Winter Moon Celebration

Chapters

Prologue: Early to Rise
Prologue: Ponyville
Moonrise
Night Court
Garden Party
Nothing Lasts Forever

Prologue: Early to Rise

Prologue: Early to Rise
~*~*~

Luna took fully twenty minutes to bring herself to sit up. The heavy black drapes over the bay windows of her chambers blocked out every hint of the sun outside, but the Princess knew where it stood in the sky. Everything that made Luna unique, everything that defined her, was geared towards the night. Merely waking up as early as she had was an effort in itself, and to throw her hind legs over the side of her bed and climb to standing was an even greater challenge. Unkempt and unswept, her starry mane billowed irritatingly about her features. Still, since her return from ... Elsewhere, Luna had struggled to sleep through the day.

She took the few moments alone left to allow herself the pleasure of a most un-princess-like yawn. She was so very tired. Levitating a hand bell sat on a bedside cabinet, the Princess rang it with a purple, ethereal cloud of magic to summon her Minister of the Night.

Moon Trot, Minister of the Night, had a sleep schedule as erratic as Pinkie Pie's personality. To consider it a 'schedule' was a misnomer in and of itself since it consisted of recognizing just how tired she was, finding a lengthy gap within her duties, delegating the simpler tasks to other ponies, and then hoping that she would not be interrupted for the next four to six hours.

As it was, Moon Trot was already awake when she heard the bell ring. Her office was in some ways farther from Luna's room than one would suspect given the clarity of the bell, but when an alicorn as powerful as Luna rang a bell specifically for an individual, the sound had a tendency to know where to go. Not an adept of teleportation, Moon Trot had been studying the style of spell for some weeks now. She did not feel it was wise to experiment with it at this moment, however, and took off at a swift trot through the halls and corridors of the Tower of the Moon.

The Minister of the Night and loyal adviser to Princess Luna herself was as high ranking as a pony could be without sprouting both wings and a horn and taking a claim to immortality. Second only to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, her only equal being the Minister of the Day, and beyond that all other ponies who knew her followed her orders. Her domain was that of Luna's and the Princess's whims were Moon Trot's commands.

She ascended the final stairs and looked upon the large doors to Luna's chambers. The thought of knocking had occurred to her, but since she had been summoned she was expected. Her horn glowed with an orange light and the door opened ever so slightly, just narrow enough for Moon Trot to enter. She stood halfway inside the room.

"Yes, your majesty?" she asked.

Being a Princess was about keeping up appearances; maintaining standards and promoting an air of grace, poise and control. Away from the crowds - or even the bulk of the staff inside the castle - Luna let all pretense of Princesshood fall away. Other than her beloved sister, there was only one other pony whom the Goddess of the Night felt comfortable around without her tiara and choker. That pony's voice gently pushed through the silence.

"Hasten ye inside," Luna whispered, the words being amplified by something other than her voice. If the truth were known, and it was unknown outside of the inner sanctum of the Department of the Night, Luna fell easily back into the old tongue. It was a conscious, difficult battle daily to mimic the way each and every pony now talked as easily as drawing air into their lungs. She felt the ancient rhyme of her vocabulary wrap around her like a warming blanket; reassuring, unchanging. Solid.

Moon Trot entered the room and shut the door behind her, bathing them both in darkness once more. She was able to see very well in the dark due to years of sneaking around in it, so this was no problem for her. The second hardest thing to get used to when working for Luna was her manner of speech. The hardest part was trying to not be obviously spying on her. Fortunately, the two issues took about the same amount of time to get used to; by the time Moon Trot had been personally satisfied that Princess Luna was about as likely to revert to Nightmare Moon as Celestia was to plunge Equestria into an eternal winter, she was able to mostly understand the older form of speech

Levitating a brush from her dresser, the Princess sent it floating gently behind her. "Would thoust brush our mane and tail?" Taking a seat on the cushion in front, Luna barely resisted the urge to yawn once again. "We hath almost forgotten how it feels to rise with less than ten hours of the sun remaining in thine sky ..."

The ink blank mare walked over to Luna and took telekinetic control of the brush when Luna sent it back to her. She stood behind the princess and began to carefully brush her mane. It barely phased her how similar the seemingly ethereal mane was to hair when brushed.

Outside of Moon Trot, few ponies believed their Princess of the Night to be particularly inquiring, or interested. Her detachment and aloofness had bread wariness, if not fear. Inside the safety of her chambers, however, Luna did not need to subscribe to her stereotype. "How hath thy morning progressed? Well, we hope?"

"Nothing particularly troubling on the horizon," Moon Trot answered, the brush slowly working a knot out of the princess's mane before moving on. "There is a bit of extra paperwork as the Grand Galloping Gala draws nearer. Princess Celestia's staff is largely managing Canterlot's and Equestria's affairs at this time of day." The last bit was her required attempt to get Luna back to bed for a proper day's rest, though it was a futile effort at best.

"Our sister is diligent, always while the sun is in the sky," Luna agreed, stifling another yawn. "We hath barely half a day until Moon-Rise; we shall busy thineself continuing our study into the changes to our lands in our ... absence."

The black mare regarded Luna's use of the word 'absence'. That was certainly a delicate way to put what happened to her. It was that feature of Luna- the forgiveness and the seeking of redemption- that endeared Moon Trot to the mare faster than observing her lack of bad nature. Moon Trot knew the sting of solitude and what it was like to be an outcast, but while the unicorn could only complain about a lonely childhood with few friends and apathetic family, she had only been socially outcast for a few years. Luna had been physically outcast from the entire world for one thousand years. That she could so eagerly try to rejoin the world and not show any signs of bitterness or anger was a thing of beauty to Moon Trot.

A coil of cobalt-blue magic unravelled itself from the Princess' horn, lazily drifting across the chamber to an empty desk sat against the wall. It settled over the black-painted mahogany and, quite suddenly, revealed a thick leather-bound book where none had sat a moment before. The heavy tome was unremarkable, apart from the silver-gilded crescent moon carved into its cover. With another brief impulse of magic, Luna willed the book to open and began reading from its most recent entry - all without ever even looking in its direction.

"Our diary informs us that we hath completed remapping one tenth of a percent of our night sky. We successfully restored both Sagittarius and Orion to their proper stellar positions as they were one thousand years ago. Perhaps we shall continue this study for the remainder of the day. There are so many stars to fix."

Moon Trot finished brushing the Princess's mane and moved on to her tail while the book was summoned. Luna was still obsessed over moving the stars back to where they had been in the previous millennium. Moon Trot rolled her eyes- a gesture she wouldn't have done, out of respect, had Luna been facing her- and instead of trying to convince her to learn the current sky and begin anew rather than fixating on the old she went for a different tactic.

"Perhaps it would be best for your excellency to take a short break from the sky and become more acquainted with the world itself? Your subjects enjoy your appearances at Nightmare Night and other holidays and special events, but it would be good for you and for your people if you went out and met with other ponies and got a feel for the various societies. Ponyville, Appleloosa, Manehattan and Los Pegasus are all places that did not exist...before." She glanced away from Luna for a moment. She actively tried to not mention the banishing or anything related to it if she could.

"Nightmare Night is different ..." Luna hesitated, weighing up the importance of being truthful with her burning desire to appear Princess-like. The social norms of the present were more flexible and while nopony would ever try to pretend Celestia was not an all-powerful Goddess, the rapport between her and ponykind was warm, motherly. Sensitive.

Luna's stance among her little ponies was aloof and stand off-ish because, once upon a time, ponykind could only coexist with their Goddesses by treating them as such. They were forces of nature, not ponies. The Princess of the Night found the term Alicorn in itself to be difficult to understand. When had ponykind moved to assimilate them into their hierarchy, rather than simply standing on top of it?

Realising her words had given way to thought, Luna frowned, her reflection visible in the mirror sat on top of the dresser. "We were in our element on Nightmare Night. Our nature coincided with a single point in the year when thine little ponies appreciated our demeanor. Our ways. The old ways ..."The longing in her voice was impossible to hide. Luna didn't even really want to hide it.

"We would be derelict in thine duties to the sky if we did not fix these stellar errors. By our calculations, it should take no more than one hundred eleven years, six months and three weeks - or so - to render the sky back unto the form we left it as."

Moon Trot could see Luna's frown in the mirror and she frowned a little herself. Her task had been to watch Luna, and when that was done she was tasked with simply serving Luna, but now she felt it was her duty as Luna's confidante- her friend, even, if she could assume such a lofty label- to try and help Luna find her place in the present rather than remaking the past.

She could tell that Luna wished for the old ways to return. It was obvious in her every mannerism. The Princess of the Night worked hard to conform to modern society when she was in the public but in private, as now, she spoke in the archaic verbiage and her desire to 'fix' the stars did little to convey any desire to enjoy the here and now.

"True," Moon Trot said, "You may have been more comfortable on Nightmare Night when everyone was having fun being afraid of your persona." Something she had long since figured out was to try and dissociate Luna from Nightmare Moon and, when not feasible, to try and give Luna a more controlling stance over that part of her past.

"But is that the only way you want your subjects to see you? If most of the people who knew me only knew me for how well I could scare them, I would do my best to invite them over for a cup of tea and get to know them on a more personal level, and hopefully get them to know me as well. Of course you can't have a cup of tea with every pony in Equestria, but even if you can with just a handful that would be enjoyable. Or so I assume." Tea parties and socialization really weren't part of Moon Trot's 'strong suit'.

"Perhaps spending a day with some of the Elements of Harmony?" Moon Trot suggested as she finished Luna's tail. "Twilight Sparkle was most kind to you during Nightmare Night, yes? Or Applejack, or Fluttershy?" Moon Trot had not been present during the events of Luna’s first public Nightmare Night in Ponyville- she had been the one that persuaded Luna to go out that night- because she was busy with her nightly administrative duties. She was told in vehement, excited detail about the night by Luna when she returned though.

"But thine stars ..." Luna almost-pouted, before sighing and nodding her head. "Very well, thoust hath made thy point. Make the necessary preparations and ensure Ponyville is ready to receive us. We shall leave as soon as thee hath made us presentable for our trip. We would enjoy seeking Twilight Sparkle again, and fair Applejack! Even Fluttershy, for she hath taught us the importance of modulating thine voice so as not to overwhelm thine little ponies. Although ... "

Moon Trot smiled at the princesses acquiescence to her prompting. It was good for her to get out in a less than royal manner once in awhile. Even if it was only a brief time. "It shall be done your highness." she said, making a mental note to send a quick message to Twilight and to the Mayor of Ponyville after she was finished brushing the princess's tail.

The Princess cocked her head to the side, lips pursing. "We remain fond of the Royal Canterlot Voice. We spent many years in elocution lessons, learning the correct intonation, the correct vocalisation, the perfect way to sound as a Princess should. We oft spent many hours a day practicing our piano; we would have to levitate a glass of water with our magic at the same time as we used it to play ..."

Luna's smile faded as her thoughts turned to the present. " ... It matters not. Those days are lost forever. Prepare our Royal Apparel."

As she finished the task she nodded sympathetically to the princess. "The royal voice is quite glamorous," she said, that being her honest opinion of it though others might disagree, "And the past is very important to the present. But the present has its own gifts to offer. Don't shun them too much." She set the brush down on the dresser when she was done and then pulled Luna's royal attire from the closet. She laid it out on the bed and said "I'll return in a few minutes to finish preparing you. I'm going to go send letters to Twilight and the Mayor of Ponyville so that everyone will expect you."

She bowed herself out of Luna's presence and trotted back to her office. She had pre-written letters ready to go, all that she needed to do was add to them the names of the recipients and a few details written into blank spaces in the parchment. When she had abundant down-time she would pre-write many letters such as these so that less time would be required when they were off greater need. Once they were done she closed her eyes and focused, sending one letter first to Twilight and then the other to the mayor through her magic. She sighed and held a hoof to her head afterwards; sending mail this way was quite taxing for her. She wasn't specialized in that branch of magic.

She went back to Luna's room and let herself in, closing the door quickly behind her. "The letters are sent," she informed the Princess.

"We hath the power to move the Heavens and the and the Moon ..." Luna complained, face set with a frown. "And yet, no matter the effort we go to, we cannot force our Tiara to bend to thine will!"

With an angry jerk of magic, the Princess grappled with the simple problem of making the royal vestment sit atop her mane properly. Eventually, she gave up. As she had done dozens of times in the past.

"Affix it for us," Luna asked. "It appears as if it obeys only thee."

With a roll of her eyes, a smile, and a light-hearted chuckle, Moon Trot nodded. "As you wish, your highness." she said. Despite what other ponies may think, Luna was pleasant to be around once you got to know her. That was why she strove to get the Princess of the Night to integrate into society as her sister had done. She could empathize with Luna's longing for the past, but only to a point. Moon Trot had her duties, and a derivative of them was to keep Luna happy, and the only road to happiness lay forward, not backwards.

She levitated the tiara and, with practiced patience, slowly lowered it into Luna's mane. It took a little bit of adjusting, but in less than three minutes it was affixed properly. "You look splendid your majesty," Moon Trot said, using the brush to fix a small dislocated lock of hair back into place.

"Shall I accompany you into Ponyville?" she asked.

Luna glanced over at her own reflection, taking a few moments to give herself a critical eye. Eventually, she nodded. "We feel good about ourself. We hope thine little ponies agree. We are eager to please them."

"Come," Luna beckoned, willing the enormous doors to her chamber to swing open. "Thou art our Chief Minister of the Night; Our most trusted confidante aside from thine beloved sister ... And also, our one true friend upon which we can always rely to help us. We would not even entertain the notion of leaving thee behind. Where we go, thou shalt follow. Always."

The black coated unicorn was glad for the dim lights of the room and the dark coat she bore so that her blush was unseen. Being complimented was something she was wholly unused to, but compliments from the princess were far more flattering than one might think.

"I am honored you feel that way, your highness." Moon Trot said, though her thoughts dwelt on whether or not she truly deserved the trust of Luna.

Eventually, the pair stepped out of the castle proper and into the grounds where a half-dozen carriages awaited. Luna glanced away from the bright sun in the sky, grimacing.

"We hath never missed the cool of our night as now ..." She grumbled.

Moon Trot was quick to call one of Luna's black and blue carriages over; one with a dark canopy and open sides so that cool air would pass through as it traveled. She bowed and gestured for the princess to board first, getting on herself afterwards.

"Look!" The Princess commanded, gesturing with a hoof upwards. "It is not so easy to see from below, where the Sun doth dominate all in its sky but high above, thou canst see the Moon and the Stars still sing."

The ghostly half-circle of the Moon was just barely visible against the bright blue of the sky, and if one strained even further and used perhaps a hint of magic, a smattering of stars - little more than pinpricks of light - could be discerned.

Moon Trot's gaze rose up towards the blue sky as Luna commanded. As she said, the moon was just scarcely visible. This actually drew a disturbingly similar parallel to how Celestia outshone Luna when she was present.

"The higher we climb, the more we can feel the pull of our Moon as she tracks across the sky ..." Closing her eyes, Luna's horn began to shimmer. Almost as difficult to see as the stars and the Moon above, a wispy, faint tendril of cobalt magic climbed up and up and ... Up, disappearing from view as it angled to presumably the Moon itself so much impossibly higher still. The Princess took a deep and long breath. "Doth thee have any foals, Moon Trot?" She asked unexpectedly and suddenly.

Luna's question caught Moon Trot off guard and she almost replied with a less than courteous "not your business" remark, but she was careful enough to overcome the compulsion. Clearing her throat to cover her momentary lack of response, she replied "None, your excellency. I have scarcely had the time and never had the interest for such a...responsibility." She was unsure how to follow up that answer since the only question she could think of was 'Do you have any?' but she knew the answer to that already. It wasn't like there were many male alicorns flying around. "May I inquire why you ask?" she asked.

"We hath never had companionship in such ways," Luna frowned. "It would not be proper; we are eternal, forever - only our beloved sister is like us. It is a lonesome existence ..."

The black unicorn was not surprised to hear that Luna hadn't ever engaged in that way with another. Unlike some, who loved to rumor and gossip and forge tales, Moon Trot simply never saw either of the Princesses as ponies that would 'stir the pot' for fun and let the passing years erase their exploits from memory. Especially Luna; the forlorn alicorn was far too emotional for something so frivolous as a royal affair.

"We ask because we hath always thought of the Moon as our foal, as the stars are. We crafted it, brought it to life with our magic and we gifted it to the greater world. When unicorn magic grew too weak to exert influence, we presented thineself to ponykind and assumed the duties, with our sister. Still, it hath always reflected our moods, our dreams, our longings ... And yet, it is not alive. Not as thee is, or even us. It is aware, however. It feels ..." the Princess’s voice trailed off for a few seconds.

"We cannot remember the early days," Luna confessed. "In the same way thou canst not remember what thy breakfast of eight months ago to the day was, the centuries to us blur, and our memories become poor copies; faded and incomplete. Still, we recall the Moon talked to us before our ... Exile. Not in words and phrases that we converse in with thee; with feelings, ideas. It hath not talked to us since our return. We think one thousand years hath lost its voice."

Moon Trot gazed up at the dim moon, her mane whipping around her face as the wind from the flying cart swirled it around. Luna's words were touching and quite revealing. It was very sad, but in a touching, loving way, what the princess was sharing.

