{Tonight is beautiful. The night sky is clear, without a single cloud, and the stars are in pristine shining condition. I could even see The Aeternam, a constellation honoring the father of the princesses, who controlled time. The Eternal was revered, although not seen since his sleep cycle began over 6,000 years earlier. I looked for the constellation honoring their mother, The Caeli Continuum, but it was not visible tonight. She often disappeared when journeying through her domain far from Equestria, but it was still a disappointment for one of the two to be missing. The Aeternam only appeared every ten years, while The Caeli Continuum was sporadic and random. But when the two shone together... Such magnificent beauty...}
I averted my eyes from the night sky, checking the path before me. It wouldn't be the first time I stumbled into another pony while stargazing, in fact it was a running joke among my peers. I just couldn't stay still when staring at the vast expanse of stars, and I always found new angles to study them from. Speaking of studying... tonight was the night I was to spend with Lu- buck buck buck, PRINCESS LUNA, and I needed to focus on the studies, not my own rampant emotions. I knew my feelings, which was good, as I could prevent any surprise uprisings that might ruin our relationship. Tonight, I was student. The next night would be the same. And the night after that. I would always be her student, but at least I could be close to her.
I began to walk along my path once more, which was surprisingly light on traffic. Sure, it was dark already, but this was a main throughfare, usually teeming with large amounts of other ponies on romantic walks. Huh, I guess tonight seemed like a good night to stay inside. Humming lightly in my throat, I began to trot down the path, exercising my muscles. I made sure to keep my workout light, to prevent perspiration. It wouldn't do to appear before royalty sweaty and out of breath. Soon I saw the vast walls of the Canterlot Castle looming over the forest path, the white walls rising high into the sky, almost seeming to reach for the heavens from this angle. The door I was entering was a private entrance, used only by students of the teachers and servants, in order to keep more common ponies from disturbing the Princesses. Anyone with a request went through another door which led directly to the court hall, while supplies were airlifted by pegasi to the upper floors housing the kitchens. It was a strange design for a castle, but efficient as it let smoke from cooking vent easier.
I was almost at the door when it opened up, revealing two guards, a black unicorn and a white pegasus. The Night and Day Guard. I bowed respectfully to them, and reaching with my magic into my saddlebag I procured my letter granting passage into the castle. After skimming the letter twice, the guards moved aside to escort me to my destination. I walked between the two, who kept quiet, which allowed me to examine the castle's interior at my leisure. We passed through the Hero's Hall first, with its stained glass windows depicting scenes from Equestrian history. The first Fall of Discord was the second of the images, following after the Creation by Caeli and Aeternam. I studied the rendition of Princess Luna carefully, watching as she and her sister harnessed the Elements of Harmony to entomb Discord in stone. This marked the fall of Chaos, when ponies would kill each other without rhyme or reason, when the sun and stars would shine and disappear at a glance, and the time when life was difficult because of the lack of friendship between the pony races.
We continued through the hall somewhat slowly, soaking the images into our heads, and keeping hushed in the face of such hallowed scenes. We eventually passed into the Art Hall. This hall was filled with exquisite paintings from artists such as Pablo Ponisco, Ponytello, Jean Hay, and Poni-angelo. The ceiling itself was personally painted by Poni-angelo over 400 years ago, and yet still remained vibrant. After the painting showcase, we came to the musical anthology, featuring many great classical artists. I was reading the dates of the artists when I came upon a surprise. Two ponies at the end of the list, Octavia and DJ Pon3, were yet still alive. It was a prestigious title indeed to be alive when your name was transcribed on any art wall, and I was impressed.
We eventually made our way from the Art Hall, and turned onto a stairwell leading upwards towards the Princess' private quarters, where my lessons were to begin. Eventually I fell into remembering that night again, zoning into the night I first met Princess Luna.
