//------------------------------// // Prologue: Early to Rise // Story: Winter Moon Celebration // by flutterdash1 //------------------------------// Prologue: Early to Rise ~*~*~ Luna took fully twenty minutes to bring herself to sit up. The heavy black drapes over the bay windows of her chambers blocked out every hint of the sun outside, but the Princess knew where it stood in the sky. Everything that made Luna unique, everything that defined her, was geared towards the night. Merely waking up as early as she had was an effort in itself, and to throw her hind legs over the side of her bed and climb to standing was an even greater challenge. Unkempt and unswept, her starry mane billowed irritatingly about her features. Still, since her return from ... Elsewhere, Luna had struggled to sleep through the day. She took the few moments alone left to allow herself the pleasure of a most un-princess-like yawn. She was so very tired. Levitating a hand bell sat on a bedside cabinet, the Princess rang it with a purple, ethereal cloud of magic to summon her Minister of the Night. Moon Trot, Minister of the Night, had a sleep schedule as erratic as Pinkie Pie's personality. To consider it a 'schedule' was a misnomer in and of itself since it consisted of recognizing just how tired she was, finding a lengthy gap within her duties, delegating the simpler tasks to other ponies, and then hoping that she would not be interrupted for the next four to six hours. As it was, Moon Trot was already awake when she heard the bell ring. Her office was in some ways farther from Luna's room than one would suspect given the clarity of the bell, but when an alicorn as powerful as Luna rang a bell specifically for an individual, the sound had a tendency to know where to go. Not an adept of teleportation, Moon Trot had been studying the style of spell for some weeks now. She did not feel it was wise to experiment with it at this moment, however, and took off at a swift trot through the halls and corridors of the Tower of the Moon. The Minister of the Night and loyal adviser to Princess Luna herself was as high ranking as a pony could be without sprouting both wings and a horn and taking a claim to immortality. Second only to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, her only equal being the Minister of the Day, and beyond that all other ponies who knew her followed her orders. Her domain was that of Luna's and the Princess's whims were Moon Trot's commands. She ascended the final stairs and looked upon the large doors to Luna's chambers. The thought of knocking had occurred to her, but since she had been summoned she was expected. Her horn glowed with an orange light and the door opened ever so slightly, just narrow enough for Moon Trot to enter. She stood halfway inside the room. "Yes, your majesty?" she asked. Being a Princess was about keeping up appearances; maintaining standards and promoting an air of grace, poise and control. Away from the crowds - or even the bulk of the staff inside the castle - Luna let all pretense of Princesshood fall away. Other than her beloved sister, there was only one other pony whom the Goddess of the Night felt comfortable around without her tiara and choker. That pony's voice gently pushed through the silence. "Hasten ye inside," Luna whispered, the words being amplified by something other than her voice. If the truth were known, and it was unknown outside of the inner sanctum of the Department of the Night, Luna fell easily back into the old tongue. It was a conscious, difficult battle daily to mimic the way each and every pony now talked as easily as drawing air into their lungs. She felt the ancient rhyme of her vocabulary wrap around her like a warming blanket; reassuring, unchanging. Solid. Moon Trot entered the room and shut the door behind her, bathing them both in darkness once more. She was able to see very well in the dark due to years of sneaking around in it, so this was no problem for her. The second hardest thing to get used to when working for Luna was her manner of speech. The hardest part was trying to not be obviously spying on her. Fortunately, the two issues took about the same amount of time to get used to; by the time Moon Trot had been personally satisfied that Princess Luna was about as likely to revert to Nightmare Moon as Celestia was to plunge Equestria into an eternal winter, she was able to mostly understand the older form of speech Levitating a brush from her dresser, the Princess sent it floating gently behind her. "Would thoust brush our mane and tail?" Taking a seat on the cushion in front, Luna barely resisted the urge to yawn once again. "We hath almost forgotten how it feels to rise with less than ten hours of the sun remaining in thine sky ..." The ink blank mare walked over to Luna and took telekinetic control of the brush when Luna sent it back to her. She stood behind the princess and began to carefully brush her mane. It barely phased her how similar the seemingly ethereal mane was to hair when brushed. Outside of Moon Trot, few ponies believed their Princess of the Night to be particularly inquiring, or