With a nervous swallow, Moon Trot lifted her hoof and reached over, gently patting Luna on the shoulder. "The moon and stars shed light in the dark," she said, "They guide the lost home, be it literally or figuratively, and have inspired more forms of love in literature than there are stars in your sky. If they are your foals, than you were...are...a great mother." She gave Luna an encouraging smile. "Maybe they haven't lost their voice," She added, "Maybe they just speak differently. Perhaps all you need to do is find a new way to listen."

Luna blinked her eyes. her ears lifting slighting. "Thou believeth that perhaps, they hath learned a new tongue, rather than ceasing to speak at all?"

Luna pondered for a moment, nodding her head slowly. "Perhaps they can no longer understand us, for we hath become archaic compared to their new world. This brings us much comfort. Perhaps again the stars shall whisper unto us the dreams of things which cannot easily take form under the Sun. Thy words hath warmed thine soul and countenance. We hath sorely missed having somepony to listen to us, beyond our frivolousness needs. We would gladly brush our own mane, don our own tiara, if in exchange for another to listen to our thoughts and offer their feelings. Thou art indispensable to us, Moon Trot."

Moon Trot could sense the cheering disposition in the princess's countenance. She breathed a sigh of relief that she had managed to say the right thing to pull Luna, even if just a little, out of her despair.

"It is my honor to serve you in all capacities," Moon Trot said, this much being truthful. As she had grown to admire the princess she had grown to feel the immense burden she had been given. At first being Minister was a hollow title;something she had faked her way into to better do the job granted by her superior. Now, however,she fully embraced her position and had stopped reporting on Luna after giving them her final report andresignation. "Be it combing your hair or speaking with you...as a friend." She ventured the last part with a slightly nervous smile.

"Friends?" Luna repeated, slowly and suspiciously, as if sampling a new food. "Friends ..." The word rolling around her tongue like some tart new wine. The Princess' face was a mask of consideration as she gave this new concept her undivided attention. After a few moments, she nodded and her face brightened into a smile. "Yes! Indeed! We are friends!"

The Princess spread her wings, a subconscious response to her good mood. "It is customary for thine little ponies to have a Dearest Friend, is it not? If this is so, we invite thee to become our Dearest Friend. Will thou accept thine offer? Are contracts required? We could have the Royal Lawponies begin work immediately if necessary. We are unsure how friendship hath changed over the centuries ..."

Luna's acceptance- even excitement- over her proposal of friendship heartened Moon Trot. Never before had she been able to consider someone a friend. She'd had coworkers and acquaintances and professional relationships, naturally, but friends? Never. Until now.

"Well, I cannot answer you for certain," she said, "but to my knowledge all that is required for friendship is both parties involved agreeing to the fact. I certainly am honored and overjoyed to call you my friend, your highness."

"How exciting!" The Princess enthused. We shall have someone other than our beloved sister to invite to the celebration of our birth! We are not sure how old we are; we hath forgotten and Celestia, too, cannot remember but the dates are inscribed in stone in Canterlot Castle ... so we know of the day. We hath never had a party before!"

Moon Trot was glad that Luna was glad. "That sounds like a wonderful idea." She said. Her own birthday parties of her childhood had consisted of her immediate family, and as she grew and became an adult they were now just birthday cards she received in the mail from her parents. Having a party with others would be a treat indeed.

One of the bat-winged pegasai flying the cart announced that they were arriving at Ponyville. "Where would you like us to land your majesty?" he asked.

"We shall announce our presence as befitting a Princess!" Luna commanded with a sweep of her hoof. "Land in the square, within the shadow of the Mayor's Office. Sound thy trumpets! The fanfare that heralds the arrival of the Princess of the Night hath begun!"

Prologue: Ponyville

Prologue: Ponyville
~*~*~

Moon Trot could hear the sound of trumpets playing as the carriage was guided groundward. They passed through the layer where clouds rested- several pegasai giving Luna salutes as they stood on the fluffy substance- and Ponyville became visible beneath them. Dozens of ponies had turned out for the arrival of Luna though Moon Trot suspected that word had not had as much time to spread, as she feared.

With only a few hours notice, the decorations about the main square were slap-dash and the crowd consisted mainly of the elder ponies who held a greater respect for the royal sisters and the younger ponies who were enthralled by Luna from her integration at Nightmare Night. Parents had been dragged out by the children, however, and they hid their discomfort rather well. Some might have even been genuinely excited to have a princess visiting.

The fanfare was loud and the atmosphere exciting. When the chariot came to a halt a pair of pegasai flew overhead and dropped dark blue and silver confetti over it and over its exit for Luna to come out in.

"BEHOLD THE ARRIVAL OF THY PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT!" A terrific boom announced, reverberating around the square and sending birds squawking for respite. "THINE LITTLE PONIES MAY PROFFER THEMSELVES FOR OUR EYES TO INSPECT! WE ARE PLEASED TO VISIT THY TOWN ONCE MORE!"

Moon Trot winced a little at the volume of Luna's voice. Greeting the crowds, okay...I just hope she keeps it down for one on one conversations she thought, exiting the chariot after Luna had done so.

A little pony with a brown spot of fur around one eye ran up to Luna with an excitement that Moon Trot had never seen in the eyes of someone looking at Luna. The look he gave was more akin to the one people gave Celestia. "Princess Luna!" he said, giving her a quick bow when he was within a few paces of her, "Remember me? Pipsqueek the Pirate! But I'm not a pirate now but I was when you scared us on Nightmare Night!"

Luna smiled, looking quite delighted. "Pipsqueak, of course we remember thee! Our For it was thy small form that did remind us that fear can be fun!" she said.

As if to underline the point, Luna stamped her hoof resolutely - generating a crack of thunder from grey clouds that had been white, fluffy and carefree a moment before. "We are pleased, greatly, to once again visit this fair town and bestow upon all of thee a Royal Visit!"

Turning her head to the side, the Princess frowned. "Of Royal Visits, we are compelled to wonder; where is the Mayor? Surely such an occasion as our presence is worthy of recognition from her office?"

An unmistakable pout threatened to form on the Alicorn's features. "We expect our sister would not hath to put up with such rudeness ..." She grumbled. High above, the melancholy clouds threatened rain as they were subtly coerced into mimicking Luna's souring mood.

"I'm certain she's somewhere nearby," Moon Trot said, "I regret to say that I did not give Ponyville as much of a preparation period as I should have. I'll accept any blame that-" She was cut off by the exasperated comments of an older mare who was running through the crowd.

"My most humblest apologies your excellence," the Mayor said, kneeling before Luna, though keeping more distance between her than Pipsqueak had. The younger pony had jumped and almost ran when Luna startled him with the lightning, but instead just laughed and ran off to a group of his friends who were all as excited as him to have Luna in town again.

"I was busy preparing Town Hall for your visit and other things that need to be done... oh shoot no sense for excuses. Welcome to Ponyville your highness! If there is anything that I can do for your visit do not hesitate to say so."

Moon Trot hoped that Luna didn't notice how nervous the Mayor seemed. She might take it the wrong way, though Moon Trot knew that the ponies were just as nervous around Celestia when she visited, although they did show more adoration from a distance.

Luna narrowed her gaze, craning her neck downwards until she was only scant inches from the Mayor's face. Her expression was unreadable but whatever it represented, it stayed fixed for several agonising moment as if the Princess might choose to question the official further; dig a little deeper or else simply throw a temper tantrum. Eventually - blessedly - Luna nodded slowly.

"Very well, we understand the difficulties of logistics only too well. Now, we wish appraise ourselves of the progress Ponyville hath made in recent times. We will require a complete briefing on current projects, as well as issues of note or concern which should be brought to thine royal attention. We assume the majority of thine little ponies hath eschewed our arrival in favour of attending our reception ..."

Luna's eyes flicked towards Moon Trot. "We shall assume a reception was organised ..." It was not a question.

The black mare swallowed and glanced down from the princess, unable to hold her gaze. In her rush to organize something with Ponyville, and in her relief that she had gotten Luna out of the palace even if only for a day, she had not thought to request a reception be prepared. She swallowed nervously as she tried to think of a way to save the situation; perhaps while the mayor was reporting to Luna she could travel to one of the restaurants in town and organize something quickly. But Luna deserved better than a half-assed, slap-dash setup. Honesty would be better in the long run, though not necessarily the short run. Better that she be mad at me than think her people don't care for her Moon Trot thought.

Walking closer to Luna so she could keep her voice down, she said softly "My deepest apologies, your highness, but I neglected to arrange for one. I had thought you were intending for a less formal visit during the daylight hours." She lowered her voice a little more so that the Mayor wouldn't be able to hear, "Would you care for Celestia holding formal royal visits during the splendor of your nights?" This part was perhaps wrong of Moon Trot since it was more than a little manipulative, but her past career had required her to be manipulative on a daily basis and some habits were harder to break. There was a kernal of truth to it as well.

A frown began to etch across the Alicorn's features as she listened, the mounting displeasure obvious as Luna's lips downturned. She had been embarrassed in front of the Mayor; to speak of a reception that had never existed was to sound foolish at best, vain and presumptuous at worst! Why were these failings so regular? Why could she not be perceived as a Princess in the same breath as Celestia? Why must constant failure be her permanent companion? Why? Why. Why. Why.

With a supreme effort of will, the Goddess of the Night forced herself to stop; forced calm upon her anger. Moon Trot's words further acted as a soothing balm to her inflamed pride. In her haste to be appreciated, welcomed, as a Princess should, had she in fact acted to offend the order of things? She had no dominion over the Day, so why should she be recognised during it? Her beloved sister held total dominion while the sun traversed the sky. To presume to be received in the manner she had, Luna had clearly erred.

A second supreme effort of will ensured the wave of disappointment and melancholy that crashed upon her horn went ignored by all save, perhaps, her Minister of the Night, who had to struggle not to pat Luna on the shoulder again. Earlier, in the privacy of the chariot in the sky, it had been acceptable and it had worked wonders to cheer the Princess up. Unfortunately to do so now would be beyond improper, and so Luna had to suffer in her own anguish in physical solitude. Fortunately, she had managed to save Luna some face by allowing the Mayor to hear her apologize for forgetting to arrange everything.

"It is no matter," Luna replied eventually. "We will proceed to the Mayor's office and begin our briefing."

Moon Trot followed Luna and the Mayor into Town Hall and the Mayor led them to her office. She offered her seat to Luna as she grabbed a couple of things and had an assistant bring more in. Documents and books were stacked neatly in one corner of the desk and the mayor started to go through them one-by-one, telling of renovations being made to many of the public buildings to feature a greater emphasis on the stars and the moon, getting them to equal the clouds and sun that are used to portray Celestia. Almost everything in Ponyville had been built during Luna's banishment so everything was geared towards the solo-princess lore.

"There was a lucky unfortunate accident not long ago where one of our clumsier local pegasai did considerable damage to this building," The Mayor said after gesturing for Luna to join her outside the office in the main central room of the building where lots of patchwork construction was still visible. "We focused on getting the building back up to structural code before anything, but because of the other renovations going on in our little town this building has been rather neglected, but it has also provided an opportunity. Mory Artsy, Ponyville’s finest painter, is working on a mural that will span every wall and ceiling surface of the Town Hall that will not follow the normal binary separation of night-and-day, but instead mix the beauty of both of our beloved princesses into menagerie of Night and Day that will make one indistinguishable from the other, and yet both as separate as yourself and your sister!"

Moon Trot was curious as to how that would look when completed, and she was pleased that the Mayor was starting to overcome her earlier nervousness and was showing Luna quite a bit of eagerness and excitement at the projects going on around town.

"We have not begun one project yet," she added, "We were going to wait until after the next Summer Sun Celebration so that we can finish just before Nightmare Night and also so we have time to write up a formal proposal, but basically," she pulled out a leaf of paper and showed it to Luna. It was a picture of her Nightmare Moon statue from the edge of town. It looked as frightening as before, but there were some cosmetic changes to make it more regal and less monstery. "And during warmer weather," she said, flipping to another sheet of paper. The same statute but with water flowing out from the horn and spraying all around into a basin, making it a fountain. "We intend to let the water spray freeze over winter and make it the centerpiece for a celebration that our young Pipsqueak suggested last year and the town unanimously adored it."

"A new celebration?" Moon Trot asked, slightly surprised by this. Very rarely did a new celebration occur, and usually it took a drastic event to do so.

"Yes," The Mayor said, still swelling with pride. "The Summer Sun Celebration was started after yo...Nightmare Moon was exiled, but over a thousand years became more a celebration of the Sun itself rather than that event. So we decided to skip the next millenium and celebrate the return of Princess Luna, that is to say, you, and that you have done a complete turn-around in a short amount of time so, in the middle of winter, exactly half a year from the Summer Sun Celebration, we intend to hold the first Winter Moon celebration!" She beamed at her own remark, "We have several ponies already making plans for it but we haven't yet gotten all of the formalities ready. I'm sorry to surprise you with it now rather than the formal presentation I was preparing to show you in person later this spring."

Luna nodded as the mayor spoke, but her attention was entirely held by the picture of the Nightmare statue. She leaned forwards, occasionally nodding her head and doing a passable impression of taking in what the Mayor said. Without the comedic fangs and the angry, rageful scowl on the statue's features it seemed almost ... Regal. Luna suppressed the urge to shudder. She could remember it all. The raw, intoxicating power; the feeling of complete control, supreme confidence - backed up with a terrible fury bred from ten centuries of tormented exile. The Nightmare was mostly held as a spirit of evil; of everything dishonourable and cruel but the truth was more complex. In amongst the evil, there were strands of Luna.

Her knowledge, her hopes and dreams. They were as inseparable from the Nightmare as the cutie mark they both shared. Eventually, Luna looked away. The terrible headache that always seemed to plague her whenever the Nightmare was discussed - or even mentioned - was enough for her to seek something new to focus on.

"A Winter Moon Celebration?" The Princess repeated suddenly, a little too loudly. She blinked, as though considering the idea. "There hath not been a celebration of the Moon in over one thousand years ... We do not think the gentleponies of Canterlot will be particularly receptive to appreciating us. However, we hath no such obstacles here, in Ponyville. We ... We would be delighted, honored, privileged and humbled to give this event our royal patronage. It hath been so long since we can recall thine little ponies gathering together under our Night. We admit we had long believed they would never do so ..."

Never one to allow herself emotional vulnerability, Luna quickly changed tact. "We are most intrigued by thy planned murial. We hath lived for a great long time, and we hath seen many attempts to marry the Sun and Moon together. Some hath been more successful than others - we are intrigued to see how thee will approach the task."

The Mayor swelled with pride at Luna's acceptance of the proposed celebration. Moon Trot was glad that the mentioning of Nightmare Moon didn't outwardly upset Luna too much though she suspected the well practiced Royal Demeanor had something to do with keeping her appearance calm. The Mayor went on about not knowing the details of the mural design but that one of the art studios was currently working on it if she wished to get a preview of their work. "Provided their artistic egos will bend even to the wishes of a Princess" the Mayor added with a chuckle. She cleared her throat and added "I believe that covers everything you requested to see. May I be of further service?"

"We hath seen enough," The Princess surmised. "We thank thee for thy attention. A ... "Good Day", Mayor. Come, Moon Trot!”

Moonrise

Chapter 1: Moonrise
~*~*~

The sun was on its descent and soon Luna would be taking control of Equestria beginning with the rising of the moon. Moon Trot had managed to get a successful six hours of uninterrupted sleep during the evening and was now fresh as a fiddle and ready to see to Luna's needs as well as the plethora of other administrative details that the Minister of the Night had to handle on a daily- or nightly- basis.

Stopping out front of the massive ornate doors that separated Luna's personal quarters from the rest of the castle, Moon Trot used her magic to lift and lightly tap the large ebony rings that served as knockers. While capable of making a sizable thud, the Minister was more than capable of using them gingerly so as to alert Luna to her presence rather than force her out of slumber should she still be asleep.

Magic was a mysterious force, even to those ponies who had made it their life's work to study. It required the greatest focus and clarity to wield; even a few misspoken words or the wrong intonation might give a spell a wildly different result that might see princes become frogs, or even oranges. Or both.

While much research and investigation had been carried out on the magic of the three pony races - none more dedicated to the task than the great Star Swirl himself - the magic of the Alicorns was an altogether different affair. So incredibly ancient were they that none still alive could ever hope to remember a time before their arrival. In thousands of years the sum total knowledge that was neither fairytale nor pure speculation filled only a few dusty tomes in the Canterlot Royal Library. A unicorn, or a pegasus or an earth pony tapped into magic as if dipping their hoof in a stream but the Alicorns somehow seemed to swim in that stream; surrounded by it, energised by it. Sustained by it.

It was this curiosity that meant while the Princess was still quite fast asleep, oblivious to the world surrounding her, her magic was not so. With a little more effort than normal, given it acted without any direct permission, Luna sluggishly pulled the door open to admit Moon Trot. The cobalt-coloured cloud of magic retreated, pausing to adjust the royal tiara sat on the desk opposite before returning to its master's horn.

The door opened via a familiar plume of magical energy and Moon Trot momentarily believed that Luna had arisen on time today. Upon entering the room, however, she silently sighed as she saw that she was wrong. Having borne witness to the magical abilities of the Princess many times, Moon Trot wasn't surprised that she would subconsciously open the door when such an act would otherwise require focus.

