The massive blue wings beat against the air in precise thumps, lifting the two of them with deceptive ease and starting off on a course which only one of them knew.
As they gained altitude, Rarity was treated to an ever more spectacular view of Ponyville, and found she could not resist the temptation to wave back at those ponies on the ground, who looked up to admire the Princess of the Night and her passenger ascending into the azure sky.
Looking down, Rarity noticed that they were leaving the houses and farms behind and heading out over the Everfree; a place she had only been once before. On that occasion she had been accompanied by her five closest friends, each of whom had taken their chance to shine as they faced and overcame a catalogue of horrors and other diversions. She thought back to how none of them would have got through on their own, and in her vulnerability, clung on just a little bit tighter for safety.
Memories of her previous visit flooded back when she saw they were approaching the very same castle, which in its semi-derelict state, still retained the same foreboding character that she had experienced when helping Twilight face down Nightmare Moon on that fateful night, not so very long ago.
Luna’s wings stopped beating and locked into a position which allowed them to glide gently downward, taking in a wide circuit around the castle before lining up on a landing zone in the courtyard. The landing pad she had favoured during her adolescence and early marehood, had, over time become home to many species of weeds, some of which had grown so big and wild as to prevent her from landing safely. As she skimmed over the ruined walls on final approach, Luna adjusted her descent to direct herself into one of the least overgrown areas, and began to backwing so she could bleed off the last of her airspeed in preparation for landing.
Despite the flurry of activity from Luna’s wings, the touchdown was flawlessly smooth, and once she had allowed a moment for her passenger to acclimatise to being on the ground again, lowered her back once more. Rarity shuddered a little, partly due to being back at the Castle of the Two Sisters and partly due to the adrenaline arising from the flight, but climbed down as directed by Luna’s body language.
“The Royal gardeners would be dismayed to see their diligent work having gone to such rack and ruin” Luna bemoaned with a sad harrumph, before turning to her guest.
“Mistress Rarity, we appreciate your last visit here was not under the best of circumstances, so we expect thou didst not have the opportunity to take in some of the castle’s finer points. As thou art clearly a pony of culture, we should like to make amends and show you the sights, as it were.”
A weight visibly lifted off Rarity’s subconscious; even though she knew Princess Luna was no longer Nightmare Moon, there had still been something about the personal one-on-one invite into the Everfree that had unnerved her. However, now having an understanding of the reason for the visit, she beamed happily, looking forward to being shown treasures that nopony had seen in hundreds of years.
“So, tell me Princess, why was this castle abandoned?” she asked innocently.
“We destroyed it” replied Luna sadly, not even facing Rarity to give the answer, “It was the night we turned into Nightmare Moon and challenged our dear Sister. We chased her, we fought, the castle was grievously damaged, and we were defeated.”
There was a pause, a silence that made Rarity wish the ground would swallow her whole, then Luna turned to her and added, “We think it best to be honest from the start, dost thou not?”
Rarity simpered by way of reply and followed as Luna led her through a doorway, the door to which had long since disappeared, and set off climbing a flight of stone spiral stairs. The stairs and indeed the passageway onto which it opened out were narrow by grand castle standards, and Luna explained that the rooves protecting some of the wider passageways had long since collapsed or become unsafe, and thus she would navigate her way around the castle by the routes used by the servants.
Luna had been proven correct and to Rarity’s surprise, given the apparent state of decay evident from the outside, they were able to find their way to every room that was still standing. In one instance, Luna directed them to a collapsed State room, the centre of which was completely impassable due to large piles of rubble, but around which there was still a narrow gap next to the wall.
Here, under the light from their horns, they found paintings depicting grand scenes of the period before unification, pictures which had not been admired for countless years. Luna smiled at Rarity’s open-mouthed reaction, and helped her remove the pictures they could reach with her magic, so they could be exhibited and once more admired as they deserved.
