Eriskay was a patient pony.
One had to be, in her chosen profession. Being eloquent, soft-spoken and clever, these were important as well, but patience was likely the most important trait when your stock in trade was diplomacy.
Eriskay’s patience was not limitless, however. She had felt it beginning to fray over the long months since she’d last visited Equestria. But she had maintained dignity despite that. It was her job, duty, and nature after all.
Upon arriving, she’d been shown to her usual room, and a young maid had rolled in a tea cart. Any of the older maids would have known better, but this one had the temerity to start pouring without waiting for instructions.
On any other occasion, in any other land, Eriskay would have kept a stiff upper lip, poured out the swill that had been prepared for her, and gone about making a proper cup. But this day she was anxious. This day she would see him again after far too long. And this day had not been the day to further test her.
The finely crafted mask of civility she’d honed over decades of service to the crown had slipped, and she had barked at the poor mare for being an inconsiderate fool.
The room had been silent for a long terrible moment before Eriskay forcibly jammed the mask back in place. “My dear, sweet child! Forgive this tired old mare for that outburst just now. Tea would be lovely, but don’t trouble yourself. My methods for making it are not something I can easily convey, though I could teach you in time, as I am sure you are a very clever lass. Just leave me the tray, and I will tend to myself for now, thank you.”
The maid (a flighty thing who couldn’t be older than twenty if she was a day) curtsied deeply and hurriedly. “Yes, ma’am. Forgive me.”
“Already done.” Eriskay replied with an airy wave. “You are dismissed, child, with my thanks. When next you come, I will educate you on how to prepare tea properly. I simply don’t have the time today.”
“Of course, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am,” the maid said, fleeing from the room as quickly as decorum would allow.
Eriskay swore at herself, leaving the tea for the moment to check herself in the mirror. It wasn’t vanity so much as simple need for reflection, or so she told herself.
Her golden mane (turning just a little silver around the edges) was done up in a severe bun. Under her eyes, almost hidden by her light blue coat, she could see the darker blue of the bags beginning to form. Too many nights in far off lands in various degrees of discomfort, too few in one of her two homes.
She applied some eyeliner to help cover the bags. Her mane was taken down and allowed to flow free for the first time in what felt like ages. He liked to see it down, said it made her look less stuffy.
He wasn’t wrong, but she had an image to maintain. As the representative for the Isles of Scoltland (and by extension, the largest shipping empire in the known world) she was as much an example of her homeland as the Queen herself (Celestia save her in all her glory) and very much had to look a little stuffy just as a matter of course.
She turned away from the mirror, inspecting the tea. She’d been brought a quite serviceable Earl Grey, a fine blend. The water was hot, but not boiling. She frowned, pouring the water out and refilling the pot with fresh water, then applying a little magic to a warming stone under the kettle. Simply reheating the water wouldn’t do.
She occupied herself in the simple niceties of tea for a time, allowing the ritual to soothe her mind. At home, she had servants to make it for her. Indeed, in most places they had ponies (or whatever race she happened to be visiting at the time) who knew how to make a good cup. She would have to thank that young maid for forcing her to do this for herself. Then she’d need to show her the proper method, as promised.
But that was for another day. Today, she was supposed to meet with Princess Celestia to start on this year’s trade negotiations. It wasn’t something she looked forward to, as she had the unhappy news that the Chineighse had raised the price of tea and rice because of bad harvests, which consequently meant that her costs would need to increase slightly to offset the loss in profits.
Visiting with Celestia was a wonderful experience. Negotiating, however, was something wholly other.
The water hit its boiling point just as she’d finished setting up the teapot, and she poured it over the leaves with a single practiced motion. It had been quite some time since she’d last done this for herself, but some things were simply ingrained. She replaced the lid on the teapot and allowed it to steep.
Celestia was a shrewd negotiator. It was going to be difficult to get her to agree to the terms she’d been sent along with. To that end, she’d prepared a set of proposals, trying to plan for contingencies. The most unreasonable of those proposals was, of course, going to come first, as she expected the Princess and herself to have a good long laugh about it, and it would help to ease the mood after the bad news.
