Luna's Apprentice

by NoblePonyLegacy

Getting Settled

Celestia stayed with Aysel at the school while Luna flew back to the castle. It was the early afternoon and she had to wake up in a few hours to resume her Princess of the Night roll. Did I make the right choice? Maybe I should have talked to Tia before I chose her. And she was right; I did see something was wrong with Aysel, so why did I choose her? Why was I so drawn to her? Was it because I saw part of myself in her? No, that can’t have been it. Luna glided down onto the balcony outside her room. She drew the curtains to stop as much light from coming in, but it was no use. She was usually asleep by now and the sun didn’t wake her up, but it was nearly impossible for her to fall asleep during the day. Luna got up and walked around her room to try to calm herself down. It was a big room: the celling was painted to mimic the night sky, the bed was as soft as a cloud and the rest of the room followed a similar theme. After walked around, she went to take a warm bath. Soaking in the water, Luna went back to entertaining her previous thoughts. Maybe I’m over-reacting. She probably is just hiding her feelings about her parent, that’s it. I would expect someone who has gone through that would keep their feelings hidden. But shouldn’t I know what is going on in my student’s life? If I’m going to be her mentor and teacher I should try to connect with her, just like Celestia and Twilight…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud thumping on the bathroom door. Quickly, and a little annoyed, she slipped out of the bath and magically wrapped herself in her towel.

“Yes, who is it?” She asked a little more harshly then she intended, still trying to dry her hair.

“It’s Tia, do you have a minuet?” A soft voice came from behind the door. Luna knew this particular kind of voice, Celestia only makes her voice sound this way when she either wants something or wants to talk about something hard but doesn’t want to seem like she does. Sighing, Luna came out of the bathroom, coming up with possibilities of what her sister might want.

“I was actually just in the middle of trying to relax, can this wait?” Already knowing the answer, Luna sat down at her desk. Although she knew that this talk was inevitable, she didn’t want to help her sister get to the subject.

“It can’t wait, really,” Celestia said, “I wanted to talk to you about Aysel,” Luna made a little groan noise, she knew this would be one of Celestia’s long talks where she will continue to talk until she has finished what she wanted to say . “She came to the castle about an hour ago and was quite eager to start her learning. From what I’ve deduced from talking with Alden, she has spent her most recent years trying to be the best she can be. But it has come with the cost of her not having any close friends. She is popular in the way that most of the ponies at the school like her, but she tends to shut them out.

“I’m telling you this so that you become not only her teacher, but also a friend. She is strong, but she won’t be able to keep all her feelings and emotions in for eternity. If she opens up to you, accept her. You know more than anypony I know how it feels to be alone.”

Once Celestia finished her talk, Luna remained still trying to fully understand what Celestia was saying. Celestia was always good at reading ponies, even if they tried to remain closed. This is, according to Luna, the way Celestia seems to know what ponies are thinking and how she can predict the way they will react. As Luna was still processing what she was just told, she didn’t notice Celestia get up and walk out of the room.

After Luna snapped back into reality, she got up and opened her curtains. Rubbing her eyes from the blinding light coming into her room, she decided that she wanted to visit her student before she officially came back into her royal duties. As she opened her door, she accidentally bumped into the pony she was planning to meet. Picking herself up, Aysel went back into a bow.

“I’m so sorry, Princess Luna,” She rushed, “I didn’t mean to. Princess Celestia said she was here a little while ago and said you probably weren’t going to be able to sleep. So I decided to see if I could come and see you.”

A little amused about how the pony in front of her was acting, Luna tried to hold back a laugh. “It’s fine, don’t be so worried. And don’t be so formal, just call me Luna.”

“Ok, Prin—Luna.” Aysel caught herself.

“Very good. Now, did you want something?”

“No, well, yes. I was wondering when we would start our lessons.” Aysel was so nervous asking Luna for something that her body was slightly shaking.

“I’m not busy at the moment. In fact, I was just about to come and talk with you.”

“Did I do something wrong?” Aysel face went blank, hiding all sense of emotion and feeling. Luna was taken back by this sudden disappearance.

“Not at all, I just wanted to make sure you moved in alright.” Luna stated, she didn’t want to upset Aysel, but she was curious. Could this be a way that Aysel hides herself? But before she could finish her thought, the small pony went back to her usual self.

“Oh, yeah, I moved in alright. I never knew how large the castle was until I came.”

“I’m glad to hear you did. As for your lessons, they won’t be like what you were doing in school. I’m not going to stand up and teach you something while you take notes. You’re going to learn by watching me.”

As Luna said this, a certain spark lit up in Aysel’s eyes. “Do you mean that I get to watch you while you hold court and go to diplomatic meetings?”

