Luna slowly closed the cover of the leather bound book, letting it lie on the mattress of her bed as her magic slowly faded from around the book. She stood on her hooves briefly before hopping off the bed so she could stretch her legs and back. Her sister and her had been reading the book for far too long.
“I suppose it is time for you to go to court?” Celestia inquired as she too moved off the bed.
“Indeed. Though there are times I wish it would be empty once again,” Luna replied before poking her tongue out at her sister. This earned a small giggle from Celestia as they both moved through the doorway and into the halls.
“Well, I must leave you, Luna. Those bills are not going to reject themselves,” Celestia said as she began to stride the opposite way of the throne room.
“Perhaps burning them will be quicker!” Luna called back with a smirk on her face.
There was only a light laugh as a response, which was enough for Luna as she continued to stride to the throne room. She had been flickering her eyes to the clock in her room the entire time, making sure to know exactly when they needed to stop reading. She liked to keep a rather meticulous schedule when it came to her duties, ensuring that they were done to the letter.
In fact, it surprised Luna that Twilight was more akin to her than her sister. Celestia was much easier going in all aspects and liked the fluidity that her schedule allowed. no exact times but general areas in which she should aim for. it was amazing that Celestia has somehow been able to run the country while Luna was banished.
As Luna made her way down the halls of the Castle, her mind returned to the journal that they had been reading. Her thoughts glossed over the book itself and focused more on the ‘person’ who had written the book. He was a stranger to the world, never having even seen a pony prior to his arrival just over a year ago.
He didn’t really speak much about his background, but Luna always felt this kinship when she was around him. It was as if they had both endured so much, coupled with a nearly endless well of pain, and yet this still trudged on together. She had tried on multiple occasions to open him up, even talking about her past, but he never spoke a word about it.
That wasn’t to say he didn’t speak about where he was from or some of the things that occurred there, with a distinct lack of his involvement, mind you. He in fact, was rather generous and open when it came to talking about his world, especially when Twilight brought her endless list of questions to him.
The eight hooves tall man, or what he called six foot one, was more like a minotaur then the primates that he said his entire race evolved from. Though he was much leaner than the minotaurs, making his body look like it was built for something faster instead of powerful. The way he moved when he trained with the guard was graceful, agile, and stunning to watch. He couldn’t run like a pony could, but he didn’t need to … he showed that he could fend off anyone. Luna blushed when she thought of him working out and showing off, and she had to shake her head a little violently to clear her thoughts. To say that she didn’t find him oddly attractive would be a lie to span the centuries, but even if she had wanted to act on it, it was too late now.
Still she remembered the short black haired, fully bearded, and scarred man with great fondness. Luna had told Celestia that she felt compelled to read the journal tonight, but that wasn’t the full truth. She had in fact been reading it whenever she got the chance to. Yet she would always ask herself why she was reading it.
The journal wouldn’t bring him back, nor did it give her a picture of him to admire. Perhaps it was a spark of hope that he would one day return, having faced certain death. Luna’s face lit up in a smile at that thought. It would be an oh so, joyous day if he were to suddenly march down the street of Canterlot, weapons slung over his shoulder, clothes slightly tattered as to show his hardships. She would rush him the moment she saw him, leaping at him as a lover would to their long lost mate. The thought of such a thing happening overpowered her and forced her hindquarters to the ground as she imagined herself hugging him tightly with all of her might.
Yet she knew it was not likely to happen, and with a small sigh escaping her lips, she rose back to her hooves and continued her way to the throne. Perhaps tomorrow she would entice Celestia to continue reading with her.
Even though it was her sister, Luna still liked to feel a warm body next to her as she read.
The night had been a little exhausting for Luna, but in a good way. Night Court had gone well as it usually went, the ponies who actually came before Luna often had a preconceived notion that she would not tolerate any sort of deceit and foolishness. If only they knew that she used to be the prankster between the sisters. Perhaps one court night, she would show them that she wasn’t a complete stick in the mud.
Luna hummed a tune she remembered from her childhood as she made her way down the halls and towards the Royal Dining room. A stray thought crept into her mind; why were most of the rooms in the castle called that? They were all preceded by the word ‘Royal’ as if it added a big significance to the meaning. It was a trivial thing in her opinion, but if it meant something to somepony, then who was she to deny the desires of her citizens.
It only took Luna a few more minutes of trodding down the halls to find the dining room. Celestia was already there, ready for the day to begin, which it already had. Celestia had made it mandatory for them to be together when Luna rose the moon, just so her sister and her could spend sometime together, yet Celestia would hear none of it when Luna offered to be there when she rose the sun. Luna merely shook her head at her sister’s quirks.
“How went the night, ‘Tia?” Luna said as she trotted over to her seat across from her sister. Whenever they had a meal alone, neither of them would take the head of the table. It was to show that they were equal, or so the rumour went. In reality they did this, because both of them ended up with minor kinks in their necks one day after having to keep their heads turned to face each other. Neither of the sisters bothered to correct the rumour, instead letting it spill out into the country.
