Dawnstar sat on the balcony to his mother's room; watching the moon begin it's journey across the night sky. Glancing up he started to name each constellation as they became apparent in the blackening sky. He then looked down towards the Canterlot night life that was beginning to stir in the streets below. He let out a sigh that must have sounded more depressed than what he had intended; behind him one of the night shift maids, who was cleaning his mother's room, stopped her cleaning and made her way to the balcony.
"Somethin' the matta mi lord?" the Trottingham accented mare bowed as Dawnstar turned towards her. On her head sat a blue bow that went surprisingly well with her golden mane, her pink coat resembled pink lemonade and her emerald eyes seemed to be able to stare into one's heart.
The young prince returned the bow and motioned the mare to approach, much to his discomfort to the formalities thing. As she got to, what she considered to be, a close enough distance from her prince, sat on her haunches. Dawn gave her a smile as thanks for her concern and went about telling the maid about his feelings. "You always seem to be around at the right time, Berry, it's just that; I look up and see the night sky, and I smile. I know that my mother took her time in creating every single one of those stars, every constellation, even every shooting star that lights the night for a split second. Then I remind myself that its going to be mine someday, and it fills me with great pride." Berry tilted her head in a quizzical manner.
"But there's somethin' else isn't there?"
Dawnstar only nodded his head in agreement; turning back to the lit up city below. The city's glow made Dawn's coat shine a more golden hue than normal, his azure eyes carrying the same regal stature of Princess Luna as they looked over the land. "There is, actually... There's always the feeling that I'll let everypony down when its my time to bring forth the night and help rule Equestria in my mother's stead." The gold alicorn ran a hoof through his violet mane and let out a deep sigh, "I just hope that I'm ready when the time comes."
"Thou will be ready, my son." Princess Luna made her way onto the balcony, causing both Dawnstar and Berry to jump at her sudden appearance. The maid, suddenly realizing that her duties were being left unattended, shot up and started to bow and apologize to her princess for not having her room cleaned. The dark blue alicorn smiled at the pink mare, all the while, keeping her royal stance as she addressed her subject. "Do not worry; listening to Dawn speak about his feelings is more than enough. Please, feel free to retire for the night, We shall worry about this mess ourselves."
From what Dawn could tell, the maid wanted to say something that probably said something about it being her duty to clean the rooms of the castle; of course he couldn't argue with the look in his mother's eyes that stated the subject being closed. Berry, realizing that she had no actual say in the matter, stood back up and made her way to the door. "Would tha' be all, mi lady? Mi lord?" All though Luna shook her head no, Dawn decided that there was one thing; using his name instead of lord, or prince. With another bow, the maid made her way out of the room, leaving Dawnstar and his mother alone in her room. Princess Luna made her way to Dawn's side overlooking both Canterlot and the valley that contained Ponyville and the Everfree. He felt something warm wrap itself around his body as he stood, which a quick glance confirmed it to be one of Luna's wings. Dawn closed his eyes and moved closer into the warm comfort of his mother's hug; getting lost in her scent and loving the security he always felt when he was around her. Even at the age of seventeen, he still loved to be held in Luna's wings. Yeah, he was a momma's boy and he wasn't afraid to admit it either. The sound of Luna's voice broke him out of his dazed state of enlightenment.
"I remember back when I discovered that it was my duty to raise the moon every night." Princess Luna was staring up at the moon as it slowly made it's journey to the western horizon, "I remember being completely petrified that
I wasn't fit for being the princess of the night. That's why I made the constellations, you know; I created them so I could have somepony to turn to when in my time of need. Like Leonis the Lionheart," She pointed a hoof to a constellation to the northeast, "I made placed him there for his everlasting courage and honor, even at the face of armies larger than his own." She then tightened the hug between her and Dawnstar, making sure to look into his eyes as well. "Dawn, you have grown to be a stallion that I can be proud to call my son." A tear soon formed in the corner of her eye, "When I look at you, I see so much of your father inside you; courageous, loving, humble, a perfect gentlecolt, but you also worry about so much like him."
Dawn nuzzled his mother's neck in an effort to calm her down, which seemed to work for the most part, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else being played at. He didn't have to wait long to find out. "On another subject; I heard that you and Star broke up a little bit ago," Dawn's ears twitched at hearing his ex's name, "could that also be why you are down?"
Luna knew her son too well, it was exactly why he was moping around for. After letting out yet another sigh that night he decided to fill in the details. "Yeah, we did. I honestly thought she was different from the other mares; looking to find their way into the royal family for the sake of personal gain, but no, she was just playing the whole innocent mare that was interested in love and not wealth and power." Dawn hissed as he continued on, " Turned out she and her family was looking for a way to make themselves more powerful in the courts."
Luna let go of the hug and brought her wing back to her side, "It's not easy finding someone who isn't looking for power when marrying royalty. Your father was no exception, however, he knew when and when not to use his power. Dawn, I think you should take some time and go visit your aunt Twilight. I'm sure some time in Ponyville will help you take your mind off her, plus you never know, you might just find that special somepony" She gave her son a wink and gave him a peck on his cheek, "Now off to bed with you now, you are to leave first thing tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? But I have so many things to d..." One look into his mother's teal eyes told Dawn that her mind was already set, as always, and any argument from him was not going to be accepted. Lowering his head in defeat he made his way back towards his room, where he proceeded to pack for the several week trip.