From there, she had certain concessions she was prepared to make, and as a final measure, a proposal just to keep the relationship with the Princess (both political and business, as both were vital to her and Scoltland at large) that just barely covered the extra expense on her own end, sacrificing profit entirely. She was hoping not to have to use that one, though, as it represented a significant loss of faith, from both the crown and the merchant empire.
She poured a measure of cream into the teacup, following it with the piping hot tea and a dollop of honey. A few tea leaves that had slipped through the strainer swirled as she stirred, and she watched them, almost wishing the old mare’s tales of reading such had some truth to them. A little hint of how this meeting was going to go would have been nice.
Spike woke up sometime in the afternoon.
He blinked his eyes, looking over at the alarm clock, only to find a melted slag pile on top of a slightly charred dresser. While not giving him much clue as to what time it was, it explained a lot just by its current state.
He rubbed his eyes, rolling out of bed after throwing back the covers. Next to the clock he left a little sack of bits and a quickly scrawled out apology note. The damages weren’t nearly that much he was certain, but for Spike it was the thought that counted.
He’d intended to be back in Ponyville long before whatever time it was, but it wasn’t like he’d told anypony when he was coming back. Twilight had tried to get a timetable out of him but he hadn’t been able to give her one. It was hard to do when you didn’t know yourself. Even with Moon Dancer back in school he might have chosen to stay awhile longer, except he really wanted to get home to piece together whatever sequence of events had lead to Princess Celestia and Twilight acknowledging their feelings in any capacity.
Of all of his pairings (even before he’d know what he was doing was pairing ponies up in his head) that one had been one he’d always rooted for most. He’d figured as Twilight got older and figured herself out, it would happen naturally. Twilight and the Princess just seemed like a no brainer. But then Twilight and Spike had moved to Ponyville and Twilight had other priorities like saving the world or solving interpersonal problems. But there was that old saying about distance and the heart, after all. He was sure it would have only been a matter of time.
Then the inexplicable had happened. Pinkie was a hard pony to get a real read on. Spike had just assumed she would be the late bloomer, stumbling into love entirely by accident, and she had, but certainly not with anypony he’d ever suspected she might end up with.
To him, Twilight and Celestia was as natural a combination as ice cream and gems. Twilight and Pinkie? That seemed like gems and... something that didn’t go very well with gems. He thought about that for a moment, not really able to come up with anything that gems didn’t go nicely with. He would have said gems and broccoli, but broccoli didn’t go with anything at all, so it wasn’t a very good comparison.
The point was that while they seemed happy enough, he couldn’t quite understand how it happened, which was why when Fluttershy had mentioned a falling out it hadn’t made him blink. What was surprising was that Celestia was there trying to help.
But after just a little consideration, it did make sense to him. Celestia had told him of at least one occasion in which she’d courted a pony only to find that pony loved another. It made him sad to think of her going through that again with Twilight. He’d been hoping for exactly the opposite. But... maybe it was better that Celestia and Twilight get what feelings they had for each other out in the open. It had helped him, after all. Maybe it had hurt to not have his feelings returned, but he still felt very close to Rarity. It was like Celestia had said... you never really stopped loving them.
He had no doubt that was why the Princess was trying to help Twilight and Pinkie through whatever was going on. It was just the kind of pony she was, after all. But... he really, really wished things had gone better for her. It didn’t seem fair that she had to go through that again and again.
He sniffed loudly, realizing he was beginning to get a bit misty just thinking about it. He wanted to get to Ponyville even more, knowing what he did. Maybe he could be there for the Princess, the way she’d been there for him. He didn’t have very big shoulders, but he’d be happy to offer them.
He left the suite with a sense of purpose. While he’d missed the morning train, he could still catch the evening train and be back at the library in time for dinner.
A loud growling echoed around him, reminding him that he’d slept through both breakfast and lunch. He grinned sheepishly to himself, glad that nopony was around to notice.
“My word!” a shocked voice said from down the hall. Spike turned quickly and found an older mare staring at him, pressing one hoof to her chest and looking ready to either attack him or flee as needed.
“Oh, hey,” he said, giving her a friendly wave.
“Are... are you going to try to eat me?” the pony demanded.