interested. Her detachment and aloofness had bread wariness, if not fear. Inside the safety of her chambers, however, Luna did not need to subscribe to her stereotype. "How hath thy morning progressed? Well, we hope?" "Nothing particularly troubling on the horizon," Moon Trot answered, the brush slowly working a knot out of the princess's mane before moving on. "There is a bit of extra paperwork as the Grand Galloping Gala draws nearer. Princess Celestia's staff is largely managing Canterlot's and Equestria's affairs at this time of day." The last bit was her required attempt to get Luna back to bed for a proper day's rest, though it was a futile effort at best. "Our sister is diligent, always while the sun is in the sky," Luna agreed, stifling another yawn. "We hath barely half a day until Moon-Rise; we shall busy thineself continuing our study into the changes to our lands in our ... absence." The black mare regarded Luna's use of the word 'absence'. That was certainly a delicate way to put what happened to her. It was that feature of Luna- the forgiveness and the seeking of redemption- that endeared Moon Trot to the mare faster than observing her lack of bad nature. Moon Trot knew the sting of solitude and what it was like to be an outcast, but while the unicorn could only complain about a lonely childhood with few friends and apathetic family, she had only been socially outcast for a few years. Luna had been physically outcast from the entire world for one thousand years. That she could so eagerly try to rejoin the world and not show any signs of bitterness or anger was a thing of beauty to Moon Trot. A coil of cobalt-blue magic unravelled itself from the Princess' horn, lazily drifting across the chamber to an empty desk sat against the wall. It settled over the black-painted mahogany and, quite suddenly, revealed a thick leather-bound book where none had sat a moment before. The heavy tome was unremarkable, apart from the silver-gilded crescent moon carved into its cover. With another brief impulse of magic, Luna willed the book to open and began reading from its most recent entry - all without ever even looking in its direction. "Our diary informs us that we hath completed remapping one tenth of a percent of our night sky. We successfully restored both Sagittarius and Orion to their proper stellar positions as they were one thousand years ago. Perhaps we shall continue this study for the remainder of the day. There are so many stars to fix." Moon Trot finished brushing the Princess's mane and moved on to her tail while the book was summoned. Luna was still obsessed over moving the stars back to where they had been in the previous millennium. Moon Trot rolled her eyes- a gesture she wouldn't have done, out of respect, had Luna been facing her- and instead of trying to convince her to learn the current sky and begin anew rather than fixating on the old she went for a different tactic. "Perhaps it would be best for your excellency to take a short break from the sky and become more acquainted with the world itself? Your subjects enjoy your appearances at Nightmare Night and other holidays and special events, but it would be good for you and for your people if you went out and met with other ponies and got a feel for the various societies. Ponyville, Appleloosa, Manehattan and Los Pegasus are all places that did not exist...before." She glanced away from Luna for a moment. She actively tried to not mention the banishing or anything related to it if she could. "Nightmare Night is different ..." Luna hesitated, weighing up the importance of being truthful with her burning desire to appear Princess-like. The social norms of the present were more flexible and while nopony would ever try to pretend Celestia was not an all-powerful Goddess, the rapport between her and ponykind was warm, motherly. Sensitive. Luna's stance among her little ponies was aloof and stand off-ish because, once upon a time, ponykind could only coexist with their Goddesses by treating them as such. They were forces of nature, not ponies. The Princess of the Night found the term Alicorn in itself to be difficult to understand. When had ponykind moved to assimilate them into their hierarchy, rather than simply standing on top of it? Realising her words had given way to thought, Luna frowned, her reflection visible in the mirror sat on top of the dresser. "We were in our element on Nightmare Night. Our nature coincided with a single point in the year when thine little ponies appreciated our demeanor. Our ways. The old ways ..."The longing in her voice was impossible to hide. Luna didn't even really want to hide it. "We would be derelict in thine duties to the sky if we did not fix these stellar errors. By our calculations, it should take no more than one hundred eleven years, six months and three weeks - or so - to render the sky back unto the form we left it as." Moon Trot could see Luna's frown in the mirror and she frowned a little herself. Her task had been to watch Luna, and when that was done she was tasked with simply serving Luna, but now she felt it was her duty as Luna's confidante- her