“Yes, to a certain extent. Obviously there are somethings that I cannot take you and some meetings you aren’t going to be able to sit on; but for most things, yes.” Luna was now walking down the hall into the throne room to get to the kitchen. Although she didn’t physically need sleep, it was relaxing and peaceful. And since she couldn’t get that during the day, a well-made meal would suffice. Aysel didn’t seem to wonder where they were going, but seemed lost in her own thoughts probably, Luna suspected, about what kind of meetings she would be able to sit down in. “But there are a few things that you should understand when you are my student. First, princesses will act differently in different situations. For example, while in a diplomatic meeting I might seem stern and non-emotional but while holding court I will seem caring and loving. This doesn’t mean I’m lying to the other diplomats or the ponies, but a princess knows what is expected of her and must live up to that expectation.” Aysel was now fully fixed on every word Luna was saying, not wanting to miss a single detail. Luna continued, “Second, princesses know their place in respects to other ponies and know how to act. We don’t look down upon our civilians, but we have to understand that we are their rulers. This is why we allow other ponies to bow at us. Even if we don’t like it, we know it’s something that needs to happen.” They were now in the throne room and made their way through a smaller hall on the side. “Lastly, there may be times where I say one thing to one pony and say something else to another pony. Yes, this happens,” Luna added when she saw Aysel quickly look at her, “We do not lie for the fun of it, but sometimes the only way to deal with a situation is to make everypony think they are getting what they want. We try our hardest to do what is right by them but most ponies don’t understand the big picture of what’s going on.” They went into a large kitchen with several chiefs already in the process of making Celestia’s dinner. “I don’t tell you these things to frighten you, but to prepare you for what is going to happen. Being a ruler is difficult, but I’m sure you can handle it.” Luna gave her student a warm smile while the chiefs bowed toward her.

“Hello, Princess Luna. Isn’t it a little early to be awake?” The head chief asked while the other chiefs continued their cooking.

“I agree, it is early, I didn’t get much sleep.” Luna replied with a yawn, being around the sweet aroma of food is making her realize how much so wanted to be asleep right now. “I would like to make a request for a hot soup.” The chief nodded and then started to cook with the other chiefs . Luna focused her attention onto her student. “Would you like something to eat? You probably haven’t had anything to eat since lunch”

“Now that you mention it, I am a little hungry.” Aysel confessed as she started to look at the food being made before her.

“You don’t have to be afraid of asking for things you need. If you feel hungry you should say something.”

“Yeah, I know. But I generally don’t like asking others for he---. I mean, I would like something to eat.”

Aysel caught herself but it was too late. Luna gave her a look, as if determining whether or not to push her. Luna made a mental note to ask her about it later, but for now, she acted as if it didn’t happen. “Chief, could you also make another soup for Aysel, thank you.”

As the chief brought their soups over, Luna started to ask Aysel about herself. This proved to be as informative as Luna’s brief talk with Celestia. After their talk Luna decided that it was time to officially start her night. Aysel was thrilled at the idea.

“Are you going to raise the moon now and open up night court?”

“I am, would like to watch me raise the moon, I honestly don’t know how much you would enjoy it?” Luna said truthfully, to her it was a routine she did.

“Yes, of course. I used to wait outside to watch the sun go down and the moon rise.” Aysel said softly, as if embarrassed by what she had just said.

“Well, just follow me to my room; it’s much easier to raise the moon in a comfortable place. That way, you can focus more of your attention on your magic then what’s going on around you.

Once they got to their room, Luna went and stood on the balcony. Although she had done this countless times, it felt different with somepony watching her. It wasn’t a bad feeling, but the feeling one gets when somepony else expects it to be amazing when it really isn’t. Luna pushed the thoughts out of her head, even after all these years, she still needs to be able to focus her un-divided attention to the heavens. She used her magic to feel for the moon and once she has hold of it, she starts to lift it higher and higher into the night sky. The stars follow the moon, so they don’t really cause her any trouble. She stands back and looks at the night sky, thankful that she knows that ponies now work through the night and get to see the amazing work she has created.

“Am I going to learn how to raise the moon?” Aysel broke the silence and interrupted Luna’s thoughts.

“In time you will learn. But that will be much later. Alicorns aren’t immortal but we do live for an extraordinary amount longer than normal ponies. When I am about to die, then I will teach you, but not until then. It’s not a smart idea to have a large amount of ponies that can raise the moon and sun,” While Aysel was contemplating what she has just heard, Luna walked around her and started to talk to one of the guards posted outside her bedroom.

“Yes, Your Highness.” And a bow brought Aysel back to reality and came over to where Luna was.

“Well, in a little while I officially start by night and open court.” Luna said, knowing how tired Aysel must be. Although Luna would like Aysel to have her rest, being able to stay up through the night would help her get into a nocturnal sleeping pattern. “I know you’re tired, but trust me. Being awake for the first night will be the hardest and will help you have a better sleep cycle.”

“If you say so.” Aysel said, trying to keep her eyes open. “But could I get some coffee first, I think I’m going to need it.” As soon as she finished her request, the guard came back with two cups of hot coffee. “What, how did you do that.” She said looking at Luna.

“A princess should always try to be as forethoughtful as possible.” Luna replied, thanking the guard. “So, shall we?” She motioned Aysel to walk toward the throne room.

“Yes, we shall.” Aysel said back, coping Luna’s language. Both of them laughed as they walked toward the throne room.

Comments

[Lazydrill]

I wonder how this duo will go. Good chappy and good story so far.