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// Chapter 9: Luna's Night Out 
// Story: Return of the Ancient Mage 
// by Zoshe 
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Luna had awoken early that evening and was making her way through the hallways of the castle. The danger she had encountered last night still weighed heavily on her and she was having trouble sleeping.

As she rounded the corner to her sister's study, the royal guards standing watch at the door quickly scrambled to stand at attention. Once she drew closer, she found that one of the guards appeared to be biting his lip as he tried to fight down a laugh.

"What, pray tell, dost thou find so amusing this evening?" Luna questioned as she looked down her nose at him

"Princess Luna," the guard kept his salute firm under her watchful gaze. "Princess Celestia is currently in a meeting with Prince Blueblood. As for my lack of decorum, your highness, I found the current state of the prince funny."

"And what is so amusing about the prince?" Luna cocked an eyebrow at him.

The door they were guarding picked that moment to open and out stormed a young colt that couldn't have been more than eight years old. He stormed down the hallway without once stopping or acknowledging Luna's presence.

"Who child is that?" She inquired, curious as to why someone so young would be wandering the castle alone.

"Prince Blueblood, your highness," the guard answered.

"We were not aware that he possessed any offspring," Luna said in disbelief.

"Forgive me, your highness," he offered apologetically. "What I meant is that IS Prince Blueblood."

Luna's eyes went wide with wonder as she turned back to the door. This should be an interesting story.

Luna entered the study to find Celestia penning a letter onto a scroll before rolling it up and with a spark of magic from her horn, it burst into light and flew out the window.

"Ah Luna," she said as she got up from her desk and gave her sister a hug. "How are you doing this evening?"

Luna thought back to her previous night before answering, "We are whole. The events of the previous night may hath shaken us, but we shall remain vigilant as we stand against all that threatens Equestria."

Celestia took a step back and smiled down at her sister, "you know Luna. You don't have to speak so formal when it's just the two of us."

Luna felt a bit embarrassed by her sister's comment. "I," she started, the words not feeling quite right on her tongue. "I am trying, sister. It is not so easy to forget my old lessons when I haven't had the time to acclimate to the modern dialect as you have."

"Relax, Luna," Celestia chuckled. "I was only teasing. You're awake much sooner than I would've thought after the night you had. Are you sure you're alright?"

"We shall endure, sister," Luna said with a huff of annoyance. "Certainly better than your nephew seems to have. What exactly happened to him anyway? Surely he wasn't foolish enough to go poking at Discord?"

"Oh that," said Celestia. "No, nothing like that. Apparently he had gone and chased Twilight to her home where he continued to make his affections known to her," she said with no small degree of sarcasm. "It seems that Blueblood made her new roommate upset and, well, you see the results. However, I am curious where he learned such an advanced incantation though. I didn't think there was anypony left who could cast spells like that."

Luna had a wistful look on her face, "I knew one who could do so with ease..." She said sorrowfully.

Celestia gave a soft sigh, "I know, Luna. I know. I had a bit of Deja vu when I saw another Blueblood in that state after all these years."

"That family did always manage to find a way to irritate him," Luna said with a distant look in her eyes.

"So did you need something from me?" Said Celestia, quickly changing the subject. "I don't mean to be rude, but I still have some work to do before I retire for the evening."

"Sister!" Luna protested. "How canst thou still go on about bureaucracy when the enemy is at our gates?!"

"Luna..." Celestia said softly as she approached her younger sister. "The enemy is hardly at our gates." Her younger sister puffed out her chest as she looked up at her. Celestia reach forward with her hooves and pulled Luna to her chest, wrapping her wings around the both of them for good measure. "Please... I don't want you going back there."

Luna could feel her sister trembling as she listened to her breathing. "Sister?" She asked even as she was being smothered in Celestia's warm embrace. "Art thou weeping?"

"I almost lost you last night," she sobbed. "I don't know if I could survive that a second time."

"But what about Sombra?" Luna asked as tried to wriggle out of the bone crushing hug. "He seemed far stronger in that dream than what the two of us faced before. Surely thou dost not intend to just turn a blind eye to such a danger?"

"And I haven't," said Celestia as she finally let Luna breathe again. "I've already sent letters to the Crystal Empire telling them about what you found. Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor will be keeping an eye out for anything until we can learn more."

"But what of the dream," Luna insisted. "We have a clear path to follow. We know of the place he hides."

"From what you told me, it sounds more like he's being kept prisoner than hiding," said Celestia. "If we're lucky, whoever is holding the keys to his cell will approach us on their own."

"We cannot sit idly by and just wait for that to happen," Luna pushed away from her sister and took several strides towards the door. "I'm not like you, sister. I cannot simply wait for events to happen around me." She only made it a few more steps before a golden glow wrapped around her body and carried her back towards the elder alicorn.

"Luna," Celestia said as she wiped the last of the tears from her face. "When's the last time you left the castle?"

Luna huffed as she floated there, "we do not see what this has to do with anything."

"Luna..." Celestia gave her an unwavering look.

