Refined Starlight in a Broken Vessel

by the-pieman

Chapter 63

I stand beside Luna, watching and sometimes listening to the ponies who enter and exit. Gotta admit that it’s certainly rather boring. I don’t speak of course, though several ponies take particular notice of me. I’m not interacting at all beyond observation so I’m mostly ignored. Though it is a bit tiring standing here in silence for so long. Not tiringing enough to make me drowsy, as is usual. I should rest my legs. Once current talking has ceased, I move to the throne beside Luna’s and take a seat. It’s big enough for an alicorn which means I can actually sit in it without any squeezing. It’s also cushioned rather well. Makes sense, since these two have to sit in their respective chairs for the majority of their waking hours.

Luna bites her lip. “Anthony? For what purpose are you sitting in my sister’s, ah, seat?”

“Got tired of standing. Besides, she’s not using it right now, is she?” I posit, stretching my legs a bit and crossing them. “I’m just getting comfortable.”

I hear someone cough, and my eyes are drawn to a pony, one I’ve previously deduced is a secretary or some sort of courtier. “Lounging in the Sun Princess’ throne simply for comfort...”

I wave it off. “Celly is supposedly asleep, and in the meantime it’s an available chair.” I note, looking about the room, reconfirming for myself that the only other furniture in this whole room are some small desk-like tables with no seating arrangements. “If morning comes and Celestia has an issue with it, she’s capable of settling it herself.”

The pony is about to rebut before Luna speaks up first. “My sister is indeed capable of deciding for herself if she is offended by treatment of her property in her absence, and she is equally capable of settling those matters.”

“I simply don’t appreciate him interrupting the court, your highness.” The pony says submissively, clearly trying to earn some footing back.

“What interruption?” I ask plainly.

As the pony opens his mouth, another pony enters. A mare with simplistic but important dress. “Princess Luna, I have-” the mare pauses and looks straight at me. “Princess, what is the meaning of this? Why is-”

“I am not the reason you came here.” I interject quickly. “Do not waste the court’s time. State your original business.”

“I... apologize. I’m just c-” The pony hasn’t broken eye contact with me so I repel her with a cold glower. “R- right. I was here to discuss some of the recent land trading that has been going on amongst the nobility-” and I tune her out. It takes a while and the general discussion continues going back and forth between mouths all around the room, though the exact words I’m too disinterested to pay any attention to. It should prove that I am no interruption of my own. I’m shot the occasional look, but simply ignoring it is enough to get them on track. Eventually the mare leaves and there’s a bit more discussion among the remaining ponies here but the matter soon settles and the room goes quiet again. I notice Luna shift in my peripheral and she’s looking at me. “What? Was I too rude? I’m just trying to keep folks on track.”

“Not at all.” She says, smiling a bit. “I just find it rather interesting. Insisting on one’s unimportance while sitting on my sister’s throne.”

I shrug and stretch my legs out further, sliding down the chair slightly. “Am I to understand you imply that one’s influence changes just because they rest themselves on some rather expensive furniture Celestia has ownership of? That the seat itself confers any modicum of power to whoever sits on it, rather than solely belonging to the one who owns it?” Luna pauses at my long question, and her face looks somewhere between being confused and entertained. I smirk. “If that’s all it takes for one to steal Celly’s importance in the eyes of other ponies, they must have little faith in her ability to retain her position.”

One of the other ponies present stands away from the table she was at. “Are you saying that Princess Celestia is weak?”

My position is a bit uncomfortable, until I prop my head up with a hand, the chair’s arm now high enough to rest my elbow on. “Not at all. I’m saying that getting flustered over someone else having their butt in her chair for a couple hours is completely ridiculous. The only impact I have on the hierarchy is what others give to me.” I smile, finishing my self adjustments. “The bigger a fuss you make, the more it implies that I have the power to cause imbalance. So tell me... how much political leverage do I have right now, according to you?”

“Absolutely none.” the mare states firmly.

“Then we’re in total agreement.” I say simply. “And we can stop wasting breath and moonlight on irrelevant matters.”

“Anthony, I would appreciate it if you refrained from heckling my court.” Luna says, though she doesn’t actually look upset in any way.

“They started it by making a problem out of nothing.” I say. “Besides... it amuses me. So much importance put on the throne itself, rather than the one who normally sits in it. Such a backwards notion, don’t you think?”

“I agree, but Celestia does tend to be rather particular about who has been around her things.” Luna reminds me. “I do not believe she would appreciate you sitting there, regardless of how little difference it makes.”

