(Here is the first chapter of the extended version of In Tenebrae Invenit. I hope you enjoy it.)
“I rule in favor of Starlight Helios. Let the royal record hold that on this date I, Princess Luna, do decree that Starlight Helios will not be held responsible for misinterpreted stellar formations.” Princess Luna sat upon her throne, presiding over the current assembly. You were standing a few feet back from the throne, but clearly next to it. This was the final hearing of the day, and you are eager to finally head back to Luna’s chambers to finish your duties for the day. As usual Luna takes her time with each case, sometimes ruling fairly, but more often than not, she rules arbitrarily. She applies the law, but only the letter of the law, rather than the spirit.
As the last of the ponies exit the chambers Luna stands up, getting out of the throne. She lets out a small sigh, glad to be finished for the day. With a small gesture she starts heading for her tower, and you follow. Despite your professional relationship with the Princess you do sometimes wish she’d lighten up occasionally. You walk behind her, careful to keep a good following distance. You take the time to appreciate the castle around you. It’s always impressed you, and this time is no different.
Through some of the windows you catch brief glimpses of the many arches and buttresses that make up the castle’s formidable defenses. Nopony has attacked Canterlot in years, but it is better to stay safe. As you head upstairs the view from the windows slowly shifts, to reveal the landscape surrounding Canterlot. Lush forests stretch in almost all directions, and you can even make out the small villages dotting the outskirts of Canterlot.
You have the route to Princess Luna’s quarters memorized, so you know exactly when you’ll finally be able to see Luna’s tower. Right on schedule you get your first glimpse of the tower. The entire castle is a resplendent thing, but to you, Luna’s tower is the most visually appealing of them all. While not as tall as Celestia’s tower, it has a unique charm to it. The large buttresses that support the tower lend it a more gothic appearance than the rest of the castle. While not sinister in appearance it is certainly different than the pristine marble of the rest of the castle.
You pass the first pair of guards that bar the way to Luna’s quarters. As you pass they silently stand vigil, ready for trouble. You give a brief nod to them as you pass, and they return it. Your standing amongst the guard has led to them respecting you, if only grudgingly. You know all of their names, and why they are all part of the guard. You’ve served faithfully for ten years, and that makes you the longest serving guard in the entire royal guard. Celestia has personally requested your transfer to her division many times, but you always turn her down.
The last time she did that Luna was the one who declined her request. It surprised you, but you managed to pull off a look of indifference. You refused to let your personal feelings get in the way of your duties. You had a sinking suspicion that Celestia could sense your feelings for her sister, but if she did she never acted on it. You were grateful for that, because if your feelings did get out it would strain, and more than likely, break your relationship with Luna.
As you reach the final set of doors to Luna’s quarters the guards bar your way. Luna stands before them, and she uses her magic to unlock the arcane locking mechanism. With a satisfying series of clicks the door unlocks, and slowly swings inward. The guards snap to attention as you pass by, and so you and Luna enter her quarters.
As you enter you hear the familiar groan of the door closing behind you, and you glance over your shoulder, as you do every single evening. The door has a glow about it that you recognize as Luna’s. You shake your head quickly, still in awe of the magical potential she wields. The first time you ever saw her use her magic it scared you senseless. Now, though, you were just wary of her.
You walk farther into the room, looking at all of the familiar accoutrements decorating Luna’s private study. You’ve already examined every piece in the room, but you still feign interest in some of the random baubles, since it is easier than talking to Luna. She’s a great conversationalist, no doubting that, but almost every time she’s spoken to you in private you’ve wound up making yourself look like a fool. You hear her mumbling to herself quietly, but that’s normal, so you continue your four hundredth investigation of this particular map of Canterlot. You could draw it in your sleep, you’ve looked at it so many times.
You hear a small cry of success, and you immediately turn to look and see what is happening. Given the Princess’ knack for collecting rare, and dangerous, spell books it was never unwise to assume that something could go wrong in a moment. You watch as she pulls down the tome she discovered, and then she heads over to her favorite chair, and takes a seat. You resume your inspection of the map, and time seems to pass without your noticing.
As you look at the map you pick out the approximate location of your home on it. Only a short walk from the castle would get you home. You sister was probably there, working on her homework. Sadly, the memory of your parents’ death was still fresh. Your sister could hardly remember it, but for you it was still fresh. The screams of the wounded and dying still haunt you.