“Not a single bill passed,” Celestia said as she sipped on a cup of coffee. Despite what ponies said, she always preferred the black stuff over tea. Not to say she didn’t like tea, she just enjoyed coffee more.
“Really?” Luna asked as she called over a waitress to order her meal, “Jasmine tea and a salad, please.”
“Indeed, though I think I know why,” Celestia said before taking another sip. “It would seem that the Duke of Bismarech has been kissing more flank than usual.”
‘“Tia! How could you say that about the Duke!” Luna said behind a hoof that hardly concealed her smile. Luna personally enjoyed it when her sister would cuss or say something that wasn’t exactly standard to the title of Princess. It reminded her of a simpler time, when they weren’t ruling a country.
Celestia let a little giggle out before switching the conversation away from herself and onto Luna. “How did the night go after I left?”
“It was more typical than anything,” Luna said as the waitress brought her salad and tea. “Thank you. Anyway, there wasn’t anything outstanding with the petitions, merely concerned ponies with personal problems. Dreamwalking went smoothly, in fact, too smoothly. There wasn’t a single nightmare last night.”
Celestia could see the small pout that Luna’s lips had formed, and it was adorable. She merely smiled at Luna, knowing full well that Luna always wanted to her help her citizens and when she didn’t need to, Luna acted as though she had been left out of something important.
Luna’s pout quickly disappeared though, as she began to dig into her salad with vigor. Sometimes it amazed Celestia that her sister didn’t bend any cutlery when she attacked her food. Celestia had always been the more dainty eater, preferring to take her time and instead chat with her dinner guests if she had any. Luna acted more like a famished pony, digging into her meal quickly and finishing just as fast.
So fast sometimes, that Celestia had to merely follow a small train of thought to occupy her time until Luna was finished. This happened to be one of those times. In the space of time it took Celestia to think about their eating habits, Luna had finished that salad and her tea.
“It amazes me everytime I see you eat, Luna. Somehow you manage to fit your entire meal into your mouth in one go.”
“Don’t act as though you don’t like larger things in your mouth,” Luna quickly responded, blowing a raspberry at her sister. This caused Celestia to chuckle in response, even though her cheeks burned red at the comment. Despite the embarrassment, Celestia was glad that her sister made comments like that, for it meant that Luna was acting more like her old self.
That was something that Celestia would give the world for.
Both of them sat in silence and just basked in the calm ambience of the room. Sometimes neither of them needed to talk to understand one another, and this was one of those moments. In the end though, the moment had to close out. They couldn’t just sit there forever as one had Royal Duties to do while the other got to sleep. When it was mutually, yet silently, agreed that it was time to part ways, they both rose from their seats and proceeded to the door.
“Have a good day, Luna,” Celestia said before wrapping a foreleg around Luna’s neck. The smaller princess embraced the hug and returned it in kind.
“I will, sis, oh and don’t expect me for dinner. There was a large amount of paperwork on my desk last time I checked,” Luna said before opening the door and trotting down the hallway to her left. At first, Celestia thought it a little odd for Luna to leave so quickly as well as decide to skip dinner like that, especially since Luna hated paperwork. Though perhaps Luna was really looking forward to having a nice long sleep, which she could get started early on if she finished that large amount of paperwork.
In reality, Celestia had no idea what Luna was actually planning on doing. It wasn’t anything devious, conniving, or even evil. No, Luna just didn’t want to sleep tonight while she was only part way through her reading.
Despite having read the book cover to cover multiple times, she always got so engrossed in his thoughts and observations. He wasn’t a skilled storyteller mind you, but nevertheless, Luna enjoyed reading what he wrote more than most other books. Luna, of course, knew why she felt that way for him and if it were ever brought up, she would deny if furiously. Yet in the end, she had to accept it; she loved him.
She loved him enough to endure a full day of paperwork just to read his journal.
The day flew by so quickly for Luna, with all of the paperwork making it seem like she had just sat down. A meal was brought to her which she hardly remembered eating, but the empty plate said otherwise. As the clock in her rather empty study struck seven, which caused Luna to violently blink a few times before she realised that the latest piece of paperwork was just an empty piece of paper that now had her signature on. In the back of her mind this caused a few alarm bells of worry, but she quickly dismissed them. She had simply just been too focused, as was often the case when your study had only a desk in the center, a chain in front, and a single clock.
So when Luna finally reached her room, after narrowly avoiding multiple ponies that were looking to chat, she closed the door firmly before nearly throwing herself on top of her bed so that she could read more. Her entire self was exhausted, but she had to keep reading.
A quick use of her magic, and all natural and foreign light sources were extinguished, so to give the illusion of her sleeping. The door was locked promptly after removing all light, and the book was moved from her night stand to in front of her face. Finally, her horn lit up to provide a pleasant light for her to use while reading as she flipped to the next entry.
