Being Princess of the Night can be a very demanding job, especially for somepony like me. Nevertheless, helping ponies in their dreams was something that I was destined to do and while I had the encounters that I had long since regretted, there was one time that I felt my heart go out to somepony that wasn't even having a dream.
It all started a few nights after we had been rescued by Queen Chrysalis thanks to Starlight Glimmer and her comrades, Trixie, Thorax and Discord. I entered the dining hall where my sister had made her childish pancake stacks with smiles on them. But I wasn't focused on the pancake stacks nor all the other breakfast foods that were laid out for us.
"You seem awfully quiet this morning, Luna," remarked Celestia, looking at me with a concerned look on her face. "Did something happen last night?"
"No, nothing out of the ordinary, sister," I replied, quietly while I played with the pancakes in front of me. "Just ordinary ponies having ordinary dreams except for a pair of fillies. In fact, I've been thinking about Mr. Banks."
"Money Banks?" wondered Celestia, drinking a cup of her morning tea. "The vice president of Canterlot Bank? What about him?"
"He seems well, troubled, to an extent," I said. "Haven't you noticed, sister, that every time that he makes an appearance in the court, he is always looking like he has something on his mind?"
This remark caused my sister to stop drinking her tea.
"In fact, you are probably right, Luna," remarked Celestia, putting the teacup down with her magic. "A few days ago, he did seem like something was troubling him. I had even considered talking to him in private, but before I could talk to him, he needed to be back at the bank. Did something happen while you were on duty?"
"Yes," I answered, activating my horn to create a spell that allowed Celestia to see my thoughts and feelings. "Something did happen and I can still remember every moment so vividly and to the point."
…
Activating the screen, I played a moment from my mind that showed me doing my normal duties as princess of the night:
As I began my duties on the screen, Celestia watched as I noticed a dream sphere that showed two young ponies running for dear life into what appeared to be the east end of Canterlot.
"Come with me dears, granny will hide you!" a creepy old mare said as the foals ran into a dead end and turned around, running past the mare.
Then, the two foals ran into another dead end, this time being confronted by a large black dog that barked menacingly at them. I knew at that moment that I needed to intervene, but before I could intervene, the source of the enemy chasing the foals revealed himself for the first time with eyes growing red and wings as dark as night, almost like a bat pony that came fresh from Tartarus.
"You caused a run on the bank," the enemy said evilly. "Now, you will suffer the consequences!"
…
"Didn't you do anything, sister?" asked Celestia, worriedly and horrified by what she was seeing on the screen.
"I did do something, sister," I answered. "Keep watching."
…
As the enemy lunged at the foals, I powered up my horn and activated a shield to protect the foals from the bat pony creature.
"ENOUGH!" I bellowed in my royal Canterlot voice and causing the creature to disappear. I couldn't really say how the foals were going to react to me, but I could tell that they were very frightened, not because of me, but because of the experience that they had just gone through.
"Princess Luna," the filly gasped. "Is it you or are we dreaming?"
"What do you think?" I asked, landing before the two frightened foals. "I am the Princess of the Night, thus it is my duty to come into your dreams."
"Oh, Luna, we're so frightened," cried the filly, her voice filled with fear and terror.
"Well, you are both safe now," I reassured them both, producing a reassuring smile. "I will look after you just like your father. Now, who's after you?"
"Father is," answered the filly.
This caused me to stop smiling and instead produce a confused look on my face.
"What?" I asked, confusingly and shocked. "What do you mean he's after you?"
"He sent the police and the army after us when we tried to get back the tuppence from him," answered the frightened younger colt. "And we are not exaggerating."
"Well, now there must be some mistake," I remarked, trying to understand the complexity of the situation that the foals. "Your father's a fine gentlecolt and he loves you."
"I don't think so," cried the filly, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "You should have seen the look on his face. He doesn't love us at all."