I give Luna a wink. “I won’t tell your big sis if you won’t.”

The matter is soon dropped and the court goes on as usual. The amount of ponies showing up that aren’t here to stay are getting fewer and fewer, likely because it’s past their bedtime by now. Speaking of bedtime, I’m starting to tire of this silent motionlessness, but I don’t want to cause any actual interruption. Of course, I’m tired but not sleepy so I’m just wide awake with pressing boredom. Everything is just white noise at this point. I can look around the room and see mouths moving and words being formed, but whatever sounds are being made get drowned out by the engulfing drone of nothing. They seem to be hearing each other, but I certainly can’t. I’m rather glad this is a skill I managed to pick up and can do it on purpose, rather than something that just happens. Enough parent-teacher conferences gave me ample opportunity to hone it to the point of on-demand.

Alternatively, I could try and soak up everything they’re saying. I might learn a few things... but I don’t see any enjoyment I could possibly gain from learning this way, so I return my attention to the numb droning of empty silence.

The daze continues for the majority of a partial eternity, but a dark shape obstructs my view, sharply interrupting the bright whitestone of the room’s primary construction. “Anthony? Are you alright?”

It takes a moment to shake the fuzzies off and give a proper response to Luna, who has begun gently waving her wing in front of me. “There are so many ways that question could be answered, that any particular one would be as equally frustratingly unsatisfactory. That said, I’ll try anyways: Do you mean that clinically or figuratively?”

“I just thought that you appear rather tired. There aren’t any more on-hoof topics that specifically require my presence for the court to settle.” She doesn’t react to my response as much as she continues on. “I thought that maybe you and I should retire for the night. It is approaching morning time after all.”

I sigh, spurring on bloodflow into my legs and getting up from Celestia’s throne as I stretch. “Yeah, sure.”

Luna excuses herself to the currently gathered ponies and I follow behind her. I’m still a tad fuzzy-minded, and I don’t notice where she’d lead me until I realize we’re in her bedroom. She moves to the bed and I feel like I should stay standing where I am. “Uh, I uh... Should I really be sleeping here?”

She chuckles and pats the bed with a wing, in what I assume is an inviting motion. “It’s perfectly alright with me. Besides, you’ve already been on it before.”

“Under entirely different circumstances.” I point out. “I mean... I appreciate the gesture, but I’m not sure if I can accept this kind of... uh...”

“It can be rather frustrating to be your ally.” Luna says, and I can hear the sigh in her voice. “You prefer to have others support you, yet you dislike being dependant. You wish for various forms of comfort, yet you refuse it when it’s offered.”

I stay where I am, holding a hand to my shoulder and lowering my eyes, hoping she’ll catch the body language. “Yeah, I get it. I emphasize the ‘moron’ in oxymoron. Not like stating my problems out loud will make them any better.”

Luna is quiet but keeps her gaze on me, so I break eye contact and she sighs. “I suppose it is for myself. The more I assert what your problems are, the clearer it is that you don’t truly know what you really want. Or rather, you get what you want but frequently dislike how you get it.”

“Can you... please stop?” I hang my head and let my arms drop. “There are enough people already that understand only enough to hurt me.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to... I want to understand much more than the bare minimum.” She pauses, recognizing her implications. “Not for the purpose of hurting you. I meant that...” She winces. “You’re right, let us stop. We should rest. I’m rather tired and you must be exhausted. Please, rest with me.”

I guess... it is a rather comfortable bed, likely more than what a guest room might have. I relent and walk over to lay down on the far end of the bed from Luna. I lift the covers over me and shift out of my clothes and... damn, her sheets are really soft once I feel them along my back properly. She might think that me disrobing is weird though. “Sorry, I don’t sleep well with my clothes on.”

Luna gives me a smiling look. “I don’t know a single pony who does.” She removes her tiara-crown-thing and various other pieces of her princess-wear, magicking them off to a spot in her room meant to hold them. I just drop my removed clothes to the floor beside the bed. Luna slips under the covers and there’s luckily a good bit of space between us, so we aren’t touching each other. As comfy as this is and generous as she’s being, I’m not sure it would be a good idea to have that kind of relationship with her even if I wanted it. Which I don't.

