Journal of the Princess of the Night

by Basmati

Entry 5 - Gem's Visit

I'm sorry the last entry was stopped so abruptly. I was in such a shock when I read his reply that I forgot to finish it. Gem's just left, so I decided to quickly finish it.

Gem had been to Everfree Castle before, only a few times though, but when he had, he had always given a few days notice, not just a few minutes. It only took about an hour to get from Canterlot to Everfree Castle, and he would insure to get here as soon as possible.

I ran out of my room, trying to find one of my guards to inform them of his visit. Skidding around the corner, I bumped into a bunch of them, making them extremely worried that I was running from some intruder that was trying to murder me. My guards are great, but they can get worked up over the tiniest of things.

After I insured them that there wasn't murderer on the loose in the castle, I told them about Gem and they assured me that they would inform me immediately if there was any sight of him.

I went straight up to my room, and out on to the balcony. I hardly ever go out here - I usually just go into the forest - but because of Gem, I thought that I should stay as close to the castle as possible.

A few moments later, there was a knock on the door. One of the servants walked in and informed me that Gem's carriage had been spotted about 5 minutes away.

I thanked them and immediately flew towards the castle gates as fast as I can, not even bothering to go the inside way. I landed in front of the gates with about 2 minutes to spare, and I waited as his carriage landed and he jumped out.

He immediately ran towards the gates, stopping only when he saw me standing there. He smiled, and I began to run towards him. I only realised that I was crying when I got to him, and started bawling on his shoulder.

During our 5 year friendship, Gem has only seen me like this twice - once when Celestia first said that nopony cared about the moon, and well...now. But still he knew exactly what to do - he stroked my mane, while saying "There there".

After about 8 or so minutes of me crying and him calming me down, I took my head off his shoulder, and gave him a weak smile. He wiped the tears off my face, and I mouthed a quick 'Thank you' to him.

I've realised that I've haven't really told you about who Gem actually is. Monoceros Gemini III is an aristocrat - actually, that isn't the right word. He is one of the very many Canterlot heirs. Bourgeois - that's the word! He's rich basically. And will be even richer. Which does come in handy, as it means he doesn't get weird looks when I walk around with him - everyone expects the wealthy to be 'chummy' with royalty.

We walked into my room, and we sat on the sofa together. I rested my head on his chest, and he stroked my mane again.

"How are you feeling?" he asked. I looked up, knowing that my eyes must be bright red after all the crying I had just done.

"What do you think?" I said, in the nicest possible way.

He laughed, and put his hoof on my shoulder. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll love it in Canterlot, and it's not like you'll never come here again."

I had been thinking about that. I don't know what Celestia will be doing with Everfree Castle - she could leave it, sell it, or demolish it. Knowing her, she would probably demolish it, but seeing her today, I don't think she will. She will probably just leave it for nature to deal with, and have nothing to do with it ever again. I might see it again, but it's unlikely.

"Yeah. Maybe."

Gem is a wonderful friend - even when I am at my worst (i.e. crying because I'm not going to be living in my dream castle anymore) he is still here, by my side. He came all the way from Canterlot to cheer me up, and I didn't even ask for him to come.

A few moments after that, I heard somepony galloping down the hall. All of a sudden, Tia burst in, shouting with joy at me.

"Luna! Oh." She stopped when she saw Gem sitting next to me. "Why Gem! What a lovely surprise!" She started smiling, and winked at me. I knew what she was thinking - I wanted to kick her.

"Hello Celestia," Gem said, standing up and bowing to her. "I hope you had a pleasant trip to Canterlot."

"I did, thank you." She turned to me. "I've just been speaking with the unicorn in charge of the building of the castle, and he said it could be up in about a week!"

A week. Just one week. That's one week to say goodbye to Everfree Forest, my home, and my memories. One week to remove all attachments I have to this place. Oh, curse unicorn's magic - it would take a lot longer if we were using pegasi or even earth ponies!

"That's great, Tia. Just great."

She bade us farewell (she actually said, "I bid you farewell." - she only does that to impress ponies, and it isn't going to work on either me or Gem.) and skipped out of the room, humming a melody to herself. I immediately turned to Gem.

"A week! What am I going to do with a week? I can't let go of this place in a week!"

Gem threw his arms around me, giving me a hug. When we broke apart, he looked at me said, "Luna, you know that I can't stop this from happening, but you also know that I will do everything in my power to insure that you are happy there."

I looked up at him. He had his 'serious' face on - the face he pulls when he wants me to know that what he's saying is true. I smiled, pulled him into another hug, and whispered, "Thank you."

I walked him back to his carriage, and waved him off. As soon as I stepped hoof into the castle, I heard Tia say, "Oooooo! Luna has a-"

"No, I do not!" I stormed straight past her, trying to put as much distance between us as possible.

"Aww. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," I heard beside me. I turned and I saw Tia flying on her back next to me.

"How many times do I have to tell you that Monoceros Gemini III is NOT MY BOYFRIEND!" I groaned then took off, speeding towards my room. I wasn't in the mood to talk to Tia today, or tomorrow, or likely any day after that. I just don't think I can bring myself to.

Comments

[Zanmatsuken]

Oh no. The beast that is Trollestia has been freed. Run for the hills! Every man for himself!