"Last Nightmare Night," Luna finally surrendered. "Why?"

"It's not good for you to stay cooped up all the time," she said. "Have you ever thought about making some friends outside the castle?"

"We have the companionship of those whose dreams we defend. We have little need for much else," said Luna. "Besides, we can hardly wander the town as freely as the simple folk. Our royal stature isn't quite as imposing as thy own, but it still warrants attention that is not as easily dismissed."

"What if you could set it aside for an afternoon? The imposing figure, I mean," Celestia grinned as a scroll popped into existence in front of her.

Luna stopped struggling and grabbed the old parchment in her blue aura, curious as to what her sister was up to. She made one last long glare at her sister before unfurling it and looking at its contents. Her eyes grew wide as she saw the inscribed spell. "Sister... What is this? Where did you get this? Is this safe?"

"It's quite safe," said Celestia cheerily. "I happen to use it on a regular basis."

"Surely thou jests," Luna was still scrambling over the words in front of her.

"Surely I don't," Celestia was giddy with excitement. "Now come on, try it out. I'm curious how it'll make you look."

"Very well," said Luna as she finished looking over the spell she held. "But don't think that thou hast settled the current matter."

Luna set down the scroll and focused on the spell she had just learned. Her horn tingled as she felt her magic slowly wash over her body. Inch by inch it covered her, her body changing and modifying itself to the script presented to it. She gradually began to feel herself shrinking, her wings becoming numb the longer the spell went on. The shock made her gasp for air as the spell finished its work and her eyes shot open.

"How do you feel?" Came the voice of her sister, sounding much more imposing than it did before.

"We feel strange," Luna's voice caught in her throat as she spoke. She sounded differently than she had before. She looked over to Celestia, who now towered a few feet higher than she had before. "This feels weird," she said. "We still feel like ourselves yet we do not."

"Oh!" Exclaimed Celestia. "Let me find you a mirror."

Luna was still feeling a bit dizzy when a mirror appeared in front of her. Staring back at her was a dark blue unicorn of average height with a lighter blue for her mane. Gone were the stars that glittered in it as was the way her mane blew in the ethereal wind. She couldn't quite believe what she was seeing. She held a hoof up to her face and the reflection copied her motions. She turned to look at her flank. Gone were the wings from her sides, however her cutiemark still remained unchanged.

"You'll need a different spell if you want to mask that as well," said Celestia as she saw where Luna was looking. "That spell isn't as taxing as this was if you want that one as well."

"No," said Luna, still unsure of her own body and how differently it felt. "This is fine. What exactly am I supposed to do now?"

"Now," Celestia smiled as she summoned a dark blue dress along with a pink one that was about the same size. "Let's go find out."





To say the situation felt strange would be an understatement. They had stayed in the palace until Celestia could put the sun to bed so Luna could raise the moon, and now they stood out on the street by themselves and with no escort. Celestia had even cancelled the last of her appointments so she could help Luna get dressed.

"So what exactly are we supposed to do now, Celes..." She started only to have her much diminished sister place a hoof to her lips.

"None of that now," said the pure white unicorn with the flowing pink mane. She continued in a hushed tone, "out here we aren't Celestia and Luna, rulers of Equestria. Who are we again?"

Luna straightened up and recited, "I am Moon Drops, unicorn who's new in town, fresh off the train from Manehattan. I came to Canterlot seeking excitement. How's that, sister?"

"Very good," said Celestia as she struck a pose. "And I am Fleur De Lis. Debutant, fashion model, and escort of Canterlot's most eligible bachelor, Fancy Pants."

Luna couldn't help but giggle at how dramatic her sister was being. "Wouldn't it make more sense to pretend to be somepony less conspicuous?"

Celestia shot her sister a mischievous grin, "who said I was pretending? Come along now, Moon Drops. The night is young."

"Wait! Cel... Fleur! What did  you mean by that?!" Luna called after her troublemaker of a sister as she chased after her.





"So thou hast really created a second life for thyself?" Luna grilled her sister.

"And I don't see why I shouldn't. Why we shouldn't." She said as she took a sip of her drink. "Castle life can get so boring day after day."

The two sisters had made their rounds of Canterlot's downtown shopping plaza. They had tried on so many clothes and articles of jewelry, and had seen so many of the various trinkets and oddities that could be found here. Through it all, not once had they received the reverend stares and bowing that they had grown accustomed to. Now they were just simply relaxing in a café off the main road.

Luna looked down at her hoof. She still had a hard time believing it was hers. It didn't feel like a simple illusion spell they were using. "So where exactly did you find this spell or did you make it yourself?" She finally asked.

Celestia went quiet as she set her drink down. She slowly turned her cup in her hooves for a bit before answering. "I found it in the archmage's wing of the old castle. It's an interesting spell, I think it was actually crafted specifically for us."

"Well Starswirl was always turning out wondrous new magics. We should hardly be surprised that..." Her words were cut off with a shake of the head from her older sister.

"Not Starswirl," Celestia said quietly. "The other one."