"Princess?" She said softly after walking over to the edge of the bed, "Princess Luna? Its time for you to wake up." She already had a hair brush levitating near her head so that she could assist the Mistress of the Night, Stars and Moon in preparing for her night.

Moon Trot wasn't entirely a fan of having to wake Luna up every night, but at the same time this had been one of the most helpful ways for Moon Trot to truly get to know the mare and overcome the prejudices she had grown up with against the mythical Nightmare. The fact that the princess over slept was a rather charming reminder that, despite her magical powers and immortality and archaic manner of speaking, Luna was more or less a normal pony.

Whilst Princess Celestia could no more excel in the night as Luna could stir during the day, the former Alicorn had at least a thousand years' experience in having to sometimes stay up later than her desired bedtime and rise even earlier. The Goddess of the Moon was a strictly nocturnal creature and, occasionally, the task of waking her prior to Moonrise was a very difficult one that nopony would dare handle save only the most senior and distinguished.

Which, in the Department of the Night, was Moon Trot's less-than-joyous remit and hers alone. While Celestia employed a half-dozen Hoof Maidens and other tenders, Luna's organisation was far more archaic and clandestine. In her eyes, the most powerful ponies should naturally see to their Princess. Seniority demanded it. Didn't it?

"We shalt dine on thy cake in the drawing room ..." The Princess mumbled, sinking deeper beneath the covers until only her horn protruded from view. " ... Pretell, we wish to know more of ponies flying without wings ..."

Luna coughed, and rolled over before resuming her mumbling. "Astounding ... And thoust calls this contraption an Aero-Plane ..."

One of Moon Trot's faint purple eyebrows cocked up in minor confusion at the odd comments coming from Luna in her sleep, and then she had to struggle to refrain from giggling too hard. She chuckled quietly, however. It was too amusing not to have at least a little bit of a laugh.

Walking around the bed to the windows, Moon Trot gave a long chord a yank that pulled all of the blackout curtains open. Though the windows were not facing the setting sun, the ambient light still lit up the room more than it had been. The darkness on the visible horizon was the call for Luna. She needed to fill the blank darkness.

Moon Trot went back to the bedside and, grabbing the edge of the blanket in her teeth, gave it a sharp yank to pull the blanket free of Luna and of the bed. "Time to rise," she said once she had dropped the blanket, putting her hoof on it and pressing it down so that if Luna hastily tried to re-cover herself it would be at least a little more difficult.

The Princess frowned at the burst of light, eyes still clenched shut as the covers were whisked free. Burying her face in the pillow, Luna's magic once again took the liberty of acting out of turn and groped blindly for the missing warmth. Unfortunately for both the magic and the Minister of the Night, an Alicorn's deductive powers were severely limited in matters of sleepmagicking. The cobalt cloud tugged at the covers but under the weight of the pony pressing down, decided they could not be what would warm their master. The cloud settled around Moon Trot and in a moment, with the limited information at its disposal, deduced this was the errant bedding.

Moon Trot was momentarily shocked into a stun as she was lifted from the floor and made to lay across Luna. Aside from how awkward it was, Moon Trot couldn’t entire complain about this new proximity. She tried to get off of the princess, but the magic held her down. Luna mumbled contentedly at the warmth that draped over her, and the fur that tickled her nose. This was not right at all!

Sighing, the Princess did bother to open her eyes to confirm what she already knew. "We put thine Moon to sleep merely twelve hours ago ... Hath the time come to raise it again so soon?"

With a more conscious direction of magic, Luna set her Minister of the Night back on all fours, on the floor. "We are so very fatigued. Could the Day not last forever, just this one occurrence?"

"Yes," Moon Trot said, "And it’s been thirteen and a half hours. In a few months the days will be getting shorter and you won't have this luxury of sleeping in." She prepared to flip the mattress over when she was asked if the Sun could last all day.

"Hmm, good question," She said in faux sincerity. With a heave of her hooves and a push of magic, the mattress tumbled over to one side and deposited the princess onto the floor in a pile of princess, pillows, and blankets. "How about you get out of bed, brush your teeth, have some breakfast and ask your sister for a few straight days of daylight. If she says yes, I'll let you go back to bed. But for now you must get up and eat breakfast. Fancy Feast won't be happy with you if you wait for your food to get cold...again." she said while walking around to the other side of the bed to fix the mattress and make sure that Luna wasn't going to try and fall asleep on the floor.

"'Tis most indignant to deposit a Princess upon the floor!" Luna grumbled, her errant mane billowing over her features and making it difficult enough just to see. Finally seeing there would be no peace, she climbed to her hooves and indulged in a petulant sigh.

"Would you prefer next time I use the age-old method of pouring a bucket of ice water on your head?" Moon Trot offered, fixing the bedding after Luna had gotten herself out of them. She fluffed the pillows and spread out the sheet and blanket to make the bed, knowing that her efforts would be wasted anyway when the room cleaners came in after Luna had left to do her nightly work and strip the bed to wash the linens.

"'Tis ironic that as our night grows longer, everypony spends longer in dreams whilst we must rouse thineself ever earlier. As for Fancy Feast ..."

The Princess made her way into the bathroom adjoining the chambers. "He hath long since fallen from our favour when we discovered he pre-tested new meals meant for our sister upon us. As if we qualified as a test subject! Most indignant!" Her complaints degenerated from words into sounds as the toothbrush was sent to work

Unfortunately the Minister had no defense in place for Fancy Feast. When she had found out about the meal testing she had been more upset than Luna and thought to write a formal complaint to Celestia about it, but she stopped herself from sending it when she decided that it would be best for Luna to, for lack of a better phrase, 'stand up for herself' on such a matter. Still, Moon Trot had a duty to do and she had paid a personal visit to the kitchen one day to remind Fancy Feast that he was to cook for two now that Luna had returned, not just one.

I wonder if his tail has grown back yet she thought while pulling Luna's royal adornments out of various closets and drawers and setting them out on the bed.

"Just remember that winter may have longer nights but it also has the nicest holidays. Nightmare Night, Thanksgiving, Hearts Warming, New Years, Hearts and Hooves Day, oh and that holiday we spoke to the Mayor of Ponyville about a few weeks ago." Moon Trot had to tap her chin a bit as she recalled the details. "Something about the Moon...I have it written down at my desk. The new one, do you remember?" She asked Luna as she vanished into the bathroom.

"Of course we remember," Luna snapped irritably, emerging from the bathroom with a scowl and a levitated towel. "We are eternal."

Dabbing at her muzzle, the Princess winced at the weak sunlight still streaming through the window. "Thou may tend to our mane now."

Dropping down onto a large cushion positioned ahead of a mirror, Luna stifled a yawn; sleepy eyes rolling around the room disinterestedly. "Hath anything of import been scheduled for thine attentions?"

Moon Trot didn't reply to the irritable Luna as she emerged from the bathroom. Despite her position, Moon Trot knew there was only so much leeway that she could expect before she might truly annoy the Princess. She walked over to the cushion where Luna sat and used the brush she had been maintaining to begin working the knots and general messiness that was the semi-ethereal starlit mane.

She went over a mental summary of the notices and requests that had come across her desk before she went to sleep. "Aside from the daily routines, the only new items are the captain of the weather patrol would like to discuss the schedule for the upcoming season's weather patterns, Upper Crust and Jet Set have sent an invitation to their garden party tonight, an ambassador from The Griffon Republic arrived earlier today and would like a social audience, and the official documentation for the Winter Moon Celebration has been submitted if you care to read it. Its just a longer, drier version of what Ponyville's Mayor told you." She moved from Luna's mane to her tail as she considered anything else. "That is all I can recall off the top of my head."

"Very well ..." Luna nodded enthusiastically, although the Griffon might prove some entertainment. While they were very long-lived, it was unlikely any still walked who could remember Luna prior to her banishment. Their proud tradition of storytelling, however, meant even the youngest could recite the proud history of their race before they could walk - or fly. The Princess of the Night had "enjoyed" many interesting encounters with the Griffons prior to Equestria's founding and during the numerous conflicts that had, prior to her enforced absence, been the norm.

As such, she could almost certainly expect the Griffon Ambassador to believe he would be facing an audience with an Alicorn who had once carried the name "Dread Empress" ... The Griffons could be quite poetic when they made the effort.

"We believe the Equestrian Astronomical Society hath also deined to request our time to discuss thine stars ... We are sure they are to congratulate us on our attempts to restore thine night to that which it should be."

Tipping her muzzle upwards, Luna turned her head as if catching a voice calling her name. " ... It is almost Moonrise. Come, we shall seek out our beloved sister and her Minister, Bright Light."

Moon Trot couldn't blame Luna for the lack of apparent enthusiasm for the day. It was work, after all. All ponies loved their special talents but nopony wanted to go to work. There were even days where Moon Trot didn't want to come in and work. That feeling usually ended once she started doing her duty. Her job, fortunately, was her special talent to a 'T' and so by the time she had Luna up and out of bed for the day she was ready to face the night. Sometimes even eager.

She did her best with the tail but for some reason it was always seemed a little unruly. Once it was in a 'good enough' state she put the brush down and began to place the royal adornments on the princess. Luna mentioned the astronomers and Moon Trot did a face-hoof. She had completely forgotten about them, but that was because she found the process of rearranging stars so tedious and dull that for the stretches of time where she would sit quietly unneeded she tended to zone out and daydream.

"Yes, of course," Moon Trot said, "I apologize for forgetting." She noticed Luna's tilted head as she had been about to put the royal tiara on her. Once it was on, she asked "Does...does the Moon speak?" she asked. A while ago, Luna had confided in Moon Trot that she missed the voice of the moon, that it no longer spoke to her. Now it looked as though LUna was listening to a voice and Moon Trot hoped that maybe, if the moon did speak once more, Luna would feel better.

"It does not speak ..." Luna sighed, shaking her mane. "It ... Reminds us to pay it due attention, but not with words. It is difficult to explain. We hath not heard its voice for a long time and yet, every morn and eve, it doth call us to its service in the same way a foal might whimper or cry; attracting thine attention without ever uttering a word. We hope it will talk to us soon ... We placed great sorrow upon it when we were ... Absent. It hath not forgiven us yet. We would not forgive if roles were reversed."

Swishing her tail, the Princess changed the subject curtly. "Let us proceed."

Moon Trot took the moment between Luna admitting that she would no more forgive the Moon than the Moon had yet to forgive her and stating that they should continue on with the approach of the Night to reach out with her hoof and pat the Princess of the Night on the shoulder. It was a paltry gesture, but it was the best that Moon Trot could think to do. Sometimes simply knowing there was a friendly hoof there to help, even if the pony couldn't actually help, was comforting. It was something her brother, strangely enough, had taught her.

They left Luna's room and descended the tower to a level that was shared with the rest of the castle. From there they went to the central spire and ascended once more, up to the highest peak where they were soon emerging into the twilight of the evening to the sound of Bright Light's voice heralding them.

~*~*~

Princess Celestia stood in all of her regal glory atop the highest tower in Canterlot. The top was scarcely more than a large railed platform with a small nub in its center where the door and stairs were located. For a millennium she had stood alone, handling the rotations of the Sun and the Moon. Prior to that, her beloved sister had stood beside her during the changes from Day to Night and vice versa. Now she was back, and now the regal duo would stand together once more to usher in the end of another day.

"Bright Light?" She said, turning to her most trusted adviser who was waiting by the door, "Do you hear them yet?" she asked, wanting to know if Luna was on her way. Despite displaying the utmost faith in her younger sister, Celestia harbored fear that Nightmare Moon was not gone and that Luna's lack of friendship or comradeship would someday draw the Nightmare back out. Ponyville was taking a shine to Luna, however, and Celestia did her best to encourage her sister to visit the quaint little town as often as she could.

Bright Light was the most powerful pony in all of Equestria who didn't have both wings and a horn ... And some whispered he was even more powerful than anypony who didn't have a Sun or a Moon emblazoned on their flanks - the complex issue of just how much power Cadance did, or did not wield, going unanswered. Beneath the Goddess of the Sun, he had once boasted the title Premier of Equestria; single-hoofedly running the entire Principality regardless of whether the Sun or the Moon stood in the sky. With the return of Luna, the Department of the Night had once again become independent, free and sovereign. Some ponies might chafe under such diminished responsibility, harbour jealousy or resentment for being marginalised.

Bright Light was not one of those ponies. He existed to serve Princess Celestia and her will would be done. While he projected a well-practised air of sincerity and piousness, inside the unicorn was quite looking forward to seeing Moon Trot once more. Ever since her secret remit had expired their meetings had gradually curtailed; without an official need to see each other so regularly they had not spoken in quite some time. Still ... She fulfilled a vital function not only in assisting the Princess Luna but also keeping a watchful eye. While she was more than a capable Minister, she had been chosen because of her talent for subterfuge, for stealth magic and obscuring the truth behind the most believable lies.

The tell-tale clink of diamond shoes upon the smooth stonework shook Bright Light from his ponderings. "Your Solar Highness," He announced stiffly, extending a hoof towards the doorway. "We present to you Her Lunar Highness, Princess Luna and Minister of the Night, Moon Trot."

Moon Trot stopped shortly after emerging onto the platform and took a standing position on the opposite side of the door from Bright Light. She gave the unicorn a polite nod of her head in greeting but otherwise remained silent. She still had not told Luna about her original purpose for 'serving' her and how only in the last few months had that purpose been changed to a far more honest and truthful one. Bright Light, while an admirable enough stallion, was also a reminder of her remaining dishonesty.

Celestia, on the other hoof, was cheered to see her sister emerge from the castle. She walked to her and met her halfway, lifting a hoof to pull Luna into a hug. "Good evening beloved sister," she said, "I trust you enjoyed your rest?"

Luna felt less invited and more dragged into the embrace, but she did little to resist it other than turn her head away and try not to look embarrassed. "We thank thee for thy warm greeting, Sister."

After the exchange, both alicorns climbed the central dais - a raised platform divided into two semicircles of the blackest obsidian and the most brilliant white marble. Their voices hushed, whatever it was they conversed about did not reach the two senior ponies of state standing a short distance away.

"We assume there is no outstanding business to concern us?" Luna broached eventually, feeling as if it were somehow her responsibility to initiate some kind of conversation. The invisible sparks of magic beginning to pool about her sister's horn tickling her nose and scratching at her coat as she watched.

Celestia's eyes had closed while concentration focused her mind and her magic. She had performed the ritual of raising and lowering the Sun so many times that one might think it would be second nature to her. In some ways, it was. The familiar warmth of its light was as comforting to her as her sister's presence; the one constant that had never changed in all her long years. Still, the Sun was big. Some of the more mathematical and scientific minded ponies under her domain had plastered numbers to it over the years. Unfortunately, numbers could only describe so much. To actually feel the Sun, to move it, to be it was so far removed from a string of numbers scribbled on a scroll that Celestia had actually laughed when one pony had tried to compare moving the Sun to moving 'Every mountain in Equestria five thousand times'.

Still though, even with her concentration at the sky where the Sun was gently sinking over the horizon and bringing about the empty darkness that was the temporary void between her and her sister, she could converse.

"Well I had lunch with the Griffon Ambassador. I think he delayed his dinner so he could meet you. Hmm....." The Sun slipped a bit faster for a fraction of a second while Celestia tried to recall other things, but she fixed her concentration fast. "Sorry, today was on the dull side of things so I was sort of zoning out at times. I'll ask Bright Light to update Moon Trot on anything important."

A few seconds later and the Sun was gone, and the remnants of its orange and golden glow were fast fading from the sky.

"Moon Trot hath run thine Night flawlessly," Luna remarked cooly. "We are sure she will yet find details to update Bright Light upon."

Stretching her forehooves, the Princess of the Night bowed her head and stretched forwards. Gathered from the nothingness of the air, ribbons of blue began to coalesce; shimmering and twisting as they began to whirl about the Alicorn's horn. The colours danced and merged, until a terrific azure beam fired outwards - blazing a corruscating trail through the air and stretching into the distance. Hesitantly, as if peeking over a wall, the Moon's mottled, grey tundra crept above the city limits of Canterlot. Gaining courage, the pitted orb climbed higher. Encouraged by the disappearance of the sun the stars themselves began to burn ever-brighter; a canvas of billions of points of light that spread far across a dark blue backing.

The powerful beam of magic erupting from Luna's horn flickered and began to thin before, finally, dissipating. Drawing a deep breath, the Goddess of the Moon nodded in satisfaction. "Once more, we shall guard the Night. As always. Rest, sister."

~*~*~

"I trust the Night continues to thrive under your stewardship?" Bright Light asked suddenly, breaking the silence. "I'd meant to find the time to talk a good while ago but ... As you definitely know, the business of running Equestria is never really done. There's always something demanding attention ..."

Moon Trot glanced at Bright Light when he brought up a new topic of conversation that was, at the same time, an old and rather small talk topic of conversation. "The Night endures my stewardship. It thrives under Luna's presence." She turned her gaze upon the raised dais, looking at the lesser- and yet, in some ways greater- of the Princesses. "She tries so hard to restore what once was and to atone for her mistakes. Each Night she ushers in is as magnificent as the last, and yet somehow surpassing what one could expect. The ponies who toil under the sun and sleep during these hours are truly the lesser for the loss." Moon Trot, for one, had never been more surprised at the sheer beauty the stars and the moon could bring than she had on the night when Luna stepped back into her former duties, but she was more than grateful for it.