“Huh?” Spike replied, feeling more than a little confused. He’d gotten all sorts of reactions from ponies that were meeting him for the first time, but hers was a new one. “Uh, no?”
His stomach gave off another loud growl as his eyes fixated on a sapphire pendant dangling around her neck. “Sorry, I kinda missed breakfast.”
Her posture relaxed somewhat, though she still kept a wary eye on him. “I see. Forgive me.”
“Hey, no problem!” Spike replied, glad that she hadn’t just run away. “Sorry if I scared you.”
“Certainly not your fault.” she said with a frown. “I’ve simply never encountered your kind in person.”
“Yeah, I get that. Dragons kinda do their own thing.” Spike replied knowingly. He’d had this conversation quite a few times with various ponies after all.
“Well, that, and they have a reputation for...” she trailed off. “Forgive me. I should know better than to believe hearsay.”
“Heh. Lemme guess. You heard dragons eat ponies?” Spike asked.
“I... as I said, hearsay...”
“Well, I don’t know any that do, myself.” Spike said. “I met some dragons during their annual migration, once. They like eggs, but mostly, they like gems.”
She looked at him curiously, seeming less wary. “Truly?”
Spike nodded. “Not really all that practical to try to eat something bigger than you. Now, the really big ones? Sometimes, but other dragons consider that rude from what I hear.”
“I suppose I would as well.” she said with a little laugh. “I am truly sorry, little one. I meant no disrespect. I’m afraid I just wasn’t expecting to meet a new species.”
“No problem!” Spike approached her, extending a clawed hand closed in a fist. He held it out in front of her expectantly. “Name’s Spike. Put ‘er there.”
She hesitated for a brief moment more before extending her own hoof and gently bumping the bottom to his fist. “Eriskay of Scoltland. Charmed.”
He looked at her curiously. “Scoltland? That’s near Prance, isn’t it?”
Eriskay nodded primly. “Right across the channel, yes.”
“Ha, nice. I know a pony from Prance. You and her are practically neighbors!” Spike said with a little laugh. “Cool! So what’re you doing all the way over here? Business or pleasure?”
“I’m here to meet with Princess Celestia, actually,” she replied. “So, partly one, partly the other. Forgive me again, but I have a full day ahead.” She gave him a nod, though made no immediate move to leave.
“Oh, no problem. I actually have places to be myself.” Spike replied. “But, uh... you might have trouble meeting with Princess Celestia right now.”
She looked at him quizzically. “Well, I expect she’ll have just a little time to at least make an appointment—”
“No, I don’t mean she’s too busy. I mean she’s not here.” Spike said, cutting her off. “So any kind of appointment would be of the ‘to be determined’ kind.”
“I’m sorry... did you say the Princess—”
“Isn’t here, yeah. She’s...” Spike thought for a long moment. “She’s on ‘sabbatical’, or whatever you call it when you need a break.”
She looked at him wordlessly for a long moment. “I see,” she said eventually. “I... I was unprepared for this. I... I hesitate to ask, but how exactly does Canterlot function without the Princess?”
“Oh, we still got one. Her younger sister, Princess Luna, is taking care of things while Princess Celestia rests. Also, the Princess appointed a... minister, I guess? Princess Celestia, I mean, not Princess Luna. He helps out and makes sure Luna doesn’t get swamped by her new duties. He’s got this shiny metal medallion and everything!” Spike said, puffing out his chest proudly. “We’ll be fine. I mean, Luna had a little trouble with the sun the other day and I think she threatened to drop the moon on some ponies, but other than that it’s been pretty smooth sailing.”
“I see...” Eriskay said, a troubled look on her face.
“Hey, listen,” Spike said after a moment of uncomfortable silence. “If you’ve never met her before, I could introduce you! That should make things a little easier.”
She looked back down at him questioningly. “You know the Princess?”
“Sure!” he replied with an even bigger grin. “Princess Celestia practically raised me. I haven’t known Princess Luna as long, because, you know, she was gone... But I met her when she got back and later when she came to Ponyville to visit! She’s super nice!”
“Nice? The same pony who threatened to drop the moon on ponies?” Eriskay asked, raising one brow higher than the other.
“Well, she does have a temper. But, you know, usually...”