Luna grew silent as she hugged her hooves to her chest, a single tear finding its way down her face. "This is one of his?... He made this?" She said quietly, more to herself than to her sister.

"Come on," Celestia said as she stood up from the table. "We've got one more place to check out tonight."





"The Electric Pegasus?" Luna read the sign out loud as they stood there. "What is this place?"

"It's something the ponies came up with more recently," said Celestia. "They call it a night club."

"We did not realize that public beatings were sanctioned," Luna looked at her sister questioningly.

"Oh come on Moon Drops," Celestia said as she nudged her towards the door. "This'll be fun."

Luna still didn't understand the point of this place. All she knew was that it was full of bright lights and very, very loud music. "So what's the purpose of this place?!" She felt like she practically had to shout to make herself heard.

"What?!" Celestia shouted back, her voice mostly blending in with all the noise.

They found a place beside a brightly lit floor where ponies were frolicking and dancing completely off beat and without any sort of rhythm. After a while they got used to the deafening noise and could hear themselves think again.

"I forgot how noisy these places can get," said Celestia. "They must have one of their wilder DJs working tonight."

"So what exactly are we doing here, Fleur?" Luna asked, remembering to use the name of her sister's cover.

"Socializing," she said as she waved to some ponies that seemed to recognize her. "You've got to get yourself out there, Moon, if you want ponies to notice you."

"I don't see why anypony would notice me though," Luna said as she looked down. "It's not like I appear as anything special right now."

"Well you're never going to figure out who's looking if you keep your head down," Celestia said. "Like that stallion who's been staring at you since you came in."

"Hmmm?" Luna perked up and looked around, curious to see who her sister was talking about.

"Well don't make it too obvious that you've noticed," she said as she scooted in closer and nudged her in the side. "Just over my shoulder, the white pegasus with the cyclone cutiemark. The one talking to a couple of Wonderbolts."

Luna carefully peered in that direction. Sure enough, there was a white pegasus with a silky black mane looking in her direction. She quickly averted her eyes, doubtful that she had gone unnoticed. "What do I do?" She was already feeling nervous with the way they were sneaking around town, but this... She wasn't ready for something like this.

"Go talk to him," her sister encouraged. "Or better yet, get him to come to you."

"How exactly doth one engage in such an activity?" She hissed under her breath. "Especially with all those other ponies around him."

"Head out onto the dance floor," she said insistently.

"Do what?" Luna felt affronted. "We do not pretend to even know what dance they are performing if one would even dare to call that dancing."

"Trust me on this," Celestia was beaming at this point. "Just go out there and bounce to the beat a bit, bob your head, shake your flank. Let's see if he approaches."

"But Fleur..." She continued to protest.

"Oh come on, live a little," Celestia gave her a playful smack on the behind, startling her as she practically leapt onto the dance floor.

Luna stumbled for a moment, but still managed to make it there without thoroughly embarrassing herself. She glared back at her sister, feeling betrayed for being put on the spot just now. All she got in return though was a smile and a "go on" gesture. She looked around at the other ponies around her and while a couple of them glanced her way for a moment, all of them went back to the inane movements they called dancing.

She went along with her sister's suggestion and tried moving with the beat of the music. She felt awkward and sluggish and still didn't really understand what was happening. Fortunately, she didn't have to wait long before she felt a tap on the shoulder.

"Come here often?" A voice cut in to break her away from the insane activity she was taking part in.

Luna turned to face the owner of the voice. It was that same pegasus that had been watching her from across the room. "No, this is my first time here," she said.

"I can tell," he said. "You don't seem to like it out on the dance floor."

"No," she said. "It was more my sister's idea. She was trying to..."

"Trying to see if I'd approach once you were by yourself. Perhaps," he said with a devilish grin.

"How did you..." She started to say.

"This isn't my first time on the scene, and it isn't the first time I've seen family give each other a little nudge." He lifted a wing, shielding her from the other dancers. "Shall we find some place better to talk?"

Luna just swallowed hard as he let him guide her out of the chaos of the dance floor. He seemed a bit rough around the edges, but he still acted like a gentlecolt. "My thanks," she said once they were by themselves.

"Well don't thank me just yet," he said as he raised a hoof under her chin and lifted her nose to his.

She soon found herself looking deep into his blue eyes. Wait...? She thought as she looked up at him. Was he really about to kiss her? So soon after meeting for the first time. Were stallions in this day and age really so forward?

"It's a shame I haven't approached you with less than honorable intentions," he said as his mouth was so close to hers that it wouldn't take much to steal a kiss. "I might have enjoyed spending the night turning that blue coat of yours scarlet."

She knew it was cheap, but the scoundrel was still making her blush with his adventurous words. "Then why have you approached me then?"

He leaned in past her face until he could whisper right into her ear. "I've come to warn you," he said.

"Warn me of what?" She didn't know what game he was playing, but whatever it was excited her in ways she hadn't expected.

"Stay away from the dream, Princess Luna. Stay away from Sombra's prison," he said seriously. "It isn't safe."