I woke up in the same place where I had fainted. Gathering my bearings, I wobbled to my hooves slowly and sighed. I still had a week and a half of free time before I could return to Princess Luna's tutoring and service. Thinking back on Luna's words to me before she left, I decided to check a mirror and see why she wanted me to do so. Looking around the room, I found a large armoire with glass doors which reflected fairly enough. Leaning in, I studied my reflection, and at first couldn't comprehend the difference. Then, it dawned on me.
My eyes weren't fluctuating anymore. They no longer changed color, but had instead become the color of pale moonlight, shimmering and shining in the weak light of the room. Glancing more critically at my appearance, I also noticed that my overall body had become darker, with my mane and tail becoming a more silver color instead of powdery blue.
Turning around in front of the mirror, I caught a flash of my hooves, and lifted my fetlocks to check. Yep, they had turned slightly golden, like the moon often looked in mid autumn. Speaking of which, the crescent moon shape on my chest had followed the same suit.
This was unnerving. I hadn't heard of many ponies changing appearance like this. Sure, the Royal Guard all looked the same due to an enchantment on their armor, but they were normal ponies off duty. I looked down and noticed that I was still wearing Luna's feather. With a shrug, I took the feather away from my body and set it gently on the armoire, before looking at my reflection again.
Except for my eyes, everything was back to normal. So the feather was the cause of it. I think Princess Luna was holding out on me, then. She had called me Nightshine before I had touched her feather and been accepted by it. Did she personally find me worthy? It was a nice thought to entertain...
Unable to answer the questions I had for Luna, I picked her feather back up and set about looking for a ribbon. It no longer automatically attached itself to my heart when I placed it there, so the sticking spell she used must have worn off. And such a spell was taxing to uphold for long periods of time. It was usually reserved for special occasions and showing off.
I found a ribbon in her dresser, deep midnight blue with silver trim. It was made of exceptional material, feather light and extremely soft. Not wanting to take this one, I continued searching, but to no avail. What was I to do? I looked at my feather, and wondered what Luna would say...
"She'd say you could take it, since she left it there for you in the first place."
I gave a small yelp and jump at the sound of her voice in my head. Looking around hastily, I noticed a glow underneath my vision. Looking down, I saw the feather was glowing with a silver sheen.
"Princess Luna?" I whispered to the feather. The glow intensified for a moment as her voice issued forth in my mind again.
"I told you that feather would bestow you with some abilities for your job. And one of those is a direct line to me for communication when you are abroad."
"I'd prefer to at least write a letter or something. Hearing voices in my head is a bit unnerving, milady."
"Oh, what a priss you can be sometimes, my dear student." No sooner had the words faded in my mind that the feather began to emit a lot more light. After a few blinding seconds, a shape stepped from the feather, coalescing into the shape of my beloved princess.
"Is this better, or will you think you're crazy for seeing things, too?" she smirked at me, the projection wavering slightly.
"Oh, umm... No. Magic and all that. But hearing voices is still bad, you know..." I muttered sheepishly.
"Well," she said, laughing at my nervousness, "I did in fact wish for you to use that ribbon to keep my feather near you."
"Thank you, Princess. While you're here, what other surprises does this feather have in store for me?"
"Nah-ah-ah. I'm very busy, I don't have time to be explaining this. Right now I excused myself from a rather detestable 'meat' dinner," her face wrinkled in revulsion, "so this is a welcome, but brief escape. Perhaps later."
I nodded and watched as the image before me shimmered away. Using a small burst of magic, I tied the feather into the ribbon and placed the ribbon around my neck to keep the feather close to my heart. I quickly left her chambers and scurried quickly from the castle to return home for a little bit.
When I arrived home, I found my mother finishing the dishes from dinner. She insisted on giving me some of the leftover ravioli she had made, and I waited to see how long it would take for her to notice my changed appearance. About midway through the meal it happened. I had been watching her closely, and her eyes widened slightly as she looked at me more critically. I was reminded of how she examined me and my brother before we went to school. She called my father in and began pointing out the changes, and I explained to them about the feather's properties. I also told them about my official placement as Luna's ambassador, and I swear I saw a tear in my father's eye. After they congratulated me, I excused myself. It was about time I had a talk with my brother...