The years had gone by, and Celestia and Luna had only become more endeared to the ponies of the kingdom. There was hardly a creature who had a low opinion of them. No matter what, they knew that they could count on their beloved rulers to take care of it. And the princesses continued to grow closer to them all.
It began with the yearly gala to celebrate the birth of their kingdom. Then, it was the celebrations of Celestia and Luna’s respective birthdays. Finally, after so many years, the Royal Sisters simply opened up the palace gardens every weekend for an informal gathering. It was at one such party that Luna’s life would change forever.
The night was still young. The moon had just been risen, and Luna joined the party with her usual poise and grace. Meaning that her first stop was the bar that was set up at the edge of the patio.
“Cider with a chaser,” Luna sighed as she rested at the bar.
“Rough night? But it’s still early. Your nights must be really wild if you’re worn out already,” said the barstallion.
Luna looked up and saw a young stallion with a blue coat and a silvery-white mane.
“You’re not Gin Rum,” Luna said.
“No. I’m Rising Moon. Gin Rum’s gone out. Got dealt a bad hoof. His life’s been a house of cards lately,” the barstallion said, as he flipped the bottle of cider onto the bar.
Luna smiled as she watched Rising spin the bottle on his hoof, then flip it over to his other hoof, somehow popping the cap off as he did so. The drink was poured for her, and the glass scooted before her waiting hoof.
“Well! You’re certainly more amusing than our usual barstallion,” Luna said.
“You ever done this job? It’s the pits. Everypony who sits down thinks they’re the only pony who had a bad relationship or a job they hate. I gotta amuse myself somehow. If I didn’t know how to wow a crowd by lighting a match with my teeth, I’d light it with my hoof and use it to burn down my bar for the insurance,” Rising replied.
“Well, don’t do that. You wouldn’t do anypony any favors by depriving us of your amusing bar tricks,” Luna said.
She picked up her glass. And just as the cider touched her lips, the glass was taken from her.
“Hold it!” Rising Moon said. “A good night drinking can’t be wasted on peasant swill like this. Let me mix you up something with a little more zip.”
By some sleight of hoof that Luna missed entirely, three more bottles and a mixer were tossed up onto the counter. Luna’s smile grew brighter as she watched the bottles dance through Rising Moon’s hooves, adding their contents to the mixer. Once they were all added, Rising picked up the mixer, shook it like a maraca, spun it on his hoof, rolled it across his shoulders, and finally poured it into a champagne flute. Somehow in the process, the lid of the mixer had been removed.
Luna looked at the bubbling, pink drink, marvelling at how it hadn’t gone flat after being shaken up so much.
“It certainly looks interesting. What is it?” Luna wondered.
“I heard it's called a ‘bijou bisou.’ It means diamond kiss. In my experience, a mare will do just about anything if you give her a diamond big enough,” Rising said.
Luna sputtered loudly as she stifled her uproarious laughter.
“Perhaps I should be more cautious about drinking this,” she said.
“It’s worth a shot. Heck, it’s worth about five or six shots. Careful walking home tonight. Those night guards are really cracking down on public drunkenness these days.”
Luna eyed the drink, feeling suddenly adventurous as she saw her reflection in the flute. She could see her hoof reaching for it in the reflected surface of the glass, until she finally held it and lifted it to her lips. The drink trickled into her mouth with a tiny sip, which turned into a giant gulp which finished the kiss in less than a second.
“That–! Is good drinking!” Luna said.
“Think of all the jealous looks I’m gonna get tonight. Serving kisses to the princess,” Rising said, already mixing up another drink for her.
For much of the night, Celestia had been mingling with the guests and hadn’t even noticed that her sister had arrived. Until she heard her laughter from the other side of the garden patio. When she looked, there was her little sister talking merrily with the bar stallion. For just one moment, she thought that she could see something in her sister’s eyes. Something that she never expected to see when she was simply ordering a drink. It warranted an investigation, and Celestia trotted over to the spot next to her sister.
“The moon’s hit your eye a little early tonight, has it?” Celestia asked as she scooted in next to her sister.
“Two princesses ordering drinks at my station? They aren’t serving poison at the other places, are they? Why else would I have such high class clientele?” Rising wondered aloud.
