//------------------------------// // The Dance // Story: Serenity // by Arbiter Balemead //------------------------------// Cold. That's all that she ever answered when asked about the moon: It was cold. Cold and dull. It wasn't painful, it wasn't uncomfortable, save the cold, and it certainly wasn't fun. Her consciousness was trapped there on the moon, while her body really wasn't anywhere. Once the stars had broken her free, her body reformed from the mist and moonlight around Ponyville, the quaint, oddly named little town where the Summer Sun Celebration had taken place. After that, it had only been a matter of time before she either crushed the Element Bearers, or they used the power of the Elements to cleanse her of the evil power that manifested itself in the form of Nightmare Moon. Obviously, the Elements had won, or else she wouldn't be standing here in her private chambers, staring at the moon from a balcony. Once cleansed, it was merely a matter of learning and adjusting to the new customs. A feat she failed at until her visit to Ponyville a year later. There, Twilight Sparkle and the other Elements of Harmony helped her learn to be 'normal'. But it didn't help. Whilst in town, she believed the only reason her subjects feared and rejected her was because of her extremely loud voice and frightening displays of power. But now she knew better. They hadn't feared her status as a god-princess, nor her voice, or even her powers to cause frightening displays. No, it was her past sins that were feared. It was her, the goddess herself, who was feared by her own 'loyal' subjects. Only Celestia, the very being she'd betrayed and overpowered twice, trusted her anymore. Only Celestia believed in her change of heart. And only Celestia treated her like a person anymore. It was actually the only solace in her daily existence these days. When it was just her and Celestia, they completely ignored their duties as goddesses and rulers, and acted like children again. Even now, she wasn't sure if her guards were at her door because of honor, respect, loyalty, or simply because they worked for both princesses, and Celestia had told them to guard her. She glanced at the door, seeing no reason to doubt their loyalty, but no reason to expect respect either. She turned back to her moon. Her moon. Her glorious moon. Designed, created, and controlled by her. Along with the stars, the Auroran Lights, and the sky itself at night. These were her canvas, paint, and masterpiece, all in one. To believe her entire banishment had been caused originally by the fact that no one cared for this masterpiece of hers. These days, people stayed up late, stargazing alone or with someone special, or watching the moon rise, or even waiting for a scheduled meteor shower. One thousand years ago, she wouldn't even bother to warn anyone about her meteor showers, because she believed no one cared. But now, she would have to schedule them weeks ahead of time, lest her subjects request a repeat the next night so they wouldn't have missed it. Oh the thrills she got the first time that happened. She actually forgot to schedule on purpose the second time, just to see if it would happen again. It did. It amazed her that the night could be so admired by her subjects even though she was so despised. The gentle smile that had played across her lips at the thought of the meteor showers faded into a frown at this thought. It was true; her night had surpassed her in love. She was the unappreciated artist behind the most famous painting in the world. The painting that was used for love, symbolism, friendship, and peace, whilst it's artist longed for these things. There was a gentle tap at the door, pulling her out of her sulking thought, and she turned to face the sound. "Yes?" She called. "Princess. Your sister is here to see you." Her guard answered. She looked over to her nightstand, where her crown waited, and used her magic to levitate it to her waiting hand. "Very well. Let her in." She said, adorning the beautiful artifact that had been hers and hers alone to even touch for thousands of years. The door opened, allowing her radiant older sister to enter. She was, as usual, dressed in her majestic royal regalia, consisting of a white dress and golden metal pieces attached to her wrists, feet, and chest, all complimented by her white wings that rested, folded against her back. Her golden crown rested on her head, partially covered by her soft, thick, pink hair. She was adamant that her hair looked better in its glowing, flowing state, but she wore it this way for her sister only, as she believed it looked better this way. "Sister." The younger acknowledged with a nod, then turned back to examine the sky. She focused on a small collection of stars, then with the twitch of an eye, a new star formed and three others shifted slightly, causing an entire group of fifty stars to form an elaborate image of a scorpion. Celestia walked over and stood next to her, examining the new constellation with her. "Beautiful. You know... I couldn't do anything with your stars while you were gone, Luna. I barely