffins gathered at the Griffin Palace to see Celestia. This was only the second time in Equestria’s history that the Pony Princess, who is simultaneously the Griffin Goddess as well, visited their land.

After cordialities had been exchanged, the Griffin King asked Celestia uncertainly: “Forgive me, Your Highness but... Why are the sun and the Moon in the sky at once?”

Celestia raised her royal eyebrow and then turned her head towards the sky. The sun was high in the sky. To the left of the sun was the barely visible Moon.

“What time is it?” Celestia asked with surprise.

“It should already be night, Princess,” the Griffin King answered.

“Are you certain of this? Maybe it is something with time zones?” Celestia tried to find an answer that would not blame her sister instantly.

The Griffin King snapped his claws. His servants silently left the scene. After a while, two griffins carrying a giant clock approached the rulers.

“You see, Princess. This is our best clock. It shows that midnight will be in a few minutes,” the Griffin King said softly, trying not to lose his patience. It seemed to him that the Pony Princess was trying to blame THEM for the bright night.

“Hm, I see...” Celestia hesitated. “Then it’s clearly Luna’s fault.”

“Whose?” the Griffin King asked instinctively.

“My dearest sister Luna is standing in for me while I am here. This is my vacation,” Celestia explained, smiling.

“So, she is now responsible for lowering the sun?” the King asked.

“Yes,” Celestia confirmed the King’s suspicions.

“She isn’t doing a very good job, is she?” the Griffin King asked uncertainly, rubbing the back of his head.

Celestia was struck by his statement. “Well. What do you imply?” she asked, visibly irritated by his insolence.

“Maybe, you could, I don’t know, help her?” The King shrank back, clearly intimidated by Celestia’s presence.

“No,” Celestia stated firmly. “She is already a big filly and I am certain that she can handle her duties. Besides, I enjoy the daylight. Now, please, order your servants to lead me to the apartment you have prepared for me.”

The Griffin King sighed. “Well, never enough sun, heh.”

****

Twilight and Spike arrived in Canterlot late at “night”. They hurried to the castle, where Princess Luna awaited them.

“Princess Luna! What’s going on?” Twilight asked upon seeing the Princess in her chamber.

“ON YOUR KNEES, YOU PUNY PEONS! HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO YOUR PRINCESS!?” Princess Luna shouted, blue flames appearing around her. Twilight shrank back, cowering in fear, while Spike was glaring at Luna in amazement. After a while, the Princess seemed to realize what she was doing and said softly: “Um, forgive us, Twilight Sparkle. We feel overwhelmed by this. Celestia left on vacation and we need to take care of everything now but... we have no idea how to control the sun!”

Twilight walked up to the window and looked at the sun. “Princess, how do you actually control the Moon?” she asked Luna.

“Oh, this is very simple. Just look,” Luna answered happily and walked up to the window as well.

Luna focused for a moment and then the Moon began moving down the sky. “You see? Just like that.”

“Can you move it in other directions?” Spike interjected.

“Of course we can,” Luna proclaimed and began moving the Moon firstly to the left and then to the right. “We can even move it towards us!” The Moon began to grow as they looked at it. The Princess of the Night was bringing the Moon closer to Equestria. After a while, the Moon could be clearly seen.

“Wow!” Twilight and Spike were astonished by proximity of the satellite.

Luna smiled brightly as the Moon continued coming closer to them.

“Um, Princess?” Twilight asked uncertainly.

****

Meanwhile in Ponyville...

“The Moon is gonna hit us!!!” Pinkie yelled. “Everypony panic!!!”

Everypony indeed began to panic, running aimlessly around the town and shouting gibberish.

“Oh, look, it’s going off now,” Junebug said with a relief but nopony heard her.

“LOOK! We are safe!” Rainbow Dash shouted, and the panic was gone. The Moon was moving away.

Everypony rejoiced. Nopony was wondering what happened that the Moon could destroy the town (or actually the whole planet).

“Oh no! It’s coming back! It’s coming back!” Junebug shouted. The panic resumed.

****

“In and out, in and out, that’s what it is all about!” Luna chanted as she was moving the Moon closer and further.

“Princess? Um, we see the point.’ Twilight laughed nervously. “But maybe you could consider to stop moving it. That might be, you know, dangerous...”

“Oh!” Luna grinned sheepishly and moved the Moon to its proper position. “Um, that’s how we can move the Moon.”

“I wanna see that again!” Spike exclaimed. “Ouch! What was that for!?” he shouted as Twilight punched him on the head.

“So, you can move the Moon?” Twilight inquired.

Luna nodded, smiling. She was proud of her ability.

“But you can’t move the sun?” Twilight continued.

