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Duels

Dueling.

The sound of metal impacting metal could be heard down the halls of the castle. It was a sound one would not normally consider happy, but felt that way nonetheless. The castle had been devoid of this sound most of the time, accept on the occasion that Celestia requested some recreation from one of her guards, but now the sound was heard almost daily. To the residents of the castle, this sound represented the new peace between the sisters.

The sound was the sound of swords making contact as the two god-princesses dueled in good sport with each other. They didn't follow any rules or patterns; they only followed the training of swordsmanship they learned thousands of years ago during the periods of elongated wars. Now, during this peaceful state that had lasted hundreds of years, the only way they could duel was on friendly terms.

And so they dueled. Almost every day, in fact. They dueled and talked. It was their favorite way to pass the time together. And so they dueled.

The night just before had been the night of the Gala, and both had had interesting nights; Celestia hearing all the first-hand recounts of the Elements' adventures together while Luna spent the night in the company of Fluttershy. Both had stories to tell the other. And so they dueled.

"...and after that they put all the deserts together for the contest. It was quite the treat for me to try. In all honesty, I would've eaten the whole thing if Pinkie hadn't beaten me to it." Celestia laughed as she dodged a thrust from her little sister. She parried the next swing then went to the offensive. As was the tradition they had established without words during their duels, the one on the defensive talked, then the switch of direction represented the change from commenter to speaker. It seemed senseless, and yet, sensible to both of them.

"Ha! I should have loved to attend that contest... Yes, young miss Fluttershy and I spent most the night in each others company." Luna said, dodging and parrying in time with Celestia.

"Oh?" A backhanded swing from the elder as she spoke. "You seem to have enjoyed her company quite a bit." She said quirking an eyebrow as the two locked blades and pushed them against each other.

"Are you suggesting something, sister?" Luna asked as their blades began to shake from the effort they were exerting against one another.

"That depends..." They pushed apart, both leaping away from the other. "Is there something worth suggesting?" She gave a wry grin before lunging at Luna.

"Nothing more than my first real friendship. Aside from you, that is." She deflected Celestia's stroke with ease, side-stepping to avoid her momentum.

"You told me everything up until the butterfly constellation... What happened next?" She swung vertically as she spun to face Luna.

"We spent the night talking..." She ducked under the swing, "Not much to it, really..." then rolled away from the older duelist, avoiding a downward stroke. "Although, I suppose it is of note that she went very quiet the moment I brought up romance..." A parry from her knees then another roll and she was on her feet again.

"And why do you suppose that is?" Celestia gave a forehanded swing, and there blades locked again.

"She's a shy, timid, young thing..." Luna said thoughtfully. "I suppose that she had no experience in the matter, but thought that she should for my sake, so simply stayed quiet in hopes that she wouldn't give herself away..." Their blades began to shake from the exertion again.

"Or...?" Celestia offered, sensing that Luna hadn't considered all the possibilities.

"Or what? What are you suggesting, sister?" They pushed away, but this time neither of them made an aggressive advance; they just stood, facing each other.

"I'm not suggesting anything. Merely saying that there may be another possibility..." Celestia readied herself for another attack, but Luna turned and walked to the sword rack to put her sword away.

"Don't lie, sister. You know perfectly well what you were implying." Luna said accusingly from the other side of the room. "I've only just met her, and you're assuming... what, exactly?"

"Sister, I meant nothing by it. I was just thinking you may not have considered ev-"

"Considered what?" Luna eyed her warily. Her nostrils flared indignantly as her mind raced to find the thing that Celestia had seen so quickly, yet she had missed. Celestia looked at her blankly for a moment, then shrugged.

"Nevermind it, dear. It's nothing." She walked over to the rack and put her sword away. "In any case, I asked Twilight and her friends to stay in the castle for the night, as the trip home is a long one for them."

"Why are you telling me?"

"I just assumed that you may want to go speak with them before they departed. They'll be attending lunch with us, then heading straight to the train." Celestia answered.

"Very well... Thank you for informing me, sister." Celestia smiled warmly as Luna left the room.

It was awfully quiet in the castle suite, considering that she shared a room with Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack and that was in combination with Rarity, which could only lead to friendly arguments and disputes. Then there was Twilight, who would've joined in with the raucousness the moment it got too loud for her to read, which it was normally hard to get that loud, but not if Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were in the same room.