I get a brief flash of an image in my head. A woman I don’t know, with long dark hair and very cool grey-green eyes to match a warm genuine smile, and a necklace with a pendant of- Is that supposed to be Luna?! Where did this come from?! I suppress the urge to turn over and look at her. It’s just some crazy imaginary garbage. But familiar all the same, like I actually saw this woman somewhere. I scrunch up, shifting further away from Luna, unsure what spurred on this memory I don't recall having. She’s beautiful... the woman not Luna.

Geez- Eh? I feel the covers cinch up to my neck, but I didn’t touch them. Did Luna just... tuck me in?! What the fuck is going on?! If I bother her about it though, I’d have to talk about it, I can’t do that! Ugh, this is so frustrating, I feel absolutely wired and ready to collapse at the same time, maybe if I just close my eyes...

In my mind I see the pretty woman wrap a gentle arm around me and I feel so much calmer. Like a veil of sleep draping over me through the blankets. Everything untenses and I feel my anxiety fade into the darkness of Luna’s room. Fucking finally. I can... rest... now...

---

I hear someone talking and I’m immediately awake. Can’t sleep at all with people talking, hate being woken up like that. What discussion is so bloody important? I was warm and comfy, damnit.

“Luna? Are you awake yet?” Celestia’s voice; even worse. Damn alicorn. “There are a few things that weren’t able to be settled properly before Day court had to end. I wanted to talk with you about them before I went to dinner. Luna?”

I feel Luna stir a bit across from me. I could just let this play out, but now I’m pissed and want revenge. I slowly pull the covers off my upper body and sit up. The still air of Luna’s room is rather cool on my bare chest now that I’m not bundled up. Sitting up to stretch, I crick my neck and make eye contact with Celestia, holding the gaze long enough for her to get a very strange look on her face. Vengeance time, bitch. I lean over and give Luna a soft pat on her... whatever part of her is under the blanket. “Hey, Luna.” I whisper loud enough to be perfectly audible. “I’m still kinda exhausted from earlier, do you remember where I threw my pants?”

Luna rouses, but doesn’t respond immediately. I see Celestia somehow, through a sort of eldritch force that I couldn’t begin to comprehend, turn paler than her own snow-white coat. She makes some sort of gawking noise in her throat and wordlessly about-faces to leave the room, closing the door just carefully enough not to slam it shut. Good luck getting those kinds of images out of our head now, princess.

Luna rustles again and this time opens her eyes. “Hmmm, what? Oh, good evening, Anthony. Did you say something?”

“Yeah, Celestia showed up. Something about leftovers from Day court, but she left since you were still asleep.”

“Oh, no, I-” Luna yawns mightily. “I must convene with her. We should be on the... the same page.” She blearily rolls out of bed onto her feet and magicks her crown and peytral onto herself, though her crown is placed somewhat crookedly.

“I’ll see myself out.” I tell Luna, grabbing my clothes from where I distinctly recall dropping them and put them on as I get out of bed myself. Maybe I could leave my shirt off when I walk out of the room, just in case Celly stuck around... nah, if I lay it on too thick it might look suspicious. Or unsuspicious, rather.

Luna just nods and I leave, and I think about how I could spend the early evening. I watch Luna exit her room and down the hall towards where I figure Celestia’s room is, and she looks just a touch dishevelled in her haste.

I’m kinda hungry, actually. I wonder what’s for dinner. I wander about, eventually finding a hallway that looks vaguely familiar and I get my bearings. I find the kitchen I’d been to before, and then the dining area just off of it. I see a mare setting things up, and I wave a hand her way.

“Oh, hello.” She addresses politely, with a motion that seems to be a quadruped’s interpretation of a curtsey. “Were you going to eat with Princess Luna this evening?”

I figure that’s the best invitation for free dinner I could ask for and nod. “Yeah, she’s talking with Celestia about princess stuff. She’ll probably be here in a short while.”

The mare nods with a receptive smile. “Very well. I’ll get a place set up for you.”

I chuckle. “Well, that's certainly hospitable of you."

“Of course, any guest of the castle should be treated as such.” She insists and leaves, coming back and setting up some dinnerware for me. “There you are, we should be ready to serve dinner properly in a few minutes.”

“Thanks. Don’t feel like you need to rush or anything just because I’m here early.”

“Of course, Anthony.” She replies, giving another pony-curtsey as she exits. I gotta say, while it’s weird being a celebrity in this fashion.... It does come with some fairly nice privileges. I can just be here and it’s not weird or met with any kind of resistance, I’m just... accepted. I take a seat at the space prepared for me and look about at the table. Last time I was here, I was spending a morning with Celestia. I wonder if Luna eats as much. She probably does, and if that's the case then there should be plenty of food prepared for me to have a meal myself without having to boggart anything she actually needs.

