Sweeping low over the fringes of Everfree Wood, the deep-blue pegasus flicked his wings back, luxuriating in the evening air as it rushed through coat and feathers alike. The first twinkling stars gradually appeared in the heavens as he alit on the hilltop, setting down the heavy bundle he’d slung over his back.
“Hey, you’re just in time!” He wasn’t alone on the hill: a purple-coated unicorn with a pale blonde mane trotted over, still breathing hard from her climb. Silent Nights had met Evening Star on the hilltop without fail every Friday night for a month, to enjoy the beginning of the night and gaze at the stars through the telescope Silent Nights had acquired at no small expense.
“Let’s get this thing set up. We don’t have long.” Silent Nights pushed his head into the bag, pulling out the telescope’s tripod, setting it down and letting Evening Star start to unfold it, her horn glowing. Soon they had the tripod set up, and Silent Nights carefully set the brass telescope in its cradle.
“I didn’t think you really needed a telescope for meteor showers,” said Evening Star, leaning her head back and gazing skyward.
“Well, you don’t, but I thought we might see some of the fainter ones this way, and do some stargazing afterward.” Silent Nights paused; Evening Star was grinning at him fondly.
“You’re so... dedicated, Silent.”
“Of course! Princess Luna puts a lot of work into this, and I want to take in every detail.”
“Y’ever tell her that?”
“Oh, yeah, we’re best buds.”
“Smartass.”
“I did, though, actually. Last Gala. She looked pleased. Didn’t get the impression it was something she heard much.”
Evening Star smiled slyly. “I thought you were too busy flirting with that lautist to do much of anything.”
Silent Nights rolled his eyes. “Lutenist. And it's not my fault I have an ear for fine music.”
Evening Star held up a hoof, looking up into the sky. “I think it’s starting.”
Moments later, two bright streaks sliced across the north-eastern sky, and the pegasus and the unicorn fell silent and took in Princess Luna’s light show.
Another pair of observers were appreciating the show – or, rather, one of them was appreciating it and the other was creating it. Sweat dripped from Princess Luna’s brow as she concentrated, pouring herself into her work. Meteors streaked across the purple-black sky as her sister Celestia looked on, rapt.
Finally, Luna stepped back from the balcony, breathing hard, settling into Celestia’s side as the taller alicorn supported her.
“Now that was really something. I think maybe it was your best one yet,” said Celestia, her tone wondering.
“I sure hope it was,” replied Luna. “Never exhausted myself quite like that before. I hope we weren’t the only ones watching.”
“I’m sure we weren’t!” Celestia was quick to respond, not missing Luna’s glance down toward the nearly-empty streets of Sumare and the wavering of her satisfied expression. “I bet that guy you talked to at the Gala was watching. He seemed like a big fan.”
“Maybe, maybe.” Luna’s shoulders slumped. “I feel like... mm. It’s nothing.”
Celestia didn’t respond. She just looked on, her mouth drawn.
“Maybe I’ll... see if I can find him sometime. He was nice to chat with, him and his friend.” Luna’s expression lightened fractionally.
“You should.” Celestia carefully moderated her enthusiasm for the suggestion. “I bet he’d appreciate being remembered, too.”
“I’m sure he would,” said Luna dryly. “’Hey, it’s you. Ol’ what’s-yer-name!’ It was like... Quiet Nights, or...”
“Silent, I think?”
“That’s it. Well, I’ll see if I can’t find him later on. I’m going to go not move for a while.”
It was early afternoon by the time Luna emerged from the castle, blinking sleep from her eyes. She’d managed to stumble out in the morning to lower the moon, and headed straight back to sleep afterward.
As she wandered into the park down the street, following her magic’s lead, she forced herself to slow down and approach casually. Silent Nights had his nose in a heavy book with a plain dark blue cover. If he hadn’t looked up and adjusted his reading glasses, he wouldn’t have noticed the princess at all.
“Oh. Oh! Your Highness.” He dropped his book – Stars of the Southern Hemisphere – and bowed his head respectfully.
