Just one more star.
Princess Luna moved Deneb southeast of Sadr, completing Cygnus, her midnight swan. Gazing at her masterpiece, she smiled with satisfaction. Thine stars shall be a beautiful sight for the ponies to behold, Luna thought. The night sky was her canvas, and the moon and stars were hers to guide to her will. With the stars, she could create any picture she wished.
To the north of Cygnus, Luna had set the stars to form the Ursa Minor, and to its east, the an image of a harp was in the sky. These were a few among the many illustrations in the sky.
A small, silver bell on her table tinkled softly in the moonlight, signalling the few minutes before the Lunar Court commenced.
Luna left the balcony and proceeded to the throne room. She hoped she would be able to help tonight and improve relations with a few more of her subjects.
Luna arrived in the throne room and sat on her throne. Her throne had been added a while some time after her return to Equestria. As she settled into the seat, she turned her head to the right and gazed at her sister's golden throne. Her own throne was not as large in comparison, but it still was imposing and regal, being forged of the strongest obsidian and containing midnight-blue cushioning.
"Her excellence, the honorable Judge Periwinkle," the Royal Herald announced.
The large doors opened, and an elderly periwinkle pony wearing a black robe entered the room. She walked with confidence and wore her hair into a tight bun. She had a no nonsense look, and her eyes showed her experience and wisdom.
This should be interesting, Luna thought. Let's see how this goes. "How may we help thee?" she inquired in her traditional Canterlot voice.
Strangely, unlike most ponies, Judge Periwinkle gave out her request albeit with a bit of hesitation. "I believe another court and detective agency should be built in Manehattan to specifically to manage the multitude of murder cases that have been happening recently. I also think that the school in Ponyville should be expanded. There are lot of foals, and they are all crammed into a single room," the mare replied promptly. Well, at least she actually said something, and she knew what she wanted. I like her. Most ponies usually run away before they utter a few simple sentences. "Thank you for bringing up thy situation to me. I support thy suggestion, and I think it's is a wise idea considering the situation, but I will need more time to think about my decision. I will research further on it, and thou shall receive a response within a week's time."
For the first time since her entrance, Judge Periwinkle gave a sincere smile. "Thanks for having an audience with me. I look forward to receiving your feedback.
When the serious mare exited the throne room, the Herald didn't waste a second. "Announcing, Hay Bale from Fillydelphia."
A skittish stallion slowly stepped through the golden doors. He was noticeably shaking, and his fear and nervousness was transparent. The stallion was muttering something, but Luna couldn't hear.
"Hello... I was hoping you could help me with something," he stuttered, still shaking.
I swear to the Invisible Pink Goddess, that stallion shakes way more than a soaked dog. At least he isn't Prince Blueblood. That pony is such a spoiled brat. Why did Tia adopt even him into the family? "Yes, what is it thou needs?"
* * *
Luna eagerly continued through her audiences, and before she knew it, there was barely time for her other duties.
Luna gave a nod toward the Herald, and giving an understanding look, he gave Luna room to speak.
"We apologize for the inconvenience, but we have royal duties that we must attend to. If thy situation is urgent, then thou shouldest leave thy notes with the Royal Archivist so that we may review them immediately," Luna informed the ponies in the hall.
Some of them scattered off to the Archivist, and as soon as the remaining ponies left, Luna teleported to her chambers.
Luna gazed at the stacks of papers piled on her desk. She vaguely grimaced at the vast amount. There was a lot of paperwork to complete, and it would take a lot of time, but it was a small price to pay for gaining the ponies approval. Without further delay, Luna started going over the paperwork.
After accepting a couple of proposals and rejecting one about an ice sculpture, Luna's mind wandered to earlier events. A group of dragons had decided to try and raid Equestria, but that plan didn't work out so well. Unfortunately for them, they had forgotten about her sister. The dragons never stood a chance. Luna had came later into the battle, but she surmised that it was somewhat interesting for her sister. Unfortunately, her sister had smelt of dragon breath, and Luna had to clean her sister's mess.
* * *
By the time Luna had finished all the paperwork, it was time for her to enter the dream realm. Luna sat on her bed, and her horn glowed brightly. Her surroundings began to fade, and the view of an ethereal landscape appeared.
Many doors faded into the realm, and Luna chose the closest inconspicuous door. As she journeyed into the dream, she saw her former home, the Castle of the Two Sisters. Inside, there was a scared unicorn filly and a familiar tall, dark figure.
By the Invisible Pink Goddess, this is the twenty-third case of a nightmare about we or our evil entity this week! Luna sighed. "Let's get this over with."
Luna made herself visible to the filly and halted the dream. The filly was visibly crying, and Luna's annoyance suddenly turned to dejection, seeing how she had indirectly terrified the filly. She thought about what action to take and decided to comfort the filly. Luna wrapped her wings around her and gave her a warm hug. "Dear filly, this is only a nightmare. There is no reason to fear we or Nightmare Moon. She is a part of the past, and she is not here anymore." The filly's tears had lessened to a few sniffles, and she gazed up at Luna.
"Are you sure? She scares me so much."
"Yes, she frightens me too, but I promise thee that she cannot hurt you, and if she comes back I will be here."
"Thank you," the filly said with a smile.
"Your welcome, dear filly." Luna became curious of the filly's name and asked, "May I know thy name? I cannot call thou "filly" each time I speak to thee."
"My name is Dinky."
"Okay. Dinky. Tis' a nice name indeed. I am sorry, Dinky, but I must leave thee. I must oversee the other dreams. I bid thee farewell."
"Ok. Bye." Dinky said while waving.
Luna faded out of Dinky's dream and reentered the ethereal realm. She was such a nice filly. I look forward to meeting her once more.
* * *
As Luna returned to the waking world, she was met with a bright light. She frowned slightly. What is Tia doing? The sun shouldn't be up for a few hours or so.
Luna cast a spell and searched for her sister's magic signature. After a second or two, she felt a sensation she had become accustomed to. She immediately deployed her wings, and glided out of the palace.
Luna passed the dimly lit streets of Canterlot, enjoying the serene peace. Most ponies were resting, unaware of the strange sight. Luna traveled past the edge of Canterlot and toward a beautiful prairie, following the faint magic trail. As she softly landed, she saw her sister's familiar pale pink coat, and multicolored mane.
Her sister was on her back, with her eyes closed and a happy smile on her face, unlike the false practiced ones. Luna smiled slightly at the sight.
Luna's expression then immediately turned sour. Tia is supposed to be the perfect princess. All the ponies respect her. How would they react if they found her like this? She should not mess with the sun and act in this unseemly conduct! Luna internally yelled.
After a few minutes, Celestia finally noticed her. "Hello, Lulu," Celestia said with an easily insincere grin.
Luna's scowl deepened in annoyance, and she glared at her sister.
“Ah... 'Put it back where it belongs right now and never do this again,' I presume?”
Luna curtly nodded in reply. Celestia sighed, and after a few moments, her horn glowed, and the sun sank back behind the horizon.
Luna's frown eased a bit although a hint of it still remained.
“Home, Sister. Now.” Luna took off into the sky, knowing her sister would likely follow. While Luna was glad that her sister finally got a well-deserved break, Celestia shouldn't have disrupted nature's balance. As she flew back to the castle, a thought came to Luna's mind.
"Aw, horsefeathers. I have to redo the stars all over again."
The End