Princess Luna and Vakarious sat in the night for an hour, sharing various stories of their past with each other, though nothing personal with each other. Vakarious found himself more intrigued with the history of Equestria than he had initially been, though. While Twilight Sparkle was quite knowledgeable with Equestrian history, he had learned a lot more from Princess Luna and her personal experiences. While on the flip side, Princess Luna learned that her world and Earth shared quite a bit of similarities, relatively. Vakarious however, had one question that had bothered him since Twilight first told him about the princesses, though.
"So, is it true then that you and Celestia raise the moon and sun?" Vakarious asked.
"But of course. Is that not how it is on your world? Princess Luna asked, surprised.
"Nope. Earth just orbits our sun on its own," Vakarious answered.
"I see. I find it quite odd that the day and night is not controlled by your kind, given what you told me if their powerful influence," Princess Luna commented, Vakarious just shrugged.
"Maybe it's the lack of Arcane Energy, or 'magic' on our world," Vakarious said.
"I still find it fascinating that a race, these 'humans', could have achieved so much in such little time, without the benefits of magic," Princess Luna said.
"I suppose. I never really saw humanity from an 'outside looking in' perspective, seeing as how I kind of considered myself one of them," Vakarious said.
"Your dragons are fascinating as well, Vakarious," Princess Luna added.
"I don't see how. If anything, I would have figured the dragons here would have caused you to not like dragons at all," Vakarious said.
"If that were true, then Twilight Sparkle's assistant, Spike, wouldn't be a highly trusted royal messenger," Princess Luna answered.
"Fair enough," he replied back.
When he thought back on it, he did find it kind of odd that no one seemed to worried or scared about a baby dragon in their town. He wasn't going to stay young forever, and he would eventually reach full size. While he knew that dragons had the potential to become the wisest beings in the world, if raised right, he figured the ponies wouldn't have known that. Even if they did share a lot of similarities with his own kind, their sense of acceptance, and apparent forgiveness was very alien to him. Which brought another thought to mind.
"If you wouldn't mind, what's the story with you and the whole 'Nightmare Moon' thing?" Vakarious asked, taking Princess Luna by surprise.
"You said Twilight Sparkle told you about me already. Surely she would have told you of Nightmare Moon?" Princess Luna said, hoping to avoid subject.
"Yeah, but I have a feeling there's more to it than 'you got jealous of your sister'," Vakarious said, confirming that he was not going to relent on the topic.
Although she wasn't exactly hiding anything, Princess Luna's decent into madness and ultimate transformation was still an open wound for her, so to speak. However, she remembered that there was a topic that was just as personal to Vakarious as well, and came to the realization that she may be able to get him to open up more by holding off on telling him at the moment.
"You are right, Vakarious. There is more to it than just 'jealousy'. And perhaps someday, I may tell you," Princess Luna said.
"I understand, Princess," Vakarious answered, which was true. Feeling the need to change the subject, the Princess remembered her comment when she first met him.
"So what is it that interests you the most about the night?" Princess Luna asked.
"Dunno, honestly. The night just seems much more calm. Less going on, more time to myself. That, and sleep isn't really a requirement," Vakarious replied. Luna knew full well what he meant. While she had quite a deep appreciation for her sister's day, she just felt more at peace with herself in her night, more alive. Even if she did still have to sleep.
"You know, it's amazing how the stars don't change. If I didn't know any better, I'd think I was home right now," Vakarious commented.
"I would sometimes wonder if the sky looked different from somewhere else," Princess Luna add.
"The thing that gets me the most is the fact that the constellations are visible from here. Some little differences, but they're there," Vakarious said.
"Oh? Like what? Luna asked, curious now.
"Well, let's see....You've got Ursa Major, you've got Leo, and you've got Canis Major. Probably more if I looked hard enough," Vakarious answered.
"I'm, amazed," Princess Luna said.
"Amazed at what?" Vakarious asked.
"The constellations you've named. That is what we call them as well," Princess Luna answered. "What do they mean to you?"
"To me? Nothing. To humans, just a result of their mythology, really. What are they to you?" Vakarious asked.
"Well, Canis Major represents a great and proud warrior of the ancient Diamond Dog Empire, Ursa Major represents the first of the Ursa Major's born in the world, and Leo represents the great manticore that fought and defeated the warrior Canis," Princess Luna answered.
"Huh...From the way it sounds, it seems these are actually true stories, rather than just myths," Vakarious noted.
"They are. The Ursa was before my time, as well as my sisters, but we were both around to hear of The Warrior Canis, and his defeat after battling the manticore Leo," Luna said.