“So long as you don’t get on her bad side, I presume.” Eriskay said with a frown. “Well, it’s not as if I have much of a choice. I cannot simply return home and tell them the Eternal Princess was feeling under the weather. And there is something to being the first to negotiate with the younger sister...”
“Well... you could talk to the Minister guy that Celestia appointed. He seems pretty cool.” Spike offered. “I don’t know him, though.”
“I’d rather the younger sister, I think.” Eriskay replied after giving it some thought. “Ministers tend not to have final say in negotiations. But I do thank you. If you could facilitate a brief meeting with the Princess to introduce me, I would be most grateful.”
“Sure! Just... lemme find one of the guards, figure out where she’d be at this time of day...”
After talking to several of the guards, Spike finally found out that Luna was just finishing up in Court.
“So... we probably don’t want to interrupt her. But we can wait until she gets out.” Spike said. “I don’t think she’ll be too much longer—”
The doors burst open, and five ponies in chains were led outside of court, escorted by three guards.
Spike’s eyes narrowed for a moment as he saw them. Fluttershy hadn’t exactly described the ponies she’d had to fight off, but the number was right, as were the healing injuries.
“Middy!” Princess Luna’s offended-sounding voice called from inside the court. “We still had volumes left to fling!”
“Or she could be done now. That works too.” Spike said after taking a moment to gather his lower jaw.
“I understand, Princess. But since you’ve already made judgement I think it would be best just to put them in their cells,” an eternally patient voice responded.
“You and my sister both are such poopers of the party!” Luna replied, sounding exasperated. “I even made effort to avoid hitting them!”
“An admirable if ultimately pointless goal, as you did hit each of them at least once,” came the reply.
“I said effort, Middy. I am not perfect.”
“Yet you managed to come within a hair’s breadth of hitting them with every other book you tossed without hitting them. It’s as if you were toying with them—”
“Middy! I will not tolerate such slander! I was most certainly toying with them and you spoiled my fun!”
Spike, seeing that no other petitioners seemed to be waiting, strode inside with the easy grace of long familiarity. “Luna! You got a second?”
Princess Luna turned away from the older stallion she was arguing with, the frown turning to a smile as she saw him. “Young Spike! How are you?”
“Eh, you know, same old.” he said, affecting a smile despite the blood boiling in the back of his brain. “Hey, those guys you just let out, were they the ones who tried to rob Rarity?” he asked through clenched teeth.
“The very same.” she answered with a knowing look, and for just a moment Spike remembered the draconic slits of Luna’s eyes when he’d first seen her as Nightmare Moon. A wealth of information passed between them in that moment as two beings acknowledged each other’s anger at a loved one being threatened.
Spike blinked, somewhat taken aback. He had known Luna felt like she owed a lot to Twilight and her friends, but he hadn’t realized the depth of it. Some primal part of him had resonated with her, and he felt assured that she wished the enemies of their friends to be rent and torn as much as he did.
“They’ll be tended to.” she said firmly to the question he hadn’t asked, and apparently hadn’t needed to.
“Uh... good,” he replied, torn between relief and disappointment, finally settling on relief. The feelings he’d just experienced were not exactly ones he wanted to dwell on. Not after the ‘greed incident’, no telling what ‘rage’ would be like. “So, hey, listen, I bumped into somepony that you really need to meet. This is—”
“Eriskay!”
Spike looked behind Luna in surprise to see the older stallion Luna had been calling ‘Middy’ looking back over Spike’s shoulder at Spike’s new friend. “Yeah, actually!”
“Midnight,” Eriskay replied from just behind Spike.
Spike looked back and forth between the two. “Oh, cool, I guess these two have met at least—”
“I was certain you’d be with the Saddle Arabians until summer,” Midnight said, completely oblivious to anypony else around either of them.
“There was a bit of a kerfuffle in Neighsia, Midnight. It’s made matters a bit... problematic.”
“Uh... right.” Spike said, turning back to Luna. “Anyway. I guess she’s here now, and you’ll want to discuss business with—” he glanced back to find Midnight and Eriskay having wandered off to a corner talking animatedly together. “Huh.”
“It seems Middy has affairs in order.” Luna said with a nod.