“We can’t move it even a little bit. Look,” Luna said sadly and then began to focus her concentration on the sun. The Princess gave an unregal groan as her horn started to flare brightly. She was sweating and trembling due to enormous effort she was putting in this. She gave up after a while.

“I see,” Twilight said uncertainly after Luna had finished her ineffective efforts.

An awkward silence hung in the air.

“So, do you know what we should do?” Luna asked, breaking the silence.

“No. I have no idea either!” Twilight was getting nervous. She wasn’t able to help the Princess. “Princess Celestia has never told me how she controls the sun. I’ve never asked about that. I've never thought about it!” Twilight began to panic.

“That is not good, we guess,” Luna said indifferently.

“At least we’re going to have an eternal day not night,” Spike interjected happily and then bite his tongue as Luna gave him a reproachful look. “Forgive me, Princess.”

Twilight was struck by an idea. “Maybe there is something in Canterlot Archives?”

“Um, library?” Luna grimaced at the sound of that part of the palace. “If you really enjoy searching through scrolls, you are allowed to go there. GUARDS!”

“Allowed?” Twilight looked pretty abashed by that. She thought she could go there any time she wanted.

Two white stallions entered the chamber.

“We the Princess of the Night command you to lead Miss Twilight Sparkle and her servant to the Canterlot Archives!” Luna ordered the guards.

“Servant?” Spike expressed his surprise at the way Luna had referred to him.

The stallions nodded and then led Twilight and Spike to the library.

****

It was the second bright night in history of Equestria. Everypony was really confused by this unexpected change in daily rhythm. For example, many ponies couldn’t close their eyes – their brains were making them stay awake all the time. Moreover, many ponies that were not used to using clock. They always relied on the sun and therefore had problems with their daily routine.

Granny Smith, for example, had tried to do some grocery shopping past midnight and was outraged that most stores had already been closed.

Several schoolponies had waited futilely for Cheerilee to show up but their teacher’s clock stopped working and she could not tell if it was time for work or sleep.

As you all can see, the sun was something more for Equestria than just source of light. Without the sun and without their Princess, many ponies struggled to function normally. An eternal day would be nearly as destructive as an eternal night. The pony world needed balance.

And Celestia seemingly forgot about this.

****

“Have you found anything, Spike?” Twilight was totally exhausted. It was over twenty hours of constant searching through the Canterlot Archives.

“I don’t even know what I should look for,” he answered angrily. “Do we need a spell, a scroll, a magic tutorial?”

Spike’s anger was justified. Even Twilight had no idea where the necessary information would be.

Princess Luna entered the library. She had an uneasy look on her face. “We hate books,” she mumbled as she stepped on a scroll. “Have you found something, Twilight?”

“Nothing! There is nothing beyond some scarce information that Princess Celestia indeed controls the sun. But nopony wrote how she does that!” Twilight was on the edge of crying.

“You see. Nopony has really asked us about my moon-controlling ability,” Luna said resignedly. “We have not spoken about this even with our sister.”

“Well, we’re doomed then,” Spike spoke indifferently as he was putting crumpled scrolls in the pile, preparing a place to rest.

Suddenly, a guard ran into the library. “Your Majesty! Terrible News! Manehattan! It’s been destroyed!”

“What!?” Luna and Twilight screamed in unison.

“A messenger has just brought this horrible news! He said it was a giant wave of water! It flooded the whole city!”

“What happened to the citizens?” Twilight asked, fear spreading across her face.

“Thankfully, they were able to escape, thanks to pegasi patrolling the sky, who had seen the wave. However, nearly all the buildings are now ruined!” the stallion answered. “There has never been such a big wave in the history of Manehattan. Nopony knows what could have caused such a disaster!”

Twilight looked at Luna, frowning.

The Princess of the Night laughed nervously. “We think we will never know the reason...”

TO BE CONTINUED

Tidal Wave

Author's note: Thanks to PrettyPartyPony for proofreading!

**************

While Twilight and Spike were in Canterlot, their friends struggled with their daily activities.

Rarity was lying in her bed, wriggling. She had her sleeping-mask put on and the drapes in the room were shut. It was dark but apparently not dark enough for the white unicorn.

“How can I sleep if the sun is still high in the sky! I need to create!” she shouted, taking off her sleeping-mask.

She got up, yawning loudly. This was not the way a lady would yawn. “But I am definitely too tired to do ANYTHING.,” she said in her usual dramatic tone of voice. “Please, somepony turn off the sun!” She lay down on the bed again.

Pinkie was lying on the street, seemingly unconscious. Applejack trotted up to her. “Pinkie? Y’alright?” the orange pony asked worriedly, patting her on the shoulder.