Makes me question exactly what kind of nutrition one needs to magically move a significant celestial body... it does make sense that it would be a lot but... pony magic, how does it actually work? Like are there specific calorie requirements for different magical applications? Twilight would likely know, if I bothered to ask her.

A pair of ponies come out and begin laying general dinner foods onto the large table. They’re very quick and efficient, and soon the whole table is loaded up even though there’s only two ponies here. Must have lots of practice. Well, everything’s set up but I’m not that hungry, might as well wait for Luna to arrive.

The next pony to come through the door is Celestia though. Huh. She looks at me and while she doesn’t go super pale again, I can see just a small hint of tensed emotion in her eye. She’s fairly good at hiding her feelings compared to most, honestly. Either case, I can tell she’s not very enthused. “What’s up, Celly? Something bothering you?”

“No.” She answers easily.

“That shit works on your ponies, but not me. You’ve got a problem.” Celestia doesn’t change her expression at all but walks over to take her seat at a place that’s already prepared. “With me in particular, I infer.”

There’s a slight pause before she says “Not at all.” It’s very short, but present enough for me to notice.

“Celestia, why do you insist on insulting me? You’re not good at lying to me.” I roll my eyes as I begin selecting food to put on my plate, spotting a container of what seems to be a sort of vegetable stew. Eh, I should have more veggies anyways. I return to the conversation as I carefully ladle the stew onto my plate. “You don’t approve.”

She takes a breath and starts loading up her own plate. “I do not.”

“Not that it matters. Honestly, I don’t care if you do or not. Your sister and I are grown adults and can make whatever decisions we like. You have no say in the matter of what sorts of company either of us prefer to keep.”

“I’m aware.” She replies shortly, trying to focus her attention on the spread of food rather than me.

“Not that you have anything to worry about. There isn’t actually anything for you to disapprove of.” I say as I take a bite of the stew. Hmm, this is an interesting taste. Some sort of squash, perhaps? A hint of confusion washes across Celestia’s face and I chuckle as I see it quickly pass, deciding to clarify. “Nothing happened between Luna and I last night, er, day. I actually kept a very respectful physical distance.”

“Then what was that about, earlier?” Celestia asks, narrowing her eyes as she gives up on avoiding eye contact.

“I’ve told you before, haven’t I? The only entertainment I can get from you is by watching you react to your status quo being disrupted. I was woken up by a rather annoying mare, so I annoyed her back.” Celly sighs when I grin. I continue after another bite. “I’m a bit surprised you believed it. Did you seriously think that Luna of all ponies would lower her standards that far, and bed me when she could easily take her pick of any potential suitor that’d be over a dozen times more appropriate?” Celestia opens her mouth to respond but I cut her off. “Unless, perhaps, you somehow think I might actually be a proper enough lover for the Night Princess to take?”

“Not in the slightest. I was just caught off guard.” Celestia says sharply.

“Hmmm. So nice to have confirmation that I can rupture your stoicism with not much more effort than wanting to do so.” I smile warmly at her. “But truthfully, there isn’t anything between Luna and I. I’m already starting to, possibly, develop a relationship with Myrna. I wouldn’t ruin that for a single go around with your sister.”

“I suppose I was most easily convinced because she’s been showing plenty of interest in you. Not that sort of interest, but she certainly cares very much about you. Naturally she shares nothing about you with me, but you seem to be on her mind on a general basis.”

“I doubt it’s anything serious.” I say as I continue to eat. “I’d imagine it’s not much more than Twilight’s general curiosity.”

“I’m not sure it’s quite that shallow with my sister, but you have a point.” Celestia says, followed by a palpable pause. “You know, Twilight hasn’t really said much about her relationship with you. She’s reported mild changes in your behavior on some occasions but always in an impersonal way. It seems she’s not making much progress.”

My turn to pause. “Really? I mean if she’s reporting at all, doesn’t that count as progress?”

“She’d mentioned that she would make attempts to befriend you.” Celly clarifies. “But if she keeps writing about you in manners so different from the way she speaks of her friends I’d have to assume that you aren’t friends.”

“There are many things about each other we disagree with.” I say simply. “We can live together as housemates and we seem to do alright as companions but 'friendly' is not a word I’d use to describe our relationship.”

“Which is odd, honestly. You seem rather intelligent.” Celestia says, pausing to eat more. “I assumed you two would get along very well.”