friend, even, if she could assume such a lofty label- to try and help Luna find her place in the present rather than remaking the past. She could tell that Luna wished for the old ways to return. It was obvious in her every mannerism. The Princess of the Night worked hard to conform to modern society when she was in the public but in private, as now, she spoke in the archaic verbiage and her desire to 'fix' the stars did little to convey any desire to enjoy the here and now. "True," Moon Trot said, "You may have been more comfortable on Nightmare Night when everyone was having fun being afraid of your persona." Something she had long since figured out was to try and dissociate Luna from Nightmare Moon and, when not feasible, to try and give Luna a more controlling stance over that part of her past. "But is that the only way you want your subjects to see you? If most of the people who knew me only knew me for how well I could scare them, I would do my best to invite them over for a cup of tea and get to know them on a more personal level, and hopefully get them to know me as well. Of course you can't have a cup of tea with every pony in Equestria, but even if you can with just a handful that would be enjoyable. Or so I assume." Tea parties and socialization really weren't part of Moon Trot's 'strong suit'. "Perhaps spending a day with some of the Elements of Harmony?" Moon Trot suggested as she finished Luna's tail. "Twilight Sparkle was most kind to you during Nightmare Night, yes? Or Applejack, or Fluttershy?" Moon Trot had not been present during the events of Luna’s first public Nightmare Night in Ponyville- she had been the one that persuaded Luna to go out that night- because she was busy with her nightly administrative duties. She was told in vehement, excited detail about the night by Luna when she returned though. "But thine stars ..." Luna almost-pouted, before sighing and nodding her head. "Very well, thoust hath made thy point. Make the necessary preparations and ensure Ponyville is ready to receive us. We shall leave as soon as thee hath made us presentable for our trip. We would enjoy seeking Twilight Sparkle again, and fair Applejack! Even Fluttershy, for she hath taught us the importance of modulating thine voice so as not to overwhelm thine little ponies. Although ... " Moon Trot smiled at the princesses acquiescence to her prompting. It was good for her to get out in a less than royal manner once in awhile. Even if it was only a brief time. "It shall be done your highness." she said, making a mental note to send a quick message to Twilight and to the Mayor of Ponyville after she was finished brushing the princess's tail. The Princess cocked her head to the side, lips pursing. "We remain fond of the Royal Canterlot Voice. We spent many years in elocution lessons, learning the correct intonation, the correct vocalisation, the perfect way to sound as a Princess should. We oft spent many hours a day practicing our piano; we would have to levitate a glass of water with our magic at the same time as we used it to play ..." Luna's smile faded as her thoughts turned to the present. " ... It matters not. Those days are lost forever. Prepare our Royal Apparel." As she finished the task she nodded sympathetically to the princess. "The royal voice is quite glamorous," she said, that being her honest opinion of it though others might disagree, "And the past is very important to the present. But the present has its own gifts to offer. Don't shun them too much." She set the brush down on the dresser when she was done and then pulled Luna's royal attire from the closet. She laid it out on the bed and said "I'll return in a few minutes to finish preparing you. I'm going to go send letters to Twilight and the Mayor of Ponyville so that everyone will expect you." She bowed herself out of Luna's presence and trotted back to her office. She had pre-written letters ready to go, all that she needed to do was add to them the names of the recipients and a few details written into blank spaces in the parchment. When she had abundant down-time she would pre-write many letters such as these so that less time would be required when they were off greater need. Once they were done she closed her eyes and focused, sending one letter first to Twilight and then the other to the mayor through her magic. She sighed and held a hoof to her head afterwards; sending mail this way was quite taxing for her. She wasn't specialized in that branch of magic. She went back to Luna's room and let herself in, closing the door quickly behind her. "The letters are sent," she informed the Princess. "We hath the power to move the Heavens and the and the Moon ..." Luna complained, face set with a frown. "And yet, no matter the effort we go to, we cannot force our Tiara to bend to thine will!" With an angry jerk of magic, the Princess grappled with the simple problem of making the royal vestment sit atop her mane properly. Eventually, she gave up. As she had done dozens of times in the past. "Affix it for us," Luna asked. "It appears as if it obeys only thee." With a roll of her eyes, a smile, and a light-hearted