“No, AJ...” she mumbled.

“What happened?”

“I ha-haven’t slept for... like three da-days,” she stammered out silently.

“Why won’t ya get some sleep then?” AJ asked, quite confused despite being aware of Pinkie’s weird behavior.

“I just... never sleep during a day. That’d be a loss of time...” she spoke quietly in a manner resembling somepony on the edge of death.

“Well, it’s not easy to me either. Ah can’t get up early ‘cause no rooster’d crow,” Applejack explained. “Gotta get used to the sun up there all the time. Alright, Pinkie, I’mma take ya home,” Applejack said firmly and then hoisted the party pony on her back.

“How to make a late-night party during day...” Pinkie whispered and then dozed off on the orange pony’s back.

Fluttershy was staggering around her house, visibly exhausted.

“Please, bunnies, it’s time to sleep, I think... Please, you need some rest, oh...” she said quietly and then passed out.

Only Rainbow Dash seemed to enjoy the neverending day.

“Wooohooo! Now I can perform my tricks all day long. That means, all the time! Whenever I want!” Rainbow shouted to herself, flying between houses in Ponyville. “Hey, watch out, sleepyhead!” she shouted at some grey pegasus, who flew just in front of her. Rainbow, thankfully, managed to avoid the crash.

*******

“I think I know what happened,” Twilight stated firmly, still frowning at Luna, who was trying not to look at the purple unicorn.

“Oh, do you? Well, we think we should not look for the scapegoat right now, when there are ponies in need of shelter and food. Guard! I order you to deliver a message to the Welfare Department of Equestria that we insist on sending supplies to Manehattan immediately,” Luna commanded the stallion. He nodded and then left the chamber.

Twilight was still frowning.

“Have you seen that? We solved the problem. We are just as good as Celestia,” Luna said, smiling proudly.

“But that was you who caused the problem, Princess,” Twilight said firmly.

“HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO US DIRECTLY!? HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE US OF RUINING THE WHOLE CITY!?” Luna shouted, using her Royal Canterlot voice. Blue flames apperead around her, making Spike and Twilight shrink back, cowering in fear.

“Yeah, Twilight, how could you?” Spike scolded his legal guardian.

“Princess Luna?” Twilight squealed.

The Princess of the Moon gave them a confused look. She blushed and then slowly put out the flames, returning to her normal self. She grinned sheepishly.

“But, how could she have caused the flood, actually? She’s been with us the whole time!” Spike asked, obviously confused.

“Didn’t you even read that book about tides I gave you on your birthday three years ago?” Twilight gave his assistant a castigatory look.

“Not even a page. I’m not an egghead,” Spike answered with brutal honesty.

“Great. I’m not gonna give you any book again!” Twilight said coldly.

“Yes!” Spike exclaimed happily. Twilight seemed to be heartbroken by this. She loved books and couldn’t understand why her assistant didn’t want to read.

“Anyway, Twilight started her lecture, “Princess Luna caused the wave because she was moving the Moon around. As you ought to know, the Moon’s gravity influences tidal waves in Equestrian oceans and seas. Princess Luna inadvertently moved the Moon in such a way as to cause a giant wave of water, which resulted in the annihilation of Manehattan. Any questions?” Twilight finished, grinning proudly.

“Yep. One. What’s a tide?” Spike asked uncertainly, making Twilight facehoof.

“We suppose it was not the brightest idea,” Princess Luna admitted sadly.

“I’d even say it was quite dumb,” Twilight retorted. “Um. Sorry, Princess. I didn’t mean to...” Twilight realized she couldn’t address the Princess in such a manner.

“You should weigh your words, Twilight Sparkle. But believe us, we would like to undo the disaster,” Luna said, blinking away tears.

Spike felt terrible for the alicorn. He couldn’t tell why but his heart raced. It resembled the way his heart beat whenever he saw Rarity. Could he fall in love with her? No, no way! She didn’t even look like Rarity!

Something, however, made him want to defend the crying Princess.

“Twilight! How can you be so... insolent!? That was your fault!” Spike shouted angrily.

“Spike! What do you...” Twilight was taken aback by his outburst.

“You were the one, who wanted to see how Luna moves the Moon!” Spike continued his rant.

“Please, address us Princess Luna. We do have a title after all,” Princess Luna interjected quietly.

Spike had not listened to Luna (being busy with looking at her), so he shouted “Yeah!” to confirm whatever she said.

Twilight’s frown deepened. “Great. Just great. Now it’s all my fault? Maybe it’s my fault that the sun is still in the sky?” Twilight groaned. “I’m going back to the Archives. Maybe I’ll find the solution. You can stay here and do whatever you want!”