“Why the fuck does everyone like to talk about how smart I am? Gets to the point where it seems like that’s the only compliment that I can be given.” I grump. “Yeah I’m intelligent, generally moreso than I’m given credit for in my opinion, but there’s a shitload more to me than that.” I think on that, which gives me an idea. I make direct eye contact with Celesta to emphasize importance. “Here’s an experiment. Give me a sincere compliment. Without bringing up how smart you think I am, tell me something about myself you find admirable, appealing or appreciating.”

Celestia’s eyes get a look in them as if she’d bite her lip, were she not disposed towards apparent neutrality.

“Go ahead.” I prod again, keeping my voice stern. “Name something about me you think positively of. Don't get all pensive over a simple request.”

Celestia doesn’t take nearly as much time to think as I thought she would. “Assuming you don’t consider it part of intelligence, you are very perceptive.”

“No, perception is a wisdom skill.” I jest, knowing she won’t understand the joke. “Anyways, how about a bit more detail on that?”

She nods. “You aren’t easy for me to lie to, and you’ve shown that almost every time we’ve talked. I’ve always had to keep a mask of indifference on. If I show too much anger or worry, it will impact my subjects. I’d thought I’d perfected hiding myself. Then I met you. You’re so different from the ponies. You showed me that I’m not nearly as disguised as I thought. One such as yourself that has not already decided to trust what I say and do... you proved that if somepony ever had sufficient doubt and looked carefully enough, they would see right through me.” She sighs. “It worried me quite a lot, to be honest. I have been running a nation for so long, with everypony in it looking up to me, I need to seem fair and unbiased. I can’t appear to show favoritism of any sort, nor can I show weakness.”

“As if anyone could avoid playing favorites. Everyone has something that weakens them.” I say plainly. “To believe that anyone is perfectly impervious is a great folly. Everyone has fears and biases. That is a fact. You’re only so effective because the ponies decide to trust you. They purposefully let you fool them. I do not.”

“Which is rather refreshing in a way.” Celestia admits. “I can’t lie to you easily, so I don’t feel it necessary to put forth the effort to do so... most of the time.”

I nod. “Truly effective liars don’t have to put in effort. If you do, then you haven’t really understood deceit. A proper liar weaves their misinformation into a conversation flawlessly, and with the personal conviction that it is the new truth they want to create in the recipient. Instead, you actively decide to directly lie and have that lie take precedence, making it that much more obvious. You don’t want to lie, but you do anyway.”

“Exactly.” Celestia sighs, looking down at her plate. “As uncomfortable as it is to have you frequently remind me how fragile my façade is, it also reminds me how much I wish I didn’t need it at all. Being so different from ponies, you don’t have the same predispositions or prejudices. You doubt me, you demand I clarify my statements, you treat me like you would everypony else.”

I stay silent and make a gesture urging her to go on. She smiles a bit in response.

“You see the world so differently, through a lens of aggression and low tolerance. You don’t compromise unless you have to. You are unimpressed by grandeur, especially from those considered ‘above you’. Your viewpoints are shocking and disturbing to others, primarily because those views are so alien to them. My ponies have no taste for violence or threats, and they react so strongly when they experience it. You’re disruptive, and that can be very problematic. Perhaps if you weren’t so mean-spirited, I think you could teach them a lot.”

“Sometimes I think of myself as trying to teach them, other times I just get fed up with them. The disconnect is too large, and they insult me and my views without even trying.” I lay down my spoon, the stew finished. “You’re similar, but in a different manner. You insult me just by being you. However, if we can accept the mutual disagreements for what they are, then we could probably avoid each other’s philosophies and continue without escalation. Though for that to happen, your ponies would need to cease their insisting of your immaculacy and superiority. They never use the exact words, but I can clearly see that they view you as a divine of sorts. I can understand what created that mentality, but that does not give it proper excuse. I don’t foresee us getting along, honestly. I understand that you’re trying to even things out between us, but I refuse to commend you simply for an attempt.”

“Which is reasonable.” Celestia says with a sigh. “I’m sorry that their culture rubs you the wrong way, and I’m not entirely fond of the way they idolize me, but I need a small amount of... idolatry in order to have the right leverage to lead them properly.”

I cross my arms, delivering a sour gaze. “Of course. What better social and political leverage is there than having a vast majority willingly accept you as nigh-deific?”

