Princess Luna shifted on her throne, as if seeking a comfortable position to sit. Returning her gaze to the youthful stallion waiting at the foot of her seat, she cocked her head in his direction.
"Pray, good stallion, tell us. Why dost thou wish to join our Lunar Guard?" she asked, her tone gentle, but firm. "We wish to know...if thy reasons are as we would wish they be, for thee to seek our service so eagerly." So saying, the lunar goddess settled into her seat, awaiting the young pony's explanation. The grey coated stallion cleared his throat, his slender frame shaking almost visibly.
"W-well. Princess...my name is Night Song," he began. Seeing no light of understanding on the alicorn's face, he sighed. "Guess it was too much to hope that you'd remember me after all this time. Anyway," he said, shaking his head as if to clear it, "my name is Night Song, as I said, and I come from a little town on the northern edge of the Everfree Forest called Moonrise." As he said this, the Princess started, looking upon him with something like wonder.
"Yes, Mother. We're still there, waiting for you," Night said, so softly that only the Moon Princess could hear him, while smiling up at her shyly. "I myself am descended from the ponys named Fly-By-Night and Gari, who if you recall was amongst the founders of our little town. But that's not the reason I came here tonight," he said.
"I came here tonight to join your service for two reasons, Princess," he said, reverting to the diarch's title respectfully. "I came because I love the night time, and, if I'm being honest, prefer being awake at night to being awake during the day. At night...the sky is like art. But the second reason is far less simple. I came to repay a debt I owe to you, Princess, for all the times you helped me when I was young. Though you don't seem to remember me, I remember you, and all you've done for us, the Children, and for me in particular. The story your Majesty has requested is thus:
I was born around twenty six years ago, give or take a month or two, in the town of Moonrise. My parents were the doctors of our little community, so my birth was uneventful. My father was a good pony, though strict, and a little insensitive. Especially for a unicorn like myself. His name was Dusk Falls. My mother, a pegasus like my sister, was named Storm Cloud, and believe me, the name fit. We lived together in relative peace until I was about ten, when they realized something that is...was, a serious stigma in that town. I was afraid of the dark.
In a town so devoted to the Moon in all her aspects, I'm sure Your Highness can imagine how bad this looked to my family. So, they decided to act, little caring how much they scared me, or how much they had to hurt me, to achieve their goal. Not physical harm! I promise, I was never beaten, you can relax, Princess. This tale has a happy ending, I promise."
As he spoke, reassuring the lunar goddess, she relaxed back into her seat, having risen as though to go seek out the stallion's parents and let them know what she thought of their actions right then. Waving a hoof, she gestured for him to continue, which prompted another clearing of the throat on the part of the young unicorn.
"Anyway, I was young, and more than a little bit easy to frighten. I've since outgrown most of that, for the record. But my family tried everything to get rid of my fear of the night.
One week, they blindfolded me, locking the thing in place with magic, to effectively render me blind for a week, to get accustomed to the dark, as they put it. I suppose that's as good a place to start as any. It was the first of their increasingly more forceful attempts to desensitize me, after all." The young unicorn was interrupted, however, by the diarch raising a hoof in his direction and speaking.
"Please, good Night Song, hold a moment. 'Twould perhaps be better for thee to return on the morrow, and begin thy tale then. The hour grows late, and my dear sister shall be arriving presently to begin the daytime functions of the Court. See, the sun hath already risen?" she asked, gesturing with a hoof toward the window.
As if on cue, the enormous double doors at the far end of the throne room swung open on near-silent hinges, and in strode the Solar Princess, Celestia herself. She smiled serenely as she walked up the long carpet extending from the doors to the throne itself, and glanced down at Night with an almost maternal pride.
"Good morning, my little pony. The Night Court is over for the evening, but I'd be glad to hear your petition, if you'd like," she said gently, her smile never faltering as the suddenly embarrassed unicorn bowed low and backed away slowly, stammering his polite declination of her offer. Her radiant smile turned to a look of utter confusion, however, when the slim stallion turned and fled the room, after providing a swift, and very proper, bow to Luna.
Celestia turned to her sister, raising an eyebrow. "Care to explain?" was all she said, exchanging places with the indigo blue alicorn on the throne. She gave her sister a light wing hug as they passed one another, and Luna yawned, immediately using her magic to lift a glass of water from a hidden niche beside the throne and taking a sip.
"I am not sure what thou art referring to, dear Tia," she said. "Clearly, the young colt - forgive me, stallion- was simply unnerved by thy presence, having not been aware of the hour, I suppose. He shall return tomorrow night, I believe. Nocturnal nature, he said. As my last few evening Courts have been...uneventful, to say the least, I welcome the distraction of somepony who revels in my night the way that stallion seemed to." Luna shrugged, turning toward the door and walking away slowly.
"Breakfast awaits you, Lulu. Sleep well, dear sister," Celestia bade her sister good day, electing not to pursue the subject at the moment. It probably isn't important, anyway, she thought, shrugging and turning toward the door, where she noticed a small lavender shape waiting for her. Smiling, she beckoned her student into the throne room, to converse on the day's topics before beginning the Day Court in earnest.