She looked back at Bright Light when she remembered he had said more than merely asking about the night. "We have a few minutes to spare now while they change the sky," She said, nodding towards the Princesses, "Unless whatever you need to talk about requires more time than that. I'll need to compare schedules with you and we can make an appointment for it in that case."

"A very poetic description," Bright Light mused as he watched the sun slip below the mountains that surrounded Canterlot. "Nonetheless, mistakes must be paid for - it's the way of all things and even Princesses aren't above such redress. What that redress is, of course, is not for a mere pony like I or you to say."

The Stallion frowned as he considered his counterpart's ... unique take on the situation. "Ponies have always slept in the night and frolicked during the day. It's the natural order of things ... Some ponies were meant for greater things, and with those greater things come great challenges and burdens. Such is the burden of the Night."

Moon Trot suppressed a scowl from forming when Bright Light started talking about Luna being required to pay for her mistakes. From Moon Trot's perspective, the Princess had paid for what she had done. Bright Light did not see the constant regret the dark blue mare all but radiated because he was blinded by the light.

"Things change," She said as counterpoint to 'the natural order', "There once was a time when Pegasai and Unicorn trusted each other as much as the lamb trusts the wolf. There was a time when all ponies frolicked during the day and rested at night. Now there are ponies who sleep the day away and tend to their duties at night. In fact, there are even popular recreational activities that are tended mostly in the darker hours after the work day has finished. The 'natural order' is more evenly distributed."

"Things are fluid," Bright Light agreed, his attention diverted between his eyes that were drawn to watch Luna and his words, directed at Moon Trot. "I meant only that the character of the Night will always be what it is; just as the Day. They have existed as they were since before you or I or anypony walked on the grass or the rock and I suspect, long after we've all gone. I was merely musing, shall we say."

"On the subject of other business,” Bright Light continued, “I assume you've nothing, shall we say, unusual to bring to my attention? Anything that might ... Shall we say, impact the good running of the Day?"

The obvious subtext did little to improve Moon Trot's degrading mood. "Speaking of examples of change, that's another one." She lowered her voice further, "I stopped reporting to you months ago and I will not start now. As I said in my last report, Luna is no longer a threat to Equestria, nor shall she be so long as Equestria returns the faith and hope that Luna is giving to it." She turned her head away from him in sheer frustration.

Bright Light held up a hoof in supplication. "I apologise - I didn't intend for that to sound like an order, or a request for information. Shall we say, I was merely interested in anything that might impact my good running of the Day. Princess Celestia is pleased with Luna's progress and return to her side; consequently I am pleased. Her will be done."

~*~*~

Celestia smiled as she watched her Sister bring about the glory of the Night. "I shall leave you to your duty then beloved sister," she said, giving Luna a graceful friendly bow. She left the dais and went back to the door where the two Ministers were standing. Like Luna and Celestia, Moon Trot and Bright Light were as opposite as day and night, and not only in appearance.

"A pleasure to see you Moon Trot," Celestia said. Moon Trot bowed and returned the sentiment. "Bright Light," Celestia continued, "Please take a few minutes before retiring to update Moon Trot on todays events. Thank you." She said before entering the tower door to descend back to the castle proper.

Luna returned the bow stiffly, and watched her sister depart. Stepping down from the dias, the Princess came to a halt between the two senior-most unicorns in all of Equestria. "What hath thou to tell us of thine land and its affairs?"

Bright Light frowned, taking a few moments to run whatever it was Luna had said through his own mind's translator. "Good Evening, Your Highness. As always, all pertinent business of the Day has been concluded promptly and as such, there are no outstanding issues for your consideration beyond what has already been assigned to you--I mean, what is already awaiting your consideration."

The Stallion smiled, giving not a single indication he was even aware of the slip-up. "I expect the Griffon Ambassador will rise shortly, after the conclusion of this evening's Night Court. Other than that, I have nothing further to advise."

"Thou art dismissed from us," The Princess commanded.

Bowing, Bright Light offered a nod to Moon Trot before disappearing into the bowels of the castle proper.

Luna made to follow. "Let us see then, who hath come to request an audience with us this night."

Night Court

Chapter 2: Night Court
~*~*~

The worst part of Bright Light was his ability to be so irritating and yet pass it off politely and apologetically enough so as to make whomever he was angering feel bad for getting upset over something that, thirty seconds later, seemed trivial. Moon Trot, for example, felt bad that she had gotten so snappy at the stallion for his idle curiosity, and yet she hated him for making her feel bad because she knows it was an act but at the same time she could do nothing about it.

Fortunately, he was soon leaving her presence, and Moon Trot would be able to forget about him once more. She did not miss the verbal slip Bright Light gave to Luna but chose not to pursue it for the mere sake of keeping the peace. Plus it didn't help that any attempt to reprimand her former superior would only come across as petty and ultimately cause more harm than good.

Moon Trot gave the night sky a long look before stepping into the stairwell and shutting the door behind herself and Luna. "Your Night is lovely, excellency," she commented as they walked.

"The stars hath answered thine call to shine at their most brilliant," Luna nodded as the pair made their way through the castle. "We shalt not dine now; we prefer to press on with the business of the state. We shall review the matters requiring our attention, prior to the beginning of Night Court."

The next place they would have stopped would have been the dining hal,l if Luna were feeling hungry, and while there they would have handled some of the administrative paperwork and reports, which would largely consist of Moon Trot summarizing summaries and passing a few scrolls to Luna to be signed. Luna could read them, but anything worth reading would be given extra attention and be emphasized beforehand.

Since Luna wasn't hungry, they would bypass the paperwork until later in the night and instead went directly to the Caelos Atrium where any who desired an audience with the Princess of the Moon, had a good reason for seeing her, passed the security inspections, filled out the proper forms in triplicate, and arrived early enough, would be waiting.

As a consequence of being mostly diurnal, the castle was an altogether quieter affair under the gaze of the Moon. Ponies still flitted through, of course, but the hallways were wide and empty; the candles that flickered in the wind casting dancing, warping shadows on the stonework. Here and there one of those shadows stood immobile, unyielding - Limited proof that the Princess' own guards stood ever-watchful. Still, it was peaceful if not bustling and Luna was always grateful that she could indulge in her fondness for silence. That was not to say she preferred not to speak; only that she did not do so when she had nothing to say.

Several members of the Royal Court, such as Prince Blueblood, could learn from such a valid lesson.

Moon Trot made a gesture to one of the night attendants as they passed. It was to have the attendant go to the kitchen and tell them to keep the Princess’s food warm- or cold, depending on the actual dish- for later. A different gesture to a different attendant sent a pegasus flying through the halls to gather paperwork from various offices and bring them to Moon Trot. A large portion of the papers were fluffed up bureaucratic memorandums, but at the core of each report was something that needed to be seen to by Luna or ensured that Luna was informed of it.

Once the pegasus came back with the stack of documents Moon Trot used her telekinetic magic to hold them in place at her side. The first scroll floated in front of her and opened up.

"The first guest of the evening will be Torrent, captain of the Weather Patrol. He wants your approval on the augmented winter weather schedule." She sent the scroll ahead to Luna so she could skim over it. Torrent kept his documents in tidy order and there was little room for Moon Trot to summarize since it was mostly just a bulleted list of dates and weather on those dates with a few crossed out in red and new weather patterns written in in red as well, with notes appended for why there was such a change.

"The petition for the alteration of the weather is granted," Luna nodded a moment after scanning the document. Nothing particularly challenging. Moon Trot made a mental note to tell Torrent as soon as she saw him so that he could go rest for the night rather than wait through the Night Court.

"This one is just the invitation I mentioned earlier," Moon Trot passed it to Luna as well before going to the next one, "The railroad to the Crystal Empire is continuing on schedule...letter from the Ambassador saying how honored he will be to sit in your presence later...letter from the Astrological Institute that you mentioned earlier...invitation from Prince Blue Blood to his royal birthday party in a few months, please RSVP...a request for funding for research into...er...self-sustaining nightlights?" She read further into this document. It must have been a last minute push by someone lower in the chain of command, "Apparently candles are being deemed dangerous for young foals who are afraid of the dark and a magical source of illumination that could last for the night hours without requiring a unicorn's constant presence would solve the issue of safety and allow the young ponies to sleep peacefully." It was an interesting idea, to say the least.

The words from the Griffon Ambassador brought the smallest smile to the Alicorn's lips. "He hath started his duel early. Griffons value strength above all else, albeit not necessarily in the body while absent in the mind. Nonetheless, while it is not the easiest to see, that was a highly sarcastic missive, courtesy of the Ambassador. Thou shalt see, later, his kind in their element. Subtle threats, joshings, insults and mockery mixed with respect and warrior's honour. It is quite the eclectic conflagration to observe. We are sure thou shalt learn something from it."

On the subject of self-sustaining illumination, the Princess was intrigued. "Pretell, hath any technical documents accompanied this request? We are distinctly uneasy about the prospect of magic summoned forth and allowed to work free of a unicorn's influence. The magic of the Earth Ponies and Pegasi is more stable, alas it does not have the power or the range and thus it is usually impossible to see beyond the obviousness of walking on clouds, or tending to crops. We hath seen attempts at spontaneous magical collection and containment ... It did not end at all well."

Moon Trot shuffled through the scrolls to find the ones pertaining to the magical night light request. "Uhm..." She said as she perused them. "Nothing by way of schematics, formulae, or incantations," she said, "But here's a description of what they hope to do but...yeesh, they clearly didn't have anyone proofread it." She passed the scroll up to Luna so that she could read about the plans to give the devices an initial 'charge' upon manufacturing and then have them absorb the radiant magic from the Sun and Moon when not in use to store up for the night where they will have an enchanted lever that, when turned to have one seal touch another seal, emit a soft light that glows with the brightness of a candle but without the heat or fire that were related to the devices.

Luna nodded attentively, until Moon Trot made mention of harnessing the radiant energy of the Moon. Instantly a deep frown creased her features and her wings flared instinctively. "This petition is rejected immediately. Inform those whom filed it that they are ordered, without prejudice or delay, to discontinue their investigations and experiments. Thou shalt make it clear that no attempt should be made to draw energy from the Moon or the Stars."

Luna's voice became quiet, making it all the more pointed and threatening. "We wish to make it clear. They are not to attempt to communicate with the stars. It is imperative that thou understandeth what we are ordering, Moon Trot."

Tipping her eyes upwards as if to stare at the Night through the ceiling of the chamber, the Princess shook her mane. "That will be insufficient. Have the Lunar Guard deliver thine order and confiscate any and all equipment, notes and studies into any processes they may have begun to communicate with the stars. We will not tolerate any attempt to cirucmvent thine authority. Are we clear?"

Moon Trot was taken aback by the sudden ferocity that Luna exhibited. She could sympathize with a little of her frustrations since the scientists would be dabbling in her realm- the Moon- but her vicious tone and the even more silent order afterwards alarmed the Minister of the Night. While part of her wished to speak up not on behalf of the scientists but in order to calm the Princess of the Night at least in part, she was currently too caught up in the tension of the moment.

"Yes, your highness," she replied submissively to the order. A scroll materialized before her and a quill began to write on it before Luna rectified her order. The Guard themselves were to go. The drastic action was enough to point to Moon Trot that there would be no discussion of the subject. Not right now, at least. With a nod, Moon Trot had the half-written orders vanish and she walked away from the Princess. The nearest guard was just beyond the doors and she spoke to him. He nodded his understanding and took off, leaving his partner behind to remain as door guard while he himself went off to speak with the Lunar Guard Commander, relay the orders, and more than likely go with a dozen or so other dark fliers of the night to uphold the orders of their Princess.

Allowing a few moments to collect herself, Luna's voice lost the knife-edge that had made it so powerful and unyielding a moment before. "Come, Night Court doth begin imminently and we are expecting the arrival of the Astronomical Society of Equestria firstly."

Moon Trot, glad that she had taken on her softer tones for the upcoming visitors, went to the main doors and opened them. Many of the guests of the night were already lined up outside. She showed them into the antechamber where seats and refreshments were arrayed as well as an orchestral band to provide ambiance. It took some time to find the speakers for the Astronomical Society but once she had rounded the three of them up she escorted them to Princess Luna and introduced them each by name.

"Your highness," she said, "These are Starlight, Glimmer, and Milky Way from the Astronomical Society of Equestria." Each of the ponies bowed their heads one by one as they were introduced.

"Surveyors of thine sky and stars," Luna began after regarding each of the ponies assembled before her. "We are pleased to greet thee an audience before us. To what doth we owe the pleasure of this visitation?"

"Your ... Highness," Glimmer began, his voice as hesitant as his downcast eyes. "We're here to ask for ... That is, to seek your reasoning - but never to question - why you ..."

Starlight leapt to his colleague's assistance, poorly. "That is to say we're merely interested, as befits our expertise I mean we don't presume to know the will of a Princess--"

"Enough! Milky Way barked, exasperation painted across his features as his tail swished in irritation. "Princess, as the representatives of the Royal Astronomical Society of Equestria, we are here to seek an explanation for your recent activities."

Luna sat up, her expression betraying nothing as she leaned forwards imperceptibly. "Pretell, where did thou obtain the royal favour of your society?"

"The Princess," Milky Way replied too quickly for his mind to realise the error. "Princess Celestia," He amended.

"Princess Celestia Indeed," Luna repeated. "We had not realised she had dominion over our stars."

Milky Way stayed the course. "Princess, we're here to find out exactly why you've interfered with the position of the night sky and caused unheralded chaos."

The slightest tremor of displeasure ran through the Alicorn's eye - an almost-imperceptible twitch that went unnoticed by the three astronomers. "Explain," She snapped.

"A multitude of ponies rely on the stars for navigation; we produce accurate charts and calibrate instruments to allow anypony to fix their position to considerable accuracy based on the position of the stars relative to them. Indeed, our methods are the only reliable means by which ponies-at-sea can navigate their ships across the oceans. Your recent movements have resulted in our charts becoming totally incorrect and our instrument calibrations misleading. Ponies are being lost and requiring rescue as a direct result of your actions. We petition you to immediately correct the stars you have moved."

"Correct?" Luna replied singularly. Milky Way nodded. "Correct?" She barked, forcing the astronomer to wince.

"WHO DOTH THOU CONJURE THYSELF TO BE, BEFORE OUR THRONE ON OUR NIGHT, TELLING US OF HOW THE STARS SHOULD BE? THY IGNORANCE IS NOTHING IN LIGHT OF THE OVERWHELMING ARROGANCE OF THY BELIEF IN USING WHAT WE HATH CREATED AND MAINTAINED. THE STARS WERE PLACED IN THINE SKY BY OUR FAIR HOOF, FIXED FOR ALL ETERNITY IN THE POSITIONS THAT PLEASED US! THAT THEY MOVED EVEN A SINGLE INCH WAS AS THE RESULT OF OUR ABSENCE AND OUR SISTER'S LIMITED ABILITY TO CONTROL OUR NIGHT. THEY WERE NEVER INTENDED TO DRIFT, AS THEY HAVE DONE!

From beyond the expansive windows which lined each side of the throne room, a terrible flash of lightning accompanied the peal of thunder that rumbled in time with the Princess' hoof striking the marble dais. "THY CHARTS, THY INSTRUMENTS, THY ENTIRE COMPREHENSION OF THINE STARS IS BASED ON AN ERROR, WHICH WE ARE CORRECTING. THOU PRESUMES TO TELL THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT HOW HER NIGHT SHOULD UNFOLD? YOUR PETITION IS REJECTED AND WE SUGGEST THAT THY LEAVE IS TAKEN POST-HASTE, BEFORE WE HAVE THEE CONSIGNED TO THE BLACK PIT BENEATH THIS CASTLE WHERE THOU SHALT HAVE ONE THOUSAND YEARS, AS WE DID, TO CONSIDER THY ERROR!"

Moon Trot closed her eyes and cringed against the shouting. The fury of Luna carried the bitter undertone of anguish. To be reminded of her painful history was a terrible feeling- this Moon Trot knew on a personal level- but to be criticized for it could only be harder to bear..

The three terrified astronomers took Princess Luna's warning to heart and fled the room in utter terror. They were not the only ones. The booming shout of the princess and the lightning strike emphasizing her point had several of the lesser willed guests fleeing the antechamber, leaving appetizers and drinks to fall on the ground.

Attendants moved in to clean up the mess and Moon Trot stepped closer to Luna. She spoke softly into her ear. "I apologize for not handling that matter myself. I'll accept full responsibility for the insolence shown to you by the astronomers."

Luna seethed, her teeth set together as her chest heaved with the effort of the booming threat she had just rung out through the throne room and the wider castle. How could she have been so misguided? So foalish? The Princess had been looking forward to the astronomical visit; she had expected praise, appreciation ... Love. Instead, she had been chastised for doing only what had felt so natural. Her stars had wandered, like sheep from an open pen and so she had simply corralled them back and made them safe again.

Only a few weeks ago she had learned what a "Shooting Star" was, and the revulsion had been difficult to overcome. How could anypony cheer such a sight, neigh - wish upon one? Her night was so disordered, confused, alone that the stars literally fell from the sky. How could they all just watch and do nothing?

