A Nightly Romance

The box hurled down the stairs towards the window. The box nearly smashed it. Spider-web cracks fluttered across the glass. Atop the stairs, the goddess of the sun paused. She then moved down with great precision-- hoof placed right in the middle of the step again and again with perfect regal grace. She walked through the attic across the creaky wooden stairs. The soaking wet wood tickled her hooves.

This isn't right... No, it's just completely wrong. I can't believe that I'm doing this... I can barely see a thing, anyways. Celestia made a false step atop some ancient set of parchments. A set of silverware humbled off of the pile and smashed onto the floor in front of her. Dust flew up across her face and mane.

No... No... She strained to keep herself from sneezing. No more noise! She moved over twoards the window. She measured each step carefully. She brushed up against a set of sharp forks, and then she delicately pushed them out of her way. She leaned her head up. The edge of her hoof glowed slightly. She took a breath of relief, and then she glanced around.

So... The alicorn leaned her head down. A thousland little white alicorns stared back at her from the ruined window. She pushed forward even more. Her mane rubbed up against the tattered curtains. Her face pressed almost right to the glass as the reflections disappeared. She surveyed the little grassy courtyard below.

Royal staff moved about back and forth. Most of them didn't have anywhere in particular to go or anything that important to do, but she knew that they just had to lord their position over other ponies by looking so very busy. They might as well have been squabbling little ants in her royal garden.

The alicorn tapped her hooves along the windowsill. Alright, Lulu... Alright... How long are you going to... wait... She suddenly cocked her head to the right and narrowed her eyes. She watched a golden stallion trotting down along the set of budding roses. He paused to admire the wonderful scents, and then he took a set upon one of the shimmering white marble benches. The stallion glanced about-- presumably to admire the dozens of miniature fountains off on the other wall of the courtyard.

The sun goddess frowned. Come on, now... Where is she? You know as well as I do what's going on, Marks. You... You... You stammering little twerp! Celestia watched as the gaggles of other ponies wandered out of the courtyard. One of those umpteenth royal staff meetings in all of their grandiose pointlessness-- no doubt. The stallion took a deep breath. He then stood up and walked over to a small wooden side door. It blended right in with the rest of the thick bricked wall. Few ponies knew about it, and even fewer knew the magic to unlock it.

"What excuse is it going to be this time?" Celestia whispered to herself. Her frown melted into a full-blown scowl. "That you just picked up a message from Twilight?" Goodness knows, you have taken such an odd interest in her as well... "That you had a sudden complaint to deal with in your night court? That Blueblood walked in your office once again? Well, well... Lulu, you never were much of a liar..."

The secret door flew open. Celestia's eyes traced up and down every last inch of the young unicorn as he walked in. Marks happily bounced around. The royal attendant gave the visitor a friendly slap-- running his hoof through the unicorn's frizzy and fluffy mane. Little pink bits that fluttered almost like cotton candy rubbed of on Mark's royal jacket.

Celestia's gaze trailed the unicorn as he wandered around for a bit-- clearly feeling overwhelmed by the opulent sculptures, fountains, layers of flowers, and everything else-- and then plopped himself up the closest bench. She blinked over and over again for a split-second. With the light reflecting all over, the visitor's shiny white body easily blended right into the marble.

Some commotion suddenly began over at the garden's mane entrance. "Somepony wants fresh strawberries," Celestia remarked. She pressed her face even closer to the window. Her nose seemed to freeze against the chilly glass.

The princess of the night jumped out in front of the path besides the rose bushes. She giggled at every step as she skipped over to the bench. Celestia concentrated with her magic, and she tried to listen in.

"Strawberry!" Luna shouted, and then the unicorn waved frantically while making a huge grin. For all of the secrecy, she sure cannot keep her happy mouth shut. Celestia broke with a bit of a smile. It immediately died. She eyed Luna's mane as it bounced, and then fluttered across the bench. The blue alicorn landed right at the very edge.

Luna smiled, and she looked over at her coltfriend at the opposite end of the bench. The unicorn had seen her before dozens upon dozens of times. Yet he still looked nervous. He still seemed to Celestia to wiggle with nervousness.

The white alicorn's eyes moved down to her sister's bottom hooves. Luna waggled them in the air underneath the bench. Luna then slowly and deliberately twisted them together. She then squeezed her thighs together-- cocking her head at the same time. Her smile opened up even wider.

Celestia felt a warm feeling going up inside her body. Oh, oh... I don't believe it! She's using the move I tought her. And she's going to... She gazed upon Luna as she paused and then scootched herself bit by bit across the bench onto Strawberry's body. Celestia's eyes opened wide. Luna nudged around her front hooves towards Strawberry's chest-- but she didn't quite touch him yet. Her legs squeezed together even tighter.

"Works. Every. Time," Celestia said, and she couldn't keep from grinning from ear to ear, "His heart is like pudding now."

The sun goddess pressed herself even further into the window. The cracks rubbed up against her face, almost tickling. So, then... Lulu, what are you thinking? Celestia focused her eyes right on Luna's face. Celestia saw as the unicorn and the alicorn gazed at each other. Luna then nudged herself over.

Luna kissed him. She paused for a little bit-- locking just their lips. They then pressed in deep upon each other's bodies. Celestia's heart raced. Her eyes danced from their interlocking hooves to their manes getting all tangled up to their bottom hooves rubbing each other like crazy.

They are just... Just... Just... Celestia nudged her head for far forward that she was afraid she'd break through the glass. She eyed all across Luna's mane as it swooped across the unicorn's body. The frizzy pinkness rubbed all over Luna in return as the unicorn and the alicorn made out.

