So... do you come here often?
Stardust looked at himself in the mirror, trying to fake a smile as best as he could. He had always been told he had a lovely smile, especially by... no, it would do him no good to be thinking about her right then. He shook the thoughts from his mind and returned to his acting practice, allowing his white teeth to show with his dazzling smile. But once again the past was haunting him, the picture of his wedding ceremony taped to the top of the mirror showed him and his darling wife, her cherry red locks and her beautiful smile...
The smashing sound hit him before he even knew what he was doing. He looked to see his hoof through the mirror in front of him, the shards falling in a slow-motion ordeal. Several of them cut around his hoof and blood ran onto his sleeve, staining the white ironed shirt a bright red.
"Shit!" Stardust snapped, grabbing the several deep cuts on his wrist and clamping down on them to try and stop the blood flow "Well now's a good a time as any to start this" He hurried to his bathroom and grabbed a set of linen bandages from the mirror cabinet, his mind flashing back to a conversation he had before his honeymoon.
"Where did you say the band-aids were honey?" he called out to his wife.
"Just in the cabinet behind the mirror!" Rose called out to him, her beautiful soft voice carrying up the stairs
"Dammit!" he yelled angrily, snapping back to reality as he bandaged his wrist, ignoring the sting of the contact with his wrist from the material and tying off the bind before cutting the rest of the cloth free, placing it back in the cabinet. As he closed the cabinet his eyes glanced quickly at his wife's favorite perfume, sadness welling up in his heart yet again.
"Maybe I should just move" he sighed to himself "Get rid of all the memories" He hurried back into his bedroom, keeping his eyes off her side of the bed as he changed his shirt, putting on a new black suit with a red tie that matched with his neat red mane and white body, his red eyes much duller than they'd ever been before.
"Well, I might as well head to the party now" Stardust sighed to himself, fixing his cuffs before grabbing his keys from the pot and walking down the stairs.
Luna sat on her chair, combing her hair in the mirror to perfection, her blue dress matching her light mane and dazzling eyes. Despite the fact she was looking forward to the party she was also the only one without a date to go with, even her older sister had managed to find somepony to go with her. She grabbed the curlers and worked the end of her hair to a cute little set of curls before placing a blue rose in her hair, just above her ear. Her silver earrings were studded in and the silver necklace she wore sparkled brightly.
"Yeah, I look good" she said to herself before sighing loudly "But apparently not good enough" There was a knock at the door and Celestia entered several seconds later.
"Are you ready for the party Luna?" she asked with an excited grin.
"Yes, just another minute" Luna nodded.
"Well don't keep the Duke and I waiting for too long" Celestia giggled, ducking back out of her sister's room. Though she hadn't meant to she had hurt her sister's feelings.
"Yeah, the Duke and I" she spat cynically "What does she have that gets her a date that I don't?" Luna asked, looking angrily in the mirror before her eyes down-turned yet again.
"Except a record of being a mass-murdering megalomaniac" she muttered, forcing herself not to start tearing up again "I don't want my makeup running all over my cheeks" She got out of her chair, looking at herself once more in the mirror, before heading out after Celestia, slightly more excited to get to the party but still keeping her wet-blanket attitude to a minimum.
Stardust stared at the drink he had ordered for several seconds with mixed emotions. He knew that getting drunk would help him forget and forgetting would be the key to having a good night but he would wake up in the morning with two extreme pains: his heart and his head. Besides, drinking away the pain wasn't what Rose would've wanted him to do anyway. He stared at the drink for a long second before agreeing to have a few drinks to relax but not to go overboard with the alcohol. He downed the drink of scotch quickly, knocking on the bar for another fill-up which was responded to quickly.
"Ah dammit" he thought to himself as he downed another one.
Luna silently slipped away from the royal and rich crowd, sneaking down the floor into the commoner classes of the Gala, hoping that no one would notice who she really was. But no one paid her any mind even if they recognized her she thought so it wouldn't matter if she had a whole song and dance announcing her presence to all of Canterlot. They'd react about the same way as finding out there was the new morning paper on their doorstep, very nice, she told herself, scoffing silently at everyone around her. As the music changed to that of a slow dance and the couples made their way to the floor she made herself scarce quickly, escaping to the balcony outside in the fresh, cool night. As she exited the building she found another pony standing with his hooves resting on the railing, nestling a glass of scotch in his hoof while gazing out into the stars above him. Luna froze and tried to guess what type of person he would be before she approached him. The scotch could mean he was a heavy drinker and he could react violently but the expensive alcohol meant he was from the upper class of ponies. The simple but smart suit gave the impression that he wasn't too arrogant or overconfident, a quality she hated in men and the attractive look of him allowed Luna to give him the seal of approval.
