“First of all, I fully acknowledge that it was my fault.”
Celestia blinked. It wasn’t the first time she’d come into her office to find Luna already there. It wasn’t the first time Luna had said those words before, as an example, “Hello.” It wasn’t even the first time she'd worn an elaborate gown where the finer details were lost in the sheer darkness of the fabric.
But the pitch-black skin, the slitted eyes, the way that her shadow seemed more like a puddle of ink that writhed in the edge of Celestia’s vision, those were all new.
“Do I even want to know?” Celestia knew she didn’t, but sisterly duty demanded it.
Shapes oozed up from Luna’s shadow. Despite smoking in the morning sunshine, they solidified into a simple stool. Luna flopped onto it, making the whole thing wobble like a waterbed before she gestured at Celestia’s own chair. “You’ll want to sit down for this one.”
Celestia relaxed her jaw the moment she noticed it was clenched. Which was a few seconds after she’d sat. “That bad?”
“More like I don’t want you to bang your skull against your desk when you fall over laughing.” Luna took a deep breath. “You know how I head the RPG club’s LARPs, yes?”
“That's where kids throw beanbags at each other and yell ‘lightning bolt,’ right?”
Those new eyes really added something to Luna's glare, though less than decades of experience with it took away. “Celestia.”
She offered an uneasy grin. “Sorry. I’m trying not to worry, and you’re not making it easier with how you’re drawing this out.”
“I’m trying to provide context.”
Something finally clicked despite Celestia's growing concern. “Wait, doesn’t that club meet on Fridays and Saturdays? How long have you been like this?”
Luna rolled her eyes. “I’m getting there. You also know how I’m able to enter the dreams of people nearby?”
“If you can call 'within the county' nearby." Celestia bit a thumbnail as another reason to worry for and about her little sister came to the forefront of her mind. "We really do need to hash out the ethics there.”
“I’ve been in contact with my counterpart in Equestria. She’s been a big help there." Luna shrugged. Given the dress, it was like watching a shadow dance in a heat haze. "A little melodramatic at times, but I can’t say no to centuries of wisdom.”
Celestia couldn't help but grin at that. “No. You? Dramatic? On an unrelated note, I think your throne is done.”
Luna blinked and looked around to find her stool had not only grown a back and arms, but enough spiky embellishments to be a prominent feature of a high-budget fantasy series. She sighed. “That figures.”
“So, how do dreams and Bloodsucker: the Facade lead to a relapse into your late teens?”
“I wish I made it look this good back then," Luna said with a smirk. "The point is that trying to do both at the same time leaves me a little… confused about what’s a dream, what’s real, and what’s just in-character. And my magic is similarly confused." She sighed and looked over one of her ebon hands. "Especially while I’m playing Nightmare Moon, Prince of Canterlot.”
“Prince?”
“It’s a BtF thing. Vampire rulers are always princes." Luna stood and stretched. Her throne of shadows burst into heatless, lightless flame for a moment before dissolving completely. "In any case, thought you ought to know. I’ll ask Sunset Shimmer for help if I can’t fix this myself before the end of the day.”
Celestia frowned. “You never answered my question. How long have you been like this?”
Luna grinned. Celestia fought not to shudder at the fangs. “Not long. Don’t worry, sister, I haven’t gone completely batty.”