She did not understand it. She did not understand this. Luna did not understand this world at all. it was as if she looked at everything through a grotesque parlour mirror - warping and twisting what she had remembered into something new and frightening. Nopony talked as she did, nopony acted as she did. It felt as if nopony understood her ... Not even her beloved sister.

This was a ruinous curse, surely the work of Discord. How could things have changed so completely? Worse, was she now so outdated, old-fashioned as to be as useful as the stone dragonesque in the gardens? Was Luna nothing more than a relic?

How could she hope to catch up? A thousand years had spawned an entirely new Royal Archive. Even if her immortality and entire dedication, Luna could surely not read the combined works of ten centuries of civilisation before the sun burned itself to a cinder. There was no way to learn it all. Ponies navigating by the stars? Sailing across oceans? Magical candles without flame? What would follow; voices and images being projected across great distances without magic? Earth ponies flying as easily as Pegasi in fantastical metal birds? The stress of her eruption and the thoughts that occupied her mind seemed to squeeze the base of her horn, flooding Luna's consciousness with a dull pain.

The time passed slowly for Moon Trot. Luna neither responded nor reacted to her apology and as the seconds became minutes the Minister saw to her other duty of seeing to the other guests. She apologized to all for the delay and saw to it that fresh Hors d'œuvres were served. While doing this she also took a mental roll call to see who had left and who had stayed. With the court now halved in size, Luna would have likely several extra hours of the night to relax.

Returning to her princess, Moon Trot mentally prepared a list of options. The first one that she was obligated to offer was to cancel all of the appointments of the evening, but she was loathe to do that from a professional standpoint. The politics of the situation were already against the Moon Princess- the deck had been stacked against her ever since her return- and canceling some of these meetings wouldn't reflect kindly upon her. From a personal standpoint, however, she would be delighted to give Luna some alone time. Some space to think and do as she pleased.

"We are ... We do not belong here ..." She said finally, several minutes later. "We are a relic of an age that is dead."

Moon Trot frowned. She searched her mind and memories for something comforting to say to her, but she had nothing. Luna was the living embodiment of the past. Her development frozen by centuries of isolation on the Moon. But she was no relic.

"You're young." Moon Trot said. The doors between the antechamber and the throne room were closed, so she was free to lift a hoof and place it on the Princess's shoulder. She liked it when she could exchange these informal gestures with Luna; they made her feel better. She looked solemnly up into Luna's eyes. "One thousand years away from the world. You haven't even been back one thousand days. You're not a relic, Luna. You just need time to learn and understand the world again. And the world needs time to understand you."

She waited a few seconds to see if her words could sink in and be helpful in any possible way before adding "I can reschedule the audiences with you for another night, if you wish." It was the carrot that ought not be chosen, but it just might be the right choice.

"We wish thy words felt true to us ..." Luna muttered, eventually. "We feel as old as thine Moon and just as scarred."

Taking a deep breath, the Princess forced herself to retreat behind the safety and stability of her title. "We appreciate thy words, they are nonetheless comforting unto us. Perhaps ... We will discuss this later but not here. Our duty is clear; we cannot be seen to be weak and, without doubt, the Griffon Ambassador will have heard of this situation already. To reschedule his audience is to admit to his people we are a pale shadow of what we once are. We will see him next, and we will be strong and befitting a Princess of Equestria."

"Perhaps before ..." Luna hesitated, "We shall have some sweet tea, to calm ourselves. Thou shalt join us in it?"

Moon Trot was glad that Luna was calming somewhat. If another emissary upset her like that again, however, it might force Moon Trot to bring an expedient end to the night's schedules. She highly doubted that the griffon would be critical of Luna. Politically suave and full of double-talk, yes, but if Bright Light had any concerns about him encountering Luna he would have warned Moon Trot. Should have warned Moon Trot.

With a weak smile, Moon Trot summoned a scroll that had Luna's nightly schedule on it. "We will have ample time to discuss anything you want. Not all of the guests were bold enough to remain in waiting after you demonstrated your mastery of lightning." She tried to put a light hearted spin on the situation while scribbling a few notes on the scroll. "I will be honored to sit with you for a cup of tea." She added.

One of the side doors to the room opened and several unicorn waiters entered with trays hovering over their heads. They brought in a seat for Moon Trot and set up a quick but beautifully crafted silver table and set upon it a platter of crackers and fruit surrounding a large glass pitcher of tea. They were in and out in seconds and Moon Trot took the liberty of pouring Luna and herself a glass.

Levitating the glass to her nose, the Princess took a deep breath, nostrils flaring at the tangy aroma of lotus flower and dandelion. "We hath partaken of this for as long as we can remember ... Celestia believes we could not give it up if we tried; ironic, given that we could drink nothing but vacuum and eat nowt but rock for a thousand years!"

Luna grimaced. "The Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie, once told us that if we used our greatest regrets as the form of our japery, thine humour would disarm doubters and the negative. We ... Hath not yet been successful in employing reference to our time of exile in any humorous way. Indeed, ponies do not seem to know what to say to us when we do ..."

The Alicorn took a sip. "We suppose since we do not find it particularly funny, we cannot expect others to. When we told that jape to Celestia, she instead began to profusely apologise for her actions and it took many an hour to return her to some semblance of calm."

Moon Trot snickered a little at the bit about Celestia. "I'm sorry your highness, I shouldn't have done that," she apologized, "But if I may speak freely, I do have to say that I pity your sister a little. What she did could not have in any way been an easy choice. I think she's having a harder time moving on than you did."

She took a sip of the tea. She had a preference for berries, but there was nothing wrong with dandelions at all. "As for humor, well, everyone has different tastes in humor. And not everyone is good at telling a joke. I'm simply terrible at telling jokes. I can't even tell a simple knock-knock very well." She chuckled at the memory of a series of failed attempts at humor when she was younger.

"Time does heal wounds, but the bigger the wound the more time it'll take. It takes even longer for the wound to be funny. Like..." she tapped her chin a few times as she thought, "When I was a little filly," she gestured a vague height with her hoof, "I had an...accident...in school," She blushed a little, "It was mortifying, and the other foals didn't let me live it down for a long time. Now, though, I remember it with humor because it was such a silly thing to be upset about. When enough years pass, I know you and your sister will be able to laugh off the Nightmare."

Luna considered her Minister's words for a few moments. "Perhaps we could resurrect the role of Court Jestpony? Many centuries ago we employed a mare with suitable hilarity to bring forth an atmosphere of joviality when court became stifled and uninteresting. Their enthusiasm was quite unbounded, almost infectious. We can still remember the way they would sing, and dance and wave all at once as if they were powered by something more energetic than hay and barley ..."

The Princess smiled at the thought. "Perhaps the Element of Laughter would be a suited replacement? We hath found the more efficient ways of modern court to be somewhat lacking in pomp and circumstance, as we are used to."

Moon Trot couldn't help but giggle when Luna suggested that Pinkie Pie be hired on as the new court jester. She nodded agreeable, though, and explained her laughter "I was actually imagining the very same pony when you described what the jester's duties were. If you would like, I could draft a proposal for the Element of Laughter later this evening and send it to her to see if she would like the position."

She finished her cup of tea and inhaled the remains of its aroma. Setting her cup down she levitated a napkin to wipe off her muzzle. "Shall I admit the griffon ambassador and continue the Night Court?" she asked.

Setting her own cup down, Luna nodded. "Thou may do so but, firstly, have the Lunar Guard enter from behind the throne and assemble in front of our presence. Extinguish all light save the solitary candlesticks either side of our throne. Appearances are of upmost importance when dealing with Griffons; thou shalt see soon enough. We wish to warn thee that our tone and attitude will be ... Of ages passed; do not allow it to concern you. It is an act, a charade - It is precisely as the Griffon Ambassador expects us to act."

Summoning forth her powers, the Princess allowed a sinewy, thin coil of magic to slip forth from her horn and rise upwards until it slid lazily against the ceiling. Invisible before, hundreds of points of light began to shimmer and coalesce until the ceiling of the throne room more resembled the night sky outside than the polished obsidian and marble. Spirals of galaxies pulsed and span in intricate, orchestrated patterns.

"We are ready."

Moon Trot nodded and did as requested. She went to a side room and fetched other guards that wouldn't be observed by those attending the court. She gave them their orders and they assembled before Luna as instructed. She gathered the two candles and placed them so that they were symmetrical on either side of Luna. Once they were lit she extinguished the lights and found her way by memory back to the main door.

She went out into the more brightly lit hall and looked around for the ambassador. Finding the griffon, she addressed him quietly and informed him it was his turn. Ambassador Gayzes smiled mischievously and followed the black unicorn into the darkened chamber. His eyes could only make out the two points of light from the candles, but when the door shut behind him and his eyes adjusted he was slowly able to make out more details; the stars and nightscape of the ceiling and the figure of Luna behind a wall of guards.

"Your majesty," he said, bending his forelegs and giving her a graceful bow, "I am honored to be in your presence."

"We had always thought Griffon-kind to pride themselves on storytelling ..." Luna drawled lazily, her eyes rolling across the ceiling without regarding the Ambassador. "And yet, here stands one of their respected members of government, and he calls us not by the name that we hath earned - nay - demanded from Griffonkind for many thousands of years, but with the same platitude reserved for middle-nobles and courtesans!"

Luna pushed herself up from the throne, fixing her inscrutable gaze on the Griffon. "We hath not battled Discord, and our own Sister - twice - to be shown such disrespect! Thou shalt call us by the name all Griffonkind should know us well by, or thou shalt turn and leave thine sight post-hence!"

"The Dread Empress of the Night hath no time nor inclination for the games of Griffons!"

Moon Trot was glad that Luna had given her the warning ahead of time to expect the mannerisms and behavior she was witnessing now. If she hadn't been warned, she'd be more than a little frightened, and probably seeking a way to end the meeting tactfully. She was able to focus on the griffon instead so as to observe what he did and how he acted. What she observed wasn't entirely comforting.

He did not quail nor quake before Luna. His respectful, if not slightly amused, smiled remained on his face and he made another, deeper bow. "My most humble apologies, Dread Empress of the Night," he corrected himself, "It has been a long, long time since any of my kind have had the privilege to kneel before one so divine. I myself was not alive, nor my father, nor my father's father. I beg your pardon that some traditions have changed or been omitted in my education over the centuries."

"Thy words are truth and since the truth deserves no punishment, we shall not hold thy error against thee."

Levering herself up to all fours, the Princess descended the hoof-full of steps down to the floor of the throne room. "Indeed it hath been a great many centuries since we hath dealt with thy kind. We hope thou hath no become used to dealing with thine sister; she is most benevolent, accommodating and kind."

A dark scowl and a disturbingly genuine smile creeped across the Alicorn's features. "We are not not nearly so. We hath not merely taken this meeting to exchange meaningless pleasantries. Whilst our sister hath a great many tribulations and trials to administer, our time was spent looking across the past. We hath analysed ten centuries of Griffonkind action andnoticed a pattern ..."

Ambassador Gayzes maintained his partially amused expression as Luna saw his honesty and approached him. "Why yes," He spoke, "Your elder sister is an amazingly benevolent princess. Quite kind and yet still regal and maintaining a poise and grace that most could only aspire to."

Luna began to circle the Griffon, the tendrils of her mane and tail seemingly stretching; growing until a band of shimmering, twisting blue formed a billowing circle about them all.

"Thy kind hath grown bold in our absence. Reports of piracy against thine ponies hath increased four-fold in the border regions, and we notice that Griffon settlements now encroach on land seceded to us by Magnus the Iron-Feathered, one thousand eight hundred and ninety nine years ago. Griffonkind hath repeatedly broken the spirit, if not the letter of the dozens of treaties we personally negotiated. So tell us, Most Honoured Representative ..."

The griffon fell silent once more as Luna continued to speak. He didn't seem frightened by the display and casually turned his head about to examine the circle of ethereal energy surrounding him for a moment before locking his gaze with that of the princess.

"Hmm, such offenses should be examined," Gayzes said, "Of course, I cannot speak for every infringement by every griffon in the last thousand years. The acts of piracy can hardly be considered government sanctioned, but I shall look into them and insist that any living culprits of piracy are apprehended with the full force of the law, though punishing the descendants thereof seems highly unfair. The settlements I will look into as well. Perhaps changes in the landscapes and new methods of creating maps have shifted the borders from what you may recall."

The Princess paused before the Griffon and stepping forward, brought her features a scant few inches from the Ambassador's polished beak. "Are we to take these brazen acts as a challenge to us?"

Again, he did not flinch nor show any sign of cowing when Luna stepped up into his face. Moon Trot was tensed, as were the guards; their princess was well within reach of the Griffon's talons and none of them were happy about it.

"Challenge? I would never dream of challenging the great Prince-, pardon me, Dread Empress of the Night."

"Thou requires not this charade, here and now," Luna hissed. "Thine guards are sworn to silence and would rather die than divulge a word of what hath passed here, from us to thee. Our Minister of the Night similarly is bound to our will; she would never take action in deeds or otherwise that we do not approve or allow. Indeed - we would wager thine life on her loyalty and respect for our ways."

The Princess remained a scant inch from the Griffon's beak, their gazes locked. "Given that, we wonder whether Griffons hath become soft in the centuries of waist-expanding, mollycoddling peace thy kind hath enjoyed with thine. Perhaps what we mistake for good manners, a predator's smile so to speak, is in fact all that is left of the so-called great Griffon temperament."

The Princess's voice dropped to a sound only audible through magical amplification. "Art thou thinking of how swiftly thy claws could rend our throat in twain? We remember when, a time long before thy father's father's father walked amongst us, when Griffon-kind would routinely submit the honour of a duel with us, in order to gauge the success of a would-be Ambassador ..."

Moon Trot was thankful that the room was so dark so as to make her nearly invisible. Her blush and nervous twitch when Luna expressed an immense level of trust in her went unnoticed. She probably had a guilty expression on her face as well, but she couldn't see herself.

The griffon she could see, however, his face was illuminated in the soft light glow from Luna's mane. His expression of bemusement had finally given way at the last comment, the mention of a duel. His eyes widened and for a full second his face was the definition of horror. He composed himself as quick as he could, however, then lifted his claw to cover his mouth as he cleared his throat.

"Oh, um, I do not think that would be necessary, my Empress," he said, lowering his gaze submissively. "I shall look into the settlement infringements for you. Is there any other way I may be of service?" he asked, his tail coiled up on the floor, almost near enough to be considered between his legs.

Turning away, nose upturned in the air the Princess stalked back towards her throne. "We hath nothing more to discuss."

As quickly as the clouds of magic had formed, they dissipated into nothingness and returned the chamber to relative darkness. From behind the Ambassador, the great double doors barring entry swung open; heaved apart by a pair of silent, hulking guardsponies.

"Thou art dismissed from thine presence," Luna commanded coldly. "We expect thy return forthwith, where thou shalt tell us of the ways in which our demands were met and our questions answered."

The ambassador bowed his head and muttered "Yes, my Empress" before retreating backwards through the open doors, not daring to turn his back to Luna until he was out of her sight. As he retreated, Moon Trot advanced to Luna's throne, glancing at the doors to make sure the Griffon wasn't returning.

"That was very informative, your Highness, just like you said it would be," She said. "Did you really duel past ambassadors?" she asked, genuinely curious as to that tidbit of information.

"Many centuries ago, a time older than all but the most ancient books in the oldest, darkest depths of the Royal Archive, things were not as developed as the civility of now. We had no Minister, no staff save our Hoof Maidens and Honour Guard. Thine beloved sister and ourselves ruled directly; our eyes saw all and our words reached all. Equestria was nought but one tenth of its current frontier; Canterlot had not yet been hewn into the side of this mountain and, indeed, the cosmopolitan ventures of Manehattan, and Trottingham were nothing more than trade caravans and log cabins."

Luna's gaze drifted up towards the ceiling, as if recalling memories. "Equestria-then would be as alien to thee as the surface of thine Moon, now. In those ancient times, the tribes of ponies - though united - still lived separately. It was not until the founding of the City of Everfree, of which nothing today remains, that thine little ponies began to live together in peace."

"North, West, East and South our enemies probed and fought in skirmish and war constantly. Dragons, Diamond Dogs, Griffon-kind and other, unspeakable evils worked to snuff out the embryonic Equestria before it had been given any chance to grow."

Luna frowned. "As befitting our role, ourselves and Celestia fought at the forefront; securing our borders and silencing our enemies. In those dark times, strength and the illusion of it was all important. As powerful as we were, we simply could not be in more than one place at one moment; were our enemies to gather under one banner, there would be little we could do to prevent the destruction of Equestria."

"As such, we worked tirelessly to appear strong, as well as to show our strength when necessary. A method we used was, indeed, duelling. The Griffons value power and, invariably, sent their greatest warriors as so-called Ambassadors. They reasoned that diplomacy could be used as readily a weapon as a spear or a wing-blade. Unfortunately for them, we agreed."

Nostalgia forced a strange smile from the Princess. "If thou were wondering, we engaged in three hundred eleven duels. We were victorious three hundred and eleven times."

Moon Trot listened to Luna with wide eyes as the interesting history was summarized to her. She could scarcely conceive of a smaller, endangered Equestria. It had always been the approximation of paradise. Thinking of it being under assault, having to be defended against external forces with the princesses on the front lines,it was so foreign that Moon Trot struggled to imagine it as truth and not just a story.