Pink against blue... Every last strand of his is just touching and touching and touching and touching her... That just has to feel so... So good... Luna suddenly stopped. She leaned back a little bit, and she gazed at her coltfriend. Celestia's heart raced even faster than before as she watched the trail of saliva drip down from Luna's mouth onto Strawberry's chest. Luna stood up off the bench, and she pulled Strawberry off in turn.

Luna just beamed. She seemed to lift off the ground on a magical cloud as she walked down along the rose bushes. Celestia eyed the unicorn as he stepped just inches behind Luna. His face shone with that same deep, pure happiness. The sun goddess then trailed her sister with her eyes down as Luna walked past the bushes over to the sculptures.

So happy... And it's the happiness of naivety, of ignorance, of closed-mindness, of shutting yourself out of the world and ignoring everything that is going to happen. Celestia's smile trickled off of her face. It's the happiness of not knowing and not understanding your duties, your responsibilities, your title, and your... limitations.

Celestia's eyes flip-flopped around from Strawberry to Luna and then back again. When you don't know what it's like to give yourself over to someone special, to feel that bond between your hearts that wants to live forever, to have that boy's smiling gaze burned into your eyes, and then to... to... Have that bond ripped into shreds right in front of you.. She could feel her frown burning into the glass. Only THEN... Can you be happy like that, Lulu.

Celestia leaned back away from the window. She saw the thousand little white alicorns staring at her in the crinkled glass. She didn't see a particular draconequus in the reflection-- standing beside the little white alicorn with those paws rubbing delicately across her neck-- but she might as well had.

She tilted her head down, and she looked along the edge of the fountains. Strawberry snuck up a little bit besides Luna. He popped up and made as if to shove her down into the water. Luna giggled. She curled around and pretended to buck him. He pretended to fall over. Celestia's eyes widened once again as Strawberry leaned over and pressed his head against Luna's neck. The unicorn kissed her. He kissed again and again-- moving his face down and then burying it in her shoulders.

Celestia locked eyes with Luna, although the sun goddess knew that her sister couldn't see her. Luna opened her mouth wide and let out some kind of playful coo. Celestia nudged her hooves against the ancient wood. And you haven't had those... those... Admirers, I guess they are. Those stallions that parade through your life like ants across the marble one after the other. I suppose Strawberry might be your first one, or one of your first ones...

Celestia's frown mutated into a blank, soft expression. She visualized dozens of stallions-- a bright red journalist pony here, a nervous bright yellow guard pegasus here, and a cocky bluish-white unicorn with hearts for a cutie mark-- that she had added to her collection. She thought back to the last new trainee that she had invited to her chambers. I'm sure he doesn't have any trouble sleeping now... She felt happier, but she still didn't smile again. Of course, that wasn't... love. Admirers don't have that... that... special quality.

"No," Celestia muttered. She eyed the unicorn and the alicorn below her as they sat down upon the ground and chatted. "He's different." Strawberry would die for her. He almost did. He loved her even when she was trapped inside that horrible prison of Nightmare Moon. His heart saw the beauty beneath the cruetly-- even when she did such horrible things to his best friends. Celestia stopped, and she shook her head.

No, no, no... I'm not going to think about that anymore. Nightmare Moon is gone. It's just too painful to even see her in my head anymore. She looked over at her sister once again. Celestia then blew a deep breath upon the smashed window-- fogging it up completely.

*Snap*

Celestia bounced back into the middle of the room. She flew her head in all directions as she looked around. She tried to concentrate with her magic, but the whole room just confused her. Every part of it seemed to have some ancient energy-- probably from the builders that had long since passed away.

*Crack*

She stepped back a little bit. She flinched. She picked up a hoof, and she saw a fork emedded into the end of it. What... What on earth is going on here?

*Bang*

Part of the floor gave way under her. Celestia bounced herself back. She leaned over. Her horn glowed brightly as she stared down ahead of her.

"Your... your... majesty?" a bright blue attendant unicorn asked, rubbing his soaking wet mane off of his face. Three orangish ponies rubbed their towels onto their bodies closely, and their eyes grew so wide that they seemed to pop off of their faces. A gigantic looking mule almost fainted. He kicked the showerhead and then poured water off of him all over the locker room floor

The princess' face turned a very slight shade of red, and she backed up a little bit more from the hole that she had created. "Uh... carry on..." Celestia muttered. She leaned back and looked at the stairs back towards the main storage room. She turned around and then slowly backed up. The various stallions relaxed-- although most of them moved about pretty slowly.

Celestia then spotted one particular pegasus standing at the corner of the shower. He gazed up at her, and he couldn't so much as breathe. She ran her eyes down his muscular, trim body to the end of his soaking wet auburn tail. The hair looked so coarse and so scratchy. The pegasus didn't cower in shame. He had some kind of satisfied gaze-- almost saying 'like what you see, your majesty'.

The sun goddess bumped up the stairs. She soon found himself back in the middle of that familiar greyish-red corridor. Well, then... I suppose that... She then ground her hooves into the fine carpet in frustration. I didn't even get his blasted name.

Celestia glanced at her reflection in the silvery stripes going up across the ceiling. Yard after yard of fancy corridor stretched around her. Then, she stood there. Alone. She laid herself down flat. As I'm supposed to be... As every princess in the central royal bloodline should be until an acceptable prince comes along...

Oh... BUCK IT! The alicorn spun around. She trotted back over to the stallion's locker room.

(To Be Continued)