The moment Applejack had woken up with her braid tied to Rarity's curls, accompanied by the sound of a snickering Rainbow and a giggling Pinkie, the room had gotten exceedingly loud, but it had suddenly quieted down when the four arguing girls had left the room, leaving Twilight and Fluttershy, still sleeping, in the room.

Fluttershy's eyes flew wide open the moment it occurred to her that she was alone in the room with Twilight. She looked over at her in the large bed next to her. They had shared the bed, along with Pinkie, when they found out that there was only two beds in the room. She stayed still, watching the mage sleep for a moment, then turned away with a blush.

She got out of the bed, slowly and quietly, and checked the clock on the wall. It was just past ten in the morning. She glanced over at her friend, still asleep on the bed, and sighed heavily. Twilight's eyelids twitched, and she caught her breath. Twilight's eyes flickered open, and Fluttershy let out a sigh, having been hoping she wouldn't wake.

"Good morning, Fluttershy." Twilight greeted as she stretched.

"G-good morning, Twilight." Fluttershy replied softly. Twilight got out of bed, and walked over to the window nearby, looking out at the beautiful view they had of Camelot. "D-did you have pleasant dreams?"

"You mean when the other girls weren't interrupting them?" She asked, smirking over her shoulder at Fluttershy. At the site of a heavy blush on Fluttershy's cheeks, Twilight looked back out the window. "They were pleasant, thank you for asking. Yours?" Her tone suddenly dropped its humorous sound.

"M-mine were nice." She didn't mention that the major occupant of her dreams was the mage she was speaking with right now. Nor did she mention that these dreams were so pleasant that she had refused to wake up to the sound of Pinkie and Rainbow's antics.

"Oh, that's nice." Twilight commented quietly. An awkward silence fell between them as Twilight continued to examine the streets of the city she'd once called home. Fluttershy sat on the bed, twisting the ends of her hair nervously while staring at the floor.

There was a light tap at the door, and Fluttershy walked over to answer it, cracking the door as they were both still only half-dressed in their sleeping clothes. She found Luna standing at the door.

"Ah! Hello, Fluttershy. I haven't woken you, have I?" She asked curiously.

"N-no, Princess. We wer-"

"Please, call me Luna. Formalities drive me quite insane." Luna interrupted with a polite smile.

"Sorry. Luna. We woke up a little while ago." There was a short pause. "U-uhm... if you don't mind my asking... Why did you stop by?"

"Ah, yes. I was hoping to... how do they say it? 'Hang out'? Yes, that..."

"Oh..." Fluttershy glanced back at Twilight, who kept looking out the window, not even glancing at the door. "Uhm... Sure. Just give me a moment to get dressed."

"Of course." She closed the door gently, and walked over to her suitcase to get some clothes. She picked out a butter-yellow sweater that was quite baggy on her, as well as a modest, rosy pink skirt. She gave Twilight one last glance on the way to the door, but she still wasn't looking away from the window. The Angel sighed, feeling somewhat stricken, then opened the door and stepped out.

The moment she heard the latch on the door click, Twilight let out a sad sigh.

"Of all the people she could've fallen for, why did it have to be me?" She muttered quietly, the situation weighing her voice down.

Thirty minutes later, Luna and Fluttershy were sitting on the roof of Luna's room. They had originally gone to her room so Luna could show her some paintings of the old sky, long before Nightmare Moon, but they had decided on some fresh air. So there they were, talking on the roof, watching clouds float by, swinging their legs off the roof.

"...then she ran right between the hydra's legs. I-it was really brave of her..." Fluttershy finished telling her story of Froggy Bottom Bog to Luna.

"Quite brave..." Luna agreed. "You seem to admire many things about her. In this short conversation, you've spoken highly of her intellect, her courage, and her talent. Is-..." She cut herself off.

"What? Is what?" Fluttershy asked curiously. Luna looked at her, trying to decide whether to ask her question.

"I'm not sure if it's any of my business..." She answered. Fluttershy looked confused now, trying to understand what Luna could possibly ask.

"Go ahead, i-if you want..." She said cautiously. Luna took a deep breath.

"Your admiration of Twilight Sparkle... Is that why you were quiet on the subject of romance last night?"

"U-uhm... I-I-I d-don-..." She stuttered.

