Lily nodded to the two guards standing watch at the front gate as she trotted past them. The castle was already adorned with its usual decorations for the grand event, and as she made her way up the stairs and down one of the hallways breaking off from the main room, her pace quickened as she looked everywhere for the one pony that could make or break their night. She made a beeline to Princess Luna’s part of the castle, knocked on her door, then let herself in once she heard nothing but silence. “Princess?” she called out, her voice echoing in the rooms. She took a few more steps inside and cocked her ears up, listening for any sounds. Luna’s dress and jewelry for the event were spread out on her bed, showing her that Luna was still out and about, most likely helping Celestia with preparations.
Once she’d secured Luna’s quarters, she made her way back down the long hallway without a single guard in sight, that is, until she made her way near the kitchens. Luna always had had a penchant for sampling all the sweets for the event since her return. She always had a silly reason for doing what she did, though Lily knew nobody would tell a princess that she couldn’t do what she wanted to do.
A guard from each force always stayed in the kitchen to ensure that the food prepared for their princess was not tampered with in any way, so hoping she’d find a friendly face, she trotted inside and recognized her friend Abigale from behind. Even though she was wearing all of her armor, there was no mistaking the color of her mane. Part of her wanted to sneak up and pounce on her, but she thought it better to play it safe. “Hey girl,” she said as she nudged her friend. She sat down next to her and smiled. “How are you dealing with ‘the thing’?”
Abigale glanced at her, then looked back at Luna just in time to see her wolf down three cupcakes at once. “Oh, hey Lily.” Her shoulders drooped in relief as she sat down. “I’m so glad you’re here; what’s ‘the thing’? She hasn’t said anything about it and I don’t want to ask. Is it something I should know?” she asked, her tone filled with worry.
Lily laughed, attracting Luna’s attention. She stood up for a quick bow, then sat back down when Luna waved back with a friendly wave of her hoof. “Nah, it was something I made up. There’s no thing.”
“Phew! Thought I was gonna be in for a rough night,” Abigale said.
Luna walked up to them with a little bit of frosting still on her lips. “You two talking about ‘the thing’?” she asked as she wiped her lips with a towel. “I’m really looking forward to this year’s ‘thing’. Is it ready?” she asked, looking over at Abigale.
“A-Almost, your highness!” Abigale stammered out as she shot a weird look at Lily.
“Excellent! Let us find my sister to see if she needs any help,” Luna said. “Oh, I almost forgot!” She turned back around and grabbed a to-go bag filled with treats. “I’m certain that she hasn’t eaten anything all day, either. She can get a little... specific about how things should be on this special occasion, after all. I think she’d love to sample these cupcakes; they’re truly one of a kind.”
“I think she’d love that, my princess,” Lily piped up. “Before you leave, there’s a favor I’d like to ask of you.”
Luna paused. “Oh? What might that be?”
She fidgeted in place for a few seconds. “Well... I suppose in our excitement and with Jason’s unique situation, we, uh... didn’t really make any reservations for a hotel. Jason thought he could find us a place when we got up here, but I don’t think he realized how large of an event this is.”
“Ah, I see. And since you didn’t know you were going to the Gala until the week of, you didn’t book a room yourself. Is this right?” she asked.
Lily nodded. “Everything is sold out and I can’t exactly bring Jason and his filly to the guard barracks. It’s against regulations and it’s not exactly appropriate to bring your date and his daughter into a restricted area.”
Luna giggled. “Of course, that would not be proper.” She paused as an idea struck her. “On the other hoof, perhaps our favorite little thestral would like to hang out with more of her kind... Maybe we could set something up with the guards in the future? Do you think they’d like that?”
“They’d like whatever you tell them to like, my princess,” Abigale said. A smile grew on her face to show she was joking.
Lily glanced up at Luna, trying to gauge her expression. “So... and I know this is a huge ask, but is there even the smallest of chances that we could stay in one of the bedrooms in the castle?” she asked, silently pleading with her eyes. “We truly have nowhere else to go.”
“Oh, of course!” Luna said without skipping a beat. A sly smile slid onto her face. “I know you and Jason just met, but, and pardon me for being this forward, but would you like one or two rooms?”
Lily’s face went beet-red, making Abigale snort. “Oh, she’ll need two rooms alright!” Abigale said with a laugh, earning a nudge from Lily. “A mare’s got needs, after all.”
“Abi, shush!” Lily hissed as she glared at her, unable to keep herself from smiling. She took a few moments to let her gaze soften before she looked back up at Luna. “But y-yes, two rooms would be lovely,” she said, her voice soft yet still betraying her true intentions and desires.
“Oooooo!” Abigale said, making Luna giggle with her.
“It is settled! I’ll have the staff tidy the rooms and get them ready at once.” She looked at one of the servants that was helping to make the food for the event behind them. “Will you please have the staff upstairs make sure that two rooms are prepped for some special guests, please?”
The yellow pegasus nodded once. “Of course, Princess. I’ll see to it at once,” she said. She washed her front hooves then trotted out one of the exits.
“Excellent!” She ruffled her wings then looked back at Lily. “I can’t wait to see what, and who, you’ll be wearing. Is it perfect?” she asked, her voice filled with excitement.
“More than you could ever imagine,” Lily said. “I think you’ll love it.”
“I can’t wait! I’m sure you’ll look lovely.” Luna used her magic to levitate the bag of sweets into Abigale’s waiting grasp. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I must find my sister! Do you think I can make her eat enough of these to make her dress not fit?” she asked as she trotted down the hall, her devious laughs echoing off the walls.
“Wow, this is so cool!” Nightshine dropped her bags to the floor and scurried around the room. There was a large bed with a dark blue canopy with matching sheets, flanked on either side by two nightstands with a few candles on each. A fancy matching rug lay in the middle of the room near the base of the bed, nearly covering the cold stone floor.