changed a thing with your night sky." "I noticed. You changed one of the Ursas. You messed it up, and it took me three days to fix it." Luna said, looking over to her sister. "And that's why I didn't change it much..." Celestia laughed, blushing slightly. Luna giggled lightly at Celestia's distress. They looked back to the stars above them, admiring Luna's handy work. "Mm... Yes, it certainly didn't need my touch. I'm used to a clear sky, only marked by the work of my angelic subjects. Certainly, I have no artistic touch in my work. Blue isn't very artsy is it?" She asked. "Not alone." Luna winked and for a short moment, some of the stars disappeared, showing the dark navy blue sky clearly. The stars reappeared in their exact places after a second. "But then, I think adding to the daytime sky would be offsetting for our subjects." "True. I doubt if they'd adjust quickly..." She sighed contentedly. "No... I leave the beautiful paintings to my beautiful sister who knows how to do it." Luna blushed at the compliment of her appearance and the praise of her work. Her abashed smile suddenly faded when her eyes, in an act of shy modesty, fell to the streets of Camelot. "Beauty doesn't matter if no one bothers to look at me..." She muttered. Celestia gave her a concerned look; the kind a daughter would receive from her mother. "Dear, you are quite beautiful, and people do notice. They just..." She trailed off, trying to think of how to put it in a way that wouldn't prove Luna right. "They just fear me too much to care for how I look." Luna said, turning away from the balcony railing, and walking over to her bed. She removed her crown and tossed it on the bed frustratedly. She flopped down on the bed, causing the crown to bounce up and land on the floor with a clatter. Luna didn't care, knowing that her crown was exceedingly durable. Celestia walked over and sat next to her, wrapping an arm around her tenderly. "Trust me, Luna, there will be someone who doesn't care about Nightmare Moon. They'll just care about you. Not your godhood, not your royal status. Just you." She gave a soft squeeze around Luna's shoulders for emphasis. Luna didn't move, however. "I doubt it." She mumbled. "I don't." Celestia said sadly. The two stayed there for a while, before Celestia remembered why she had come here in the first place. "Here. Let me try to prove you wrong. The Grand Gala is coming up again, and I know you haven't attended the two since you... came back, but I would love for you to attend this year's." Luna gave her an uncertain look. "I don't know..." "I'm sure there will be someone there you can befriend. I'll invite Twilight Sparkle and her friends back if you wish." Celestia offered. The thought of Twilight Sparkle and her five friends' faces flashed through Luna's mind and she found herself tempted. "O-okay..." Luna said after a long pause, giving a small smile as she spoke. The Gala wasn't for another few days, but Luna could wait. She'd waited one thousand years to make amends for her sins, even though she was stopped by Nightmare Moon's rise to power. She waited through that as well, but she still made her amends. It was then that she got her first glimpse of her saviors. There was Twilight Sparkle, the ever-loyal pupil of Celestia. She was smart and definitely one of the most talented of the Mages in Terra, but she had no social abilities. This was a minor feat, however, as it didn't stop her from helping Luna with her own social skills. Then there was Applejack, the honest farmer. Strong, hardworking, and faithful to her friends. She was a friend that Luna would have been happy to have. Her, and Rainbow Dash. That skilled Angel stuntswoman was one of the fastest fliers Luna had ever seen. Her unending loyalty was famed throughout Terra. Next was Rarity, the fashionista. She was equally obsessive with style, and generous. It was hard to pin how she worked, seeing as her sense of business was held as highly as her sense of giving. She would just as likely spend a day designing a new line of summer clothes as she would spend that day making a dress she intended to give to a friend for free. Last of all was Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Those two were similar, and yet, completely different in many ways. There was no one Luna could think of who would love to see you smile as much as these two would, but their approach was the major difference. Where Pinkie would throw a party to make the world smile for a reason as miniscule as simply seeing you for the first time in three days, Fluttershy would sit and talk and listen and melt your worries away. Pinkie's massive sugar-rush personality was sporadic and untamed at the best, while Fluttershy carried a soft-spoken demeanor. There wasn't a one of them that Luna wasn't at least slightly excited to meet again, but she couldn't say she was ecstatic to attend the Gala either. She wasn't sure what to wear, how to act, or where to go first upon arriving. She asked her sister, who simply pointed out that she only wore her regalia, and didn't often attend most of the minor events of the