“Yeah, I guess so.” Spike said. He looked back up at Luna, smiling sheepishly. “I guess she didn’t need me after all. Well, I should get going home then—” he stopped talking as his stomach let out a loud and angry growl.
“Young Spike, have you had lunch as of yet?” Luna asked.
“Actually, no. I slept through breakfast too.” he admitted, his face flush with embarrassment. “Sorry. I got distracted when she said she needed to meet with the Princess. Since, you know, she’s not around.”
“Ever the good assistant,” Luna said with a smile. “Please, accompany me. We shall see to the quelling of the beast in thy belly.”
Spike spared one last look at Eriskay, then shrugged, nodding to Princess Luna. “Yeah, lunch sounds awesome.”
“So...” Spike said, patting his belly with satisfaction after they’d finished lunch. “What was the deal with those guys?”
“The would-be thieves?” Luna answered with a grim smile. “They will be guests of the castle for some time to come. I fear their accommodations will be far less hospitable than your own.”
“Good,” he said, answering her smile and adding a little chuckle. “Jeez I can’t even imagine. What drives a pony to do that?”
“Though it’s more rare in this age, there have ever been those who would take from others rather than work.” Luna replied. “Rest assured, they will learn the value of hard labor. We have much road work that needs doing, after all.”
“Wait... so like, they’re going to work off their crimes? Like... without being paid?” Spike asked, a little bothered by the idea.
Luna looked at him curiously. “No, for their crimes they will be held imprisoned for several moons. For their labor they shall be paid as any other laborer would, save that they will not have the choice of whether they labor, as it is part of their punishment.”
“Oh,” Spike replied, feeling just a little silly.
“I think we spare them more thought than they deserve, Spike. They must now lie upon the bed they have made for themselves.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” Spike said, shaking his head. “So... I wasn’t gonna bug you because I figured you’d be really busy, but what happened to the P—” he cut himself off abruptly, amending himself with: “I mean, to your sister?”
She frowned, but didn’t comment on his slip. “My sister helped correct a very grave error on my part. I fear I placed brave Rarity in mortal danger due to a bit of magical meddling. Young Twilight found a solution that required a great expenditure of magic, and Celestia was left drained of most of her great reserves. She will recover given time and rest.”
“Oh! So, nothing really serious, then.”
“Neigh. I have instructed her to take as long as needed for recovery. I was forced to undergo a similar recovery just after... my return.”
“Right... so she just needs some rest.”
“Correct.”
“And she’s doing that... in Ponyville. Instead of Canterlot. Where she lives.”
“That was her choice, Spike.” Luna said with a nod. “Admittedly if she had come home there would have been... questions. Her form is somewhat diminished without her great magic, after all.”
“Wait...” Spike said, his head tilting to one side in consternation. He’d been hoping that Luna could maybe shed some light on the whole Celestia and Twilight thing but he found himself utterly baffled by the concept of a smaller Princess Celestia. “She shrunk?”
“She is... smaller.” Luna admitted. “But she will regain her former stature much as I did.”
“Huh...” he said, mulling the idea over. “So... like... shorter than you?”
“By half a head, I would estimate.” Luna demonstrated by holding a hoof at around her muzzle. “I had not seen her as such since our fiftieth winter. Twas most strange.”
“Whoa...” he whispered. He’d spent his whole life looking up at ponies, but the Princess had always been the one he’d looked up to the most. The idea that she was a little closer to earth was a very odd one.
“I should warn you, Spike. When you return, you may find her acting somewhat strangely.”
“Uh... strange how?” Spike asked, unsure if he was actually prepared to hear about even more weird things.
“She may appear to be talking to herself.” Luna replied. “She is not.” After a moment, Luna added: “Well, not precisely.”
“So... the Princess shrunk, and she’s gone crazy?”
“Not crazy at all!” Luna replied. “I’ve seen the entity to which she speaks, it had taken form in her dreams. It pesters her, but is otherwise harmless. Indeed, it seems to fancy itself as having her best interests at heart. The truth of that remains to be seen but at the very least it means her no ill.”
Spike stared at Luna for a long moment. “Okay, seriously. Are you kidding?” he demanded.