"And stamp" Luna said to herself. She walked over to the railing, trying not to look interested as she placed her hooves on the railing and sighed quietly.
"He seems just as lonely as me Luna observed "Maybe I should talk to him?" Luna turned her head to speak to him but realized she didn't know how to start a conversation but luckily it turned out she didn't have to.
"I have to thank you your majesty" he said, his voice seeming quiet and recessed.
"What for?" Luna asked, interested in what he meant.
"For making such a beautiful night sky" he explained "It really helps me to take my mind of things, it's almost as beautiful as you"
"Ooh so he wants to flirt with me does he?" Luna thought to herself before stopping "No... he doesn't seem in the state to be flirting, he's completely sincere, which means either he's really drunk or he... really thinks I'm beautiful" Luna was amazed at how well this had been going. For one she'd actually started talking to someone who hadn't run away in terror eight seconds later and the person really seemed sincere when talking to her, not like the rich stallions who were only talking to her to try and schmooze up to her older sister.
"Thank you" Luna said, smiling gently "Can I get your name?"
"Stardust" he answered, giving her a gentle and caring smile.
"Hooh boy, keep it together Luna, it's only a smile" Luna said to herself "It's a pleasure to meet you Stardust"
"You too your majesty" he smiled softly.
"Please, call me Luna" she insisted "I don't want to talk to people formally anymore"
"Ok then Luna" he nodded.
"So, are you drinking to loosen your tongue?" Luna asked after several seconds.
"No, I'm drinking to forget" Stardust answered, sipping from his glass of scotch.
"Would you be willing to talk about it?" Luna asked.
"Only is you're willing to listen" Stardust returned.
"I've got time for you Stardust" Luna nodded "And I'm a good listener"
"Ok then" Stardust said "Where to start? My life used to perfect no less than a year ago, I had everything I ever wanted and even more, a perfect home, perfect job and a... perfect wife" Luna knew by the way he uttered the last word she knew this was going to hurt him to talk about it.
"Stardust if this is too painful for you to talk about you don't have to" Luna said quickly.
"No, I figure I should finally talk about it to someone for once" Stardust said shaking his head "It was only a few months ago my wife... died in an accident at her work, no one's fault of course but that doesn't make it easier to deal with" Stardust attempted to speak again but he choked slightly, thumping his chest and coughing before speaking again.
"I guess it just went downhill from there, I managed to keep hold of my job and my house, working extra hours and long overtime gets me the money I need for the house" Stardust said, apparently losing his train of thought as he looked up at the stars "I'm all alone now really, my mother and father were the only family I ever had and they passed away when I was thirteen, my best friends moved out of Equestria to go to other places for work and my wife... it's really difficult just coping with it you know?"
"I understand" Luna nodded, watching as Stardust downed the last of his scotch. He clacked his tongue loudly before shaking his head, attempting to wash away the wave of drunkenness that was washing over him.
"Alright, that's my limit for tonight" he said, setting the glass down on the railing. Stardust turned around and sat down, slumping on his back against the railing, resting his hooves on his knees and looking up at the sky.
"I would join you but... it's not very lady-like to flash your lunch at everyone" Luna said, making both of them chuckle. There was a soft pattering noise and both of them looked at the floor to see a small pool of blood forming from the drips of Stardust's wrist.
"Damn" he growled, rolling down his sleeves and seeing that the bandages had soaked through with his own blood "Do you have a handkerchief I could borrow for a quick second Luna?"
"No, I think you need to get that patched up properly" Luna said "Follow me"
Celestia's eyes drifted over the party, scanning for her sister until she spotted her from across the room, hurrying through the crowd with a devilishly handsome young man following behind her, leaving a red trail behind him. A worried expression crossed onto her face but it was soon replaced by a happy smile when she saw Luna helping the stallion to patch up his injuries, seeing her genuinely smile for the first time in a long time. She moved away from the railings and sat back down, sitting next to the Duke who smiled happily at her.
"There, that should stop the bleeding for a while" Luna said, tightening the bandages before tying a knot in the cloth "You might want to get that checked out at a hospital soon"
"I'll do it tomorrow" Stardust said, yawning behind his hoof "I think I'm gonna head home now, I'm done partying for now" Luna felt a pang of loneliness hit her heart once more, making her say something that she never normally would've.
