“Where is it?”
“Luuuna…”
“I could swear I saw it just yesterday!”
“Luuunaaa…”
“Blasted thing is always missing when I need it.”
Celestia sighed as she watched her sister rummage around her bedroom, turning mahogany wardrobes, cupboards, and even her night desk inside out as she searched for...something. The search had been going for over 10 minutes already, and Celestia had forgotten what the thing they were looking for even was.
She watched Luna scurry around from one side of the room to the other, tossing items every which way. Acting angry over the lost item was an obvious charade to mask her nervousness, but Celestia didn’t have the heart to tell Luna that she wasn’t fooling anypony.
“Luluuu,” Celestia called out again, only for it to fall on deaf ears.
“The bewitched bottle acts like it has a will of its own, and decides to disappear the only time it is required! I swear to my moon, if this is some kind of delayed magic prank from Discord, he’s going to-”
“Luna, sister,” Celestia calmed her younger sister with a comforting nuzzle and a sisterly hug. Luna held the pillow that she was about to rip in two out of frustration for a few seconds, before letting it fall to the ground and allowing herself to be fully embraced. She let out a long sigh as Celestia patiently waited, all the while nuzzling the back of her head.
“I-I’m not sure I can do this…” Luna finally admitted.
“Luna, what has gotten you so skittish? Just over a week ago you were practically dancing with excitement to know that our little gift had worked. And just yesterday, I was almost afraid that you would skip sleep to be ready today.”
“Nnngh…”
“It’s okay to be nervous, Lulu. I’m just not sure why you are. You have met with him several times while dream walking, no?”
“Yes, but...I…” Luna mumbled silently to herself and slumped down on the floor, which Celestia took as an invitation to massage her back, hoping to reduce the tension in her body. “I’m not certain if he has fully understood that I’m a real pony who guards ponies dreams, and not just some apparition in his dreams that he conjures up,” Luna sighed again.
“How so?” Celestia asked for a clarification.
“His kind, or at least he, seem to have considerable trouble focusing in dreams. He stays in a half sleeping state no matter how much I try to reinforce his dreams with magic, and he seems to forget parts of our meetings regularly.”
“And you are afraid that he wouldn’t recognize you?”
“No...not so much that...but I am worried about how he’ll feel that I’m...well, real. I wouldn’t desire for our first meeting to be...unpleasant,” Luna finished with dread. Celestia let out a short giggle.
“Luna, you have read the same reports from Twilight as I have. You know that he’s a kind soul and as long as you take your time with him, everything is going to be fine.”
“...I know... Knowing that doesn’t make me any less uneasy…” Luna quipped and curled up more.
“I know,” Celestia comforted, “but you mustn’t let it stop you. ‘Feeling nervous about meeting somepony only means that you want to meet them that much more’.” Luna rolled her eyes.
“Yes, I remember all of Starswirl’s lovely quotes too. They can be shoved in the same place today as they could be back then,” she remarked humorlessly.
“I believe the statement you used was, ‘Where the sun don’t shine’,” Celestia smiled.
“I believe so too.”
The two sisters leaned against each other, Celestia having opted to join her sister sitting on the floor, as they went silent. Celestia used a technique to calm Luna that she had learned when they were small fillies. By matching their breathing, eventually, she could feel Luna loosening up, the tension in her body lessening.
“I suppose it’s not of any use to postpone this then,” Luna announced and got up from the floor.
“Ready to go?”
“...As ready as I’ll ever be,” she said with a nervous grimace, but with determination in her voice. Celestia smiled brightly.
“Let’s go then, to Ponyville.”