“Oh! Hello, citizen,” Luna replied, awkwardly attempting a benevolent smile. “A fine day we’re having.”
“Is it? I’m really more of a night pony, Your Highness. Er, I mean, it is a fine day. No disrespect intended to your sister.”
Luna relaxed visibly, allowing herself a more genuine smile. “It’s good to be appreciated sometimes. Didn’t we speak at the last Gala? I seem to recall you had great praise for the moon and stars.”
“Yes, that’s right! I’m flattered that you remember me. I hope I didn’t come across too badly. I’d indulged a bit too much that night.”
“No! No. Not at all. I enjoyed talking to you. It was nice to have someone talk about my work.” For a change, she added mentally.
“Well, then, let me say your meteor shower last night was fantastic, Princess. My friend and I watched it from beginning to end from a hill out in the Wood. I don’t think I’ve ever seen better.”
Luna had the good grace to blush modestly. “Oh! Well. Thank you. Perhaps you and your friend can join me sometime while I work.”
Silent Nights goggled at her. “Really? It’d be an honor, if we wouldn’t just be a distraction...”
“Not at all! Please consider yourself invited to watch the next shower. It’s –“
“This coming Tuesday, I believe?”
“Just so. I’ll see you then!”
Luna wandered off, wavering between a glow of pleasure and a flush of embarrassment.
“... so then she just invited us to come and watch her work!” Silent Nights’ breathless retelling of the story left Evening Star blinking at him.
“Maybe she doesn’t meet many ponies with your level of enthusiasm.”
“Maybe! Sheesh, what should I wear?”
“... so then I just invited them to come and watch me work!” Luna, meanwhile, recounted the tale for her big sister, who listened with a small smile that she’d settled on early in the conversation.
“That’s okay, right? I’m sure they’re both fine ponies.” Celestia hadn’t missed Luna’s fretful undertone.
“Yeah, it’s, well, but... I don’t really even know the guy, it was just... seeing his eyes light up...” Luna frowned. “I guess it’ll be good. I’d better come up with something extra-special.”
“Don’t hurt yourself. Last night was tough enough on you.” But Luna was already halfway out the door, leaving Celestia to watch her retreating back with a thoughtful frown.
The three days passed quickly, with Silent Nights and Evening Star bubbling with nervous excitement and Luna stewing in nervous apprehension that had Celestia quietly consulting with the royal apothecary regarding tranquilizers. Luna had begun to mumble to herself in a disquieting sort of way, and Celestia privately willed things to go well.
Luna rose in the late afternoon from a fitful sleep, turning in her bed to gaze blearily out at a sun already well past its zenith. It seemed to hurry toward the horizon. Her tired mind snapped to alertness, and she nearly tripped over her own hooves in her haste to rise.
“Got to prepare... need to prepare... notes? I have notes...”
It had better be something special. Some part of her mind seemed to have detached itself from the rest recently, as though her worries had decided to stop attacking pell-mell and team up in a coordinated offensive instead. Make something the ponies will notice for a change.
“Can’t... don’t... distract me. Notes? Notes!” With a glow of her horn, Luna lifted a two-foot-long scroll covered in hurried scribbling and hastily-sketched diagrams.
“Orion goes there, Scorpio goes... there... shower starts in the east...”
It had better be good. She acknowledged the voice in her head with an annoyed flick of her ear, her mouth drawn. “It’ll be good! I’m sure they’ll like it.”
Will they?
She frowned at the scroll. Maybe a few more meteors in the south, a hint of nebula on the western edge...
Luna was still scribbling, her horn glowing as the quill flew furiously across the paper, when a guard cleared his throat politely.
“Your Highness, Silent Nights and Evening Star are here to see you. Should I send them in?”
“What? Already? Can you give me five minutes?”
Fortunately, Celestia had already invited the pair in and was making small talk when the guard returned. “Her Highness Princess Luna will be down in five minutes.”