"I'm worried about those cuts you've got" she burst out "I think you need someone with you in case you keep bleeding while you sleep and don't wake up"
"Is... that you offering to come home with me?" Stardust asked, shocked greatly.
"Oh no, I didn't mean it like that... I just meant that I couldn't let you go while you could hurt yourself even more" Luna said quickly, a red blush flooding her cheeks.
"Ok" Stardust said slowly.
"Nice going, totally not suspicious or anything Luna she said to herself, mentally slapping herself on the wrist "I'm sorry if that sounded weird to you"
"Oh don't worry, it didn't" Stardust chuckled "In fact... I think I could do with some company tonight"
"Shall we go then?" Luna asked with a smile.
"Sure" Stardust nodded.
Several hours later Cadance looked around the ballroom and found that Luna had gone completely.
"Hey Auntie, where'd Luna get to?" Cadance asked Celestia.
"She left with a friend of her a few hours ago" Celestia answered, nursing a glass of red wine.
"Ooh, I didn't think she was that much of a cougar" Cadance giggled, drinking from her own glass slowly.
"Now don't be rude Cadance" Celestia said "I'm sure Luna didn't have anything like that in her head"
"If so then she'll be having that in something else tonight for sure" Cadance laughed, Shining chuckling next to her.
Stardust stepped aside to allow Luna into the house before closing her door behind him.
"Are you going to be leaving tonight?" Stardust asked.
"Probably not" Luna said, shaking her head. He nodded and locked the door, leaving the key in the pot next to the door on a small wooden table.
"Now let's see if you've got any antiseptic cream for your cuts" Luna said, undressing the wound and asking where the medical supplies were kept. She walked upstairs and went into the bathroom, seeing the blood in the sink and putting two and two together before retrieving the tube of cream from the cabinet behind the mirror. She went back downstairs and found Stardust sitting on his couch in the living room, having taken his black suit jacket off, loosened his tie slightly and undone his top button, his eyes closed and his breathing deep. Luna quietly walked over to him, gently taking his hoof and beginning to apply the cream to the deep lacerations on his wrist before bandaging them tightly. His eyes opened slowly, a thick haze over his irises as he stared dully at her.
"There, that should stop them from getting infected but we'll have to change the bandages again in a few hours if the bleeding persists" Luna said, setting the medical supplies down on the table next to the couch. Stardust shook his head and rubbed his eyes before looking at the clock on the wall.
"Do you want something to drink?" he offered.
"Hmm, I know I really shouldn't..." Luna hummed before shrugging "Sure, yes thank you"
"Right, I'll be back in a second" he said, getting up and walking into the kitchen.
"I hope he's not trying to get me drunk just to bed me" Luna thought to herself worriedly "No, he doesn't seem like that kind of stallion, I think he's just looking for someone to talk to" Stardust came back a few minutes later, balancing a glass of scotch on the tip of his nose and another of red wine on the flat of his face between his muzzle and his eyes. He walked over to Luna and presented her drink to her which she took with a quiet giggle. She had sat down on the couch and made herself comfortable, Stardust sitting down, leaning casually against the other end, his leg resting on his knee as he sipped from his glass. Luna began to feel slightly awkward sitting in complete silence so she decided to speak up to try and kick start a conversation.
"So how long have you lived here Stardust?" she asked, sipping from her glass slowly.
"Just over a year... we moved in after Rose got a job in modelling" Stardust said slowly, swilling the liquid in his glass around slowly.
"She must've been beautiful" Luna commented.
"She was" Stardust nodded "And I was lucky to have someone as beautiful as her..." Luna felt guilt well up in her stomach as she saw how depressed Stardust had become, broaching the subject of his wife.
"So Luna, are you promised to some lucky stallion?" Stardust asked, seeming to regain some of his confidence again.
"No... nopony out there pays me any attention" Luna sighed, necking her wine quickly, feeling the faint haze of drunkenness begin to fall onto her mind "I don't think anypony out there would ever consider themselves lucky to be married to me"
"Do you want another drink?" Stardust asked.
"Yes please" Luna nodded.
"I'll bring the bottle in" Stardust said, grunting as he got up and walked back into the kitchen. He pulled the small table closer to the couch and rested the bottle of wine on it after pouring Luna another drink.
"Are we planning on a heavy session tonight?" Luna asked with a smile.
"I don't have work in the morning so yes" Stardust laughed as he ducked into the kitchen "Yes we are"