She screeched to a halt beside the bed, crouched, then leapt up as high as she could before belly-flopping upon the bed with a soft ‘oomph’. She took a deep breath and relaxed, letting her eyes drift shut for a few seconds. With weary limbs from climbing so many stairs, she was glad for a little respite.
“Oh, that bed looks comfy!” Jason said as he placed all their bags down on the floor next to the door. “Incoming!”
Nightshine barely had time to lift her head and scoot out of the way as Jason flopped down next to her. She glanced to her side, then looked back at Jason with a grin. “I dunno if this bed is gonna be big enough for the three of us, but we can make it work!”
“Oh, um...” Lily bit her bottom lip as her ears flicked down. “Actually... this is your own room, little one. Jason and I have our own room across the hall.”
“Really?” both Jason and Nightshine asked, their tone of voices different from the other. Nightshine’s tone was one of glee while Jason’s was one of surprise.
“Mhm.” Lily locked eyes with Jason for a couple of seconds, then threw open the drapes covering the windows and the balcony door, revealing a wondrous view of the city far below. The mountain lay to their left with the city spread out below.
“Whoa!” Nightshine hopped off the bed and trotted over to the window, then pushed open the door with her snout. “I knew we were pretty high, but I didn’t think we were this high up! They almost look like ants!”
“They sure do, don’t they?” Lily asked. She walked out onto the balcony with Nightshine and sat down beside her, the two of them watching all of the ponies below walk about their daily lives. “Hey, let’s see if we can spot anyone coming to the Gala; they’ll be wearing their best clothes...” she said as she peered down between the bars. “Do you see anyone?” she asked.
“Oh, there’s one! And two!” Nightshine exclaimed, pointing down with her hoof. “Him in the gray suit and her in the orange dress!”
“Hey, yeah, you’re right!” Lily said. “Good job.” She leaned in a little closer. “You know, I think you might have better eyes than me,” she fibbed.
“I think I can see my home from here, too!” Nightshine squinted and leaned in. “There! Right?”
“Yep!” Lily nodded. “That’s Ponyville, alright.”
“And you...” Nightshine peered up at her. “Flew all the way from here...” She tapped her hoof upon the stone balcony, then lifted it to point at Ponyville. “To there?” she asked. “That’s so far!”
Lily giggled. “Yes, yes it is.”
“How did you fly that far?” Nightshine asked.
“Actually, it’s not as hard as you might think. This high up, there’s a lot of updrafts and winds that keep you up, so there’s really not a whole lot of flapping more than there is just gliding.”
“That’s so cool,” Nightshine said as she looked back towards Ponyville. Her smile faded away as she looked down towards one of the further areas of the city. “And then there’s the... orphanage,” she murmured. “I wonder if anypony else found their forever home.”
“Hm? O-Oh... I’m sure every last one of them will find their forever home.”
“You think?”
“I know it.” Lily lay a wing over Nightshine’s back and held her close. “If anyone is half as cute as you are then they shouldn’t have any problems getting placed with a family.”
“T-Thanks. That means a lot,” Nightshine murmured. “Say, don’t we have to get ready for the Gala? Doesn’t it start real soon?”
“I don’t see a reason why not,” Lily said. “We lucked out with these rooms, didn’t we?”
Jason cleared his throat from his spot on the bed. “Yeah, thank Celestia you found us a place to stay, Lily.”
“Thank Celestia?” Lily winked at him. “Nah, thank me.”
“Yeah, thank her, Daddy!” Nightshine chipped in, following her statement with a raspberry for good measure.
“Yes, Daddy, thank me!” Lily smirked. “Actually, we’ll have to thank Luna because she’s the one who gave us these rooms for the event.” Lily turned around and walked back towards the bed, a sultry yet restrained predatory look in her eyes as she let a smile slide onto her face. “Although I’m sure you can think of some way to thank me.”
“Uh...” Jason squirmed under her gaze as he felt his cheeks grow red.
“She wants snuggles, Daddy!” Nightshine called out over Lily’s shoulder.
“I think she might want more than that, dear!” he yelled back. He glanced back up into Lily’s eyes, her expression proving in an instant that she had noticed his cheeks flush. Her smile deepened as her right eyebrow rose, silently coaxing him for an answer. “Yeah, I suppose I can think of something. You sure saved our biscuits, after all,” he said with a grin as he drummed up his confidence. He pushed himself up off of the bed and brushed his hair with a hoof, his mind racing for anything to say to change the subject. “Shall we get our own room situated while Nightshine unpacks and gets ready for tonight?”
“Good idea,” Lily said, playfully flicking Jason’s side with the tip of her tail. She lifted her own bag, threw it onto her back, then trotted across the hall, pushing open their door with her shoulder. She placed her bags onto the bed in a heap then opened the balcony door, letting a gust of fresh air flow inside. Her eyes slid shut as the breeze teased the inside of her wings. A warm, genuine smile formed on her face as her wings started to open, imagining herself and Jason taking to the skies to fly not as friends, but as partners and lovers. She opened her eyes when she bumped against the railing of the balcony, the sudden touch bringing her back down to reality.
Jason grabbed his own set of bags and followed Lily into their room. It was very similar to Nightshine’s, though their windows showed a view of the valley, unmarred by the mountain that sat at their backs. He set his bags down on the bed and followed her onto the balcony, staying quiet as he admired the view. “Beautiful...” he whispered as he sat down next to her.
“You talking about the scenery, or... me?” she slowly asked.
“Y-You, of course,” Jason stammered. He stood up and held out his hoof. “Shall we get ready for the Gala, my date?”
Lily took his hoof with a smile. “Yes, I think we shall.”