"I-I'm sorry. Forgive my forwardness, but curiosity overtook me. It's none of my business if you do not wish to tel-"

"I-it's fine... I-I..." Her voice caught in her throat. She looked away, pulling her hair in front of her eyes in a shy attempt to hide. It was what she did. She hid. When she was worried, scared, or sad, she hid. When she was shy, curious, or angry, she hid. when she was happy, laughing, or confused, she hid. When she fell head over heals for a mage, she hid. "I-it is why..." She mumbled, finally, through her thick, pink hair.

"I see..." Luna made a mental note to figure out what it was Celestia had been implying earlier, so that she could either brag that her sister had been wrong or admire her sisters wit, depending on whether she'd been right or not.

"B-but she doesn't s-seem to notice me... Not like that, at least." Fluttershy said glumly, pulling Luna out of her thoughts.

"Now, don't speak such wrought. You have no reason to believe she doesn't care. You are quite beautiful, and you're certainly a wonderful young girl." Luna forced herself not to smile at how ironically similar her words were to what Celestia had been telling her only a few weeks ago.

"Not wonderful enough..." She mumbled.

"Fluttershy, stop. I will not allow you to put yourself down like this. Come, we must improve your mood somehow." Luna gave a flap of her wings and hovered in front of Fluttershy, holding her hand out in offering. She took it gingerly, flapping her own wings and floating down to Luna's balcony with her.

"Let me think... Tell me, how many times have you helped save the world?" Luna asked.

"I-I don't know... two?" Fluttershy answered quietly.

"Come now. You helped defeat Discord. You helped stop Chrysalis and her imps. You convinced a dragon to leave Terra. You even stopped... well you stopped me." Luna counted off on her fingers, stopping awkwardly when she mentioned herself.

"I-I suppose...."

" 'Suppose'? There is no supposing on this, there is only the fact that you are, in fact, a wonderful young girl. You have no reason to believe that Twilight Sparkle would not notice you."

"But she doesn't." Fluttershy mumbled sadly.

"True..." Luna consented the point. It occurred to her that Fluttershy was likely to have not even hinted towards romance with Twilight to the mage face to face. She looked over at the Angel next to her, trying to assess her mood. It seemed as though the caretaker had already come to grips with her situation, but talking about it didn't seem to be helping her mood. "We should find something better to do than make you upset. Come, there are many passtimes in this castle."

She led the way out of her rooms and into the hall, then to the dueling room. It occurred to her that Fluttershy wasn't the dueling type, but she supposed she could have one of the few Night Guards, who were unquestionably loyal to her (and at the same time, incredibly rare), duel her. The Night Guard could wear muffs to dull out his hearing, and whatever he did hear, he'll simply swear not to tell.

There, problem solved...

They entered the room, and Luna held a hand to her temple for a moment. She squinted her eyes in concentration, as psychic magic was difficult. She grunted from the strain, eliciting some concern from the Angel next to her, whom was unaware of what the princess was doing.

"A-are you okay?" She asked. Luna opened her eyes again, suddenly, and smiled at the concerned Bearer of Kindness.

"Quite alright, Fluttershy. Simply ca-" She was interrupted by the sound of the door swinging open.

"You called, princess?" They both turned to see a woman Angel in a dark version of the normal royal guard attire. Her wings were a dark gray, her hair almost midnight blue, and her eyes a dull green that seemed to sparkle despite their own dullness.

"Ah, yes. Fluttershy, this is Nightwing. She captains my Night Guard." She gestured her hands so as to introduce them. The guard took Fluttershy's hand and bowed politely in a gesture of honor, allowing Fluttershy to let her hand lay limply in Nightwing's palm. Fluttershy, for her part, blushed at the politeness of the gesture.

As Nightwing straightened back up, she turned to her princess. It occurred to Luna that her previous thoughts about the royal guards could not apply in any way to her Night Guards. Nightwing alone was the perfect example of loyalty, and she focused almost all of it on Luna. "Why did you call me, Princess?"

"Oh, yes. Fluttershy here is not much of a duelist, and I thought you would like to go for a good spar..." Nightwing perked up slightly at the prospect.

"If you would like that, then I would love to spar with you."

"Ah, but there is one thing...We wish to have a private conver-" But she stopped short as Nightwing pulled out some earplugs and put them in. Luna quirked an eyebrow at her.

"I kept them after Celestia hurt her arm, and you had me spar in her place. I figured you'd have me do this again." Luna smiled at her loyal guard, and turned to levitate a blade from the nearby rack over to her hand.

"I believe you know me quite well, Captain." She chuckled, but when she turned back, Nightwing had already put her plugs in. The guard drew her blade from where it rested at her hip and the two faced each other.

