“Dost thou ever wish to trade places?”
Luna was shocked to hear her sister suggest that - they had been ready for this arrangement for a long time, Celestia dealing with the political parts of their new Equestria, and Luna dealing with its defense.
“We could deal with the remnants of the Spirit’s minions. Instead of thou hunting them as they emerge from their lairs at night, we could seek them as they hide from the daylight and purge them without anybody being harmed. And thou could oversee construction and economic management by the light of the moon.”
“We understand what thou are saying, Tia, but we do not understand the finer intricacies of the economy and its ponies as thee does.”
Celestia snorted, taking a long drink of tea. “You couldn’t do it worse than we are.”
“Tia, don’t say that!” Luna protested. “Thou art doing a wonderful job! Just look at the castle town, if you need proof. It is us that’s failing in our mission, we still lose so many ponies to these monstrous beasts.”
“That’s why we wish to change. We wish to better participate in the protection of our ponies.”
“Thou give them homes to go to, food to eat, a life to live. Thou protect them much more than we do.”
Celestia nodded slowly, sipping her tea. “Perhaps.”
Sometimes, when she looked at the families roaming the castle gardens, Luna wondered what it would be like to settle down. To find a nice, handsome stallion (perhaps one of those amongst the Night Guard, the armour gave them a certain, distinct appeal) and abandon her royal duties, move into a little cottage in the hinterlands and grow fruit.
No, she couldn’t leave this all behind - it was her duty, and one she truly enjoyed. Besides, it's not like there was anypony else who could raise the sun and moon. But there wasn’t anything preventing her from marrying while still a Princess. She could have somepony waiting in her tower at the end of her work, somepony to hold during the long days when her work was done.
And somepony to watch grow older and older while she remained unchanging. One more pony to lose, and one that might well hurt more than all of the others in her long life. And perhaps there could be foals - who knew, they might even be born as alicorns. But could one really imagine the sole ruler of Equestria, striding into a diplomatic meeting with a screeching foal on her back?
Luna knew in her heart that she’d never make a family. But she had done a very good job of finding one, from the many employees of the palace whom she treated with more than professional affection, to the students who remained close to foals in her mind. And, of course, the many old nobles that she had formally adopted as cousins and nephews. And it was for the most beloved of these that she was loitering in front of the castle’s gardens this particular late afternoon.
“You’re sure that the whole town will be able to come?” Cadance asked, Luna nodding with certainty.
“Even if I have to evict half of Canterlot’s nobles, they can all come.”
Strictly, Cadance was an orphan; she had been found in the woods close to the tiny earth pony village of Summersong as an infant, and the kindly residents had taken her in and raised her as their own. This orphan had a family much larger than most ponies could imagine, the entire village being her parents and siblings. As such, she’d wanted to invite every single one of them to her wedding. A desire that Princess Luna was all too happy to cater to.
“Will they all be able to get here quickly?”
“The railroad from Canterlot to Summersong will be finished in less than a fortnight.” Yes, Luna had had a railroad constructed just for the sake of her niece’s wedding. One of the privileges of royalty was that she could get away with things like that. “And their harvest will be tended to by the Royal Botanists and Guard, so they won’t need to worry about that.”
“Thank you, Auntie.” The pink pegasus nuzzled her affectionately. “I’m sorry for worrying so much.”
“It’s perfectly fine to worry, my dear. You only get married once, after all.” She draped a wing over the smaller pony, smiling down at her. “And if you get all of your worrying done now, that means you should be able to relax and enjoy the day. Now, do you want to have the ceremony out here?” She asked, pulling the topic of their conversation back to what they’d originally come to discuss.
“Do you think that we could have the wedding in the castle, and then the reception out here?”
Luna nodded - that was the traditional way of holding a noble wedding at the castle. “We can put seating in the grand hall and perhaps set up an archway for you. And I’d be happy to open up the Statue Garden for the wedding, if you like.” The affair of the living statues had become something like an urban legend around Canterlot in the months since the Spirit’s return, making the Statue Garden even busier than usual. Despite what the statues had claimed, she had seen no sign of them having any sort of life since it had been resolved. Perhaps they were simply waiting, or perhaps it had all been some bizarre trick by Discord. “You know, one of Twilight’s friends had the most lovely bird chorus for me at the Summer Sun Celebration, I’d bet that she’d be happy to do it for the wedding.”