Celestia noticed the way her sister was laughing at the stallion’s joke, and decided to intervene. “I’ll have a blue hawaiian,” she said.
“Sure thing. I’m partial to a blonde parisian myself,” Rising said as he sifted through the bottles on the shelf behind him. “Well, princess, the good news is that I have everything I need to make your drink. The bad news is that I left it in my carriage. You mind waiting a minute while I get it?”
“Take your time,” Celestia said.
“Time isn’t something to take. It’s considered petty theft in some kingdoms,” Rising said, before taking his leave.
The moment that he was gone, Luna had no time to realize how eager she was for him to return when she saw the way that her sister was looking at her.
“What’s that face?” Luna wondered.
“It just seems to me that you’re enjoying this night in the garden,” Celestia replied.
“Of course I am. I always do. Not that there’s anything particularly special about tonight, but it just seems a little more lively here in this odd corner of the gathering.”
“Odd indeed,” Celestia said.
“What does that mean?” Luna asked.
“Come now. You surely noticed it. The breezy feeling in your words. The laughter you feel at a simple quip. The filly-ish amusement of watching a few drink mixing tricks.”
“So?” Luna asked, before sipping her drink.
“So,” Celestia said, “You, Luna, are infatuated by the barstallion.”
Luna inhaled sharply and sputtered as she nearly sucked down her drink.
“What!?” she coughed.
“Don’t be coy with your sister. I saw the way that you were looking at him. If they only knew that telling you a joke was the way to your heart, then every half-wit in the kingdom would be at your door for a royal hoofout,” Celestia said.
Both sisters noticed that they were joined at the bar by another mare, who quickly walked away when she saw the awkward looks she was receiving.
“Ahem,” Luna unsurely began, “Tia. Sister. Dear. I can promise you that something so simple would not make me do anything irrational.”
“You’re certain?” Celestia asked.
“Yes. Perfectly.”
“Because I remember you wondering if you should choose to wed to give our subjects a king.”
“Tia, I was thinking about years from now to do that. Not with the first barstallion who mixes me a fancy drink. That much, I promise you,” Luna reassured her sister.
It seemed that her promises were only as good as anypony else’s.
By chance, Luna had met Rising at another gathering a month later. After that, the two began spending even more time together, seeing one another at least once a week. Soon, they were seeing each other every night and day. Weeks turned to months. Months turned to years. Until the glorious day of their wedding.
Nopony would have expected that Luna’s chosen suitor would have been a simple commoner like any of them. Nor did any of them find out. What had started as a simple ceremonial position for Rising Moon quickly turned out to be his second calling. He had impressed everypony to the point that many thought that he was just some lesser noble that had caught Luna’s eye.
Things truly were going well for Luna. Never once in her life did she think she would be so happy. Then came the day of the biggest decision of her life.
“A foal? Now?” Luna said.
“Well, not now. We have a few months to get ready before it comes,” Rising said.
“I know that. I didn’t sleep through all of my lessons,” Luna said. “I mean, doesn’t it seem a little soon?”
“You seem a little nervous.”
“I…It’s just…”
Luna tried to laugh off any awkward feelings she had, but it was no use. She sighed as her shoulders slumped. So many doubts and uncertainties turned over in her mind. She reflected on her own mother and father who she had so many ups and downs with. Worst of all were the days when she lost them. Would her foal be blessed with immortality as well? If it was, how would it be for the foal when Rising passed away?
Her worries eased when she felt her husband’s hooves on her shoulders, and his snout began nuzzling her face.
“Luna. In all seriousness, I don’t know what’s going to happen next. I understand that this isn’t a decision to make lightly, but I know that we can face it together. Nothing is ever going to be completely good. Whatever does happen, I want to face it with you.”
Luna glanced over her shoulder and saw Rising smiling at her. That same smile he had given her so long ago on that fateful evening seemed somehow different. Only, it was as sincere as it ever was.
“I do think you would be an amazing father,” Luna said.
“We don’t need to rush this decision. Just take your time with it. I understand,” Rising assured her.
Indeed, Luna took her time with her decision. Yet never once did Rising Moon ask her or pressure her for an answer. Whenever the most important things were taken care of, Luna’s mind would linger on whether or not she would want to have a foal. One day, she gave her answer to her husband. And that night, they decided to bring a gift to their kingdom.
