Chapter 1:
Royal Thoughts
Welcome to Canterlot, the capitol city of a magical land called Equestria. The shine from the sun off the marble used to build the city gave the illusion of a diamond atop the mountain. It is where many ponies dream of living one day. Looking into the center of the city, the royal palace stood out among the other opulent buildings. The polished white walls gleamed brighter than any other building. Inside ponies could easily lose their way from the sheer number of hallways. In one hallway, a lone pony stomped along her way. Her blue coat contrasted the white walls she passed. Regal wings were tucked into her body and an ethereal mane and tail flapped in the air as she moved. Her name is Luna, Princess of the Night and co-ruler of Equestria.
Contrary to her usual regal appearance, Luna's crown, breastplate, and greaves did not adorn her today. She was wearing dark blue saddle dress that flowed down her form. By royal standards it was a very simple and some would say unbecoming of one of Luna's stature. However, no pony dared to question her choice of attire as the look in the Princess's eyes was a mixture of anger and disgust. As she quickly trotted through the halls she passed several guards and attendants before coming to a large set of double doors. Bursting through them Luna found herself in the dining hall.
Seated at the massive table were two more alicorns in their regal attire. The smaller one was pink and had a tri-streaked mane and tail of purple, pink, and cream. Her cutie mark was a heart shaped diamond and she co-ruled the Crystal Empire with her new husband. Her name was Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but she preferred to be called Cadence. Seated next to her was a larger white alicorn. Her alabaster coat gleamed as her flowing mane and tail of blue, green, pink and purple flowed to and fro. The sun cutie mark symbolized her dominion over the day. Her subjects knew her as Princess Celestia, but Luna knew her simply as "sister." As Luna stormed in, the documents in front of Celestia and Cadence went flying from their surprise. Celestia looked up to see the intruder. She was shocked to see her sister was still awake this late into the morning.
"Good Morning to you, Luna," Celestia started. "I didn't expect to see you awake this late into my day, Luna."
"T'was nothing joyful here this morning, sister," Luna said harshly. She stomped over to the table and sat at Celestia's right hoof. Cadence's eyes locked on Luna and she could see something was amiss.
"Aunt Luna?" she mused. With her hoof, Cadence called for an attendant to come over.
"Luna, what's the matter?" Celestia asked. One of the attendants came over to Luna and helped her out of her dress while another brought her a cup of tea. But she didn't want any. Luna pushed the tea away and laid her head into her forelegs on the table. Cadence looked upon Luna with concern. She could tell something was wrong with her. Celestia took note of Cadence and what she had seen. The Princess of the Day bit the bullet and revealed to her niece what might be the cause of Luna's bad mood. "Did something happen on your date, Luna?" she asked.
"Date?" Cadence exclaimed wide eyed. "Aunt Luna, you went out on a date?"
"Please, dear niece," Luna began as she raised her head up to the two. The look on her face was of utter disgust. "Do not remind us of our vexation. T'was an engagement that ran afoul and we wish to banish it from our memories." Luna's head returned to her forelegs while Celestia and Cadence looked at each other.
"She only speaks traditionally when she's upset," Cadence said.
"I know," Celestia answered turning to the guards and attendants present.
"Date?" Cadence questioned again. Celestia nodded her head and turned to the guards and attendants.
"Leave us," she ordered. Those Celestia addressed left the room and gave the princesses their privacy. Celestia extended a hoof and ran it through Luna's ethereal mane. Luna responded by looking up and locking eyes with her older sister. "Considering you just got home, that would indicate a wonderful time. But your actions tell another tale, Luna. Tell us what happened?"
"Awful, just awful," Luna said upset. "Tonight we shall journey to the archives to find a charm to exile the memory from our mind."
"What happened?" Celestia asked. Luna took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She could now think clear enough to abandon her traditional speech.
"Well, Celestia," she began calmly. "After we lowered the moon and raised the sun, I took a quick nap before I met a unicorn for a breakfast engagement."
"Any pony we know?" Cadence asked.