chuckle, Moon Trot nodded. "As you wish, your highness." she said. Despite what other ponies may think, Luna was pleasant to be around once you got to know her. That was why she strove to get the Princess of the Night to integrate into society as her sister had done. She could empathize with Luna's longing for the past, but only to a point. Moon Trot had her duties, and a derivative of them was to keep Luna happy, and the only road to happiness lay forward, not backwards. She levitated the tiara and, with practiced patience, slowly lowered it into Luna's mane. It took a little bit of adjusting, but in less than three minutes it was affixed properly. "You look splendid your majesty," Moon Trot said, using the brush to fix a small dislocated lock of hair back into place. "Shall I accompany you into Ponyville?" she asked. Luna glanced over at her own reflection, taking a few moments to give herself a critical eye. Eventually, she nodded. "We feel good about ourself. We hope thine little ponies agree. We are eager to please them." "Come," Luna beckoned, willing the enormous doors to her chamber to swing open. "Thou art our Chief Minister of the Night; Our most trusted confidante aside from thine beloved sister ... And also, our one true friend upon which we can always rely to help us. We would not even entertain the notion of leaving thee behind. Where we go, thou shalt follow. Always." The black coated unicorn was glad for the dim lights of the room and the dark coat she bore so that her blush was unseen. Being complimented was something she was wholly unused to, but compliments from the princess were far more flattering than one might think. "I am honored you feel that way, your highness." Moon Trot said, though her thoughts dwelt on whether or not she truly deserved the trust of Luna. Eventually, the pair stepped out of the castle proper and into the grounds where a half-dozen carriages awaited. Luna glanced away from the bright sun in the sky, grimacing. "We hath never missed the cool of our night as now ..." She grumbled. Moon Trot was quick to call one of Luna's black and blue carriages over; one with a dark canopy and open sides so that cool air would pass through as it traveled. She bowed and gestured for the princess to board first, getting on herself afterwards. "Look!" The Princess commanded, gesturing with a hoof upwards. "It is not so easy to see from below, where the Sun doth dominate all in its sky but high above, thou canst see the Moon and the Stars still sing." The ghostly half-circle of the Moon was just barely visible against the bright blue of the sky, and if one strained even further and used perhaps a hint of magic, a smattering of stars - little more than pinpricks of light - could be discerned. Moon Trot's gaze rose up towards the blue sky as Luna commanded. As she said, the moon was just scarcely visible. This actually drew a disturbingly similar parallel to how Celestia outshone Luna when she was present. "The higher we climb, the more we can feel the pull of our Moon as she tracks across the sky ..." Closing her eyes, Luna's horn began to shimmer. Almost as difficult to see as the stars and the Moon above, a wispy, faint tendril of cobalt magic climbed up and up and ... Up, disappearing from view as it angled to presumably the Moon itself so much impossibly higher still. The Princess took a deep and long breath. "Doth thee have any foals, Moon Trot?" She asked unexpectedly and suddenly. Luna's question caught Moon Trot off guard and she almost replied with a less than courteous "not your business" remark, but she was careful enough to overcome the compulsion. Clearing her throat to cover her momentary lack of response, she replied "None, your excellency. I have scarcely had the time and never had the interest for such a...responsibility." She was unsure how to follow up that answer since the only question she could think of was 'Do you have any?' but she knew the answer to that already. It wasn't like there were many male alicorns flying around. "May I inquire why you ask?" she asked. "We hath never had companionship in such ways," Luna frowned. "It would not be proper; we are eternal, forever - only our beloved sister is like us. It is a lonesome existence ..." The black unicorn was not surprised to hear that Luna hadn't ever engaged in that way with another. Unlike some, who loved to rumor and gossip and forge tales, Moon Trot simply never saw either of the Princesses as ponies that would 'stir the pot' for fun and let the passing years erase their exploits from memory. Especially Luna; the forlorn alicorn was far too emotional for something so frivolous as a royal affair. "We ask because we hath always thought of the Moon as our foal, as the stars are. We crafted it, brought it to life with our magic and we gifted it to the greater world. When unicorn magic grew too weak to exert influence, we presented thineself to ponykind and assumed the duties, with our sister. Still, it hath always reflected our moods, our dreams, our longings ... And yet, it is not alive. Not as thee is, or even us. It is aware, however. It feels ..." the Princess’s