The many mornings of nausea and the evenings of fatigue plagued Luna at first. But as time went by, she became used to it. One day, Celestia noticed a different look about her sister. Something that she had seen many times before in her life. And it filled her with a joy that she had never known. She was going to be an aunt. And the whole kingdom would know it. But, not just yet.
Luna and Rising counted down the days to the expected arrival of their foal. At times things were difficult. The pains of pregnancy were taking their toll on Luna. And the anguish of riding out her mood swings, demands and general healthcare were a strain on even Rising Moon’s famous sense of humor. Still, they knew it would all be worth it.
It was on the clearest night of the year that Luna was in the royal gardens, taking in the tranquility of the world around her when she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. Her legs began to wobble and she fell to her knees.
“Somepony…!” she weakly called out.
Nopony had heard her. She tried to teleport herself to find aid, but she could barely concentrate on anything at the moment. Her magic failed her. There was nopony to help. And there she was about to be a mother.
From somewhere beyond, she thought she could see a shadow moving inside the castle. Mustering what strength she could, Luna levitated a piece of gravel from the ground and threw it at the nearest window.
Seconds passed, and Luna threw another pebble. In time, she heard hooves rapidly approaching her.
“Lulu! Goodness, are you alright?!” Celestia asked.
Luna managed a pained smile as she looked up at her sister.
“It’s come early…” she strained to say.
Memories flashed into Celestia’s mind about the first time this had happened to her. The way that her sister had so suddenly come into her life, so too was her niece. Remembering what she had done on that day, Celestia quickly teleported her sister back to her bedchamber, then fetched the doctor and the midwife as fast as she could.
Rising Moon had been informed about what was happening and hurried to his wife’s side. To his greatest dismay and fear, he was told to wait outside Luna’s bedchamber with Celestia and the other members of the castle staff that had gathered there.
They all waited anxiously for any word. Rising managed to keep a smile on his face and maintained the spirits of the others with his renowned humor. The same that had seen the others through their darkest times.
Beyond the doors, Luna began screaming loudly.
“Lulu!? Lulu, say something to me. Let me know you’re alright,” Celestia called from the door.
“Quit talking, Tia. You’ll just upset her,” Rising said. “Luna, just say the word and we’ll sue these quacks! This has gotta violate some pony rights ordinance!”
“Rising!” Celestia admonished.
Beyond the door, they heard Luna guffaw between shouts of pain.
“Let’s see you make a mare laugh when she’s in labor,” Rising smugly said.
“Where were you during our parents’ funerals?” Celestia said, rolling her eyes.
There was one last shout from Luna, and the medical team with her all started chattering.
“That’s it! Ready or not, I’m comin’ in!” Rising announced.
With the gusto of a stallion on a mission, Rising Moon burst into the bedchamber with Celestia and the castle staff in tow.
“Luna, thank goodness! I was this close to calling the Equestrian Medical Association and beating these guys over the head with it!” Rising Moon said. “Where is she? Where’s our filly?”
Celestia stood by, excited to see her newly arrived niece. However, her excitement slowly waned as she saw her sister’s despaired face.
“Lulu?” Celestia asked.
Luna’s answer was a slow swish of her head toward the doctors, who had their backs turned to the others. It was only then that everypony noticed the silence that filled the room. Not the sharp, shrill cry of newborn life that so many of them knew.
Rising Moon’s ears drooped and his smile faded. After so long, so many anxious nights of waiting and wondering, it all ended like this.
There was a crackling moan, and a high-pitched gasp.
Everypony snapped to alertness. Luna’s breath quickened as she looked over to the doctors.
The midwife turned around, magically levitating a swaddled bundle over to Luna, a smile on her face.
Everypony gathered around Luna to see what she held. There in her hooves, peering curiously at them all from within her blankets was a filly. Her tiny mouth opened, and a quiet squeak burst forth from her.
Rising Moon sighed loudly.
“Heck of a way to make an entrance, filly. You had us all worried for a second,” he said, trying to keep his voice from jittering.
“But you won’t be scaring us like that anymore, will you?” Luna asked her filly.