"Well, that doesn't seem likely does it?" I asked them. "Let's sit down."
I then knew that this was indeed some mistake and realized that I needed to let these foals know that their father truly loved them for who they really are. So, we all sat down on a stair in the alleyway as I calmly tried to explain to them the pressures that their father was going through.
"You know, begging your pardon," I explained to the two foals in a sympathetic, yet comforting voice. "But the one my heart goes out to is your father. There he is, in that cold heartless bank day after day, hemmed in by mounds of cold heartless money. I don't like to see anything being caged up."
"Father in a cage?" asked the filly through a tear filled voice.
"They make cages in all shapes and sizes, you know," I answered. "Bank shaped, some of them, carpets and all. Or look at it this way: you've got your mother to look after you, and Princess Celestia, and Princess Twilight Sparkle and me. Who looks after your father? When something terrible happens, what does he do? Fends for himself, he does. Who does he tell about it? No one. He doesn't blab his troubles at home. He just pushes on at his job, uncomplaining and alone and silent."
The children remained silent for a minute, trying to absorb what I had just said to them as I activated my horn, transporting us out of the alley and into the home of the Banks family. There we all saw him, Money Banks, the foals' proud and privately feeling father sitting down in the sitting room looking into the fireplace.
"A Stallion has dreams," he said to himself, his voice filled with despair. "Of walking with giants. To carve his niche, in the edifice of time. Before the mortar of his zeal has a chance to congeal. The cup is dashed from his lips; the flame is snuffed aborning; he's brought to rack and ruin in his prime."
Both foals watched their father with a concerned expression and almost immediately, they couldn't help but feel sorry for themselves.
"And now as my life's ambitions go," he continued, looking away from the fireplace. "With one fell blow, it's quite a bitter pill to take."
…
At that moment, I deactivated the screen and there at the other end of the table, Celestia just sat there, her eyes widened with shock and disbelief.
"Something must have happened at the bank, Luna," she remarked. "I did hear of a run on the bank that happened yesterday, but I didn't know the cause of it until now."
"And yet, I don't think that they caused the run on the bank because of it," I replied, firmly. "It's my belief and understanding that Money Banks is working for a business that is nothing short of corrupt and greed. I need to talk to him pony to pony, whether it would be in a dream or not in a dream."
"If there is anything I can do to help you, little sister…" offered Celestia, although we both knew that her magic would not work in the dream world.
"Thank you for your offer," I said, trying to be nice about the offer as I left the table to retire following a night of governing the night. "However, this is something that can only be done by me and me alone. I will visit Money Banks tonight and see what I can do to help him."
…
So, night came once again and I set about my duties of raising the moon and advancing into the dream world. However, before I could go about my dream world patrols, my sights were set on the home of Money Banks and once again, I found myself in his sitting room, sitting next to a stallion that looked as if the entire world came crashing down on him. However, I made it clear that this wasn't meant to be a dream in any way, this was real.
"You seem troubled, Money Banks," I said, causing the stallion to turn around and face me, letting out a sharp gasp. "
"Your highness," he gasped, hastily getting down on the floor and bowing down to me. "How did you get in here?"
"I have ways of trying to become close with my subjects," I simply answered. "But, there is a reason for why I am here and I know of the situation that happen at the Canterlot bank."
Knowing just exactly what I was talking about, Money Banks sighed and looked down at the floor, trying to comprehend all that was happening around him.
"All I wanted was for my filly and colt to understand the importance of saving money," he confessed. "But, my son wanted to use the tuppence to feed birds that surrounded an old mare. I couldn't let him throw the money away just like that. I want him to be just like me, hard working in a world where anything is possible."
"I understand your frustrations," I answered, sighing heavily. "However there is something that is telling me that you are very troubled in the position that you are in right now. Perhaps what your foals did was a sign that you needed to change your life around."