Twilight left the chamber, slamming the door as loudly as she could.

Spike and Luna gazed confusedly at the door for a while.

“So, what do you do in your free time?” Spike suddenly asked Luna, adding to her confusion.

TO BE CONTINUED

Fun in Canterlot

Luna was glaring confusedly at Spike after he had asked his question about her free time. She couldn’t decide if she should tell him the truth or make up a royal activity that would fit the Princess of the Night.

“Actually, we have recently been trying to learn juggling.” Luna decided to tell the truth. “Without using our magic. We simply cannot understand how this earth pony clown was able to juggle with such easiness!”

“Juggling?” Spike was taken aback by the answer.

“Yes, we know it’s not really a royal thing. But since Twilight encouraged us to have fun, we have been trying,” Luna explained, a sheepish grin appearing on her face.

“So, have you had fun then?” Spike continued the conversation, which on a side note was getting more awkward every second.

“We’ve had fun once. It was awful,” Luna replied, frowning for a while and then bursting into laughter. “Just kidding! We love to have fun!”

“Yeah... So... Maybe we could do something fun, you know, together?” Spike asked uncertainly, his cheeks turning red.

“Well, we are not really certain if this is the best time to have fun. Equestria needs us.” Luna tried to act as a pony who had a clue what she was doing.

“But Equestria doesn’t need you right now. We will be around, right?” Spike tried to convince the alicorn to his idea.

“Well, you are right, little dragon. What kind of fun you propose to do?” Luna was not the kind of a pony who could hold her ground.

“Maybe, let’s go out and eat some ice cream?” Spike suggested.

“Is ice cream fun?” Luna asked uncertainly, feeling embarrassed. The dragon found another thing she had no idea about.

“You bet it is! Let’s go!” Spike exclaimed excitedly and opened the door, encouraging Luna to go out. The alicorn slowly left the room, looking nervously around. Luna felt as if she was doing something really, really bad.

****

The customers in one of the Canterlot cafés were pretty surprised by Luna’s presence. The waiter, a nervous white earth pony, led Spike and Luna to their best table after he had driven out a couple of unicorns, who had been awaiting their order there.

“So, what do you wish to order, Your Majesty?” the waiter asked, trembling. He was actually afraid of the Princess of the Night.

“How dare you speak to the Princess directly!?” Spike burst out in anger. “You have to speak to me if want something from her!”

Everypony in the restaurant watched the scene silently. Spike was sure that Luna was impressed by his behavior. Actually, she was as confused as other customers.

“Uh-oh! Of course. What does the Princess want?” the waiter asked, shrinking back.

“The best and most expensive ice cream you got! Extra sprinkles!” Spike stated firmly.

“Of course, of course!” the waiter was sweating heavily. There was the Princess of the Night AND a dragon in the restaurant. The usual customers were middle class ponies and tourists.

“And the same for me,” Spike added after a while.

The waiter nodded and then trotted to the kitchen.

“What are sprinkles?” Luna asked as everypony in the restaurant lost interest in them. Or pretended to do so.

Spike raised his eyebrow and then sighed loudly.

****

Luna wasn’t sure if she enjoyed her time in the café. Learning what sprinkles were couldn’t really make up for all the curious looks she was bombarded with. She usually spent her time in the Castle – she simply was not accustomed to such attention.

“Can we go now, please?” Luna asked finally, knocking her hooves nervously on the table.

“Oh, Princess! Just enjoy the date!” Spike answered instantly. After he had realized what he had said, he faceclawed.

“The date? Do you mean this is a date?” Luna gave him a confused look.

“Well. Heh. Sort of,” Spike said, laughing nervously.

Luna’s face brightened up, much to Spike’s confusion. “Now we enjoy our date!”

Spike struggled to comprehend what was going on in Luna’s head. After a while, the waiter brought their order.

“Two Celestial Desserts covered with golden sprinkles,” he said, placing the ice cream on the table.

“Mmmm! Delicious!” Spike began gobbling the ice cream.

Luna looked at the dessert. She sniffed it. It smelled good. Really good, actually. Uncertain of the effects, she took the spoon and began eating. After the ice cream touched her tongue, she spat it out instantly.

“This is cold!” she shouted, again drawing attention of everypony in the restaurant.

“Yeah, they’re supposed to be cold,” Spike said nonchalantly.

“The most expensive food is cold? How can this be possible? Before my banishment, the most expensive and desired food used to be hot! Unlike poor ponies’ menu!” Luna said, visibly shocked. Apparently, Celestia didn’t explain to her how the food customs had changed over the years she was on the Moon.

“Well, now it’s different,” Spike mumbled, swallowing another bite of ice cream.

