Luna flared her wings, flapping them lightly before stretching them out completely. A slow smile of contentment spread across her face. Whoever the imbecile that invented sunbathing was, he certainly hadn't known about the beauty of moonbathing. The night was cool, the stars were out, her deck chair was comfortable, and the moon was full—all in all, a perfect night.
“Princess?”
Correction: now it was perfect.
“Yes, Starry?” she asked, keeping her eyes closed and not even deigning to look at him.
“I have brought you refreshments,” a male voice replied.
“I am otherwise occupied, Star.”
“I can see that, your highness.” There was a pause, and suddenly Luna felt a gentle nuzzle on her cheek, and his warm breath against her lips as he whispered, “But perhaps I can be of some assistance anyway.”
Luna suppressed a giggle, but she kept her appearance stoic and her eyes closed. “Very well, Starry. Assist thy princess.”
There was silence for a moment, and then she felt his warm breath on her cheek and the gentle fragrance of a chocolate-dipped strawberry in front of her lips. Extending her tongue gracefully, she took the strawberry, using more of her tongue than necessary. As she did, her tongue brushed against something else soft. She opened one eye accusingly. “Didst thou just feed thy princess with thy mouth?” she demanded angrily.
The other alicorn stammered, lost for words, and his eyes dilated fearfully. “I... well... I mean... I apologize, your highness, I certainly overstepped my boundaries...”
He was hushed when Luna placed a hoof on his lips. “Thy princess did not command thee to stop,” she whispered huskily.
Now with a different kind of look in his eyes—one of pure desire—he levitated over another strawberry, gently placed it in his mouth, and leaned in teasingly, holding it just out of reach of Luna's tongue. She rose slightly, getting closer and closer to her prize—and she wasn't thinking of the strawberry anymore.
Suddenly, she was no longer on a deck chair. Luna squeaked in surprise as she found herself falling through the air and landing face first on the cold, marble floor. She groaned as she realized that she had merely fallen out of bed.
Again.
And interrupted a lovely dream.
Again. (1)
Luna sighed as she lifted herself to her hooves. She checked the window, and saw that it was still light. A small smile played at her lips. Surely she had enough time to dream again, right?
That smile vanished as she checked her clock. She was scheduled to get up in three minutes.
Her eye twitched, and she picked up the offending item and crushed it with a single mighty hoof.
And, sure enough, two minutes and forty-five seconds later, there was a light tap on the door. “Princess?”
Now dressed in her full regalia, Luna opened the door to see that same unicorn as before, this time holding a clipboard.
“Your schedule for the day, your highness.”
Luna looked over the schedule. Ah, yes. Open Court tonight. How could she forget? On second thought, it's not that hard when nothing ever happens.
“Is there anything else you desire?”
Desire? Yes. Need? Yes. Want? Stars, yes. But that desire was something outside even a princess's powers. “Yes. I will need somepony to obtain for me a new timepiece. Mine appears to be... defective.”
The stallion nodded and scurried away to fulfill her order. Luna sighed, and wondered why Celestia had permitted the development of such an enslaving and awful device. Back in her time, the day and night started and ended when the princesses desired.
Well, except for that little eternal night thing. But that had been more of a one-sided decision.
Luna shook her head and continued her walk towards her breakfast.
* * *
After breakfast, Luna walked out to the parapet in her room and stared at the night sky.
“You need not follow me,” Luna said to the unseen Lunar Guards that she knew were watching. “We have a few hours before Night Court is set to start. I merely wish to clear my mind.”
She stretched her wings and began to fly. Her sharp hearing caught the sounds of two sets of leathery wings also flapping in the night.
Luna rolled her eyes but continued flying. She flew higher and higher, finally landing on a cloud, ready for some deep, personal introspection. Her peace was interrupted when she heard the two guards land softly on clouds of their own, and she exhaled sharply. She really wanted to be alone. Funny, wasn't it? Her dreams were where she wasn't alone; but once awake, she wanted to be alone. For now, anyway. Luna stretched herself out on the cloud in a comfortable position. Twilight's comments had been most thought provoking. What would happen if she took a partner? He would be there every night. She, the princess, had done much for Equestria. Did she not deserve a little something in return? And it wouldn't be that hard. Surely adjusting his internal clock to a night-based schedule wouldn't be that difficult. Did not her guards do the same?
Yes. And they eventually had to retire from old age.
Aging.
She banished that thought from her mind. As much as she would have liked to “trade up” every few years, Luna wanted something more. She wanted true love, true love that lasted.
Perhaps it was an unwritten law that immortals couldn't have that privilege. Perhaps Celestia had been right after all.
* * *
She was the princess, guardian, and ruler of the Night. The one who had forgotten more than most ponies would ever learn in their lifetimes. Witness to a whole host of things that only she and Celestia had seen. A veritable wealth—nay, an untapped treasure trove!—of knowledge and goodness just waiting to be called upon... and Luna was spending her time staring at an empty courtyard, and beyond that, an even emptier Canterlot. She brushed off some non-existent dust off her royal shoes, and sighed heavily as she scanned the Great Hall. Normally, castle procedure stated that there should be a guard stationed every hundred feet, but she had since reduced that number to one set of two guards. She simply didn't need them. Stars knew she could probably get away with just one, but they always traveled in sets of two. At least they had each other to do... whatever guards did with each other when nopony was looking. Probably growl at each other, or sharpen their weapons or something.