"No, Cadence," Luna said and continued. "I met him at a fundraiser a week ago. We started talking and I was invited to breakfast. That is where I went this morning." Celestia and Cadence listened in on Luna's story. "During our meal we spoke on many subjects. I was enjoying myself as well as the company. We spoke of art, literature, philosophy, and astronomy, it was going well. He then invited me for a walk through his garden." Celestia nodded and Cadence took a sip of her tea. "The garden was lovely. I had never seen an abundance of so many different flowers and freshly grown vegetables. In the center of the garden was a grand pond with fish of all types and sizes." Luna began to blush as she reached this part of the story. "It was there that my gentlecolt caller acted most inappropriately. I dare to say scandalous." Luna's blush intensified as she reached the climax. Cadence's mouth gaped opened in shock and she was speechless. To think any pony would act in such a manner and with a princess. Celestia's mood was the opposite. The look on her face was as deadly as manticore venom.
"Luna," she began sternly. "Tell me exactly what he did to you." Luna saw the look in her older sister's face and knew it was best to suppress her embarrassment and continue.
"Well," she began. "We sat at the pond and then he..." Celestia's brow furrowed and Cadence raised her hooves to her mouth. "He..." The tension was building as Luna continued to stutter.
"Tell me now!" Celestia demanded border lining her Royal Canterlot Voice. Luna shuddered a bit more and finally spoke.
"Hetriedtoholdmyhoof!" she said as fast as she could. Luna flopped on the table and covered her head with her forelegs in embarrassment. She waited for a loud objection of rage from Celestia. But to Luna's surprise, it never came. The only sound the Princess of the Night heard was laughter. She raised her head and was shocked to see Cadence with her head thrown back and Celestia maintaining a dignified laugh. Luna's eyes widen in a mix of horror and confusion. Her family was laughing at her. A tear formed in her eye. "Why do you mock me? Can you not see the shameful behavior I endured?"
"Is that all he did?" Cadence asked. "I thought it was something serious."
"Serious?" Luna gasped. "Surely you jest, Cadence. Physical contact is most inappropriate on the first date. A stallion should not touch his mare companion until they are formally committed to each other." Celestia and Cadence let loose another set laughs and Luna was beginning to get frustrated. "T'is not an amusing situation!" Luna said stomping her hoof on the table. The two other alicorns slowly stopped laughing.
"Stop it, Cadence," Celestia said. "We are upsetting Luna." Cadence calmed down and regained her composure. "Luna," the white alicorn started. "That may have been true in our youth. But times have changed in the millennium you were gone. Holding hooves on the first date is a common act used to show affection. There is nothing scandalous about it." Cadence nodded in agreement and took another sip from her tea. "It is also common place for the potential couple to kiss on the first date. It is how they can tell if there is a spark between each other." Luna was frozen in place with a bewildered look on her face. Cadence enchanted a lounge chair from the wall and placed it behind her aunt. She was convinced Luna was about to faint.
"Kiss?" Luna whispered. She was in awe that once intimate acts were now commonplace.
"Should I tell her that Shining Armor and I were kissing, and more, long before we were married?" Cadence whispered to Celestia. The sun goddess quickly shook her head at her niece.
"She is sure to faint if you do that," Celestia whispered back. Luna recovered from her shock and began to drink the tea she had been given to calm her nerves.
"Are you alright?" Cadence asked.
"Y-yes," Luna stammered. "I was simply overloaded by this realization. I knew my views on courtship might be dated. But apparently I underestimated just how dated they would be. Times truly have changed." Luna took another sip of her tea and looked to her sister for guidance.
"It is understandable, Luna," she said. "You were gone for so many years. The world evolved while you retained all of your traditional knowledge, values, and virtues."
"Yes, it would appear so," she answered. "Now I feel just awful of how I treated my date." Cadence took another document from her stack and looked it over as she spoke to her aunt.
"I'm sure all you have to do is explain the situation and you'll be forgiven," Cadence said as she levitated a quill pen.
"That is quiet impossible," Luna started. Cadence started writing as she spoke.
"It's not as if you threatened to throw him in the dungeon," she said with a giggle. Luna's eye began to dart back and forth suspiciously at Cadence's suggestion. The two other alicorns blinked at Luna as she gave an awkward chuckle.
"When he touched me," she started. "I may have released all of my emotions on him." Cadence cringed at the notion while Celestia listened intently. "I told him if I ever saw him again, I would send him to the dungeon for the rest of his life."
"Luna, you completely over reacted," Celestia said condescending. The Princess of the Night lowered her head and eyes. She had no argument to offer. "Anyway, why this sudden interest in dating?" Cadence listened intently when this was brought up. She had been wondering about this herself for the last few minutes. "You have been home for some time. What prompted you to start now?"
"It was Cadence's wedding," Luna began. "It was there I began to notice the jubilation in the eyes of the couples of Equestria. Knowing they bathed in love and companionship everyday. Everything I lacked during my banishment as Nightmare Moon. I just..."