Luna shook her head solemnly. “Tis the truth.”
“C’mon! I mean... yeah, Rarity told me about some of this, but I dunno...”
“I would not pull upon your leg, Young Spike.”
“Okay...” he said, letting out a loud exhalation. “So why is Celestia talking to herself? What happened to Rarity? And what’s going on with Twilight and the Princess?”
Luna opened her mouth, then closed it, looking at him appraisingly. “The answers to some of those questions may be beyond your ken.”
“Beyond my ken?” he asked, not understanding at first. His eyes widened as he realized what she meant and he burst out laughing. “Oh! No, that’s okay. I live in the same library as Twilight, she’s had Pinkie over while she thought I was napping. I have ears. And that’s not even to mention the reading list she’s been keeping up for the last year. I might even be able to teach you a couple things.”
She raised an eyebrow at him, but did not question him further. “Forgive me. I do not know when one normally learns of such things.”
“Oh, neither do I.” Spike assured her. “I don’t really have any dragons around to show me how I’m supposed to act, either. I probably know a lot more than I should about a lot of things.”
“We had only our sister, and she was a poor role model, in our opinion.” Luna replied with a slow smile. “Our solution has ever been to act as we will. It works as well as any other way might.” The smile all but vanished as she attempted to give him a more serious expression, although her eyes still danced with suppressed merriment. “Very well, Young Spike. Let me tell you of the folly of princesses and the ponies they pursue.”
“Uh... okay.” Spike said, getting comfortable in his chair. “Shoot!”
“Our tale begins with Young Twilight, distraught and needing comfort after coming to a very startling conclusion about herself and Pinkie Pie, tearing through magical wards as one might through wrapping paper hiding a Hearthswarming present and landing in my sister’s lap in the middle of Day Court.”
“Whoa.”
“Indeed.” Luna replied. “An inauspicious start to a very long day. But comparatively, a very minor thing. Before the dawn of the next day, my sister’s life was changed, for good or for ill. For she knew of a secret love harbored in both of their hearts. But, because of who she is, instead of joy, it merely brought her pain.”
Spike said nothing, but he did smack his clawed head into his forehead, letting out a little groan. Luna was pretty much confirming what he’d been afraid of.
“And so began an ill-thought-out campaign to aid Twilight in her relationship with my sister’s romantic rival. To that end, Twilight shared far more about her activities with Pinkie Pie than I suspect was wanted or warranted. I was greatly amused...”
After Luna had concluded her story, Spike was completely flabbergasted.
For one, he was a little unsure about the concept of Pinkie and Twilight and Celestia, though it did solve some of his concerns about the Cutiemark Crusaders. Apparently ponies could pair off in threes, if it came to it. Whether it would work out in the long run was uncharted territory, but it was nice to hear they were giving it a shot.
He was less sure about Luna pursuing Rarity and Fluttershy, and it even stirred up a tinge of jealousy, which surprised him. He’d gotten over the idea that Rarity loved Fluttershy, it had taken time to get past the heartache, but he’d done it. Luna was not Fluttershy, and he’d actually gotten a little angry on Fluttershy’s behalf. And... if he was being totally honest, on his own behalf as well.
He’d given Rarity up, but that didn’t make it okay for just anypony to come along. Fluttershy was different, she’d actually been nursing a crush for longer than he himself had been. Plus she was a really nice pony and he couldn’t properly muster up any real hard feelings for her.
Still, Fluttershy and Rarity were their own ponies, and that was their decision. But just the same he was a little miffed at Luna for it all.
In the end, the pony he was most glad for was Princess Celestia, even if he had no idea how or if those three would even function together. Then again, he didn’t understand how Pinkie and Twilight worked together, either. Despite his misgivings, he was even more excited to talk to Celestia, and see if there was anything he could do to help out.
“You seem broody, Young Spike. Have I disturbed you with my tale?” Luna asked.
“Nah. I mean, maybe a little. But no more than the average day around Pinkie Pie.” Spike said. “Sorry. Just a lot to take in.”
“I understand.”
“So... the thing with you, and Rarity, and Fluttershy—”
“A whim, Spike.” Luna said hurriedly. “A selfish whim. They were good enough to visit and...” her mouth screwed up as she thought intently for a moment. “ ‘Clear the skies’? We spoke at length and they were able to forgive me for it.”