“Thank you, Strongbow.” Celestia turned back to Luna’s guests. “I’m sorry, she’s been working like a demon on tonight’s meteor shower and probably lost track of time. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her work so hard...”
“Not just for our sake, I hope! We were just expecting... well, you know, her usual brilliance,” said Evening Star, with Silent Nights – whose answer to the question of what to wear had obviously been 'nothing' – nodding agreement.
“She seems to have gone a bit overboard on this evening’s show,” replied Celestia, a note of uncertainty in her voice. “It’s been all I can do to keep her eating and sleeping regularly.” Her expression resolved itself into neutrality again as the two watched her with identical concerned expressions. “But I’m sure she’ll be fine. She’s strong, you know?”
Luna rushed in, looking anything but, her mane disheveled and her gaze slightly wild-eyed. “Ah! Hello again, Silent...”
“Nights,” Silent Nights filled in helpfully. “And this is Evening Star. I think you met her in passing at the Gala. You know, if you’re not feeling well tonight we can...”
“No, no, I’m ready! Have you eaten?”
“Well, we had a snack, but...”
“Come on, then, I’m sure the chefs can make something quick.” Luna trotted into the hall with her two guests in tow and Celestia looking on, exchanging helpless looks with Silent Nights.
Twenty minutes later the three lounged in the back garden – or, rather, Silent Nights and Evening Star lounged, munching high-class hay fries, while Luna paced and made last-minute calculations. Silent Nights kept an eye on her. She’d begun to mumble beneath her breath, and her mental state seemed entirely questionable.
“Now... now... I just need Celestia to... where are you, sister?”
“You need me to lower the sun?” Celestia stepped into the garden, her stride stately.
“Yes, because I can’t...”
“Luna. Relax. Please.”
“O-okay.” Luna sank down next to Silent Nights while Celestia stepped forth, raising her wings, horn aglow as she focused her magic on the sun’s fiery orb. It dipped slowly toward the horizon, then sank beneath it: a sliver, then nothing. She stepped back modestly, yielding the floor to Luna and settling near Silent Nights and Evening Star, who both looked on with focused attention.
Luna stepped forward, and where Celestia’s horn shone with a cheery yellowish light, Luna’s took on a cool bluish glow that gradually intensified as she worked to raise the moon. A pale crescent peeked over the lip of the world, and the moon ascended into the sky, slowing after having risen a few degrees as Luna glanced back at her audience.
“I’ll give it a few minutes, just so everypony can get settled to watch,” she said, a hopeful note in her voice.
They aren’t watching, came the persistent voice in her head. All the other ponies are just going to bed.
“They’re watching!” Luna exclaimed with uncharacteristic force, causing Celestia to eye her with alarm.
“Luna, who are you talking to?”
“Uh... you! You’re watching. Thank you.”
“Of course! Thank you again for inviting us.” Evening Star’s tone was tentative, but Celestia let the moment pass without further comment as Luna gave them a slightly-unsteady smile.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching the moon slowly ascend under its own inertia, the sky gradually darkening.
The show began suddenly, white and yellow streaks of meteors shooting across the sky, accompanied by a blue-purple haze of nebula behind. The streaks intensified, cutting across most of the sky, lighting the ground and nearby trees dramatically. Now they were accompanied by flaring starbursts, as though half the local cluster had chosen to go supernova at the same time.
Minutes passed, a dizzying array of streaks, bursts, and brightened constellations lighting the sky until, at least, it came to an abrupt end, the last meteors falling toward the horizon. Only Celestia noticed when Luna slumped to the ground, her sides heaving.
“Luna!” Celestia was instantly at her sister’s side.
“I did... was good?” Luna wavered, leaning heavily into Celestia.
Silent Nights blinked out of his stunned silence. “That... um... that was sure something.”
“It was very... bright,” offered Evening Star.
Luna gave them a dazed, exhausted smile, allowing Celestia to lead her off. When Celestia looked over her shoulder and caught Silent Nights’ eye, she wasn’t smiling.
