Lucky Star

"YOU WHAT?!"

And today was going so well too. You had just finished putting all of your Nightmare Night supplies out the day before and already started to sell quite a bit of it. Not to mention you had a great idea come to you this morning; what to dress up as this year. Every year, ponies tried to dress up as Discord, but none of them had ever gotten it right (except the time that Discord dressed up as himself, but that wasn't fair!). This year, though, you had it all planned out. You even talked it over with Rarity, who said she would be thrilled to help, especially if it meant frightening the Cutie Mark Crusaders. For some reason, you had a feeling that she got far too much enjoyment out of that.

But, all of the good things from throughout the day came crashing down when Twilight came to visit and share the 'good news.'

"What? I thought you wanted to talk to Luna again. Hopefully without the awkwardness this time." Twilight was a bit confused. She knew you liked Luna and thought asking her to come stargaze with you was a good idea. "And besides, she seemed to enjoy the idea."

"That's not the point! What will I say? What does one even say to a princess on a date?" Panic started to seep in. Usually, Twilight is the one that's panicking over everything, but right now seemed like a good time for you to start. "What if she doesn't like me? What if I get banished to the Sun because I say something dumb?"

Twilight looked a bit too amused with herself. Banished to the sun? Usually Celestia is the one banishing ponies. "You won't get banished. Like I said, I think Luna likes the idea of talking to you again."

"What happens when...wait, what?" You're pretty sure you missed that last part.

Did she just say that Luna likes you?

Dude, she said Luna would like talking to you.

So? It's a start

Well, I guess we can make this work.

Damn right, we can.

"So, Twilight, did she say anything else about me?" Once you heard the magic combination of words 'Luna,' 'you,' and 'likes' you seemed to have forgotten that merely seconds before, you were panicking about Luna banishing you to some celestial body.

Celestial body. Dude, are you thinking what I'm thinking?

QUIET! I would rather not get banished and then imprisoned for cheating on a princess.

Who said anything about cheating? I say, the more, the merrier.

Nope, not gonna think about it. Too many things to think about right now.

Your loss. If you need me, I'll be imagining some sweet princess on princess action.

Whatever.

Pulling yourself back to reality, you realize Twilight hasn't said anything yet. In fact, she's just looking at you with a very worried expression on her face? Speaking of faces, you realize that you are far too close to hers. "Ah, sorry. I guess I'm just a bit excited. And anxious. And nervous."

"It's ok. I'll help you out. After all, I do see Luna almost every day now. Not to mention I am a princess." Twilight beamed. Sure, she was a princess, but she wasn't THE princess. You always took Twilights counsel to heart; she was a huge bookworm and did happen to know a whole lot about almost everything.

"Ok, thanks. I'm just really nervous. Did I mention that already? Anyway, you have to tell me everything you know about Luna. I want to make a great impression. Wait, don't tell me everything, I don't want to seem creepy."

Dude, you have to calm down. Get your zen on.

I thought you were busy with the whole princest thing.

Been there, done that. Anyway, just calm down. Twilight will help you out. And if she can't, there's always Pinkie.

Ugh, I don't want to think about that. I already owe her for setting me up with some sweet gear for Nightmare Night.

She'll help. It's what she does. Think Hearts Warming Eve, except a million times better.

Yeah, yeah. I got it.

"Ok Twi. Sorry by the way. I didn't mean to snap at you. I was just surprised. It's not every day that some pony walks into my shop and tells me she got me a date with the mare of my dreams." You did feel bad about that. Maybe you'll give her some extra candy for Nightmare Night.

"It's fine. I probably would've panicked way worse. It's a good thing I always have spike there to keep me calm. So, I know you kind of like Luna, but don't you think that it's a bit, well, sudden?" Twilight had a very sincere look on her face. "I just don't want you rushing in to things. The last thing I want to see is one of my friends heartbroken."

You knew this was coming. After all, last night wasn't the first time you saw the Lunar Princess...

"Mom! Stop messing with my mane! It's fine" Apparently the cap you had gotten from graduation gave you a case of hat-mane and your mother was trying to make it behave for the pictures.

"Oh come on, honey. You look like you just rolled out of bed."

Maybe because you had. Last night was one giant blur of partying. It's not every day you get to graduate from the University of Canterlot, so a little celebration was in order. You don't remember much after your friends convinced you to have a drinking contest with some giant muscle-head of a pony. One thing you do remember is calling him a sissy because you beat him, which he didn't take too kindly. In hindsight, winning was probably a bad idea. That and calling a pony who's very sensitive about his name a sissy. How were you to know that guy's name was Snowflake?

Anyway, today was going alright until your parents called to tell you they would be there shortly so you could show them around the campus before the ceremony. That's when you remembered you were, in fact, graduating. In two hours. After making yourself somewhat presentable, you proceeded through the whole ordeal with minimal headaches.

After the ceremony and the pictures and all of the congratulations you got from fellow alumni, you said goodbye to your parents. You had a couple hours to kill before the graduation party your family was throwing, so you decided to wander around campus one last time. That's when you saw her.

Princess Luna wore her usual royal attire; Silver slippers and ebony crown. Oddly enough, it didn't quite look like her normal garb. Maybe because you've never seen her so up close. Whenever you saw her in public, she seemed so far away, in a carriage or on some balcony. This time, she was standing not twenty feet from you, and she seemed to have a slightly confused look on her face.