There was a moment of silence after Luna finished speaking where Moon Trot struggled to think of something to say, but could think of nothing. She cleared her throat before continuing on for the matters of the evening.

"The remaining two guests of the Night Court are your nephew, Prince Blueblood, and master Jet Set. Which will you see next?" she asked.

Luna's smile faded, to be replaced by the flicker of a scowl. "Whilst we would greatly prefer to delay any sight of Blueblood until after all the stars in thine sky had burnt to nothingness, we would prefer to conclude it as swiftly as possible. Admit him to our presence next."

"We urge thee not to dwell unduly on times of danger. The era of duelling Princesses is long passed. We hath made this land safe for all thine ponies. We shall continue to do so until the end of all things, when we are no longer required and shall fade away unto nothingness with the stars."

Moon Trot nodded and was about to turn to the door when Luna added the calming comment about not worrying about the harrowing past of Equestria. "I do not worry about it, my Princess. I have complete faith in your ability to protect everyone." She gave Luna a smile then went out into the anteroom. She found Prince Blueblood and invited him in. He took the lead with his normal pompous attitude and walked ahead, right up to the foot of the stairs that led to the throne.

"Good night, my darkest Aunt," He said with a smile, "How has your evening progressed thus far?" he asked while glancing at his own, well manicured hoof to make sure it appeared as beautiful as he desired it.

Luna was suspicious. Blueblood was legendarily slow to rise even under the brightest sun; why he would be awake and looking as perfectly manicured and dressed as always at the height of the Moon could mean only one thing. He wanted something. That he was standing here, instead of before Celestia, suggested whatever it was, had already been refused once.

The Princess was not even sure how the title "Prince" came to be bestowed upon this effeminate unicorn. Surely it would require a relation and neither Luna nor Celestia could bare foals in a way that would give them such. Even if they could, to produce Blueblood would surely be shameful.

"Our night endures, as always, and we bid thee welcome to thine court," Luna answered. "To what doth we owe this visit unto?"

The blonde maned pony smiled devilishly and stood a little more upright before Luna. He chuckled a little at her archaic mode of speech but didn't make a comment on it. "Oh dearest Auntie," he said, "You can request the honor of my presence at any time you desire. But for this evening, I'm gracing the court with a personal request that you attend my birthday party tomorrow evening. I was hoping you would put my likeness in the stars so that all of Equestria can adore my," he shook his head to get his hair to dance around his neck and grinned, "brilliant visage."

Moon Trot turned away and made gagging face, using one of the Lunar guards to obscure her gesture from the prince.

The Princess cocked her head to the side, catching her chuckling Minister in the periphery of her vision. "Alas, thy request hath come too late for us to accommodate," Luna offered evenly. "It takes us many days to re-orientate the sky and we would require many days notice to fashion your likeness ... Even if such a task would not be particularly difficult to achieve."

"We would be pleased to accept thy invitation," The Princess nodded, the crease of a smile appearing under her eyes. "We would also wish to bring our Minister of the Night, Moon Trot, as our guest."

Whilst she could not see it, Luna assumed the smile had been totally and thoroughly scoured from Moon Trot's face. The Princess resisted the urge to look smug, though she felt every inch of it.

One did not attempt to get one over on the Princess of the Night.

Blueblood pouted for a moment, then scowled, then composed himself again. "But of course, you may bring the help if you so desire." He said, "But are you certain you cannot rearrange the stars? I mean, you are the goddess of the night aren't you? Should not you have complete control over the night sky? A few years ago Auntie Celestia was able to put my face in the stars for my birthday with just a few hours of preparation, and she's supposed to be the Sun Princess."

Luna narrowed her eyes, stepping down onto all-fours and descending from the throne to the floor. "Is that so? Rest assured we shall be interrogating thine sister as to making such frivolous use of our stars. We attempted to save thy face but if thou must know - we hath not changed thine stars in the sky since we fashioned each one from our own magic. They are not for advertising nor inflating thy ego."

"Tell us ..." The Princess began, danger laced in each word. "Art thou doubting us?"

Blueblood's expression degraded into fear once more as Luna descended towards him. He took a few steps back, away from her, as she questioned him. "N-no, I don't doubt you at all dear, sweet auntie," he said, trying to turn on the charm to spare him something, "I, um, I look forward to your attendance." he added, hastily backing away.

Moon Trot shut the door after the prince had retreated. She looked to Luna and said "So...I'm having a trouble seeing the family resemblance."

"Blueblood and his ilk are a product of Celestia's politicking; she believed that as Equestria grew, a greater - more extended - Royal Family would be required. Whilst we are immortal, all-seeing, all-knowing we cannot be in more than one place at a time. Thus, she reasoned by spreading power and influence, the prosperity of all ponykind would be enhanced."

The Princess scowled. "Her logic was sound, remains so but we find it difficult to stomach this new breed of "Royalty". What doth his kind bring, other than fawning, meaningless praise and a single-minded obsession for accruing wealth and prestige at the expense of all others?"

Luna sighed, settling down on her haunches. "Still, if nothing else we will shortly be given an opportunity to dress as befitting a Princess. We hath not been so attired in over a thousand years ..."

"We hope thou hath something to wear befitting of accompanying us," Luna enquired. "It is a great honour to be chosen as the companion of a Princess of the Realm."

Moon Trot pondered the information. She had often wondered who Celestia had courted to sire a relative. It had never occurred to her that her 'nephew' was part of an adopted family of sorts. It made much more sense though, and it made it less ridiculous than thinking that Luna was somehow related to that snob.

Moon Trot was about to say she didn't have a dress when the princess's choice of the word 'companion' gave her a blush. "Oh! Um..." she stammered, clearing her throat. Remember, one thousand years she thought to herself.

"Uhm, I think guest is a more appropriate term, your highness," Moon Trot said respectfully, trying not to appear nervous despite a couple of amused grins and more than one curious glance from the Lunar Guards in the room. "In modern vernacular, 'companion' has...intimate connotations in the context you used. As for the dress, I regret to admit that I haven't owned a dress since I was significantly smaller. I'd have to find a new one if I were to be your guest at the Prince's party."

"We art confused then," The Princess replied. "Doth thee not provide advice beyond the professional? Hath we not leaned upon thee for all manner of support, beyond thy mere remit as Minister of thine Night? From where we stand, Companion indeed seems a justified, reasoned term to use. We see no reason to change."

"As for thy lack of formal wear," Luna pursed her lips, considering. "We shalt instruct our Royal Tailor to outfit thee as befitting a companion of the Princess of the Night!"

The compliments and explanation only served to deepen Moon Trot's blush, but she also smiled that Luna thought so highly of her, and she would be lying if she tried to say she did not like the informal title. Her smile broadened when Luna said she would have a dress made for her. Though not much of a party goer, not even Moon Trot was immune to the glamour a nice dress could bring.

"Well...thank you, my Princess," She said, giving Luna a quick bow, "Well then, the final attendee of the Night Court is Master Jet Set, I'll show him in." With that she vanished out the doors to find the ritzy pony.

The well-to-do unicorn followed Moon Trot back into the chamber of Luna's court and gave the princess a respectful bow. "Your highness," he said, giving Luna a slightly forced smile, "My beloved wife Upper Crust, and myself, would like to personally extend an invitation to you for a garden party we are hosting this evening. She would have been here with me but it started about an hour ago and she needed to remain as hostess. Its going to be an all night event though so if you happen across free time tonight we want you to know that you are more than welcome to stop by and enjoy the frivolities and jocularity."

Luna's expression remained expertly neutral as she heard Jet Set's request, even if - internally at least - she was less than enthusiastic about the prospect of socialising where not absolutely necessary. As Royalty, however minor, Blueblood's party could not be overlooked by a Princess unless there were extenuating circumstances. For a minor pony like Jet Set, even if to hear it would do his pride no small amount of injury, she was under no such obligation.

The Princess resisted the urge to ask Moon Trot aloud to confirm if there was any remaining business. She was as likely as her sister to do what she could into "encouraging" Luna to attend.

She had precious few options.

With no forthcoming comment from the princess, Jet Set bowed again and thanked her before gracefully leaving the throne room...far more gracefully than the previous prince. Moon Trot checked the antechamber to make certain she had not missed a pony then returned and announced "The Night Court is complete. Two hours ahead of schedule, if I may add." Now with the airs of formality over with she let out a sigh to relax herself.

"Indeed ..." Luna replied absentmindedly, as the doors to the antechamber were swung shut. "Thou may dismiss thine guard back to their duties."

Returning to the throne, the Princess settled down on her haunches. She had no intention of pre-empting her MInister. Perhaps if she did not utter another word that was not strictly related to business, there would be no opportunity to discuss the attendance of frivolous parties.

Garden Party

Chapter 3: Garden Party
~*~*~

"Bring us thine Book of Stars; Volume Seventy-Seven: Constellations M-7 through Q-11." Luna ordered. Moon Trot frowned slightly, but nodded. The guards heard the Princess and began to return to their posts without need of Moon Trot to inform them, but she did go back out to the antechamber and told the surplus guards present to return to their regular posts.

She returned to hear Luna's next set of instructions. She nodded, took two steps towards the door, then stopped. "Um, your highness, if I may..." she began. She did not want to bring up the arguments made with the astronomers, but she did want to see if she could distract Luna from the monotony and continue to try and reintroduce her to society. Nightmare Night was a step in the right direction, but it was just a beginning. It had to be a beginning.

"The Elements of Magic and Generosity, Twilight Sparkle and Rarity, were on the guest list to master Jet Set's party. Perhaps if you spent a little of the free time this night at the party, you could avoid the more tiresome guests by keeping company with them?"

Suppressing the urge to indulge in a sigh, Luna instead spent several moments trying to think of something that would be rather more Princess-like to indulge in. Attending parties required socialising, and socialising was something that was difficult to achieve when your tongue was not the most modern in the land. Alas, nothing came quickly to mind and it became obvious that the Goddess of the Night had been defeated.

"Very well ..." Luna breathed. "Lead the way."

Moon Trot could see that Luna was trying to think of something, most likely a reason to not go to the party, and while a simple refusal would have effectively ended the issue- though Moon Trot would have been persistent over time- the fact that the princess relented sooner rather than later spoke volumes for her subconscious desires.

"Very well!" the Minister of the Night said with a bright smile. "Shall we walk or would you prefer me to prepare the chariot?" She asked while signalling for one of the guards to come nearer. She instructed him to prepare Luna's escort by the palace exit and to send three Lunar Guards to the party immediately to perform the normal preparations for the arrival of the princess.

"Nay," Luna commanded as she flicked her ethereal mane over her shoulder. "We shalt journey with thine hooves with thee. Our night and our stars shalt be all the cover we require. It hath been so very long since we last attended a social function; the wedding of Cadance and the Captain of the Royal Guard aside, and even in that we were unfortunately tardy."

The Princess cocked her head to the side. "Tell us - can thee dance?"

Nodding to Luna when the chariot was canceled, Moon Trot corrected her orders to the guard and he left to make the preparations. She was going over a mental checklist when Luna asked if she could dance. Her first thought was that Luna wanted to dance with her, but she shook that thought from her head immediately.

"Erm, I usually just nod my head with the beat to the music," Moon Trot admitted. "If you're concerned for the party, I don't think an informal occasion will have any large expectations...or even a dance floor."

"We art not concerned with this coming function," Luna clarified. "It is customary at any royal function, such as that we art attending on the morrow, to begin and end a Prince or Princess’s celebration of birth with a dance. It is also customary for both Celestia and ourselves to dance with our chosen invitees."

The Princess stopped, raising an eyebrow slightly, in an imperious look. "As our companion, thou shalt dance with us twice; to open Blueblood's celebration and to close it. We expect thee to do more than nod thy head to the music."

Moon Trot blushed a bit. Dancing with Luna would be very nice, but it was nice in the way that suddenly getting asked to the prom by someone you had a crush on was nice. Her mouth had gone dry and she swallowed reflexively before moving her tongue to try and moisten it.

"Um...well, then, in that case, I will take some remedial dance lessons this morning so I can perform to your expectations." she said as she imagined herself tripping all over Luna's hooves and falling into a bowl of punch.

Luna nodded. "We recommend thou familiarise thyself with the Waltz of the Moon, and the Bright Star Hooftrot, We shalt excuse thee from thy duties for the morrow's day; the Waltz of the Moon alone hath over three hundred individual steps. To expect thee to learn it only a few hours prior to dancing it would be foolish."

"It is a great honour to dance with a Princess," She continued, flexing her wings idly. "Especially so as we hath not danced, as is traditional, in over a thousand years. With the entire extended Royal Family, Nobleponies and those of import such as the Elements of Harmony in attendance, thou shalt have a wide audience to impress. We are confident thine faith hath not been misplaced."

"I understand and am deeply honored to have been chosen by you as your guest," Moon Trot said, "I will but my best effort into learning...three hundred steps...as expediently as I possibly can." She gave Luna a half bow despite fearing she might embarrass the princess with her own inadequacy.

"The guards are ready to escort you to the party," Moon Trot continued, hoping to change the subject. "As soon as you are prepared, we can depart."

"We are sure thou shalt prove to be worthy of us," Luna nodded. "Let us depart henceforth."

As the Princess made her way outside, she glanced up at the night and scowled. Forming a wreath of cobalt around her horn, the Alicorn forced a particular point of light from its place in the blackness of the sky and transited it behind the face of the Moon.

Moon Trot nodded and waited for the princess, getting into step beside her. She glanced skyward when they were outside and watched as Luna moved the star Sirius, finding a bit of humor in Luna's irritation.

"We are oft irked by Sirius, which repeatedly wanders thine night as if it were looking for something, or bored of its place in our workings. It is quite vexing; a star of its age should know better."

"Perhaps he is bored staying in one place at a time," Moon Trot said, "Or perhaps he is unhappy behind the moon, unable to shine his light upon you. If I were up there, I'd definitely try to peek around the moon to get a better look at my mistress."

The Princess considered her MInister's words. "Perhaps thou speaketh sense. Still, we all have our places, do we not? Oft, we must accept a role which brings sadness or irritation and we must do our best to endure. We hath learned this through a great difficulty and much hardship."

Returning her gaze to the sky above, Luna closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. "Thine Moon hath reached its Zenith. We are at the height of our powers."

"Come!" Luna enthused, rapidly breaking into a trot. "Let us make haste!"

Moon Trot was forced to a halt at the reply from Princess Luna. We must accept a role which brings sadness. The words echoed in her mind. Did Luna know? Did she suspect? Or were those words just chance? She did not have much time to reflect on it before Luna began her run. Height of her powers indeed Moon Trot thought, galloping to keep up.

It was important for a Princess to remain regal at all times. Maintain dignity, poise and standing so that all the ponies of Equestria could continue to look up to their kind, benign rulers. However, here in the dead of night, with only the Lunar Guard and a breathless unicorn for company - combined with the Moon reaching its zenith an utterly inappropriate, foal-like glee overcame the Princess of the Night.

Unlike the Sun, which maintained a constant relationship with Celestia the Moon waxed and Waned; as it grew to a full orb, all the mischief of the Night bore down on Luna. Tomorrow, at Blueblood's birthday, the Moon would be full but today, nearly so, the Princess still felt more than a little adventurous.

"Come!" She bellowed, her trot breaking into a full gallop as she ducked and weaved through the castle complex. "Is thou out of practice in the fine physical game of galloping? Lo, even thine guardsponies appear to struggle!"

Luna's glee was clear and infectious. Moon Trot couldn't help but giggle a bit as she tried to catch up, and the royal guards- caught off guard at the moment- fell behind. She laughed loudly when Luna taunted her and her guards, then leaned her head a little lower and really started to try in earnest. She was soon pulling up behind Luna, and she took the inside track when they came to a sharp right in the corridors, which put her right beside her.

"I'm...not....out...yet..." she said to Luna once she was neck and neck with her.

"Impressive," Luna replied, her billowing mane forced backwards by the wind and streamlining behind her features. "We shalt teach thee a great lesson of Royalty and of being a Princess ..."

Wings flaring outwards, the Goddess of the Night pushed free of the stone with her hooves and soared upwards. "Always use every advantage that thou might hath!"

Spiraling around a tower, Luna disappeared from view. Her laughter echoing on the winds.

Moon Trot hadn't had this much youthful, gleeful fun in quite some time. Years, easily. Probably not since she was still in school, prior to working for the clandestine service at all. Her gleeful laugh became a childish scowl when the princess used her wings to fly away.

Moon Trot came to a stop and pouted. Three of Luna's guards flew over her head in an attempt to catch up to Luna while the rest of the guards ran past Moon Trot, frantically searching for their princess.

"Use any advantage?" she muttered to herself. She looked up and out a window at one of the spires of the castle. This one had a balcony that she could clearly see. Moon Trot had been practicing the teleportation spell and could handle it fairly well with line-of-sight, which she had.

Squinting her eyes, she focused on the balcony as a purple glow surrounded her horn. In a flash of orange light, she was gone, appearing at the same instant on the balcony she had been planning to get to.

"Ha! Yes!" She cheered. She walked around the balcony, looking down at Canterlot, and then she saw the lights of Jet Set's party.

"I'll beat you there yet Luna," Moon Trot said with a grin, looking down at the party and focusing again. She vanished, but her focus hadn't been as great and her cockiness had taken its toll. She appeared at the party, but she appeared to feet over the punch bowl, falling into it and knocking the entire table over.

