Music of the Night

by CharlieOist

Open Doors

Luna smiled as she felt her magic embrace the familiar coolness of the moon as she raised it high in the evening sky. Every object in the universe had it's own feel to it, both magically and physically, and while those attributes were not always the same, if you had touched the object enough times, you could almost identify it by the texture, and the Lunar Princess and her moon had become quite familiar with each other in the several millennia they had shared, and now her moon was almost as much of a comfort to her as a teddy bear would be to a foal, or a mother's embrace to her offspring.

She was still smiling when she turned around, only to gasp in shock as she bumped into something solid. She stumbled backwards, before summoning up her best glare and regal pose and turning to face whatever had impeded her progress back into her own room.

In the doorway to her room stood a large unicorn stallion, hidden by the darkness that never left her chambers. His large rose colored eyes seemed to stare deep into her being, glowing brightly in the darkness. “Your majesty, I apologize for intruding, but once I had heard that you had summoned me, I came to you as fast I my hooves could carry me.” The stallion bowed low, and for a moment his face was revealed in the moonlight.

“Ah, yes, Nightsong.” The alicorn relaxed once she recognized the stallion, and, in fact, her body began to feel warmer. Instinct began to take over, and Luna's eyes greedily took in the unicorn's body as she sauntered over, her hooves making loud clacking noises in the silence that now reigned over the scene.

The stallion's body was shaking with fear as he listened to the Princess's approach, his head still bowed to the floor. The alicorn reached him, standing tall to tower above the terrified musician. “Nightsong Redtail, rise.” Luna commanded, her voice, though barely a whisper, still managing to echo in the dark silence of the room.

Nightsong rose, still shaking, expecting to be destroyed where he stood. Luna's electric blue eyes glared down at him, her mouth set in a hard line. “Now, Nightsong, you would do anything to serve your Princess, would you not?” Nightsong nodded in response, too scared to form any words.

Suddenly, the Lunar Princess's mouth was on his, her tongue demanding entrance, probing at his lips in an effort to force them open. Stunned, Nightsong could only part his lips, closing his eyes and barely containing a moan as Luna's tongue began it's dance with his. He felt the Lunar Princess start pushing him back, and suddenly, his back was on soft material-her bed, he thought- with the larger alicorn atop him, her hooves running down his body, exploring, looking for-

“Luna!”

---

Celestia's voice managed to pierce the veil into the Lunar Princess's dream, waking her from her slumber. “Luna!” she called again as the younger princess slowly opened her eyes and sat up, yawning.

“Yes, dear sister?” Luna called out, noticing that Celestia was no longer beside her on the bed, as she had been when the dark blue alicorn had fallen asleep.

“It is time for you to raise the moon, Lulu!” Celestia called out before emerging from her bathroom. Her mane was still wet from the shower she had taken, and a bright yellow robe covered her body, keeping the chill fall air from her wet fur.

Luna shook her drowsiness off, rising from her sister's bed to stand on her own four hooves, steady now for the first time in days. “Thank you, dear sister. We cannot neglect our duties.” The younger alicorn trotted over to her sister's balcony, where Celestia rose and lowered the sun every day. She took hold of the moon, once more relishing it's feel, before giving it the nudge it would need to begin it's trip through the night sky again tonight, even as she watched her sister's sun slowly sunk below the horizon, it's final rays fighting a valiant but inevitably futile battle against the ever-encroaching darkness of night, turning the sky into a beautiful canvas for the different colors that they created, beautiful purples and oranges and reds that melted together, flowing into one another before finally disappearing altogether.

Luna turned to find her sister smiling at her, her eyes alight with a mixture of happiness and mischief. “Someone is certainly happy tonight! Is my sister finally getting over her fears?”

“Whatever has given thee the idea that I am happy?” Luna demanded.

Celestia's smile only grew wider. “Oh, I don't know. Could it be the fact that you were practically dancing across the room just a few moments ago?” The Solar Princess moved to sit in one of the two giant red chairs that sat in front of the massive fireplace in her room. Luna moved to sit in the other one, even as Celestia stuck a mocking thoughtful pose. “Or perhaps the fact that you're humming Beethooven's fifth in it's entirety? Ah, I've got it!” The Princess of the Sun launched herself out of her chair, her hoof flung high into the air, forcing Luna to stumble into the other chair instead of sitting gracefully as she had intended. “It's the fact that you've been smiling as though someone has just given you the best birthday present you've ever received since you woke up!”

Luna realized then that she had indeed been smiling, somehow without realizing it, and set about attempting to control her facial muscles once more.

Right then, there was a knock at the large double doors that marked the entrance into Celestia's room. Both princesses looked to the doorway as a small white unicorn pony with a gray green mane walked in, toting two large rolling carts filled with platters covered by silver domes.

“Ah, that's right. I meant to tell you that I ordered us dinner before I woke you. I hope you don't mind, Lulu.” Celestia motioned the pony to bring the carts over.

“Your dinner, Princesses.” The unicorn stopped the carts, then bowed low. Celestia thanked him, then allowed him to rise and leave, before removing the top from one of the platters and beginning on the salad beneath, motioning for Luna to do the same.

Luna sat in silence for a few moments, watching the fire crackle and spit, deep in though over her dream of the last night. Something about it was bothering her, but she couldn't quite place her finger on it... With a sigh, she took the top from another of the platters, taking up her fork and stabbing it into the fruit salad that lay beneath.

---

Two large stone doors stood open like the maw of a waiting monster. No sound emitted from within the temple, and only darkness seemed to lay within.

“This is it, my friends,” Nightsong announced, lighting his horn, “the Temple of the Order of the New Moon.”