//------------------------------// // N° 5 // Story: The Luna Papers // by CoffeeBean //------------------------------// Something always seemed so incredibly different about the halls and rooms of the castle at night. The placidity of the air, the coolness of the stone, the sparkling stars and shining moon above, and the desaturated nature of the normally so grand and vibrant colors of every surface all culminated in bringing such a different life to things. The whites of marble and reds, pinks, and purples of the walls, carpets, and stained windows now appeared as varying hues of blue. The moon's pure blue light cast itself in beams so easy on the eyes and brought no warmth when one stood in them. More beautiful than the day? Quite possibly. Cadance certainly understood why Auntie Luna preferred the night. It was late by this time; the sun had set a while ago, and with the sun setting, Cadance hoped Luna would have woken from her slumber in the gardens. She thought it quite curious somepony of nocturnal nature would enjoy rays of sun so much; the few times she had seen into Luna's tower there seemed to be no light in the bottom two levels. It was certainly likely that top bedroom level was alive and vibrant with sunlight, her bed positioned to where a ray always shined upon her. That's what she imagined, at least. As Cadance drew closer to the junction that would lead to Luna's quarters her ears picked up on speech; not Luna's speech, however; it was a stallion, and shortly after speaking, she could just barely make out Luna's distinctive "aye". Cadance trotted to the corner, peeking her head around to see Luna, her two guards, secretary, and a... third guard. The third guard stood before the four and was totally indistinguishable from the two original guards who still flanked Luna. Cadance looked on curiously as this third guard investigated himself, his head turning back to look at his now spread membranous wings, and his hoof coming up as he rotated it, seeming to be quite pleased, judging by the smile on his face. "This is... strange." spoke the guard. "Aye, quite. Feel no pain or discomfort, do you?" "No, I feel totally normal, it's just strange to look like..." the guard looked up, sharing a glance with Luna's flanking guards. "them." Luna simply nodded. "It's so different." "Different is not bad, however." returned Luna. "No; your Majesty. This is actually pretty fitting, seeing as I'm already part of the night shift..." "Tis a good change?" He nodded, still looking over himself. "Does it come undone easily, your Highness?" Luna's horn ignited, surrounding this new guard in a blue aurora. His figure turned totally white, and after a crackling, zapping sound, the spell went away to leave a totally normal, white furred, gold armored, feathered winged Royal guard. He hummed. "So... would you have to do that to every single guard?" "Nay. I still must perfect the more automatic parts of the spell. Once the sun sets, you will appear as you once were." He hummed in acknowledgement. "Thou art... you are dismissed now, sir. I thank thee... you for your help." He bowed. "Happy to help, Your Highness. I wish you luck in the future, Your Highness." Luna offered a little smile, turning for the open door to her study. As silence came to reign over the halls once more the sound of Cadance's own thumping heart filled her ears. She ducked around the corner, hiding as she took a few deep breaths. In her mind pieces of everything she had heard over the past while began to fall together, and they painted the same picture over and over, no matter how many times she re-arranged them. She closed her eyes, letting her head droop as she took a breath. "You're working yourself up, Cady. Luna's not evil anymore. She's just... working on a new spell..." After gathering her thoughts, Cadance finally gained the courage to continue on down the hall towards the still open door of Luna's study. Before she could let herself listen in on their conversation she entered, drawing the attention of Luna and her three cohorts as soon as she walked in. "Hello, auntie," Cadance stated without her usual enthusiasm, pulling out one of two chairs at her end of the table. "Up late." returned Luna, her eyes still locked with Cadance's. Cadance half-forced a smile. "Just wanting to spend more time with you." Luna shared that smile, though hers seemed far more genuine. "Joy accompanies your constant showing. I wait intently when the chairs are absent of you." "R-Really? Have you actually enjoyed my constant visits?" Luna nodded. "Corners of this room once dark are bright when you sit and speak with me." Cadance felt her heart melt a little. "I-I'm... happy to hear that me being here has made you happy." The group turned their attention to the door as a quiet knock broke the conversation, Shining Armor's helmet adorned head peeking inside. "Permission to enter your study, Your Highness?" "Formality follows the sun behind the horizon, Captain." Luna smiled, leaning forward as both her wings gave a little ruffle. Shining bowed, walking inside as he assumed the answer to be yes. "I figured I could find you here, Cadance," he spoke, standing beside her chair. "If it's late and I'm not sleeping, I'll probably be here." Cadance paused a moment. "Did you need something?" "Wondering if you were going to retire soon." Shining leaned his shoulder against Cadance's side. "I didn't want to go to bed alone." The two shared a smile, Cadance moving her head close. "I don't, either. Your quarters, or mine?" "Oh, yours. Your bed is way better." "In that case, I'll be there soon. I'll give you some time to get that armor off." There was a little giggle between the two as Shining went on his way, Cadance watching him leave before turning back to Luna and her staff. "Your lover needs your attention a greater deal than I, niece." Luna waved her hoof towards Cadance. "Go off to fall a-slumber within his embrace." "Well... I wanted to spend a little-" "I will be here when you wake." Cadance held her gaze with Luna's for a moment before she looked at the two guards and secretary. "I guess you will." Cadance stood, making for the door. "Goodnight, Auntie. I love you." "I too, love you." "So, what else have you found out in your investigation?" inquired Shining with a smirk as Cadance dropped into bed beside him. "Wha- I'm not investigating anything! I haven't even asked Luna any questions!" "So this is all just based on assumptions...?" "All of what is just based on assumptions..." "You thinking she's still evil." Cadance grumbled in thought. "Not entirely. I... did see something really strange earlier." "Which was?" "She used some sort of spell to change the appearance of some guard to match her own. She was clearly testing it..." "Wait, which guard?" Cadance scoffed. "Everypony looks the same to me, honey; I have no clue." Shining hummed in thought. "Well, you are right about that being a little odd. I haven't heard a peep about her wanting to expand on her guard..." "Look... I'm not saying she is evil, or that she's going to try taking over when Celestia gets back from vacation... but something is up. I can feel it; it feels like something isn't right." Shining sighed as he snuggled further into bed, reaching his hoof around Cadance's chest. "I got the same feeling. We'll just... wait it out, I guess. If nothing happens, nothing happens. If something happens... then we... do something." Shining groaned. "I'm too tired to think about it." "Long day of yelling at recruits?" chuckled Cadance as she put her hoof on Shining's. "I have my drill instructors for that." Cadance went quiet for a second. "Sorry for worrying you about this whole thing." "Honey, there's no need to apologize. You think something's up, so you're telling me about it." "I just can't shake that feeling. I keep telling myself that I'm working myself up, but the second I do it seems I stumble upon something else. I dunno... am I being paranoid?" "I think you spend too much time around me. I'm always the one to scrutinize details." "These aren't details, though. She wants me to be nocturnal, she's figuring out how to transform guards' appearances, she won't tell me about the papers she works on; it just keeps building on itself!" Cadance let out an exhausted, annoyed sigh as she flopped her hoof against the bed in frustration. "You know, I haven't actually asked her any detailed questions. Maybe I should try that before making all of these assumptions." "What's been stopping you from doing that before?" "Fear. I can't just ask her 'Auntie, are you evil?' and I didn't want her to think I'm getting too nosey." "Fair enough." Cadance chuckled. "At least, if she does go crazy again, I'm on her good side."