Luna shivered but began eating her dessert. It tasted great. She quickly ate it. Her manner of eating wasn’t really royal, which brought a few chuckles from ponies watching her eat.

“Did you enjoy your dessert?” the waiter came to take the empty bowls.

“Barely edible,” Spike said coldly.

“It was great! We wish to have more!” Luna exclaimed happily.

The waiter nodded.

After Luna had finished her second portion, the waiter came with the bill. This was the time when Spike realized he had no money. But he had an idea.

“How dare you ask your Princess to pay!?” he shouted. “You should be happy that the Princess decided to eat at your pathetic restaurant!”

“It’s a nice place, actually,” Luna interjected, much to Spike’s dismay.

“Okay, the Princess does not have to pay,” the waiter agreed, bringing a smile across Spike’s face. “But you are not the Princess.”

Spike frowned. “But I’m with the Princess. It’s our date!” he said coldly.

The waiter gave Luna a puzzled look. The Princess dating a baby dragon? O tempora o mores! But the Princess returned him a happy grin of confirmation. He rolled his eyes.

“I hope we can deduct it from the tax?” he asked uncertainly.

“Sure,” Luna answered. “Well, Spike. Let’s go.”

As Luna and Spike left the restaurant, everypony began gossiping about the date they had just witnessed. Tomorrow’s (or actually today’s) newspapers were going to be hot.

****

“Well, what does a couple on a date do to complete a date?” Luna asked all of a sudden.

Spike blushed instantly. He was surprised by Luna’s attitude. If only Rarity would be like her...

“Um, they kiss?” he answered uncertainly.

Luna lifted Spike with her magic aura and kissed him on the cheek. “Is our date complete now?” she asked with a grin on her face.

Spike was lost contact with reality for a while. This was going too fast for him. After Luna had repeated her question, he just answered: “One more...”

She kissed him on the second cheek.

“Great–“ he mumbled and fell on the ground, little hearts appearing in his eyes. Who needed Rarity if there was Luna?

“Well, Spike. I need to go to the Castle. See you later!” She giggled and then flew away, leaving slaphappy Spike on the street.

****

Luna got to the Castle as fast as she could. She found some parchment and ink and began writing.

My Dearest Sister

We have just been on a date with a handsome little dragon.
This means that we have had our first date before you did.
We are the better Princess again.

Yours truly
Luna

Luna read the letter again, smiling the whole time. She knew the date was a fluke and she kinda used the cute little dragon but... somehow nopony has ever wanted to marry any of the Pony Princesses even though there were a lot of royal families in Equestria. Maybe every prince in Equestria thought that they are not good enough for the most important ponies in the world. And the Princesses couldn’t just ask any of the princes to marry them. You know, tradition and all...

The Princess of the Night was looking at the letter for a longer while until she finally realized she still had no idea how to send a letter. Or lower the sun for that matter.

She could be the Princess but she wasn’t the best ruler for sure.

TO BE CONTINUED

Moonstruck

Luna was looking at a levitating letter.

“Why must everything be so difficult!?” she cried.

Any foal would probably be as good a ruler as she was. She had never paid attention to her sister’s duties. If she had done this, she would not have been in such trouble. She thought it was all Celestia’s fault. Why had allegedly a good and wise ruler left her in charge of everything? She could have given her at least some tips. All of Equestria was suffering and she had no idea what to do.

Speaking of this, why didn’t Celestia want to react? She was in the Griffin Kingdom so she should have realized something is wrong with the sun.

Luna was walking nervously around the chamber. She was thinking about abdication when Spike entered the room. Luna brightened up upon seeing the dragon.

“Spike. You’ve been around Twilight for a while so– do you know how can I send this letter to Celestia?” she asked, passing him the letter.

“Oh, this is easy. Just tell me where she is,” Spike answered, proud that he was able to help the Princess.

“We think she is in the Griffin Kingdom,” Luna answered uncertainly, having a weird hunch that Celestia might have lied about her whereabouts.

“Alright!” Spike said, burning the letter with his magical fire.

“What did you do!?” Luna shouted, fear appearing on her face. After a moment she realized what had happened. “Oh, you send the letter with fire, are we right?” she asked.

“Yep. This is what I do,” Spike answered, hoping for some kind of a reward for his help. A reward like a kiss from the Princess.

Much to his disappointment, Luna only inquired, “How do you know where to send a letter?”

Spike was caught off guard by the question. “Um– I don’t know,” he answered with brutal honesty. “I never thought about this. I just breathe my fire and voila!”

“Interesting.” She hesitated. “You are quite handy to have around,” she said, patting him on the head.

“Yep, I know. That’s what Twilight says,” he said, being more proud than ever.