<Princess Luna was in the regal pose once more, but it was different this time. I immediately noticed that instead of memory, I was in a daydream, imagining once more a different route to how the day could have went, if I was luckier.
Princess Luna had seen my photos and was walking towards me, smiling broadly at me, which in turn made my knees weak. Upon reaching me, she leaned down and I could feel her soft breath on my ear, causing it to flick in reflex. She was whispering to me, telling me how much she adored my picture I had taken of her, and the pictures I had taken of the sky. She told me to join her on the midnight blue stage she was currently being ferried on, giving me the moon lily from her mane to let all know I was chosen.
I followed behind her carefully, making sure to leave room in case she stopped, so I wouldn't bump into her. Her tail and mane billowed out in the wind, releasing a soft scent I could not at the time place, but which made my head swim dreamily. It took all my effort to avoid collapsing, and I almost ran into her when she stopped at the stairs in order to prepare climbing them. With great effort I shook my head, clearing my dizziness slightly. After Princess Luna had reached the top of the stage, I followed her up and took my honored place by her side.
Looking out over the crowd, I was surprised to see my mother waving joyously at me, with my father standing next to her with a proud look. My brother was shaking his head and laughing, making obscene gestures towards me, as he was one of the few who knew I was a bit infatuated with this particular alicorn. I shook my head at him, causing the mentioned Princess to swing her head towards me, scrutinizing me with curious eyes. I told her that I had something in my eye, and reached a hoof up to push an imaginary fleck of dust from my eye, giving me the cover necessary to glare at my brother. He simply laughed at me. Looking back to the Princess, I assured her I was fine, no need to be worried. She nodded, though she looked doubtful, and resumed waving to the crowd and speaking to her Captain by her side.
I looked out over the crowd again, avoiding the magnetic pull she seemed to have on my eyes when I was this close to her. Eventually the parade died down, ponies returned home to sleep, but she held me back. She asked to speak to me alone, which I was more than happy to oblige. She asked me of my history, my life, and I spoke of growing up with a dream to take pictures of the world. She asked me if I had any interest in star pictures, which I jokingly made a point of showing my earlier pictures that night, although she took my picture of her. I tried to get it back, out of desperation, but overshot my attempt, and knocked into Luna, surprising us both and ending with me on top of her, staring into her eyes. I leaned forward and...>
"Well, that is certainly an interesting daydream, Novalis. But I'm afraid that such thoughts would interfere with our lessons tonight."
I was jerked back to awareness by HER voice. Looking up in fear, I found Princess Luna staring dryly at me, a disapproving frown on her face. I immediately dropped to a bow, apologizing profusely.
"Oh my, I'm so sorry. I don't know what came over me, please forgive me, your Highness."
"It is alright this time, Novalis, as long as you remember your place here tonight. We will begin your lessons when you have cooled your head. Oh, and for the record, that is a lovely suit. It really compliments your eyes, which are very strange, but not in a bad way."
I looked up as she returned into her bedroom, leaving me in the antechamber outside of it that I had no recollection of entering in the first place. I examined the room, as an attempt to calm my nerves. Apparently the rumors of her being able to dreamwalk, or read other ponies' dreams, were true. I shook my head, ashamed that our first meeting since that night started so badly. Looking around, I noticed the furniture was all made of sequoia, an ancient tree that didn't grow in many places, and was therefore very expensive. The room had light blue drapes over the windows, the same color as Princess Luna's mane when it wasn't energized. The east wall was covered with a massive bookcase, showcasing ancient tomes of the celestial heavens that were so rare they were likely not found outside this room. Her west wall was a great bay window, with the drapes held to the side to allow the perfect full moon's light to shine through. I had entered through the south wall, and the north wall was the wall leading to her bedroom. I patiently waited for about fifteen minutes before tentatively calling out.
"Princess Luna? I'm calm now, and ready to begin my class whenever you wish."
"Very well," she said as she emerged from the shadows of her room, "we will start with what you know of the moon."