Another day passed in Equestria, the radiant sun, tired after her duties, began to lower, falling below the land to rest. In her place, the brilliant moon awoke, rising into the heavens and washing the land in a soft glow.
The remaining light of the sun danced gently before joining the shadows of her sister. In the wake of the night, ponies began to shuffle themselves home, wanting to board themselves up until the day returned with her magnificent light.
Though the citizens retreated from the night, some of the castle ponies embraced it, awaking with the moon to start their work. The ponies were quick to get ready, silver and black armor shining in the moonlight, giving them all an ethereal look as the crest of the moon showed their loyalty.
They greeted their tired counterparts, those of golden armor and the crest of the sun proudly placed on their chests. Some stopped to exchange words, others to give updates of the castle they all protected. Eventually the moon crested ponies began wandering the halls, beginning their patrols.
They weren't the only ponies of the night. Nay, a young, light teal unicorn roamed the halls of the castle as well, enjoying the soft light of the moon and the twinkling of the stars. Horn alit with teal magic, she picked up her pace, books, scrolls and quills floating behind her. Greeting the Lunar Guards as she passed them, she hurried down the hall, mouth stretching into an excited grin.
It wasn’t long before the unicorn reached a large, black door, adorned with a white crescent moon and splattered with small stars. Stopping in front of the door, the teal pony took a breath, fixing her mane and books before knocking softly and opening the door.
A large, dark room greeted her. The walls and ceiling were a cool midnight blue, the floor a pearly white tile. Along one wall was a black door, leading to another room, while another wall held a fireplace, crackling as it set the room in a soft, orange glow.
The unicorn’s gaze skimmed over the room, landing on the glass balcony doors left open. Just through the doors, a figure stood, facing away from the filly. Her smile brightened and grew, her magic setting her things by the fire as she trotted through the doors and onto the balcony.
Her eyes widened as she watched her beloved home fall dark before being cast in the soft glow of the moon and stars. As the moon came to a stop, hanging proudly in her place in the heavens, the unicorn looked to her right, watching as a dark blue alicorn held her head high, wings outstretched majestically. The blue glow of her magic faded from her horn, her teal eyes opening from their closed state of concentration.
The alicorn looked to the young unicorn and smiled softly, wings folding as she bent down and nuzzled the filly.
“Good evening, my little Painted Night.” Painted Night smiled and nuzzled the alicorn back, looking to the sky briefly.
“The night is as beautiful as always, Princess Luna!” Luna’s smile softened even more and she looked to the sky as well.
“Thank you, Night. If only more ponies saw it as you did.” Painted noticed Luna sadden with her comment and quickly changed the subject, not wanting her Princess to be upset.
“I’m sure they’ll see your night soon! I’ll even be the one to teach them about it!” She posed proudly, causing Luna to chuckle as she turned towards the room.
“Well then, in order to do that, you gotta know all about the night and her creatures. So how about we continue from last night's lesson?” Giving an excited nod, Painted bounced past her mentor, sitting on the blue rug in front of the fire, taking a book from her pile and opening it.
“Oh oh! Can I activate the stars tonight?!” Luna gave a graceful nod as she settled next to her student, wrapping a wing around her.
“Of course you can.”
A happy squeal escaped Painted Night as her horn lit up with her magic’s color. Taking a deep breath, she began to concentrate, her horn glowing brighter as the fire began to flicker.
“Remember, patience, my Night. Don’t force it.” Luna reminded her student gently.
The fire continued to flicker, the young filly grunting softly. Suddenly, the fire distinguished, plunging the room into darkness. Painted Night gasped as her magic fizzled out, head turning towards the ceiling, the filly smiling all the while.
Minutes passed and Painted’s smile slowly fell as the room remained dark. She looked towards her mentor, eyes growing big and tears already building.
"D-Did I do it wrong?" The Princess of Night shook her head softly, a gentle, patient smile on her lips.
"No, just a little too fast. Try again." She encouraged, leaning down to touch her horn against Painted Night’s. Luna’s horn sparked with magic, helping her student control the spell. The ceiling above them began to glow and Painted laughed happily, watching eagerly. Slowly, the ceiling came to life, showing the two ponies a swirling galaxy and millions of stars.
Their horns died out, magic dissipating into wisps as they finished the spell.
“I did it, Princess Luna! I did it!” The young unicorn clapped her hooves together.
“That you did, my dear Night. Congratulations." The dark alicorn looked to the galaxy, eyes gliding across the countless constellations. "Now, can you tell me which stars make up the Ursa Major?”
And so their night continued, filled with wondrous lessons of Luna’s night and eager questions from her young student. When it came time to lower the moon, Painted Night was barely awake, still adjusting to being a nocturnal pony. Princess Luna gently covered her student with a blanket, walking out onto her balcony.
Looking across the land, Luna sighed sadly as she noticed all of her subjects were still asleep, once again missing out on her night. Horn alighting with her magic, she slowly lowered the moon, watching as her sister’s beloved sun rose to take its place.
Once the moon disappeared below the horizon, Luna returned to the room, shutting the balcony doors behind her. Her magic sparked to life, the ceiling returning to normal and pillows and blankets floating in from the adjacent room. She built a small fort around Painted Night, soon joining her as tiredness crept up on the Princess.
Pulling her student close with her wing, Luna fell into a light slumber and that was how her sister found them, sleeping peacefully in their makeshift fort.