“That sounds amazing! Oh, thank you for all the help, Auntie. This is going to be the best wedding ever!”
“I’m inclined to agree. Did you get around to seeing Twilight?”
“Oh yes, I had tea with her in Ponyville last week. She’s going to be my chief bridesmaid!”
“Wonderful.” Luna said with genuine happiness, hugging her niece briefly again. “Now, shall we go to the kitchens? We can get lunch and talk about the catering.”
What was supposed to be a quick discussion regarding catering had turned into an extended, lazy afternoon tea. Luna and Cadance sat on the dining room’s balcony, overlooking Equestria’s largest city as the afternoon crept into evening, lights beginning to appear in the streets. Kneaded Dough, the castle’s head chef, sat at the table with the two Princesses, scribbling on a pad of paper.
“So no nuts whatsoever, no mushrooms for Guiding Light or Palomina, no peppers for Fireheart, and no dairy for Sing-Song. Are there any other unusual dietary requirements?”
He already knew what all of the nobles who usually attended events at the castle couldn’t eat, so they’d spent a long while going through the requirements of all Cadance’s guests. “There are a pair of gryphon diplomats in the area that day, we might have to invite them for courtesy, so have some gryphon-friendly meals set aside.”
Knead wrinkled his nose, but wrote it down. Unlike ponies, gryphons were obligate carnivores, and thus had to eat meat, a prospect which was instinctively disgusting for most ponies. Luna had tried some a couple of times, and certainly didn’t see the appeal, and she knew that all of the chefs found it very unpleasant to prepare. But gryphons probably felt similarly about preparing vegetarian food for their pony guests, so it was a fairly equal exchange.
“Save some meat, noted.”
“I think that’s all then, isn’t it Cadance?” At a nod from the pegasus, Luna addressed her chef again. “That will be all, Knead. Thank you very much.”
“It seems silly to plan things this far in advance.” Cadence noted, stirring her tea with her wing.
“If it involves the nobility, it’ll always take a lot longer than it needs to.” Luna noted. “It’s been that way since Equestria was founded, and I’m sure it’ll be that way for the rest of time. Give ponies a little bit of power, and they’ll become quite convinced that they deserve the world.” Luna took a long sip, before adding. “Present company excluded, of course.”
“Naturally, Auntie.” Cadence giggled. “Would you like more coffee?”
“I’d best not, I’ll be bouncing off the walls for my meeting tonight.” Looking over the city for a moment, Luna sighed. Even planning such a big event, the sort of task she usually loathed, seemed thoroughly tolerable when doing it with somebody that she loved. But they hadn’t spoken much about normal things today. “So, how are you getting on at home, Cadence?”
“I’m well.” The pegasus smiled genuinely. “Excited for the wedding, of course!” It was a whole season away, but Luna was quite excited too. “I was thinking about training to be a teacher. You know that I love working with foals, and I don’t want to just be a lazy noble all the time after the wedding.”
“You’d be a fantastic teacher.” Luna enthused. “And you know that you’ll always have a place at any of my schools. And how is your beloved?”
“Shiny’s well. He’s so busy with Guard work all the time, but he’s still his lovely self. I think he’s nervous about the wedding, but he won’t let it show.”
“Well tell him that his… aunt-in-law, I suppose, says that he has nothing to worry about. I know that it’ll all go perfectly on the day.” No, from a lot of experience, Luna knew that something would go wrong on the day. But she also knew that it’d be dealt with in such a way that the bride and groom would never know. That would be her job, as much as officiating the ceremony would. “Twilight’s very excited, too.”
“I know! It’ll be so wonderful to have her as a little sister.”
Smiling at the idea of their shared affection, Luna glanced up at the clock, cursing and draining the last of her coffee. “Unfortunately, my dear, I’m afraid I must dash, I have a meeting booked with the Guard tonight. But it’s been lovely seeing you and I’m looking forward to the wedding even more than before.”
“Take care, Auntie.” Cadence smiled as Luna spread her wings, stepping down from the balcony to fly around the palace to her meeting.
