Please do not take your coat off. I would like to go outside for the time that we have. If I have to stay in this bedroom for any longer while we talk, I will not be able to stand it.
You don't have to worry about my sister. She doesn't control whether I have a midnight stroll or not. Leave your things here, I do not wish for them to weigh you down while we are walking.
Hmm? Oh, I just thought that this would help you out with your visit. A change of scenery would do both of our minds some good. Follow me, we are going to take the back exit out of the castle.
Brr... it is very chilly outside. Are you doing okay?
Good, I do not wish for you to be too cold. It impedes the thinking process...
Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry. I spaced out a little bit. It's been a while since I left the castle. I thought that it was going to be decorated with more posters of my sister and events that took place during the day. I only see one poster, and the event expired 3 days ago.
I figured we could take a stroll through the maze around here. There are many statues of numerous figures that I could tell you about. Starswirl the Bearded, Discord, and even a statue of my previous self remain hidden in the maze.
Well if you don't want to do that, then what do you suggest? It seems slightly rude to deny the patient.
Teleport us where?
If you say so, I don't see the point in that though.
~
Ooh, the waterfall looks so beautiful during the night. Oop, I'm sorry! I hope that you don't mind getting your hooves wet.
The water is so relaxing. The faint hiss of the waterfall as the water continues to rise and flow makes me think of... nothing. I feel like the water is slowly draining my mind of any thoughts... any worries... any sad memories. I left them all in my room, with our previous few visits. Oh! Hello there little one. The Princess of the Night welcomes you to kiss my hooves.
I didn't know that there were fish inside of this lake. The last time I checked, it was just a small lake that drained water off of the mountain. The fish are so beautiful...
Their scales reflect the light that comes off of my horn. I can see all the colors of the rainbow in this lake. Hehe... It's so beautiful.
Gotcha!
Oh, come on. Don't be such a parasprite. The Princess of the Night orders you to have a splash fight!
Eek!
Oh, you are going to get it now! Taste the wrath of my tidal wave!
Hehe, well, it was fun while it lasted. Think of it this way, you got your own little bath for the night.
I haven't had a water fight with anypony in a while. The last time that I did was back before Nightmare Moon. I'm going to lay down over here on the grass. I'll just take a bath when this visit is over.
I have to say, you are definitely a way different therapist than I thought. Sure, you were capable of making me think about myself, but I assumed you would back down if anything “fun” was brought into our visits.
I didn't call you lame... I was just inferring it.
Hmm? Oh, yes. I remember nearly every day back when I was a filly. My sister and I engaged in water fights nearly every day. We would mark out our whole backyard, place bowls of water in hard to reach areas, count to ten, and then attack. We would levitate the water at each other, and since we were usually quick with our magic, the water would be pulled out of the ground and thrown back before it dried up. Every time we finished, we were muddy and gross. But we couldn't be laughing any harder.
Sometimes it's nice to just lay down on the grass and feel the air brush past your fur. The fish won't stop kissing my hooves, it's tickling me.
Do you remember any games from your childhood that you would like to share?
Oh, well I'm sure that a smart stallion like you would be able to create some games to play with others. Just because you were an only child, doesn't mean that you were unable to play any games...
Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry. I was just thinking about Nightmare Moon.
Not my imprisonment, when I came back.
I'm afraid I haven't been completely honest with you. I promised that I would be, but my lie was before this promise. The truth is that my sister did try to incorporate me into her life when I came back. She didn't hand me any duties from the castle, but she did try and have a water fight with me when I moved back into the castle. I remember all of the buckets that were placed outside near the maze and our endless amounts of teleportations in order to throw water at one another. I had the biggest migraine when we finally finished, but I never laughed like that since.
Unfortunately, that's the only part that I lied about. As much as I would like to say that we got into more water fights and continued to reestablish the bond between us both, this was not the case.
Maybe it's my fault for thinking that “friendship” means a bigger thing than my sister thinks. After all, friendship is subjective to the person that uses the word. Cranky Doodle Donkey considers Pinkie Pie a friend, even though the two of them probably never speak to each other. I'm friends with Twilight Sparkle, even though she has never sent a letter to me since our meeting at Nightmare Night. Maybe the same thing applies to my sister. We are sisters, we are friends, but they are merely words. We are born with one word, and the second was applied like Canterlot's finest paint.
My apologies, I must be depressing you. How about we talk about something else? Ooh... look at all of the fireflies! I didn't know that Canterlot had fireflies during the night. Maybe they saw the light on my horn and decided to come out. I love how all of the fireflies move together in groups. It's like a lantern for the sky, a beautiful display for anypony that wishes to be awake at this time. Perhaps I should go outside more often. I don't want to turn into Twilight Sparkle.
The environment is so much more beautiful when you can place your hooves on it. Sure, a book can say, “The tides of the ocean are affected by the moon,” but the fun is not in the text. The fun is showed by the researcher, when they decided to go outside and stare at the moon while the water moved back and forth. I can feel it right now, as the water moves back and forth over my hooves until they feel like prunes.
I can feel the small little insects as they crawl up my fur and my fore legs. I can hear the frogs croaking, the crickets chirping, and the water falling. It's so relaxing, I never thought I would feel this way.
I wonder if Fluttershy ever feels this when she goes outside and talks to the fauna of Equestria. I can't talk to them, and yet I grow more curious with each new sound that appears.
Oh... I can't do that. Fluttershy probably has more important things to do than go sightseeing with me.
No! We can't do that! It's way past midnight! We can't just drop in on her, unannounced!
But... But... there's a time and place for everything! Can I at least wait until tomorrow to ask her?