“Speaking of her, I wonder if she found something in the Archives...” Luna expressed her worry about the unicorn and both she and the dragon exchanged uneasy looks.

****

Celestia was resting on a luxurious sofa in her temporary apartment. The room was decorated with gold. A plethora of golden ornaments hung around her. The brightness was blinding but the Princess seemed not to have any problem with this. She was the Princess of the Day after all. She could stare at the sun all day without any damage to her eyes. It was the ability she often employed in her little pranks, usually directed at her sister. They would go like, “Look at that, my sister!” she would shout, looking at the sun, while Luna would do the same only to be temporary blinded by the brightness of the sun. That joke never got old.

The Princess took a sip of tea. It tasted like mud. Griffins never drank tea. None of them had any idea how to prepare it or what kind of tea they should have bought in the first place. Celestia shuddered and set down the cup on a small table next to the couch.

Suddenly, a cloud of smoke intruded the room. Celestia watched the cloud turn into a letter and then watched the letter fall into her tea, splashing the warm liquid around.

Celestia frowned. Hadn’t she stated clearly that it was Luna who had been expected to take care of Twilight’s letters.

She unrolled the scroll and began reading. Her frown deepened as she realized it was from her sister. The silly filly couldn’t rule Equestria for a few days without asking her for something.

A few seconds later, the Royal Canterlot Voice echoed around the Griffin Palace, “SHE DID WHAT!?”

****

The Griffin King stood in front of Celestia’s room. He thought he should enter the room and ask if everything was okay but the coward in his brain tried to convince him not to do so. Both of them were sure that everything was not all right and that the King would most probably be the target of the Princess’ anger.

He sighed and opened the door.

As he entered the chamber, he spotted the broken windows and his guest, who did not look the least royal. Her mane was frizzy and lacking its usual grace. She was panting heavily, her wings unfolded.

The King had no idea how to begin the conversation. A simple ‘Is everything all right?’ seemed like the most inappropriate question at the moment. And like a stupid one as well.

“Is everything all right, Your Highness?” he asked, looking at the window.

Celestia gritted her teeth, trying to calm down. She shook her head, making her mane return to its usual state. Then she cleared her throat and spoke seriously, “Yes, everything is fine. Why would you think it is not?”

The confusion on King’s face deepened. He could not find a good answer so, to break an awkward silence, he let out some unintelligible gibberish.

Celestia smirked and walked up to the trembling King. As she was approaching him, he began to sweat heavily. He was afraid of her. It did not matter that she had never harmed anypony. It was meaningless that she represented everything good in their world. She was a goddess and this very fact made the King feel uneasy when it came to even talking to the Princess.

Celestia brought her muzzle closer to the King. He closed his eyes, waiting for the worst. What followed left him speechless for a while.

“You are a widower, aren’t you?” Celestia asked softly, gently stroking the back of the King’s head.

The King got a full body cramp. He was indeed a widower. And he got the allusion.

****

“So, the sun should be lowered soon, right?” Spike asked Luna.

The Princess raised her eyebrow. “If Twilight Sparkle finds something useful in the Archives, then it will most probably be.”

“Um, didn’t you just ask Celestia for help?” Spike inquired, thinking of the letter he had sent minutes ago. “This was in the letter, right? You asked her for help.”

Luna smiled sheepishly. “Yes, we have asked her for help,” she lied.

Spike rubbed the back of his head. He bit his lip and walked up to the Princess.

“So, Luna, what–“ he began but the Princess interupted him.

“Please, address us ‘Princess Luna’. Have in mind that we still struggle to accept the fact that our subjects are allowed to speak to us. Don’t make our adjustment to that reality harder than it already is,” Luna said, quite irritated.

“Alright, Princess Luna,” Spike said uncertainly, wondering why his marefriend was behaving so formal when nopony was around. “So, what are we going to do?”

“Well, we’ll be going to bed. It’s been a long day,” Luna said and went towards the chamber. Spike followed her.

The Princess entered her room and slammed the door in Spike’s face. She hadn’t notice the dragon was walking behind her.

Spike laughed nervously, blushing. “What was I thinking, heh.”

“Princess Luna!” Twilight’s voice echoed in the corridor. Spike heard her approaching. The Princess opened the door. “Who has called us?” she asked Spike, who just grinned sheepishly.

Twilight trotted up to the Princess. She panted heavily for a moment and began to speak, “Princess! I found the way to make night!”

“Just in time. I was going to bed,” Luna said happily and then facehoofed as she realized she didn’t sleep at nights.

Twilight showed the Princess an old book. “Well, I don’t know how you can control the sun but you still can control the Moon. So, you can make the Moon block the sun, thus creating a solar eclipse!”