voice trailed off for a few seconds. "We cannot remember the early days," Luna confessed. "In the same way thou canst not remember what thy breakfast of eight months ago to the day was, the centuries to us blur, and our memories become poor copies; faded and incomplete. Still, we recall the Moon talked to us before our ... Exile. Not in words and phrases that we converse in with thee; with feelings, ideas. It hath not talked to us since our return. We think one thousand years hath lost its voice." Moon Trot gazed up at the dim moon, her mane whipping around her face as the wind from the flying cart swirled it around. Luna's words were touching and quite revealing. It was very sad, but in a touching, loving way, what the princess was sharing. With a nervous swallow, Moon Trot lifted her hoof and reached over, gently patting Luna on the shoulder. "The moon and stars shed light in the dark," she said, "They guide the lost home, be it literally or figuratively, and have inspired more forms of love in literature than there are stars in your sky. If they are your foals, than you were...are...a great mother." She gave Luna an encouraging smile. "Maybe they haven't lost their voice," She added, "Maybe they just speak differently. Perhaps all you need to do is find a new way to listen." Luna blinked her eyes. her ears lifting slighting. "Thou believeth that perhaps, they hath learned a new tongue, rather than ceasing to speak at all?" Luna pondered for a moment, nodding her head slowly. "Perhaps they can no longer understand us, for we hath become archaic compared to their new world. This brings us much comfort. Perhaps again the stars shall whisper unto us the dreams of things which cannot easily take form under the Sun. Thy words hath warmed thine soul and countenance. We hath sorely missed having somepony to listen to us, beyond our frivolousness needs. We would gladly brush our own mane, don our own tiara, if in exchange for another to listen to our thoughts and offer their feelings. Thou art indispensable to us, Moon Trot." Moon Trot could sense the cheering disposition in the princess's countenance. She breathed a sigh of relief that she had managed to say the right thing to pull Luna, even if just a little, out of her despair. "It is my honor to serve you in all capacities," Moon Trot said, this much being truthful. As she had grown to admire the princess she had grown to feel the immense burden she had been given. At first being Minister was a hollow title;something she had faked her way into to better do the job granted by her superior. Now, however,she fully embraced her position and had stopped reporting on Luna after giving them her final report andresignation. "Be it combing your hair or speaking with you...as a friend." She ventured the last part with a slightly nervous smile. "Friends?" Luna repeated, slowly and suspiciously, as if sampling a new food. "Friends ..." The word rolling around her tongue like some tart new wine. The Princess' face was a mask of consideration as she gave this new concept her undivided attention. After a few moments, she nodded and her face brightened into a smile. "Yes! Indeed! We are friends!" The Princess spread her wings, a subconscious response to her good mood. "It is customary for thine little ponies to have a Dearest Friend, is it not? If this is so, we invite thee to become our Dearest Friend. Will thou accept thine offer? Are contracts required? We could have the Royal Lawponies begin work immediately if necessary. We are unsure how friendship hath changed over the centuries ..." Luna's acceptance- even excitement- over her proposal of friendship heartened Moon Trot. Never before had she been able to consider someone a friend. She'd had coworkers and acquaintances and professional relationships, naturally, but friends? Never. Until now. "Well, I cannot answer you for certain," she said, "but to my knowledge all that is required for friendship is both parties involved agreeing to the fact. I certainly am honored and overjoyed to call you my friend, your highness." "How exciting!" The Princess enthused. We shall have someone other than our beloved sister to invite to the celebration of our birth! We are not sure how old we are; we hath forgotten and Celestia, too, cannot remember but the dates are inscribed in stone in Canterlot Castle ... so we know of the day. We hath never had a party before!" Moon Trot was glad that Luna was glad. "That sounds like a wonderful idea." She said. Her own birthday parties of her childhood had consisted of her immediate family, and as she grew and became an adult they were now just birthday cards she received in the mail from her parents. Having a party with others would be a treat indeed. One of the bat-winged pegasai flying the cart announced that they were arriving at Ponyville. "Where would you like us to land your majesty?" he asked. "We shall announce our presence as befitting a Princess!" Luna commanded with a sweep of her hoof. "Land in the square, within the shadow of the Mayor's Office. Sound thy trumpets! The fanfare that heralds the arrival of the Princess of the Night hath begun!"