evening, except for the few occurring in the main hall. So it was up to Luna to decide how she would spend her night. She decided she'd try to latch on to at least one of the Elements of Harmony. The day arrived and she changed from her basic regalia into a black and navy blue dress, with light azure metal pieces on her wrists, feet, and chest, giving the whole ensemble a similar appearance to Celestia's basic regalia. She allowed her hair to change form from the light, soft azure she loved to the regal, flowing, dark navy she only wore it in when she was supposed to look 'godly'. After that was all ready, she adorned her crown, which was the only piece of this ensemble she really wanted to wear. She didn't need to leave early to be on time, nor did she even need to be on time in the first place. She was a princess attending a dance being held in her own castle, after all. She could be late if she wanted to be! Besides, she didn't carry as much responsibility with these things as Celestia did. She wasn't expected to attend to begin with. Still, the Elements would be arriving almost the moment the dance started, and she wanted to spend as much time with them as possible. Thus, she made her way down the hall, then down a set of stairs, and into the main hall. She saw Celestia greeting some visitors, regal as always, then Luna turned to the door where Twilight and her friends would be arriving through any moment. She waited anxiously against the far wall,where nobody was, watching the door whilst silently hoping that nobody would notice her. But of course these hopes were in vain. The whole ballroom area was designed in whites, tans, and golds, probably after Celestia, the only princess present when the castle was built. Luna's attire and appearance clashed with these colors; her dark dress, her dark wings, and her dark, flowing hair all stuck out horribly against the walls and decorations. She saw many people glance her way, but none approached her the way they approached Celestia. They would see her, then swiftly turn their heads away and go talk to the other princess. Luna glanced at Celestia, who was giving her an almost pitying stare until she was caught looking. At this point, Luna began to consider returning to her room and entertaining herself with an unscheduled meteor shower, or perhaps a display of the Auroran Lights... Her thoughts distracted her to the point that she didn't even notice the Elements of Harmony entering the building. Preoccupied with her thoughts, she stood there at the edge of the room, silently mulling over possible constellations she could form, when one of the six friends walked over to greet her. "Hello, Princess Lun-" Twilight began, but stopped when Luna jumped at the sound of her voice. "Oh, sorry. Did I frighten you?" "Merely startled me, Twilight Sparkle." Luna assured, taking a deep breath. She looked up at the other five waiting on them. "Oh, have I held you up?" "Not at all. C'mon, tonight'll be fun!" Twilight said, gesturing her to follow. Luna followed the young Mage, marveling for what wasn't the first time that someone so young could be the best Mage in the world aside from the two God Sisters. They met up with the rest of the group, who greeted her warmly. For the most part, that is. Luna was slightly offended that the Angel with the belly-length pink hair didn't speak when she joined the group. That would be Fluttershy, she believed. The shy and timid one, as she remembered it. She silently forgave the young poor thing for not speaking. It wasn't every day you came this close to a goddess. Well... unless you were one and your sister was one. They went straight to the ballroom, finding a seat near the window. They chattered away for a bit before a few of them became distracted. After a while, Rarity began the hopeless pursuit of a court adviser, while Rainbow decided to go meet the Wonderbolts again. This left Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie. Luna didn't find herself highly surprised when Pinkie began insisting that she shouldn't just sit here. Applejack went with her, intending to keep her from causing another scene like she had two years ago. Twilight and Luna held a brief conversation about Shining Armor and Cadence and their current holdings. An awkward silence fell over the three left at the table. After a moment, Fluttershy and Twilight began to look uncomfortable, then they both glanced at each other, an exchange Luna pretended to miss, and Twilight claimed she would like to speak with Celestia and got up and left. This left the two quietest, anti-social of the group alone at the table together. Luna looked out the window at the sky, thinking that perhaps her earlier idea to head to her room and simply play with sky was not ill-founded. At the same time, Fluttershy began nervously twisting the ends of her hairs around her fingers. "U-uhm... could we go somewhere m-more uhm... p-private?" She asked softly. Luna looked at her, surprised to hear her voice, seeing as the young angel hadn't even spoken since arriving here. "Of course. The garden is often unoccupied during these