Phases of the Moon

by Laurence Brown

Crescent -- Chapter 3

Acorn was starting to have serious doubts about his decision to move away from his parents and into a tree of his own for the winter. It was his third day in his new home, and what had looked to be a rather nice place at the beginning was starting to showcase some faults that hadn't been readily apparent before.

One of the shortcomings that he hadn't been aware of was just how alone he was in his new abode. None of the other nearby trees had any squirrels living in them, which meant he didn't have anyone he could talk to, even if for just a few minutes each day. Sure, he had wanted to escape from the crowded conditions of living with seven other squirrels in a den meant for three or four, but he hadn't wanted complete solitude either.

Another problem was the wind. When Fluttershy had brought him to check out the place it had been a calm day, so Acorn hadn't given any thought to which way the air currents traveled. The next day though had featured a steady, chilly breeze, and it had blown almost straight into his den. He had been forced to curl up into a very tight ball on one side of his already somewhat cramped quarters in order to avoid the frigid temperatures. He had hoped that it had been a fluke, but last night right before he went to sleep the wind had picked up and once again it had come from the same direction.

Now he found himself in a dilemma. Fluttershy had been pretty insistent that there weren't enough places to go around, and that he had been lucky to get this place. Would he be able to ask his parents to let him back in for the winter, even though he knew how cramped and uncomfortable it would be even with him not there? What would his friends Chestnut and Walnut say to him, after he had bragged about getting his own home?

The sound of a closing door interrupted the squirrel's thoughts. Looking down, Acorn saw that the pony who lived in the nearby house was once again heading out. He wasn't sure where the green equine went, but he seemed to spend a good part of his day there before retuning late in the afternoon. He was friendly enough, Acorn supposed, even though the two of them were unable to understand what the other said. That didn't keep the pony from stopping at the base of his tree and waving up at him while neighing some random noises.

Acorn got to thinking as he watched the pony leave. Just where did he go, anyway? On a whim, he made his way down the trunk of his tree and followed the pony. While the thought of a long and tiring journey didn't exactly thrill him, it certainly beat the prospect of spending another day curled up, trying to keep the cold at bay. Add to that the possibility of meeting other squirrels, and it might not turn out to be such a bad idea after all. With a determination rarely seen in a carefree species such as squirrels, Acorn did his best to keep the pony in sight as he scampered down the road after him.

---

"Hear ye, hear ye! I hereby declare this special session of the Royal Assembly to be open! Would everypony please take their seats so that we may take the roll?" Luna watched as the royal herald repeated his cries, trying his best to get the nobles in attendance to break up from their small circles of discussion and get down to business. Soon, the room quieted, and the call and reply of the roll was underway.

Luna looked around the large meeting hall that the assembly was held in. At the front of the room was a raised podium, where the herald was currently calling attendance. Arrayed in front of him were numerous rows of seats of various types. Each pony seemed to have a different preference for what they wanted to spend hours seated in, and so accommodations ranged from simple hay bales to custom crafted cushions, complete with their owner's cutie mark prominently displayed on them. There were even a few, Luna noted, that eschewed seats altogether and simply stood in place.

Behind all of that, taking up the back third of the area, was a standing room only section for spectators to quietly watch the proceedings. Apparently word had spread about today's agenda, because it appeared to Luna that it was filled with ponies, all packed in shoulder to shoulder. From where she stood, next to the wall to the side of the podium, she couldn't tell what the mood of the attending ponies was, but she took the lack of outbursts to mean that they intended to watch the proceedings peacefully for now. Of course, she mused, the half dozen guards keeping watch between them and the nobles probably had something to do with that too.

Finally, the taking of the attendance was finished, and the herald called for the secretary to read the minutes of the previous meeting. Luna did her best to hide her impatience at the lengthy procedures that had to be followed. She glanced to her side at her sister, who gave her a reassuring smile. "How are you holding up?" Celestia asked her in a whisper.

Luna smiled weakly in return. "I was doing okay when we first got here," she quietly replied, "but with how long all of this is taking, I can feel my confidence slowly slipping away."

