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// 2 - Timid Steps 
// Story: Dark as Ink at Night 
// by David Silver 
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Raven did her best to focus in the coming days, approaching construction ponies in Ponyville. She got a few surprised looks when she said where the project would be. "Yes, the Everfree. There's a castle." She pointed the way. "This is a royal project."

That got some to cease their objections, but not all. Still, she had some workers and she led them to the castle, happy to have some at least. "There we are." She indicated the ruin. "Now, before you begin, I have some instructions..."

She looked back to the crew that she had assembled. It was mostly one particular working crew from Ponyville, but she had to fill the ponies who were unwilling to work in the Everfree with freelancers. This was fine, she often had to select some extra workers for projects.

But now that they were here, they were clearly on edge. The lead pony, a large bluish pony named Hard Hat, stepped up, “Right,” he barked, possibly a little too loud. “Listen up, especially you newponies. We don’t wanna be here any longer than we gotta be.”

“Now, mister Hat,” Raven trotted up toward the crew. “Ever since the regrowing of the Tree of Harmony, which you will see shortly, the general danger in the forest has gone down significantly. The dangerous creatures that once mostly populated this place no longer roam the trees.”

“No offense, miss,” said Hard Hat, a phrase that almost always meant the opposite was about to happen. “But you haven’t lived here your whole life, wonderin’ if anything nasty’s about to come outta this here forest. Even the foals know to avoid it, and I believe ya when ya say it’s safe, but old habits die hard.”

Raven adjusted her glasses a little. “Of course… well, the work you’ll be doing here involves stabilization and the cleaning of rubble in the area. Reconstruction will follow that, but first we must know how much material we have here so I know how much to order.”

“C-can we get going,” a lanky pony in the back of the crowd said. “I… wanna see the tree,” he said, not meeting anyone’s gaze.

Raven led them through the ruins to the site she had chosen for the work tent, which would be the starting point for the repairs. Once she had this set up, she could set the general order of business, and while they worked, she would work out the particulars of the project itself.

This involved walking up and down the ruined corridors. She made notes in her clipboard as she went, taking special notice of damage and where the vital structure needed to be braced or patched to keep the elements out. "All things in proper order." She took a slow breath. "This project's headmare is me. I can't just report this to anypony."

But was that true? The thought of looking to Luna drifted into her mind and refused to leave as easily as it came. "I should show her the notes and progress." Yes, that was just being polite. Filled with renewed determination, she set off in search of the night princess.

Luna had a natural talent at avoiding other ponies, it seemed. She found no trace of her in the castle, not in the upper floors that still had some glass in them, or in the basement passages that were more lit than the upper portions, and not in the chambers and bedrooms of the castle that were long abandoned, still furnished with relics of an age past.

Raven paused as she found herself in Celestia's bedroom, the biggest in the castle. This chamber was clean, but most of the furniture had been removed from it. "Or it decayed." Raven nudged at what had once been a bookshelf. "No, they moved her things, to what would become Canterlot." She smiled in memory of the city she had left to start the project. "Let's make this place just as wondrous."

"I doubt that." Raven twirled to see Luna standing in the door frame, filling it easily. "The castle has become quite a bit louder than it had been for some time. Your doing, I trust?"

Raven gathered up her composure. "I suppose, yes. And since I am supposed to be leading the project, I thought it only appropriate to seek you out to talk about what my plans for the building were." She floated up a simple diagram of the castle's exterior. "I have them examining for what is broken, how it can be fixed, and what local materials can be used for the process. Do you see any errors?" She stood with poise and dignity, ready to be praised for her good work thus far.

Luna paused, blinking at Raven. “I have indeed seen errors.”

Raven made her best effort to not be disappointed. Professional decorum must be maintained. She brought out her notepad and ink pen. Feedback from the upper was not to be ignored.

Luna’s expression turned chilly. “There are ponies in my castle.”

Raven’s confident expression froze. “Princess… Luna? There need to be ponies in the castle to do the work.”

“Yes,” Luna said. “Will you take steps to correct this problem?”

Raven was floored. “If I can get some confirmation we are on the right track I can be sure to make sure things move along as quickly as possible.”

“Oh, approval will make sure it’s done?” Luna tilted her head. “Then can I declare it done right now? Send the ponies away?”

“Princess Luna,” Raven said, trying very hard not to grit her teeth. “There is quite a bit more work to be done to restore the castle to its former beauty. Stopping the project before it is done will not get that accomplished.”

“It can get done much faster if you let me simply say it is done.” Luna’s face seemed entirely calm, like this was a completely normal thing to say.

“Even if we said it would be done, it would not be done.” Raven tried extremely hard to keep her frustration from being shown, but it was a fools errand as the immense work to stop was plainly obvious.