“Kay.” he answered, feeling just a little relieved. He still wasn’t sure what to think of the feelings that had been brought up by Luna’s story. It was as if another dragon had been encroaching on his hoard, and had moved on.
“You will go home this evening?” she asked.
“Yeah, I need to catch a train, actually.” Spike said. He’d been keeping track of time, more or less. He knew he’d missed another train, but there was still the final train, and he wouldn’t have to run to get to it in time. He’d been more interested in getting Luna’s perspective on everything than getting home a little earlier, anyway.
“We did not mean to keep you.” Luna replied. “I could send you off in Celestia’s carriage, if you wish.”
Spike hesitated, torn for just a moment between not wanting to trouble the guys who had to fly him in that carriage and the convenience of a quicker way home. In the end, it was the knowledge that those same guys were basically cooling their wings with nothing to do without Celestia around that made him decide to accept. “Yeah, that could be good. Thanks, Luna.”
“You are most welcome, Young Spike. Again... I apologize if my tale troubled you. But I thank you for listening. It was good to put it all into perspective in my mind.”
“No prob. I’m used to hearing about the exciting stuff after it happens.” he said with a wry grin.
“We have something in common, there.” Luna replied, answering his smile with her own.
Luna saw Spike off in Celestia’s chariot, asking him to please watch over her sister and make certain that she was getting her rest. She gifted him with a set of scrolls enchanted to travel to her instead of Celestia, should the need arise to inform her of anything.
Much as Luna trusted her sister, one of the things Celestia could be trusted with least was judgement of her own health, mental or otherwise. And while Pinkie or Twilight would assuredly do their best to dissuade Celestia from doing something foolish (like returning to Canterlot before she had recovered) Luna felt better knowing somepony could get word to her at a moment’s notice should it become necessary.
She also swore the two pegasus guards to secrecy as to the whereabouts of Celestia, making it a point to mention that if rumors spread of it, she would come down upon them with furious vengeance. To their credit, neither flinched, though the one on the right laid his ears back for a half-second before quickly readjusting them back to their normal positions.
Having seen Spike off, Luna decided to check on Midnight and see how the discussion with the mare called Eriskay was going. She’d had the look of somepony who judged herself to be important, and the respectful demeanor of somepony Luna could tolerate long enough to hear about why she had come. These two facts made Luna interested in her.
She also wondered about Midnight’s reaction to Eriskay. He’d seemed familiar with the mare, almost intimate. They were friends, apparently. That alone made the mare more interesting, as Middy tended not to socialize with other ponies to her knowledge.
Then again, she’d only known him for as long as she’d been back. Middy was old enough to have made friends of the lifetime variety. Middy was important to Luna, and this mare seemed to be important to Middy. If that was the case, Luna very much wanted to get to know the mare.
It was with these things in mind that she made her way to Middy’s chambers, where she had no doubt she would find him entertaining their guest.
She was briefly halted by the guards in front of Middy’s door, the one on the left even seemed ready to stop her before the other flashed him a warning look. At first she thought to reprimand them, but a single idea stayed her hoof. Midnight was functionally her equal, if he had ordered the guards to keep out any visitors at all, these guards would be hard pressed to decide if Luna herself was to be prevented as well.
“Is Midnight in his chambers?” she asked, coming to a halt of her own volition.
“Yes, Princess Luna.” the one on the right said, keeping his eyes firmly forward. “He left orders that he was not to be disturbed.”
She blinked, then blinked again, her eyes watering in sympathy as his never seemed to close. “I see. Did he go in with a guest?”
“Yes, Princess.” the one on the left said in response. “An older mare.”
She stared at the door for a long moment, torn with indecision. On the one hoof, she was dreadfully curious about this mare and what she was to her Middy. On the other, Middy was a pony who (despite being eons younger than she) was more than old enough by pony standards to tend to his own personal business without somepony like Luna sticking her nose into it.
On the other two hooves, she was a Princess, and she had every right to stick her nose into it because she had every right imaginable, save apparently she wasn’t allowed to perform public executions anymore. She was going to miss that one. She’d never even had occasion to use it, but she’d enjoyed having it as an option.