"You'll do fine," Celestia assured her. "Remember, this is a smaller gathering than the dinner we were at less than a week ago. You handled that eager crowd easily, and this group won't be rushing up to you for a chance to shake your hoof." She pointed at the stack of notes that lay at Luna's hooves. "You put a lot of hard work into that. Trust in yourself, put on a confident show, and we'll be celebrating your success over dinner."

The secretary finished his recitation, and the herald then called Celestia to the podium. Giving her sister one last wink, she made her way to the stand and nodded her thanks to the herald. She waited for the polite applause to quiet down and said, "Thank you, noble ponies of Equestria, for answering my hasty summons on such short notice. I have called you here today for what will likely be viewed as a major historical event in the centuries to come. Me and my sister Princess Luna come before you to ask for your approval in giving her back the duty of raising and lowering the moon every night."

Having already heard Celestia's speech during their practice runs, Luna turned her attention to her notes. She quickly skimmed over her own speech, which would be given shortly after Celestia's, and focused instead on the notes she had taken to help her answer some of the more personal and difficult questions she expected to be asked of her. She really hoped she wouldn't have to explain exactly why she wasn't going to turn into Nightmare Moon again, or why she had done so a thousand years ago, but she had a suspicion that she was going to have to regardless of her wishes.

Hearing her name called, Luna gathered up her notes with a quick spell and floated them over with her to the podium, taking a moment to look at the assembled ponies. After swallowing down a knot of nervousness, she began to speak. "Nobles, commoners and elected officials. Ponies of earth, sky and magic. Thank you all for your time and your attention. As my sister Princess Celestia so eloquently said, what we are about to ask you to vote on is something that will be remembered for generations to come. Never before in the annals of our history has something like this been considered, which is why we have come to you for guidance. So please, when you cast your votes on this matter, don't think only on what it means for us today, but also about what kind of precedent you will be setting for the future.

"I understand that many among you still harbor distrust towards me over the events of the Summer Sun Celebration last summer, something that I fully understand. As I have stated many times since then, while I was not fully myself during that time, I have accepted full responsibility for my actions. Since then I have done everything that I can to atone for what was done while also moving past it. I feel that I have done so successfully. Indeed, I would not be here before you today if I didn't feel that I had done so, and as she said a moment ago, Princess Celestia would not be helping in this matter if she didn't think that I had either.

"Still, for me to simply expect for you to simply take my say so without any qualms would be rather presumptuous. That is why we are here, to give you the opportunity to ask me your questions or voice whatever concerns you may still have, and to give me the chance to answer them. Please, assembled nobles, take and use this time to its fullest. I eagerly await not only your queries, but the chance to prove myself before you."

Having finished her opening statement, she politely bowed her head to the assembled nobles and stepped back from the podium. She walked past the herald who was taking the podium to further the proceedings and headed back to Celestia, who gave her a proud smile. "Well done! If you keep that up, there shouldn't be any doubt at all about the outcome of today's assembly."

"I'll be honest," Luna replied, "that went easier than I thought it was going to. All that practice we put in helped a lot, so thank you again."

Her sister chuckled. "I'm glad that it did help. However," she said, her expression turning serious, "that was the easy part. Are you ready to answer the questions they're going to bring up?"

Luna nodded. "Yes. If anything, this is a blessing in disguise, having to go through this. It will give me the chance to say all the things I've been trying to. Add in the fact that I have a captive audience, and with reporters in the back taking notes so that other ponies who aren't here will also get to know what I said? I don't know if I could have arranged to make my case to such a large group by myself."

Celestia turned her eyes upward for a brief second before looking back at the podium. "It looks like you have just a couple more minutes before the 'fun' starts up. Let's take one last look at those notes, shall we?"

---

"Whew, that took a bit longer than I expected, but I'm glad it went smoothly," Haystack said to Pine Needle as they stood side by side, looking over their handiwork. The two stallions had spent the morning harvesting the last of the produce from the vegetable garden next to the pegasus's barn. "We had a couple of days to spare, but we weren't going to get anything else from the plants this season, so why put it off, right?"

Pine Needle nodded. "Indeed! So, what now, mine friend?"

"Actually, I was going to ask if you've seen that squirrel that seems to have been watching us all morning?" the pegasus replied, pointing off towards the one of the few shade trees in the front yard of his house. "I don't have any squirrels in my trees, and the intensity with which it has been keeping an eye on us has made me curious."