The smile quickly faded from Luna's face as she gracefully returned to the stone flagging - folding her wings neatly by her sides in time to watch her Minister spontaneously appear with a loud pop of air suddenly being forced aside. Even the reactions of an Alicorn were not sufficient and the Princess's magic latched onto the unicorn only after the table upturned and broke in half. Luna's best efforts succeeded in freezing the majority of the party food where it was thrown, mostly silently levitating mere inches above the shining marble floors.

Embarrassed could not adequately describe how Moon Trot was feeling at the moment. She had been so foalish as to attempt a spell she was scarcely skilled at over such a long distance and into such a public venue. Not only could she have hurt somepony, but she had destroyed a table, many h'orderves, and all of the punch.

"We ..." The Princess began, acutely aware that the room's focus had shifted from Moon Trot to her Princess. "We ... Apologise for the manner of our entrances. We trust no harm hath come to anypony?"

There was sufficient force behind the words to make it clear that Luna was not-too-subtly suggesting the gathered ponies find something else to focus on. Setting Moon Trot down gently on the floor, the Princess used magic easily capable of lifting the Moon for the mundane task of cleaning the sticky punch from her Minister's flank.

Luna was quick to come to her rescue, which Moon Trot was grateful for but also ashamed of. It was her duty to serve the princess, not the other way around, and to have Luna magically removing punch from her coat was terrible.

"Guardspony!" Luna muttered, instantly summoning the bat-winged pegasus who had only now made it into the banque. "Proceed immediately to the kitchen and return with replacement punch. Post-haste!"

"I'm terribly sorry, your highness," Moon Trot muttered to Luna, her cheeks rosy red.

While protocol would never allow it, Luna knew it was her who should be offering the apologies. She had, unforgivably, allowed her control to slip and given into the Night Fever which afflicted her so outrageously whenever the Moon came close to full. Normally she would shut herself away, high in a tower with a plethora of books and a candle to read them by. Now, of course, she was not only engaging in a social function but had a state event - however tedious - to attend tomorrow. And yet, despite her best efforts to admonish herself, the Moon high above laughed and was thoroughly amused by the chaos. How embarrassing ...

"We should not have encouraged thee ..." The Princess managed evenly. "Thou art thine Minister; thy failings are our failings. Worry not; it is not worthy of further discussion."

Luna decided a change of subject was best. "Come, let us find an alternative to punch."

Moon Trot wanted to refute Luna's claim that it was her fault. As Minister, it was her own responsibility to behave and conduct herself properly. As Luna said, any mistakes made by Moon Trot were mistakes made by Luna, and for that reason Moon Trot needed to remain up to a higher standard. Luna did not wish for further discussion so Moon Trot was willing to drop the matter, if only because it was humiliating to think of.

The Element of Magic and the Element of Generosity approached when no other ponies dared to. Luna suggested they move away from the punch table and, again, Moon Trot was more than willing to oblige. "Yes, your highness," she muttered, following Luna away from the scene. Twilight Sparkle followed while Rarity vanished to speak to someone in a monocle.

"Is everypony okay?" Someone said, walking over to them. It was Twilight Sparkle, and with her was Rarity, "Hello Princess Luna," she said to Luna, giving her a courteous bow.

"Greetings Twilight Sparkle," Moon Trot said once they were well away from the accident site, "I'm sorry for not acknowledging you before. Yes, I am quite alright, and I appreciate the concern," she gave the purple unicorn a bow.

"Its fine," Twilight said, not used to being bowed to, "I don't think we've met though?"

Luna investigated the refreshments table, and found herself almost overwhelmed. There were dozens upon dozens of bottles, filled with a fantastical variety of coloured liquids. Some seemed as thick as treacle, others veritably fizzing in their containers. Orange, purple, gold, green, even black! - and all the colours in between. When last she had frequented a gathering like this, Ponies were only just mastering the complexities of brewing and the choices of fine drinking were limited to a very, very bitter wine or a very, very coarse mead.

Which was which? Some were labelled, others a mystery. Alcohol hadn't passed the lips of the Princess in over ten centuries ... Perhaps she should be more flexible, less analytical.

Resolving to take her Sister's advice under-wing, Luna randomly levitated a glass of something clear. Stalliongrad Vodka, so the label boasted. Shrugging slightly, the Alicorn deftly tipped an entire glass of it up and downed the strange concoction in one.

Oh my, was all she could manage in the battle to prevent herself heaving it all back up again. Inwardly Luna thanked her ability to appear an island of tranquillity to others, all the while struggling to breathe through the after-taste of the firewater. Perhaps it was an acquired taste?

Luna poured a second glass and downed it just as quickly.

"I beg your pardon," Moon Trot said to Twilight, "I am Moon Trot, the Minister of the Night for Princess Luna."

"Moon Trot..." Twilight said, tapping her chin, "Where have I heard that...oh wait! You're the one that told my Brother where-"

"Yes!" Moon Trot said, quickly cutting Twilight Sparkle off. Lowering her voice she said "Best not to speak of that."

"Oh, right, sorry," Twilight said with a guilty smile. "Thanks though."

"It was my pleasure," Moon Trot answered. Returning to a normal speaking voice she said "It is nice to have the opportunity to meet you. The Princess speaks very well of you and of all of the Elements." Upon mentioning Luna, Moon Trot looked around for her. She saw her at the bar with a glass of vodka and watched her gulp it down. She saw her reaction to it and for a moment thought she would turn away from the strong liquor, but then she downed a second one.

"One moment," Moon Trot said, running from Twilight over to Luna. "Princess!" She said assertively but kept her voice low, "I do not think drinking so fast is very prudent. That vodka is a rather high proof."

Finishing the second glass, Luna was about to levitate another bottle - this one a deep sea green - from the table when her Minister's urgent protestations seized her attention. "We art several thousand years old ... That is to say, we are old enough to know how much ale we can imbibe 'fore retiring to thine chambers. Indeed, we concocted the most powerful drink in all of Equestria. Though we are forbidden from making it any more ..."

The Princess blinked, glancing up at the chandeliers. They were very impressive; and bright. Very bright. Were they this bright earlier? She could not remember. Still, the warmth spreading outwards from her stomach to her hooves suggested it wasn't all that important. "Come! Thou shalt drink and toast with us."

"But..." Moon Trot began. The fact of the matter was that the liquor Luna was drinking, which was all at least forty proof, could not be compared to ale, which tended to be between ten and twenty proof. Before she could argue, however, she was invited to join Moon Trot in a toast.

"Very well, your highness," She said, levitating her own glass, "A toast to you and to your glorious night." She offered.

Luna sniffed her own glass cautiously, then promptly devoured it. "Yes! To us! We art quite glorious, are we not?"

"Yes you are," Moon Trot said with a smile before drinking her drink. She glanced around the party. Naturally, Luna was attracting glances. Not due to her behavior, which thus far was still proper and becoming of a princess. It was just her presence that garnered attention.

Looking around as if to make sure nopony was close enough to hear, the Princess leaned in to Moon Trot. "If thee promises to take no further baths in punch, tomorrow at Blueblood's gathering, we shalt allow thee to be the first pony in thirteen hundred years to taste Moonshine."

"Do not mention this to anypony, our sister especially," The Alicorn warned starkly. "She ... does not approve of it." A small grin ghosted across Luna's features at the thought.

The subject of 'moonshine' intrigued Moon Trot. She nodded, blushed a bit, then said "I'll do my best to avoid the punch bowl tomorrow night." After finishing her drink she set the glass down and looked around, "Well your highness, shall we begin your socialization? This is a party after all, and you seem to be the center of attention."

The Princess glanced around, suddenly becoming acutely aware of just how many ponies were making a half-hearted effort at not intruding, but remaining sufficiently close to be ready to pounce into conversation. Quickly refilling the empty glass at hoof and downing its contents, the humour and glee in the Alicorn's expression drained away to be replaced by neutrality and poise. As befitting a Princess, of course.

"Indeed," She began. Turning on her hooves as if to announce her availability for discourse. "Let us begin this so that it might end forthwith."

Moon Trot looked around the room, observing the quickly averted glances and checking for faces she recognized. "Twilight Sparkle, the Element of Magic, is nearby speaking with I believe his name is Hoity Toity. Over there is the Element of Generosity conversing with Jet Set, his wife Upper Crust, an entrepreneur by the name of Filthy Rich and his daughter. I believe your...nephew...is speaking with madam Photo Finish. Fancy Pants and Fleur de Lis are speaking to Flank Sinatra. Beyond them I cannot be certain of the names of the other ponies present."

"We do not understand ... Is it not traditional for those seeking to engage us to seek us out firstly? How shalt we broach an introduction? We are used to being sought, rather than seeking ... Nonetheless ..."

Luna marched forwards, her hooves promptly carrying the Alicorn towards Twilight and Hoity Toity. She came to an abrupt halt and, awkwardly, interjected.

"Greetings!" She almost-shouted, just about avoiding the Royal Canterlot Voice.

Moon Trot opened her mouth to explain that in modern informal parties such as this, it was equally acceptable for anypony to come and speak with anypony, so long as they were polite of course. Before she could, though, Luna moved off towards Twilight and Hoity Toity. She winced- along with the other two ponies- when Luna greeted them in a voice just short of her Royal one.

"Hi Princess Luna," Twilight said, bowing respectfully. Hoity Toity also bowed, then fixed his glasses and held his hoof out to the princess.

"Pleasure to meet you your highness," he said, "I'm Hoity Toity, a major figure in the fashion world, and might I be so bold as to say that your evening attire is quite superb!"

Luna balked at the outstretched hoof, first glancing up at Hoity Toity, then across to Moon Trot and finally, back down at the hoof. Admittedly she was out of practice in social situations but ... When did touching become so widespread, so common? Did everypony seek any opportunity to make physical contact with one another? Luna could remember a time when merely touching a Princess of Equestria would bring the sharpened blade of a Royal Guard to the offender's throat ...

She shook her head slightly. Those times were gone. Clearly this was the expected standard.

Hesitantly, Luna reached out with her own hoof and made contact. It took the remainder of the Princess's effort to carefully modulate her words, forcing herself to adopt as modern a lexicon as possible.

Moon Trot turned her head a bit and lifted her hoof to cover her amused chuckle at Luna's expression when Hoity Toity held out his hoof. But Luna caught on quick and shook the fashion leader's hoof.

"We thank you; though we ... That is, I, have not gone to any unusual or mentionable trouble this eve ..."

"Yes, it is elegant in its simplicity!" Hoity continued, "Why, I daresay every mare in Equestria would love to own such fine attire." He would have continued but he seemed to have lost the princess's attention in favor of Twilight Sparkle.

Luna turned her gaze towards the purple unicorn. "Twilight Sparkle; how does your study of the arcane progress? We ... I have been ... Impressed with the reports our - my - sister has provided regarding your talents in all things magical."

"Oh, my studies are going magnificently Princess Luna," Twilight said, always happy to talk about what she's been learning. "Materialization, summoning and teleportation, alteration, restoration, I've been trying a little bit of everything recently. Spike keeps telling me to try focusing on one subject and get better at them one at a time, but there's just so much magic in the world I don't know how I can choose just one!"

"Magic comes forth from a common point," The Princess replied with a nod. "There is no reason thou - you - cannot tread the paths between them. As is the nature of all things, some things ... You ... Will be better at performing than others. For example, we - I - have always had a greater skill at Battle Magic than our - my - sister. Yet, she has a mastery of healing and regeneration that eclipses mine. You are young, though, and there is much time left to you to seek your talents. For now, we - I - think it is best that you wander where your mind takes thee - you."

Twilight Sparkle smiled brightly. "Thank you princess! I will! But, um, now that you mention it, what's battle magic? I've never seen it in the library or in the archives."

"Battle Magic was outlawed centuries ago," Moon Trot interjected, rather abruptly, "The use of it is forbidden after the Windego Massacre."

"But why?" Twilight asked, "I mean, we have unicorns in the Royal Army and in the Royal Guard. If anything happened wouldn't we need such magic to help-"

"The battle magic practiced by some unicorns turned out to be too much for society to handle," Moon Trot said, "You should read more history and you would know why it was outlawed."

Luna raised an eyebrow at her Minister's sudden, forceful interruption. "The threats faced by Equestria were ... More extreme in those times," She continued, her displeasure at the tone of Moon Trot still obvious as her gaze returned to Twilight. "Greater offensive magic was thus required to safeguard our - my - lands."

Battle Magic was an admittedly dark form of the arcane art; but equally necessary in order to face great threats and triumph. Since her return, the Princess had not taken a particular interest in the training regimens of the Royal Army beyond her own Lunar Guard - she had simply assumed the ways of old survived in some form or another to modernity. Seemingly, this was not the case. Could it be, somehow, that Battle Magic in any form was now dead; forgotten or deliberately suppressed? Suddenly a truth seemed to dawn. The rise of Discord again, the Changeling Invasion - could these threats have been all the worse for the lack of powerful magic to wield against them? Luna had, regretfully been absent for both and so she could not say for sure ... Still ...

Any form of magic taken from a particularly pure emotion was dangerous. In the wrong hands - as demonstrated by the Changeling Queen - Cadance's magic of love was a potent tool of manipulation. Battle Magic was directly spawned from aggression and violence and thus, required a strong and disciplined mind to control effectively. Was this the heart of the matter? Was this another consequence of The Nightmare? That her near-unsurpassed mastery of Battle Magic was such that Celestia might move to strike it from the textbooks and pages of history?

The Princess forced herself to return to the matter at hand. "There are forms of magic so old that only those who are ageless can practice them. Celestia and ... I ... Know a great many spells which are no longer appropriate or commonplace."

Still, the frown would not leave the Goddess of the Moon's features. She had mastered Battle Magic ... How could something as powerful and impressive be allowed to wither and die in ignorance?

Nothing Lasts Forever

Chapter 4: Nothing Lasts Forever
~*~*~

There was a pause in the conversation when Luna finished speaking, her displeasure apparent. Moon Trot felt a little foalish for how snippy she had been towards Twilight Sparkle. Twilight felt disappointed that there was magic she would never be allowed to know. Hoity Toity was just plain uncomfortable in the conversation that he wasn't entirely apart of now.

One pony who was having a smashing good time, however, sauntered over during the tense moment to try and spread the smiles.

"Twilight!" Rarity said, a grin plastered across her face. She was intoxicated, and Moon Trot rolled her eyes at what she considered an unsavory sight. "Oh Twilight you simply must come and speak with Fancy Pants, he wants to discuss that dress I made for your part- oh HELLO Princess Luna!" she said, reaching out to pat the princess on the shoulder, apparently just noticing her, "Oh and Hoity Toity too! What a wonderful get-together...and who are you?" she asked Moon Trot.

"I am Moon Trot," came the reply, "I am-"

"Moon Trot? You mean like that dance move where you move backwards but step forwards? Oh I love that! I cannot do it myself but I've seen it done at some of Pinkie Pie's parties and she can do the moon trot magnificently!"

The Princess clamped down on the flash of irritation that surged through her at the unsolicited pat; instead Luna concentrated on keeping her voice even as she spoke. "Greetings ..." She managed evenly enough. "We trust thee - you - are enjoying this occasion?"

Subconsciously, her magic flared to life and levitated a glass from a passing unicorn waiter's levitating tray. Without too much difficulty the Alicorn downed its contents and sent it back on its way without much more than a moment's pause. It was obvious she would need a great many more of these to get through this night.

"I'm certain she can," Moon Trot said to the inebriated Rarity, "Why don't you go find her and ask for a lesson?"

"Oh no, she's not here in Canterlot," Rarity said, shaking a hoof dismissively. She stopped and tapped her chin, "Then again," she continued, doing similar to Luna and using her magic to retrieve another martini, "I'm not so certain. She's quite the oddity. Why, one time we were throwing her a surprise birthday party..."

Twilight stepped away from Rarity and Moon Trot as the story continued. She looked to where Hoity Toity had been but the stallion had walked away, leaving the conversation where he wasn't involved. She looked to Luna and gave a nervous smile. "So, Princess," she began, "Um, what brings you to this party?" she inquired.

"Night Court hath - has - been typically quiet this night ..." The Princess replied eventually, managing to force her attention away from the marble-white unicorn now deep in a very random, very energetic retelling. "We - I - thought it best to continue thine - my - integration by meeting our little ponies and engaging in small-talk, the retelling of amusing anecdotes and the consumption of fermented vegetable products. We - I - understand that this now passes as the primary means of entertainment of ponies; pretell, do ponies still dance or hath that too slipped to the wayside?"

"Are we mingling successfully?"

Twilight nodded attentively as Luna spoke, genuinely interested in the princess's day. "Yep, dancing is pretty popular, but it tends to depend more on the atmosphere. Like here I'm not sure there's going to be any dancing unless somepony who doesn't care about social appearances talks to the DJ and gets some good music playing, and even then they might be the only one shaking their flank."

"You're mingling well," Twilight continued, "If you want I can introduce you to some of the ponies I met tonight."

"...A rock! Can you believe it? A pile of rocks!" Rarity said, laughing enthusiastically, one hoof leaning against Moon Trot's shoulder.

"Ehm, excuse Rarity your Highness. She made a great business deal with Fancypants and wanted to celebrate...a little too much maybe."