“They really could learn so much from you...” Celestia says quietly. After a bit of silence she stands away from her seat, and I notice that she’s cleared a good third of the food from the table while we’ve talked. I hadn’t even noticed until now. That’s impressive. “I’ve eaten, and you’ve given me more than enough to think about tonight. If you plan on staying, I can have a guest room prepared for you.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll stick around. I’ve got a few days before I’m needed at work, might as well get a change of scenery.” Celestia nods as she exits. A minute after she’s gone, Luna comes in. “Where were you?”

“Just outside the dining hall.” Luna replies. “You seemed to be having a civil conversation with my sister, and I thought I should let you connect with her rather than interrupt. Though now I’m fairly hungry.”

“How much did you hear, exactly?” I ask, as I look for something else to eat.

Luna bows her head ever so slightly. “I did not hear anything at all. I thought it best to let you have a properly private conversation. I do hope you’ll get along better.”

I shrug. “I believe that we’ve come to an understanding regarding our mutual distaste for one another. We stay out of each other's way, and remain professionally civil unless matters change.” I say as I continue scanning the table for more to eat, and now there’s less to decide between. “Also, I’ve been offered a guest room. I’ll be staying in Canterlot for a few more days.”

“That is... progress, I suppose.” Luna says with a hint of disappointment. She wants Celestia and I to get along, it seems. “Having you around more would be pleasant.”

“At least you think so.” I reply as I notice a pie of some sort. I’d like some pastry about now. I carefully move the slice to my plate, preparing my knife and dessert fork. “Celestia is likely still acclimating to not being considered the favorite by default. I’m sure her ego will be bruised enough. I’m rather curious what her id looks like, to be honest.”

“That is the reason you enjoy pestering her so much?” Luna questions. “You wish to see her... what, exactly?”

“Id.” I repeat with clearer enunciation. “It’s a psychological thing, I won’t bore you with details if you don’t want them. In short, the id is the concept of one’s rawest 'urge'. What they personally feel on a base and simple level. I wonder... Does an immortal of her nature really differ so much from regular folk, when all the complications are stripped away? I can’t get a straight answer from her on that, so pressure is required. As for if that’s why I pester her, no. Not entirely, at least. Mainly I just like poking things until something happens. It’s the only real way to know where a given person’s metaphorical invisible line is drawn.”

“So you torment her in order to get to know her?” Luna cocks her head in confusion. “That doesn’t seem very appropriate.”

“I’ve been called inappropriate my entire life.” I say as I carefully cut a small piece of the pie, and give it a taste. What I thought was a form of cherry was actually raspberry. Very tart, well made. At least the kitchen staff know what they’re doing. “If that's all they want to see of me, then who am I to argue? I’m the inappropriate one, after all. What does my say matter?” A silence falls over the table, and in a few seconds it starts getting stale so I break it. “But enough about me. You don’t talk much about yourself. You’ve mentioned past tragedy, some of which I’ve heard a fair amount, but that can’t be all there is to your life. We’re all more complicated than that, I hope.”

“I... hmm...” She has a few false starts. “What would you like to know, exactly?”

Taking another bite of the pie, I gesture towards her lightly with my knife. “Whatever you want to tell me. I’m trying to make a conversation about you, not have you answer my questions.”

“Oh. Well, if I am speaking honestly, nopony asks anything important about myself aside from my sister, and she already knows nearly all I could tell. Ponies who don’t know me have not vocally desired to hear much at all. I haven’t even fully introduced myself in quite a while, either.”

“Yes, being a nationally and possibly worldly-recognized figure might have that downside. Not that I’d know.” I snark. “But come on, give it a try. Let’s take the princess stuff out of the way and get to know Luna, hmm?”

Luna shifts her gaze from me in what I assume is bashful body language. “I’m sorry, but as much as I’d like to keep talking with you, I have plenty of things I need to do. I have too much responsibility to simply ‘take out the princess stuff’. Perhaps in the morning if we are not overtired?”

I slouch back in my seat and refocus on my pastry. “Alright, go on then. Don’t keep your public waiting on my behalf.”

“That sounded a bit insulting, the way you said that.” Luna says, seeming unsure of how upset she should be. “Was that an insult?”

“Not an insult, annoyed condescension.” I clarify, I motion with my hand for her to move on. “Don’t worry about it, just do whatever ya gotta do. Seeya in the morning.”

Luna nods and stands, her magically-flowing mane and tail undulating gently in a nonexistent breeze as she leaves me alone in the dining room. It’s really quiet in here. Ah well, at least I have pie.