You would think that, having been in charge for a thousand years and probably having attended as many weddings in that time, Luna would already have an outfit set out, and the Princess herself would be inclined to agree. Unfortunately, according to her many friendly advisors, it was utterly unacceptable for the Princess to be seen at an event wearing the same outfit more than once. So, in the run-up to every noble wedding in Equestria, she was forced to see her seamstress again and have another gown made, one that would inevitably be beautiful and yet she’d be obliged to be rid of after a single occasion.
It didn’t help that, in order to have such an elaborate outfit prepared, they would have to begin making it at least a couple of months before the occasion, and in the gap she’d be obliged to not gain or lose any weight whatsoever. Given how precisely her measurements were taken, she had to be very careful not to eat too much at the ceremony, for that matter.
“Ow!” Luna exclaimed as something pricked her, hard enough to almost draw blood. “That is my flank, not the dress!”
“S-Sorry, Princess.” Sequin Seam squeaked nervously. “I-It was an accident.”
She was young, very newly graduated, and it was only the second outfit that she had made for Luna. Her hooves were trembling slightly as she pinned the fabric into the vague shape of a dress around the Princess, so the odd pinprick seemed inevitable. Castle Fashions had been the traditional tailors of the Princess for generations, so Sequin was a shoe-in for the position when she’d taken over running the shop, but Luna privately thought that she would’ve benefitted from a few more years of experience. Wasn’t one of Twilight’s friends a dress-maker? Perhaps something could be arranged there.
“It’s quite alright, my dear, I shouldn’t have shouted at you.” Luna offered with a kindly smile. “I was quite startled, I apologise. You’re doing a wonderful job.”
“Thank you, Princess. Do you think that it looks nice?”
Turning, Luna examined herself in the mirror. The dress was made of light, pale grey fabric, with a long, elegant skirt that complimented her tail and ruffled sleeves that stopped just short of her fetlocks. Unlike most dresses she’d worn, it was actually quite pleasant to move in, at least at this stage. “It looks lovely.”
“I was planning on adding white highlights, and it’d look very nice with any silver jewelry that you might have.”
“It’s simple, which is nice.” She’d had dresses before with more parts than the average pocketwatch, and they always drove her mad. “I’ll have to get Cadance to have a look once you’ve finalised it.”
“Did she come to an arrangement for her gown?”
“Yes, she did, she’s getting it from a friend who owns a boutique.” A moment of slightly nervous silence. “She loved your designs, though, really she did.”
“I’m quite relieved actually - I’ve never made any wedding dresses before, much less a royal one! I think that it might be a bit much for me.”
Luna smiled - Sequin was a sweet filly, really. Just in over her head, a little bit, a feeling that Luna could definitely empathise with. “I’m sure you’d do a lovely job. Anyway, if you’re done with me for the day, I should probably go off and let you get on with it. Thank you again, my dear, I’m sure it’ll look lovely when it’s done. Will you be at the wedding?”
“Oh absolutely! I wouldn’t miss it for all the gold in Gryphonia!”
My dearest Sunset, Luna wrote.
I don’t write to you with any specific reasons today, merely just because I enjoy speaking to you. You haven’t returned from your most recent expedition yet, I know, but perhaps you can read this on your return.
Are you well, and did your expedition go well? Your most recent alchemical miracle is already seeing some service amongst the non-thestral members of the Night Guard, you would not believe how many other alchemists have struggled to create a cheap and reliable night vision potion in the past. I’m very excited to see what comes of your current experimentation.
I am glad that you’re enjoying your studies, but I must admit that I miss you dreadfully. You are blessed with a great deal of youth, but it won’t last forever, and I should like to see you again before we’re both old mares. Again, I will try to slip away and find you at the Zebrican diplomatic conference at the end of the year, but it is very hard for me to find free time at such a prestigious event.
Cadance is marrying in a couple of months. I know that you never really got along with her, but I’m sure that she would greatly appreciate a word of well-wishes from you. You can write it here, if you’d find that easier, just a few words of good will to repair some bridges would do a world of good.
