Her breath only added to the mist. The thick fog had plagued Ponyville for the entire day, slipping across the land like an omnipresent curtain. The night had caused some of it to disperse, but it still remained. Something she was sure she'd have to clean up in the morning for the Weather Patrol.
From her vantage point on the cloud, the mist added to the haunting allure of the night. With the moon in its brightest and fullest stage of the month, the light reverberated off of the fog, spilling the illumination through the haze as it traveled its ambient light to the ground below. She could see the fog began to pulse and glide so slightly along the soil, as if on ice, dancing on a plane of time different from her own.
Despite her new found bed, the sky was completely clear for the evening. Allowing the moon's light to wash over the land in a most gentle and serene bath. Luna's charge didn't hang in the sky the same way the sun did. The moon seemed to effortlessly float through the sky. The same way a cloud does. It has a designated path, but it takes its time to arrive, if it arrives at all.
Rainbow Dash had been nothing but energy for the day. She wasn't sure why. Whether she had taking a nice nap earlier, or she had caught something from Pinkie Pie, she didn't know. All she knew was that she was far too awake to fall asleep right now, far too restless. She wanted nothing more to just whip off the covers and race through the sky as fast as she could, maybe see how well a Sonic Rainboom can light up the night.
She decided to burn her excess energy and wear herself out by flying that night, but something hit her as soon as she made contact with the outside air. It was cold, sure, but it was also comforting. She was by no means exhausted, but all of her excitement and vigor vanished. She was content to simply gaze up at the moon, perched on her own personal piece of the sky.
Managing to tear her eyes from the nightly light bringer, her eyes fell towards the mist, and the one of Ponyville's ponds below her. Carefully slipping through her cloud and falling to her hooves, she stood upon the soil, gazing out towards the large collection of water. The mist surrounded it, not suffocating the pond so much as blanketing it. Luna's light spilled through the lens of the mist, as it gave a distinctly warm ambient light across the top of the water. The massive liquid mirror was as calm as the night itself. A perfect replica of their lunar star drifted in the night reflected in the pond. She quietly cantered over to its edge, taking a peek over the shore, to see herself reflecting in the dark but sufficient light. Staring into the other world, she carefully lowered a hoof, ready to dive it straight into the water. She recoiled, quickly deciding otherwise.
The water was so gentle, so perfect, and fragile. She could have easily broken that peace with a simply touch of the pond, as her ripples could carry on for hours, destroying all the work it took to soothe the surface.
She sat herself down, her eyes once again drawing towards the moon. It was such a beautiful instrument of time, now that Luna was back as its matriarch. Celestia's moon still shared in its splendor, but it could never have the same tranquil charm and silent elegance that Luna could portray with her entire nightly canvas. Even her stars sang to the pegasus, as she soon found herself picking out several of the brightest stars in the sky. She couldn't discern any known constellations, but she was beginning to create her own. Mainly astral portrayals of her exploits, both past and future.
Her eyes began to adjust to the darkness even further, and she could make out the distinct static aura of some of the colorful space clouds could be seen. She had always dreamt of flying high enough to rest upon one of them. As a filly, she imagined that it would feel much like an average cloud, only much silkier. The sight of these elusive creatures in the night sky was a rare occasion to say the least. They became more frequent once Luna was given her night again, but they still held that special novelty to them all the same.
As Rainbow Dash watched the sky move around her ever so slowly, she began to realize just how long the night really lasted. The moon had to reach all the way across the sky, before Celestia's sun could rise on the opposite horizon and begin the day. It took such a long time to achieve this daily feat, but the moon didn't feel any impatience. It took its time to appreciate the beauty its glow produce as it crawled along its trail, smiling down at all of the sleeping faces that would never see it.
Here she was, watching the one of the slowest things in the world unfold before her, and she could feel better. It took so long for this night to manifest and complete, but she supposed that was for the better. More time to appreciate what the day brings, and more time to admire the night as well. The moon didn't need to be as fast as the speed of sound to awe its audience, it just needed to be itself and do so with genuine integrity.
The pegasus quickly zipped back up to her cloud. As she peered at the moon, she found herself growing rather envious of it, of how it effortlessly entranced her in its glory, without having to do anything at all.
It simply had to be itself.
This thought rolled around in her head. It was acting on its own accord, with no care nor concern as to its image. It merely did as it wished, and was found beautiful for it. The moon wasn't in the sky for ponies who managed to stay awake to awe at its splendor. It was up there for itself, and no one else. It was its own being, do what it wanted only for itself, and if its audience adored it, then all the better.
Rainbow found her eyes growing heavy at long last, as she pondered this strange, but refreshing ideal. Before Luna's dreams had come to take her away, a gentle and memorable smile grew on her face. The image of a special mare crept its way into her mind.
Sounds just like mom.