You shake your head vigorously, not wanting to think about that right now. You can’t afford to think about that while your working, so instead you start going through your pre-flight checklist, to distract yourself from the darker thoughts running through your mind. You only get a few items down your list, though, before you feel a presence approaching. Given that only you and Luna are in the room it has to be her. She’s acted queerly before, and so you don’t react to it.
“Tell me, Knight, how many times have you looked at this map of Canterlot?” You hear the humor in her voice, but you don’t react to it. You don’t even turn around to respond to her, instead keeping your voice level, and under control.
“Tonight makes four hundred, Princess.” She lets out a small laugh, but you don’t react. Luna’s laughter was rare, and you treasured it every time you heard it. It was a soft, tantalizing, sound. It always left you wanting more, but to hear more would render it less special. Unlike usual, though, she stays behind you, waiting for you to do something.
While she has acted like this before tonight it felt different. With a mental sigh, you turn and look up to meet Luna’s gaze. “Is there something you require, Princess? I am here to help you with anything you may need.” Her eyes have a different sparkle in them and you feel put off by them.
“Please, Knight. I’d like it if tonight we avoided the usual pomp and ceremony. You’ve been a member of my guard for ten years now. And my own personal escort for almost six.” She gives you a small smile, and you feel yourself relaxing, despite your desire to keep things professional. “I just want to talk with you some. You’ve always answered my questions honestly, and I would like to hear your thoughts on several matters.”
“Very well, Princess.” Damn, habits are hard to break. She smiles at you, and leads you to one of the large plush chairs she has arranged around a small coffee table. You take a seat, and Luna sits across from you a few moments later. A small piece of parchment is levitating in front of her and a quill too. She writes on the parchment quickly, and then she looks up from her writing, and looks at you.
“My first question has to do with the proceedings at court. I have noticed that at times you seem uncomfortable with the judgments I make.” She’s not accusing you of anything, but you still feel a small tinge of guilt. “There is no problem with that, as I can’t please everypony. My question, though, is why you seem to be uncomfortable as often as you are?”
You take some time to reason out your answer in your head, before you finally settle on what you want to say. Before you speak, though, you make sure to take out the usual formalities that you’d lay into your speech. “Well, Luna, I see the reasoning behind your rulings, but I don’t always agree with the way you do it. You take the law at face value, even though there are times when you need to look at the spirit of the law, rather than the words.”
Luna writes down your every word, and then she looks up, and at you once more. “Please, continue.”
“If a pony acts within the literal confines of the law, they are doing nothing wrong. But if a pony were to interpret the law, then act as they thought was right, they may do something that is not actually allowed.” You pause, trying to collect your thoughts. “Suppose that you loaned me a book, and told me that the cover had to be back on your table in one day. Is that a reasonable situation?”
Luna finishes writing, and looks up. “Yes. I could see such an arrangement taking place. Continue, please, I find this interesting.”
“Well, a day passes, and you enter the room to find the cover, and only the cover, of the book sitting on the table. What would you do?”
“I’d be forced to punish you for not returning the book. I don’t see what you’re getting at.” Her look of confusion is quite sincere, so you take another moment to collect yourself.
“As I said, you asked for the cover of the book to be returned, not the book. I did what you asked, but not what you meant. That is the spirit of the law versus the letter of the law. In the proceedings of court you tend to follow only the word of the law, rather than the spirit. It does make it harder to pass judgment, but it is much more fair to all parties concerned.”
She finishes writing, and then she stands up, and heads to her balcony. “We’ll continue in a moment, I must raise my moon to grace the night once more.” She steps out onto the balcony, and then spreads her wings. You head over, just as she takes flight. She gracefully soars a few dozen feet from the balcony, and then she hovers in place. Her horn glows, and you watch as the whole sky darkens, going from the orange of sunset to the deep blue of night.
Luna’s horn glows brighter still, and then the first few stars appear. Then, with a flourish of magic the stars seem to burst into millions of other stars. It makes you think of fireworks. Soon, though, there are more stars illuminating the night than any one pony could ever hope to count. You look down to Luna once more, and see a look of true happiness on her face. You see this look on her every evening, but it never loses anything. It is just as beautiful as the first time you laid eyes on it, and it always made you happy to see.
As the night sky neared completion you watched as the moon finally began its long trip across the sky. Having finished her craft, Luna turns and begins her return to the balcony. You take several steps back, giving her room to land. She does so with all the grace of a goddess, and you barely manage to hold back your reaction to her beauty. Before you can stop yourself, you speak your mind.