"Squirrel?" Pine Needle asked, looking at the tree that Haystack had indicated. "It couldn't be Acorn, could it?" He slowly trotted over and looked up. While he wasn't positive—since he previously hadn't made a habit of trying to notice the differences between various tree living rodents—he thought that the squirrel looking down at him could very well be the new tenant of his pine trees.

"Is that you, Acorn?" he called upwards. "What are you doing out here?" The squirrel overhead replied with a string of chatters and chirps that, even though the earth pony below understood none of it, made Pine Needle certain that it was Acorn. "Get down here right now!" he said in a stern voice, tapping the ground in front of him firmly with a hoof.

Haystack trotted over with a bemused look on his face. "So, that's the new neighbor that Fluttershy herself brought over to you?" He looked back and forth between his friend and the squirrel, who both seemed to be doing their best to frustrate one another. "Um, does it even understand what you're saying?"

"I don't know," Pine Needle admitted. "I don't think so, but then Fluttershy was able to talk with it like I'm trying to, so I think that it can?"

"Ah, there's your problem. Fluttershy has a skill when it comes to communicating with animals. My guess is that it might understand the general gist of what you're trying to convey through tone and actions, but I'd be surprised if it could actually understand exactly what you're saying."

Pine Needle turned from the tree to look at Haystack. "Really? Huh. That seems to be an odd talent for a pegasus, if you don't mind me saying so."

"Says the earth pony who claims to use some sort of unheard of magic, to the pegasus who works as a farmer?" Haystack replied dryly.

"Ah, err, um, well said," Pine Needle said, embarrassment plain on his face. "Anyway, I don't suppose you have any clue what to do?"

"Well, maybe that earth pony magic you talk about can help you bridge that gap somehow? Have you tried using it while talking at it?" the pegasus asked.

"It doesn't work that way, but I suppose it can't hurt to try it either," he conceded. After a short moment of closing his eyes and focusing, he looked upward at Acorn. "If you understand what I'm saying, please show me by, um, coming down here and waving at me." The squirrel tilted his head to one side briefly before replying with another barrage of scolds and chatters.

"Try talking to it in squirrel," Haystack suggested.

Pine Needle turned and gave Haystack an incredulous look. "I have no idea if squirrel is even a language, let alone how to talk in it!" he exclaimed.

"Well, try copying the sounds it's making, while using your magic. Like you said, it can't hurt to try, right?"

Swallowing a sigh, Pine Needle turned his attention back to Acorn. "Um, squeak squeakun squeek squeekers?" he called up. As he expected, it seemed to make no sense to the animal above.

"Just out of curiosity, what were you trying to say to it?" Haystack asked.

"Same as before, although knowing mine luck I probably said something about dancing with a rock or the like if what I said meant anything at all." Pine Needle looked back up at the squirrel, who seemed to have run out of things to make noise about for the moment. "Still, I'm surprised that he followed me all this way. I didn't think that squirrels ranged so far."

"I didn't either, but then I'm no expert. The only pony I can think of who would be off the top of my head would be Fluttershy. Maybe she would know why Acorn followed you all the way out here?"

"That's actually a good idea," Pine Needle admitted. "She told me that if I had any problems that I should come and see her. I'd take Acorn there myself, if he would just COME DOWN HERE, NOW!" He stomped at the ground in front of him as he yelled the last bit up at Acorn, who in return resumed his barrage of squeaks and chirps from above.

"How about you just stay here with Acorn, and I'll go see if Fluttershy has a spare moment to come here instead?" Seeing his earth pony friend nod, Haystack took to the sky and flew off to fetch the pegasus animal prodigy.

---

With a nod from the herald Luna retook the podium, but before she could even open her mouth half a dozen nobles shouted out for her attention, wanting the opportunity to be the first to speak. She almost froze in shock, not expecting such eagerness from the assembled nobleponies, but managed to keep her composure. Not having any preference as to who asked her the first question, she pointed a hoof at a dark purple pegasus who was seated near the front and said, "You first, good sir."

