Luna raises the moon, settling it next to the glittering stars. She then tiptoes into Lightshield’s room to wake him, only to jump when she hears his voice behind her.
“Don’t worry, Lunie!” He chuckles. “I’m already up! Surprise!”
“Lightshield!” Luna instinctively yelps in her Royal-Canterlot-Speech-Voice. “Thou mustn’t inflict such shock upon us this early!”
The stallion snickers. “Shh! You’ll wake Tia! Besides, it’s the night before Hearts and Hooves Day! Everyone’s too excited to sleep when it’s the night before a holiday!”
The princess sighs, gazing out the window.
“And by everyone, you mean most certainly not everyone.”
Indeed, the lights in the village houses are all off. No one is playing in the street, or visiting the castle, or strolling in the marketplace.
“Ah, don’t be like that, Luna!” Says Lightshield. “It’s just you and me tonight!”
Luna smiles at him. “Yes,” She declares. “Let the hanging out commence!”
Outside the castle, two lunar guards stand beside the doors. They share a tray of cupcakes that Celestia gave them for being good at their job.
“She’s always giving them candy,” Luna whispers to Lightshield, as they stand on the balcony above them. “Want some cupcakes?”
“Sure!” Lightshield replies softly. “Let’s go down and ask them- oh!” Lightshield gets cut off by the sight of Luna trying to climb down the balcony like a professional thief.
“What are you doing!” He whispers. “You’ve got wings, buddy! And stairs. We’ve also got some stairs over here.”
Luna shushes him as she swoops over, hanging upside-down from the balcony, tucking her wings slightly over her face in a batlike position. Below her, the guards chat casually and lick sugary pink cupcake frosting, having no idea anyone is nearby.
“Any plans for H and H Day?” One says to the other.
“Eh,” Replies the second one. “I’m one of those single-and-rocking-it kind of ponies. Tomorrow, I’m gonna eat chocolate, read horror scrolls and sleep the rest of the day.”
“Ah, that sounds kind of awesome.”
“Thanks, dudette.”
As the guards drone on, Luna’s horn gives a subtle lilac glow, and a rosey-colored cupcake floats off of the tray.
“How about you?” Continues the second guard.
“Oh, me?” Says the first. “Yeah, my special somepony and I are going to that new restaurant that Twinkle Twirl and Skywishes just opened up.”
“Ahh, yeah I heard they have good straw.”
“I mean, they just have like, the normal plastic bendy ones.”
“No, not straws, straw. Like the food.”
“Oh yeah, they have that.”
“I love straw- Hey! Why is that cupcake floating?”
There is an awkward silence as the two guards look at the cupcake hovering between them.
“What gives!” Snarls the first guard.
“Hey, it wasn’t me,” Retorts the second. “I’m not a unicorn!”
“Well, I’m not either,” The first complains as the other cupcakes float out of the pan one by one. “We’re both pegasi, dummy!”
They try to grab the cupcakes, but soon they’re too high up, and the guards would have to abandon their stations to reach them.
“Aww, rats.” The first guard sighs.
“Wait,” Says the second guard. “The cupcakes are glowing purple, right? If we’re not unicorns, then there must be a unicorn nearby.”
As they look behind them, Luna stifles an inaudible giggle and quickly turns herself invisible using her magic, leaving Lightshield the only unicorn to be seen.
“You!” The guards shout.
“What, me?” Lightshield laughs nervously. “Listen, this isn’t what it looks like-”
One of the cupcakes floats onto Lightshield’s hoof. Distracted by how good it looks, he joyfully takes a bite.
“Mmm!” Lightshield says. “Thanks, Luna!”
“Hey!” Luna chuckles from her invisible perch. “Way to give us away, thou ammature perpetrator of pranks!”
“Get them!” Shouts the second guard as Luna materializes over their heads.
“Whoa, hold up,” Fumbles the first guard. “Isn’t she like, the princess?”
“Oh come on,” The second groans. “It’s not like she’s Princess Celestia.”
Lightshield gulps at that comment. He knows Luna doesn’t take well to being thought of as the lesser princess.
The royal alicorn flaps her wings, and does a flip midair, then sets herself hovering dramatically in front of the full moon. Her purple hair ripples like a pirate’s flag. She then annihilates everyone’s ears with her royal voice.
“THOU DARE SPEAKEST TO US AS THOUGH WE ARE NOT PRESENT IN THE ROOM? THOU DARE BESTOW OUR SISTER WITH A HIGHER TITLE OF NOBILITY THEN WE?”
“I’m sure they didn’t mean it like that!” Says Lightshield.
“Nah, I definitely meant it like that.” The second guard states. The first guard elbows him. “Oh, come on,” The second guard continues anyway. “What are you gonna do, Luna?”
“Is that a challenge?” Luna growls.
“I mean, I guess?” The second guard shrugs.
“Very well,” Declares the princess. “In that case, THOU MUST CATCH US THOUSELVES WITH THE SHEER SPEED OF THOU’S HOOVES, IF THOU EVER WANTS TO RETRIEVE THY CUPCAKES!”
“I think that’s basically her way of saying: ‘If you want the cupcakes, you’ll have to catch me first.” Lightshield clarifies with a guilty grin, and a drop of sweat streaming down his face.
“Yeah, we know.” Snaps the second guard.
Luna dips over to the balcony where Lightshield is.
This must look very romantic, Lightshield thinks to himself.
Like that old scroll about the stallion who climbs his lover’s roof to speak with her on the balcony.
He shrugs off that thought as Luna says: “Hop on, friend.”
Lighshield climbs onto Luna’s back, and together they soar across the stars. They zip through the tangled vines of the Everfree Forest, and dart out into the empty streets of Ponyville. The Castle of the Two Sisters grows smaller as it fades into the distance. Purple glowing cupcakes drag alongside them in the sky.
“Uh, don’t look now,” Lightshield warns, peering behind at the pegasus guards flapping behind them.
“Ha,” Laughs Luna. “Those fools are no threat to me!”
She accelerates her flight farther into town, skidding to a stop in an alleyway. She stands with her back to the wall.
“You may let go, now.” She says to Lightshield, who is still holding onto her shoulders.
“Oh, yeah,” He chuckles, blushing. “Sorry!”
Luna gazes into the distance, squinting.
“Looks like those guards lost us!” She snorts.
The two laugh for a while, and Luna smiles at Lightshield.
“Lightshield, my friend,” She whispers. “Shall we celebrate this occasion?”
Luna dips her horn in the minty icing of the cupcake, and writes on the wall, as though the frosting were ink, and her horn was a pen.
“Lightshield and Luna were here,” The stallion reads aloud. “That’s got a good ring to it!”
“Most certainly!”
They giggle and look up at the stars, scattered like a winter storm across the sky. The moon casts a silver glow over the royal ponies, in a beautiful pattern not unlike the sun’s reflection seen from underwater.
“Oh, how I love the night!” Luna marvels, her eyes glistening with joy like a mother proud of her child.
“Me too,” Lightshield agrees. “It’s perfect.”
As he catches sight of Luna’s face, he can feel himself blushing. Her whole body shimmers like royal treasure in the moonlight.
Now’s my chance, he thinks to himself. I’m going to ask Luna to be my special somepony.