The filly answered by squeaking again.
“Doesn’t she look like you?” Luna asked Rising.
“Come on. Don’t insult the filly. She’ll want to go back where she came from,” Rising said.
“No, no. It’s one way from here,” Luna said, cradling her foal.
Celestia silently motioned to the others and allowed her sister and her husband time alone with their newborn foal.
“What do we call her?” Rising wondered.
Luna had no trouble picking. For so many years, she had thought about that name. The one that she knew she would pass on to her first daughter, should she ever come to be. Now, it was time to share that name with her.
“Moondust. That’s her name.”
Moondust was loved by all who crossed her. Wherever she went, nothing dull ever happened. One day when she had returned home from school, she found her mother passed out cold on the floor of her study, snoring peacefully in a deep sleep.
Of all the mistakes that Luna could have made, she had one of the more lenient castle guards keeping watch at her study. Soft Lotion was known among the other guards for being rather lackadaisical, leaning on his polearm as he stood guard, and never questioning most of the ponies who visited the castle. There were rumors that he was even complicit with Moondust’s antics. And they were right.
After a long day at school, Moondust wanted to spend time with her family. Since her father was off on some diplomatic trip, her mother would have to do. But there was nothing that she could do with her mother asleep.
Just as Moondust turned around, she saw something sailing through the air toward her. She caught it and saw it to be an airhorn. Her eyes drifted from the airhorn up to Soft Lotion, who nodded toward the sleeping Princess Luna.
A devious smile crawled onto Moondust’s face. She turned around, snickering impishly as Soft Lotion carefully stepped out of view. The airhorn was placed on the floor next to Princess Luna’s head. Moondust raised her hoof, then brought it down as hard as she could on the horn’s bulb, loosing a long, loud, shrill blare from the device.
Princess Luna screamed loudly as she flipped like a fish into the air.
“I SHALL FLAY YOUR GUTS, YOU–” she began to say, before she felt a sudden weight tackle her chest and wrap its hooves around her.
“Morning, Mom,” Moondust greeted her mother.
“I…You…Moondust! What possessed you to do such a thing!?” Princess Luna asked, her nerves frayed.
“Soft Lotion. He gave me the airhorn,” Moondust replied.
Outside the door, Soft Lotion gasped quietly to himself and shuffled away from his post.
“Of course. Oh, what possessed me to allow that hooligan to keep watch over my study?” Luna sighed to herself. Despite the rude awakening, she was glad enough to see her daughter that she didn’t send her away. A memory returned to her of when she and Celestia were still foals, and thought that Moondust would relate to it. “Moondust, would you like to hear a story about when your Aunt Celestia and I were young?”
“Yes!” Moondust squeaked.
“This goes back to one of our lessons in the castle. There was only the two of us, so there were no other foals to keep us occupied. We had to entertain ourselves, so your aunt fashioned a blowgun out of some old reeds…”
In the back of her mind, Luna knew that these stories would only give bad ideas to her daughter, but she didn’t mind at the time. For now, she was relaying her own life to her beloved filly for her to learn from.
It was these lessons from her mother’s life that Moondust took with her well into her teenage years. Unlike her mother and her aunt, she had learned to have fun during her fillyhood. And for the time, it seemed that she had avoided most of the pitfalls that her mother had fallen into.
During the night, just after the moon had risen, Princess Luna sat at her desk with a pile of papers to go over. How much work had backed up, she didn’t know. Except now, she was able to finally put her mind to it and lessen her load.
The doors to her office burst open, and in rode Moondust on her skateboard. The filly ollied over the table in the middle, swatting her hoof on the chandelier above, then grinded across her mother’s desk, before breaking beside her mother’s chair.
“Hey, I kinda got a favor to ask,” Moondust innocently began.
“I told you to bother your father with these things at this time of night,” Luna said irately.
“He’s busy,” Moondust shrugged. “I know it’s kinda late, but my friends wanted to go hang at the new pizza place that opened up in town…”
“Go. Please, go,” Luna moaned.
“Thanks, mom,” Moondust said, before exiting the room by jumping off the balcony and landing on her board, rolling off into town.
Luna watched her daughter go, and sighed loudly to herself. Finally, she was going to be able to get some work done.