Luna stood still for a moment, allowing that to hang in the air. “Is this how you would deal with obstinate diplomats?” She raised an eyebrow. “I am not impressed.”

Raven sputtered. “Obstinate diplomats had a method. Send them to their room, give them fancy service, set up guards to discourage them from dodging appointments.”

“And then allow my sister to deal with it, right?” 

Raven struggled to regain her footing in the conversation, floundering with her thoughts.

Luna, however, took advantage of her silence to continue. "My sister ruled the sun and moon, and she was fair, and the ponies knew that. Even as a filly I knew that my sister would listen to my problems. Because even if she could not fix it, she would always know the answer." Luna gazed upward. "She would sit us down, ask questions until the problems were solved."

Raven smiled, a forced expression. "She had, has, her talents, yes. But right now, we are dealing with you, Your Majesty, and I would like to work with you, not against you. How can we get this done while respecting what this castle was, is, and could yet be?"

The silence between them was thick enough to slice as Luna stood there, still and judging silently. "You won't leave."

"Not until it is done, Ma'am." Raven floated her clipboard a little higher. "Can we begin? I would like, if you are willing to hear it, to share a story. It involves your sister, one one of her off days, when her shine felt lackluster at best, and she staggered in view of her precious court for all to see."

Luna said nothing, but the flicking of her ears told Raven all she needed to know. She was paying attention. “This was rather a while ago now, I was fairly new at working with Celestia, but I was with her during court, so I already had some experience under my belt.”

Raven floated her clipboard down, setting it on the remains of the bookshelf. “She was serving a daily court meeting. It had been a long day already. The Summer Sun festival was approaching quickly, and a variety of businesses and contractors needed to be discussed, as well as organizing guards.

“But this also didn’t stop more personal matters from also being still considered. It was extra tasks for her schedule, and she did not delegate any of them.” She chuckled to herself. “Something that I did ultimately improve upon, in those early days neither I nor the other assistants–” she looked up at Luna, who was busily giving an unamused expression, and coughed. “Yes, anyway.

“Two ponies came to Princess Celestia with a squabble. I don't remember the specifics, and I imagine neither of them do now. But, at the time, it was a matter of dire importance. It was too much to add to an already burdened day. She was breaking." Raven inclined her head slowly. "I stepped in, escorting the ponies outside as Princess Celestia broke down, in her own way. She is, as they say, stoic."

Raven hesitated a moment. "The point being, I am certain that many ponies have seen their princess at her worst, but very few of them have come out of it as friends of the Crown, and not many more would have a chance to help the princess." She dipped her head towards Princess Luna. "I work for that chance, not for glory, but to be a supporting balance. What good is the crown if it sits on an empty throne?"

Luna smirked. "Are you suggesting I'm an empty throne?"

Raven opened her mouth, struggling to respond to that. "No, no. Of course not. But you could reside pridefully over this domain." She twirled her quill over the castle. "I work to make it ready for you."

Luna eyed the quill dubiously. "And how would you like to be rewarded?"

Raven sputtered a little, unused to that kind of question. "Rewarded?" She laughed. "I am already rewarded. The work is the reward, Your Highness. Seeing it done right, and you able to execute your duties smoothly, that is my reward."

Raven’s reward for this statement, however, was an even more dubious raised eyebrow. “I have seen many ponies in my time. Many of them would have called you a fool for saying that. They would have taken gold, jewels, power. A good number would have wanted all three, and more besides. And, you would have gotten a small portion by my sister, as she certainly had the power to make it a reality. Such is the world of nobility, Miss Inkwell."

Luna turned her gaze out the window. "So, Miss Inkwell, what do you want? What does it take for a pony like you to be happy?"

Raven inclined her head slowly. "I will be happy, ma'am, when we can advance, together. This isn't the project I requested. This isn't the project you requested either. But we are both here. Let us comport ourselves with dignity despite it."

Luna turned her gaze from the window to the room proper, looking over the remains of her sister’s former room, almost entirely devoid of furniture, and down at the smaller assistant pony, brimming with barely-concealed anxiety over her future. 

Raven presented the clipboard again to Luna.

“Alright, you may proceed.” Luna’s own tone was neutral

Raven broke into a smile, lifting the clipboard closer to Luna. “So if I can get your approva–” only to stop as Luna turned around, and began walking away.

“P-Princess Luna?” Raven trotted after her. “Your approval for the project?”

“I said that you may proceed–” Luna said, her own natural walking pace being too fast to keep up with except at a trot. “--Not that I was interested in checking off a list of approvals.”

Raven stopped her own trotting, watching Luna make her way into the sometimes-labrynthine Old Everfree Castle.

“If you make any mistakes, I’ll let you know.”