She had to be dreaming. Out of all the ponies in Equestria, why would Luna be addressing her?
“Um, yes Princess it is quite lovely.” Was that the best she could come up with? It’s not every day that a pony gets to talk to royalty, but even so it was a poor response. She waited anxiously as Luna gracefully stepped off the roof above her open window and hovered before her.
“If you don’t mind my asking, is there a reason you aren’t partaking in the festivities with all the others?”
Well if nothing else, she was direct. “I suppose it’s partly habit from how I was raised. I’ve always kept fairly early hours. My parents are somewhat old fashioned in their teachings…”Truth be told she really did want to be down with the other ponies. However, a mixture of social anxiety, as well as her orders from Papa kept her from straying farther than her own front yard. She was unsure of how to display any kind of manners in this situation, it wasn’t exactly covered in her lessons.
As if sensing her anxiety the Princess smiled softly and motioned with a hoof towards the window,” May I?”
With a silent nod she stepped back to allow the Princess passage through the large open window. If only Mama could see her now, she just hoped that Luna was as easygoing as everypony said that she was. There was the occasional suggestion that her performance on Nightmare Night wasn’t entirely an act. A silly notion for a nearly grown mare to entertain, but nevertheless, it did make her slightly uneasy as the Princess glided gracefully into the room.
Luna cringed as she landed with a soft thud, hoping she hadn’t woken anyone. Her eyes glowed a soft white for a few moments as she peeked into the dreams of those in the house. Her eyes returned to normal and she sighed softly in relief as she turned toward Allegora,” Worry not, they are all still fast asleep.” The Princess then unceremoniously plopped her rump down on the floor without waiting for an invitation to sit. She cleared her throat softly before attempting to go about explaining her actions,” I hope that you will excuse me. The festival is somewhat demanding, and there is little time to sit when there are so many roaming about that require greetings and small talk.” She turned to rub a hoof over a sore spot on her back before adding,” Along with many foals requesting a ride in such a manner that it is increasingly difficult to refuse.”
Allegora could hardly believe it, to have one of the Princesses treat her so casually was more than she could hope for. She shifted uneasily under the gaze of the large alicorn before suddenly realizing she was expected to respond to that remark. With slightly wide eyes she shook her head,”Oh! Of course! I mean, I’m sure it must be difficult having to go through so many pleasantries along with everypony trying spend a few moments with you. That together with how long the celebration is would surely make the next few days slightly difficult for you.”
Luna took a short breath before fixing a serious look upon the small blue earth pony,” I may be out of line, but are your sleep habits the real reason behind you staying up here?” There she was being direct again. She didn’t wait for an answer before continuing this time, gazing out the still open window at the bustling crowd below. “The dreams of the ponies during the time of the Summer Sun Celebration are among my favorites. Though the Celebration Day is the main focus of the holiday, it is the merriment of the night before that excites ponies most and gives them fantastic dreams of what will happen even if they do not remember them by morning.” A small smile grew as she looked at a few ponies below in particular, remembering a few of the dreams she had seen from them. Turning back to Allegora her face twisted slightly in worry, “However, I’ve noticed your dreams seem to be filled more with troubles than with thoughts of good times.”
Allegora ran her right hoof over the long braid her mane was in, it had never occurred to her that the Princess of the Night would take notice of her with so many other ponies to look after. She shifted her weight uneasily as she racked her mind for the correct wording of her thoughts. A long pause passed between the two, the only sound being the chatter of the crowd outside as the ponies moved from stall to stall as they worked to cram in every last bit of fun that they could in the hours before sunrise.
At last the uneasy mare filled the small room with her answer,” I feel as if sometimes…perhaps it’s foolish to think so…that I’m not following the right path. That my cutie mark is wrong or maybe I’m a little crazy to feel as though my hobby is more important to me than my talent.” Even as she said it, it sounded insane. Nopony had the wrong cutie mark. Everypony knew what their destiny in life was from the moment they got their mark, surely she was just strange. Her somewhat tall ears flattened against her head as she went on,” I want to do the best I can the talent I’ve been given.”
It felt wrong oh so very wrong. Almost as if she were lying, and she was sure she wasn’t. Her gaze had drifted down to the buttons on her nightdress as she spoke and she was quick to snap them back up to meet the Luna’s worried expression.
The Princess nodded, she’d encountered this problem before, but could do little more than give reassurance. The alicorn took a small breath and glanced around the small room,” I’m sure you are familiar with the story of how I was once banished to live on the moon. That is to say that I too know what it is like to be kept somewhere with little more than my own thoughts. While self-reflection is a good way to get in touch with one’s self there are times when you must look to others to help you see what your true strengths are.”
Allegora bit her lip as she pondered over what exactly the Princess was suggesting she do. She shot a glance at the still open window feeling somewhat flustered,” Surely you can’t mean-“ Luna raised a hoof to cut her off, “Take from that what you will. For now I must go, Tia is sure to be swimming in cake by now and should be stopped lest she spend most of tomorrow with a stomach ache.” Allegora did her best to stifle a small giggle at the thought of the great Princess Celestia swimming in a river of cake.
Princess Luna quietly stretched her wings and slowly moved through the window and hovered outside. Just as she was about to glide down Allegora spoke, a little too loudly,” Wait! I have to know something. Why did you come to see me? I mean…I’ve heard tell that you visit ponies in dreams, but…well…why me? When there are so many others?”
Luna looked back and smiled,” I suppose you could say that you remind me a lot of myself. Truthfully though, your dreams are harder to read than most. That is something I have not experienced in some time. In the last case it meant that there was magic hidden within that pony that they were not fully aware of at the time. Perhaps you will be the same.”
Allegora stood there, dumbfounded at the very thought as she watched the Princess begin to fly towards the crowd. She wanted to ask who that pony had been, what they had done, along with so many other questions. For now all she could do was step back and look down at the bustling crowd below. Maybe the Princess had a point, she had been inside for far too long. She was long overdue to do something she hadn’t done dared to dream about since she was a small filly and definitely not alone.
It was time to disobey Papa. It was time to go outside.