Do look after yourself, Sunset. I know that you can look after yourself, but that doesn’t stop me from worrying greatly about your well-being. And your odd little notes do me a great deal of good in knowing that you’re safe, so write back when you can, please.
Yours,
Luna
“Your majesty?” Luna closed over the diary, looking up from her desk top where Raven stood in the doorway. “Captain Armour wishes to speak with you. He said that it’s regarding those odd sightings you had the Guard looking into.”
“Thank you, Raven. Tell him that I’ll be there posthaste.”
“A hobbyist took this photograph after she heard a noise while bird watching at the north edge of the shelf.” Shining Armour stood a glossy, black-and-white photograph across the table to the Princess, and she took it in her magic. “She said that she attempted to follow the figure, but she didn’t find any sign of them.”
The photograph was blurred, clearly taken with a moving camera, but showed the entrance of an alleyway between two buildings. And, moving into the alley, was a pony’s hind leg, mid-gallop, vanishing into the shadows. It was dark, that was clear to see - Luna would guess, from the shade of grey, that they had either a black or deep blue coat. And, more worryingly, they looked maimed; their leg was misshapen in several ways, and Luna was sure that she could see clean through their thigh!
“The poor thing…” She found herself muttering, before returning the photograph to Shining Armour. “I assume that the alleyway was searched?”
“Of course, your majesty, and we found absolutely no sign of the individual.”
There had been half a dozen similar reports from around the city though, until presented with evidence like this, Luna hadn’t known what to make of them. To her, it felt as though this was a case of a scared, hurt pony who didn’t know who to trust, and that made her heart ache. There were many safety nets to protect the Equestrians from such tragedy, but some ponies always seemed to fall through them. And Luna couldn’t even begin to imagine what this soul had been through, to have been injured so horrifically
“I’d like you to have Guard stationed in that area, in case they appear again. Single Guards, rather than patrols, and tell them to look relaxed, we’d like this poor pony to feel safe to approach them. I’ll talk with some of the staff about possibly setting up flyers or something of the like around the area, too.”
“Yes, your highness.”
“Anything else to report?”
Shining Armour shuffled some papers in his magic thoughtfully. “We have noticed an unusual number of absences among the castle’s staff this week. Presumably, there’s a bug of some kind going around, I know a couple of my Guard have seemed a bit off.”
“I see. You have my permission to call up the Guard reserves if you think it necessary, and I’ll have the castle’s medical staff look into these absences. If necessary, I’ll call in some staff from other parts of the country. We can’t be understaffed for the wedding, after all.” She added with a wink that made Shining Armour’s ivory fur burn red.
“R-Really, Princess, it’s not that-”
“Ah, I won’t hear it. You’re to be my nephew, and I treat my family very well.” She smiled good-naturedly, before her face changed to one of mock seriousness. “And, Captain, you are to call me Luna when protocol isn’t necessary. Maybe Auntie, if you feel adventurous.”
“Uh, yes Pr- I mean, your maj- Luna!”
Luna smiled wide at his red face, reaching over the table to touch his shoulder with a forehoof. “I’ll be honoured to welcome you to my family, Shining Armour. And I am doing everything I can to make your wedding day perfect, for my sake as much as your own. It’s not often that my favourite niece gets married to my favourite Guard. Now, if that is all for today, I have an appointment with the Canterlot Philharmonic. A pleasure as always, Shining Armour. I’ll see you soon.” She patted him on the shoulder again as she left the side room, shockingly ahead of schedule for a change.
Sighing, Luna lay down in her bed, at the end of a long, busy night. The good kind of busy, though, the kind where she’d spoken many times to the people that she loved and would sleep well through the day.
Less than two months until the wedding, the big wedding, the one she’d been more excited for than any for a very long time. It was going to be lovely, and it was going to be perfect for the bride and groom, even if she had to spend the entire evening running around behind the scenes to make it so.
No, she wouldn’t need to, it’d be lovely. They were both so in love that they didn’t need a good day, their marriage would be absolutely perfect. Bless them, Luna envied them in some ways, but more than that she was overwhelmingly happy for them. Twilight would be back in the city for the ceremony, too, and Luna loved any opportunity to see her most recent student, even if she would be very preoccupied with wedding duties.
Yes, it would be lovely. Not long now…