She eventually decided on a compromise: she would not simply barge in, but she would knock. She stepped forward between the two guards, rapped firmly on the door, and intoned: “Midnight, We would have a word.” After a moment’s consideration, she added: “Please.”
A feminine exclamation of panic followed, after which Luna heard scrambling inside, muffled voices arguing, and finally saw a very cross-looking Midnight Oil poking his head out of the door. “Errr, yes, Princess? What did you need?”
“We wished to speak to Our guest, Midnight. We were given to understand she needed to speak to Us about some matter of import.” Luna said, doing her level best to maintain a calm demeanor despite her confusion with regards to the apparent panic she’d just caused.
“Ah... yes, that is... I’m discussing the matter with her, or I was.” He replied, looking, if anything, even more cross with her.
Midnight had been upset with her for many things in the past, most of them involving how she spent her free time, or how she would make free time by shirking her duties. Luna could not remember seeing him look quite like he did at that moment. He was a pony that was hard to ruffle.
He was decidedly ruffled. Luna couldn’t quite say what in particular caused her to come to that conclusion, for there were several reasons. His collar was popped, his face was red with what she assumed was indignation, and he seemed just a little sweaty.
She couldn’t quite say exactly what was wrong, it was more of an everything.
“I had planned to confer with you in the morning and arrange a proper meeting time—” he began again before she cut him off.
“Our evening is clear, Midnight. We would be happy to speak with her.” Luna replied, laying a hoof on the door. It did not budge more than a hair’s breadth before grinding to a halt, having been held fast by both Midnight's magic and his shoulder.
“I’m afraid now is a very bad time, Luna. We’re not just discussing business, we’re having a social visit as well.”
“Midnight, We understand if you wish to visit with your friend, we simply wish to meet her—”
“No, I’m afraid you don’t understand. And while I’d be happy to explain, this is not the time for it.” He took a deep breath, straightening his collar as best as he could. “Forgive me, Princess. I’ll be by for breakfast and will go over the situation with you. Then we can absolutely set up a time for you to discuss the matter with Eriskay. But for now, I need to ask you to leave.”
He didn’t wait for her to reply, simply closing the door firmly. Luna stood on the other side, her hoof still on the door, uncertain how to respond. Eventually she took her hoof down, regarding the door once more. She wasn’t a fool, though she felt like the world’s biggest one. She’d seen the way Midnight had greeted Eriskay when she’d first arrived. It had been less like an old friend, or even family, and more like seeing a beloved for the first time in ages.
But the stallion inside these chambers wasn’t some hero from a romance novel, having been separated by time and tide and reunited with his lover despite all odds. This was Midnight Oil, her personal aide and more recently the Voice of the Sun.
In short, he’d seemed above this sort of thing, making her doubt her own senses. She wondered at that.
She placed a hoof on the door once more, debating on saying goodbye, then let it drop again. She instead turned to the guard on the left, who had apparently been trying to warn her of exactly this. “In the future, if those two are... visiting, simply say so.” After a moment’s thought, she added: “We are given to understand a sock upon the doorknob is common as well.”
“Understood, Princess.”
She turned away from the door (and the disturbing thoughts of what she might have seen if she’d simply gone inside without knocking), deciding to go visit her garden before turning in for the evening. It had been a few days since she’d had time to spend with Tibbles. There would be plenty of time to brood over what she’d just stumbled into in the morning.
There were papers she could be signing, and reports she could have read, but she wasn’t really very interested in those. She also needed to read Celestia’s response to Middy’s proposal, which had come just before she’d been needed in court, and while she was interested in that, she didn’t see much point to finding out what Celestia had said if Middy wasn’t available to act on it.
She wasn’t sure how to go about finding the clerks, or how to create a judicial system, or any of the number of things he normally did for her. Truthfully, if he was occupied, Luna wasn’t entirely certain of how to order breakfast. She hoped that was the sort of thing that had standing orders for her and her sister or she’d be forced to forage in the kitchens in the morning.
She took mist form, flowing out the window and traveling with the breeze to her garden. She trusted that tomorrow would sort itself out, one way or another.