Rarity also found some torn and weather-worn tapestries. She appreciated by their condition that it may not have been possible to salvage them as they were, but nonetheless decided that she could at least make copies in honour of the originals.
As the day wore on, Rarity came to appreciate that she was in the company of the one pony who knew this castle better than any other. Not only did Luna know all the corridors and rooms along with where to find the most dazzling works of art, but it turned out that she had been a bit of a prankster when she was younger.
At one point Rarity even heard her laugh, a truly happy sound echoing around the long neglected walls, when she found that the slide she had adored from her fillyhood days was still intact. Hearing such delight from somepony outwardly so austere, lifted Rarity’s heart and dispelled forever the thoughts of her as the evil and despotic Nightmare Moon.
All too soon, the light began to fade, and Luna called an end to the day’s excursion, magically sealing the recovered treasures to protect them against further deterioration, so they could be picked up another day.
The two ponies made their way back to the courtyard in readiness for beginning their journey back to Ponyville after a wonderful afternoon for both of them.
The sun was getting low in the sky and errant trees and bushes started to take on an other-worldly appearance in the lengthening shadows.
Rarity looked up at Luna, the sun cascading through her rich purple mane and glinting off her sparkling blue eyes, framing her face with an ethereal beauty. Luna’s mane had begun to come to life as the starfield contained within it responded to the fading light and began to twinkle beguilingly, complementing her slender muzzle and large teal eyes in a vision that made Rarity’s heart skip a beat. If either dared to say a word, the magic of the moment would have been lost.
Luna was in need of a friend and had also been starved of romance for a thousand years. She had already imagined cues from her companion, but was unsure if or indeed how she should proceed, given that she was obviously so out of touch with prevailing societal norms. She had been out of the game for so long she could have mistaken the cues, and worse, if she chose this moment to commit to another pony, would she be making a complete fool of herself?
Would there be constitutional repercussions with succession?
What about her Sister?
Should she, or shouldn’t she?
For her part, Rarity had completely re-appraised her view of the former Nightmare Moon and come to see a tender, sensitive and vulnerable pony whose company she really enjoyed. She was also strikingly beautiful in this light, but she was a Princess, the co-ruler of Equestria and therefore completely out of her reach. Nonetheless, Rarity’s heart was continuing to pull her in one direction while her head tried its best to rein in her romantic tendencies.
Should she, or shouldn’t she?
Imperceptibly, Rarity’s heart started to win out, as her eyelids closed a fraction and her lips parted. It was a reflex action and entirely involuntary, as was her moving her head slightly closer, aching to feel the fulfilment of reciprocated attraction.
“We should be getting thee back, Mistress Rarity” said Luna abruptly, totally oblivious to the strong message being transmitted loudly to her at that very moment.
Rarity snapped back to reality with a jolt and immediately castigated herself for the thoughts she had just been having. Of course, Luna would never look at her the way she looked up to the Princess; she was just a humble dressmaker after all, not royalty. She had just been engaging in a daydream; an unobtainable fantasy.
Luna was right, it was time to go.
Although the logic of the situation was inescapable, Rarity couldn’t help but feel a sense of disappointment, like an opportunity had been missed.
However, the day had been good; she had just made a new friend, one whom she had sadly misunderstood at the beginning of their date. The Princess had shown herself to be wonderful company; both knowledgeable and engaging, if a little unsure of herself. Not only that, but her figure and colouring were such physical perfection that they opened up possibilities for a whole new range of dress styles. Perhaps one day Luna may commission her to make a wedding dress when a lucky stallion or mare caught her eye?
Rarity sighed wistfully, rapidly dismissing a fairy-tale image of the two of them walking down the aisle of Canterlot Castle together to happy cheers from wellwishers.
If only …
Forcing herself back to reality, she started planning the work that would need to be done in recovering and restoring the horde of artifacts that were just crying out for attention. Suddenly, sadly, the realities of life came back to dominate her schedule, brushing away the happy thoughts of dreamy eyed romance.
It was not to be.