“Your beauty is unmatched, Princess. To watch you create the night sky is truly the greatest reward of my duties.” You feel a heat rise to your cheeks as you finish, and you quickly turn away before Luna can see your blush. After a moment, she clears her throat, and you turn to see her back in her chair.
“Well, shall we continue, Knight?”
You take your seat, and take a deep breath to steady yourself. “Yes, lets.”
“My next question is one relating to the common people of Canterlot. I would like to know what the ponies of our kingdom think of me. Not just as their ruler, but as a pony.”
“Well, Luna,” it’s hard to refer to her as Luna, rather than Princess, “the ponies of Canterlot don’t really know you well enough to judge that. They respect you for the fact that you are their Princess, but they neither love you, nor hate you. When you work your most potent magic most of the ponies in the land are too busy with their evening routines to notice. And after that they go to bed, and don’t really take the time to appreciate the beauty you craft every evening.” Luna writes what you’ve said down, and then she gestures for you to continue. “There is also the manner in which you act amongst the common ponies. When you walk amongst them it is, and always will be, impossible for you to blend in. But you don’t always need to have me, and nine other guards to protect you.
“For you to have such a large escort makes it appear like you are afraid of the ponies. Why would you need a guard of such strength, if not to protect you? And what do you seek protection from? These are the types of questions that the commoners ask themselves when you walk amongst them with a full squad of guards. You need to get some exposure to the ponies, and then you will be able to ask me that question once more.” You finish, and give a great mental sigh.
Luna writes for a few moments more, and then she lowers the quill and parchment. “You have given me much to ponder, Knight. I will think on these questions, and answers, and perhaps I shall change the way I do things. Now then, I have a few things I’d like you to take care of, and then you are dismissed for the evening. Oh, and before you go, thank you. Most of my advisors would lie to me to make me feel better. I appreciate your honesty.”
The things she had you take care of were quick, and you finished them all in just under an hour. With all of your duties taken care of, you took your leave of the Princess. She was a bit more pleasant than she’s been over the past few weeks, and you are happier for it. Hopefully this will last for a while. I like this happier Luna.
You make your way through Canterlot, and soon you are home. You open the door, and the first thing you spot is your sister sitting in the dining room with a quill levitating in front of her. With a small pulse of magic you watch the quill change colors several times, before returning to its original shade of gray.
“I’m home.” The quill that was floating in front of her dropped abruptly as you announce yourself, and she leaps from the chair, and bounds over to you. She embraces you, and you return the embrace. “So, how was school today? Learn any new spells?”
She quickly starts running through the spells they learned today, and you let her go. She’s so eager to learn, and you don’t want to stifle her desire to learn. You look at her in silent awe, always appreciative of the way she looked so much like your mother, save for the horn. Dad was a unicorn, and mom a pegasus. You took mom’s wings, and dads body, and your sister the opposite.
“So, what didja do with Luna today? Anything fun?” She cocks her head for a moment, and a grin spreads across her face. “Did you make a move?” You playfully push her, and she grins wider.
“No, Moonbeam, I didn’t make a move.” She almost always asked, since she knew of the way you felt about Luna. Although you had never told her about the way you felt, she had figured it out on her own. Sometimes she’s almost too clever. “Now, I think it’s bedtime, don’t you?”
With a sharp squeak she takes off, and heads upstairs. You slowly follow, already knowing how things will end. She did this almost every night, and they always ended the same way. You check her room first, and, surprisingly, she’s there. She’s sitting on her bed, holding a small book. “Don’t you think you’re a bit too old for bedtime stories?” She shakes her head vigorously, and for just a moment, you wonder if it will fall off given how quickly she’s shaking her head.
“It’s not a bedtime story! It’s the album.” The album was all you had left of mom and dad. It was a collection of some paintings they made, and had made. You take a seat next to Moonbeam on the bed, and she quickly crawls under the covers. You open it up to the first picture.
“This is a picture of Mom and Dad just a few days after they met for the first time…”
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Just under half an hour later, and she was fast asleep. You only got through half the album, but it was enough to stir up some less than pleasant memories. You make your way to your room, and soon you are lying in bed, waiting for sleep. When it doesn’t come, you sit up, and climb out of bed. You look out the window for a few moments, just watching the night sky.
“Vast, unimaginably vast, and yet I get to watch its creation every sunset.” You turn away from the window, get a drink of water, and then come back to bed. Sleep finally does take you, and you enjoy a restful, dreamless sleep.
(Now then, if anyone can think of a better name for this chapter, let me know. I want to name each chapter, in addition to numbering it. Thanks in advance.)