Being bored had become all too common an occurrence. She began to entertain herself by flicking the beads on her trusty abacus into various patterns, but that soon got old. She reached under the throne to see if Celestia had left any reading material there, but was disappointed to find nothing there. She flopped back on the throne and let out a most un-princess-like sigh.
“You know,” Luna said loudly, to nopony in particular, “I really wish something interesting would happen tonight.”
As if the universe itself was ready to fulfill her request, a strange explosion rocked the night. Luna shot to her hooves, and couldn't hide the anticipatory smile that spread across her face. Summoning the pair of Lunar guards with a brief head movement, the three flew out to investigate.
* * *
Before long, they landed at what was obviously ground zero. A still-smoking crater smoldered in the dark. The three looked down, looking for any explanation.
“Was it a bomb of some sort?” one guard asked.
His companion shook her head. “Doesn't smell like it, and there's no magical residue in the air. Maybe it was a meteor?”
“Too small for a meteor,” the other answered.
Luna made a surprising observation. “It looks like a pony.”
The Lunar Guards spread their wings, ready for action. The mare sighed—probably another pegasus trying to fly too hard, and by the looks of this, any injuries would be far beyond scope of her small first aid kit. On the other hoof, the stallion grinned excitedly—aliens existed, and he was going to be one of the first on the scene! He took a step forward, before he stopped short, his bat-like wings dropping in surprise.
“It's an alicorn,” he said in shock.
“Impossible!” his female companion hissed, leaning in and squinting for a better view.
“Improbable,” the male corrected. (2)
The second opened her mouth to retaliate, but the Night princess cut her off. “Peace,” Luna ordered, raising a hoof for emphasis. Both shut their mouths instantly.
Luna flapped her wings and descended. Sure enough, there was a large, black pony there. The first term that came to mind was “scruffy”. Her blackened wings were ruffled with feathers sticking out every which way. Her coat was in patches; what fur wasn't burned off was covered in ash, and scratches covered the exposed skin. What was left of her mane looked like a scattered bird's nest, though made of much longer (and darker) strands, and her tail obviously hadn't fared much better. Luna was certain that Philomena pre-molt had looked more attractive. Levitating over a stick, she poked the injured alicorn, who didn't seem to move. She knelt down, and held out her silver shoe in front of her mouth. Watching carefully, she saw the condensation form on the pristine metal hoofwear. She was breathing. Very shallowly, yes, but she was breathing.
Luna rose. “Rig a sling. We are taking her back to the castle.”
The mare snapped her hoof in a salute, and pulled her cape off to make a stretcher. As her stallion partner went around behind the injured alicorn with his own cape, he suddenly stopped short and gasped lightly.
“What?” the mare taunted. “You never seen a mare back there before?”
The stallion shook his head. “It's not that... She is actually a he.”
* * *
Outside the hospital wing, Luna stood with her two guards. She looked through the glass at where the new alicorn lay. The doctors had been shocked at his arrival, but had done their best. Thin tubes criss-crossed his body, giving him necessary nutrients and, hopefully, a second chance at life. The ash had been cleaned off his body, revealing (what was left of) a steel-blue coat, much like the shade of the sky on a late evening, when the sun was gone but the world was not yet dark. He was currently still breathing on his own, but other than that, there were no other signs of life. No pupil response, no reflexes, and a weak pulse, but Luna had hope.
“They say that there is a good chance he will recover,” Luna said optimistically, breaking the silence.
“I thought most alicorns were immortal anyway?” the stallion questioned.
Luna looked to the side awkwardly. It was not from the bluntness of the stallion, of course. That had been her idea—informality in her guard—in her quest for making friends. The question itself, though, hit rather close to home. “It is... possible. There have been others, but it seems my sister and I are the only true immortals. But with so few of us, 'tis a bit of an imprecise science.”
The stallion nodded. “I can imagine. I've never even seen a male alicorn before.”
“Neither have I,” Luna said. “Perhaps there will be much he can teach us.”
The female guard frowned. Something didn't feel right about this whole situation. She ruffled her wings gently, a nervous pegasus gesture.
“At any rate,” Luna continued, “he needs a name. At least until he can tell us his.”
The stallion tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Hmm... Something night related, but powerful sounding... you know, 'cause he's an alicorn and all... How about Piercing Darkness?”
“Sounds like a rapist's name,” the mare muttered. (4)
This earned her a glare from her male companion. “Then you come up with something better,” he challenged.
The mare thought for a second. “In that one book, the colt named his friend after the day he met him.”
“We are NOT naming him 'Sunday',” Luna said flatly.
“Well, since we found him about midnight, we could call him that,” the stallion suggested.
“Midnight,” Luna said, rolling the name off her tongue. How strange that he should choose that name. And yet, it felt so appropriate. “I like it.” She turned, placing a hoof gently against the glass where the unconscious alicorn lay. “Sleep well, Midnight.”
The mare cast one look back through the glass and frowned. She rolled a wing out nervously. Something wasn't right, and it was definitely him.
Next time: The alicorn awakens, the guards get names, and we see just how much sap bt can write before his stomach can't handle it anymore. May Celestia have mercy on all our souls.