A polite but firm knock at the door interrupted Silent Nights’ late breakfast. His caller had an unmistakeable military bearing, but wore nothing. He proffered a scroll.
The scroll had been dashed off in a hurried script, letters slanting urgently rightward.
Silent Nights –
I need to speak to you urgently about last night. Please be at the castle at eleven-thirty and mention who you are to the guards at the side gate. Not a word to Princess Luna, please.
Princess Celestia
He glanced at the clock – half ten – and settled to finish his breakfast, turning the words over in his head and wishing Celestia had given him less time to fret. Finally, at quarter past eleven, he headed out toward the castle.
The guards had been briefed, and brought him in through the side gate, up two flights of stairs, and down a long hallway, all with a minimum of ceremony. Princess Celestia was waiting for him in her study; dark smudges underscored her purple eyes, and her expression of calm benevolence suffered for it.
“Silent Nights. Hello. My apologies for asking you here on such short notice.”
Silent Nights bowed, lowering his forequarters. “Your Highness. Please, think nothing of it.”
“I’m going to get right to the point – did that display last night seem a bit –“
“A bit much?” he asked. He had the good grace to look abashed after interrupting royalty, but Celestia barely seemed to notice.
“Exactly. I’m going to tell you this in strict confidence: I’m worried about Luna. I was hoping talking to you and your friend would calm her down, but things seem to have just gotten worse.”
“Things?”
“She’s convinced that no one appreciates her and that all her efforts are wasted.” Celestia grimaced, closing her eyes for a moment.
“Nothing could be further from the truth!”
“Yes, I know that and you know that, but I can’t get through to her. I thought it was bad before, but... she’s started talking to herself. I’m worried she’s losing her grip.”
Silent Nights winced. “So you’re hoping I can be of some help?”
“If there’s anything you can do, I’d be eternally grateful.”
He nodded slowly. “Not that I would ever question your judgment, Your Highness, but why me? I’m sure there are many more qualified –“
“I’m not,” she interrupted. “I’ve seen how much you and your friends appreciate her work. Her real work, I mean, not that... carnival of a display she put on last night. I know you never miss a meteor shower, or a clear night for stargazing.”
Silent Nights lowered his head, ears burning. “You know a lot about me.”
The ghost of a smile crossed Celestia’s lips. “All part and parcel of being a goddess, you know.”
Silent Nights put on what he hoped was an encouraging smile. “I’ll do everything I can.”
“Thank you – it means a lot to me. I’ll give her a push in your direction after she’s had a day or two to recover.”
A couple of days later Silent Nights was back at the castle, sharing tea with Princess Luna in the back garden.
“As I was saying,” she was saying, “I do hope you enjoyed the show. It took a lot out of me.”
Silent Nights decided to navigate somewhere between obsequious praise and complete honestly. Something about lying to a goddess struck him as fundamentally unwise.
“It was quite something,” he began. “Though, really, you didn’t have to go all-out like that for either of us, Princess. We love the work you do, whether it’s dramatic meteor showers or just the moonrise on a quiet evening.”
Luna nodded slowly. “So, um... was the other night a bit much, then?”
Silent Nights paused, briefly unable to meet Luna’s gaze. “Maybe a little bit.”
She sighed, nodding. “I was... I went a little crazy, I guess. I don’t know what came over me. I had your attention and I wanted to impress you because I knew you liked my work.”
“That’s just it, though – your nights always impress me. They don’t have to be flashy. They’re beautiful.”
Luna dropped her head. “I think that's a bit of a minority opinion, though, isn't it? Most ponies seem to figure moonrise means 'time for bed', not 'time to appreciate the night sky'.”
“No!” The force of Silent Nights' denial took even him by surprise, and he wore a scandalized expression to match. “I mean, no. Lots of ponies appreciate the night. And those that don't – well, maybe they just don't appreciate art.”
“Silent Nights, I appreciate that you're trying to make me feel better, but -”
“I'll prove it to you, Princess.” Silent Nights didn't even notice that he'd interrupted.