Luna’s eyes widened, her pupils shrank. She stared blankly at the wall.

“Um, Princess?” Twilight asked worriedly.

The Princess of the Night facehoofed. It was so obvious. How could she not have thought about this before? Well, she had done it only twice before, both times trying to have her revenge on Celestia for the pranks she had played on her.

Luna sighed and walked up to the window. She focused at the Moon and began manevouring it so the sun would be blocked. After a minute or so, the longest day in Equestria’s history came to an end.

****

Rairty woke up from a short nap. She was lying on her fainting couch. She yawned in a way a lady should never yawn and stood up.

“Finally I managed to get some sleep. Now I can create!” she exclaimed, throwing her hooves up for emphasis.

Suddenly, the brightness of the day turned into a darkness of the night. Rarity’s eye twitched a few times.

“WHY DID YOU TURN OFF THE SUN NOW!? WHY DO YOU HATE ME. CELESTIA!?” she shouted as loudly as she could and then fell on her sofa, sobbing.

*****

“Perfect!” Luna proclaimed, grinning triumphantly.

“Actually, it’s midday,” Spike pointed out.

An awkward silence hung in the air.

“Should I–“ Luna began but Twilight interrupted her.

“No, it’s fine! Nopony will notice.” Twilight smiled nervously and looked at Spike, who shrugged and walked into Luna’s bedroom.

Luna and Twilight looked confusedly at the door. After a while Spike went out, his cheeks bright red. “Um, I was, I mean... Meh, nevermind,” he stuttered and walked away. Luna and Twilight exchanged confused looks.

****

Celestia and the Griffin King were sitting at the couch. The Princess was embracing the griffin. He had an uneasy look on his face, while Celestia seemed to be simply delighted.

“I will be honest, we cannot marry each other,” Celestia said suddenly. The King mentally sighed in relief. “Only a pony can marry a pony princess, but I had fun. I hope you enjoyed it too,” Celestia nuzzled the King, who began to tremble.

“Y-yes, I had. Fun. Heh,” he stuttered and stood up, freeing himself from Celestia’s embrace. “Alright. I’ll be going. I have to do some–“ The King hesitated as he tried to make up an excuse. “I have some royal stuff to do,” he said and hurriedly left the chamber.

“He’s really charming,” Celestia said to herself.

Suddenly, the day turned into twilight. Celestia walked up to the broken window and looked at the sun. She was witnessing a partial solar eclipse.

It took her a while to come up with this, she thought. “She’s never been the brightest pony under the sun,” she said, laughing at her own joke.

****

The King was standing in front of the door to Celestia’s room, trembling. He had just received information that he was supposed to pass to the Princess. He would have sent a messenger if she hadn’t stated clearly that she wished to receive important information from the King, not from a simple griffin.He could be the King to the griffin nation, but to Celestia he was just another of her subjects. He had to cope with her orders. It happened that he received bad news about one of the cities in Celestia’s land. The city had been destroyed a few days ago but due to slow transfer of information, the Griffins got it moments before had to come there.

He sighed, knocked on the door, and entered the chamber.

“Nice to see you again,” Celestia welcomed him.

“Re-reciprocally,” he stuttered.

“Why do I have the pleasure of your company?” she asked him softly.

“Um, I’ve just got important information. The city of Manehattan. It’s... It’s...” he struggled to tell what had happened to Manehattan but got a lump in the throat as he looked in Celestia’s eyes.

“It’s beautiful, I know,” Celestia interjected, grinning. “My favorite city in Equestria.”

“Well, it WAS beautiful, to be precise,” the King corrected the Princess and laughed nervously.

“What do you mean?” she inquired, raising her eyebrow.

A common pony swear rumbled in the Griffin Capital.

****

Applejack was watching the sky. The orange pony had seen weird things in her life, but she had never witnessed the Moon blocking the sun.

“Maybe the sun is stuck in the sky?” Apple Bloom suggested. “Maybe Princess Celestia can’t move it and had to block it with the Moon?”

AJ gave her younger sister a suspicious look. Since when Apple Bloom was so clever? It was actually the best explanation of the eclipse she had heard so far. The prevalent theory stated that Discord was messing with the sun and the Moon, while being encased in the stone. Everypony knew he was conscious the entire time and somepony had suggested that he might have found a way to use some of his powers from inside the statue. The less popular theory supported suspicions that the end of the world is inevitably approaching and the eclipse was just an ominous sign.

But how could the sun be stuck in the sky? Applejack couldn’t figure it out. She was just a farmer, not an egghead like Twilight.

The orange pony shrugged and returned to work.