The pegasus stood with a pleased look on his face, and the hall quickly fell silent so everypony could hear. "Thank you, your highness. First, please let me state on behalf of the entire Windwalker family how glad we are to see you wanting to take a more active role in Equestrian society." Seeing a nod of thanks from the princess, he continued. "That said, just how will raising the moon on a nightly basis help you to do that? After all, the rising and the setting of the sun and the moon as performed by Princess Celestia are, with the exception of certain special occasions like the Summer Sun Celebration, non events. Are you planning to change the status quo if you regain the privilege of raising and lowering the moon, and if so how?"

"Excellent questions, Lord Windwalker," Luna replied. "If I may answer the second part first, no, I do not plan on changing the status quo. As my sister has certain days where her ability and duty to raise the sun are highlighted, I would only make a spectacle of moving the moon when it would be part of something bigger. Which leads to the first part, that it would be during such events that being able to raise and lower the moon would give me more chances to interact with the ponies of Equestria. The only obvious changes that I could see being made would be resumption of ancient festivals, such as the long forgotten Winter Moon Celebration, that have been dropped from common usage due to my crimes from a millennium in the past."

The pegasus bowed and resumed his seat. Again, numerous ponies raised their hooves and made calls for her attention. She gestured at a bright green unicorn, who had been looking at her with obvious distrust. 'This is a good time for me to get what should be a difficult question out of the way,' she mused, 'especially after such an easy start to things'.

"I hope you'll pardon my bluntness, your Majesty," said the unicorn is a gravelly voice, "but I have to wonder just how we can trust that we won't have a repeat of the previous Summer Sun Celebration? Why should we believe that you have had such a sudden change of heart?"

"No offense is taken at all, sir," Luna replied as she glanced at her notes. "I can give you several reasons. First off, not only have I undergone a change of heart, but I have also gone through one of body. As Nightmare Moon, I was much taller then I am now, a dark reflection of Princess Celestia in almost every way. While that by itself won't be enough to sway you, please know that my current stature is indeed indicative of the transformation of my spirit as well.

"The best argument that I can offer you is, if I haven't changed at all, if I am still the evil, power hungry entity that I previously was, why would I go through all of this? Why place myself in a position where there could be any chance of failure, when I have had many chances to catch my sister unaware and alone?"

The green unicorn scowled. "I would say because you can't beat your sister as you are now, and need to use underhanded ruses like this to regain the power necessary to do so. Then, once you've had it returned to you, you'll have nothing to fear."

"An interesting theory," Luna conceded, "although one that has a giant flaw. You need to understand, the ability to raise and lower the moon is not one that confers great power. If anything, it is a duty that requires lots of magic. Consider our ancient history; back before Equestria was a nation, the changing of day to night and back again was performed by many unicorns acting in unison. This was because of the massive amount of magical energy needed to move the celestial bodies of the sun and the moon. While being able to raise and lower the moon will, hopefully, grant me some prestige and help me integrate back into society, it will not give me any sort of a power boost."

"So you say," said the unicorn grudgingly, "but how are we to be sure that you don't still harbor such thoughts deep inside, where nopony can see them?"

Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, Luna gently replied, "How would you suggest I go about proving that I don't have such plans, if by your very definition they can't be seen? Would the lack of finding any be proof that they do exist, or that they don't?" Seeing the unicorn about to reply, she cut him off. "No, good sir, I can't offer you an answer to such an unintelligent question. I am more than willing to undergo any reasonable test of character that you may propose, but I will not waste the time of this Assembly by entertaining such impossible to prove or disprove queries. Next question!"

The green unicorn seemed unwilling to sit down, but a brown earth pony a couple of seats next to him stood up and said, "You've had your turn, Shamrock, sit down and give others a chance." Waiting until Shamrock had taken his seat, a drawn out process that included a lot of muttering and grumbling, the earth pony then turned his attention to Luna and asked, "Might I please take this chance to ask you a question, your highness?"

"Go right ahead," she replied with a smile.

"My question is a simple one, I hope. While I can understand your reasons for wanting to regain your former duty, is there really any need for you to do so? Things have worked well for the past thousand years as they are, I would like to think, so why make any changes?"

"While I agree that change simply for the sake of change and nothing else is bad, I assure you that this is not the case here," answered Luna. "One benefit that would be had from me regaining the ability to raise and lower the moon would be that of redundancy, or having a back up if you will. While my sister has handled her daily tasks admirably, I would also suggest that you have been lucky. What if Princess Celestia had come down with some sort of illness, or suffered from a terrible injury, that left her unable to perform her duties?