dances." Luna said, getting up and leading Fluttershy out of the ballroom. They walked out to a piece of the garden that was closed off from the party goers. A guard stopped them, but upon recognizing the princess, immediately stepped aside, apologizing dearly, to which she merely waved a hand and said it was fine. He apologized again and moved out of earshot. The two walked into a beautiful segment of the garden built in a circle around a set of benches. There was an assortment of flowers, all of which were in bloom, as that was the very night the Gala was planned around. Few people were aware that the Gala had originally been in garden and was planned for the night the flowers were all in bloom on purpose. Now, however, the dance is indoors and the flowers go unadmired that night. It made Luna sad... The two sat on the benches, admiring the flowers silently, until habits got the better of her and Luna found herself laying on the bench, watching the stars. She examined the constellations that, to her, seemed like the back of her hand, but seemed to be a puzzle for anyone below a studied astronomer. To Luna, each and every set of dots was an easy to spot picture, each tiny light merely another describing point in the pictures. She'd even gone so far as to use many stars for more than one picture. Fluttershy was closely examining a flower that had been crowded by three bees. When one of them didn't fit, a squabble broke out and she resolved it by finding the third bee a new flower. When she looked up from her quiet labor as the loving peace-keeper, she found the princess's hair in her preferred light azure, and the princess herself relaxedly lazing on the bench. She rested one hand on her belly and the other on the dirt under the bench, subconsciously drawing shapes in it. When Fluttershy followed Luna's gaze to the sky, she saw those same shapes forming amongst the stars in the form of the Auroran Lights. They spiraled and jagged their way around the sky, dancing and showing their glory in a lighted display that only lasted for a few short moments before disappearing. The moment they stopped, Fluttershy looked back down to ask the princess to continue, only to find the princess had stopped because she'd been watching. The princess had looked over at her and realized she'd entranced the caretaker with her light show. "I-I uhm..." Luna stuttered, sitting up. "That was pretty." Fluttershy said quietly. Luna's cheeks turned a dim hue of red at the praise. "Thank you..." She whispered. She was aware that her night sky was enjoyed by the populace these days, but nobody, save Celestia, had ever complimented any of her displays. At least, not to her face. After a moment of sitting there quietly, Luna laid back down, and stared at the stars, trying to decide if any changes could be made. This was her favorite part of controlling the night sky. Even on the nights when she couldn't see anything she wanted to change, she could always be confident that she'd find something within the week. It was a big sky, and it could always use a change or two. She just needed to find those changes. The problem right now was that she was sure there was a change to make, she just couldn't focus enough to find it. She could tell that the Angel sitting in the dirt a few meters from her was flitting her eyes between her and the sky she was trying to change. After a moment, Luna looked over and saw a constellation of a bat that she had made a year ago and left alone ever since. Within a moment, the stars began to shift, disappear, or suddenly form in the proper places to form the bat into a butterfly. This took the princess around two minutes to accomplish. Once it was done, she grinned over at Fluttershy. She watched as the caretaker squinted her eyes at the new shape for a moment, then caught what it was and suddenly broke into a flustered yet flattered smile. "Th-that's very... nice." She said softly. "As I recall, you symbolize yourself with them." "Y-yes..." She wasn't the only one that did that. One night, not long after stopping Nightmare Moon, the six friends had spent a day at a cafe together, getting to know each other better. Rarity had been wearing a skirt with three diamonds encrusted into the side, and when it was seen by Applejack, a set of jokes began to fly among the friends until they ended up agreeing upon symbols that represented each of them. After that, Rarity went home and designed skirts, pants, and work duds with the symbols attached to the sides. It had become the custom of the friends to wear these clothes to almost any occasion, simply for the fun of it. Luna looked back to the stars with a smile that showed both pride at her newest painting, and embarrassment at its praise. Luna simply stared at her stars for a while, attempting to think about something besides the caretaker that had somehow entered and stayed in her thoughts for the past few minutes. No matter how confused she was that the Angel was in her thoughts, there was one thought that she smiled at: She had made a friend. A shooting star streaked across the sky as her grin broadened.