Indulgences
by: Midway Bridge
Luna paced nervously in her quarters. The moon was already risen, and there were others duties to attend to still, but she had this nagging want in the back of her mind, causing her anxiety. She didn’t like it when she got worked up like this, especially when the stress stemmed from something that was, in all meanings of the phrase, a guilty pleasure.
"No, I couldn't possibly," Luna told herself. It was disgusting really. The very thought of the action repulsed her, yet she couldn't help but wonder what made it so appealing. Was it the blissful sensation? The fact that nopony else knew her dirty little secret? It certainly wasn't due to the shame and self-loathing afterward.
"Well I guess I could," she said reversing her anxious canter. She did already dismiss the guards who were stationed outside her room, and already cleared a portion of her busy schedule to make time for it. Luna knew Celestia would become suspicious if she left her duties unattended to for long periods of time, so only a built in break would suffice. But, sometimes it took longer than expected and that certainly would lead to inquiries from her sister.
"Who says it has to take a while? I can be quick with it sometimes," Luna reassured herself. She found it strange that she had to say it aloud to calm herself. "As long as I don't indulge myself too much, everything will go perfectly unnoticed."
With her mind now made up, Luna closed the door quietly, locked it, and rattled it twice to make sure that the bolt securely shut out any possible intruders. She didn't want to be interrupted, or worse, caught in the act. Of course, Celestia didn't ever come to Luna's quarters at these waning hours of the night, but she could never be too careful. Luna even took the care to close the curtains and dim the lights in case a pegasus were to fly by her tower.
Satisfied that her bedroom was secure, Luna once again paced around the room, still debating if she wanted to commit to the action. On one hand, there was doing the morally correct thing, something that all princesses should do, but on the other hand, she could please herself in a way she couldn't during those lonely years on the moon. She bounced the thoughts around in her head for a minute or two before making the decision.
"I'm certain it wouldn’t be a big deal,” Luna asserted, finally coming to a resolution. “It’s not like I do it all the time, so ...perhaps just this once."
Luna stripped off her regalia, carefully levitating the pieces so they didn't clatter when they were delicately placed onto the floor. She didn’t really like the royal crown. It sat too low on her head, and the shoes ached after being worn for a while. The chest plate itself was comfortable enough since the weight was distributed along the shoulders, but it made certain movements stiff and limited her range of motion. All in all, she was glad to be out of it.
Luna slowly slipped under the blue satin sheets of her bed and welcomed its warmth. She smiled. She knew the best part of tonight was about to begin.
Celestia despised staying up late, as she had to rise early in the morning with the sun. However, the late afternoon meeting with the department of agriculture pressed much later than expected. All was going smoothly until it took an interesting turn. Somehow next years rain schedule was switched in the mail with a box of soap opera DVD's. The details were sketchy as to how it happened, but there were pastry crumbs mixed with blueberries found on top of the box.
It took around 2 hours to receive a new schedule, and during the wait she had to listen to stuffy aristocrats argue about what brands of butter they prefer on steamed peas and asparagus. All this amounted to was a killer headache and an accumulating distaste for all green vegetables.
Celestia was ready to call it a night and was on her way to the royal bedchambers when she noticed something astray. The guards weren't at their posts outside her sister's door. Luna usually was paranoid about keeping everypony busy, so dismissing the guards was likely something she would never do… unless she wanted to keep something under wraps.
Naturally, Celestia was suspicious as to why she would do something so uncharacteristic of herself. Celestia placed her ear against the door to try to hear anything beyond the oak frame.
Celestia in her right mind wouldn't eavesdrop on ponies, but in matters that concerned her recently returned sister she had to be… protective. The long day placed her in a murky half-focused haze, but she could vividly hear something transpiring on the other side of the wooden frame.
"Ooooh… so good," called out a voice. It took Celestia a moment to realize that the voice belonged to her sister.
Her sister's muffled moans of blissful ecstasy echoed vividly through the door, causing Celestia's white face to blush slightly upon hearing.
"Mmm… I should do this every night. Oh yes, I think I'd like that."
Celestia heard more than enough. She magically unfastened the lock and slowly pushed the door open.
"EEP!" cried Luna, discovering she’d been compromised. She immediately took flight, letting Celestia see little more than a blurry flash of dark blue fly under the bedcovers as she entered the room.
"Luna!” called out Celestia. A pair of dark blue eyes crept out from under the sheets.
"Yes?" she said in a quiet squeaky voice. She sat up in her bed slowly upon being called, blushing a bit.
"What were you doing?" Celestia had her suspicions already, and she didn't want to jump to conclusions, but if they were proven to be correct there would be a much needed conversation about royal etiquette.
"This… isn't what it looks like?" Luna was now reddening feverishly with an incredibly sheepish smile.
"I should hope so.” Celestia had to choose her words carefully, saying the wrong thing could make the situation worse. “If it’s not what it looks like, explain yourself then."
“Well... ”Luna searched for a proper reason, or perhaps something, anything, to justify her actions, ”I got this urge, and... I just couldn’t resist.”
Celestia eyed over her younger sister, taking note that her blush was rather cute despite their current situation. There was an awkward pause filled only with the ticking of the clock. "So were you enjoying yourself?"
"I, um… yes?" Luna shrank back down underneath the covers in shame. That was all Celestia thought she wanted to know, any more might cause irreparable mental scarring. It was late in the night and Celestia already had too much for one evening.
"Get back to tending to the night. We'll talk about this tomorrow," she ordered sternly. "And don't come back until sunrise."
"Okay…" Luna briskly stumbled out of the bed. She quickly dressed and fixed her hair, then promptly rushed past her sister and bee-lined for the door.
"Oh, and Luna?" called Celestia while the younger alicorn was still in earshot.
"… Yes?" her sister answered, hesitantly stopping in the doorway’s threshold.
"You got a bit something on your face," she said pointing to the white stain on her muzzle.
"Oh." Luna paused to wipe whatever it was off. "Um, thanks."
Luna quickly exited the room and down the spiral staircase. Celestia shook her head as she left. "Young mares…"
The solar princess noticed that the drawer to the left of the bed was slightly ajar. Curious, she walked up and inspected its contents. There was nothing in the drawer save for a single half eaten 'Moon Pie'. Celestia smiled at what she saw; perhaps there was no need for a conversation after all.