Trixie and I were escorted to a room not far from Celestia's bedchambers and practically next door to Luna's bedchamber. The odds were pretty good that I would meet up with her in the pre-dawn morning. That was not what was on my mind at the moment, as Trixie and I had the night to ourselves. I continued to maintain my reduced size to match Trixie -- there seemed to be something almost magical about the two of us being similarly sized, but I could not determine what it was. Even so, the passion and love we shared with each other that night defied description. Every single superlative could be used and found wanting in its attempt to adequately describe those feelings we had for each other. The night seemed to pass by far too quickly for my liking when I heard a knocking at the door.
"Princess Celestia requests your immediate presence, Michael," came a male voice from the other side of the door. Trixie had wrapped herself around me and I was forced to untangle myself from her embrace.
"Mmm, Michael, please stay with Trixie awhile longer! Please!" she moaned. I gave her a quick kiss on her muzzle.
"I promise I won't be long, Trixie. We can pick up where we left off when I return!" I chuckled.
"Pinkie Promise?" she asked, still half-asleep.
"Yes, Trixie," I replied quickly as I trotted out the door. "I hope this doesn't take too long," I thought as my escort led me to the Sun Goddess' bedchamber and knocked on her door.
"Please enter, Michael," came her voice through the door, still closed. I used my telekinesis to open the doors and entered to see the white Alicorn still laying in her huge bed which dominated the center of the chamber. I was surprised to see the two Princesses laying in the same bed and raised an eyebrow at the sight.
"I had no idea you two were so close," I observed nonchalantly.
"Ah, I see our fledgling Prince has arrived," Celestia chuckled. "Good. You're just in time for your first lesson. Luna will teach you how to lower the Moon."
"Tia, are you sure this is a good idea? We don't want him to strain himself so much so early," the indigo Alicorn stated softly.
"Michael, assume your standard form if you would please," Celestia stated flatly. I performed the requested action, matching the Sun Goddess for her size. Luna smiled at me as I returned to my normal Alicorn size. "Good, now follow Luna to her post where she normally lowers her Moon. Luna, I believe he is fully capable of performing such tasks -- he will be called upon to do so in our absence from time to time."
"Thank you for having so much confidence in me, your Majesty," I stated solemnly.
"You waste time with your pleasantries, Michael. I am fully cognizant of your abilities, strengths, and weaknesses -- this is why I am teaching you certain lessons. When you return from learning how to lower my sister's Moon, I will instruct you on raising my Sun -- a task which will test you severely, but one I am certain you have more than enough power to pass. Now hurry, Michael, time is short."
"Follow Us, Michael," Luna advised. I followed Luna from her sister's bedchamber to hers and then out onto a balcony overlooking Canterlot. I saw Luna's Moon hanging low in the western sky, ready to be lowered below the horizon.
"Reach out for it with your magic, Michael, and lower it gently. You will know when to stop when you encounter stiff resistance upon trying to lower it further. That is Our Moon's resting place, and it shall stay there until the night returns."
I reached out with my magic, almost gingerly embracing the Moon with it. The Moon surprised me with its mass and weight, but lowering it proved relatively easy until I reached the resistance point. I could feel something pushing back really hard against my magic as I found the Moon's resting place. Luna checked my progress and smiled in approval.
"You performed quite well, Michael. We shall put away the stars, but that will be your next lesson from Us tomorrow morning. Follow Us back to Our sister's bedchambers for your lessons from her. For Us, it is time for Us to rest."
I followed the Lunar Princess back to her sister's bedchamber, now noticing the two of them exchange a few words. I waited patiently for Celestia to lead me to her balcony where she performed her task of raising the Sun. Presently she bade me follow her as Luna returned to her bedchamber. The Lunar Princess appeared to be rather tired, but I decided not to inquire as to her state of fatigue. Celestia's balcony was on a higher level than Luna's, and had a panoramic view of Canterlot and the surrounding environs. To say the view from this balcony was breathtaking would be a blatant understatement, but that was not the purpose I was here.
"Okay, Michael, you might remember using your magic to reach out to the Moon. Well, understand that the Sun is considerably larger and further away than the Moon, and raising it requires considerably more magic than lowering the Moon. So before we begin, you will need to extend your magic further away and below the horizon. Have you found my Sun yet?"
I could sense it -- the mass was enormous! The heat radiating from it, though it was still below the horizon, was already quite intense. "Celestia, I have found your Sun. I know from my human teachings that the Sun is gigantic -- a million Earths could be placed inside it and there would still be room left inside for more."
"Good. Now that you have found it, try to lift it -- gently!"
I enlarged my aura, my horn glowing a bright yellow as I gradually took more and more of the Sun's massive weight into it. I started to lift the gigantic orb with my magic, slowly, ever so slowly. Sweat was starting to bead on my neck and trickle down as I continued to lift the Sun. My horn glowed brighter and brighter still -- and as I used more magic to push the Sun above the horizon, my body started glowing a bright yellow as well. "It's ... very ... HEAVY!!" I shouted, practically forcing the orb into position.
"Maintain control, Michael! Don't force it!" the elder Alicorn admonished sharply. "You must be gentle! You cannot relax until my Sun is in its proper position!"
The strain was starting to get to me, though. I grabbed hold of the orb once again, moving it gently into is specific location. I was dripping flop sweat from my body as I struggled with the Sun. Upon placing it into position, Celestia smiled at me.
"Not bad for your first time, Michael. You'll find it becomes easier with practice. Since you have expended nearly all your magic with these two tasks, I shall allow you to return to your honeymoon suite so you may rest. I shall request your return later today so I can instruct you on proper use of your wings -- I'll bet you've always wanted to learn how to fly!" she chuckled.
"Thank you, Celestia," I stated, relief from the stress of raising the Sun coloring my words with exhaustion. I made my way back to the room Trixie and I had stayed in. Trixie was still laying in bed, almost eagerly awaiting my return.
"Michael looks like he spent all his magic," the azure mare observed. "Trixie wants you to lay with her again, but make yourself small for her, please."
I tried to do that, but my horn fizzled when I tried to cast the spell. Trixie gasped when she saw this. I was too tired to do much of anything, so I laid down upon the bed to get some rest. Trixie laid on top of me, perhaps in an attempt to comfort me, but I could feel her tears on my neck as she silently sobbed. "It's going to be all right, Trixie, don't let it worry you too much. I can feel my magic starting to replenish itself already. I just need to get some sleep, 'coz I'm feeling pretty tired."