And so they dueled.

It wouldn't have been so embarrassing if Fluttershy hadn't been there to see her lose three times. She made mental note to ask if she could win from time to time. Of course, the fact that she was captain of the Night Guard, and yet the Night Princess was a better swordswoman.... well that was embarrassing too.

The duel had lasted about an hour and a half, with a few intervals when Luna had pinned Nightwing and they had had to reset. The whole time, Fluttershy and Luna had kept up quite the chatter. It would've been considered one of those girl talks that seemed to touch down on every subject that a girl could possibly care for, except that one of the girls in this one was a princess dueling her guard captain in a way that looked like it was to the death. A goddess, no less.

They had, in fact, touched down on many subjects as well, but you wouldn't consider them the average topics for girls to chatter on about. They had touched down on politics, harpies like Gilda, dragons, history, the night sky, wild critters, and socks. Well, that last one was where their conversation awkwardly ended before Fluttershy could finish her sentence. They had been interrupted by a castle servant calling for Luna to come to lunch.

So the two friends made their way to the dinning room where Celestia and Luna took most their meals when eating together. It was a large, decorative room, filled with fine china and highly decorated furniture.

They entered together, finding Celestia and the other Element Bearers sitting at the large table. The Princess of the Day turned in her chair at the sound of the doors opening. "Ah. There you are, Luna. We were waiting for you." She said with a smile.

"Thank you, sister, but you didn't need to do that." Luna replied as she took her seat next to her sister. They always sat by each other at the head of the table, even if there was no one else at the table. Fluttershy walked over to the seat next to Twilight, and sat down.

"Oh, but you know I always will." Celestia said, giving another smile to her little sister. Luna replied with a soft grin, then the elder sister clapped her hands and a group of servants walked in with trays of food. Once the trays were on the table, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack began digging in. Twilight and Rarity, however, had the decency to use more high-class etiquette in their eating. Lastly, Luna noted that Fluttershy wasn't eating at all. She assumed that their earlier conversation, in combination with who she was sitting next to, had taken away from her appetite.

The silence in the room was palpable, although by the looks on everyone's faces except for those of Fluttershy, Twilight, and Luna, you would think nothing was wrong. Twilight kept glancing at Luna, and occasionally Fluttershy when she wasn't looking, while Fluttershy kept glancing at Twilight and occasionally Luna. Luna, however, tried to pay them no mind, as Celestia kept bringing up the few moments of interest that happened in court during the time since they'd dueled.

And so they ate...

It had been two nights since the Elements had returned to their homes in Ponyville (Luna still thought the name was quaint), and Luna was out examining her stars. It was her primary pass-time, after all, and it never got boring. Nightwing had once told her that she did it too much, but she had brushed it off as ignorance. No one truly understood the love, care, hope, and sadness that went into her artwork. It was impossible for anyone to understand fully why the Princess of the Stars did what she did with them.

Actually, the thought did occur to her that if she tried to explain it to them, people like Celestia or Fluttershy, or even Nightwing or Twilight Sparkle probably could understand, but the most important aspects of it would still be beyond them. At times, they felt beyond Luna as well, but she did her work anyways.

Right now she was making subtle improvements to her new butterfly constellation. She'd taken up a fascination with all the possibilities the wings possessed for patterns and decoration. She could only hope that Fluttershy was not embarrassed by the extra attention her constellation was getting. If she noticed it, that is.

She looked to another constellation, trying to take her attention off the butterfly for now. She raised a hand and started flicking her fingers about, causing the stars to move in synchronization with her finger tips until she had a minotaurs head in place in her night sky.

She admired the new constellation for a moment before hearing a knock on her door. She levitated her crown onto her head again, and magically opened the door without bothering to see who was there. It opened, admitting Nightwing to step in.

"Princess, you haven't left your rooms in two nights. Your sister has voiced her concern to me, and must agree with her." Luna quirked an eyebrow. Two nights? She was sure she had stepped out for multiple reasons, but now that she thought of it, she hadn't so much as peaked out of her door in two nights.

"Indeed... I hadn't paid it much mind. I suppose I could use some time away from the castle..." She said, turning back to her stars.

"What are you suggesting, princess?" Nightwing asked, walking closer to Luna. Luna twitched an eye and a pair of new stars was added to the minotaurs face, causing it to look as though it were glaring.

"I think it's time I visited Ponyville again..."

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