"Quite," Luna replied, an eyebrow raised as she regarded the Element of Generosity curiously. A devilish thought crossed her mind, only partially fuelled by the alcohol she'd consumed. "Indeed Twilight Sparkle, bring us to thy - your - acquaintances so that we might converse and engage in fun."

"Moon Trot is more than capable of ensuring Rarity's safety," The Princess waved with a dismissive hoof. "Is that not right, Minister? Indeed - we art leaving her in the best possible company."

Moon Trot's eyes widened a bit when she heard she was going to be left to look after Rarity. She glanced at Rarity, then at Luna, then at Twilight, then at Rarity again- who was still talking, now about Diamond Dogs- and gave Luna a pleaing look before resigning herself to her own problem; she had insisted that Luna come, and now she was paying the price, it seemed. She gave Luna and Twilight a nod then turned a less than excited expression back to Rarity.

Twilight giggled a little. She looked around and spotted Fancypants and his wife, Fleur de Lis, speaking to one another. "Here," she said, leading Luna towards them. As they drew near the other two ponies noticed them and altered their stance so as to be inviting and inclusive to Twilight and the Princess. "Princess Luna, these are Fancypants and his wife, Fleur de Lis." Twilight introduced, "Fancypants, Fleur, allow me to introduce Princess Luna."

"We - I - am charmed to meet thee ... You," Luna corrected herself, angling her long, tapered horn downwards in greeting. "We - I - am led to believe thee ... We mean, I mean you ... Know Twilight Sparkle well, Pretell, how did thou come to know the Element of Magic?"

Inwardly, the Princess sighed with the effort of constantly correcting her speech. It was positively exhausting; to second-guess every single phrase for fear she would slip into the old ways and be embarrassed and yet ... Here she was, talking as if a foal learning language for the first time. It was most frustrating.

The two well-to-do unicorns returned Luna's bow at the greeting. "The pleasure is ours, your Excellence." Fleur answered. "I have only come to be young Twilight's acquaintance this evening. My husband met her at his garden party a little less than a year ago."

"Charmed" Fancy Pants said, "Yes I first met Miss Sparkle at my own gala in the month of August past. It coincided with her birthday party no less, is that not simply wonderful? She was showcasing a new style of dress that Rarity had made for her. Earlier today I had the luxury of making a purchase order of several such outfits for my beloved Fleur de Lis." He turned to his wife and nuzzled his cheek against hers affectionately. "Since then Miss Sparkle has been a welcome guest for all of her visits to Canterlot"

"Regretfully we hath - I have - not attended many social functions and thus, this is the first opportunity had to familiarise myself with those ponies closest to the Royal Court."

Levitating another glass to her lips, the Princess drank it as quickly as she could maintain her grace. "Any friend of the Elements of Harmony is, of course, a friend of us - I. Pretell, what doth thee - you - and thy wife do as a profession? We must admit to being struck by her beauty; she doth carry herself in much the same way our sister does."

Fancypants beamed with genuine pleasure at the compliments from Princess Luna. A genuine pony, he rarely felt the need to embellish or lie. Honesty, not necessarily blunt honesty, had gotten him quite far in business.

"Dear Princess you flatter us with your compliments!" He said joyfully, "I am but a simple jeweler-"

"Oh hush my dear," Fleur de Lis cut in, "Pardon my husband's humble nature. He's no simple jeweler, he's the jeweler. Anypony who is anypony aspires to own one of his beautiful masterpieces. Why," Fleur looked Luna up and down, flank to nose, hoof to horn, "I do believe his great great great grandfather is the one who crafted your tiara."

"My word," Fancypants said, adjusting his glasses and leaning a tad closer to Luna, "I do believe you are right my dear! How wonderful! My ancestor served the Royal Night!" He put a more appropriate distance between himself and Luna and bowed once more, "Your highness, it would be a great pleasure if you would permit me to examine your headdress." he said.

Without the slightest real effort, the Princess levitated the tiara free of her astral, star-sparkled mane and passed it over to the gushing unicorn's own magic. Inwardly though, a wave of melancholy washed over her. She could not recall who had crafted the royal tiara of the night ... In fact, Luna could not even recall when she had first worn it. Where had it come from? What tale did it once have to tell? As she pondered, she was once again forced to acknowledge the greatest pain of all. For immortality was in itself a curse, when one saw the passage of centuries in the same way anypony saw the passage of months, or even weeks.

Luna glanced around, and down towards Twilight. In time, she would forget this young unicorn; so eager, so gifted and hungry for knowledge. It was only a matter of time, before she would not even remember Twilight had existed at all. All things passed into shadow and death ... Except Luna and Celestia. They were eternal. They were forever.

... And yet, forever seemed such a very long time.

As Fancypants began to examine the tiara, muttering comments about craftsmanship and techniques he recognized and ones he did not recognize, Fleur smiled at Luna, ready to continue the conversation. "To finish with your latest inquiry," she said once she believed she had Luna's attention again, "I must agree with my husband about your earlier compliments. I am a fashion model and my work is in my appearance and poise. To be compared to Princess Celestia is a compliment I had never yet received, and to have it come from Princess Luna gives it more meaning than any other pony could hope to achieve."

"I daresay this Tiara carries its years," Fancypants said, levitating it back to Luna for her to control once more, "If you will accept my offer, your Highness, I can come by the Palace tomorrow evening and polish it up properly. Not that whomever has been taking care of it has done a poor job; for its age it is in amazingly good condition, but I daresay I could return it to its original splendor in a few hours time."

"We - I - would be privileged to allow thee ... You ... To carry out your work upon our royal vestments. It seems oddly fitting that the colt of the stallion who once fashioned our symbol of office will take on his father's legacy once more. It hath - has - come full circle as the Moon and Sun are prone to do."

The Princess felt content as she took the Tiara back into her magical possession; though she could no longer remember the pony responsible for crafting it, perhaps a penance could be paid in having Fancy Pants carry out work upon it. In some small way, she hoped that would provide a fairness.

"Fleur!" A voice sounded over the background sounds of the party. A mare in a garish outfit with stark white hair shoved her way between Fancypants and Fleur de Lis, her face inches from the pink unicorn's, "You are late vor ze photoshoot! I explicitly told you Eleven in ze evening, sharp! Eet iz now Eleven Oh Vive!"

"And I told you that I was attending Jet Set's party and we would have to reschedule," Fleur returned hotly through clenched teeth, "And this-"

"Nopony reschedules one of my photoshoots!" the pony said dramatically, "I inseeest you come to da studio enimal mehr!"

"Ah-hem," Twilight tried to cut in, "Um, Miss Finish?"

"Not now!" Photo barked.

"This is Princess Luna," Fleur said, shoving Photo Finish's head around to see the Princess, "And the pony you just rudely-"

"Ahhhh!" Photo Finish said, stepping up to Luna's face, "Zhe is perfekt! Vondabar!" She put both hooves on Luna's cheeks and turned her head one side to an0ther, "You! are going to be ze next star!" No sooner had she finished the sentence than did two of Luna's Lunar Guards drop from the sky and tackle Photo Finish to the ground.

The next few moments passed in a frightening blur. The Alicorn felt her conscious mind dissolve into a series of animalistic impulses; surprise that she felt the uninvited hooves of another upon her face and anger at such impudence. Fury - this pony clearly had only the most superficial idea whom she was dealing with. Would such dismissive interest be directed towards Celestia? Why must she endure the constant disrepute that seemed endemic to the night and the Moon. Fury gave way to surprise as her Guardsponies appeared from the rafters themselves, spurred into action by the grievous breach in protocol of touching the Princess of the Night.

The sudden surge of emotion however, had a most regrettable effect. Momentarily stunned, Luna's magic subconsciously surged to protect its master but at the cost of the tiara it had otherwise levitated. Faster than anypony could react, the priceless vestment of the office of the Princess of the Night fell to the hard marble floor, whereupon it broke in three pieces with a loud crack that rose well above the commotion.

The sound of the tiara smashing caused the party to come to a complete halt. The city itself seemed to mute and the night drowned out all sounds, but only for a moment. The stillness came to an end when a pinned and highly irate Photo Finish shouted to the stars "Unhand me you brutes! How dare anypony handle Photo Finish in this way!" After that outburst the party seemed to come back to life, but with much more focus towards Luna, her guards, and the other ponies in the immediate vicinity.

The appearance of the guards and the sound of the tiara breaking was enough to get Moon Trot to escape Rarity's conversation and return to the side of her Princess. "What is going on?" she asked, now alert and once more attentive to Luna's needs. There was an alarmingly high, but short, squeal as Fancypants dove to the shattered remains of the tiara and gingerly tapped at them with his hooves, his face nearly touching the shards as he looked them over with the expression one might expect when a master jeweler see's a true work of art destroyed before his eyes.

The guards rose up off of Photo Finish, but she was shackled to them, her hair was a mess, and her glasses had a crack in the left lens. Fleur de Lis had facehooved at the actions that her employer had taken, and now she was trying not to laugh at the ruined appearance of the mare she had a distinct distaste for.

"Vat is the meaning of this?" Photo asked the guards, pulling against her shackles. Moon Trot knew her queue and stepped up to Photo Finish and gave her a hard look.

"You assaulted her highness, Princess Luna. As such you are under arrest." Taking a step back and half turning so that Luna would be able to see Photo Finish's angry and somewhat frightened look, she continued, "Your Majesty, what shall her punishment be?" she asked.

Twilight Sparkle had watched everything happen and felt it was her duty to step in, albeit a little subtly. She tiphooved up to Princess Luna and tried to whisper in her ear "Don't be too hard on Photo Finish. She's...an oddball, yes, but she's just extremely passionate about her work. With those glasses and the lighting, I can't even be entirely certain she knew who she was talking to."

Silence fell as everypony at the party looked at Luna, waiting for her to pass judgement.

The expression upon the Alicorn's face was utterly unreadable. Slowly, the Princess sank down until her eyes were but a few inches above the shattered remains of her vestment. Without bothering to glance away, she commanded her Guardsponies to action. "Bring her here, to her knees, to see what she hath wrought."

Without delay, the Guardsponies roughly pushed Photo Finish forwards and down onto her haunches. At the same time they levitated away her bizarre coloured glasses, and for the first time the Earth Pony looked into the eyes of a Princess.

"This tiara hath survived more than thee can know," Luna began. "It survived hoof-to-hoof combat with Discord, whence we danced a deadly duet with him atop Mount Canter two thousand years before thy parents were even born. It survived the coming of the Nightmare, and it survived Discord's return and the Changeling invasion of our city. And yet ... Photo Finish, is it not?"

The Princess stood, " ... And yet, it could not survive thee. This is our oldest possession, save our sister herself. Nothing of our life remains to us that is older than this. Yet, thee hath destroyed it utterly."

Luna closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath. "For though we are filled with anger at thy actions, we remember that as a Princess, we exist to safeguard thine little ponies forever. We will therefore protect thee even when it is thy own actions which bring about our displeasure and our sorrow. We will protect thee from thyself. Guardsponies - take her from this party, from which she hath surely outstayed her welcome, and release her without further redress from the castle complex."

Twilight's expression went from nervous to fearful as Luna began to speak to Photo Finish, and the fear in the eyes of the Photo Finish was as plain as anypony could see. Moon Trot stood there with an almost completely dispassionate expression, but as Luna built up to the climax of her speech she, too, began to show signs of worry. However, when all was done being said and the Lunar Guards began to escort Moon Trot away, the ponies all present began to relax.

"Von moment," Photo Finish said to the guards. She turned and looked back at Princess Luna, the fear in her eyes replaced with gratitude and sorry. "I apologize." she said, then the guards continued to move her from the party.

"Princess Luna that was so kind of you," Twilight said, smiling up at the royal pony. She glanced around where the other ponies were watching the Princess, though their demeanor were more relaxed than before. Moon Trot had moved away from Luna and Twilight and found the DJ of the party and whispered in the mare's ear then made her way back towards Luna.

"Alright everypony," A high voice called over the microphone, getting Twilight's attention.

"Is that..?" she began to ask, looking towards the sound system.

"Its time to paaaaaaaaaaarTAY!" Pinkie Pie yelled into the microphone before kicking a record onto a record player. The silence was drowned out by loud, upbeat tunes and the bright lights around the party dimmed somewhat as multicolored lights began to blink on and off.

The Princess quickly found Fancy Pants and his wife. "Know that it is our intention, immediately, to commission thee ... You ... To craft a new symbol of our - my - office to replace that which has been unfortunately lost. Cost is of no option; we ask only that thou design something that might last for two thousand years, as thy - your - great grandpony hath done."

Levitating the broken shards of the tiara up from the marble floor and wrapping them in a silken, cobalt-blue napkin the Princess presented them to the couple. "It seems only right to us that they rest with thee - you - and not us ... I. Thou art free to auction them off, or donate them for display, or merely keep them as part of thy collection - as you see fit."

A pained expression passed over the Princess. "We are greatly vexed and saddened to have lost it," She almost-sighed. "We hath been together for a great many years millennia ..."

Truly it was so - nothing lasted forever ... Except an Alicorn, seemingly.

The jeweler and the model were bobbing their heads to the music and watching as Hoity Toity showed off some heretofore unknown break dancing skills beside Pinkie Pie. When Luna came to them they both gave her their full attention. Fancypants opened his mouth to tell Luna how truly sorry he was that such a piece of work had been shattered, but before he could speak Luna spoke first. He looked at the pieces and used his magic to take them when Luna had wrapped them up. He could see how much the tiara meant to her, and though he knew it would be difficult he had to make the appropriate offer.

"Your Highness," he said, inclining his head, "It would be the greatest honor of my career, nay, my life," he was interrupted when Fleur made a soft winnehing noise, and he chuckled, "The second greatest honor of my life, pardon, to fashion you a new headress in my own design, and I can already imagine its form as I look upon you," he said as his eyes glittered with thought, "But I would be utterly remiss if I did not inform you that your current treasure is not insalivagable. I could repair it to its state as though it were freshly crafted, or near enough, and it would certainly last another several lifetimes with you." He offered her a smile to show his sincerity of the statement.

"Perhaps then, thou - you - could undertake both. Our sister has a wide selection of accessories and accentuations, alas we ... I ... Do not. It would please us greatly, if you would consider undertaking to repair our favoured vestment whilst creating a new piece worthy of our return."

Beyond walls and mortar, the Moon reached - and passed - its apex. From this point on it began to fall downwards, relentlessly tracking towards the end of the night and the beginning of a new day. The energy which had so infused Luna began to slowly dissipate, and fatigue would set in soon. Still, she forced herself to focus on the wider party. She set about appropriating another drink and doing her utmost to stifle a headache brought on by the "excitement" thus far.

Fancypants' eyes grew large and he had all the excitement of a young foal on Hearthswarming's Day Morning. "My Princess, I shall undertake the privilegege post-haste! I shall fashion you all manner of exquisite finery as befitting the Princess of the Night! I shall not let you down, you have my word as a Gentlecolt." He said with a bow. Fleur bowed as well and the two made for the exit from the party, one pony tired from the evening and the other's blood pumping so furiously as to prevent sleep for the remainder of the night.

Moon Trot saw the Moon in the sky and looked to Luna and saw a weary look cross her face. She approached her and bowed quickly. "Princess Luna, it is soon time to see to the positioning of your stars," she reminded Luna. Though Moon Trot truly believed that she was better out here, socializing, she needed to be true to her duties and thus she had to remind Luna.

Finishing her drink, the Princess nodded distractedly. "Yes ..." She acquiesced, "We shall see to thine stars ..."

Stopping to bid farewell to Twilight, the Princess easily moved to the doors courtesy of the sudden path that opened up in the direction she travelled. As they cleared the building, the Princess glanced upwards and ran her gaze across the night, as if ensuring nothing untoward had happened in the few hours spent socialising. Some stars were not to be left to their own devices; indeed they would skip across the sky with terrific, bright trails and bring all manner of needless attention upon themselves.

Moon Trot walked with Luna from the party. Three of the guards approached as they left and Moon Trot headed them off,asking what they wished. They wanted permission to remain behind, off the clock and she gave it to them; they had done their duty in a fantastic fashion and had earned the break. There were more Lunar guards around and it was good to reward good work.

When they returned to the palace entrance and began to ascend towards the balcony where Luna would work, Moon Trot cleared her throat. "I'm terribly sorry Your Highness," she said, "But may I request an early retirement for myself for the night? I would like to wake up early tomorrow and begin to learn the dances you mentioned earlier."

"Thou art dismissed from this night's service," Luna nodded, as they completed their ascent and arrived at the reading office of the Ministry of Stars & Sky. An enormous circular chamber high and against the side of the Tower of the Moon, it was dominated by an enormous, gilded-silver telescope that sprouted dozens of knobs, levers and gauges all of which fine-tuned and focused the colossal mirror - hidden away at the end of the device which leaned far outside and into the chill night air. Two great semi-circular bookcases ran around the circumference of the room, framing a marble-polished tapestry of the constellations on the floor.

Heading inside, the Princess took up a soft cushion aside a desk upon which dozens of scrolls and tomes were piled. The minutes quickly became hours and, as her eyelids grew heavy and her attention wandered, the Princess of the Night uncharacteristically gave in to the same sleep that had taken not only her sister, but all Equestria