"If I may be allowed to give an example that may be a bit confusing," she continued with a wry smile, "what if I had been there as I am now when Nightmare Moon attacked? Celestia could have handed over her duties to me, preventing Nightmare Moon from being able to lock Equestria into a state of perpetual night. I would think for that reason alone it would be prudent for me to regain the honor of being able to raise and lower the moon. While I won't be trying to bring ruin to our kingdom, that doesn't mean that other entities won't threaten us in a similar fashion in the future. To deny ourselves of such a simple and effective defense against future calamity would be foalish."

Luna watched as the earth pony nodded his head in thanks and then retook his seat. Again, numerous ponies vied for her attention, and she found herself fighting back a sigh of resignation. While she had known that the questioning would be a long and arduous process, not even the practice sessions she had been in had fully prepared her for how draining it would be. Doing her best to maintain a serene front, she pointed to another pegasus and awaited his question.

---

Haystack slowly turned and landed a short distance from his friend Pine Needle, and waited as Fluttershy landed next to him. The two pegasi looked over at Pine Needle, who was still standing at the base of the tree, yelling and gesturing at the squirrel above. For his part, Acorn seemed to be giving as good as he got, sending a steady stream of scolds and chatters at the earth pony below him. Hearing a soft sigh and a whispered, "Oh dear," Haystack motioned with a hoof for the yellow pegasus mare to go ahead and do what she needed to do.

Fluttershy trotted over and quietly tried to interject herself into the commotion to little effect. After several attempts to make herself noticed, she finally turned and looked back at Haystack pleadingly. Doing his best to hide his annoyance at the turn of events he walked over and, to the pegasus mare's shock, gave Pine Needle a forceful knock to the back of his head with a hoof. "Hey!" he said sternly to his friend, "Fluttershy is here to help you out, but you need to give her a chance, okay?"

Wincing in pain, he turned and bowed his head in shame towards Fluttershy. "I apologize, it was not mine intention to become so absorbed in what I was trying to do that I would ignore you. Forgive me, please."

"Th- that's all right," she stammered in reply. Turning towards Haystack with her eyes still wide in disbelief she asked, "Was it really necessary to do that?"

"It was the fastest way I could think of to get the situation under control," he replied with a shrug. "If he was so engrossed in what he was doing that he couldn't even notice somepony else standing next to him calling for his attention, I don't think anything I would have said could have done the trick either."

Rubbing the back of his head with a hoof, Pine Needle sheepishly chuckled. "While it does not happen very often, I do tend to focus on some things a bit more... intensely than is probably healthy."

Haystack nodded. "You should see him when the mare he has a crush on is around, nothing gets through to him then. While I understand your concern, please realize that Pine Needle is my very best friend, and that I would not have done anything to hurt him if I had not thought it absolutely necessary."

"If you say so," Fluttershy said, doubt still audible in her tone of voice. Turning her attention to Pine Needle, she said, "So, Haystack tells me you and Acorn are having some difficulty getting along?"

Pine Needle pointed up at the squirrel in question with a hoof. "Well, he followed me to work today, which isn't a problem, but I find it very puzzling that he did so. I wanted to figure out why, but since we can't understand each other, I kind of let my frustration at the situation get the better of me. If you could please ask Acorn why he came out here, I would be very appreciative."

Nodding, Fluttershy flapped her wings and rose up to hover next to Acorn and started talking to him quietly. While she was doing so, Pine Needle turned and quietly asked Haystack, "Seriously, did you have to hit me on the head? Wouldn't a prod to mine side have worked just as well?"

Haystack felt his cheeks burn as he looked down at his hooves. "Sorry about that. I guess I wasn't thinking. I wasn't trying to hurt you, just get your attention, but you're right, there were better ways I could have gone about doing so. I won't do that again, I promise."

Pine Needle smiled at his friend. "Sounds good to me. And besides," he added while glancing up at the pegasus mare, "getting a chance to see somepony as beautiful as her is worth a small lump to the head any day of the week."

"Oh, what's this? Has some other mare besides our local apple magnate finally caught your attention?"