The two talked for another thirty minutes, Vakarious explaining how he and his kind have a deep connection with the elements, and Princess Luna going deeper into her ability to raise the moon, as well as her ability to visit the dreams of those experiencing a nightmare. Vakarious also learned from her that it was her voice he had heard on the first night, and inadvertently figured out how Princess Celestia knew who and what he was during their first meeting.So in other words, Celestia basically has the same powers as Luna, only on a more powerful scale. Makes sense, I suppose.
"And you're sure they weren't banished?" Princess Luna asked Vakarious.
"Yup. They literally flew to the moon, just to say 'we landed on the moon first!'. Don't say that to any conspiracy theorists, though," Vakarious answered, trying not to laugh. Princess Luna was just amazed, though. Amazed at the fact that a race that lacked any sort of magic could achieve landing on their own moon, and the fact that they did so willingly. However, before she could press the matter further, she realized she still had to attend the night court, and she'd been gone for over an hour already.
"I enjoyed conversing with you tonight, Vakarious. But, unfortunately, I do have royal duties to attend to still," she said with a sigh. "You wouldn't think ponies had so many 'important' issues at this time. But no, there's always some banker complaining about a farmer who won't sell them their land, or a farmer complaining about a banker trying to buy their farm."
"Sounds like a lot of fun," Vakarious teased.
"Oh yes. I would definitely suggest you volunteering to take my place in such matters. You might even feel at home, having a leadership role once again," Princess Luna teased back.
"Nah, I'll pass. Never was one for politics, just telling people what to do. Besides, that's what advisers and second in commands are for," Vakarious said.
"Fair point. Still, there are ponies who may be restless because of their dreams, something none of my advisers can remedy," she answered. Vakarious just nodded before looking back up at the sky.
"Give them time, Vakarious. They'll soon trust you as I do. Faster even, if you open up to them," Princess Luna said, referring to the Element Bearers.
"There are things I know, that I've seen, that would put unnecessary burden on them if I told them," Vakarious replied.
"You under estimate them too much. They're not as delicate as you seem to think, and they are definitely not weak," Princess Luna responded. He hated to admit it, but she was right. He did under estimate them, something he had been taught never to do.
"I must go now. Consider what I said, Vakarious," Princess Luna added.
"I understand. Best of luck with what you have to do," Vakarious said. Luna began turning to cast her teleportation spell, before he continued. "Oh, and Princess?"
"Yes?" she asked, turning her head.
"Thanks. I enjoyed conversing as well," he said, giving a short bow to the Princess, something which caught her off guard. While to anyone else, the gesture wouldn't have seemed odd or out of place, but given what her sister had told her, she was definitely not expecting it. Not that she ever expected it from anyone else. She decided not to press the matter though, merely returning the gesture and casting her spell, leaving the park she had been in.
Vakarious was left alone with his thoughts once again. Instead of staring blankly into the night sky like he had though, he had new thoughts, one of them being about the Princess he had spent over an hour talking to. There was something different about Princess Luna, something that separated her from the rest of the ponies he had met so far. He wasn't exactly sure why, but he found that he had quite a bit of respect for the Princess.
~~~
Back in the Ponyville Library, Twilight Sparkle had just finished putting the last of her books away when Spike barged through the door, carrying a medium sized box as well. She felt the timing was perfect, as she thought she was going to have to go to Rarity's to pick him up.
"Um, why are you back so late Spike?" Twilight Sparkle asked. Spike put the box down before answering.
"Well, I went to Rarity's today like you said, and I asked her for those gems. Only, she didn't have she could spare at the time, but she said she would go out and find more. So, I helped her out until she was ready to go," Spike said, catching his breath before continuing. "Anyway, we left for the place she usually goes to, but on the way Applejack stopped us because she needed to talk to Rarity about something."
"Okay...so how does that explain why you're back so late?" Twilight Sparkle asked again.
"What? Oh, because gem hunting went longer than expected because she didn't find any satisfactory gems. Oh, and this came for you too," Spike answered, while pulling out a scroll and handing it to Twilight. She grabbed it in her magical aura and began reading it, her expression suddenly changing to worry.
Twilight Sparkle,
I write this hastily because, it is of the utmost importance that you and your friends come to my castle tomorrow at the earliest time possible. I don't have the time to go into much detail right now, but an hour ago, a Changeling was caught by Discord impersonating a royal guard. You understand the sincerity of the situation, my faithful student.
Princess Celestia
"Um, Twilight, are you okay? You've been staring at the letter for a couple of minutes now," Spike said, shaking Twilight from her shock.
"Get to bed Spike. We have a lot to do tomorrow," was all that Twilight said.