Very well. You do have a point. If I wait until tomorrow, then I'll probably wait until the next day, and so on. But how are we going to do this? I don't know what to say. The last time that I visited her, she still thought I was Nightmare Moon.
No. We need a plan. We should role play it out, or something. I don't trust my words.
Fine. Have it your way. If this crashes and burns, I'm blaming you...
~
Okay, we are here. You hide in the bushes over there.
Hello?
Hello there Fluttershy. It is I, Princess Luna!
Oh... Princess Luna. Do you know what time it is?
Yes I do. It is because of this time that I came to come visit. My apologies that I could not visit sooner, I had previous things that I had to tend to.
Angel, please calm down. Princess Luna did not mean to wake you up.
Oh... I'm sorry. I can come back at another time.
No, it's okay Princess Luna. Angel just gets a little cranky when he doesn't sleep all the way through the night.
I see. I'll make my visit quick then.
Do you want to come in?
I... Um... I... Is it going to be a burden?
Not at all. I would be happy to have you visit. I mean, I haven't had someone visit my house in a while. I've mostly visited the houses of everypony else.
Thank you Fluttershy for allowing me into your home.
It is no problem Princess Luna.
Please... call me Luna.
Oh. Okay. I'm sorry. Why did you decide to come over to my house at... one in the morning? Is something the matter?
Not at all Fluttershy. I was just thinking about you while I was outside. I saw some beautiful fish that reflected the light from my horn off of their scales. I also saw some fireflies that came out after I extinguished my light. They made me wish that I could talk to those creatures, and then I thought of you. I wanted to ask, if it isn't a burden to you, if we could go out during the night and sight see around the outsides of Canterlot? I can bring you there and back with a teleportation spell, so that you don't have to take the train. We can have a few of my guards with us if you wish.
Oh... um... I don't know Luna. I mean... it's outside... and dark... and scary. I've never been outside Canterlot in the dark.
Um... Perhaps... we could change it to the morning? I'll be awake when the sun starts to rise. Would that be better?
Oh yes, I love waking up when the hummingbirds do. We can watch them eat, and say “Hello,” to the chickens when they wake up. This will be so much fun.
Thank you Fluttershy! Would Monday work for you?
Oh yes, I can't wait to see you then Luna. Have a good night.
You as well. I'll close the door behind me, don't worry. Have sweet dreams, and I'm sorry for waking you.
It's okay Luna.
~
We did it! I'm so excited! I haven't gone out with any other pony in a while! Thank you for taking this trip with me. You definitely had a better idea than mine. Not only did we avoid the maze, I also got to set up a sightseeing day with Fluttershy! I couldn't have done any of it without you. Now I just have to prepare my sleep schedule accordingly...
Oh... I'm just looking at my book shelf. I think there is a book in there that you should read. Here. It's my diary. Nothing in there should be a secret between us, and I think that those pages can explain a lot of what I can't convey to you in words. Things that I don't want to admit anymore, or things that I can't say in these castle walls without feeling dread or fear are within those pages. Send me a letter if you want to talk to me again. I feel that it would be more convenient than me sending you a letter if you haven't read any of the pages. Want me to teleport you back to your home?
Very well, have a safe walk and a good sleep. Don't forget to take your things.
~
Well hello there my faithful subject. Might I ask exactly what it is that you were doing with my sister in the odd hours of the night?
I wasn't able to sleep today. I can get over it. This is not the first time that I have lived through a day without sleeping. You still have not answered my question. What were you doing with my sister?
If you were a beggar, you wouldn't have a new saddlebag on your back and a clean mane. Do not lie to me... my faithful subject... When it comes to matters of my sister, I am not going to play any games with you.
Let's talk a walk, shall we?
Don't mind the two guards behind us, focus on me. Now, I'll ask the question one more time. What were you doing with my sister?
…
…
…
I see. How long has this been going on? Well, my sister has certainly picked an interesting stallion to be her mate. You are erudite, young, but also a very terrible liar. I believe we can stop the walk here.
This is the Canterlot Maze. Statues of numerous ponies that have provided contributions to society sit here, to provide my sister and I with memories of what was once here. I'm sure you remember Starswirl the Bearded, Discord, and so on. This statue... is Nightmare Moon. Are you aware of the legend behind it?
Good. It is true, Nightmare Moon was born from my sister due to hatred, bitterness, and anger. King Sombra was born due to hatred, bitterness, and anger. What do you think would happen if the relationship between you and my sister were to fall apart?
Exactly.
Now, you are a smart stallion, I will not deny that. I'm sure you can make the connection. As nice as it is that you are trying to enlighten my sister's life, you can say that the risk is not worth the reward. Your life and love is not eternal. I cannot take the risk of my sister becoming Nightmare Moon once more just so that you two can have a relationship. You are smart, but you aren't some sort of therapist that can solve all of her problems. You are a stallion with eyes on the prize, which is not going to be my sister.
While I cannot stop you from dating my sister, just keep this in mind when you are spending time in her room. If you fall out of love with her, and leave her, Nightmare Moon will be your fault. My intervention and having to... imprison my sister will be your fault. I love my sister, I would give up anything to have her happy. If you can handle the responsibility of her imprisonment, just so that you can spend the night with her, then be my guest. But if you cause another Nightmare Moon, due to your selfish desires, I will know.
Forgive me if I sound threatening. Guards, please stand down. Go back to your posts.
I hope that I have made my point. My apologies if I made you late to your home. Would you like to be teleported back? Just tell me where it is and I will do the rest.
No? Very well. I'm going to go back to sleep. I suggest you do the same... in your own bed. Good night, my faithful subject.