Pine Needle rolled his eyes. "Please, you must be joking. You know mine heart belongs to Applejack and her alone, but that doesn't mean that I can't recognize and appreciate beauty in other ponies, especially when they are as polite and kind as she is." He looked back up at Fluttershy. "Anyway, I don't think I could fall for a pegasus pony. Just thinking about flying through the air makes my stomach twist and turn, how you manage to live your life like that is beyond me."

Haystack's reply was cut off when Fluttershy flew back down to them, and Acorn ran down the tree to stand next to her. "It seems that I may have made a mistake when I asked if you would let a squirrel live in your trees," she said to Pine Needle. "What I thought was a suitable place to live is actually dangerously exposed to the weather, and Acorn could run the very real risk of freezing if he had to spend the winter there."

"I am sorry to hear that," Pine Needle replied, "but I do not see why that would lead to him following me here."

"Well, Acorn was in a really crowded situation before, and he doesn't want to burden his family by trying to move back in with them. He was hoping that he could find someplace else to stay by following you around, or another squirrel to talk to that might know of someplace for him to stay." She looked down at Acorn, who nodded in confirmation. "Unfortunately, he wasn't able to, which doesn't surprise me since we are having such a hard time trying to find winter homes for all of the animals."

"Hmm, I don't suppose any of the trees on my farm would be suitable?" asked Haystack. "I know I only have a couple, and they aren't that big, but if any of them would work, I'd be happy to let him live in one."

"Acorn, would any of the trees here on this farm work as a place for you to live in?" After a short string of chirps from the squirrel, Fluttershy shook her head sadly. "No, none of them have any knotholes or hollows that would serve as a den for him."

After taking a moment to absorb the news, Pine Needle asked, "Is there anything that I can do to help then? I remember when I first came to Ponyville, and how anxious I was until I found a place to live. It isn't any fun at all, not knowing where you're going to be able to sleep for the night. If there is something that I can do, please let me know."

Fluttershy looked back and forth between Acorn and Pine Needle a couple of times, and then hesitantly said, "While I don't know if it would be the ideal solution, there is one thing I can think of that might work."

"Oh, what's that?"

"Have you ever considered owning a pet?"

---

The question and answer period had gone on for over an hour now, and Luna was worried that she wouldn't be able to maintain her resolve much longer. At first, it had almost been fun, facing the challenge of answering the questions presented to her. But as things progressed, the process started to lose its appeal. The questions became more and more repetitive, and the attitude of those asking them seemed to take a turn for the worse too. She suspected that some of the nobles weren't interested so much in using the chance to gain knowledge, but to see if they could score points in some obscure game by seeing if they could force her to make some kind of mistake, or have her contradict a previous answer.

Still, she had persevered, and only two ponies were left. One of them she had purposefully left for last on the advice of her sister, and by the calm look he had maintained throughout the session, Luna suspected that he was aware of the fact that he was being held in reserve for that purpose. The other pony was one that she had been avoiding intentionally, but now she had no choice but to give him his turn. It wasn't that she was afraid of what he might ask, but considering how their previous encounter had ended, she had no idea what his question might be. Suppressing a sigh, she pointed a hoof and said, "Your turn, Prince Blueblood."

The regal white unicorn stood and gave her a small nod with his head. "Thank you, your highness. I know that these proceedings have taken a long time, so I shall make my question short and to the point. If you are granted the right and the ability to raise and lower the moon once again, what sort of fail safes will there be to make sure that you don't abuse your new position?"

"While there won't be any specific ponies assigned to such a task," she replied, "I would say that there will be the obvious restraints that are in front of all of the nobleponies here in attendance. There will be my sister, Princess Celestia, always close by, but more importantly there is the goodwill of the ponies of Equestria as well. As I have stated several times already today, with or without the duty of attending to the moon it would be detrimental to my standing in the eyes of the people for me to abuse my station as a Princess of Equestria.

"While I can understand how it might make others feel more secure, knowing that there is some sort of a fail safe method to keep me from overstretching my bounds and, for example, use the moon as a paperweight, I honestly can't think of any way to set one up. You are going to need a battle tested squadron or the Elements of Harmony close by at all times in order to try to overpower me should the need arise, or you will simply have to trust that I am sincere in my words."

Prince Blueblood sat down, and Luna was relieved to see that nopony else had come up with any other questions, leaving just one pony left. She looked at him and said, "Duke Aura, the floor is yours."