~~~
In Canterlot Castle, Princess Luna was in her room, following her teleportation spell. After a quick inspection of her room, she began making her way to the throne room. While it was obvious she exaggerated a little bit about the issues normally brought to her, she still had a duty to enter the dreams of ponies who were having nightmares. The Princess of the Night had barely taken a few steps though, before one of her night guards approached her, having important news.
"Apologies, your highness," the night guard said, bowing.
"What is it?" Luna asked.
"Your sister requests your presence within her chambers immediately," the night guard said.
"What? Is she okay?!" Luna shouted before beginning in the direction of her sister's room. She would have teleported, but she had already exhausted herself from the trip moments ago.
"Princess Celestia is fine. However, we caught a Changeling an hour ago impersonating a guard. Your sister has it bound within her quarters, stating that it was the most secure area in the castle. I believe Discord is with her as well," the guard said, following Luna in her quick pace.
Her mind somewhat eased, Princess Luna slowed down a bit and allowed herself to think. While she had been away on a diplomatic mission during the attempted invasion by the Changelings, she knew full well the damage they caused, both physically and mentally. More so, however, she knew how the Changeling queen overpowered her sister and came close to taking over Equestria. Princess Luna knew it was only dumb luck that she didn't restrain Shining Armor and Princess Cadence when she had the chance, leading to her being vanquished from the city.
Princess Luna and the night guard following her had finally reached Princess Celestia's room, finding it guarded by a single night guard and day guard. The two guards let Luna in, while the guard following her headed back to his post. Luna entered Celestia's room, and found both her sister and Discord holding a Changeling down in an aura of golden magic and chains. The Changeling in question appeared to have been sleeping
"What's the situation my sister?" Princess Luna asked, nodding to Discord as well.
"All Discord or myself could get was her name, her age and some numbers that we do not know of," Princess Celestia replied.
"Her?" Luna asked.
"Yes. Her name is Zora," Celestia said.
"How was she caught?" Luna asked, now looking closer at the Changeling.
"Oh oh oh! Pick me! pick me!" Discord said, causing Luna to look at him questioningly before nodding.
"She was disguised as a Royal Guard, patrolling the gardens. Pretty clever if I do say so myself, except for one eensy little problem. It's night time, and guards never patrol areas alone!" Discord exclaimed, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Did you find her then?" Luna asked.
"Oh heavens no. I tend to stay away from the gardens, for obvious reasons. No, I was just strolling through the garden when I noticed her. I 'may' or 'may not' have assumed, by the way," Discord said innocently.
"Wait, if you stay away from the gardens and you said you didn't find her...Never mind. I suppose you made a good assumption then," Princess Luna said, returning her gaze on the Changeling. "You didn't hurt her, did you Discord?"
"No, I used a sleeping spell on her after she had tried to end herself," Celestia interjected.
"What? Why would she do such a thing?" Luna asked, shocked.
"I do not know sister. Perhaps she holds very valuable information, or perhaps she thinks us crueler than we really are. I cannot say for sure," Celestia answered.
"So how did you get her name then?" Luna asked, looking back at the Changeling again.
"This," Discord said, holding a small amulet.
"I see...and what is 'this', exactly?" Luna said, pointing at the amulet.
"We don't know its exact purpose, all we know is it has information about her on it," Celestia answered. Luna looked at the small amulet more, before figuring out what it was.
"It's a tag given to warriors so they can be identified should they be lost in battle," Luna said, surprising Celestia and even Discord. "I know, because the Diamond Dogs, Griffons, and Minotaurs use them. Though, why somepony being sent to infiltrate a castle would have such a tag is beyond me."
The two Princesses and Draconequus further looked at their prisoner, unsure as to what they were planning exactly that required them to send one of their own into Canterlot. What troubled Princess Celestia the most, however, was the fact that they knew next to nothing about the Changelings. Everything that was known about them, was based on their attack on Canterlot a year ago, and even that information was questionable. She decided not to let the unknown worry her for now, though, instead focusing on the issue that lay in front of her.
"We should get some rest, sister. We will need the energy tomorrow. Discord can watch over the Changeling in the meantime," Princess Celestia said, nodding to Discord, who promptly teleported himself and the Changeling to his quarters.
"What will we do sister?" Princess Luna asked.
"Right now, I do not know. I have asked Twilight Sparkle to bring her friends tomorrow though, as well as Cadence and Shining Armor. I am confident that they will know what to do," Princess Celestia said. Princess Luna nodded, and left for her own room. Even though she knew she needed the rest, Celestia couldn't find it within herself to sleep now, given the circumstances. There was a lot that needed to be done now, from increased patrols, to possibly scanning every single guard and staff member in the castle. More importantly, she needed to find out what the Changelings up to now.