Princess Luna snapped open her eyes and shot out of her royal canterlot bed. Her chest heaving with exertion and her nostrils flaring as she pawed the ground anxiously. She whinnied nervously as the dream repeated itself lightning fast over in her mind for a few times.
She noticed her surroundings and tried to calm herself, It had been naught but a dream, a silly dream she told herself. Nightmare Moon had been defeated years ago and Luna was as she once was many years ago, a normal princess who stood next to her sister as ruler. She stopped trotting on the spot and focused her breathing as she did whenever she had had similar nightmares of late.
Luna stretched out her wings and shook them out; it was no good to get bed feathers, especially if you were a princess. She realized however that was not as bad when she looked as if she hadn’t slept in a month with bags under her eyes. She sighed and walked back over to the bed; her moonlight streamed in the window and illuminated the room enough for her to see that her bed was soaked in places from the wet patches she had sweated out during her night terror. She used her magic to light candles around the room and illuminate her chambers fully, her eyes adjusted and she knew from experience she would get no sleep this night.
She pulled the sheets off the bed and carried them over to her bathroom and into the chute that led to the palace wash chambers. She could just carry and clean them with magic but she preferred not use magic as much as most unicorns did, even if she wasn’t technically a unicorn. As her sister’s student Twilight Sparkle’s friend Rarity said, it was uncouth to show off. Even if Luna wasn’t really showing off she still preferred to do things other ways if possible. Apart from raising the night of course, but that was different magic.
Luna turned in the doorway of her bathroom to regard her private chambers sadly. Even though she was controller of the night and had practically invented dreams, the past month the room had become less of a place to sleep and more of a reading chamber. Since the dreams often woke her in the middle of the night and with nothing she could do she had taken to reading the reports on friendship her sister kept, written by Twilight Sparkle. The reports fascinated her in the way they described friendship but also saddened her, for she had nopony but her sister like Twilight’s friends in her life. The closest she had ever had was Discord, a long time ago when he wasn’t as manic, angry or unstable, and that had ended on a sour note to say the least.
Luna sighed and clopped over to her balcony. The archway to outside was as wide as could be, she liked to have the moonlight come in through it when she slept, or to be able to see her stars as she slept. Tonight however, clouds covered a lot of the sky, her moon shone brightly through a gap but it would be swallowed after a brief respite.
A night usually calmed her thoughts in turmoil but tonight they did not, she just did not know why her dreams now constantly revolved around Nightmare Moon. It had been 2 months shy of 4 years since the Elements of Harmony had freed her from that monster and she had been grateful every day since. Once upon a time a dark part of her had resented her sister but that part was no longer part of her. She cherished Tia and the ponies of the Equestria.
She hung her head dejectedly, the thought of allowing those feelings to manifest themselves as Nightmare Moon shamed her to this day. If not for the swift actions of Twilight then Luna feared what sort of monstrous tyrant she might’ve become.
Speaking of Twilight sparkle, Luna decided to give her thoughts a distraction. She trotted swiftly to her nightstand back inside of her chambers. A short rifle through a stack of official scrolls and her hooves came across the friendship report that she was to read next. After clasping it gently in her jaw she carried it to the foot of her large four poster bed. Lying down comfortably she spread the scroll out with her forelegs and started to read by candlelight.
Dear Princess Celestia…
*
Luna blinked open her eyes a couple of times but closed them again. The light invaded and stung her eyes but she liked the warmth the morning gave. The only thing that she mildly disliked about her creation, the night, was that it was colder than the day. She stretched on her bed and yawned still with her eyes closed. She was surprised to find she had fallen asleep, normally once she awoke from a nightmare she didn’t sleep again and if she did it would be for a short while til she woke from the dream again. A good night’s rest felt really good.
The younger princess rolled over onto her back and pushed her wings out, stretching in the morning sun. She stretched just like she would do when she was just a little filly, then she giggled at the memories of her and Celestia as fillies.
“Well sister, I’m glad you’re enjoying this afternoon”
“Celly!”
Luna sat upright in her bed reluctantly, even without the sheets it was still warm. Celestia stood at the door to her room. She looked amused if not a little bit embarrassed.
“You should knock dear sister,” Luna said, she was not annoyed though, it was a beautiful morning and she had not felt better in a while. Princess Celestia only let out a small tinkle of a laugh.
“I did Luna, I suspect that is what woke you” the moon princess stifled a yawn and glanced to her window, the angle of the shadows told her it was maybe an hour or two past midday. This confused her until Celestia continued. “When you did not arrive to the royal court this morning I worried so… I came to check on you”
Luna gave a final small stretch and then stepped off of the bed.
“I apologise” she said with a small bow “I was reading and fell asleep, I meant you no worry”
Celestia regally waved her away with one hoof.
“Think nothing of it, the court is rarely anything but the same old tediousness these days” she crossed the small of the room to Luna’s bed, not acknowledging the lack of bedsheets. “what are you reading that is so tiresome it puts you to sleep, I shall have to have a read of it next court session” she looked at Luna and winked “Would most likely be more productive”
Luna smiled and went to the bed to gather up the friendship reports that she had been reading up on the night before, something tickled her memory about a plan she had made to do for the day…
“My dear Twilight’s friendship reports?” Celestia’s tone was one of surprise as she held up a scroll to her eyes with a yellow aura of magic. “I didn’t know you read any of these Luna, and I certainly didn’t think they would put one to sleep.”
Luna ruefully scratched the back of her neck with one hoof.
“Well, I had trouble sleeping so I read a couple, I was tired before I started reading them, I must have dozed off while reading”
Celestia did not respond, her eyes were busy scanning the letter.
“I do believe this one was written during the Canterlot Dessert Festival. About not judging your friends” Celestia looked at the few other scrolls and let out a small sigh “Oh I remember when she used to write all the time with her friendship reports. “ she chuckled a small amount “You couldn’t go two days without a scroll arriving by dragon fire with a friendship lesson in it” she looked crestfallen for a second “Of course, I don’t get many letters from her anymore…”
“Oh Tia, Don’t think of it like that, think of Twilight as having such a large knowledge of the magic of friendship that there isn’t much she can learn anymore! Remember when Starswirl would come to you with every new spell he learned? Of course he had to stop and really get down to work and that’s when he made some of his greatest discoveries. He wasn’t the bearded then though. Just Starswirl…”
Celestia drew herself upright “Of course Luna. Forgive an old mentor her nostalgia and wistfulness” she smiled at Luna and walked over to the door, “Reading the letter on Desserts has made me hungry” she chuckled “And I think I might go to Starswirl’s tomb, I have not been in a while, he always did teach me new things” Celestia clopped out the door to have a royal guard salute her and fall in behind, Luna went to follow to the kitchens but stopped instead, something Celestia had said was stuck in her head, something about teaching…
That was it! Seeing as Twilight Sparkle had learned all of these things it wouldn’t be hard for her to teach them to somepony else. When reading the reports, Luna had decided she would see Twilight and see about making some friends. Luna started walking forward again, this time with a small smile on her face.