"What are you talking about, your highness?" cried Money Banks. "Are you saying that I need to change my job? Well, it's very likely that it will, because I've been summoned back to the bank for disciplinary action at 9:00 tonight. Don't you see, Princess? I'm going to lose everything I have ever worked for."
"Perhaps not," I said, draping a wing over Money Banks much to his confusion. "It's only a job, Money Banks. The entire world of Equestria isn't going to fall on top of you because you are possibly no longer working for the Bank of Equestria. In fact, I believe that everything was a sign, a sign that maybe you need to focus more on your family, rather than working a job that you don't love."
Money Banks considered what I had said and let out another exasperated sigh of despair, almost as if he was in denial about the situation.
"Think of it this way," I said. "You are a stallion of high position, esteemed by your peers. And when your little foals are crying, you haven't time to dry their tears and seeing their little faces smiling up at you, because their father, he always knows just what to do."
"Well I mean look I, I don't think I..." stammered Money Banks, trying to find words to finish his sentence.
"It's like you always say, Money Banks," I said, interjecting and raising a hoof to silence him. "You've to grind at the grindstone although foalhood slips like sand through a sieve. And all too soon, they've up and grown and then, it's too late for you to give."
"Give what?" asked Money Banks as we heard the sounds of small hoofbeats coming down the stairs and knowing that it was the two foals, I quietly disappeared from view. With my body invisible, I watched through my eyes to see the two foals standing before Money Banks.
"Father," the filly said, clad in a pink nightgown. "We're sorry about the tuppence. We didn't know that it would cause you so much trouble."
Then the filly nodded to her colt brother, clad in blue pajamas, who used his magic to hand the tuppence to Money Banks.
"Here father," he said. "You can have the tuppence."
Money Banks was shocked and surprised that his two foals were behaving this way and at that moment, my eyes turned to see Celestia's eyes flashing right next to me, much to my shock that she was even there to begin with.
"Will that make everything all right?" asked the filly.
"Thank you," answered Money Banks and he watched as his foals retire to their quarters.
"Now, its all up to you, Money Banks," I said to myself as my sister and me both disappeared from view.
…
The next morning, I returned to Canterlot from my night duties and no sooner did I land on the castle did I see a flurry of activity at Canterlot Park. There were families of ponies being together and I saw what appeared to be Money Banks and his family, among those flying the kites.
"Sister, come over here for a second," I beckoned to her as Celestia was walking down to breakfast. "Look. It's Money Banks and his family being together and flying a kite."
A smile came to my face upon seeing how happy that Money Banks was and I felt a sense of satisfaction came onto my face. It seemed that the message I was trying to get through to Money Banks finally happened. Then, a pony who appeared to be someone from the bank was also there, flying a kite with his companions.
"Then, who is that talking to Money Banks?" wondered Celestia and we flew over to Canterlot Park to investigate. Remaining invisible, my sister and I watched as the pony from the bank came over to Money Banks.
"I want to congratulate you," he laughed. "Capitol bit of humor, a wooden leg named Smith or Jones whatever it was. Father died laughing."
"Oh, I'm so sorry sir," sympathized Money Banks.
"Nonsense, nothing to be sorry about," chuckled the pony, as he took the carnation off his lapel and placed it on Money Banks' lapel. "Never seen him happier in his life. He left an opening for a new partner. Congratulations!"
"Thank you sir, Thank you very much indeed, sir!" said Money Banks excitedly and he reached over to kiss his wife before returning to flying the kite with his children as Celestia and I watched with satisfaction.
"What exactly happened last night, dear sister?" wondered Celestia. "He must have been fired by the bank and then re-hired by the bank."
"It doesn't matter now," I said, reassuringly. "All that matters is that everything has fallen for Money Banks and that he knows that there is more to life than just being absorbed into your work. It seems that thanks to my interventions, they are now more closer than ever, just as we are sister."
With these words, we returned to Canterlot and left the Banks family to grow more and more closer by flying their kite.
THE END