"You want some pony special in your life," Cadence interrupted. Luna's eyes glossed over and she nodded.
"It is so hard finding some pony to be in your heart when you are of the status we are," Luna began. "We are the monarchs of Equestria. Every pony from east to west is our subordinate or subject. How do we choose whom to love? How do we identify those who would look upon us as a means to increase their own status? How can we tell when others hide who they are?" Luna shed a tear as she spoke. Celestia saw the pain her sister held and left her seat. With us unequaled grace, she sauntered to Luna and took her in a hug. When they broke it, Celestia sat down with her little sister. The elder alicorn took a napkin and dried younger one's tears. "Ever since my return," Luna continued. "I have been shunned by many of our subjects. The curse of Nightmare Moon will not let me be. Because of that beast, my circle of friends is still very small. And my choice in potential suitors is significantly smaller."
"I thought you had a wonderful time in Ponyville last Nightmare Night?" Cadence asked.
"I did," Luna responded. "But one small village versus the whole of Equestria. Tell me Cadence, how big would the hole in your heart?" The Princess of Love thought about for a moment. She got up from her seat and went over and embraced her aunt. Cadence was the physical embodiment of love. The thought of having a hole in her heart, even a small one, was weighing heavily on her. Celestia got an idea and reached to retrieve a piece of paper. Quickly, she authored a letter. "Celestia?" Luna asked.
"I have an idea, Luna," Celestia started as she wrote. "I am writing a letter to Twilight Sparkle and her friends. Cadence and I are in the middle of trade agreement and cannot stop at this time. Perhaps they can help you if you wish to begin dating."
"That's an excellent idea, Aunt Celestia," Cadence said. "Aunt Luna, you aren't going to find some pony among the elites in Canterlot. They are too much for you to start with."
"But didn't you and Shining Armor meet here?" Luna responded.
"Yes," Cadence said. "But he was a rare find. Shining Armor was already an up and coming officer. He is caring, humble, and a true gentlecolt. We also knew each other for years in high school. And with me being Twilight Sparkle's foal sitter, it was easy to grow close. But Ponyville is a simple town full of ponies that will be truthful with you. Twilight Sparkle and her friends are just the ponies to help you with modern dating customs."
"Perhaps they know of some eligible stallions you could date," Celestia added. "I hear Big Macintosh may be looking for some pony." Luna looked at her family and pulled them both in close with her magic and into a tight hug.
"Oh thank thee dearest family," Luna boomed in her Royal Canterlot Voice. Quickly, she regained her composure and spoke delicately again. "Surely my friends in Ponyville will be able to help me in my venture to find some pony. At the very least give me the knowledge I need to find one on my own." Once the letter was complete, Celestia used her magic to incinerate it in a puff of green fire.
"Twilight Sparkle will be expecting you tonight, Luna," Celestia said. "Take a couple of days to stay in Ponyville and enjoy yourself."
"Days?" Luna said in surprise. "But my royal duties, I cannot abdicate them."
"Luna, for a thousand years I took on the duties of both of us," Celestia started. "I can handle it for a couple more days." Luna looked Celestia in the eyes and saw she was speaking as a loving sister.
"Dare I even try to quarrel with you?" Luna asked. Celestia gave a gentle smile that Luna knew all too well. "As you wish. But raising the moon remains my task."
"Agreed," Celestia answered. Luna hugged her sister before she gave a yawn. "It would seem that some pony has stayed up past her bedtime."
"Over a millennium of life and I am still a baby to you," Luna said sarcastically. Celestia nuzzled her sister lovingly from the joke.
"It is a perk of being the elder sister," Celestia said. The two exchanged another hug and Luna took her leave. Celestia and Cadence watched as Luna made her way to the doors of dining hall. "Go and get some rest, Luna."
"Sleep well, Auntie," Cadence added. Luna turned to her family and quietly nodded at them. She reached up to open the door and left the hall. Outside were the attendants and guards that had been dismissed.
"You may all return to your duties," Luna said with another yawn. The ponies bowed to their ruler and they all parted ways. Luna slowly made her way along the halls and up a large flight of stairs. As she walked along, the white walls of the palace began to grow darker. The guard's armor switched from solid gold to shades of dark and light blue. The decor turned more antique gothic. Many of the items decorating the halls were remnants of past centuries, paintings, furniture, tapestries, armor and swords. Other items were much older than most ponies could guess. Many were from before the time of Nightmare Moon. Tomes, documents, and jewels were protected behind glass and magic. Luna continued on until she came to a double set of black doors with a crescent moon on them and two guards standing watch on either side.