****

Luna was enjoying the darkness of the night, leaning against the window sill, when something exploded in the middle of the room. It startled her so much she nearly fell out the window. She bounced back, however, and prepared herself for some kind of fight against the evildoer who just appeared in the room.

But it was not a villain. It was her sister Celestia, who teleported into the room. And from what Luna could see, she was not happy.

“Welcome, my sister. Nice to see you,” Luna greeted Celestia, smiling awkwardly.

“It’s nice to see you too, Luna,” Celestia answered.

Twilight, Spike and a group of Royal Guards stormed into the room.

“We heard an explosion!” Twilight shouted. “Princess Celestia?”

“It’s all right,” Celestia assured everypony. “I am back from my vacation.”

Everypony in the room, except Luna, seemed to calm down. Weird things had happened in the past so the Princess of the Moon could not simply rule out the possibilty of an attack.

Ignoring the small crowd in the chamber, Celestia spoke to her sister, “Can you explain to me what happened in Manehattan?”

Luna’s awkward smile disappeared. She began to look around nervously. Celestia gave her a reproachful look. The atmosphere in the room was very dense.

“It’s been completely destroyed,” Spike blurted out and covered his mouth with his claws.

Luna gave him an angry look and then said, “Well, we are afraid there was a little accident. We could not save the city.”

“Actually, it was you, who– mmpf,” Spike began but was muffled by Luna’s magical aura.

“Will you stop talking?” Twilight drawled.

“Fine, it was us. But it was an accident, we swear!” Luna said, looking fearfully at her sister.

“I am truly disappointed, sister,” Celestia said, frowning. “I was expecting that you could handle your duties.”

“But we were not prepared!” Luna shouted. “You simply left us here!”

Celestia’s expression did not change. She slowly walked up to the window. She sighed.

“Rulers come and go. At least this is what happens usually. Today the Griffin King may be alive but nopony knows what will happen tomorrow. His heir does not expect him to die soon. Nor do you expect me to do so,” Celestia said grimly.

This caught everypony in the chamber off guard. Celestia and death? It didn’t add up!

“Princess? What are you talking about?” Twilight asked worriedly.

“After Chrysalis’ attack on Canterlot I thought a lot about me and Equestria. It turns out I am not completely immortal nor you are, my sister,” Celestia proclaimed, bringing shock and bewilderment on faces across the chamber.

“What are you...” Luna was taken aback by this statement. She’d been thinking she was immortal!

“We are nigh immortal, my sister. We cannot die naturally. We can, however, be defeated by a powerful enemy,” Celestia continued. Everypony in the room gazed at her with jaws dropped. The myth of their immortal goddess had just been ruined. “I am indeed tired of being a ruler. If you live forever, you can become bored of your everyday duties. I needed a vacation. I left you in charge of everything because I had thought it would be a good test for you. If one day I would leave this world, you would be the one responsible for Equestria.”

“But... But we cannot even raise the sun!” Luna blurted out.

“It is very simple, my sister,” Celestia proclaimed and lowered the sun effortlessly.

“You say so because it is your special talent,” Luna said angrily.

Celestia then moved the Moon, making Luna give her a murderous look.

“But we cannot control your sun,” Luna murmured and sat down, sighing loudly.

Celestia hesitated. “Well, it seems that I am indeed the superior Princess,” she stated, making Luna’s expression even more angry. “You are free of your duty. Now, forgive me. I need to do travel to Manehattan. I am going to comfort the citizens with my presence,” she said.

She was going to leave the room but stopped after two steps. “Oh, I almost forgot! I am the first one of us, who–“ she began loudly but switched to a whisper so only Luna, as the closest pony to her, could hear anything. The Princess of the Night seemed to be taken aback by whatever she had heard.

“You did what!?” she shouted in horror as Celestia grinned sheepishly.

“Now, excuse me,” Celestia said as she left the chamber, still smiling.

“Well, let’s hope nothing happens to Celestia or we won’t be able to move the sun again,” Spike said and was given castigatory looks by both Twilight and Luna. “What?”

“I was hoping they would fight,” one of the Royal Guards whispered. “You know, disappointed sister versus prodigal sister. That’d be so cool.”

Other Royal Guards nodded in agreement as all of them left the chamber, leaving Twilight, Luna and Spike in the room. The trio stared blankly at the door.

THE END

Author's notes and a link to a sequel

First of all, thank you for favoriting this story and for generally positive feedback in comments. I don't usually post links to my stories in a chapter of another story but this time I think it's appropriate and justified. The link below leads to a loosely connected sequel of this story. Short synopsis: Celestia still wants to go on a vacation but she needs to find another understudy.

The link to the sequel.

Thank you again and I hope you like the sequel :)