A blond unicorn stood up and bowed deeply to Luna. "Thank you, your Highness. I am a bit ashamed to admit that all of the questions that I had in mind have already been asked to you. So, lacking any specific query, I will instead ask as hopefully the final presenter, is there anything else that you would like to bring up or remind us of, before we get to the all important task of the vote?"

"Only this," Luna said with a smile. "Since my return to Canterlot, I have experienced a wide variety of responses. From distrust and even outright hatred, to indifference, and finally kindness and trust. As the weeks have grown to months, I have seen the number of the first steadily decrease, and in turn the number of those who I can count as being kind to me, if not outright friends, seems to grow on a daily basis.

"One of the things that has bothered me is that there is almost no way for me to be able to properly show my thanks and gratitude to everypony who has been willing to forgive the sins of my past, and been willing to give me a second chance. With this, I feel that maybe I can by showing them that their trust in me was not misplaced, that I truly am a different pony than the dark avatar that tried to plunge our land into night eternal.

"So, if after all of the questions and answers that you have asked and listened to over the past hour or so have yet to sway you one way or the other yet, let me give you one final reason why you should allow me to regain my former duty. Not for me, but for the ponies of the Equestria, so that I can reward their kindness and generosity. Thank you."

Duke Aura again bowed deeply and resumed his seat. Luna held her breath, and softly let it out when nopony raised their hooves to call for the chance to ask another question. "Anypony else?" she asked, disliking the need for doing so but knowing that it was required. Seeing that nopony had still taken the chance, she glanced over at the herald. "It seems that I have finished with their inquiries."

The herald walked up next to her and called out, "One last time, are there any other questions for her highness, Princess Luna?" Seeing that all hooves stayed down, he turned to Luna and said, "You may return to you place, Your Highness." After Luna had walked back to her sister, the herald faced the nobles once again. "Very well, we will now commence with the taking of the vote! Prince Alabaster, how do you vote, yay or neigh?"

Luna looked up at Celestia, "Oh, I'm so nervous," she said in a whisper.

"Relax," she replied to her younger sister. "You did great up there. Just a few minutes now. I know this must be hard to wait through, but I'm confident that the vote will fall in your favor."

"Oh, I certainly hope so. I'd hate to think I went through all of that just to fall short."

The two sisters fell silent, and listened as the herald called out name after name. After each noble gave his vote, three ponies would mark it down in a ledger. Luna had read that having the vote kept track of by three separate secretaries was a product of ancient times, when the three tribes of ponies still didn't fully trust each other. This way, the tallies could be checked against each other, and any errors made in counting up the votes, be they on accident or purpose, could easily be worked out.

Finally, the herald turned to the secretaries and waited for their signals that the votes had been counted. "Secretary number one, what is your tally?"

"I find the measure has passed in favor of Princess Luna!"

"Secretary number two, what is your tally?"

"The same, passed in favor of Princess Luna!"

"Secretary number three, what is your tally?"

"Unanimous with the other two, in favor of Princess Luna!"

Luna could barely keep from jumping up and down and shouting in joy. The herald turned to the nobles again and cried, "So let it be known, voted on and passed by this Assembly, Princess Luna may once again be given the duty, honor, and privilege of raising and lowering the moon. Are there any complaints from the nobles assembled today?" Hearing none, he said, "then if there are no other matters to be brought forth at this time..." he paused, and after a few seconds of silence he finished by saying, "then I hereby call this special meeting of the Assembly to be over with. Thank you for your time, everypony."

Luna turned and hugged Celestia tightly. "We did it! We did it! Thank you, I couldn't have done this without you!"

Celestia returned the hug. "And I'm so proud of you, Luna. Facing all of those questions one after the other, without any breaks, must have been trying. Let's go get something to eat, and then we can plan on how you'll spend this Sunday with your friends."

"Actually," Luna said as she led the way out of he hall, "I've been thinking about that, and I believe I know the perfect way to go about it."

Comments

[Steelhooves]

Awesome, I'm gonna read all of this in the morning!

[Kharru]

A sequel? The fun has been doubled!

[Draco Dei]

squeak squeakun squeek squeekers

-The Emperor's New Groove... a mediocre movie, but a great reference.