Entering her bed chambers, Luna was greeted by a white earth pony with a pink mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a pair of pink stars and a pink moon. She smiled as Luna entered the room and bowed to her princess.
"Good morning, Princess Luna," she said.
"Greetings, Moondancer," Luna said to her hoofmaiden. Luna immediately made her way to the bathroom. She was overjoyed to find a bubble bath already drawn for her. "Moondancer, do you possess the gift of clairvoyance?"
"No," Moondancer said with a laugh. "I helped you get dressed this morning for an important engagement, Your Majesty. You acted very tense and nervous. I guessed you might need a bath to relax when you return." Luna smiled and fluttered into the air before slowly lowering her body into the water. She sighed in bliss as the hot water nipped up her legs and then her body. The aroma of lavender from the bubbles soothed her mind. Taking a breath, Luna dove under the water in the large tub. Moondancer took this moment to leave some fresh towels by the side of the tub. She watched as Luna resurfaced with a sigh. "Will there be anything else, Your Majesty?" Luna thought for a moment before answering.
"Yes," she said. "Please, tell me of modern courtship customs." Moondancer looked confused at the request.
"You mean dating?" she responded.
"Yes," Luna said.
"Um, well," Moondancer began. "This is an odd request, Princess. What would you like to know?" Luna suddenly realized the pickle she had put herself in.
"Oh, um," Luna stuttered. Quickly she thought of a cover story. Only Cadence, Celestia, Twilight Sparkle and soon her friends knew she was interested in dating. "Many customs have changed in the thousand years I was gone. I understand romance is the norm in courtship these days. Arranged marriages were the custom in my youth. It peaks my curiosity to how ponies proceed in this day and age."
"Oh, I see," Moondancer said with a smile. Luna sighed in relief on the inside. The white pony sat down at the side of the tub and began to talk with Luna. "It's all very simple. All you have to do is find that one pony that makes you heart flutter and stays in your thoughts constantly. The type of pony where it feels like you cannot live without him or her. At least that's what my mother taught me about finding love."
"Is it difficult to discover this pony?" Luna asked swirling some of the bubbles in tub.
"It can be," Moondancer said. "I dated almost a dozen ponies before I found my husband."
"A dozen?" Luna said in disbelief. Moondancer laughed at Luna's reaction.
"Most of them never went beyond the first date, Princess," Moondancer continued. Luna relaxed a little at this knowledge. "It's essentially trial and error until you find the right one. But when I met my Salty, I just knew there was no pony else I wanted." Luna looked at the gaze in Moondancer's eyes and saw nothing but love. It was that look she craved.
"And what advice would you offer to one who was dating?" Luna asked.
"Well," the white pony answered. "I would say be yourself and listen to your heart." Luna took in Moondancer's words and laid her head back on the side of the tub. "Will there be anything else, Princess Luna?"
"No, Moondancer," Luna responded. "Thank you for everything." Moondancer bowed to Luna and left her alone in the bathroom. Luna settled deeper into her bath when she was alone. As Luna sat in the tub, she pondered Moondancer's words and started talking to herself. "Who would be the perfect mate for me?" She sat up in the tub and lowered herself into the tub as far as she could go. There she stayed for sometime. Luna's mind was racing at some points and calm another. Soon Luna began to clean her wings. One at a time, Luna flared her wings out to let the water soak into her feathers. "He would have to be very intelligent, brave, and certainly chivalrous." Luna took a final plunge under the water and pulled the plug. The bubbles clung to her body like a second skin as the water fell. Luna turned on the overhead shower and rinsed off the remaining bubbles. She used her magic to wrap herself in towels and dry off. "He would have to be good with children; as it is my duty to continue the royal bloodline." Discarding the towels, Luna left the bathroom and went back into her bedroom. Moondancer had already drawn the curtains and turned down the covers on Luna's bed. The Princess of the Night hopped into bed and covered herself with the silk sheets. She laid her head on her pillow and had one more thought on whom her perfect mate would be. "And he'd love me for who I am, even with my quirks." The blue alicorn watched the sun try in vain to bleed through her curtains. Luna spoke one final thought as sleep conquered her. "Where are you, my prince? Nay, where is the other half of my heart?"
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