"Dear Subject. It seems we are lost. Will thou help us find our way?" She called out. It took you a few seconds, but it appears she was talking to you.

"Oh! Of course Princess. Where are you trying to go? If you want, I could accompany you until you find your way?" Not in a million years would you picture yourself being so bold, but today was going too well and you figured you'd live it up.

Luna's face lit up a bit and she gave a small smile.

Huh...that's odd. I don't think I ever noticed how cute she was.

Dude, play it cool. She's a princess.

Don't care. Just graduated.

Whatever man. Just don't get banished.

"That would please us greatly, subject! We are trying to find the concert hall. We have not been to the University in an age and it appears they have altered the layout." She still had a somewhat concerned look on her face. It's hard to believe that a princess could get lost, but here lies the proof.

"Well, the concert hall is on the other side of the campus. I'll walk you over there. And my name's Starry Night by the way." Even though Luna has been back for a while now, it appears that old habits die hard.

"Of course. We apologize. We do not have very much practice conversing with our citizens. We thank you, Mr. Night." You couldn't help but notice a slight rosy tint to Luna's cheeks. Was she embarrassed?

"That's ok, princess. By the way, where are your guard? Shouldn't they be showing you around?" It did seem odd. Usually the Nightguard accompanied her everywhere.

"We have been told my guard frighten other ponies. We do not understand why. Mayhap it is their wings." It was true. Their wings were kind of creepy. It also doesn't help that they assisted Nightmare Moon when she tried to take over Equestria. "Thou may cease naming us Princess. Thou may call us Luna, if it pleases."

Huh.

Hey, you know how I said to play it safe?

Yeah?...

Forget that noise. Go for it.

I dunno man. She IS a princess.

How many other chances will you get to talk to her one on one?

Well...maybe. I'll see what I can do.

"So, Luna? How are you doing? I know it must be hard to readjust to things today." You inwardly wince.

'How are you doing?' Really?

I know! Shut up. You're not making things better.

Just saying.

"We are doing well. 'Tis true, we have had a difficult time since our return, but our sister and the Elements of Harmony have helped us immensely. We are wondering, are you a student here? You look very young to be an instructor?"

"Oh, no. Well yes. Err, what I mean is that I was a student, but I just recently graduated. Today, in fact." Smooth. You're on a roll...

"We offer our congratulations, Mr. Night. May we inquire as to what your area of expertise is?" It's odd, you seem to be getting even more nervous as the conversation carries on, yet she seems to be getting more at ease. Why is it so hard to just talk to her?

"Thank you Princ...I mean, Luna. You don't need to call me Mr. Night though. You can call me Starry. Or Star, whichever you prefer. I graduated with a degree in Fine Arts by the way. And before you say anything, yes. I graduated from the most prestigious university in Equestria with a degree in Fine Arts." Damn, you probably shouldn't have said that so rudely. Now she'll probably banish you or something.

"That is a most endearing course of study. I am very glad this place still has room for the finer things in life."

Did she just say 'I'?

Huh. I think she did.

What does that mean?

Got me, bro.

The look on Luna's face seems to explain everything. Her cheeks are more red than before. Why is she getting embarrassed? "We apologize, Star. It seems that we have become accustomed to conversing with you. We do not usually forget to address our self in the royal 'we'. We thank you for walking us to the concert hall."

It seems that you had already arrived. You didn't think it was so close, but then again, you were pleasantly distracted the whole way here. 'Time flies' and all that. You also notice that is starting to get late. The lamps in the street are starting to flicker on and the sun is beginning to set. The first stars are starting to twinkle into existence and you can see the faint outline of the moon on the horizon.

"You are very welcome Princess Luna. Have a nice night." As you turn to leave, she puts a hoof on your shoulder and gives you a light peck on your cheek. And as suddenly as you saw her, she was gone, almost galloping into the concert hall through the large double doors.

Did she just...?

Hey, I'm stumped here too.

Maybe I just imagined that.

Dunno dude. Felt real enough to me.

I'm just going chalk that up to her being thankful and call it that.

Know what I think?

I'm scared to ask...

She wants the 'D.'

...just shut up.

"...And that's when I first met her. I didn't think I liked her until I saw her again last night. I know the whole "Love at First Sight' thing is a bit cliché, but I don't know about 'Love at Second Sight.' Maybe it was the fact that I had time to think about it. I mean, it was only last year." You told her the whole story, without the inner monologue. You didn't want to scare her, after all.

"Wow. Wait, if you've met her before, why didn't she remember you? I don't think I heard her use your name." Twilight makes a legitimate point. What if she doesn't remember you?

"I don't know. Maybe she forgot my name. That's ok. You get me a date with her and we can start from there." You couldn't help but be giddy. Your dream mare said yes to a date this Saturday. Now all you had to do was get through the rest of the week without messing anything up.

Meanwhile, in Canterlot.

"Lulu? Luna? Where is that mare?" Celestia was looking all over for her sister so she could set the sun and Luna could raise the moon. It was starting to get late and Celestia didn't feel like doing both. Last time she did, Luna had a small tantrum and wouldn't calm down until she had gotten a chocolate cake and a new video game as recompense. "Huh, maybe she's talking to Cadence..."